[pikachu]

Some marginally interesting news from the political front in Ukraine.

According to the latest survey by the KIIS together with the Ukrainian Fund of Democratic Initiatives (Netherlands) - 12 to 21 September 2014, shortly after the initial ceasefire, the opposition to the Ukrainian government had grown by a bit, and now numbers 39%-42%. Last time the poll was conducted I believe the numbers were more like 30%-34%.

32% plan to boycott the parliamentary election, 3% to spoil the ballot, 5% to vote for pro-Russian parties which most likely won't be on the ballot (CPU, PR), and another 3% to vote for Tihipko's "Strong Ukraine".

This poll also provides a regional breakdown by intended participation, though not by voting intention (i.e. before accounting for whether they're planning to spoil the ballot or whether they're likely to not find the party they're hoping to vote for and leave, etc):
88% and planning to vote in the Western Ukraine.
76% in Central Ukraine
59% in Eastern Ukraine (minus the Donbass ATO area)
57% in Southern Ukraine (minus Crimea)

In the government controlled areas of Donbass, 23.5% are planning to participate in the October election.

So basically the overall rating of the nationalist forces in the areas of Ukraine under government control stands at roughly 58% to 61%, which is decent but still somewhat remarkable since in the Ukrainian mass media that level of support is of course slightly more than 100%.

On the other hand, contrary to my earlier expectations Lyashko isn't beating Poroshenko in rating, and the latter still stands pretty strong. Given that only a month is left till the election, we can probably expect this to still be true at the election date. Especially now with ceasefire in effect - the popularity of the "war party" (of which Lyasko is an informal leader) is probably not going to be very high.

http://www.dif.org.ua/ua/events/rgrgrgrgrg.htm

In the meantime the rebels are reportedly storming the Donetsk airport "in response to the unceasing shelling of Donetsk residential areas".

[Rei Murasame]

Some interesting news has just emerged, but first there needs to be flashback time to a previous conversation so that I can gloat a little:

Putin has just squeezed Visa and MasterCard out of Russia. When such companies are being used as economic weapons by hostile agents, then good riddance, bye bye.

Russia, unlike China, Japan, and India, did not have a pre-prepared replacement for Mastercard or Visa.

This means that Putin now has do an RFQ for one to be made from scratch and rolled out to every Russian bank. That's some amazing Russian foolishness there, when you have less of a contingency plan than countries that don't even need the contingency, you know you suck. Enjoy being fucked with by the CIA, NSA and GCHQ while you are trying to make this system on the spur of the moment from scratch.

There are other merchant systems that can be adopted overnight, domestic or foreign. Which ones are chosen as replacements is important. You're blowing this way out of proportion, as is your ideological mission.

Maybe you guys could just glom onto China UnionPay, I'm sure they'd be happy to let you integrate yourselves into their entire merchant system 'for free'. Because they are your 'friends'. Heheheh.

Guess what Russia has ended up glomming onto?

Yes, Gazprombank will now be issuing cards with this decal on them:



Not even kidding! See here:

MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprombank, one of the top three Russian banks, has started issuing China's UnionPay (CUP) cards, according to a statement published Monday by the bank.

"Clients of the bank will be able to receive UnionPay cards with a new account or as a supplementary card to the already existing accounts of Gazprombank's cards under the VISA/MasterCard scheme," the statement published on Gazprombank's website reads.

Gazprombank will issue the cards in Classic, Gold and Platinum categories.

In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to establish a national payment system after Visa and MasterCard stopped servicing cards of some Russian banks as part of the United States and the European Union's sanctions against Russia.

CUP and Japan's JCB are considered to be the alternatives to Visa and MasterCard. CUP is one of the world's leading bankcard associations, dominating markets in the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Turkey.

In July, Fen Zhiguang, a CUP representative in Russia, said the company plans to increase the number of UnionPay debit and credit cards to 2 million over the next three years. The representative also noted that the company has acquired about 30 new partner banks in Russia.

Gazprombank started cooperating with CUP in 2009, and in April 2014 signed a memorandum on extending cooperation with UnionPay International (a CUP subsidiary), which envisaged the bank's issuing of UnionPay cards. Gazprombank has issued hundreds of thousands cards.

China is just going to annex every part of Russia's infrastructure and will of course simultaneously don the white rubber gloves of deep packet inspection. Because seriously, if they are running your stuff, it's not really 'Chinese hacking', it's just 'Chinese network administration'.

[Atlantis]

Which is why the once-marginalized Nationalist parties are waiting in the wings-the revolution isn't over by a long shot I believe.

You mean the fascists are to take over ?!

Because seriously, if they are running your stuff, it's not really 'Chinese hacking', it's just 'Chinese network administration'.

Don't laugh too much. That is the choice awaiting us all: hacked by the Chinks or by the Yanks, same difference.

[annatar1914]

You mean the fascists are to take over ?!

Depends on your definition of what a 'Fascist' is.

As for 'no difference between the Chinese and the Yanks'; oh yeah, you better hope that Europe is never in a position to find that out, and with Russia going the route of an ally of China, someday you might find out. Ukraine might someday be what holds the new 'Golden Horde' back from the Danube to the Rhine.

[Rei Murasame]

Don't laugh too much. That is the choice awaiting us all: hacked by the Chinks or by the Yanks, same difference.

Japan and India are begging to differ on this particular issue, since they've already done the homework and the preparations regarding payment architecture, that Russia refused to do. So I am perfectly justified in laughing. Also, China doesn't have to be afraid of itself, and NATO obviously isn't afraid of itself.

Russia is the only one that gets caught between two powers that it is wary of, and doesn't have a plan for how to pay for things without their assistance.

[Rugoz]

32% plan to boycott the parliamentary election, 3% to spoil the ballot, 5% to vote for pro-Russian parties which most likely won't be on the ballot (CPU, PR), and another 3% to vote for Tihipko's "Strong Ukraine".

This poll also provides a regional breakdown by intended participation, though not by voting intention (i.e. before accounting for whether they're planning to spoil the ballot or whether they're likely to not find the party they're hoping to vote for and leave, etc):
88% and planning to vote in the Western Ukraine.
76% in Central Ukraine
59% in Eastern Ukraine (minus the Donbass ATO area)
57% in Southern Ukraine (minus Crimea)

In the government controlled areas of Donbass, 23.5% are planning to participate in the October election.

So basically the overall rating of the nationalist forces in the areas of Ukraine under government control stands at roughly 58% to 61%, which is decent but still somewhat remarkable since in the Ukrainian mass media that level of support is of course slightly more than 100%.

"Boycott" is your interpretation. Voter turnout in the east was even lower in the 2012 parliamentary election. How you derive an "overall rating of the nationalist forces" from that is also a total mystery.

[Typhoon]

Some interesting news has just emerged ... China is just going to annex every part of Russia's infrastructure and will of course simultaneously don the white rubber gloves of deep packet inspection.

The discussion is worthy of another thread but this is not really news, we knew UnionPay was going to be one of the measures Russia would take up because even if Russia developed its own payment system immediately (which is is) another system would be required as a stop-gap measure and would be required for international payments anyway since the newer Russian system would lag in adoption abroad.

The Chinese payment system is not required for Russian infrastructure due to linking of the individual banks payment systems directly (which may already be in place) and through adoption of a wholly Russian card like PRO100 which seems to be pushing for next year.

Visa and MasterCard are also not leaving the market unless a specific sanction arises and the security issue is not a new one as with anyone reliant on a foreign provider. Russia has just diversified in this respect, it should have done it sooner but that the problem they now have to deal with.

[pikachu]

"Boycott" is your interpretation.

Boycott is synonymous with "will not participate in the election" (НЕ БРАВ БИ УЧАСТІ У ГОЛОСУВАННІ), so no interpretation is involved.

Voter turnout in the east was even lower in the 2012 parliamentary election.

Actual turnout is always substantially lower than one expressed in the opinion polls - many people who want to vote don't make it to the polling station due to life circumstances, laziness, or whatnot. However, if you look in the survey, you will notice that it also compares its own results to the results of the same survey conducted in 2012, and the expected turnout is a lot lower, despite higher turnout in the west.

How you derive an "overall rating of the nationalist forces" from that is also a total mystery.

Ratings of all pro-Maidan parties combined.

[Euroman]

Remember the good old days when Putin was keen on cooperating with the West? He even suggested that Russia join NATO (maybe a cold Russian joke?).

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-2 ... -turn.html

Interesting stuff.

[Far-Right Sage]

Good to see that whore of the IMF known as the Kiev regime has learned its place as to where the new border stands. They are implicitly acknowledging they have lost Crimea completely by constructing a new border regime with a customs check at the new Russian-Ukrainian border between Russian Crimea and Ukrainian Kherson:

Ukraine introduces customs regime on Crimea border

Ukraine has introduced rules that oblige people crossing the border with Russia’s Crimea to declare goods, RIA Novosti said. Starting on September 27, crossing the border with Crimea became similar to any other country’s border, the head of Ukrainian customs service, Anatoly Makarenko, said on Tuesday. That means that people have to declare goods, transport means and valuables, he said. Ukrainian customs authorities started to work on the border between Ukraine’s Kherson Region and Crimea.

http://rt.com/news/line/2014-09-30/#71820

The new border was erected on the Russian side in April but the Kiev regime delayed as long as they possibly could erecting it on the Ukrainian regime because then their massive shame and defeat would have to be acknowledged.

Also, in reference to the battle undertaken to liberate Donetsk airport Pikachu mentioned earlier:

9 Ukrainian soldiers killed in attack on Donetsk airport

DONETSK, Ukraine, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Nine Ukrainian soldiers died Monday by tank fire during an assault on the airport in the city of Donetsk.

Twenty-seven others were injured, said Andrey Lysenko of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Information Center, who added the attack was repelled. He said three tanks used by the pro-Russian separatists were destroyed and 50 insurgents were killed.

Separatists attacked armored personal carriers stationed at the airport, said Yuri Biriukov, and adviser to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The airport, although damaged and closed, remains in the hands of the Ukrainian military. It is 9.4 miles from the city's center.

The airport could be a bargaining chip with the separatists, said Dniproperttrovsk Oblast Gov. Ihor Kolomoisky. He told the Wall Street Journal Sunday the airport might be traded for territory south of Donetsk.

"The airport is more important to them (the separatists) than it is to us," he said.

Military analyst Vyachelslav Tseluiko agreed, telling the Kyiv Post, "It will take a lot of time and resources to rebuild the airport. But the main thing is that there is no point of restoring the airport, which is located on the front line. It will be under fire anyway, so using it for its intended purpose will be problematic."

In a separate incident, shelling in Donetsk killed three people and injured five Sunday evening, with artillery fire damaging residential and office buildings, the city's website reported Monday.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/09/29/9-Ukrainian-soldiers-killed-in-attack-on-Donetsk-airport/3301412009121/

Turning to Kharkov, Right Sector militants beat and attacked crowds protesting the toppling of the Lenin statue which was the focal point for anti-regime resistance in the city:

Violence erupts near toppled Lenin statue in Kharkov, Ukraine

Tensions remain high around the toppled Lenin monument in Kharkov, Ukraine, where overnight skirmishes saw a group of radical youths attack demonstrators protesting the demolition of the statue.

Videos of the clashes which emerged online show that the majority of the attackers were hiding their faces under balaclavas. Descriptions to the videos describe the radical youths as violent football fans, or ‘Ultras’. Other reports pointed at youths wearing the nationalist Right Sector group’s insignia.

One of the most disturbing episodes features a man with his face swollen and stained with blood being beaten by several people, with one of the attackers shouting “On your knees!” and “He insulted the Ukrainian people.”

A crowd opposing the demolition of the Lenin monument gathered beside the now-empty pedestal on Monday, with many people laying flowers at the site.

In the evening, the peaceful rally participants were driven away by the radical youths, who threw firecrackers and smoke grenades at the crowd.

The youths then kicked the flowers off the plinth, chanted anti-Putin slogans and sang the Ukrainian anthem.

Some people tried to stand against the group. Skirmishes broke out, with no police acting to intervene against the mob, according to local media.

Other reports claimed a police officer who tried to intervene was injured.

“Right now near where Lenin was, Ultras are beating Kharkov residents,” a Facebook post by the ‘Kharkov self-defense’ group reads. “Around five injured. One was carried away on a stretcher. A policeman who tried to stop the attack was seriously hurt.”

The Lenin monument in Kharkov was toppled overnight September 28-29.

The OSCE mission in Ukraine says the ‘Azov’ volunteer battalion, under control of the country’s Defense Ministry, participated in the turmoil leading to the statue’s demolition.

“The crowd, composed of men and women of different ages and including children, was led by members of the ‘Azov’ volunteer battalion, as well as young men and women with masks,” the OSCE’s Monday report says. “Some of the demonstrators marched towards Liberty Square, where Lenin’s monument was located. There, the SMM observed a group of young men with masks trying to climb on top of Lenin’s statue, while the crowd present on the square had increased to approximately 5,000 people.”

A criminal investigation into the toppling of the monument was closed after the governor promptly issued an order authorizing the demolition.

Kharkov’s Mayor Gennady Kernes announced on Monday he intended to restore the monument.

Toppling Soviet-era monuments has been a trend in Ukraine since the end of last year, when then-President Yanukovich’s refusal to sign an agreement on integration with the EU caused mass protests across the country.

A landmark episode in a wave of monument demolitions was the pulling down of the Lenin statue in the center of Kiev on December 1, 2013.



http://rt.com/news/191772-lenin-monument-violence-kharkov/

[annatar1914]

Turning to Kharkov, Right Sector militants beat and attacked crowds protesting the toppling of the Lenin statue which was the focal point for anti-regime resistance in the city:

FRS, while I respect you and find you to be a noble gentleman with a fine poetic spirit and a warrior's heart, I think now that I was wrong about the Ukraine and Russia, and examples like the toppling of that Monster's statue is a perfect demonstration of that. I cannot support Eurasianism and Neo-Sovietism against Orthodox Autocephaly and the freedom of our peoples against this spiritual 'Golden Horde' Despotism.

Yes, we find examples of Plutocracy in Kiev, but we do too in Moscowbad and Petersburgistan also, a monied elite exploiting at the top and Caucasian and Central Asian Muslims filtering in on the bottom. And, the revolution isn't over in Ukraine either...

Time will prove who is exactly right, but my friend I feel like Germany-and more besides-is being defended along the Dneiper and the Don.

[Rugoz]

Boycott is synonymous with "will not participate in the election" (НЕ БРАВ БИ УЧАСТІ У ГОЛОСУВАННІ), so no interpretation is involved.

There are a variety of reasons why people do not plan to participate in elections. For example: Not interested in politics, not knowledgeable about politics, think their vote won't change anything (which is of course true, see voting paradox), reject the system/democracy, reject the power of the likely winners etc.

Some of these could qualify as "boycott", but I think what we're interested here is how many people will not vote due to past year's events.

the expected turnout is a lot lower, despite higher turnout in the west.

I guess we'll see.

Ratings of all pro-Maidan parties combined.

So your definition of nationalistic is pro-Maidan? You think all others reject Ukraine as a nation state or what's the reasoning behind this definition?

[pikachu]

Not interested in politics, not knowledgeable about politics,

These people will most likely either refuse to participate in the survey itself, or respond with "Don't know" rather than "I've decided not to participate in the election".

think their vote won't change anything (which is of course true, see voting paradox), reject the system/democracy, reject the power of the likely winners etc.

These fit very well under the definition of election boycott.

"A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for social or political reasons."

You think all others reject Ukraine as a nation state or what's the reasoning behind this definition?

Yes. Given that they insist that Ukraine must have two official languages, one of which is not Ukrainian - yes, they are de-facto opposed to Ukraine as a nation-state, and definitely opposed to the Ukrainian nationalism. They essentially want Ukraine to be a bi-national state with a twin identity, like Belarus. Also you might want to see my long post about differences between east and west Ukraine.


Anyway, here's some more interesting details of that same survey.
http://kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=report ... y=2014&m=9

Here you can see a breakdown of the results by macro-region and also a few selected provinces (Kharkiv province and Donetsk/Donbass).

The results from the government-controlled areas of Donbass are of course both striking and yet unsurprising.
70% want to boycott the election/spoil the ballot
20% want to vote for the pro-Eastern parties like CPU and PoR which may or may not even be on the ballot
10% support the pro-Western governing coalition.

And again, that's of course only the government-controlled area. It doesn't take much to imagine how the people in the rebel controlled areas are feeling.

So, if you stumble upon the pictures of something like "Mariupol civilians digging trenches" or "Slovyansk residents cheering Ukrainian soldiers" - well, most likely these are the aforementioned 10%. As far as the remaining 70%-90% are concerned, they are living under military occupation, not a representative government. And while that, in itself, does not mean that they'd like to separate from Ukraine, we have seen already that not all those fighting on the side of the DPR and LPR are actually separatists either - the "Vostok" battalion being a good example. It's not entirely a separatist war.

In Kharkiv Province, completely under Kiev control, the situation is a bit different.
58% want to boycott the election/spoil the ballot
7% want to vote for the pro-Eastern parties like CPU and PoR which may or may not even be on the ballot
35% support the pro-Western governing coalition

So although the majority in Kharkiv is in stiff opposition just like in Donbass, there also exists a large minority which supports the government. Since most of those 35% are probably members of the younger generation, their help can be sufficient to keep the province from slipping out from under Kiev's control without resorting to direct military force - for now. We will see what the situation will look like after the GRP of the province rapidly drops while the unemployment spikes.

One of the leaders of the Russian hardline anti-Putin opposition recently traveled to Ukraine, and during the visit he claims to have met the governors of Ukraine's eastern provinces. When he asked one of them (who shall remain anonymous), the following question "You have a half of the city that hates you, how do you plan to continue living with that?" he claims to have received the following response "If they want to talk about "the junta", they can whisper about it to their urinals. If they come out on the street, we will shoot them." Chances are, this was probably said by Baluta or Kernes with respect to Kharkiv, since the recent anti-war demonstration there, organized by the CPU, was indeed declared illegal and subsequently broken up. Needless to say, the subsequent Ukrainian nationalist demonstration was not only permitted to take place, but was even allowed to destroy the city's public heritage - the Lenin's statue. Rather, in the best traditions of permanent revolution, the normally illegal action was declared to become legal a day after it took place.

Anyway, basically the situation is explosive and only getting more explosive, we'll see what happens in a few months. At the very least, the Ukrainian government certainly achieved its goal of making an example out of Donbass. Now anyone else who might consider following that route at some point has to deal with the reality that it won't be an easy deal like Crimea. There will be lots of blood, perhaps their own, and their cities and industries will probably be destroyed and normal life will be disrupted for an indefinite period - obviously not a happy prospect. Therefore the reluctance to go that route is great, but the people's patience is also not infinite. If your cities and industries are being destroyed anyway, just by economic rather than military means, and you are unemployed and frustrated and have little to lose - then the situation becomes radically different, and as we've seen in Mosul, no sheer amount of military force can stop the inevitable.

[Far-Right Sage]

Annatar on this I feel we can respectfully disagree. I feel the only positive chance for Germany's future in the unfolding century is in a Europe which regains its independence and that will not at all come from following down the path of the international menaces and parasites running around Washington D.C. and their subordinate Brussels with their apocalyptic plans to demolish modern Russia like the USSR of old and further carve up the world.

The Kiev regime has shelled a school and bus today in Donetsk, slaughtering 11 and injuring 40 people.

As for those liberal zealots on here who pretend to have supported the latest IMF-backed destabilization, the Maidan coup, for humanist reasons or because the Yanukovych government was somehow less democratic or more oligarchic, can anyone even explain that disproven abject bunk anymore?

The latest outrage is news from Odessa. The regime installed after the Ukrainian constitution was torn up in February 2014 has created an atmosphere in which beating and assassination attempts of any parliamentarians, journalists, and reporters who dare to dissent are commonplace. Political parties banned, political party headquarters burned to the ground, lawmakers beaten senseless and thrown into dumpsters, presidential candidates beaten within an inch of their life and receiving death threats until they withdraw.

Now an MP and the former Minister of Emergenices in Odessa given a brain concussion and craniocerebral injuries after a merciless beating for opposing views by the shock troops of the Kiev regime. Can anyone defend or explain why this regime and its atmosphere is more "democratic" than the last when it so clearly is not and is in fact far more oppressive? Can you imagine the frenzy and 24/7 news coverage if this was going on and being sanctioned in Western or Central Europe under a nationalistic government or at least one opposed to more austerity/EU neoliberal policy such as Orban's Hungary under Fidesz? The government would be sanctioned to the limit while leading European publications would point to it as a gang of Brown-shirted SA and some new unholy combination of Hitler and Milosevic which has abrogated "European and democratic norms". About Kiev? Silence and continued support.

‘Over my dead body’: Defiant Ukrainian MP beaten by nationalist mob



A Ukrainian parliamentarian and former minister of emergencies was attacked and beaten by a group of radical nationalists in the port city of Odessa on Tuesday. He was to take part in a press conference ahead of the country’s parliamentary election.

Nestor Shufrych, a deputy from toppled President Viktor Yanukovich’s Party of Regions, was diagnosed with a brain concussion and closed craniocerebral injury after he was “welcomed” by Odessa activists from the Right Sector, AutoMaidan, and other right-wing political groups, the regional office of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

Shufrych was going to make a statement to the media alongside members of the opposition, as part of a political campaign preceding the October 26 parliamentary election. The event was first organized in an office, but was later relocated to the building of the regional administration.

The MP explained that he had known about the pre-planned action, which was aimed at “repeating the performance with garbage cans and green disinfectant.” However, he said there was no way the “activists” could force him into that.

“They wanted to put me in a waste container, but the only way they could do it would be over my dead body,” he said, recalling the case of Vitaly Zhuravsky, another prominent Party of Regions member.

A group of about 30 people cornered Shufrych in the building, along with Nikolay Skoryk, ex-chairman of the regional administration. Saying they needed to “ask him a few questions,” people wearing masks and camouflage rushed Shufrych out into the street, where they beat him up.

According to the politician, around 100 people gathered to support him, and “nearly the same amount of people were on the side of the Right Sector and this so-called self-defense, as we were told.”

Shufrych’s bodyguards fired in the air to disperse the angry crowd, with no success. They then managed to drag him out of the scuffle and hurled him inside a van which immediately left the premises.

Police reportedly did not immediately respond to the violence, despite being in the area.

Speaking to the press from the hospital, Shufrych promised to return to Odessa.

“Believe me, soon we will put an end to this lawlessness. And we will do all we can to clear the city from these evil spirits,” he said.

Over 40 people were killed in Odessa in May after becoming trapped the Trade Unions House which was set on fire. Radicals – who are believed to be largely responsible for the tragedy – have placed the blame on the Ukrainian MP.

Following the incident, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov expressed concern that Europe and the US might turn away from the Kiev government due to intensified attacks on members of parliament by Right Sector radicals.

A few more assaults and “Europe will turn away from our victorious revolution. I am afraid the US will too,” Avakov said on his Facebook page. He also urged people to uphold the law and turn away from the opinions of radicals.

On September 16, crowds outside the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev seized Vitaly Zhuravsky, deputy for the Economic Development Party, as he left the building for a break, and put him in a trash bin. Zhuravsky was forced into a trash can full of rubbish, while the crowd cheered “Glory to Ukraine!”

The same thing happened to Viktor Pilipish, who was seized by radicals and pushed into a garbage bin in Kiev after arriving to submit his documents to the Central Election Commission.

http://rt.com/news/191968-ukraine-politician-beaten-crowd/

At least 11 killed, 40 injured in shelling in Donetsk, E. Ukraine, school hit



At least 11 people have been killed and 40 others have been injured in Donetsk, where a school and a bus stop came under fire - reportedly from Ukrainian Army positions.

Two people are reported to have died at the school, and nine at the bus stop, according to Donetsk People Republic's Depity Prime Minister Andrey Purgin.

No children were killed in the shelling of school №57, the Donetsk People’s Republic ‘s Interior Ministry said, as cited by TASS. The ministry's press service added that parents and teachers became victims of the shelling.

The city council stated that all 70 children studying at the school were in the building at the moment of the strike. They were hastily evacuated. The school building was damaged in the attack.

The Russian Foreign Ministry describes the attack is a cynical and blatant breach of international law.

“The particular cynicism of this shelling is the very fact that today was the children’s first day at school. And on this day, artillery directly targets them. These are blatant, intolerable things,” the ministry’s human rights ombudsman Konstantin Dolgov said.

No Ukrainian sources have confirmed the information yet.

“Heavy artillery fire is being heard in Donetsk. The Kievsky district has been under fire – many residential areas and other buildings have been damaged, civilians have been killed and wounded,” the city council said in a statement.

Public transport has been changing routes due to the shelling.

One hundred and forty-six schools in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic had commenced classes out of 150, Minister of Education of Donetsk People's Republic Igor Kostenok said.

A ceasefire between the Ukrainian government and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics’ authorities was signed in Minsk, Belarus, on September 5.

http://rt.com/news/192140-ukraine-school-shelled-donetsk/

[Drlee]

There is no longer a conflict in Ukraine. It is no longer news on CNN or Fox. It has become a non-issue. The sooner both sides understand this the sooner they can stop this nonsense and get back to work. Revolution break is over. Everybody back to the machines.

[Ideational Ontarian]

These people will most likely either refuse to participate in the survey itself, or respond with "Don't know" rather than "I've decided not to participate in the election".

This is a stretch. I didn't vote in the recent Ontario Provincial election because I simply don't give a fuck. If I would have been surveyed with a similar question, I would have chosen "I've decided not to participate in the election." It most accurately represents my stance. I don't "not know." I know, and plan not to participate with that knowledge.

[pikachu]

This is a stretch. I didn't vote in the recent Ontario Provincial election because I simply don't give a fuck. If I would have been surveyed with a similar question, I would have chosen "I've decided not to participate in the election." It most accurately represents my stance. I don't "not know." I know, and plan not to participate with that knowledge.

Why waste your time on the survey at all if you don't give a fuck?

Anyway, as only 6.7% in Ukraine's entire western region decided not to participate in the election, and since there is no reason to think that the number of people who don't care varies significantly by region, we can take that number as the "statistical error" in distinguishing those who are certainly boycotting from those who may be boycotting or may not care but still take the survey.

In 2010, Yanukovych got roughly 10% of the vote in the Western region, and since there is a statistically significant correlation between current "not participants" and former Yanukovych supporters, it stands to reason to assume that most of those 6.7% are indeed boycotters and not something else.

[annatar1914]

FRS, you begin by stating;

Annatar on this I feel we can respectfully disagree.

There has always been respect; you know that ideologically we aren't so far apart, I think it is a matter of strategy and tactics in which we differ more so.

I feel the only positive chance for Germany's future in the unfolding century is in a Europe which regains its independence and that will not at all come from following down the path of the international menaces and parasites running around Washington D.C. and their subordinate Brussels

I most certainly agree with that, but I think Ukraine as a center hub of Europe will achieve this. However;

with their apocalyptic plans to demolish modern Russia like the USSR of old and further carve up the world.

I cannot agree with that. 'Russia' is dying, in the final stages of Imperial collapse, and nothing can change that, because Moscovy isn't and never was the whole and heart of Russia, the real Russia. However, with the Ukraine as the beginning and final end of 'Holy Rus' once more, something can survive from the wreckage.

As for those liberal zealots on here who pretend to have supported the latest IMF-backed destabilization, the Maidan coup, for humanist reasons or because the Yanukovych government was somehow less democratic or more oligarchic, can anyone even explain that disproven abject bunk anymore?

In the Middle East, you and I find ourselves 'allied' with people, or more fittingly, we happen to have the same enemy as them; ISIS. The situation is the same with Nationalists in the Ukraine versus Russia. I assure you, the revolution isn't over, and the wealthy in Ukraine will have to start becoming more patriotic, or they'll find themselves in difficulties somewhere down the road.

The latest outrage is news from Odessa. The regime installed after the Ukrainian constitution was torn up in February 2014 has created an atmosphere in which beating and assassination attempts of any parliamentarians, journalists, and reporters who dare to dissent are commonplace. Political parties banned, political party headquarters burned to the ground, lawmakers beaten senseless and thrown into dumpsters, presidential candidates beaten within an inch of their life and receiving death threats until they withdraw.

Not necessarily always a bad thing; Assad or Ghaddaffi could tell you that.

Now an MP and the former Minister of Emergenices in Odessa given a brain concussion and craniocerebral injuries after a merciless beating for opposing views by the shock troops of the Kiev regime. Can anyone defend or explain why this regime and its atmosphere is more "democratic" than the last when it so clearly is not and is in fact far more oppressive? Can you imagine the frenzy and 24/7 news coverage if this was going on and being sanctioned in Western or Central Europe under a nationalistic government or at least one opposed to more austerity/EU neoliberal policy such as Orban's Hungary under Fidesz? The government would be sanctioned to the limit while leading European publications would point to it as a gang of Brown-shirted SA and some new unholy combination of Hitler and Milosevic which has abrogated "European and democratic norms". About Kiev? Silence and continued support.

Right now, if Ukraine is to be independent, nationalists have to work with liberals and oligarchs and vice versa. As I don't believe in 'democracy' as such, but a Republic, I myself have no problem with some of these measures. The Western Elites need the Nationalists in Ukraine for now, once they no longer need them, they will not be in a position to do anything about Ukrainian patriots.



‘Over my dead body’: Defiant Ukrainian MP beaten by nationalist mob



A Ukrainian parliamentarian and former minister of emergencies was attacked and beaten by a group of radical nationalists in the port city of Odessa on Tuesday. He was to take part in a press conference ahead of the country’s parliamentary election.

Nestor Shufrych, a deputy from toppled President Viktor Yanukovich’s Party of Regions, was diagnosed with a brain concussion and closed craniocerebral injury after he was “welcomed” by Odessa activists from the Right Sector, AutoMaidan, and other right-wing political groups, the regional office of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

Shufrych was going to make a statement to the media alongside members of the opposition, as part of a political campaign preceding the October 26 parliamentary election. The event was first organized in an office, but was later relocated to the building of the regional administration.

The MP explained that he had known about the pre-planned action, which was aimed at “repeating the performance with garbage cans and green disinfectant.” However, he said there was no way the “activists” could force him into that.

“They wanted to put me in a waste container, but the only way they could do it would be over my dead body,” he said, recalling the case of Vitaly Zhuravsky, another prominent Party of Regions member.

A group of about 30 people cornered Shufrych in the building, along with Nikolay Skoryk, ex-chairman of the regional administration. Saying they needed to “ask him a few questions,” people wearing masks and camouflage rushed Shufrych out into the street, where they beat him up.

According to the politician, around 100 people gathered to support him, and “nearly the same amount of people were on the side of the Right Sector and this so-called self-defense, as we were told.”

Shufrych’s bodyguards fired in the air to disperse the angry crowd, with no success. They then managed to drag him out of the scuffle and hurled him inside a van which immediately left the premises.

Police reportedly did not immediately respond to the violence, despite being in the area.

Speaking to the press from the hospital, Shufrych promised to return to Odessa.

“Believe me, soon we will put an end to this lawlessness. And we will do all we can to clear the city from these evil spirits,” he said.

Over 40 people were killed in Odessa in May after becoming trapped the Trade Unions House which was set on fire. Radicals – who are believed to be largely responsible for the tragedy – have placed the blame on the Ukrainian MP.

Following the incident, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov expressed concern that Europe and the US might turn away from the Kiev government due to intensified attacks on members of parliament by Right Sector radicals.

A few more assaults and “Europe will turn away from our victorious revolution. I am afraid the US will too,” Avakov said on his Facebook page. He also urged people to uphold the law and turn away from the opinions of radicals.

On September 16, crowds outside the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev seized Vitaly Zhuravsky, deputy for the Economic Development Party, as he left the building for a break, and put him in a trash bin. Zhuravsky was forced into a trash can full of rubbish, while the crowd cheered “Glory to Ukraine!”

The same thing happened to Viktor Pilipish, who was seized by radicals and pushed into a garbage bin in Kiev after arriving to submit his documents to the Central Election Commission.

http://rt.com/news/191968-ukraine-politician-beaten-crowd/

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At least 11 killed, 40 injured in shelling in Donetsk, E. Ukraine, school hit



At least 11 people have been killed and 40 others have been injured in Donetsk, where a school and a bus stop came under fire - reportedly from Ukrainian Army positions.

Two people are reported to have died at the school, and nine at the bus stop, according to Donetsk People Republic's Depity Prime Minister Andrey Purgin.

No children were killed in the shelling of school №57, the Donetsk People’s Republic ‘s Interior Ministry said, as cited by TASS. The ministry's press service added that parents and teachers became victims of the shelling.

The city council stated that all 70 children studying at the school were in the building at the moment of the strike. They were hastily evacuated. The school building was damaged in the attack.

The Russian Foreign Ministry describes the attack is a cynical and blatant breach of international law.

“The particular cynicism of this shelling is the very fact that today was the children’s first day at school. And on this day, artillery directly targets them. These are blatant, intolerable things,” the ministry’s human rights ombudsman Konstantin Dolgov said.

No Ukrainian sources have confirmed the information yet.

“Heavy artillery fire is being heard in Donetsk. The Kievsky district has been under fire – many residential areas and other buildings have been damaged, civilians have been killed and wounded,” the city council said in a statement.

Public transport has been changing routes due to the shelling.

One hundred and forty-six schools in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic had commenced classes out of 150, Minister of Education of Donetsk People's Republic Igor Kostenok said.

A ceasefire between the Ukrainian government and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics’ authorities was signed in Minsk, Belarus, on September 5.

http://rt.com/news/192140-ukraine-school-shelled-donetsk/

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[Rich]

I'm going to make a prediction. In the next couple of years, and possibly even in the next six months, it will be discovered that fascists (aka extremists) are more than an insignificant tiny minority within Ukraine. I also predict that of course it won't in any way be the fault of Ukrainians, it will be the West's fault for not giving more support earlier to the aggression of the Ukrainian "moderates".

like in Syria the fact that Eastern Syria and Western Iraq are totally overrun with Islamist extremists (as opposed to our moderate Saudi allies) is no way at all the fault of Sunni Arab Muslims, its all due to Assad and the failure of the West to support earlier "moderate" aggression.

[Far-Right Sage]

Annatar, I do intend to provide you with a response later today but I'm stepping out shortly to run to the market and do several errands, so for now:

Pro-Russia rebels attempt to seize Donetsk airport in Ukraine

Pro-Russia rebels attempted to seize a key airport in eastern Ukraine on Friday despite fierce resistance from government forces.

An Associated Press reporter saw three rebel tanks firing their cannons at the main terminal of Donetsk airport, where government forces are holed up. Sniper shots rang out around the area.

Rebels have made some gains in the area near the airport, seizing some buildings on its fringes and using them to target the main terminal.

Ukraine’s national security and defence council spokesman Col Andriy Lysenko said two servicemen had been killed and another nine wounded since Thursday. He said Ukrainian forces at the airport had undergone rotation and firmly stood their ground.

The airport, located just north of Donetsk, the largest city in the east, gives the Ukrainian forces a convenient vantage point to target rebel positions. Its loss would be a major blow to Ukraine and would also allow the rebels to receive large cargo planes with supplies in addition to truck convoys from Russia.

Fighting for the airport has intensified this week, threatening to derail the truce declared on 5 September. A follow-up deal which called for both parties to pull back their artillery to create a buffer zone hasn’t been implemented.

Kiev and the west have asserted that Moscow is fuelling the separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine by providing arms and personnel, something Russia denies. Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, Yuriy Sergeyev, told reporters on Friday that “it is evident that Russia demonstrates little resolve to fully comply with obligations under the Minsk arrangements.”

He said the failure to follow the agreement “would be absolutely disastrous”.

Sergeyev said Russia still regularly shells Ukrainian military and civilian areas.

“So far, positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been shelled about 800 times,” he said. “As a result of these attacks, about 40 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and about 200 wounded.”

At least a dozen civilians have been killed since the ceasefire, he added.

Residential areas in Donetsk have been caught in the crossfire. A Red Cross worker died on Thursday when a shell landed near the group’s office in the city.

The rebels said the shelling came from the Ukrainian side, while the Ukrainian foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin blamed the death on “terrorists”.

A spokesman for the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, issued a statement saying the aid worker’s death, along with the shelling of a school that killed three people earlier this week, “underscore the fragility of the current ceasefire and the importance of ensuring a secure environment in south-eastern Ukraine that will allow humanitarian actors to carry out their work and deliver critical assistance to those most in need.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/03/pro-russia-rebels-donetsk-airport-ukraine

Godspeed to the heroes and heroines of Novorossiya resisting Kiev-controlled tubs of bile daily.