Putin also ordered over 140,000 additional Russian troops … along with 400 more Russian fighter planes and 360 more helicopters are now at the Ukraine border … Starts @ 2:12 - Fair Use - Russia Burning Off $10M in Gas a Day That Would Have Been Sent to Europe: Residents of Finland began reporting a huge jet of flame from across the Russian border last month. Satellite images detected a massive heat bloom that turned out to be a Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant burning off millions of cubic meters of gas that were supposed to be sold to European customers. Senior VP Sindre Knutsson of Norway-based research firm Rystad Energy told Sky News on Friday the Russians are burning 4.34 million cubic meters of gas worth about $10 million every day, destroying enough fuel to supply 1.5 million European homes. The burning is taking place at an LNG plant in the Russian town of Portovaya, located northwest of St. Petersburg near the Finnish border. The plant is located near a compressor station for the Nord Stream 1 undersea pipeline that leads to Germany. Russia cut the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 down to 20 percent of its nominal capacity in late July, completing a series of escalating restrictions that were supposedly necessitated by “technical problems” with a compressor turbine. The Germans accused Russia of cutting off their gas to retaliate for opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia supplies about a third of Germany’s gas needs. “Gas is now a part of Russian foreign policy and possibly Russian war strategy,” German official Klaus Mueller charged, as LNG prices across Europe skyrocketed. Knutsson added that the “flaring” of flaming gas from the Portovaya facility is blowing about 9,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air every day, a situation he described as an “environmental disaster.” Knutsson speculated the Russians might want that massive pyre of wasted natural gas to be clearly visible from Finland, as a sign of Russian dominance over European energy markets. “There could not be a clearer signal — Russia can bring energy prices down tomorrow. This is gas that would otherwise have been exported via Nord Stream 1 or alternatives,” he said. Starts @ 1:08 - Fair Use - Starts @ 1:18 - Fair Use - The whole idea of having military troops, fighter planes, etc. at civilian airports in Britain is scary! It does seem like this is very serious. The first time since 1939! Skimming through some Five Doves articles, I remember one said that Russia is holding back much of their aircraft from the war in Ukraine. They are saving them to fight NATO. The irony is I was reading on Yahoo news the other day Ozzie and Sharon Osborne bad mouth living in the United States saying California is no longer a safe place with all the gun violence and they want to move back to the United Kingdom and sell their California estate. Well … I wonder how they are going to react to this … The new Prime Minister of Great Britain will be announced on Sept 5th to replace Boris Johnson and if its … Liz Truss … she is trigger happy and said she has no problem with pressing the nuke button B-) Mikhail Gorbachev, Last Premier of Soviet Union, Dies at 91: Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader who oversaw the end of the Soviet Union, died Tuesday at the age of 91, according to Russian news agencies, via the Associated Press. Born to a peasant family in Stavropol in 1931, Gorbachev watched the famines and purges of the 1930s, and the struggles of the Second World War, before embarking on a career in the Communist Party in the postwar era. He rose quickly through the ranks, recognized for his intellect and his skill as an administrator. He was viewed as a young leader who could rejuvenate the country and the party, as older leaders faded and as his predecessors, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko, died after short terms in office. Gorbachev assumed power in 1985 during a period of growing confrontation with the U.S., when President Ronald Reagan had strengthened America’s anticommunist posture. The Soviet Union and its satellites were falling behind economically, as computers made the Western economy vastly more productive, and the Eastern bloc fell increasingly into debt. When Reagan launched an ambitious program of defense spending, including research into space-borne missile defense systems, Gorbachev realized that the Soviet Union would struggle to match the U.S. He indicated an openness to talks with Reagan, and began a process of internal reform, known as perestroika. Gorbachev encouraged greater openness, or glasnost, within Soviet institutions, although the country remained deeply repressive, imprisoning political dissidents and those who wanted to leave. After a series of talks with Reagan, Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the U.S. in 1987. It was the most significant arms reduction agreement between the two countries, and reduced tensions with the West. But Gorbachev could not contain the growing unrest at home. In what 18th-century philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville might have observed was a confirmation of his theory of revolutions — that they happen during times of rising expectations — the Soviet bloc began to unravel. The trigger was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, after an East German bureaucrat accidentally told the public that the border to the West would be opening immediately. When thousands of overjoyed Germans swarmed the hated barrier and tore it down, the world waited to see what Gorbachev would do. Rather than send in the tanks, as previous Soviet leaders had done, Gorbachev allowed the Berlin Wall to fall — and allowed similar “Velvet Revolutions” in other Soviet satellites (though Romania had a violent transition). He is most fondly remembered in the United States as the man Reagan challenged — “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” — but later came to respect, and who left a legacy of freedom. :wacko: Russian oil executive dies after falling from Moscow window Yahoo news 9/1/22 Ravil Maganov (right) was the fourth Russian energy official to die suspiciously in recent months. He's seen here with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2019, when Maganov was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky at the Kremlin. Ravil Maganov, the chairman of the board of Lukoil — the second-largest oil company in Russia — died amid mysterious circumstances Thursday, according to The Daily Beast. State-owned news outlet Tass quoted sources that said he fell from a sixth-floor hospital window in Moscow. Tass later added that Maganov took his own life by jumping, according to the BBC. Lukoil omitted any mention of a fall in its news release and said Maganov’s death at the Central Clinical Hospital resulted from underlying health issues he suffered. “We deeply regret to announce that Ravil Maganov, Chairman of PJSC LUKOIL Board of Directors, passed away following a severe illness,” Lukoil wrote. “Ravil Maganov immensely contributed to the development of not only the Company, but of the entire Russian oil and gas sector.” Russian news outlet RIA Novosti reported that the hospital confirmed Maganov’s death and that authorities were investigating the matter. Tass cited an unnamed law enforcement official claiming Maganov had been hospitalized for a heart attack and was on antidepressants when he died, according to Bloomberg. Maganov joined Lukoil in 1993 and became chairman in 2020. His company notably condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraineand wrote in a February letter to shareholders that Lukoil supports “the immediate cessation of the armed conflict,” according to the Daily Beast. The 67-year-old joins a substantial roster of Russian bankers and oil and gas executives who have died under suspicious circumstances this year. Lukoil’s billionaire ex-manager Alexander Subbotin was found dead of an apparent heart attack in the home of a shaman in Mytishchi in May, according to Newsweek. Tass reported that voodoo rituals occurred at the home and that Subbotin was intoxicated when he died. Leonid Shulman — an executive at Russia’s third-largest bank, Gazprombank — was found dead at his Leningrad cottage in January of an apparent suicide, according to the New York Post. The next month, former Gazprombank executive Alexander Tyulyakov was found hanged in his St. Petersburg garage. Former vice president of Gazprombank, Vladislav Avayev, was found dead in April of a gunshot wound next to his wife and daughter at their Moscow home. Authorities said they suspected the incident was a murder-suicide. One day later, Sergei Protosenya — the wealthy ex-manager of Russia’s second-largest gas producer, Novatek — was found hanged in a Spanish villa. His wife and daughter were found dead with stab wounds. Investigators theorized the incident a murder-suicide as well. Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Maganov with the Order of Alexander Nevsky at the Kremlin in 2019, according to EuroNews. Maganov leaves behind a family, including his brother Nail Ulfatovich Maganov, who is the CEO of Tatneft — a sizable Russian oil producer. In the comment section: The two large masked male nurses leaving his room reported the "accident" to the authorities. Prior to press time, the two nurses were not available for comment. Them Russian hospitals really have bad windows. Three Russian scientists all managed to do headers from hospital windows in 2020 after complaining about working conditions for doctors and medical professionals during the pandemic. Now this dude goes flying after he criticized the invasion of Ukraine. Pay no attention to the similarities. It's the windows. Honest. - Fair Use- Amir Tsarfati: Something big is happening at Novaya Zemlya. A NOTAM was issued - (Notice to Airmen or Notice to Air Missions, is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight.). Rumors are that Russia is conducting a nuclear test. The Russian energy corporation Gazprom announced that the supply of natural gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will not be renewed. The German Agency for Economic and Climate Affairs responded: "In light of the decision - more significant savings will be required"
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