"Vladimir Putin on Monday prepared to reoccupy the Kremlin after a crushing presidential election victory that Russian and foreign observers said had been skewed in his favour from the start."
Vladimir Putin’s critics cry foul over alleged voter fraud in Russian election
Photo: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Two women hover over a ballot box in the industrial Russian city of Cherepovets, stuffing in ballot after ballot. On the streets of Moscow, an independent election monitor armed with an iPhone trails a van full of "carousel" voters – people bussed from polling site to polling site in order to cast multiple votes for Vladimir Putin.
Three months after Moscow exploded in a storm of fury over allegedly widespread electoral fraud during the country’s parliamentary vote, Russians went to the polls to vote against or, mostly, for Vladimir Putin in his quest to return to the presidency.
Putin quickly claimed victory, waiting until just over 20% of votes were counted, but his opponents just as quickly cried foul, armed with reels of evidence of alleged fraud. They uploaded them by the thousands to their Twitter accounts and LiveJournal blogs, helping the indignation go viral.
"Russia has no legitimate government or legitimate president," opposition leader Alexey Navalny said, addressing press and supporters at a makeshift headquarters at a central Moscow cafe. "He who has declared himself president is a usurper."
The tension on the streets was palpable. Interior ministry troops, backed by army trucks, arrest vans and bomb sappers, flooded central Moscow. They stood, camouflaged, with their backs to the Kremlin, guarding its residents against some unknown threat.
Outside, democracy à la russe was being carried out in polling sites around the country. Millions turned up at ballot boxes set up in schools, academies and even grocery shops to fulfil their civic duty, despite the widespread belief that the result had been decided for them.
Nadezhda Dvornikova, a 57-year-old pensioner, held her grandson by the hand as she walked the halls of Moscow’s Polytechnical College. "I voted for Putin," she said quietly. "I trust him." When asked if she thought her vote would make a difference, she said: "No, I don’t trust the results." Then why vote? "We were raised that way."
Though "democracy" came to Russia only 20 years ago, elections were a regular feature of the Soviet system. There was no choice and no surprise, but Soviet citizens turned out again and again to cast a formal vote for a decision that was out of their hands.
No Bank Deposits Will Be Spared from Confiscation 2013 05 18
As alert Zero Hedge readers are aware, this week the EURO Politburo is busy debating the dodgy subject of deposit "bail-ins."
The following article very succinctly explains this odious mode of fractal fractional reserve end-game chicanery.
The author encourages all of you to share it with others.
NO BANK DEPOSITS WILL BE SPARED FROM CONFISCATION
By Matthias Chang Esq, futurefastforward.com (with author’s permission)
I challenge ...
Military Says No Presidential Authorization Needed To Quell “Civil Disturbances” 2013 05 17 A recent Department of Defense instruction alters the US code applying to the military’s involvement in domestic law enforcement by allowing US troops to quell “civil disturbances” domestically without any Presidential authorization, greasing the skids for a de facto military coup in America along with the wholesale abolition of Posse Comitatus.
The instruction (embedded at the end of this article), which ...
Ancient Maya Pyramid Destroyed in Belize 2013 05 17 An archaeological group says it plans to take legal action.
Despite its small size, the Caribbean country of Belize is known for a few outstanding characteristics: a spectacular barrier reef, a teeming rain forest, and extensive Maya ruins.
It now has one fewer of those ruins.
A construction company in Belize has been scooping stone out of the major pyramid at the site ...
Ginger: A Warming Herb 2013 05 17
Ginger is an Asian herb that is particularly well known to us in the West. Over time, and with trial and error, its stimulating properties and piquant flavor have been integrated into both our herbal “materia medica” and cuisine.
Brewed as an herbal tea, ginger root is particularly helpful for those people who have underactive stomachs and difficulty producing adequate amounts ...
Australian man dead for 40 minutes revived with new CPR machine 2013 05 17 In an Australian first, doctors have used a new resuscitation technique to revive three patients who were clinically dead for up to an hour.
One of the lucky survivors was Colin Fiedler, 49, who was pronounced dead at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, after suffering a heart attack, The Herald Sun reported.
Doctors brought Fieldler back to life using a U.S.-made ...
No Bank Deposits Will Be Spared from Confiscation
Military Says No Presidential Authorization Needed To Quell “Civil Disturbances”
Ancient Maya Pyramid Destroyed in Belize
Ginger: A Warming Herb
Australian man dead for 40 minutes revived with new CPR machine