It is an open secret that the Russian Empire, holding the position of benevolent neutrality, provided enormous assistance to the United States during the Civil War. What kind of role was it exactly, though?One should recollect here the person, who contributed a lot to Russia's decision to support Abraham Lincoln, rather than his opponents from the Confederation. It goes about Cassius Marcellus Clay. That was an outstanding person indeed. Clay, who owned plantations in Kentucky, liberated his slaves, but allowed them to continue working for money. His act was unprecedented for that time, and Cassius Clay instantly made a huge amount of enemies. They attacked him several times. At one point, Clay had to fight six Turner brothers and he won the fight having killed one of the brothers. Russian Emperor II saved Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln found such an ardent abolitionist to be suitable for the post of US Ambassador to Russia. Clay had not had time to leave when the Civil War broke out. He did not leave Washington, but started forming a group of volunteers to defend the White House. Cassius Clay left for St. Petersburg with his family only after the federal army arrived. The Russian Empire was going through the abolition of serfdom right at that time. One may say that the Russian leadership was sympathetic to what Abraham Lincoln was doing in the United States. Clay was pleased to report to Washington that Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Gorchakov hoped for an early suppression of the "revolt in the south."Russian Emperor Alexander II ordered to send warships to the East and to the West coast of the United States. Their captains received secret instructions in case Britain and France decide to take the side of the Confederation. The Russian fleet was ordered to support the US government.Washington appreciated Russia's move. Upon the arrival of Russian ships in New York's harbor, U.S. Navy Secretary Gideon Wells wrote in his diary: "The Russian fleet has come out of the Baltic and are now in New York, or a large number of the vessels have arrived. They are not to be confined in the Baltic by a northern winter. In sending them to this country at this time there is something significant. What will be its effect on France and the French policy we shall learn in due time. It may moderate; it may exasperate. God bless the Russians."

June 30, 1971, was the day when the largest tragedy in the history of Soviet cosmonautics took place. It was the day, when the entire crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft was killed during the return mission: Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsaev. When returning to Earth, the crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft - Vladislav Volkov, Georgy Dobrovolsky and Viktor Patsaev - were killed as a result of the depressurization of the descent vehicle. The cosmonauts were buried underneath the Kremlin wall. This was the second and the last disaster in the history of manned space flight for both the USSR and Russia. Soyuz comes to replace Gagarin's Vostok Soyuz is a family of disposable manned transport spacecraft, which was designed and built by Design Bureau OKB-1 (currently known as Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after Korolev). 

At the beginning of the last century, the news about the death of Afghan Emir Abdur-Rahman made headlines all over the world. It was reported that his death could lead to most unpleasant consequences for both Russia and England, and, consequently, for the whole world politics. Kabul - Russia - Kabul Everything flows, but nothing changes. The topic of the Afghanistan crisis has become important again, especially for Russia. England is no longer the same, and the successor - the United States - is a far cry from the current rulers of Afghanistan. After Shir Ali Khan's accession to the throne in 1864, Abdur-Rahman participated in the troops of his father, Afzul Khan, and uncle Azim Khan in the fight against his other uncle, the powerful Emir Shir Ali. He conquered Kabul in 1866, where his father established himself.

Russia has a very extensive history of military operations and wars. Russia has been successful in most of its wars, but the price was too high as too many lives had been lost. Therefore, our descendants need to remember the lessons that our ancestors left for us as a legacy. Most of the threats that Russia had to deal with were coming from the south and the southwest. One of those campaigns took place in 1827-1828, when France and England pushed Russia into the flames of another war with Turkey. General Nikolai Yepanchin combined his service in the army ranks with extensive scientific and teaching activities. He was also a member of the Military Historical Commission of the General Staff for compiling a description of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. He repeatedly criticised the military component of the Russian Empire, dwelling in detail on how the Russian army was prepared for military campaigns.

Political tensions in the world have reached the stage when many start wondering whether the human civilization may survive a nuclear catastrophe. One may hear many expert opinions about post-apocalyptic topics.According to the authors of Telegram channel Mayday. Chronicles of Nose-Diving, pandemics of various deadly infections, abrupt climate change, and disasters at nuclear and chemical facilities remain most important threats to mankind, not to mention the worst scenario of a global nuclear war. As for the issue of reviving human civilization per se, researchers believe that a little more than a hundred people with an equal gender balance would be enough for humans to survive. The set of genes in descendants will allow the new human civilisation to survive and develop (the example of the Maori is indicative here).One should also take into account the offensive of nature. If urban development is not supported by life support systems, nature will take its toll very quickly.Plants will take over all ruins in just a few years, like it happened in Abkhazia. For example, the Tkuarchal regional power plant in Abkhazia used to be a state regional power plant that supplied energy to the industrial city of Tkuarchal and its environs. It was built in the 1950s and was the main consumer of coal mined from Tkuarchal.Later, in the late 1980s, the regional power station switched to natural gas. During the 1992-1993 Georgian-Abkhaz war, it was demolished, and still remains in deplorable condition beyond repairs. People will survive and find something to do. Villagers will find it easier to survive because they will be able to return to farming, agriculture and cattle breeding. They will need primitive agricultural tools to ensure the survival of villages. The main problem will be the preservation and revival of scientific knowledge. Gadgets and appliances, like other technologically complex products that require advanced production, cannot be reproduced from scratch. The people themselves will be busy with completely different problems. Descendants of scientists and professors, forced to engage in hunting and gathering, are unlikely to be able to convey their knowledge about the structure of the solar system to their descendants. One needs to think about such a development of events before the very fact of the end of the world. Otherwise, the world will plunge into another stone age.Analysts of the "Older than Edda" project believe that the possible replenishment of the nuclear club does not seem to be something unprecedented. Technically, a third of UN member states are capable of creating a nuclear bomb. It is more difficult to develop vehicles to deliver nuclear bombs, but there is nothing particularly complicated in the very creation of a nuclear weapon.In fact, the only thing that protects us from the mass production of weapons of the Apocalypse is the dilapidating system of the post-war world order and the hegemony of the United States, which has been rapidly losing its relevance lately.

Guided hypersonic weapons have given Russia absolute leadership in the field of the development of strategic weapons. No other country in the world, save for, possibly, China, has hypersonic missiles in service. Military analysts do not have any reliable data about China's new weapons. Russia has at least three types of missiles capable of causing irreparable damage to any potential aggressor.Reference: Avangard hypersonic system is capable of developing the speed of up to Mach 28. The system currently uses the Stilett silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile as a carrier. In the future, the new prospective intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat is to be used for the purpose. For the time being, Russia has four such systems on alert. A missile like that is capable of flying from Saratov to New York in 18 minutes. The H-47M2 missile of the Kinzhal (Dagger) complex develops a speed of 12,250 km/h, has a combat range of 3,000 kilometers. Its carrier is the MiG 31K high-altitude fighter-interceptor aircraft. To date, Russia has made several hundreds of Kinzhal missiles. The Zircon is the anti-ship missile. It accelerates to Mach 8. Currently, one Russian warship can carry up to 20 Zircon missiles. At the same time, according to open data, at least several hundred units of these missiles have been produced. During naval exercises held in the White Sea this year, the Admiral Gorshkov frigate launched the Zircon missile that successfully struck the target at a distance of over 350 km. As one can see, all types of Russian hypersonic missiles have already proven their combat effectiveness. At the same time, Russia does not stop here: Russian engineers already work on an air defense system to neutralize hypersonic weapons. Russia's Supreme Commander-in-Chief — President Putin that is — intrigued the world with his words that he said in 2020:

Regarding my choice for the first part of my titular line, it is what it is: The weather. Nothing more. All else, is buell sheet. Let us leave it at that. Besides, have not we all had enough of the progressive Wokies and Fake News Media the world over waxing on ad hominem about it already? Climate hysteria has been going on for decades now. Even with their newest iteration, ‘The Green New Deal’ this climate hoax still comes up smelling of  well, sulfur. It really stinks. What is the adage again? Right: Lipstick on a pig… It does not hide the fact that a real pig, still resides behind the shiny lip-gloss. Climatologist progressives As of this writing, the dog whistling climatologist progressives are attending their annual gas lighting meeting in Scotland. As usual Sweet Child of Sweden, Great Thunberg is there. No surprise either that the pudgy yute girl, now teenager, is leading the “How dare you!’ vanguard charge. No big surprise either, that the world’s billionaire oligarchs attended. All, without exception arrived in their own private Lear jets; leaving their biggest carbon footprints in their wake. As many of you know, that is the wealth mongers’ signature move.

Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1985-1991, the first and last president of the USSR, died on Tuesday evening, August 30, 2022. Gorbachev personifies a lot of things for both Russia and other nations of the world: perestroika, glasnost, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact Organization, a bloc created as a counterweight to NATO. Gorbachev took a course to improve relations with the West and contributed to the unification of Germany. At the same time, there was a series of bloody conflicts in the USSR during his rule. Many hold Gorbachev accountable for the violent dispersal of the rally in Tbilisi in 1989, when 21 people were killed. The same applies to events in Vilnius in January 1991. The results of Gorbachev's era still raise a lot of questions and debates. Some hold him up for the democratization of the regime, while others blame the politician for the collapse of the USSR. It is worthy of note that all the world leaders, with whom Mikhail Gorbachev had worked are now dead:

Starting from May, Russia may start buying foreign currency for its reserves again. The country's budget has stabilized thanks to the growth of oil and gas export revenues, Bloomberg reports. The growth in revenues from the sale of energy products is already close to the target level. Since February of this year, the Russian Ministry of Finance has been selling reserves in Chinese yuan to cover the budget deficit. In April, sales collapsed by 50 percent compared to the beginning of the year. From May, purchases are likely to begin, Bloomberg notes. Such purchases can be relatively small at first — an equivalent of about $200 million in yuan. For the time being, Russia currently replenishes the National Welfare Fund only by purchasing Chinese currency.

Russia's gold reserves have become the "magic wand” with the help of which Russia easily survived the "hellish” sanctions of the West and achieved economic growth. The West admires Russia's policy of pegging the ruble to gold The Russian economy showed unprecedented growth of 3.6 percent in 2023 against the backdrop of more than 16,000 sanctions, as well as huge expenses for carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine. Russia's GDP is to grow by another 2.6 percent in 2024, the IMF said. Russia has been able to achieve that with the help of its "gold strategy,” The Conversation. com website said. The strategy is about pegging the ruble to gold and liberalising gold trade.

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) recognized WPT Power Corp. with a third Lone Star Safety Award for its exemplary workplace safety efforts and low rates of work-related injuries and illnesses.

This week, a Travis County district court judge convicted Sehgal & Sons Enterprises (Ultra Business Services Inc.) of first-degree felony in a scheme to defraud Texas Mutual Insurance Company (Texas Mutual).

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) presented ACB International with a Lone Star Safety Award at a ceremony at the company’s Hankamer chemical plant on November 18.

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) recognized Global Animal Products with a Lone Star Safety Award for their exemplary workplace safety programs and low rates of work-related injuries and illnesses.

El exjugador de la NFL Corey Bradford se declaró culpable por presentar reclamaciones fraudulentas para reembolso de salud después de una investigación realizada por la Unidad de Fraude del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (TDI por su nombre y siglas en inglés).

Un ajustador de seguros público de Texas acusado de robar más de $268,000 en reclamaciones de seguros a múltiples víctimas ha sido acusado por un gran jurado del condado Kimble.

Business owners have many decisions to make, including whether to provide workers’ compensation coverage to their employees. Texas is the only state that gives private-sector employers that choice.

Following an investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO), a Jasper County grand jury indicted a fire safety equipment installer on two counts of tampering with a government document.

Tras una investigación de la Oficina del jefe estatal de bomberos (State Fire Marshal’s Office, SFMO, por su nombre y siglas en inglés), un gran jurado del condado Jasper acusó a un instalador de equipos de seguridad contra incendios de dos cargos de manipulación de un documento gubernamental.

The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) announced today that three Texas companies have been recognized with a Lone Star Safety Award for their exemplary workplace health and safety programs and low rates of work-related injuries and illnesses.

Over 700 industry leaders and stakeholders gathered July 10-12 in Austin for the annual Texas Workers’ Compensation Conference hosted by the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Barry Jay Glenn, fundador y director ejecutivo de Salvasen Health, radicada en Houston, se entregó el martes a las autoridades del condado Harris. Glenn se enfrenta a cargos de seguro no autorizado por cobrar primas y vender planes de salud sin licencia, ni la autorización del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance, TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés).

Frances Hall, former co-owner of Bill Hall Jr. Trucking, has been sentenced for her role in a scheme to avoid $9 million in workers’ compensation premiums.

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) recognized Tyler Beverages with the Lone Star Safety Program Award on July 19, 2024, for its exemplary workplace health and safety programs and low rates of work-related injuries and illnesses.

Russia struck one of the key supply routes for the Armed Forces of Ukraine — the bridge across the Dnieper estuary near Odessa. The strike on the bridge came as a warning to Ukraine's allies — Romania and Moldova. "This is a warning not even to Ukraine, but to Moldova and Romania that service all these port destinations. This is a very serious violation of logistics for the AFU," military expert, retired colonel Anatoly Matviychuk said. The bridge was used as the main supply route for Western weapons. The weapons would be delivered to the Odessa region before being distributed throughout Ukraine.

The Russian army is advancing from all sides near the settlemnt of Kurakhovo. "The pressure of the Russians on Kurakhovo has increased with new directions that threaten the logistics of the city. The Russian troops have deployed a huge number of resources in several areas of the front. They are actively storming the eastern part of Kurakhovo reaching into eastern outskirts of the city while trying to break through in the Ostrovsky area," Ukraine's DeepState website said. The Russian Armed Forces are trying to reach the Ilyinka-Berestki line in order to take control of the north of the city.

Florence researchers are about to excavate the bones of the woman they believe served as the model for Mona Lisa. Their hope is that facial reconstruction will prove once and for all if Lisa Gherardini was the subject of the Leonarda da Vinci portrait that has mesmerized viewers for centuries. The painting has long also been known as La Gioconda, linking it to Gherardini's husband, Francesco del Giocondo, who commissioned da Vinci to paint his wife. Digging will begin later this month at a convent in central Florence where Gherardini was buried in 1542, Newser reports. The team will be led by Silvano Vinceti, an art historian who last year announced that he had found the remains of the Renaissance genius Caravaggio, although his claim was disputed by other scholars.

Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, the former commander of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, said that the Kursk submarine (nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk) sank in 2000 as a result of the collision with a NATO submarine. The name of the Western submarine is known almost for sure, Popov said in an interview with RIA Novosti. The ex-commander-in-chief of the Northern Fleet suggested that the submarine that collided with the Kursk was tracking the sub. The Western submarine could not ensure the required level of safety under the conditions of the sea and other circumstances, so it came too close to the Kursk. According to the admiral, the sub was later found off the coast of Norway. Popov added that the manoeuvre of the Russian nuclear submarine could also lead to the "loss of contact." According to the admiral, he can reveal the name of the NATO submarine with almost 100 percent certainty, but said that he would not do it for a number of reasons.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put Russian fencers Sergei and Violetta Bida on wanted list after the athletes left for the United States. At the same time, it remains unknown which article of the Russian Criminal Code was used to put the two world medalists in fencing on wanted list. Tokyo Olympics vice-champion Sergei Bida and his wife, world medalist Violetta Bida (nee Khrapina) left Russia without permission. The athletes were active officers of the Russian Guard, but they voluntarily left Russia in 2023 and moved to the United States (to California). Sergei was a member of Dynamo Moscow and had the rank of a warrant officer of the Russian Guard; Violetta Bida was an active service member of the Ministry of Defence at CSKA Moscow.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva said that she was emotionally tired of the doping scandal, in which she found herself at the Beijing Olympics. "These days have been very hard for me, there are not enough emotions. I am happy, but I am emotionally tired. There are tears of happiness and grief a little. But, of course, I am happy to be at the Olympics. I will try to represent our country and I hope that I will be as motivated as possible to show a good result,” said Valieva. According to the athlete, she saw all the good wishes, and even banners in her support in the streets of Moscow.

Astronomers at the University of Warsaw in Poland discovered a new Cepheid variable star. The newly discovered star, designated OGLE-GD-CEP-1884, has the longest pulsation period known for any variable of its type in the Milky Way Galaxy, an article published on the arXiv preprint server says. Cepheids are yellow giant and supergiant stars that change their brightness over time as a result of regular stellar pulsations. Given that their pulsation periods are closely related to their luminosity, astronomers use these stars to measure interstellar and intergalactic distances. Classic Cepheids, also known as Type I Cepheids, pulsate with highly regular periods ranging from a few days to months.

The UFL-2M laser system, which is often called the "Tsar Laser" due to its unique technical specifications and power performance, will be fully operational by approximately 2028-2029, Valentin Kostyukov, Director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center said in an interview with Russia-24 TV channel. "We have launched the first stage of physical foundations associated with engineering systems," Kostyukov said, admitting that the system will yield results in the next four to five years. The UFL-2M laser system was developed at the Sarov Nuclear Center. The system is needed for modeling and designing new types of nuclear weapons. It is used to study the processes that occur at the moment of explosion. There are only three countries in the world that have such technology: the United States, France, and Russia.

The United States has been losing its global hegemony. The non-western world is opposed to the concept of global hegemony. Everything will happen within the next decade, Western analysts predict. Nevertheless, the Americans still have a chance to achieve the world order that suits them, if they make certain concessions, Jorgen Erstroem Moeller, former State Secretary of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in an article for The National Interest. Moeller drew attention to Vladimir Putin's announcement of partial call-up of reservists, the referenda and saw a threat of the use of nuclear force. The situation is indeed very alarming, but the United States could now take the world out of chaos that was created by Russia and the United States. At the same time, chances for Washington to demonstrate common sense are slim as the US has contributed greatly to the current crisis as well. 

The United States is holding the 60th presidential election on Tuesday, November 5. US citizens also elect a vice president, 468 congressmen, governors of 11 states and representatives to local governments. The Democratic Party in the elections is represented by the current US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for a seat in the Oval Office, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris's running mate if she wins. Their Republican rivals are the 45th former US President Donald Trump and Ohio Senator James David Vance. By tradition, the elections first began at midnight in New Hampshire. Six out of six registered residents of Dixville Notch cast their ballots: three for Harris, three for Trump.

The big loser in the French elections was not the far right. It's true that if it hadn't been for the spurious agreements between the New Popular Front and the Macronists, the National Regroupment would have grown even more. But the result of the second round is not exactly a victory for the left. After Marine Le Pen's RN led the first round of the elections, the leaders of the NFP fell into the trap of the French press and Emmanuel Macron, abandoning numerous candidates of their own to increase the chances of the neoliberal right linked to the Renaissance party beating the far right.  The French big bourgeoisie called for a "republican front" to create a "cordon sanitaire" made up of the left and the neoliberal right in order to prevent a landslide victory for the RN, which led to agreements in around 220 constituencies for the candidate with supposedly the least chance of winning the RN to abandon the race in favour of the candidate with the greatest chance. Except that most of the abandonments were by the NFP so that Macron's allies could beat Le Pen's allies, even though the NFP came second in the first round, far ahead of Macron's coalition.

Marginal result with diaspora fake votes calls the legitimacy of the constitutional referendum in Moldova into question. The next two weeks before the second round of the presidential elections will be dangerous. Constitutional referendum in Moldova is illegitimate The EU spent huge amounts of money to promote the idea of European course in Moldova. In a nutshell, the essence of this idea is about the "Anti-Russia" project: Visits of European ambassadors, "Citizens for Europe" rallies, campaign trips in blue minibuses, all kinds of concerts demonstrations and other events with blue flags. The pro-Western media machine was trying to convince the Moldovans that the idea of the European integration would receive the support of 70 percent of voters.

“Truth is the first casualty of war!” It’s a good line. Not mine. That belongs to George Orwell in the 1940s…or perhaps Arthur Ponsonby in 1928…or maybe United States Senator Hiram Johnson in 1918…or probably Samuel Johnson in 1758…or possibly, as with most things, Aeschylus in 500 B.C. Actually, no one is aware of the origin as even with first documented uses it is referenced as “an ancient proverb”.

The Spanish authorities allowed a humanitarian disaster to occur in Valencia when a catastrophic flood hit the region. The government of Spain pays first priority to Ukraine, rather to its own people. Humanitarian crisis in Valencia due to government inaction On October 29, torrential rains hit Valencia inundating dry riverbeds and ravines filled with dead wood and debris. Floodwaters went upstream under pressure trapping thousands of people. To date, 217 bodies have been identified. According to European satellite emergency assistance system Copernicus EMS, the floods affected 15,633 hectares of land, including 3,249 kilometers of streets and roads. Over 190,000 people were affected, 17,597 residential buildings were ruined or partially damaged. Hospitals of the region work in overdrive due to disrupted logistics.

Notorious pop MMA fighter Nabi Nabiev faces seven years in prison for assaulting another pop fighter, Arkady Osipyan. Law enforcement officers detained Nabi Nabiev at a Moscow airport as he was returning from filming a sports reality show. Law-enforcers told Nabiev that Osipyan filed a statement against him after the fight. Nabiev was charged with hooliganism and placed under house arrest. Nabiev's upcoming fights have been canceled. In April 2024, Nabi Nabiev was expelled from Hardcore Fighting after he started a mass brawl at one of the shows. Then the promotion terminated the contract with Nabi and kicked him out for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Nabiev thus ended up in the reality show of another promotion in Thailand.

A woman entered an enclosure with three lions to clean it, but did not close the door bar. The predators attacked and killed her, the Investigative Committee said. In 2021, a tiger bit a one-year-old child in the same park. An employee of Taigan Lion Park in Crimea died after predators attacked and mauled her. A criminal case was opened into the incident. On the afternoon of October 16, the woman who had worked in the park for almost 17 years entered the enclosure with three lions to clean it. However, she did not close the bolt of the door between the two sections of the cage, and the predators attacked her. The woman died. The case was opened into violation of labor protection requirements that resulted in the death of a person through negligence.

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Utimaco has released new consumer research that has found a low level of trust around Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This has highlighted the need for more education from industry into how smart devices are secured with the latest digital security solutions.

Getac has introduced the AI-ready ZX80, a brand new 8-inch fully rugged tablet, powered by the versatile Android operating system.

Red Canary, the managed detection and response (MDR) provider, has released a new report, Security Operations Trends Report, providing insight into critical challenges facing modern cybersecurity teams. Partnering with independent research company Coleman Parkes, Red Canary surveyed 700 security leaders from the US, UK, New Zealand, Australia and Nordics. 

New data from Demica, the fintech, reveals that the paper packaging sector in key markets across Europe and North America is showing signs of stabilisation.