Last week I went to Brussels to testify before the European Parliament's new committee on foreign threats to European democracy. Here's what I told them.
Western democracies really are struggling to keep up with the actions of rogue regimes everywhere, and where Russia leads others follow, even (especially) including today's US administration (see Francesca Albanese etc). Systems are built on an assumption of common rules and standards that no longer apply, sadly.
Given your history, I"m sure you want to fight back against Putin's mafia state. You can break new ground here, and establish yourself as a leader on this platform, if you would relentlessly focus your attention on the best opportunity for Ukrainian victory, and Putin's defeat.
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Release of the frozen Russian assets in EU banks to Ukraine. It's enough money to build at least 100,000+ Ukrainian cruise missiles, way more than are needed to crush the Russian war machine.
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The EU has not released those funds to Ukraine because it is prioritizing the needs of it's banking sector, which enjoys profiting on managing the money of gangster regimes all over the world. The EU correctly recognizes that if it were to release Russia's money to Ukraine, that would likely be an existential threat to their "profit from gangsters" banking business model. Given your high level business experience, I doubt this needs to be explained to you.
This platform is desperately in need of guidance on this issue. Given your life experience, you seem well positioned to be the person who provides such leadership.
And yet, billions of dollars of Russian money are still in EU banks to this day. Think about that. The EU had 12 years to tell the Russians to take their money and leave, but yet…
For 12 years the EU has been providing banking services to the Putin Mafia Gang which stole that money from the Russian people, and then used the money to invade Ukraine.
The simplistic group think defines Russia=Bad, EU=good. It’s way more complicated than that.
The EU are not monsters like Putin. But they are willing to get in bed with Putin and make money off his crimes.
When EU citizens face the risk of a Russian invasion, there’s a word for doing business with those who threaten to invade.
You were the most egregious of the oligarchs created by the American State Department's system of "Shock Therapy". A rigged auction by your own bank, enabled you to purchase Yukos Oil Company for under 1% of its true value. When Putin stopped people like you asset stripping Russia, you transferred your shares to Jacob Rothschild! And then when Putin returned Yukos to Russian state ownership. Mi6 and the CIA started escalating preparations for a proxy war they had been engineering since 1943. What is there about this that the Russian government should like?
I am very sorry for your imprisonment, and I thank you for your important work.
After 21 years, and living in the U.S.A. my entire life, I think I have recently been marked off (or at least downgraded on) the U.S.A. terrorism suspect list. Due to President Trump insisting resources be redirected against immigrants. I don’t know for sure, as no one in government ever acknowledges the investigation or deceptive - and sometimes illegal - abuses stemming from it.
Naturally there is nothing to it, except yet another of this country’s endless moral panics (possible terrorists, immigrants, and a third one mentioned at the end here). This one began with 9/11, the subsequent creation of Homeland Security, and Congress over funding anti-terrorism activities. In order to find a terrorist behind every tree.
There have been varied and numerous abuses, including but not limited to repeated attempts to not only lure me into terrorism, but to also manufacture terrorism charges. We humans are serious about our moral panics.
Though the abuses have been deceptive and substantial, fortunately they have not been nearly as bad as you have endured.
An additional twist: Even though I complained about these abuses at least hundreds of times, publicly, on the social media pages of hundreds of our elected federal officials, with photographic evidence, not one politician ever responds. Because they fund the abuses.
And not a single citizen has ever championed my case. Hundreds of millions of citizens utilize their government to bully an innocent citizen for decades, fund the abuses with their tax dollars, and vote for - and even donate hundreds of millions of dollars to the political campaigns of - officials directing the abuses in yet another nationwide moral panic. But not a single citizen, other than the victim, tries to do anything about it. Not even ONE. Now THAT is human nature!
So when I see the endless social media posts inferring how righteous their U.S.A. national politician or political party is, I just want to 🤮 on people posting what I have personally experienced as bullshit.
I notice you mention journalists in your essay, and I am angry about all the journalists Putin badly abuses.
So far I have gotten off quite easy compared to all of you. As Andrei Sakharov’s wife, Yelena Bonner, replied to me decades ago when I asked about her view of gays being treated as second class citizens here in the United States, ‘Would that we had your problems.’
Western democracies really are struggling to keep up with the actions of rogue regimes everywhere, and where Russia leads others follow, even (especially) including today's US administration (see Francesca Albanese etc). Systems are built on an assumption of common rules and standards that no longer apply, sadly.
Given your history, I"m sure you want to fight back against Putin's mafia state. You can break new ground here, and establish yourself as a leader on this platform, if you would relentlessly focus your attention on the best opportunity for Ukrainian victory, and Putin's defeat.
---------
Release of the frozen Russian assets in EU banks to Ukraine. It's enough money to build at least 100,000+ Ukrainian cruise missiles, way more than are needed to crush the Russian war machine.
---------
The EU has not released those funds to Ukraine because it is prioritizing the needs of it's banking sector, which enjoys profiting on managing the money of gangster regimes all over the world. The EU correctly recognizes that if it were to release Russia's money to Ukraine, that would likely be an existential threat to their "profit from gangsters" banking business model. Given your high level business experience, I doubt this needs to be explained to you.
This platform is desperately in need of guidance on this issue. Given your life experience, you seem well positioned to be the person who provides such leadership.
Russia first invaded Ukraine 12 years ago.
And yet, billions of dollars of Russian money are still in EU banks to this day. Think about that. The EU had 12 years to tell the Russians to take their money and leave, but yet…
For 12 years the EU has been providing banking services to the Putin Mafia Gang which stole that money from the Russian people, and then used the money to invade Ukraine.
The simplistic group think defines Russia=Bad, EU=good. It’s way more complicated than that.
The EU are not monsters like Putin. But they are willing to get in bed with Putin and make money off his crimes.
When EU citizens face the risk of a Russian invasion, there’s a word for doing business with those who threaten to invade.
It’s called…
Treason.
The concept of 'Grey Passports' is ideal. Hope that the EU adopts it.
You were the most egregious of the oligarchs created by the American State Department's system of "Shock Therapy". A rigged auction by your own bank, enabled you to purchase Yukos Oil Company for under 1% of its true value. When Putin stopped people like you asset stripping Russia, you transferred your shares to Jacob Rothschild! And then when Putin returned Yukos to Russian state ownership. Mi6 and the CIA started escalating preparations for a proxy war they had been engineering since 1943. What is there about this that the Russian government should like?
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/harvard-boys-do-russia/
https://www.sott.net/article/445209-Putin-expels-the-oligarchs
https://www.voltairenet.org/article189895.html
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/10990
https://mronline.org/2022/09/14/ukraine/
I want him Gaddafi'd.
I am very sorry for your imprisonment, and I thank you for your important work.
After 21 years, and living in the U.S.A. my entire life, I think I have recently been marked off (or at least downgraded on) the U.S.A. terrorism suspect list. Due to President Trump insisting resources be redirected against immigrants. I don’t know for sure, as no one in government ever acknowledges the investigation or deceptive - and sometimes illegal - abuses stemming from it.
Naturally there is nothing to it, except yet another of this country’s endless moral panics (possible terrorists, immigrants, and a third one mentioned at the end here). This one began with 9/11, the subsequent creation of Homeland Security, and Congress over funding anti-terrorism activities. In order to find a terrorist behind every tree.
There have been varied and numerous abuses, including but not limited to repeated attempts to not only lure me into terrorism, but to also manufacture terrorism charges. We humans are serious about our moral panics.
Though the abuses have been deceptive and substantial, fortunately they have not been nearly as bad as you have endured.
An additional twist: Even though I complained about these abuses at least hundreds of times, publicly, on the social media pages of hundreds of our elected federal officials, with photographic evidence, not one politician ever responds. Because they fund the abuses.
And not a single citizen has ever championed my case. Hundreds of millions of citizens utilize their government to bully an innocent citizen for decades, fund the abuses with their tax dollars, and vote for - and even donate hundreds of millions of dollars to the political campaigns of - officials directing the abuses in yet another nationwide moral panic. But not a single citizen, other than the victim, tries to do anything about it. Not even ONE. Now THAT is human nature!
So when I see the endless social media posts inferring how righteous their U.S.A. national politician or political party is, I just want to 🤮 on people posting what I have personally experienced as bullshit.
I notice you mention journalists in your essay, and I am angry about all the journalists Putin badly abuses.
So far I have gotten off quite easy compared to all of you. As Andrei Sakharov’s wife, Yelena Bonner, replied to me decades ago when I asked about her view of gays being treated as second class citizens here in the United States, ‘Would that we had your problems.’
My best wishes to you.
https://substack.com/@romansheremeta/note/c-254428591?r=551d8h&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action