Is planned obsolescence of products, services and talent part of a creative destruction process under the New Normal?
“They don’t make them like they used to anymore” is an ancient lament that has resonated through the ages in various forms. It applies both to humans and their material outputs. The Greek philosopher Socrates had this to say of the youths of his day, circa 470 BC: “Children; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of...
... extent has already done so. It is a reverse situation in comparison to the Cold War era. This time NATO has an overwhelming superiority in conventional weapons, and Russia with its nuclear doctrine has to rely heavily on nuclear deterrence. Recently the UK has sharply raised the ceiling of its nuclear warheads. A new fundamental shift is occurring—a potentially radical increase in a number of Chinese ICBMs, which may put in question the Russia-U.S. dialogue on the future of strategic stability. Moreover,...
... official recognition by a Western state and marked the end of the foreign trade blockade. In their turn, many British manufacturers, exporters and importers were saved from a downfall during the post-war economic crisis thanks to the development of the UK-Russia trade relations.
The agreement reflects mutual respect and signifies the victory of common sense over political stereotypes. In its text we can find renunciation of any "hostile actions or activities", removal of barriers to trade ...
... hand, panned meme culture, denouncing Pepe the Frog as a hate symbol. She was clearly not the candidate of the Internet. When Trump won the 2016 election, it was to the elation of those meme makers who felt like they had a say in defining his image.
UK and the Brexit memes
The Brexit case is another example of how memes can serve as a marker of people’s reaction to changes in the country. Britain has no standard internet meme symbol for either far-right movement or left movement, but Brexit uncovered ...
More than 70 years have passed since the Tehran Conference. But today, in Russia, the idea of "invincible unity" is being revived and repackaged for a new war: the war on terror.
Tehran Conference
28 November to 1 December 1943
the first meeting of the Big Three Allied leaders: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin D Roosevelt and Russian leader Josef Stalin
aim was to discuss future strategy - and more specifically, the invasion of France (now codenamed Operation...
As a first step one would need to define what is meant by engaging the UK in the arms control, disarmament & nuclear non-proliferation process taking place between the US and Russia. The UK’s case in the arms control, disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation process is a complicated one because of the 1958 & 1959 ...
... does not undermine its energy security, but for a region which will dependent on imports for 80% (some sources even indicate 88-90%) of its energy needs by 2025-2030, it will naturally be more susceptible to risks. Any setbacks, or sudden events, ala Fukushima or Arab Spring will have serious repercussions. If something happens, Europeans will not be able to sustain themselves via own reserves or domestic production, due to this heavy import dependence. In reality, we are talking about a market which ...
During my analysis of UK media perspectives on the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, I have noticed several patterns: articles about Medvedev’s presidency invariably include a paragraph or two naming Putin as the ‘real power’ in Russia; almost every article ...
... most open and friendly for shale production in the West, but Europe is currently concerned about water pollution and other side-effects of fracking. On 1 April and 27 May 2011 two earthquakes with magnitudes 2.3 and 1.5 were felt in the Blackpool area, UK; these earthquakes were suspected to be linked to hydraulic fracture treatments at ‘Preese Hall Well’ operated by Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. Production was resumed only on 13 December 2012 after UK wide suspension was lifted. Nevertheless,...
Recently in the British press there has been extensive coverage of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen President. While my main research focus is representations of Vladimir Putin in UK print media, it is interesting to observe how another ‘Russian’ leader is portrayed, in reference to both masculinity and international politics. Over the past few weeks the British press have covered two stories on Kadyrov – the ...
