PUTIN DOES THE OBVIOUS

Ukraine crisis: Moscow threatens to cut gas supplies to Europe in retaliation for sanctions (dated March 23, 2014)

And Europe will fold.

Furthermore, Putin is determined to build a Russian bloc.

Obama, the kumbaya-singing community organizer, is incapable of handling this crisis.

JEWS IN DANGER INSIDE GEORGIA TOO

Yes, there are some people from Israel caught in the crossfire, and even locally born Jews too:

(IsraelNN.com) As the Russian offensive against Georgia rages on, 40 Israeli teachers are trying to make their way out of Georgia, via Turkey or Armenia, and some 50 Jews have requested to make Aliyah (immigration to Israel).

The 40 teachers arrived in Georgia's capital city of Tbilisi on Friday in the framework of a vacation trip organized by the Histadrut Teachers Union. Upon landing, however, they abruptly found themselves in the middle of a war zone, with no way to leave. Arkia, the Israeli airline that flew them in, has already announced the cancellation of its next flight from Tbilisi to Israel, this coming Friday, because of the war situation.

A factory run by Israeli investors was also bombed by Russia's army of darkness. With this declaration of war, I'd say Vladimir Putin has fully shed the mask and shown that he is as bad as the Leninists who came before him.

DID PUTIN TRY TO MURDER ANOTHER FORMER KGB AGENT IN GREAT BRITAIN?

TELEGRAPH: Russian KGB defector 'survives murder attempt at Surrey home'

Police in Surrey are investigating an alleged attempt to kill a KGB double agent who spied on Russia for British intelligence during the Cold War.

Oleg Gordievsky, a former Soviet colonel who defected to Britain in 1985, was taken by ambulance from his home to a hospital in Guildford after falling ill in November.

He believes he was poisoned by a Russian acquaintance, a former intelligence officer who visited him at his safe house in Surrey. After falling unconscious for 34 hours, he spent two weeks in a private clinic and was initially left partially paralysed. He still has no feeling in his fingers.

Mr Gordievsky, 69, fears he is the latest victim of revenge attacks on defectors. Alexander Litvinenko, his friend and another former Russian spy, was murdered in London in 2006.

DAILY MAIL:

Special Branch is investigating an alleged attempt to murder Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB double-agent who spied on Russia for British intelligence at the height of the Cold War. The former Soviet colonel, who escaped to Britain in 1985, says he was poisoned by a Russian assassin who visited him at his secret safe-house in Surrey.

He fears he is the latest victim of revenge attacks by Russian intelligence on high-profile defectors. Alexander Litvinenko, another former Russian spy, was murdered in London in 2006.

Gordievsky – awarded one of Britain's highest honours by the Queen last October – was rushed to hospital after collapsing at home. He lay unconscious and "close to death" for 34 hours. He spent a further two weeks recuperating in a private clinic paid for by his former bosses in MI6.

He was initially left partially paralysed by the alleged attack and still has no feeling in his fingers.

Last night Surrey Police confirmed they were investigating a possible attempt on Gordievsky's life. But he claimed that his former MI6 paymasters had attempted to cover it up. He said MI6 forced Special Branch to drop its initial investigation into the case.

Officers were ordered to reopen the inquiry only after pressure by senior intelligence figures, including former MI5 chief Eliza Manningham-Buller.

Lord Butler, the head of the inquiry into intelligence failures in the run-up to the war in Iraq, is also understood to have questioned why the case was not being taken more seriously.

Gordievsky, 69, defected to the UK after more than ten years living a double life spying for British intelligence. He told The Mail on Sunday that he was certain he was the victim of a Kremlin-inspired assassination attempt.

"I've known for some time that I am on the assassination list drawn up by rogue elements in Moscow," he said. "They murdered my friend Alexander Litvinenko. I have no doubt my sudden illness last November was a similar attempt on my life. ... It was obvious to me I had been poisoned... The targets for assassination are well known. First Boris Berezovsky [the multi-millionaire oligarch living in exile in Britain], next the prime minister of Chechnya, then Litvinenko and then I was fourth. Now I remain third."

• I THINK PUTIN'S GANG IS BEHIND THIS MURDER ATTEMPT - AS HE WAS ALSO BEHIND THE MURDER OF LITVINENKO.
  

• I THINK THE FACT THAT ANDREI LUGOVOI WENT BACK TO MOSCOW PROVES PUTIN ALSO HAD LITVINENKO MURDERED.

• (IF LUGOVOI WAS PART OF A BEREZOVSKY GANG, THEN HE WOULDN'T HAVE GONE BACK TO RUSSIA!)

PUTIN IS STILL IN CONTROL OF RUSSIA - AND WILL REMAIN SO FOR YEARS TO COME.

HE MUST BE WATCHED - CAREFULLY.

NOTE: Oleg Gordievsky [was] the highest ranking KGB officer ever to collaborate with British Intelligence...

On Saturday 26th February, Sir Martin Jacomb, Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters of the University on Mr Oleg Gordievsky, the highest ranking KGB officer ever to collaborate with British Intelligence, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to protecting the security and safety of the United Kingdom.

THAT'S WHY PUTIN TRIED TO WHACK HIM: TO SEND A MESSAGE...

*******UPDATE: Gordievsky saw it coming: KGB defector in Britain fears he will be next Alexander Litvinenko (2/10/08):

Oleg Gordievsky, 69, who was honoured by the Queen for services to British security last year, fears he could be murdered by Russians in this country, The Sunday Times writes today.

The former KGB officer who spied for Britain says he has become increasingly worried about his safety since the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian Federal Security Service officer, in London 15 months ago. Worsening relations between Britain and Russia have given him further concerns, the paper marks.

MORE STALINISM FROM PUTIN

BBC: Kasyanov barred from Russian poll

Mikhail Kasyanov on 16 January Russia's election officials have barred former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov from running as an opposition candidate in the March presidential election.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) said there were many invalid signatures in Mr Kasyanov's list of supporters.

Mr Kasyanov served under President Vladimir Putin, but has become one of his staunchest critics. He called on Russians to boycott "this farce".

Mr Putin's chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is expected to win in March.

Russian law stipulates that no more than 5% of signatures in support of a candidate can be false or forged.

In Mr Kasyanov's case, 13.36% were rejected, the CEC announced. The decision was unanimous.

In a statement, Mr Kasyanov said: "There is no doubt that the decision not to register my candidacy was taken personally by Vladimir Putin."

"The country has finally gone on the slippery slope to totalitarianism."

• PUTIN IS BEHIND A LOT OF THE CRAP COMING OUT OF IRAN, SYRIA, AND HAMASTAN.
• HE AND HIS KGB AND THEIR LONGTIME ASSETS ARE DEPLOYED TO HURT THE WEST AND HELP THEMSELVES - ANYWAY THEY CAN.
• WORLD PEACE DEPENDS ON HIS "EXIT" FROM THE SCENE AND RESTORING RUSSIA'S DEMOCRACY.

MORE THAN 70% OF GEORGIANS WANT TO JOIN NATO

THIS WILL PISS OFF PUTIN:

Over 70 percent of Georgians who took part in a nationwide referendum said they want the ex-Soviet nation to join NATO, according to results released on Friday.

The plebiscite was held simultaneously with the Jan. 5 presidential vote in which US-allied Mikhail Saakashvili won his second presidential term. The Central Election Commission said that 72.5 percent of those who cast ballots in the referendum said they supported Georgia's accession into NATO. Saakashvili, a US-educated lawyer, has helped transform Georgia into a country with a growing economy and aspirations of joining the European Union and NATO, cultivating close ties with the US and decreasing Russia's influence.

GOOD.

AND SINCE "NEW EUROPE" HAS MORE GUTS THAN "OLD EUROPE" - BECAUSE THEY STILL HATE TYRANNY - THIS MIGHT HELP MAKE NATO A LITTLE MORE GUTSY; (NATO'S EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN HAVE BEEN PALTRY, TO DATE).

JEWISH WORKERS IN RUSSIA FACE VISA PROBLEMS

If only the Jewish community there would think wisely and leave, considering the returning reign of communism (or Putinism, if you think of the brand new dictator now posing as the prime minister there), maybe this wouldn't be an issue. The JTA reports:

MOSCOW (JTA) -- New visa rules in Russia are stoking anxiety and frustration among Jewish groups here, forcing them to get in line quickly with new laws to avoid fines or the expulsion of their foreign employees from Russia.

While the changes, which went into effect Oct. 18, do not specifically target Jews, the new rules for multiple-entry business visas -- which cover the sub-sections of religious, humanitarian and cultural visas -- are having a huge impact on Jewish organizations.

Large Jewish groups, some of which employ hundreds of foreign workers and their families, are fighting their way through the maze of paperwork and bureaucracy surrounding the new rules, and many still do not understand exactly how the rules are to be applied.

The new rules, hastily instituted by the Russian government amid the heavily anti-Western rhetoric of December’s parliamentary campaign, are still not clearly understood by those who will be most affected by them.

[...]

For the Chabad-led federation, which has an estimated 500-plus foreign employees and family members in the country, most of whom hold either Israeli or U.S. citizenship, this constitutes a tremendous weight on operating costs. Employees will be able to stay in Russia for no more than 90 days out of every 180, and every 180 days they will have to go to their countries of origin to renew their visas. That's a lot of plane tickets.

Not to mention money. The Russian-Jewish community should understand that the time has come to pack their bags and leave, to avoid the encroaching reign of communism anew. If they were to do that, all these matters wouldn't be a problem and a lot of money would be saved.

PUTIN SELLS MORE WEAPONS TO IRAN

HAARETZ/REUTERS (12:39PM):

Iran minister: Russia to supply Tehran with new missile system

Russia has agreed to sell an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran, Iran's defense minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday in the Iranian Fars News Agency.

S-300 missiles are longer-ranging than the TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles which Russia, in a deal criticized by the West, earlier this year said it had delivered to the Islamic Republic under a $1 billion contract.

Iran is under United Nations sanctions due to its refusal to halt sensitive atomic work that Western powers suspect it wants to master so that it can build nuclear bombs, but they do not ban conventional weapons sales to the country.

LEMME GET THIS STRAIGHT:

• THE IRANIANS BOUGHT A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FROM THE FOLKS WHO BROUGHT US CHERNOBYL.
• AND MORE ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILES FROM THE FOLKS WHO SOLD ASSAD HIS POROUS DEFENSE SYSTEMS (JUST RENDERED USELESS BY THE IAF).
• EITHER PUTIN IS A GREAT SALESMAN OR THE IRANIANS ARE AS DUMB AS SHIT.
• PROBABLY BOTH.

SERIOUSLY: PUTIN IS GONNA BE A BIG PROBLEM FOR YEARS TO COME - AND I WANT OUR NEXT PRESIDENT TO HANDLE HIM BETTER THAN BUSH AND CONDI DID.

SHOULDN'T BE HARD: THEY SUCKED IT UP BIGTIME.

PUTIN WINS ANOTHER ROUND AGAINST THE WEST

BELMONT: The Great Pipeline Game

In May 2006, the US and EU made a determined effort to convince Kazakh officials to build a gas pipeline, around Russia in order to supply the energy needs of Europe.

"Top officials from the European Union and the US are visiting Kazakhstan in an attempt to revive the idea of a gas pipeline bypassing Russia. Kazakhstan's energy minister told the EU's energy commissioner his country favoured the proposal for a pipeline across the Caspian Sea."

Kazakhstan should be pumping up to 45 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2015. That effort failed today as Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan signed a deal to build a gas pipeline through areas controlled by Moscow to the EU.

"The pipeline will skirt the Caspian Sea from Turkmenistan to southern Russia via Kazakhstan and will be built by the end of 2010. The trilateral agreement was signed in Moscow in the presence of President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan."

RTWT.

• THE NEXT US PRESIDENT MUST BE BETTER AT COUNTERING RUSSIA THAN BUSH AND RICE - WHO'VE BEEN A DISASTER ON THIS FRONT.

• AND THE WEST'S PROBLEM WITH RUSSIA AIN'T JUST ABOUT ENERGY.

• IRAN, SYRIA, VENEZUELA, AND SERBIA ARE ALSO EXPLOITED BY RUSSIA AND PART OF AN EMERGING RUSSIAN AXIS THAT MEANS TO DO THE WEST HARM.

TIME'S "MAN OF THE YEAR" IS THE CROOK OF THE DECADE

PUTIN HAS AMASSED $40 BILLION.


HE MAKES ARAFAT AND MUGABE AND BOKASSA LOOK LIKE PIKERS.


HAT TIP HOT AIR.

PUTIN BRINGS BACK STALIN'S PUNITVE PSYCHOLOGY

WIKI:

Punitive psychiatry in the Soviet Union

In the Soviet Union, psychiatry was used for punitive purposes. Psychiatric hospitals were often used by the authorities as prisons in order to isolate political prisoners from the rest of society, discredit their ideas, and break them physically and mentally; as such they were considered a form of torture. The official explanation was that "no sane person would declaim against Soviet government and communism".

DAILY MAIL: Putin rival held in psychiatric ward 'to prevent him protesting against government'

A Russian opposition activist has been sent to a psychiatric hospital by authorities a day before a planned demonstration.

Artem Basyrov's detention is the latest in a series of incidents suggesting a punitive Soviet-era practice is being revived under president Vladimir Putin.

Mr Basyrov, 20, was ordered to be held at a hospital in the central region of Mari El on November 23, a day before planned demonstrations, said Alexander Averin of the opposition National Bolshevik Party.

The party is part of the Other Russia coalition which organised the so-called Dissenters' Marches across the country this year.

Mr Basyrov ran for the local legislature as an Other Russia candidate.

Police who originally detained him claimed he had assaulted a girl.

A local psychiatric board agreed, deciding the activist suffered from a mental illness and he was committed to the psychiatric hospital three weeks ago.

He was only transferred from an isolation ward and allowed to have visitors on Thursday, said Mikhail Klyuzhev, a National Bolshevik member from the city of Yoshkar-Ola.

The allegations against Mr Basyrov were "idiocy" and were "part of the hysteria" before Russia's parliamentary elections which were held on December 2, Mr Klyuzhev added.

Supporters said Mr Basyrov did not appear to have been mistreated.

A psychiatric board is due to review his case at the end of the month.

• PUTIN IS A MAJOR TREAT TO OUR SECURITY.

• HE IS BUILDING THE IRANIAN REACTOR

• AND ARMING IRAN AND SYRIA AND VENEZUELA.

THE NEXT PRESIDENT MUST BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN COUNTERING PUTIN THAN BUSH AND RICE WHO HAVE BEEN GREAT BIG ZEROS ON THE MATTER.

PUTIN IS THE WORLD'S THIRD MOST DANGEROUS MAN

• OSAMA.
• MAHMOUD.
• VLADIMIR.

• JIHADO-TERROR.
• IRANIAN SHIA HEGEMONY.
• RUSSIA.

AND PUTIN IS STEADILY GROWING IN POWER, AND.... AUDACITY. TODAY'S NEWS IS FURTHER PROOF:

BREITBART/AP:

Russia poised to walk away from CFE arms treaty

Russia was set to suspend compliance overnight Tuesday with a key Cold War treaty that sets limits on troops and weaponry across Europe, a move starkly underlining growing East-West tensions.

A foreign ministry spokesman confirmed to AFP that Russia's moratorium on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty would take effect at midnight, in accordance with a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin last month.

"Starting at midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT), Russia will suspend all compliance concerning the treaty," a statement from the foreign ministry read.

"Such a step has been caused by the exceptional circumstances connected to the content of the treaty which concern the security of Russia and demand that we take immediate measures," it added.

"Russia will not be constrained by the limitations placed on its arms deployments on its flanks.

"At the same time, we have no current plans to accumulate massive armaments on our neighbours' borders," it added.

Signed in 1990 and modified in 1999, the CFE places precise limits on stationing of troops and heavy weapons from the Atlantic coast to Russia's Ural mountains -- a mammoth agreement that helped resolve the Cold War standoff.

Suspension means that Russia will be free to move troops without notifying NATO, dealing a new blow to East-West relations already teetering from Moscow's threat to leave the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty.

Tensions are also swirling around US plans to install a missile-defence system in NATO members Poland and the Czech Republic. Washington insists the system is aimed at Iran, but Moscow says the shield would threaten its own nuclear forces.

Moscow says the CFE needs major revision, but that Russia could re-enter the treaty if NATO countries agreed to modifications.

"The moratorium is not an end in itself but a way of attracting our partners' attention to the unfavourable situation in this area," Anatoly Antonov, head of the Foreign Ministry department on security, told journalists last week.

However, Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said "the treaty is dead."

"What was very important is the transparency regime which was very much working and very active, allowing transparency of all military activity," he told AFP.

"With the CFE gone, European nations will lose an important independent source of information about Russian military activity."

NYTIMES:

A day after President Vladimir V. Putin endorsed a loyal protégé, Dmitri A. Medvedev, as his successor, Mr. Medvedev went before the nation today and declared that he in turn wanted to name Mr. Putin as his prime minister.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev during a live televised address today in Moscow.

The announcement could bring to a close questions about how Mr. Putin intends to wield influence over Russia after his term ends next year. Mr. Putin is barred by the Constitution from running for a third consecutive term, but he had indicated in recent months that he had no intention of giving up all his power when he stepped down in the spring.

Mr. Medvedev has no background in the state security services and virtually no power base in the Kremlin, and he is seen here as a relatively weak figure beholden to Mr. Putin. With Mr. Putin as prime minister, it would appear that little would change in who controls Russia.

Some analysts conjectured that Mr. Medvedev could even step down before his term as president ends — clearing the way for Mr. Putin to be elevated from prime minister to president, which would be possible under the Constitution.

• THESE NEWS ITEMS COME A FEW DAYS AFTER PUTIN ANNOUNCED HE WAS INTENT OF FORMING A SUPER-REPUBLIC WITH BELARUS - A STORY WE HAD LAST FRIDAY - BEFORE THE MSM.

• PUTIN ARMS SYRIA AND IRAN AND HAS A HUGE INTEREST IN KEEPING OIL AND GAS PRICES HIGH.

• HE MUST NOT BE TRUSTED. HE IS AN OLD KGB MAN AND THE KGB WERE RUTHLESS.
  
• ALSO: REMEMBER THAT THE KGB WAS VERY ADEPT AT USING SURROGATES AND FOMENTING WARS WHICH HELPED THE USSR AND GAVE US GREAT TROUBLE: VIETNAM; ANGOLA; NICARAGUA; ETC.
• THEY MAY EVEN NOW BE HELPING OSAMA AND IRAN AND ASSAD AND NASRALLAH FOR THE SAME REASONS.
  
• THE KGB TRAINED ARAFAT, TOO. AND CARLOS. AND ABBAS.
  
• I WOULD NOT PUT IT PASSED PUTIN.
  
• LIKE ASSAD - PUTIN ASSASSINATES HIS FOES WHEN HE FEELS IT'S NECESSARY.
  
• HE WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR POWER.
  

WE DESPERATELY NEED A NEW PRESIDENT WHO WILL COURAGEOUSLY COUNTER HIM - AND NOT BE OUT-MANEUVERED BY HIM:

MCCAIN. MITT. OR RUDY.

ONLY PUTIN STANDS BETWEEN THE WORLD AND IRAN SANCTIONS

REUTERS:

The United States has agreed with China on the basis for more United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, and said a deal could be reached if Russia is brought on board, a top diplomat said on Monday.

World powers held a meeting on Saturday aimed at agreeing more U.N. sanctions against Iran, which a French diplomat has said could lead to a deal on punitive measures within weeks, despite previous opposition from China and Russia.

"We were able, with the Chinese government, to focus on a number of areas where we would agree to sanctions," said Nicholas Burns, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, speaking to reporters in Singapore.

A decision on new sanctions could not be reached on Saturday as Russia's envoy was prevented from flying to the meeting in Paris because of snow in Canada.

"Now if we can bring the Russians on board, I think we'll have the makings of a third Security Council resolution," Burns said.

• WILL "TSAR VLAD" BE ABLE TO DEFY THE USA, FRANCE, GERMANY AND CHINA!?

• NOT WITHOUT ANOTHER CRISIS TO DIVERT ATTENTION...

BRACE YOURSELVES...

PUTIN'S "ELECTION" A SHAM OF A MOCKERY OF A TRAVESTY

BBC:

Monitors denounce Russia election

Ballot papers at a polling station in Moscow Foreign observers have said that Russia's parliamentary election, won by President Vladimir Putin's party, was "not fair".

The statement was made by a joint observer team of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe.

With nearly 98% of ballots counted, Mr Putin's United Russia had 64.1% of Sunday's vote.

Mr Putin said the poll was "legitimate" and a vote of public trust in him.

"[The elections were] the most unfair and dirtiest in the whole history of modern Russia"
Garry Kasparov, Russian opposition leader

Criticism cannot mask reality

Press sees tainted triumph

The election showed that Russians would not allow their nation to develop along a "destructive path" as had happened in several former Soviet countries, Mr Putin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Opposition claims of fraud have been rejected by Russia's electoral commission.

'Not a level playing field'

The election "was not fair and failed to meet many OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections," the observers from the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly told a news conference in Moscow.

"The vote affirmed the main idea - that Vladimir Putin is the national leader"
Boris Gryzlov, United Russia leader

The statement said the polls "took place in an atmosphere which seriously limited political competition" and that "there was not a level political playing field".

"Frequent abuse of administrative resources, media coverage strongly in favour of the ruling party and an election code whose cumulative effect hindered political pluralism" had tainted the polls, the observers said.

The OSCE had abandoned its plans to send a large team of monitors, accusing Moscow of imposing curbs and delaying visas. Russia denied the claims.

Only a much smaller group of members of the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly had attended the election, leaving some 330 foreign monitors covering nearly 100,000 polling stations.

The opposition Communists and two other parties - A Fair Russia and the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party - were also poised to win seats in the 450-member lower chamber of the parliament, the State Duma.

The country's liberal opposition parties looked certain to fail to clear the 7% threshold needed to enter parliament.

The Communists have said they will mount a legal challenge to the result, and will decide shortly whether to boycott the new parliament.

"We do not trust these figures announced by the central elections commission and we will conduct a parallel count," Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said after the vote.

• THOUGH PUTIN'S THUGS HAVEN'T TAKEN RUSSIA COMPLETELY BACK TO SQUARE ONE (YET), IT DOES LOOK LIKE - AT THE VERY LEAST - WE NEED TO START BROADCASTING A NEW VERSION OF "RADIO FREE RUSSIA."

ASIDE: EVEN GENNADY ZYUGAMOV - WHO HAS BEEN LEADING THE COMMIES SINCE THE FALL OF THE USSR - IS DENOUNCING THE ELECTION: HOW FREAKIN RICH!

ELECTION RESULTS IN VENEZUELA AND RUSSIA FAVOR TYRANTS...

GORE AND KERRY ARE EN ROUTE TO DEMAND A RECOUNT AND AN INVESTIGATION... THEY SEE DIEBOLD'S AND HALLIBURTON'S FINGERPRINTS ALL OVER IT....

Yeah, sure. And Carter is flying there, too.

Actually Bush is demanding an investigation.

BUT WHAT CAN WE REALLY DO ABOUT IT!?

Venezuela and Russia are both in the WTO. Maybe they shouldn't be!?

Maybe no tyranny should be in any "club" of the West?

That's what I believe.

Membership in and benefits of the EU the WTO and the UN and the IMF and the World Bank and the G8 - ETC ETC ETC - should be restricted to freemarket democracies.

TWO DANGEROUS TYRANNICAL THUGS HOLD FAKE ELECTIONS TODAY

BBC:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is facing his toughest challenge in years as voters decide whether to approve constitutional changes in a referendum.

The raft of reforms includes allowing abolishing presidential term limits and ending the Central Bank's autonomy.

Mr Chavez says the proposed changes would return power to the people, but opponents accuse him of a power grab.

On Saturday, President Chavez repeated a threat to stop oil supplies to the US if it tried to disrupt the ballot.

Mr Chavez has warned that his opponents could try to sabotage the vote, with backing from Washington, through violent protests.

At a news conference, he said: "In the case of an aggression by the US government, we wouldn't send any more oil to that country. Forget about our oil."

BBC:

Voting has begun in Russia's general election, with citizens in the far east of the country going to the polls long before they open in the west.

Eleven parties are competing for places in the lower house, the Duma - though it is not clear how many will win the 7% needed to qualify for seats.

Opposition parties have accused the government of stifling their campaigns and of intimidation.

Independent monitors say their attempts to observe the poll have been hampered.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has abandoned its plans to send a big team of election observers to Russia after accusing the Russian government of imposing unacceptable restrictions and of deliberately delaying the issuing of visas. Russia has denied the claims.

• CHAVEZ AND PUTIN ARE TWO THUGS EMBOLDENED BY THEIR OIL WEALTH, AND RUTHLESSLY SEEKING POWER.

• THEY ARE DANGEROUS ALONE, AND EACH AIDING IRAN, TOO.

• WE NEED TO CONFRONT THEM BOTH.
• HERE'S AN ARTICLE FROM KAY 2001 - BEFORE 9/11 - WHICH DESCRIBED THE PUTIN-CHAVEZ AXIS - EXCERPT:
  

(UPI) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared Monday that they would form a strategic alliance against U.S. dominance as the world's only superpower.

Putin and Chavez, who had extensive talks, discovered that they had much in common. Chavez declared to the media that they were now "good friends."

The two have somewhat similar backgrounds. Putin, 47, is a former KGB officer and ex-leader of the FSB secret service who is busy restoring federal control over independent-minded Russian regions and is widely seen as a much more authoritarian ruler than predecessor Boris Yeltsin. The 46-year-old Chavez is a former paratrooper who led a failed coup before being elected president and has threatened to rule Venezuela by decree under a proposed state of emergency.

Putin praised the Venezuelan as "a young and energetic leader of the new generation of politicians who understand the national interests of their countries and pay great attention to the development of" bilateral relations.

Chavez responded by declaring that "a strategic alliance, has begun, a joint path."

• HERE'S AN ARTICLE ABOUT THESE TWO THUGS FROM 2004.

• AND ONE FROM 2006 - EXCERPT:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is in Russia to do some large-scale weapons buying. Later this week his journey will take him on to other destinations, including Iran. Unsurprisingly, the controversial president’s trip is being watched with great interest in Washington. Mr Chavez and Mr PutinThe question being asked as Mr Chávez visits Russia is what does Venezuela want with all these weapons? This week, the Venezuelan head of state is expected to place orders for around one billion dollars worth of Russian military hardware, including 24 fighter planes and 30 helicopters. His country also wants to acquire licenses so it can manufacture Russian weapons at home. Russia, on the other hand, sees these transactions with Venezuela as a way of gaining access to the Latin American weapons market.

WE IGNORE THESE TWO TYRANNICAL THUGS AT OUR PERIL - AND THAT OF THE ENTIRE FREE WORLD.

PUTIN SAYS U.S. BEHIND POLL BOYCOTT

The European NGO called the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe intended to observe and monitor the upcoming Russian elections. Putin's government refused to cooperate, so the OSCE decided it was in their best interest to leave.

Now, Putin is blaming the United States. Doesn't that sound familiar? After all, we are the Great Satan, source of all evil, right?

From the BBC:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of pushing Western observers into boycotting Russian elections. Mr Putin said the goal was to discredit the parliamentary election to be held on 2 December.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has categorically rejected the allegations.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has expressed concern at the treatment of the opposition in Russia.

'Nonsense'

The OSCE's election monitoring unit announced earlier this month that it would not attend Russia's election, saying Moscow had refused to provide visas to its staff.

The OSCE later said it would send a delegation of European MPs - rather than a full OSCE team - to monitor the vote.

Mr Putin said the boycott decision "was taken on the recommendation of
the American state department".

"The aim is to discredit the elections, but they won't achieve their goal," he said.

"We will certainly take this into account with our bilateral ties with this state," he added, referring to the US.

But a spokeswoman for the OSCE in Warsaw, Urdur Gunnarsdottir, called Mr Putin's allegations "nonsense".

"The decision was not made in consultation with any government. It was made on operational, not political grounds," Ms Gunnarsdottir told the BBC.

"Our decision did not have the aim to influence the election."

Meanwhile:

The head of the European Union's executive arm, European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso, has expressed worries about a weekend crackdown by Russian
police on protests by opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

"I was very concerned to see reports of police harassment and arrests of politicians and peaceful demonstrators in Russia in the last two days," Mr Barroso said in a
statement.

"The right to free speech and assembly are basic fundamental human rights and I very much regret that the authorities found it necessary to take such heavy-handed action."

Police broke up an opposition rally on Sunday, arresting 150 people in St Petersburg, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov - who was later freed.

Another opposition figure, former chess champion Garry Kasparov, was arrested at a rally in Moscow on Saturday.

*******RELIAPUNDIT ADDS:

Putin needn't worry about OSCE's withdrawal: JIMMY CARTER WILL GLADLY DO FOR PUTIN'S TYRANNY WHAT HE DID FOR HUGO CHAVEZ'S TYRANNY.

IT'S SEEMINGLY ONE OF JIMMY CARTER'S FAVORITE THINGS: CERTIFYING THE ELECTIONS OF AN ANTI-DEMOCRACY/ANTI-AMERICAN TYRANTS!

PUTIN'S THUGS ARREST OPPOSITION LEADER GARY KASPAROV

• PUTIN IS THE MOST DANGEROUS SINGLE PERSON IN THE WORLD; (AHMADINEJAD IS A MERE FIGUREHEAD).

• PUTIN HAS ARMED CHAVEZ, AND ASSAD, AND IRAN.

• PUTIN HAS SOLD AIR-DEFENSE SYSTEMS TO ASSAD AND IRAN.

• AND PUTIN IS BUILDING IRAN'S NUCLEAR REACTOR.

• NOW PUTIN HAS HAD HIS FASCIST THUGS ARREST KASPAROV.

WE SHOULD CONFRONT AND ATTACK PUTIN - AT FIRST WITH SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA, AND BY GIVING DIRECT AID TO PUTIN'S OPPOSITION.

YUKOS IS OFFICIALLY GONE - A VICTIM OF PUTIN'S SOCIALIST TYRANNY

BBC:

Yukos, once Russia's biggest oil company, has now ceased to exist.

A simple entry on Russia's State Companies Register on Thursday marked the company's liquidation.

The final move in the firm's history, it comes four years after its founder and former owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested on tax evasion charges.

It's been one of the most controversial stories to have emerged from Vladimir Putin's Russia, and is seen by many as a key turning point in his rule.

'Show-trial'

Russia's Federal Tax Service confirmed on Thursday that it had completed Yukos' bankruptcy procedure, and that the company has ceased to exist as a legal entity.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Its major assets have been transferred to Rosneft, Russia's state oil company, through a series of auctions involving what Mr Khodorkovsky's supporters allege were ghost companies.

The saga has been one of the defining stories of the Putin era.

BOTTOM-LINE: "... Rosneft, Russia's state oil company..."

REPEAT: "... Rosneft, Russia's state oil company..."

• THAT'S SOCIALISM FOLKS.

• PUTIN IS DOING WHAT CHAVEZ AND MUGABE AND BEFORE THEM LENIN, STALIN, HITLER, MUSSOLINI, MAO, AND POL POT DID: USE THE POWER OF THE STATE TO TAKE AWAY PRIVATE PROPERTY.

• FOR "THE COMMON GOOD" OF COURSE.

• HILLARY IS ESSENTIALLY NO DIFFERENT.

MORE PROOF THAT PUTIN'S RUSSIA IS MARCHING BACK TOWARD TYRANNY

NYTIMES:

Western election observers on Friday pulled out of a mission to monitor Russia’s Dec. 2 parliamentary vote, citing restrictions imposed by the Kremlin on their work.

The cancellation by the election-monitoring arm of the 56-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe means the elections being held by President Vladimir V. Putin’s government may not be seen as legitimate by Western Europe and the United States.

The group’s decision to withdraw from the monitoring mission was the first such occurrence in Russia since the country undertook to hold free and fair elections and to allow access for observers to monitor them in 1990, as the Soviet Union was disintegrating. It will probably be seen as another breach between the government of Mr. Putin and the West.

The group, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, or O.D.I.H.R., cited what it called unacceptable Russian demands to limit the mission’s size, making it impossible to determine whether the elections are marred by fraud.

NO ONE FROM THE KGB SHOULD EVER BE TRUSTED:

• THE KGB CREATED ARAFAT - (MORE HERE). STEERED THE VIETNAM ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT - (MORE HERE), AND SPREAD THE TERROR WHICH ENABLED THE POLITBURO TO TYRANNIZE RUSSIA AND IT'S SATELLITES AND THE CAPTIVES OF EASTERN EUROPE.

• AS LONG AS PUTIN AND HIS KGB GANG IS IN CONTROL, RUSSIA IS A MAJOR THREAT. THEY'RE BAD PEOPLE WHO CELEBRATE DECEIT, MISCHIEF AND TERROR.

• UNLESS WE GET TOUGHER, THESE THUGS WILL CONTINUE TO AID IRAN, SYRIA AND THE FOES OF DEMOCRACY. AND TO ASSASSINATE THOSE WHO SEEK TO STOP IT.

• TO DIMINISH THE POWER OF RUSSIA - AND OUR OTHER ENEMIES, WE SHOULD BE OIL-DRILLING OFF OUR COASTS AND IN ALASKA - INCLUDING ANWR, AND BUILDING COAL-BURNING AND NUCLEAR POWER-PLANTS.

• THE LEFT HERE IN THE USA IS PREVENTING THESE POLICIES -AND THEREBY STRENGTHENING THE RUSSIAN TYRANTS.

• WHICH IS A VERY FAMILIAR ROLE FOR THEM.

WHICH IS WHY I HAVE LONG ARGUED THAT WE MUST DEFEAT THE LEFT AT HOME IOF WE WANT TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY ABROAD.

• TODAY, THE ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY AND FREE ENTERPRISE ARE THE SOCIALISTS AND THE JIHADISTS.

• TO DEFEND DEMOCRACY AND FREE ENTERPRISE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME, WE MUST STOP THEM BOTH. EVERYWHERE.

NOW.

PUTIN EFFORTING TO UNDERMINE ELECTION OVERSIGHT

GEE, I WONDER WHY!?

NYTIMES:

Russia has opened a diplomatic campaign to curtail the activities of election observers in the states of the former Soviet Union, proposing to cut the size of the missions sharply and to prohibit the publication of their reports immediately after an election. ...

the proposals would severely undermine the activities of the organization’s election-monitoring arm, before two important elections in Russia: the parliamentary election planned for Dec. 2 and presidential elections next spring.

THIS IS SIMPLY MORE PROOF THAT PUTIN IS TYRANNICAL AND PUTIN'S RUSSIA A FOE.

WE SHOULD DO BE DOING MORE TO SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION IN RUSSIA.