[Majorityrights News] Alex Navalny, born 4th June, 1976; died at Yamalo-Nenets penitentiary 16th February, 2024 Posted by Guessedworker on Friday, 16 February 2024 23:43.
[Majorityrights Central] A couple of exchanges on the nature and meaning of Christianity’s origin Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, 25 July 2023 22:19.
[Majorityrights News] Is the Ukrainian counter-offensive for Bakhmut the counter-offensive for Ukraine? Posted by Guessedworker on Thursday, 18 May 2023 18:55.
Posted by DanielS on Sunday, 13 November 2016 05:01.
Interviewed at the ADDE conference in Stockholm 4 Nov., Rolandas Paksas recommends Lithuana’s participation in The Intermarium.
Visigrad Post, Lithuania – Interview with Rolandas Paksas, former President of Lithuania: “The Visegrád group could be a great ally for the Baltics and Lithuania, and we shall strengthen the cooperation.”
Ferenc Almássy conducted an interview in Stockholm with Rolandas Paksas, MEP, former President and former Prime Minister of Lithuania, and former mayor of Vilnius. The controversial national-liberal politician accepted a request to answer a few questions for the Visegrád Post on 4 Nov. 2016, as he participated to a congress of the ADDE in Stockholm.
Ferenc Almássy: Thank you for your time Mr. President. Is it the case for you that you consider the Visegrád group a potential useful ally for Lithuania and for the Baltic states, for a military, economical and of course political cooperation? Within the EU, Orbán in Hungary, PiS in Poland but also Fico in Slovakia are doing a lot to support the idea of a Europe of sovereign nations. So, how do you see the V4, from a Baltic, or more precisely, a Lithuanian point of view?
Rolandas Paksas: In my opinion, yes, the Visegrád group could be a great ally for the Baltics and Lithuania, absolutely. When I served as Lithuanian President, and Lithuania became member of the EU on May 1, 2004, I was absolutely supporting the EU’s membership of Lithuania, and I was very active in the campaign for the referendum on this topic, as I saw the membership as a very good opportunity for the country’s future.
But it is a pity, the EU has changed. And not in the good direction. We have now one state, I mean, the European Union has became a state, with its unique capital, its own rules and one leader, but also many bureaucrats in Brussels.
So I see the Visegrád group as a possibility to save the European Union. The EU should be a Union between equals. No matter how much population of how many languages are spoken in a country. We need a new way in order to save the European Union, and I agree therefore that the Visegrád group is a good possibility for all of us.
FA: You are speaking about saving the European Union, but what is then your opinion on Brexit?
Rolandas Paksas: This is the decision of the people. And not stupid people or poor, uneducated people as we were told, each day, ten hours a day, by mainstream media. Not at all. It was the decision of clever people in order to save England and the European Union. For me it is a great pity that the opportunity to save the European Union right after Brexit has not been taken. The European Union should have been changed after the Brexit ; but actually, I saw the exact opposite. I see ugliness and dictator-like behaviors from Brussels’ bureaucrats, and from the leaders of the European Union, and it seems to me, if nothing changes, that the European Union has four of five years left.
FA: The Visegrád countries are under the economical rule of Germany…
Rolandas Paksas: Yes!
FA: …but what is the situation in the Baltics countries, I mean, from an economical point of view?
Rolandas Paksas: Baltics countries are given money by the European Union. Economically, people are counting on this. Of course, it looks like a very good business to get four euros when you invested one! But that will not last. It is temporary. And it does not have a strong ground.
FA: How do you see the future of the Baltic countries if they stay in the EU and if the EU doesn’t change?
Rolandas Paksas: I’m MEP for the second time. Seven years ago, for ideas such as the ones shared by the members of the ADDE, I saw 70 to 90 votes in the parliament. Nowadays, we can reach 250, sometimes 300, so basically the half of the parliament. Such is the situation in Lithuania and the Baltic states. People’s ideas have changed a lot. People in Lithuania now fight for their nation, their culture, their language, and for the Lithuanian tradition. They do not want to be part of an other union destroying our country. We were in such a union once, it was called the Soviet Union. So no more of that, no more…
FA: Do you think the Baltic countries should join or at least be strong partners of the V4 to avoid such evolution?
Rolandas Paksas: I am absolutely in favor of any stronger cooperation. But our establishment is not ready for that.
FA: For what reason?
Rolandas Paksas: There are several reasons. For one, it’s money. For another, it can be their position, their career… Our establishment is not ready for that.
FA: But you do think it is Lithuania’s national interest to cooperate strongly with the V4?
Rolandas Paksas: Absolutely. And I think the establishment will change within a couple of years…
Posted by DanielS on Saturday, 12 November 2016 13:46.
Visigrad Post, “16+1 Summit: China is betting on Central Europe,” 7 Nov 2016:
Latvia, Riga – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Latvia on Friday, November 4 to attend the 5th China-CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) Summit, also known as the 16+1 Summit, since it concerns 16 European countries and China. Numerous heads of state were present*, including the leaders of the V4.
First of all the participants agreed on the effectiveness of the cooperation between China and CEE countries, in place since 2012. It has proven its viability and looks set to thrive. They all renewed their desire to maintain the relationship. Thus, after the summit, the Riga Declaration was published, in accordance with international laws and revealing the wishes of countries concerned about the future of cooperation between China and CEE.
Participants acknowledged the effectiveness of their program over the medium term and are therefore committed to continue to monitor it and fill it according to their realities, needs and priorities. They support and encourage negotiations for major new investments between the EU and China. In 2015 the trade volume between China and CEE countries reached $ 56.2 billion, an increase of 28% compared to 2010. Chinese investment in these 16 countries exceeded $ 5 billion, while the latter have invested over $ 1.2 billion in China. Also, the Forum on Chinese investment will take place in Czechia in 2017. They encourage e-commerce as well as cooperation with small and medium enterprises.
Connections initiatives such as the Trans-European Networks are encouraged and supported. Transport and logistics will be further developed, as well as industrial, scientific, technological and energetic cooperation. In a general way, agreements are maintained and anticipated in all areas, such as health, agriculture…
“The China-PECO serves not only to peace and stability in the European region but also contributes to the balanced development throughout Europe,” said Saturday the Chinese premier. Also, Li Keqiang hopes to see the number of tourists between China and the countries of Central Europe and is doubling in five years. This is done in parallel with the Eurasian project of the New Silk Road, which results in Central Europe.
Finally, Hungary will host the 6th 16+1 Summit in 2017.
*Were present at the summit: Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis of Latvia, Premier Li Keqiang of the People’s Republic of China, Prime Minister Edi Rama of the Republic of Albania, Chairman of the Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdić of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov of the Republic of Bulgaria, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka of the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas of the Republic of Estonia, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius of the Republic of Lithuania, Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev of the Republic of Macedonia, Prime Minister Beata Szydło of the Republic of Poland, Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș of Romania, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić of the Republic of Serbia, Prime Minister Robert Fico of the Slovak Republic, Prime Minister Miro Cerar of the Republic of Slovenia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Information, Society and Telecommunications Vujica Lazović of Montenegro attended the meeting. Representatives of other parties, including Austria, Belarus, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EU, Greece and Switzerland were present as observers.
Posted by DanielS on Friday, 11 November 2016 07:43.
“This year, the organizers of the March of Independence, which commemorates the independence regained by Poland after November 11, 1918, against Germany and Bolshevik Russia, invite the Europeans to join them in Warsaw to assert their patriotism and protest against the “Islamization of the continent” (Video seen by clicking here or the image above).
On 11 November 1918, Poland reclaimed its independence after 123 years of occupation. Every years on the 11th of November, hundreds of thousand of Polish patriots celebrate their Independence Day. This year we are dedicating our independence to all of Europe. Now is the time when patriots of our whole continent must unite and fight together. We must defend our nations, traditions and culture. We must say no to multiculturalism and the dangerous experiments being conducted on the peoples of Europe. We see what radical Islam really stands for. Corrupt politicians and the establishment media are trying to make us believe that Europe must accept millions of immigrants. It is simply impossible to accept such numbers of people who do not understand or respect our cultures or obey our laws, and there are many terrorists among them. This is an invasion.
...join us in Warsaw on the 11th of November for the largest patriotic march in Europe.We invite you to the demonstration of freedom in Europe for the people of Europe. We are waiting for you. Tomorrow does belong to us.
Jerusalem, Israel
The agenda included current bilateral issues, including ways to strengthen trade, economic, investment, research, technical, innovation and cultural cooperation.
Protocol between the Federal Customs Service of Russia and the Customs Directorate of the Israeli Tax Authority on organising the exchange of preliminary information about movement of goods and vehicles between the Russian Federation and the State of Israel
Signed by: Head of the Federal Customs Service of Russia Vladimir Bulavin and Head of the Customs Directorate of the Israeli Tax Authority Avraham Ben Arditi
Joint Declaration of Intent to develop cooperation in construction and housing services between the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Construction and Housing of the State of Israel
Signed by: Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of Russia Mikhail Men and Minister of Construction and Housing of Israel Yoav Galant
Roadmap on technical cooperation in agriculture between the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the State of Israel.
Signed by: Deputy Ministry of Agriculture of Russia Sergei Levin and Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Israel Shlomo Ben Eliyahu
Twinning agreement between the Skolkovo Innovation Centre and the City of Yokneam Illit
Signed by: Board Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation Igor Drozdov and Yokneam Illit Mayor Simon Alfasi
Press statements by Dmitry Medvedev and Benjamin Netanyahu following talks
Excerpt from the transcript:
Benjamin Netanyahu (via interpreter): Your visit symbolises the consolidation of our relations, all the more so as it comes during the 25th anniversary of restoring diplomatic relations between Russia and Israel.
We have signed several agreements that will enhance our cooperation in various areas, for instance, agriculture and construction. We have a common task – to promote a free trade agreement.
Dmitry Medvedev: The 25th anniversary of restoring relations is a decent amount of time, but we should look ahead.
Our countries are linked by common values. We have a shared understanding of the outcome of World War II, of the critical importance of the victory over Nazism, and of anti-Semitism and all xenophobia as unacceptable.
However, we also face common challenges, primarily terrorism. Today it is threatening the whole planet but is particularly pronounced in this region. The Russian Federation also suffers from terror. This terror has the same roots, which is why we must counter it together. I’m referring to the coordination of our efforts to build up security and defence, which has been raised to a completely new level in recent time. The Russian Federation also opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We must work together (and we are ready to cooperate with all interested states) to destroy the core of terrorism, which is currently represented by Daesh or ISIS.
Israel is our major trade partner in the region but we have done little so far to promote trade, economic and investment cooperation. Today we have signed documents to this end. We are interested not simply in increasing our trade, which went down recently, but in qualitatively changing the character of our relations.
Russia has unique conditions for the agriculture business, while Israel has excellent technology. Combining these can produce outstanding results. We will be able not only to supply quality food to each other but also to sell it on third markets.
The second area is innovations. We would like to continue such cooperation, in particular, on the basis of the signed documents. We should share commercially viable ideas that would allow us to make money.
We have made progress in tourism. More and more Israelis are coming to Russia. Over 300,000 people from Russia made trips to Israel last year.
The US president is not directly chosen by voters, but by ‘electors’ that people in a state vote for.
The more people in a state, the more electors an area has. For example, Texas has a population of 25 million and is afforded 38 Electoral College votes, while Delaware has a population of 936,000 and has only three votes.
There are 538 electors in total, corresponding to 435 members of Congress, 100 Senators and three additional electors for the District of Columbia. They will meet in their respective states on 19 December to ultimately elect the President.
Why is the Electoral College in place?
The system was established to ensure regional balance — it makes it mathematically impossible for a candidate with large amounts of support in just one region to overwhelm the vote.
What are the criticisms of the Electoral College?
It renders safe states almost irrelevant to the result of the election: for example it does not matter if Ms Clinton wins a state by five or 40 per cent, she will still get the same number of Electoral College votes.
Five states can vote to legalize marijuana on Election Day
Instead, the result hinges on a handful of states that are politically divided, which some say is undemocratic.
The swing states have a lot of power because most of them choose to elect whoever is the state-wide winner, regardless of the margin they won by.
If Mr Trump wins or loses by a tiny fraction in Florida, for example, all 29 votes flip depending on it.
Analysts also say the system favours smaller and more rural states, since the minimum number of electors a state can have is three — so states with very small populations are over-represented.
And the system technically allows the electors to hijack the result, since it is not certain the electors will vote the way their state does.
Although around 30 of the 50 states have passed laws – meaning their electors must vote according to the popular vote in their state – the punishment for not doing so can merely be a fine. This means they could potentially defy the electorate’s choice.
Almost every state chooses to allocate all its Electoral College votes to whoever comes in first place statewide, regardless of their margin of victory.
Whoever gets to 270 electoral votes first – the majority of the 578 total votes – will win the election.
Posted by DanielS on Tuesday, 08 November 2016 08:13.
“They are both essentially neo-liberal candidates, who will do nothing to impede imperial expansion” - Hedges, 7 Nov 2016:
“Trump is a Public Relations disaster for The Unites States” - and that’s part of why the establishment is against him - “but the establishment is so hated that when they trotted out Mitt Romney to attack him, people just laughed: it’s the Romney’s, the Clinton’s, the Obama’s - it’s the establishment that people are turning against which is why Hillary Clinton is having such a difficult time competing against such an imbecilic and indisciplined and impulsive and frankly ignorant candidate.”
Hillary’s camp has been able to manipulate the electoral process all the while. With that, she’s had the press on her side, including to the point of pressuring the FBI to shut down the belated email investigations.
Posted by DanielS on Monday, 07 November 2016 05:37.
The New Observer had previously run stories (such as this and this) more critical of Trump’s candidacy.
Such critical distance from support of (((Trump’s candidacy))) would be more in line with the position here. However, the truth is that both candidates suck from an ethno-nationalist perspective - that means that Hillary sucks too.
While it is likely that TNO is being maneuvered into a position of controlled opposition regarding the election, they have reason to believe that they are bucking the trend of other “newspaper” endorsements -
Whether it is bucking the system or being co-opted successfully as controlled opposition in regard to the election 2016, let’s give a hearing to TNO’s argument now, having drifted toward endorsement of Trump though it has.
- I present the article in full with the compensation of including their fund raising pitch at the end -
TNO, “Crooked Hillary’s Crimes: A Partial List”, 6 Nov 2016:
Hillary Clinton has now committed far more legal misdemeanors than even impeached President Richard Nixon, and would, under normal circumstances, be barred from running for office.
The controlled media, however, continues to protect and promote Clinton because they hate Donald Trump so much, and because they are as corrupt as she is.
The recent announcement by the FBI that emails linked to Clinton’s illegal email server had been found on disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner’s laptop computer, showed once again that Clinton had clearly breached the law in this regard.
At the same time, the string of WikiLeaks revelations from the Clinton Foundation have shown without question that the Clinton-controlled State Department engaged in blatant “pay-for-play profiteering” and arms deals with all manner of states and companies.
The WikiLeaks-Podesta email revelations show that Clinton and her team are utterly ruthless and prepared to engage in the most corrupt, underhanded, and nasty manner.
Apart from smearing Latinos as “needy,” the emails reveal that the Clinton team think that Catholics are “stuck in medieval times” and show that Clinton aides bartered with plutocrats for Secretary of State Clinton’s face time on the basis of cash donations.
As revealed in the anti-corruption website’s video tapes, Clinton’s staff have bragged on film of provoking violence at Trump rallies and bringing in voters by bus to cast illegal ballots.
In addition, a Project Veritas Action investigator caught Molly Barker, the Director of Marketing for Hillary Clinton’s national campaign, knowingly breaking campaign finance law by accepting a straw donation from a foreign national. Contributions from foreign nationals are illegal under federal election law, and straw donations (contributions made in the name of another person) are also illegal.
Interviewed at the 
Dmitry Medvedev’s and Benjamin Netanyahu’s issue press statements regarding their agreements
