In the 1990s, the Soviet Union fell apart, and Russia began moving towards a market economy. However, this transition brought with it a severe economic collapse, widespread poverty, and a sharp rise in organized crime.
If you think the collapse of the Soviet Union was good for the people, think again.
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Bryan O’Neal has spent two decades grinding his way up the U.S. Army ranks, from lowly private to command sergeant major — the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer. He could write a textbook on modern warfare history — and his own unique place in it — but much of what he’s seen and done could be hard for anyone to hear. Significant numbers of the men and women under his command weren’t even born until after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that inspired him to enlist.
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In the spring of 2004, perhaps the last thing President George W. Bush’s administration needed was another war-related PR problem. No one could find Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, which the administration had used to build a case for war. Less than a month before Tillman’s death, four contractors for the Blackwater private security firm in Iraq were ambushed and dragged through the streets, and their corpses were hung from a bridge. In April came shocking images of torture at the Abu Ghraib prison.
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Read More »Yuri Bezmenov defected from the Soviet Union to Canada in the ‘70s, and his warnings about disinformation have made him a posthumous star on social media. Documents obtained by CBC News reveal his toxic relationship with Canada’s intelligence services.
Chaos agent (archived)
Semi-Related:
Call Of Duty Trailer Recklessly Promotes Far-Right Conspiracy Theory (archived)
The person interviewing Bezmenov in the footage is far-right conspiracy theorist G. Edward Griffin, who has since made a name for himself in HIV/AIDS denialism and alt-right recruitment. As a member of the John Birch Society, a famously anti-Communist organization focused on establishing a more conservative government in the United States, it makes sense that Griffin would peddle Bezmenov’s claims about Soviet interference by way of social progress without any critical analysis. In the Call of Duty trailer, Activision presents Bezmenov’s words bereft of this important context.
Russia today says that it has intercepted a Ukrainian commando team, seeking to conduct sabotage operations in Russia’s Bryansk Region. Redacted correspondent Mike Jones is in Russia and he’s been speaking to members of the Ukrainian army that were captured and are now in Russia.
Captured Ukrainian Soldiers Speak Out, Forced to Take Drugs To Fight via Redacted.
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Read More »Switzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership — here’s why it doesn’t have mass shootings
Switzerland hasn’t taken part in any international armed conflict since 1815, but some Swiss soldiers help with peacekeeping missions around the world.
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Swiss authorities decide on a local level whether to give people gun permits. They also keep a log of everyone who owns a gun in their region, known as a canton, though hunting rifles and some semiautomatic long arms are exempt from the permit requirement.
But cantonal police don’t take their duty dolling out gun licenses lightly. They might consult a psychiatrist or talk with authorities in other cantons where a prospective gun buyer has lived before to vet the person.
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Gun owners who want to carry their weapon for “defensive purposes” also have to prove they can properly load, unload, and shoot their weapon and must pass a test to get a license.
Switzerland is also one of the richest, healthiest, and, by some measures, happiest countries in the world.
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The Swiss have been consistently near the top of this list. In 2017, when Switzerland was ranked fourth overall among nations, the report authors noted that the country tends to do well on “all the main factors found to support happiness: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income and good governance.”
Meanwhile, according to the report, happiness has taken a dive over the past decade in the US.
The report authors cite “declining social support and increased corruption,” as well as addiction and depression for the fall.
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Detroit — Timothy Teagan, a prominent member of the far-right anti-government Boogaloo movement, pleaded guilty to gun- and drug-related charges Wednesday following an investigation by FBI counterterrorism investigators and could spend 13 months in federal prison.
Prominent Boogaloo boy guilty following probe that raised extremism concerns
RUSSIA’S Press Secretary to the President, Dmitry Peskov, spoke on Thursday, February 2, about the news that the Mozart Group, America’s answer to Russia’s Wagner Group – Putin’s network of mercenaries and de facto private army – was apparently ‘leaving’ Ukraine and said not to exaggerate the PMC’s significance.
UPDATE: ‘Do not exaggerate importance of America’s equivalent to Wagner Group PMC’ says Russia
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Hard Drinking and Murky Finances: How an American Veterans Group Imploded in Ukraine
By Danny Shaw,
(The author has changed certain names and details to protect individuals’ privacy.)
When you arrive in another country, there is nothing more precious than new friends who adopt you, protect you, and teach you about their language, music, culture, and traditions. For an open-minded traveler, ethnographer and anti-imperialist organizer, this new family is more valuable than any air-conditioned hotel, amount of comfort or money.
Brazil: More Fascism and Neocolonialism or a Path Back to Self-Determination?
Researchers find that the nation had become an outlier among other rich countries in mortality rates long before the pandemic—and that Americans are dying younger than their peers abroad.
United States of Death? Study Shows Worrying Mortality Rates of Broken Health System
7/25/22 John Vaughn on Why People Aren’t Joining the Military
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by John Vaughn | Jul 20, 2022
A new report from NBC news has generated a lot of discussion about the relationship between the military and American society. Especially from right-leaning commentators, much of the blame is placed on the current administration and the apparent increase of “woke” cultural initiatives and vaccine mandates. Prominent right wing personality and veteran BowTiedRanger lists three reasons:
A Veteran Explains Why People Aren’t Joining the Military
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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