Hmm?

Russia: Putin Assassination Plot Foiled?
March 15, 2008 1631 GMT
Russian security forces foiled a sniper’s March 2 attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported March 15, citing Moscow tabloid Tvoi Den. An unnamed source told Tvoi Den a sniper was arrested before Putin entered the Kremlin gates to attend a concert next to the Red [...]

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Igor Sechin’s $32 billion bonanza

MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Finance Ministry said on Thursday it had divided the Stabilization Fund, set up to accrue surplus revenue from high world oil prices, into the Reserve Fund and the National Prosperity Fund.
The Stabilization Fund held 3.852 trillion rubles ($157 billion) as of January 30.
Pyotr Kazakevich, deputy director of the [...]

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Can Putin have too many enemies?

Stratfor tells us that Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow’s hybrid of Bill Daley and Al Capone, is in Vladimir Putin’s sights.
Luzhkov wields unprecedented mayoral power over the Russian capital, with close ties to major bankers, media moguls and the city’s biggest businesses. When he became mayor in 1992, his wife Yelena’s small construction company, Inteco, burst onto [...]

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Is Israel’s ‘Houdini’ finally trapped?

The one rationalization I have gotten from the National Intelligence Estimate, a revolt by the CIA, DNI and probably the Navy which crushed America’s negotiating leverage with Iran over the future of Iraq, is that Israel cannot be a credible linchpin of American foreign policy after Hezbollah defeated them in 2006. Adding insult to injury, [...]

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Finally: An anti-Color revolution

A massive throng of Georgians has protested Mikheil Saakashvili’s alleged victory in the most recent Georgian elections, where Saakashvili supposedly earned 53% of the vote.
Exactly three months ago, massive protests in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, nearly toppled the Saakashvili regime. Luckily, Saakashvili has been a favored recipient of funds from George Soros, via his [...]

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Whispers of Russian political instability

While I don’t pay as much attention to Stratfor’s Mideast analyses as I used to, their CIS updates remain very interesting and far ahead of the mainstream media curve. Their “Russia — Struggles Within” pieces are of particular interest, and showcase the simmering instability of Russia’s elites as well as the very brittle nature of [...]

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The Bush cut-and-run

The Bush brilliant strategic pivot/ unconditional surrender signing ceremony:
US President George W. Bush said on Monday he supported Russian shipments of nuclear fuel to Iran for civilian power, saying they proved that Teheran has no need to enrich uranium.
“If the Russians are willing to do that, which I support, then the Iranians do [...]

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“Go ahead, Israel, make my day”

Link
Russia has delivered its first shipment of nuclear fuel to a reactor it is helping to build at Bushehr in Iran, Russia’s foreign ministry has said.
The two sides reached agreement last week on a schedule to finish building the plant after years of delays.
Some Western countries fear Iran is trying to [...]

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Russia throws a match at the powderkeg

via
Russia and Iran have agreed a schedule for finishing building the Bushehr nuclear plant, reports from Russia say.
“Difficulties with the Iranian client are resolved and we have agreement on the timetable for construction,” said the state contractor, Atomstroieksport.
The company’s president said details would be released later this month.
Work by engineers on the [...]

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Santa Putin’s Christmas present

Via the London Times:
Dmitri Medvedev was anointed yesterday by Vladimir Putin to succeed him as President in a carefully choreographed announcement that demonstrated Mr Putin’sgrip on power and completely wrong-footed Kremlin-watchers.
“I have known him for more than 17 years, I have worked with him closely all these years and I completely and fully support [...]

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Israel to US: “Are you kidding me? Screw this”

It could well be that the Washington anti-war with Iran/ anti-neocon faction has simply gained Bush’s confidence at the expense of Cheney and some Pentagon elements, and Bush has effectively thrown the last vestiges of neocon power under the bus. Rumsfeld’s Secdef replacement, Robert Gates, is no war hawk. Neither are Admirals Fallon and Mullen. [...]

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“The union state must be established”

via
Radio station Ekho Moskvy cited sources in the Belarusian presidential administration that Putin would be the head of the union state, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko parliamentary speaker.
“This comes from the realm of speculative fantasies,” a Kremlin official said. “Such reports can only provoke surprise.”
Putin’s term as Russian president is set to end in [...]

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That geopolitical risk premium, *again*

via ; here’s the BBC version
Russia: A Naval Move to the Mediterranean
December 05, 2007 21 50 GMT
Summary
The Russian navy is deploying to the Mediterranean. Unlike past rumors on the issue, this is a declaration that comes directly from the defense minister who was speaking with the Russian President Vladimir Putin at the time. [...]

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Regarding Stratfor, US intelligence, and National Intelligence Estimates

The latest National Intelligence Estimate, the compilation of assessments from the 16 US public intelligence agencies, includes the surprising assertion that Iran’s nuclear program has been effectively dormant since 2003.
Stratfor, a geopolitical risk consulting firm that relies on professional-intelligence “word on the street” and efficient use of open source information (which btw, for the money, [...]

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Creepy miscellany

Russia: Nashi Plans To Distribute Fliers
December 03, 2007 13 46 GMT
The Russian pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi is planning to distribute fliers Dec. 3 that accuse the United States of plotting to incite ”thieves and traitors” across Russia to revolt, the group’s organizers said Dec. 2. The leaders added that they are mobilizing against the [...]

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Macro outlook

My money is on 50 basis points at the Fed’s December meeting. Contrary to the now red-faced predictions of the GaveKal crowd, inflation, even by their favored indicators, has not abated, despite the total chaos in the private market for loans. Inflation is still accelerating, according to CPI-U, PPI, and chained PCE, the three big [...]

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In defense of Vladimir Putin

Putin is now Russia’s dictator for life.
Apparently it is now understood by Western media institutions, from the BBC all the way to FrontPage Magazine, that Vladimir Putin embodies the Great Satan, and that today’s “KGB, Inc.” Russia is basically the same kleptofascist empire that reigned behind the Iron Curtain from 1945-89. That’s pretty ridiculous. But [...]

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The oil risk premium shall return

France: No Decision On Iran Sanctions
December 01, 2007 2016 GMT
World senior officials could not reach a decision on new U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities at a Dec. 1 meeting in Paris, because Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak was unable to fly to the meeting due to weather, Reuters reported. The [...]

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Russia: “This conversation is over”

When Mideast analysts who know what they’re talking about (i.e. Stratfor) have previously gotten all giddy about prospects for peace in the Mideast, I have always had this kneejerk roll-eyes reaction. Not that their relatively pricey news isn’t worth it (far, far from it). But from my vastly less informed viewpoint, there are simply too [...]

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