Russian military power vs american military power

Russian military power

Russian armed forces provide Moscow with clear military superiority in the post-Soviet region, despite Russia's troops not being able to match the whole of NATO.

The US, Russia, and China are considered the world's strongest nations when it comes to military power, with the US the undisputed number one.
 Even so, Russia's still has plenty of arrows in its quiver, most notably the massive nuclear arsenal of some 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads.


Leaving the nuclear weapons aside, however, the US has an overwhelming advantage in conventional forces, including a much stronger navy and air force, Russian military analyst Aleksandr Golts told DW.

China, according to Golts, would also have the advantage of numbers in any conventional showdown with Russia. In other areas, however, things are not as clear-cut.

"Russia's air force is much stronger than the Chinese for now," he told DW. "It questionable about the navy, as the Chinese are now undertaking a very ambitious program of shipbuilding and they are much more successful in building a [global] blue Navy fleet than Russia."

Russia's battleships

Still, while Russia's battleships are old, they are often equipped with very modern cruise missiles, according to Golts.

However, the military expert warns that ranking countries by military power is "more or less useless" as armed forces' effectiveness depends on the goals set by the nation's leaders.
'We don't always know where the target is'

This point of view is echoed by Russian journalist and military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, who warns that real-life conflicts depend on many different variables, including the geography and the people involved.

"It's like predicting a result of a soccer match: Yes, basically, Brazil should beat America in soccer, but I have seen Americans beat Brazil in South Africa, at the Confederations Cup," he told DW. "You never know the result until the game is played."

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Felgenhauer notes that Russia is lacking in many areas of modern military technology, including drone design and production, electronic components, as well as radar and satellite reconnaissance. For example, Russia is currently producing surveillance drones under an Israeli license, and it is completely lacking in assault drone capability.

Russia is also working on modernizing its command and control centres, which serve to process information from the battlefield and feed it to the troops.

"That's what the Russian military is talking about: Yes, we have weapons, including long-range weapons, but our reconnaissance capabilities are weaker than our attack capabilities," Felgenhauer said. "So we have long range, sometimes precision-guided weapons, but we don't always know where the target is."

No more German and French satellites

These problems were exacerbated by the 2014 Crimean crisis, according to the analyst. In the years leading up to the showdown with the West, Moscow was spending at least $500 Million per year in the US shopping for the so-called double-use merchandise, which can be used for both military and civilian purposes.

"It was electronic components for Russian weapons and satellites, different kinds of special glass and steel," Felgenhauer says.

Similarly, "France and Germany were making double-use satellites, which were basically military satellites, recon satellites, for Russia. And all that kind of stopped."

Source:DW

Celtics vs. Lakers odds, picks: NBA expert puts 18-9 Celtics record on the line

The latest chapter in one of sports' all-time greatest rivalries tips off Tuesday as the Los Angeles Lakers host the Boston Celtics (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

The Celtics opened as 4.5-point favorites and now are laying five. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 208.5, down from 209.5.

Before picking either side, you need to read what SportsLine NBA expert Larry Hartstein -- who has put together a sizzling 18-9 run picking Celtics games -- has to say.

Last week, he told SportsLine readers to pick Philadelphia at +6 against the Celtics. He astutely noted Boston would struggle mightily with a sidelined Kyrie Irving. The result: The Celtics mustered only 80 points on 41 percent shooting and lost the game, 89-80.

Now, Hartstein, whose success has come thanks to his strong analytical background, has examined every matchup, every player and every trend for Celtics-Lakers and locked in his pick. His 18-9 record is on the line.

He knows the Lakers are 5-0 against the spread in their past five home games, while the Celtics are 1-4 ATS in the past five head-to-head matchups in Los Angeles.

Boston's best shot at covering the spread will be to exploit the paint against the undersized Lakers by getting Jayson Tatum and Al Horford driving to the hoop often. Horford nets about 13 points a game, but is shooting above 50 percent from the field.

But Los Angeles can cover the spread -- and win outright -- by pressuring the struggling Celtics into taking bad perimeter jumpers and igniting run-outs on missed shots. The Lakers took that approach in their previous game against the Knicks and got a slew of layups in a 127-107 rout.

So what side of the Celtics-Lakers do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick by Larry Hartstein, who has absolutely crushed the NBA, and find out.

Jakarta Offices Evacuated as 6.1 Magnitude Quake Jolts City

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake rattled Indonesia’s Java island, forcing evacuation of office and residential buildings in Jakarta and its suburbs.

The epicenter of the quake was near Lebak in Banten province at a depth of 10 kilometers, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said on Twitter. There were no immediate reports of any loss of lives from the impact of the quake, which initially measured 6.4 on the Richter scale, the agency said. The temblor was relatively shallow and triggered no aftershocks, it said.

More than 100 buildings were damaged on the outskirts of Jakarta, Kompas TV reported, citing Kaprawi, Banten head of the nation’s disaster mitigation agency.

Indonesia’s 17,000 islands are especially prone to earthquakes because the country straddles the Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines and volcanoes that causes frequent seismic upheavals. Waves unleashed in 2004 by the undersea earthquake off the Sumatran coast caused the deadliest natural disaster this century, taking more than 220,000 lives and leaving more than 1.5 million homeless.

“We were immediately evacuated once the earthquake happened,” said Josua Pardede, chief economist at Bank Permata, who worked at the 28th floor of a building in Jakarta’s main Sudirman business district.

The impact of the midday quake was also felt in Bogor, Bandung, and several cities in central Java and Sumatra, the agency said. Trading at the Indonesia Stock Exchange was unaffected by the temblor, Rheza Andhika, a spokesman said in a text message. The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index traded near a record 6,565.310 by 2:31 p.m. local time.

Tennis: Double delight for Taiwan's Hsieh at Australian Open

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Ten years after a stunning run to the fourth round of the Australian Open on her main draw debut, Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei has enjoyed double good fortune at Melbourne Park this week.

The willow-thin 32-year-old from the steamy southern city of Kaohsiung will line up in the last 16 again after a second fairytale week at the year's first grand slam.

A marquee center court clash against the 2016 champion Angelique Kerber lies ahead, a formidable challenge for the world number 88.

Yet with the reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and former world number two Agnieszka Radwanska among the victims in her wake, doubles specialist Hsieh will head into a heaving Rod Laver Arena largely free of pressure.

"Don't talk about me beating her, it's more likely I'll get beaten to death!" Taiwan's number one joked in an interview with Reuters at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

"I think I've just got to try to be positive, take each game as it comes and fight it out to the end."

While tearing through the singles draw, Hsieh has had to juggle doubles commitments with China's Peng Shuai, a successful cross-strait partnership that has already yielded Wimbledon and French Open titles.

The pair have made the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park, an added sweetener for Hsieh, one of the rare tour competitors who plays double-handed on both sides.

Her unorthodox style and wealth of doubles experience has seemed to pay off in her singles game this week, conjuring improbable angles that have often tied her opponents in knots.

Her array of drop shots and slices can drive "people kind of crazy", former world number one Maria Sharapova once remarked after beating her at Wimbledon in 2012.

It's all based on feel rather than premeditation, said Hsieh, whose father had her play two-handed when she was starting out as a child.

It stuck through her junior days and remains her signature.

"When I was little I was very skinny, like this," she said, holding up her index finger.

"I was five when I started to play and I didn't have much power ... I couldn't grasp a racket with one hand properly so I went with two."

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Hsieh was 22 when she made the fourth round of the 2008 Australian Open as a qualifier, eventually stopped by seven-times grand slam champion Justine Henin.

A decade on, she will be the oldest player competing in the last 16, a fact she acknowledged somewhat reluctantly.

"I look cute and young! I don't think too much about the age thing," she said.

"I was told I have the body of a 20-year-old because I haven't played all that much ... I've been quite fortunate without serious injuries as well.

"So I still think there is room for improvement."

A sharp increase in her ranking should help that late-blooming push, by putting her into more competitive tournaments.

Taiwan lacks a world class tennis program and facilities, said Hsieh, and she can hone her game with few elite compatriots.

Kerber, with her former world number one ranking and two grand slam titles, is quite a step up from Taiwan's number two, the 259th-ranked Chang Kai-chen.

Not that Hsieh will be guilty of over-analysing the German.

"She's a great player, it's fair to say she probably has the advantage with skill and power," said Hsieh.

"My advantage is that I am free-style.

"I don't really tend to go in with a game-plan, I kind of just do what comes naturally."

Government Shutdown Begins as Budget Talks Falter in Senate

WASHINGTON — Much of the federal government officially shut down early Saturday morning after Senate Democrats, showing remarkable solidarity in the face of a clear political danger, blocked consideration of a stopgap spending measure to keep the government operating.

But senators from both parties were scrambling for a new deal to reopen the government quickly, possibly just hours after the midnight deadline passed.

With just 50 senators voting in favor, Senate Republican leaders fell well short of the 60 votes necessary to proceed on the spending measure, which had passed the House on Thursday. Five conservative state Democrats voted for the spending measure. Five Republicans voted against it, although one of those, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, did so for procedural reasons.

As the clock ticked toward midnight, when funding for the government was set to expire, senators huddled on the floor of the crowded Senate chamber, searching for some way forward.

But lawmakers simply ran out of time. The government shutdown was one year to the day after President Trump took office.


“Senate Democrats own the Schumer Shutdown,” the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in a statement. “Tonight, they put politics above our national security, military families, and our country’s ability to serve all Americans.”

Democrats countered that Republicans were responsible for the management of a government in their control.

“A Republican president occupies the White House, and Republicans hold the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate,” said Representative Nita Lowey, Democrat of New York. “It is outrageous that, even with unified control of government, the majority could not chart a course toward keeping the government open, the most basic responsibility of Congress.”
The Senate’s vote, late Friday night, came after a day of budget brinkmanship in Washington that included a last-minute negotiating session between Mr. Trump and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader. The 90-minute meeting produced progress, both men said, but no deal. Just hours later, it appeared to collapse.

The House-passed bill would fund government operations through Feb. 16, and extend funding by six years for the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, a provision intended to secure Democratic votes.

But Democrats were seeking concessions on other priorities, such as protecting young undocumented immigrants from deportation, increasing domestic spending, securing disaster aid for Puerto Rico and bolstering the government’s response to the opioid epidemic.

Federal agencies had prepared for the shutdown; on Thursday night, officials at the White House Office of Management and Budget instructed federal agency leaders to give their employees informal notice of who would be furloughed and who would not if funding lapsed.

Formal notifications are to be given as early as Saturday morning, budget office officials said, insisting on anonymity to brief reporters about the details of what the White House called “lapse planning and shutdown operations.”

The Truth About Gianni Versace and Andrew Cunanan’s Relationship

The first episode of American Crime Story Season 2, titled The Assassination of Gianni Versace, wastes no time in linking spree killer Andrew Cunanan with his final and most famous victim: Gianni Versace. The series opens with a sweeping sequence showing Versace looking out majestically from the balcony of his Miami mansion while Cunanan sifts through a shabby, sand-logged backpack on the beach below—immediately establishing the “have” and “have not” in FX’s grim fable. The premiere, “The Man Who Would Be Vogue,” is front-loaded with two encounters between Cunanan and Versace—one in the V.I.P. room of a nightclub, and one on the stage of the San Francisco Opera following a performance of Capriccio, for which Versace designed costumes.

Given Cunanan’s propensity for pathological lying and the dreamlike quality of these sequences, though, what is the truth about Cunanan and Versace’s relationship—and what are we meant to see as simply Cunanan’s delusion?

In 1997, Vanity Fair contributing editor Maureen Orth—who wrote the book on which The Assassination of Gianni Versace is based—was the first to report that Cunanan and Versace actually had met in San Francisco in 1990. Based on interviews with multiple witnesses to the interaction, Orth described how Cunanan and his friend Eli Gould met the fashion designer in the V.I.P. room of the nightclub Colossus.

The designer walked in with an entourage, including [Versace’s boyfriend] Antonio D’Amico and [Capriccio choreographer] Val Caniparoli, who quickly introduced him to a few people. After about fifteen minutes of chitchat and waves of young men eager to meet him, Versace began to survey the room. He noticed Andrew standing with Eli, cocked his head, and walked in their direction. “I know you,” he said to Andrew. “Lago di Como, no?” Versace was referring to the house he owned on Lake Como near the Swiss border. Reportedly he would often use the Lago di Como line when he wanted to strike up a conversation with someone.

Andrew was thrilled and Eli couldn’t believe it. “That’s right,” Andrew answered. “Thank you for remembering, Signore Versace.” Then Andrew introduced Eli to Versace, who made polite talk about whether they had seen the opera. (They hadn’t.) Eli and Andrew then drifted back down to the dance floor.

Meanwhile, another man—Doug Stubblefield—claimed to have seen Versace with Cunanan on a different occasion in San Francisco that fall. He says a chauffeured car containing the duo, plus socialite Harry de Wildt, pulled up alongside him as he was walking on Market Street one evening. “To show off, Andrew had the car come to the curb, and Andrew and Doug had a conversation,” writes Orth. But Harry de Wildt, “a sixtyish dandy . . . married to a younger, big-boned Hillman heiress,” denied that he ever met Cunanan, let alone traveled in a car with Versace and Cunanan. Tangling this complicated web of alleged interactions even further, another friend of Cunanan’s, Steven Gomer, told Orth that Cunanan had personally introduced him to de Wildt—and that the two seemed to go “back a long way.”
Gomer also told Orth that, on another evening, he ran into Cunanan at a different San Francisco haunt. Cunanan, who was wearing a tuxedo at the time, claimed to have just come from Capriccio, where he “was with Gianni Versace.” This stray remark seems to be the basis for the Versace scene in which Cunanan and Versace, surrounded by candelabras and sipping champagne, get to know each other on the stage of the San Francisco Opera. This moment, at least, has less of a basis in fact; as Versace co-star Ricky Martin tells Vanity Fair’s Still Watching podcast, “We’re not making a photo; we’re making a painting. We add color, etc.”

The Latest: French Open champ Ostapenko into 3rd round

French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is through to the third round at Melbourne Park, beating Duan Yingying 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena.

It is the second year in a row that the seventh-seeded Ostapenko has advanced to the third round here after losing in the first round in her first appearance in Australia in 2016.

Ostapenko is playing her first Grand Slam with her new coach, Australian David Taylor.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came from 5-2 down in the fifth set to beat Denis Shapovalov 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in a second-round match on Margaret Court Arena.

Tsonga broke the Canadian's serve for the second consecutive time to level the match at 5-5, including a full stretch sideways on break point on an attempted passing shot by Shapovalov.

Another of Tsonga's array of shots during the final set included one from between his legs for a winner.

He finally clinched it on his first match point, ending the 3 hour, 37-minute match.
Second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki has come from 5-1 down in the third set and saved two match points to beat Jana Fett 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the second round.

Fett is ranked 119th and was making her first appearance in the main singles draw of a Grand Slam tournament.

Wozniacki twice broke Fett's service while the Croatian player was serving for the match, including the two match points in the seventh game.

Wozniacki then broke Fett's service in the 11th game, helped by a Fett double-fault on break point and an unforced error by the Croatian which ended a 26-point rally.

She then held serve, clinching it on her first match point when Fett netted a backhand, giving her a six-game winning streak to end the match.

Lava cascades down the slopes of Mayon volcano as seen from Legazpi city

Lava cascades down the slopes of Mayon volcano as seen from Legazpi city

Lava Flowing From Philippine Volcano, Thousands Evacuated

Legazpi, Philippines (AP) -- More than 9,000 people have evacuated the area around the Philippines' most active volcano as lava flowed down its crater Monday in a gentle eruption that scientists warned could turn explosive.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology increased the alert level for Mount Mayon late Sunday to three on a scale of five, indicating an increased tendency toward a hazardous eruption.

Lava flowed at least half a kilometer (less than half a mile) down a gulley from the crater and on Monday morning, ash clouds appeared mid-slope, said Renato Solidum, head of the volcano institute.

Molten rocks and lava at Mayon's crater lit the night sky Sunday in an reddish-orange glow despite a shroud of thick clouds that covered the volcano, leaving spectators awed but sending thousands of residents into evacuation shelters.

Albay province emergency response official Cedric Daep said at least 9,000 people have been moved from high-risk areas in an ongoing evacuation. People in the danger area have put up huge white crosses in their neighborhoods, hoping to protect their lives and homes.

"It's risky if people will be left behind," Solidum said of villagers who stay to watch over their homes within a permanent danger zone around the volcano.

But if the institute raises the alert level further, indicating deadlier danger, villagers would have to leave areas near Mayon. The volcano lies in coconut-growing Albay province about 340 kilometers (210 miles) southeast of Manila.

Three steam-explosions since Saturday have spewed ash into nearby villages and may have breached solidified lava at the crater and caused lava to start flowing, Solidum said.

With its near-perfect cone, Mayon is popular with climbers and tourists but has erupted about 50 times in the last 500 years, sometimes violently.

On May 7, 2013, an ash eruption killed five climbers, including three Germans, who had ventured near the summit despite warnings of possible danger.

Experts fear a major eruption could trigger pyroclastic flows — superheated gas and volcanic debris that race down the slopes at high speeds, incinerating or vaporizing everything in their path. More extensive explosions of ash could drift toward nearby towns and cities, including Legazpi city, the provincial capital, about 9 miles (15 kilometers) away.

The bulletin sent Sunday night said a hazardous eruption was possible within weeks or even days. It said the glow in the crater signified the growth of a new lava dome and that the evacuation zone be enforced due to the dangers of falling rocks, landslides or a collapse of the dome.

Mayon's first recorded eruption was in 1616. The most destructive in 1814 killed 1,200 people and buried the town of Cagsawa in volcanic mud. The belfry of a Cagsawa church juts out of the ground in a reminder of Mayon's deadly fury that has become a tourist attraction.

Kevin Durant Becomes 5th Player in NBA History to Score 20,000 Points Before 30

Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant notched the 20,000th point of his NBA career in Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena.

LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant are the only other players to score 20,000 points before the age of 30.
The milestone points came on a jumper with 1:40 left in the first half. The Warriors shared a replay of the shot on Twitter:
During a break in the game, the Warriors fans showered the eight-time All-Star with cheers, via The Athletic's Anthony Slater:
LeBron James congratulated Durant on his achievement postgame as well, saying, "Congrats G on 20K!! Lots and lots of buckets! Easy too."

Prior to the game, Durant reflected on what the achievement would mean, per ESPN.com's Chris Haynes:

"Man, that's some great company, and there's so many names I never thought I'd be in the same conversation with. But to know -- to have it in numbers, in black and white -- to know that you belong in that group is pretty special to me. I'm telling you, man, it's never been a goal of mine to count how many points I have. That's not why I play the game. To be under 30 and do it, that's special to me too. You play in this league for so long, and having an opportunity to do something like this at this age, you just can't take it for granted, because there's not too many players on that list."

Although he hit 20,000 points, Durant needs 42 more to climb up the all-time scoring chart. He sits 44th in league history, with Antawn Jamison occupying the 43rd spot. Among active players, Durant is eighth in scoring, most closely trailing Joe Johnson (20,166 points).

By the time the 2017-18 season wraps up, Durant could overtake Hall of Famers David Robinson, George Gervin, Bob Pettit and Mitch Richmond in the record books. Pettit is 36th in all-time scoring with 20,880 points, and that's a more than achievable gap to close if Durant continues averaging around 25.9 points per game.

It will be fascinating to see how much Durant's move to Golden State will impact his ability to be one of the league's best all-time scorers from a statistical perspective.
Entering Wednesday, he was averaging two fewer points with the Warriors than he had in his nine years with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Over the span of an NBA career, those two points per game add up.

Of course, Durant will be more than happy to sacrifice his shot at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record if it means adding another NBA title or two to his resume.

Golden Globes honors Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas

The Golden Globes honored Kirk Douglas Sunday night one month after the Hollywood legend turned 101 years old.

Douglas, who has a solid Golden Globes history of his own, appeared on stage with daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta-Jones to introduce the nominees for Best Motion Pictures Screenplay.

"In 1991, my father-in-law, this living Hollywood legend Kirk, was recognized by the Writers Guild of America for his role in ending the Hollywood blacklist," she said.

"He not only hired black-listed screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to write the epic 'Spartacus,' he insisted that Trumbo receive proper screen credit for his work."

Zeta Jones is married to Douglas' son, Michael.
The tribute to Douglas included clips from some of his most famous roles, including "Spartacus," "Lust for Life," for which he won a Golden Globe in 1957, and "Detective Story," which earned him a nomination in 1952.

He was also nominated in 1986 for "Amos," and scored the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1968.

"My trips around the world have taught me one thing: That movies speak a universal footage," he said in old footage of him accepting the DeMille Award.

Douglas followed up his daughter-in-law's introduction with a brief message of his own: "Catherine, you said it all… I don't want to say that because I could never follow you."