March 17, 2014

As Russia closes in, Ukrainians fearful, defiant

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Ukrainian museum caretaker Valentin knows what it's like when Moscow sends in troops to occupy a reluctant ally - he was there, in Red Army uniform, when Soviet tanks rolled in to crush the Prague Spring in 1968.

"We were the occupiers then. Now we are the ones who are being occupied by the Russians," he said, shaking his head at the irony of history which sees Ukraine, long Moscow's closest partner, losing Crimea after Sunday's Kremlin-backed referendum there and fearing further invasion from the east.
(...)
"There is now real hope that, if not for us, at least for our children, life will be better," she said, scoffing at Moscow for suggesting native Russian-speakers like herself faced danger and discrimination from "Banderites" - far-right admirers of 1940s anti-Soviet partisan Stepan Bandera.

"I'm not a radical like those men on the Maidan," she said, sitting coiffed and businesslike at her desk. "But if wanting a better life makes you a Banderite, then I'm a Banderite."

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/17/uk-ukraine-crisis-war-idUKBREA2G03420140317

March 7, 2014

Turkey not to "leave Crimean Tatars in the lurch"

Source: Anadolu Agency (Turkey)

Turkish PM Erdogan says that Turkey will back Crimean Tatars to protect their rights amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey would support Crimean Tatars in maintaining their political rights amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

"We will not leave Crimean Tatars in the lurch,” Erdogan said during a rally in the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir before the local elections on March 30.

Read more: http://www.aa.com.tr/en/s/298078--turkey-not-to-quot-leave-crimean-tatars-in-the-lurch-quot

December 11, 2013

I am very, very left...

...but Lenin is no friend of mine.

Secondly, is European Union for "far right nationalists" only? To be sure, there some in Kyiv's Independence Square - just like there were some anarchists in Zuccotti Park. But they do not constitute a majority in any way.

"The poll by GfK Ukraine found that 45% favored the association agreement with the EU, while only 14% said they want to join Belarus and Kazakhstan in a Russian-led economic bloc called the Customs Union."

(WSJ)

Ask yourself: if you lived in Ukraine and had to choose, would you prefer Russia or Western Europe as your main ally? Before answering, consider hundreds of years of Russia treating Ukrainians as their servants (at best) or literally starving them to death ("Holodomor of 1933&quot . Also consider Anna Politkovskaya, RIA Novosti, Pussy Riot, Sergei Magnitsky and so on.

May 2, 2013

High School Rapper Arrested and Facing Terrorism Charges For Rap About Boston Marathon Bombing

Source: Alternet

A Massachusetts high school student faces felony charges for allegedly posting on social media rap lyrics that police say amount to terrorist threats, the Valley Patriot reports.

“He posted a threat in the form of rap where he mentioned the White House, the Boston Marathon bombing, and said ‘everybody you will see what I am going to do, kill people,” said Joe Solomon, who is police chief of Methuen, a city in north Massachusetts.

According to a press release from the Methuen Police Department, 18-year-old Cameron D’Ambrosio posted the alleged threatening rap on Facebook. Police investigated the teenager after one of D’Ambrosio's classmates reported to Methuen High School authorities the “disturbing verbiage” on his Facebook page. The press release notes that the alleged threats “were in general and not directed towards another person or the school.”

According to the Eagle Tribune, D’Ambrosio was charged with communicating a terrorist threat and faces up to 20 years in jail. He is being held on $1 million bail. All this, for writing some scary rap lyrics on Facebook.

Read more: http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/high-school-rapper-arrested-and-facing-terrorism-charges-rap-about-boston-marathon?akid=10392.14867.chR6wH&rd=1&src=newsletter834208&t=3

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This young man is facing 20 years, while Ted Nugent is still free...