Russians drinking less, living longer, WHO says
Russia remains a nation of heavy drinkers, but alcohol consumption has fallen 43 percent from 2003 to 2016, a key factor in the country’s rapid rise in life expectancy, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Russians consume the equivalent of 11-12 liters worth of pure ethanol a year, among the world’s highest consumption levels, but the reduction since 2003 has substantially reduced mortality, the WHO said in a report.
Male life expectancy sank to a low of 57 years in the 1990s, but began to climb significantly in 2003 as drinking levels peaked, the report said.
It now stands at almost 68 years for men and 78 years for women. Mortality resulting from all causes dropped by 39 percent from 2003 to 2018 in men and by 36 percent for women, according to the study, which looked at trends over almost 30 years.
The study said there was a clear correlation between national alcohol consumption and mortality rates and life expectancy, and that the reduction in drinking resulted from government policies adopted from 2000.
“...our publication provides a clear causal link between the implementation of effective alcohol policies and a reversal of mortality trends,” the study wrote.
Putin has long cultivated an image of sobriety in contrast to his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, whom many Russians associate with drunken and embarrassing gaffes.
The study pointed to alcohol policy reforms aimed at reducing the share of smuggled or home-made alcohol on the market, increasing alcohol excise taxes and raising the minimum price for vodka and other spirits.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-alcohol/russians-drinking-less-living-longer-who-says-idUSKBN1WG3G3
NATO build-up on Russia’s borders a threat to Europe’s security - New Russian envoy to UK
On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to the new Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin. He discusses Russia-NATO relations and the rising tensions of NATO positioning soldiers and armaments along Russia’s borders; the reasons for poor UK-Russia relations historically and why the Russia-UK relationship has held despite this; the impact of Brexit and Scottish nationalism in weakening the UK’s global standing compared to Russia’s and allegations of Russian interference in the Brexit referendum and cyber attacks.
He also discusses allegations of Russia aiding the US-UK trade talk leaks on the NHS presented by Jeremy Corbyn, alleged Russian assistance to Boris Johnson, the collapse of the INF Treaty and the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) and more!
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXi93SedJDs
Tulsi Gabbard: I'd Drop Charges Against Julian Assange and Edward Snowden
From the Joe Rogan Experience #1295 with Tulsi Gabbard
Yovanovitch Admits She Knew About Biden & Burisma, Did Nothing
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ZGReYPL_0
Kissinger: Coming Conflict Between U.S. and China “Will Be Worse Than World Wars”
Kissinger made the comments at an event hosted by the National Committee on US China Relations in New York last night.
“We are in a difficult period now. I am confident the leaders on both sides will realise the future of the world depends on the two sides working out solutions and managing the inevitable difficulties,” said Kissinger.
A permanent conflict between Washington And Beijing would be unwinnable and lead to “catastrophic outcome,” he added.
“It’s no longer possible to think that one side can dominate the other…it will be worse than the world wars that ruined European civilisation,” said Kissinger.
The U.S. and China have been embroiled in a trade war since President Trump began imposing tariffs on thousands of Chinese-made products in a bid to end unfair trading practices.
Source: https://summit.news/2019/11/15/kissinger-coming-conflict-between-u-s-and-china-will-be-worse-than-world-wars/
'Secret' US Military Base Near Russian Border Revealed in Documents Mishap
This is not the first time "secret" American bases have accidentally been revealed to the public and their possible opponents as a result of a mishap. Last year, a popular fitness smartphone app published global "hotspots", some of which could only be explained by soldiers stationed at such bases using the app in their training sessions.
While the presence of a NATO contingent in Estonia, a Baltic state on Russia's north-west border, was never a secret, the presence of American troops at an alleged covert base apparently was a well-guarded secret. The "secrecy" of the place was blown, however, by a local broadcaster, ERR, after one of its journalists simply studied the US Department of Defence (DoD) public records.
Although the papers did try to conceal the fact that Washington has a military base there by calling it an "unspecified training, operations facility", it never hid the country where it was located. The latter unwittingly gave away the "secrecy" of the site since the US never acknowledged having military facilities in Estonia, where officially only NATO troops from the UK at the Tapa base are deployed.
According to the DoD documents, the $15.7 million allocated to the development of the Estonian military base, will be used for the construction of a number of facilities, including barracks, arms vaults, and a weapons cleaning area.
©
REUTERS / Ints Kalnins
U.S.,
Estonia's and NATO flags flutter next to the U.S. Air Force F-35A
Lightning II fighter in Amari air base, Estonia, April 25, 2017
After a half-year investigation, journalists from ERR managed to get on the "secret" base's territory,
which reportedly accommodates a regiment of US Special Forces on
rotation. According to Kevin Stringer, a US Army colonel cited by the
broadcaster, the base was established in 2014 after relations between
neighbouring Russia and the West began their downward spiral.
This is not the first time secretive American military bases have been exposed
by accident or lack of oversight. In November 2017, a popular fitness
tracking application for smartphones, Strava, published the global
heatmap of the app's most active users. To many users' and netizens'
surprise, some of the hotspots were located not in cities or sport
centres, but were in the middle of nowhere.
Since some of these spots coincided with military bases, specifically
belonging to the US, several media outlets alleged the app was being used by some soldiers in their training sessions. Thus the remaining unattributed hotspots could also "belong" to "secret" US bases.
Liberteon