Russia

Submitted by Brian Cloughley via Strategic-Culture.org,

Via GEFIRA,

In 1992, at the end of the Cold War, an American political scientist infamously proclaimed "the end of history:" liberal democracy and the capitalist system has won, the rest of the world will eventually embrace western ideas as superior to theirs because only they are able to provide peace and prosperity.

The anti-Russian propaganda launched into overdrive today with a two-for-one special.

First, the "CrowdStrike" cybersecurity firm run by an anti-Putin Russian Dmitri Alperovitch, alleged that the Russian hacking of the "elections" was similar to Russian hacking of Ukraine artillery units (CrowdStrike was the same company which immediately in the aftermath of the DNC hack also was the "experts" cited by everyone as evidence Putin was responsible for breaching the the Democrats' server).

In a curious convergence of superpower opinions, earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the country to reinforce its military nuclear potential. In a speech that recapped military activities in 2016, Putin said the army's preparedness has "considerably increased" and called for continued improvement that would ensure it can "neutralise any military threat".

Russia has shut down four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow for sanitary violations after a consumer watchdog filed a suit demanding certain burgers and milkshakes be banned on the grounds the fat, protein, carbohydrates and calories they contain “deviate widely from technical norms”. “Violations have been found that put the quality and safety of food products in doubt for the whole McDonald’s chain,” said Anna Popova, Russia’s head sanitary inspector.