>>19569001

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-symptoms-mild-follow-pattern-doctors-say-rcna105090

Sore throat, then congestion: Common Covid symptoms follow a pattern now, doctors say

Doctors who treat Covid describe the ways the illness has gotten milder and shifted over time to mostly affect the upper respiratory tract. PB

I have been a health and life insurance broker for 27 years, and my advice isNEVER EVER use telehealth services. Never do this and tell all friends and family

It’s very obvious why!

>>19568647 WINNING: Texas AG Sends Threatening Warning to Biden After Being Cleared From Impeachment Charges PN

As much as I appreciate this, I think Ken Paxton needs ro have 24 hour security around him till the end if time. Pray for this man anons!

17 Sep, 2023 22:01

Ukraine’s drone attacks on Crimea, Moscow thwarted – MoD

A dozen of Kiev’s strikeshave been foiled over the past 24 hours, the Russian defense ministry has said

Kiev’s troops sought to launch about a dozen drone strikes targeting various Russian regions, the defense ministry said in a statement on Sunday, adding that all the attacks were successfully prevented by the nation’s air defenses.

Crimea has emerged as the most targeted region in Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strike attempts over the past 24 hours, according to the ministry. In the early hours on Sunday, a total of four Ukrainian UAVs were intercepted over the peninsula, the statement said. On Sunday evening, Kiev’s forces launched three more drones in two attacks in about an hour, it said, adding that all of them were shot down.

Moscow also faced two Ukrainian drone attacks in the night on Sunday and in the early morning, the Russian military have said, adding that both UAVs were downed over the western and south-eastern parts of the Moscow region and failed to reach the Russian capital.

Russia’s Belgorod and Voronezh region also saw one attempted Ukrainian drone attack each over the past 24 hours, the Defense Ministry stated. Each of these attacks involved just one Ukrainian UAV, it said, adding that the drones were successfully intercepted in both cases. The Belgorod Region borders Ukraine’s Kharkov Region in the south and the Voronezh Region is located next to the Lugansk People’s Republic that join Russia in autumn 2022 together with three other former Ukrainian territories following a series of referendums.

The Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted various Russian regions, including its capital, with its drone attacks over the past months. Moth UAVs ended up either being shot down or crashing due to signal-jamming.

The Sunday attacks came just a day after another series of attempted drone strikes by Kiev on Saturday. The attacks prompted a brief shutdown of Moscow’s three main airports – Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Vnukovo – although none of the Ukrainian drones reached the Russian capital at that time, according to the Defense Ministry.

https://www.rt.com/russia/583115-ukraine-drone-attacks-moscow-crimea/

(Me thinks the knats bases of drones will be eliminated shortly)

Are you fucking kidding me?Bringing Zelensky to the US is an attempt at propaganda on America, but it will backfire big time!

17 Sep, 2023 2”

Kiev demands West take measures to combat ‘war fatigue’

“The peace formula is the weapons formula,” a Ukrainian security chief has said

“

Ukraine faces the threat of its “carefully woven web of foreign assistance” being slowly unraveled due to waning optimism and growing disappointment among its Western backers, the head of the National Security and Defense Council, Aleksey Danilov, wrote in an opinion piece published on Saturday in the newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda.

The security chief accused “reputable and influential” Western media outlets of publishing materials suggesting Ukraine’s much-hyped summer counteroffensive is failing, Kiev’s troops are unable to take back territory from Russia, and Moscow’s resources are “limitless.” All such sentiments slow down the Western military assistance to Kiev and stand in the way of Ukraine’s “peace formula,”Danilov added.

He stated that the only solution to the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, which has been ongoing for more than a year and a half, is a military one. “The peace formula is the weapons formula,” he said in the article.

Danilov urged the West to combat its own growing skepticism about Ukraine’s prospects in the conflict. Western nations should create their own “agreed formula for … the vision of Ukraine’s victory” and also “enshrine military assistance to Ukraine in … legislation,” he said, adding that election cycles might affect “the stability of the partnership” between Ukraine and the West.

The US and its allies should also “develop and implement a set of measures to neutralize so-called ‘war fatigue’,” Danilov maintained. He also admitted that “a sprint” – i.e. a short conflict – had been “replaced by a long run.”

His words came more than three months into the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has so far failed to bring about any meaningful changes to the front lines but has seen Kiev’s troops suffer heavy losses in attempts to penetrate Russian defenses.

Numerous Western media outlets have reported on the growing skepticism among Western officials about the prospects for the operation. The New York Times reported in August that US and UK officials were allegedly “perplexed” by Kiev’s tactics, while the Wall Street Journal said that Washington was set to reduce military aid to Ukraine in 2024.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed its willingness to engage in peace talks as long as its interests are taken into account and the “reality on the ground” is respected.

However, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has imposed a legal prohibition on all discussions with Russia. He also insisted on his own “peace formula” – the one Danilov was referring to – that includes the withdrawal of Russian troops from all territories claimed by Kiev, reparations from Moscow, and a criminal tribunal for the members of Russian government.

https://www.rt.com/russia/583114-kiev-west-combat-war-fatigue/

17 Sep, 2023 17:49

Russian top spy reveals CIA contacts

Washington remains Moscow’s “most dangerous and uncompromising” adversary, Sergey Naryshkin has said

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) maintains contacts with the CIA, its head, Sergey Naryshkin, told the Russian ‘National Defense’ magazine last week. Such communication helps reduce unnecessary tensions even though uncertainty is growing over the outcome of the geopolitical standoff between Russia and the West, he said.

“Consultations between the SVR and the CIA are of a rare but regular nature,”Naryshkin said, when asked if a direct communication link between the two intelligence services still exists and whether it could be “used again.”

“Professional dialogue in itself is useful, particularly for reducing international tensions and… misunderstandings between nations,”the Russian spy chief added, without revealing how often the two services communicate.

It is known that Naryshkin spoke to his US counterpart, William Burns, face-to-face in November 2022. At that time, the two intel chiefs met in the Turkish capital of Ankara. The White House said the discussion focused on the consequences of a potential use of nuclear weapons. Burns was “not discussing settlement of the war in Ukraine,” a White House official emphasized at the time.

Back in February, Burns described the discussions he had with Russian officials as “dispiriting” and accused the Russian spy chief of having a “very defiant attitude,” with a "sense of cockiness and hubris.”

In his interview with the ‘National Defense’ magazine, Naryshkin said he merely explained Russia’s geopolitical interests in Ukraine to his US counterpart. “Nothing that would go beyond that was said on my part,” he added. The SVR chief said that Burns might have perceived Russia’s determination to achieve the goals of its military campaign in Ukraine as “defiant.”

US officials still “fail to avoid using ideological cliches” even in “businesslike talks,” the top spy said. He also admitted that Russia still considers theUS its “most dangerous and uncompromising geopolitical opponent.”

Naryshkin also accused Washington of plotting to make Russia suffer a “military defeat” in Ukraine, adding that it was a miscalculation. The idea of enforcing “international isolation”on Russia in an increasingly multipolar world was nothing but an “anachronism” as well, he added.

The world is witnessing “growing uncertainty over the potential outcome of the current geopolitical standoff” between Russia and the West in Ukraine, Naryshkin stressed. At the same time, an increasing number of actors in the international arena want to localize the fighting and prevent it from becoming a “trigger for a total military conflict,” he stated.

https://www.rt.com/russia/583111-russian-intelligence-chief-cia-contacts/

Kek!

15 Sep, 2023 20:44

Russia doesn’t need mercenaries – Putin

More than enough patriotic Russians have enlisted in the military, the president said

With 300,000 Russians signing military contracts just this year, Moscow has no need for foreign fighters, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

As media speculated on mercenary recruitment he told reporters in Sochi, after meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, that “this is total nonsense.” Russia “has no such need to invite people from abroad for combat operations,” he added.

The Russian president was addressing a question about speculation in the West that North Korea might have pledged to send soldiers when Putin met with Kim Jong-unearlier this week.

Putin reminded journalists of the 270,000 voluntary enlistments so far this year, then noted that this number was already obsolete.

“As of this morning, there are 300,000 contracts,”he said, praising the “highest patriotic considerations” that motivated Russians to volunteer for military service. The soldiers were also equipped with “state-of-the-art weapons and hardware,” he added.

Lukashenko chimed in to note that American mercenaries are “fighting for Ukrainians already” and accused the US and some of its NATO allies – starting with Poland – of wanting to send regular troops as well.

In early July, the Russian Foreign Ministry estimated that almost 12,000 foreign fighters had joined the Ukrainian armed forces since the conflict escalated in February 2022, but only 2,200 or so remained active. The rest had either died or left the country, according to Moscow, as Kiev used them “mostly as cannon fodder for meat assaults” with no regard for their lives.

The US outlet ABC News reported in mid-August that casualty rates in some units of foreign fighters had reached 85% during the summer offensive, citing two Americans and several other Western mercenaries.

Earlier this week, Putin estimated that Ukraine had lost 71,000 men in just the three months of the “summer counteroffensive,” along with much of the armor and vehicles provided by the West.

https://www.rt.com/russia/583036-putin-russia-enlistment-mercenaries/

Kek!

15 Sep, 2023 20:44

Russia doesn’t need mercenaries – Putin

More than enough patriotic Russians have enlisted in the military, the president said

With 300,000 Russians signing military contracts just this year, Moscow has no need for foreign fighters, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

As media speculated on mercenary recruitment he told reporters in Sochi, after meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, that “this is total nonsense.” Russia “has no such need to invite people from abroad for combat operations,” he added.

The Russian president was addressing a question about speculation in the West that North Korea might have pledged to send soldiers when Putin met with Kim Jong-unearlier this week.

Putin reminded journalists of the 270,000 voluntary enlistments so far this year, then noted that this number was already obsolete.

“As of this morning, there are 300,000 contracts,”he said, praising the “highest patriotic considerations” that motivated Russians to volunteer for military service. The soldiers were also equipped with “state-of-the-art weapons and hardware,” he added.

Lukashenko chimed in to note that American mercenaries are “fighting for Ukrainians already” and accused the US and some of its NATO allies – starting with Poland – of wanting to send regular troops as well.

In early July, the Russian Foreign Ministry estimated that almost 12,000 foreign fighters had joined the Ukrainian armed forces since the conflict escalated in February 2022, but only 2,200 or so remained active. The rest had either died or left the country, according to Moscow, as Kiev used them “mostly as cannon fodder for meat assaults” with no regard for their lives.

The US outlet ABC News reported in mid-August that casualty rates in some units of foreign fighters had reached 85% during the summer offensive, citing two Americans and several other Western mercenaries.

Earlier this week, Putin estimated that Ukraine had lost 71,000 men in just the three months of the “summer counteroffensive,” along with much of the armor and vehicles provided by the West.

https://www.rt.com/russia/583036-putin-russia-enlistment-mercenaries/

I’m watching “The Bounty” the first film of Mel Gibson I had seen tonight

The Bounty began production in late 1978 under director David Lean as a long-time passion project, but multiple complications, including a prohibitively high budget and screenwriter Robert Bolt suffering from a heart attack, led to a period of development hell that ended with the hiring of newcomer director Donaldson. Filming took primarily on-location in Donaldson’s home country of New Zealand, French Polynesia and England.

The film was made by Dino De Laurentiis Productions and Bounty Productions Ltd. and distributed by Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment in the UK, and Orion Pictures Corporation internationally. It premiered on May 4, 1984, to generally positive reviews.

Plot

The court martial at Portsmouth[5] of Commanding Lieutenant William Bligh for the loss of HMS Bounty to mutineers, led by his friend Fletcher Christian, during its expedition to Tahiti to gather breadfruit pods for transplantation in the Caribbean, begins. Via a series of flashbacks, Bligh sets out from England in December 1787, electing to sail the Bounty west round the tip of South America in an attempt to use the expedition to fulfill an ambition to circumnavigate the globe. The attempt to round Cape Horn fails due to harsh weather, and the ship is obliged to take the longer eastern route. Finally arriving in Tahiti in October 1788, Bligh finds that due to the delays, the wind is against them for a quick return journey and they must stay on the island for four months longer than planned.

During their stay in Tahiti, ship discipline becomes problematic. Many of the crew develop a taste for the easy pleasures that island life offers, especially the native women, making the relationship with their Captain tense. Bligh, at the same time, subjects the crew to pressure, eventually reaching breaking point when some members become intent on staying on the island. When the ship leaves Tahiti, Fletcher is forced to leave his native wife, Mauatua, behind. The resumption of naval discipline on the return voyage turns Bligh into a tyrant not willing to tolerate any disobedience whatsoever, creating an atmosphere of tension and violence. Bligh insists that the ship is dirty and orders the crew to clean up several times a day. Many of the men, including Christian, are singled out for tongue-lashings by Bligh.

Playing on Christian's resentment against Bligh's treatment of both him and the men, the more militant members of the crew finally persuade Christian to take control of the ship. Bligh is roused from his bed and arrested, along with those considered loyal to him, and they are forced into a ship's boat, minimally supplied, and cast adrift. Christian tries to get his men beyond the reach of British punishment and Bligh tries to get his loyalists safely to the Dutch East Indies in a longboat. Bligh, through courage and excellent seamanship, and a return of his good character and leadership qualities, successfully manages to reach civilisation after a very harrowing journey without navigational charts or firearms. One man, however, is killed by natives as the crew stop for supplies on a hostile island. The mutineers sail back to Tahiti to collect their wives, girlfriends and native friends. King Tynah, however, is concerned that their presence on the island could incite King George to declare war against Tahiti and his people. Realising the folly of staying, the mutineers gather supplies and sail away to try to find a safe refuge. Christian pleads with Tynah to allow Mauatua to decide her own destiny. Tynah concedes, and Mauatua chooses the uncertainty of a life with Christian over remaining with her father.

The search for a safe haven is long and seemingly impossible, as they realise that any pursuing Royal Navy vessels will search all known islands and coastlines to find them. At this point, those who remained on board the Bounty are so frustrated that they are ready to rebel against Christian to turn the ship back towards Tahiti. After Christian forces the crew to continue on, they eventually find Pitcairn Island, a place which Christian realises is not marked on British maps of the region. As the crew of the Bounty burn the ship to keep it from being found (as well as to motivate the crew to tough it out on the island), a sailor comments to Christian they will never escape the island or see England again. The judgment of Bligh's court-martial is read: Bligh is found not to have been responsible for the loss of the Bounty, and is commended for the voyage of the open boat. A touched Bligh, with a single tear down his cheek, sheathes his sword with a slight tremor and thanks the court before exiting the room. A grimly resigned Christian watches Bounty sink. An epilogue text notes that one mutineer was found alive 18 years later on the island and Fletcher's fate is unknown.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bounty_(1984_film)

I was in 7th grade and Ms. Deveny taught us about Vladivostock in 1967. She never let us forget about this land on the farthest reaches of Russia just slightly north of China. They took Geography seriously then

17 Sep, 2023 17:15

Timofey Bordachev: Here’s why events in Vladivostok prove that Russia has reached a new stage in its turn to the East

The issues of today shape the agenda of tomorrow. Rarely is that truer than in today’s transformative climate

The 2023 Eastern Economic Forum offered a kind of checkup in seeing how Russia’s ‘pivot to Asia’ policy has responded to the demands and needs that emerged last year. It met in Vladivostok for the seventh time. It was first held in 2015, and since then, only the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 forced its suspension.

For the second year, the forum was held in the context of the acute military and political confrontation between Russia and the West, the main consequence of which – for the global economy – has been the economic war unleashed against us by the US and its allies. The Asian countries, with which the EEF has traditionally focused on intensifying cooperation, are, with a few exceptions, not involved in this war. Of all the regional powers, only Japan has initiated sanctions against Russia, although it is taking a more moderate approach than the US satellites in Western Europe.

Even now, Japanese companies are continuing cooperation projects in the energy sector, for example. Another close American ally in Asia, South Korea, has been reluctant to comply with Western sanctions, and comes across as apologetic each time it is forced to impose new restrictions on trade and technological exchanges with Russia. All the other Asian states have avoided imposing sanctions of their own, although they do not always share Moscow’s position on European and international security issues.

In other words, Asia – as a region – has become Russia’s ‘gateway’ to the global economy, is most active in trade with us, and is engaged in dialogue at the intergovernmental level. This is also confirmed by the results of an analysis conducted by the experts of the Valdai Club in a recently published report on the dynamics of relations between Russia and the Asian countries over the past year and a half.

It should be understood, however, that the Eastern Economic Forum was not conceived solely as a means of more active dialogue with Russia’s external partners. From the very beginning, the main objective of the forum was to promote the vast Russian Far East to coordinate government policy in this area. This goal was identified as one of the most important in President Vladimir Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly in 2013. In addition, the accelerated development of this part of the country has proved to be very prudent in the context of general changes in the global economy and the associated shift of its center of gravity towards the Pacific and Asia.

As the president noted at this year’s EEF, the policy of developing the Far East, and the ‘pivot to Asia’ in general, was therefore very timely. Since the spring of 2022, the West has been pursuing a policy of squeezing us out of world markets, and it was our ties with Asia that played a decisive role in preventing this from happening in the end. It is the Far East and its leading cities, including Vladivostok itself, that have become the main hubs for the new scale of trade and economic relations with Asian countries. Recently, its cargo ports have seen a manifold increase in traffic.

Not surprisingly, one of the region’s key development challenges is now recognized to be the acute lack of technical capacity to handle the ever-increasing volume of exports and imports. Much has been done in recent years to shift a significant share of trade flows to the Pacific so quickly. But until the spring of 2022, the EU states were still Russia’s most important partners. And despite all the growth in throughput capacity, it has not yet caught up with increased demand. Another traditional problem in the region is demographics. The Far East has traditionally had a very small population, and in recent years, there has been no radical solution to the problem of population growth. Nevertheless, economic activity in the region has increased significantly, new universities have been established, and construction is underway.

Now, judging by the discussions at the EEF, the most important area of work is recognized as improving the quality of life, the environment, and the state of the urban environment. In general, everything that makes the European part of Russia and its major cities attractive places to live. These efforts are particularly important in the Far East, where only Primorsky Region (the area around Vladivostok) has truly favorable climatic conditions….

https://www.rt.com/russia/583104-new-stage-in-russias-turn-to-the-east/