Free Republic

The hazing – really, torture – of new conscripts in the Russian military must stop. Last year, the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the assassination by polonium of spy Alexander Litvinenko made headlines around the world. However, neither was Russia's top news story in 2006. That honor, according to a year-end survey conducted by the Moscow daily Vedomosti, belonged to a subject little discussed outside Russia: dedovshchina.

MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will spend almost 5 trillion rubles ($185 bln at current prices) on a state armaments program over the next nine years, the defense minister said Monday. Sergei Ivanov, who is also a deputy prime minister, told a government meeting with President Vladimir Putin that a ministry committee would consider the program, which will run 2007-2015, at a meeting on June 2. Ivanov said a draft of the program - which covers modernization and development of Russia's military capability - had been coordinated with security agencies, the Finance Ministry and the Economic Development and...

Russian Army Abuse Blamed on Society Updated: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006 - 8:56 AM By STEVE GUTTERMAN Associated Press Writer MOSCOW (AP) - The abuse that haunts Russia's military is rooted in a society plagued by crime and declining moral values, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday, seeking to shift blame from the armed forces following a horrific hazing incident that left an 18-year-old private crippled for life. Ivanov speaking in the lower parliament house, where he answered questions focused on military abuse, a persistent problem cast into the spotlight by the ordeal of Andrei Sychev. The conscript had his...

This year's Pentagon report on China's military power is somewhat tougher than in previous years. Released Tuesday, the report concludes that China could threaten not just its smaller neighbors, like Taiwan, but in time "modern militaries operating in the region," which is Pentagon-speak for the United States. "The pace and scope of China's military are, already, such as to put regional military balances at risk," the Pentagon concludes. This report is a needed wake-up call following by a week the threat, since disavowed, by a ranking Chinese general that China would hit "hundreds" of U.S. cities with nuclear weapons if...

May 6, 2005 The Return of the Soviet Union by David Satter When President Bush ascends the reviewing stand in Red Square on May 9 for ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, he may find that his presence is being used less to mark a historic anniversary than to rehabilitate the Soviet Union. The anniversary has unleashed a wave of nostalgia for the Soviet Union. A report by the RIA press agency said, "all the veterans agree that the great love that the Soviet people had for their country and their belief in the righteousness...

We did it... We protested churchill. There was a collection of pro-Churchill moonbats that showed up, and we protested them as well.

TROUBLE SPEAK Ward Churchill copied 'original' art piece Takes a swing at TV reporter who confronted him -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: February 26, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Professor Ward Churchill Adding to a growing list of allegations, controversial University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill appears to have violated copyright law by claiming a reknowned artist's work as his own. Churchill, whose integrity has been challenged since news broke earlier last month of his paper blaming victims of 9-11 for the attacks, made an Indian-theme serigraph in 1981 called "Winter Attack" and printed 150 copies. But one of the buyers,...

Ward Hill as a member of the schismatic Boulder/Denver branch of AIM [American Indian Movement] as spent his whole life trashing the FBI and police. Here is what he said in his "Roosting Chickens" article. He is an anarchist who publishes his books through anarchist publishers. He wants to trash our law enforcement and intelligence organizations so that we will be destroyed. He doesn't want to make them better. He want the USA off the planet. He has often depicted the FBI and CIA as terrorist organizations.

Ward Churchill is the professor from Colorado University who called the dead in the World Trade Center "Nazis" and also said that the US deserved 9/11, and that we should have not fought back. Prof Churchill may get fired from the University of Colorado-Bolder He may appear on March 1st, time pending, if the administration approves of it.

MOSCOW — Female Russian soldiers strutted in uniform and took questions on army life yesterday as they vied for the title of "Miss Epaulettes 2003," a beauty contest aimed at boosting the appeal of Russia's cash-strapped army. A Defense Ministry spokesman said 16 finalists, chosen from 90,000 female engineers, liaison officers and medical staff, had to show their military aptitude. The winner will be announced on the eve of March 8, International Women's Day and a public holiday in Russia.

Russian soldier kills eight fellow servicemen, injures three others Canadian Press Friday, November 29, 2002 ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) - A Russian soldier, apparently under the influence of narcotics, opened fire on fellow servicemen, killing at least eight of them and wounding three others - the latest in a spate of shooting incidents in the country's demoralized military. The soldier, identified as Denis Solovyov, fired his Kalashnikov assault rifle at a tent early Friday as his 11 comrades were resting on patrol at Russia's border with Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains, the military said. Solovyov was detained immediately. Some of the...