Putin to run for Russian presidency in 2012
Excerpt:During his presidency, Putin ruled Russia with a steely command, bringing about a system known as "managed democracy" that saw opposition politicians all but eliminated from the national eye. His personal popularity aided his maneuvering. Many Russians view Putin as the strong, decisive figure needed by a sprawling country troubled by corruption, an Islamist insurgency and massive economic inequality.
http://carnegie.ru/publications/?fa=45379
Excerpt:
http://carnegie.ru/publications/?fa=45379
Excerpt:
Tymoshenko’s Arrest: Missed the Target
By arresting former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the current Ukrainian authorities were pursuing two aims at once. The first was a domestic political objective: to remove the most influential opposition leader at a time of increasing social and economic difficulty. With Ukraine scheduled to hold a parliamentary election next year and President Viktor Yanukovych’s popularity not particularly high, this looked like a perfect tactic to help the Party of Regions secure control of the new parliament.
The second goal was foreign policy related. Tymoshenko was charged with abuse of power for signing gas contracts with Russia. The Ukrainian authorities have implied that the unfolding criminal case against her could also bring to the surface unwelcome details involving the Russian authorities; there was even talk that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin could be called as a witness. Kiev seemed to think that the Kremlin’s desire to avoid scandal would make Moscow soften its position and perhaps make concessions on Ukraine’s key demand—that Russia lower the price of its gas supplies to the country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulia_Tymoshenko
Excerpts:
1)
She has been a practising economist and academic. Prior to her political career, Yulia Tymoshenko was a successful but controversial businesswoman in the gas industry, becoming by some estimates one of the richest people in the country. Before becoming Ukraine's first female Prime Minister in 2005,[12] Tymoshenko co-led the Orange Revolution.[13]
2) On August 5, 2011, Tymoshenko was arrested for 'repeated violations of court rules' during her trial (she was charged in May 2011) over abuse of office over a natural gas imports contract signed with Russia in January 2009.[21][22][23] International organizations, representatives of the European Union and the United States called this arrest "selective prosecution of political opponents".[22] In December 2010 she was charged with misusing $425m received by her government in 2009 for the sale of carbon credits.[22]
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Orange_Revolution
Excerpt:
Ukraine’s “Orange revolution”
"In January 2005, news of the disputed Ukrainian elections flashed all over the world; President Leonid Kuchma stood accused of tampering with the electoral processes for his preferred candidate Viktor Yanukovich. Electoral fraud was nothing new to the Ukraine, but in the past Kuchma’s authoritarian government had been on friendly terms with transnational elites and predictably stolen elections in 1994 and 1999 were ignored by the international community. In 2004, this appears to have changed. Subsequently, tens of thousands of citizens descended on the streets of Kiev for over a week, demanding new elections for their favored candidate – opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. Economic conditions may have played an important role in mobilising protestors against Kuchma, with the Ukraine’s Gross Domestic Product in 2000 being a third of its 1990 level value.
"What explained the sudden interest of the western media in this contested election? And why, when millions of Yanukovich’s supporters marched throughout the Donetsk region in late November, did the media “miss” them? [1] It seems the answer to these questions seems to be intimately tied in with the interests of foreign (or more specifically US) “democracy promoters”, who provided the opposition with around US$65 million in the two years running up to the election. [2] Indeed, visual evidence of this aid was apparent at the massive Kiev protests, where food, clothing, medication and local accommodation was provided for free. [3]
"As in the previous [so-called colored] revolutions, a youth group styled after Otpor, called Pora (a group that formed in December 2002) led the protests. However, while Otpor’s catchy symbolism played upon the image of a clenched fist, Pora’s campaigning literature was not as democratically minded; their posters showed a jackboot crushing a beetle. Pora received most of its international funding indirectly through the Freedom of Choice Coalition – an umbrella organisation for Ukrainian NGOs founded in 1999 – which itself is financed by the international “democracy promoting” community. [4]" Barker, 2006
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-04-30/ukraines-orange-revolution-well-and-truly-over/417228
Excerpt:
It also signals a dramatic return to Russia's embrace under Ukraine's new president Viktor Yanukovych.
Many say the vote means Ukraine's Orange Revolution, which grabbed headlines around the world more than five years ago, is well and truly over.
Parliamentary speaker Vladimir Litvin, who was forced to take refuge under an umbrella as eggs rained down on him during the parliamentary brawl, is glad to see it go.
He says not a single promise of the revolution was fulfilled, and the authorities who took up office with the people's support exhibited only their corruption and ability to quarrel between each other.
In fact, disagreements between the two leaders of the Orange Revolution, president Viktor Yushchenko and prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, may be its best known legacy.
But while they battled on, old rival Mr Yanukovych never went away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulia_Tymoshenko
Excerpts:
1)
She has been a practising economist and academic. Prior to her political career, Yulia Tymoshenko was a successful but controversial businesswoman in the gas industry, becoming by some estimates one of the richest people in the country. Before becoming Ukraine's first female Prime Minister in 2005,[12] Tymoshenko co-led the Orange Revolution.[13]
2) On August 5, 2011, Tymoshenko was arrested for 'repeated violations of court rules' during her trial (she was charged in May 2011) over abuse of office over a natural gas imports contract signed with Russia in January 2009.[21][22][23] International organizations, representatives of the European Union and the United States called this arrest "selective prosecution of political opponents".[22] In December 2010 she was charged with misusing $425m received by her government in 2009 for the sale of carbon credits.[22]
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Orange_Revolution
Excerpt:
Ukraine’s “Orange revolution”
"In January 2005, news of the disputed Ukrainian elections flashed all over the world; President Leonid Kuchma stood accused of tampering with the electoral processes for his preferred candidate Viktor Yanukovich. Electoral fraud was nothing new to the Ukraine, but in the past Kuchma’s authoritarian government had been on friendly terms with transnational elites and predictably stolen elections in 1994 and 1999 were ignored by the international community. In 2004, this appears to have changed. Subsequently, tens of thousands of citizens descended on the streets of Kiev for over a week, demanding new elections for their favored candidate – opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. Economic conditions may have played an important role in mobilising protestors against Kuchma, with the Ukraine’s Gross Domestic Product in 2000 being a third of its 1990 level value.
"What explained the sudden interest of the western media in this contested election? And why, when millions of Yanukovich’s supporters marched throughout the Donetsk region in late November, did the media “miss” them? [1] It seems the answer to these questions seems to be intimately tied in with the interests of foreign (or more specifically US) “democracy promoters”, who provided the opposition with around US$65 million in the two years running up to the election. [2] Indeed, visual evidence of this aid was apparent at the massive Kiev protests, where food, clothing, medication and local accommodation was provided for free. [3]
"As in the previous [so-called colored] revolutions, a youth group styled after Otpor, called Pora (a group that formed in December 2002) led the protests. However, while Otpor’s catchy symbolism played upon the image of a clenched fist, Pora’s campaigning literature was not as democratically minded; their posters showed a jackboot crushing a beetle. Pora received most of its international funding indirectly through the Freedom of Choice Coalition – an umbrella organisation for Ukrainian NGOs founded in 1999 – which itself is financed by the international “democracy promoting” community. [4]" Barker, 2006
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-04-30/ukraines-orange-revolution-well-and-truly-over/417228
Excerpt:
Ukraine's Orange revolution well and truly over
Updated
Ukraine's parliament erupted into what looked like a fully fledged riot this week over a controversial vote to extend a Russian navy lease.
The treaty clears the way for the Black Sea fleet to stay in Crimea until 2042 in return for a 30 per cent reduction in Ukraine's price of natural gas imports.It also signals a dramatic return to Russia's embrace under Ukraine's new president Viktor Yanukovych.
Many say the vote means Ukraine's Orange Revolution, which grabbed headlines around the world more than five years ago, is well and truly over.
Parliamentary speaker Vladimir Litvin, who was forced to take refuge under an umbrella as eggs rained down on him during the parliamentary brawl, is glad to see it go.
He says not a single promise of the revolution was fulfilled, and the authorities who took up office with the people's support exhibited only their corruption and ability to quarrel between each other.
In fact, disagreements between the two leaders of the Orange Revolution, president Viktor Yushchenko and prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, may be its best known legacy.
But while they battled on, old rival Mr Yanukovych never went away.
Return to Russia
He won the presidency in February, beating Ms Tymoshenko, and has wasted no time in turning Ukraine back towards Moscow.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie
Excerpt:
Controversies
At the suggestion of his friend Benjamin Ruff, Carnegie's partner Henry Clay Frick had formed the exclusive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club high above Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The charter members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club were: Benjamin Ruff; T. H. Sweat; Charles J. Clarke; Thomas Clark; Walter F. Fundenberg; Howard Hartley; Henry C. Yeager; J. B. White; Henry Clay Frick; E. A. Myers; C. C. Hussey; D. R. Ewer; C. A. Carpenter; W. L. Dunn; W. L. McClintock; and A. V. Holmes.
The sixty-odd club members were the leading business tycoons of Western Pennsylvania and included among their number Frick's best friend, Andrew Mellon, his attorneys Philander Knox and James Hay Reed, as well as Frick's business partner Andrew Carnegie. High above the city, near the small town of South Fork, the South Fork Dam was originally built between 1838 and 1853 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as part of a canal system to be used as a reservoir for a canal basin in Johnstown. With the coming-of-age of railroads superseding canal barge transport, the lake was abandoned by the Commonwealth, sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and sold again to private interests and eventually came to be owned by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club in 1881. Prior to the flood, speculators had purchased the abandoned reservoir, made less than well-engineered repairs to the old dam, raised the lake level, built cottages and a clubhouse, and created the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Less than 20 miles downstream from the dam sat the city of Johnstown, and Carnegie Steel's chief competitor (from whom Carnegie had hired away steelmaking expert Bill Jones), the Cambria Iron and Steel Company, which boasted the world's largest annual steel production.
The dam was 72 feet (22 m) high and 931 feet (284 m) long. Between 1881 when the club was opened, and 1889, the dam frequently sprang leaks and was patched, mostly with mud and straw. Additionally, a previous owner removed and sold for scrap the 3 cast iron discharge pipes that previously allowed a controlled release of water. There had been some speculation as to the dam's integrity, and concerns had been raised by the head of the Cambria Iron Works downstream in Johnstown. Such repair work, a reduction in height, and unusually high snowmelt and heavy spring rains combined to cause the dam to give way on May 31, 1889 resulting in twenty million tons of water to sweep down the valley causing the Johnstown Flood.[32] When word of the dam's failure was telegraphed to Pittsburgh, Frick and other members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club gathered to form the Pittsburgh Relief Committee for assistance to the flood victims as well as determining never to speak publicly about the club or the flood. This strategy was a success, and Knox and Reed were able to fend off all lawsuits that would have placed blame upon the club's members.
Although Cambria Iron and Steel's facilities were heavily damaged by the flood, they returned to full production within a year and a half. By that time, Carnegie's steel production had outstripped Cambria's. After the flood, Carnegie built Johnstown a new library to replace the one built by Cambria's chief legal counsel Cyrus Elder, which was destroyed in the flood. The Carnegie-donated library is now owned by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, and houses the Flood Museum.
The Homestead StrikeThe Homestead Strike was a bloody labor confrontation lasting 143 days in 1892, one of the most serious in U.S. history. The conflict was centered on Carnegie Steel's main plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and grew out of a dispute between the National Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers of the United States and the Carnegie Steel Company.
Excerpt:
Controversies
[edit] 1889: Johnstown Flood
Carnegie was one of more than 50 members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which has been blamed for the Johnstown Flood that killed 2,209 people in 1889.[31]At the suggestion of his friend Benjamin Ruff, Carnegie's partner Henry Clay Frick had formed the exclusive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club high above Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The charter members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club were: Benjamin Ruff; T. H. Sweat; Charles J. Clarke; Thomas Clark; Walter F. Fundenberg; Howard Hartley; Henry C. Yeager; J. B. White; Henry Clay Frick; E. A. Myers; C. C. Hussey; D. R. Ewer; C. A. Carpenter; W. L. Dunn; W. L. McClintock; and A. V. Holmes.
The sixty-odd club members were the leading business tycoons of Western Pennsylvania and included among their number Frick's best friend, Andrew Mellon, his attorneys Philander Knox and James Hay Reed, as well as Frick's business partner Andrew Carnegie. High above the city, near the small town of South Fork, the South Fork Dam was originally built between 1838 and 1853 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as part of a canal system to be used as a reservoir for a canal basin in Johnstown. With the coming-of-age of railroads superseding canal barge transport, the lake was abandoned by the Commonwealth, sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and sold again to private interests and eventually came to be owned by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club in 1881. Prior to the flood, speculators had purchased the abandoned reservoir, made less than well-engineered repairs to the old dam, raised the lake level, built cottages and a clubhouse, and created the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Less than 20 miles downstream from the dam sat the city of Johnstown, and Carnegie Steel's chief competitor (from whom Carnegie had hired away steelmaking expert Bill Jones), the Cambria Iron and Steel Company, which boasted the world's largest annual steel production.
The dam was 72 feet (22 m) high and 931 feet (284 m) long. Between 1881 when the club was opened, and 1889, the dam frequently sprang leaks and was patched, mostly with mud and straw. Additionally, a previous owner removed and sold for scrap the 3 cast iron discharge pipes that previously allowed a controlled release of water. There had been some speculation as to the dam's integrity, and concerns had been raised by the head of the Cambria Iron Works downstream in Johnstown. Such repair work, a reduction in height, and unusually high snowmelt and heavy spring rains combined to cause the dam to give way on May 31, 1889 resulting in twenty million tons of water to sweep down the valley causing the Johnstown Flood.[32] When word of the dam's failure was telegraphed to Pittsburgh, Frick and other members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club gathered to form the Pittsburgh Relief Committee for assistance to the flood victims as well as determining never to speak publicly about the club or the flood. This strategy was a success, and Knox and Reed were able to fend off all lawsuits that would have placed blame upon the club's members.
Although Cambria Iron and Steel's facilities were heavily damaged by the flood, they returned to full production within a year and a half. By that time, Carnegie's steel production had outstripped Cambria's. After the flood, Carnegie built Johnstown a new library to replace the one built by Cambria's chief legal counsel Cyrus Elder, which was destroyed in the flood. The Carnegie-donated library is now owned by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, and houses the Flood Museum.
[edit] 1892: Homestead Strike
No comments:
Post a Comment