Salem-News.com Russia-syria-convoys articles Page 41

Russia: From Bad to Worse

Need to support civil society - representatives abandoned to their fate by authorities in Russian Caucasus.

(GROZNY. Chechnya RFP) - Reporters Without Borders is shocked and angered to learn that the bodies of Zarema Sadulayeva, the head of an NGO that tried to dissuade young people from joining separatist armed groups, and her husband, Alek Djabrailov, were found with gunshot wounds in the boot of a car in Chechnya today following their abduction in the Chechen capital yesterday.

One of the few sources of information about the growing violence and human rights abuses in Ingushetia is the news website Ingushetia.org, whose owner, Magomed Yevloyev, was shot dead while in police custody minutes after being arrested on his return to Ingushetia on 31 August 2008.

U.N. Will Recommend that the World Should Ditch the Dollar

UN Currency specialist Avinash Persaud has long argued that the dollar would give way to the Chinese yuan as a global reserve currency within decades.

(LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) ) - A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.

Horrifying Double Murder of Lawyer and Journalist in Central Moscow Underlines Climate of Impunity

Horrifying double murder of lawyer and journalist in central Moscow underlines climate of impunity.

(MOSCOW) - Reporters Without Borders today reacted with horror to the double murder in central Moscow of lawyer Stanislav Markelov, specialising in murders committed in Chechnya, and journalist on the bi-weekly Novaya Gazeta who was with him, Anastasia Baburova, shot dead as they left a press conference given by the lawyer.

Markelov had at the January 19th press conference condemned the early release of Yuri Bodanov, a Russian former colonel who was sentenced in 2003 to ten years in prison for the murder of an 18-year-old Chechen, Elza Kungayeva, whose family Markelov was representing.

Group Pressures Russia to End Brown Bear Hibernation Slaughter

Habitat loss and unregulated hunting are driving brown bears into extinction in Russia and parts of Eastern and Western Europe.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The International Fund for Animal Welfare says the slaughter of brown bears each winter in Russia takes a huge toll on bear populations while leaving countless cubs orphaned and left to die.

In Russia during the winter, hunters reportedly enter bear dens, wake the bears from hibernation and then shoot the mother. Den hunting leaves 4,000 bear cubs orphaned every year. Many of these orphaned cubs are left to starve to death, while others are taken to entertain tourists or to be eaten in restaurants.

IFAW is asking those who care about this problem to take the time to sign a petition directed to President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and they believe an international voice is necessary.

At Least 20 Die in Russian Submarine Accident

The vessel was set to be commissioned in the Russian Navy later this year, and most of the dead were shipbuilders on board to carry out tests.

(MOSCOW, Russia) - The Russian government confirms that at least 20 died Sunday during an accident on a brand new submarine operating in the Sea of Japan. It is the worst Russian submarine disaster since Russia lost the nuclear-powered submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea on August 12th 2000. The submarine was located by searchers at the depth of 108 meters on August 13. All the Kursk's 118 crewmembers died, The ITAR-TASS News agency reports.

Russian Navy Assistant Commander Capt. 1st Class Igor Dugalo says medics have examined the poisoned crew.

"Leading physicians of the Russian Pacific Fleet have examined 21 people affected in the self-induced start of the nuclear-powered submarine fire system. Twenty of them have insignificant poisoning, and the condition of one is more serious." he said.

The Cold War is Over

The Bush Administration blames Russia of the very things it has done in the 21st Century while dismissing its conduct in Iraq as being of no consequence. A large majority of Americans would disagree.

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - The U.S. accuses Russia of returning to its authoritative past, but logic suggests the United States is more the aggressor than the Russians.

Since the end of the Cold War and the break up of the Soviet Union, Russia has cooperated with the United States in many significant ways that one would think should cement relationships between them.

Under reasonable circumstances it would, but Geo. W. Bush and his administration seem less interested in rapport [a friendly relationship between people based on mutual respect, trust, and a sense that they understand and share each other's concern] than in expanding U.S. influence worldwide as it relates to Bush’s religious concept.

Black Pot and the Kettle

The game of International Politics is not that different from a Saturday night gathering for a friendly game of Poker, except the stakes are higher because the players are not always as clever or friendly.

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - The war between Georgia and Russia was so precipitous as to take the world by surprise. As best I can determine, it began when Georgia attempted to recover by force the autonomous territory within its boundaries known as South Ossetia that has familiar ties to Russia and vice versa.

A Russian Peace-keeping force was stationed in Ossetia, after the separation a decade or more ago, to protect against what has now happened.

Oregon Average Drops Below $4 Per Gallon

The price of crude keeps falling despite Russia's military presence in Georgia. In fact, it's the first time in a decade that military action in an oil sensitive region hasn't resulted in an oil market rally.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Oregon's statewide average for regular unleaded is less than $4 per gallon for the first time since the last week of May. The statewide average falls seven cents this week to $3.99, and only one measured metro area in Oregon, Medford/Ashland, has an average above $4.

The national average declines for the 26th day in a row, also dropping seven cents this week to $3.80 a gallon." AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Marie Dodds says, "Oregon's average is down 28 cents in the past month, while the national average has lost 30 cents. The national average should easily dip below $3.75 a gallon as soon as this week, and could drop another 15 cents per gallon by Labor Day."

Understanding the Russian Invasion of Georgia

Both countries blame each other for genocide.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Accusations are flying as to who is responsible for the bloodshed in Georgia, a country that many Russians say has become a puppet government of the U.S. and other western nations.

Both the United States and Israel have been providing Georgia with military hardware under increasingly friendly political arrangements in recent years. We can only hope that this did not give the former Soviet Republic's leaders a false sense of courage against its neighbor to the north: Mother Russia. It may turn out to be a fatal mistake.

Despite its current alliances, the violence in Georgia undoubtedly evolves from tensions that have been simmering since the end of the Cold War in the 1980s.

Will Russia Repeat Horrors of Afghanistan in Georgia?

If the ghosts of Afghanistan were given voices, they would warn against the behavior of Russian military forces.

(KABUL, Afghanistan) - I will never forget the horror stories about the Russians in Afghanistan. People there harbor a hatred so fierce and venomous toward the former Soviets that it is hard to describe with words. The patterns of abuse carried out by Russian soldiers at war is well documented and it rings of some of the most primitive and cruel behavior ever recorded.

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan for a decade, beginning in 1979. It happened because the Afghans weren't towing the Communist line. I hate to wonder how many similarities there are between what is happening in Georgia today and what happened to Afghanistan.