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Tag: Putin

  • Ukraine and Russia Make Plans to Ease Tensions

    Thursday morning, a four-party meeting was held in Geneva between the United States, the European Union, Russia, and Ukraine, with the intention being to create a plan which would lead to decreased overall hostilities between Ukraine and Russia and the end of the current violence in Eastern Ukraine. After six hours of talks, the four parties have come to an agreement as to how to alleviate the Ukrainian crisis, for now.

    The agreement the parties came to had three key criteria toward ending the current hostilities:

    1) All “illegally armed groups” in eastern Ukraine must lay down their weapons and cease violent activities.

    2) All government buildings and belongings which have been seized by insurgents must be returned to their proper owners.

    3) All pro-Russian insurgents will be given amnesty by the Ukrainian government as long as no capital crimes have been committed.

    The meeting came after Ukraine launched an anti-terror campaign on Tuesday to nullify the pro-Russian hostilities taking place in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine. The move was made in response to pro-Russian sympathizers seizing governmental buildings in ten eastern Ukrainian cities.

    In spite of the peace-talk meeting on Thursday, violence from the insurgents did not cease, with 300 pro-Russians attacking a military base in Mariupol, Ukraine. This attack was coupled with a message from the chairman of the people’s council in Donetsk asking for an early referendum to occur in May to decide if the Donetsk region of Ukraine wants to be annexed to Russia as Crimea did previously.

    Perhaps of more import, however, were the statements made by Russian president Vladimir Putin Thursday morning on national television.

    Until Thursday, Putin had denied any Russian troop involvement in Crimea prior to the vote for annexation. On Thursday, Putin’s tone changed completely.

    “Of course we had our servicemen behind the self-defense units of Crimea. We had to make sure what is happening now in eastern Ukraine didn’t happen there,” Putin defended.

    Putin would go on to add, “In Crimea, the threats to the Russian-speaking population were quite real, palpable. They turned to Russia for help. Russia never planned any annexation or military actions in Crimea… But when this situation came up, when people said they wanted self-determination, that’s when we knew what we had to do. Everyone in the National Security Council agreed. Everything was done quickly and decisively. There have been no analogues in global history.”

    Despite stating that the reason for Russian troops being deployed to Crimea was to ensure a fair and proper vote, Putin condemned Ukraine’s military presence in the east and warned that Russia would not deem Ukraine’s elections for a new president valid unless their current hostilities against the Russian-sympathizers in Ukraine changes.

    If Russia does not help bring about the end of the hostilities in eastern Ukraine, the United States is prepared to enact more sanctions against the Russian government. When asked if this Geneva agreement was the last of talks between the four-parties, Secretary of State John Kerry remained pragmatic: “All of this we are convinced represents a good day’s work, but on the other hand, this day’s work has produced principles, and it has produced commitments and it has produced words on paper. And we are the first to understand and agree that words on paper will only mean what the actions taken as a result of those words produce.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Ukraine Anti-Terror Campaign Begins in East Region

    On Tuesday, acting president of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov surprised many by following-up on his ultimatum laid down against Russian sympathizers in Eastern Ukraine on Sunday. The deadline for Russian supporters to lay down their arms and submit peacefully expired at 0600 GMT Monday. When Ukrainian forces did not immediately respond with force, many in the international community believed Turchynov to be full of empty promises. Turchynov proved those naysayers wrong today.

    “The Security Council has made a decision to begin a large-scale anti-terrorist operation with participation of army forces. We’re not going to allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in Ukraine’s east,” stated Turchynov.

    The decision came as a result of pro-Russian forces gaining more and more traction in eastern Ukraine, most specifically in the Donetsk region. On Saturday, gunmen were able to take control of multiple government buildings in Slovyansk, Ukraine, a city 100 miles east of the Russian border. In all, nine cities have been taken control of by pro-Russian forces in the Donetsk region.

    “An anti-terrorist operation began in the north of Donetsk Oblast. It will be conducted step-by-step, responsibly, deliberately. The goal of these actions, I want to underline, is to defend the citizens of Ukraine,” Turchynov proclaimed to the Ukrainian parliament.

    Map of Eastern Ukrainian Activity

    Turchynov would go on to add, “The plans of the Russian Federation were and remain brutal. They want not only for Donbass (Donetsk region), but for the whole south and east of Ukraine to be engulfed by fire.” Turchynov stated that the goal of the anti-terror campaign is to “defend the citizens of Ukraine, to stop terror, stop crime and stop attempts to tear our country into pieces.”

    As it currently stands, soldiers have been transported to the Donetsk region by helicopter to attempt to recapture and hold the towns threatened by pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian soldiers stationed along the border.

    Russia, as its position was with the incidents in Crimea, denies any coercion or assistance to the insurgents in eastern Ukraine. In fact, Russian leaders went as far as to say that if Ukraine decided to use military force against those Russian sympathizers in the Donetsk region, Russia would most likely back out of talks in Geneva to discuss the Ukrainian crisis. “You can’t send in tanks and at the same time hold talks. The use of force would sabotage the opportunity offered by the four-party negotiations in Geneva,” stated Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister.

    Russian officials insisted that these uprisings “are the result of the Kiev authorities’ unwillingness and inability to take into account the interests of the Russian and Russian-speaking population.”

    President Obama and NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen believe otherwise, however.

    Anders Fogh Rasmussen reported that “We never comment on intelligence, but I think from what is visible, it is very clear that Russia’s hand is deeply engaged in this.”

    The White House and President Obama believe along the same lines, as evidenced by Obama’s call to Putin to address the situation before it gets out of hand:

    “The president emphasised that all irregular forces in the country need to lay down their arms, and he urged president Putin to use his influence with these armed, pro-Russian groups to convince them to depart the buildings they have seized… The president noted Russia’s growing political and economic isolation as a result of its actions in Ukraine and made clear that the costs Russia already has incurred will increase if those actions persist… [He] said that while he continues to believe that a diplomatic solution is still possible, it cannot succeed in an environment of Russian military intimidation on Ukraine’s borders, armed provocation within Ukraine, and escalatory rhetoric by Kremlin officials.”

    One can only hope that some solution will come as a result of the four-party talks between the US, EU, Russia and Ukraine in Geneva, Switzerland this Thursday.

    Images via Twitter (1) (2)

  • Hill Republicans: Tougher Action Needed For Putin

    A letter authored by 8 Republican congressmen on the House Armed Services Committee urged President Obama on Wednesday to take a tougher stance against Russia’s actions.

    The letter comes after tensions on Capitol Hill rose due to a report that U.S. and European security agencies estimated that Russia has deployed more than 30,000 soldiers along its border with eastern Ukraine.

    Ukrainian soldiers only just began their defeated departure from Crimea on Tuesday when the news came of more possible invasions.

    “It is time to stop speculating about possibility, and start dealing with reality,” committee chairman Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif. said, “Continued inaction by the President in the face of Mr. Putin’s invasion will make further Russian aggression more – not less – likely. Any show of resolve from the White House will have my full support.”

    According to Fox News, the authors are “gravely concerned” about this newest development and want to see a greater sharing of information between the US and its allies and the Ukraine in order to aid in preparation for more possible incursions.

    This is an especially scary situation that has even jaded veterans worried. “It’s remarkable concern,” said an anonymous source. “There are senior people here are more concerned than I have ever seen them.”

    Another source said that information that flooded Capitol Hill Wednesday “reflects a deteriorating situation which prompted very serious concern.”

    “There is deep apprehension that Moscow may invade eastern and southern Ukraine, pressing west to Transdniestria, and also seek land grabs in the Baltics,” the letter says.

    NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander General Philip Breedlove will be on Capitol Hill Thursday to speak to lawmakers from both the House and Senate in closed meetings about this terrifying possibility that Moscow would move to expand its territory by annexing other lands in the near future.

    Will this latest development spur the administration to get tougher on Russia? Or will they continue to threaten impotent sanctions? I suppose only time will tell.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Group of 8 Now Group of 7: Russia’s Out

    Group of 8 Now Group of 7: Russia’s Out

    7 members of the Group of 8 who were supposed to meet in Sochi, Russia in for the G-8 Summit in June met for two hours behind closed doors today. They decided that it would be relocated to Brussels and that Russia is no longer invited until their government changes course, according to the New York Times.

    A statement from the Group of 7 read, “This group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities. Russia’s actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them. Under these circumstances, we will not participate in the planned Sochi Summit. We will suspend our participation in the G-8 until Russia changes course.”

    The course they wish to be changed is, of course, President Vladimir Putin’s hasty annexation of Crimea in the past few weeks. This is the latest in a series of steps that the group has taken and will continue to take to further isolate and punish Russia for its actions.

    “We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation,” the leaders’ statement said.

    Russia’s economy may not be the only one affected. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ready to take steps, along with several other nations, that may hurt their own economies somewhat. But if it puts the brakes on Russia, she says it would be worth it.

    Last week she stated that “we are ready at any time to introduce phase-3 measures if there is a worsening of the situation,” referring to the so-called third stage of sanctions which could very likely be harmful to her own country.

    President Obama made clear the stance of the United States and our allies on Monday. He expressed solidarity with Ukraine, saying “Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people,”

    “We’re united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far,” Obama said, adding “the growing sanctions would bring significant consequences to the Russian economy.”

    So far the threat of sanctions against Russia have done little to nothing in halting the actions of Vladimir Putin. Time will tell how far these sanctions must go in order to get a satisfactory reaction.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Jimmy Carter Thwarts NSA, Uses Post Office

    Jimmy Carter Thwarts NSA, Uses Post Office

    Jimmy Carter, in an interview for NBC’s Meet the Press, says he uses snail mail when communicating with foreign leaders. He is pretty sure that the NSA is spying on him, a fear that is not unfounded, according to Fox News.

    “I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored,” the former Democratic president said. “And when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write the letter myself, put it in the post office and mail it, because I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored.”

    Why the 89-year-old former president and founder of The Carter Center would need to be monitored, I don’t know, but the actions taken by the Obama administration and the NSA just don’t sit well with him. He said the practice of spying on American citizens’ emails, internet use, and cell phone calls has been “extremely liberalized and I think abused by our own intelligence agencies.”

    He also admitted that Mr. Obama didn’t bother to consult him when dealing with Russian President Vladmir Putin, even though he has direct experience which could have been helpful and has been consulted by former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan on dealing with “unsavory characters”.

    In fact, in 1980 Carter boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow because Russia had just invaded Afghanistan. But he feels that he knows the reason, and because of its sensitive nature, he understands Obama’s reluctance to consult him, according to NBC.

    He said,“I think the problem was that — in dealing with the issue of peace in between Israel and Egypt — the Carter Center has taken a very strong and public position of equal treatment between the Palestinians and the Israelis. And I think this was a sensitive area in which the president didn’t want to be involved.”

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Vladimar Putin Annexes Crimea, Will He Stop There?

    Russian President Vladimir Putin completed the annexation of Crimea on Friday, signing the peninsula into Russia. In a bold move against warnings from the U.S. and European Union, Putin is not backing down.

    Putin said he saw no need to further retaliate against the newest U.S. sanctions, braving a newly conciliatory tone and reflecting an apparent attempt to contain one of the worst crises in Russia’s relations with the West since the Cold War.

    Could it be that Putin is just an opportunist, taunting the U.S., or a clever strategist with the longer-term goal of restoring a greater Russia? As one observer put it, is he “drunk on power” and oblivious to sanctions?

    There were some clues as to Putin’s intentions during his speech to the Duma this week, when he described the fall of the Soviet Union as unfortunate, stating it separated Russians. “The Russian nation became one of the biggest, if not the biggest ethnic group in the world to be divided by borders,” he said.

    “It was only when Crimea ended up as part of a different country that Russia realized that it was not simply robbed, it was plundered.” He went on to say, “if you compress the spring all the way to its limit, it will snap back hard.”

    But is he just after Crimea, or is he just “power crazy” and Ukraine just the tip of the iceberg?

    Thursday, Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that Americans should turn their focus to Ukraine and away from the missing flight MH370 news, as Russian President Vladimir Putin considers himself “a new czar.”

    “Those of us that have dealt with Putin know how he thinks, and he really is nostalgic and believes that he’s some kind of a new czar,” Albright said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

    She said the U.S. must be “more vigilant” and called the situation in Ukraine a “game-changer” in U.S.-Russian relations. She explained that Americans’ “very short attention span.”

    “I know we’re all focused on the airplane, but the bottom line is: This has really, truly long-term implications, and we all need to focus on how to deal with Ukraine, how to deal with U.S.-European relations,” Albright said. “Then focus on our relations with Russia. Turning point.”

    Her comments led to her stressing that in order to stop Putin, there is a need for military intervention, although not necessarily by sending in troops.

    “When people talk about military force, they always think boots on the ground. And there are obviously other ways to think about military force,” Albright said. “I do think that NATO, and through a variety of exercises and support, I think that there is a way that that tool has to also be on the table. And vigilance.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • US Imposes Sanctions on Russia Due to Crimean Crisis

    Monday morning, the White House announced its second set of sanctions imposed against Russian and Crimean government officials and “cronies” due to the recent referendum passed in Crimea announcing the region’s intentions to separate from Ukraine and join with Russia.

    President Obama has signed an executive order which will block the financial assets and suspend any travel visas for certain Russian officials deemed to be supporting actions detrimental to Ukraine’s international sovereignty.

    In all, 11 Russian and Crimean officials were targeted by the sanctions:

    – Vladislav Surkov: Presidential Aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
    – Sergey Glazyev: Presidential Adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
    – Leonid Slutsky: State Duma deputy; Chairman of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration, and Relations with Compatriots
    – Andrei Klishas: Member of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Federation Council Committee of Constitutional Law, Judicial, and Legal Affairs, and the Development of Civil Society.
    – Valentina Matviyenko: Head of the Federation Council
    – Dmitry Rogozin: Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
    – Yelena Mizulina: State Duma Deputy.
    – Sergey Aksyonov: Interim Prime Minister of Crimea
    – Vladimir Konstantinov: Speaker of the newly-formed Crimean parliament
    – Viktor Medvedchuk: Leader of Ukrainian Choice, a pro-Russian Ukrainian civilian group.
    – Viktor Yanukovych: Former Ukrainian President

    “We have fashioned these sanctions to impose costs on named individuals who wield influence in the Russian government and those responsible for the deteriorating situation in Ukraine. We stand ready to use these authorities in a direct and targeted fashion as events warrant,” stated a release from the White House regarding the sanctions.

    The sanctions come on the heels of a referendum passed on Sunday in which 97 percent of Crimeans voted to separate from Ukraine and join Russia. The referendum also established an independent Crimean government separate from the interim government currently functioning in Ukraine.

    Following the passing of the referendum on Sunday, President Obama called Vladimir Putin to address the illegality of such a referendum being passed and supported by the Russian government. The reasons for the call were to remind Russia that its actions were in obvious violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and “that a diplomatic resolution cannot be achieved while Russian military forces continue their incursions into Ukrainian territory and that the large-scale Russian military exercises on Ukraine’s borders only exacerbate the tension.”

    The territorial dispute over Crimea is a fall-out from the tension between Ukraine and Russia following the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych, the former President of Ukraine and pro-Russian supporter, due to Yanukovych’s failure to sign an economic deal partnering with the EU and instead succumbing to Russian coercion.

    Following said ousting and the establishment of an interim Ukrainian government, Russia started sending troops to Crimea in order to “protect” ethnic Russians who were supposedly being persecuted by Ukrainian nationals. As it stands, no evidence has been given to support such a claim.

    Image via YouTube

  • Hitler Remark: Clinton Sparks Uproar

    Hillary Clinton has done it again, just as her “Benghazi” remark sparked conflict, she has caused in uproar in the political realm by a comment she made about Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    In reference to the current conflict in Ukraine, Clinton inadvertently referred to the moves of Putin resembling the actions of the Nazi dictator, Adolph Hitler leading up to World War II. Her mention was more a reference to history than a slam of Putin.

    “Now if this sounds familiar, it’s what Hitler did back in the ’30s,” Clinton said, according to audio from the Long Beach Press-Telegram. “All the Germans that were — you know, the ethnic Germans, the Germans by ancestry — who were in places like Czechoslovakia and Romania and other places, you know, Hitler kept saying: ‘They’re not being treated right. I must go and protect my people.’ And that’s what’s gotten everybody so nervous.”

    Apparently the former secretary of state’s controversial comparison caused quick strikes and rebukes from U.S.-Russia policy experts, even some who served under her husband, former president Bill Clinton, and in between all of the conflict, she received rare support from the unlikely supportive Republicans in Congress.

    However, after the Hitler mention at a private fundraiser Tuesday, Clinton stood by her remarks on Wednesday saying she was merely mentioning the similarities between Putin’s claim that he was protecting Russian-speaking minorities in Crimea and Hitler’s advance into other countries such as Poland and Czechoslovakia to protect German minorities.

    “I just want people to have a little historic perspective,” Clinton said during a question-and-answer session at UCLA. “I’m not making a comparison certainly, but I am recommending that we perhaps can learn from this tactic that has been used before.”

    Clinton added that Putin’s goal is “to re-Sovietize Russia’s periphery” and said he is “a tough guy with a thin skin,” something she is entitled to comment on because of her personal dealings with him. She said further, of Putin:

    Putin is a man “who believes his mission is to restore Russian greatness that includes reasserting control of what used to be countries under the former Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, she said.

    “When he looks at Ukraine, he sees a place that he believes is by its very nature part of Mother Russia.”

    Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, said Clinton’s Hitler comment signaled she was trying to “stage manage” the Russia issue.

    “Hillary’s too smart to actually believe that Putin’s actions are remotely close to anything that Hitler did,” Bremmer said. “The only reason she would say that is that she believes she was vulnerable in having been the architect of the failed ‘reset’ and wants to show that she’s harder-line than anybody else.”

    Kathryn Stoner, a Russia expert at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, said she considered Clinton’s comparison between Putin and Hitler’s tactics “a bit of a stretch,” in part because Putin “doesn’t look like he is intent on spreading across the Ukraine and permanently occupying this area.”

    In a delicate situation “I don’t think it’s helpful on either side to say things like this, but in these crises it happens,” Stoner added.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Vladimir Luxuria, Gay-Rights Activist, Detained at Sochi

    Vladimir Luxuria, former Communist MP for Italy and current television personality, was detained twice by Russian police for her gay-rights activism in Sochi.

    Her first detainment came on Sunday after holding up a sign in the Olympic Park which read “Gay is OK” in Russian. According to Imma Battaglia, director of Italy’s Gay Project action group, Luxuria’s arrest on Sunday was no walk in the park: “The arrest by the agents was brutal and aggressive. No one spoke English. She now finds herself alone in a room with neon lights shone into her face presumably in a state of arrest.”

    Battaglia’s report was corroborated by Luxuria, who stated, ”It’s not nice to be all alone in a room with a neon light not knowing what’s going on.”

    Despite being reported by multiple sources, Russian police deny detaining Luxuria on Monday due to no formal records of such an occurrence.

    While Luxuria may have not enjoyed staying in a neon-lit room all by herself, it was not enough to deter her from protesting once again. Luxuria was arrested for a second time on Monday after planning to attend a hockey game while wearing a rainbow headdress and sporting a gay-pride flag. Before heading to the game, Luxuria was shouting “Gay is OK” for approximately 2 hours outside of Shayba Arena.

    When asked why she continued to protest at the games, Luxuria responded, “I think it is important …(to have) the opportunity to talk internationally about these things because otherwise these things happen in Russia and nobody knows, nobody cares. They think: ‘Well, it’s not in our country, it’s far away, it’s in Russia, who cares?’”

    Protests at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi stem from a recent bill passed by the Russian government which makes it illegal to produce propaganda for gay-rights in the presence of children or if it will be found offensive by particular religious groups. Due to this law and International Olympic Committee (IOC) laws outlawing political propaganda at the Olympic Games, the IOC supported Luxuria’s removal from the stadium on Monday: ”I know her stated aim to demonstrate in the venue and I believe after a couple of hours when she finally got to the venue I think she was escorted from there peacefully, not detained,” stated IOC spokesman Mark Adams.

    Even though she has already been detained twice, one should not expect Luxuria to stop protesting anytime soon: “I think this is so important. For me, I’ve experienced in my childhood what it means to be beaten up or abused for the fact that I’m transgender. If I stop wearing the colours of the rainbow, just because somebody took away a flag from me, that means that these people win.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Sochi Olympics Not Winning Over Americans, Poll Says

    According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 4 of every 10 Americans have unfavorable impressions of the upcoming Winter Olympiad in Sochi. Half of respondents had a favorable impression and 10 percent didn’t care either way. In comparison, the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics saw 72 percent approval and only 16 percent unfavorable impressions.

    This lukewarm reception likely stems from a mishmash of sources, from the mindboggling price tag (over $50 billion), concerns over security, and President Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay remarks and legislation.

    The Washington Post-ABC poll numbers are backed up by a Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday that showed a plurality of Americans believing that holding the Olympics in Russia was a “bad decision.” Respondents in that poll overwhelmingly cited security concerns.

    Fifty-three percent have favorable views on Russia’s anti-terrorism efforts, a tepid but generally positive assessment is strongly connected to how the games are viewed overall. Those who view Russia’s efforts on terrorism favorably likewise tend to see the games favorably by a 68 to 25 percent margin; those who have unfavorable impressions invert those figures, with 68 percent unfavorable to 29 percent favorable.

    American liberals are least enthusiastic—with only 44 percent favorable impressions—likely due to a series of rows over gay rights. Moderates weighed in at 57 percent and conservatives at 51. So, essentially, we’ve finally found a salve for American partisan bickering—everybody can dislike the Olympics at roughly the same proportion.

    But while Sochi lags well behind London in American hearts and minds, pollsters provided a frame of reference that takes out some of the sting. While Americans are collectively “meh”ing over Sochi, they gave President Putin a far worse evaluation at only 27 percent favorable impressions. And who do we hate even more than Putin? Tonya Harding, clinging to relevance in 2014.

    Here’s a sampling of Olympic-related poll numbers over the past 20 years:

      Olympic swimming (2012) 79% favorable, 16% unfavorable
      London Olympics (2012) 72% favorable, 16% unfavorable
      Nancy Kerrigan (1994) 54% favorable, 38% unfavorable
      Sochi Olympics (2014) 50% favorable, 40% unfavorable
      Dressage (2012) 47% favorable, 27% unfavorable
      Vladimir Putin (2014) 27% favorable, 58% unfavorable
      Tonya Harding (1994) 10% favorable, 78% unfavorable

    So apparently Americans disliked Tonya Harding as much as they liked Ryan Lochte. Go figure.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Winter Olympics Will See The Least American Visitors

    As we’re weeks away from this year’s Olympic games, it looks like Sochi will see the least amount of American spectators visiting an Olympic games in the last 20 years. US tour operators blame poor reception on several factors: terrorism fears, lack of hostels and resorts, and the difficulty of obtaining a travel visa to Russia. Now, there’s even been a travel alert issued, after two suicide bombings in nearby Volgograd killed 30 people.

    It’s been reported that Russia, who was expecting to do well with ticket sales, still has 30% of tickets unsold for the games. (The last Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, sold 97% of their tickets.) Despite Putin’s promise that the games will be safe, along with thousands of police and security patrolling the area, the threats against the games feel very real and possible to many spectators.

    ”It doesn’t take an expert to look at that region and say the Olympics will be such a large target that insurgents will not try to do something,” says a security analyst for NBC. ”There has been an average of 10 to 15 attacks in North Caucasus every month in recent years. It’s just now the press is paying more attention to it.”

    Lt. Col. Robert Schaefer, a who wrote on the conflict happening in the North Caucasus, says the biggest concern should be in the construction workers: “many of them foreigners, they could have taken bribes to look the other way while explosives were buried or caches of weapons stored in the frenzied buildup of facilities over the last few years.”

    The games were decided to be held in Sochi back in 2007, when a personal appearance by Putin, selling his scenic snowy mountains and resort town by the Black Lake, convinced the committee on the location over South Korea and Austria. Now it seems up to Putin onto hold that promise. Schaefer also says that this is Putin’s chance to show that’s he’s the president that can tame the rebellion. ‘What could sell the world more than anything else is he’s the guy who finally did what all Russian Czars couldn’t – he tamed the Caucasus,” Schaefer says. ”You have a large Olympics and you pull it off without incident, then you demonstrate to everybody that you’ve beaten them.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Anna Chapman: Sexy Ex-Spy Launches Fashion Line

    Bombshell and former Russian spy Anna Chapman is now launching a signature line of dresses to be sold in stores around the country.

    The clothes, which can be seen on Chapman’s website, will go on sale online in February and then in stores.

    Her interest in a clothes brand “all began three years and three months ago when Anna returned to Motherland after jail in a prison shirt,” said a statement.

    “She disliked these alien clothes and Anna went on to search for a Russian dress that would please her soul. She kept looking for it but did not find.”

    Chapman, born Anna Vasil’yevna Kushchyenko, was returned to Russia after a prisoner swap in 2010 and she became quite the sexy celebrity, attending and appearing in fashion shows.

    The daughter of an alleged KGB officer, the budding fashion designer was arrested in New York on accusations of being part of a network of sleeper agents.

    On her return to Russia, the red-headed beauty was greeted by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin who took part in some patriotic singing with him.

    Today, Chapman works as an advisor to the president of FundServiceBank and is busy hosting a television show about the supernatural. She has also tried her hand at politics and has been photographed in risque poses for men’s magazines.

    While her fame isn’t what it used to be, she can often be seen at film premieres and other star-studded events.

    Image via Wikimedia

  • Maria Alyokhina Unimpressed with Pussy Riot Amnesty

    Maria Alyokhina, 1/5 of the group that may hold The Most Edgiest Name of All Time, has wasted no time in speaking her mind after being released from jail this Monday.

    Alyokhina and fellow Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich all received two-year sentences for their profanity-riddled “punk prayer” at a Moscow cathedral in February 2012. Samutsevich was soon released, but the remaining two have just received their freedom papers earlier than scheduled by way of a recently adopted amnesty bill that frees non-violent offenders and mothers.

    This act by Pussy Riot’s longtime enemy, Russian president Vladimir Putin, does not impress Alyokhina at all– ITN London News tells us that she told Russian television stations that she would have turned down the offer of amnesty and served out the remainder of her sentence if she was given the choice.

    Maria Alyokhina is a 25-year-old mother who once attended the Institute of Journalism and Creative Writing. A committed vegetarian, the pleasant-faced, blonde rioter reportedly passed out from hunger during the trials instead of eating non-vegan jail fare. Imprisonment has now exposed her to the gritty experience of regular body examinations performed by Russian guards; during her interview she made sure to voice the need for prison authorities to be punished for exposing women to “endless humiliations” multiple times a week.

    With three members of the group now released and two others presumably free (authorities could never find them), it looks as if Pussy Riot’s anti-Putin movement will resume right where it was halted. Time will only tell if imprisonment has convinced them to attempt tactics that will get their point across without getting arrested.

    Image via Youtube

  • Russia Boosts Ukraine Economy with $15 Billion Loan

    Over the past month, Ukraine has faced its largest series of anti-government protests since the Orange Revolution in 2004, where thousands of citizens protested what appeared to be a corrupt and fraudulent presidential election. This series of protests are not the result of election fraud, but rather outrage against current president Viktor Yanukovych and his decision to not sign the Association Agreement with the EU, an agreement that would cement a cooperative relationship between EU member-states and the non-EU state of Ukraine.

    On Tuesday, protesters were given even more fuel to add to their ire as Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to give Ukraine $15 billion in order to help bolster their struggling economy. As it currently stands, Ukraine has $9 billion in sovereign debt to repay by the end of 2014.

    The $15 billion was not the end of the agreement, however. Putin also stated that Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy service, would reduce the price of gas sold to Ukraine from $400 per 1,000 cubic meters to $268.50. This deal may be just as important as they $15 billion seeing as winters in Ukraine are harsh and the grand majority of their gas comes from Russia.

    Much of the apprehension created in potentially signing the Association Agreement with the EU stemmed from the fact that much of Ukraine’s economy is dependent upon goods and services being exchanged with Russia. Throughout this ordeal, Russia has coerced Ukraine into siding with them through imposed sanctions and future threats of withholding crucial goods to Ukraine, such as natural gas.

    While this $15 billion deal will do wonders toward helping Ukraine repair its economic woes, many citizens in Ukraine are still calling for new leadership. The protesters do not want Ukraine to devolve back to the days of Ukraine being a Soviet satellite-state, but rather want the country to become more integrated into Western Europe and seek its own autonomy.

    The protesters also fear what caveats come with the agreement between Yanukovych and Putin, despite Putin’s claim that “… this is not tied to any conditions … I want to calm you down – we have not discussed the issue of Ukraine’s accession to the customs union at all today.”

    Vitali Klitschko, head of the opposition Udar party, parliament member, and former WBC heavyweight champion, has publicly voiced his frustrations with this agreement, stating, “We are sure that everything is already decided: that Yanukovych will bring quite good loans, financial support, a new gas price. The question is, in exchange for what?”

    Most Ukrainians would likely suspect that the cost of this agreement will be that Ukraine will have to join Russia’s newly founded customs union, Russia’s response to the EU. If this is the case, Ukraine will likely not see stability for quite some time. Police have been unable to move protesters from Independence Square, and Parliament has been unable to resume duties due to being blocked by said protesters. The vehemence of the opposition movement, coupled with the facts that Yanukovych has stated that “Ukraine’s trade with Russia makes it impossible for us to act in any other way. There is no alternative to this,” and that the IMF and EU were not able to come up with the $20 billion Ukraine said it would need to support their economy once in a relationship with the EU, makes the stalemate unlikely to change anytime in the near future.

    Image via YouTube

  • Ann Coulter: Neocon bomb thrower thinks Obama is “Monkey”?

    Yesterday evening, the popular neoconservative commentator and author Ann Coulter felt impulsive enough to call Barack Obama a “monkey” who is apparently being danced around by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    To put it mildly, Coulter is not new to controversy. Like a precision clock, she has the remarkable penchant for saying something so outrageous every month that you can almost bet your mortgage on it.

    If it weren’t for Coulter’s academic accomplishments – she is an alumnus of Cornell University and Michigan Law School – her wildly successful writing career, and vast knowledge base, one could almost write her off as a crackpot venting her spleen on live TV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTxLfSw8Gvc

    But given the huge audience she commands through her columns, books and TV appearances, the shock value her comments represent cannot be taken lightly.

    Most of us who are aware of the dark history of slavery across the world, know that certain words and phrases carry an extraordinary degree of offensiveness to certain races or ethnic groups. The word “monkey” when used to describe a Black person, carries a special connotation which is deeply revolting to say the least.

    Outrageous as it may be, do such remarks serve Coulter’s political cause well? Her earlier twitter comment on Syria sounded vastly more normal compared to her TV shock-jock theatrics, where she made a valid point about American diplomacy and military involvement in Syria:

    Perhaps a more poignant assertion can be made here that the level of discourse across the political spectrum, from far right to far left, has taken the form of verbal twerking, where political points, viewership volume, and TV ratings are scored based on how much outrage, titillation and drool it can create.

    While the casualties in Syria are mounting to a level not seen since Iraq war, the Dollar is on life support thanks to endless wars, “free” trade, and inflationary printing, national debt is spiraling out of control, Medicaid is delivering half of all babies in America, the last thing we need is to distract America with yet another verbal “twerk” that causes gnashing of teeth, raised eyebrows, flurry of condemnations throughout social media, but little thoughtful debate, introspection and decision making.

    [image via wikipedia]

  • Bloodhound Gang: To Russia with hate?

    Bloodhound Gang: To Russia with hate?

    What is the best way to lose friends, not influence people, and be hated and reviled in return? Disrespect their family, their heritage, their country and their flag.

    And this is exactly what the rock band Bloodhound Gang did in spades when they desecrated the Ukrainian and Russian flags at concerts in Kiev and Odessa during the months of July and August this year.

    As if the problems involving Syria, the Middle-East, nuclear arms control, struggle for oil and gas in Central-Asia, State Department involvement in Russian democratic process, is not enough to throw Russo-American relations into the gutter, along comes band member Jared Hasselhoff with his antics involving the Russian flag.

    What is so offensive that Jared did with the flag in the storied Slavic city of Odessa? Pissing on the flag, and then a few days later at another concert, pushing the flag into the front of his pants and pulling it out of the back! How cool is that?

    Imagine some Russian or Ukrainian rock or pop band comes to America at the invitation of American fans and starts pissing, stomping and wiping the buttocks with the Star-Spangled Banner! Not cool at all. We would be raving mad, leave the concert immediately, and even do some pretty nasty things to those responsible for disrespecting our great nation.

    Bloodhound Gang, which gained notoriety for their outrageous music videos including Along Comes Mary and The Bad Touch have now been named as suspects in a criminal case in Russia for “inciting hatred in an organized group,” a charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years.

    Matters have gotten so out of hand, that last month Ukrainian Premier condemned Bloodhound Gang’s actions and sought a lifetime ban against the group ever entering or performing on Ukrainian soil.

    US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul also condemned the band’s actions to assuage Russian feelings and minimize any backlash. The question we have to ask is, what prompted Bloodhound Gang to do what it did?

    Is it about time for them to get some psychological counseling?

    [images via twitter]

  • Lena Dunham Compared To Putin With Obama Video

    Lena Dunham, who created and stars in the highly controversial show “Girls”, has made a little pro-Obama video which is garnering massive attention, mostly because in it, she says Obama was her “first”.

    She’s referring, of course, to the first time she voted. The video is an obvious tongue-in-cheek gesture aimed at college-aged females–her show’s demographic–in order to get them into voting booths. With so many young women siding with President Obama’s stance on important issues like women’s healthcare/birth control, gay marriage, and the Lily Ledbetter Act, it’s more important than ever for them to get out and show their support on Election Day.

    The ad–which Obama has nothing to do with–is drawing a lot of criticism, however, with TheRightScoop calling it “disgusting” and comparing it to an ad put out by Putin.

    Talk about desperation. They’ve finally sunken to a new low trying to get the youth vote by comparing voting for the first time to having sex for the first time. “You’re first time shouldn’t be with just anybody. You wanna do it with a great guy…” Ugh.

  • Russia Is Sending A Man To The Moon

    Russia Is Sending A Man To The Moon

    Russia is sending a man to the moon after it has been fairly non-existent in the space program. They have taken a back seat ever since the United States sent a man to the moon in July of 1969. When Neil Armstrong touched down, it effectively ended the US-Soviet space race.

    But now we have news coming out that A spacecraft will “conduct a demonstrative manned circumlunar test flight with the subsequent landing of cosmonauts on [the Moon’s] surface and their return to Earth” by 2030, according to a leaked strategy document from Russia’s space agency, Roskosmos.

    The push from world leaders has increased in the past few years. National pride is a growing problem and the space race seems to be a way to have their citizens believe in their country again. George W Bush wanted to have astronauts back on the moon by 2020, Barack Obama wants astronauts on Mars by 2030, Both India and China have planned manned moon missions by 2020 and 2025 respectively.

    “Russia should not limit itself to the role of an international space ferryman.” Mr Putin said, piloted space missions should be revived by 2018, when the first flights are expected from Vostochny, a $13.5 billion (£8.6 billion) spaceport being built in Russia’s far east.

    Maybe they won’t even have to use rocket fuel, Putin can just take off his shirt and hurl the rockets into space.