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RT had an interesting priority for their headlines: the Ukrainian elections, at least when they were underway played second fiddle to other concerns
Headlines
of the day
A 30-year-old Italian photo journalist, Andrea Rocelli was killed, along with his Russian translator in a mortar attack by Ukrainian government forces in Eastern Ukraine,while they were travelling. One of the pair, presumably the interpreter was decapitated by the blast.
A quick search on You Tube finds (apart from Russian coverage) only this one item.
Nothing I can find from CNN but the murder is mentioned deep within the article Ukraine Vote: Turnout Sees East-West Divide on Sky News.
Russian journalists freed
The two Russian journalists kidnapped by Ukrainian security forces and kept in a dugout without food or water with sacks over their heads were released by Kiev authorities after intervention by Chechen leader, Kadyrov.
His method of negotiation was simple - he simply asked the Kiev authorites - "do you want to be my friend or do you want to be my enemy?".
2 Russian journalists were
released following Chechen leader ultimatum: tell us directly - you
either want us as friends or foes.
The pair, after being flown to a debrief with Kadyrov in Grozny, were flown back to a reunion in Moscow.
I'm sure Simon Ostrovsky was treated with kid gloves by the "seperatists" compared to this pair!
The pair identified people in strange uniforms being present, who did not say anything, that could have been mercenaries or possibly CIA people.
Meanwhile Obama's spokeswoman Psaki takes her cue from a fascist minister in the Ukrainian 'interim government' and does not 'recognise' the two Russians as journalists - rather they are 'terrorists'
'Turn on the taps' - Russia-China deal
This week Russia and China have signed a huge $400 billion deal to supply gas to China for 30 years. I was interested in what a Singaporean commentator said - If you lock the back door lock the back door. The Americans have forgotten to lock the back door - the back door is China and the West has essentally forced Russia to make a deal with China.
This is as much a political deal as an economic one. European companies that might have liked to reach deals with Beijing may now find themselves locked out.
Russia is now looking eastwards and not only finding a large market in China but is signing deals that by-passes the need for the US dollar.
I think that the passing of the era of US hegemony may have well-and-truly been marked this week.
Last but not least, the Ukrainian election
Polls apart - the Ukrainian election
Very predictably, 'chocolate king', corrupt oligarch, Poroshenko has won the election in the first round with over 50% of the vote.
I think that with him being the White House's preferred candidate the results were pre-determined - there is no way that there was ever going to be a different result. Plainly, the gas princess Tymoshenko was not their person.
The western media naturally concentrates on the 'evil seperatists' in eastern Ukraine who are undermining the 'free-and-fair election' by saying 'a plague on all your houses' by not voting and even burning voting papers.
Meanwhile the solidly pro-Maidan VICE 'takes the temperature' prior to the elections -
British commentator, Neil Clark comments on the elections and the chocolate king, political chamelion Porsoshenko, and points out his predicament of trying to balance between Moscow, Washington, the Junta and the Right Sector.
CrossTalk: Ukrainian Farce
The solidly reliable Peter Lavelle discusses Ukrainian politics with his panel on Cross Talk.
‘Political
earthquake’: Eurosceptics surge in EU elections.
The
European parliamentary elections have drawn to a close bringing major
gains for both Eurosceptic and Far Right movements. The results have
dealt a blow to governments, with the French PM even calling the
result "a political earthquake.”
The
most major anti-EU public mood was demonstrated in France, where
Marine Le Pen's far right National Front scored more than a quarter
of the votes cast. Without even waiting for the final figures, French
PM Manuel Valls announced on national television that such a result
for the anti-EU party was a political “earthquake”
for France – and the entire Europe.
"The
sovereign people have declared they want to take back the reins of
their destiny,"
said Marine Le Pen. "Our
people demand just one politics. The politics of the French, for the
French."
Eurosceptic
and far-right parties were also showing gains in Greece and Denmark,
as well as the UK and Italy.
Greece’s
leftist Syriza, which opposes the austerity measures was expected to
get 26.7% of the vote, beating the center-right New Democracy of
Premier Antonis Samaras. At the same time the far-right Golden Dawn
party was receiving 9% of the vote.
In
Germany eurosceptic AfD was getting only 6.8%, while according to
exit-polls Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian
Democratic Union was winning with 36% of the vote.
Former
Thai PM released by military – reports
Thailand's
former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been released after she
reported to the Thai military, a number of media outlets report. On
23 May 2014 Yingluck was arrested with other political leaders, in
the wake of a military coup which had occurred the previous day. The
army seized power after months of turmoil and deadly clashes in
Bangkok. The military rule is reportedly trying to summon around 150
influential politicians in the country in an effort to weld country’s
political future.
And simply because it happened in Japan, not America, so is of little interest to our media.... Insanity is contagious.
Japanese horror: Two pop idols attacked by saw-wielding man
Two
members of a Japanese idol group AKB48, consisting of 140 girls, have
been hospitalized after a saw-wielding man suddenly appeared from a
crowd of fans and attacked them at a ‘handshake’ event in Iwate
Prefecture on Sunday, Japanese media reported.
The
members of the pop group, Rina Kawaei 19, and Anna Iriyama 18, were
brutally attacked at a fan event in Takizawa, the company behind
Japan’s idol group, AKS, said in a statement on its website.
The
attacker, a 24 year old man, was waiting in line with hundreds of
other fans, but suddenly he took out a 50-cm saw and started swinging
it, Mainichi reported. The group’s staff member who was also
injured, was protecting the girls and tried to stop the attacker
Nice summary, Robin. Thanks.
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