:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::
"Everything is being compressed into tiny tablets. You take a little pill of news every day - 23 minutes - and that's supposed to be enough." -Walter Cronkite, RE TV news. The Web has changed that for many, however, and here is an extra dose for your daily news cocktail. This prescription tends to include surveillance and now war-related links, along with the occasional pop culture junk and whatever else seizes my attention as I scan online news sites.:: 12.11.2004 ::
:: "Experts: East-West 'meddling' in Ukraine?" ::
A UPI report
By Peter Lavelle
MOSCOW -- UPI's Russia analyst engages experts Edward Lozansky, Vlad Sobell, Janusz Bugajski, Dale Herspring, Andrew Kuchins, Ira Straus, Ethan S. Burger, and Gordon Hahn on the recent charges of "outside meddling" and use of "double standards" concerning Ukraine that have chilled U.S.-Russia relations.
--
UPI: This week U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traded barbs under the rubric of foreign "meddling" in another country's domestic affairs, as well as calling involvement in a third country's affairs as applying "double standards." Ukraine, still experiencing political turmoil in the aftermath of its failed presidential election runoff, was the focus of this heated exchange.
Irrespective of the media hype surrounding Ukraine's political crisis, there is no doubt the West and Russia have heavily involved themselves in Ukraine's politics. The Kremlin invested larges sums and sent high profile spin-doctors. The West, a bit subtler, financed and trained non-government organizations.
Aren't the West and Russia both guilty of "meddling" and "double standards?" After all, the United States has a very long history of involving itself in foreign elections around the world. Russia also has a longstanding record of being interested in what happens in countries on its borders. Aren't charges of "meddling" and "double-standards" simply public rhetoric signaling dissatisfaction with an election outcome that pleases neither the West nor Russia?
Read more here.
ALSO
Doctors suspect foul play in Yushchenko poisoning
By Emma Griffiths and Reuters
ABC News AU
Supporters of Ukrainian Opposition Leader Viktor Yushchenko are demanding a full criminal investigation after medical tests confirmed he was poisoned during the country's recent presidential election campaign.
Doctors suspect the poison was given to Mr Yushchenko by a third party.
Mr Yushchenko's once healthy looking face is severely pockmarked and grey.
Some reports claim he is in so much pain he needs regular doses of morphine.
Until now the cause of his illness had remained a mystery.
Mr Yushchenko long alleged he was poisoned as part of a plot to kill him, while his opponents suggested he had eaten bad sushi.
Now his doctors say there is no doubt he was poisoned.
Read more here.
posted by me
:: 8:45:00 PM [+] ::
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