Thread: How dangerous is Vladimir Putin?

Originally Posted by OhOh

The authors opinion 'arry, not mine.

If you visit the website you will not find many articles praising THE LORD, I would suggest just the opposite.

I don't quote websites that offer bullshit except to mock them.

I quote sites that offer facts to support my point of view, exactly as you have done here.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I quote sites that offer facts to support my point of view

Try reading to the end and comment on the points you disagree/consider to be bullshit, with.

Russia & Saudi Arabia seal major deals & sign OPEC+ long-term cooperation charter



Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speaks during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia © Reuters / Alexander Zemlianichenko


More than 20 deals have been signed on Monday between Moscow and Riyadh during President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Saudi Arabia.

Agreements include the charter for long-term cooperation between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-cartel oil producers. Along with the charter, the two countries have signed a protocol on energy cooperation.
https://www.rt.com/business/470914-r...on-agreements/

(not known is whether dangerous Mr. Putin has danced a kozatchek for the King - similarly as his friend - please no names here - danced with the King few months ago)

Putin announced the cancellation of debts of African countries at $ 20 billion

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a speech at the Russia-Africa forum in Sochi that Moscow so far has written off debts of African countries by more than $ 20 billion. It is reported by Interfax .

“Our country is participating in an initiative to ease the debt burden of African countries,” Putin said. He also spoke about joint programs with some countries - they involve the use of debt funds to finance national economic growth projects.

Earlier, the head of state said that the rest of Ethiopia’s debt to Russia in the amount of $ 163.6 million will soon be written off under the “debt in exchange for development” scheme.

“Debt in exchange for development” means that debt cancellation is made in exchange for preferences. For example, permission to work for Russian companies, development of deposits or access to strategic areas of the economy as a matter of priority.

Russia regularly writes off debts to foreign countries. Since independence, write-offs have exceeded $ 140 billion. Moscow repaid its last debt under USSR obligations in August 2017, transferring $ 125.2 million to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

https://lenta.ru/news/2019/10/23/russia_africa/

Fucking Vlad eh, always trying to find new ways to spy on everyone. You can take the cunto out of the KGB but.....

The Russian Parliament is debating a bill that will force all electronic equipment sold in Russia -- such as smartphones, computers, and smart TVs -- to ship pre-installed with apps from Russian tech firms.
According to lawmakers, "the bill will protect the interests of Russian Internet companies and will reduce the abuse by large foreign companies, working in the field of information technology."
If the bill is approved, the Russian government will publish a list of electronic devices that will need to comply with this new law. Smartphones, tablets, computers, servers, and smart TVs are expected to be on the list. Devices that don't run a complex OS or custom software will be exempt.
The government will also publish, per each device type, a list of Russian software that equipment vendors will need to include on devices sold in Russia.
Vendors who fail to comply would be eligible for fines of up to 200,000 rubles (roughly $3,100) and an eventual ban, following repeated offenses.
While some see the Russian government's move as a step towards protecting the local tech scene, many see it as yet another move towards a total surveillance state, with many expressing fears that the apps forced on their devices may be used to provide the government with easy access to their private data, and even encrypted communications.
If approved, and the chances are that it will, the new bill will enter into effect on July 1, 2020, as an amendment to Russia's consumer rights law.
The bill already passed a first vote in the lower house of the Russian Parliament. To be approved and reach President Putin's desk, the bill needs to pass two more votes in the lower house and a vote in the upper house. The bill is expected to pass all three upcoming votes as it already garnered the support of all major Russian political parties.
The Russian Parliament's press release is here. The bill's proposed text is here. Russian state news agency TASS first reported on the bill on Tuesday, November 5, after it was presented on the parliament floor.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/phones-and-pcs-sold-in-russia-will-have-to-come-pre-installed-with-russian-apps/#ftag=RSSbaffb68

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Fucking Vlad eh,...

Why isn't he kind (and stupid) enough to let the interceptors in, in order to meddle like he is meddling?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

to ship pre-installed with apps

what could possibly go wrong - I don't think they have thought this through

Originally Posted by baldrick

what could possibly go wrong - I don't think they have thought this through

I think they've thought it right through and I'm pretty sure they'll be supplying the apps.

Translation: We spewed nuclear material everywhere and turned off the sensors so no-one knows about it because I am a Soviet-era c u n t.

Putin: Scientists killed in blast were working on 'unparalleled' weapon

Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Russian scientists killed in a nuclear explosion at a secret military testing site in August were working on "unparalleled" weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"We're talking about the most advanced and unparalleled technical ideas and solutions, about weapons designed to ensure Russia's sovereignty and security for decades to come," Putin said during a ceremony at the Kremlin on Thursday honoring the victims of the mysterious accident.

The Aug. 8 explosion of a liquid propulsion system in Nyonoksa killed five scientists and two defense ministry officials and led to international concern about a brief spike in radiation levels reported by the Russian meteorological agency Rosgidomet.

Information about the incident will remain "strictly classified," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, according to Russian news agency TASS.

"Tests of new weapon systems were involved. For this reason it is only natural that the investigation being carried out in this connection cannot be public," Peskov said.

U.S. officials previously said they believed the incident involved a nuclear-powered cruise missile Putin said was under development last year.

Putin presented posthumous orders of courage awards Thursday to the widows of the scientists killed in the blast.

"They were working on a very difficult, important and critical assignment," Putin said at the ceremony. "We're talking about the most advanced and cutting-edge technical ideas and solutions, unequaled anywhere in the world; the weapon that is entitled to ensure sovereignty, security of Russia for decades to come."

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/11/22/Putin-Scientists-killed-in-blast-were-working-on-unparalleled-weapon/9331574458050/?sl=1&ur3=1

(Didn't they know what NATO summit in London concluded?)

Pentagon Concerned Russia Cultivating Sympathy Among US Troops

Updated December 08, 2019 03:30 AM

WASHINGTON - Russian efforts to weaken the West through a relentless campaign of information warfare may be starting to pay off, cracking a key bastion of the U.S. line of defense: the military.

While most Americans still see Moscow as a key U.S. adversary, new polling suggests that view is changing, most notably among the households of military members.

The second annual Reagan National Defense Survey, completed in late October, found nearly half of armed services households questioned, 46%, said they viewed Russia as ally.

Overall, the survey found 28% of Americans identified Russia as an ally, up from 19% the previous year.

Generally, the pollsters found the positive views of Russia seemed to be “predominantly driven by Republicans who have responded to positive cues from [U.S.] President [Donald] Trump about Russia,” according to an executive summary accompanying the results.

While a majority, 71% of all Americans and 53% of military households, still views Russia as an enemy, the spike in pro-Russian sentiment has defense officials concerned.

“There is an effort, on the part of Russia, to flood the media with disinformation to sow doubt and confusion,” Defense Department spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Carla Gleason told VOA.

“This is not only through discordant and inflammatory dialogue but through false narratives designed to elicit sympathetic views,” she said, adding, “we are actively working to expose and counter Russian disinformation whenever possible.”

Reagan National Defense Survey

The Reagan National Defense Survey, conducted on behalf of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, questioned just more than 1,000 adults between Oct. 24 and Oct. 30, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Concern among U.S. officials runs deep, partly because other surveys have also found a growing willingness in the U.S. to view Russia positively.

For example, a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults by the Pew Research Center from September 2018 found 35% of Americans wanted more cooperation with Russia.

U.S. defense and security officials have told VOA that Russia has been targeting U.S. military personnel, specifically, with a ramped-up influence campaign, as far back as 2017 in preparation for the November 2018 midterm elections.

Russia’s goal, they said, was not so much to swing the result of the elections but to seed U.S. military personnel with the right type of disinformation so that they would be predisposed to view Russia and its actions in a more favorable way in the future.

“We know it goes on,” said Ed Wilson, then deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy, said at the time. “That’s why we’ve amped up and increased the attention that we’re paying.”

Countering Russia’s efforts, both against the U.S. military and American society at large, has not been easy, according to both analysts and former officials, because of the political climate and the rhetoric coming from the White House.

“It is dangerous,” said Jorge Benitez, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who specializes in transatlantic relations, U.S. security and Russia.

“The new polls reveal a significant change among Republican voters who historically have been opposed to Russia,” he said. “More and more Republicans have changed their views on Russia because of President Trump’s positive statements about Russia and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

Others fear Russia’s gains in public opinion are symptomatic of a bigger problem that the Kremlin has managed to exploit.

“People’s beliefs and perceptions are shaped more by whatever the leaders of their own political tribe say than by ideology, history, or even their own self-interest,” said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer now with Georgetown University.

He said, for now though, the gradual change in U.S. perceptions of Russia has had limited impact.

“Many Republicans can slavishly follow Trump’s lead on most matters, including the rhetorical line on Russia, but still, say, support defense expenditures designed to maintain strength vis-a-vis Russia,” Pillar said, noting a variety of U.S. sanctions against Moscow are still in place.

The U.S. national defense strategy, updated just two years ago, likewise lists Russia along with China, as the prime threats to the U.S.

For the most part, the Reagan National Defense Survey found a majority of Americans are in agreement.

“When we asked Americans which countries were tops on their list in terms of the threat that they posed to the United States the first was China [28%] and the second was Russia [25%],” said Ronald Reagan Institute Policy Director Rachel Hoff.

She also said there was strong sentiment that the U.S. should not cede any ground on the global stage, to Russia or anyone else.

“They want America to take the lead when it comes to international events rather than a less engaged posture where our country is reacting to global events,” Hoff told VOA, pointing to a 50% to 33% margin.

At the same time, other polls have pointed to a lingering wariness on the part of a majority of Americans when it comes to Russia.

A Gallup survey published in February of this year found only 24% of Americans had a positive view of Russia, down from a 44% favorable rating in February of 2013.

https://www.voanews.com/usa/pentagon...mong-us-troops

(cannot find it on RT)

Silly old Vlad, can't stop fucking about and now he's got his country banned from the Olympics AND the World Cup.

Russia banned from all global sport including 2020 OIympics and 2022 World Cup finals


The country planted fake evidence and deleted files linked to positive doping tests that could have helped identify drug cheats

https://news.sky.com/story/russia-banned-from-all-global-sport-including-2020-oiympics-and-2022-world-cup-11882206

It's just a shame UEFA haven't got the balls to throw them out of Euro 2020 and cancel their games in St. Petersburg, too.

HoHo you look very stupid trying to make excuses for Vlad's serial cheating.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Vlad's serial cheating

Russian organisations management.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Russian organisations management.

I suppose you are attempting to perpetuate the myth the Vlad didn't know this was going on, despite them being caught at it three times.

Most people want them banned for longer, the fucking cheats.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Most people

Calculated, classified and published by whom?

Originally Posted by OhOh

Calculated, classified and published by whom?

Perhaps it would be quicker for you to give me names of people who think the poor widdle wussians are being treated badly for continually cheating.

Here, let me give you a list:

1. You
2. Klondyke
3. Errrr
4. That's it.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I suppose you are attempting to perpetuate the myth the Vlad didn't know this was going on, despite them being caught at it three times.

Wondering whether GWBush did know what was going on with his favorite cyclist Lance Armstrong whos doping had been covered over many long years, hailing him as "American Hero"...
https://www.voanews.com/archive/bush...ero-2001-08-04

^The number of athletes who fail tests are much greater, on holiday, slept in, car broke down .... many more. But they are in other countries so the "rules" are stretched to accommodate them.

Originally Posted by OhOh

^The number of athletes who fail tests are much greater, on holiday, slept in, car broke down .... many more. But they are in other countries so the "rules" are stretched to accommodate them.

I think you are confusing the odd drug cheat with systemic, state-sponsored cheating on a massive scale.

The old communist countries were masters at it, its nothing new for them. I'm sure you think this is an attractive woman, but..

As usually, double standard that should not at all be applied at sport - especially at Olympics - against the spirits of Olympics:

bringing together thousands of athletes and inspiring billions of viewers, the Olympic Games and the spirit of Olympism unite people around the world

Reminds me of the boycott of 1980 Olympics in Moscow - because of their invasion in Afghanistan - quite paradox to see what is in Afghanistan nowadays after 19 years:

Confidential documents reveal U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan

[This story has been optimized for offline reading on our apps. For a richer experience, you can find the full version of this story https://www.washingtonpost.com/graph...ial-documents/

A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.

The documents were generated by a federal project examining the root failures of the longest armed conflict in U.S. history. They include more than 2,000 pages of previously unpublished notes of interviews with people who played a direct role in the war, from generals and diplomats to aid workers and Afghan officials.

The U.S. government tried to shield the identities of the vast majority of those interviewed for the project and conceal nearly all of their remarks. The Post won release of the documents under the Freedom of Information Act after a three-year legal battle.

In the interviews, more than 400 insiders offered unrestrained criticism of what went wrong in Afghanistan and how the United States became mired in nearly two decades of warfare.

With a bluntness rarely expressed in public, the interviews lay bare pent-up complaints, frustrations and confessions, along with second-guessing and backbiting.

Read more
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...tan/ar-BBXY8l1

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

not bad

(Does he also have a whistleblower in his office?)

Vladimir Putin 'still uses obsolete Windows XP' despite hacking risk
Official photos seem to show president using unsupported OS at Kremlin and residence

Russian agents have been accused of worldwide hacking operations, but someone at the Kremlin has apparently forgotten to inform Vladimir Putin of the importance of cyber-security.

Putin, 67, appears to have the obsolete Microsoft Windows XP operating system installed on computers in his office at the Kremlin and at his official Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow, according to images released by his press service.

Both computers have the Kremlin towers set as their desktop backgrounds.

Microsoft stopped releasing regular security updates for Windows XP and Office 2003 in April 2014. However, it appears that Russian government regulations have prevented Putin from updating to the more recent Microsoft 10.

The US tech firm warns on its website that computers running Windows XP are “vulnerable to security risks and viruses”.

Windows XP, released in 2001, was the last Microsoft operating system given the green light for use on official Russian government computers, the Open Media website reported, citing defence ministry documents. The more recent Windows 10 is only approved for devices that do not contain state secrets – something that would not seem to apply to Putin’s computers.

Open Media – an opposition-friendly, independent Russian news website – reported that Mikhail Klimaryov, the head of Russia’s independent Internet Protection Society, had confirmed that Putin’s computers were running Windows XP in the photographs.

Moscow is gradually phasing out Microsoft and Google on government computers in favour of Russia’s Astra Linux operating system software and domestic browsers such as Yandex.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, did not comment when asked why Putin continues to use an antiquated Microsoft operating system.

It’s unclear how great a threat Putin’s use of Windows XP poses to Kremlin cyber security: the ex-KGB officer is said to be an irregular user of the internet, which he has previously called a “CIA project”. The predecessor of the internet was the Arpanet, which was founded by the US Department of Defense.

Russia is increasingly seeking to establish control over internet technology. The Kremlin recently banned the sale of smartphones without Russian-made apps, while Putin in February approved a law giving Moscow the power to “disconnect” the country from the global internet.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...e-hacking-risk