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Obama wore a “bicycle helmet”… Putin doesn’t. Putin doesn’t wear a helmet driving a Harley trike, for Chrissake…
BMD
Saturday, 12 August 2017
Sunday, 21 May 2017
Sunday, 20 November 2016
20 November 2016. A Picture IS Worth a Thousand Words… Anti-Semitism? What Anti-Semitism!
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Recently, Chairman of the Russian Government D A Medvedev was in Jerusalem. This picture should lay to rest all the American lies about Russian anti-Semitism. President Putin and Patriarch Kirill did likewise when they were in Jerusalem. Don’t listen to the lies of the Langley/Foggy Bottom/Western MSM crowd. They lie… to cover over America’s aggressions abroad and its nasty situation at home. What does that tell you about the Orthodox who collaborate in those efforts, either in the government or in the media? I’d say that it speaks volumes… not a bit of it good…
BMD
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Monday, 24 February 2014
Medvedev Doubts Legitimacy of New Ukrainian Government
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On Monday, Chairman of the Government Dmitri Medvedev said that “substantial doubts” existed over the legitimacy of the new acting government in the Ukraine. Medvedev attacked the swift recognition of the new authorities in Kiev by a number of Western governments, describing the régime as the unconstitutional outcome of an armed uprising, saying, “Strictly speaking, there’s nobody to speak with over there. The legitimacy of a whole range of organs of power working there raises substantial doubts. Some of our foreign partners think otherwise. I don’t know what constitution they’ve read, but it’s aberrational when you describe as legitimate something that’s the result of an armed uprising”. Moscow moved to formulate a clear diplomatic position on the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who was pro-Russian, following days of deadly clashes between police and anti-government rioters in Kiev that left nearly 100 dead. President Vladimir Putin has yet to make any public pronouncements on the change of government in the Ukraine. Medvedev said that Russia would adhere to all existing agreements with the Ukraine, including those on energy, noting, “We don’t co-operate with a specific set of people, or specific personalities, these are interstate relations. We’re neighbours, we’re nearby states, and we can’t get away from one another”.
On Monday, the acting Ukrainian energy minister told Reuters that he hoped the price it pays for Russian natural gas imports would remain unchanged despite the change of government. Gazprom agreed with Naftogaz Ukrainy in December to slash the price that Ukraine paid since 2009 by about one-third, from about 400 USD (14,200 Roubles. 443 CAD. 443 AUD. 292 Euros. 241 UK Pounds) per 1,000 cubic metres (35,315 cubic feet) to 268.50 USD (9,525 Roubles. 297 CAD. 297 AUD. 196 Euros. 162 UK Pounds) per 1,000 cubic metres. This followed Yanukovich’s rejection of an association agreement with the European Union in November in favour of closer ties with Moscow, the event that triggered the street protests in Kiev. More than half of the 55 billion cubic metres (1.943 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas consumed by the Ukraine each year comes from Russia.
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On Monday, Konstantin Dolgov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID) Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law, said that Moscow would closely scrutinise a Ukrainian draft law banning Russian as an official language. The legislative proposal follows the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich over the weekend and already aroused concerns that a surge of nationalism in the former Soviet nation could unfairly marginalise the substantial ethnic Russian community. Dolgov said, “Any political reforms, including constitutional reforms, must take into account the interests of all Ukrainian citizens”. On Sunday, Ukrainian media reported that the Rada was considering a draft law establishing Ukrainian as the only official state language. Currently, Russian is an official language in oblasts where at least 10 percent of the population is Russian-speaking. Just under half of Ukrainian oblasts meet that standard. The country is split between the Ukrainian-speaking West and the Russian-speaking East, although many speak both or a mixture of the two known as “surzhik”.
Yanukovich’s base of support was in the East, whilst the protest movement, which also includes a notably rabid nationalist element, drew most of its impetus from the West. Yanukovich, who won the presidency with 48.9 percent of the vote in 2010, had a poor command of Ukrainian. In December, Yanukovich agreed to a financial aid package from Russia to defuse the crisis in what was widely seen as a foreign policy coup for Moscow. With Yanukovich’s removal from power, Moscow signalled that it might shelve that deal, and Western leaders scrambled Monday to assemble a replacement.
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On Monday, the MID said that the new Ukrainian government aims to use “dictatorial and sometimes terrorist methods” to suppress opposition in disloyal regions. The MID expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the Rada’s actions, saying that lawmakers “churn out ‘decisions’ and ‘laws’, including those designed to infringe on the rights of Russians and other national minorities in the Ukraine. [The new leadership] aims to use dictatorial and sometimes terrorist methods to suppress disloyal citizens in various regions of the Ukraine. Some want to introduce an almost complete ban on the Russian language, bring about lustration, abolish parties and organisations, close disloyal media, and drop restrictions on dissemination of neo-Nazi ideology”.
The MID also expressed its “extreme concern” about recent “armed clashes between aggressive youths [or] militants from ultra-right nationalist organisations and security forces defending peaceful citizens and the interests of the state. These militants refuse to disarm; they refuse to leave the streets de facto under their control, to free administrative buildings, or to stop the violence”. The MID also called for constitutional reform in line with the recent reconciliation agreement signed shortly before the Rada impeached Yanukovich, observing, “It’s evident that for reform to be successful all political forces and all regions of the country should take part; then, they should put it up to a vote in a nationwide referendum”.
24 February 2014
RIA-Novosti
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Voices from Russia 
12 August 2017. What D A Medvedev Said on the Amerikantsy and Their Loud “Sanctions”
Tags: Cold War, Cold Warrior, diplomacy, diplomatic relations, Dmitri Medvedev, Donald Trump, Foreign Policy, political commentary, politics, Russia, Russian, Russian diplomacy, sanctions, unilateral sanctions, United States, USA
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I start with the Russian original. Then, I made my own translation from the original. All too often, when Russian pieces transit into English, one finds either jangly grammar or “dumbed-down” comment. I avoided this by doing a “roll yer own” translation. Do note that Dmitri Anatolyevich isn’t overly hot n’ bothered by the Amerikan temper tantrum… he also notes that the Amerikantsy toddlers have declared a Cold War because Russia won’t kiss their naked ass in public at high noon for the whole world to see. I mourn… the Amerikantsy are dragging the world into crisis and one only hopes that these demented toddlers with nukes won’t fry the world to a crisp. May the Good God help us…
BMD
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Подписание президентом США нового санкционного закона против России создает несколько последствий. Во-первых, надежде на улучшение наших отношений с новой американской администрацией – конец. Во-вторых, России объявлена полноценная торговая война. В-третьих, администрация Трампа продемонстрировала полное бессилие, самым унизительным образом передав исполнительные полномочия Конгрессу. Это меняет расклад сил в политических кругах США.
Что это означает для них? Американский истеблишмент вчистую переиграл Трампа. Президент не рад новым санкциям, но не мог не подписать закон. Новая санкционная тема возникла прежде всего как еще один способ поставить Трампа на место. Впереди новые заходы, конечная цель которых – отстранение его от власти. Несистемный игрок должен быть ликвидирован. При этом интересы американского бизнеса практически проигнорированы. Политика возвысилась над прагматическим подходом. Антироссийская истерия превратилась в ключевую часть не только внешней (что было много раз), но и внутренней американской политики (а это – новелла).
Санкционный режим кодифицирован и будет сохраняться десятилетиями, если не произойдет какое-то чудо. Причем он будет жестче закона Джексона – Вэника, ибо носит всеобъемлющий характер и не может быть отложен специальными распоряжениями президента без согласия Конгресса. Таким образом, отношения между РФ и США будут крайне напряженными вне зависимости от состава Конгресса или личности президента. Предстоят длительные выяснения отношений в международных органах и судах. Дальнейшее усиление международной напряженности. Отказ от решения важнейших международных проблем.
Что это означает для нас? Мы спокойно продолжим работу по развитию экономики и социальной сферы, будем заниматься замещением импорта, решать важнейшие государственные задачи, рассчитывая прежде всего на себя. Мы научились это делать за последние годы. В условиях почти закрытых финансовых рынков, боязни иностранных кредиторов и инвесторов вкладываться в Россию под страхом санкций против третьих лиц и стран. В чем-то это даже пошло нам на пользу, хотя санкции – в целом – бессмысленны. Мы справимся.
Д А Медведев
Председатель Правительства Российской Федерации
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The signing of a new sanctions law aimed against Russia by the US President has several implications. Firstly, our hopes to improve our relations with the new American administration are over. Secondly, it declares an actual trade war against Russia. Thirdly, the Administration demonstrated its complete impotence; Congress overrode Trump’s executive powers in the most humiliating way. This changed the balance of power in US political circles.
What does this mean? The American Establishment completely outsmarted Trump. The President isn’t happy about the new sanctions, but he couldn’t veto the law. Primarily, the new sanctions ploy is just another way to put Trump in his place. This is the first in a series of moves with the ultimate purpose of removing him from power. They must liquidate any non-system player. This virtually ignored American business interests, which prefer a pragmatic approach to policy. Anti-Russian hysteria isn’t only a salient point in foreign affairs (an old theme), but also in domestic American politics (which is something new).
The US Congress formalised sanctions, so they’ll be there for decades, barring some sort of miracle. Moreover, they’re tougher than the Jackson-Vannick Amendment was, as the President can’t modify them by executive order without Congressional consent. Thus, the relationship between Russia and the USA will be extremely tense, regardless of the composition of Congress or the personality of the President. The sanctions face a lengthy showdown in international bodies and courts. They further heighten international tensions and don’t address critical international problems.
What does this mean for us? We’ll continue developing our economy and social sphere; we’ll implement import substitution and resolve critical needs in our state by relying primarily on ourselves. In recent years, we’ve learnt how to manage things, even with almost-closed financial markets, as foreign lenders and investors fear to invest in Russia, as they face sanctions penalties from third-parties and countries. In some ways, it’s even to our advantage, making the sanctions generally pointless. We can cope with this.
A D Medvedev
Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation