Autor: João

Strategy

Por | 20 mar, 2019 | |

VECTORS OF DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN MILITARY STRATEGY IN CURRENT CONDITIONS   Valeriy Gerasimov Mar. 14, 2019 Army General Valeriy Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, spoke at the general assembly of the Academy of Military Sciences (Originally appeared at Red Star; Translated by J.Hawk exclusively for SouthFront) Transformation of military threats Traditionally, the annual Academy of Military Sciences conference is a platform for exchanging opinions among military specialists, concerning the most pressing problems of military science. The conference’s outcomes de-facto define future development of military science, therefore they are widely discussed in Russia and abroad. This year we are discussing the question of military strategy development in contemporary conditions. Military strategy as a science, or “the art of commanding armies”, was born in early 20th century and evolved on the basis of examination of wartime experience. Overall, strategy is a “system of knowledge and actions to avoid, prepare for, and conduct war”. At present, we are seeing the expansion in the variety of kinds of war, and their content is undergoing significant change. There are more actors participating in armed struggle. In addition to sovereign states’ armed forces, various bandit formations, PMCs, and self-proclaimed “quasi-states” also participate. We can expect active use of economic, political, diplomatic, and informational pressure, as well as demonstrations of military force in order to enhance...

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Capitalism didn’t fail USAmerica

Por | 14 mar, 2019 | |

USAmerica failed Capitalism   Bill Bonner Mar. 14, 2019   When the mob turns against the rich, some of the rich put on rags and join them. CNBC: The granddaughter of Roy Disney, co-founder of The Walt Disney Co. with brother Walt Disney, said [last] Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box ” that she thinks “CEOs in general are paid far too much.” “If your CEO salary is 700, 600, 500 times your median workers’ pay, there is nobody on earth, Jesus Christ himself isn’t worth 500 times his median workers’ pay.” “The problem is that there’s a systematic favoring of people who have accumulated an enormous amount of wealth,” she said. We’ve never met a CEO who was worth even 10 times his median worker’s pay. Then, again, we never met Jesus Christ. Wicked World But if owners want to pay their CEOs even 1,000 times what they pay their median worker, it’s none of our business. But wait… what if the money itself has been fiddled? If a corporate CEO can borrow at near-zero real cost… why not pay himself millions… and bribe the shareholders too, by buying back their shares and goosing up the stock price? It is a wicked world, Dear Reader. And wickedness takes on many shapes and disguises. Some say capitalism has failed America. More likely, America has failed capitalism. Capitalism needs capital. Real...

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America vs. China… Trump vs. Cohen…

Por | 4 mar, 2019 | , , |

The Only “Us vs. Them” That Matters   Van Bryan Mar. 3, 2019   Dear readers need no introduction to the big headlines. And there’s a common thread through all of it: “us vs. them.” But as Bill has shown time and time again, “us vs. them” is always a scam. Well… almost always. There is one “us vs. them” that matters. That was the subject of this week’s Diary essays. You’ll have to read on to find out… “Us vs. Them” Is Always a Scam Today, it’s all “us vs. them.” Whether it’s Republicans vs. Democrats or rich vs. poor, there’s always some “us” that has to do something about “them”! On Monday, Bill reveals the sad reason why this thinking is a scam… and always was. How the Middle Class Was Doubly Cheated The middle class has been betrayed. The ultra-rich, thanks to soaring stock and bond prices, have only gotten richer over the last three decades. The everyman, meanwhile, has gone exactly nowhere. Who betrayed the working man? The Chinese? The Russians? Neither. As Bill puts it, it was America’s “scammy money” that did the deed. And then, the story gets worse… “The Horse Fell Over on Him…” On Wednesday, an accident at the ranch. A gaucho’s horse buckles and falls on the cowboy. “Is he okay? We don’t know yet…” Our Third Bold Prediction In the...

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Reality and Unreality

Por | 1 mar, 2019 | |

McCarthyism Then and Now: But There Was Reality Then   Patrick Armstrong Feb. 27, 2019   History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. (Karl Marx) Humor is reason gone mad. (Groucho Marx)   Every now and again, we hear about a “new McCarthyism“. Usually it’s the alternative media like Truthdig or Consortium News or left-wing outlets because mainstream outlets are so sunk in Trumpophobia that they have forgotten what the expression means. It’s not Trump who’s the new McCarthy (Trumpism Is the New McCarthyism or Is Donald Trump The New Joe McCarthy?) it is they: Is Trump Putin’s Puppet?, Trump Is Making the Case That He’s Putin’s Puppet; calling other people Moscow puppets is precisely what McCarthy did. And today’s Russhysteria has spread outside the USA: France to Probe Possible Russian Influence on Yellow Vest Riots; Why Putin Is Meddling in Britain’s Brexit Vote; Spain: ‘Misinformation’ on Catalonia referendum came from Russia. Endless torrents of delirium, nothing too absurd: Russia could freeze us to death!, Russian cricket agents, 14-legged killer squid found TWO MILES beneath Antarctica being weaponised by Putin? The Russophobes find Moscow’s influence everywhere: children’s’ cartoons, fishsticks, Pokemon. People who like to imagine that they’re taken seriously suggest the Russians are threatened by our “quality”. But not so threatened, it appears, by our mental qualities. Joseph McCarthy, making much of (and perhaps improving upon) his war record, was elected a US Senator in 1946. After three years in which he attracted little attention, he rose to...

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Venezuela

Por | 22 fev, 2019 | , |

Russia’s Stake in Venezuela   John Helmer Feb. 17, 2019   No ambition in Russia runs wider and higher than that of Igor Sechin, 58, chief executive of Rosneft. To help fill the Venezuelan treasury, deter attacks on President Nicolas Maduro, reinforce his army,  and show the world he’s the Russian who can defeat both types of war the US is waging against the world – sanctions war and regime-change war – no bill would be too expensive for Sechin to pay. And if he can do that, he will show that he’s the natural successor of President Vladimir Putin. In point of cost for Rosneft, the Venezuelan strategy is relatively cheap. For the Russian military, who have created the most powerful army in South America (also a match for Canada ),  with a decade of deliveries of air and ground weapons,  the Venezuelan front is a fresh tester of American warmaking at low money cost and little risk of Russian casualties.  The combination of Sechin and the Russian General Staff  to defend Venezuela is a potent weapon to demonstrate to the world that US threats are bluff. So, win or lose on the battleground of Venezuela,  at home Sechin is showing his Russian allies that he’s their winner in the presidential power contest ahead. Not everyone agrees. “Yes, the presidency is a matter of Sechin’s ambition; it’s also...

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