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One of the established parts of Maslenitsa fun is the storming of the snow fort. Here’s part of this year’s bash.
BMD
Thursday, 26 February 2015
26 February 2015. Taking the Snow Fort… An Established Part of Maslenitsa Fun
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“National Guard” Irregulars and Nationalists Clash in Kiev
Junta irregular “National Guard” thugs… as they lack all training and discipline, the only useful tasks that they can carry out are the most basic internal security duties… these arrogant bully-boys aren’t really soldiers or cops… they’re just “muscle” in uniform.
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On Wednesday, our TASS correspondent reported from the scene that “National Guard” irregular militants and cops clashed with nationalist demonstrators near the Arsenalnaya Metro station in Kiev. The junta force encircled the protestors and searched for contraband. Police seized a Molotov cocktail from one of the protestors, and the nationalists later started to scuffle with the cops to halt the security checks. Several protests and a march staged by nationalist groups and football ultras opposing junta policies are due in Kiev on Wednesday. Police expect that a march that’ll start near the Arsenalnaya Metro station should draw thousands of people. In response, the junta deployed police and National Guard irregulars in downtown Kiev. The number of protesters outside the National Bank of the Ukraine (NBU) building doubled, reaching 400. Our TASS correspondent reported that several dozen demonstrators kept vigil there throughout the night. The protesters demanded that NBU Governor V А Gontareva and her deputy Aleksandr Pisarchuk resign. The Genprokuratura Ukrainy opened a criminal case against Gontareva, accusing her foreign currency speculation in August 2014.
25 February 2015
ITAR-TASS
http://tass.ru/en/world/779520
Editor:
A good deal of the junta forces are now tied down in internal security duties (which is all that they’re good for, given their lack of real military training). How much longer does Poroshenko have? God alone knows. Also note that the junta’s using the Genprokuratura to harass all those inconvenient to them… they needn’t be opponents… only inconvenient. It’s a wonderful day in the neighbourhood…
BMD
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Sputnik International Presents… What’s Shakin’ at the Moscow Zoopark? First Steps With Mom: Simona and Her Baby Polar Bears
The two polar bear cubs that were born in the Moscow Zoopark on 10 November 2014 are strong enough to leave the inner quarters of their enclosure for the first time.
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Simona, the mother bear, with one of her two cubs.
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The Moscow Zoopark official website said that the cubs stick close to their mother the whole time; they do everything that she tells them to.
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Simona with one of her two cubs.
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According to the Zoopark official website, “When Simona lets out a special snort, the cubs immediately follow her back inside”.
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One of Simona’s two cubs exploring the enclosure.
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It’s difficult to spot the cubs outside because their walks are still very short.
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Simona doesn’t allow the cubs to get close to water so they look really dirty. In time, their fur will become much whiter.
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A happy family…
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25 February 2015
Sputnik International
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Voices from Russia 
Over Half of Republicans Want to Ignore Bill of Rights, Make Christianity (AKA Radical Sectarianism) National Religion in USA
Tags: Christian, Christianity, church-state relations, church-state separation, First Amendment, first amendment rights, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, political commentary, politics, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, United States, US Constitution, USA
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America’s Founding Fathers explicitly banned the formation of a national religion, but don’t tell that to Republican Christians (sic). A poll found that over half of the religious right wants to establish Christianity (sic) as the country’s official creed. When asked if they supported “establishing Christianity (sic) as the national religion”, 57 percent of the Republicans surveyed told Public Policy Polling (PPP) that they were in favour. Three in ten opposed turning the USA into a theocracy, whilst 13 percent were unsure.
The Bill of Rights expressly prohibits the government from promoting one religion over others… the US Constitution’s First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Women were more likely to support an official establishment of Christianity in the USA, with two-thirds (66 percent) responding “yes” to the question; less than half the men surveyed (49 percent) chose that option. Amy Eddings wrote for Ring of Fire Radio, “It’s convenient that Republicans are so willing to ignore the Bill of Rights when it conflicts with any aspect of Christianity (sic), but if you even for one minute mention any form of gun control, then, you’re trying to destroy the Constitution and ruin America”.
Science fared even worse than the First Amendment. The New Civil Rights Movement wrote, “[The poll’s findings] support the growing perception liberals have of conservatives”, meaning Republicans are “anti-science Christian (sic) theocrats”. Those Republican primary voters who identified as members of the Tea Party were less likely to believe in evolution… only 27 percent were fans of Charles Darwin’s theory… than the 46 percent who believe in evolution and didn’t identify as part of that ideological group. Overall, 37 percent of those surveyed believe in the theory, with less than half (49 percent) disbelieving. A majority of Tea Party members (61 percent) said that they don’t accept the theory of evolution. When it came to global warming, only a quarter of respondents said that they believe in climate change, whilst two-thirds (66 percent) don’t. Self-identified Tea Party members were vehemently against the scientific phenomenon, with 91 percent being so-called “climate deniers”. Women were more likely to believe in global warming, at 30 percent. Only 20 percent of men agreed. Meanwhile, women were less likely to believe in evolution… 30 percent, compared to 43 percent of men.
Along with political polling, PPP has a reputation for asking offbeat questions in its surveys. In 2013, the company announced that about 13 percent of Americans believe Obama is the anti-Christ, nearly 30 percent believe in aliens, and four percent believe lizard people control the USA. That same survey also asked about climate change, finding that 51 percent of Americans believed in global warming, whilst 37 percent said the whole idea is a hoax. This margin was particularly high among Republicans, 58 percent said climate change is a made-up phenomenon. PPP, a Democratic-leaning firm, surveyed 316 Republican primary voters on 20-22 February. The margin of error was 5.5 percentage points. The survey also asked questions about potential primary candidates and the favourability of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
25 February 2015
RT
http://rt.com/usa/235567-republican-survey-christianity-national-religion/
Editor:
What is referred to as “Christianity” in this post isn’t Christianity, it’s Radical Sectarianism. It arose in the USA in the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century, and any resemblance between it and Christianity is purely coincidental, and probably not intentional. “Evangelicalism” (its most common nom de plume) isn’t Christian, not with its overemphasis on “Me n’ Jayzuss” and overemotive pseudo-spirituality. Can you believe that there are Orthodox who want us to ape such non-Christians (Paffhausen comes to mind)? They’re also extreme bibliolaters. In short, rather feral, ignorant, and clueless sorts, whom we should avoid at all costs.
BMD