The Gates of Hell

Source: Los Angeles Times

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paused in the last, quiet hours of a dying year to sign into law a controversial bill that eliminates jury trials for “crimes against the state,” a move that lawyers and human rights groups fear will be the start of a dangerous exertion of Kremlin control over government critics.

The law does away with jury trials for a variety of offenses, leaving people accused of treason, revolt, sabotage, espionage or terrorism at the mercy of three judges rather than a panel of peers. Critics say the law is dangerous because judges in Russia are vulnerable to manipulation and intimidation by the government.

A parallel piece of legislation, pushed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and still awaiting discussion in parliament, seeks to expand the legal definition of treason to such a degree that observers fear that anybody who criticizes the government could be rounded up by police — and, because of the law signed Wednesday, tried without a jury.

Human rights groups and lawyers have warned that the changes to Russia’s criminal code, largely undiscussed in the state media, would allow the government to crack down on any whispers of dissent. The changes also seek a stronger hand for the FSB, the modern incarnation of the Soviet KGB, by giving the state wider latitude in cases that fall under intelligence agency rather than police jurisdiction. Some critics point to the days of dictator Josef Stalin as a comparable legal structure.

“It’s a preparation for terror, although not the grand terror of the 1930s,” said Andrei Illarionov, a fellow at Washington’s Cato Institute and a former economic advisor to Putin. “They are much smarter now. They are preparing some kind of selective terror against those who are courageous enough to speak up.”

The purpose, many observers agree, is not only to give the government greater tools in cracking down, but also to send out tremors of fear.

“Not that they necessarily will go ahead and do it, but they are threatening us very, very seriously that they can do it and are ready to do it,” said Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the For Human Rights movement. “They want to have the legitimate possibility to call all opposition people enemies of the state.”

Medvedev’s last-minute signing had all the trademarks of a pre-holiday news dump engineered to generate the least possible media coverage. New Year’s Eve is the biggest holiday of the year in Russia, and even those watching the news were distracted by the failing negotiations over shipments of Russian gas to Ukraine. The law was announced by a single sentence on Interfax.

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Technorati Tags: jury trials, crimes against the state, treason, revolt, sabotage, espionage, terrorism

Source: Pravda.Ru

Is the United States going to put dictatorship into effect under the guise of the anti-terrorist struggle? What may trigger another major transformation in 2009? The answer is obvious: another 9/11 in the USA.

Terrible and bloody events are in store for the world in the beginning of 2009. Most likely, the world will witness a reality show with a nuclear blast, which will be used as a reason for the US administration to change the world order again and leave the new Great Depression behind. There is every reason to believe that the Russian Federation may suffer as a result of this possible initiative too.

Joe Biden made a sensational statement on October 19, 2008. He said that Barack Obama would have to undergo an ordeal during the first six months of his stay in the White House. It will be the time of a very serious international crisis, when Obama would have to make tough and possibly unpopular decisions both in home and foreign politics.

Biden said that there were four or five scenarios for the development of the international crisis. Afghanistan, North Korea or the Russian Federation may become the source of one of them.

When Obama learned of Biden’s speech, he tried to explain everything with rhetorical exaggerations. However, Biden’s remarks gave food for thought, taking into consideration the fact that former secretary of state Madeleine Albright described his remarks as statement of fact.

Apparently, the political elite in the United States is certain that their nation would soon suffer another mammoth terrorist act. This assumption became the subject of Michel Chossudovsky’s article “A Second 9/11„: An Integral Part of US Military Doctrine.”

The independent analysts presented a selection of statements, which US top officials released during the recent several years. For example, Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary, said at Yale April 7, 2008 that modern technologies let even a small terrorist group kill hundreds of thousands of people. Dick Cheney stated May 26, 2008: “Nobody can guarantee that we won’t be hit again.”

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Technorati Tags: False Flag, dictatorship

Source: Reuters

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Critics say that under Putin, security services have become excessively influential and expressed fears Russia could one day become a police state.

Rights campaigners have urged Medvedev to veto a cabinet bill ordering that professional judges rather than juries run trials involving terrorism, civil unrest and several other serious crimes.

They also urged Medvedev to block government attempts to impose high treason charges on people accused of “harming the constitutional order,” which critics believe could lead to a political witch-hunt.

Analysts say the role of the security services is likely to grow even further as Russia plunges into an economic crisis marked by rising unemployment and financial woes that threaten the popularity of the government.

Avoiding civil unrest and maintaining political stability is viewed by the government as a top priority.

…

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Technorati Tags: Russia, FSB, civil unrest

Source: VOA News

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned the West against seeking to advance its interests in former Soviet republics at the expense of Russia.

Lavrov told a group of foreign businessmen meeting in Moscow his country understands that the United States and Europe have legitimate interests in the region. But he said they should build ties through “legal, understandable and transparent methods,” not what he called “behind the scenes meddling,” which he said leads to crisis situations.

The Russian minister indirectly mentioned his country’s August conflict with Georgia, and repeated Russia’s opposition to U.S. plans to deploy a missile defense system in Central Europe.

He said his country is counting on the future administration of Barack Obama to confirm pledges to cooperate with Russia in fighting common threats such as international terrorism and weapons proliferation.

Russia calls the U.S. missile plan a threat to its security.

U.S. officials say the proposal to place 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and radar guidance in the Czech Republic is aimed at protecting the European allies against threats from countries such as Iran.

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Technorati Tags: Sergei Lavrov, missile defense system

Prophecy A La Rosenberg and company…

Source: Bloomberg.com

Russians are back to playing their favorite parlor game: speculating on whether or when Vladimir Putin will reclaim the presidency.

Some opposition politicians, analysts and investors are guessing that the credit crunch and Russia’s faltering economy may persuade the former president, now prime minister, to oust his chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev, next year. If Medvedev resigns, presidential elections would be held, allowing Putin, still Russia’s most influential figure, to resume full control.

Such a scenario would let Putin, 56, dodge political fallout from the economic slump because Russians traditionally blame nationwide problems on the prime minister, not the president. It also would dash Western hopes of a thaw with Russia under Medvedev, a 43-year-old lawyer who succeeded Putin in May.

“The current leadership could call presidential elections within the next few months,” said Mikhail Kasyanov, Putin’s prime minister from 2000 to 2004, and now an opponent. “These `elections’ will have one aim: Putin’s return to the Kremlin.”

Putin, a former KGB colonel, sounded very much in charge during a speech yesterday to the annual gathering of his ruling United Russia party, vowing to protect Russia from another financial collapse like its 1998 default.

The prime minister last week declined to say whether he planned to run for the presidency next year, calling such talk “premature.” Putin stepped down in May after eight years as president because of a constitutional ban on three consecutive terms. Heads of state who serve two terms can return to power after a period out of office.

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Technorati Tags: Vladimir Putin

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