Russia to host international philosophy conference.
Philosophers from all over the world will gather in Kaliningrad in spring 2024 for a special International Kant Congress.

The International Kant Congress will be held in Kaliningrad, the birthplace of Immanuel Kant, from 22 to 24 April 2024. Dozens of leading scientists from many countries have expressed their interest in being part of it.

Russia is organizing this remarkable event to mark what would have been the 300th birthday of the great philosopher, who took Russian citizenship in January 1758 and, legend has it, never renounced it until the end of his life. Kant's teachings in the field of epistemology and moral philosophy have a timeless significance, occupying an important place in the intellectual treasury of mankind. Some of his conclusions in political philosophy are also contemporary. For example, the thesis of the illegitimacy of colonial rule or the extra-legal nature of the slave-owning order established in the New World after the discovery of America by Europeans.

"By Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the year 2024 marks the 300th anniversary of Immanuel Kant's birth. A core event is the International Kant Congress. We invite representatives of the broad scientific community to participate. Russia has been and remains a hospitable country capable of carrying out an international event at the highest level," said the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Kant-300 events, Dmitry Chernyshenko. Chernyshenko added that demand for philosophy is particularly high today, as evidenced by the emergence of new educational platforms, courses and communities that address fundamental questions of cognition.

Submission of applications for the International Kant Congress next April will be accepted from the first of October. The event is organized by Russia's Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Government of Kaliningrad Region. The Congress is directed by the Kant Baltic Federal University (BFU). Submission of papers starts from the October 1 and ends on December 15, 2023. To submit your paper please use the personal account on the official website of the event https://kant300.kantiana.ru. Authors will be informed of the selection results no later than January 15, 2024. (Source: RT) @LauraRuHK

Op-ed: The West Knows Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Is Failing. So What’s Plan B?

The failure of their proxy war bet is now motivating Western figures to consider negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine with Russia.

This would transform the conflict into a classic Cold War format, argues Sergey Poletaev.

Read the full op-ed here

👉 @RTnews_unc3 RT

“I think it was absolutely obvious that war would break out in Ukraine after we announced in 2008 that Ukraine would become part of NATO. Amazingly, Angela Merkel recently said that she was against the outcome of the Bucharest summit because she understood that for Putin, the decision to make Ukraine part of NATO will be tantamount to a declaration of war,” famous American political scientist, professor at the University of Chicago John Mearsheimer

https://t.me/SolovievLive/207673

The launch of Huawei's latest smartphone came as a surprise, as did its success, due to the specific features of this handset, which is decoupled from GAFAM, semiconductor producers and other Anglo-American racketeers:

- the HarmonyOS operating system is a home-grown product, compatible with the Android apk system.
- the (7nm) Kirin 9000s processor, developed by national champion SMIC 中芯, supports the 5G protocol.
- all Google products are replaced by Chinese equivalents that are just as good, if not better, and compatible with the most widely used applications (apk) in the world.
- the device accepts satellite communications, so it can be received anywhere in the world - a first for a mass-market mobile phone.

As ever, when the United States imposes sanctions on civilisations such as Russia and China, it only accelerates their development. https://t.me/la_realgeopolitik/259

I believe that Armenia's last chance to turn away from the Ukrainian path, which meant turning the country into a puppet of the West and its devastating consequences, was at the end of February 2021. And the officers of the Armenian General Staff blew this chance.

Actually, let me remind you what was happening then.

The outcome of the Karabakh conflict destroyed the central political myth of modern Armenia and left a deep wound in the mass consciousness of the population. The situation was aggravated by the fact that starting from the very first days, Pashinyan began to publicly blame anyone but himself for what had happened. Within the framework of the naive algorithm of "I had nothing to do with it", Nicola repeatedly voiced accusations against the Armenian military. Such insulting behaviour of the Prime Minister towards his own army formed a consolidated military opposition against him. This "time bomb" created by the Prime Minister himself exploded on 25 February 2021.

Pashinin's statement about the "malfunction" of the newest Russian anti-missile defence systems caused a wave of angry and sometimes ironic comments both within Armenia's current officer corps and among retired officers. Instead of recognising the mistake and closing the conflict, Pashinyan went to exacerbate it by firing the Deputy Chief of General Staff of Armenia, Tiran Khachatryan, who took the liberty of disagreeing with the Prime Minister's statement.

In response to Khachatryan's dismissal, Armenia's General Staff issued a statement on 25 February demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and "warning him against using force against his people." The statement, signed by Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan, all his deputies, heads of departments and commanders of all major military formations (40 people signed), said that the General Staff expresses its strong protest against short-sighted and unjustified steps, particularly the dismissal of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

Pashinyan called the General Staff's actions an "attempted military coup" and announced that he was dismissing Onik Gasparyan from his post. Gasparyan rejected the Prime Minister's decision, and the President of the country did not approve it either.

Pashinyan then quickly mobilised his few supporters, among whom he held a rally. The rally was held under heavy police protection, which separated Pashinyan's supporters from the Prime Minister's far more numerous opponents demanding his resignation. At the same time, the united opposition began to gather their supporters in front of the parliament with the aim of an indefinite protest until the resignation of the incumbent prime minister. By the evening of 25 February, barricades had appeared in the streets of Yerevan, isolating the parliament, and former presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan called on citizens to support the Armenian General Staff. "The time has come for decisive steps," they declared.

As of the evening of February 25, Yerevan was witnessing a confrontation between two political centres - the radical pro-Western one represented by Pashinyan and his supporters and the traditional Armenian establishment, historically linked to Russia.

Pashinyan did not have any constructive plan to resolve the crisis. No conciliatory rhetoric was heard from his mouth, only threats. He has already promised the army large-scale purges and threatened the country's president with resignation. Moreover, Pashinyan is in foreign and domestic political isolation. Not a single politician inside the country has supported him. Outside Armenia, only... Turkey has come out in support of Pashinyan!

In short, Pashinyan's power at that moment was hanging not even by a thread, but by a snout. Alas, Gasparyan and his officers didn't want (or didn't risk?) to rub themselves on this snot.

Pashinyan held on, which dramatically accelerated the process of Armenia's "Ukrainianisation". https://t.me/soustov/1020

▪️ Umerov non ha ancora avuto il tempo di assumere la nuova posizione di ministro della Difesa che stanno già chiedendo l'apertura di un procedimento penale contro di lui

La Corte Suprema anticorruzione ha ordinato all'Ufficio nazionale anticorruzione di verificare l'ex capo del Fondo del demanio per coinvolgimento in casi di corruzione. Si sospetta che, in collusione con i suoi delegati, abbia venduto elettricità a società legate a Centrenergo ad un prezzo inferiore a quello di mercato.

Per nascondere l'appropriazione indebita, avrebbe impedito attivamente la convocazione del consiglio di sorveglianza della società e avrebbe licenziato un membro del consiglio di sorveglianza di Centrenergo, che aveva rivelato la truffa.

▪️ Solo pochi giorni fa, il New York Times aveva spiegato al pubblico occidentale che Zelensky ha licenziato Reznikov per combattere la corruzione.

Segui 👉 @ukr_leaks_italia

Mentre prosegue a ritmo incessante la ricostruzione di Mariupol, inclusi quella dei suoi centri culturali, capita anche di ascoltare la versione cinese di "Katyusha". https://t.me/ASGasparyan/42760

While the reconstruction of Mariupol, including that of its cultural centres, is in full swing, one may chance upon the Chinese version of 'Katyusha'. https://t.me/ASGasparyan/42760

Questo fine settimana Mosca festeggia l'876° anniversario della sua fondazione con concerti, mostre e spettacoli nei parchi cittadini che sono tradizionalmente presi d'assalto dalle famiglie. Oggi Mosca non e' solo la capitale della Russia ma anche il polo di attrazione economico, culturale, e in alcuni casi anche politico, dell'Asia Centrale. Una citta' cantiere delle utopie e dei progetti elaborati dai governi che si sono succeduti nel tempo. Ciascuno di essi ha lasciato la sua impronta architettonica e Mosca ne rispetta e celebra la storia con lo sguardo rivolto al futuro. @LauraRuHK

⚡️Jens Stoltenberg addressing lawmakers at the European Parliament yesterday: "The background was that President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a pre-condition for not invading Ukraine. Of course we didn't sign that." He should go and tell that to the families of half a million Ukrainian soldiers (by Stoltenberg's own admission) who died for the sake of NATO enlargement. @LauraRuHK https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_218172.htm?selectedLocale=en

🇷🇺Russia is increasing world trade despite sweeping sanctions. This is extremely "disappointing" to German analysts, writes Business Insider.

The volume of goods unloaded at Russia's three largest container ports (St. Petersburg, Vladivostok and Novorossiysk) in August approached the highs seen before the Ukraine conflict.

"It's unclear where the goods were coming from, but the activity at the country's ports appeared "surprisingly high," the publication notes.

@ukraine_watch

Politico: The absence of Putin and Xi will seriously diminish the status of the G20 summit

The absence of the leaders of China and Russia has already derailed the momentum of the upcoming summit in New Delhi, says (https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/07/absence-presence-dominance-g20-00114544) Politico. And it will be very frustrating for those who were travelling there specifically for the sake of interacting directly with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

▪️ Zelensky, despite Kiev's desperate attempts, has not been invited to the summit - although his absence is unlikely to upset anyone in particular. Politico has no doubt: "the Ukrainian issue" will be raised by the leaders of Canada, France and Britain.

In addition, Politico notes, Erdogan will again shine, he may "deliver a message to Putin," discuss NATO, oil, grain and more.

In any case, the publication writes, without the Russian president, these issues will have to be discussed long and hard.

▪️ Politico thus de facto recognises that the G20 platform is no longer well suited for addressing global issues. Beyond the issues of India as the forum's host country, at best the summit will only be able to discuss where and how the really serious negotiations with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will take place. (Source: Elena Panina) @LauraRuHK

❗️ I am pleased to welcome the delegation of the People's Republic of China, which is visiting the Republic of Crimea. As our President often points out, China is a brotherly state to Russia. This is confirmed by the arrival of representatives of the media and cultural sphere of the PRC," the Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov wrote in his Telegram channel.

"As the Chinese side reported, tourists from the PRC are ready to come to Crimea, who are interested in seeing the riches of our peninsula. In addition, it is necessary to develop co-operation in the information sphere, so that Chinese residents have the opportunity to receive first-hand information about life in the Republic.

In addition, we agreed on the visit of Chinese businessmen to Crimea to study the potential together and build business ties. We will definitely consider the possibility of visiting China in response to the invitation of the Chinese delegation.

The delegation of Chinese bloggers is visiting Crimea and new Russian regions on invitation of @ukraina_ru.

@ukraine_watch

In February 2024, Indonesian citizens will elect their President, Vice President, and both legislative chambers. Current leader Joko Widodo is ineligible for a third term, and NED is preparing to seize power in the wake of his departure. Kit Klarenberg obtained the weekly briefings dispatched from the Indonesian office of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a core component of NED, back to headquarters in Washington during June, July and August 2023.

These briefings provide updates on administrative issues, local political developments, staff activities, press clippings, and IRI’s progress on fulfilling the objectives of its NED grant in Indonesia “to improve the capacity of emerging political party leaders to assume leadership positions within the parties and act as agents of change in support of increased internal party democracy, transparency, and responsiveness to citizens.” The last available Endowment grant records, from 2022, show the Institute was given $700,000 for this.

Every week, IRI reported its “outreach” to “emerging leaders” in the country – graduates of NED training programs, now prominent members of dozens of political parties, and local NGOs and civil society organizations. Many are running as candidates in 2024, having been taught campaigning and voter engagement strategies and to challenge results by NED. https://www.mintpressnews.com/leak-cia-ned-color-revolution-coup-indonesia/285617/

The de-dollarization of trade between Russia and China has already happened, Georgy Zinoviev, director of the Asian department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

"The share of national currencies in Russian-Chinese settlements is growing at an extremely rapid pace: if at the beginning of 2022 it was about 25%, now it is already over 80%," he said. @LauraRuHK https://ria.ru/20230909/dedollarizatsiya-1895132624.html

La de-dollarizzazione del commercio tra Russia e Cina è già avvenuta, ha dichiarato Georgy Zinoviev, direttore del dipartimento Asia del Ministero degli Esteri russo, in un'intervista a RIA Novosti.

"La quota delle valute nazionali negli scambi russo-cinesi sta crescendo ad un ritmo estremamente rapido: se all'inizio del 2022 era di circa il 25%, ora è già oltre l'80%", ha dichiarato Zinoviev. (Fonte: RIA Novosti) @LauraRuHK

The 8th Eastern Economic Forum 2023 will take place on 10–13 September 2023 in Vladivostok. Its main objective is to spur the development of Russia's Far East and increase connectivity with neighbouring countries. Connectivity is still far from satisfactory as anyone living in Hong Kong knows all too well. At the moment it takes over 20 hours to fly HKG-Vladivostok, a relatively short distance. I hope something will be done about it. @LauraRuHK https://forumvostok.ru/en/about-the-forum/