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After WTO Membership: Promoting Human Rights in Russia with the Magnitsky Act Ariel Cohen, Phd, and Bryan Riley
BACKGROUNDER No. 2687 | MAY 14, 2012 After WTO Membership: Promoting Human Rights in Russia with the Magnitsky Act Ariel Cohen, PhD, and Bryan Riley Abstract n a few months, Russia will become Russia’s accession to the World Ia member of the World Trade Talking Points Trade Organization (WTO) will put Organization (WTO). U.S. businesses U.S. companies at a disadvantage will not be able to benefit from the ■■ Because of Russia’s imminent with their global competitors unless concessions Russia made to join the accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), U.S. com- Congress first exempts Russia from WTO unless Congress first repeals panies could be placed at a severe the application of the Jackson–Vanik the Jackson–Vanik Amendment, a disadvantage in Russia due to the Amendment, a tool from the 1970s powerful tool that the U.S. success- continued application of the Jack- designed to promote human rights fully used to promote human rights son–Vanik Amendment. that no longer advances that goal. in Soviet Russia and other countries ■■ The U.S. should grant Russia per- Russia admittedly suffers from weak which restricted emigration dur- manent normal trade relations rule of law and pervasive corruption, ing the Cold War. Failure to repeal status, but only after updating its but Congress should pass new human Jackson–Vanik could place U.S. tools for protecting human rights rights legislation rather than try to companies at a disadvantage while in Russia by replacing the Jack- uphold Jackson–Vanik beyond its companies in other WTO members son–Vanik Amendment with the utility. -
Introduction Land Reform in Post-Communist Europe
Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87938-5 - The Post-Soviet Potemkin Village: Politics and Property Rights in the Black Earth Jessica Allina-Pisano Excerpt More information Introduction Land Reform in Post-Communist Europe In December 1991, as the flag of the Soviet Union flew its last days over the Kremlin, a small crowd armed with crutches and wheelchair wheels stormed the regional state administration building in an eastern Ukrainian city. The city, Kharkiv, lies fifty miles from the Russian border.1 The protesters were a group of senior citizens and disabled people from the Saltivka housing development in Moskovsky district, an area of the city named for its location on the road to the Soviet metropolis. The group had gathered to demand land for garden plots. The protesters had specific land in mind. The land lay at the eastern edge of the city, bordering the Saltivka housing development to the west and the fields of one of the most successful agricultural collectives in the region to the east. That farm, named Ukrainka, was among the biggest dairy producers in the area. Food supplies in city markets, however, had become unpredictable and expensive. Residents of Saltivka wanted land to grow produce for themselves and their families. In response, the Kharkiv district executive committee ordered that Ukrainka relinquish nearly 300 hectares of land for garden plots, in addition to 75 hectares already alienated for that purpose the previous spring. Members of the Ukrainka collective objected to the proposed plan, 1 This account is based on a series of newspaper articles about the incident in a Kharkiv regional paper: M. -
ASD-Covert-Foreign-Money.Pdf
overt C Foreign Covert Money Financial loopholes exploited by AUGUST 2020 authoritarians to fund political interference in democracies AUTHORS: Josh Rudolph and Thomas Morley © 2020 The Alliance for Securing Democracy Please direct inquiries to The Alliance for Securing Democracy at The German Marshall Fund of the United States 1700 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 T 1 202 683 2650 E [email protected] This publication can be downloaded for free at https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/covert-foreign-money/. The views expressed in GMF publications and commentary are the views of the authors alone. Cover and map design: Kenny Nguyen Formatting design: Rachael Worthington Alliance for Securing Democracy The Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD), a bipartisan initiative housed at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, develops comprehensive strategies to deter, defend against, and raise the costs on authoritarian efforts to undermine and interfere in democratic institutions. ASD brings together experts on disinformation, malign finance, emerging technologies, elections integrity, economic coercion, and cybersecurity, as well as regional experts, to collaborate across traditional stovepipes and develop cross-cutting frame- works. Authors Josh Rudolph Fellow for Malign Finance Thomas Morley Research Assistant Contents Executive Summary �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1 Introduction and Methodology �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� -
Putin's New Russia
PUTIN’S NEW RUSSIA Edited by Jon Hellevig and Alexandre Latsa With an Introduction by Peter Lavelle Contributors: Patrick Armstrong, Mark Chapman, Aleksandr Grishin, Jon Hellevig, Anatoly Karlin, Eric Kraus, Alexandre Latsa, Nils van der Vegte, Craig James Willy Publisher: Kontinent USA September, 2012 First edition published 2012 First edition published 2012 Copyright to Jon Hellevig and Alexander Latsa Publisher: Kontinent USA 1800 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009 [email protected] www.us-russia.org/kontinent Cover by Alexandra Mozilova on motive of painting by Ilya Komov Printed at Printing house "Citius" ISBN 978-0-9883137-0-5 This is a book authored by independent minded Western observers who have real experience of how Russia has developed after the failed perestroika since Putin first became president in 2000. Common sense warning: The book you are about to read is dangerous. If you are from the English language media sphere, virtually everything you may think you know about contemporary Rus- sia; its political system, leaders, economy, population, so-called opposition, foreign policy and much more is either seriously flawed or just plain wrong. This has not happened by accident. This book explains why. This book is also about gross double standards, hypocrisy, and venal stupidity with western media playing the role of willing accomplice. After reading this interesting tome, you might reconsider everything you “learn” from mainstream media about Russia and the world. Contents PETER LAVELLE ............................................................................................1 -
An Essay in Universal History
AN ESSAY IN UNIVERSAL HISTORY From an Orthodox Christian Point of View VOLUME VI: THE AGE OF MAMMON (1945 to 1992) PART 2: from 1971 to 1992 Vladimir Moss © Copyright Vladimir Moss, 2018: All Rights Reserved 1 The main mark of modern governments is that we do not know who governs, de facto any more than de jure. We see the politician and not his backer; still less the backer of the backer; or, what is most important of all, the banker of the backer. J.R.R. Tolkien. It is time, it is the twelfth hour, for certain of our ecclesiastical representatives to stop being exclusively slaves of nationalism and politics, no matter what and whose, and become high priests and priests of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Fr. Justin Popovich. The average person might well be no happier today than in 1800. We can choose our spouses, friends and neighbours, but they can choose to leave us. With the individual wielding unprecedented power to decide her own path in life, we find it ever harder to make commitments. We thus live in an increasingly lonely world of unravelling commitments and families. Yuval Noah Harari, (2014). The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. II Timothy 4.3-4. People have moved away from ‘religion’ as something anchored in organized worship and systematic beliefs within an institution, to a self-made ‘spirituality’ outside formal structures, which is based on experience, has no doctrine and makes no claim to philosophical coherence. -
Russia's Reaction to the Magnitsky Act and Relations with the West
RUSSIAN ANALYTICAL DIGEST No. 120, 23 November 2012 2 Analysis Russia’s Reaction to the Magnitsky Act and Relations With the West Ben Aris, Moscow Abstract The reaction of the US and EU to the death of Sergei Magnitsky by issuing travel bans to 60 Russian offi- cials, and the Magnitsky Act in the US, has become an issue of contention in Russian–Western relations. The Kremlin views the Magnitsky Act as a politically-motivated attempt to interfere in Russian domestic affairs. At the same time, in spite of some mild reforms during the Medvedev Presidency, the Magnitsky case has not had a big impact on either Russian domestic governance or political debate. he death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky on Sep- documentaries on YouTube on the “Russian Untouch- Ttember 16, 2009 in a Moscow pre-trial detention ables” and “Hermitage TV” channels). centre was a tragedy and his human rights were almost In November 2008 Magnitsky was arrested on certainly violated. Magnitsky was a Russian national related tax evasion charges, which Browder claims were and a lawyer with the American firm Firestone Dun- instigated as a retaliatory measure by the same officers can. He was representing the UK registered and highly that were involved in the tax rebate scheme. While in successful fund Hermitage Capital, which had fallen prison he fell ill. It later emerged that Magnitsky had foul of the Kremlin. His death became a lightning rod complained of worsening stomach pain for five days prior for tensions between Moscow and Washington and led to his death. Browder and his associates have also found to the passage of the “Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Act” convincing evidence that Magnitsky was beaten while in into the US Congress in 2011, which has driven a wedge jail and died after medical aid, to which he was entitled, between Russia and US foreign relations. -
Television and Politics in the Soviet Union by Ellen Mickiewicz TELEVISION and AMERICA's CHILDREN a Crisis of Neglect by Edward L
SPLIT SIGNALS COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY edited by George Gerbner and Marsha Seifert IMAGE ETHICS The Moral Rights of Subjects in Photographs, Film, and Television Edited by Larry Gross, John Stuart Katz, and Jay Ruby CENSORSHIP The Knot That Binds Power and Knowledge By Sue Curry Jansen SPLIT SIGNALS Television and Politics in the Soviet Union By Ellen Mickiewicz TELEVISION AND AMERICA'S CHILDREN A Crisis of Neglect By Edward L. Palmer SPLIT SIGNALS Television and Politics in the Soviet Union ELLEN MICKIEWICZ New York Oxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1988 Oxford University Press Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town Melbourne Auckland and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1988 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of Oxford University Press. Mickiewicz, Ellen Propper. Split signals : television and politics in the Soviet Union / Ellen Mickiewicz. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-19-505463-6 1. Television broadcasting of news—Soviet Union. 2. Television broadcasting—Social aspects—Soviet Union. 3. Television broadcasting—Political aspects—Soviet Union. 4. Soviet Union— Politics and government—1982- I. Title. PN5277.T4M53 1988 302.2'345'0947—dc!9 88-4200 CIP 1098 7654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Preface In television terminology, broadcast signals are split when they are divided and sent to two or more locations simultaneously. -
IS Down to Less Than 1Pc of 'Caliphate': Coalition
TWITTER CELEBS @newsofbahrain FRIDAY 8 Saudi princess’ trunk show lights up restaurant INSTAGRAM Jennifer Aniston /nobmedia 8 Isn’t Worried LINKEDIN FRIDAY newsofbahrain FEBRUARY 2019 About Turning 50 200 FILS WHATSAPP ISSUE NO. 8016 While most women 38444680 dread the thought of FACEBOOK turning 50, Jennifer /nobmedia Aniston is an excep- MAIL tion to the rule.| P14 [email protected] WEBSITE newsofbahrain.com Dwayne Johnson tells why he’s not hosting Oscars 2019 14 CELEBS WORLD 7 US boyfriend of ‘Russian agent’ charged with fraud Ensure eective implementation of VAT 80008001 For inquiries & complaints www.nbr.gov.bh @BahrainNBR White House speaks to Palestinians by Crown Prince Centre for Training & Medical Research opens Twitter TDT | Manama Washington, United States Supriya Reginald he inauguration of the he United States and Crown Prince Centre for Tthe Palestinian Au - TTraining & Medical Re- thority are not officially on search, under the patronage of talking terms, but President HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Donald Trump’s adminis- bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the Crown tration has found a way to Prince, Deputy Supreme Com- communicate nonetheless mander, and First Deputy Pre- -- Twitter. mier, took place yesterday. Jason Greenblatt, the The centre was inaugurated Twitter-loving US leader’s by the President of the Supreme Lieutenant-General Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa during the inauguration special representative for Council of Health (SCH), Lieu- Services. “This centre took five years tre which is around 6000 square quality of healthcare,” he added. international negotiations, tenant-General Dr Shaikh Mo- Speaking to Tribune, Lt Col to build and it is the vision of meters. -
Debates of the House of Commons
43rd PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION House of Commons Debates Official Report (Hansard) Volume 150 No. 117 Monday, June 14, 2021 Speaker: The Honourable Anthony Rota CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 8309 HOUSE OF COMMONS Monday, June 14, 2021 The House met at 11 a.m. [English] NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR A GUARANTEED BASIC INCOME ACT Prayer Ms. Julie Dzerowicz (Davenport, Lib.) moved that Bill C-273, An Act to establish a national strategy for a guaranteed basic in‐ come, be read the second time and referred to a committee. PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS She said: Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely honoured to rise in the ● (1105) House today to speak to my private member's bill, Bill C-273, an [Translation] act to establish a national strategy for a guaranteed basic income. I give my thanks to the member for Malpeque, who seconded the bill The Speaker: The Chair would like to take a moment to provide and is a champion for a guaranteed basic income pilot in his home some information to the House regarding the management of Pri‐ province of P.E.I., and to the member for Beaches—East York, a vate Members' Business. true progressive who traded his spot so I could stand in the House today to begin second reading of Bill C-273. I feel blessed to call As members know, certain procedural realities constrain the him a colleague and friend. Speaker and members insofar as legislation is concerned. [English] Basic income is not a new idea. It is one that has been circulating in Canada for decades. -
Minority Report: Ukraine As Bugbear
MINORITY REPORT: UKRAINE AS BUGBEAR [NB: Note the byline; I began writing this as one of my Minority Report pieces; it’s been in my Work In Progress folder for nearly two years, and an unfinished draft here at emptywheel for 18 months. I left off work on it well before the final Special Counsel’s Report was published. This post’s content has become more relevant even if it’s not entirely complete, needing more meat in some areas, and now requiring the last two-plus years of fossil fuel-related developments and events related to the U.S.- Ukraine-Russia triangle after the 2016 U.S. general election. /~Rayne] This post looks at the possibility that the hacking of U.S. election system and events affecting the election’s outcome are part of a much larger picture — one in which NATO figures large, and the future of energy figures even larger. One could attribute Russian attempts at hacking and influencing the 2016 general election to retaliation for the CIA’s involvement in Ukraine, or to a personal vendetta against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with regard to Ukraine ahead of the Maidan revolt, or to rousing anti-Putin sentiment in Russia: … Five years ago, he blamed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the anti- Kremlin protests in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square. “She set the tone for some of our actors in the country and gave the signal,” Putin said. “They heard this and, with the support of the U.S. State Department, began active work.” (No evidence was provided for the accusation.) … But after looking at the mission and history of NATO, the integral role of natural gas to Europe’s industry and continuity, Ukraine’s role as a conduit for Russian gas to European states, one might come to a very different conclusion. -
Gregor Sailer the Potemkin Village Opening
Potsdamer Straße 100 10785 Berlin, Germany Gregor Sailer [email protected] The Potemkin Village www.kehrergalerie.com Wed – Sat | 12 –19 Uhr and by appointment Opening Kehrer Galerie is delighted to open the exhibition Friday, September 14, 7 – 9 pm »The Potemkin Village« on Friday, September 14, 2018 from 7 to 9 pm. Exhibition September 15 – November 17, 2018 Artist Talk: Friday, October 19, starting at 7 pm there will be an artist talk (in German). Kehrer Galerie is showing Gregor Sailer with his highly acclaimed series »The Potemkin Village« during the European Month of Photography. »Carson City VI / Vårgårda, Sweden«, 2016 From the series »The Potemkin Village« C-Print in a wooden shadow frame, mounted on AluDibond, without glass Ed. 5 + 2 AP 95 x 120 cm For »The Potemkin Village« (2015–2017) Gregor Sailer (b. 1980 in Schwaz, AT) went looking for mock architecture worldwide. The proverbial term refers to the legend in which Russian Field Marshall Grigory Aleksandrivich Potemkin presented to Empress Catherine the Great the facades of the newly annexed villages in Crimea behind painted backdrops, in order to shed a better light on them. In Russia Sailer found two Potemkin villages according to the classical concept, in which ruinous houses were hidden behind canvases with representative facades printed on them. But this body of work also shows less literal illusionistic architecture, such as different military training camps in 1 the U.S., France, Great Britain and Germany, authentic replicas of European cities in China, and two vehicle test cities in Sweden. »Ufa I, Bashkortostan, Russia«, 2016 From the series »The Potemkin Village« C-Print in a wooden shadow frame, mounted on AluDibond, without glass Ed. -
1 in Late May of 1944, American Vice President Henry Wallace Visited The
1 In late May of 1944, American Vice President Henry Wallace visited the city of Magadan in the Soviet Union’s Far North East. Wallace asked to inspect a forced labor camp, part of the Gulag system (acronym for Glavnoye Upravleniya Lagere, Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps); however, instead of seeing thousands of zeki (prisoners of the Gulag), Wallace unwittingly became the center of an orchestrated sham. On orders from Moscow, the camp’s guards disguised the city – turning it into a Potemkin village1. They removed prison watch towers, decorated empty shopfronts with goods, and locked zeki in their barracks for the three- day visit. Wallace’s tour even included a theatre performance. America had provided aid to the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease Act to fight Nazi Germany, and the Soviets didn’t want to jeopardize that support by exposing their inhumane treatment of zeki. My proposed thesis play, titled Stitched with a Sickle and a Hammer, which is the basis for my application for a Named Fellowship, is centered around Wallace’s visit. It’s the story of twenty-two-year-old Alexandra, a political prisoner serving an eight-year sentence in Magadan. Alexandra joins the camp’s theatre troupe, but when she learns that she will be performing for Wallace, she faces a life or death decision. Will she sacrifice her life and reveal she is a zek for a moment of true freedom, or comply with the charade and pretend she is a free woman so she can survive her Gulag sentence? My goal for Stitched with a Sickle and a Hammer, is to illuminate a mass tragedy that has not received the same ardent condemnation as other twentieth-century atrocities have.