On November 1-2, the Bletchley Park mansion, located 80 km from the British capital, hosted a forum dedicated to the problems arising in connection with the widespread use of “artificial intelligence” systems in almost all spheres of human activity. We will omit here the question regarding the correctness of the name of these “intelligence” category systems, which in itself is highly debatable. Although the organizers of this Forum called it “AI (Artificial Intelligence – ed.) Safety Summit”, only UK Prime Minister R. Sunak, U.S. Vice President K. Harris, UN Secretary-General…

The author has frequently come upon the results of politician and businesswoman Yoon Mee-hyang’s actions when investigating…

In early September, a truly historic event took place. Russia and Myanmar re-established air links after 30 years. What does this do for our travelling enthusiasts? Should we expect a tourism boom to this exotic country? How promising is Myanmar for the Russian tourism industry today? Maya Kotlyar, the founder and head of MAYEL Travel, one of the most quoted public experts in tourism, will help us to understand these issues. – Dear Maya, Although Myanmar is quite an exotic tourist destination, you have a lot of experience in sending tourists there…

In mid-September, Cuba hosted the latest meeting of the Group of 77, which was created in 1964 to promote collective economic interests. Today, the Group has 134 States, representing 80% of the world’s population. This meeting set out to “change the rules of the game” after centuries of domination by wealthy Western powers putting their own interests first. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said developing countries have been the main victims of the multi-dimensional crisis in the world today, “from abusive unequal trade to devastating climate change.” According to the Cuban leader, the North…

Recently, the American media reported that a biography of Senator Mitt Romney, who has just announced his resignation, is being prepared for publication. A New York Times columnist read an excerpt from the book and “was struck by the depth of the senator’s contempt and disdain for much of the Republican Party, including many of his colleagues in the Senate.” He condemned their vanity, their venality and cowardice: he reserved particularly harsh words for the many senators “who would do or say anything for political power and influence.”…

On August 17, 2023, South Korean YouTuber and former Navy SEAL Lee Geun, 39, accused of illegally entering Ukraine in 2022 “to fight the Russian invasion,” was sentenced to a 1.5- year suspended term. This popular video blogger once gave rise to rumors that “South Korean special forces are fighting in Ukraine,” which prompted this author to clarify that the rumor was about a star of tacticool videos on YouTube, who had a group of cameramen and makeup artists accompany him as he went to war. Lee Geun spent three months in Ukraine before returning home with a knee injury on May 27, 2022. On June 10, 2022, he voluntarily appeared…

The issue of migration to countries on the European continent has recently become increasingly critical. Much has been said and written about this, but the issue remains unchanged: many individuals from African and Asian countries are attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in pursuit of a better life amidst poverty, conflict, and climate change. According to Irish journalist Sally Hayden, migration and the West’s response to it is one of the defining events of our century; at this point, “it is a story of catastrophe…

In recent decades, the rise of populism as a political ideology has been an undeniably global phenomenon. Representing a range of political movements based on the idea of “the people” at their centre, populism has surged in popularity in both developed and poorer countries, including our own. Similarly, its controversies have been manifold, as have been those of its most prominent proponents across the world. Though the ideal of representing the working masses through a political movement, often in opposition to the political and economic elites of a country, is not a new phenomenon; populist ideology in recent years…

I think Nazi symbols will be America’s official and unofficial excuse to walk away from Ukraine. It will be even deadlier, more political blowback; it will be like in Afghanistan but worse. The first stage, with the West growing sick and tired of the never-ending demands, and with little real results, is to cut back on funding—and then to let the Neo Nazis and their NATO partners stew in their own juices. But for the sake of discussion, I just want to know what happened to the films about WW2, fascism, and denazification…

In March-April 2023, an annual “Politbarometer” was conducted in Mongolia – a comprehensive survey of public opinion on a variety of issues related to politics, the economy, and the public welfare of the country. In May 2023 the processed results of the survey were posted on the web site of its organizer, Sant Maral. Many milestone events have occurred in Mongolia over the past 12 months: the largest corruption scandal in the country’s history, accompanied by major social unrest; the recovery of coal exports to China; the commissioning of the deep mine at Oyu Tolgoi deposit…

Recently, I watched Roger Waters’ “This is Not a Drill” – a live worldwide broadcast from Prague.   He had a lot to say in this particular concert, beginning with a statement that he won the pending court case against him where people in Frankfurt, Germany, were accusing him of being an anti-Semite. The court ruled he is not anti-Semitic and invited him back to Frankfurt. Part of the show includes a satirical performance where he pretends to be a Hitler-like Nazi leader, with flags and a symbol resembling the Swastika but made with hammers…

The issue of maritime piracy has always occupied a niche on the “dark” side of the mosaic and the multidimensional image of the modern world. History bears witness to the fact that every new stage of economic and commercial development of sea and ocean expanses, and the establishment of regular navigation, as a rule, has been accompanied by the emergence of pirate centers in the coastal areas. The state of affairs at the forefront of the fight against this criminal practice is characterized by remarkable changes at the present stage. After the last period…