russiainsider--2020-02-14--Three Extraordinary Australian Journalists: Pilger, Burchett and Assange

Australia has produced extraordinary journalists across three generations : Wilfred Burchett ( deceased in 1983 ) , John Pilger ( 80 years old but still active ) and Julian Assange ( 48 years old , currently in London 's Belmarsh prison ) .
Each of these journalists made unique contributions to our understanding of the world .
Although Australia is part of the western world , each of these journalists exposed and criticized Western foreign policy .
Wilfred Burchett lived from 1911 to 1983 .
He was a farm boy and his experience in the depression shaped his dislike of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He went to Europe trying to volunteer for Republicans in the Spanish Civil War but that did not work out .
Instead , he assisted Jews escaping Nazi Germany .
Burchett became a journalist by accident .
Having seen the reality in Germany , he started writing many letters to newspaper editors .
One of the editors took note of his fluid writing style and intensity .
They contacted him to ask if he would like to report for them .
Thus began a forty year writing career .
He covered WW2 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then Burma .
Then he covered the Pacific campaign stationed with U.S. troops .
He was the first international journalist to report on Hiroshima after the atomic bomb .
He evaded US military restrictions to go to Hiroshima and see reality for himself .
In his story `` The Atomic Plague '' , published in the London Daily Express , Burchett said , “ I write this as a warning to the world '' and `` Doctors fall as they work '' .
Immediately the US launched a campaign to smear his reputation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The US military was intent on preventing people from knowing the long term effects of nuclear radiation .
Burchett 's report from Hiroshima was broadcast world wide and called the `` scoop of the century '' .
It exemplified his career based on first hand observation and experience .
Over his 40 year career he reported the other side of the story from the Soviet Union , China , Korea and Vietnam .
He wrote thousands of articles and over 35 books .
On China he wrote `` China 's Feet Unbound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wrote ( with Rewi Alley ) `` China : The Quality of Life '' .
Burchett wrote `` Vietnam : The Inside Story of a Guerrilla War '' ( 1965 ) `` My War with the CIA : The Memoirs of Prince Norodom Sihanouk '' ( 1974 ) , `` Grasshoppers and Elephants : Why Vietnam Fell '' ( 1977 ) and then `` Catapult to Freedom : The Survival of the Vietnamese People '' ( 1978 ) .
Burchett 's life , experiences and observations are brilliantly recorded in his autobiography @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the Cutting Edge of History '' ( 1980 ) .
They reveal the hard scrabble youth and early years , the leftist sympathies , the decades of journalistic work based on first hand observations .
Burchett was vilified by establishment political leaders in Australia .
His Australian passport was taken , the government refused to issue him a new one and he was barred from entering Australia .
Even his children were denied their Australian citizenship .
Finally , after 17 years , Wilfred Burchett 's citizenship and passport were restored when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
With his unassuming and affable manner , Wilfred Burchett became friends with leaders such as Ho Chi Minh , Norodom Sihanouk , and Chou en Lai .
Bertrand Russell said , `` One man , Wilfred Burchett , alerted Western public opinion to the nature of this war and the struggle of the Vietnamese people . ''
This interview gives a glimpse into the character and personality of Wilfred Burchett .
John Pilger is another extraordinary Australian journalist .
After starting journalism in the early 60 's , he became a war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Biafra .
He worked 25 years at London 's Daily Mirror and then had a regular fortnightly column for 23 years at the New Statesman .
His first documentary , `` The Quiet Mutiny '' , depicted US soldiers in Vietnam resisting their officers and the war .
In 1974 , when Palestine was often unmentionable , he produced `` Palestine is Still the Issue '' .
Nineteen years later , he wrote the second part and described how Palestine is still the issue .
John Pilger has written/edited over ten books @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the story of atrocities in Pol Pot 's Cambodia with `` Year Zero '' .
He exposed Indonesia 's strangle hold on East Timor in `` Death of a Nation : The Timor Conspiracy '' .
In a four year investigation , he showed how working class victims of the drug thalidomide had been excluded from a settlement with the drug company .
John Pilger exposed uncomfortable truths about his home country and its treatment of aboriginal people .
He did this through films including `` The Secret Country : First Australians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Welcome to Australia '' ( 1999 ) , and `` Utopia : An Epic Story of Struggle and Resistance '' ( 2013 ) .
He gives more history and detail in the book `` A Secret Country '' ( 1992 ) .
In 2002 Pilger produced and movie and book titled `` The New Rulers of the World '' revealing the grotesque inequality in this `` globalized '' world where a few individuals and corporations have more power and wealth than entire countries .
In 2016 Pilger came out with the urgent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with China '' .
More recently he produced `` The Dirty War on the NHS '' which documents the stealth campaign to privatize the UK 's National Health System .
Many of John Pilger 's films can be seen at his website johnpilger.com .
In the 1960 's and 70 's , Pilger 's brave and bold journalism received many awards and he was twice recognized as Journalist of the Year .
But in recent years , there has been less acceptance as media has become more homogenized and controlled .
In 2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is no longer welcome – probably it ’ s last home was The Guardian , which three years ago got rid of people like me and others in pretty much a purge ... '' Harold Pinter , winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature , says `` John Pilger unearths , with steely attention , the facts , the filthy truth .
and tells it like it is .
The third extraordinary Australian journalist is Julian Assange .
He was born on 3 July 1971 .
He became a skilled computer programmer and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later studied mathematics and physics at Melbourne University .
According to one of his math teachers he was an exceptional student but he clearly had other tasks and priorities .
Assange has edited or co-authored at least four books .
For three years he worked with Australian journalist and co-author Suelette Dreyfus to write `` Underground : Tales of Hacking , Madness and Obsession in the Electronic Frontier '' .
First published in 1997 , the Sydney Morning Herald called it `` astonishing '' .
Rolling Stone described it as `` An entirely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crimes of an extraordinary group of teenage hackers . ''
In 2012 , Assange produced the TV series `` The World Tomorrow '' .
Over 12 segments , he interviews Ecuador President Rafael Correa , the current President of Pakistan Imran Khan , the leader of Hezbollah Hasan Nasrallah , leaders in the Occupy movement , Noam Chomsky , Tariq Ali and many more .
In 2013 , Assange and WikiLeaks produced the movie Mediastan .
It shows WikiLeaks global travels to meet publishers of the secret documents .
In 2014 OR Books @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It consists of a discussion between Julian Assange and Google founder Eric Schmidt plus two companions .
Assange writes a 51 page introduction which puts the discussion in context : how Google and other internet giants have become part of US foreign policy establishment .
In 2015 Assange edited `` The WikiLeaks files : the world according to the US Empire '' and in 2016 the book `` Cypherpunks : Freedom and the Future of the Internet '' was published .
Assange and three other computer experts discuss the future of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enslave us .
One reviewer says , `` These guys are really getting at the heart of some very big issues that practically no one ( outside of Cypherpunk circles ) is thinking about . ''
But what makes Assange extraordinary is his work as editor in chief and publisher of WikiLeaks .
Following are a few examples of information they have conveyed to the public : * Corruption by family and associates of Kenyan leader Daniel Arap Moi .
* Corruption at Kaupthing Bank in the Iceland financial crisis * Killing of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by US Apache attack helicopter in `` Collateral Murder '' video .
* 92,000 documents on the war in Afghanistan ( and civilian casualties previously hidden ) * 400,000 documents on the war in Iraq ( including reports showing the US military ignoring torture by their Iraqi allies ) * NSA spying on German leader Merkel , Brazilian leader Roussef , French presidents ( Sarkozy , Hollande , Chirac ) and more .
* emails and files from the US Democratic National Committee Julian Assange has received much recognition : Sam Adams Award @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Le Monde Person of the Year , Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism , Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal , Serena Shim Award and others .
But Assange has incurred the wrath and enmity of the US government .
The `` Collateral Damage '' video and war logs exposed the brutal reality of US aggression and occupation .
Kofi Annan , former Secretary General of the United Nations , said the US invasion of Iraq violated international law .
But there has been no accountability .
In response to WikiLeaks ' revelations , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and gone after the messenger who revealed the crimes .
Thus Julian Assange was confined to the Ecuador Embassy for 7 years and is now in Belmarsh maximum security prison .
The US wants him extradited to the US where he has been charged with 18 counts of `` Illegally Obtaining , Receiving and Disclosing Classified Information '' .
The extradition hearing is scheduled to begin on 24 February 2020 .
Australia should be proud of these exceptional native sons .
Each one has made huge contributions to educating the public about crucial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` other side '' when the West was waging war on Korea , Vietnam , Laos , and China .
He was demonized and even called `` Public Enemy Number One '' during the Cold War .
But those who read his reports and many books found an accurate and objective writer .
His many books stand the test of time .
From the 60 's to today , John Pilger has told stories that were never or rarely told .
He has exposed facts and drawn conclusions which shame or should shame @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , U.S.A. or Australia .
He has documented the real heroes who are otherwise ignored .
Julian Assange is from the new generation .
He has reported and published secret information about military-political power on `` this side '' .
He has revealed truths which powerful forces do not want the public to know , even when it is being done in their name .
Now Assange is in prison and in danger of being extradited to the United States .
If this is allowed to happen , it will mark a crushing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigative journalism .
John Pilger is a major supporter of Julian Assange .
So is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture , Nils Melzer .
In a blockbuster interview he says `` I have never seen a comparable case ... .The Swedish authorities ... intentionally left him in limbo .
Just imagine being accused of rape for nine-and-a-half years by an entire state apparatus and the media without ever being given the chance to defend yourself because no charges have ever been filed . ''
He goes to describe reading the original @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hardly believe my eyes ... .
a rape had never taken place at all ... .
the woman 's testimony was later changed by the Stockholm police ...
I have all the documents in my possession , the emails , the text messages . ''
Melzer describes the refusal of governments to comply with his requests .
He sums up what is happening and the significance .
`` A show trial is to be used to make an example of Julian Assange ... .. Four democratic countries joined forces - the U.S. , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - to leverage their power to portray one man as a monster so that he could be later burned at the stake without any outcry .
The case is a huge scandal and represents the failure of Western rule of law .
If Julian Assange is convicted , it will be a death sentence for freedom of the press . ''
The three extraordinary Australian journalists were all rebels and all international .
They all depended on freedom of the press which is now at stake .

Australia has produced extraordinary journalists across three generations: Wilfred Burchett (deceased in 1983), John Pilger (80 years old but still active) and Julian Assange (48 years old, currently in London's Belmarsh prison).
Each of these journalists made unique contributions to our understanding of the world. Although Australia is part of the western world, each of these journalists exposed and criticized Western foreign policy.
Wilfred Burchett
Wilfred Burchett lived from 1911 to 1983. He was a farm boy and his experience in the depression shaped his dislike of oligarchs and preference for the poor. He went to Europe trying to volunteer for Republicans in the Spanish Civil War but that did not work out. Instead, he assisted Jews escaping Nazi Germany.
Burchett became a journalist by accident. Having seen the reality in Germany, he started writing many letters to newspaper editors. One of the editors took note of his fluid writing style and intensity. They contacted him to ask if he would like to report for them. Thus began a forty year writing career.
He covered WW2, first stationed with British troops in India then Burma. Then he covered the Pacific campaign stationed with U.S. troops. He was the first international journalist to report on Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. He evaded US military restrictions to go to Hiroshima and see reality for himself. In his story "The Atomic Plague", published in the London Daily Express, Burchett said, “I write this as a warning to the world" and "Doctors fall as they work". Immediately the US launched a campaign to smear his reputation and deny the validity of his story. The US military was intent on preventing people from knowing the long term effects of nuclear radiation.
Burchett's report from Hiroshima was broadcast world wide and called the "scoop of the century". It exemplified his career based on first hand observation and experience.
Over his 40 year career he reported the other side of the story from the Soviet Union, China, Korea and Vietnam. He wrote thousands of articles and over 35 books. On China he wrote "China's Feet Unbound" in 1952. Two decades later he wrote (with Rewi Alley) "China: The Quality of Life".
Burchett wrote "Vietnam: The Inside Story of a Guerrilla War" (1965) "My War with the CIA: The Memoirs of Prince Norodom Sihanouk"(1974), "Grasshoppers and Elephants: Why Vietnam Fell" (1977) and then "Catapult to Freedom: The Survival of the Vietnamese People" (1978).
Burchett's life, experiences and observations are brilliantly recorded in his autobiography "At the Barricades: Forty Years on the Cutting Edge of History" (1980). They reveal the hard scrabble youth and early years, the leftist sympathies, the decades of journalistic work based on first hand observations.
Burchett was vilified by establishment political leaders in Australia. His Australian passport was taken, the government refused to issue him a new one and he was barred from entering Australia. Even his children were denied their Australian citizenship. Finally, after 17 years, Wilfred Burchett's citizenship and passport were restored when Gough Whitlam became Prime Minister in 1972.
With his unassuming and affable manner, Wilfred Burchett became friends with leaders such as Ho Chi Minh, Norodom Sihanouk, and Chou en Lai. Bertrand Russell said, "One man, Wilfred Burchett, alerted Western public opinion to the nature of this war and the struggle of the Vietnamese people."
This interview gives a glimpse into the character and personality of Wilfred Burchett.
John Pilger
John Pilger is another extraordinary Australian journalist. After starting journalism in the early 60's, he became a war correspondent covering Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Biafra. He worked 25 years at London's Daily Mirror and then had a regular fortnightly column for 23 years at the New Statesman.
His first documentary, "The Quiet Mutiny", depicted US soldiers in Vietnam resisting their officers and the war. In 1974, when Palestine was often unmentionable, he produced "Palestine is Still the Issue". Nineteen years later, he wrote the second part and described how Palestine is still the issue.
John Pilger has written/edited over ten books and made over 50 films. He told the story of atrocities in Pol Pot's Cambodia with "Year Zero". He exposed Indonesia's strangle hold on East Timor in "Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy". In a four year investigation, he showed how working class victims of the drug thalidomide had been excluded from a settlement with the drug company.
John Pilger exposed uncomfortable truths about his home country and its treatment of aboriginal people. He did this through films including "The Secret Country: First Australians Fight Back" (1985), "Welcome to Australia" (1999), and "Utopia: An Epic Story of Struggle and Resistance" (2013). He gives more history and detail in the book "A Secret Country" (1992).
In 2002 Pilger produced and movie and book titled "The New Rulers of the World" revealing the grotesque inequality in this "globalized" world where a few individuals and corporations have more power and wealth than entire countries.
In 2016 Pilger came out with the urgent and prescient video "The Coming War with China".
More recently he produced "The Dirty War on the NHS" which documents the stealth campaign to privatize the UK's National Health System. Many of John Pilger's films can be seen at his website johnpilger.com .
In the 1960's and 70's, Pilger's brave and bold journalism received many awards and he was twice recognized as Journalist of the Year. But in recent years, there has been less acceptance as media has become more homogenized and controlled. In 2018 Pilger said, “My written journalism is no longer welcome – probably it’s last home was The Guardian, which three years ago got rid of people like me and others in pretty much a purge ..."
Harold Pinter, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, says "John Pilger unearths, with steely attention, the facts, the filthy truth. and tells it like it is.
Julian Assange
The third extraordinary Australian journalist is Julian Assange. He was born on 3 July 1971. He became a skilled computer programmer and hacker as a teenager. Later he later studied mathematics and physics at Melbourne University. According to one of his math teachers he was an exceptional student but he clearly had other tasks and priorities.
Assange has edited or co-authored at least four books. For three years he worked with Australian journalist and co-author Suelette Dreyfus to write "Underground : Tales of Hacking, Madness and Obsession in the Electronic Frontier". First published in 1997, the Sydney Morning Herald called it "astonishing". Rolling Stone described it as "An entirely original focus on the bizarre lives and crimes of an extraordinary group of teenage hackers."
In 2012, Assange produced the TV series "The World Tomorrow". Over 12 segments, he interviews Ecuador President Rafael Correa, the current President of Pakistan Imran Khan, the leader of Hezbollah Hasan Nasrallah, leaders in the Occupy movement, Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali and many more.
In 2013, Assange and WikiLeaks produced the movie Mediastan. It shows WikiLeaks global travels to meet publishers of the secret documents. In 2014 OR Books published "When WikiLeaks met Google". It consists of a discussion between Julian Assange and Google founder Eric Schmidt plus two companions. Assange writes a 51 page introduction which puts the discussion in context: how Google and other internet giants have become part of US foreign policy establishment.
In 2015 Assange edited "The WikiLeaks files: the world according to the US Empire" and in 2016 the book "Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet" was published. Assange and three other computer experts discuss the future of the internet and whether computers will emancipate or enslave us. One reviewer says, "These guys are really getting at the heart of some very big issues that practically no one (outside of Cypherpunk circles) is thinking about."
But what makes Assange extraordinary is his work as editor in chief and publisher of WikiLeaks. Following are a few examples of information they have conveyed to the public:
* Corruption by family and associates of Kenyan leader Daniel Arap Moi.
* Corruption at Kaupthing Bank in the Iceland financial crisis
* Dumping of toxic chemicals in Ivory Coast.
* Killing of Reuters journalists and over 10 Iraqi civilians by US Apache attack helicopter in "Collateral Murder" video.
* 92,000 documents on the war in Afghanistan (and civilian casualties previously hidden)
* 400,000 documents on the war in Iraq (including reports showing the US military ignoring torture by their Iraqi allies)
* corruption in Tunisia (helping spark the Arab Spring)
* NSA spying on German leader Merkel, Brazilian leader Roussef, French presidents (Sarkozy, Hollande, Chirac) and more.
* secret agreements in the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership
* emails and files from the US Democratic National Committee
* CIA spying and other tools ("Vault 7").
Julian Assange has received much recognition: Sam Adams Award, Time's Person of the Year, Le Monde Person of the Year, Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal, Serena Shim Award and others.
But Assange has incurred the wrath and enmity of the US government. The "Collateral Damage" video and war logs exposed the brutal reality of US aggression and occupation. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, said the US invasion of Iraq violated international law. But there has been no accountability.
In response to WikiLeaks' revelations, the United States has ignored the crimes and gone after the messenger who revealed the crimes. Thus Julian Assange was confined to the Ecuador Embassy for 7 years and is now in Belmarsh maximum security prison. The US wants him extradited to the US where he has been charged with 18 counts of "Illegally Obtaining, Receiving and Disclosing Classified Information". The extradition hearing is scheduled to begin on 24 February 2020.
Across Three Generations
Australia should be proud of these exceptional native sons. Each one has made huge contributions to educating the public about crucial events.
Wilfred Burchett reported from the "other side" when the West was waging war on Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and China. He was demonized and even called "Public Enemy Number One" during the Cold War. But those who read his reports and many books found an accurate and objective writer. His many books stand the test of time.
From the 60's to today, John Pilger has told stories that were never or rarely told. He has exposed facts and drawn conclusions which shame or should shame powerful forces, whether in the U.K., U.S.A. or Australia. He has documented the real heroes who are otherwise ignored.
Julian Assange is from the new generation. He has reported and published secret information about military-political power on "this side". He has revealed truths which powerful forces do not want the public to know, even when it is being done in their name.
Now Assange is in prison and in danger of being extradited to the United States. If this is allowed to happen, it will mark a crushing setback and perhaps the death of independent investigative journalism.
John Pilger is a major supporter of Julian Assange. So is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer. In a blockbuster interview he says "I have never seen a comparable case....The Swedish authorities ... intentionally left him in limbo. Just imagine being accused of rape for nine-and-a-half years by an entire state apparatus and the media without ever being given the chance to defend yourself because no charges have ever been filed." He goes to describe reading the original Swedish documents, saying "I could hardly believe my eyes.... a rape had never taken place at all.... the woman's testimony was later changed by the Stockholm police... I have all the documents in my possession, the emails, the text messages."
Melzer describes the refusal of governments to comply with his requests. He sums up what is happening and the significance. "A show trial is to be used to make an example of Julian Assange..... Four democratic countries joined forces - the U.S., Ecuador, Sweden, and the U.K. - to leverage their power to portray one man as a monster so that he could be later burned at the stake without any outcry. The case is a huge scandal and represents the failure of Western rule of law. If Julian Assange is convicted, it will be a death sentence for freedom of the press."
The three extraordinary Australian journalists were all rebels and all international. They all depended on freedom of the press which is now at stake.


russiainsider--2020-02-14--Life Advice from a Famous Contemporary Russian Elder, Abbot Nikon Vorobiev (1894-1963)

He survived arrest , imprisonment , and exile to Siberian camps .
He lived as an ascetic , relating to himself with utmost strictness , and to others with love ... .
His advice on the spiritual life was based on personal experience and full of the light of God ’ s grace .
September 7 we remember Igumen Nikon ( 1894-1963 ) .
Fr .
Nikon ( in the world Nikolai Nikolaevich Vorobiev ) was born in Tsarist Russia and became witness to all the tragic and great events of the twentieth century : the revolution , several wars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discoveries .
The son of a peasant , intelligent and talented , he was distinguished among six brothers in seriousness , especial honesty , meekness and a kind-hearted disposition .
He always wanted to get to the essence , to discover the meaning of life .
He was never a shallow person , always searching for the depths .
Fr .
Nikon maintained these characteristics his entire life .
It was foretold already in his childhood that he would be a monk , and having become a monk in the years of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he struggled ascetically until the end of his days in the world , in a parish .
He survived arrest , imprisonment , and exile to Siberian camps .
He lived as an ascetic , relating to himself with utmost strictness , and to others with love .
He acquired the unceasing Jesus Prayer and the gift of spiritual discernment .
His advice on the spiritual life was based on personal experience and full of the light of God ’ s grace .
Peace of soul and with others Don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forgiven you and granted you peace of soul .
Peace of soul is a sign of forgiveness from the Lord .
Preserve peace with yourself , and then with others .
It ’ s better to ruin business but keep peace with others .
Don ’ t forget it .
Try to live with everyone so that they depart from you comforted and thanking the Lord for you .
Sins against our neighbors weigh very heavily on our conscience .
The Lord forgives such sins only when we have ourselves made peace with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we should relate to people as a doctor to the sick .
We are all sick with every illness—it ’ s just that one is more obvious in one man , and another in another .
There , that is in a hospital , they don ’ t berate someone who is sick in his lungs , heart , or stomach .
They don ’ t say : “ Oh , you blind scoundrel , sick in your eyes !
” And similarly we must not abuse one another for spiritual illnesses , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bear ye one another 's burdens , and so fulfil the law of Christ—says the apostle .
The flame of the true “ I ” People are in essence , in their depths better than the manifestations we see in their lives .
We are all covered over with garbage , but nonetheless the flame of the true “ I ” glimmers out from under it .
I held onto enmity for so long that it rendered useless all my deeds .
The Lord receives neither prayer nor repentance nor charity from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s no earthly truth which can justify enmity .
I say “ earthly ” because heavenly truth gives both internal and external peace .
If someone whom you consider your enemy dies , you will suffer , because sooner or later you will feel your guilt .
Usually it comes during prayer .
If you die in enmity ( may it not be so ) , then know that all of your good works and all your hope for salvation will perish .
You will go into the hands of your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a kingdom of love and peace .
Enmity can not enter therein .
If we want someone to overcome himself and alter his attitude towards us , then we ourselves should first completely banish from our hearts any dislike towards him .
Then the Lord will inform his heart .
Never speak badly or ironically about anyone… Your words can be transmitted even not out of spite or ill-will , but simply from inattentiveness or as a joke—and now you have gained an enemy .
The path to salvation is by repentance for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If a person judges others then it means he doesn ’ t feel his own sins and has no repentance .
And conversely—non-judgment of others is a sign of consciousness of our sins and repentance .
Take care of your business with which you have been entrusted ; don ’ t bother with others ’ business ; keep quiet as much as possible ; never burden others ; as a rock in the sea , let all the words that you hear drown within yourself ; pity all , and bid farewell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in reality if you have such a chance .
Close your eyes to others ’ sins , but if it ’ s impossible not to see , then pray for these sinners , as for yourself , that the Lord would forgive them , and you will receive grace from the Lord .
Those who offend us are our best teachers It ’ s also needful that someone should offend us , but not without any basis , and to reveal , although exaggeratedly , our deficiencies .
I speak not from theory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once this benefit , and I say with complete conviction that those who offend us are our best teachers .
I advise you again : read good books more .
There are few people you can benefit from , and they ’ re always busy or sick , but you can always read a book .
Don ’ t fear anything .
Embed into yourself the thought that in the whole world not even the slightest movement occurs without the knowledge and permission of God .
The Lord guides and arranges circumstances such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man to be saved .
Sometimes a man finds himself in such circumstances that in a given city , in a given place he can not find salvation .
Then the Lord arranges it so that there arises a need for him or his family to relocate to another place .
There he meets believers who become his friends and facilitate the strengthening of his faith .
There , perhaps , there will turn out to be a nearby church or some faithful people who help his family find salvation .
Here ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depravity .
All his free time is wasted searching for pleasure in drunkenness and debauchery .
The merciful Lord sees it , pities his family , and pities this man .
What to do with him ?
The Lord sends him such an illness that he can ’ t dream about vodka or debauchery .
On the contrary , he begins to consider his former life , its meaninglessness , and begins to repent of his transgressions , confessing them , and in this way is saved .
If a man can not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or alcoholism , or fornication , the Lord sends him an illness .
A proud and pompous man the Lord will demean before all so that he becomes the least of men in the eyes of all .
If this man—a Christian , is bound to the earth and all his strength , all his desires , all his dreams are aimed towards it , whether by truth or falsehood , thievery , deception—by any means—to acquire earthly prosperity , then the Lord will take away all that he has .
Thus to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with sin , the Lord sends involuntary grief as an aid in our battle .
The Lord attends to the needs of those who trust Him Seek the Kingdom of God and its righteousness , and , according to the immutable word of the Lord Himself , a word more sure than heaven and earth , all your material needs will be added to you .
The Lord tests all of His servants , and looks after them , after their spiritual and bodily needs and provides everything at the necessary time to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not in their abilities , strengths , skills , and so on .
He who seeks to please God will not be abandoned by God , as long as he does n't abandon Him .
There remains for our times only one path : patient suffering .
There will be no personal podvigs for those seeking the Kingdom of God .
Finding salvation will come only through patience in sickness and sorrow .
And why not podvigs ?
Because people won ’ t have humility , and without humility podvigs bring more harm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a man , because they involuntarily cause a high opinion of oneself for the one who has labored , and they bring forth prelest .
Only with the guidance of very spiritual experienced people should this or that podvig be permitted , but we don ’ t have such now—they can ’ t be found .
Now the Lord Himself is our guide and partially books for those who have and can understand them .
How does the Lord lead ?
He permits persecution , abuse , sicknesses , and prolonged old age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sorrows necessary for a man ’ s salvation can be received either more difficultly or more easily depending on his constitution .
If a man accepts on faith the word of God about the necessity and inevitability of sorrows for salvation , if he acknowledges his innumerable sins in word , deed , and thought , and considers himself fully deserving of not only those sorrows sent , but even of much more , humbling himself before God and man , then his sorrow will become easier .
If a man murmurs about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the perpetrator of these sorrows in people , demons and circumstances , using all means to try to avoid them , then the enemy will help him in this , showing him the alleged perpetrator ( supervisors , orders , neighbors , and so on ) , and arousing enmity and hatred and the desire for revenge , and to abuse him , and so on .
People and circumstances are merely God ’ s instruments , often not understanding what they do .
The wise and believing man uses sorrow for great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the unwise and grumbling man loses the opportunity to acquire it , hurting himself , unnerving both his body and soul .
If you don ’ t want afflictions then don ’ t sin If you don ’ t want afflictions then don ’ t sin , and sincerely repent of your sins and unrighteousness , and do no evil to your neighbors neither in deed nor word nor even in thought .
Attend church more often , pray , and treat others with mercy , and then the Lord will have mercy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s useful , He will free you from your afflictions .
The cure for sadness and grief is prayer or psalmody and thanksgiving to the Lord .
If you compel yourself to read the Psalter with attention and intersperse it often with the Jesus Prayer and prayers to the Mother of God and all the saints , then your grief will subside and you will receive great spiritual benefit .
When you battle with despondency or sadness then compel yourself to mentally say : “ Glory to Thee , O God , glory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thank Thee , O Lord , that Thou hast sent me this illness for the salvation of my soul .
Glory to Thee , O Lord , glory to Thee.
” Say these dozen words a hundred times , with conviction , from your whole heart , and in a short time you will feel relief in your heart , peace and tranquility , strength and patience .
It is a sign of the visitation of the grace of God .
The best path is the middle path If we get too upset @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sign of little faith ; if too upset over those internal , it ’ s a sign of pride .
Don ’ t demand from yourself more than you ’ re capable of .
Hope on the mercy of God and not on your own virtues .
Don ’ t overload your body with labors .
The best path is the middle path .
A body too healthy and a body too weak are equally obstructive .
Not works , but humility inclines the Lord to mercy Success in the spiritual life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which could come from the evil one , but by the depth of humility .
Not works , but humility inclines the Lord to mercy .

He survived arrest, imprisonment, and exile to Siberian camps. He lived as an ascetic, relating to himself with utmost strictness, and to others with love.... His advice on the spiritual life was based on personal experience and full of the light of God’s grace.
September 7 we remember Igumen Nikon (1894-1963). Fr. Nikon (in the world Nikolai Nikolaevich Vorobiev) was born in Tsarist Russia and became witness to all the tragic and great events of the twentieth century: the revolution, several wars, repression, social upheaval and scientific discoveries.
The son of a peasant, intelligent and talented, he was distinguished among six brothers in seriousness, especial honesty, meekness and a kind-hearted disposition. He always wanted to get to the essence, to discover the meaning of life. He was never a shallow person, always searching for the depths. Fr. Nikon maintained these characteristics his entire life.
It was foretold already in his childhood that he would be a monk, and having become a monk in the years of the closing of monasteries and destruction of churches, he struggled ascetically until the end of his days in the world, in a parish.
He survived arrest, imprisonment, and exile to Siberian camps. He lived as an ascetic, relating to himself with utmost strictness, and to others with love. He acquired the unceasing Jesus Prayer and the gift of spiritual discernment. His advice on the spiritual life was based on personal experience and full of the light of God’s grace.
Peace of soul and with others
Don’t retreat from the Lord until He has forgiven you and granted you peace of soul. Peace of soul is a sign of forgiveness from the Lord.
Preserve peace with yourself, and then with others.
It’s better to ruin business but keep peace with others. Don’t forget it.
Try to live with everyone so that they depart from you comforted and thanking the Lord for you.
Sins against our neighbors weigh very heavily on our conscience. The Lord forgives such sins only when we have ourselves made peace with our neighbors.
In my opinion, we should relate to people as a doctor to the sick. We are all sick with every illness—it’s just that one is more obvious in one man, and another in another.
There, that is in a hospital, they don’t berate someone who is sick in his lungs, heart, or stomach. They don’t say: “Oh, you blind scoundrel, sick in your eyes!” And similarly we must not abuse one another for spiritual illnesses, but endure and pity one another: Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ—says the apostle.
The flame of the true “I”
People are in essence, in their depths better than the manifestations we see in their lives.
We are all covered over with garbage, but nonetheless the flame of the true “I” glimmers out from under it.
Enmity renders useless all our deeds
I held onto enmity for so long that it rendered useless all my deeds. The Lord receives neither prayer nor repentance nor charity from a man who has enmity with others.
There’s no earthly truth which can justify enmity. I say “earthly” because heavenly truth gives both internal and external peace. If someone whom you consider your enemy dies, you will suffer, because sooner or later you will feel your guilt. Usually it comes during prayer. If you die in enmity (may it not be so), then know that all of your good works and all your hope for salvation will perish. You will go into the hands of your sown hatred. The Heavenly Kingdom is a kingdom of love and peace. Enmity cannot enter therein.
If we want someone to overcome himself and alter his attitude towards us, then we ourselves should first completely banish from our hearts any dislike towards him. Then the Lord will inform his heart.
Don’t judge anyone
Never speak badly or ironically about anyone… Your words can be transmitted even not out of spite or ill-will, but simply from inattentiveness or as a joke—and now you have gained an enemy.
The path to salvation is by repentance for your sins, not in judging others. If a person judges others then it means he doesn’t feel his own sins and has no repentance. And conversely—non-judgment of others is a sign of consciousness of our sins and repentance. Take care of your business with which you have been entrusted; don’t bother with others’ business; keep quiet as much as possible; never burden others; as a rock in the sea, let all the words that you hear drown within yourself; pity all, and bid farewell to all in your soul, and in reality if you have such a chance.
Close your eyes to others’ sins, but if it’s impossible not to see, then pray for these sinners, as for yourself, that the Lord would forgive them, and you will receive grace from the Lord.
Those who offend us are our best teachers
It’s also needful that someone should offend us, but not without any basis, and to reveal, although exaggeratedly, our deficiencies. I speak not from theory, but have myself experienced more than once this benefit, and I say with complete conviction that those who offend us are our best teachers.
Read good books more
I advise you again: read good books more. There are few people you can benefit from, and they’re always busy or sick, but you can always read a book.
Don’t fear anything
Don’t fear anything. Embed into yourself the thought that in the whole world not even the slightest movement occurs without the knowledge and permission of God.
The Lord guides and arranges circumstances such that it’s easier for a man to be saved.
Sometimes a man finds himself in such circumstances that in a given city, in a given place he cannot find salvation. Then the Lord arranges it so that there arises a need for him or his family to relocate to another place. There he meets believers who become his friends and facilitate the strengthening of his faith. There, perhaps, there will turn out to be a nearby church or some faithful people who help his family find salvation.
Here’s a man suffering from alcoholism and depravity. All his free time is wasted searching for pleasure in drunkenness and debauchery. The merciful Lord sees it, pities his family, and pities this man. What to do with him? The Lord sends him such an illness that he can’t dream about vodka or debauchery. On the contrary, he begins to consider his former life, its meaninglessness, and begins to repent of his transgressions, confessing them, and in this way is saved.
If a man cannot, for example, conquer gluttony, or alcoholism, or fornication, the Lord sends him an illness. A proud and pompous man the Lord will demean before all so that he becomes the least of men in the eyes of all. If this man—a Christian, is bound to the earth and all his strength, all his desires, all his dreams are aimed towards it, whether by truth or falsehood, thievery, deception—by any means—to acquire earthly prosperity, then the Lord will take away all that he has. Thus to all our labors in our own battle with sin, the Lord sends involuntary grief as an aid in our battle.
The Lord attends to the needs of those who trust Him
Seek the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and, according to the immutable word of the Lord Himself, a word more sure than heaven and earth, all your material needs will be added to you. The Lord tests all of His servants, and looks after them, after their spiritual and bodily needs and provides everything at the necessary time to those who trust in Him, and not in their abilities, strengths, skills, and so on.
He who seeks to please God will not be abandoned by God, as long as he doesn't abandon Him.
The only path—patient suffering
There remains for our times only one path: patient suffering.
There will be no personal podvigs for those seeking the Kingdom of God. Finding salvation will come only through patience in sickness and sorrow. And why not podvigs? Because people won’t have humility, and without humility podvigs bring more harm than good, and can even kill a man, because they involuntarily cause a high opinion of oneself for the one who has labored, and they bring forth prelest.
Only with the guidance of very spiritual experienced people should this or that podvig be permitted, but we don’t have such now—they can’t be found. Now the Lord Himself is our guide and partially books for those who have and can understand them. How does the Lord lead? He permits persecution, abuse, sicknesses, and prolonged old age with its burdens and infirmities.
The sorrows necessary for a man’s salvation can be received either more difficultly or more easily depending on his constitution. If a man accepts on faith the word of God about the necessity and inevitability of sorrows for salvation, if he acknowledges his innumerable sins in word, deed, and thought, and considers himself fully deserving of not only those sorrows sent, but even of much more, humbling himself before God and man, then his sorrow will become easier.
If a man murmurs about his sorrows and illnesses and looks for the perpetrator of these sorrows in people, demons and circumstances, using all means to try to avoid them, then the enemy will help him in this, showing him the alleged perpetrator (supervisors, orders, neighbors, and so on), and arousing enmity and hatred and the desire for revenge, and to abuse him, and so on.
People and circumstances are merely God’s instruments, often not understanding what they do.
The wise and believing man uses sorrow for great success in the spiritual life, but the unwise and grumbling man loses the opportunity to acquire it, hurting himself, unnerving both his body and soul.
If you don’t want afflictions then don’t sin
If you don’t want afflictions then don’t sin, and sincerely repent of your sins and unrighteousness, and do no evil to your neighbors neither in deed nor word nor even in thought. Attend church more often, pray, and treat others with mercy, and then the Lord will have mercy upon you, and if it’s useful, He will free you from your afflictions.
Cure for sadness and grief
The cure for sadness and grief is prayer or psalmody and thanksgiving to the Lord. If you compel yourself to read the Psalter with attention and intersperse it often with the Jesus Prayer and prayers to the Mother of God and all the saints, then your grief will subside and you will receive great spiritual benefit.
When you battle with despondency or sadness then compel yourself to mentally say: “Glory to Thee, O God, glory to Thee, O God! I thank Thee, O Lord, that Thou hast sent me this illness for the salvation of my soul. Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee.” Say these dozen words a hundred times, with conviction, from your whole heart, and in a short time you will feel relief in your heart, peace and tranquility, strength and patience. It is a sign of the visitation of the grace of God.
The best path is the middle path
If we get too upset over external difficulties, it’s a sign of little faith; if too upset over those internal, it’s a sign of pride.
Don’t demand from yourself more than you’re capable of. Hope on the mercy of God and not on your own virtues.
Don’t overload your body with labors. The best path is the middle path. A body too healthy and a body too weak are equally obstructive.
Not works, but humility inclines the Lord to mercy
Success in the spiritual life is not measured by spiritual consolations, which could come from the evil one, but by the depth of humility.
Not works, but humility inclines the Lord to mercy.


russiainsider--2020-02-14--Russia Planning Biggest Oil Project in History of World - $155 Billion Investment, 15 New Towns, Air

Russia Planning Biggest Oil Project in History of World - $155 Billion Investment, 15 New Towns, Airports, Ports, 100K Jobs

The development of Vostok Oil is to include 100,000 new jobs , 15 new industry towns , 800 km of pipeline and total investments of more than €144 billion .
Two close companions with decades-long cooperation on Tuesday sat down for a talk in the Kremlin and it was the Arctic that was on top of their agenda .
Igor Sechin has worked with Vladimir Putin since the 1990s and is considered among the most powerful and influential men in the country .
This time , it was the Vostok Oil project that was the key issue of discussion .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rosneft intends to develop large oil reserves on the wide-stretched tundra lands of northern Ural and export it through a projected seaport in the Taymyr Peninsula .
It will be the biggest project in modern-day global oil industry , Sechin underlined to Putin .
According to the Rosneft leader , the Vostok Oil will include the development of 15 new industry towns , two airports , a seaport , about 800 km of new pipelines , 3500 km of new electricity lines and 2000 MW of electric power capacity .
It will require @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 percent annual hike in national GDP , he explains .
The project is based on the development of several oil fields , including at least three in the Vankor area .
The new pipelines and the projected seaport terminal will enable the partners to export an estimated 25 million tons oil per year through the Northern Sea Route .
The pipeline will also be projected to carry oil from Payakha , the fields located along the Yenisey River .
By year 2030 , a total of 100 million tons of oil can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new seaport in Taymyr .
A fleet of top ice-class Arc7 tankers are to be built for the project , Sechin has previously explained .
The oil company leader has the support he needs from the Kremlin .
New Russian legislation paves the way for massive investments in the company ’ s new Arctic project , as well as several more giant petroleum investments in the region .
Rosneft and other oil developers will get large tax cuts that are to cover project development costs .
The legislation that in January was hammered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trigger the development of nine new huge Arctic hydrocarbon projects with investments a high as 14.7 trillion rubles ( €210 billion ) .
The Vostok Oil is the biggest of the projected new projects .
On the backdrop of the new projects lies the Kremlin ’ s desire for a hike in shipments on the Northern Sea Route ( NSR ) .
Vladimir Putin in May 2018 made the Arctic shipping route a national priority and requested a total of 80 million tons of annual shipments on the route by year 2024 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the President ’ s stress on the NSR that lies behind the development of the Vostok Oil .
« Vladimir Vladimirovich [ … ] , we have been requested to provide for shipping volumes on the Northern Sea Route and as part of our fulfillment of this task our company is along with partners working on developing a new oil and gas province in our country ’ s north , in the Taymyr Peninsula , » Sechin said .
The resource basis of the province is about five billion tons of oil , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trillion rubles ( €144 billion ) will have to be invested in the area , and 2 trillion in the first project development phase .
Rosneft has over the last years worked actively with Indian partners and that country ’ s Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan last month confirmed that Indian companies will take part in the Vostok Oil .
In addition to Indian partners , also western companies will take part , Igor Sechin told Vladimir Putin .
« There are a number of other western investors and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a huge international project.
» « We count on the support from your side in this project , » Sechin underlined to the President .
Putin appears full of praise for Sechin ’ s new initiative .
« Igor Ivanovich , the project is indeed very big , and of course very perspective .
It includes the boost of national GDP and increase of shipments on the Northern Sea Route , and of course a strengthening of Russia ’ s positions in the Arctic.
» A the same time , he expresses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you the best of luck , [ but ] make sure that you account for everything in the correct manner .
»

The development of Vostok Oil is to include 100,000 new jobs, 15 new industry towns, 800 km of pipeline and total investments of more than €144 billion.
Two close companions with decades-long cooperation on Tuesday sat down for a talk in the Kremlin and it was the Arctic that was on top of their agenda. Igor Sechin has worked with Vladimir Putin since the 1990s and is considered among the most powerful and influential men in the country.
This time, it was the Vostok Oil project that was the key issue of discussion.
Tundra oil
Igor Sechin and his state-owned oil company Rosneft intends to develop large oil reserves on the wide-stretched tundra lands of northern Ural and export it through a projected seaport in the Taymyr Peninsula.
Igor Sechin talks Vostok Oil with Vladimir Putin. Photo: Kremlin.ru
It will be the biggest project in modern-day global oil industry, Sechin underlined to Putin.
According to the Rosneft leader, the Vostok Oil will include the development of 15 new industry towns, two airports, a seaport, about 800 km of new pipelines, 3500 km of new electricity lines and 2000 MW of electric power capacity.
It will require 100,000 new jobs and lead to a 2 percent annual hike in national GDP, he explains.
To Arctic coast
The project is based on the development of several oil fields, including at least three in the Vankor area. The new pipelines and the projected seaport terminal will enable the partners to export an estimated 25 million tons oil per year through the Northern Sea Route.
The pipeline will also be projected to carry oil from Payakha, the fields located along the Yenisey River. By year 2030, a total of 100 million tons of oil can be exported through the pipeline and the new seaport in Taymyr. A fleet of top ice-class Arc7 tankers are to be built for the project, Sechin has previously explained.
Massive tax cuts
The oil company leader has the support he needs from the Kremlin. New Russian legislation paves the way for massive investments in the company’s new Arctic project, as well as several more giant petroleum investments in the region.
Rosneft and other oil developers will get large tax cuts that are to cover project development costs.
The legislation that in January was hammered through government includes measures that are to trigger the development of nine new huge Arctic hydrocarbon projects with investments a high as 14.7 trillion rubles (€210 billion). The Vostok Oil is the biggest of the projected new projects.
Northern Sea Route
A pipeline will be built from Rosneft’s oil fields in Vankor and to the Arctic coast of Taymyr Peninsula
On the backdrop of the new projects lies the Kremlin’s desire for a hike in shipments on the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Vladimir Putin in May 2018 made the Arctic shipping route a national priority and requested a total of 80 million tons of annual shipments on the route by year 2024.
According to Igor Sechin, it is the President’s stress on the NSR that lies behind the development of the Vostok Oil.
«Vladimir Vladimirovich […], we have been requested to provide for shipping volumes on the Northern Sea Route and as part of our fulfillment of this task our company is along with partners working on developing a new oil and gas province in our country’s north, in the Taymyr Peninsula,» Sechin said.
The resource basis of the province is about five billion tons of oil, he made clear.
Indian buyers
More than 10 trillion rubles (€144 billion) will have to be invested in the area, and 2 trillion in the first project development phase.
Rosneft has over the last years worked actively with Indian partners and that country’s Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan last month confirmed that Indian companies will take part in the Vostok Oil.
In addition to Indian partners, also western companies will take part, Igor Sechin told Vladimir Putin.
«There are a number of other western investors and we expect this to become a big, a huge international project.»
Support from President
«We count on the support from your side in this project,» Sechin underlined to the President.
Putin appears full of praise for Sechin’s new initiative.
«Igor Ivanovich, the project is indeed very big, and of course very perspective. It includes the boost of national GDP and increase of shipments on the Northern Sea Route, and of course a strengthening of Russia’s positions in the Arctic.»
A the same time, he expresses a certain reservation.
«I wish you the best of luck, [but] make sure that you account for everything in the correct manner.»


russiainsider--2020-02-14--Former RT Host Abby Martin Sues State of Georgia for Requiring Pledge of Allegiance to Israel

Abby Martin , host of “ The Empire Files , ” joined Radio Sputnik Tuesday to discuss how her talk at an upcoming conference at Georgia Southern University was canceled after she refused to sign a contractual pledge to not support the Boycott , Divestment and Sanctions ( BDS ) movement .
Now she ’ s filing a lawsuit in defense of her First Amendment rights .
Martin told Sputnik that a lawsuit was filed against Georgia Southern University Monday morning in the state of Georgia .
The two organizations helping her with the case , the Council on American-Islamic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Civil Justice Fund , anticipate “ that it could be a very clear-cut case … I 'm hoping that will be a very quick , clear-cut rejection , an overhaul of the law in the state of Georgia , ” she said .
Martin said she decided to take legal action for two reasons .
“ One , this is central to my professional and personal life .
This is something that is a central tenet to my moral convictions and beliefs , ” Martin told Loud & Clear host Brian Becker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights .
She noted that after refusing to sign the pledge , other scheduled speakers supported her position , and the talk was canceled .
 “ However , this conference that was scheduled was actually not about Palestine or my criticism of Israel at all .
It was simply about media literacy : speaking as a journalist on the subject of media .
So , not only was this a complete violation of my right to have my personal convictions - akin to deeply religious beliefs that other people have that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my right to engage in peaceful political protest , and that is the right to boycott , ” Martin told Sputnik .
 “ This is something fundamental going back decades and has very long-standing roots in the political activism movement in this country , just like the civil rights movement .
So , especially being in Georgia and being told by the state of Georgia that I can not speak at a publicly funded institution about any subject matter , not just the subject of Palestine , if I don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constitutional rights was just an abhorrent notion .
And I know that I need to challenge this .
I think a lot of people - thousands of independent contractors - are forfeiting their constitutional rights all the time without realizing that they are signing them away with these independent contractor clauses , ” she explained .
The BDS campaign is a Palestinian-led movement fighting for the freedom , justice and equality of Palestinians by putting nonviolent pressure on Israel through the boycott of Israeli-made goods and academic and cultural events , pressuring companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international sanctions on Israel to force the country to comply with international law and end the occupation of Arab lands .
However , a growing movement led by the Israeli government has pushed back , claiming that BDS is anti-semitic and advocating for it to be barred from university campuses on racial discrimination grounds .
Martin noted that according to the terms of the pledge she was asked to sign , “ you can not boycott or advocate the boycott of Israel - not just in the talk that you are going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do in said institution or in said state .
It ’ s just that at any point in your life , you can not engage in the political boycott or the advocacy of the political boycott of the state of Israel , which is absolutely absurd .
How could I have complied with this ?
” “ I just released a film called ‘ Gaza Fights for Freedom ’ that advocates [ for ] the BDS movement .
I am involved in many movements that advocate for BDS , for Palestinian rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these video reports from my company ’ s website , destroy and delete all copies of the film ?
It was an absolutely outrageous thing to ask of someone : ‘ You can not engage in this political activity that is of course protected in the First Amendment , ’ ” Martin explained , which enshrines the right to free speech in the US Constitution .
According to an April 2019 report by the Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) , 27 US states have adopted anti-boycott laws to punish businesses , organizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ States with anti-boycott laws are effectively telling companies that if you do the right thing and disentangle yourselves from settlement abuses , you can ’ t do business with us .
States should encourage , not sanction , companies that avoid contributing to rights abuses , ” Andrea Prasow , deputy US advocacy director at Human Rights Watch , said in a press release .
The US Senate in January 2019 also passed a bill endorsing state anti-boycott laws , though the bill has yet to receive a vote in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been challenged at the local level , Martin noted .
“ A speech pathologist in Texas was able to challenge this law .
CAIR has also challenged these laws successfully in several instances … They ’ ve [ lawmakers passing anti-BDS laws ] been able to make the law more malleable to preserve this egregious violation of the Constitution and keep it intact , but there ’ s been different outcomes across the country .
I am confident that any judge with any sort of understanding of the Constitution of the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have - would strike down this blatant violation of our First Amendment rights .
This is kind of a two-pronged law that violates ... the political right to boycott and also the right to speak on these issues , ” Martin explained .

Abby Martin, host of “The Empire Files,” joined Radio Sputnik Tuesday to discuss how her talk at an upcoming conference at Georgia Southern University was canceled after she refused to sign a contractual pledge to not support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Now she’s filing a lawsuit in defense of her First Amendment rights.
Martin told Sputnik that a lawsuit was filed against Georgia Southern University Monday morning in the state of Georgia. The two organizations helping her with the case, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, anticipate “that it could be a very clear-cut case … I'm hoping that will be a very quick, clear-cut rejection, an overhaul of the law in the state of Georgia,” she said.
“I’m really excited to be working with CAIR and also the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, an amazing attorney’s office that is central to DC that has challenged many free speech violations in DC and beyond. And I’m working in conjunction with these two organizations, and I’m very thrilled to be working with them, because I really believe in their work,” Martin added.
Martin said she decided to take legal action for two reasons. “One, this is central to my professional and personal life. This is something that is a central tenet to my moral convictions and beliefs,” Martin told Loud & Clear host Brian Becker, referring to her advocacy for Palestinian rights. She noted that after refusing to sign the pledge, other scheduled speakers supported her position, and the talk was canceled.
Opening statement from Edward Ahmed Mitchell, co-counsel to @AbbyMartin and Executive Director of CAIR-Georgia, on today's legal filing pic.twitter.com/ZJdAaUZkYQ — The Empire Files (@EmpireFiles) February 11, 2020
“However, this conference that was scheduled was actually not about Palestine or my criticism of Israel at all. It was simply about media literacy: speaking as a journalist on the subject of media. So, not only was this a complete violation of my right to have my personal convictions - akin to deeply religious beliefs that other people have that are protected constitutional rights - but also just my right to engage in peaceful political protest, and that is the right to boycott,” Martin told Sputnik.
Filed today in the US District Court in the District of Georgia!
Read the full legal complaint here: https://t.co/8mTiqWzSOE pic.twitter.com/Z5eQ6Ob0FU — The Empire Files (@EmpireFiles) February 10, 2020
“This is something fundamental going back decades and has very long-standing roots in the political activism movement in this country, just like the civil rights movement. So, especially being in Georgia and being told by the state of Georgia that I cannot speak at a publicly funded institution about any subject matter, not just the subject of Palestine, if I don’t contractually pledge to violate and forfeit my constitutional rights was just an abhorrent notion. And I know that I need to challenge this. I think a lot of people - thousands of independent contractors - are forfeiting their constitutional rights all the time without realizing that they are signing them away with these independent contractor clauses,” she explained.
The BDS campaign is a Palestinian-led movement fighting for the freedom, justice and equality of Palestinians by putting nonviolent pressure on Israel through the boycott of Israeli-made goods and academic and cultural events, pressuring companies to divest from Israel and calling for international sanctions on Israel to force the country to comply with international law and end the occupation of Arab lands.
However, a growing movement led by the Israeli government has pushed back, claiming that BDS is anti-semitic and advocating for it to be barred from university campuses on racial discrimination grounds.
Martin noted that according to the terms of the pledge she was asked to sign, “you cannot boycott or advocate the boycott of Israel - not just in the talk that you are going to give or the work you are going to do in said institution or in said state. It’s just that at any point in your life, you cannot engage in the political boycott or the advocacy of the political boycott of the state of Israel, which is absolutely absurd. How could I have complied with this?”
“I just released a film called ‘Gaza Fights for Freedom’ that advocates [for] the BDS movement. I am involved in many movements that advocate for BDS, for Palestinian rights. Was I supposed to remove all these video reports from my company’s website, destroy and delete all copies of the film? It was an absolutely outrageous thing to ask of someone: ‘You cannot engage in this political activity that is of course protected in the First Amendment,’” Martin explained, which enshrines the right to free speech in the US Constitution.
According to an April 2019 report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), 27 US states have adopted anti-boycott laws to punish businesses, organizations or people who support the BDS movement.
“States with anti-boycott laws are effectively telling companies that if you do the right thing and disentangle yourselves from settlement abuses, you can’t do business with us. States should encourage, not sanction, companies that avoid contributing to rights abuses,” Andrea Prasow, deputy US advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a press release. The US Senate in January 2019 also passed a bill endorsing state anti-boycott laws, though the bill has yet to receive a vote in the House of Representatives.
Several anti-BDS laws have been challenged at the local level, Martin noted.
“A speech pathologist in Texas was able to challenge this law. CAIR has also challenged these laws successfully in several instances … They’ve [lawmakers passing anti-BDS laws] been able to make the law more malleable to preserve this egregious violation of the Constitution and keep it intact, but there’s been different outcomes across the country. I am confident that any judge with any sort of understanding of the Constitution of the US - which I would hope any judge would have - would strike down this blatant violation of our First Amendment rights. This is kind of a two-pronged law that violates ... the political right to boycott and also the right to speak on these issues,” Martin explained.


russiainsider--2020-02-17--STILL No White Deaths from Coronavirus - Why Won't the Media Talk About This?

`` If we want to avoid future suffering , panic and and death—whether due to viruses or whatever else—we must be like the Chinese , able to talk frankly about race . ''
`` When it comes to “ race ” ( the Chinese Government ) is honest to a degree that should Americans public officials and journalists blush .
And China ’ s honesty only confirms that this is not a virus from which white people die . ''
See also : Asians Far More Susceptible to Coronavirus than Other Races , More Likely to Die , Just Like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : There is still no confirmed case of the Coronavirus killing anyone other than ethnic East Asians .
The Drudge Report today ( February 15 ) features FRANCE REPORTS FIRST DEATH OUTSIDE ASIA… but the underlying story , from Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance , says the victim was an “ 80-year-old Chinese tourist.
” Drudge , of course , is just scaring up clicks .
But why does the rest of the Main Stream Media , and the medical Establishment , want to suppress a possibility that could relieve fears around the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and perhaps only kills , East Asians ?
Taking the exact opposite tack to me , CNN Medical Talking Head Dr Sanjay Gupta recently asserted that Corona “ doesn ’ t discriminate based on race .
Why do we ?
” Gupta put this most Woke of questions to CDC director Dr Robert Redfield in response to the Trump Administration ’ s having decided to , in Redfield ’ s words “ temporarily suspend travel into the United States from individuals who were not Americans or permanent residents who had been in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” [ ‘ It ’ s Coming ’ : CDC Director Warns Coronavirus To Become Widespread Throughout United States , ‘ Probably Beyond 2020 ’ , By Tyler Durden , Zero Hedge , February 14 , 2020 ] .
Now , obviously , it ’ s paranoid nonsense to claim that this Trump policy is discriminating based on “ race.
” Chinese-Canadians will have no problem entering the U.S. so long as they haven ’ t been in the “ hot zone ” or the last two weeks .
In contrast , white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ hot zone “ in the last fortnight , will be denied access to the U.S. And this is perfectly sensible if the virus doesn ’ t discriminate based on race , because if you have been at the epicenter of the Corona outbreak , no matter what your race , then you could carry this deadly disease into the US , and it has an equal chance of impacting every US citizen .
Except , of course , as I have been saying for weeks , the disease apparently does indeed discriminate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differences in the susceptibility to flu-like viruses , which is why the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic was far more devastating to Native Americans and Maoris than it was to whites ( although Spanish flu , unlike Coronavirus so far , did kill a lot of other races ) .
And certain kinds of flu seem to be more deadly to East Asians than they are to whites .
This is why , as I—alone , it seems – have been pointing out that the 2003 SARS outbreak , about which there was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only , or at least primarily , East Asians .
I suspect the authorities actually do know the Coronavirus discriminates by race .
If they don ’ t , then why did World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ahanom Ghebreyesus declare this week that he opposed travel bans ?
Zero Hedge quoted him in its article above : “ Little public health benefit ” ?
If Corona really doesn ’ t discriminate based on race , then the public health benefits of banning people coming from areas where the virus is rife from entering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ From a utilitarian perspective , they would more than outweigh the negative impact of trade disruption and a few Chinese people having to hear unpleasant remarks about bat consumption .
There ’ s only one way these restrictions would have “ little public health benefit ” and would unjustifiably interfere with “ international travel and trade ” —if Corona was only fatal to Northeast Asians , and merely gave the overwhelming majority of Americans who caught it an irritating case of winter flu .
If that were the case – which it appears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the WHO might well question the wisdom of a travel ban .
While , naturally , being unable to be honest about why .
CDC director Redfield ’ s fears , quoted by Zero Hedge , that the disease will become a “ community virus ” endemic in U.S. is quite compatible with that : it may be confined to Chinese immigrant communities .
Similarly , there were a flurry of headlines last week that an “ American woman ” had died of Corona in Wuhan e.g .
[ US citizen dies of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , By Youyou Zhou , Quartz , February 8 , 2020 ] .
However , the Quartz story added : How could Gottlieb be so sure there would be no epidemic in the U.S ?
Perhaps partly because this virus , like all such viruses , becomes less virulent as it transmits away from the epicenter .
But more importantly : perhaps because there simply aren ’ t that many East Asians in the US—that is people who are likely to be severely affected by Corona—and they ’ re not going to pass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can be emphasized enough that 60-year-old American who died in Wuhan was not , despite the implication of the Quartz headline , descended from people arrived on our shores in the Mayflower .
She did not have a collateral ancestor who was hanged at Salem .
She bears no hereditary guilt for her ancestors having held slaves in South Carolina .
According to CNN : The Chinese government may be one of the most secretive in the world .
But , fortunately , when it comes to “ race ” they are an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public officials and journalists blush .
And China ’ s honesty only confirms that this is not a virus from which white people die .
Coronavirus looks like a rerun of SARS .
And quite how the fact that SARS only killed East Asians has escaped people ’ s attention is worth considering in this new context .
Kevin MacDonald has argued that if the social pressure , and social benefits , are strong enough then we can force ourselves—through a process called “ effortful control ” —to believe that lies are true @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not consistent with the worldview which it is beneficial accept [ Effortful Control , Explicit Processing , and the Regulation of Human Evolved Predispositions , by Kevin MacDonald , Psychological Review , 2008 ] .
It only goes show how pathological our taboo on “ race ” has become .
Race denial is so strong that possible race differences in the incidence of a disease can not be mentioned , or even suggested .
If we want to avoid future suffering , panic and and death—whether due to viruses or whatever else—we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to talk frankly about race .
Those who would stop us from doing so—such as Angela Saini , and perhaps Sanjay Gupta—are literally a danger to humanity itself .

"If we want to avoid future suffering, panic and and death—whether due to viruses or whatever else—we must be like the Chinese, able to talk frankly about race."
"When it comes to “race” (the Chinese Government) is honest to a degree that should Americans public officials and journalists blush. And China’s honesty only confirms that this is not a virus from which white people die."
See also: Asians Far More Susceptible to Coronavirus than Other Races, More Likely to Die, Just Like SARS - REPORT
The story so far: There is still no confirmed case of the Coronavirus killing anyone other than ethnic East Asians. The Drudge Report today (February 15) features FRANCE REPORTS FIRST DEATH OUTSIDE ASIA… but the underlying story, from Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance, says the victim was an “80-year-old Chinese tourist.” Drudge, of course, is just scaring up clicks. But why does the rest of the Main Stream Media, and the medical Establishment, want to suppress a possibility that could relieve fears around the world: that the Coronavirus disproportionately impacts, and perhaps only kills, East Asians?
Now read on.
Taking the exact opposite tack to me, CNN Medical Talking Head Dr Sanjay Gupta recently asserted that Corona “doesn’t discriminate based on race. Why do we?”
Gupta put this most Woke of questions to CDC director Dr Robert Redfield in response to the Trump Administration’s having decided to, in Redfield’s words “temporarily suspend travel into the United States from individuals who were not Americans or permanent residents who had been in the hot zone in the last 14 days.” [‘It’s Coming’: CDC Director Warns Coronavirus To Become Widespread Throughout United States, ‘Probably Beyond 2020’, By Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, February 14, 2020].
Now, obviously, it’s paranoid nonsense to claim that this Trump policy is discriminating based on “race.” Chinese-Canadians will have no problem entering the U.S. so long as they haven’t been in the “hot zone” or the last two weeks. In contrast, white British people who have been in the “hot zone “in the last fortnight, will be denied access to the U.S.
And this is perfectly sensible if the virus doesn’t discriminate based on race, because if you have been at the epicenter of the Corona outbreak, no matter what your race, then you could carry this deadly disease into the US, and it has an equal chance of impacting every US citizen.
Except, of course, as I have been saying for weeks, the disease apparently does indeed discriminate by race. There are long-recognized race differences in the susceptibility to flu-like viruses, which is why the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic was far more devastating to Native Americans and Maoris than it was to whites (although Spanish flu, unlike Coronavirus so far, did kill a lot of other races). And certain kinds of flu seem to be more deadly to East Asians than they are to whites.
This is why, as I—alone, it seems – have been pointing out that the 2003 SARS outbreak, about which there was a similar panic, apparently ended up killing only, or at least primarily, East Asians.
I suspect the authorities actually do know the Coronavirus discriminates by race. If they don’t, then why did World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ahanom Ghebreyesus declare this week that he opposed travel bans? Zero Hedge quoted him in its article above:
“We reiterate our call to all countries not to impose restrictions that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. Such restrictions can have the effect of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit.”
“Little public health benefit”? If Corona really doesn’t discriminate based on race, then the public health benefits of banning people coming from areas where the virus is rife from entering the US would obviously be enormous. From a utilitarian perspective, they would more than outweigh the negative impact of trade disruption and a few Chinese people having to hear unpleasant remarks about bat consumption.
There’s only one way these restrictions would have “little public health benefit” and would unjustifiably interfere with “international travel and trade”—if Corona was only fatal to Northeast Asians, and merely gave the overwhelming majority of Americans who caught it an irritating case of winter flu.
If that were the case – which it appears to be – then the head of the WHO might well question the wisdom of a travel ban.
While, naturally, being unable to be honest about why.
CDC director Redfield’s fears, quoted by Zero Hedge, that the disease will become a “community virus” endemic in U.S. is quite compatible with that: it may be confined to Chinese immigrant communities.
Similarly, there were a flurry of headlines last week that an “American woman” had died of Corona in Wuhan e.g. [US citizen dies of Wuhan virus in first confirmed non-Chinese fatality, By Youyou Zhou, Quartz, February 8, 2020]. However, the Quartz story added:
Scott Gottlieb, former head of the US Food and Drug Administration, told CNBC, “We will see more cases in the US and a lot will be undetected.” He added, however, that he did not expect an epidemic-level crisis in America.
How could Gottlieb be so sure there would be no epidemic in the U.S? Perhaps partly because this virus, like all such viruses, becomes less virulent as it transmits away from the epicenter. But more importantly: perhaps because there simply aren’t that many East Asians in the US—that is people who are likely to be severely affected by Corona—and they’re not going to pass it on to other Americans.
It can be emphasized enough that 60-year-old American who died in Wuhan was not, despite the implication of the Quartz headline, descended from people arrived on our shores in the Mayflower. She did not have a collateral ancestor who was hanged at Salem. She bears no hereditary guilt for her ancestors having held slaves in South Carolina. According to CNN:
The US Embassy in Beijing confirmed a 60-year-old American national had died on Thursday at the Jinyintian Hospital in Wuhan, while the Chinese government offered condolences for the death of “a Chinese-American.” [China has deadliest day for coronavirus as US national becomes first foreigner to die, By Lily Lee and Joshua Berlinger, CNN, February 8, 2020].
The Chinese government may be one of the most secretive in the world. But, fortunately, when it comes to “race” they are an honest to a degree that should Americans public officials and journalists blush. And China’s honesty only confirms that this is not a virus from which white people die.
Coronavirus looks like a rerun of SARS. And quite how the fact that SARS only killed East Asians has escaped people’s attention is worth considering in this new context.
Kevin MacDonald has argued that if the social pressure, and social benefits, are strong enough then we can force ourselves—through a process called “effortful control”—to believe that lies are true and to blind ourselves to facts which are not consistent with the worldview which it is beneficial accept [Effortful Control, Explicit Processing, and the Regulation of Human Evolved Predispositions, by Kevin MacDonald, Psychological Review, 2008].
It only goes show how pathological our taboo on “race” has become. Race denial is so strong that possible race differences in the incidence of a disease cannot be mentioned, or even suggested.
If we want to avoid future suffering, panic and and death—whether due to viruses or whatever else—we must be like the Chinese, able to talk frankly about race.
Those who would stop us from doing so—such as Angela Saini, and perhaps Sanjay Gupta—are literally a danger to humanity itself.


russiainsider--2020-02-17--Russian TV Commemorates the Criminal Bombing of Dresden: No Military Motive - Just Murder, Terror an

Russian TV Commemorates the Criminal Bombing of Dresden: No Military Motive - Just Murder, Terror and Politics (Video)

Why do n't American news channels talk about this ?
Americans bombers actually dropped many of the bombs , together with the British .
It 's been 75 years since one of the worst events of World War II — the bombing of Dresden .
In February 1945 , American and British air forces razed the city to the ground .
Explosions and fires destroyed at least half of the buildings and claimed tens of thousands of lives .
The necessity of the bombing is still a matter of controversy among historians .
See a report by the chief of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on what the Germans think about it .
You can get the best view of Dresden from the right bank of the Elbe : the Semperoper , the Dresden Frauenkirche , the Royal Palace , the Dresden Cathedral , the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts , Brühl 's Terrace , and a nine-story building at Steinstrasse .
This colorful neighborhood of baroque and panel buildings is a reminder of what happened to the city in three days , from February 13th to 15th , 1945 .
At that time , Nora Lang lived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began , the whole family went down into the basement .
: `` After the first attack , our house was on fire .
It was deafening .
I was terrified .
It seemed to me that the war was about to end , and tanks would enter the city and crush us .
I thought it was the end of the world , but it was just the second wave of bombings . ''
Only fragments of the Dresden Cathedral remained from the old district that day .
Everything else was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There was also a strong wind that threw people into the fire : `` When we went outside after the second attack , a firestorm was raging here .
Millions of sparks flew into our faces .
I went blind for a moment .
When I come to see my ophthalmologist , they ask me if I worked as a welder .
It 's a miracle that we didn ’ t burn . ''
1,100 British and American bombers dropped 7,500 tons of incendiary and high-explosive bombs onto the city .
Berlin and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the laws of physics determined the monstrous scale of the Dresden catastrophe .
It was cold but , due to fires , in the city center , it was hotter than in summer .
Hot air rose , the pressure dropped , and cold air rushed inward to the base of the fire .
It was like a blast .
Dresden turned into a blast furnace .
Perhaps this effect was taken into account when planning the attack but the bomber pilots were n't warned about this .
: `` The bomber @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of the fire raging on the ground .
They asked themselves the question of what was happening down below if they were banging their heads against the walls of the cockpit .
They knew it was like hell in the city . ''
The Allies lost about 100 pilots , 20 aircraft , to anti-aircraft fire .
The current estimate of the number of victims is 25,000 people , most of them civilians .
Historians still ca n't understand why .
Besides cigarettes , Dresden did n't produce anything for the military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they bombed a transport hub .
But Germany believes there were no military goals , only political ones .
With a powerful storm to the western bank of the Oder , the Red Army had saved the allies from defeat in the Ardennes .
They wanted to impress Stalin .
Or maybe it was even simpler — they trained new crews for the future , and they did n't want the Russians to get a whole and beautiful city .
It 's just vandalism .
Therefore , every year , the anniversary of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not only for mourning but also for political manifestations of German national patriots , who make it out of the question that this was n't the first act of air terror .
The first one , Guernica , in Spain , was the work of the Luftwaffe , and after that : London , Coventry , Kiev , Minsk , and Leningrad .
Angelika Benke , pastor of the Lutheran church of the Virgin : `` The war came from German land .
Those in power then launched the war .
The country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an ideological influence on its citizens to create an atmosphere of universal hatred .
Most of the population agreed with this and strove for total war .
There are guilty ones , but there are victims as well . ''
Pastor Benke serves in the Lutheran Church of the Virgin , which was destroyed in 1945 and restored after the unification of Germany .
Pocks of smoked bricks , preserved by frugal Germans , remind of the past .
The son of an English pilot presented a new cross to the tower .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is inside .
This valuable relic is an illustration of the Old Testament prophecy that the one who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind .

Why don't American news channels talk about this? Americans bombers actually dropped many of the bombs, together with the British.
Transcript:
It's been 75 years since one of the worst events of World War II — the bombing of Dresden. In February 1945, American and British air forces razed the city to the ground. Explosions and fires destroyed at least half of the buildings and claimed tens of thousands of lives. The necessity of the bombing is still a matter of controversy among historians.
See a report by the chief of our European bureau, Mikhail Antonov, on what the Germans think about it.
You can get the best view of Dresden from the right bank of the Elbe: the Semperoper, the Dresden Frauenkirche, the Royal Palace, the Dresden Cathedral, the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, Brühl's Terrace, and a nine-story building at Steinstrasse. This colorful neighborhood of baroque and panel buildings is a reminder of what happened to the city in three days, from February 13th to 15th, 1945.
At that time, Nora Lang lived in downtown Dresden. When the bombing began, the whole family went down into the basement.
Nora Lang : "After the first attack, our house was on fire. It was deafening. I was terrified. It seemed to me that the war was about to end, and tanks would enter the city and crush us. I thought it was the end of the world, but it was just the second wave of bombings."
Only fragments of the Dresden Cathedral remained from the old district that day. Everything else was a pile of brick and burning ceilings. There was also a strong wind that threw people into the fire
Nora Lang : "When we went outside after the second attack, a firestorm was raging here. Millions of sparks flew into our faces. I went blind for a moment. When I come to see my ophthalmologist, they ask me if I worked as a welder. It's a miracle that we didn’t burn."
1,100 British and American bombers dropped 7,500 tons of incendiary and high-explosive bombs onto the city. Berlin and Hamburg were bombed much more intensely, but the laws of physics determined the monstrous scale of the Dresden catastrophe. It was cold but, due to fires, in the city center, it was hotter than in summer. Hot air rose, the pressure dropped, and cold air rushed inward to the base of the fire. It was like a blast. Dresden turned into a blast furnace. Perhaps this effect was taken into account when planning the attack but the bomber pilots weren't warned about this.
Jörg Friedrich, historian : "The bomber pilots were pitched from side to side because of the fire raging on the ground. They asked themselves the question of what was happening down below if they were banging their heads against the walls of the cockpit. They knew it was like hell in the city."
The Allies lost about 100 pilots, 20 aircraft, to anti-aircraft fire. The current estimate of the number of victims is 25,000 people, most of them civilians. Historians still can't understand why. Besides cigarettes, Dresden didn't produce anything for the military. The USA and Britain say that they bombed a transport hub.
But Germany believes there were no military goals, only political ones. With a powerful storm to the western bank of the Oder, the Red Army had saved the allies from defeat in the Ardennes. They wanted to impress Stalin. Or maybe it was even simpler — they trained new crews for the future, and they didn't want the Russians to get a whole and beautiful city. It's just vandalism.


russiainsider--2020-02-17--MUST LISTEN: Russian Pranksters Posing as Greta Thunberg Fool Bernie Sanders for 10 Glorious, Side-S

MUST LISTEN: Russian Pranksters Posing as Greta Thunberg Fool Bernie Sanders for 10 Glorious, Side-Splitting Minutes

You can Google them all , most of them are absolutely priceless .
Vovan and Lexus add America 's favorite socialist to their extraordinary roster of suckers .
These include , among others , Congresswoman Maxine Waters , former U.S .
Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley , Joaquin Phoenix , Elton John , French president Macron , President of Ukraine Poroshenko , John McCain , and Senator Lindsay Graham .
One of their funniest yet .
They get Bernie to agree to wear gold chains and throw money around in a rap video with girls in bikinis .
Vladimir @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News they fooled Sanders in an 11-minute call , all recorded and uploaded to YouTube on Friday .
The call was allegedly recorded in early December , over a Skype interview with Stolyarov taking the role of Svante while an unknown woman pretends to be Greta .
The imitators started with the possibility of `` Greta '' endorsing Sanders ' presidential campaign .
`` Let us continue to talk and when you come to the United States I will bring some people together and we can do some interesting things , and if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support of my candidacy and the program we have outlined for climate change , I would be very very appreciative , '' Sanders said .
The pranksters then suggested that `` Greta '' would record a hip-hop song in support of Sanders together with singer Billie Eilish and rapper Kanye West .
They said there would be luxury sports cars and hot women dancing while Sanders wears `` gold jewelry . ''
The senator thought it was funny and laughed it off , but apparently , `` Greta '' was serious .
Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' to get involved with his campaign was to release a statement of support , along with , if she was in the U.S. , could visit him on the campaign trail .
The YouTube video is absolutely hilarious , until it all went downhill after `` Greta '' asked the Vermont senator about his 1988 visit to the Soviet Union .
`` In the Soviet Union in 1988 , after you were recruited , you were programmed to work for Russia , and your memory was erased so the CIA would n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` This is what you believe ? ''
Sanders responded .
`` Yes , you became a sleeper agent of the KGB .
Now it 's time to wake up and fulfill your mission , become president of the United States , build communism in the United States , and work for Russia ! ''
And it was at that very moment , a little after ten minutes on the call , Sanders hung up after he realized he was punk 'd .
Kuznetsov and Stolyarov have fooled other high-profile victims around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Waters , former U.S .
Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley , actor Joaquin Phoenix , singer Elton John , and President Emmanuel Macron .

You can Google them all, most of them are absolutely priceless.
Vovan and Lexus add America's favorite socialist to their extraordinary roster of suckers. These include, among others, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley , Joaquin Phoenix, Elton John, French president Macron, President of Ukraine Poroshenko, John McCain, and Senator Lindsay Graham.
One of their funniest yet. They get Bernie to agree to wear gold chains and throw money around in a rap video with girls in bikinis.
Two Russian pranksters duped U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders into believing they were climate change activist Greta Thunberg and her father, Svante.
Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov told A.P. News they fooled Sanders in an 11-minute call, all recorded and uploaded to YouTube on Friday.
The call was allegedly recorded in early December, over a Skype interview with Stolyarov taking the role of Svante while an unknown woman pretends to be Greta.
The imitators started with the possibility of "Greta" endorsing Sanders' presidential campaign.
"Let us continue to talk and when you come to the United States I will bring some people together and we can do some interesting things, and if you wanted to make a statement in support of my candidacy and the program we have outlined for climate change, I would be very very appreciative," Sanders said.
The pranksters then suggested that "Greta" would record a hip-hop song in support of Sanders together with singer Billie Eilish and rapper Kanye West. They said there would be luxury sports cars and hot women dancing while Sanders wears "gold jewelry." The senator thought it was funny and laughed it off, but apparently, "Greta" was serious.
Sanders said the best way for "Greta" to get involved with his campaign was to release a statement of support, along with, if she was in the U.S., could visit him on the campaign trail.
The YouTube video is absolutely hilarious, until it all went downhill after "Greta" asked the Vermont senator about his 1988 visit to the Soviet Union.
"In the Soviet Union in 1988, after you were recruited, you were programmed to work for Russia, and your memory was erased so the CIA wouldn't track you down," she said.
"This is what you believe?" Sanders responded. "Yes, you became a sleeper agent of the KGB. Now it's time to wake up and fulfill your mission, become president of the United States, build communism in the United States, and work for Russia!"
And it was at that very moment, a little after ten minutes on the call, Sanders hung up after he realized he was punk'd.
Kuznetsov and Stolyarov have fooled other high-profile victims around the world, including Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, actor Joaquin Phoenix, singer Elton John, and President Emmanuel Macron.