Monday, April 20, 2015 6:36:12 AM
Russian Opposition Office Raided as Vladimir Putin Talks to Nation
.. lol .. forget about Putin's disappearance .. his appearance in this photo is odd .. did he swallow a fly, or is he thinking of swallowing a country? ..
World | Reuters | Updated: April 17, 2015 01:39 IST
File Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Press Trust of India)
Moscow: Russian security services raided the Moscow office of the opposition Open Russia group on Thursday, activists said, just as President Vladimir Putin held his annual televised phone-in.
Opposition members said on Twitter that law enforcement officials, some wearing black ski-masks, seized computers and files from the office of Open Russia, founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an ex-oil tycoon who spent a decade in jail over tax evasion and fraud after falling out with the Kremlin, and who now lives in exile.
Related
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US Military Option 'Old Habit That Dies Hard': Iran Foreign Minister
Russia's President Vladimir Putin Says Ready to Work With United States: Report
Putin's phone-in was dominated by questions over Russia's lagging economy, social issues and foreign policy, with just two opposition-related questions, about the killing of prominent Kremlin critic, Boris Nemtsov, in February.
Putin's critics hold him politically responsible for the killing of Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister who became opposition leader and was gunned down just outside the Kremlin.
They say the death was a result of a Kremlin-led campaign to stifle dissent and persecute Putin critics. Putin has called the killing "tragic and shameful" and urged law enforcement bodies to investigate the case in full.
The Kremlin denies clamping down on the opposition and Putin said on Thursday his critics had the right to run in elections, including parliamentary polls due next year.
But opposition parties have often been refused registration to run in elections during Putin's 15-year rule and some opposition figures have faced court cases or jail sentences preventing them from seeking office.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
Story First Published: April 17, 2015 01:39 IST
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/russian-opposition-office-raided-as-vladimir-putin-talks-to-nation-755649
===
.. he's back to his old look in this one ..
President Vladimir Putin’s Dangerous Moves
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDAPRIL 16, 2015
President Vladimir Putin of Russia has added new, chilling nuclear threats to his aggression in Ukraine, where 6,000 people have been killed in a war with Russian-backed separatists. Mr. Putin wants to expand his country’s influence and standing, but his alarming behavior has estranged Russia from most other major powers, damaged its economy and narrowed its future options.
Even for Mr. Putin, the recent nuclear threats have set a new benchmark for hostility in the conflict he has ignited with the West. Two weeks ago, The Times of London reported .. http://news.err.ee/v/International/cbe4d3fa-960c-4331-8b4f-2fec20ac70d5 .. on a meeting between Russian generals and American officials in which the Russians threatened a “spectrum of responses from nuclear to non-military” if NATO moved more military forces into the Baltic States.
Last month, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, Mikhail Vanin .. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/22/us-denmark-russia-idUSKBN0MI0ML20150322 , warned that Danish warships “will be targets for Russia’s nuclear weapons” if Denmark follows through on its expressed interest in joining NATO’s missile defense system.
Vladimir Putin Credit Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti
And in remarks aired on March 15, Mr. Putin .. http://time.com/3745522/vladimir-putin-russia-nukes-crimea-ukraine/ .. said he was ready to bring nuclear weapons into a state of alert last year when Russia was in the process of invading and annexing Crimea. Some Russian officials have also hinted at the possibility of reintroducing nuclear weapons to Crimea, which has been free of them for two decades.
American officials say they have seen no evidence that Russia has actually begun to reposition or make ready a nuclear arsenal that still contains thousands of weapons. But even if the Russian threats are loose talk to intimidate adversaries or curry favor with nationalists at home, they reflect a cynical disregard for Russia’s post-Cold War role as a partner with America in arms control treaties designed to discourage the spread of nuclear weapons. These threats inevitably raise tensions and could increase the chances of deadly miscalculations.
Mr. Putin has crossed other lines, including sending military aircraft unannounced into international airspace over Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and the North Sea. On April 7, a Russian fighter jet intercepted .. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/04/13/world/europe/13reuters-usa-russia-intercept.html .. an American spy plane over the Baltic Sea north of Poland; the Pentagon complained the Russians acted in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner.”
There have been scores of similar episodes over the past year as NATO increased its air patrols in response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
The Russian leader’s decision to proceed with the long-delayed sale .. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/europe/putin-lifts-ban-on-russian-missile-sales-to-iran.html .. of an S-300 missile defense system to Iran was another bad choice. Experts say the system does not threaten Israel, which has nuclear weapons and the best military arsenal in the Middle East, but the move could make it harder for the Obama administration to get congressional support for a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Mr. Putin’s aggression is rooted in intense nationalism, which plays very well to his people and fuels the war against Ukraine. Despite a cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk in February, Russia has continued to arm, train and direct separatist rebels. Fighting has surged .. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32296796 .. and there are grave concerns that Mr. Putin is planning an offensive to seize more territory in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s bellicose behavior is a serious test for NATO, which has sometimes shown disturbing divisions. The Europeans and the United States have to stay united in maintaining sanctions on Russia and in continuing air patrols and training exercises, as it becomes increasingly difficult to predict Mr. Putin’s next move.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/opinion/president-vladimir-putins-dangerous-moves.html?_r=1
===
Baltic states wary as Russia takes more strident tone with neighbours
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, anxious that battle of wits with Kremlin may escalate, look to Nato for back-up pledge
A Stalin monument in Grutas park, Druskininkai, recalls Lithuania's past as a
Soviet republic. Photograph: Alamy
[ to end ]
Nato's stance in the Baltics may have fended off the threat of "little green men" for now, but Moscow's battle for influence is far from over.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/18/baltic-states-wary-russia-strident-estonia-latvia-lithuania-nato
.. lol .. forget about Putin's disappearance .. his appearance in this photo is odd .. did he swallow a fly, or is he thinking of swallowing a country? ..
World | Reuters | Updated: April 17, 2015 01:39 IST
File Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Press Trust of India)
Moscow: Russian security services raided the Moscow office of the opposition Open Russia group on Thursday, activists said, just as President Vladimir Putin held his annual televised phone-in.
Opposition members said on Twitter that law enforcement officials, some wearing black ski-masks, seized computers and files from the office of Open Russia, founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an ex-oil tycoon who spent a decade in jail over tax evasion and fraud after falling out with the Kremlin, and who now lives in exile.
Related
France, Russia Negotiating Solution to Frozen Warship Deal: Francois Hollande
US Military Option 'Old Habit That Dies Hard': Iran Foreign Minister
Russia's President Vladimir Putin Says Ready to Work With United States: Report
Putin's phone-in was dominated by questions over Russia's lagging economy, social issues and foreign policy, with just two opposition-related questions, about the killing of prominent Kremlin critic, Boris Nemtsov, in February.
Putin's critics hold him politically responsible for the killing of Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister who became opposition leader and was gunned down just outside the Kremlin.
They say the death was a result of a Kremlin-led campaign to stifle dissent and persecute Putin critics. Putin has called the killing "tragic and shameful" and urged law enforcement bodies to investigate the case in full.
The Kremlin denies clamping down on the opposition and Putin said on Thursday his critics had the right to run in elections, including parliamentary polls due next year.
But opposition parties have often been refused registration to run in elections during Putin's 15-year rule and some opposition figures have faced court cases or jail sentences preventing them from seeking office.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
Story First Published: April 17, 2015 01:39 IST
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/russian-opposition-office-raided-as-vladimir-putin-talks-to-nation-755649
===
.. he's back to his old look in this one ..
President Vladimir Putin’s Dangerous Moves
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDAPRIL 16, 2015
President Vladimir Putin of Russia has added new, chilling nuclear threats to his aggression in Ukraine, where 6,000 people have been killed in a war with Russian-backed separatists. Mr. Putin wants to expand his country’s influence and standing, but his alarming behavior has estranged Russia from most other major powers, damaged its economy and narrowed its future options.
Even for Mr. Putin, the recent nuclear threats have set a new benchmark for hostility in the conflict he has ignited with the West. Two weeks ago, The Times of London reported .. http://news.err.ee/v/International/cbe4d3fa-960c-4331-8b4f-2fec20ac70d5 .. on a meeting between Russian generals and American officials in which the Russians threatened a “spectrum of responses from nuclear to non-military” if NATO moved more military forces into the Baltic States.
Last month, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, Mikhail Vanin .. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/22/us-denmark-russia-idUSKBN0MI0ML20150322 , warned that Danish warships “will be targets for Russia’s nuclear weapons” if Denmark follows through on its expressed interest in joining NATO’s missile defense system.
Vladimir Putin Credit Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti
And in remarks aired on March 15, Mr. Putin .. http://time.com/3745522/vladimir-putin-russia-nukes-crimea-ukraine/ .. said he was ready to bring nuclear weapons into a state of alert last year when Russia was in the process of invading and annexing Crimea. Some Russian officials have also hinted at the possibility of reintroducing nuclear weapons to Crimea, which has been free of them for two decades.
American officials say they have seen no evidence that Russia has actually begun to reposition or make ready a nuclear arsenal that still contains thousands of weapons. But even if the Russian threats are loose talk to intimidate adversaries or curry favor with nationalists at home, they reflect a cynical disregard for Russia’s post-Cold War role as a partner with America in arms control treaties designed to discourage the spread of nuclear weapons. These threats inevitably raise tensions and could increase the chances of deadly miscalculations.
Mr. Putin has crossed other lines, including sending military aircraft unannounced into international airspace over Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and the North Sea. On April 7, a Russian fighter jet intercepted .. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/04/13/world/europe/13reuters-usa-russia-intercept.html .. an American spy plane over the Baltic Sea north of Poland; the Pentagon complained the Russians acted in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner.”
There have been scores of similar episodes over the past year as NATO increased its air patrols in response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
The Russian leader’s decision to proceed with the long-delayed sale .. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/europe/putin-lifts-ban-on-russian-missile-sales-to-iran.html .. of an S-300 missile defense system to Iran was another bad choice. Experts say the system does not threaten Israel, which has nuclear weapons and the best military arsenal in the Middle East, but the move could make it harder for the Obama administration to get congressional support for a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Mr. Putin’s aggression is rooted in intense nationalism, which plays very well to his people and fuels the war against Ukraine. Despite a cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk in February, Russia has continued to arm, train and direct separatist rebels. Fighting has surged .. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32296796 .. and there are grave concerns that Mr. Putin is planning an offensive to seize more territory in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s bellicose behavior is a serious test for NATO, which has sometimes shown disturbing divisions. The Europeans and the United States have to stay united in maintaining sanctions on Russia and in continuing air patrols and training exercises, as it becomes increasingly difficult to predict Mr. Putin’s next move.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/opinion/president-vladimir-putins-dangerous-moves.html?_r=1
===
Baltic states wary as Russia takes more strident tone with neighbours
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, anxious that battle of wits with Kremlin may escalate, look to Nato for back-up pledge
A Stalin monument in Grutas park, Druskininkai, recalls Lithuania's past as a
Soviet republic. Photograph: Alamy
[ to end ]
Nato's stance in the Baltics may have fended off the threat of "little green men" for now, but Moscow's battle for influence is far from over.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/18/baltic-states-wary-russia-strident-estonia-latvia-lithuania-nato
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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