Thursday, March 19, 2015
Russia... Employers are preparing for nuclear war
Companies and employers are obliged to provide their employees with personal protective equipment in case of radiation or chemical contamination - buy gas masks and special kits
The purpose of Minister of Emergency Situations signed Vladimir Puchkov order which shall take effect from today - the protection of the population in the event of a chemical or radioactive contamination.The whole territory of St. Petersburg is related to a particular (highest) group of civil defense, including may be subjected to radioactive contamination in the event of an accident at Leningrad NPP. Therefore, 100 percent of the citizens should be provided with gas masks, nearly one in three from St. Petersburg - as "medical personal protective equipment" (kits with special preparations - AI-2).
Primary responsibility for civil defense management Ministry of Emergency Situations holds the employers. They have to buy gas masks to all employees and to create a 5 percent margin. In the absence of necessary warehouses executives have the right to distribute gas masks and kits to the employees themselves, charging them with responsibility for the safety of property. And all this - at their own expense.
Any failure to comply with these requirements qualify as sufficiently serious administrative offenses: legal entities can be fined from 100 to 200 thousand rubles, their managers or other officials - up to 20 thousand.
Comply with the rules, of course, profitable. After all, the easiest mask on the St. Petersburg market is worth 150 rubles, AI-2 kit - 240 rubles. That is to ensure the collective enterprise of 50 people cost about 12 thousand rubles. Given that, according to the Committee on Labor and Social Protection of St. Petersburg, the city has about 3.1 million people, the total business expenses will exceed 700 million rubles.
However, in addition to the purchase of PPE, employers responsibility training for the rules of civil defense, coordination with local administrations comprehensive plans and so on. All this is not so much expensive as troublesome events. For example, the head of each organization or designee other officer (chairman of the committee) must undergo special training and every five years to improve skills in the institutions of Ministry of Emergency Situations (including Training Center in St. Petersburg). Tuition is free, but you need to enroll and get directions to the district administration. For ordinary employees should conduct classes in the approved curriculum followed consolidate the knowledge and skills in exercises and training.
Employers themselves are convinced that the imposition on them relating to civil defense obligations looks like another attempt to strangling business. "I think that the balance between budget and augmentable pressure on business to be respected, and any mass control of the company in terms of providing personal protection equipment will not be, - says Dmitry Karev, COO outsourcing company Acsour. - To have or not to have personal protection - to solve each employer. In principle, they are inexpensive, and you need to compare the risks, costs, and so on. "
But the managing director of PM NAI Becar in St. Petersburg Natalia Skalandis estimates the cost of providing PPE team of 50 people in about 250 thousand rubles. "A more effective solution would be the introduction of the obligation to provide remedies individually. That is, each citizen should he buy a gas mask and a first aid kit, as drivers are required to have a fire extinguisher and first aid kit car "- believes Natalia Skalandis.
Far greater risks for the new rules are caught recently in disgrace NGOs (non-profit) organizations - NGOs. According to the head of NGO "Human Rights Resource Center" Mary Kanev, civil protection should the State. "Requirements for the acquisition of PPE - an additional burden for organizations which often employs one or a maximum of three employees. In this situation, the pressure on NGOs, perhaps for some it will be the "last straw" in a choice of capacity to implement, for example, charity. According to my practical calculations, the compliance with all the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor, RTN, FEMA, and other agencies Roskomnadzora will cost a total of from 80 to 500 thousand rubles - depending on the number of employees, floor space and other nuances, "- Mrs. Maria Kaniewska.
Meanwhile, the majority of respondents journalist "BaltInfo" Employers could not comment on the new requirements and readiness to fulfill them. "Our specialist is just at a seminar on this issue," - confessed to the press service of "Imperial Porcelain Factory."
Experts remind that the procedure adopted by the accumulation of personal protective equipment installed in 1998 and approved by the federal law on the basis of its rules. It is no longer a St. Petersburg company, came under the rink checks, was fined and received a prescription MOE.
Credit to Baltinfo.ru
De-Dollarization Accelerates As More Of Washington's "Allies" Defect To China-Led Bank
The global de-dollarization trend continues as it appears the UK’s move to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Development Bank has indeed shown other US “allies” that spurning Washington’s advice is actually acceptable and concerns about the institution’s “standards” may simply be a diversion aimed at undermining China’s attempt to exercise more influence in its own backyard. Here’s more from the NY Times:
Ignoring direct pleas from the Obama administration, Europe’s biggest economies have declared their desire to become founding members of a new Chinese-led Asian investment bank that the United States views as a rival to the World Bank and other institutions set up at the height of American power after World War II.The announcement on Tuesday by Germany, France and Italy that they would follow Britain and join the Chinese-led venture delivered a stinging rebuke to Washington from some of its closest allies. It also called into question whether the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which grew out of a multination conference in Bretton Woods, N.H., in 1944 and established an economic pecking order that lasted 70 years, will find their influence diminished.The announcement by Germany, Europe’s largest economy, came only six days after Secretary of State John Kerry asked his German counterpart, Frank Walter-Steinmeier, to resist the Chinese overtures until the Chinese agreed to a number of conditions about transparency and governing of the new entity. But Germany came to the same conclusion that Britain did: China is such a large export and investment market for it that it cannot afford to stay on the sidelines.
South Korea, another US ally that the Obama administration has not-so-subtly lobbied to stay out of the AIIB for the time being, is reportedly reconsidering a bid to join and although reports that Seoul had already committed to the venture appear to have been a bit premature, the country will make a decision this month and is expected to discuss specifics this weekend at a meeting with Chinese and Japanese officials. Here’s FT:
The foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea will meet in Seoul this weekend for the first time in three years, in an effort to calm tensions in the region.The trio have strong economic ties but frosty relations. International angst about this state of affairs among the regional superpowers has been further piqued by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a Chinese-led initiative sparking alarm in Washington and proving divisive elsewhere.
Meanwhile, even Europe’s own “magical fairyland” is taking the plunge. Via Bloomberg:
China welcomes Luxembourg’s application to be a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, China’s finance ministry says in a statement on website.
And so, with the most European of European countries on the bandwagon, and with South Korea leaning unmistakably towards joining up, we say again:
Credit to ZerohedgeBottom line: this isn’t theory or conjecture anymore. Every shred of objective evidence suggests that the dollar’s dominance is coming to an end.
US President Obama Punishes Israel for Re-electing PM Netanyahu
Genesis 12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Photo from President Barack Obama's past visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Punishment for Israelis who chose to re-elect Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu this week was not long in coming from U.S. President Barack Obama.
The Obama administration is now reportedly weighing the option of whether to agree to a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, as well as the withdrawal of Israel from Judea and Samaria, with mutually agreed land swaps.
The resolution would force Israel to enter immediate talks with the Palestinian Authority, in advance of a final status agreement for both sides.
Obama administration officials said Thursday the White House may support passage of this new resolution, according to a report published in the New York Times.
“We are now in a reality where the Israeli government no longer supports direct negotiations. Therefore we clearly have to factor that into our decisions going forward,” a White House official said.
Major differences have emerged between the two administrations over the question of how to deal with the constant threat posed by a Palestinian Authority that succors and glorifies the terrorists in its midst.
Future contacts between Israel and the United States would be managed by Secretary of State John Kerry and Pentagon officials, the White House official added, saying, “The president is a pretty pragmatic person and if he felt it would be useful he will certainly engage. But he’s not going to waste his time.”
Credit tohttp://www.jewishpress.com
Who’s Really Behind The Rigged Markets
by Shadow of Truth, The Daily Coin
The Shadow of Truth hosts Rob Kirby for an incredible discussion about the insidious, omnipresent forces behind what has evolved into continuous, non-stop global financial markets intervention by the Central Banks. Or is it really the Central Banks?
I think you will find this discussion highly informative, if not highly engaging. Please pass it along to friends and colleagues – the world needs to see The Truth:
By way of background, it was a renowned and respected macro-economist, Frank Veneroso, who discovered in the mid-1990’s that global demand for gold exceeded the annual global mining supply. He also discovered that it was western Central Banks that were selling outright and leasing gold from their holdings in order to balance out this supply.
Why? Because money-printing had started to accelerate, especially by Alan Greenspan’s Fed, in response to a series of increasingly severe economic shocks – like the S&L/junk bond collapse, the Asian debt collapse, Mexico’s peso collapse, Long Term Capital’s collapse, etc. If the Central Banks had allowed the price of gold to rise in response to growing demand for physical supply, it would have undermined the global fiat currency system and stripped the existing U.S.-centric global power structure.
This is why the Bank of England dumped 400 tonnes of its gold – 50% of its holdings – into the market, right at the bottom, starting in 1999. This launched the current bull market in gold. Yes, reader, gold is still in a bull market – it’s currently up 462% from its $250 in 2000/2001.
With that as the backdrop, led by Rob we discuss the connection between the U.S. Treasury and the Fed. Most people mistakingly believe that it’s the Fed which rigs the markets. But the Fed is a political creation. It was ordained by Congress; the Fed Chairman is appointed by the President; and Congress has the power – if it wanted to – to audit the Fed or get rid of the Fed.
It is the Working Group on Financial Markets that is the real “Wizard” behind the curtain. Using its Exchange Stabilization Fund, the Working Group – in conjunction with the Fed, which does the Working Group’s bidding in the markets – exerts its control in all of the financial markets all of the time. Collectively the Working Group/Fed is referenced as “The Plunge Protection Team (PPT).”
To read the rest of the article and listen to the interview, please click this link -
Credit to Common Sense
US Plans Show-of-Force Exercise in E. Europe
With an eye toward Russia's ability to mass troops quickly, the US plans to demonstrate its own ability to move manpower and heavy vehicles as soldiers begin a 1,100-mile convoy through six countries en route to their home station in Vilseck, Germany.
The US Army squadron wrapping several months of training with allies in Poland will take its Strykers through the Baltics March 21 through April 1, stopping in a new community each night. The vehicles are part of an armored brigade's worth of equipment the Army plans to station in Europe.
"It's helped us further develop our understanding of freedom of movement in Eastern Europe," said Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the Army's most senior commander in Europe, in an interview with Defense News and Army Times reporters and editors.
The "Dragoon Ride" will take 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, troops from training locations in Estonia, Lithuania and Poland and convoy them through Latvia and the Czech Republic to Vilseck.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin exercises freedom of movement all the time" within Russia, Hodges said, and the US plans to demonstrate how it converges people and vehicles, a "tremendous opportunity" to practice and reassure allies in the face of Russian aggression. To pull it off, the Army is navigating diplomatic requirements and assessing infrastructure among Eastern European allies.
"This is what the US Army does, we can move a lot of capability a long distance," Hodges said. "I've been watching the Russian exercises ... what I cared about is they can get 30,000 people and 1,000 tanks in a place really fast. Damn, that was impressive."
The remarks coincide with the one-year anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, condemned by Kiev and the West as an illegal land grab but heralded by many Russians as correcting a historic injustice.
Aside from the Russian military's ability to converge quickly, Hodges noted Russia's modernized jamming and signal direction-finding capabilities, stressing the importance of US troops using secure communications.
In Eastern Ukraine, Hodges said, Russian-backed forces are employing jammers to interfere with drones that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe intended to monitor in compliance with the Minsk cease-fire agreement. Ukraine's ground defense systems are being jammed, creating what is essentially a "no-fly zone," Hodges said.
"The quality and sophistication of their electronic warfare is eye watering," Hodges said of the Russian military.
Washington's European Reassurance Initiative, unveiled last month, includes stepped-up rotations and multilateral exercises, enhancing prepositioned stocks of equipment, and military aid to NATO and non-NATO allies. The aid includes the improvement of railheads among Eastern European allies, Hodges said.
In this vein, the Army is expanding its European Activity Set of gear, which contains about a battalion's worth of heavy equipment, including 29 Abrams tanks and 33 Bradleys, to a brigade's worth — about 220 Abrams tanks and Bradleys, and 18 Howitzers — by January 2016.
As yet, it is unclear where the equipment's permanent home will be.
Hodges proposed to NATO commander Gen. Philip Breedlove that the equipment either all be stationed in Germany or be split into "clusters" distributed around the region. One such cluster would be shared across the Baltics, another by Poland and Hungary, a third Romania and Bulgaria, and the last, Germany.
For now, the equipment will go to Coleman Barracks in Mannheim, Germany, which will delay the turnover of the facility to the German government. The US converted it into a depot after World War II.
"Wherever it winds up being, it will be a mix of different kinds of [funding to build the facilities]," Hodges said. "Some countries will be able to help pay it, but they all want it."
The ongoing US Army Europe-led land force assurance training mission, Operation Atlantic Resolve, is expanding from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, to Romania and Bulgaria and Georgia at the end of April. US officials are interested in Hungary and the Czech Republic.
For the Georgian exercises, Hodges said, the US is going to feature Bradleys that will travel across the Black Sea into Georgia.
Troops from the 173rd Airborne Division are set to train three battalions of Ukrainian national guard troops who are responsible for rear air security, infrastructure security, route security and other tasks to support front line Ukrainian soldiers. The battalions will undergo training sequentially, over eight weeks, in or near the city of L'viv in Western Ukraine,
Among the equipment the US has shared with Ukraine is the lightweight counter-mortar radar, a tool to target sources of artillery in what had been an artillery duel between Ukraine and Russian-backed forces. The US could learn from Ukraine's experience, as US troops had not been shelled by Russian-made artillery since the Vietnam War.
Though it lacks the range to pinpoint the origin of long-range Russian artillery and rockets, Ukraine forces have learned to repair the radar in the field and use it effectively, according to Hodges. "They love it," he said.
Credit to defensenews.com
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