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

To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (3533)	11/4/2003 2:15:03 PM
From: Scoobah	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

The plundering of Russia? Have you any proof that there was (is) anything there to plunder?

To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (3533)	11/4/2003 2:15:10 PM
From: mike bone (Hijacked)	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

It is the same Free-Market exploitation that brought Castro to Cuba. And it is this same false pretext that is keeping Cuba impoverished. But they keep blaming Castro. People do not rebel without cause.

To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (3533)	11/4/2003 10:26:53 PM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

U.S. Has 'Pointed' Private Talks with Russia on YUKOS Tue November 4, 2003 01:17 PM ET By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has had "pointed" high-level conversations with Russia about what some U.S. officials view as the politically-motivated prosecution of businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the issue could affect ties over time, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. The official said the former chief executive of Russian oil company YUKOS appeared to have been targeted because of his political activities, which may have been seen as a threat to the authorities ahead of December's parliamentary elections. "Clearly there is a political factor here which in our view may well be the driving factor and why the law is being applied selectively to one oligarch and not to anyone else, at least at this stage," said the senior State Department official, who spoke to reporters on condition that he not be identified. Russia's richest man and a supporter of liberal opponents to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the December elections, Khodorkovsky was arrested at gunpoint on Oct. 25 and charged with fraud and tax evasion. The State Department has been relatively muted in public comments about the case, saying it had "potentially negative implications for the rule of law" in Russia and questioning whether Khodorkovsky was victim of selective prosecution. The U.S. official said Washington was much more blunt in its private conversations with Moscow, saying it did not want to rush to judgment in public and noting the breadth of U.S. geopolitical interests with Russia. "There have been some very pointed conversations at high levels," he said, declining to identify which U.S. officials have been involved in the contacts. COMMON INTERESTS "Obviously, there are common interests involved in how we deal with Iran, and North Korea, post-war Iraq, Middle East peace process, Afghanistan, and many other current geopolitical issues where cooperation is important to both sides," he said. "That work is continuing," he added. "Over time, this issue could have some broader implications for the relationship but I think it's far too early to make any predictions in that regard." Russian officials privately try to minimize U.S. concerns and insist prosecutors are acting independently, the official said. But he said they sometimes get past their "pre-cooked talking points" to discuss "the real explanation relating to political activities (and) reestablishing state authority as essential for Russia in its period of transition." Continued ... reuters.com