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Politics : Israel to U.S. : Now Deal with Syria and Iran -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ed Huang who wrote (3458)	11/1/2003 10:26:49 PM
From: AK2004	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

re: Racist, anti-Semitism, hey, huangy, don't know about europeans but you qualify. Did not you say that jews did not contribute to the world but work toward its destruction?

To: Ed Huang who wrote (3458)	11/1/2003 10:31:21 PM
From: Ed Huang	Respond to of 22250

Russia angry at Yukos criticism Investors are reassessing Putin's policies Russia has dismissed Western criticism of its investigation into alleged tax fraud at the country's oil giant Yukos. The US and Germany had sought assurances that the arrest of Yukos boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky was not politically motivated. But the Russian foreign ministry said the US criticism was "at the very least, tactless and disrespectful". Mr Khodorkovsky, believed to be Russia's richest man, has financed liberal opposition groups in Russia. Correspondents say it is widely assumed that is why President Vladimir Putin's government has taken legal action against him. 'Double standards' The US State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, had asked Moscow to dispel concerns that the case against Mr Khodorkovsky was of a political nature. And a spokesman for German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said legal certainty was essential if Russia was to continue its integration into the world economy. Germany is Russia's largest trading partner and an important source of much-needed foreign investment. Porridge for Khodorkovsky Papers see change of guard Referring to the US statement, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said it was "a continuation of a notorious policy of double standards". "I cannot remember the State Department making such statements about other countries in similar cases," the spokesman told Russian television. Mr Yakovenko accused the US of violating human rights in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where hundreds of Taleban and al-Qaeda suspects have been held without trial for more than a year. Last Thursday, Russian prosecutors froze almost half the shares in Yukos, though the freeze on some of those shares was lifted the following day. Russia's stock market has lost almost 15% of its value over the past week. Analysts say Mr Khodorkovsky's funding of opposition groups broke a tacit agreement to stay out of politics in return for avoiding investigation of his financial affairs. Putin remains strong The head of the Russian parliament's budget committee, Alexander Zhukov, told the BBC on Saturday that, while he was bothered by the Yukos affair, it was unlikely to lead to any wider investigation of Russian businesses. "The president has already answered that... most likely this will be the only case," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "It's not going to open up the door to everything." But on Friday, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov broke ranks with the Kremlin by saying he was "deeply concerned" by events. His comments come amid speculation that the prime minister's position may ultimately be under threat. Mr Putin's chief of staff Alexander Voloshin, a fellow Yeltsin-era appointee, was replaced on Thursday amid reports that he was angry at the judicial campaign against Yukos. The BBC's Ian MacWilliam says Mr Putin has sought to play down fears that the case heralds a wider campaign against the so-called oligarchs - the small group of super-rich businessmen who grabbed control of the country's most profitable industries during the privatisation of the 1990s. But some analysts say the events surrounding Yukos have created the biggest political and economic crisis of Mr Putin's three years in office. However, the Russian president appears to enjoy widespread public support - at about 73% - according to the latest poll conducted by the VTSIOM opinion research centre across 100 Russian cities and towns news.bbc.co.uk