Free Republic

MOSCOW (AFP) – It has been of one of Europe's worst nightmares: traffickers obtaining highly-radioactive materials on the loose in the former Soviet Union with the help of corrupt officials and passing them on to rogue groups looking to make a dirty bomb. The seizure this month of two kilogrammes of uranium in Moldova, an impoverished ex-Soviet nation bordering the EU member Romania, is a stark reminder of just how available and poorly guarded nuclear materials can be, analysts said. Moldovan police said this week they had seized a container with 1.8 kilogrammes of highly-radioactive Uranium-238 and arrested a group...

NOTE The following text SNIPPET is a quote: International Hacker Arraigned After Extradition Elaborate Scheme Stole over $9.4 Million from Credit Card Processor ATLANTA, GA—SERGEI TŠURIKOV, 26, of Tallinn, Estonia, has been extradited to the United States. TŠURIKOV appeared today and was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge E. Clayton Scofield III, on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud, and aggravated identity theft. TŠURIKOV was indicted by a federal grand jury on these charges on November 10, 2010, along with VIKTOR PLESHCHUK, 29, of St. Petersburg, Russia; OLEG COVELIN,...

SNIPPET: "UPDATE: The Koobface gang is upgrading the command and control infrastructure in response to the positive ROI out of the takedown activities." SNIPPET: "Related posts: Dissecting Koobface Worm's Twitter Campaign Dissecting the Koobface Worm's December Campaign Dissecting the Latest Koobface Facebook Campaign The Koobface Gang Mixing Social Engineering Vectors"

Transdnestr leader Igor Smirnov said in Moscow on Monday that the breakaway republic in Moldova was not opposed to Russia deploying its Iskander tactical missiles in the republic. "We said long ago that we are ready [for this]; we have asked Russia to keep its military presence indefinitely. We would not protest the deployment of Russian forces with any weapons for the protection of the Transdnestr, Russian and Ukrainian people," Smirnov said when answering journalists' questions about Transdnestr's readiness to host Russian ballistic missile defense systems. What could be the objective of a Russian base in the republic, should it...

Moldova's rebel region of Transdniestria said on Monday it was ready to host Russian tactical missiles if the Kremlin were to ask, escalating growing tensions about defense between Moscow and Washington. NATO and European Union member Romania, which borders Moldova, this month approved a U.S. plan to deploy interceptor missiles which Washington says aims to defend against current and emerging ballistic missile threats from Iran. It prompted calls for clarification from Russia's foreign ministry, which said it was concerned. Interfax news agency quoted regional leader Igor Smirnov as saying on Monday: "We are not against it ... As far as...

Moldova's breakaway region of Trans-Dniester has reacted to US plans for a missile defence shield by offering to host new Russian missiles. The US wants to base elements of its missile defence shield in neighbouring Romania and Bulgaria - much to Russia's concern. Trans-Dniester leader Igor Smirnov said Russia had not yet asked it to be a host but any request would be approved. Trans-Dniester is already home to Russian troops and an arms dump. The Trans-Dniester region declared independence from Moldova in 1991. Sharp criticism Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has already asked for an explanation from the US...

On December 7 Moldova failed in its fifth attempt this year to elect a head of state in parliament. The Communist Party, which governed from 2001 to September 2009 and retains 48 seats in this parliament, blocked the election of Marian Lupu, presidential candidate of the now-governing Alliance for European Integration (AEI) of four parties. Lupu, who leads the Democratic Party within the AEI, received all of the AEI’s 53 votes. Under Moldova’s constitution, however, the president is elected with at least 61 votes in favor in the 101-seat parliament (Moldpres, December 7). With this failure the parliament also lost...

Moldovan soldiers has been issued with an extra ration of onions and garlic to ward off swine flu, the defence ministry's chief doctor said Thursday. "We have introduced an extra 25 grams (one ounce) of onion and 15 grams of garlic in their daily ration," Sergiu Vasilita told AFP. So far, 24 soldiers have completed treatment for swine flu, while 19 are in hospital with acute respiratory infections, he said.

Apologies for not getting up a list yesterday. I got caught up with my editorial on Conservative Brawler. Here's your two-day, end-of-week digg list! http://diggsandburies.blogspot.com/

Europe's last Communist government fell yesterday after defeat in Moldova's general election. A majority in favour of four pro-European parties brought a political era to a close as the ideology of Marx and Lenin, that once ruled the lives of people from Berlin to Vladivostok, passed into the history books. Tiny, landlocked Moldova is Europe's poorest country The pro-Europeans won almost 51 per cent of the vote, giving them the opportunity to form a coalition government, and end eight years of Communist control. They fell short, however, of the total needed to guarantee a non-Communist President in place of the...

The last Communist government in Europe appeared on course to lose power in yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Moldova. An exit poll published minutes after polling closed last night gave the pro-Russian Communist Party just over 41 per cent of the vote, down a fifth on election results in April that sparked protests over alleged ballot rigging. If the poll is reflected in the final result the Communists’ share of the vote would leave them with 45 of the parliament’s 101 seats, ousting the party from government for the first time since 2001. The exit poll, conducted by a grouping of...

Moldovans repeating national elections on Wednesday face a stark choice: vote for the ruling Communist Party and receive loans from their Chinese and Russian backers worth well over a third of national income, or put their faith in the West. The outcome of the vote is too close to call, according to opinion polls and political analysts, though few expect a repeat of the riots and brutal police crackdown that followed April's turbulent elections that were tainted by fraud allegations. Those elections and Wednesday's vote are having an impact well beyond the borders of this small ex-Soviet nation of four...

Note: The following text is a quote: Eight Uzbekistan Nationals Among 12 Charged with Racketeering, Human Trafficking & Immigration Violations in Scheme to Employ Illegal Aliens in 14 States Twelve defendants, including eight Uzbekistan nationals, have been charged in a 45-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 6, 2009, on RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charges related to labor racketeering, forced labor trafficking and immigration and other violations in 14 states. Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, Nodir Yunusov, 22, Rustamjon Shukurov, 21, citizens of Uzbekistan residing in Mission, Kan.; Ilkham Fazilov, 44, Nodirbek...

CHISINAU, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Moldova has canceled plans to participate in NATO-led military exercises in Georgia in May, the Moldpres state news agency reported on Wednesday. The Cooperative Longbow 09/Cooperative Lancer 09 command-and-staff exercise will be held from May 6 through June 1. Russia has strongly protested against the planned drills. In response to Russian criticism, the Western military alliance has said the drills were planned before the Russia-Georgia conflict, and that the exercise is open to all ally states, including Russia. "We are convinced, and are telling all our partners, that it is dangerous to appease the...

Moldova has rejected a new ambassador proposed by Romania, an official said Friday, in another sign of deteriorating relations between the neighboring countries. Earlier this month, Moldova accused Romania of supporting violent anti-communist demonstrations by thousands of people who stormed Moldova's Parliament and presidential offices to protest an election that had returned the Communist Party to power. Romania rejected the accusation, but Moldova expelled Romania's ambassador.

CHISINAU, April 21 (Reuters) - Moldova's ruling Communist party was again declared the winner on Tuesday in the ex-Soviet state's disputed parliamentary election, in a recount ordered after violent protests against the initial result. Iurie Ciocan, Secretary of the Central Election Commission, said the results differed little from the original figures issued after the April 5 election, which gave the Communists just short of 50 percent of the vote. "The difference between the recount and original count is not significant," Ciocan told reporters after a Commission meeting. He read out figures showing the Communists far ahead with more than 760,000...

Morally speaking, Russian actions are in a class of their own.This time it's Moldova. Whenever Moscow's former vassal states sputter and crackle with instability, the wheezy old Cold War "moral equivalency" argument gets a new airing. Russia invaded Georgia? Well, didn't the U.S. invade Iraq? Russia sent warships to Cuba? That's because the U.S. is pushing its NATO borders up into Poland and Georgia. Moscow's near-abroad satellites such as Abkhazia and even Belarus are "black holes" of corruption and racketeering? So look at Mexico and its drug gangs. And democracy? Don't go there--remember the first election of George W. Bush....

DON'T feel bad if you can't find Moldova on a map. Our president can't find it, either. Our befuddled secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, could find Moldova, if she wanted to. But she doesn't want to. Because that would mean facing up to Russian mischief. And everybody knows the Russians are going to be our bestest-bestest friends, like forever, dude. They really mean it this time. Anyway, why should we care about an impoverished state the size of a cattle ranch where a population of barely 4 million survives on a per-capita income of $2,500? Why should the Obama administration...

The streets of Moldova and Georgia are boiling with protest and anger, while Kosovo continues to grapple with its self-proclaimed statehood. All three situations originate in the departure from the Cold War-era agreements respecting borders. We are witnessing the repercussions of the "Kosovo precedent," and they're not pretty. What is happening in Moldova? Is it another so-called "colored revolution," or simply an expression of rage by young people who demand to live better lives? It’s anyone's guess. There are certainly specific individuals who are interested in stirring up trouble in Moldova, both within the country and in Romania. Some Romanian...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States and Russia should not force former Soviet republics to choose between an alliance with Washington and Moscow, RIA news agency reported on Thursday. .... "It is inadmissible to try to place a false choice before them -- either you are with us or against us -- otherwise this will lead to a whole struggle for spheres of influence," Lavrov was quoted as saying by the agency. Lavrov denied Russia was seeking to build spheres of influence and said it was inappropriate to compare the violence in Moldova with...