Originally posted by snapper
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Ukraine Elections and Political Developments
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Looks like the new government in Ukraine is moving to reign in some elements of the extreme right. Don't expect a lessening of the 'Ukraine is run by crazy Nazis' rhetoric from the usual suspects.
Kiev, Ukraine: Ukraine’s Parliament on Tuesday ordered law enforcement agencies to immediately disarm unofficial paramilitary groups, signaling growing resolve in the interim government to confront nationalists and other vigilantes who played a big role in the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, the country’s pro-Kremlin former president who was deposed more than a month ago.
The bill, introduced and passed unanimously, ordered both the Interior Ministry and the Security Service of Ukraine, the country’s successor to the KGB, to disarm the groups because of the “aggravation of the crime situation and systematic provocations on the part of foreigners in southeastern Ukraine and in Kiev.”
The attempt to further consolidate control domestically came as Russia delivered yet another blow to the fledgling Ukraine government, which the Kremlin regards as illegal.
Gazprom, the Russian state gas giant, announced a 40 per cent increase in the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on Russia for its gas supply.
The passage of the anti-paramilitary bill comes as tensions in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, have grown between nationalist groups who continue to patrol the main squares of the city and Arsen Avakov, the country’s new interior minister.
A member of Right Sector, arguably the largest and best-organised ultranationalist group in Kiev, was accused of opening fire with a pistol on the city’s main square on Monday evening during a dispute with members of other self-defence groups.
After the incident, police officers armed with automatic rifles surrounded the group’s headquarters at a downtown hotel and began negotiations.
Just after dawn on Tuesday morning, members of the group, many in military fatigues and balaclavas, boarded buses and left for a “training ground” outside the city, according to local news and video reports.
“What should the minister do?” Mr Avakov wrote in a post on his Facebook page, which has become a clearinghouse for information on police activity since he took office. “Correctly, I gave the order to blockade the gang and detain those who were guilty.”
In Moscow, Alexei Miller, the head of Gazprom, said on Tuesday that Russia would revoke a discount on gas prices granted as part of a financial lifeline granted to Mr Yanukovych in December, raising the price to $US385.50 ($A417) per thousand cubic metres from $US268.50 ($A290.43) per thousand cubic metres.
Mr Miller, in comments to reporters in Moscow, also said that Ukraine owed more than $US1.7 ($A1.84) billion to Gazprom alone. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia said last month that Ukraine’s overall debt to Russia was $US16 ($A17.31) billion.
The New York Times
Read more: Ukraine moves to disarm paramilitary groups as Russia revokes discount on gassigpic
Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C
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JAD,
Excellent interview that really permits a detailed opportunity to learn about Mr. Poroshenko. Thank you."This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." Lester Bangs
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Originally posted by S2 View PostJAD,
Excellent interview that really permits a detailed opportunity to learn about Mr. Poroshenko. Thank you.To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato
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Snapshots of the main presidential candidates:
Petro Poroshenko 48. Ukrainian-speaker/Multilingual. Born in the Odessa region but grew up in Vinnytsia in central Ukraine. Degree in International Economics from Kyiv State University. Founder of Roshen Confections and one of the richest oligarchs in Ukraine. Known as the "Chocolate King". Has held several posts in government. Strong supporter of the EuroMaidan Revolution. Favors alignment with the West and friendly relations with the Russian Federation. Married with four children.
Yulia Tymoshenko 53. Russian-speaker who also learned Ukrainian. Born in the eastern city of Dnepropetrovsk where she studied economics. A gas-transit oligarch known as the "Gas Princess". Began her political career as a deputy PM and founded the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party in 1997. Was named Prime Minister after the Orange Revolution. Was charged under Yanukovych with numerous crimes and eventually received a 7 year prison term for a debilitating gas deal she negotiated with Russia. Released from prison as a result of the EuroMaidan Revolution. One daughter - Yevhenia - who was married (now divorced) to British rock star Sean Carr.
Oleh Tyahnybok 45. Ukrainian-speaker. Born in the western city of Lviv. Has a degree in medicine. Nominated by the far-right Svoboda party. An accolade of Stepan Bandera, Tyahnybok is also known for Antisemitic rhetoric. Married with three children.
Mykhailo Dobkin 44. Russian-speaker. Born in the Kharkiv region. Has a degree in law. Served as a Party of Regions MP in the Rada and was appointed governor of Kharkiv Oblast by Yanukovych. Has been under house arrest since March 20 on charges of fomenting a secessionist movement in eastern Ukraine. Married with four children.sigpic
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A fairly comprehensive political/social/economic poll taken in all regions of Ukraine. pdf format with color-coded charts and graphs.
Public Opinion Survey: Residents of Ukraine - March 14-26, 2014sigpic
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Originally posted by Doktor View PostSome choices they have. No new faces and a bunch of oligarchs.
In the United States, most Senators are millionaires. It takes a great deal of money to finance such electoral campaigns. It is much the same in Ukraine. To his credit, Mr. Poroshenko has stated he will sell his business concerns if elected president.
Vitali Klitschko was a new face. But he deferred to the poll-leading oligarch Petro Poroshenko and will instead run in the Kyiv mayoral election. Both share the same vision. The bundling of their respective voting blocks virtually ensures that the divisive Yulia Tymoshenko is marginalized and defeated. The best Tymoshenko can hope for now is a stronger position in parliament for her Fatherland party. The Poroshenko/Klitschko tag team also ensures that no radical far-right element can eek out a surprise victory.sigpic
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Originally posted by Minskaya View PostNot all of the oligarchs are inherently bad or hopelessly corrupt. Certainly all of them have paid bribes for licenses and permits etc, but that is currently the only way things get done in Ukraine. I've paid bribes. Do you think it was possible to purchase properties in Alushta without doing so? But just like me and millions of other Ukrainians, many of the oligarchs are also fed up with the pervasive corruption. They want a western legal orientation so they don't have to constantly fend off corrupt building inspectors, tax collectors, state auditors, etc.
In the United States, most Senators are millionaires. It takes a great deal of money to finance such electoral campaigns. It is much the same in Ukraine. To his credit, Mr. Poroshenko has stated he will sell his business concerns if elected president.
Vitali Klitschko was a new face. But he deferred to the poll-leading oligarch Petro Poroshenko and will instead run in the Kyiv mayoral election. Both share the same vision. The bundling of their respective voting blocks virtually ensures that the divisive Yulia Tymoshenko is marginalized and defeated. The best Tymoshenko can hope for now is a stronger position in parliament for her Fatherland party. The Poroshenko/Klitschko tag team also ensures that no radical far-right element can eek out a surprise victory.No such thing as a good tax - Churchill
To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.
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Originally posted by Minskaya View PostNot all of the oligarchs are inherently bad or hopelessly corrupt. Certainly all of them have paid bribes for licenses and permits etc, but that is currently the only way things get done in Ukraine. I've paid bribes. Do you think it was possible to purchase properties in Alushta without doing so? But just like me and millions of other Ukrainians, many of the oligarchs are also fed up with the pervasive corruption. They want a western legal orientation so they don't have to constantly fend off corrupt building inspectors, tax collectors, state auditors, etc.
In the United States, most US Senators are millionaires. It takes a great deal of money to finance such electoral campaigns. It is much the same in Ukraine. To his credit, Mr. Poroshenko has stated he will sell his business concerns if elected president.
Vitali Klitschko was a new face. But he deferred to the poll-leading oligarch Petro Poroshenko and will instead run in the Kyiv mayoral election. Both share the same vision. The bundling of their respective voting blocks virtually ensures that the divisive Yulia Tymoshenko is marginalized and defeated. The best Tymoshenko can hope for now is a stronger position in parliament for her Fatherland party. The Poroshenko/Klitschko tag team also ensures that no radical far-right element can eek out a surprise victory.
Just a few observations. I agree with you on the good and bad oligarchs; sort of like in the US, good and bad CEOs, with one major difference, most of the oligarchs run private companies. If they went public, they'd no longer be oligarchs.
As for a majority of Senators being millionaires, these day having a million in assets is nothing. The same senators could have owned the same assets in 1980 and not been millionaires.
Few Senators pay for their own campaign expenses and those that do lend the money to their official campaign organization spend the next few years trying to get donations so they can pay themselves back. A few politicians spend their own millions seeking office. Michael Huffington, husband of Ariana of the Huffington Post, ran in California twice. He spent $5m to get elected to the House and later $24 million on a losing senate race, most of it his own money.
From your perspective, do you see much money being spent on the Ukraine races?To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato
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Poroshenko: If presidential elections are disrupted, Ukraine will see 'Crimean scenario'
A Ukrainian presidential candidate, independent MP Petro Poroshenko, has said that if the presidential elections in Ukraine are not held, then the situation will develop according to the "Crimean scenario."
"If we fail to hold our elections, and if the elections are postponed according to a foreign scenario, there's a very serious risk that we will have Crimea-2, Crimea-3, Crimea-4," he said at a meeting with students of Ostroh Academy on Saturday.
He said that only a strong government could win.
"My friends, I promise you that we'll hold a solemn march on the parade ground of the Sevastopol Naval Academy with a Ukrainian banner on Ukrainian soil. We'll do this only because Ukrainians on the continent will live much better than Ukrainians under Russian occupation," Poroshenko said.
Early presidential elections in Ukraine are scheduled for May 25. Poroshenko: If presidential elections are disrupted, Ukraine will see 'Crimean scenario'To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato
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Poroshenko says will start with armed forces if elected Ukraine's president
Independent presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko said on Friday that efficient armed forces and the "unity of Ukraine from Uzhgorod to Luhansk" would be his top objectives if he won the May 25 election.
"It will be my first move to go to the Ukrainian military, to go to the central command post of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and achieve effective interaction of our forces so they are able to defend the country," Poroshenko said at a meeting at a factory in Novohrad-Volynsky in northern Ukraine.
The armed forces must be mobile and efficient, with their personnel "well-fed," their vehicles supplied with enough fuel and charged batteries, and their weapons working flawlessly "so that everyone knows that anyone who barges in here will get a good drubbing - sorry for the non-parliamentary phrase," the candidate said.
"My second move would be a trip to the east [of Ukraine]. I'll have meetings in Donetsk, meetings in Luhansk. Because the unity of Ukraine, the unity of our team, the Ukrainian people, the unity of Ukraine from Uzhgorod to Luhansk must be the top priority for those in authority," he said. Poroshenko says will start with armed forces if elected Ukraine's presidentTo be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato
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10:07 08.04.2014
Tymoshenko: Representatives of Russian special services among those who seize administrative buildings in Donetsk, Luhansk
Batkivschyna Party leader and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko has said that residents of Donetsk and Luhansk do not support the actions of pro-Russian activists who seize administrative buildings and proclaim the independence of regions.
"Aggressive terrorist groups are operating there, and they are not supported by civilians. People there are categorically against the war, people are afraid of the war and do not want to participate in these actions," she said on the Freedom of Speech program on the ICTV television channel on Monday evening.
She said that she visited Donetsk and Luhansk on Monday and managed to personally assess the situation and communicate with people.
"Those who seize buildings include a group of people who are not hiding, but confess that they are authorized representatives of the special services of Russian Federation. They can present a certificate and give their names. There is also a group of people hired for money, as well as a group of former servicemen," she added.
In her opinion, in order to resolve the situation in the east of the country it is necessary to urgently adopt amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine and enable people in the regions to elect local authorities, as well as to consider a new Budget Code in the next few days. Tymoshenko: Representatives of Russian special services among those who seize administrative buildings in Donetsk, LuhanskTo be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato
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Even close Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko (President of Belarus) calls the proposed 'federalization' of Ukraine dangerous and says such a thing would ruin the nation.
Лукашэнка: "Я катэгарычна супраць федэралізацыі"sigpic
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