Abramovich (click here) is in Moscow. An airline tracker picked it up. He is wanted for violations in export law.
Ramzan Kadyrov is a Putin puppet. Supposedly, Chechen fighters are going house to house to raid them and kill Ukrainians.
In a video posted online on March 13th, (click here) Ramzan Kadyrov appears to be discussing tactics with his soldiers. The leader of the Chechen Republic, a predominantly Muslim region in Russia’s North Caucasus, stands in front of a Chechen flag adorned with an illustration of his father, Akhmad. According to Mr Kadyrov it was filmed in Hostomel, less than 30km from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. This has not been independently verified, but there have been several confirmed reports of Chechen fighters in Ukraine. Chechnya and the rest of Russia have a long, complicated and often violent history; after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia waged two brutal wars to keep Chechnya from becoming independent. But Chechen forces are now supporting Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, in another bloody conflict, this time to keep Ukraine under Russia’s sway. And on March 15th Mr Kadyrov clashed online with Elon Musk, an outspoken American billionaire, when he warned him not to challenge Mr Putin. How did Mr Kadyrov go from fighting against Russia to fighting for it, and what role will Chechen fighters play in Ukraine?
...After the October Revolution of 1917, Chechnya and its neighbours declared independence (as did Ukraine around the same time)....
Are the communists fighting the same war over and over? 1917 was a long time ago. They might be fighting the same war over and over. This region of the world, especially the Pacific is laced with long standing grudges. Some of the tensions that exist are historical and not based in any real rational reason.
Hate could be the result of these cultural issues. I know that Japan has issues due to history. This is the year 2022. It is time to end these long standing grudges. The sooner these countries realize in the modern era their economies are more important than the way they lost a century or more ago.
March 18, 2022
...The conversation, (click here) which lasted nearly two hours, was one of the first between the two figures in months and came shortly after Russia reportedly asked China for military support in its effort to topple the Ukrainian government. Xi has largely shied away from publicly supporting Russia despite longstanding close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. China released a readout of the call earlier in the day which emphasized Xi’s position that military conflict between nations is not “in anyone’s interest.”...
Part of the conversation with world leaders that the Biden Administration must tackle are long standing issues of hate and resentment.
Secretary Blinken is a practical man that lives with today's dynamics and from what I can tell is not interested in "old angers and myths" that can cause problems internationally. The USAID program should not be available for appeasment of old issues, but, to bring a new beginning to people suffering.
Thousands are believed dead in Mariupol due to the shelling by the Russian Navy.
This is a buildiing in Mariupol (click here). None of these buildings are safe. Besides being burnt, they are experiencing vibration from the shelling. That vibration will bring cracks and instability to those buildings. They will fall in time.
Even if the shelling and invasion stopped today, which I sincerely doubt, the Ukrainians are going to be refugees for some time as the land is reclaimed and homes made safe. A lot of rebuilding is going to have to take place. I doubt if the air in these zones is very healthy right now. There are particulates in the air as well as volitile chemcials in propellants and all sorts of debris. A burning building creates dangerous air to breath.
Xi Jinping is stating peace is best for the world. Hopefully, he will rethink aid to Russia.
March 18, 2022
More than three weeks (click here) into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western countries are tightening sanctions on Russian oligarchs and billionaires. The latest salvo came on Wednesday, when the British crown dependency of the Isle of Man announced that it had deregistered 18 Russian aircraft since March 3. Forbes found that eight of those aircraft—including Alisher Usmanov’s $350 million Airbus private jet and four helicopters owned by Roman Abramovich—are owned by sanctioned Russian billionaires.
By scouring aircraft registries and publicly available data, Forbes identified at least 12 jets and six helicopters linked to eight sanctioned Russian billionaires. The aircraft are registered in Aruba, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Isle of Man and Luxembourg, all of which have implemented EU or U.K. sanctions. Collectively, the 18 aircraft are worth at least $1.2 billion. Spokespersons for the aircraft registries and authorities in Bermuda, Luxembourg and the Isle of Man told Forbes that they are taking action against aircraft owned by sanctioned individuals.
On March 12, Bermuda announced that its aircraft registry had suspended certificates of airworthiness for 740 “Russian operated aircraft,” meaning they can no longer fly....
"Burger King" is reporting the Russian franchise will not shut down their operations. "Burger King" needs to disconnect from any profits the existing Russian franchise makes. "Burger King" needs to delist the operations in Russia and remove any financial liability such as insurance, etc., the exception being monies owed to the company due to the end of a franchise agreement. Those monies should still be collectible through the courts. It is questionable that the monies owed "Burger King" will be received any time soon, but, in the future those debts might be paid.
