Corruption is Everywhere - In Russian Politics? Ha-ha, Of Course!

Governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk region arrested by FSB

in crime gang & assassinations probe 

video 0:53   ©  Russia’s Investigative Committee

The Federal Security Service agents have detained the governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk region, Sergey Furgal, on suspicions of organizing a criminal group linked to a series of murders of entrepreneurs over a decade ago.

The politician is suspected of organizing a criminal gang and ordering “a series of murders and assassination attempts” back in 2004-2005. Russia’s Investigative Committee shared a video of Furgal’s arrest in a Thursday morning raid, but included scant details about the ongoing investigation. 

Besides Furgal, four other suspects were arrested, all members of the same gang linked to a series of crimes against local businessmen in Khabarovsk and nearby Amur regions, according to investigators.

Authorities have yet to press official charges against the member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), who has led the Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk since 2018.

Corruption is Everywhere - Even in Olympics Bids

Ex-Rio Governor: Paid $2M for Votes to Win

2016 Olympics

By Clyde Hughes

Christ the Redeemer is seen next to the Olympic rings on Copacabana Beach during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 6, 2016. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

(UPI) -- The former governor of Rio de Janeiro has told a Brazilian court he paid $2 million in bribes to buy votes at the International Olympic Committee to win the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Sergio Cabral, who's now serving a virtual life sentence for corruption and money laundering, said the payments bought him six to nine votes with the governing Olympic body.

Cabral said, according to attorney Marcio Delambert, former International Association of Athletics Federations President Lamine Diack demanded $1.5 million and his son $500,000 for their votes. Papa Diack had previously called the accusation "the biggest lie in the history of world sport."

Apparently, the more hyperbolic your denial, the more innocent you must be!

The bribery investigation has also snarled former Brazil Olympic Committee head Carlos Arthur Nuzman, who was charged in connection with the scandal last October.

Cabral said the bribes were provided by Brazilian businessman Arthur Cesar de Menezes Soares Filho and received by Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, Russian swimmer Aleksandr Popov and others. Bubka and Popov disputed the claims.

"I completely reject all the false claims made by the former Rio State governor who is currently serving a long prison sentence for corruption," Bubka said on Twitter Friday.

"My lawyers will write to Mr. Diack to ask him to explain the allegations of Mr. Cabral who wrongly claims in his testimony that Mr. Diack could secure my vote," he continued.

French prosecutors have charged former Namibian track star Frankie Fredericks in connection with the bribery case, along with its own investigations of the Diacks.

Russian Elections Body Recommends Annulment of Far East Vote Over Violations

Corruption is Everywhere - Can You Imagine, in Russian Elections?!!

Russian Central Election Commission head Ella Pamfilova announces the preliminary results of the 

Single Voting Day © Vitaliy Belousov / Sputnik

Russia’s Central Elections Commission has advised to cancel the results of gubernatorial polls (3rd story on link) in Primorsky Krai Region and hold new voting in three months. Both frontrunners in the race are against the move.

On Wednesday all members of the commission unanimously voted to recommend the elections re-run in the region. The commission’s statement reads that in current situation and on the basis of protocols presented by regional elections authorities it is impossible to make any conclusions about the results of the voting.  

A rally in support of candidate Andrey Ishchenko in Vladivostok © Vitaly Ankov / Sputnik

In particular, the members of the body agreed that it is impossible to determine the exact result of the campaign because for some time during the elections day all documents and protocols of the voting were left unattended in the offices of the regional elections commission.

The head of the Central Elections Commission, Ella Pamfilova, has expressed hope that the regional authorities would support the recommendation and quickly organize the re-run.

The advice to hold the elections in the Primorsky Krai Region anew was made soon after the second round of gubernatorial polls almost ended in a draw. Only full vote count revealed that incumbent governor – Andrey Tarasenko of the parliamentary majority United Russia – apparently outpaced his main competitor – Andrey Ishchenko of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation – by a very narrow margin.

The communist candidate almost immediately accused his competitor of violations and announced that he was going on hunger strike which, however, lasted less than 24 hours. The incumbent governor replied with similar accusations in the Communists’ address, claiming that that monitors had registered violations in favor of the Communist candidate in at least two cities of the region.

Acting Governor of the Primorye Territory Andrei Tarasenko, right, congratulates a graduate at an event devoted

to the first graduation of officers of the Far Eastern Fire and Rescue Academy © Vitaliy Ankov / Sputnik

However, both candidates appear to be unhappy about the looming cancellation of the disputed vote. Tarasenko said in press comments that he did not plan to participate the re-run. Ishchenko described the advice as “absurd” and said that he did not agree with it because the governor had been elected in the runoff on Sunday.

Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that the Kremlin supported the recommendation of the Central Elections Commission to hold new elections in the Primorsky Krai Region. Peskov reminded that President Putin had previously described the fairness of elections as top priority and noted that this applied to all sorts of polls in the country.

Previously Peskov has told reporters that Andrey Tarasenko would remain in the governor’s seat until he is either confirmed or replaced by someone else on the post by a vote.

Primorsky Krai, RUS

Largest Islamic Country in the World Becoming Less Tolerant

Islam almost always tends toward more and more extremism. Moderate Islamic countries are becoming more and more hard line, countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran. The civil war (read proxy war) in Syria is about removing Bashar al Assad because he is not Islamic enough. All through Africa there are rebel groups who want to install more radical governments. 

Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country on the planet and this political circus was orchestrated for one purpose - to remove a Christian Governor of Jakarta and replace him with a Muslim. This is not a good sign for Indonesia or the rest of the world for that matter, but it does add another piece to my theory that Islam tends toward more radical Islam.

Jakarta's Christian governor jailed for

two years for blasphemy

       

 © POOL/AFP | Jakarta's Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (bottom L), is convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison

JAKARTA (AFP) - 

Jakarta's Christian governor was jailed for two years Tuesday after being found guilty of committing blasphemy, capping a saga seen as a test of religious tolerance in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto told the Jakarta court that Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was "convincingly guilty of committing blasphemy and is sentenced to two years in prison".

He ordered Purnama, known by his nickname Ahok, to be detained. Purnama said: "We will file an appeal." Islamic hardliners outside the court cheered as news of verdict emerged and shouted "God is greatest".

Purnama was hauled into court last year to face trial for allegedly insulting Islam while campaigning for re-election in a case critics said was politically motivated.

The trial came after a series of major protests against the capital's leader that drew hundreds of thousands onto the streets.

His once unassailable opinion poll lead shrank amid the controversy and he lost the race to lead Jakarta last month to a Muslim challenger, a result that fuelled fears of Indonesia's moderate brand of Islam coming under threat from increasingly influential radicals.

Jakarka Governor Issues Emotional Defense Against Blasphemy Charges

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama told a courtroom Tuesday he chose his words poorly but sought to make a statement about his rival politicians, not insult the Muslim religion.

By Stephen Feller

Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known by the nickname Ahok, at center, sits in the defendant's chair in a courtroom shortly before his blasphemy trial hearing at North Jakarta 

District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, on December 13, 2016. Ahok is on trial for blasphemy due

to comments he made in reference to a Koranic verse while campaigning in September 2016.

Photo by Tatan Syuflana/Pool/European Pressphoto Agency

JAKARTA, (UPI) -- With tears in his eyes, the governor of Jakarta told a courtroom Tuesday he did not mean to insult Islam in a speech several weeks ago, but instead clarify the use of a phrase from the Koran he felt was being misstated to mislead voters.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the Christian governor of Indonesia's largest city, defended himself on the first day of his trial for blasphemy, saying those running against him were attempting to use a line from the Koran about not voting for non-Muslims to avoid a "healthy" competition in the election.

"I am very sad that I have been accused of insulting Muslims. It is the same to me as insulting my godparents, my family," Purnama, known by his nickname, Ahok, told the court as protesters outside the courthouse nearly drowned him out. "My godparents love for me had a deep impact."

Ahok, who is ethnically Chinese and Christian and the adoptive son of a religious Muslim family, was investigated and charged by the government after a September 26 speech calling out his opponents for the use of verse 51 of the fifth Surat, referred to as the al-Maida.


No voting for non-Muslim 

The al-Maida commands Muslims to never vote for a non-Muslim as leader. Ahok said his political opponents use of it was an incorrect interpretation because it was written at a time when there were concerns Muslims who opposed the Prophet Muhammad would join with non-Muslims to have him killed.

"So clearly it wasn't intended to refer to choosing a government leader," he said. "In Indonesia, a government leader is not a religious leader," Ahok said. "[My comments] were aimed at elite politicians who incorrectly used the al-Maida verse because they refused to compete in a healthy way during a local election."

Ahok told the court his quip during the speech -- "That's your right, so if you can't choose me because you are afraid you will go to hell, that's OK," he said -- was meant as a lighthearted response to those attempting to use religion against him among the 90 percent Muslim populace in Indonesia.

"In this case, perhaps my language might have given the wrong perception or interpretation from what I had intended or meant," Ahok said in court.

Though he asked the court to dismiss the charges so he can "go back to serving the citizens of Jakarta and developing the city," many in the city, including the thousands who have continued to protest him, including during the trial's first day, don't agree. And among the 100 blasphemy convictions in Indonesia in the last decade, just one did not result in a conviction.

Ahok is next due in court on Dec. 20. If found guilty, the mayor could be sentenced to up to five years in jail.

Indonesian courts, even at the highest levels are subject to influence. Just ask Neil Bantleman.

Ohio ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Law Moves to Kasich for Approval

    © Sebastian Kahnert / DPA / Global Look Press

Ohio Governor John Kasich may sign into law a bill that bans abortion once a heartbeat can be detected in a fetus, making the state one of the most restrictive in the US on the issue. Sponsors hope that under the Trump administration the bill will avoid being overturned.

The bill was passed on Tuesday night by the state House hours after the legislation was approved by the Senate. Kasich, an abortion opponent, earlier voiced concerns over the constitutionality of the law, but did not comment on whether he would sign it.

The bill was defeated twice in the past in the state Senate, but was revived and passed the legislature after Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Senate President Keith Faber said.

With a vacant seat in the US Supreme Court to be filled by Trump, proponents of the bill hope the justices may uphold the ban once an ensuing challenge against it reaches the top judiciary body.

"I think it has a better chance than it did before," Faber said.

Abortion was legalized in the US by the Supreme Court over four decades ago, but individual states are allowed to restrict the right to end pregnancy to certain cases. The Ohio bill gives a short window of about six weeks before a fetus heartbeat can be detected. It also makes exceptions for women whose life is under threat due to their pregnancy, but not to victims of rape or incest.

Similarly restrictive abortion laws were earlier defeated by lower courts in North Dakota and Arkansas, with the Supreme Court refusing to hear appeals on those rulings in January, Reuters reported.

The current abortion law in Ohio requires a mandatory waiting period and counseling before the procedure can be performed. Clinics performing it are only available in one out of 10 counties of the state, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America, an organization fighting for the repeal of laws restricting the right of women to terminate pregnancy.

"Banning women from getting a medical procedure is out of touch with Ohio values and is completely unacceptable," the advocacy group’s Ohio branch said in comments on the bill.

"A medical procedure"! That's a new name for it. Stopping a beating heart has many names, but 'a medical procedure' isn't one of them.

30,000 Counter-March in Indonesia's War on Christianity

Tens of thousands march in Indonesia to support first Christian governor after ‘blasphemy’ protests

    People attend a rally calling for national unity and tolerance in central Jakarta, Indonesia 
    December 4, 2016. © Darren Whiteside / Reuters

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, to show national unity and call for tolerance after a 200,000-strong Muslim rally demanded the arrest of the city’s first Christian governor for alleged blasphemy.

Crowds holding up ‘We are Indonesia’ signs and waving red-and-white national flags flooded the streets of Jakarta on Sunday, filling a major traffic circle downtown, AP reported.

The rally reportedly was organized in response to two massive protests staged in the past month by hardline Muslim conservatives against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, nicknamed ‘Ahok’ – the first ethnic Chinese governor of Jakarta and the first Christian to hold the post in 50 years.

According to Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono, roughly 30,000 people attended the rally.

The ‘Parade of Indonesian Culture,’ as the unity demonstration was dubbed by its organizers, featured traditional dances from Sabang in the country’s westernmost Aceh region to Merauke in its easternmost Papua region.

Political leaders from President Joko Widodo’s pro-government coalition also attended the rally to promote unity in the ethnically diverse country.

“We have to fight to materialize the aims of our independence. That will not happen if we are scattered, blaspheming, humiliating each other and no longer trust each other,” Surya Paloh, chairman of the National Democratic Party, was quoted as saying by AP.

“Our main enemies are stupidity and poverty. Therefore, we ask the current government to work harder and persistently on fulfilling the people’s aspirations,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, saw at least 200,000 people call for the arrest of Governor Purnama, who has been accused of disrespecting the Koran – a charge that could put him in prison for five years.

“Let’s defend our religion,” Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI) – a hardline Islamist group – said at the rally in a speech quoted by AFP. “Stop all forms of religious blasphemy and put all violators on trial.”

It's not about defending Islam, it's is about attacking Christianity. 

Purnama got into trouble when he used a quote from the Koran in a speech about his political opponents, who he accused of misinterpreting the verse to urge people to vote against him. The Governor has since apologized for his remark, saying that he had intended to criticize his opponents, and not the holy book itself.

It appears Ahok quoted the Quran correctly but is being accused of blasphemy by those who quoted it incorrectly for political purposes. Those are the people who should be on trial for blasphemy. 

Cudos to the organizers of today's parade. To pull together such an extensive cultural event in a couple days is quite extraordinary.

War on Christianity - Jakarta Theater

Indonesian police investigate Jakarta governor
for blasphemy

The governor had spoken out against political opponents who suggest the Koran bars Muslims from voting for a non-Muslim leader

By Stephen Feller

Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, pictured speaking with journalists on Nov. 7, is being

formally investigated on allegations of blasphemy for a statement he made about a passage in the

Koran that may restrict Muslims from electing a non-Muslim as their leader. Purnama, who is a

Christian, said he meant no blasphemy by the statement and told supporters he was not worried

about the allegations. Photo by Adi Weda/European Photo Agency

JAKARTA, (UPI) -- The governor of Indonesia's largest city may be charged with blasphemy for comments he made about a passage in the Koran, according to law enforcement officials in the country.

Jakarka Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was formally named a suspect Tuesday for blasphemy and is expected to go to trial after saying political opponents were using the Koran to trick voters into voting against him, a statement which triggered the largest protests in the country in several years.

Purnama, also known by his nickname Ahok, last week accused political opponents of using a verse from the Koran that says Muslim followers should not elect a non-Muslim as a leader, saying the holy book does not actually bar them from voting for a non-Muslim.

The statement was taken by many as an insult to the religion, drawing as many as 200,000 people into the street protesting the governor and demanding he be held legally responsible for the statement.

The 'insult', apparently, is that a non-Muslim actually made reference to the Quran suggesting what it says. It matters not whether what he says is correct, only that he, a Christian, said it. 

The Muslim-majority nation is protective of the religion and Ahok is a member of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority. He also is an ally of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, having succeeded him as Jakarta governor when Widodo won the presidential election in 2014.

Ahok told supporters Wednesday, before the announcement, that he was not worried about the potential for charges to be filed against him and vowed to continue with the race.

"Don't let your spirit be broken," Ahok said. "Can you imagine how embarrassed they who slander us will be if I am declared a suspect... and win in the first round [of the election]?"

This is an opportunity for Muslims to push against Christianity and move toward Islam becoming the state religion in Indonesia. Currently the country officially recognizes Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Muslims, no doubt, would prefer there be only one religion. 

This case will tell us a lot as to how far down this road Jakarta has come. If police actually file charges, then Islam has a pretty strong grip on this city, and ultimately, the country.

Boko Haram Leader Shekau Replaced, Whereabouts Unknown

Only time will tell what this means for the poor people of northeast Nigeria

Islamic State announces new Boko Haram leader

Abu Musab al-Barnawi was described as the

Islamic State's new 'governor' in West Africa.

By Ed Adamczyk 

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, pictured, was replaced by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the Islamic State announced with no mention of Shekau's whereabouts. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

ABUJA, Nigeria, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgent group in Nigeria affiliated with the Islamic State, has a new leader, IS announced.

Abu Musab al-Barwani, formerly Boko Haram's spokesman, was identified in the weekly IS magazine Naba as its West African "governor." The magazine did not mention the whereabouts of the previous Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

In a seven-year campaign to install a Muslim caliphate in Nigeria, over 20,000 people have been killed and millions have fled the country. The continued fighting provoked a humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations and other agencies delivering food and medicine and warning of calamity if more aid is not delivered. A concerted campaign in the past 18 months, by Nigerian forces and coalition troops from neighboring countries, has severely weakened Boko Haram and taken back much of the territory it previously conquered; the insurgent group's response has been to take its fight to neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Little is known about Barnawi, who appeared in a 2015 Boko Haram video with a soft-spoken demeanor and his face blurred. The fate of his predecessor, Shekau, is equally mysterious. Known for his blustery, braggart manner, he has been declared killed by Nigerian forces several times, only to reappear in Boko Haram propaganda videos. He was most recently heard in an August 2015 announcement, saying that he remains alive. But he has not been seen since Boko Haram announced its alignment with IS in 2015.

Richard Glossip: Oklahoma Halts Execution 'to Check Drugs' - Insane, Just Insane

US and Oklahoma treatment of Glossip borders on Muslim treatment of dissidents

BBC
From the section US & Canada

Supporters of Glossip celebrate the stay Reuters

A man convicted of ordering his boss's murder has had his execution postponed at the very last minute, due to uncertainty over the lethal drugs.

Richard Glossip looked certain to die by injection in Oklahoma on Wednesday afternoon after the US Supreme Court rejected his appeal.

But Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has asked for more time to check if the drugs are compliant with state rules.

Pope Francis had urged her to halt the execution.

His archbishop had written to her and urged her to act to commute the sentence, but she said she did not have the authority to do so.

An hour after Glossip was due to be put to death, Ms Fallin announced that she was rescheduling the execution for 6 November.

Circumstantial evidence, or the testimony of one

 person who clearly benefits from such testimony,

should never be justification for execution in 

any sane country

OK, enough is enough! How many times can you bring someone to within minutes of execution only to delay it for a couple weeks so they can do it all over again. Is this not cruel and unusual punishment? Is this really much better than Saudi Arabia's torture of Ali Mohammad al Nimr, or Raif Badawi?

Based entirely on the confession of the admitted murderer, who got to escape the death penalty by implicating someone else, the guilty finding is pathetic. Then to sentence him to death based on that flimsy self-serving 'evidence', is hardly believable. You might expect something like this in Sudan or Iran, but it should never even be possible in a modern country, especially one that considers itself the best country in the world.

I'm not entirely opposed to the death penalty, but it should never be invoked without 'hard' evidence! Circumstantial evidence, or the testimony of one person who clearly benefits from such testimony, should never be justification for execution. It is well known that innocent people are executed in the US with disturbing frequency. It is very disturbing that this doesn't seem to faze anyone in the courts system or the government.

She said prison officials had received potassium acetate for use in the execution, as one of the three drugs used, but state guidelines only list potassium chloride.

Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton said he requested the stay of execution "out of due diligence".

Richard Glossip who is pictured (left) has maintained his innocence for nearly 20 years. (Getty Images)

Glossip has refused plea deals because he says he is innocent

Glossip's boss Barry Van Treese, the owner of the Oklahoma City motel, was beaten to death in 1997.

His colleague Adam Sneed was convicted of the killing but said Glossip had ordered him to carry it out.

Glossip and his family have maintained his innocence for nearly 20 years, saying that Sneed acted alone.

He was first convicted in 1998 but that was overturned in 2001, only for Glossip to be convicted again three years later.

In the most recent appeals, his lawyers said they had an affidavit from another inmate who said Sneed admitted to setting Glossip up.

British billionaire Richard Branson took out a full-page ad in The Oklahoman newspaper on Wednesday that argued Glossip is innocent.

Anti-death penalty activists rally outside the US Supreme Court in a final
attempt to prevent the execution of Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip
 on 29 September 2015 in Washington Getty Images

Executions have been delayed recently in the US amid problems buying drugs as many firms have refused to sell them.

Oklahoma's drugs procedures have been under scrutiny since a flawed execution in April 2014.

Clayton Lockett struggled for 43 minutes before eventually dying, after an intravenous line was improperly placed.

It's just unfathomable that Americans would not know how to kill a person efficiently.

The Pope had also intervened in the case of a woman in Georgia, but Kelly Gissendaner was put to death on Tuesday.

During the pontiff's visit last week to the US, he urged Congress to abolish the death penalty.