Uh... these are someone's 'estimates', not hard data. Not even sure how this is supposed to prove anything. In fact the report states in the beginning:
В частности, говоря о крымском референдуме, авторы обзора передают исключительно оценочные суждения своих собеседников, никак не оценивая их объективность и точность.
"Speaking about the Crimean referendum the authors of the report only relay the opinions of their conversation partners, without judging their credibility or objectivity".
Of course the real figures will never be known and the official figures are fake, but the report isn't what Forbes says it is. Plain and simple, this is a lie intended to make use of the fact most Western readers have zero knowlege of the Russian language.
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Stas Bush wrote:Uh... these are someone's 'estimates', not hard data. Not even sure how this is supposed to prove anything. In fact the report states in the beginning:
В частности, говоря о крымском референдуме, авторы обзора передают исключительно оценочные суждения своих собеседников, никак не оценивая их объективность и точность.
"Speaking about the Crimean referendum the authors of the report only relay the opinions of their conversation partners, without judging their credibility or objectivity".
Of course the real figures will never be known and the official figures are fake, but the report isn't what Forbes says it is. Plain and simple, this is a lie intended to make use of the fact most Western readers have zero knowlege of the Russian language.
The report, and its authors, has been cited in Swedish media as well. As I said, it's based on (numerous) interviews with experts etc. and I find the reported numbers more convincing than those spouted by the Russian propaganda machine. The report also mentions transgressions and the wish of the new Crimean authorities to "eliminate the Orthodox Church Kiev Patriarchate" on Crimea.
Like I said, these are figures without any factual base, which are claimed to be electoral statistics - the article is vague enough for many readers to mistake these figures for poll results or something like that - which they're not. Such an approach is simply unacceptable. It is one thing to say the referendum was rigged, which is true.
It is a totally different thing to say unnamed interviews with a few people are like poll results. They are not. The authors of the report are completely irrelevant: they did not do any polling.
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Thought this might be interesting for those who think Europe should sanction Russia gas exports. Russia is on the verge of diversifying its exports further by selling to China. The deal is expected to be signed next week when Putin visits China.
Russia: Historic 30-yr gas deal with China set to be signed next week
Published time: May 12, 2014 13:02 Get short URL
A historic, long-term deal for the delivery of Russian gas to China that has been 10 years in the making is 98 percent ready, Russia’s Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky has said. All that’s needed are the two countries’ signatures, he added.
"We hope that the negotiations will be completed as scheduled," Reuters quoted Yanovsky as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is due in the Chinese capital next week where the nations are widely expected to sign the deal. The contract’s been in the making for the last 10 years and in March 2013 resulted in signing of a delivery memorandum between Russia’s Gazprom and China’s CNPC. The terms of the pipeline delivery contract outline Russia’s intention to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of gas per annum for 30 years, starting in 2018.
Yanovsky said that energy projects, such as oil or gas pipelines, are still new to the Russia-China relationship and that’s why they need a very careful and balanced research and approach.
“Talks regarding the development of the Far East and Siberia in terms of sales of raw materials eastward have never been held before. However, now our dialogue includes issues such as mining and the transportation of hydrocarbons,” Yanovksy said.
At the beginning of 2013, the CEO of Russia’s energy giant Gazprom, Aleksey Miller, said that the figure of 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year could rise to 60 bcm over the duration of the contract. The price of Russian gas for China is yet to be announced. However an April 10 article in Russia’s business daily Vedomosti suggested the sides are negotiating within the range of $360-$400 per 1,000 cubic meters.
China is Russia’s biggest trading partner outside the EU. Both countries expect bilateral trade to reach $100 billion by 2015 and $200 billion by 2020. The energy sector is arguably the most attractive at this stage as China attempts to close coal-fired power stations and raise natural gas consumption by 11 percent this year, according to a CNPC Economics and Technology Research Institute report.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
According to the poll, 54 percent of Crimeans believe that regions in Ukraine should be allowed to declare independence, and only 12 percent believe that Ukraine’s borders should stay as they are. Around 90 percent support Russia’s annexation of Crimea and 93 percent say Putin is playing a positive role there.
Ninety-one percent say Crimea's referendum results were credible, and 88 percent say Kiev should respect these results. Support for the independent Crimean government, headed by Sergey Aksyonov, topped 80 percent.
Crimean residents are almost universally positive toward Russia. At least nine-in-ten have confidence in Putin (93%) and say Russia is playing a positive role in Crimea (92%). Confidence in Obama is almost negligible at 4%, and just 2% think the U.S. is having a good influence on the way things are going on the Crimean peninsula.
International attention has focused on Crimea in large part due to the March 16th referendum on seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia. According to the reported results, most of the Crimean residents who participated voted for secession. However, the legitimacy of the referendum has been hotly disputed, and few in the international community have accepted the outcome.
For their part, Crimeans seem content with their annexation by Russia. Overwhelming majorities say the March 16th referendum was free and fair (91%) and that the government in Kyiv ought to recognize the results of the vote (88%).
I attribute attempts to deligitimise the results of the Crimean referendum (which, if they included a component of cheating, was clearly irrelevant to the final result) to pure partisanship.
"Russia is bad! [Half of] Ukraine wants to be with the EU! The EU is good! How can Crimea want to go to Russia! Everyone wants to be in the West! The Russians must've cheated!"
The Crimean region may have wanted to join Russia, given its historical population makeup. There is no contesting that they have a large ethnic Russian majority. That region is a done deal and there is little short of an act of nature like an asteroid strike that is going to alter it. In which case everyone would have some really fucking big other problems to deal with anyway.
The sham "referendum" a couple of days ago in Luhansk and Donetsk is another story. A supposedly 70% turnout resulted in 90+% in favor of the pro-Russian side when there is video all over of single people stuffing multiple ballots, the balloting locations controlled by armed and masked separatists and all the other irregularities involved makes them utterly meaningless.
We'll see how it all turns out, but I'm not optimistic.
Warwolf Urban Combat Specialist
Why is it so goddamned hard to get little assholes like you to admit it when you fuck up? Is it pride? What gives you the right to have any pride?
–Darth Wong to vivftp
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The GOP has a problem with anyone coming out of the closet. –18-till-I-die
It is obvious that there is some level of support for separation, but it is much lower. And cannot be known. It is similar to the Serb enclaves in Yugoslavia. Optimism? It's long gone. Civil War Time with Donetsk and Lugansk!
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Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
Given that this is only coming up now, what are the odds it's come up because Putin needs an excuse to cross the border in force?
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.
You win. There, I have said it.
Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
Um... this was on for a few weeks, it is just the linguistic isolation of the Anglosphere from the Russian sphere.
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Given that this is only coming up now, what are the odds it's come up because Putin needs an excuse to cross the border in force?
Honestly I'd be surprised if Ukraine didn't cut off Crimea's Water/power/other utilities- the alternative is to up the price- though I don't know if their utilities are state or privately provided. Certainly making Crimea (and by extension, Russia) pay does have a certain poetic feel about it
Funny enough they demand money for Crimea from Russia now. So the idea about selling lands for money is winning in the end - I just wish it had been done in a more peaceful fashion, heh.
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Stas Bush wrote:Funny enough they demand money for Crimea from Russia now. So the idea about selling lands for money is winning in the end - I just wish it had been done in a more peaceful fashion, heh.
Read earlier today that Russia, along with Crimea, has gotten trillions worth of oil, so they should have the money to fork out for having illegally taken land from Ukraine. But I really don't think that move by Ukraine benefits the civilian population.
STGOD: Byzantine Empire Your spirit, diseased as it is, refuses to allow you to give up, no matter what threats you face... and whatever wreckage you leave behind you.
Kreia
Prince Charles's Putin remarks outrageous - Russia
Remarks attributed to the Prince of Wales likening Vladimir Putin's actions to some of those of the Nazis are "outrageous", the Russian embassy says.
Deputy ambassador Alexander Kramarenko has met Foreign Office officials to ask for official clarification.
The alleged comments were made during a conversation with a former Polish war refugee during a royal tour to Canada.
A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said "the remarks did the prince no credit, if he really said this".
Mr Kramarenko met senior Foreign Office director Sian MacLeod in Whitehall.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the Russian aim was to talk about Prince Charles's reported comments, but the meeting developed into a much broader discussion about recent events in Ukraine and indications were it had been fairly robust.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "In response to Mr Kramarenko's representations, the director said that the Foreign Office could not be expected to comment upon reports of private conversations, and restated the government's hope that ahead of the Ukrainian presidential elections Russia would step back from comment or actions provoking instability in Ukraine."
Museum visit
Earlier, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in London said: "The minister-counsellor of the Embassy, Mr Alexander Kramarenko, will meet this afternoon the representatives of the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] to discuss a range of bilateral issues.
"The outrageous remarks made by Prince Charles in Canada will be among the questions raised. The embassy asked the FCO for official clarifications on that yesterday."
The foreign ministry said it was better, as one British Labour politician had been quoted as saying, for royalty to be seen and not heard.
Following the Russian embassy's statement, Clarence House said it had "no further comment to make at this stage".
Reaction in the UK has been generally supportive of the prince.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron said he would not comment on a private conversation but added that "everyone is entitled to their private opinions".
His deputy, Nick Clegg, said Prince Charles was "free to express himself" and Labour leader Ed Miliband said the prince "has got a point".
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said there were times when "it might be better" for the prince not to get involved in such things.
However, former Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman, Labour MP Mike Gapes, said the prince should end his "freelance foreign policy".
Royal biographer Robert Hardman said such incidents were an "occupational hazard" for the prince, but campaign group Republic said he was developing "something of a track record for interfering in policy".
The Prince of Wales reportedly made the remark during a conversation with Marienne Ferguson at an immigration museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she works.
They had been discussing Hitler's takeover of countries. Ms Ferguson said the prince said "something to the effect of 'it's not unlike... what Putin is doing'".
The prince and the Russian president are both due to attend a D-Day anniversary event in France next month.
'Private conversation'
Clarence House said it would not comment on what it said was a private conversation.
"But we would like to stress that the Prince of Wales would not seek to make a public political statement during a private conversation," it said.
On Monday, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited Canada's national immigration museum Pier 21.
The prince chatted to museum volunteer Ms Ferguson, who left Poland for Canada shortly before the Nazi occupation.
The 78-year-old managed to escape to Canada along with her parents and two sisters, but other members of her family were sent to Nazi camps.
Charles and Camilla have now returned to the UK after their four-day tour of Canada.
Prince Charles's next official public engagement is on Saturday, when he is due to attend the Music in Country Churches concert at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Northleach, Gloucestershire.
Russia is right. Using ethnic chauvinism and false flag attacks as a cynical and pathetically transparent pretense for invading and annexing parts of a sovereign nation is completely different from using ethnic chauvinism and false flag attacks as a cynical and pathetically transparent pretense for annexing PART of a sovereign nation.
Tanasinn wrote:Russia is right. Using ethnic chauvinism and false flag attacks as a cynical and pathetically transparent pretense for invading and annexing parts of a sovereign nation is completely different from using ethnic chauvinism and false flag attacks as a cynical and pathetically transparent pretense for annexing PART of a sovereign nation.
We all know when someone says Hitler he means Nazis, when people talk Nazis they mean deliberate destruction of 'lower races'. That's a totally valid comparison, right?
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This might seem a silly question... but I am going to ask it.
If we want to compare Putin to Hitler because
a) they both used similar tactics and pretences to annex territory, and at the same time
b) will pretend that we are purely focussing on this aspect and ignore the obvious connotations involved with Hitler, ie commits mass murder of people deemed "racially inferior"
does it follow therefore that annexations done without even the pretence of "letting the people vote" or "I am protecting the population from persecution" is worse than Hitler? For example the annexation of native American land by the US, Britain annexation of Hong Kong or parts of Africa etc. Can I therefore say those actions were "worse than Hitler"?
If every annexation is "like Hitler", this kind of cheapens the horror of what the Nazi's did.
Now before someone goes, yeah well the US / British Empire didn't do what Hitler did.... well neither has Putin and that hasn't stopped the Putin to Hitler comparisons either. And I can just say, ah but I am comparing the annexation tactic only. Smiles innocently.
On another note, comparing <insert person I don't like> to Hitler as far as rhetorical tricks go, pretty kindergarthen stuff really. While it may be possible to compare a person's tactics to Hitler's, in this case connotation is more important than denotation, and when we think of Hitler, we don't really think of his tactic prowess, but of his mass murdering actions.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
The analogy is comparing Putin's actions to "Early Hitler"; the implication being that Putin's future actions will continue to follow the same trajectory as the Nazis and therefore Russia must be stopped here and now at almost any cost.
Children of the Ancients
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EnterpriseSovereign wrote:
So the Russians are pissed that Prince Charles has compared Putin to Hitler, and when they complained, the Foreign Office told them to fuck off
You know, who else but the prince of a country that gave the world concentration camps, whose kids are regularly seen wearing Nazi uniforms to tell us what is or is not like Hitler. I mean, he would know.
EnterpriseSovereign wrote:
So the Russians are pissed that Prince Charles has compared Putin to Hitler, and when they complained, the Foreign Office told them to fuck off
You know, who else but the prince of a country that gave the world concentration camps, whose kids are regularly seen wearing Nazi uniforms to tell us what is or is not like Hitler. I mean, he would know.
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
You're attacking Charles because of something his country did in the past?
The Romulan Republic wrote:You're attacking Charles because of something his country did in the past?
Does that mean I can blame Putin for Stalin?
He was mildly ironic... because the royal offspring do cosplay Nazis
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