Politication: 2017

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Hungarian journalist may face more serious charges

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Russia and United States compared : Military stats

STAT	Russia	United States
Air force > Combat aircraft	1,900 Ranked 1st.	3,318 Ranked 1st. 75% more than Russia
Army > Attack helicopters	1,655 Ranked 1st.	6,417 Ranked 1st. 4 times more than Russia
Army > Main battle tanks	22,710 Ranked 1st. 3 times morethan United States	8,725 Ranked 1st.
Battle-related deaths > Number of people	359 Ranked 13th. 54% morethan United States	233 Ranked 18th.
Budget	93.76 US$ BN Ranked 1st.	682 US$ BN Ranked 1st. 7 times more than Russia
Global Peace Index	3.06 Ranked 8th. 44% more than United States	2.13 Ranked 4th.
Military service age and obligation	18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; service obligation is 1 year (conscripts can only be sent to combat zones after 6 months of training); reserve obligation to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces	18 years of age (17 years of age with parental consent) for male and female voluntary service; no conscription; maximum enlistment age 42 (Army), 27 (Air Force), 34 (Navy), 28 (Marines); service obligation 8 years, including 2-5 years active duty (Army), 2 years active (Navy), 4 years active (Air Force, Marines); DoD is eliminating prohibitions restricting women from assignments in units smaller than brigades or near combat units
Navy > Aircraft carriers	1 Ranked 1st.	10 Ranked 1st. 10 times more than Russia
Navy > Corvette warships	70 Ranked 1st. 35 times more than United States	2 Ranked 8th.
Navy >Submarines	17 Ranked 1st. 9 times more than United States	2 Ranked 8th.
Paramilitary personnel	449,000 Ranked 1st. 41 times more than United States	11,035 Ranked 1st.
Personnel > Per capita	10.15 per 1,000 people Ranked 28th. 95% morethan United States	5.22 per 1,000 people Ranked 70th.
Service age and obligation	18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; service obligation - 1 year; reserve obligation to age 50; as of July 2008, a draft military strategy called for the draft to continue up to the year 2030	18 years of age (17 years of age with parental consent) for male and female voluntary service; maximum enlistment age 42 (Army), 27 (Air Force), 34 (Navy), 28 (Marines); service obligation 8 years, including 2-5 years active duty (Army), 2 years active (Navy), 4 years active (Air Force, Marines)
WMD > Nuclear	The Soviet nuclear weapon program began during World War II and culminated in a successful atomic bomb test in 1949. Russia, as the successor of the Soviet Union, is a nuclear weapon state party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). According to estimates by the Natural Resources Defense Council, by 1991, the Soviet Union had approximately 35,000 weapons in its stockpile, down from a peak in 1986 of approximately 45,000. Russia is estimated to now have around 20,000 nuclear weapons, although total stockpile size is uncertain because there is no accurate count of tactical nuclear weapons. However, in 2002 Russia declared it will eliminate its tactical nuclear weapons by the end of 2004. Under the START I Treaty, the Russian nuclear arsenal has been reduced to approximately 7,000 strategic warheads. The START II Treaty, which was declared non-binding in June 2002, would have reduced this number to between 3,000 and 3,500 strategic nuclear warheads. The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (Treaty of Moscow) requires Russia to reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 by the end of 2012. Russia inherited a massive nuclear weapons production complex and large stocks of weapons grade fissile material. It is estimated that Russia has between 735 and 1,365 metric tons (t) of weapons grade-equivalent highly enriched uranium (HEU) and between 106 and 156 t of military-use plutonium.	As one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the United States maintains a sizeable arsenal of nuclear weapons, including approximately 10,350 intact warheads, 5300 of which are considered active or operational. Approximately 4,530 strategic warheads are operational, 1,150 of which are deployed on land-based missile systems (Minuteman and Peacekeeper ICBMs), 1,050 on bombers (B-52 and B-2), and 2,016 on submarines (Ohio-class subs). 780 are tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs), and consist of an estimated 200 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles (TLAM/N), and 580 B61 bombs. The remaining warheads are stockpiled. The only remaining U.S. weapons in forward deployment, aside from those on SSBNs, are approximately 480 of the 580 operational B61 bombs, located at eight bases in six European NATO countries. According to the May 2002 Treaty of Moscow (the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, or SORT) between the United States and the Russian Federation, both countries are required to reduce their strategic nuclear arsenals to 1,700-2,200 operationally deployed warheads by 2012. In June 2004, the US Department of Energy announced that "almost half" of these warheads would be retired for dismantlement by 2012. This statement suggests that the total stockpile of 10,350 warheards would be reduced to about 6,000 by this date. Over 5,000 warheads have been removed from deployment by the United States and placed in a "responsive reserve force" (active but not deployed or in overhaul). These "spares," or warheads on inactive status, have not been dismantled, in keeping with past practice under previous U.S. arms control agreements. The Bush administration has rejected U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, but calls for a continued moratorium on nuclear testing. The NPR calls for a reduction in the amount of time needed (now 18 months as mandated by Congress, but this could be reduced to as little as 12 months) to test a nuclear weapon, suggesting that the United States might decide to resume nuclear testing, although Bush administration officials deny that this is currently planned and explain the shortening of test-site readiness time as a logical extension of the U.S. decision to maintain a testing option. The NPR also calls for discussion on possible development of new, low-yield, bunker-busting TNW. A law barring research and development that could lead to the production by the United States of a new low-yield "bunker buster" nuclear weapon (warheads with a yield of 5 kilotons or less) was passed by Congress in 1994. In its FY2004 budget request, however, the Department of Defense requested a repeal of the 1994 law, suggesting that the U.S. government intends to proceed with development of new nuclear weapons. The repeal was approved by the Senate on 20 May 2003. The Bush administration has requested an additional $8.5 million in its 2006 budget in order to continue research of nuclear "bunker busters" under the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) Project. Congress rejected RNEP funding and resources for the Advanced Concepts Initiative, one that would develop mini-nukes or exotic designs, completely for FY2005. Weapons laboratories under the Department of Energy began research on the RNEP Project in 2003, and the study is expected to be complete in 2006. The United States used nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, making it the only country that has ever used nuclear weapons during a conflict. It ratified the NPT in March 1970.
War deaths	339 Ranked 17th.	0.0 Ranked 73th.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

MPs promised 'deal or no deal' vote on Brexit

Ministers are seeking to win over MPs who want a "meaningful" vote on the terms of the UK's exit from the EU and its future trading arrangements.

Brexit minister David Jones said MPs would get a say on the final draft Brexit agreement before it was voted upon by the European Parliament.

But he also said the UK would still leave the EU, albeit on different terms, if the deal was rejected.

Labour and some Tories want scope for the UK to renegotiate if necessary.

It is yet to be seen whether this is enough to win over opposition MPs and some Tories who oppose a so-called "take it or leave it" deal and want the Commons to be able to send ministers back to the negotiating table in search of better terms.

The BBC's chief political correspondent Vicky Young said many normally loyal Tories were worried about Parliament effectively being put in a position of having to "rubber-stamp" the final deal, but were still likely to fall into line.

However, former chancellor Ken Clarke - the only Tory to vote against kickstarting the Brexit process last week - said Parliament should have the opportunity to shape the final deal, while former SNP leader Alex Salmond said MPs should have a genuine choice without the "Sword of Damocles" hanging over them.

Theresa May had already promised Parliament would get a say on the final deal.

Addressing MPs as they debated a bill authorising the government to begin the formal Brexit process, Brexit minister David Jones said the vote would "cover not only the withdrawal arrangements but also the future relationship with EU".

The vote, he said, would be on the final draft agreement and would be held before the European Parliament considered the matter.

"This will be a meaningful vote," he told MPs. "It will be the choice of leaving the EU with a negotiated deal or not."

'Worse deal'

And asked what would happen if Parliament rejected the Brexit deal or if there was no agreement with the EU to vote upon, Mr Jones said that in each scenario the UK would still leave the EU but "fall back on other arrangements".

This would effectively see the UK default to World Trade Organization trade rules, involving potential tariffs on exports and imports.

Opponents of Brexit have said this would cause real damage to British business but supporters say the UK can live with the consequences if necessary as the UK would then be free to negotiate its own trade arrangements.

Mr Jones said the government wanted to avoid a situation in which ministers were sent back to the negotiating table to hammer out a better deal.

This, he said, would be hard given the two-year limit for talks and would also be "the surest way of undermining our negotiating position and delivering a worse deal".

But Labour's Chuka Umunna said the choice facing MPs was "unacceptable", Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg described it as a "symbolic handout" while Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said MPs were being "duped".

Article 50

MPs, who overwhelmingly backed the European Union Bill last Wednesday, are currently in the middle of three further days of more detailed debate, with the Commons looking at amendments proposed by MPs.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who backed the Remain side in last year's EU referendum, has ordered his MPs to support the government's bill, whether his party's amendments are accepted or not.

If passed by Parliament - with the House of Lords due to scrutinise it after the Commons - the bill would allow Prime Minister Theresa May to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, getting divorce talks with the EU under way.

Mr Corbyn argues that it would be undemocratic to ignore the will of the people, as expressed in last June's EU referendum.

Shadow business secretary Clive Lewis has vowed to oppose the bill unless Labour amendments are passed in the Commons.

Frontbench members of parties are generally expected to resign from their post if they ignore a three-line whip.

Shadow cabinet members Rachael Maskell and Dawn Butler quit shortly before last week's vote, in order to defy Mr Corbyn's orders, but MPs backed the bill by a majority of 384.

Holyrood votes against triggering Brexit

The Scottish Parliament has voted by 90 to 34 to oppose the UK government starting the Brexit process.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that there was no legal need for Holyrood to give its consent to the triggering of Article 50.

But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would let MSPs have a say, despite it being largely symbolic.

Ms Sturgeon predicted the vote would be one of the most significant in the Scottish Parliament since devolution.

The SNP tried to block the UK government's Brexit bill last week.

Only one of Scotland's 59 MPs - Scottish Secretary David Mundell - supported the bill, but it ultimately passed its first parliamentary hurdle by 498 votes to 114.

Agreed UK position

The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill returned to the Commons on Monday, when MPs began detailed scrutiny of the legislation.

MSPs voted to back a Scottish government motion in the Scottish Parliament stating that the bill should not proceed.

The SNP, Greens, Liberal Democrats and most Labour MSPs supported the motion, with three Labour MSPs - Neil Findlay, Elaine Smith and Richard Leonard - defying the party whip and opposing it alongside the Conservatives.

The motion, lodged by Brexit minister Michael Russell, said the UK government had failed to properly consult the devolved administrations on an agreed UK position on Brexit.

It also said the government had refused to give a guarantee on the position of EU nationals in the UK, and had failed to answer a range of questions regarding the full implications of withdrawal from the single market.

A Green amendment, stating that the decision to proceed with the Brexit bill does not respect the majority vote to remain part of the EU that was returned in every council area in Scotland, was backed by 72 votes to 33 with 18 abstentions.

Mr Russell opened what was to become a heated debate by saying Scotland had voted "clearly and decisively" to remain in the EU in last year's referendum.

He said the Holyrood vote would allow MSPs to "say to the UK, to Europe and to the world that we oppose the catastrophic hard Brexit now being pursued by the Tories at Westminster."

Mr Russell added: "This vote is more than symbolic. It is a key test of whether Scotland's voice is being listened to, and whether our wishes can be accommodated within the UK process."

'Offered nothing'

He insisted that the Scottish government had worked "long and hard" to deliver compromise proposals, which he said would have allowed Scotland to stay in the single market even in the rest of the UK leaves.

But he said: "So far, the UK government has not offered a single compromise of its own. In fact, it has offered nothing. Neither formal reaction to our proposals, nor formal rejection of them."

Mr Russell went on to describe the Holyrood debate as being "about democracy itself", adding: "It's a debate about the sort of country the UK is becoming and the sort of country we in Scotland wish to be. And the contrast between those countries is stark."

John Lamont of the Scottish Conservatives claimed the Scottish government's default position was to "try to manufacture a grievance out of nothing".

He said: "The Scottish government try to portray the Supreme Court ruling and the UK government's bill to trigger Article 50 as an example of Scotland being ignored.

"The truth is actually more simple. It is a matter for Scotland's other parliament to deal with and it is, as a reserved matter, one for Scotland's MPs to scrutinise."

He added: "This is how the devolution settlement works, and it is time that the SNP accepted this principle and moved on from grievance politics.

"Despite the rhetoric from the Scottish government, the reality is that they are being given plenty of opportunity to engage in the process of the UK leaving the EU."

'Unanswered questions'

Scottish Labour said it would vote against triggering Article 50 - although three of its MSPs defied that instruction - but tabled an amendment calling on the SNP not to use Brexit as an excuse for a second independence referendum.

The move put Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale at odds with UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is facing a revolt by pro-Remain MPs - including the party's only Scottish MP Ian Murray - who are defying his leadership to vote against the Brexit bill at Westminster.

Ms Dugdale told the Holyrood debate that Brexit and independence were "two sides of the same coin", adding: "The only thing worse than Brexit for Scottish jobs and the economy would be independence.

"Our nation is divided enough. Another referendum would do irreparable damage to the very fabric of communities across Scotland.

"But the reality is that the SNP has only been given the excuse to seek another referendum because of the mess the Conservatives have made of this whole process".

The Scottish Greens staged a "Scotland says stay" rally outside Holyrood to mark the debate.

The party's MSP Ross Greer said the Article 50 bill was "wildly inadequate" and claimed the Scottish government's attempts at compromise had been met by little but "empty rhetoric" from the UK government,

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie went on the attack by saying the SNP was obsessed with independence, while the Tories were dividing the country with Brexit and Labour was in "total and utter confusion".

A UK government spokesman said Holyrood was free to debate any issue it chooses, and that it would "continue our engagement with the Scottish government and with people and groups across Scotland as we prepare to leave the EU to secure the best deal for Scotland and the UK."

Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May warned MPs not to "obstruct" the will of UK voters by changing the Brexit bill.

She said: "The message is clear to all - this House has spoken and now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people.

"It is time to get on with leaving the European Union and building an independent, self-governing, global Britain."

Nick Boles leaves hospital for Brexit vote

A former business minister diagnosed with cancer has left hospital to vote for the government's Brexit bill.

Conservative Nick Boles, who is undergoing chemotherapy for a tumour in his head, said he felt "pretty grim" but he wanted to "represent my constituents" in Grantham and Stamford.

He posted a picture on Twitter of himself in a wheelchair and wearing a blue medical mask.

Mr Boles has been off work since his diagnosis last October.

He will be in Parliament to vote on amendments to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill - which, if passed, will allow Brexit talks to get under way - on Tuesday.

'Do my bit'

Mr Boles has spent the last week receiving his third round of chemotherapy.

He published a statement on Facebook, saying: "Today, on my own initiative, I am coming out of hospital to support the government on the Article 50 bill."

Mr Boles added: "I feel pretty grim and will have to go back to hospital after I have voted.

"But I want to come to Parliament to represent my constituents on this important bill and do my bit to ensure that it is passed without amendment."

Mr Boles supported the Remain campaign during last year's EU referendum debate, but he said last September that the early signs for the UK in the aftermath of the vote to leave the EU had been more "positive" than anticipated.

Theresa May: Don't obstruct voters over Brexit

Theresa May has warned MPs not to "obstruct" the will of UK voters by changing the parliamentary bill aimed at getting Brexit talks under way.

The PM spoke as the Commons started detailed scrutiny of the European Union Bill, with Labour, SNP and Lib Dem MPs seeking concessions.

These include a guarantee that EU citizens resident in the UK at the time of last year's referendum can remain.

But Mrs May said she and EU leaders wanted to "get on" with Brexit talks.

MPs have already backed the principle of the bill, which would give Mrs May the power to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, starting formal negotiations on Brexit.

Labour has suggested it will not "frustrate Brexit" even if it fails to amend the bill in its committee stage this week, during which it will undergo more detailed scrutiny.

The government wants to notify the EU of its intention to leave, giving effect to last June's referendum vote and starting two years of talks, by the end of March.

For this to happen, MPs and peers must pass a bill giving their approval - a process expected to take about a month.

In a statement on the weekend's EU summit in Malta, Mrs May told MPs: "Our European partners now want to get on with the negotiations. So do I, and so does this House, which last week voted by a majority of 384 in support of the government triggering Article 50.

"There are of course further stages for the Bill in committee and in the Lords and it is right that this process should be completed properly."

She added: "But the message is clear to all - this House has spoken and now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people.

"It is time to get on with leaving the European Union and building an independent, self-governing, global Britain."

The legislation comes back to the Commons on Monday for three days of debate culminating in a vote on its third reading.

Among the amendments likely to be debated on Tuesday is one tabled by former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman calling for a guarantee that all nationals of other EU countries lawfully resident in the UK at the time of last year's referendum should have the right to remain after Brexit.

Mrs May has said she wants an early agreement on their status but is resisting calls from many MPs to offer a unilateral guarantee - saying she wants reciprocal guarantees from other EU countries about UK citizens living on the continent.

Ms Harman's amendment has the backing of the Lib Dems, SNP and the one Green MP - although it would need the support of a number of Conservatives for it to pass.

Labour is also seeking a "meaningful vote" in Parliament on the final deal struck between the UK and the EU before it is voted on by the European Parliament.

The BBC understands some Conservative MPs have held discussions with Labour MPs about forcing the PM to concede a vote if there is no agreement on the UK's future trade relations with the EU.

Downing Street has insisted that it is "not contemplating" a scenario in which there is no deal with the EU and the bill does not need to be amended.

Ministers have said they believe the UK will be able to agree the terms of its separation and the outline of a trade deal within the two-year timeframe and even if there is no trade agreement, the UK will leave the EU anyway.

Labour divisions

There continue to be divisions in Labour ranks over whether to accept Brexit or not.

Ten shadow ministers were among 47 Labour MPs who rejected party orders to back the bill at second reading last week while shadow home secretary Diane Abbott missed the crucial vote, citing illness.

Shadow business secretary Clive Lewis has said he will vote against the bill at third reading on Wednesday unless Labour's amendments are accepted, describing them as "red lines".

Labour's shadow cabinet will discuss the party's approach on Tuesday but Mr Corbyn suggested on Sunday that Ms Abbott and others would be expected to follow the party line if a three-line whip is imposed for Wednesday's vote.

Also speaking on Sunday, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said there were "private conversations" taking place between the parties on trying to find "a compromise that will work".

She denied it was "illogical" to demand amendments but still back the bill in the final vote if they are rejected.