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Michael Hammerschlag's commentary and articles (HAMMERNEWS.com) have appeared in Seattle Times, Providence Journal, Columbia Journalism Review, Hawaii Advertiser, Capital Times, MediaChannel; and Moscow News, Tribune, Times, and Guardian. He spent 2 years in Russia from 1991-94, while the Empire collapsed and multiple wars raged in the Islamic southern republics. He was a TV reporter, has produced TV documentaries and radio reports. After 13 years, he returned to Russia at the start of 2007.
Sunday, January 16, 2011 ABSOLUTE POWER IN UKRAINE (1 comments)
In seizing full control of the Courts, City of Kiev, changing the Constitution to the old powerful-President one, prosecuting the opposition, and restricting who can run in local elections; Yanukovich and his Party of Regions have managed to do in 7 months what took Putin 7 years- achieve an absolute monopoly of control in Ukraine. The Supreme Court was demoted, as the High Court of Justice and Constitutional Court were packed
Sunday, February 7, 2010 UKRAINE 2010 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION- radio report (2 comments)
Apparently ex-mugger Yanukovich has won the Presidential election- exit polls have him 4 points ahead of Timoshenko, with a chance of fraud from election changes rammed through 4 days ago. She will fight in legal protests; her forces control the Appeals Court, recently threatened by POR. This has given the country back to the oligarchs, and Russia, as dreams of European integration recede and Soviet-style corruption returns
Thursday, August 20, 2009 HEALTH FIASCO (1 comments)
Obama's obsession with compromise may doom the health care plan, vastly enriching the medical/drug complex parasites, and breaking the back of the US financial system. The best option- single payer- wasn't on the table, but the most corrupt provision ever- no negotiation for bulk drug prices (est. to waste $60 billion/year) is enshrined.A few right-wing screamers are defeating a 70% popular plan. Congress is bought + paid for
Thursday, May 28, 2009 CAIRO CALM
CAIRO: Obama makes a historic speech in the heart of the Arab World June 4th. A Feb 22nd terrorist bombing in Cairo sounded like business as usual... but Cairo is really one of safest cities in world, where one can walk anywhere at 3am; and never hear an anti-Western sentiment in 2 months; partly due to the civilizing effect of Islam, which punishes rude, criminal,or violent behavior, Egyptians are a warm blend of world people
Sunday, October 12, 2008 A Question of Judgment (3 comments)
McCain's judgment has been abysmal: he remained in a brutal NV prison for 4 1/2 years rather than go home. His economic advisor, "genius" Phil Gramm wrote the bills that exempted these junk bond derivatives from any regulation- creating this economic meltdown; McCain was a fervent backer of the catastrophic Iraq invasion; Cynical choice of the woefully unqualified Palin endangers nation: We questioned him on the first issue
Thursday, August 21, 2008 GEORGIA'S FOLLY & THE RAGE OF THE BEAR
Kiev: Saakashvili's reckless invasion of S. Ossetia had to provoke a virulent Russian reaction, but condemnation is only of Russia; McCain's FP advisor was paid lobbyist for Georgia- did neocons encourage this to create a new enemy to intimidate voters, since terrorism wasn't working? Georgia isn't Budapest or Prague, but the Russians can't resist grinding their faces in the dirt, as object lesson for Ukraine, Baltics, Poland
Friday, May 9, 2008 THE BUSH BATTERED DOLLAR (12 comments)
With 4-6 trillion dollars of rich tax cuts, Bush caused more deficits than all before. Since he began, the dollar has dropped 47%, 8% in just a recent 5 weeks-halving the value of trillions of $ foreign investments. For expat Americans the sickening $´s slide is devastating. The now worthless Repub-deregulated junk mortgage derivatives sold around the world are more than real stock + bonds + markets are hanging by a thread
Tuesday, December 25, 2007 NO SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (3 comments)
Putin visited the NKVD killing fields of Butovo and expressed sympathy for the tens of millions of victims of the purges and murders, for the first time; Before he had exalted the security agencies and deminished the crimes of his agency; Many places have had genocidal monsters, but only Russia still has fans of them; 35% wuld vote for Stalin now if he were running
Sunday, November 4, 2007 THE INFINITE PUTIN
Moscow: Putin is supposed to leave office in March, unbelievably. Appointing unknown crony Viktor Zubkov PM (told the day before + rammed through Congress 2 days later) ends the doubt. Zubkov will be anointed President (+ win), Putin will become Prime Minister, and Zubkov will resign in 6-12 months to let Vlad
return as Prez. Massive conflicts of interests in the Kremlin as mini-oligarch ministers run biggest corps in world.
Thursday, July 26, 2007 A PRESIDENT'S CONTEMPT (1 comments)
A PRESIDENT'S CONTEMPT - After 7 years of lies, corruption, national security failures, and a disastrous unjustified war, the new Dem Congress is asking questions; Heedless of the Constitution, Bush is giving no answers + with unprecedented arrogance, directed staffers to not testify; Time for inherent contempt charges? Tally of Bush's cost in human lives
Thursday, June 7, 2007 RATTLING RUSTING SABERS (5 comments)
Moscow: The US's proposed "missile shield" in Eastern Europe has provoked a heated reaction by Russia; Encircled by NATO against promises, facing renewed US nuclear development and bases in FSU, the US canceling ABM treaty + non-proliferation regimes. Cutoffs of gas + oil supplies to neighbors have led them to seek shelter with the West, however destabilizing. Can Russia glean respect without threats?
Tuesday, May 1, 2007 DEATH OF A BEAR- from Moscow (3 comments)
from Moscow Boris Yeltsin, despite his faults, was a courageous decent leader and a historical giant; Tagged with much that wasn't his fault, the early Boris broke up the largest empire on earth without bloodshed + ended the Cold War that could have killed 500 million
Saturday, July 22, 2006 WHY THEY HATE US (2 comments)
Israel's savage attack on the Lebanese people and infrastructure crosses all lines of decency and rationality; Threatens to destroy fragile government and peace; All admit Lebanese government is weaker than Hezbollah, so how can they stop them?; Invading Lebanon again is like America invading Vietnam
Saturday, May 27, 2006 CALIFORNIA ENERGY RIPOFF WASNT JUST CRIME, BUT TERRORISM
6 power companies, led by Enron, by manipulating power production, raised rates up to 90 times; CAL paid in one day what it had been paying in 3 months; Used this vast scam to punish Gore voting state (+12%) and depose Dem governor; First of 6 reasons to impeach; Secret Cheney Energy Task Force likely plotted Iraq war
Saturday, April 22, 2006 NSA DIRECTOR ODOM DISSECTS IRAQ BLUNDERS
"The invasion wasn't in our interests, it was in Iran's interest, Al Qaida's interest. Seeing America invade must have made Iranian leaders ecstatic.... Iraq is now open to Al Qaida, which it never was before- it's easier for terrorists to kill Americans there than in the US.. Neither our leaders or the mainstream media recognize the perversity of key US policies now begetting outcomes they were designed to prevent.
Sunday, February 26, 2006 HUNTING TRUTHS The Trouble with Harry
Huge problems remain in official story; Where is the media; Inaccurate distance from Whittington, Cheney shoots at Armstrong car, was Cheney drunk?
Friday, February 17, 2006 COOL HAND DICK- Questions remain in VEEPSHOOT (1 comments)
Is the Veep's story as honest as the Iraqi WMD's?, Accident report shows much closer distance than 90 ft claimed, Story unbelievable- birds don't fly away, no one pays attention to his bird retrieval, Cheney shoots him behind him in the safe zone; with Interview of Corpus Christi reporter; investigative shotgun pattern comparisons; Whittington blasted by 2/3 of shot in shell!
Sunday, January 8, 2006 UNPATRIOTIC SPYING
The FBI is doing warrantless monitoring of 30,000 people a year, but are there even 3000 legitimate terrorism suspects/year? Now the Pentagon, CIA, NSA have also been spying on Americans- all illegimately. No judge, no control, no limits; Records are open to state, local, and corporate "authorities" and are never destroyed. Is it a BUSH ENEMIES LIST? With stunning revelation from Joe Wilson.
Friday, October 28, 2005 AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION (1 comments)
Against every rule of occupation, almost no effort was made to secure the vast munitions stores of Iraq after the invasion; 250,000 tons, 40% of the ordinance was looted by insurgents and is killing our soldiers every day.
