‘Shocking’ Reality of Ukraine Blowback Hammers Putin at Home
For years, Russian government officials and state media propagandists have been claiming that Western sanctions don’t cause any real harm to their economy and to the contrary, actually help it develop. But the main industry that seems to be thriving despite the sanctions is the country’s military-industrial complex. As for everyday people, their lives are progressively getting worse.
Russian State Duma Deputy Speaker Vladislav Davankov, who filed his paperwork to the Central Election Commission to take part in the 2024 presidential campaign, accused the Federal State Statistics Service of fudging the numbers “to make it seem that all is well with the prices.” He said that prices on many items, including rice, grains, and butter, are rising 10-30 percent faster than officials claim. “When statistics diverge from reality, it is impossible to make effective decisions to curb prices,” Davankov added.
According to official statistics, basic food products sharply rose in price: eggs by 59 percent, tomatoes by 52 percent, bananas by 46.5 percent, cabbage by 29 percent, poultry by 27.7 percent, and apples by 20.7 percent.
Polls reveal that two-thirds of Russians complain about the prices rising at a faster pace—and that Russians in general are tired of war, with over 50 percent of participants hoping for the end of the so-called “special military operation” as their biggest wish for 2024. Witnessing Western hesitation to continue aid to Ukraine, Putin is unlikely to grant the wish of his own citizens anytime soon. Russian lawmakers and other state TV propagandists promise an expanded agenda, with all of Ukraine on the menu. Encouraged by the disarray in the U.S., they hope for a civil war in America that will permanently distract the country from helping Moscow’s intended victims.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/shocking-r...in-at-home
For years, Russian government officials and state media propagandists have been claiming that Western sanctions don’t cause any real harm to their economy and to the contrary, actually help it develop. But the main industry that seems to be thriving despite the sanctions is the country’s military-industrial complex. As for everyday people, their lives are progressively getting worse.
Russian State Duma Deputy Speaker Vladislav Davankov, who filed his paperwork to the Central Election Commission to take part in the 2024 presidential campaign, accused the Federal State Statistics Service of fudging the numbers “to make it seem that all is well with the prices.” He said that prices on many items, including rice, grains, and butter, are rising 10-30 percent faster than officials claim. “When statistics diverge from reality, it is impossible to make effective decisions to curb prices,” Davankov added.
According to official statistics, basic food products sharply rose in price: eggs by 59 percent, tomatoes by 52 percent, bananas by 46.5 percent, cabbage by 29 percent, poultry by 27.7 percent, and apples by 20.7 percent.
Polls reveal that two-thirds of Russians complain about the prices rising at a faster pace—and that Russians in general are tired of war, with over 50 percent of participants hoping for the end of the so-called “special military operation” as their biggest wish for 2024. Witnessing Western hesitation to continue aid to Ukraine, Putin is unlikely to grant the wish of his own citizens anytime soon. Russian lawmakers and other state TV propagandists promise an expanded agenda, with all of Ukraine on the menu. Encouraged by the disarray in the U.S., they hope for a civil war in America that will permanently distract the country from helping Moscow’s intended victims.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/shocking-r...in-at-home
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
