Blue_Tires
Blue_Tires's JournalWho are the Russian dissidents on same hit list as slain Boris Nemtsov?
A Russian fashion magazine editor and daughter of the former liberal mayor of St Petersburg, Ksenia Sobchak, is to flee Russia after learning she featured on a list of Russian opposition figures targeted for assassination, the Moscow Times reported.
Sobchak, the daughter of Vladimir Putin's former political mentor Anatoly Sobchak, is a prominent media figure in Russia, and member of Russia's liberal opposition, who took part in anti-government protests in 2011 and 2012.
At a meeting of a Russian literary society on 13 March, Sobchak said: "I will leave Russia for some time," after her name appeared on a list of people targeted for assassination published by Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which also featured slain opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.
The "kill list", reportedly compiled by a high ranking Chechen security official, has struck fear into the hearts of Russia's opposition, with some fleeing abroad and others stepping up their security.
Below, IBTimes UK profiles other Russian dissidents who reportedly featured on the list.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/who-are-russian-dissidents-same-hit-list-slain-boris-nemtsov-1492205
Russia to hold anti-racism summit over 2018 World Cup fears
MOSCOW — Russia is planning an international anti-racism summit this year to try and get on top of the problem before hosting the 2018 World Cup.
The conference is a response to a report which detailed more than 200 cases of discriminatory behavior linked to Russian soccer over two seasons, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told Russian media.
Mutko said the conference would be held jointly with one of the two organizations behind that report, the UK-based Fare network.
“We’ll be holding a congress together with this organization in Russia. Let them appear and talk about the problems of racism that they see in Russian sport,” he was quoted as saying by the R-Sport agency.
However, Fare head Piara Powar told The Associated Press his organization had yet to confirm its participation following an approach from the Russian Football Union for an event that would be held either this month or next.
Powar said Russia was “free to do an event,” but that talk of a partnership with Fare was “very premature,” especially given that the event had been offered at short notice.
He added: “A quick event like this can only work if there are some clear outcomes, and some planning that involves the whole of Russian football to deal with the issues that they have in terms of discrimination and exclusion.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/dcunited/russia-to-hold-anti-racism-summit-over-2018-world-cup-fears/2015/03/13/3051c420-c999-11e4-bea5-b893e7ac3fb3_story.html
Germany's Goal: Restoring Russia-Annexed Crimea to Ukraine
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's goal remains to restore the Crimean Peninsula to Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday, a year after Crimea's annexation by Russian forces.
Speaking after talks in Berlin with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, Merkel said the March 19, 2014, annexation of the peninsula was a violation of international law that "called the peaceful order in Europe into question."
"It's important despite, or because of, this to work for a peaceful solution and not rest until the full sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored, and of course this includes Crimea," she said.
Merkel said if necessary, the European Union was prepared to bring more sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/03/16/germany-wont-recognize-annexation-of-crimea-1-year-on
Russian state TV reported Putin met with the Kyrgyz president — but the meeting isn't until Monday
Russian state TV just published news from the future.
On Friday, Rossiya 24 reported a meeting between Russian president Vladminir Putin and Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev — even though the meeting is on Monday.
"The Kremlin also reports that Vladimir Putin met with Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev in St. Petersburg on Monday," the Rossiya 24 journalist said, according to a translation by Business Insider.
"They talked about cooperation in investment and humanitarian spheres and the energy sector," the report went on. "They also discussed the possibility of Kyrgyzstan joining the Eurasion Union."
http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-state-media-published-putin-in-the-future-2015-3
Nobody in Russia Is Buying Putin’s Nemtsov Lie
When Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov was gunned down in Moscow on February 27, he was two days away from appearing on one of Russia’s state-controlled television networks the only way he could: as the target of a hit piece against the opposition. NTV, which specializes in especially crude and sleazy propaganda smears, was set to broadcast a prime-time “investigative report” titled “The Anatomy of Protest 3.”
The first two specials, shown in 2012, used blurry hidden-camera video, dubious audio and voice-overs, and spliced footage to paint that year’s mass protests as orchestrated by paid agents of anti-Russian foreign interests.
“The Anatomy of Protest 3” was scheduled for Sunday, March 1—not coincidentally, the day Nemtsov was to lead a rally billed as the start of a springtime revival.
The promo on NTV’s website offered a taste of the latest installment, starring Nemtsov, exiled ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny: “How is the ‘Russian Maidan’ being prepared? Why do our revolutionaries make trips to Switzerland? What are they learning from their instructors in Kiev, and why do they meet with foreign diplomats in strictest secrecy?”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/13/nobody-in-russia-is-buying-russia-s-nemtsov-lie.html
Has a pretty familiar scent...
Putin is engaged in 'an existential struggle' with the West
Vladimir Putin sees Russia and the West as being locked in "an existential struggle," reports USNI News, citing an expert at a Heritage Foundation event on Tuesday.
Eugene Rumer, the director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Russia and Eurasia Program, told the audience at the event that the rising tensions between Russia and the NATO-orientated West was a cause for concern. Particularly at stake in any ramping up of hostilities are the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Both Latvia and Estonia have large ethnic Russian populations which Rumer believes Putin "is not adverse to using ... to make domestic trouble."
If Putin starts using ethnic Russians to stir up trouble in those countries as he has done in Ukraine, then war just may be NATO's only possible response, predicted Rumer. As Moscow becomes more assertive, this likelihood increases.
http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-engaged-in-existential-struggle-with-west-2015-3
Poland: Stronger Ukraine army can decrease conflict
WARSAW, Poland — Strengthening Ukraine’s army and supplying it with weapons could prevent an escalation of the conflict and would serve Europe’s interests, a top Polish security official said Thursday.
Stanislaw Koziej, the head of Poland’s National Security Office, met with Oleksandr Turchynov, the chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Defense Council, to discuss cooperation between the neighboring countries.
He said they agreed that it would be in the “interest of Europe, of Poland and of Ukraine to strengthen Ukraine’s army and to supply it with weapons.” He did not specify what kind of weapons might be supplied.
Poland has offered Ukraine non-lethal military supplies like food, first aid kits, blankets and helmets. And it is to help train Ukrainian troops, who have been fighting Russia-backed separatists since April. So far, Poland’s government has indicated it would not supply weapons to Ukraine, but said Kiev was free to make commercial purchases from Polish arms producers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/world/europe/poland-stronger-ukraine-army-can-decrease-conflict/2015/03/05/2d0d7910-c356-11e4-a188-8e4971d37a8d_story.html?resType=accessibility
Why Lithuania is preparing for a Russian invasion
The three Baltic States are fearful of a possible Russian invasion, although Lithuania may have particular reason for concern.
Wedged between Russian ally Belarus and the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, Lithuania is worried that it could be the next target of Russian aggression following invasions in Georgia in 2008 and Crimea and eastern Ukraine last year.
Lithuania's is Moscow's biggest obstacle in developing a a land bridge between Kaliningrad and the rest of Russia.
“They [the Kremlin] need a corridor from Kaliningrad to mainland Russia,” Marius Laurinavicius, a senior Lithuanian analyst at the Eastern Europe studies center in Vilnius, told Reuters. “Just like they need one from Crimea to Donbas [in eastern Ukraine].”
http://www.businessinsider.com/lithuania-preparing-for-feared-russian-invasion-2015-3
Tale of two captains: censorship of political opinions in the military
The similarities between U.S. military officers Maribel Jarzabek and Lindsay Rodman are staggering.
Both women are highly educated lawyers serving their country—Jarzabek in the United States Air Force, and Rodman in the United States Marine Corps. Both hold the rank of Captain, and both have drawn on their experiences with the military-justice system to develop and publically express their thoughts on the handling of sexual assaults in the armed services.
But these similarities end with the reaction to the officers’ perspectives within their respective branches.
Last December Senator Kristen E. Gillibrand (D-NY) proposed legislation that would remove military commanders from having any role in the prosecution of sexual assault in the military. At the time, Jarzabek was serving as an Air Force Special Victims’ Counsel, providing legal protection and assistance to alleged sex-related offense victims, and decided to voice her support for the legislation on Gillibrand’s Facebook page. Jarzabek explained that she was warned of potential retributive action by the Air Force due only to her zealous advocacy as a Special Victims’ Counsel. This had the potential of impacting future assignments and her career.
After posting her comments on Senator Gillibrand’s Facebook page, Jarzabek was notified that she was under criminal investigation for advocating “a partisan political cause” that could undermine confidence in the Air Force. Jarzabek ultimately received a reprimand for her actions. But to her credit, Jarzabek remained undeterred and defended her actions. “Air Force leadership,” she stated, “demonstrated that weighing in on the bipartisan reform—changes to the way the military handles sexual assaults—is not prohibited, so long as you agree with them.”
When Gillibrand learned of the retribution against Jarzabek, she issued a written statement: “I think the message being sent here is very clear—unless you are going to toe the company line, shut up, or we will punish you.”
Rodman’s story, on the other hand, is quite different. Rodman wrote an editorial with the Wall Street Journal while assigned to the Pentagon as a lawyer. In the article, Rodman identified herself as a Marine Corps judge advocate officer and was photographed for the article in her military uniform. This, in many respects, denotes a level of endorsement by the Marine Corps. And unauthorized endorsement can get you in trouble.
Rodman stated that she was disheartened by the reactions from members of Congress to the data on incidents of sexual assault in the military and that she feared “Draconian solutions” from Capitol Hill would only exacerbate the sexual-assault issues in the military. After the article was published, Rodman was assigned to the Joint Staff to concentrate on sexual-assault issues. Rodman clearly found herself on the “right” side of this political issue.
Sadly, the censorship of political opinions by the military is not uncommon. One could conclude that this disparate treatment is the result of the differences that exist between the armed services and how they handle their service members, yet, the argument of being on the “right” side of the political spectrum shows more of a trend than just an isolated case of disagreement.
http://www.blueforcetracker.com/article/Tale-of-two-captains-censorship-of-political-opinions-in-the-military
Weird trading cards from Japanese mayonnaise packaging
This is even better than that deck of playing cards with the ladies what ain't got no clothes on
http://boingboing.net/2010/03/22/weird-trading-cards.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fiendsaintfamily/sets/72157618759997804/
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