Mike Nova's starred items
via The Guardian's Facebook Wall by The Guardian on 2/25/13
The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people
On Bastoy prison island in Norway, the prisoners, some of whom are murderers and rapists, live in conditions that critics brand 'cushy' and 'luxurious'. Yet it has by far the lowest reoffending rate in Europe.
http://gu.com/p/3e298?CMP=SOCNETTXT6966
Photograph: Marco Di Lauro
On Bastoy prison island in Norway, the prisoners, some of whom are murderers and rapists, live in conditions that critics brand 'cushy' and 'luxurious'. Yet it has by far the lowest reoffending rate in Europe.
http://gu.com/p/3e298?CMP=SOCNETTXT6966
Photograph: Marco Di Lauro
via world - Google News on 2/25/13
The Guardian |
Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigns amid claims of inappropriate behaviour
The Guardian "In many ways the more important time over the next few weeks will be the general congregations when the cardinals meet together before the conclave to discuss the state of the world and the state of the church – and Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor will be ... Must-Reads from Around the WorldTIME British Cardinal to Skip Papal ConclaveU.S. News & World Report UK cardinal faces claims of 'inappropriate behaviour'CBC.ca BBC News -Daily News & Analysis all 918 news articles » |
via The Guardian World News by Luke Harding on 2/25/13
Media groups will on Tuesday challenge what they describe as a "deeply troubling" attempt by the government to withhold evidence from the inquest into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.
The Guardian, the BBC, the Financial Times and other newspapers are challenging a submission by the foreign secretary, William Hague, to conceal sensitive documents. Hague argues the material could harm "national security", as well as the UK's "international relations".
The government has refused to say what evidence it wants to hide. But it is likely to deal with revelations made at a hearing in December that at the time of his poisoning in November 2006 Litvinenko was actively working for the British secret services.
Litvinenko was also a "paid agent" of the Spanish security services. MI6 encouraged him to supply information to the Spanish about Russian mafia activities, and alleged links between top organised criminals and the Kremlin, the hearing was told.
Litvinenko travelled to Spain in 2006 and met his MI6 handler, "Martin", shortly before his fateful encounter with Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, the two men accused of killing him. The inquest – scheduled to begin in May – will hear claims that the pair were part of a "Russian state" plot to murder Litvinenko using radioactive polonium.
The fact that Litvinenko – a former Russian spy – was working for MI6 raises embarrassing questions as to whether British intelligence should have done more to protect him. Litvinenko had a dedicated phone to contact "Martin" and received regular payments to his bank account from MI6 and Madrid, it emerged in December.
In making their submission to the coroner, Sir Robert Owen, on Tuesday, the media groups will seek to argue that Hague's attempt to withhold evidence could undermine public confidence in the inquest. Currently the media – as well as Litvinenko's widow, Marina, and son, Anatoly, – are "completely in the dark" over what material the FCO seeks to exclude.
The media groups will seek to persuade the coroner that the government has also failed to explain what "harm" the release of the information might cause. Nor has it properly considered "lesser measures", such as redaction, which would allow some disclosure of sensitive documents, or the possibility of closed sessions.
Alex Bailin QC, the lawyer acting for the Guardian, will argue that "the public and media are faced with a situation where a public inquest into a death … may have large amounts of highly relevant evidence excluded from consideration by the inquest. Such a prospect is deeply troubling."
There are grave public concerns that allegations of "state-sponsored assassination" on the streets of London require "maximum openness". Additionally, the inquest is likely to be the only judicial forum where evidence will be heard, since the Kremlin has refused to extradite Lugovoi and Kovtun.
Speaking on Monday, Litvinenko's friend Alex Goldfarb said the foreign secretary appeared unwilling to offend Russia's "vindictive" president. Goldfarb told the Guardian: "I recognise that Mr Hague has a well-founded interest not to rock the boat with [Vladimir] Putin. He's afraid. He's afraid Putin will not vote the way he wants in the UN or squeeze Britain's interests."
He added: "The inquest is a balance between the interests of international relations and justice. The bottom line is how far do you compromise with your own justice and decency, and the benefits from doing business with arrogant, murderous and dictatorial foreign states?"
Goldfarb said forensic evidence and reports from Scotland Yard had already been disclosed to interested parties. But he said he was worried the government wanted to keep secret highly sensitive documents showing links between Russian mobsters in Spain and "Putin's inner circle". "That's what Sasha [Litvinenko] was up to," Goldfarb said.
An FCO spokesperson said: "The government has made an application to the court for public interest immunity in line with its duty to protect national security and the coroner is responsible for deciding that application based on the overall public interest."
Owen is due to hear submissions from the media at a hearing in the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday. He has previously indicated that he wants the inquest to be as open and broad as possible.
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via Atlantic Council - Renewing the Atlantic Community for 21st Century Global Challenges by Jorge Benitez on 2/23/13
From Interfax-Ukraine: Russia plans to rearm its Black Sea Fleet and is seeking talks with Ukraine on customs aspects of planned deliveries of new weapons to the naval force, Ukraine's defense minister said on Saturday.
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via NEWSru.com on 2/25/13
Премию ФСБ, которой, в частности, награжден режиссер и гендиректор "Мосфильма" Шахназаров, называют возрожденной премией КГБ. ФСБ начала финансировать и продюсировать фильмы с начала до конца, пытаясь переписать реальность, изобразить генералов ФСБ в роли героев комиксов типа Бэтмена.
via Russia Blogs's Facebook Wall by Russia Blogs on 2/25/13
Дагестанцы 23 февраля потушили Вечный огонь в Астрахани. Президент Дагестана осудил их.
Врио президента Дагестана Рамазан Абдулатипов извинился за выходку пятерых уроженцев республики, потушивших Вечный огонь в центре Астрахани. Об этом говорится в …
Дагестанцы 23 февраля потушили Вечный огонь в Астрахани. Президент Дагестана осудил их.
Врио президента Дагестана Рамазан Абдулатипов извинился за выходку пятерых уроженцев республики, потушивших Вечный огонь в центре Астрахани. Об этом говорится в …
Дагестанцы 23 февраля потушили Вечный огонь в Астрахани. Президент Дагестана осудил их.
Putinology Update
9:23 AM 2/25/2013
Take the chip off Putin's shoulder - Cincinnati.com | Putinism is now taught to Russian children and propagated in the media. - Putinism: the ideology | В политике: Тень отца нации над Госдумой - Независимая газета
Mike Nova's starred items
via Putin - Google News on 2/24/13
Take the chip off Putin's shoulder
Cincinnati.com A sign of Russia's defensiveness, bordering on paranoia, is that some senior Russian officials regard the recent buzz about shale gas and oil as American propaganda designed to undermine Moscow's clout as an energy producer. Vladimir Putin's Russia has ... and more » |
via Putin - Google News on 2/24/13
Socialist Worker Online |
Putin's ongoing war on the left
Socialist Worker Online Last May, before the inauguration of Vladimir Putin for yet another term as Russia's president, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Moscow in protest against the fraudulent election that gave Putin another victory two months before. Police ... |
Statement
Putin's ongoing war on the left
February 25, 2013
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Last May, before the inauguration of Vladimir Putin for yet another term as Russia's president, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Moscow in protest against the fraudulent election that gave Putin another victory two months before. Police descended on the peaceful demonstration and attacked protests, arresting 400 people.
Since then, Putin's dictatorial regime has used the May 6 demonstration as a bogeyman to accuse various left-wing leaders of wanting to foment violence--when those truly bent on violence were his own security forces. In this statement, left-wing organizations in Russia--the Russian Socialist Movement, the Left Front and the Russian Anarchists--appeal for international solidarity against the government's violence and repression.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Since then, Putin's dictatorial regime has used the May 6 demonstration as a bogeyman to accuse various left-wing leaders of wanting to foment violence--when those truly bent on violence were his own security forces. In this statement, left-wing organizations in Russia--the Russian Socialist Movement, the Left Front and the Russian Anarchists--appeal for international solidarity against the government's violence and repression.
TWO MONTHS ago, we, representatives of the Russian left, asked for your solidarity [1] in the face of the coming wave of political repressions in Russia.
Alas, today, this call is even more urgent than before. It is no longer an exaggeration to compare the political trials taking place right now to the prosecution of Russian populists in the late 19th century. The number of possible convictions resulting from the so-called "riots" of May 6, 2012 has steadily climbed over 20, and the majority of the detainees have already spent many months in jail awaiting trial.
Their names are Vladimir Akimenkov, Oleg Arkhipenkov, Andrei Barabanov, Fyodor Bakhov, Yaroslav Belousov, Alexandra Dukhainina, Stepan Zimin, Ilya Gushyn, Nikolai Kavkazskii, Alexander Kamesnskii, Leonid Koviazin, Mikhail Kosenko, Sergei Krivov, Konstantin Lebedev, Maksim Luzianin, Denis Lutskevich, Aleksei Polikhovich, Leonid Razvozhaev and Artem Savelov.
The aim of the prosecution is self-evident: to break the will for political struggle of those unhappy with the current political regime and to systematically demolish the existing political opposition, a significant portion of which is situated on the political left.
The Investigative Committee--a structure accountable only to President Putin--has constructed the case as a wide-ranging conspiracy, stretching from rank-and-file street protesters to established politicians. Thus, on January 10, 2013, the Committee merged two trials: the May 6th "riots" (with 19 detainees, two people under instructions not to leave, and 10 hiding outside of Russia) and the "organizing of unrest" with which our comrades Konstantin Lebedev, Leonid Razvozhaev and Sergei Udaltsov have been charged.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE LIST of detainees continues to grow. On February 7, 24-year-old Ilya Gushchin was arrested and accused of using violence against a policeman during the May 6 "riots." A little earlier, on January 17, while facing similar charges and imminent deportation from the Netherlands back to Russia, Alexander Dolmatov took his own life.
On February 9, Sergei Udaltsov's status changed from instructions not to leave to house arrest. This means that his channels of communication with the outside world have been cut off, and that even the tiniest infraction will land him in jail.
In addition, the prosecution and the judges, guided by the Kremlin, keep on placing pressure on the detainees, further risking their health and lives.
Thus, for example, the eyesight of 25-year-old Vladimir Akimenkov has continued to worsen since his arrest on June 10, 2012. Akimenkov, a Left Front activist, suffers from innate defective vision, which has deteriorated in prison conditions and may soon turn into a permanent loss of vision. Akimenkov's lawyer, human rights activists and over 3,000 petitioners have asked the authorities to release him. However, the prosecution and the courts have remained firm and extended Akimenkov's arrest until May 6, 2013.
Another of the accused, 37-year-old Michael Kosenko, has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since his military service. Instead of granting him access to medication or releasing him, the court is preparing to send him to "forced treatment" in a prison hospital.
Leonid Razvozzhaev, 40, a coordinator of the Left Front, has been abducted from Ukrainian soil by unknown parties and delivered to Moscow. After the abduction, a confession appears to have been extorted from Razvozzhaev under threat of torture and harm to his family. Once in prison, he renounced his "confessions," but his words are still being actively used against others. Currently, Razvozzhaev has been transferred to the Siberian city of Irkutsk, where his freedom to communicate with relatives and lawyers is severely limited.
The trial will most likely begin in earnest in March. The prosecutor will claim the existence of a massive anti-state conspiracy in which the accused will be said to have played various roles. We have little doubt that this trial will be biased and unjust. Unless fought against, its probable outcome will be the broken lives of dozens of people (the charges carry imprisonment up to eight years), conspiratorial hysterics in the state-run media, and a carte blanche for new repression.
Your solidarity now is crucial for us. On the eve of this shameful trial on February 28 through March 3, we ask you to stage protests in front of any consulates of the Russian Federation in your countries, to disseminate information about the political trials and to urge your government and relevant NGOs to act. Please send reports on solidarity action and any other information or questions to RussiaSolidarity@gmail.com [2].
The Russian Socialist Movement
The Left Front
Russian Anarchists
Alas, today, this call is even more urgent than before. It is no longer an exaggeration to compare the political trials taking place right now to the prosecution of Russian populists in the late 19th century. The number of possible convictions resulting from the so-called "riots" of May 6, 2012 has steadily climbed over 20, and the majority of the detainees have already spent many months in jail awaiting trial.
Their names are Vladimir Akimenkov, Oleg Arkhipenkov, Andrei Barabanov, Fyodor Bakhov, Yaroslav Belousov, Alexandra Dukhainina, Stepan Zimin, Ilya Gushyn, Nikolai Kavkazskii, Alexander Kamesnskii, Leonid Koviazin, Mikhail Kosenko, Sergei Krivov, Konstantin Lebedev, Maksim Luzianin, Denis Lutskevich, Aleksei Polikhovich, Leonid Razvozhaev and Artem Savelov.
The aim of the prosecution is self-evident: to break the will for political struggle of those unhappy with the current political regime and to systematically demolish the existing political opposition, a significant portion of which is situated on the political left.
The Investigative Committee--a structure accountable only to President Putin--has constructed the case as a wide-ranging conspiracy, stretching from rank-and-file street protesters to established politicians. Thus, on January 10, 2013, the Committee merged two trials: the May 6th "riots" (with 19 detainees, two people under instructions not to leave, and 10 hiding outside of Russia) and the "organizing of unrest" with which our comrades Konstantin Lebedev, Leonid Razvozhaev and Sergei Udaltsov have been charged.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE LIST of detainees continues to grow. On February 7, 24-year-old Ilya Gushchin was arrested and accused of using violence against a policeman during the May 6 "riots." A little earlier, on January 17, while facing similar charges and imminent deportation from the Netherlands back to Russia, Alexander Dolmatov took his own life.
On February 9, Sergei Udaltsov's status changed from instructions not to leave to house arrest. This means that his channels of communication with the outside world have been cut off, and that even the tiniest infraction will land him in jail.
In addition, the prosecution and the judges, guided by the Kremlin, keep on placing pressure on the detainees, further risking their health and lives.
Thus, for example, the eyesight of 25-year-old Vladimir Akimenkov has continued to worsen since his arrest on June 10, 2012. Akimenkov, a Left Front activist, suffers from innate defective vision, which has deteriorated in prison conditions and may soon turn into a permanent loss of vision. Akimenkov's lawyer, human rights activists and over 3,000 petitioners have asked the authorities to release him. However, the prosecution and the courts have remained firm and extended Akimenkov's arrest until May 6, 2013.
Another of the accused, 37-year-old Michael Kosenko, has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since his military service. Instead of granting him access to medication or releasing him, the court is preparing to send him to "forced treatment" in a prison hospital.
Leonid Razvozzhaev, 40, a coordinator of the Left Front, has been abducted from Ukrainian soil by unknown parties and delivered to Moscow. After the abduction, a confession appears to have been extorted from Razvozzhaev under threat of torture and harm to his family. Once in prison, he renounced his "confessions," but his words are still being actively used against others. Currently, Razvozzhaev has been transferred to the Siberian city of Irkutsk, where his freedom to communicate with relatives and lawyers is severely limited.
The trial will most likely begin in earnest in March. The prosecutor will claim the existence of a massive anti-state conspiracy in which the accused will be said to have played various roles. We have little doubt that this trial will be biased and unjust. Unless fought against, its probable outcome will be the broken lives of dozens of people (the charges carry imprisonment up to eight years), conspiratorial hysterics in the state-run media, and a carte blanche for new repression.
Your solidarity now is crucial for us. On the eve of this shameful trial on February 28 through March 3, we ask you to stage protests in front of any consulates of the Russian Federation in your countries, to disseminate information about the political trials and to urge your government and relevant NGOs to act. Please send reports on solidarity action and any other information or questions to RussiaSolidarity@gmail.com [2].
The Russian Socialist Movement
The Left Front
Russian Anarchists
via Videos by Auszubildende on 1/29/13
vk.com Полное выступление президента России Владимира Путина на Мюнхенской конференции по вопросам политики бесопасности (с ответами на вопросы) И ведь сказал. Без штампов и «излишнего политеса» как и обещал. Сказал жёстко и чётко. Как говорят, только башмака Хрущёвского ему не доставало. И Европа затихла... Америка зашептала. Никому не выгодна сильная Россия, а значит никому не выгоден "мистер Путин".
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via Сайт Президента России: Все материалыon 2/25/13
Глава Ингушетии информировал Владимира Путина о социально-экономическом положении в республике, реализации ряда инвестиционных проектов, ситуации с дошкольным образованием и здравоохранением.
via Videos by newsexpressonline on 12/24/12
For more News : www.youtube.com Arms sales will be on the agenda when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the country on Monday to court a country that has traditionally been a top client.Putin's trip, his first to the country since he started a new Kremlin six-year term in May, is a chance to reaffirm Russia's interest in India, long a regional ally and now a partner in the BRICS group of emerging market nations.
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Time:01:12 | More inNews & Politics |
via Videos by FAKEtoREALITY on 3/2/12
73min Wladimir Putin? Das ist doch dieser skrupellose, Macht-versessene Russe? Gerade im Westen ist sein Ruf wenig ruhmreich. ... Weiterlesen: www.focus.de Interview mit dem Filmautor Hubert Seipel aus dem Spiegel Online: Wer mit einem Machtpolitiker wie Wladimir Putin Billard spielt, kann schnell in einem Kampf der Gesellschaftssysteme landen: Für seine ARD-Doku "Ich, Putin" ist Hubert Seipel dem Russen sehr nahe gekommen. Im Interview spricht der renommierte Filmemacher über den gefährlichen Charme des Russen. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Herr Seipel, für Ihren Film sind Sie so nah an Putin herangekommen wie vor Ihnen kein anderer Fernsehjournalist. Wie kam der Draht zustande? Seipel: Ich habe vor drei Jahren einen Film über Gazprom gemacht, da hatte ich die Idee zu diesem Film. Ich fing an, dem Kreml zu schreiben, aber das hat zu nichts geführt. Der Kontakt kam dann über jemanden zustande, der Putin persönlich kennt und Zugang zu ihm hat. Da bekam ich auch Antworten. Die erste Antwort hieß: nein, die zweite: vielleicht, die dritte: ja. Und dann hat es noch ein paar Monate gedauert. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Hat Putin Bedingungen gestellt? Seipel: Wir haben uns vor dem Film einmal in Moskau getroffen, und ich habe ihm gesagt, dass es keine Tabu-Themen geben kann - außer privater Dinge. Und er hat sich erstaunlicherweise darauf eingelassen. Deutsche Politiker tun das nicht unbedingt. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Wie hat sich Ihr Bild von Putin durch die Dreharbeiten verändert? Seipel: Er war mir <b>...</b>
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via путин – Новости Google on 2/24/13
Путин продлил срок бесплатной приватизации жилья до 2015 года
Росбалт.RU JenniferUpdates 25 февраля 2013 Оскар-2013: снимок эпохи За мишурой 85-й церемонии вручения премии можно было усмотреть серьезный кризис веры в человека и человечество на фоне попыток воскресить и переформатировать давно обветшавшие патриотические архетипы. и другие » |
via путин – Новости Google on 2/25/13
Росбалт.RU |
Путин: Рост тарифов ЖКХ не должен превышать 6% в год
Росбалт.RU Евгений Зубарев 25 февраля 2013 Демократия без процедуры Критика члена Конституционного суда Владимира Ярославцева в адрес нового закона о митингах возвращает российскую юриспруденцию к давно законченной дискуссии о том, что для демократии важнее – писаные ... и другие » |
via путин – Новости Google on 2/25/13
В.Путин ужесточил наказание за незаконную добычу и сбыт янтаря.
РБК - RBC.Ru РБК 25.02.2013, Москва 12:37:20 Президент РФ Владимир Путин подписал закон о внесении изменений в Кодекс об административных правонарушениях, ужесточающих наказание за незаконную добычу и сбыт янтаря. Об этом сообщает пресс-служба Кремля. Закон принят для ... и другие » |