Wednesday, December 06, 2017

Russia likes to say this is none of The West's business. It is between the family of former Soviet states. I don't think so.

The issue facing the USA and Germany in the case of Ukraine is the blatant breaking of the treaty that secured Ukraine from having nuclear weapons. It is understandable how Russia would want Ukraine disarmed from it's former nuclear arsenal, but, to Europe it was a big sigh of relief to end Russian nuclear weapons parked on Europe's border.

When Russia acted aggressively against Ukraine after Yanukovych was ousted from power, was a violation of the treaty with the USA, Germany and Ukraine; but; also placed Europe in grave danger if Russia were to rebuild the arsenal in Ukraine.

To some, annexing Crimea and the invasion into eastern Ukraine bordering Russia was a given. But, when realizing what Russia gave up in national security by violating that particular treaty, was pure foolishness. Instead of Ukraine maintaining neutrality, as a country under treaty obligation to never rearm any nuclear capacity; President Putin thought he would simply take over Ukraine as a former state and according to him 'under siege' from militants. Putin bargained and now there is a problem and Ukraine has reconstituted it's national military with missile capacity. Additionally, there were sanctions placed again on Russia and it's oligarchs. I, personally believe, it was a huge blunder by Vladimir Putin in all fronts; national security as well as economic isolation of a BRIC country. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s (click here) invasion of Ukraine posed the most serious challenge to European security in decades. In one stroke, he thumbed his nose at the Helsinki Accords of 1975, the Paris Charter of 1990, the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, and other agreements and commitments that had kept the peace in Europe—with the exception of the Balkans—since the end of World War II. Suddenly, the post–Cold War order was torn to shreds, and many worried that if Putin’s brazen act was left unchallenged, other authoritarian regimes would think they, too, could get away with aggression against their neighbors.

On balance, the Western reaction to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was much stronger than Putin anticipated, even if it was less than what many advocated. At the time Putin made his move, few would have thought that a year later the West would have in place a harsh sanctions regime against Russian officials and entities. Russia was too big and important, both strategically and commercially—or so Putin and others assumed. But Putin left the West little choice. His thuggish treatment of his own population belied his claims that he cared about the plight of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine. His cold-blooded reaction to the tragic shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 turned around the mood in Germany, among other places, overnight.

The combination of Putin’s misplaying his hand numerous times during 2014 and the resolve of the West to take a stand against his aggression has left the Russian leader facing the gravest crisis of his presidency. There is some talk that Putin might not even serve out his current term, which runs until 2018....

The price being paid by all in the face of Russia's decision to follow the Old Communists rather than striking a new tone has been extremely tragic. The error by Russia to invade Ukraine and annex Crimea is a snowball rolling downhill and it never seems to end.

Tomorrow belongs to the next generation and refusing to allow that to occur globally has been stifling for Russia and the USA, especially when it comes to the climate crisis. President Putin has to step back from the brink of continued disaster and redefine the future of Russia to recapture it's movement toward peace. If Russia had not invaded Ukraine it could have a world stage to ridicule the USA for all it's offences as well. 

November 20, 2016
By Paul Roderick Gregory

On November 14, (click here) the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its preliminary findings that “there exists a sensible or reasonable justification for a belief that a crime [my italics] falling within the jurisdiction of the Court ‘has been or is being committed’” within the Crimean and Donbas territories of Ukraine. On release of the ICC report, Russia announced that it would withdraw from the organization because it "failed to meet the expectations to become a truly independent, authoritative international tribunal." The ICC report intensifies Russia’s isolation following the Joint Investigative Team’s (JIT) blaming Russia for shooting down MH17.

Russia thus finds itself in the questionable company of Burundi, Gabon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Columbia, and Niger as suspects in creating international armed conflicts. The ICC report demolishes Putin’s narrative of the Ukrainian conflict, which paints Russia as an innocent bystander. Following the ICC report and Russia’s angry withdrawal from the international tribunal, there should be no further reference to “civil war,” “separatists,” or “insurgents.” Instead the conflict that has claimed 9,578 lives is an “international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.” Another consequence is that Russia, as a party to the conflict, should no longer have a “peacemaker” seat in negotiations in Minsk.

The ICC report is particularly embarrassing for the Kremlin as it tries to peddle its parallel-reality version of the Ukraine conflict to the incoming Donald Trump administration....

There is a global community with rights seeking justice. It is not just East vs West in a regression to the cold war. The invasion by Russia was completely wrong and the negligence of the USA to be a moral leader on climate is egregious. Neither country are the international heroes many had hoped they would become. It is a mess, all because of the politics of each country. Not because of a moral right or wrong, but, because each politics dictates moronity.

The Magnitsky Act was enacted into law on December 14, 2012.

H.R.  6156 (112th): (click here) Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012
Who was Sergei Magnitsky? (click here) 
Mr Magnitsky was an auditor at a Moscow law firm when he discovered what he said was a massive fraud by Russian tax officials and police officers.
He uncovered the alleged theft of $230m (£150m). After reporting it to the authorities, he was himself detained in 2008 on suspicion of aiding tax evasion, and died in custody on 16 November 2009 at the age of 37.
He acted as a legal adviser for London-based Hermitage Capital Management (HCM), where colleagues insist the case against him was fabricated to make him halt his investigations.
Despite his death Russian prosecutors decided to put him on trial - a case dismissed as a "circus" by his family and by HCM founder Bill Browder, who was himself tried in absentia. Mr Browder is now a British citizen, based in London.

Sergei Magnitsky’s Torture and Murder in Pre-Trial Detention (click here)



Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Title I—Permanent normal trade relations for the Russian Federation
Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Termination of application of title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to products of the Russian Federation.
Title II—Trade enforcement measures relating to the Russian Federation
Sec. 201. Reports on implementation by the Russian Federation of obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization and enforcement actions by the United States Trade Representative.
Sec. 202. Promotion of the rule of law in the Russian Federation to support United States trade and investment.
Sec. 203. Reports on laws, policies, and practices of the Russian Federation that discriminate against United States digital trade.
Sec. 204. Efforts to reduce barriers to trade imposed by the Russian Federation.
Title III—Permanent normal trade relations for Moldova
Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. Termination of application of title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to products of Moldova.
Title IV—Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Findings; sense of Congress.
Sec. 403. Definitions.
Sec. 404. Identification of persons responsible for the detention, abuse, and death of Sergei Magnitsky and other gross violations of human rights.
Sec. 405. Inadmissibility of certain aliens.
Sec. 406. Financial measures.
Sec. 407. Report to Congress.

June 15, 2017

By Jeremy Herb

Washington — The Senate was nearly unanimous on Thursday (click here) passing a bill that would slap Russia with new sanctions and give Congress the power to review any White House attempts to roll them back.

The Senate approved the bill 98-2, with Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont voting against the measure. The bill, which includes both Russian and Iranian sanctions, now heads to the House, which still needs to pass it before it goes to President Donald Trump's desk.

The measure is widely seen as a rebuke to Trump, as it hits Russia with new sanctions to punish Moscow for its interference in US elections, as well as over Moscow's aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

The bill establishes a review process for Congress to have a say whether the White House eases Russia sanctions. It also establishes new sanctions against those conducting cyberattacks on behalf of the Russian government as well as supplying arms to Syrian President Bashar Assad, and it allows for sanctions to hit Russia's mining, metals, shipping and railways sectors....

December 6, 2017
By Philip Ewing

Sanctions on Russia were to be "ripped up" (click here) early in the Trump administration, then-national security adviser Mike Flynn said on Inauguration Day, according to new information released Wednesday.

The new details suggest that President Trump and his aides not only were amenable to new negotiations with Russia about its bilateral relationship with the U.S — despite its attack on the 2016 presidential election — but had concluded by the time they took office that they would definitely void existing sanctions.

That information comes from a letter released by the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md....

December 6, 2017
By Ken Dilanian and Natasha Lebedeva

Donald Trump Jr. asked a Russian lawyer (click here) at the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting whether she had evidence of illegal donations to the Clinton Foundation, the lawyer told the Senate Judiciary Committee in answers to written questions obtained exclusively by NBC News.

The lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, told the committee that she didn't have any such evidence, and that she believes Trump misunderstood the nature of the meeting after receiving emails from a music promoter promising incriminating information on Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump's Democratic opponent.

Once it became apparent that she did not have meaningful information about Clinton, Trump seemed to lose interest, Veselnitskaya said, and the meeting petered out....

"...So, let's give you that opportunity. Os, in June, you met with Donald Trump, Jr., with Jahred Kushner and with Paul Manafort. What was the purpose of that meeting?..."

Indeed.
                           

I believe "Time" made a magnificent choice in "Person of the Year." It doesn't end here, the momentum has to sustain to end this plague. Thank you to "Time."

December 7, 2017

The "Silence Breakers" (click here) - those who have shared their stories about sexual assault and harassment - have been named Time magazine's Person of the Year.
Numerous women have spoken out publicly since October about sexual misconduct by dozens of high-profile men in entertainment, media, business and sports. Time praised those who have given "voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing us all to stop accepting the unacceptable." The magazine's cover features Ashley Judd, Taylor Swift, Susan Fowler and others who say they have been harassed.
Time's announcement was made Wednesday on NBC's "Today" show, where longtime host Matt Lauer was fired last week amid harassment allegations. "Today" host Savannah Guthrie acknowledged Wednesday that this year's winner hits "close to home" and mentioned Lauer by name....

Donald Trump is an extremist right wing, populist that will never care about anything except his politics.

He has no capacity for anything else. I am also quite confident this is not the last time I will write this. Donald Trump is a cad, a reactionary and a moron. He loves to titillate the news media anywhere because he wants the reaction of common people. He loves to enrage others. So, why protest? The man has no power to assign Jerusalem as Israel's capital. I don't want people to die in the fact they are upset. This, in particular, is being said now because these are holy days for many people.

Jerusalem is the capital city of the Abrahamic religions. It has always been their capital city and it will always be their capital city.

Israel always says it will be the best guardian of the city to protect it and keep it open to all faiths. That is a point of view of some Israelis. That is not the point of view of all Israelis. Many of the Hebrew faith realize the significance of Jerusalem and realize it is a city of controversy. They also realize the day there are no tensions regarding Jerusalem, will be the day the people across the globe have found peace.

The issue with Jerusalem is security and to that end all faiths need to contribute to a peaceful Jerusalem.

People like Donald Trump don't even stop to realize there are Palestinians that practice the Christian faith. Jerusalem is not about one faith, it is about all the Abrahamic faiths.


December 5, 2017


Protesters across Palestine (click here) have been burning U.S. flags and images of President Donald Trump ahead of his speech later today where he is expected to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Hundreds gathered in Gaza City and Ramallah on the West Bank brandishing Palestine flags and placards protesting the anticipated announcement.
Last night, Palestinian Christians gathered in Bethlehem and burned placards featuring Trump's likeness and 'Jerusalem, Palestine's heart, is not up to negotiations,' written on them.
A senior administration official said President Trump will make the announcement at 1pm (6pm GMT) from the White House....

One might ask why Palestine is of such intense interest by most, if not all, the majority Muslim countries. After all it is another city of antiquities that can be found throughout the Middle East. There are holy cities in many places, including Iraq. There are pilgrimages, of the devout, throughout the Middle East. So, what is the big deal with Jerusalem?

Jerusalem has significance to many religions. The Palestinians are without a homeland and that is important, but, they also serve as a toe hold to the right of all faiths to come to Jerusalem in a pilgrimage during their lifetimes. Every majority Muslim country keeps focus on the Palestinians for their homeland plight, but, also because they are significant in their claim upon the land securing the future for all Muslims to come to Jerusalem.

I apologize to all the faiths interested in Jerusalem, including Israel, for the rude and uncivilized behavior of the USA President Donald Trump, especially during this holy time of year. He thinks it's cool to be an outrageous entity. He has a son-in-law with designs upon Israel. The Trump family are very media savvy people with lots of money and they think nothing of controversy. As a matter of fact they thrive on it; their businesses thrive on it. So, in a broader sense of the claims by President Trump lies the understanding, "It is good for business." He is the definition of plutocracy and not any religious faith I am aware of.

Peace.