The State of Affairs in Russia

[Syt]

Used to be Ice Cube, but he's gone soft.

[Eddie Teach]

He was left out in the sun too long.

(That's also the reason he's black.)

[The Brain]

Did he come straight outta some dark place into the sun?

[Syt]

Jehova's Witnesses in Samara branded "extremist organization":

http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/759625

Russia's Supreme court rules Jehovah's Witnesses from Samara extremist organization

The appeal of the organization on the decision of the regional court was rejected

SAMARA, November 13. /TASS/. Russia's Supreme court has sustained the ruling of Samara's regional court on declaring the Jehovah's Witnesses from Samara an extremist organization.

On May 29, 2014, the regional court of Russia's Samara ruled in favor of the prosecutor in the case against the Jehovah's Witnesses. The reason for its submission was the discovery of extremist materials that the organization had kept for mass distribution.

The literature included in the Federal list of extremist materials was seized from the premises of the community. As it was noted in the regional prosecutor's office, last year the prosecutor warned members of the organization on prohibition of extremist activity.

The Prosecutor's office of Russia's Tver region wants the organization's website shut down

On August 7, 2013, the Central district court of Tver ruled in favor of the prosecution calling the website of the Jehovah's Witnesses organixation extremist. The ground for the ruling was that the information on the website diminishes the rights of believers who are not members of the organization, and stirs up enmity between people on religious grounds.

January 22 the regional court of Tver has cancelled the decision of the court of first instance, that recognized it as extremist, and on May 7 the court didn't satisfy the cassational appeal of the regional prosecutor's office concerning the court's decision to open the Jehovah Witnesses' international site.

Jehovah's Witnesses' booklets declared extremist in Russia's Kurgan

On January 12 the Kurgan municipal court declared the Jehovah Witnesses' booklets extremist literature. The booklets entitled «How to achieve happiness in life», «What is the people's hope? », «How to develop close relations with God? », «What should we know about God and its sense? » were prohibited, the court's press-service said.  TASS reported that this decision of court would also be appealed.

[Eddie Teach]

Shocking news to anyone who believed Russia was a free country.

[Tonitrus]

Russia has come so far since Lincoln's day in developing hypocrisy. 

[Sheilbh]

Pretty striking behaviour here:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/25496667/russian-warships-bearing-down-on-australia/

[Jacob]

Pretty striking behaviour here:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/25496667/russian-warships-bearing-down-on-australia/

Yeah, no kidding.

Also: I don't watch Australian TV much. They sound so Australian!

[Tonitrus]

I've seen more Aussies pop up in American news...a local station in Seattle had one doing morning/commute traffic, and I've recently seen a very Aussie-accent reporter on a local station here in Anchorage too.

Both are hotties too. 

[Sheilbh]

Also: I don't watch Australian TV much. They sound so Australian!

Off topic but you may enjoy this, one of the most Kiwi things I've ever seen:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/nov/12/new-zealand-commentator-six-lands-on-car

[Tonitrus]

Also: I don't watch Australian TV much. They sound so Australian!

Off topic but you may enjoy this, one of the most Kiwi things I've ever seen:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/nov/12/new-zealand-commentator-six-lands-on-car

No sheep involved. 

[Jacob]

Also: I don't watch Australian TV much. They sound so Australian!

Off topic but you may enjoy this, one of the most Kiwi things I've ever seen:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/nov/12/new-zealand-commentator-six-lands-on-car

[Tamas]

So WTF is wrong with Russia then? I get the flyovers in the Baltics. Its full of Russians and the only legitimisation left for Putin at this stage is that he is the protector of poor opressered Russians.

But sending a bunch of warships under the nose of the G20 leaders because they dare criticising the Dear Bear. Come on.

[Duque de Bragança]

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20141105/DEFREG01/311050029/Portugal-Escorts-Russian-Boat-From-Its-Waters

LISBON — The Portugese Navy escorted a Russian oceanographic ship out of its waters Wednesday in response to the latest in a series of territorial incursions by a Russian vessel or plane.

Portugal identified the ship in the section of sea it has exclusive resource rights over and then guided the vessel back into international waters, Portugal's Defense Minister Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco told Portuguese press agency LUSA.

The incident comes just a week after Portuguese fighter jets intercepted on two separate occasions Russian military planes in international airspace that was under Portugal's jurisdiction.

Russia denied its planes had violated Portuguese airspace.

Russian military jets have significantly increased their activity over Europe since the crisis in Ukraine erupted last year.

NATO has intercepted Russian aircraft on more than 100 occasions so far this year, three times more than all of 2013, its new head Jens Stoltenberg said in October.

Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok, Putin style!

Other link, but it's the same incident dating from November 6th

http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/natosource/portugal-escorts-russian-ship-from-its-waters

From AFP:  The Portugese Navy escorted a Russian oceanographic ship out of its waters Wednesday in response to the latest in a series of territorial incursions by a Russian vessel or plane.

Portugal identified the ship in the section of sea it has exclusive resource rights over and then guided the vessel back into international waters, Portugal's Defence Minister Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco told Portugese press agency LUSA.
From BBC:  Last week Portuguese F-16 fighter jets tracked Russian fighters in the Baltic.

Nato says Russia has intensified military flights in international airspace close to Nato member states' borders.
A pair of Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers flew all the way to Portugal - in international airspace - before heading back to northern Russia. . . .
Portugal was one of several Nato countries whose airspace was approached last week by Russian planes without notice or explanation - a move alliance officials described as "provocative".
Now Portugal says the waters of its economic zone have also been breached.
The fact that Mr Aguiar Branco made his comments in Lithuania, where he was visiting members of a Portuguese air force mission leading Nato patrols in the Baltic states, would seem to confirm the linkage to tensions arising from the situation in Ukraine.

[Syt]

http://rt.com/politics/205615-eurasia-integration-eu-media/

Poor Russia, all they want is be left alone, but the West have ordered their media into a totalitarian propaganda campaign to keep them down.

'We didn't block EU creation, but they're blocking us' – Russian lawmaker

CIS countries should unite in order to resist the vast media and sanction pressure from the West, which is aimed at hampering the integration in Eurasia, a Russian senator says.

"Today the area of totalitarian manipulation of the media extends to the Eurasian integration. We are experiencing massive information and sanction pressure [from the West]," Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy head of the International Affairs Committee in the Federal Council, is cited by Gazeta.ru.

According to Dzhabarov, the Western powers want to disturb the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) between Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia.

"We didn't interfere with them when they put together the EU, but they keep interfering with us," he stressed.

The senator also called for the creation of a special information center to counter US and EU information plots within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which unites nine former republics of the Soviet Union.

The treaty to form the Eurasian Economic Union was signed earlier this year, with the new bloc to go into effect on January 1, 2015.

The EEU will create a single economic market of 171 million people and is expected to gross domestic product of $3 trillion.

In recent months, the US and EU have implemented several waves of sanctions against Russia, which targeted not only individual politicians and businessmen, but also the country's financial, energy and defense sectors.

The West accuses Russia of masterminding the current turmoil in Ukraine, widely using mass media to ignite anti-Russian moods despite being unable to provide any significant proof.