Igor

"According to the Russian military, the rebels, backed by NATO military planners, will try to launch an offensive against federal troops a day before the "Big Eight" meeting in Okinawa. While Russian military officials are being careful not to name the particular NATO member providing military aid to the rebels, well-informed sources told the Independent News Center of the Chechen Republic that the country in question is Turkey."

To find Nato manufactured arms is not enough to accuse Nato of backing the rebels.
The cold war phobia didn't fade away in Russia too.
It can be Turkey but it can be, more probably saoudi-Arabia or other arabian states armed with Nato weapons. I think the Opec countries are more likely to be involved than Turky because it means for them the world domination of the oil market.
Furthermore; they caught arabian mercenaries amongst the rebels.

____________________________________________________
Dima

On ne dit pas "ayez l'amusement" mais "bon amusement".
Bon amusement avec la langue franc,aise!
Merci pour les liens (links).

First off, I am not the one that suggested Antonio's banishment to DMS. Secondly, I think that many other factors play a role in the ousting of this particular character. I know that frustration was a key to this action. I think we should also forget about the Constitution in this case. There is a level of dignity which must be reached in order to provide stimulating interaction. If somebody consistenty refutes all basis of argumentation, the medium for interaction turns into a pissing contest. That's basically the response to such things. Antonio spewed his hatred and this reciprocated itself. As humans, what kind of recourse is there once this occurs. We can ignore it, I suppose. But I believe there should be certain standards to uphold when addressing somebody. I understand that viewpoints and logical systems are subjective. However, the human concepts such as respect, dignity, and honor are universal.

Fred,
merci infiniment de vous correction. Mon Français a besoin toujours d'amélioration.

Fred,
Je vous souhaite également la chance avec votre Russe 😉

Antonio,
in other man's words..you are really a very difficult person. You are not open to discussion. You don't even believe that your opponent is sincere, you think he's pretending or simply lying to you. You also confuse your hypothesis with reality. And you sure recognize the worthyness of your opponent by one's nationality or absence of thereof. In case you don't find your way back: espero que usted aprenda algo.

By L'menexe ( - 172.152.31.195) on Wednesday, July 12, 2000 - 08:32 am:
if st. tony believes his words he will happily take them somewhere else.
how ironic that the fellow who repeatedly posted that 'destroy america' bit [at least 3x] would now claim his rights =as an AMERICAN= were somehow denied him.
_no one_ is taking into account his extended off-topic posts, which in theory shouldnt have been here in the first place, because they had no relation to the chechen conflict.
nor did they ever.

i will draw the line, finally, after at least 6 months, at jews eating sh*t on this page. thank you very much.

i too have rights.

---

So in L'Menexe's viewpoint only Americans have rights. If anyone else wants rights he has to be an American. In that case, there are no rights, but only priveleges granted to Americans and denied everyone else. Priveleges can be denied, but rights cannot. It is sheer hypocrisy for L'Menexe to claim rights for himself and then deny that Antonio has the same rights simply because Antonio doesn't live according to or even accept L'Menexe's standards. Either you have rights or you don't. You cannot say "well this person does this and behaves that way or says this or argues that or talks more than I want to hear or posts more than I want to read so he can be stripped of his rights." What is next? A newspaper publishes a Sunday edition an inch thick might be shut down for printing too much. Maybe people will be denied telephone service for talking too long. Maybe television stations might be closed for broadcasting all day. Maybe people might be summarily executed for living too long.

God, it's getting even better than ever... THX all in doubts again. Don't you worry, rights are well protected. Newspaper won't be shutdown for printing. It's not yours. Newspaper, on other hand, can shutdown your production unless it's your newspaper.

And, when you are allowed to use what is not yours - that's called a favor or a privilege. Favors are not protected.

L'menexe sets standards, trades favors, shoots prominent board members like ducks and in many other similar ways violates such basic human rights as freedom to express themselves in other people's media. His clout just keeps growing and this is an omen. Someday we might want Reuters to convey our messages and they will deny us, too. Horror.

We have been on a dark side for too long, time to rise from our knees is now.

The Dilemma of Russia’s Anti-Corruption Campaign
13 July 2000
Summary

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign to wrest control of the economy away from the oligarchs is moving along briskly, propelled by a series of corruption investigations. But this campaign is at least rhetorically rooted in the rule of law and as a result, the president’s efforts may ultimately snare his own allies in the government. Soon, the Russian president will confront a choice: temper his campaign or be labeled a fraud.

Analysis

With tax, corruption and embezzlement investigations against top Russian corporations proceeding at a blistering pace, President Vladimir Putin is making great strides in his efforts to rein in Russia’s oligarchs. So far, the government has launched investigations or filed charges – ranging from fraud to tax evasion – against 13 major business leaders whose companies include Media-MOST, LUKoil and Gazprom.

However, as these investigations widen, they are beginning to take in some of Putin’s own associates. The president may be dangerously close to compromising key political allies in his widening crackdown on the oligarchs. Putin’s own prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, has been under scrutiny for alleged ties to organized crime. If Putin spares allies like Kasyanov, the president will lose political legitimacy and be branded an autocrat.

On July 12, investigators from the Russian Federal Tax Police Service (FSNP) announced the launch of a criminal case against auto giant AvtoVAZ. Vyacheslav Soltaganov, director of the tax police, told ITAR-Tass that the company, headquartered in the central Russian city of Togliatti, had concealed hundreds of millions of dollars from taxation by producing multiple vehicles with the same serial number – and then reporting the manufacture of a single automobile.

With this case, investigators can snare more than a company set on a bold scheme; they can also snare two of Russia’s most powerful businessmen. One is Boris Berezovsky, director of LogoVAZ, AvtoVAZ’s sales arm, and most recently a detractor of the president’s. Berezovsky has been named in the most recent criminal charges. The second man, AvtoVAZ Director Vladimir Kadannikov, said that the company would appeal the decision and the charges would not impact a joint production deal to be signed with the American auto giant, General Motors.

The tax police have simultaneously opened criminal charges against Russian oil giant, LUKOil, and its director, Vagit Alekperov. Tax Minister Gennadiy Bukayev told Interfax that the company had concealed revenue in “especially large amounts.” Ironically, the tax minister himself had praised the company in May, handing it an award for being a conscientious taxpayer. Bukayev told Interfax that the company had won the award based on its own tax reports. Evasion was only discovered in a subsequent investigation.

The sweep of the government’s investigation is now expanding exponentially, snagging the largest names in Russian business. The Media-MOST empire, which owns banking, broadcasting, satellite communications and banking interests, has been raided repeatedly. Gazprom, the country’s natural gas giant, and its director, Rem Vyakhirev, are under investigation for questionable loans to Media-MOST. The director of LUKOil, Vagit Alekperov, the country’s largest oil concern has been charged with tax fraud.

After years of corruption and crony capitalism, Putin is attempting to regain control of the Russian economy by imposing the rule of law. Successful investigations will allow the government to recover assets that were pillaged while at the same time reassuring nervous foreign investors that there corruption won’t be tolerated in the Russian economy.

But the success of the crackdown will generate its own logic – and a dilemma for the president. All the same allegations that are befalling Berezovsky, Alekperov and Gusinsky could be pinned on Putin’s allies in the Duma. Kasyanov, for one, is under attack in the Duma for alleged ties to organized crime.

Putin will soon privately grapple to build a firewall between his allies and his foes. The web of oligarchs extends right to the door of the president. Putin must now decide whether to let his allies fall in the name of the law – or protect them and undermine his campaign and his own authority.

http://www.emperors-clothes.com/articles/Johnstone/balk.htm

Interview, Putin Seeks Equal G8 Role But Not Cash

MOSCOW, Jul 12, 2000 -- (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin wants Russia to play a full role with the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries rather than going cap in hand again to the rich club to raise cash for its battered economy.

In an extensive interview with Reuters, Russia's ORT television and Japan's NHK television in his Kremlin reception room on Tuesday, the 47-year-old Russian leader looked relaxed and confident, answering questions without notes.

"We are not counting on or striving to receive any concrete privileges or benefits," he said, referring to a July 21-23 summit of the Group of Eight, which comprises Russia and the G7 - the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.

"If all other developed countries of the world behaved towards Russia no worse than towards their other partners, that would be ideal."

He also said in the interview:

- Russia must march towards an orderly market economy, ending the chaos that made fortunes for some who have been "fishing in muddy waters". This was a veiled but unmistakable reference to Russia's influential businessmen, known as the oligarchs.

- He saw some merits in U.S. President Bill Clinton's view about possible missile threats from rogue states but said it was still theoretical and no country posed a threat now.

- He regarded Japan as a "natural partner" for Russia, because Tokyo had finished goods and Moscow had raw materials.

- He would use his visit to North Korea next week, the first by a Kremlin leader, to help normalize relations on the divided Korean peninsula.

- The Russian government could have been even more radical in its tax reform proposals and more energetic in persuading parliament to accept its plans.

Putin noted Russia had started meeting with the G7 nations - the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Italy - under his predecessor Boris Yeltsin and this led to the term "Group of Eight".

"Back then, the talk was mostly about reviving and improving Russia's relations with leading financial international organizations, about credits for the Russian economy and so on," he said.

"Today we do not subscribe to that format of relations with the leaders of the world's main industrial countries."

PUTIN DOES NOT WANT RUSSIA SIDELINED

Yeltsin made the G8 one of his foreign policy priorities, and one of his swansong international appearances as Russian president was at the Group's summit in the German city of Cologne last year. The ailing Yeltsin stepped down on New Year's Eve, and Putin succeeded him.

This year's summit takes place on the Japanese island of Okinawa, and will include bilateral meetings as well as the actual summit sessions.

Putin said he expected the leaders would discuss broad political concerns rather than Russia's economic problems. "Russia does not want to stand on the sidelines of these opportunities. It wants to use these opportunities. We intend to take part in the work of this club," he said.

Putin gave the interview in his green-and-white reception room against the backdrop of a statue of Peter the Great, the reformist tsar whose portrait he placed in his office in St Petersburg instead of Lenin when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Putin answered carefully in a soft but clear voice and fixed his gaze on each correspondent as he replied to questions.

"Japan and Russia are natural partners because we are neighbors. We need each other," he said. "Russia and Japan complement each other from the point of view of the need for material needs on the one hand and mineral needs on the other."

Moscow is keen to tap Japanese financial help to revive its economy, while Tokyo is an important customer for raw materials like oil, gas, metals and timber with which Russia, especially Siberia and the Far East region, are richly endowed.

But he ruled out any swift breakthrough in a bitter territorial row over the ownership of four islands which has dogged relations between Moscow and Tokyo for decades.

On North Korea, he said it was unfortunate no Russian or Soviet leader had visited Pyongyang but he would remedy this next week. Russia would do all it could to help normalize North-South ties and improve bilateral relations with its Far Eastern neighbor.

PUTIN SEES NO MISSILE THREAT FOR NOW

On arms control, Putin said he saw some merit in Washington's concerns about rogue states' possible nuclear missile plans but saw no threat from any country at the moment. Washington regards North Korea as one such rogue state.

Putin - a staunch critic of U.S. plans to build a national missile shield against rogue rockets - said moves to ward off new threats should not damage the existing nuclear balance.

"I believed and still believe that the position of the U.S. president has some basis to it," Putin said. "And the basis is that we should assume that such threats can theoretically, in principle, emerge one day."

"But we do not believe that there are such threats now nor that they are coming from any specific states," he added.

The president said Russia must march towards an orderly market economy, ending the chaos which has made fortunes for some who have been "fishing in muddy waters".

He also said the government deserved credit for implementing reforms but could have tried harder to push more radical tax reforms through parliament.

He made no direct reference to the so-called "oligarchs" - business tycoons under fire now from law enforcement agencies for alleged financial wrongdoing - but said:

"There are, of course, people who feel comfortable in conditions of disorder," apparently referring to those who have exploited the lack of a legal and regulatory framework for Russia's tumultuous moves to a market economy.

"You know, we have a saying about catching fish in muddy waters. Here there are fishermen who have already caught a lot and want to keep the situation as it is for a long-term historical period," he said.

"I don't think this is acceptable for the Russian people or for our partners abroad."

Jeeeez, all I meant was that if we have an ignore poster option, we can decide individually whether we want to be subjected to someone's views or not.
If we all decide we don't like the person, no-one will respond, said person will get bored and go away, problem solved. Surely this would be better than all the abusive language, ganging up.
The-"You're not really my friend,'cause you don't agree with everything I say"-tirades, banning people, etc. And the whatever ammendment on free speech in america will not have to be raised at all.

Kim

Mary, I was refering to Igor's claim that might be
Ukranians dressed as Russian soldiers. Why can't it just have been the Russian Army as the woman said in the article?

What's there to misunderstand about what you said?

Kim

thx:
your 9:08 post is too _bizarre_ for me to axually comment upon.
"only americans have rights"? what are you talking about? i said nothing of the sort.
go grind your axe against the 'american regime' somewhere else, young man.
===
mask:
...and a different sort of bizarre from you! _different_, perhaps, but no less _bizarre_.
bearing in mind that to you i'm a jewish person 'on the payroll'...heh...

so, with _whom_ am i 'trading favors' and _what_ am i getting in return?
and _which_ "prominent board members" have been "shot like ducks"? ber-STEEEN? bacon? allFAKE?
"prominent", you say? compared to _what_?

i mean, golly gee, am i not _also_ a 'prominent board member'? i've been here since last november. or, as a 'jew on the payroll', do i not count? oh, i see, i see....'setting standards', are we?

these so-called 'prominent board members' who would prefer not to be 'shot like ducks' would do well to take the _target_ off of their chests. -_-

and what the bloody hell does >>reuters<< have to do with the DMS russ page? extrapolating in the extreme, wouldn't you say?

finally, everyone whom mr.mask believes 'are on their knees' should _stand up_! this is purely a conjecture on the part of mr.mask, and no invention of mine.
===
suleyman, sincere thanks simply for being in here. you are facile in a way which i am obviously _not_.
your wed. 10:57 post says it all. domo arigato.

and by the way, gentle readers, suleyman was not involved in any way w/st.tony's demise. [however temporary that may turn out to have been]
===
none of you so-called 'prominent board members' lifted a finger when Kisako was _repeatedly_ and _viciously_ attacked here. it was _moi_ and _none_ of _toi_ who fought for her and with her.

and in contrast with the =koff= =gag= glorious martyrdom of st. tony the annihilist, who lived for his devine agony, Kisako kicked your collective asses! and being a jewish woman, y'all _really_ didn't like that. ain't that right, mr.mask?
[w/a nod to they who think they deserve one.]
=
i think it's well past time to return to the =koff= subject at hand.

lolololol, at DMS russ? good luck.

L'menexe, power comes with notoriety, get used to it! 🙂

Meantime, we all should raise our voices to support our other fundamental right - right for peaceful assembly in other people's homes.