Same sh1t, different century....

[phylo_roadking]

Is it just me, or am I getting old towards my childhood again? They say you can never go back to the Good Old Days - shows how wrong "they"are....those old "Duck and Cover" exercises might be of some use yet - if me back is still up to it!!!

From The TimesJuly 30, 2007

Textbooks rewrite history to fit Putin’s vision
Tony Halpin in Moscow

As Russia flexes its foreign policy muscles against the West and President Putin enjoys record approval ratings, the Kremlin is turning its attention to schools to instil a new sense of nationalism in children.

Two new manuals for teachers have been accused of glossing over the horrors of the Soviet Union and of including propaganda to promote Mr Putin’s vision of a strong state.

One, for social studies teachers, presents as fact Mr Putin’s view that the Soviet collapse was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century”. It describes the United States as bent on creating a global empire and determined to isolate Russia from its neighbours.

Many of those behind the second book, a history of Russia from 1945 to 2006, have close links to the Kremlin. Its final chapter is titled Sovereign Democracy, a term coined by a key Kremlin aide, Vladislav Surkov, as an ideological justification for Mr Putin’s authoritarian rule.

The chapter quotes Mr Surkov repeatedly and praises Mr Putin as the man responsible for “practically every significant deed” in Russia since 2000, when he became President.

Mr Putin’s most controversial actions are shown in an approving light, including the destruction of the Yukos oil company and the imprisonment of its chairman, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The book describes this as an “unambiguous message” to business to “obey the law, pay your taxes and don’t try to put yourselves above the Government”, adding: “They got the message.”

Mr Putin’s support for Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine’s rigged presidential election of 2004 is also defended. Mass protests in the Orange revolution eventually brought his pro-Western rival, Viktor Yushchenko, to power, but the manual states: “Yanukovych was the only candidate capable of truly resisting Yushchenko. So Russia’s choice was clear.”

The book describes Josef Stalin as “the most successful Soviet leader ever” and dismisses the prison labour camps and mass purges as a necessary part of his drive to make the country great. The manuals are intended to serve as the basis for developing new textbooks in schools next year, though Education Ministry officials insisted that they would not be compulsory.

Mr Putin gave them his seal of approval at a conference he hosted for teachers at his presidential dacha last month. He described Stalin’s Great Purge of 1937, in which 1.5 million people were imprisoned and 700,000 killed, as terrible “but in other countries even worse things happened”. Discounting the Soviet Union’s long history of oppression, he said: “We had no other black pages, such as Nazism, for instance.”

Leonid Polyakov, editor of the social studies manual, told Mr Putin that Russia was “disarmed ideologically” after the Soviet collapse, leaving other countries to judge whether it was a democracy. He said: “We are developing a national ideology that represents the vision of ourselves as a nation, as Russians, a vision of our own identity. Teachers will then be able to incorporate this national ideology, this vision, into their practical work in a normal way and use it to develop a civic and patriotic position.”

Pavel Danilin, who wrote the chapter on Sovereign Democracy, told The Times that it explained the “core transformation” of Russia under Mr Putin. “We understand that the only guarantee for our democracy is our sovereignty, our strong state, our strong army, our strong economy and our strong nation,” he said. “It is not an ideology. It is just common sense. And my intention was to explain that common sense to teachers.”

Mr Danilin, 30, is a projects manager at the Effective Policy Foundation, a think-tank with close links to the Kremlin. He was more blunt about his intentions on his web blog in response to criticism from teachers that much of the book was simply Kremlin propaganda. “You will teach children in line with the books you are given and in the way Russia needs,” he wrote, adding that schools had to “clear the filth and if it doesn’t work, then clear it by force”.

Alexander Filippov, who edited the history manual, is deputy head of another research institute linked to the Kremlin. He told The Times that the book was a response to the poor quality of existing textbooks and that “sovereign democracy is not proposed as the national ideology for schools”.

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Hmm, sort of beats reading about Russian Nazi skinheads, I think.

Best,
~D, the EviL

[Paulus II]

Well..there's Russian youth of all sorts. The hallmarks of a totalitarian state are becoming very evident.
Based on the practice of the old Communist Party combined with a strong dose of Nationalism..........if Communism is worse than Socialism then how would this form of 'National Communism' compare to National Socialism

LAKE SELIGER, Russia (AP) — It was like the first day of summer camp at this lakeside resort, but the scrubbed young campers in T-shirts and casual clothes had more than beadwork and canoeing on their minds.
Ten thousand young commissars — their title borrowed from the Communist Party leaders of the Soviet era — came here to learn to be Russia's next generation of tycoons and political leaders. Equally important, they came to prepare to stamp out any challenge from opposition groups to President Vladimir Putin's government.

All were summoned by Nashi, a pro-Kremlin organization that pays homage to Putin and seeks to promote Russia's resurrection as a superpower capable of frustrating what leaders call Western "imperialism."

"In 10 years, we will have a huge network of people who share our ideology and who know that is Russia's proper place in the world," Vasily Yakemenko, the founder of the group, told reporters at the camp Tuesday.

Nashi is a foe of Other Russia — an opposition alliance that has sponsored a series of anti-government marches in recent months — and Nashi organizers lost few opportunities to ridicule and denounce Kremlin critics as political extremists and deviants.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Russia | Russian | Moscow | Putin | Kremlin | Communist Party | T-shirts | Soviet era | SELIGER | Yakemenko
In the middle of the camp, organizers set up what they called the Red Light District — six-foot (2-meter) posters in which the faces of the male opposition leaders were superimposed on cartoons of female bodies in lurid poses.

Nearby, there was a poster depicting an intercontinental ballistic missile with the slogan: "Let there be sovereign democracy," a reference to the Kremlin's definition of democracy stripped of Western influence.

In a series of classes and lectures, Nashi also sought to promote clean living among its 14-28-year-old followers.

Leaders of one Nashi project, "Our Army," encouraged young men not to dodge compulsory conscription. An Orthodox Christian wing of Nashi, founded in May, promotes "missionary activities among the younger generation."

Clad in red T-shirts, the commissars ran to classes in groups wearing name badges with electronic chips that monitored attendance. Skipping lectures was punishable by expulsion — as was boozing, cursing and unsanctioned fraternization.

At an opening ceremony, Yakemenko railed against one hapless teenager who was overheard using the Russian equivalent of the f-word.

"He wants to be a governor?" Yakemenko yelled from the stage. "He'll be a bum and die in the gutter!"

Thousands of youths cheered as he ordered to expel the foul-mouthed youngster from the camp, 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Moscow.

In talking with reporters, Yakemenko warned the West may attempt a coup during parliamentary elections in December. Nashi will help insure that does not happen, he said.

"Though I don't expect a full scale confrontation," Yakemenko said. "We have brought out 50,000 and even 70,000 people, while the opposition can hardly field several hundred protesters."

Yakemenko, 36, a former construction manager, founded Nashi, which means "Ours," in 2005 ostensibly as an anti-fascist movement aimed at reducing xenophobia and hate crimes.

The new movement replaced an earlier pro-Kremlin group, also led by Yakemenko, called Walking Together. That group became notorious for burning books and disrupting allegedly degenerate art exhibitions and performances.

Analysts said the Kremlin scrapped Walking Together because of its scandal-tainted image, and created Nashi in its place. Vladislav Surkov, the Kremlin's deputy chief of staff, is said to be the mastermind behind both groups.

Nashi has grown rapidly, sprouting branches in most of Russia's 85 regions and staging public cleanup campaigns and other civic projects. It has also organized huge street demonstrations, where tens of thousands of youngsters have congratulated Putin on his birthday or election anniversary.

But analysts say these rallies have another purpose: to warn opposition groups that any anti-Kremlin street protests will be met by much larger counter-demonstrations.

Nashi has supported the Kremlin in other ways. In April, members of the group besieged the Estonian Embassy in Moscow to protest the relocation of a Red Army memorial in the Estonian capital, Tallinn. At one point, boisterous young activists chased the ambassador from her car.

For the Nashi faithful, membership combines patriotism with self-improvement — in a manner reminiscent of the Soviet-era Communist youth group, Komsomol.

"There is no alternatives to Nashi," said Artyom Samoilov, a sophomore student from Kursk. "It is a union of like-minded people, very much like the Komsomol."

To its critics, Nashi represents an effort by the Kremlin to emulate the old Soviet bosses, and channel the energy and enthusiasm of Russian youth to the service of the state.

Nashi projects are prolific and well funded, although Yakemenko refused to elaborate on sources.

"I just don't know how much it cost," Yakemenko said about the funding of the Seliger camp that hosted 10,000 youths divided into 54 regional and vocational delegations. "But I'm assuring you that we did not take a single kopeck of the taxpayer's money."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[sid guttridge]

Hi Phylo,

You are right. I think Putin shows strong signs of National Socialism. He hasn't shaken off the state socialism of his Communist youth and he has inherited a nation state in Russia.

Did you see the camp photos of him bare chested on holiday being supposedly macho out hunting? They are similar in character to bare-chested photos of Mussolini in the 1930s.

Russia is embarking on a rearmament programme on the back of high commodity prices for its mineral resources. This it cannot sustain when they fall again. Like Mussolini, Hitler and Peron, Putin will bankrupt his country leaving it with two choices - economic stagnation or war.

Cheers,

Sid (running with your ball quite a long way).

[Paulus II]

For the moment this flag is being used by 'extremists' but seeing the official line held out by Putin and consorts it may well one day be Russia's new national flag:



Depressing thoughts on a rainy day in the lowland

[Piet Duits]

As I see it, there are a few countries/leaders who are becoming more and more dangerous:
a) Russia/Putin: will he be "reelected" or "go away" to let a new president step in? I think not
b) Venezuela/Chavez. This is really a sick person from what I know of him. I think he's thinking he's the new rich communist Messias (3 contradictions)
c) Iran. Yes, without a specific leader. Dangerous mainly because of the nuclear programm.
d) China/India. Both nations have been growing first in numbers, now in economic strenght. When will they find out both China and India are too small?

Of all those, I regard Putin as the most dangerous. For the last 15 years, I have always believed Russia to become a strong partner in the way of defence, economic etc. to Europe. Now, it seems Russia is turning away from Europe more and more. And they can, because Europe is becoming more and more depending on russian gas. And that's worrying me!

Worried Piet

[phylo_roadking]

Well, we will soon see and know - because the present Russian Consitution only allows TWO terms like the US Constitution. I wonder what sort of a Reichstag Fire or Chechen terrorist outrage he'll pull out of the hat when the time comes, to drum up support and acceptance for him staying on "just for the duration of the emergency"?

As for India getting too small for the Indians...we all know what direction THEY are headed....and so does Pakistan!

As for Iran and nuclear weapons - at least they will be predictable; Tel Aviv, Jerusalen, Haifa, Bethlehem...or nice little penny-parcel packets of fissionable material for suitcase bombs or cups of tea in restaurants LOL

The ONE thing that is guaranteed is - sometime in the NEXT decade, someone sonewhere will use A nuclear weapon of some size shape or description. It's almost honour-bound to happen. For the last 50 years the USA and Russia and the other nuclear Powers at least had some interest in REALLY regulating who had access to bombs or the material to use them; nowadays the Americans are only interested in ENEMIES not having them, but there are a lot of nations in the world with material or access to it that do not police it as they should - nowadays even including the former USSR.

Note I said "use a nuclear weapon" - it doesn't have to go BANG!!! As dissent Russian journalists can tell you. It could be simply a "dirty bomb" of conventional explosives and nuclear material....imagine a whole state of the USA or a significant portion of the UK seeded with the same low-level but still dangerous materials as Kuwait and Iraq after the widespread use of Depleted Uranium weapons?

So - MY worry is that the "emergency" that gets invented to keep a would-be lifetime president in place....might be an "emergency" big enough to affect us ALL In the new world of the mass media and freedom of information....it's almost guaranteed that it HAS to be that big to have the desired effect! It has to be BIG enough so that millions of Russian kids and adult tuning into European satellite news or the Internet DON'T see people like you and me telling them "it's only a trick!"....

It will have to be big enough to affect YOU and ME too, to shut us up and have us singing the same song as the Kremlin....

[Paulus II]

It has to be BIG enough so that millions of Russian kids and adult tuning into European satellite news or the Internet DON'T see people like you and me telling them "it's only a trick!"....

That would probably mean an all-out nuclear assault on "The West".
Hooray, the Cold War is back....with a vengeance!
Maybe they'll settle for doing it in space, disabling all satelites through an electromagnetic pulse and, through that, all communications.

Hmmm, even on this rainy day I don't get that depressed .

I think Putin will go and install one of his former KGB cronies in his position. He will remain the man behind the screens and exert his influence from there.
The economic damage (and from there: local civil unrest) from sanctions and so on will be too big. I think he's too smart to fall into the trap of all his Russian predecessors.

China would, I think/hope, turn towards Siberia for its mineral resources. My bet is they would be capable of going to war with Russia over that but not with the "West". They need the consumer power to balance their production power. So far the development of China has created a lot of opportunities for western industry and commerce, according to some even more than their cheap production (labor) has cost us.
Never mind the BS going on about the 'lead in paint on toys', that's a media and politics circus. It's a minute fraction of imports from China that are dangerous, the hue and the cry has been raised and the matter will be sorted in the near future.

Chavez can be a bit (as in: is a total) buffoon in international politics. Then again he has done a lot to emancipate the poor in Venezuela.
The man has few 'natural' allies. Just the Communist countries and the poor of Latin America.
The first group can be held in check by the West.
The second group will be a local Latin American affair.
Chavez's true impact on World affairs will be insignificant I think. The Communist parties have no hitting power that can hurt the West in a bad way (unless Russia goes commie again!). The US will have to triple it's guarding force on it's Southern border though. Jobs for the American people, always a good thing .

Iran may be a real threat.....to Israel. That will of course involve the UN, US, EU and the rest of the gang but a danger to "us" in the form of dead or injured civilians, changing our lifestyle, hurting our economic power....nope, don't think so.

India, oh boy.
Not just to Pakistan but also to Bangladesh, the former East Pakistan.
That conflict will result in two of the three largest religions at each others throats. Miliions of poor, deeply religious people with an enemy almost literally on their doorstep, neither having the technological advantages of the West, a long history of warfare in the region. Iranian nukes will go to India on a one-way ticket, the Arab nations (oil) will get involved, the West then must get involved..........that's the scenario that 'scares' me most.

[phylo_roadking]

That would probably mean an all-out nuclear assault on "The West".

No, not really. It COULD be something unattributed, that affects Russia AND us - in the way Chernobyl, did, for instance. So that their favourite news website doesn't throw up "Look what the bugger has pulled now..." but something that has US saying "God, isn't it awful whats happening to those poor Russians now.....and we're only getting the sideswipe from it."

I would guess though, that its more likely to be something that has the average Russian citizen saying" Yes, look what they've done to us THIS time, our beloved President MUST be right about them...."

[phylo_roadking]

"There's nothing new under the Sun"...from the Prague Spring of 1968...

[5RANGLIAN]

With the best of respect to people in Bangladesh, who's going to invade that place? It's so packed full of problems that I can't imagine anyone gaining anything from conquering it.

India v. Pakistan? Too hard, too many nukes, the US wouldn't be happy, what do you gain that's worth the risk? Don't see it happening.

China v. Russia? Could happen; would Putin ask for help, or just nuke Peking? Can't see Mr. P inviting help from the Germans, the French are too busy washing their hair, the Italians tried fighting there and didn't like it and the Brits are tired. My tip? Don't buy property in downtown Beijing.

Iran v. Israel? Of course, within the decade. The 'H' word will be all over the news in the build-up, the EU will posture and sulk, the US will offer protection, lots of young men will go 'pop' on public transport but there won't be any nukes near Jerusalem. Poison gas, mind you Property market in Tehran's going to be rubbish, though.

A patriotic European would reduce their consumption of gas, oil and electricity and push for higher defence spending. Me, I think it's beer o'clock, gentlemen

[Cott Tiger]

Me, I think it's beer o'clock, gentlemen

My favourite time of the day

[Piet Duits]

great post!

[phylo_roadking]

British news - today....

UK jets shadow Russian bombers

Norway says Russia has increased military flights in the Arctic
The UK's Royal Air Force has launched fighter jets to intercept eight Russian military planes flying in airspace patrolled by Nato, UK officials say.
Four RAF F3 Tornado aircraft were scrambled in response to the Russian action, the UK's defence ministry said.

The Russian planes - long-range bombers - had earlier been followed by Norwegian F16 jets.

Russia recently revived a Cold War-era practice of flying bombers on long-range patrols.

In a statement the MoD said the eight Russian Tupolev Tu-95 Bear aircraft, flying in loose formation of four pairs, were initially intercepted by the Norwegian air force.

Radar tracking

They were tracked by the Norwegian aircraft until entering the Nato area for which the UK has responsibility in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Under established Nato procedures the MoD said it launched quick reaction alert aircraft in order to identify the bombers, as is routine.

Four F3 Tornados were launched in two waves from RAF Leeming, in North Yorkshire.

A Boeing E-3D airborne warning and control aircraft and a VC-10 refuelling tanker supported the operation, the MoD said.

The Russian bombers eventually altered course to leave the Nato zone, being tracked by UK aircraft and the radar station at RAF Boulmer, Northumberland.

They were presumed to be heading back to their base.

The incident was the latest this summer in which British fighters have been used to warn off long-range Russian reconnaissance aircraft.

An MoD spokesman said: "The re-emergence of long-range flights from Russia is something the Russians are entitled to do.

"All countries have the right to maintain or up-grade and exercise their defence capabilities.

"The motivation behind any Russian military activity is a matter for the Russian government."

EIGHT????

[Reb]

I never thought I'd be defending Russia (having grown up in the cold war) but I don't blame them too much for viewing themselves as threatened by the West.

Consider it from Russia's perspective: Nato is building a cordon around them. We've co-opted the former Warsaw Pact, their former "allies."
Their former colonies like the Baltics and Poland are openly mocking them (I can understand that but I doubt the Russians can).

Then there was the Euro/American attack on Serbia - a long time Russian ally. I found myself rooting for the Russians in the race for the airfield (and the British general who told Wesly Clark to pound sand). At the very best we showed the world that we allow buffoons to play with deadly weapons.

Plus, Russia seems to very annoyed with the Brits lately...and vice versa.

To me, Putin would have to be nuts not to take all that seriously and react.

Meantime we're busily dissing the Chinese for lead paint in toys. In a sane world we have quietly asked them to stop doing that or quietly stopped importing. Our brilliant leaders assume the Chinese (and indeed everybody) ARE JUST LIKE US and we can do whatever we want. The Chinese are majorly offended by this and have been hacking our military computers.

And most of the presidential candidates in the US seem to express concerns about China as a threat. Perhaps they are - but if they aren't we are giving them plenty of reason to be.

Its a very dangerous world and getting more so every day. Given the quality of contemporary "diplomacy" we could end up sliding into war like in 1914 - with who knows whom.

I can't help thinking of Peachy and Danny, in "the Man Who Would be King," asking the village headman if they have any enemies. "Oh yes! Enemies everywhere!"

The West needs quality leadership to stop this drift towards war. We don't have it now, and I'm not optimistic that we'll get it.

cheers
Reb