I was impressed by the security of the Olympics. Russia did an incredible job in running an uninterrupted event. It ran like clockwork.
The political-geographic location of the Ukraine is precarious. It borders Russia and the Black Sea, but, it also borders many former Soviet states. It is also pro-democracy in many of it's values. The 2004 Constitution leans strongly into a democracy where by the safety of the citizen in all walks of life is upheld.
Volgograd is very close to the Russia-Ukraine border. If one recalls, it was in Volgograd the bombings that concerned the world occurred. To state that region of Russia is completely stable is inaccurate.
5 February 2014
Last updated at 13:01 ET
Security forces in Russia's troubled Dagestan (click here) region have shot dead the suspected organiser
of the Volgograd suicide bombings during a house siege.
Dzhamaldin Mirzayev, 30, died along with another man after
opening fire on security forces surrounding the house, Russian security
sources say.
A third man surrendered during the siege in the town of Izberbash.
Two attackers killed 34 other people in the bomb attacks in Volgograd on consecutive days in late December.
The bombers, both male, were officially identified last week as Asker Samedov and Suleyman Magomedov, members of an Islamist militant group based in the Dagestani town of Buynaksk.
Two men suspected of helping them were arrested in Dagestan. According to one Russian news website, Life News, they are suspected of having driven the bombers hidden in a cargo of hay, acting under duress....
President Putin is correct in deploying military in the region. Whether the Ukraine realizes it or not, the additional military forces in the region provides for their protections as well. I don't believe Russia wants an escalation of tensions in the region and the Ukraine needs to get on with it's own business to increase the opportunity of stabilizing their domestic peace.
Howard Amos in Sevastopol, Shaun Walker in Kiev and agencies
theguardian.com
The Russian president, (click here) Vladimir Putin, has reportedly ordered an immediate test of combat readiness of troops in central and western Russia in a move that will dramatically elevate fears of a separatist threat to Ukraine, already ravaged by weeks of violent protest that led to the removal of its pro-Russian leader, Viktor Yanukovych.
Russia's state news agencies quoted the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, saying Putin ordered the test at 2pm Moscow time on Wednesday. The Kremlin was unable to confirm the order.
The exercise was followed with a statement from the Russian foreign ministry claiming that extremists are "imposing their will" in the Ukraine and whipping up religious tensions. Priests and property belonging to the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox church had been threatened, the statement said, adding that these tension could cause "an even bigger schism in Ukrainian society"....
I might point out the geographical location of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. There are small countries such as Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijani that lie in areas whereby stability could become an issue very quickly. I would expect the USA and Europe are having conversations with their allies in the region to insure there is no terrorist activity as well. To state this is a power keg is minimizing the threat for war in the region.
Americans live with an entire ocean and continent, namely Europe, as borders to this region. It is frequently understated in the USA media the very tenuous stability in the region. Russia does a heck of a job whether anyone wants to recognize it or not. In the USA media Russia's involvement is frequently stated to be aggressive and hostile. Well. Yeah. But, it doesn't mean Russia is trying to reconstitute the USSR. The USSR is history.
GOP Congresspersons can shake their fists all they want about Russia, but, they forget what country sought to help. Russia didn"t send the Tsarnaev Brothers to attack the USA as bin Laden did. Russia tried to stop it through appropriate channels.
When it comes to foreign relations with Russia the rhetoric has to stop by the USA. And it is more understandable when realizing how stable the region actually is why Russia objects to the USA and Europe parking missiles at it's borders. It tends to embolden extremists, heighten tensions and increases the instability of the region. So long as Russia is The Evil Empire it will continue to have issues of instability simply because criminal networks believe they are validated in their 'beliefs.'
I congratulate the Ukraine for establishing a democracy in the manner the people seek, but, they have work to do and they cannot deny Russia is a neighbor along a large border. The Ukraine has to find peace with Russia. I would think Europe would seek to have that happen, too.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tsarnaev is awaiting trial on charges that he and his brother built and planted two pressure-cooker bombs that killed three people and injured at least 260 others. He is also charged with killing an MIT campus police officer....
The USA law enforcement system was impuned when it attempted to find a reason to intervene. If the FBI was actively working with local investigators and extending their capabilities the bombings may have been stopped and criminals imprisoned.
POSTED: 10:22 AM EST Feb 25, 2014
UPDATED: 10:25 PM EST Feb 25, 2014
It's a story of survival. (click here)
Virginia Military Institute graduate Richard "Dic" Donohue knew his life would never be the same the day of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Now, he is sharing how he learned to make the best out of a bad situation.
The 2002 VMI grad has been in and out of physical therapy since the bombings, but he made the trip from his home in Massachusetts to Virginia to speak to cadets about strength and perseverance. He said those are two things he learned at VMI.
"I don’t think I was exactly ready for what happened in my case, but I had some tools that had me better prepared,” he said....
When it comes to extremists that are radicalized because of their lack of success as an American, the local investigative authorities can be an 'extender' of the FBI arm when evidence presents itself. I think of the local investigators as 'FBI Jr.' I am confident if the Boston investigators were empowered for further surveillance after the FBI carried out as much of their investigation as possible, the bombings would have been deterred.
When it comes to Russia, it is impressive to realize how broad their reach can be. Why would any nation in the world want that expertise to end?
I am curious. How much do Human Rights organizations recognize the reality of PREVENTION of criminal attacks against citizens when they make their ratings known to the world? It matters. There are nations that need to improve their justice system that end political domination and prisons that need to be closed and their residents set free to live their lives, but, there is something to be said about the prevention of death of citizens, that matters too.
The political-geographic location of the Ukraine is precarious. It borders Russia and the Black Sea, but, it also borders many former Soviet states. It is also pro-democracy in many of it's values. The 2004 Constitution leans strongly into a democracy where by the safety of the citizen in all walks of life is upheld.
Volgograd is very close to the Russia-Ukraine border. If one recalls, it was in Volgograd the bombings that concerned the world occurred. To state that region of Russia is completely stable is inaccurate.
5 February 2014
Last updated at 13:01 ET
Security forces in Russia's troubled Dagestan (click here) region have shot dead the suspected organiser
of the Volgograd suicide bombings during a house siege. A third man surrendered during the siege in the town of Izberbash.
Two attackers killed 34 other people in the bomb attacks in Volgograd on consecutive days in late December.
The bombers, both male, were officially identified last week as Asker Samedov and Suleyman Magomedov, members of an Islamist militant group based in the Dagestani town of Buynaksk.
Two men suspected of helping them were arrested in Dagestan. According to one Russian news website, Life News, they are suspected of having driven the bombers hidden in a cargo of hay, acting under duress....
President Putin is correct in deploying military in the region. Whether the Ukraine realizes it or not, the additional military forces in the region provides for their protections as well. I don't believe Russia wants an escalation of tensions in the region and the Ukraine needs to get on with it's own business to increase the opportunity of stabilizing their domestic peace.
Howard Amos in Sevastopol, Shaun Walker in Kiev and agenciestheguardian.com
The Russian president, (click here) Vladimir Putin, has reportedly ordered an immediate test of combat readiness of troops in central and western Russia in a move that will dramatically elevate fears of a separatist threat to Ukraine, already ravaged by weeks of violent protest that led to the removal of its pro-Russian leader, Viktor Yanukovych.
Russia's state news agencies quoted the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, saying Putin ordered the test at 2pm Moscow time on Wednesday. The Kremlin was unable to confirm the order.
The exercise was followed with a statement from the Russian foreign ministry claiming that extremists are "imposing their will" in the Ukraine and whipping up religious tensions. Priests and property belonging to the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox church had been threatened, the statement said, adding that these tension could cause "an even bigger schism in Ukrainian society"....
I might point out the geographical location of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. There are small countries such as Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijani that lie in areas whereby stability could become an issue very quickly. I would expect the USA and Europe are having conversations with their allies in the region to insure there is no terrorist activity as well. To state this is a power keg is minimizing the threat for war in the region.
Americans live with an entire ocean and continent, namely Europe, as borders to this region. It is frequently understated in the USA media the very tenuous stability in the region. Russia does a heck of a job whether anyone wants to recognize it or not. In the USA media Russia's involvement is frequently stated to be aggressive and hostile. Well. Yeah. But, it doesn't mean Russia is trying to reconstitute the USSR. The USSR is history.
GOP Congresspersons can shake their fists all they want about Russia, but, they forget what country sought to help. Russia didn"t send the Tsarnaev Brothers to attack the USA as bin Laden did. Russia tried to stop it through appropriate channels.
When it comes to foreign relations with Russia the rhetoric has to stop by the USA. And it is more understandable when realizing how stable the region actually is why Russia objects to the USA and Europe parking missiles at it's borders. It tends to embolden extremists, heighten tensions and increases the instability of the region. So long as Russia is The Evil Empire it will continue to have issues of instability simply because criminal networks believe they are validated in their 'beliefs.'
I congratulate the Ukraine for establishing a democracy in the manner the people seek, but, they have work to do and they cannot deny Russia is a neighbor along a large border. The Ukraine has to find peace with Russia. I would think Europe would seek to have that happen, too.
FBI via Reuters
Boston Marathon Bombing suspect (click here) Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is pictured in an undated FBI handout photo.
The
Justice Department has notified a federal judge that it intends to seek
the death penalty if a jury convicts Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for last April’s
bomb attacks at the Boston Marathon.Tsarnaev is awaiting trial on charges that he and his brother built and planted two pressure-cooker bombs that killed three people and injured at least 260 others. He is also charged with killing an MIT campus police officer....
The USA law enforcement system was impuned when it attempted to find a reason to intervene. If the FBI was actively working with local investigators and extending their capabilities the bombings may have been stopped and criminals imprisoned.
POSTED: 10:22 AM EST Feb 25, 2014
UPDATED: 10:25 PM EST Feb 25, 2014
It's a story of survival. (click here)
Virginia Military Institute graduate Richard "Dic" Donohue knew his life would never be the same the day of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Now, he is sharing how he learned to make the best out of a bad situation.
The 2002 VMI grad has been in and out of physical therapy since the bombings, but he made the trip from his home in Massachusetts to Virginia to speak to cadets about strength and perseverance. He said those are two things he learned at VMI.
"I don’t think I was exactly ready for what happened in my case, but I had some tools that had me better prepared,” he said....
When it comes to extremists that are radicalized because of their lack of success as an American, the local investigative authorities can be an 'extender' of the FBI arm when evidence presents itself. I think of the local investigators as 'FBI Jr.' I am confident if the Boston investigators were empowered for further surveillance after the FBI carried out as much of their investigation as possible, the bombings would have been deterred.
When it comes to Russia, it is impressive to realize how broad their reach can be. Why would any nation in the world want that expertise to end?
I am curious. How much do Human Rights organizations recognize the reality of PREVENTION of criminal attacks against citizens when they make their ratings known to the world? It matters. There are nations that need to improve their justice system that end political domination and prisons that need to be closed and their residents set free to live their lives, but, there is something to be said about the prevention of death of citizens, that matters too.
