Russia | Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion - Part 35
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Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 17, 2014 50 Comments
A flurry of media reports are reporting that a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet has been shot down over Ukrainian airspace. The Boeing 777 carried 295 people and was "at altitude" (30,000 feet) according to the Interfax agency. All on board are said to have perished, according to Ukrainian sources. The media reports and video of a fiery crash have exploded on the internet after this initial tweet came from Malaysian Airlines. On FOX News Channel's breaking news coverage -- Jennifer Griffin, FOX News Pentagon correspondent, says the Ukrainian interior minister reports a Russian surface-to-air missile system brought down the flight. Griffin says Ukrainian civilians and government officials had reported seeing the advanced Russian BOOK missile system move into the country from Russia in recent days. From BBC News:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 15, 2014 31 Comments
How expansive is electronic espionage? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly does not have a computer in his office, does not use email and does not have a private phone. I read a while ago that he even uses hand signals in some situations, although I can't find the link now. There's every reason to believe many major national intelligence agencies have similar capabilities, they just don't have Edward Snowdens willing or able to walk off with the proof. You know, imprisoned or dead families could be the consequence elsewhere. So frustrated with U.S. snooping is Germany that it is considering going to old school typewriters, via The Guardian, Germany 'may revert to typewriters' to counter hi-tech espionage:
German politicians are considering a return to using manual typewriters for sensitive documents in the wake of the US surveillance scandal. The head of the Bundestag's parliamentary inquiry into NSA activity in Germany said in an interview with the Morgenmagazin TV programme that he and his colleagues were seriously thinking of ditching email completely. Asked "Are you considering typewriters" by the interviewer on Monday night, the Christian Democrat politican Patrick Sensburg said: "As a matter of fact, we have – and not electronic models either". "Really?", the surprised interviewer checked. "Yes, no joke", Sensburg responded.
While typewriters might be harder to spy on, they hardly are foolproof, as the U.S. Embassy in Moscow discovered back in the day (1986): Soviets Bug Typewriters in U.S. Embassy * * * Soviets Bug Typewriters in U.S. Embassy sounds More on the typewriter espionage here:

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 01, 2014 5 Comments
This seems like a broken record, but the last 24 hours have turned the standoff in Eastern Ukraine from a "ceasefire" to a hot war that doesn't appear to be cooling down soon. On Friday, June 20, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko announced a unilateral one-week cease-fire by his government as a way to deescalate the crisis with pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko announced to ceasefire with an ultimatum for the rebels: disarm or leave Ukraine.
Poroshenko called the 7-day cease-fire, which was to begin later on Friday, a first-step in a larger agreement, not only giving separatists a chance to disarm, but also for pro-Russia rebels to leave the country, the Kiev Post reports. He called on separatists to lay down their weapons, or else be "destroyed," the President said. "The forces of the anti-terrorist operation will halt military action starting today and through June 27," Poroshenko was cited as saying by the Interior Ministry on its website.
Probably to no one's surprise, the ceasefire was violated several times in the last 10 days mainly by the pro-Russian forces. So as July dawned in Ukraine, the ceasefire was over and heavy fighting broke out in the separatist eastern regions.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on April 07, 2014 10 Comments
Tensions continued to escalate in eastern Ukraine Monday on the heels of protests over the weekend in which pro-Russia protesters seized government buildings in several cities. From CNN:
Ukraine's acting president accused Russia on Monday of trying to "dismember" his country, warning that uprisings in three cities echoed the events leading to the Russian annexation of Crimea three weeks ago. Pro-Moscow protesters seized government buildings, raised Russian flags and declared new governments in the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkov on Sunday. In a televised message, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said the revolts were led by "separatist groups coordinated by Russian special services." "Enemies of Ukraine are trying to play out the Crimean scenario, but we will not let this happen," Turchynov said. And Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the goal of the protesters is "to destabilize" the country, allowing "foreign troops to cross the border and seize the territory of the country." "We will not allow it," Yatsenyuk said.
In some of these incidents, protesters demanded a referendum like the one recently seen in Crimea, according to the Washington Post.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 24, 2014 19 Comments

Was Edward Snowden just protecting the privacy -- of Russian and Chinese intelligence services?...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on March 23, 2014 51 Comments
On CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday morning, host Bob Schieffer spoke with guest Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee, about the situation in Ukraine and President Obama’s response to it.  Romney was highly critical of Obama's handling of Russia's actions in particular, noting “the president's naiveté with regards to Russia, as well as the president’s “faulty judgment about Russia's intentions and objectives.” Schieffer began the interview by reminding Romney of his previous comments about Russia, which came up during one of the presidential debates in 2012. “During the campaign, and I want to start with this, you took a lot of heat for saying that Russia was our greatest geopolitical foe. In the third debate, the president came down pretty hard on you about that,” Schieffer began. After playing a video clip of that portion of the aforementioned debate, Schieffer asked Romney his thoughts on the situation today.
“I'm sure, Governor, you're tempted this morning to say, "I told you so." But do you really believe that what happened in Ukraine had anything to do with what President Obama has or hasn't done?” Schieffer asked. Romney’s response was critical of Obama’s handling of the situation in Ukraine, and more specifically, the president's assessment of Russia's intentions.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 19, 2014 14 Comments
Face it, Obama has structured key portions of U.S. foreign policy on Vlad Putin playing nice. Iran nukes? Check. Syria chemical weapons and civil war? Check. Egypt shifting allegiances? Check. Nuclear arms treaty compliance? Check. Central and Eastern Europe territorial integrity? Check. On what key issues does Putin need Obama? Yeah, now Vlad is threatening to leave the relationship and take all the prized possessions with him. Via AP, Russia warns West it may change its stance on Iran:
Russia may revise its stance in the Iranian nuclear talks amid tensions with the West over Ukraine, a senior diplomat warned Wednesday. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to the Interfax news agency, that Russia didn't want to use the Iranian nuclear talks to "raise the stakes," but may have to do so in response to the actions by the United States and the European Union. The statement is the most serious threat of retaliation by Moscow after the U.S. and the EU announced sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Ryabkov, who is Russia's envoy to the Iranian talks, said that Russia considers the "reunification" with Crimea as far more important than the developments surrounding the Iranian nuclear program.
The featured image, a Branco Cartoon from September 2013, still rings true. So does this photoshop that made the rounds:

Posted by Mandy Nagy on March 18, 2014 9 Comments
With ongoing developments on the crisis in Ukraine, here are some news updates from Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a draft treaty making Crimea part of Russia. From CNN, Ukraine cries 'robbery' as Russia annexes Crimea:
Never mind what the West thinks -- the Kremlin says Ukraine's Crimea region is now part of Russia. A signing ceremony Tuesday between Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of Crimea and the mayor of the city of Sevastopol made it official, the Kremlin said in a statement. The territory, ceded to Ukraine in the Soviet era, is now part of the Russian Federation, it said. The annexation -- which had not been expected to occur until Russian lawmakers met later this week -- was met with a howl of protest in Kiev, where Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called it "a robbery on an international scale."
Additional details also at CBS News. Also Tuesday, a Ukrainian soldier was reported to have been killed on a base in Crimea and another wounded, though some of the details appeared to be unclear at the time of this writing. From AFP:

Posted by New Neo on March 06, 2014 32 Comments

Why was our intelligence community caught so flat-footed about Putin's intentions in Ukraine? That's a question being asked on Capitol Hill, and in Politico. One possible answer to the query is, "No, it wasn't." That one was given by James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, and...

Posted by New Neo on March 01, 2014 38 Comments
NOTE: for previous coverage of the situation in Ukraine/Crimea, you can follow this live coverage post. Putin is no doubt quaking in his boots at this warning issued by President Obama:
"We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine," Obama said in a hastily arranged public statement from the White House briefing room. "Just days after the world came to Russia for the Olympic games, it would invite the condemnation of nations around the world. And indeed, the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine," the president warned.
Costs...costs...what could they be? Here are some possibilities:

Posted by Mandy Nagy on February 27, 2014 10 Comments
There have been some developments in Ukraine since late yesterday. In Crimea, armed gunmen seized the regional government headquarters and parliament buildings and raised the Russian flag, according to Reuters.
Armed men seized the regional government headquarters and parliament in Ukraine's Crimea on Thursday and raised the Russian flag, alarming Kiev's new rulers, who urged Moscow not to abuse its navy base rights on the peninsula by moving troops around. "I am appealing to the military leadership of the Russian Black Sea fleet," said Olexander Turchinov, acting president since the removal of Viktor Yanukovich last week. "Any military movements, the more so if they are with weapons, beyond the boundaries of this territory (the base) will be seen by us as military aggression
    Ousted President Viktor Yanukovich is said to have been "granted" protection inside Russia.

Posted by edgeofthesandbox on February 14, 2014 15 Comments
I generally dislike Olympic ceremonies because, staged on immense stadiums with numerous extras, they lend themselves easily to a totalitarian aesthetic.  The 1980 Olympic opening ceremony in Moscow was an exercise in totalitarianism: pyramids of humans erected on the stadium, extras marching lockstep, etc.  Likewise, the 2008 Beijing Olympics showcased loyal subjects moving around on cue. Russians learned their lessons and sought to wow foreigners in Sochi through high art and high tech.  Producer Andrei Boltenko was faced with the uneasy task of presenting the authoritarian extravaganza that is Russian history in some kind of truthful but positive light, and he did it through celebrating culture, not politics.  Cue the cuckoo clock speech. Russians opened up the program with a walk through the Cyrillic alphabet that highlighted Russia's contributions to civilization.  A quaint idea that a bunch of white men (save for Pushkin, and Russians don't dwell too much on him being part black), most of them dead, did something worth treasuring. I thought the list of great Russians was a bit heavy on emigres: Nabokov, Chagall, Kandinsky.  I'm not sure Kandinsky belongs to that short list anyway -- personal opinion, I know.  Considering that Russia nurtured so many chess champions, maybe the producers could had Kasparov stand for the letter K.  OK, never mind. In the best Soviet tradition, Russians couldn't help exaggerating.  For letter T, for instance, they had "television".  While the word is Russian in origin, Russians (and Russian emigres) only invented some of the technology that went into it.

Posted by Laurel Conrad on February 09, 2014 23 Comments

When journalists descended on Sochi last week, many took to Twitter to express their dismay at the state of their hotel rooms. While their conditions are hardly ideal- yellow water, bees in the honey, and more- they are certainly providing entertainment for audiences back home.

One Twitter account, @SochiProblems, has become particularly viral- even outnumbering the official Sochi Twitter account by more than 100,000 followers. Here are six of the most horrifying #SochiProblems that make me feel especially thankful that I am in the US, where there is clear water, working doors, and toilets that flush the paper. Side note: while many Sochi fakes have come out, we believe these (unfortunately) to be real.

1. Managing editor - sports for Yahoo! Canada, Steve McAllister, was locked inside his room:

2. Olympic bobsledder Johnny Quinn seems to know exactly how to handle that sort of situation:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 19, 2014 47 Comments
How did Edward Snowden so carefully thread the needle to download a massive trove of highly secret documents from across the NSA and intelligence networks without detection? How did he know exactly which job to go after in Hawaii to give him that access, and how was his escape so neatly orchestrated that he ends up first in Chinese controlled Hong Kong with its difficult extradition rules, and then on to Vladimir Putin's arms? Those are questions which have troubled me since the start of this drama, when I asked whether this all was just a Snowden job? Was exposing issues about our privacy the goal, or the cover story for foreign espionage? How better to cause havoc in our intelligence services than to steal the crown jewels and create political turmoil because the U.S. does what every other major nation does -- only better. I still have my doubts as to what this all is really about:
As events have unfolded, I’ve been hesitant to focus on motivations and agenda, because undoubtedly there is some good coming out. We’re more conscious of the totality of information gathered by government, the weak oversight, and the potential for abuse. As a small government type, these disclosures are useful as to the threat posed by unaccountable big government. Among other things, the Snowden affair is a stark warning as to the danger the gathering of private medical information under Obamacare poses not just from the government itself, but from leakers. Imagine some HHS employee pulling a Snowden with your medical information. Nonetheless, I’ve been uncomfortable how this has gone down. We shouldn’t be kowtowed into silence just because some of the consequences of this espionage and theft are good from a privacy perspective....

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 04, 2013 1 Comment
Protests in Ukraine continued on Wednesday as protesters persisted in their efforts to block access to public buildings after several days of unrest in Kiev. From the NY Times:
The demonstrators who have laid siege to public buildings in this rattled capital expanded their protest overnight, blockading the central bank on Wednesday and setting up tents and lighting bonfires on the sidewalk outside. Protest leaders had vowed to surround additional government buildings after the Ukrainian Parliament on Tuesday defeated a measure calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his government.

The failure of the no-confidence vote pushed the battle for the future of Ukraine back onto the streets, where protests began over the weekend. Demonstrators allied with opposition leaders said they would not relent until they succeed in removing the government, including President Viktor F. Yanukovich.

But the protesters’ overnight goal of blockading the presidential administration building had not been accomplished by Wednesday morning. They did advance their sphere of control about 500 yards up a side street leading to Independence Square, which they have occupied, and erected a barricade near one entrance to the administration building.