Is there an agenda to fear-monger over Russia?

[worcesteradam]

In the UK we have had a succession of stories of the air force intercepting russian jets, and a narrative of  new cold war has been created from this alongside European dependence of Russian gas supplies.
eg http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/russian-warplanes-intercepted-by-raf-jets-401565.html

I have also noticed that Germans are fed the same stories that Russian jets are being intercepted.
eg http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091103-22989.html

Looking at Pravdas website just now, i see a headline 'USA Prepares to Attack Russia in 3 or 4 Years?'
http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/110090-0/

Someone has even written a book about this supposed new cold war. So its out there in the culture

Litvinenkos death has played into the narrative and the foreign secretary blamed the Russians for it.
The death of Anna Politkovskaya has also feature heavily in the British media, for unknown reasons, and fed into the anti Russian narrative.

However, the ex director of MI5, Stella Rimmington, made a television series called Watching the Russians' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008by9l).
In it she called the FSB (KGB) her 'colleagues' (the same FSB who killed Politkovskava and Livinenko allegedly) and describes how when the Berlin wall came down she was sent to Russia to 'train' the KGB in western ways and values.
In 2004 or 2005, a Daily Telegraph story reported that Russian special forces were conducting training exercises in Scotland. My memory is fading but i seem to recall they were practicing stopping traffic or something odd like that. In that article a military source is quoted as saying "we now work together with the Russians at the highest levels"
Russian football teams take part in European sporting events, including the UEFA European Championship, Russia enters the Eurovision song contest and in every other way Russia behaves as if its a member of the EU and EU culture.

Russia seems to be part of the New World Order to me, so whats with the 'new cold war theme' rather than an embracing of Russia.
These jet intercepts are probably military training exercises presented to the public as 'real world' events, if they are not, what are they.
Russians are being told America is threatening them, Europeans are being told Russians are threatening them.
The question is what is the agenda and why?
Something to keep an eye on, imo

[worcesteradam]

Two Russian Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers that carried out a routine patrol flight over the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans were shadowed by 'regular' NATO fighters, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
Spokesman Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said the bombers spent over 12 hours in the air on Thursday and were shadowed by two NATO F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters.
A similar patrol mission on September 29 was shadowed by an F-22 Raptor that uses stealth technology, reportedly the first time the world's only fifth-generation fighter aircraft was sent out to keep an eye on Russian planes.
Russian strategic bombers resumed patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans in August 2007, following an order from then-president Vladimir Putin, and are usually shadowed by less sophisticated NATO aircraft.
All flights by Russian aircraft are performed in strict compliance with international law on the use of airspace over neutral waters, without intruding in the airspace of other states, the ministry said.
Russia has yet to develop a fifth-generation fighter and is only planning to start testing a prototype, known as the T-50, in 2010. Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin has said the fighter, which has been under development since the 1990s, will enter service with the Air Force in 2015.
MOSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20091217/157276561.html

[worcesteradam]

MI6 agent Con Coughlin tries to exploit the fake bomber issue to increase funding for the military industrial complex.

We need a strong RAF to keep our skies safe from Russian bombers

Just why Russian bombers find it necessary to violate British air-space is something of a mystery – no one is seriously expecting hostilities to break out between Moscow and London – but it does underline why it is so important that we maintain a properly funded and equipped RAF strike force.
The only logical explanation for the constant violations – RAF officers say they have scrambled their jets 20 times in the last year to intercept Russian bombers – is that Moscow wants to remind its European neighbours that it is still a power that must be reckoned with.
This somewhat childish attitude no doubt helps to flatter the egos of Russian military chiefs. It also illustrates how vulnerable our air space is to intrusion by hostile foreign aircraft. In a week in which we have learnt that al-Qaeda is still attempting to acquire a “dirty bomb”, the Russian violations, while a nuisance, are a timely reminder of the nation’s need to be vigilant against all kinds of potential threats.
It is for this reason that questions about future funding of RAF interceptors, such as the hugely impressive Typhoon aircraft that has recently come into service, need to be put in their proper context.
We all know that the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review is going to ask some pretty uncomfortable questions about future funding of our Armed Forces. But there are certain capabilities, such as maintaining an effective air defence structure, that we reduce at our peril.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/concoughlin/100031419/we-need-a-strong-raf-to-keep-our-skies-safe-from-russian-bombers/

[worcesteradam]

Is Alex Jones a paid Russian shill? (little coverage of Russian spies or anti-Russian stories)
Posted by barrypopik (Profile)
Friday, July 9th at 5:28AM EDT
1 Comment
Recommenders: grandma

We ignore Alex Jones at our peril. His influence is growing. But what exactly is his act? Is he being paid by Russia?

I’ve long wondered why he only bashes the United States. “9-11 was an inside job!” he declares. The United States and the international bankers are the cause of all evil in the world. Russia and China and North Korea and Iran and Syria and Venezuela can commit many times the atrocities, but that never gets his notice. Islamic terrorism is always excused or explained away. Always.

“Spy Suspects Leave U.S. in Swap With Russia” is the top story in Friday’s New York Times. The story isn’t featured at all on the Alex Jones websites Infowars.com and PrisonPlanet.com. Maybe, by tomorrow, he’ll link to something. Big deal. I noticed a similar reluctance when the Russian spy story originally broke. Almost nothing. Don’t you think that if ten American spies were arrested, or if ten Israeli spies were arrested, that it would be a top story for Alex Jones?

Even the odious New York Times has a nice new video: “Jailed by the K.G.B.’s Successor: The prosecution of a mayor in Siberia shows how the F.S.B. operates in today’s Russia with virtually unchecked power.” It’s not something that Alex Jones would ever write about or even link to. Why is that?

http://www.redstate.com/barrypopik/2010/07/09/is-alex-jones-a-paid-russian-shill-little-coverage-of-russian-spies-or-anti-russian-stories/

[jeremystalked1]

The military-industrial-media complex wants to increase the visibility of Russia in the minds of Westerners, they want a war with Russia.  It will be very profitable for war profiteers.

In my opinion.

[citizenx]

Paid Russian shill.

Not that AJ is perfect, but that claim is completely ridiculous.  What are they going to accuse him of next.

I thought the whole Vatican Assassins thing was stupid.  This takes the cake.

[worcesteradam]

they laugh at conspiracy theorists

then produce their own loony conspiracies
 

[worcesteradam]

NORAD praises results of joint air defense drills with Russia

Russian Air Force Col. Alexander Vasiliev, right, talks with Canadian Forces Col. Todd Balfe, left, deputy commander of the Alaskan NORAD region, as U.S. Air Force interpreter Tech. Sgt. Paul Shoop, center, translates, as they fly aboard a civilian airplane playing the role of a hijacked airliner, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010 on a route from an undisclosed location in the Far East to Alaska. (AP / Ted S. Warren)

Officers of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) say they are satisfied with the results of joint anti-terrorism drills with the Russian Air Force and hope for further cooperation.

The exercise, dubbed Vigilant Eagle, was carried out on August 6-11, and involved Russian, Canadian and U.S. air force personnel operating from command centers at the Elmendorf airbase in Alaska, and in Khabarovsk, Russia.

"This exercise is one milestone in working together in other future efforts. Our folks are proud to be a part of such an important event and are passionate about partaking in efforts to protect our borders," Air Force Lt. Col. John Oberst was quoted as saying on the NORAD Website.

[worcesteradam]

Media schizophrenia over Russian military news
Is the establishment media reporting training drills as real world events and why ?

Russian subs stalk Trident in echo of Cold War
Russian submarines are hunting down British Vanguard boats in a return to Cold War tactics not seen for 25 years, Navy chiefs have warned.

A specially upgraded Russian Akula class submarine has been caught trying to record the acoustic signature made by the Vanguard submarines that carry Trident nuclear missiles, according to senior Navy officers.
British submariners have also reported that they are experiencing the highest number of "contacts" with Russian submarines since 1987.

If the Russians are able to obtain a recording of the unique noise of the boat's propellers it would have serious implications for Britain's nuclear deterrent. Using its sophisticated sonar, the Akula would be able to track Vanguards and potentially sink them before they could launch their Trident D4 missiles.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that, within the past six months, a Russian Akula entered the North Atlantic and attempted to track a Vanguard. The incident has remained secret until now.

Navy commanders are understood to have ordered a Trafalgar-class hunter-killer submarine to protect the Vanguard. A recording of the Akula was made by the Trafalgar submarine's sonar operators and has been played to The Daily Telegraph.
"The Russians have been playing games with us, the Americans and French in the North Atlantic," a senior Navy commander said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/7969017/Russian-subs-stalk-Trident-in-echo-of-Cold-War.html

[2stevejc]

CHURCHILL, Man. — As Prime Minister Stephen Harper prepared to depart on the next leg of his week-long trip to the North, the government revealed that Canadian fighter jets were launched on Tuesday after two Russian bombers approached Canadian airspace.

Similar to an incident at the end of July, two CF-18 fighter planes shadowed the Russian TU-95 bombers within 55 kilometres of Canadian soil after they were first discovered approximately 220 kilometres north of Inuvik, N. W. T, Harper’s spokesman Dimitri Soudas said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Canadian+jets+intercept+Russian+bombers+near/3440582/story.html

Looks like Russia is the new USSR.

And they killed our Lady Boy spy. Commie bastards.  (Sundays News of the World front page)

[worcesteradam]

so they are pushing the same stuff in Canada too
seems like Russians are planning to take on the whole of Europe and North America

thanks for that

Definitely some sort of military media psyop has been identified here.
prisonplanetforum intel gathering way ahead of anyone else in the civilian sector, as usual.
now we need to figure out that they are up to

[citizenx]

Push to get Canada to buy American/Raytheon weapons?

See Tsul's thread, "Close to home...":

http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=184505.0

[worcesteradam]

RAF jets scrambled twice in one week to intercept Russian nuclear bombers

RAF fighter jets have been scrambled to intercept Russian nuclear bombers near British airspace twice in the last week, it emerged today.
The alarm was raised after the huge Tupolev Tu95 'Bears' were spotted on Monday and Tuesday, flying in a Nato-policed zone close to the UK.
Tornados from RAF Leuchars in Fife were despatched to identify and escort the bombers back to international air space.
The incident is the the latest in a long line of cat-and-mouse engagements between RAF fighters and Russian aircraft, as the Kremlin seeks to test Western response times

Reports of the latest engagements emerged as Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond hit out at the 'lack of clarity' from the Coalition Government over the future of two RAF bases threatened with closure.
The fates of RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray are hanging in the balance as a result of the sweeping military cuts announced by Prime Minister David Cameron last week.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324147/RAF-jets-scrambled-twice-week-intercept-Russian-nuclear-bombers.html

[jeremystalked1]

http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=166948.msg1015824#msg1015824

[worcesteradam]

The recent crash of a Polish military transport that killed most of Warsaw's senior civilian and military leaders was not only a human catastrophe for a key U.S. ally. NATO sources said that, in addition to the loss of nearly 100 pro-U.S. Polish leaders, the crash provided Moscow with a windfall of secrets.

The crash killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski in western Russia on April 10 and decapitated Poland's military, killing two service chiefs, key military aides and several national security officials, many of whom were carrying computers and pocket memory sticks that contained sensitive NATO data.

Perhaps the most significant compromise, according to a NATO intelligence source, is that the Russians are suspected of obtaining ultrasecret codes used by NATO militaries for secure satellite communications.

[worcesteradam]

The memo, written by staff at the US embassy in Paris, records "an amicable 7 December dinner meeting with ambassador-at-large Henry Crumpton [and] Russian special presidential representative Anatoliy Safonov", two weeks after Litvinenko's death from polonium poisoning had triggered an international hunt for his killers.

During the dinner, Crumpton, who ran the CIA's Afghanistan operations before becoming the US ambassador for counter-terrorism, and Safonov, an ex-KGB colonel-general, discussed ways the two countries could work together to tackle terrorism. The memo records that "Safonov opened the meeting by expressing his appreciation for US/Russian co-operative efforts thus far. He cited the recent events in London – specifically the murder of a former Russian spy by exposure to radioactive agents – as evidence of how great the threat remained and how much more there was to do on the co-operative front."

The memo contains an observation from US embassy officials that Safonov's comments suggested Russia "was not involved in the killing, although Safonov did not offer any further explanation".

Later the memo records that Safonov claimed that "Russian authorities in London had known about and followed individuals moving radioactive substances into the city but were told by the British that they were under control before the poisoning took place".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/11/wilileaks-cables-litvinenko-murder