And without much ado...
- First Abu Ghraib, now Guantanamo:
The factor of evil in the Bush regime is a constant. The case against George W. Bush analyzed point by point...
The Usual. Moving on...
- Georgia Deliberately Provokes Political Scandals With Russia:
It Is About Time Russia Should Think If It Really Needs to Deal With the Hysterical Georgian Administration
It is already clear now that the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Georgia, which started on Thursday evening, will not bring any considerable changes in the character of relations between the two countries. They can still be described as stagnant: it is hard to expect anything else, if the Georgian government continuingly provokes scandals with Russia.
Georgian officials introduced sudden changes to the program of the Russian minister's stay in Georgia only one day before the start of the visit. The program was added with a ceremony at the Memorial complex in honor of the warriors, who fell in battles for the country's territorial integrity. The Russian minister refused to visit the complex. The head of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that it was incorrect to amend the program only a day before the actual visit. Such official matters are normally coordinated several months in advance. In addition, the minister said that the Russian Federation should take account of its status as a country assisting in the regulation of conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Such an undertaking as visiting the memorial complex would not be capable of creating the necessary atmosphere for resuming conflict-regulating talks. In other words, the minister implied that Russia was not intended to quarrel with Abkhazia and Ossetia with a view to do something pleasant for Georgia. As experience shows, it would take Russia too long to enjoy a friendly gesture in return.
The reaction of the Georgian government was rather predictable. The hysterics in the Georgian administration was arranged shortly before the Russian foreign minister's visit to Georgia. The speaker of the Georgian parliament, Nino Burjanadze, stated that there was no other example in the world diplomatic practice, when officials refused to lay flowers and wreathes to warriors' graves. "This is not neighbor-like. This is an inadequate gesture on the part of Russia. This is a question of elementary politeness," Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili said. The national Georgian television said that Russia's decision not to honor the memorial complex was "a spit in the face of the Georgian nation." As a result, the type of the visit was changed from the "official" to "work" visit.
South Ossetian politicians had a completely different attitude to Sergei Lavrov's refusal to visit the memorial complex in Georgia. "Sergei Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, of the country, which did everything possible to save South Ossetia from fascism, acted wisely when he turned down the blasphemous and provocative suggestion," the chairman of the committee for defense and security of the unrecognized republic, Yuri Dzidzoity said.
It is worth mentioning that the Russian foreign minister visited the grave of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who mysteriously died in Georgia in the beginning of February. Sergei Lavrov believes that the former prime minister of Georgia was a "man, who did a lot for the peaceful solution of conflicts in Georgia."
It is possible to conclude that Georgia is not interested in normalizing relations with Russia. The Georgian government wouldn't have provoked a conflict about nothing otherwise. Lavrov's attendance of the above-mentioned memorial complex would mean that Russia agrees with the policy of the first Georgian president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who incited conflicts with autonomies and eventually broke up the nation. It is also worth mentioning that thousands of Abkhazians and Ossetians were killed in those wars too - Georgians were not the only victims. It is virtually impossible to separate the good and bad in a civil war.
- Violence Recruits in Colombia as Rebels Take the Offensive:
More Than 50 Soldiers Died in the Last Two Months in Clashes With Marxist Guerrillas.
Colombia's conservative government and its troops look confused and disappointed as an unexpected offensive by Marxist rebels put an end to a 2-1/2 years retreat killing at least 50 soldiers in the last two months. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has taken the initiative in the 40-year war, upsetting government efforts to crackdown on them.
A quick glance at the CIA World Fact Book page for Columbia indicates that it has a coalition government between a Conservative Party, a Liberal Party, and numerous smaller independent groups.
The timing for hard-liner President Alvaro Uribe and his Washington allies could not be worse, as both have depicted their policy for Colombia as a great success. Accordingly, Uribe is asking the US Congress for another $700 million, which brings the total cost for Plan Colombia - a US military aid program - over the $4 billion mark.
However, as the US becomes more and more involved in the internal conflict of this South American nation, results are far from being good. The military record for the last two months speaks by itself.
An army column that had penetrated the mountains of northwest Colombia last month was hit hard, with 19 soldiers dead and five missing - the worst single military setback of the Uribe era. A week earlier, the FARC ambushed a remote naval infantry base in the south, killing 16 marines. Earlier that week, eight soldiers were killed in a FARC bombing.
Those actions came shortly after the Colombian government stated that the FARC's military threat has been contained. In fact, local authorities were in the offensive for almost three years, but judging for current events could not strike the FARC a decisive blow.
Apparently, rebels took this time to study new combat tactics to drive back regular forces, something that worries Colombian generals and the officially admitted 600 US officers stationed in the country. Analysts explained that guerrillas chop up army units in small pieces, encircle them and then eliminate them, while the army has had no answer to these tactics.
In the midst of the guerrilla offensive, 20 more Colombian soldiers were killed last Thursday when a US-supplied Blackhawk helicopter crashed during a night time anti-narcotics mission. The aircraft crashed in mountainous southwest Colombia deep in the heart of FARC country, but authorities denied it was shot down.
Colombian authorities have never acknowledged this kind of crashes as provoked by rebel fire. However, alternative explanations usually sound groundless to military experts.
I suppose that in the author's universe, helicopter flights in mountainous terrain are perfectly safe... I wonder what he thinks about Canada's problems with the Sea Kings. Is that caused by FARC ground fire too? But let's give them the benefit of the doubt...
No matter the good performance of its military side, the FARC keep on losing another decisive battle. While their actions cannot secure them a decisive victory bringing the whole scenario into a deadly stalemate, the FARC have dismissed any political initiative to get closer to a population that increasingly dislikes them. The powerful military apparatus looks comfortable in the midst of war and lacks of alternatives for peace.
It's occured to me that if Russia's casualties to the Chechens and associated terrorist groups were limited to twenty or so soldiers being killed a month instead of occasional large-scale attacks against civilians, they'd be much better off than they are now. Not that I wish ill of Russian soldiers, but usually people become soldiers and nations create armies in hopes of protecting their civilian population.
- The Body of Chechen Terrorist Number 2 to be Officially Exhumed For Expertise:
Salman Raduyev, "Terrorist Number 2," Was Renowned as a "Talking Head" in the Terrorist Environment
The Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments is ready to exhume the body of the Chechen warlord, Salman Raduyev. It was decided to carry out the infamous process in order to exclude all rumors about Raduev's violent death in a Russian prison. "The service is ready to exhume Raduyev's body for any kind of expertise," the director of the service said.
Let me guess... they need to check that he's not wandering around, muttering "brains..." Or maybe they forgot to put the stake in his heart, or check that the symbiote was dead too?
Salman Raduyev, who was known as "terrorist number 2," died on 15 December 2002 in the "White Swan" correctional colony in the Perm region of Russia. The colony is meant for extremely dangerous criminals sentenced to capital punishment - lifetime imprisonment (Russia has a death penalty moratorium in effect). Raduyev was convicted on 25 December 2001. The Supreme Court of Russia refused to revise the sentence of the terrorist in April of the current year.
Salman Raduyev was born on 13 February 1967 in Gudermes, Chechnya. According to his own words, he excelled in secondary school and then graduated from an economic department. Raduyev became a member of the Communist Party during his service in the army.
Raduyev commanded the so-called General Jokhar Dudayev's Army during the first Chechen war. He became known after the incursion in the town of Kizlyar in Dagestan in January of 1996. Raduyev was a very conceited person; Shamil Basayev's fame gave him no rest. Raduyev would claim responsibility for all terrorist acts, which were performed in Russia and threaten with new terrorist attacks. However, the guerrilla quickly won the reputation of a "talking head."
And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right?...Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE?
Raduyev's escapades deprived him of all his authority among terrorists. His ambition to leadership ended up in a series of attempted assassinations in April, July and October of 1997. Salman Raduyev vanished from the public eye for a certain period of time afterwards. As it was revealed later, he was operated on in Germany - the operations had a very negative influence on the unstable mind of the "general."
"Then I had that setback with the Cheez Whiz..."
When the counter-terrorist operation was launched in Chechnya in 1999, Raduyev and a group of his gunmen took part in battles with Russian federal forces. The terrorist's gang was virtually destroyed after several significant failures. It is noteworthy that he stopped talking about new terrorist attacks that he was going to organize in the Russian Federation.
I was starting to get the impression that he was just taking credit for the actions of others, in a "People's Front of Judaea" sort of way.
Agents of the Russian Federal Security Bureau arrested Salman Raduyev on 13 March 2000 and delivered him to a detention center in Moscow. The terrorist was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment 18 months later.
Where it was the same as it ever was...
- Moscow's Water Park Was Most Likely Attacked by Terrorists
The investigation of the tragedy, when the glass-and-concrete dome of the water entertainment complex tumbled down on its visitors, still continues.
I do not believe reports of this incident were linked to from Rantburg before this. Maybe I should have been doing this earlier.
The huge dome of Moscow's water entertainment complex, Transvaal Park, collapsed a year ago, on February 14th, 2004. Twenty-eight people were killed as a result of the tragedy; over a hundred were injured. A lot of people became disabled individuals for the rest of their lives as a result of the visit to the Moscow aquapark a year ago.
The investigation of the tragedy continues for a year already. The Moscow Office of the Public Prosecutor has recently prolonged the investigation of the tragedy with the water complex till June 14th. However, the case still contains neither suspects nor defendants. The authorities have not announced the official reason of the tragedy either.
Transvaal Park was the first water entertainment complex built in Moscow. It enjoyed great popularity among Muscovites and people from other cities, especially in freezing winter weather. There was a very popular nightclub in the complex, in addition to the actual water park. The entertainment center was brining joy and pleasure to all of its visitors until February 14, 2004, when the roof of the huge complex tumbled down on its visitors' heads at 7:15 p.m.
A terrorist act version surfaced at once. The only evidence, which was exposed to the public eye, was a tape made by a surveillance camera inside the complex. The video footage showed the moment, when one of the bearing columns cracked, subsequently leading to the destruction of other concrete supports of the roof. It took mere seconds for the roof to collapse.
Shipman? Are you out there?
Some specialists, however, said that they had seen a cloud of smoke and concrete fragments gushing out of the support that collapsed first. Architect Nidar Kancheli, who designed the roof of the water complex, said that the burst looked like an explosion. According to the architect, it turned out during the investigation that all concrete supports were identically deformed as they hit the pool edge on the floor. Only one of the seven pillars was fractured in a different place. It was impossible to investigate the matter further, the architect said, because rescuers removed all the columns from the site of the tragedy and piled them up nearby, damaging their surface even more.
Investigators concentrate their attention on the following reasons of the tragedy: design mistakes, construction mistakes, improper operation regime and incorrect assembly. Needless to say that both architects and builders deny their guilt. Spokespeople for the companies that were involved in the construction of the water complex said that the glass-and-concrete dome of Transvaal Park and its concrete supports guaranteed ten years of reliable operation before the first need in repairs could occur.
Some experts believe that the tragedy in Moscow's water park could have been caused with a concourse of circumstances. There is a so-called "catastrophe theory" in the field of engineering. The theory says that if certain system parameters do not comply with a standard, it avoids a process of gradual worsening and results in an immediate catastrophe.
You can read about Catastrophe Theory here and here, and there's a collection of links here. There's also a couple of entries at Wolfram Research's web site. All of these descriptions are from a mathematical rather than an engineering point of view, however.
Russian authorities persistently reject the version of the terrorist act, paying all their attention to technical drawbacks. The terrorist version might not be good to Transvaal's real owners (the company Inteko is supposedly listed among them: the company is chaired by Elena Baturina - the wife of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov). The building of the entertainment complex was insured against all accidents, but a terrorist attack.
The terrorist version is not good for the authorities either. It is clear from the past experience, when the government strongly rejected the terrorist act version after the double air crash in Russia in August of 2004.
Dmitry Denisov and Tamara Papitashvili, two of the survivors of the Transvaal tragedy, filed lawsuits at a Moscow district court last Friday. Dmitry and Tamara lost their loved ones in the disaster; Tamara lost her both legs in the tragedy too. The plaintiffs can not make the authorities do anything about their case because the investigation has not been finished yet.
The investigation has been prolonged. However, it is impossible to say that law-enforcement officers will find the truth about what happened in southwestern Moscow a year ago. The Transvaal survivors will not be able to forget their grief during five months - the state must do everything possible to help them.
- Russia Determined to Continue Nuclear Cooperation With Iran:
The US Administration Is Not Happy About the Russian-Iranian Cooperation.
We should be happy? Is there therapy that can do this?
President Putin stated that Russia would continue the nuclear cooperation with Iran, because the latter does not intend to produce nuclear weapons. The Russian president released the statement during a meeting with Hassan Rowhani, the head of Iran's national Security Council in the Kremlin.
"We are certain that the global proliferation of nuclear weapons does not assist in the strengthening of security either in the region or in the world on the whole. The latest steps on Iran's behalf persuade us that Iran has no intention of building an atomic weapon. Consequently, we will continue to cooperate with Iran in all fields, including in nuclear energy," the Russian president said.
I wonder how they'll explain the centrifuges.
The head of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy, Alexander Rumyantsev, confirmed that Russia and Iran would sign an agreement for the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia. The document is to be signed at the end of February, during Rumyantsev's visit to Iran. "We are going to sign an additional protocol to the inter-governmental agreement for the return of spent nuclear fuel," Alexander Rumyantsev said. The head of the Federal Agency also said that nuclear fuel is normally delivered to a nuclear power plant about six months before the launch of the reactor. "As far as the Iranian nuclear power plant in Bushehr is concerned, nuclear fuel deliveries to the station will be conducted within the scope of this condition," Rumyantsev added.
The United States suspect Iran of an intention to use the nuclear plant in Bushehr (the station was built in cooperation with Russia) for the production of nuclear weapons. Tehran has repeatedly emphasized, though, that Iran's nuclear program was of solely peaceful character. It was particularly said that Iran needed the program for solving energetic problems in the country. However, the US administration is not happy about the Russian-Iranian cooperation. The issue is expected to be raised during the forthcoming meeting between Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush in Bratislava on February 24th. Hassan Rowhani said during the meeting with President Putin that Iran was going to temporarily close the uranium enrichment program not to cause more concern in the West: "Everybody knows that our activity in the nuclear field is of absolutely peaceful character," Rowhani said.
We've been down this road before with North Korea. After Iran builds its first bombs using uranium, how does Russia plan to enforce any agreements that Iran return its plutonium to Russia for processing?
- Russians Are Much More Concerned About Economy, not Democracy
Which Problems in Russia Should be Given First Priority Attention in Their Solution?
...The opinion poll was conducted among 1,500 residents in more than a hundred of Russian cities and settlements. The respondents were offered to answer the following question: "Which problems in Russia should be given first priority attention in their solution?" The list of nation's major problems contained 20 issues. The people pointed out "the development of the Russian economy" much more often than all other issues mentioned on the list - 45 percent. Twenty-nine and 28 percent of respondents said that the government should struggle against growing prices and inflation to improve the national well-being.
Unemployment and communal problems ranked fourth among other priorities - 21 percent of people named those problems. Fourteen percent of respondents said that the government should do something about corruption, 13 percent pointed out healthcare problems, whereas eleven percent believe that it is very important to decrease oligarchs' influence on the government and deal with the problem of delaying wages and pension payments. Ten percent of respondents mentioned the situation in Chechnya, others named "taking greater care for elderly people" and "developing the social help for population."
Only three percent of Russians, who took part in the above-mentioned opinion poll, said that the further strengthening of democracy was a very important issue in Russia. This opinion was listed on the next to last line of the list of problems, marked as "miscellaneous," Itar-Tass reports.
A cynic might suggest that the economic problems faced by Russia are the result of corruption, which is strongly rooted in a lack of the rule of law, which in turn is exacerbated by a lack of democracy...
- Putin Wears a 60,000-dollar Watch in Comparison With George W.Bush's Timex for $50:
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Wears the Most Expensive Watch - Constantin Vacheron for $540,000
They took up space with this feature? Follow the link if you want to read it.
- Russia's FSB Recruits Whistleblowers With the Help of Street Ads:
The KGB Is Definitely the Most Distinct Vestige of the Soviet System, on Which it was Based.
The Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) penetrated into all spheres of the nation's political life, when Vladimir Putin took the office of the president. Now the FSB launched an advertising campaign, asking the population to inform special services of imminent crimes. "Your call will tie terrorists' hands" - one can see such ads in the streets of Moscow. Billboards contain FSB's online address too.
The FSB welcomes any kind of information, because "Russian citizens cooperating with foreign intelligence services can contact the Russian FSB with a view to become double-agents." The fee that such agents receive from foreign services will be completely preserved for them, the "contacts" section on the webpage of the Federal Security Service says. Would-be secret agents can be certain that they will cooperate with high professionals of the Russian Security Service. There will be no criminal responsibility introduced for them either, if they did not commit other crimes or presented a timely notification about it to adequate agencies.
The FSB received 30 thousand emails from Russian citizens in 2004. Russian people are interested in such an endeavor - the FSB website has been receiving an increasing number of visits lately. Those, who are interested in history, can have a brief insight in the history of the Russian security service - from Felix Dzerzhinsky to Nikolai Patrushev.
The KGB, which was partially liquidated after the break-up of the USSR in 1991, was subsequently represented with two separate services (the Federal Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service). It is definitely the most distinct vestige of the Soviet system, on which it was based. The Russian political police have been reproaching, preaching, deporting, condemning, punishing and executing since the moment, when the service was established in 1917.
Russian specialists say that about 58 percent of people in the current presidential milieu used to serve in the KGB. Twenty percent of Federation Council members and 18 percent of State Duma deputies used to be KGB officers too. Special agents' experience is welcome in the business field too. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has recently urged the FSB to start working in the field of the economic espionage to create equal competitive conditions for entrepreneurs.
Because, of course, the FSB doesn't have anything better to do. Which leads to...
- Crazy Russian Osama Hacked FSB Website
Things to do in Chelyabinsk when you're dead...
Is the Man to be Prosecuted for Spreading the Panicky Spam? Is The RF FSB's Website in Fact Unprotected at All?
A correspondent of UralPolit.Ru reports that some 32-year-old man from the Russian city of Chelyabinsk posted information about more acts of terrorism being schemed in the USA right on the website of the Russian Federation Federal Security Service. That occurred at the end of 2004. The young man, whom Chelyabinsk doctors know as a mentally diseased patient, posted the "sensation" claiming he was number one terrorist Osama bin Laden.
"Well, he started as an alterboy staying after church..."
It is reported that Internet providers managed to identify the hooligan within four hours; they found out the message had come from Chelyabinsk. An investigation has revealed that the man is registered at a local hospital as a patient suffering from schizophrenia. Soon, the police will consider institution of criminal proceedings against the man as based upon the RF Criminal Code clause #207 (deliberate spreading of misinformation about terrorist acts).
As soon as the information appeared, many people believed that was mere sabotage in a non-moderated forum of the FSB website. That often happens that official websites of governmental institutions run forums where any guest readily says what he wants, and there is no moderator to edit the publications. However, as it turned out later, there is no forum or even guestbook on the FSB website. In other words, the official website allows no opportunity for visitors to publish their personal messages. So, it means that UralPolit.Ru reported about hacking of the FSB website.
It may be even so that "Osama" from Chelyabinsk just addressed a message to some of the official emails published on the website. This is not a publication indeed, but it may be interpreted as a message about an act of terrorism and falls under the above-mentioned law.
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