Petition to Designate Russia as State Sponsor of Terrorism

[leonidstorch.livejournal.com]

Originally posted by leonidstorch at Petition to Designate Russia as State Sponsor of Terrorism

Sign a petition to the White House to designate Russia as "State Sponsor of Terrorism". Let's stop the Kremlin from attacking Ukraine!

The petition has already generated the required 100,000 signatures, but each additional vote will only strengthen the cause.

In its unannounced war against Ukraine, Russia relies on covert operations which fall squarely within the definition of "international terrorism" under 18 U.S.C. § 2331. Specifically, armed operatives of Russia, acting under disguise, attempt to influence the policy of Ukrainian government by intimidation or coercion. They also try to affect the conduct of a government by assassinations and kidnapping, taking by force government buildings, police posts and military bases of Ukraine. This activity is being conducted on large scale and over prolonged time period, despite condemnation by the USA, G-7, NATO, EU and UN. Accordingly, Russia must be officially designated as "State sponsor of terrorism", per http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.ht

Totally not a chess move

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101692038

Russia's state-controlled Gazprom signed a long-awaited megadeal to supply gas to China on Wednesday, which could ease the impact of Western sanctions on the country. ... The deal would see Gazprom - the world's largest extractor of natural gas - supply 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually for 30 years, according to Reuters, under a contract valued in excess of $400 billion. ... The deal was signed with China National Petroleum Corp, which is also state-controlled. Reuters reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping applauded as they witnessed the deal being signed.

( You do know what this means, right? )