The Russian collision or 80+ examples of futility

I know, I know, it might become an obsession. So I have done two things to alleviate the issue: the intentional typo in the headline and a nice masthead picture that has (almost) nothing to do with the subject. But what can I do, with my unhealthy predilection to spy stories of all kinds, especially where a good juicy conspiracy theory is involved? If it goes on, I will be considered a Trump supporter soon, my pledge of neutrality notwithstanding...

It so happens, that many of my FB friends, those of anti-Trump persuasion, happily disseminated a link to this article:

TRUMP’S RUSSIA COVER-UP BY THE NUMBERS – 80+ CONTACTS WITH RUSSIA-LINKED OPERATIVES

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Israeli operation, Russian one - or both?

Frankly, this meme I have chosen for the masthead of the post isn't even especially funny. But the subject of the post isn't especially funny either. Weird will be the most fitting adjective, but judge for yourself.

The article in question this time is titled: How Russiagate Became Israelgate, with a subtitle It’s not about Vladimir Putin anymore. And it opens a view on a new direction in the ever expanding scope of the Mueller team's activities.

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The real collusion with Russia

Consider this post to be a free gift* to the Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller and his tireless investigation of the above mentioned collusion. Which investigation, after a year of tireless digging in all possible directions, seems to have strayed far away from its original target.

The matter at hand is Russian supply of natural gas to European countries. To remind you:

Russia provides approximately a quarter of the natural gas consumed in the European Union; approximately 80% of those exports travel through pipelines across Ukrainian soil prior to arriving in the EU.

So far so good (for Kremlin, that is): being a provider of the essential substance gives Russia, beside a significant income, a valuable addition to their stranglehold on the European behavior in other aspects.

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Terry Glavin on Gaza - when your friends are worried about you

This post isn't easy for me to write. Not because I don't know what it should say, just because I don't have a solution to the problem raised by Terry Glavin in the article A moral dilemma on the Israel-Gaza border. It is much easier to respond to a relentless propaganda attack by your enemies than to a true concern about you, expressed by your true friend.

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Sarcasm, Middle East Monitor and the Elders

Sarcasm doesn't register with some folks. For instance, so called MEMO (Middle East Monitor), that bills itself in this, slightly pompous way:

The use or misuse of information is central to the conflict in the Middle East. There has been a growing need for supporters of, in particular, the Palestinian cause, to master the art of information gathering, analysis and dissemination. This requires well organised, focused and targeted operations. Such initiatives are virtually non-existent in the West today.

The Middle East Monitor (MEMO) was established to fill this gap.

ETC. (Check out the personnel list of this institution, and much of the above will become clear-er).

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People of Jaffa

It will be a grave omission on my side to skip another observation related to the promenade described here. You can see in the picture of the promenade in this post that every 50 m or so there is a sign warning the passerby not to venture onto the rocks. It is heartwarming to state that both Arabs and Jews disregard this warning.

And both throw there some strangely looking garbage that could scare the crap out of an innocent tourist.

As for this act of artistic self-expression: you tell me what it means.

Well, and the last one - just to show off my prowess as a photographer.

Nah, it was just a lucky play of sun, shadows and clouds. Oh well...

CNN fact checking team in overdrive, folks!

CNN deigned to notice a news item that might clash with their  hitherto firm narrative of Israeli soldiers murdering innocent and defenseless "protesters".

A senior member of Hamas' political bureau said during a TV interview on Wednesday that 50 people killed by Israeli soldiers during clashes in Gaza on Monday were members of Hamas.

So far, so good. Only in this case, unlike in many other cases where the blame is laid at the Israel's doorstep, CNN diligently sought some input that will sow doubts about that quote. Like this:

Ahmed Abu Artema, widely credited as the person who brought the latest wave of demonstrations into being, cast doubt on Hamas' claims.

I don't know how the Hamas' mandarin reached his number of 50 and, frankly, I don't care.

But the diligence of the CNN employees in our era of fake news is nothing short of amazing, you must agree. Very laudable, that.

And this is the way it rolls, ladies and gentlemen.

Washington Post and complicity in murder

It is already several weeks since Hamas cold-bloodily and calculatingly started to encourage the attempts to breach the border fence. Hamas know perfectly well what the response will be and are consciously sending people to die.

Anyone who understands that and still finds it acceptable to encourage Hamas murderers - directly or by blaming Israel - is covering their hands in blood. That much is clear.

And now to the reason for this post. Here it is:

So - Israelis kill protesters?

Check you hands, WaPo, check your hands.

(Hat tip: James S. Oppenheim).

Cats of Jaffa

Just to make sure that the location and the general environment of the rest of the pictures is clear, this is where they were taken: along the Jaffa seaside promenade.

The rocks, apparently brought in to protect the shore from erosion, provide a kind of a safe space for a sizable feline population, a small part of which is presented here.

Notice that the tuxedo (black and white) cats presented are not several shots of the same cat.

Untied Airlines and me

When it comes to traveling, rarely a person undertaking the voyage is more discombobulated than I. Both acquired with years fear of flying and the unwillingness to leave home add a lot to the dealing with all these Internet sites offering you the most convenient and the cheapest way to get you from point A to point B. In this case, from point Z* to point X with a plane change in point Y. And back, hopefully.

So, being in thrall of all the "best offers", timetables, prices, stopover points, timelines etc., I missed a certain point, when making the final choice and clicking on the fateful "Make the purchase" (or whatever it says) button. My inattention brought me to the bunch of misbegotten malcontents, malfeasance - minded marauders of civil aviation, otherwise known as Untied Airlines**. Yes, the ones whose exploits in passenger-oriented violence, casual murder of animals and other similar innovations in customer service are the sign of the times and the talk of the day.

I noticed my oversight only when it came to the online check-in procedure. The usually simple and quick process of filling in a page of basic data came in this case as a sequence of several pages, with kind of questions more suited for an application to some spy agency. But the breaking point came when somewhere on page 5 the system stopped responding, mulled on some issues for a while and came with a notice: "For security reasons your check-in process can't be continued at this time".

OK, I said, no big deal. After all, that whole home check-in procedure doesn't really save you much time, not in point Z, where most of your time is spent in the security-bound lines anyway. So, after getting to the old-fashioned check-in counter, I was unpleasantly surprised to see that our seating arrangements were changed by the airline - we were bumped about 9 rows back. I've mentioned this discovery to the check-in wallah, with a (feeble, I know) protest of a "But I have reserved these seats several months ago!". His response, coupled with his unwavering steely gaze was  crushing: "No matter, it is the same cabin, after all". No further arguments...

Well, looking forward to the pleasant vacation and keeping in mind that for the flight back I have reserved (and paid for) something called "enhanced seating", I have swallowed this small insignificant crow and otherwise our way to the point X was uneventful and even more or less on time.

On the way back I haven't even attempted the doomed in advance online check-in. So, after repeatedly swapping our passports in that infernal machine at the airport in point X, we have eventually got our boarding passes, and lo and behold: our seats were bumped back again, far away from the general area of the duly paid for "enhanced seating". Now I was pissed off. So, when we got to the terminal, which almost wholly belongs to the Untied Airlines, I have started to search for a service agent. To my chagrin, there wasn't a single one available. About 45 minutes before our flight take-off time a harassed - looking agent appeared at out gate and got swamped immediately by all kinds of needy people, mostly of the stand by category. When my turn came, I was told that the agent can't see my ticketing on the computer (?), so I shall have to defer my issues to the service agents in point Y, where the long flight to point Z is starting.

The first available service agent at point Y was an apprentice (as he himself confessed) who decided to redirect my issue to his neighbor - an important looking lady who, pointedly ignoring the apprentice's attempts to draw her attention, took care meanwhile of several other customers, who came by way after me. When she deigned to take a brief look at the apprentice's screen with my ticket info, she immediately declared that I didn't have a claim for the enhanced seating, since I haven't purchased any. My attempts to demonstrate the ticketing email on my phone were rejected outright and quite rudely.

Only when I asked for the lady's name (for submitting a complaint), did she jump into action. Which action consisted of  a) complaining of me being annoying and b) calling for a supervisor to get rid of the said annoyance.

Well, to shorten the story, the supervisor's intervention resolved the whole drama. She was a rather nice person, who took a look at my ticketing email and, seeing the proof of purchase, moved the poor apprentice aside and, after a few manipulations on the computer, found us two seats in the enhanced seating section. She also told me that, due to cancellation of the previous flight from point Y to point Z, the wave of newcomers caused a turmoil with seating and even (kind of) apologized for the misunderstanding and inconvenience caused.

Well, as an afterword: only in the morning after landing in point Z, I have found an email from Untied Airlines, partially quoted below:

There has been an aircraft swap for your flight today to Tel Aviv, which has resulted in seating changes. We have done our best to keep your original seating preferences, but your seat assignments have changed.

New seat assignments:

[Passenger 1] - 30A
[Passenger 2] - 30B

We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

There are three intriguing points about that email: that it was sent about two hours before take-off time from point X; that it contradicts the flight cancellation story of the supervisor; and the reference to "original seating preferences". Original my foot.

But no matter. What matters is that SWMBO was able to relax in the enhanced seat (having, to be frank, legs longer than mine, it is a significant point), that the justice triumphed and that I have learned to double check the situation before clicking this "Make the purchase" button. Hopefully to avoid the good services of Untied from now on.

So there.


(*) Point Z, being of course the Zionist Entity.
(**) Well, kind of, if you know what I mean.

Taking a break

The blogging will be scarce to not done at all till (approximately) mid May.
You all out there - behave!

Russia - where go thee?

"National mourning during the run-up to the presidents inauguration - cynical disrespect to millions of voters", stated Volodin" - in regard of the tragic fire event in Kemerovo

Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin is a Russian politician who is the 10th and current Chairman of the State Duma since 5 October 2016. He is a former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I heard that this mind-boggling message was later removed by its carrier, the state-owned TASS.

This unbelievable declaration after the Kemerovo disaster, besides showing the level of adoration of the de facto Russian autocrat for life, signifies the new era in Russian internal and international politics. It didn't happen yesterday, of course, it took some time, but the boiled frog method eventually succeeded. The country that, in the beginning of the nineties, had a chance to develop into a full-fledged democracy, was returned, slowly but surely and without undue violence, into its traditional slavish worship of the Strong Man. From now on anything he will do, no matter how criminal or stupid, no matter whether it is done in own society or without, will be accepted and hailed as a given.

The tone of the external discourse, as set by the ruler, has also changed, and became quite ominous. I would say that since Stalin's times, the language of the Russian foreign ministry communiques was never that crude and militant. Not to mention full of lies (that was never a showstopper for the ministry mentioned).

The British authorities have demonstrated their inability to ensure the safety of Russian citizens more than once. The glaring examples include the poisoning of former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko, the death of businessmen Badri Patarkatsishvili and Alexander Perepelichny under unclear circumstances, the mysterious “suicide” of Boris Berezovsky and the strangling of Berezovsky’s business partner Nikolai Glushkov, and lastly, the recent attempt on the lives and health of Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

In the latter case, London acted contrary to all the norms of international law, ethics and even common sense. London has accused Russia of poisoning Russian citizens without providing any evidence or the complete picture of the crime. At the same time, it has provided the alleged name of the toxic agent, which has never been used in Russia, and has launched a large-scale political and media campaign against Russia. It has initiated the campaign to expel Russian diplomats from a number of countries and representative offices at international organisations and has announced a package of other sanctions. Meanwhile, it has completely disregarded our legitimate requests to share the samples of the alleged toxic agent.

There is more in this text, but the quote should be enough.

The war with Georgia, the annexation of Crimea, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Syrian adventures, the recent bragging session by Putin about the Russian military might - all this doesn't bode well for anyone with a bit of common sense. Whoever doesn't see that this is Putin's way to deflect the attention of the average Russian from the woes of the stagnating economy and the effects the Western sanctions are having on the daily life, could do worse than read this article from Pravda.

A word of caution: the person, quoted at the end of the article, one Sergei Gorodnikov,

is an unusual character. Described by Wiki as a "Russian scientist, writer, playwright, political economist, journalist, publicist, philosopher, politician", he is an ultra-nationalist, as reactionary as they come. During the Soviet years he was too much of a blackshirt to be supported by the ruling powers, but these days, with proliferation of ultra-patriotic filth, he's harnessed the wave. Gorodnikov was leading an extremist nationalist organization Русские ("Russians"), which appeared to be too much even for the sympathetic Russian administration and got dissolved in 2015 by a court order. Currently Mr Gorodnikov bills himself as a director of an entity called Global Policy Development Center (probably having about one employee/CEO/CFO).

His political stance is not quite clear, since he defines himself sometimes as "national socialist" and sometimes as "national democrat". But otherwise, his goals are defined very well in this article.

Director of the Global Policy Development Center, Sergei Gorodnikov, told Pravda.Ru that the Russians are absolutely uncompetitive in the world, "primarily because we have the universal Christian morality, and the West obeys concepts of national interests and corporate ethics. They see the rest of the world beyond the notion of ethics and morality," the political scientist noted in an interview with Pravda.Ru.

According to him, "the countries of the West that stand on the positions of double morality are much more powerful economically and financially. They will wipe Russia out with its weak economy that accounts to only 1.7% percent of GDP of the world economy. They will squash Russia like a fly, we have one or two decades left maximum."

The West, Sergei Gorodnikov continued, has been preparing its public opinion for a consolidated struggle against Russia on the scenario that they had used against Saddam Hussein. As soon as they all consolidate, they will launch an offensive on Putin's regime," the expert told Pravda.Ru.

According to the political scientist, Russia's salvation lies in her return to totalitarianism. "Party is a system-forming core that rules the country for generations. This is an instrument of strategic management. We've had the communist regime that would give the country a strategy for three generations,"

You could easily see where the learned national socialist is right: Russian economy isn't competitive and accounts for a very thin slice of the world economy indeed. The picture of the bloodthirsty West that is preparing to wipe Russia out, though, fits like a glove the current Kremlin view of the political map.

You might ignore the (indeed) odious "analyst", but ignoring the media outfit that publishes revelations like this, Pravda.ru, is a perilous decision at the best of times. Because Pravda.ru is not a mouthpiece of the weakened to the point of impotence communist party. It is toeing the Kremlin line quite devoutly, and its writers know very well the direction of the wind blowing from Kremlin.

Not to mention that the prophecy about returning to totalitarianism is rather a thing of the past. Everything points to it being a reality today.

Too bad.

Jeremy Corbyn and his magic pockets

The many and various Jew-hating outbursts by various members of Labour party, both rank and file and leaders, caused an impressive show of solidarity and protest by British Jews in London.

It is not that Corbyn himself continues to deny the issue. Even before the demo in London he said:

We recognise that anti-Semitism has occurred in pockets within the Labour Party, causing pain and hurt to our Jewish community in the Labour Party and the rest of the country.

And in his letter to the Jewish leaders in reply to their open letter (both in the same link), Corbyn says all the right things.

So what is the problem, you might ask? First of all, the valiant fighter for social justice, equality and peace has done nothing about anti-Semitism during his time at the head of the party. But there is another, more acute issue, and it is Mr Corbyn himself.

The whole brouhaha, if you believe the BBC article, started with Corbyn's approval of an an anti-Semitic mural. A honest mistake, if you believe Corbyn and his minions:

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald told Sky News' Sunday with Niall Paterson that the Labour leader "hasn't got an anti-Semitic bone in his body"...

I wouldn't go as far as analyzing the gentleman's bones, besides I wouldn't know how to detect an anti-Semitic one. But the spirit of Corbyn is another matter...

The said spirit let itself to be invited (and joined) at least two virulently Jew-hating Facebook groups, spending several years in each one, without ever noticing the poisonous contents. The same spirit joined on its own another Facebook group of the same ilk and still continues to be a member there.

Another honest mistake, you might say. After all, the group isn't titled anything like "Kill the Jew" or something in this vein. And, being a busy man, Mr Corbyn doesn't have time to really nitpick the small print. Right?

The problem is that even on his own Facebook page our hero allows the racist vermin to proliferate and celebrate their verminity unopposed. And here is a selection of comments to be found on the said page, under the oh how politically correct response to the Jewish leaders, mentioned already here. Enjoy.

And consider what Mr Corbyn says about pockets...

Update 1: A great tweet by Amie:

There is antisemitism of intent, and then there is failure of a party leader in obligation of due diligence re supporters, online links, absent which, through indifference, ignorance, negligence or recklessness, amounts to antisemitism of effect. #CorbynisthePocket

— Amie (@amijudjes) March 27, 2018

Update 2: My cup runneth over:

Jeremy Corbyn is a member of two more virulently anti-Semitic Facebook groups, Guido can reveal, bringing the total up to five. Jezza has been a member of “Jeremy Corbyn Leads Us to VICTORY” since 2015. It is full of post after post about the Rothschilds, comparisons between Israel and the Nazis and “Antichrist Zionist Rothschild Jews”.

***

“Its not anti Semitic to compare Israeli policies to hitlers, it's fair and accurate.”

“I have never seen anti-semiticism in the Labour Party.. but I have seen anti-zionism of which I am
very proud to be an anti-zionist. We need to be VERY clear that protesting against the so-called apartheid state of Israel is not anti-semitic.
The Labour Party needs to be much stronger on this and not tolerate the conflation of anti-zionism with anti-semiticism [sic]”

“It disgusts me that within the PLP are a group of MPs calling themselves Labour Friends of Israel. This is disgraceful. In the time of the South African apartheid if there were a group in the PLP calling themselves the Labour Friends of South Africa, they would not have lasted five minutes. To have this group of MPs in the pockets of the zionist lobbyists is the shame of the Labour Party.”

“I would class the mural as anti establishment, anti capitalism not antisemitic”

“Don’t worry I did not believe a word of the media obsessional distraction techniques.”

“Don't sweat it jez. The mural wasn't antisemitic anyway, the target of the satire was corrupt banks, not Jewishness. If Jews own the banks then yea they're involved. What, are we never allowed to critique anything that in any way involved some people who happened to be Jewish? The usual suspects trying to undermine u, they should be ashamed. It is they who hurt labour's chances not u”

“Ironically most of the right wings are supporter of the zionazi state which make all the sense...racists are alike”

“[...] how by any stretch of the imagination has corbyn used this image an off the cuff comment from years ago is just another ridiculous smear by pro Israeli state lobby in and out of the Labour Party”

“The mural was not antisemetic. This is total foolishness. The painting -- from my interoperation -- is capitalism being portrayed as a game. A lot of Labour MPs have conveyed solidarity for the Palestinians this week, so the mainstream media driven argument of antisemitism is a way of undermining that. In addition, to undermine the success that will happen 3rd May under Jeremy's leadership of the Labour Party.”

“Well well Jeremy Corbyn is now just another politician bought and paid for by the Zionist state of Israel. You don't get to the front benches in the Westminster houses of corruption unless!”

“The mural was not anti-Semitic, it is anti-establishment. It just so happens the Rothschild and the rockerfella family have Jewish backgrounds and are the world's richest families.”

“Luciana Berger MP is a traitor to the labour party! She is contributing to the Tory lies and bogus smear campaigns!”

“I can smell a rat when a labour MP came from Haberdashers private school for girls and secretly has a surname called Goldsmith!”

“Jeremy ...someone needs to man up and tell people live on tv that anti Zionism is not the same as antisemiticism ...and defend robustly against the traditional onslaught that usually comes after...people are sick and tired of this situation and the constant holocaust “reminders “ on tv...”

“Strange how these unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism always gather steam around election time. Almost as though the Jewish community were trying to subvert sovereign British politics by tarnishing the image of an innocent and genuinely nice man and influencing the outcome of a sovereign British election.”

“Jeremy i am a big fan huge one but no one is more racist faschist extremist and crying victims than jews”.

***

CNN and selective color vision

A curios situation in the CNN reporting on the Austin TX serial bomber. Here is the passage that confused me mightily:

The first explosion killed 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House on March 2. The second blast on March 12 killed 17-year-old Draylen Mason. The third blast happened several hours later and critically injured a 75-year-old woman. Those three blasts all happened after someone left explosives-laden packages on the victims' doorsteps. In the fourth blast, a device was triggered by a tripwire, injuring two white men, police said. The device was left on the side of a road in a predominantly white area.

So the first three blasts killed or injured three persons without any color attributed and the other blast injured two white persons.

Is there some special new kind of explosive material that could be set to injure a colorless person or a person of specific color, depending on the circumstances or on the bomber will?

Hmm... consider me confused. Like this:

P.S. I hope they will get the bastard. And there really is no need to research his color preferences. Just to shoot...

Update: done. Good.

The phallus that discombobulated FSB

The story is rather old, but needs a refresher. A rare case when size matters.

The story starts with the Russian art group "Voina" (War):

Voina (Russian: Война, IPA: [vɐjˈna] (About this sound listen), lit. War) is a Russian street-art group known for their provocative and politically charged works of performance art. The group has had more than sixty members, including former and current students of the Rodchenko Moscow School of Photography, Moscow State University, and University of Tartu. However, the group does not cooperate with state or private institutions, and is not supported by any Russian curators or gallerists.

The activities of Voina have ranged from street protest, symbolic pranks in public places, and performance-art happenings, to vandalism and destruction of public property. More than a dozen criminal cases have been brought against the group. On 7 April 2011 the group was awarded the "Innovation" prize in the category "Work of Visual Art", established by the Russian Ministry of Culture.

One of the famous actions of Voina was:

Dick Captured by the FSB

During the night of 14 June 2010, Voina painted a giant 65 m long phallus on the surface of the Liteyny drawbridge leading to the Bolshoy Dom, headquarters of the Federal Security Service in Saint Petersburg. This painting was entitled Giant Galactic Space Penis. The group studied traffic patterns at the bridge, and practiced coordinated actions for two weeks beforehand, in a parking lot, because they would have only 30 seconds to complete the painting before the drawbridge was raised.

And the drawbridge was raised!



More about the action in the Youtube description:

June 14, 2010, Saint Petersburg

Security guards are stopping traffic across the Liteyny Bridge, located in front of the local FSB (ex-KGB) headquarters.

Voina members, on foot, bike and in a car, breach the roadblock. Activists rush over with white paint. Voina President Leo the Fucknut is captured and roughed up by the cops.

Onlookers shout, 'It's a Russia Day celebration!'

Menacingly rising, Voina's Dick slowly erected in front of the Federal Security Service building, lovingly nicknamed The Big House by the Russian people.

Some images of Voina's Dick opposing the FSB building has been immortalized on a Norwegian postal stamp. All revenues from the stamp were directed to political prisoners in Russia.

And here is a recording of the preparation of the monument:



Viva Voina!