Day: May 17, 2024
NPR News: 05-17-2024 6PM EDT
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This past week was an eventful one for Russia at war with the West. On May 7, Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for the fifth time as president of Russia in an elaborate ceremony that ended with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church intoning “God willing, the end of the century will mean the end of your stay in power.” (In the year 2100, Putin would be 148.) On May 9, Russia celebrated Victory Day, where nuclear weapons were paraded, with Putin reminding the admiring crowd assembled in Red Square that, once again, Russia would defeat “Nazis,” this time in Ukraine, and prevail over the hostile West that seeks to dismember it.
After the festivities came the long-awaited cabinet reshuffle. Ever since Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny last June, speculation about how long Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu would stay in power has grown. Shoigu has been the minister of defense since 2012, and he presided over the initial full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which failed to achieve its objective of taking Kyiv in three days and deposing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Indeed, the Russian military’s poor performance for the first 18 months of the war fueled debate about how long Shoigu would stay in power. Prigozhin’s increasing attacks on both Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov for incompetence and corruption cemented his popularity among rank-and-file soldiers and military bloggers. He led a failed coup aimed at ousting them. But it was he, and not Shoigu, who was eliminated.
Nevertheless, the recent arrest of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, a close confidant of Shoigu, also known to be notoriously corrupt, signaled that Shoigu’s position as defense minister could be in jeopardy. Shoigu’s dismissal is the most consequential of the recent cabinet reshuffles. He will become the secretary of the Russian Security Council, replacing Nikolai Patrushev, who has served in this position since 2008. Patrushev has been named an aide to Putin responsible for overseeing shipbuilding. His son, Dmitry Patrushev, has been promoted to deputy prime minister for agriculture. It is important to remember that, in the Putin system, official titles are much less important than one’s relationship with Putin. Nikolai will no doubt retain his close ties to Putin. And Shoigu is likely to be a less influential head of the Security Council than Patrushev was.
The new minister of defense, Andrei Belousov, is, at first glance, a surprising choice. An economist by training, he has held several previous positions as an economic official, including briefly as acting prime minister. He is known to be in favor of greater state control of the economy. His appointment confirms that Russia is now on a war economy footing, corruption within the military remains rife, and there have been rising conflicts between the Ministry of Defense and the military-industrial complex. Belousov will, in effect, act as the quartermaster. He will be responsible for strengthening the war economy as well as dealing with corruption, reducing bottlenecks in the supply chains, and encouraging innovation in the military sector. He will also have to ensure that the military receives the supplies it needs and that money allocated for weapons and training will not continue to disappear into the pockets of corrupt officials. He will oversee the integration of the war economy with the rest of the economy to ensure the flow of weaponry and materiel. He will not make the key military decisions. These will continue to be made by Putin, Gerasimov, and others in the military. He accompanied Putin to Beijing this week to discuss military issues with his Chinese counterpart.
Putin’s main concern as the war with Ukraine continues is for military spending to be under control. And he realized that he needed a competent economic decisionmaker to accomplish that. Belousov’s appointment is in some ways reminiscent of Anatoly Serdyukov’s appointment as defense minister from 2007 to 2012. A former furniture manufacturer and tax official, Serdyukov’s main task was dealing with corruption and inefficiency in the ministry and reforming the armed forces after their less-than-stellar performance in the Georgia war of 2008.
Apart from these personnel changes, much remains the same. Mikhail Mishustin has been reappointed as prime minister. A technocrat who has maintained a low profile during the war with Ukraine, Mishustin’s primary responsibility will remain dealing with the economy and ensuring its continued stability and growth. The power ministries are also staying in the same hands. Sergey Lavrov, who has been foreign minister since 2004, remains in office, despite periodic rumors of his imminent retirement. The heads of the intelligence services—Sergei Naryshkin of the Foreign Intelligence Service and Alexander Bortnikov of the Federal Security Service—retain their positions (despite their intelligence failures prior to the invasion of Ukraine), as does the head of Putin’s Praetorian guard, Viktor Zolotov.
These personnel moves represent a reshuffling of a deck of cards that Putin has meticulously played over his 25 years in the Kremlin. Their message is that Putin intends to win the war with Ukraine with the help of a more efficient military and a sound economy.
The post Putin’s cabinet reshuffle: The quartermaster takes over | Brookings first appeared on The News And Times Review – NewsAndTimes.org.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates — the first on June 27 hosted by CNN and the second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC — setting the stage for their first presidential face-off to play out in just over a month.
The quick agreement on the timetable followed the Democrat’s announcement that he would not participate in fall presidential debates sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that has organized them for more than three decades. Biden’s campaign instead proposed that media outlets directly organize the debates between the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees.
The debate is so unusually early on the political calendar that neither Biden nor Trump will have formally accepted his party’s nomination.
Hours later, Biden said he had accepted an invitation from CNN, adding, “Over to you, Donald.” Trump, who had insisted he would debate Biden anytime and anyplace, said on Truth Social he’d be there, too, adding, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!” Soon after that, they agreed to the second debate on ABC.
“Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation,” Biden wrote on X, working in a jab about the perks of incumbency. “I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years.”
The swiftness with which the matchups came together reflects how each of the two unpopular candidates thinks he can get the better of his opponent in a head-to-head showdown. Trump and his team are convinced the debates will exacerbate voters’ concerns about Biden’s age and competence, while Biden’s team believes Trump’s often-incendiary rhetoric will remind voters of why they voted him out of the White House four years ago.
The presidential debates, always a critical moment on the political calendar, could be particularly important in a year when voters are underwhelmed with their choices and have expressed concerns about the candidates’ advanced ages — Biden is 81 and Trump 77.
Sprightly on social media, the rivals traded barbs — each claiming victory the last time they faced off in 2020.
“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, since then he hasn’t shown up for a debate,” Biden said in a post on X. “Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal.”
Trump, for his part, said Biden was the “WORST debater I have ever faced – He can’t put two sentences together!”
The June debate is likely to cap a busy and unsettled stretch, following the likely conclusion of Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York, foreign trips by Biden to France and Italy, the end of the Supreme Court’s term, and the expected start of two criminal trials for the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
CNN said that its debate would be held at 9 p.m. ET in its Atlanta studios with no audience present in a break from recent precedent. Moderators will be anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, CNN said. ABC did not offer details on where its event would be held, but the network said it would be moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. Disagreements about moderators and rules were some of the questions that prompted the formation of the Commission on Presidential Debates in 1987.
The two campaigns and television networks had held weeks of informal talks on ways to circumvent the commission’s grip on presidential debates following years of complaints and perceived slights, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke about internal discussions on condition of anonymity.
Biden’s campaign had proposed excluding third-party candidates, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from the debates outright. Under the debate commission’s rules, Kennedy or other third-party candidates could qualify if they secured ballot access sufficient to claim 270 Electoral Votes and polled at 15% or higher in a selection of national surveys.
Both CNN and ABC announced the same qualification threshold, saying candidates will need to reach at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet their standards.
In response, Kennedy accused Biden and Trump of “trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win.” He said, “Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy.”
The debates will be the first televised general election matchups to be hosted by individual networks. The 1960 debates, which helped show the power of the medium to influence public opinion, were hosted jointly by the leading networks of the day. Before the commission was formed in 1987, the presidential debates of 1976, 1980 and 1984 were organized by the League of Women Voters.
Plans for a vice presidential debate have yet to be announced.
Trump has been pushing for more and earlier debates, arguing voters should be able to see the two men face off well before early voting begins in September. He has even proposed a debate outside the Manhattan courthouse where he is currently on trial. He also has been taunting Biden with an empty lectern at some of his rallies.
In a memorandum to Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Wednesday, Trump senior campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles challenged Biden to agree to at least two additional debates, suggesting one be held each month, with events in June, July, August and September, in addition to a vice presidential debate.
“Additional dates will allow voters to have maximum exposure to the records and future visions of each candidate,” they wrote.
Trump later posted on Truth Social that he had agreed to a third debate, this one hosted by Fox.
“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that I hereby accept debating Crooked Joe Biden on FoxNews. The date will be Wednesday, October 2nd. The Hosts will be Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Thank you, DJT!” he wrote.
O’Malley Dillon responded with a statement accusing Trump of having “a long history of playing games with debates: complaining about the rules, breaking those rules, pulling out at the last minute, or not showing up at all.”
“No more games. No more chaos, no more debate about debates. We’ll see Donald Trump on June 27th in Atlanta – if he shows up,” she wrote.
In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt Wednesday morning, Trump had raised his own doubts about whether Biden would show, and offered his own suggestions. He said the debates “should go two hours” with both men standing, and he also pushed for larger venues.
“It’s just more exciting,” he said.
Biden’s campaign has long held a grudge against the nonpartisan commission, accusing it of failing to evenly apply its rules during the 2020 Biden-Trump matchups — most notably when it didn’t enforce its COVID-19 testing rules on Trump and his entourage.
AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports President Biden and Donald Trump appear to agree on holding a pair of debates.
O’Malley Dillon on Wednesday sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates to say that Biden’s campaign objected to its proposed debate dates in the fall, which would come after some Americans begin to vote, repeating a complaint also voiced by the Trump campaign. She also voiced frustrations over past rule violations and the commission’s insistence on holding the debates before a live audience.
“The debates should be conducted for the benefit of the American voters, watching on television and at home — not as entertainment for an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors,” she wrote.
There also was little love lost for the commission from Trump, who objected to technical issues at his first debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 and was upset when a 2020 debate with Biden was canceled after the Republican came down with COVID-19. The Republican National Committee had already promised not to work with the commission on the 2024 contests.
The Trump campaign issued a statement on May 1 that said of the debate schedule offered by the commission: “This is unacceptable.”
The commission said in a Wednesday statement, “The American public deserves substantive debates from the leading candidates for president and vice president.” It said its mission is “to ensure that such debates reliably take place and reach the widest television, radio and streaming audience.”
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
The post Biden and Trump, trading barbs, agree to 2 presidential debates, in June and September first appeared on The News And Times Review – NewsAndTimes.org.
Секс-работница из Нью-Йорка откровенно рассказала, как попала в индустрию “для взрослых” и с какими страшными ситуациями она сталкивалась.
Сьюзи, которая жила в Бушуике, а после перебралась в Филадельфию, дала интервью Мэтту Каллену, ведущему YouTube-шоу Our Queer Life.
Она рассказала ему о своей карьере в секс-индустрии и о том, какие услуги оказывает клиентам.
Сьюзи сказала, что серьезно относится к своей безопасности: всегда использует средства защиты, требует от клиентов предъявлять удостоверение личности, всегда берет деньги вперед, а в её доме установлены камеры наблюдения.
“Я рассматриваю это как GFE (“опыт с девушкой/подружкой” – услуга, при которой клиент платит секс-работнице за то, что она играет роль его девушки. Предполагает больше личного общения, большей эмоциональной близости, чем чисто секс с девушкой по вызову. – Прим. ИноСМИ), только без секса”, – поделилась она, хотя добавила, что придерживается “широких взглядов”.
Когда к ней приходят новые клиенты, она всегда рекомендует им начать с нуру-массажа, чтобы разрядить обстановку.
“После этого мы можем поговорить о других вещах”, – объяснила она.
Сьюзи рассказала, что в четыре года попала в приемную семью.
Она призналась, что не помнит ничего из того, что было до четырех лет. При этом Сьюзи говорит, что не подвергалась насилию, а если такое и было, то просто не помнит этого. Она описывает себя как девчонку-сорванца, которая всегда возвращалась домой в синяках.
“Как-то раз я ехала в поезде с мамой, мне чего-то захотелось, а она сказала: “Нет”. Я плюнула в нее и потом получила за это, – поделилась она. – Одна женщина увидела, как я плачу, и остановила поезд. Думаю, она решила, что дома я подвергаюсь насилию. На вокзале были полицейские, которые забрали мою маму. Они арестовали её, а меня отправили в детдом”.
Сьюзи восемь лет жила в приемной семье, поскольку её мама страдала биполярным расстройством, и ей было трудно найти работу.
Сьюзи было 12 лет, когда она ненадолго вернулась к своей маме.
Её мать встречалась с “парнем постарше”, и вскоре Сьюзи начала замечать, что происходят странные вещи.
“У меня стало пропадать нижнее белье, происходили странные вещи, мне было не по себе, – вспоминает она. – Я сказала своему школьному психологу: “Эй, я хочу вернуться к приемной маме, мне здесь некомфортно””
У Сьюзи до сих пор довольно натянутые отношения с матерью.
“Она не берет на себя ответственность. А я просто хочу, чтобы она признала вину и сказала: “Я облажалась и мне очень жаль””, – объяснила она.
У Сьюзи была трудная молодость: она забеременела в 18 лет и сделала аборт.
Затем она вернулась к маме, чтобы возобновить отношения, но всё закончилось не очень хорошо, и она снова стала жить одна.
Сьюзи поступила в колледж, когда ещё находилась в приемной семье, но ей пришлось бросить учебу, чтобы обеспечивать себя и свою приемную мать.
Примерно в это время Сьюзи и попала в секс-индустрию.
“Я разместила объявление, в то время оно было бесплатным. Мой телефон разрывался от звонков, а я думала: “О, черт”, – вспоминает она. – Тогда я делала только массаж, поэтому брала 300 долларов за час, во время сеансов на мне было только нижнее белье. Если они хотели, чтобы я была голой, я брала больше. Если они хотели других фетишей, оплата повышалась”.
По её словам, она перешла на “полный спектр услуг” только после расставания со своим первым парнем, когда ей было 23 года.
Сьюзи сейчас встречается с трансгендерной женщиной, которая иногда работает вместе с ней. Теперь она предлагает как индивидуальные услуги, так и в борделе, заявляя, что предпочитает работать на себя, так как ей не нужно отдавать 50% своего заработка.
Её главное правило – всегда пользоваться средствами защиты.
“Всегда помните про свою безопасность, – призвала она. – Я даже не целую своих клиентов в губы – мало ли, что они делают своим ртом”.
Сьюзи говорит, что продает свой “опыт”, называя себя “чувственной доминанткой”.
“Я – доминантка. Мне нравится все контролировать, но я не стану выбивать из вас всю дурь, если вы не заплатите мне много денег”, – добавила она.
Сьюзи старается не принимать слишком много клиентов, максимум трёх в день, поскольку она живет в красивом здании и не хочет привлекать внимание соседей к своей работе.
Сьюзи берет 600 долларов (около 50 тысяч рублей) за час нуру-массажа (без секса). Массаж происходит “тело к телу” и включает “взаимные прикосновения”, если она остается в нижнем белье.
“Если они хотят GFE, я накидываю ещё 1600 долларов (около 146 тысяч рублей)”, – поделилась она.
Сьюзи рассказала об особенно страшной ситуации, которая произошла с одним клиентом, когда она только начинала работать и не просила предоплату и не проверяла документы заранее.
“Он такой: “Вы предоставляете полный спектр услуг, так ведь?” А я такая: “Нет, не предоставляем, и мы не договаривались об этом по телефону””, – рассказала она.
После этого мужчина отказался платить, набросился на неё, схватил за горло и прижал к стене.
“Слава богу, со мной в доме кто-то был. Я закричала, и кто-то пришел мне на помощь, – вспоминает Сьюзи. – Он душил меня, прижав к стене. Было жутко. Этот опыт открыл мне глаза. Теперь я знаю, что никогда больше не впущу никого в свой дом без проверки документов и предоплаты”.
“Я очень благодарна за этот опыт, ведь все могло закончиться гораздо хуже. У парня мог быть пистолет или нож. Слава богу, до этого не дошло”, – добавила она.
Автор: Эмили Лефрой (Emily Lefroy)
The post Опасные клиенты. Эскортница из Нью-Йорка раскрыла детали своей работы first appeared on The News And Times Review – NewsAndTimes.org.