Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Gladiator fights of grannies and high-mountain haircuts: Telegram voices about the country
2025-07-05
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Last week, Telegram channels wrote about a holiday with a hundred animators, a crow and a city council, and much more. The most interesting ones are in our selection.

CENTRAL FEDERAL DISTRICT
A free stretching class was held in Moscow's Luzhniki. According to Moslenta, the event suddenly turned into "granny gladiator fights." Elderly ladies began to crush each other for free mats: they grabbed three at a time and fought back with their elbows. It remains a mystery why they needed so many yoga mats, especially in acidic colors.

In Krasnogorsk, a hundred animators arrived for someone's birthday party, all dressed as polar bears. The celebration took place in a bathhouse. " Krasnogorsk-Online " learned that these were "almost all the bear animators that exist in Moscow and the Moscow region."

"Liptown" is happy for a bird that was rescued from a trap in Lipetsk: the bird got into the ventilation and got stuck. Having heard strange sounds, the residents called the rescuers. They had to dismantle part of the shaft. The bird was freed. At the same time, they arranged a free show for adults and children, who watched the rescue of the bird with interest.

NORTHWESTERN FEDERAL DISTRICT
An unusually absurd chase took place in the Leningrad Region. In Kudrovo, a young man approached a passerby and, threatening him with a knife, took his phone. The police quickly tracked down the criminal and began to pursue him. And he decided to climb over a high fence and ended up on the territory of the police department. He was detained literally on the porch of the building, " The Whole Essence of Petersburg " is surprised.

A wooden house, or rather its remains, was accidentally found in the Karelia National Park, which are located at the bottom of Lake Pizanets. The log house was noticed by a photographer when he was looking through the photos. A special expedition with divers will find out how the house ended up at the bottom. "It slid down," jokes " Stranoved ".

VOLGA FEDERAL DISTRICT
A 25-year-old resident of Cheboksary had an unsuccessful visit to a wedding. She wanted to catch the bride's bouquet, stood in the front row. But the bride threw the bouquet not upwards, but directly into the crowd, and with considerable force. The bouquet hit the girl in the eye. Hospitalization was required, the channel " About the city of Cheboksary " knows.

"Nizhny Novgorod without censorship" is surprised by camels. They have become regularly noticed on the roads of the region. No one is surprised by them anymore. Jokes about global warming are no longer jokes.

But not for Penza. "Sursky Krai" reports that the city's social networks were filled with a rather strange question for July: "When will the heating be turned on?" The weather is autumnal, cold, although usually at this time in Penza it is unbearably hot.

Saratov scientists have created a line of canned goods so nutritious that they have already been dubbed revolutionary. The "revolution" canned goods consist of specially prepared (in a vacuum) meat, legumes and pumpkin seed flour. " Saratovshchina " reports that the canned goods are not only super-nutritious, but also rich in vitamins. Probably, the most correct and healthy food will soon look like canned goods from Saratov.

SOUTHERN FEDERAL DISTRICT
A crow has been trying to get into the Volgograd City Duma for several days, tirelessly banging on the door of the building. City residents joke that it wants to get a mandate. " Stalingumrak " ironically says that the crow has definitely earned the title of "important bird".

In Sochi, a tow truck had to be called to remove an electric scooter. "Kuban 24" reports: the scooter's power exceeded 250 W, which means that a driver's license is needed to operate it. The 38-year-old man did not have a license. Therefore, the inspectors drew up an administrative protocol, and the scooter was taken to a special parking lot, as required. It looked funny: a small scooter on a large tow truck.

NORTH CAUCASIAN FEDERAL DISTRICT
"Arrows of Kazbek" decided to calculate how many natural disasters the Stavropol region has been subjected to in recent times. It turned out to be almost everything - from heat to storms, including a tornado and an earthquake! It remains to hope that the streak of bad luck in the region will soon end.

Meanwhile, despite the bad weather, a lady stylist climbed Elbrus. And gave her companion a fashionable haircut. It turned out to be the most, as noted by "Stavropolskaya Telegam", high-mountain haircut.

URAL FEDERAL DISTRICT
A well-groomed cat on a leash was spotted in front of a bar in Yekaterinburg. It was not allowed into the premises, and the owners had to leave it outside. "The scene is straight out of Bulgakov. I just want to say: "Why are you, citizen, shouting 'scat' to the customers?" - sadly "EAN".

There, in Yekaterinburg, they started testing a new tram. It is strange. It runs at night, and, looking at photos and videos, city residents cannot decide whether it has three or five sections. " Bazhovsky Skaz " thinks it has five. But it seems to have three.

SIBERIAN FEDERAL DISTRICT
The summer shutdown of hot water drives people to rivers, baths, fitness clubs - where they can wash away dirt and refresh themselves. Some prefer fountains. "Tomsk 1604" reports that in Tomsk a man climbed into a fountain to wash himself, which is located right in the center of the city, near the administration...

FAR EASTERN FEDERAL DISTRICT
"Nedebri" writes about a gastrofestival in Chita. It was turned into a full-fledged cultural event. The theme was the Decembrists! That's why they served dishes from the cookbooks of exiled nobles, including "tea" from Transbaikal herbs, invented in one of the Decembrist families.

"Macho from Avachi" writes about the danger of wild foxes, which are known for their treachery. Recently, on the beach, a man handed a fox a smartphone, saying that it was a tasty thing. The fox grabbed it and ran. The smartphone recorded a video of the animal running away, followed by the owner's curses. Fortunately for the man, the fox soon threw the phone away, which returned to him. Apparently, the fox did not find it tasty enough.

This is the news that the channels shared last week. Read the continuation next Friday, July 11.

Link


-Lurid Crime Tales-
US Man Shoots Chef Over Bacon in Sandwich
2025-05-15
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In the United States of America, in the city of Springfield, a man shot a cook because of bacon in a sandwich, which he does not like. This was reported by the WWLP TV channel.
According to the internet, WWLP is in Springfield, Massachusetts rather than any of the many other Springfields across the country.
The article states that in 2022, American John Brown Jr., according to recordings from the bar's surveillance cameras, communicated with the establishment's chef, Benito Agronom, but when he handed him a dish with bacon, he began to quarrel with him.

The argument quickly escalated into a fight. As a result, the customer threatened to kill the cook and left the bar. About half an hour later, he returned with a gun and shot his opponent several times. The cook could not be saved. Brown Jr. was arrested. He was given 18 years in prison.
In 2022 the Biden-Harris administration had everyone riled up, and in many places the police were not permitted to do anything about it, especially in the Blue areas of the country.
Related:
Springfield, Massachusetts: 2023-10-09 Smith and Wesson celebrates opening of $125m HQ in gun-friendly Tennessee - after moving from longtime home in Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts: 2021-10-01 Smith and Wesson to move headquarters from Massachusetts to Tennessee
Springfield, Massachusetts: 2019-06-23 Seven Members of Motorcycle Club Composed of Marines Dead in Collision With Pickup Truck in NH
Link


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Americans should eat more of these invasive animals, say experts
2025-03-19
[FoxNews] The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has released a list of five invasive animals that Americans can hunt, catch and cook.

Eating invasive species can help protect native wildlife by reducing the numbers and limiting the damage these species cause to ecosystems, FWS spokesperson Erin Huggins wrote in her list, which was published on the agency's website.

Fox News Digital spoke to various chefs and hunters to get their take on the flavor profiles of these invasive but "downright delicious" animals.

Check out these five.

1. NUTRIA
Native to South America, nutria are invasive inhabitants of the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast and Pacific Northwest, according to the FWS.

Also known by its scientific name of "Myocastor coypus," the semiaquatic herbivore has meat that is "lean, mild and tastes like rabbit," Huggins wrote.

Eric Cook, a New Orleans chef who owns Gris-Gris and Saint John restaurants, told Fox News Digital that nutria "is such a crazy invasive species" and was doing so much "damage to the land" that his group experimented with it on the menu.

"And it failed tremendously," he said.

2. NORTHERN SNAKEHEAD
The northern snakehead, or "Channa argus," is a sharp-toothed fish native to East Asia.

These air-breathing fish can live outside a body of water for several days and are able to wiggle from one freshwater habitat to another, according to the FWS.

Northern snakeheads were first found in a pond in Maryland in 2002; two years later, they were detected in the Potomac River, according to the FWS.

They've since been spotted throughout nearly all the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Commonly found in mid-Atlantic or southeastern U.S. waterways, the snakehead "is a meatier white meat, edging toward chicken," said Ryan Callaghan, MeatEater's director of conservation in Bozeman, Montana.

Huggins described the snakehead as having "firm, white and flaky meat."

"Try them in fish tacos, grilled or fried," she wrote. "Just make sure they don't bite you first."

3. GREEN IGUANA
The green iguana is arguably the most visible of all the invasive animals on the list.

Native to Central and South America, these cold-blooded invaders have made sunny South Florida their home away from home.

The large, plant-eating lizards thrive in South Florida's warm climate, enabling them to reproduce and become a regular sight for residents and visitors alike.

Darcie Arahill, a Florida-based angler and content creator of Darcizzle Offshore YouTube videos that teach the art of fishing, said that these iguanas "breed like rabbits" and are "here to stay."

"They don't eat any kind of meat, but because they're vegetarians, they threaten the native wildlife or the native plants and flowers that we have here in Florida," Arahill told Fox News Digital.

Iguanas also dig tunnels that erode seawalls, Arahill said.

She's harvested them and posted YouTube videos about how to cook them.

"Iguana is really good," she said.

Arahill, who lives along a canal, said she uses her bow and arrow to shoot them in her backyard. She said the tail is the "best part," but the bigger the lizard, the more meat there is on the legs.

Arahill likes to boil iguana meat in water with potatoes and carrots, almost like a stew, "to the point where the meat just falls off the bone."

Then she'll plate the stew on top of rice – "and I swear it is so good."

Arahill said iguana tastes like pulled pork.

"You don't know the difference," she said.

4. INVASIVE CARP
Another invasive fish is the carp.

Bighead, silver, black and grass carp species, native to East Asia, are collectively known as invasive carp.

"Invasive carp are fast-growing and prolific feeders that out-compete native fish and leave a trail of environmental destruction in their wake," according to the National Invasive Species Information Center's website.

"The four types of invasive carp currently found in the U.S. were imported into the country for use in aquaculture ponds. Through flooding and accidental releases, black, grass, bighead and silver carps found their way into the Mississippi River system."

Because the Mississippi River system serves as a "giant freshwater highway," this has given invasive carp species "access to many of the country's rivers and streams," the site also says.

MeatEater's Callaghan, who has some experience with bighead and silver carp, told Fox News Digital that the taste is "very mild to almost neutral."

He said they're zooplankton feeders, "so they don't have to work very hard."

The carp's bone structure is "probably the biggest reason they haven't taken off as a grocery store fish," Callaghan said. It "takes some practice to filet them efficiently and avoid the bones."

5. FERAL HOGS/WILD BOAR
Feral hogs or wild boars, known by their scientific name "Sus scrofa," are a "full-blown ecological disaster," Huggins wrote.

Native to Europe and Asia, these animals can be found in the Southeast, Texas, California and beyond.

Wild hogs can be found throughout Florida in a variety of habitats. Yet according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, they "prefer oak-cabbage palm hammocks, freshwater marshes and sloughs, pine flatwoods and more open agricultural areas."

These swine "eat a variety of plants and animals and feed by rooting with their broad snouts. They may disturb the soil and ground cover vegetation and leave the area looking like it has been plowed."

Danielle Prewett, a Texas hunter, chef and author of the cookbook "MeatEater's Wild + Whole," told Fox News Digital that hogs would "tear up all of the pastures" on her family's ranch — so she and her husband "built a huge trap" to catch them.

"That's one way to harvest these hogs," Prewett said.

As a food, Prewett said, hog gets a bad rap.

"I have never had a bad hog," she noted.

While "a lot of people have a lot of really negative things to say about hogs," Prewett said, she believes it mostly has to do with "how the meat is processed."

"I have never had a bad hog," a Texas hunter and chef told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
"Hogs have several glands, scent glands underneath their skin, and if you accidentally cut that when you're removing the hide and processing it, it can really tank the meat and make it smell and taste really, really terrible," Prewett said.

She said hog is "really delicious," but the flavor of every animal is "going to be based upon whatever it is that they're eating."

"If you're eating [hog from] somewhere where there's no good food source, they're going to taste differently and reflect that," she said.
Related:
Invasive species 06/10/2024 How wild beast [hog] invasion is tearing up America
Invasive species 02/06/2024 Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' attack Columbians as concerns over their numbers rise

Invasive species 10/18/2023 Haifa's wild pig problem might be a thing of the past, thanks to a new US study

Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
On the other side: US gov’t envoy said to warn Israel it is violating ceasefire in Lebanon, singling out drone flights over Beirut, French FM ditto
2024-12-03
[IsraelTimes] The US has warned Israel that it is violating parts of the ceasefire deal with Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
, Hebrew media reports.

US special envoy Amos Hochstein reportedly sent a message urging Israel to uphold the agreement. In particular, he cited Israeli drone flights over Beirut, Hebrew media cited Israeli sources as saying.

The Prime Minister’s office declined to comment.

It comes a day after Hebrew media outlets reported that, according to French diplomatic sources, La Belle France has accused Israel of 52 ceasefire violations.

The sources claimed that although Israel was acting against Hezbollah’s own violations, the IDF did not go through the proper channels to report the Lebanese terror group’s transgressions to the US-led international oversight body, of which La Belle France is a member, as required by the terms of the agreement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement yesterday that Israel was "very resolutely enforcing the ceasefire agreement, and every violation is immediately being met with an intense reaction by the IDF." He vowed that this would continue.

French FM tells Israeli counterpart Sa’ar all parties must respect Lebanon ceasefire
How’s that No Confidence vote going for your government back home, your Excellency?
[IsraelTimes] In his call with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar this morning, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stresses “the need for all parties to respect the ceasefire in Lebanon,” says the Quai d’Orsay.
Does All Parties include Hezbollah, or can they just do as they please?
France reportedly accused Israel this week of dozens of violations of the ceasefire.

According to the French readout of the call, Barrot also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and a massive flow of humanitarian aid.
The aid is already happening. So where are the hostages, monsieur?
The diplomats also discuss the renewed fighting in Syria and the Iranian nuclear program, the French Foreign Ministry says.
”Dreadful. Simply dreadful. Those poor people… Would you prefer tea, coffee, or a small brandy? And you must try these pastries — the cook is an absolute treasure.”
Link


Afghanistan
UN report highlights surge in Afghanistan’s Methamphetamine trade
2023-09-11
[KhaamaPress] According to a United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
 report released on Sunday, methamphetamine trafficking in and around Afghanistan has significantly increased in recent years despite the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
’s claims to curb heroin trafficking.

"The surge in methamphetamine trafficking in Afghanistan and the region suggests a significant shift in the illicit drug market and demands our immediate attention," Ghada Waly, the executive director of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said.

Despite the Taliba’s ban on poppy cultivation and narcotics production in April of the previous year, the UNODC reported that methamphetamine trafficking has notably intensified since the ban, highlighting an ongoing challenge.

Methamphetamine seizures in Afghanistan and neighbouring regions increased 12 times between 2016 and 2021. Furthermore, from 2019 to 2022, countries like Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and Pakistain observed a notable uptick in methamphetamine seizures, hinting at a regional issue.

Astonishingly, methamphetamine suspected to have originated in Afghanistan has been seized in far-flung places like La Belle France and Australia, underscoring the global reach of this illicit trade.

According to UNODC, suspicious methamphetamine production in Afghanistan primarily centres around a plant known as "ephedra," which has experienced rapid growth and contains ephedrine used in drug manufacturing.

Ephedra is a self-growing plant readily available in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime emphasizes that common cold medicines and industrial chemicals are more efficient and cost-effective for producing methamphetamine, making them a more significant threat.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels...
 earlier this year, the Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, issued a decree prohibiting the cultivation, production, use, and trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances.
Shafaq News adds:
Annual meth seizure totals from inside the country rose from less than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) in 2019 to nearly 2,700 kilograms (6,000 pounds) in 2021, suggesting increased production, the report said. But it couldn’t give a value for the country’s meth supply, the quantities being produced, nor its domestic usage, because it doesn’t have the data.

Angela Me, the chief of the UNODC’s Research and Trend Analysis Branch, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that making meth, especially in Afghanistan, had several advantages over heroin or cocaine production.

"You don’t need to wait for something to grow," said Me. "You don’t need land. You just need the cooks and the know-how. Meth labs are mobile, they’re hidden. Afghanistan also has the ephedra plant, which is not found in the biggest meth-producing countries: Myanmar and Mexico. It’s legal in Afghanistan and it grows everywhere. But you need a lot of it."

Me said it was too early to assess what impact the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
’s drug crackdown has had on meth supplies.

A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Abdul Mateen Qani, told the AP that the Taliban-run government has prohibited the cultivation, production, sale and use of all intoxicants and narcotics in Afghanistan.

He said authorities have destroyed 644 factories and around 12,000 acres of land where prohibited narcotics were cultivated, processed or produced. There have been more than 5,000 raids in which 6,000 people have been arrested.

"We cannot claim 100% that it is finished because people can still do these activities in secret. It is not possible to bring it to zero in such a short time," said Qani. "But we have a four-year strategic plan that narcotics in general and meth in particular will be finished."

A U.N. report published in November said that opium cultivation since the Taliban takeover increased by 32% over the previous year, and that opium prices rose following authorities’ announcement of a cultivation ban in April 2022. Farmers’ income from opium sales tripled from $425 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022.

The 2022 report also said that the illicit drug market thrived as Afghanistan’s economy sharply contracted, making people open to illegal cultivation and trafficking for their survival.

Afghans are dealing with drought, severe economic hardship and the continued consequences of decades of war and natural disasters.

The downturn, along with the halt of international financing that propped up the economy of the former Western-backed government, is driving people into poverty, hunger, and addiction.

An Afghan health official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said around 20,000 people are in hospitals for drug addiction, mostly to crystal meth. Of these patients, 350 are women. He said children are also being treated, but did not give the number nor their ages.
Related:
Methamphetamine: 2023-09-08 Taliban Assault Residents and Torch Their Motorcycles in Ghor Province
Methamphetamine: 2023-09-02 Guns, drugs litter homeless shelter in blue Austin, Texas, whisleblower-filmed video shows
Methamphetamine: 2023-08-27 Is the Taliban getting hooked on fentanyl?
Related:
Ephedra: 2023-08-19 Terrorist Breivik accused the Norwegian authorities of violating human rights
Ephedra: 2023-06-06 Afghan Drug Trade; Cartels, Trafficking Route, and Government Complicity
Ephedra: 2023-02-18 The Azadi Briefing: Taliban Divisions Come Out Into The Open
Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
❗The most realistic versions proving that Prigozhin is (possibly ) alive
2023-08-27
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

From the V Kontakte page of Power is in the truth
Moreover, what kind of identification can we talk about if the bodies are disfigured and burned. In general, with the level of conspiracy and Wagner's capabilities, identification is not an argument. Theoretically, identification is indeed easy to adjust.

FACT NO. 2
Malian journalists added gasoline to the fire of rumors that Prigozhin was alive, who said that they had seen the founder of Wagner alive in Mali after the news of the crash. And although there is no evidence, only rumors, this is another reason for "I don't believe it!".

FACT NO. 3
The fact that it could have been a performance is also evidenced by the fact that Prigozhin has already died once. in the Congo in 2019. And also in a plane crash. Then, however, Prigozhin was inferior in popularity to his media namesake, so almost no one knows about this, but the fact remains.

Prigozhin was "buried" again in August 2022. Allegedly, he died after the shelling of the headquarters from Hymers. For several days he did not get in touch, it was not possible to contact him. But then he showed up and, as Andrey Bogatov ironically said, "helped look for his body."

FACT #4
Another reason to believe that this is all a set-up is the fact that it was very simple. All three Wagner commanders: Prigozhin, Utkin and Chekalov flew in the same plane, although they had never done this before, flying on different flights, so that in which case they would not be beheaded by PMCs in one fell swoop, as actually happened. Something, but they knew it, understood it, and this is inexplicable!

Moreover, Prigozhin, knowing what role he plays, always confused the tracks, could register for one flight, and then fly another, used doubles. And then I remember the second plane, which landed safely at the Ostafyevo airport near Moscow.

FACT NO. 5
Before that, it was said that the second plane was flying along the same route as the first one, from Moscow to St. Petersburg, but in fact it was flying on the return flight from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Some say that the plane was empty, according to another version, there were two citizens of the Central African Republic (CAR) on the plane. And this is thought provoking.

Firstly, in the Central African Republic, Prigozhin is almost a national hero.

Secondly, in the Central African Republic, in a closed village near Wagner PMC, there is an ultra-modern clinic and three German plastic surgeons.

Thirdly, during the July searches in the St. Petersburg office of Wagner, many wigs and passports were found with a photo of Yevgeny Prigozhin and other names and surnames.

Fourth, recently, organizations associated with Prigozhin have been buying up cryptocurrencies.

Fifthly, the same second aircraft that we started talking about, after landing in Ostafyevo, went first to Baku, and then to Turkey. And from Turkey it was possible to fly anywhere and dissolve, especially taking into account the four points I listed above about citizens of the Central African Republic, plastic surgeons, crypts and fake passports. But why was all this necessary?

FACT #6
As you know, on the day of the disaster, exactly two months had passed since the Wagner rebellion. At the same time, as we remember, despite such a terrible crime as a military rebellion, all charges were dropped from Prigozhin and released to fraternal Belarus, and his mission in Africa in the interests of Russia continued. Strange, isn't it?

But what if the president, simply out of friendship and as a respect for his services to the fatherland, gave Prigozhin time to finish his business and disappear? If so, then, considering all of the above, it turned out pretty well.

More from the V Kontakte page of Holy Rus'
❗“Those who benefit from it are trying to quarrel us”

A representative of the Wagner group made a statement to those who came to the memorial of those who died in the Prigozhin plane:

“Do not try to arrange a boil inside, they are waiting for this. They are waiting for a weak Russia. They tried, they did it, and now we need to make sure that they don't succeed. To prevent the Stars and Stripes from getting what they wanted to do with this move. And Wagner has always been, and will always be. We'll do nicely next anyway. So that your husbands, children, do not go where we died, this is our task.

More from Boris Rozhin. Text taken from an rbc.ru news report. Commentary by Rozhin is in italics.
There is no information on state financing of Wagner

Peskov appeared after the rest and began to perform in his own style.

In June, Putin said that the content of Wagner was "fully provided by the state." Dmitry Peskov claims that the PMC did not have state funding

A Kremlin spokesman was asked if state funding for a private military company would continue as it registered in Belarus.

“There was no government funding. This has nothing to do with being in Belarus, this is a completely different order of the topic. Here I cannot answer this question. Of course, you can turn to the Belarusian authorities, but here I have no information for you right now," Peskov replied.

At the end of June, President Vladimir Putin said that the content of the Wagner PMC was "fully provided by the state." According to him, only from May 2022 to May 2023, expenses amounted to tens of billions of rubles.

“Despite the fact that the very maintenance of Wagner was on the shoulders of the state, in a year the owner of the Concord company (Prigozhin. - RBC) through Voentorg received, earned from the state, supplying food and providing nutrition services to the army, earned 80 billion rubles,” Putin said. “The state completely took over the maintenance, and part of this whole group, this very Concord company, at the same time earned 80 billion rubles,” the president explained.

Peskov added that he could not say anything about the future of Wagner PMC. “Let's not forget that there is no such structure, there is no de jure Wagner PMC. There is indeed a Wagner group, and the president has repeatedly said that it has made a great contribution to the course of a special military operation,” said the Kremlin spokesman.

Formally, one can of course refer to the fact that a contract was concluded with a private structure that acted as a private contractor of the state on outsourcing. And in this case, we are not talking about direct financing, but rather about certain contractual obligations (which, of course, no one has seen in the public field).

Nevertheless, it is obvious that without government contracts (including through the RF Ministry of Defense), the Wagner PMC would not have reached the peak of its power by the spring of 2023, given that the equipment was provided by the RF Ministry of Defense and the Wagner PMC "It was not purchased, but received for free for use.

Regarding the status, indeed, there are no PMCs legally in Russia, but in fact they are. The law, which was supposed to eliminate this legal incident, has not yet been adopted. The next round of debates on the topic of legal legalization of already existing PMCs will probably take place in the autumn.

It is also worth noting that after Putin spoke on the subject of Prigozhin's death, many officials supported softening assessments of Prigozhin, where the rebellion is presented as "Prigozhin's serious mistake." Yesterday, Dyumin spoke most vividly on this topic, calling the rebellion a mistake, but not a betrayal, and separately emphasizing that Prigozhin was not a traitor.

In general, a kind of partial posthumous rehabilitation of Prigozhin took place, despite all the ifs and buts. Well, in Africa and Belarus, Wagner continues to fulfill its tasks, although the future of PMCs is vague, since the loss of part of the top management of such a serious structure cannot do without consequences.

PS. It is not yet clear who and how killed Prigozhin and Utkin. So far, the detonation of an explosive device inside the aircraft looks like the most likely version.

More from Russian military blogger Andrey Chervonets
A plot in the plausibility of which Alexandre Dumas himself would not have believed

A lively young man comes to Alexandre Dumas and speaks. Listen, master. There is a plot.
Telegram link
Here, look. A convict becomes our king's cook. A? What?! Let's start right away with the trump cards. Let us capture the reader so that his hair stands on end in all possible and impossible places.

And then:

- bam - he is already a general and master of a secret order of mercenary warrior musicians, you understand.

“Musicians,” Dumas asks?

Yes, the young man is inspired. Just a whole military band, you understand. Violin in left hand. In the right, instead of a bow, such a hefty sword.

And these murderous troubadours, their order is officially banned by several laws of France at once. But financed directly from the royal treasury, you understand.

Dumas Père pulls out of his luxurious hair the first tuft of the evening.

But this, the young man continues, is only the beginning. Then the king gives the master general, who is a convict, who is a cook, the highest French award. Order of the Holy Spirit. For outstanding achievements in resolving colonial issues. Right in the front hall of the Louvre, in the presence of the nobility, you understand.

- Mon Dieu, but how ... - Dumas

Nothing, nothing, the young man laughs. Then the big war starts. Our beloved France opposes, for example, Flanders. Of course, our master general, who is a cook, a convict and a holder of the Order of the Holy Spirit, takes an active part in this mess.

So active that he, annoyed, runs out of people. And then he recruits for his secret and completely illegal order through advertisements.

- Sorry, monsieur?

According to the announcements, master! Right on the streets of cities, parchments are pasted with a proposal to join the secret order of warrior musicians. Hundreds of recruits rush there! And convicts too!

- Convicts?

- Well, yes, convicts. The Royal Chancellery gives the cook the right to recruit convicted robbers into fighters. Even from the salt mines, even from the galleys, but even from the Bastille itself!

Cannons, muskets, cuirasses, swords, good piercers and service sledgehammers are provided by the royal arsenal for the order, you understand. Cores in sufficient quantities, however, they do not give him. And this becomes the occasion for a lot of nasty slander against the poor superintendent.

The young man jumps up and starts rushing around Dumas's office in excitement.

The master raises a rebellion, he shouts, his orchestra marches in columns to Paris. Orleans is captured without firing a shot! The war elephant is stuck in the circus! The yard is in a panic! Guard is silent!

And at Paris, at Paris itself, master, they turn around and leave ...

- Where do they go? Why are they leaving?

- To Spain, of course. Under the personal guarantees of the Spanish king. Having previously dropped into the Louvre for a small secret audience with His Majesty the King of France.

And from there, from Spain, the orchestral assassins threaten to arbitrarily declare war on England. The general, the master, the cook, the rebel and the convict, returns to Paris and appears at the police station, you understand.

- Repent? Give up?

- What is there to give up, master. He demands back the muskets confiscated from him during the search, award swords and a carriage filled to the brim with gold monograms.

- Give away?

- Give away! And they help deliver. Right up to the Spanish border. In which he does not stay long, for some secret but urgent necessity calls him to France. And here, on a country road, his carriage is blown to pieces. Either the kerosene lantern failed, or the damned Dutch from a cannon hidden in the bushes ahead of time, you understand.

The courtyard is in mourning. The funeral of the ex-convict is arranged secretly, in order to avoid popular unrest. In the Netherlands, a holiday and general festivities are declared. England breathes a sigh of relief. There are rumors that the double of the Grand Master died in the carriage. The expression "guarantees of the Spanish king" becomes winged.

And tens of thousands of elite warriors left without their general look around thoughtfully, and in their hands they don’t even have violins at all, you understand ...

“I don’t understand,” Dumas interrupts. As an intricate delirium of a mentally ill person, this has the right to exist. As a literary plot, no. Even my undemanding readers will not digest such a dish. Try to go to the postmodernists, or something ...

P.S.
Someone reading this story will say: "Why was it composed?".

For two reasons:

1) To show that life, as practice shows, is more twisted than the most fantastic novels.

2) Approximately providing the character of Yevgeny Viktorovich, he himself would have perceived such an opus, albeit posthumous, with considerable humor and irony.

However, the text is good. But...

Some moments are not fully disclosed: for example, with the Prince of Holland, a marijuana lover, on whose instructions the carriage was blown up. It is not told about the chief marshal of France, after whom the chief musician with his orchestra moved to Paris.

And yes, if Alexandre Dumas nevertheless took up this plot to write a book, the explosion of the carriage would not have been the finale. In the continuation of the novel, it would become clear that the master was riding in another carriage ...

Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Nuland Cookies Not Accepted in Africa
2023-08-10
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Commentary by Russian military blogger Andrey Chervonets
What has changed in the United States, that now they are doing exactly the opposite than in 2014

Acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, aka the woman with cookies, visited Niger, where she met with the military who removed the president from power. In a meeting with the deposed leader himself, she was refused. As in the meeting with the leader of the coup. At the same time, Nuland's communication with the military lasted more than two hours. And ended up with nothing.
She apparently ate most of the cookies
“The conversation was extremely frank and quite difficult,” Nuland told reporters. “This was the first conversation in which the US offered its services if the people responsible for the coup have a desire to return to the constitutional order. I hope they leave the door of diplomacy open. We made them an offer. We'll see," Nuland said.

“Victoria Nuland thought that with Niger you can do the same as with Ukraine: put in a plastic bag of buns and fool around? You won’t find such a banana regime as in Kiev,” wrote Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The Africans turned out to be smarter than the representatives of the galloping nationality.

In Schenevmerl, Nuland supported and gave cookies to those who overthrew the legitimate government. She came to Niger with cookies and promises with exactly the opposite goals - to ask those who overthrew power to return it to the president and refuse further actions in this direction.

It was necessary to ask her - what was America and the entire "progressive public" then in 2014 supported the coup in Schenevmerl, and now they are doing the opposite - they are persuading them to retreat from their achievements and return the pro-Western president back to his post?

Why didn’t she then offer the Maydanuts to do the same? ...

Link


-Great Cultural Revolution
Awkward: Supreme Court Rules Against Affirmative Action With Affirmative Action Hire Sitting Right There
2023-06-30
[Bee] WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an extremely awkward moment, six Supreme Court justices ruled that affirmative action is unconstitutional, completely forgetting that affirmative action hire Ketanji Brown Jackson was sitting right there next to them.

"Welp, this is kind of an uncomfortable situation," said Chief Justice John Roberts after turning in his majority opinion. "No hard feelings, ok, Ketanji? We're still invited to the cookout at your place this weekend, right?"

Roberts then slunk away with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Today is a sad day for anyone who was hired strictly based on their race, gender, and sexual orientation rather than qualifications," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who was hired strictly based on her race, gender, and sexual orientation rather than qualifications. "Ah, crap... now this is awkward."

Vice President Kamala Harris, also an identity hire with no qualifications, weighed in as well, saying: "Affirmative action is affirmative, and that's good. Without affirmative action, we will have non-affirmative action which is the worst kind of action. And that's bad. HA HA HAHAHAHAHA!"

At publishing time, Clarence Thomas had distracted himself from his awkward feeling by writing yet another brilliant opinion.
Link


Afghanistan
Women Banned From Outdoor Restaurants in Afghanistan’s Herat Province
2023-04-14
Adding another step of heat to the cooking pot.
[KhaamaPress] In a recent move, the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
 authorities banned the entry of families and women in restaurants with gardens and green spaces in the Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
 Province of Afghanistan on Monday.

The Taliban on Monday barred entry of families and women into restaurants with gardens or green spaces in Herat province, Afghanistan.

“The de facto government”
Scare quotes mine.
decided after receiving a complaint from the religious holy mans. The Religious holy mans complained that a crowd of men and women had been at such places.

While according to Afghan authorities, the curbs were imposed due to not wearing a headscarf (Hijab) and gender mixing.

So far, the ban only applies to restaurants with green spaces in Herat province.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, the enormous newt was trying to decide if Gloria was edible...
 officials in Herat denied imposing restrictions for families and women in all restaurants, but saying that it only applies to those restaurants with green areas, such as parks, and eateries with green and garden spaces.

According to a deputy official, Baz Mohammad Nazir from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue’s directorate in Herat denied media allegations that all eateries were off-limits to families and women, characterizing them as misinformation, reported Fox News.

Since the return of the Taliban in August 2021, several restrictions have been imposed on women, including education, working with domestic and international institutions, gyms and open spaces.

Recently, the Taliban authorities banned Afghan female aid workers from working with the UN in the Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
 province of Afghanistan.

The ban on women’s education and employment was confronted with massive criticism by regional and international organizations, and the suppressive policies of the Taliban were condemned.

However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
 the restrictions for female aid workers working with the UN continue, including the ban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade and university.
Link


Afghanistan
Another blow for Herat women; Taliban bans them from restaurants
2023-04-05
Raising the heat under the cooking pot another notch.
[AMUtv] In another move against women in the western city of Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, the Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
 has ordered restaurant owners to bar women from entering their establishments.

According to some restaurant owners, this latest order was issued by the Taliban’s vice and virtue directorate in Herat and is yet another blow to an industry that is already struggling to survive.

Two restaurant owners, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter and their safety, said on Monday they had created designated family areas in their restaurants at a huge cost after an initial order by the Taliban, which required separate dining facilities for families.

Despite following the initial orders, restaurant owners now have another edict to deal with.

They said that the Taliban is using Sharia to put pressure on restaurants.

"By this, they have barred us from operating even after we invested a lot in creating private booths for families," said one restaurant owner.

"The members of the Taliban’s vice and virtue office came to my restaurant on Friday evening (March 31) and warned that the restaurant will be closed and the owner will face serious action if members of one family [that included women] were allowed to have food around one table," said Mustafa, an employee of a restaurant in Herat city.

Herat residents also confirmed that they are not allowed to go to restaurants with female members of their families.

"I went to a restaurant with my husband and children to have food but we were not allowed to enter the restaurant," said Shabnam, a Herat resident.

"We went to many restaurants (that day) but we were not allowed to enter. They told my husband that he can but his wife is not allowed in," she added.

Meanwhile,
...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo watched the circling Commanches and asked himself What would Geronimo do?...
 Abdul Rahman, Taliban’s head of vice and virtue office in Herat, said a "mixed environment" leads to "forbidden" acts.

"The restaurants that have green areas like a garden. People go there and some disturbances happen there. (Therefore) the presence of women was banned there," he said.This latest edict adds to a growing list of restrictions on women in society. Last year the Taliban banned women from visiting recreational areas including public baths, gyms and parks. They have also been banned from playing sport, from going to high school, university and other higher education classes.
Link


India-Pakistan
Terrorist attack on police post leaves three dead in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
2023-01-20
[Dawn] Three persons including two coppers and a cook were killed when holy warriors attacked a checkpost in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber tribal district on Thursday evening.

Khyber DPO Mohammad Imran told journalists that holy warriors conducted a three-pronged coordinated attack at Takhtabeg checkpost on the main Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire...
-Torkham Highway at around 7:30pm.

He said that the attackers, including a jacket wallah, initially hurled hand grenades at the police post alongside resorting to indiscriminate firing which resulted in the killing of a policeman on the spot while critically injuring two others including a cook.

"One of the injured policeman departed this vale of tears while being shifted to hospital while the cook died at Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar later," said the DPO. The two martyred coppers included Younas Khan and Manzoor Shah while the cook was identified as Rafiq, all hailing from Jamrud.

He said that police courageously intercepted the suicide bomber at the entry point of the checkpost as he was trying to enter and blew himself inside the checkpost. He was killed when his explosive-laden jacket was blown up with police firing.

"No coppers was either killed or injured in the suicide explosion," said the DPO. He added that police collected body parts of the suicide bomber for forensic investigation.
“That’s a left ear...and over there is the matching right one....but why does he have two left feet? Hmmm... I shall have to write a monograph for the Lancet.”
“B - but is he dead, Dr. Quincy?”
“Oh! Yes, of course he’s dead, Jim. When they’re in pieces like this, the smart bet is that they’re dead. Give me a blank form D17933/KPTTP from the drawer over there — you can take that to the police sergeant to make it official.”
He said that a part of the checkpost was also damaged due to explosion of suicide jacket and grenade attack. He said that an extensive search operation was immediately launched in the surrounding localities jointly by police and counter-terrorism department personnel to trace and arrest the attackers, who managed to escape.

Nobody grabbed credit of the attack till filing of the report while police officials said that they recently received threats from krazed killer groups and were on high alert.

Sources told Dawn that the attack was carried out at a time when there was rush on the main road. They said that traffic was immediately suspended while the motorists and passersby ran for cover in the surrounding localities. No civilian was, however, affected in the attack.

In Lakki Marwat, a search operation was launched after a clash between police and holy warriors in a forest along the Kurrum River in Ihsanpur area on Thursday.

Officials said that the clash took place when a large police contingent raided the hideout of holy warriors in the dense forest locally called Darga.

"Terrorists fired at police with automatic weapons. They also used rocket launchers and other heavy weapons," they said. They added that the forest spreading over a vast area along the river was used by the holy warriors as safe haven.

Ihsanpur area is located on plain and saline lands between Gambila and Kurrum rivers. A bridge over the Gambila River links the area with Lakki Marwat city.

The trans-Kurrum river locality known as Kurrum Par area borders Karak and Mianwali districts where several terrorist attacks on police force had taken place in the recent months. Six coppers had embraced martyrdom when holy warriors attacked them in the Kurrm Par area two months ago.

Officials said that coppers were dispatched to the area on credible information about the presence of holy warriors in in the forest. They said that a police van was damaged in the attack by terrorists. "Policemen equipped with modern and heavy weapons also took positions and returned the fire bravely," they added.

They said that the coppers engaged the holy warriors until an additional contingent reached there to assist them. They said that security forces and commandos of Quick Response Force (QRF) also reached Ihsanpur area and took part in the operation against terrorists.

Officials said that the coppers and soldiers remained unhurt in the fierce shootout. "The law enforcers have besieged the forest and a search operation is under way," they said.
Khaama Press adds:
Local authorities have reported that bully boyz attacked a police outpost using in northeastern Pakistain, killing three security personnel on Thursday evening.

The terror attack took place in the Khyber district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistain late yesterday evening. Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
 Pakistain (TTP), also known as the Pak Taliban, claimed the responsibility for the deadly attack, resulting in the death of three security force members.
Link


Afghanistan
Taliban have banned Afghan women from entering the capital’s public parks and funfairs
2022-11-11
Slowly turning up the heat under the cooking pot.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Link



Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More