Remembering Alexei Navalny

Remembering Alexei Navalny

Remembering Alexei Navalny

One of Putin’s Fiercest Critics has died according to Russian authorities

 

By D.S. Mitchell

Death Reports

It was February 16th, and I was watching MSNBC when a red news alert banner appeared at the base of the screen. “Alexei Navalny, anti-corruption activist and well-known Putin critic reported dead.” Within moments Joy Reid was sharing the dreadful news that the world’s most famous political prisoner was dead at 47, from “sudden death syndrome.” SDS is a common condition amongst Putin opponents.  The pattern of lethal attacks against Kremlin critics is alarming, ranging from gun shots at close range, falls from buildings, and exotic poisonings.

Tears for Alexei

I started to cry. I never met Alexei Navalny, but for the world to lose a man of such courage and charisma is heartbreaking. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a speech in Munich on Friday that if the reports about her husband’s death are true, Putin and his associates “will be brought to justice.” Yulia, who has primarily remained in the background during Alexei’s years of activism, indicates she will carry on his very public work.

To the End

Navalny has been a thorn in the Putin’s side for over a decade. Navalny was a trained attorney, a well-known blogger and YouTuber, and anti-corruption advocate. Prior to his imprisonment Navalny organized several large protests against Putin and the Kremlin. While in prison, he remained a strident political voice, speaking out against Putin and filing lawsuits against Russia’s terrible prison system.

Underpants Poisoning

Navalny survived multiple poisoning attempts, one in which he claimed his underpants had been loaded with the neuroparalytic, Novichok. To each of the various attempts on his life the Kremlin denied responsibility. In 2020 after a dramatic hospitalization in Berlin, Germany for another Novichok poisoning, Navalny decided despite the danger, he would return to Russia instead of emigrating to some “safe country” in the west.

Last Seen

After returning to Russia he was imprisoned on fraud and extremism charges, all of which Navalny denied. He was serving a 30 year sentence at the time of his death. In December 2023, Navalny’s lawyers said that they had lost contact with him. Three weeks after their complaint he was located in a high-security penal colony above the Arctic Circle. His last public appearance was at a court hearing Thursday, February 15, 2024, during which he was seen joking with the judge, according to a video of the hearing published by a Russian news outlet.

Biden & Blinkin Reactions

Biden praised Navalny’s courage. “He bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing,” Biden said. “In response, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, he sentenced him to prison, he held him in isolation … Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth.”  Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State said: “His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this.”

Anti-Protest Laws

In many cities across Russia, small groups of Russians braved strict anti-protest laws and laid flowers at makeshift memorials to Navalny. More than 400 people have been  arrested, according to OVD-Info, a Russian rights group that tracks political arrests and offers legal aid. Navalny is survived by his wife Yulia and their two children. In a Valentine’s Day post to his wife, he wrote: “I feel that you are close to me every second and I love you more and more.”

Before and After Moment

Supporters and allies were visibly stunned by the news of his death, and many pointed an accusing finger at Putin. Many of his supporters telling western media it was murder. Mikhail Fishman, a journalist, blinked back tears as he said: “We must learn to live with this news somehow. But we understand the scale of what has happened, that we will mark this as a before-and-after moment.”

 

Alexi Navalny: Enemy of the Rogue State

Alexi Navalny: A Thorn In Putin’s Side

Putin has political opponents he just doesn't care how he silences them

Alexi Navalny:

ENEMY OF THE ROGUE STATE

By Trevor K. McNeil

 

Rebel Roots

No nation has ever been completely peaceful, no matter what some might like to claim. As though in a self-aware correction to this, some don’t even bother to try and appear civilized, such as the Mongols or the Spartans. Others go through periods of stability, though the next invasion, rebellion, conquest or border war isn’t a matter of if, but when.

On a Reverse Trajectory

One of the main perpetrators of the meat-grinder of Europe was Russia or, as it was known for the majority of the century, the Soviet Union. That doesn’t mean the Czarist period was a picnic, either. Under the czars, someone was always fighting or planning to fight, someone else. Even during the days  of the purges, the threat of being purged surely was enough to make a lot of people angry. Russia, is a direct rebuke to the notion of history progressing in a linear trajectory.  Putin’s Russia more closely resembles 1961 than the first attempts at democratization in 1991. If anything they are moving backwards. Now, as then, there are those opposing the government, often at risk to their lives by way of assassination by the state. One such death-defying rebel is Alexi Navalny.

Continue reading

Trump Attacks The FBI

The FBI is a world-famous crime fighting organization. It is synonymous with solid professionalism. I have never heard anyone say they didn’t want the FBI working their case after a crime has been committed.

The FBI is like all organizations, imperfect. In the post 9/11 era, its anti-terrorism focus was at times thought to be overzealous, generating complaints from multiple sources including minority communities, and civil libertarians. The fast and loose ways of the J.Edgar Hoover FBI are long gone. The infamous founder of the crime fighting agency was famous for pursuing personal vendettas and agendas. But since FBI Associate Director, Mark Felt was discovered to be “Deep Throat”, the secret source for the Washington’s Post’s insight into the corrupt Nixon administration, a large majority of Americans have viewed the FBI as an honest and neutral bulwark against criminals of all kinds, inside and outside of the government.

Last weekend, in a rush of tweets Trump took aim at targets old and new. Trump criticized the FBI and raised questions about the special prosecutor’s investigation into Russian election meddling and the possible ties to the Trump campaign.

In that storm of tweets, more than a dozen–came after his former NSA, Mike Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. In one of his posts Trump once again denied that he had asked former FBI Director James Comey for a loyalty pledge, or directed him to stop investigating Flynn. Trump called the nation’s top law enforcement agency a biased institution whose reputation was “in Tatters–worst in History!” and urged FBI Director Chris Wray to “clean house.” Trump personally promised in his tweet meltdown to “bring it back to greatness.”

Eric Holder, former FBI Director, tweeted in response, “Nope. Not letting this go. The FBI’s reputation is not in ‘tatters.’ It’s composed of the same dedicated men and women who have always worked there and who do a great, apolitical job. You’ll find integrity and honesty at FBI headquarters and not at 1600 Penn Avenue right now.”

Trump had seized on reports that a veteran FBI counterintelligence agent, Peter Strzok was removed by special counsel Mueller last summer after the discovery of an exchange of text messages that were viewed as potentially anti-Trump. The agent, had also worked on the investigation of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

Continue reading

Part V: Behind The Curtain

Part V: Behind The Curtain

D. S. Mitchell

At the end of Part IV: Behind The Curtain, David Cay Johnston told the reading audience that he had never seen evidence that Donald Trump was now a billionaire, or ever has been a billionaire.   I have no idea, and actually I really could care less if Trump is a billionaire or just a multimillionaire. That shit’s all in his head, not mine. Kinda like the guy who buys the biggest most gaudy truck he can find, to make up for some secret deficiency.

What I do care about is the obvious, and quite serious conflict of interest issues.  Trump has provided no tax returns, he has not established a blind trust, or divested himself of his businesses.  There are many questions about his deals with Russian oligarchs and his ongoing effort during the 2016 campaign to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, working behind the scenes with his long time attorney, Michael Cohen.

One of the character flaws noted by personal friends of Trump and discussed earlier in this series, is Trump’s poor judgment when choosing partners and associates. I can’t help adding my opinion on this matter.  I think, in addition to poor judgment, Trump just does not give a damn, that’s right, I don’t think he cares. The president’s  choice of Jared Kushner to be his Senior Advisor is a perfect example.

Continue reading

Russian Scandals Dog Trump

Russian Scandals Dog Trump

By D. S. Mitchell

Swamp Life

It’s Saturday afternoon, and I look out to wind and rain. I’ve had all morning and most of the afternoon to think about the current administration. There are multiple simmering scandals bubbling up. Just about everywhere you look there is a swamp creature bobbing its head through dark sludge. It has become impossible to avoid them, they are everywhere you look.

An Inside Joke

Donald Trump ran for office proclaiming he would “drain the swamp”. It was an inside joke to all who knew the man. Trump has been a swamp creature his entire life, conning and grifting at every turn. However, I doubt that even the most skeptic of his critics, ever imagined the morass he would  surround himself with if elected president. Putrid and corrupt, the rot that is consuming the Trump presidency began before the election.

Follow The Money

I’m trying to bring sense to all the emerging scandals.  Once we find the decaying corpse of corruption that links Trump to Putin we may discover the truth about the Russian involvement in the 2016 election. And what I expect is a continuing effect on Trump’s daily decisions.

Continue reading