Is Russia corrupt? Absolutely.

Last updated 2020 (click here)

Snapshot

Corruption significantly impedes businesses operating or planning to invest in Russia. High-level and petty corruption are common, especially in the judicial system and public procurement. The business environment suffers from inconsistent application of laws and a lack of transparency and accountability in the public administration. Russia’s regulatory inefficiency substantially increases the cost of doing business and has a negative effect on market competition. The Russian Federal Anti-Corruption Law (in Russian) requires companies to actively implement anti-corruption compliance programs. However, compliance with these provisions in practice is lagging behind. Russian law criminalizes active and passive bribery, facilitation payments, gifts and other benefits. However, effective enforcement of anti-corruption legislation is hindered by a politicized and corrupt judicial system.

There is more to the assessment than this paragraph summary. This assessment spells out very clearly that Russia has rampant corruption. No one is enforcing laws on the books to end corruption. Russia is so corrupt, that the laws are nothing more than a decoration for Russia to say they have anti-corruption measures. None of the enforcement is real, UNLESS, you are an oppositional candidate to Vladimir Putin. Every person opposing Putin is automatically corrupt and worthy of prison.

But, Putin is a saint and should not be bothered with such details of corruption within his administration or the accounting in the "Panama Papers."

Not only is Russia corrupt, but, it's president leads the country in being corrupt.

April 3, 2016
By Luke Harding

A network of secret offshore deals (click here) and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.

Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.

The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.

The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways....

As to corruption in Russia.

I read an assessment of Russian corruption from a company named "GAN Integrity." Their short history is illustrated in an icon that appears to be liquid in nature.

GAN Integrity (click here)

There is some talk among the right wing media stating Ukraine is not a democracy. I would like to address that.

The Chinese media "Tik-Tok" is carrying the political right wing of the USA's message that Ukraine was never a democracy because the current president has prosecuted his opposition. To begin, President Zelenskyy was elected by a majority in the free and open elections in Ukraine.

22 April 2019

Ukrainian (click here) comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has scored a landslide victory in the country's presidential election.


With nearly all ballots counted in the run-off vote, Mr Zelensky had taken more than 73% with incumbent Petro Poroshenko trailing far behind on 24%.

"I will never let you down," Mr Zelensky told celebrating supporters.

Russia says it wants him to show "sound judgement", "honesty" and "pragmatism" so that relations can improve. Russia backs separatists in eastern Ukraine.

He said he expected Mr Zelensky to "repeat familiar ideological formulas" that he used in the election campaign, adding: "I have no illusions on that score....

President Zelenskyy's win could never have been corrupt because the percentage was enormous. Yes, he was a comedian and that is scoffed at in Moscow, but, it is not unusual for popular figures to be elected by Ukrainians. The "tone" of Russia's comments from it's leadership are adult-child. From the beginning with his election Russia was defaming him, belittling him and Putin saw him self superior to Zelenskyy in every way.

I rarely discuss the monarchy, but, this deserves attention.

The New York Post (click here) has a photos collection that portrays the Diamond Jubilee tour of the Caribbean. The royal couple met with demonstrations regarding the colonalism that still exists with the British monarchy still the ruling class of these countries.

They met the challenge with grace and some stumbles, but, primarily it helped define the way in which the monarchy is changing in response to the countries that have been a part of the Commonwealth. There is a lot of good reasons for the Commonwealth to exist. But, to end the monarchy's role as head of state is wrong. It needs to change.

Prince William was every bit the sovereign in measuring his place within the governance of the Commonwealth and the new autonomy they will take on when he is King. He does not expect to be a head of state when the power of the thrown is passed to him.

The Commonwealth will survive, but, each country will have it's own head of state. I think that is a remarkable statement by Prince William.

This is the royal couple as they leave for home. Both the Prince and Duchess had remarkable wardrobes for the occassion. The Queen has every reason to be proud of them.

I believe President Macron represents the thoughts of the EU.

Interesting bed fellows. The USA Secretary of State is expected to attend.

These countries (click here) have experienced an increase in violence in the past weeks. Iran fired missiles at a US base in Kurdish Iraq, Erbil, the capital of that region. A civilian was injured, but, extensive property damage.

26 March 2022
By David Horovitz

The speed with which the Sunday-Monday “Negev Summit” (click here) has been pulled together, the storied location, and the expanding list of participants, combine to underline the significance of this unprecedented get-together of foreign ministers in Israel.

Being hosted by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid at Sde Boker, the Negev home and burial place of Israel’s founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion, the gathering at so resonant a locale constitutes further dramatic symbolic confirmation of Israel’s legitimacy and regional importance by Abraham Accords partners Morocco, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

Their foreign ministers will, simply by their presence, be upgrading relations with the country Ben-Gurion was so central to establishing. There is even talk of a photo opportunity at Ben-Gurion’s grave....

Haaretz (click here)

March 27, 2022

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Twitter that he had updated the "Negev Summit" participants on the attack, adding that "all foreign ministers condemned the attack and sent their condolences to the families" of those killed.

According to Lapid, this was "an attempt by violent extremists to terrorize" Israelis. "Israel will not relent in its fight against terrorism," he added. "We will stand together with our allies against anyone who tries hurting us."

March 27, 2022

For Blinken and the Biden administration, (click here) the trip is largely dedicated to ensuring that all of its highly skeptical Middle Eastern allies understand its position on the Iran deal.

It's Sunday Night

There is a bit of a phenomena that occurs with Ukrainian women, no different than some Russian women, they advertise for marriage. I don't know how many or who they would be, but, I am quite sure they are living in The West and enjoying freedom.

It was a bit of a chore to decide what to include here tonight. So, let's start with an interesting summit that was assembled rather quickly as summits go.

Below is Jamie Lee Curtis at the Oscars tonight.

The Knives Out actress also had a blue ribbon on her finger that was worn to support the refugees who have fled war torn Ukraine. (click here)

The Ukraine National Anthem was celebrated at the beginning of a wrestling match at Madison Square Garden in 2016. The country was well recognized worldwide for it's burgeoning democracy and embrace of freedom. If you click here  and read the comments below the video, they were more recently written than the event itself. Strong man sports are a mainstay in even Ukraine politics.

 

Putin can purge as many officials as he wants and fill up the Gulag. USA intelligence is not dependent on Russians.

25 March 2022

Ukraine (click here) minister Anton Gerashchenko has claimed Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu had suffered a heart attack after a heated confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin where Putin squarely blamed him for the ‘failure’ of his special military operation in Ukraine.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (click here) was seen Thursday for the first time in some two weeks, for the briefest of moments, in a video released by the Kremlin, as his absence from view prompted questions from journalists.

Shoigu, a close ally of Putin and a leading architect of Russia’s floundering invasion of Ukraine, last appeared in public on March 11. His disappearance has prompted speculation of health problems, or punishment for his questionable stewardship of the military.

A short video of Russian President Vladimir Putin holding video conference consultations released Thursday showed Shoigu as one of the participants. But coming in the wake of speculation on the minister’s disappearance, some media outlets wondered whether the brief clip was included solely to silence concerns....

 

Demonstrations continue in Slavutych.

There are reports Kiev is starving and without clean water. President Zelenskyy looked thinner in most recent appearance.

Attempts by Russian troops to intimidate the growing protest in the occupied city of Slavutych were unsuccessful as overhead gunfire and stun grenades failed to disperse the crowd. The unarmed protesters demanded the release of mayor Yuri Fomichev, who had been taken prisoner by Russian troops. 

An agreement was made that the Russians would leave the town if those with arms handed them over to the mayor Russian soldiers release Ukraine town’s mayor and agree to leave after protests.

 

The global community MUST begin this dialogue.

Vladimir Putin, as the president of the Russian Federation, made a unilateral decision to invade Ukraine. He never even spoke to the Russian people about any decision he had already made to invade Ukraine. He never told his military leades before they engaged in war games. His soldiers never knew not one day they were going to invade and destroy Ukraine.

The world has become populated in ways that does not allow for such destruction. Our countries must get along and see to the well being of every human being. This episode with Vladimir Putin has disgraced the entire world to realize this was possible or even thought about. The Ukrainian people have a right to exist. For the world not to have a clear understanding of that right for every person to live and breath and strive for a better day is a travesty to civilization. I realize there is poverty on this planet and hardship, but, to kill another human being out of hate is simply not allowed.

I don't know this Vladimir Putin. I thought I knew the one that was President of the Russian Federation and a member of the G8. I thought I knew him, but, this man? I don't him. He lost respect when he needlessly invaded Ukraine on a tirade because a former Ukrainian president who was a sympathizer for the development of a dictatorship was removed from power. It was time for Ukriane to stand on it's own and come to a reality of it's own power, no different than any of the other Post Soviet states. The world understood that. What the vast many of us did not understand is the hatred Putin held for the Ukrainian people.

The world stood down when Russian took Crimea away from Ukraine and stood back while eastern Ukraine was engaged in a Russian backed civil war. That posture of the global community only gave permission for the latest expression of hatred by the Russian president. I thought losing the seat at the G8 would mean something and it meant nothing. The global community means nothing to the Russian president and he made that very clear when he not only lied about the reason for war, but, even after the World Court decided it was genocide, Vladimir Putin and his generals continued to kill innocent civilians.

President Biden is correct in calling attention to the inappropriate expression of blatant power exhibited by Vladimir Putin and his military. The new understanding of the suffering a Russian president has brought to a nation of more than 44 million people will not be ignored. There will be no looking the other way.

I am proud of my President. He is a good and decent man that longs for a world whereby every human being is valued and finds peace with the right to live and strive for a better tomorrow.

Vladimir Putin committed genocide against the Ukrainian people. There isn't anything else to understand. It could be any other nation in the future.

March 26, 2022
By Ashley Parker and Tyler Pager

Warsaw - President Biden forcefully denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (click here) on Saturday, casting Moscow’s aggression as “the test of all time” for democracy before ending his sunset speech here by saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”

“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said, in an unscripted remark that came at the end of his roughly 30-minute address.

The White House raced to clarify his comment, issuing a statement saying that Biden had not actually meant what he’d said.

“The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,” a White House official said in a statement. “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”

Even aside from that remark, Biden’s speech in Warsaw — the capstone of a three-day trip to Europe — marked the most defiant and aggressive speech about Russia by an American president since Ronald Reagan, and came as the war between Russia and Ukraine entered its second month....

There is no mistake, this is planned genocide of the Ukraine people.

This is a picture that appeared in the Washington Post regarding the bombing of civilians in a theater. 

There should be no forgiveness for these atrocities. The Russians knew exactly where their bombs were landing and who they were killing. Kindly, examine this portion of the picture.

The bombed theater is the upper right corner. The other buildings appear to be residential. They are hit with bombs, but, the building furthest to the left in the middle edge of the picture is a church. It is untouched by Russian bombs. The Russians know exactly what they are doing, they have intelligence regarding this city of Mariupol. They more than likely have detailed maps of every inch of Ukraine.

This is deliberate genocide by Putin and his commanders. Putin is afraid to be seen as godless. How can diplomacy ever work with such a person? He will do this again and again until he has what he wants. Putin has violated every treaty he ever signed.

March 19, 2022
By Meg Kelly and Karly Domb Sadof

New satellite imagery (click here) collected Saturday morning shows the damage done to Ukraine’s stately Mariupol Drama Theater during Russian shelling this week. The image, which was provided to The Washington Post by Maxar Technologies, shows more than half the roof collapsed. The remaining portion is mangled, buckling inward. Rubble is visible on both sides of the building, and portions of the interior appear to be burned.

Mariupol, a southern Ukrainian port on the Sea of Azov, had been cut off from the outside world for more than two weeks when a Russian airstrike hit the theater Wednesday.

Hundreds of women, families with young children and the elderly had sought shelter in the theater this week, according to local officials. The Post was not able to verify that account. Little independent reporting is available from the besieged city. Internet access is scarce, if available at all, and many reporters and photographers covering Mariupol have left the city because of safety concerns....

True to form, The West sees hypersonic as a means to profit.

March 21, 2022

By Chris James

The BOLT II (click here) hypersonic flight experiment will launch Monday night from NASA’s Wallops Test Flight Facility in Virginia.

Hypersonic vehicles, which can fly much faster than passenger jets, would allow passengers to go from Sydney to Los Angeles, for instance, in just a couple of hours.

They could also offer more flexible options for launching payloads into space than conventional rockets and their speed and maneuverability mean they have a range of potential tactical military uses too.

Russia and China already claim to have operating hypersonic missiles, but hypersonic passenger aviation is still a dream rather than reality.

Nevertheless, several types of hypersonic vehicles already exist, including rockets, planetary entry vehicles such as SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and intercontinental ballistic missiles....

Putin needs to be humble. China already is.

There is only one use for a hypersonic missile and that is as a first strike nuclear warhead. The USA hasn't made this a priority in it's arsenil because the USA is most interested in peace. Why pour money into a program that is intended to never result in a military victory?

Nuclear warfair is about mass death and loss of land to radiation. That is not a victory. There is no viable use for these weapons and they remain mostly a myth, but, in fact the USA and NATO know the capacity of these horrible missiles and their destructive capacity.

Russia's willingness to show off it's hypersonic missiles is about SALES to other countries that fear being destroyed by the USA, such as North Korea, Iran and Syria. The USA is not interested in sales of munitions that have a one time use and bring human survival to the brink of extinction.

Russia also needs to appear to be superior to NATO alliance capacity to wage war. NATO isn't interested in war because it uses a country's assets wrongly. Putin is now a wild card and why the NATO alliance along with it's Pacific friends will focus on munitions that kill. It is a paradigm that will be revisited to insure The West is stronger than anything adversaries can throw at it. Unfortunately.

July 18, 2017
By Kyle Mizokami

The United States and Australia (click here) conducted a joint missile test earlier this month of a hypersonic missile capable of traveling faster than six thousand miles an hour. The test of the HiFiRE vehicle paves the way for a new generation of hypersonic weapons that can strike enemies with a minimum of reaction time.

The test, first reported by Flightglobal, was conducted jointly by Australia's Defence Science and Technology Group and the U.S. Air Force Research Lab at the Woomera Test Range in Australia. According to the site, the tests involved the HiFiRE scramjet vehicle. Here's a very short video of the launch:

Australia's News.com later linked the test to an unexplained fireball that was seen that night over much of the southern Australian outback.

The HiFiRE program has been ongoing since 2009, when the first test involving the scramjet engine took place. Previous tests have involved HiFiRE being lofted upward on an Orion sounding rocket with an S-30 rocket as a first stage....

Liars.

It doesn't get easier than this to interpret the Russian language. It is all in the body language.

Do Russian commanders lie to their soldiers? Yes.

Does Putin lie to the Russian commanders? Yes.

Question: What is it about the statement of having won the first phase really mean?

Answer: I am exhausted, defeated, and need to recooperate and redsign the attack to finish off Zelensky and then take on NATO. 

Now is not the time to end the defense of Ukraine. Now is the time to finish admitting Ukraine into NATO, end the genocide and bring an end to Russia's ability to kill.

March 26, 2022

By Michael Collins and Ana Faguy

Russia's military goals in Ukraine (click here) have been hazy since it began its invasion more than a month ago, and new statements suggest Moscow may consider claiming victory without completely overthrowing the Ukrainian government or capturing Kyiv.

Western analysts and leaders were skeptical of the Friday statements, where the deputy chief of the Russian general staff said his forces had largely achieved the "main objectives" of a first phase of the conflict. The power of the Ukrainian military has been "considerably reduced," freeing up troops to "focus on the main efforts to achieve the main goal, liberation of Donbas," said Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi.

The implications of the statement are difficult to determine, according to Stephen Biddle, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University who has studied U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere....

There is movement in the Flint, Michigan poisoning of residents.

March 25, 2022
By Courtney Bennett

It has been 15-months (click here) since the Michigan Solicitor General announced charges against nine people in connection to the Flint water crisis.

Through a one-man grand jury, these nine were indicted.

Now, two defendants say want a preliminary exam because their lawyers say a one-man grand jury is not constitutional under Michigan law.

In eight years no one connected to the Flint water crisis has been convicted of any wrongdoing.

Defense attorneys for Nick Lyon and nancy peeler argue the one-man grand jury is causing harm to these defendants.

“The question that the court really has to ask is, does it have a sufficient set of facts?," said Wayne State Law professor Peter Hammer....

Civil cases are different than criminal cases, only a preponderance of the evidence is necessary, not beyond a shadow of a doubt. Evidently, the Fifth Amendment is not as a protected status in these cases.

March 23, 2022
By Murjani Rawls

U.S. District Judge Judith Levy (click here) ruled that former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and four other officials must testify in the Flint water crisis civil trial against several engineering firms, Detroit Free Press reports.

Lockwood, Andrews & Newman, and Veolia North America are being sued on behalf of children harmed by the contaminated drinking water. The companies were not a part of the $626.5 million settlement agreement granted in 2021. Attorneys representing the children allege the companies were negligent in not doing more to get the city to properly treat water that was being pulled from the Flint River in 2014-15....

Missiles and petroleum infrastructure don't mix.

March 26, 2022

Footage shows (click here) flames billowing from a gas pipeline that was hit by a Russian strike. Firefighters also raced to put out a fire at a nearby market that was struck by Russian shells.

This was caused by 3 to 4 Russian missiles hitting a gas pipeline in Ukraine.

While in Saudi Arabia, Houthi rebels fired a single missile at Jeddah.

A fireball engulfs (click here) an Aramco oil depot near the Formula One circuit in Jeddah after the Houthi attack on Friday.Credit...

This is what the Russian missile seige is teaching every militant in the world.

Everytime there is yet another change to the petroleum infrastructure the cost of fuel in The West becomes more expensive. It is time to remove The West's economy from the petroleum infrastructure. It is long overdue.

There are many, many established organizations involved with the refugee efforts.

CORE (click here) and UNICEF (click here) are only two currently providing help and housing to displaced Ukrainians.

It is an entire country of more than 44 million people. It creates enormous demands on the global community.