Media Spin

From the DW:

"Russian media paint a dark picture of Ukraine"

As Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych agrees to hold early elections, the Russian media paint a grim picture of Ukraine as a nation that has lost trust in all authority, steadily slipping into chaos and civil war.

Izvestia, a pro-Kremlin daily, leads with a report on the life of ordinary citizens living in or near Kyiv's Maidan, the center of ongoing anti-government protests, which the paper calls a "war zone." It describes empty stores, closed banks, and fearful citizens, and claims that on February 20 alone, 129 charter flights left Kyiv for Russia, while flights to other destinations from the city were packed. The story's title quotes an interviewee as saying: "This kind of thing only happened in Kyiv during the Fascist occupation." The article also compares the emptiness of Kyiv's center to the deserted streets after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Komsomolskaya Pravda, a tabloid that is one of Russia's best-selling daily newspapers, writes that "what is happening in Kyiv will hardly leave anyone in Russia indifferent." It also reports the view of Ukrainians living in the Russian city Tver, one of whom says even relatives in Kyiv "can't understand" what's happening there.

Early on Friday (21.02.2014), the daily newspaper Kommersant published an article titled "Time for Viktor Yanukovych to get out." The article claims that the US and EU's initial "outwardly careful approach to the Ukrainian crisis ... has been replaced with open pressure on Kyiv." Moscow, it adds, "won't be rushing to be an intermediary in the situation." The fact that Yanukovych agreed to an early election is seen as a "capitulation" by the paper, which goes on to write that the EU thinks "Viktor Yanukovych himself as well as the leaders of the Ukrainian opposition are increasingly losing control of the situation in the country."

The popular weekly newspaper Argumenty i Fakty seems to agree that Ukraine is spinning out of control. "From the night of February 20-21, 2014, Ukraine de facto ceased to be an independent government," the paper wrote, pointing to the fact that it was the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, rather than a Ukrainian official, who had first announced that Ukraine had agreed to hold early elections in 2014. "Argumenty i Fakty" also points out that the street fighting in Kyiv - which it says includes "neo-Nazis" - and the paralysis in the government will impact on the Ukrainian economy. According to the paper, "Ukraine's perspectives for European integration, which weren't the best to begin with, are now becoming completely illusory."

Gazeta.ru, an online news outlet considered more independent than many, ran a rather different story on Friday from the Maidan, where Kyiv's demonstrations have been taking place for three months. Along with papers including "Komsomolskaya Pravda" and Moscow broadsheet "Moskovsky Komsomolets," it reported that the chief of Lviv province's interior ministry, Vasyl Krykavskyi, had said that western Ukrainian police were on the side of the pro-EU protesters. Referring to the protesters, he told the police not "to listen to lies about extremists - it is our people who are here [on the Maidan]." The paper also reports, however, that many in the crowd thought the declarations from these men in uniform came "too late," or were a trap.

^ Izvestia paints a picture of Russia in the 1990s after the Soviet Union collapsed with "empty stores, closed banks, and fearful citizens." I have lived in Russia and seen firsthand the outright censorship and media propaganda. Of course at the time, I didn't know what was the actual truth, but I later learned, after I left Russia, from US, Canadian, European and other media sources the whole story. Even things that didn't involve politics were spun in such a distorted way by the Russian media that it made me think of all those Soviet stories I heard and read about (where you had to read between the lines to get the truth - "There's no truth in Pravda (truth) -  and it didn't make me trust any of the news sources over there. It's clear that many media outlets around the world put a spin on the news to influence the readers/listeners, but to leave out any other opinions or views is going too far. ^

http://www.dw.de/russian-media-paint-a-dark-picture-of-ukraine/a-17450111

President Flees!

From USA Today:

"Ukraine parliament votes to remove president"

Ukraine's parliament voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovych on Saturday, even as the embattled leader remained defiant, calling the country's political crisis a "coup" and saying he has no intention of resigning or leaving the country. "They are trying to scare me. I have no intention to leave the country. I am not going to resign, I'm the legitimately elected president," Yanukovych said in a televised statement. "What we see today is a coup — I did everything to prevent the bloodshed. We adopted two amnesty laws. We did everything to stabilize the political situation." "I will do everything to protect my country from breakup, to stop bloodshed," he added. In the vote, parliament also moved to have early elections on May 25. In a deal brokered Friday to stop the violence, early elections were set for December. Lawmakers said the move to impeach was necessary. "Yanukovych is not capable of fulfilling his presidential duties," said opposition lawmaker Oleh Lyashko. Lawmakers will also consider banning the president from running in upcoming elections. Meanwhile, imprisoned opposition leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was released Saturday after spending 2 1/2 years in prison, and the ex-premier was flying to Kiev to join protesters there, her party said. "I will run for president," Tymoshenko said outside the hospital where she was released, adding she will "make it so that no drop of blood that was spilled will be forgotten." Opposition took control of the presidential palace Saturday on the outskirts of Ukraine's capital as Yanukovych flew to his base in the east and scores of his top party leaders resigned. Units from the western city of Lviv, a stronghold of the opposition, took over the palace after making their way to the capital despite halted train service. At the same time, protesters took over key sections of Kiev, including the entire government district of the capital. Some protesters have been reportedly stopping cars in search of government officials. The head of the president's Party of Regions, Volodymyr Rybak — an ally of the president — announced his resignation. Yanukovych said that decision followed an attack on Rybak. The deputy head of parliament, Igor Kaletnik, also resigned. Meanwhile, parliament moved to take over government power and held a session to appoint new ministers while lawmakers from the Party of Regions continued to resign. Parliament also appointed opposition leader Oleksander Turchynov as speaker. Analysts said the situation is one of confusion.

"I think there is panic and they are not sure how to proceed next," said Vitaly Chernetsky, president of the American Association for Ukrainian Studies in Cambridge, Mass. "There have been a number of members of the ruling party's coalition in the parliament who have left factions of the ruling party. There is now fractions and tensions, and it is still hard to predict which ways things are going unfortunately because of the severity of the crisis and the bloodshed. "But Yanuchovych has horrified people strongly enough that even the more hard-line representatives of the ruling regime are now reconsidering their actions." The Party of Regions initiated a meeting Saturday of deputies of all levels (city councils, regional councils) of the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where Yanukovych flew to. Protesters say they believe the party intends to initiate a split of Ukraine. Despite a deal reached Friday that granted a number of concessions to the opposition including early elections, many protesters vowed to press on until Yanukovych steps down. "People absolutely will stand till Yanukovych leaves his position," said 18-year-old protester Anna Sydor. "He is the one responsible for what happened. After all the deaths, I can't see how people could bear him sitting in the president's chair. It's not possible." "They thought that people would flee the square after they shot at us," she added. "And — surprise — we didn't. Instead, even more people are coming, and they are angry." Opposition leaders, who were booed and heckled Friday at Independence Square after agreeing to the deal brokered by France, Germany and Poland, seem to realize the street is in no mood for compromise. "Millions of Ukrainians see only one choice — early presidential and parliamentary elections," announced opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko in a tweet. The hard-won deal had moved elections up by one year, granted parliament greater powers over the president and agreed to a coalition government including the opposition. Lawmakers on Friday also decriminalized sections of the penal code, paving the way for the release of Tymoshenko and granting amnesty to all protesters. The protests broke out in November following Yanukovych's unwillingness to sign a trade deal with the European Union and instead accept financial help from Russia. The protests remained largely peaceful until January, when up to five were killed. But the violence escalated earlier this week after the president's forces attacked following a broken truce that led to as many as 100 deaths. The streets were calm Friday, but more reinforcements from opposition strongholds continued to arrive to assist protesters who say they still have work to do and remain determined that the president should leave office. A group of 40 police officers who rebelled against the command and arrived from the west of the country stood in the square in full uniform, unarmed. They were greeted with chants "You will be heroes!" and "The police is with people!" "We are here because we gave the oath to protect the people of Ukraine and we want to really follow the oath," said Major Oleh Kormyliuk, 35. "More officers are coming soon. Here we will be doing what we usually do — maintaining order."

^ It is clear that stability will not return to the Ukraine until Yanukovych is no longer President. He was the reason for the Orange Revolution a few years ago when it was determined that his supporters and Russia rigged the voting and even poisoned the other candidate (who eventually became the President.) Now Yanukovych has abused his powers to the extreme and after murdering ad wounding the protesters he can no longer claim he is not a dictator. The only way he will stay in power is if Russia sends in troops (which would leave to a much wider, violent conflict that would go beyond Ukrainian borders.)  Yulia Tymoshenko was released from prison (interesting she was held in the more pro-Russian city of Kharkiv where Yanukovyuch fled to from Kiev.) It is one thing to simply blame the protesters for all of this, but even when the Ukrainian Parliament  -which always sided with the President - sees him as breaching his authority and going to far then the rest of the world (ie Russia) should accept that and let the Ukraine figure this all out for themselves. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/22/ukraine-protests-kiev-president/5723135/

A Kiev Deal?

From Yahoo:

"Ukraine leader, opposition sign deal to end crisis"

Ukraine's leader and opposition on Friday signed a deal to end the splintered country's worst crisis since independence after three days of carnage left nearly 100 protesters dead and the heart of Kiev resembling a war zone. President Viktor Yanukovych's dramatic decision to hold early elections and form a new unity government was met with caution by the tens of thousands gathered on central Kiev's main square for a protest that began exactly three months earlier. The deal was signed in the presidential palace's Blue Hall in the presence of EU envoys by Yanukovych and and three top opposition leaders who included the charismatic boxer turned lamaker Vitali Klitschko.  But Russian President Vladimir Putin's representative pointedly missed the meeting and his name card was taken off the table at which the leaders gathered for the signature ceremony. The peace pact met the demands the opposition had laid down at the start of the protests: the balance of political power would shift back to parliament -- as it had been before Yanukovych assumed the presidency in 2010 and took the nation of 46 million on a course away from the West and toward Russia. It would also create an opposition cabinet with the authority to reverse Yanukovych's decision in November to ditch an historic deal that would have put Ukraine on the path to eventual membership of the EU, which many Ukrainians see as their protector from centuries of Russian domination.  But the opposition has radicalised since police used live ammunition to mow down dozens with snipers and Kalashnikov rifles. The chant of "death to the criminal" -- a reference to two later-pardoned convictions for petty crime Yanukovych received in the Soviet era -- rose over Kiev's iconic Independence Square overnight Thursday. "I think that Yanukovych must leave now, and never come back," said a middle-aged protester named Lyudmila. "We do not need any elections. He should not be allowed to run." Three EU foreign ministers and a Russian envoy flew in for emergency talks on Thursday amid growing anxiety about a crisis that has turned Ukraine into a prize fought for with Cold War-era gusto by Moscow and the West. The foreign ministers of EU powers France and Germany -- as well as Ukraine's culturally-close ally Poland -- then went into separate talks with the opposition leaders in order to convince them to back the pact. Klitschko is the closest of the deeply fragmented protest movement has to a single leader who can articulate the demonstrators' demands. But limits to his sway over the most militant elements of the opposition that has roots in the nationalist west of Ukraine has been repeatedly exposed in the course of the crisis. The shocking scale of the bloodshed prompted EU officials to slap travel bans against Ukrainians responsible for ordering the use of force. Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said an agreement was also reached at an emergency EU meeting in Brussels to impose asset freezes on those with "blood on their hands". US Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday warned Yanukovych in a telephone conversation that Washington was ready to impose sanctions on officials guilty of ordering troops to fire on protesters. Ukraine's former master Russia blasted the sanctions as "bullying". Kiev authorities have put the death toll from the past few days at 77.  But opposition medics said more than 60 protesters were shot dead by police on Thursday alone -- a toll that combined with the 28 victims on Tuesday put the final count at nearly 100 dead. Life appeared to be returning to normal in much of Kiev as the city's vital metro network resumed service after being shut down to keep protesters from reaching Independence Square on Tuesday night. But many protesters told AFP that the deal represented too little and came much too late. "These steps were what we needed but I think it is now too late after all the blood that has been spilt," said 58-year-old Sergiy Yanchukov. "It was a crime against humanity and Yanukovych should be sent to The Hague (home of the International Criminal Court).

^ I hope that all sides: The Ukrainian Government, the protesters, Russia, the EU and the US will respect this agreement and that it will make the Ukraine stable and improve the lives of the people there. I would love to go back to the Ukraine (and Russia) and hopefully this agreement will move me one step closer to both. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-leader-announces-39-truce-39-start-talks-212036733.html?vp=1

Nazi Arrests

From the BBC:
"Germany arrests three suspected Auschwitz guards"

Three men aged 88, 92 and 94 have been detained by German authorities on suspicion of being guards at the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. The homes of a number of men were raided in three German states, months after prosecutors investigating Nazi-era war crimes announced they were recommending charges against 30 people. The three men taken into custody have been sent to a prison hospital. More than 1.1 million people, most of them Jews, were murdered at Auschwitz.

The three men detained all live in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg and are suspected of involvement in murders that took place between 1942-45. They were taken to Hohenasperg prison hospital in Ludwigsburg, reports say. Raids also took place in the states of Hessen and North Rhine-Westphalia, although none of the suspects was arrested. The decision to take action against alleged Nazi guards followed the conviction in May 2011 of John Demjanjuk. A court decided that by being a worker at a concentration camp he was guilty of being an accessory to murder. This meant that courts did not have to prove active participation in killing to find a suspect guilty of murder, BBC Berlin correspondent Stephen Evans reports. Demjanjuk, who died in 2012 aged 91, had denied being a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.  He had been sentenced to five years in jail for being an accessory to the murder of 28,060 people but died in a home for the elderly while the case was pending appeal.

^ It is a good thing that the German Government is finally keeping its word and also its historical responsibility in bringing any and all those involved in the construction, the running and the murders of the Holocaust. This should have been done back in 1945, but with former Nazis in every aspect of German society (out in the open) until they retired in the 1970s nothing would or could really change in Germany. I don't know why the Germans didn't do more from the 1970s-1990s but it wasn't until the 2000s that the German Government actively started going after the Nazis - there were a few "show case" trials before the 2000s, but they were given symbolic sentences to appease other countries. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26282592

Russian Promise

From MT:
"Russia Pledges to Fight for Crimea if Ukraine Splits "

Russia has warned the West that it is willing to fight a war over Crimea, a Ukrainian region where 60 percent of the population is ethnically Russian and where Russia's Black Sea fleet is stationed. "If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war," a senior government official told the Financial Times on Thursday. "They will lose Crimea first [because] we will go in and protect [it], just as we did in Georgia." In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia after the Georgian army attacked the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Later, Russia became the only major nation to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia — another breakaway region — as sovereign nations. The incident has been a major source of tension between Russia and the West ever since. In Ukraine, the threat of another standoff between Russia and the West over a breakaway region appears increasingly real. The speaker of the Crimean parliament said on Thursday that Crimea might attempt to split from Kiev if the country begins to break up as a result of the current crisis that has enveloped the country. Many officials believe that Ukraine is within Russia's sphere of influence and enjoys a privileged relationship with Moscow, a relationship they are keen to preserve. "We will not allow Europe and the US to take Ukraine from us," a foreign policy official said. The states of the former Soviet Union, we are one family. They think Russia is still as weak as in the early 1990s but we are not."

 

^ The Soviet Union transferred "control" of the Crimea from the Russian Soviet Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in 1954 - at the time it didn't matter because everything was ruled from Moscow. Then in 1991 the USSR collapsed and the Crimea became part of an independent Ukraine. Russia "fought" to keep their naval base in the Black Sea. If Russia invades any part of the Ukraine it will bring the current situation to the point of no return and not in a good way. I hope that both Russia and the US/EU do not get militarily involved in the Ukraine and that the Ukrainian people can decide for themselves and that once that decision is made all sides in the Ukraine will abide with it. ^

 

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russia-pledges-to-fight-for-crimea-if-ukraine-splits/495034.html

Russia's Influence

From USA Today:

"Russia's shadow lurks over Ukraine"

A struggling leader in an ex-Soviet republic appealed to Russia for help battling extremists as the West called for calm so a peaceful resolution could be found. The year was 2008, and the republic was Georgia. Now as then, Vladimir Putin lashed out at the United States and Europe for seeking to turn a former republic toward the West in the guise of a negotiated settlement. In the end, Russia invaded the South Ossetia region of Georgia, and its tanks rolled all the way to the outskirts of the capital of Tbilisi until they halted. Russia's military is still in the country. Some analysts say a similar scenario may be playing out in Ukraine, where as many as 100 anti-government protesters were killed Thursday in clashes with police in the service of a president who has been appealing to Moscow for help while Western diplomats pressure him to sit down and talk. "When the music stops," does Ukraine want to be "on the losing side" with President Viktor Yanukovych's crumbling police state backed by Russia's muscle, "or on the side of political compromise and engagement with Europe?" asked Damon Wilson, who served as White House director of European affairs under President George W. Bush. After a brief truce collapsed Thursday, the European Union voted to impose sanctions on Ukraine's leaders responsible for the violence. The sanctions, unanimously approved by EU foreign ministers at an emergency meeting, include a travel ban to the 28-nation bloc and the freezing of assets held in EU countries. The White House had condemned both sides for escalating violence and asked them to calm the situation. But in a telephone call Thursday with Yanukovych, Vice President Biden called upon the Ukraine president to immediately pull back all security forces, the White House said. Biden stressed that the United States "supports an independent, democratic Ukraine that pursues the future its people choose." And so embattled Ukraine finds itself caught squarely between the West, which has been wooing it, and Putin, who is clearly determined not to let the republic slip away. Police and protesters, who are seeking a European-style democracy, continued to clash into the evening in Kiev. Protesters threw rocks and firebombs at lines of police after government snipers shot into crowds of protesters. Ukrainian television showed scenes of protesters being gunned down and others lying on the street as comrades rushed up to pull them to safety, carrying them on planks of wood. Oleh Musiy, head of medical service, said the number of dead is "from 70 to 100 protesters." The Ukraine Interior ministry says 67 police were captured by protesters. Video footage on Ukrainian television showed protesters leading captured police officers around a protest camp in central Kiev.  The confrontation is not limited to the capital. In the West Ukraine, near Poland, protesters have taken over government buildings in Jhmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Uzhhorod and Ternopil, according to Ukrainian media. In Lvov, protesters have replaced the authorities with their own created council. In Russian-speaking East Ukraine, attacks on both pro-government and opposition party buildings have taken place over the past few days. The offices of opposition leader Viktor Klitschko's Udar Party were attacked in the cities of Dnepropetrovsk and Krivoy Rog. The split between East and West is a remnant of centuries of warfare, in which European powers and ethnic Cossacks and Slavs fought for control of the fertile land along the Black Sea. Czarist Russia asserted control in the east, and during World War II the Soviets reunited Ukraine with its Western provinces, then under Polish domination. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Ukraine declared independence, along with many other former Soviet republics that had been forced to live under Communist rule. But Russian President Putin has never accepted Ukraine's sovereignty or that of any of the republics. He has described their loss as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century" and has said that among his top priorities for his latest term is the reintegration of former Soviet republics through tighter economic links, political ties and security pacts. He has said Moscow seeks a new Eurasian Union to rival the European Union and NATO, the U.S.-European military alliance. "What we've got in Putin is a man with a strategic vision and an autocratic mentality," John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, said recently. In January, Putin stepped in to offer Yanukovych a foreign aid package of $15 billion in cash and below-market-rate natural gas to aid Ukraine's economy, which has been ailing. It came with a string attached: Ukraine needed to reject an economic pact with the EU that had been in the works for years.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin threatened to cancel all joint space and defense industry projects if Ukraine made a move toward the European Union.  "Russia has never not intervened in Ukraine, that's the whole issue," said Ben Tonra, head of the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin in Ireland. "President Putin has actively intervened in Ukrainian politics since the separation of Ukraine." "There is an imbalance in terms of what tools the EU and Russia have in their disposal, and clearly the Russian Federation, as we have seen in Georgia, is willing to use military force as it deems necessary." But now, amid the violence, European heads of state and foreign ministers are trying to pull Yanukovych in their direction with sticks of their own. The EU said the sanctions it imposed Thursday will target "those responsible for human rights violations, violence and use of excessive force" in Ukraine, the EU said in a statement. The U.S. State Department banned travel to the USA for 20 Ukrainian officials implicated in the violence and said it will consider joining European leaders in freezing bank accounts. It called on both sides to stop the violence. "We are outraged by the images of Ukrainian security forces firing automatic weapons on their own people," White House press secretary Jay Carney said. "We urge President Yanukovych to immediately withdraw his security forces from downtown Kiev and to respect the right of peaceful protest, and we urge protesters to express themselves peacefully. "

Wilson, the former White House European affairs director, said such sanctions may be able "to avert civil war in the coming days and to salvage the prospect of a European future for Ukraine." Many of the leaders of the ruling party have substantial wealth and investments in Europe and may be swayed by measures to keep them from their money. But Bolton dismissed the sanctions as trivial. "If that's what people think motivate the hard men of power in control of the Ukrainian government, they're sadly mistaken," he said. "They love to stroll the European boulevards, but when it's that or maintaining their power in the Ukraine, this is worse than nothing."  The USA should make clear to the Ukrainian opposition and everyone in the country "that doesn't want to be brought into the Russian orbit" that the USA will push for Ukrainian membership in NATO, because "NATO provides security," Bolton said. Russia is already talking like the uprising in Ukraine is a major security threat to the region that must be tamped down. Its Foreign Ministry on Thursday described the violence as an attempted coup and even used the phrase "brown revolution," an allusion to the Nazi rise to power in Germany in 1933. The ministry said Russia would use "all our influence to restore peace and calm." Sanctions are a "painful stereotype" that will only make things worse, says Alexander Konovalov, president of the Moscow-based Institute of Strategic Assessment. "Sanctions against Moscow won't sway it, nor will sanctions against Ukraine. You need to stop the bloodshed, not issue sanctions," he said. "So they'll ban a few officials from entering the United States – so what? What is that going to change?" Wilson said sanctions have helped influence government officials and politicians in the Ukraine and other former Soviet republics in the past, especially those who own homes and business assets in Europe. In Belarus in 2006, the USA used targeted sanctions against officials involved in trials against political dissidents, until the dissidents were released, Wilson said.

^ The situation in the Ukraine is at it's breaking point. It could end in a few ways. It could erupt into a civil war, the Russians could invade and put the Ukraine firmly back into its influence with no outside help, the Russians could invade and the US and the EU could step in militarily or the Ukrainian Government and the protesters could figure things out themselves. I have big doubts about the last solution. The Ukraine is split between East and West in political affairs as well as being split East-West internally. Most of western Ukraine was part of Poland until the Soviet Union invaded and annexed it to the USSR first in 1939 and then again in 1944. Eastern Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union from it's founding in 1922. That means for a decade one part of the current country was in a communist dictatorship under a extreme famine while the other part was in a flourishing democracy. Hopefully, the violent situation will end and the Ukraine will become a truly stable and democratic country. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/20/ukraine-violence-russia-europe-united-states/5642577/

Violent Kiev

From the BBC:

"Why is Ukraine in turmoil?"

Violence has erupted in the Ukrainian capital Kiev once again, with dozens of people being killed during clashes between anti-government protesters and police. The stand-off, which has oscillated between calm and violence for months, escalated dramatically on 18 February, with policemen being shot, and riot police moving in to clear the peaceful protest camp on Independence Square. The stakes for Ukraine and its 45 million people are enormous, with the country's fate now part of a wider strategic battle between the West and Russia.

What are the protests about?

Those on the streets say they are struggling over the future development of the country - will it be a country based on the rule of law, or Russian-style oligarchy and closed interests? The protests broke out after President Viktor Yanukovych's government rejected a far-reaching accord with the European Union in November 2013, in favour of stronger ties with Russia. Thousands of people, outraged that a long-standing aspiration for integration with Europe had been ditched overnight, poured into central Kiev for peaceful protests. They have occupied Independence Square, known as Maidan, ever since. Several developments - including violent police attacks on student protesters, severe new anti-protests laws, and the abduction and beating of opposition activists - have caused the demonstrations to spread and intensify. For many people, they are now less about Europe than about getting rid of a president they believe is clinging to power and serving the interests of his own close circle and Moscow.

What caused the latest outburst?

The sudden deterioration of violence on 18 February - by far the deadliest day since protests began - took many people by surprise. Both sides have blamed each other but who threw the first stone, or fired the first shot, is not clear. The day before had been calm. The government and opposition had agreed a deal - an amnesty for arrested protesters, if demonstrators vacated captured government buildings. The opposition had also agreed, with negotiators for the president's ruling Party of the Regions, that parliament would discuss changing the constitution, to reduce the president's powers. But then, the speaker of parliament refused to allow that on the agenda. As news got out, angry protesters marched on parliament. Police tried to block their way. Protesters tried to force their way through, and violent clashes ensued. Later, riot police moved into Independence Square.

How did it come to this?

These are some of the key events in the escalating unrest:

• 21 November 2013: Government announces EU Association Agreement being abandoned; prompting major protests in Kiev
• 30 November: Police launch brutal raid on student protesters; TV images spur protests which grow during December
• 17 December: Russian President Vladimir Putin offers economic lifeline to Ukraine, with $15bn of loans and cheaper gas supplies. Protesters see it as Moscow buying off President Yanukovych
• 16 January 2014: Parliament passes anti-protest laws, which opponents call "draconian". Most of the laws later repealed
• 19-20 January: Intense clashes
• 22 January: First protest deaths: two people die from gunshot wounds after clashes with police. Another body, of an activist, found in a forest days after his abduction.
• 23-24 January: Protesters seize government buildings in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and other western Ukrainian cities. Protests also spread east
• 28 January: Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his government resign
• 14-16 February: Under an amnesty deal, protesters vacate occupied government buildings, and charges against those arrested dropped
• 18 February: Parliament speaker rejects debate on changing constitution; violent clashes erupt in Kiev, leaving at least 25 dead

Who are the protesters?

The protests have been strongest in the Kiev area and western Ukraine, where there is a greater affinity with Europe to the west, rather than in the Russian-speaking east and south. But there have been protests in eastern Ukraine too. The leaders of the three opposition parties in parliament have been on the Maidan, attempting to direct the protests, and trying to present a united front.

They are Vitali Klitschko, the former world heavyweight boxing champion and leader of the pro-EU Udar movement; Arseniy Yatsenyuk, of the country's second biggest party, Fatherland, and an ally of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko; and Oleh Tyahnybok, head of the far-right group Svoboda (Freedom). But these leaders appear not to enjoy the full trust of many protesters. The Fatherland party, in particular, is tainted by its recent years in government, and seen by some as part of the political establishment. Some radical right-wing groups, like Right Sector and Common Cause, have been at the forefront of clashes with police, though it is not clear how much support they have.

How has the West reacted?

The US embassy in Kiev revoked the visas of "several Ukrainians who were linked to the violence" after the deaths on 22 January.  EU leaders expressed shock at the deaths and called on all sides to halt the violence. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the EU Commission, warned that the EU's relationship with Ukraine might have to be reviewed. The EU's official position on the agreement abandoned in November is that the door remains open for Ukraine to sign but it has put any new negotiations on hold until there is a clear commitment to do so. Both the EU and US condemned the now-revoked anti-protest laws, saying they were incompatible with Ukrainians' democratic aspirations.  The EU and US have raised the prospect of a joint economic plan to help Ukraine bring an end to its crisis. But officials say any proposal would be linked to precise political and economic reforms and are adamant there will be no "bidding competition" with Russia. Top EU diplomat Catherine Ashton has visited Kiev and is playing a key role in negotiating with the Ukrainian government and opposition. On 6 February, a bugged phone conversation surfaced on the internet - purportedly between visiting Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and the US ambassador - revealing US thinking on key opposition figures. Ms Nuland was also apparently heard to use an expletive to describe the EU's role in Ukraine.

Is Russia pulling the strings in Kiev?

To many observers, the deal struck between Russia and Ukraine on 17 December points to a carrot-and-stick approach by the Kremlin.  The 2004 Orange Revolution led to Mr Yanukovych's removal from power after his election was judged to have been fraudulent. Russia backed him then - and backs him now. For centuries Ukraine was controlled by Moscow and many Russians see Ukraine as vital to Russian interests. After the riots erupted on 19 January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the protests were "getting out of control", and accused European politicians of stirring up the trouble.

^ I haven't forgotten about Euromaiden or those people who are protesting for a free/fair way of life. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25182823

Expedited Vets

From the Stars and Stripes:
"Veterans could have Social Security disability benefits expedited"

Veterans with a Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation rating of 100 percent Permanent and Total will soon have their applications for Social Security disability benefits processed faster, the Social Security Administration announced Wednesday. “Social Security will treat these veterans’ applications as high priority and issue expedited decisions, similar to the way the agency currently handles disability claims from Wounded Warriors,” the organization said in a press release. Plans call for the expedited process to begin mid-March. “Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country and it is only right that we ensure they have timely access to the disability benefits they may be eligible for and deserve,” Acting Commissioner of Social Security Carolyn Colvin said in the news release. Veterans must inform Social Security that they have a 100 percent Permanent and Total disability compensation rating and show proof of their disability rating with their VA Notification Letter in order to receive the expedited service. Having the rating does not guarantee that a veteran’s application for Social Security benefits will be approved; it only ensures that the processing of their claim will be expedited. And veterans must also meet strict Social Security eligibility requirements to receive a disability allowance, according to Social Security

 

^ This is a step in the right direction, but clearly more needs to be done for all veterans and the disabled in this country. It is a shame that people tend to abuse the SSA and get disabled assistance when they aren't disabled or are simply fat while the real disabled have to wait months and even years to get the help they deserve. ^

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/veterans-could-have-social-security-disability-benefits-expedited-1.268478

War Tributes

From the Globe and Mail:

"Ottawa’s plan to mark world wars has DND wary of spending backlash"

The Department of National Defence fears public denunciation over government spending on the centennial of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War, with senior officials harbouring concerns that Ottawa will be pilloried for wasting money that should go to veterans instead.  “There is the risk of criticism for spending on commemoration instead of investing more in services and benefits for veterans,” an internal Defence communications plan for Canada’s commemoration of the two 20th-century conflicts says. The draft strategy also warns that media may “raise concerns about the cost of the commemoration activities during a time of fiscal restraint.”

Government-funded tributes and remembrance events begin in 2014, the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, and continue for six years. “Our achievements during the war were a vital step on the road to full nationhood, with Prime Minister Robert Borden gaining the right to sign the Treaty of Versailles,” the National Defence plan says. Plans include commemoration of important battles, such as 1917’s battles of Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, “widely considered to represent Canada’s coming of age as a nation.” Following on the heels of the Conservative government’s $30-million commemoration of the War of 1812, these new public-affairs campaigns are part of the Tories’ efforts to restore Canada’s military tradition to prominence in the national identity. The Harper government is increasingly sensitive about its record on military veterans and suffering soldiers. The government has tried to cultivate an image as pro-military since taking power, but has managed to alienate a vocal group of veterans and families angered by what they feel is insufficient federal support for soldiers and former soldiers. Critical reports from the federal Auditor General’s Office and ombudsman have only fuelled controversy. How much Ottawa is spending to remember the First World War and Second World War is a mystery. The Department of National Defence referred queries to the Department of Canadian Heritage, where an official repeatedly declined to offer a dollar figure. “The Government of Canada has funded and will continue to fund significant national milestones that are an important part of our shared history,” Heritage spokesman Len Westerberg said. “There is not one special budget for these combined events.” Records obtained under access to information by researcher Ken Rubin show the Department of National Defence prepared a three-part “mitigation strategy” if it faces questions about why Ottawa is not spending more on veterans instead of funding tributes to military service. Officials are to say that commemorating key milestones is “an important part of how Canadian society marks its progress,” the DND plan says. Forty-five thousand Canadians died in the Second World War, it notes, helping “win the struggle against tyranny.” Through the ordeal of war, it says, “Canada matured and modernized as a nation.” Officials are instructed to say that the government is “committeed to providing injured and ill members of the Canadian Forces and veterans with the care and support they need.” Finally, they’re told to note the commemoration spending comes from existing departmental budgets rather than newly allocated money. Defence planners are warned to tread lightly with Quebeckers “who are more pacifist than other Canadians.” Focus groups conducted in 2012 for DND found that francophone participants acknowledged that while commemorating historical events is important, “they felt these celebrations need to be modest in scale.” DND must also contend with limited public appreciation for remembrances of particular battles, its strategy paper says. “Commemorating individual battles is seen by some as excessive,” the plan says. “Despite the general consensus that Canada’s historical legacy is important, fewer focus groups participants could clearly articulate why marking such events is important. This was particularly true among youth participants.” The department is applying lessons it learned from Ottawa’s robust commemoration for the 200-year-old War of 1812, which the government branded as the “Fight for Canada.” It found less enthusiasm for the PR campaign among national media. “At the national level and in social media it was neutral to negative as academic commentators and pundits tracked costs to the dollar and waged their own information campaigns about a ‘campaign to politicize history.’ Meanwhile at the local level it was more positive, factual coverage.”

^ While I thought it was a complete waste of time and money for the Canadian Government to commemorate the War of 1812 (and apparently, many Canadians feel the way I do) I do think that there needs to be special tributes to those that served in both World War 1 and World War 2. It wasn't until the end of World War 2 that Canada was able to achieve a sense of separateness from the rest of the British Empire when Canadian Citizenship was created. Of course full independence didn't come about until the early 1980s when Canada no longer needed the British Parliament's permission to change anything. ^

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawas-plan-to-mark-world-wars-has-dnd-wary-of-spending-backlash/article16952279/

Sochi Accessible

From MT:

"Disability Access at Sochi Games Needs Upgrade"

After $51 billion, it should be easy to get around at the Olympics — for everyone. Organizers have repeatedly touted accessibility for people with disabilities as one of the chief lasting benefits of hosting the Winter Games in Sochi. But with less than three weeks until the Paralympics, infrastructure around the Olympic Park and its venues are not entirely barrier-free. Wheelchair access ramps at Laura Cross-Country Ski & Biathlon Center are not easily visible, while stairs for walking access are steep and icy. Door frames raised from the floor are all over the venues, including doorways leading into lower seating areas and wheelchair seating at Bolshoi Ice Dome. Wheelchair lifts at some of the hotels being used for the Games only work on one side of the stairs — and instructions are provided only in English. One trailer with two restrooms for people with disabilities outside the Iceberg Skating Palace doubles as a storage closet, filled with janitorial supplies and a large trash can. As the world saw when the Olympics opened Feb. 7, not everything is finished or polished — there are certainly hurdles for people with disabilities. Nearly 1,500 athletes are coming to the Paralympics right after the Olympics. It is a much smaller scale than the games happening now, but in a country that's never hosted the Paralympics before. Despite preparations for years, issues remain for an infrastructure that will not be fully tested until athletes from the 43 countries and their supporters arrive. The Paralympics, starting March 7, include 72 events in five sports over 10 days. Ahead of that, people strolling around Olympic Park with wheelchairs, walking sticks, crutches or other aids have been difficult to find during the Sochi Games. Walkways are often blocked by cable protectors that create awkward bumps five or six inches off the ground. In many places, ramps are simple sheets of thin plywood, not always flush with the ground and almost always added on to the structures they connect rather than being built in during initial construction. Arly Velasquez, an alpine ski Paralympian for Mexico and analyst for Claro Sports, said buses are accessible to those in wheelchairs but drivers frequently do not know how to use the lifts, forcing him to either demonstrate himself or wait for another bus. And when he arrived at his hotel one night, the wheelchair lift leading to his room wasn't working, so he had to improvise by strapping himself to his chair with a belt, he said. "I just put my computer on the top of the stairs," he said, "and I just climbed with the hands." Craig Spence, spokesman for the International Paralympics Committee, said the problems "are totally relevant but hopefully they'll be ironed out before the Paralympics start."

All venues for the games and infrastructure have been built in accordance with an IPC accessibility guide, he said. The issues themselves, Spence said, are a sign of how far Russia has come since winning the games seven years ago. "That the lift is there in the first place … is a step in the right direction," Spence said. A smooth run is key to long-term plans for the games to encourage more access for people with disabilities throughout Russia. The last time the nation hosted the Olympics in 1980, it refused to stage the Paralympics, saying the country did not have people with disabilities.

Yevgeny Bukharov, head of the Paralympic Integration Department for the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, said he is confident that the venues and the athletes' villages are fully accessible for athletes, spectators and families. Organizers plan to transition from the current Games to the Paralympics by adding more seating capacity, transportation and pathways for people with disabilities, he said. Organizers produced a 104-page handbook detailing the accessibility features throughout Olympic and Paralympic venues, including the biathlon center, plus hotels and key transit hubs. And staff is planned at each venue to handle complaints on access issues and find problems that need fixing. In some areas, like ski venues, more personnel are planned in places where accessible infrastructure wasn't practical, Bukharov said. Organizers have been trying to work with developers, construction companies and fire officials, among others, to prioritize accessibility issues while meeting their needs. Raised door frames, for example, are required in some areas by fire officials so air cannot get under the door, he said.  Bukharov said bus drivers for the games were hired relatively last-minute for the games but will train more for the Paralympics on using lifts on buses. "I hope that these Games will be very convenient for people with disabilities, particularly for athletes, because everything was built to create a good atmosphere to support them to achieve that [high] level in competition," Bukharov said. Russian officials have made an effort in recent years to make transport and public buildings accessible to people with disabilities. Some metro stations have lifts or ramps for people in wheelchairs but the application is scattered. Public buses are built low to the ground, but often have no lifts and are therefore not accessible to people with disabilities traveling without assistance. As recently as September, a Human Rights Watch report said the more than 13 million people with disabilities in Russia have significant barriers in trying to go about daily life. As a result, they rarely leave home. Disability rights researcher Andrea Mazzarino, who wrote the report, said people in Russia generally want to help those with disabilities but often suggest personal help rather than infrastructure changes that would allow people with impediments to get around on their own. "It sort of reflects this idea that it's not important and it is not expedient to allow people to use public services independently." The IPC did an audit of the Sochi venues in January, Spence said, and it plans to assess the situation on the ground at the venues when staff begin to arrive Friday, suggesting changes as needed. "We are not expecting too many surprises," Spence said.

But he acknowledged that the biggest test of any infrastructure comes when people using it arrive. And, he said, guests shouldn't have the same expectations outside of Olympic Park, despite the strides Russia has made. "Outside the venues, there will be some issues," he said. "You cannot change an entire city in the seven years that you go from winning the Games to hosting the Games."

Hundreds of buses with disability access used around Olympic venues, for example, are expected to be put to use around the country after the Games end, Spence said. But Mazzarino said Russians have not seen improvements so far. "Residents outside the tourist zone have not benefited significantly," she said. Officials for several national Paralympic organizations declined comment, saying they would get impressions of Sochi on site when they arrived. Tiina Kivisaari, secretary general of Finland's Paralympic Committee, said the country's staff and athletes did not notice any serious problems during visits over the last year, but almost everything was under construction. "From our Olympic team, we have heard that there's been some problems, e.g. with elevators, but we still trust and hope that villages, venues, etc., will be accessible when [the] Paralympic Games start," she said in an e-mail. Things visually look accessible in Sochi, but are not as practical as they seem, Velasquez said. Velasquez said he has been able to make things work, navigating ramps that lead to dead ends or stairs and doing wheelies to get over cable protectors. "I can do that but, not all of the wheelchair users can do it," Velasquez said. "I can do it because I am an athlete and also because this chair is very good, but not all of the people will have this kind of wheelchair." Athletes, he said, want to be independent. "More than anything, you are just looking to do things by yourself," Velasquez said. "You do not strive to be depending on someone else because it just takes time and just takes someone to be there."

^ Having been to many places in Russia I know that even in major, international places (like train stations, airports, etc) things aren't accessible for the disabled. I had hoped that with the Winter Olympics in Sochi that at least Sochi would be completely accessible, but it seems that things haven't come together. There are still a few weeks until the Paralympics start and so there's a chance to get everything ready. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/disability-access-at-sochi-games-needs-upgrade/494904.html

Blizzard Days

From WMUR:

"Snow days aren't so simple for some schools in New Hampshire"

When winter storms hit, some New Hampshire superintendents have two decisions to make: whether to close schools, and whether to declare a Blizzard Bag Day. What's a "Blizzard Bag Day?" Think of it like a snow day, with a catch. Schools are closed, but students must complete assignments at home, either online or on paper using supplies sometimes sent home in a designated blizzard bag. If 80 percent of students finish their work, the day counts as a full day and doesn't have to be made up at the end of the school year. The Kearsarge Regional School District in central New Hampshire was the first in the state to implement a blizzard bag policy in 2009. Before then, it wasn't unusual to have to extend the school year by eight or nine days in the summer, Superintendent Jerry Frew said. 

"We had periods of time when we would have interrupted weeks of school on end, and just out of frustration, we said, 'There has to be a better way to do this, to preserve continuity so the kids stay in the habit (of learning),'" he said. "You can't stop and start and stop and start. There has to be a way to preserve the momentum of learning."  He called the policy a great partnership between families and teachers, who often say the blizzard bag days are busier than a regular school day because they have to prepare all the lessons ahead of time and are communicating by phone and online with students and parents all day. The program has been fine-tuned over the years. The first year, the workloads proved a bit too much, Frew said. "We were a bit overzealous in our expectations," he said. School officials also took to heart some "whining" from students, he said. "One of our first learnings was that the first snow day of the year should be the old-fashioned snow day," he said. "So we took that feedback and said, 'Next year when we get the first storm, it won't be a blizzard bag day, it will be a good old-fashioned snow day."  Frew's district has always achieved at least 90 percent participation. Some "blizzard bag" days have had better attendance than regular school days, he said. It's unclear how many other districts have implemented similar policies. Kearsarge was among seven districts with policies approved by the state Department of Education last year. For this year, six districts applied for and received approval, said Marie Morgan, a consultant in the department's school approval office. They are Barnstead, Chester Academy, Cornish, Nelson, Pinkerton Academy and Timberlane, said Morgan, who recently heard from a parent upset that his third-grader "couldn't just enjoy a snow day as we did when we were that age." Some districts that have tried the concept in past years have discontinued it. In a letter to parents last fall, ConVal School District Superintendent Brendan Minnehan said it was difficult to keep the assignments relevant and timely. Internet access also was an obstacle, he wrote. While the assignments could be completed offline, families without a computer in the home or Internet access found them challenging. For others, providing equal access within a household was a problem. "Even for those families with a computer and Internet access, the challenge of completing the workload with multiple children in the house needing computer access is daunting," Minnehan said.

 ^ I don't know how I would have felt as a kid and having to do lots of school work on a snow day. I probably would have done some of it, but not a whole lot. Also, I don't think it should involve telephones or computers. For one thing the electricity/Internet could go out and then everything would fall apart. I can see having 1 or 2 blizzard days a winter, but not more than that (regardless of how many actual snow days you get.) I am curious to see if this practice is used around the country. ^

http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/snow-days-arent-so-simple-for-some-schools-in-new-hampshire/24525664

Foreign Trend

From Yahoo:

"Playing the field: Russian women leaving Russian men on the sidelines in Sochi"

There is a new sport sweeping these Winter Olympics, and the Russians aren't faring too well at it. Well, Russian men at least. Russian women are doing just fine. In between watching Evgeni Plushenko get injured and Russia get Oshie'd and ice dancers twizzle about, Russian women are partaking in an age-old custom: flirting. And according to local women, after looking at what the international scene has to offer, they're saying Russian men don't deserve gold, silver or bronze. It was Anna who first told me this. An Olympic volunteer, she wore the kind of boredom that can only rest on the face of someone who spends eight hours a day scanning barcodes of journalists' accreditation passes and not getting paid a dime for it. After a few minutes of idle chatter, I asked her what her favorite memory of the Olympics would be. "The people I met," she said thoughtfully, starting a narrative that began like it came from the "Politically Correct Things That Volunteers Should Say to Nosy Journalists" handbook. But then she flipped the script. "Actually, the men I met," she added in near-perfect English. "I know what I want now. I want to marry a foreign man." Such a bold statement would have been a shock if I hadn't already heard rumors of such sentiments on previous trips to this country. Svetlana Kolchik, deputy editor-in-chief of Russia's version of Marie Claire magazine, wrote an article about it a few years back that was even featured on Russia's government-run news service, RIA Novosti. Kolchik wrote of a trend that saw Russian women, especially young professionals, "gradually shifting towards foreigners." While there is no medal table for this oldest of all sports and no way of keeping overall score, it is clear that the host nation is not capitalizing on home-field advantage. The fact that Russian women are often acclaimed as being among the most beautiful in the world would seem to be a wonderful boost for the Russian man. Sure, he might have a short lifespan and be stuck in one of the coldest countries on earth while seeing most of his domestic hockey heroes flee for the NHL. But, hey, the eye candy is good here, da? Yet around the Olympic venues, as furtive looks and glances and smiles are traded quicker than those ever-present pins, local guys are in danger of being shut out of the podium. While Russian women, at least from the looks of it in Sochi, love many things – skintight pants, designer handbags, diet drinks and oversized sunglasses – they are none too fond of their nation's men. This is clearly marvelous news for the single male traveler. I don't fall into that category – I'm happily married to a wonderful woman – yet it was still intriguing. Can a nation's female population suddenly turn against its males, like some kind of sci-fi intra-colony gender mutiny? With an hour to kill before the U.S.' latest speedskating debacle, I started to ask around. No one seemed bothered by the topic and plenty warmed to the theme in varying degrees of broken English and confusing grammar. All thought Russian men didn't stack up with their international counterparts. Anya liked Italian men but couldn't figure out why. Olga thought Americans were "cool." Irina used to date a British man and thought he was "great like Hugh Grant but a little more boring." Anna said the Dutch were tall. But is that a good thing? "Maybe, but only if his teeth are correct," she added. "Russian men smoke too much cigarettes and they drink too much," said Katarina, a bank worker whose father gave her an Olympic figure skating ticket as a birthday present. "They smoke a lot of cigarettes. They do not like to talk to women very much. It is more of an old-fashioned attitude." Katarina did not, however, appreciate me asking if part of the reason for her trip was to meet foreign men. "No, of course not," she said. "I come to Sochi to watch the Olympic Games and to see something very nice. It is a special bonus, like a treat. There are more men from other countries here and that is good for me. They are handsome and they have many things that are more appealing to me." It doesn't take Olympic-style reflexes, only a moderate helping of opportunism, for the savvy foreign visitor to pounce upon this trend. The M.O. of the Russian women in Olympicville seems consistent. Eye contact, look down, look back, smile, look away. For a young male American I bumped into, it has all been a learning experience. "At first I thought I noticed it from the volunteers and didn't think much of it because they're supposed to smile at you and be friendly," said 25-year-old Carl, an advertising executive who fulfilled a long-held ambition by visiting Russia for the Games. "But then I realized it was a lot more than that, too. I don't want to sound arrogant – I'm OK looking – but honestly, this is awesome."

Carl is a bit of a cad, caddish enough that Carl isn't his real name. He asked for it to be changed because he is dating someone back home – "Kind of seriously," he said – but that hasn't stopped him from arranging dinner with a young Russian student he met in the Olympic Park, leaving him to frantically figure out if there is a Russian version of Yelp to look for Sochi restaurants. Maybe Carl shouldn't get his hopes up. Maybe it is all a plot from Vladimir Putin to keep smiles on visitors' faces. Maybe the Russian guys are in on the joke, ready to reclaim their women from the swooning gaze of foreigners the moment the Olympic flame is extinguished. Probably not. From Russia, with love, Anna gave me a parting shot to remember. "Maybe you can call me?"

^ I have known and witnessed this first-hand. Even the Russian women that I was only friends with said they hoped to marry a non-Russian (some to leave Russia and some to stay in Russia with their foreigner spouse, but most wanted to leave.) I am not going to try to say why I think Russian women prefer non-Russian men, but it has been the trend for the past several decades. ^

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/russian-women-leaving-russian-men-on-the-sidelines-in-sochi-145056772.html

A New Miracle

From USA Today:

"T.J. Oshie leads USA to thrilling shootout win over Russia"

T.J. Oshie's magic in shootouts was a frequent topic of conversation when general manager David Poile and his selection committee chose the U.S. Olympic team roster. "You know at some point we are going to end up in a shootout, and we are going to want T.J. Oshie," Poile said more than once.

Coaches had the same mindset about Oshie's specialty. The Americans appreciated what he brought to the team in general, but they loved his shootout prowess. He was like the team's ace in the hole, a guy who habitually hits it out of the park when it was needed most. The "some point" that Poile talked about came Saturday when Oshie converted four of six shootout chances against Russian goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Americans a wildly entertaining 3-2 shootout win against the Russians.  "I've never seen anything quite like that," said U.S. defenseman Ryan McDonagh. "I never knew he had that in his repertoire, all of those moves." Oshie scored right after U.S. goalie Jonathan Quick stood his ground to force Ilya Kovalchuk to miss for the second time in four chances. "I think I aged two years in that shootout," U.S. coach Dan Bylsma said. In the NHL this season, Oshie is 7-for-10 in shootout attempts, with two game-deciding goals. U.S. captain Zach Parise said he felt nervous for Oshie. Unlike in the NHL where a player shoots only once, international rules allow for using the same player over and over once three different players have been used. At one point, Pavel Datsyuk scored to give Russia a 2-1 lead in the shootout. Oshie had to score on his next shot, or Russia would have won. He did. "It was somewhat of a chess match – he kept him guessing," said U.S. center Joe Pavelski, who missed his shootout attempt. Oshie doesn't recall ever facing Bobrovsky in a shootout. "I was just trying to think of something to do," Oshie said. U.S. goalie Jonathan Quick wasn't surprised by Oshie's performance. "I've faced him a few times in the shootout and I didn't do well against him," he said. Backes said he has seen that move 1,000 times in St. Louis Blues practices. "It kind of makes me chuckle when I see it," Backes said, adding, "His hockey sense is off the charts and he makes plays. Today, he got to do it in front of a lot of spectators here and back home." A crowd of 11,678, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, was on the edge of their seats for the entire game that was intense and hard fought from the opening faceoff.  Russia's hockey players probably have more pressure on them than any other athletes in the Games because they are expected to win the gold medal. It's been said the Russian people won't view the Olympic Games as a success unless the hockey team wins a gold medal. "Everything is OK, nothing terrible has happened," said Russian wing Ilya Kovalchuk. "We played good and showed our character by equalizing the game at the end." Since this was only a preliminary round game, Russia still has a chance of winning the gold medal. But the win helps the Americans because it puts them in an excellent position to earn a bye into the quarterfinals. To win their group, the Americans only need a win against Slovenia on Sunday. On Saturday, Slovenia upset Slovakia. Slovenia lost 5-2 Russia in its first game. The Russians thought they had produced the game winner on a shot by Fedor Tyutin with 4:40 remaining in the game, but the goal was disallowed because the net was slightly dislodged.

Even the Americans admitted that was a big break. "I saw it was off, but I didn't know if it was before or after the puck went in," Quick said.  With Dustin Brown in the penalty box, Datsyuk tied the score with a power play goal with 7:16 remaining in the third period. It was his second goal of the game. Midway through the third period, Joe Pavelski scored a power play goal to give USA a 2-1 lead. Patrick Kane set up the goal by threading a perfect pass through bodies in the slot. The game was as tight and hotly contested as it was expected to be. The symbol of intensity came early in the game when USA's Ryan Callahan and Russia's Evgeny Medvedev stood nose-to-nose jawing each other after a whistle. There might not have been a more heated exchange between a Russian and American since President Kennedy exchanged words with Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile crisis.

That level of intensity continued throughout the game. Backes was a beast for the Americans, using his big body to be a physical defensive force. At one point, he threw heavy body checks against both Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin on the same shift He also mixed it up with Tyutin. The Russians aren't known for their physical play, but these Russians resembled the hard-to-play-against Blues more than the Big Red Machine of CCCP era. In the past, the Russians could be spooked by physical play. Not this era of Russians. They mixed it up push for shove against an American team that was built with the idea that they needed an edge to their game to succeed. These two gritty teams could end up facing each other again in the medal round.

^ This feels like the 1980 "Miracle on Ice' when the US beat the Soviet Union at the Winter Olympics. I guess history does repeat itself. ^ 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/sochi/2014/02/15/usa-russia-olympic-men-hockey/5506693/

Postive Or Not

From USA Today:

"Leaders want to keep Russia's history in positive light"

Russian authorities are growing increasingly testy over how the country's past — particularly World War II — is publicly depicted, and some legislators are backing a law that would protect Russian history from negative portrayals. Konstantin Ernst, who produced the opening ceremony for the Sochi Olympics, told Ekho Moskvy radio that he was disappointed that the International Olympics Federation urged him not to include elements about World War II in the production. The IOC said it would set a bad precedent. Ernst said he found it extremely difficult and even painful to omit the segment, which he said could have been "the strongest moment of the whole ceremony." Now, a lawmaker wants to pass a law protecting Russian history from some perceived slights in the media.

"Our history and our point of view on historical events" is being deliberately distorted in Russia and abroad, Alexei Pushkov, who heads the State Duma Foreign Policy Committee, told the Russian news media. "All of this is part of one chain. And when there's such a battle for history going on, when EU countries pass laws protecting a certain point of view of history, maybe it's time for us to think about legislation that will protect our history and our point of view on historical events."

His proposal came in answer to plans in neighboring Latvia to criminalize the denial of the Soviet Occupation of their country, a controversial issue that has divided the two nations for years. "The law could, for instance, target the rehabilitation of Nazism and equating the Soviet Union with Hitler's Germany," Pushkov told USA TODAY on Friday. "Based on international law, such comparisons should be outlawed." Pushkov said he believes it is unacceptable for media to make such comparisons. He added, however, that they should face administrative, not criminal responsibility. "The need for such a law needs to be widely discussed," he said, adding he was not drafting such a bill himself. "If democratic European countries are passing such laws, we should do the same."

Pushkov's statements are the latest in a string of patriotic rhetoric coming from Russian leaders calling for more positive representation of Russia's history -– and that has some Russians worried about creeping propaganda and censorship.

Among recent eye-opening incidents:

• The Russian Foreign Ministry reprimanded CNN about an article, focusing on unattractive monuments around the world, that called a Soviet war monument in Brest, a city in the former Soviet republic of Belarus, ugly. The CNN article had suggested that some think the soldier "simply looks constipated." CNN apologized and edited the piece.

• The vocally independent TV network Dozhd (Rain) was dropped by a a major Russian satellite service after running a poll asking whether the Soviet Union should have surrendered Leningrad to the Nazis instead of enduring an 872-day siege that cost as many as 1.5 million lives.

• Ekho Moskvy, an opposition-supporting radio station, drew heat after publishing a blog from a satirist who compared the 2014 Sochi Olympics to the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi Germany. The commentary compared 15-year-old Russian figure skater Julia Lipnitskaia to a German shot put champion during the 1936 games in Berlin.

In December, Putin insisted that the head of a state-owned news agency must be "patriotic," overhauling Russia's largest news agency and replacing its head. Last summer, another conservative lawmaker, Irina Yarovaya, submitted a draft bill that would make criticism of the actions of Allied forces of World War II punishable by a three-year prison term. While such laws are a long way from passage, some experts worry that the rhetoric itself is creating a dangerous environment for historians and journalists with a different point of view. "This is part of a top-down policy (of patriotism) coming from the Kremlin," said Denis Volkov, a researcher at the independent Levada Center polling organization. "Part of it is deliberate policy from the presidential administration, part of it is coming from lawmakers themselves who are currying favor in hopes of getting promoted, but who also sincerely believe in these (patriotic) proposals. Even if such laws are not passed, (the rhetoric) forms an (environment) where independent analysis is suppressed. Under that system, everyone is vulnerable." Russians have complex attitudes toward their own history. About half of the population — 49% — have a positive view of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who presided over World War II and a purge that saw millions of people killed, according to a 2013 survey conducted by the Levada Center. In the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russian communists have unveiled plans to erect a monument to Stalin in a Siberian city where he spent time in his final exile before his rise to power, a local lawmaker said Friday. The monument is planned to be built by next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on May 9. Stalin's approval has grown since the 1990s, sociologists say, but that may be the result of state rhetoric. "It's hard to talk about public opinion if only one point of view predominates," Volkov said. "When there are three state-controlled channels and when the majority of the population gets its news exclusively from them, public opinion is largely shaped by the government." Historian Boris Kagarlitsky says that among a lot of people on both the left and the right, Stalin is more popular even than Lenin because he is seen as a tough leader "who got things done." Sergei Markov, head of the Institute of Political Studies and a member of the public chamber, says there is a "big, intensive discussion" among the leaders now on how to present Russian history because it "produces citizens' attitude toward the country." He said there is an attempt to the blend the various stages of Russian history — from tsarist to present day, and even its Byzantine roots, while not ignoring its repressive elements.

He notes that Russia, under Putin, has adopted the music of the Soviet national anthem, a flag from imperial Russia and a two-headed eagle as a state symbol dating to the Byzantine Empire. Putin "attempted to bring some peacemaking between different historical periods," he says. But one aspect of Russia's history — the soldiers from what Russia calls The Great Patriotic War — is inviolable. Markov says he supports a criminal law, if only with a "small, symbolic punishment," for those who deny the country's sovereignty and who "deny the heroism of Soviet soldiers fighting against Nazis."

Historians call the proposals part of an ideological doctrine that Putin has been trying to implement since he became president in 2000. But rather than a return to Communist ideology, Putin is tapping into the ideology of the Tsars, according to historian Irina Karatsuba. "This is a lot like ideological doctrine of Orthodoxy, autocracy and collectivism that was being implemented during the reign of Nicholas I (from 1825-1855)," Karatsuba said. "I think we will reach a point where we see laws being passed that will make arguing with this ideological doctrine a criminal offense." History, she fears, is being pressured to turn into propaganda, calling the trend "neo-totalitarian." How the new plans to shape history will be put into place remains to be seen, another historian said. "The government is using its resources, financial and informational, to create a new ideological doctrine, to create an official historic truth" that excludes all other points of view, says Artemy Pushkaryov, senior researcher at the Institute of Russian History at the Russian Academy of Sciences. "We're not going to see so much censorship as lack of financing for research that doesn't cater to the official point of view." "There is a fine line between propaganda and science," he added, and that line is likely being crossed

. ^ Every country in the world has a dark past that they aren't not proud of and yet you can't/shouldn't overlook the bad things. You can not simply "sugar-coat" the past to make yourself feel good. That is a fake patriotism. If you truly love your country than you have to take the bad with the good. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/16/russia-history-world-war-ii-law/5511369/

A Clean Slate

From the Stars and Stripes:
"Senate bill would provide clean service records for discharged gay, lesbian troops"

A bill that would upgrade the service records of gay, lesbian and bisexual troops discharged due to sexual orientation and open the door to veterans’ benefits has been introduced in the Senate and referred to the Armed Services Committee for review, officials said. The Restore Honor to Service Members Act was introduced Jan. 30 by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. The bill mirrors one introduced in the House in June by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis. Pocan has said that the House bill has the bipartisan support of 140 members, however, it has yet to move forward. “The repeal of 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was a watershed moment, ending institutionalized discrimination that unjustly targeted gay and lesbian members of the military,” Schatz said in a statement from his office. “Yet thousands of former service members still bear the scars of that discrimination, with their military records tarnished with discharges other than honorable and marks on their records that compromise their right to privacy.

“Many of these brave men and women that served our country are currently barred from benefits that they earned and are entitled to, and in the most egregious cases they are prevented from legally calling themselves a veteran. This needs to be corrected now.” Roughly 114,000 servicemembers were discharged because of sexual orientation between World War II and the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in September 2011, officials have stated. Many of these servicemembers, depending on the discharge classification and the state in which they lived, were treated as felons and precluded from voting and collecting unemployment and veterans’ benefits, such as health care and disability. Many were also discriminated against when applying for jobs and housing. A lot has changed since the repeal of the 1993 law that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. Gay and lesbian servicemembers have been able to serve openly, marching in gay pride parades and having same-sex wedding ceremonies in on-base chapels. They have also seen benefits extended to their partners. Organizations that represent LGBT servicemembers and veterans have applauded efforts to bring the bill to President Barack Obama’s desk. “LGBT veterans who served and sacrificed in silence during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as those who served before and during ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ in the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan, deserve to see their service recognized and honored at long last,” Denny Meyer, spokesman for American Veterans for Equal

 

^ This bill, if passed, would do a lot to right the wrongs of the past. ^

 

 

http://www.stripes.com/senate-bill-would-provide-clean-service-records-for-discharged-gay-lesbian-troops-1.267291

Scapegoats

From USA Today:

"Russian gays fear return of anti-LGBT campaign"

After passage of a law banning the promotion of homosexuality among minors last summer, the Russian government's anti-gay campaign appears to be on hiatus during the Olympic Games. But many gay activists and human rights groups fear it will return with a vengeance once the foreign athletes, journalists and dignitaries have gone home. The government takes little interest in the gay scene itself, as long at it keeps a low profile. But when gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people organize into an independent movement demanding rights, the state moves to stifle it. The danger, activists say, comes when laws like the one banning gay propaganda seem to send a signal that attacks on gays are acceptable. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1991. Hand-holding by same-sex couples is not an uncommon sight. Police have tried to protect gays from hooligans bent on violence, though that protection has not been consistent or reliable.  Russia has officially recognized the LGBT Sport Federation, which plans to hold the LGBT Open Games from Feb. 26 to March 2 to draw attention to human rights issues and to present a positive image of gays to Russians. But amid a semblance of tolerance, gay activists can quickly run afoul of the government, particularly if their activities take on a political coloration. Gay pride parades, for instance, have never been authorized in Russian cities -- and the new law gives authorities leverage to forbid them outright. Amid increasingly anti-gay rhetoric from lawmakers and public figures, the Duma passed a law in June 2013 prohibiting the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors." Violators so far face only fines, but the law is being used to cow reporters into forgoing favorable articles about gays and to block public activity such as a gay pride march. The signs are ominous, says Dmitry Svetly, a coordinator with the Rainbow Association, which organizes events and street protests to promote the rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people. The new law has encouraged radical anti-gay groups, Svetly says. "At one protest, this group came and surrounded us," he says. "Homophobic groups have grown larger in size, stronger, and they feel they have the support of the government." In some cases, attackers have grabbed a gay man off the street and taken him to an apartment where they would beat him and curse him as a pedophile, then post a videotape of the incident online as further humiliation. What happens after the Olympics? Andrei Zhuravlyov, a conservative lawmaker from the United Russia party, wants to reintroduce a bill that would strip gays of parental rights. The initial attempt failed in September. Many Russian LGBT activists say such laws could have an easier time passing after the Olympics. "Many of the young people I've talked to fear that once the Olympic Games are over and international attention for Russia decreases, things will get worse. A lot are really afraid," Klimova says. The law on homosexual propaganda is part of a clear government strategy to focus on morality, according to sociologist Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a former member of the United Russia party. "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was a period that was widely characterized as moral decay," she says. "The government wants to restore morals." The government influences most of the Russian news media, which in turns shape how the public perceives gay issues.

^ The Russians, historically, have always needed a scapegoat. Someone they can blame for why their lives have always been so difficult. During Czarist times they blamed the Jews and whenever the Czar needed to get the peasants' minds off of something he had done he sent in the Cossacks to kill the Jews in pogroms (a Russian word meaning "destruction.") These attacks allowed the regular Russians to feel a sense of justice when in reality nothing had changed for them. Then in Soviet times the Communists blamed non-Communists (as well as Jews) whenever their 5 year plans failed. To the Soviet Dictatorship they would simply call someone an "enemy of the people" and arrest them and their family. Again, these attacks allowed the regular Soviets (mainly the Russians) to feel a sense of justice despite the lack of freedom and food. In modern Russia the new scapegoat are homosexuals. They are being blamed for the social decay that occurred from December 1991 (when the USSR collapsed) to today despite that fact that they are a minority without much influence. The anti-gay campaign has become a crusade for Russians who continue to live in poverty with little rights and freedoms. I saw a Nightline report on how homosexuals in Russia are treated and it was along the same lines as how Blacks were treated in the South before the Civil Rights Movement (it's interesting to note that the Soviets showed how the Blacks in the US were mistreated as a way to show how great Communism was.) One thing that really gets me is all those so-called, self-proclaimed religious people in Russia who openly call for the destruction of homosexuals. These "religious" people only found the light in the past 20 years and before that they were mostly good, non-believing Communists. I have no respect for any religion or religious sect that calls for other people to be hurt or killed. The point of religion is to help people treat others with respect, forgiveness and harmony and not to persecute anyone. You may not agree with how others live, but to attack them is anti-religious. There is a saying that those that openly protest someone so strongly are usually hiding being involved in the thing they protest openly. That may be true. There's a group of non-homosexuals who follow the "straight, but not narrow" way of life. I support them 100%. They are heterosexuals who believe that gay people should have equal rights the same way that white people believed that blacks should be treated equally. If Russia stopped trying to blame difficult groups for the problems in their country then foreigners (gay an straight) would want to come to Russia and see what a great country it is. ^


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/15/gays-in-russia/5372287/