Generous liberals throwing US taxpayer money at Harvard or directly at Russia and Mexico just get set to "do it again". Like a crazy person, they repeat error after error, but they are NOT crazy...or STUPID.
Russian corruption has come to light. Harvard got outed and shut down...attempting to "sponsor Russian" corruption perhaps even before 2002.
The US Justice Department sought $102 million in damages, alleging that Schleifer and Hay (Harvard officials) violated a conflict-of-interest policy preventing them from investing in Russia and thus corrupting the entire economic reform plan funded by the US Agency for International Development. [3]
Harvard Divinity School student ANDREW OKHOTIN stated that corrupt Russian officials have solicited bribes after he brought $48,000 for Russian charities. Wonder of wonders? Think maybe having a bag 'o' cash might have had anything to do with it?
Harvard's Andrew Okhotin landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo II Airport on March 29,2010 mule-ing $48,000 in American Yankee legal tender hidden in his suitcase. Okhotin in his youthful naivete reasoned that his job would be easy, "a piece of cake" as Marie Antonette would say if she still had her head. Okhotin had a customs declaration and a typed letter explaining the money’s purpose and that he had ventured to Mother Russia in order to pass out cash donations his father’s San Diego-based Russian Evangelistic Ministries had raised for hard-up Christians in the former Soviet Union, now the blue, white and red. Sadly, his laudable, kudos-worthy charitable mission devolved into a web of lies, darned lies, and corrupt prosecution. Imprisoned for quite awhile later, since before July 11, 2003, as far as this blogger knows, the poor wretch Christian is still forbidden to leave Russia although his trial on charges of smuggling was allegedly held August 13, 2003. Okhotin’s story has smell of anti-Christian persecution smeared all over it. Ex-Soviet officials were plying the wretch with psychological (head) games and customs agents asking for cash bribes.
Alas the intrigue and controversy has been all too stressful to the point of hair-raising for the Russian-born American citizen who took a sabbatical from the hallowed halls of Harvard Divinity School (HDS) and found himself avidly fasting in a 27-day hunger strike while waiting for formal trumped-up charges to weigh him down with woe. As a Christian, he knew better than to hold his breath for a rescue by William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton. Perhaps he fasted and prayed fervently to be miraculously changed by G_d Almighty into a young, skinny, attractive Asian Buddist adult so that Bill Clinton might take an interest in negotiations and come to his rescue? Never happened. Too bad![4] More research revealed that the Harvard Crimson failed to even follow up on the destiny of a fellow student, perhaps that "Christian" part stuck in their craw or the fact that beloved by Harvard Mother Russia had, through a
Moscow district court kangaroo-but-merciful-trial, convicted ANDREW OKHOTIN on "smuggling" charges Friday, August 13, 2003 then robbed his $48,000 and awarded him a six-month suspended prison sentence, which he appealed. Correction: Andrew Okhotin had the book thrown at his innocency for not leaving Russia while he had the chance. Steve Brown, staff writer for CNSNews.com, after investigating Andrew’s situation, reported: “A U.S. Embassy official familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, [regarding the demands for bribes Andrew experienced during 12 hours of interrogation, stated] that such tactics were ‘fairly typical’ under the customs rules used by the former Soviet Union.”
Andrew Okhotin did not break any Russian Federation laws. It is perfectly legal to bring unlimited charitable funds into the country and Article 52 of the Russian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. In reality, however, Christians, Jews, and people of other faiths are harassed, put in prison and regularly fired from their jobs for the crime of living their beliefs. Innocent people are regularly left destitute when their homes and possessions are confiscated by the State and their churches are bull-dozed into the ground. All in a country hit hard by a difficult economy and rife with corruption. Instead of welcoming aid like Okhotin’s, many authorities are bent on stamping out all non-State-controlled churches and continue to persecute their own citizens as well as individuals like Andrew, who was only delivering funds to feed and clothe the needy.
Alas, many examples are suppressed as to the persecution suffered by the people Andrew Okhotin was attempting to help. Mentioned in an article from ASSIST News Service of June 16, 2003, Stefan J. Bos reported that “Pentecostal Christians in the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia are not allowed to gather for worship amid death threats, while a Baptist church was set on fire amid a government-backed crackdown against religious minorities….” Several other humanitarian and religious rights organizations mention similar incidents of persecution. This is the kind of persecution that many in the West are led to believe by CBS, NBC, ABC, and the New York Times to believe ended with the fall of the Soviet regime.
Shageldy Atakov, whose only “crime” is that of being a Christian minister in Turkmenistan, was released from prison on January 8, 2002 after serving a two year sentence "for ministering". Later that month, two KNB (formerly KGB) officers, visited Shageldy at his residence, sternly demanding that he cease and dissist meeting with fellow Christians. Shageldy replied that he would continue to meet with Christians in spite of the government’s demands. His family and friends support him in his firm stand and pray fervently that he is not doomed to another prison term. Russian citizens who choose to exercise their right to practice their beliefs are increasingly wretched away from their families, leaving their wives and children with little or no income. Shageldy Atakov and his young family are just a few of the people Andrew Okhotin was attempting to assist with the $47,500 or $48,000 for humanitarian aid he was bringing.
Andrew’s father, Rev. Vladimir Okhotin, was also imprisoned in Russia in the 1980s for two and a half years for the “crime” of being a pastor, so Andrew was and is acutely aware of both the continuing human rights abuses as well as all of the current Russian Federation laws and the way many of them concerning human rights are routinely ignored.
Despite of the interest and intervention by members of Congress who are led by Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) and groups like Amnesty International, Persecution Watch, Voice of the Martyrs and Russian Evangelistic Ministries, to name just a few, Russian authorities have made it crystal clear that they plan on imprisoning Andrew Okhotin for five years. Letters and petitions, international radio broadcasts including the Voice of America as well as newspaper articles from The Boston Globe to the San Diego Union-Tribune have had no visible effect on the Russian authorities who, after four months of investigation, seem determined to sentence Andrew Okhotin to five years in prison for supposedly trying to smuggle contraband currency. A crime he obviously did not commit. Apparently he did not survive his incarceration and he and his just cause were "swept under the rug". [6]
When Russian Federal Fisheries Agency official Boris Simonov was chased by Moscow police, he crashed his Cadillac on Friday, June 25th, 2010. Still desperately trying to elude "the cops" Boris Simonov threw 10 million roubles ($322,000) into the stiff breeze that was the wind. He hoped that people making a mad scramble to snare some of the loot would encumber and trip the pursuing police or the police themselves might go after the winsome wind-blown CASH and allow him to make good his escape.
Russia's state-run First Channel television (American State-run cousins are NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and others) depicted multitudes of magnificent monetary notes of big-denomination rouble notes being gathered by police and casually tossed into a torn, dirty cardboard box beside a roadway in south-central Moscow.
Russia's Investigative Committee spokesman stated that Simonov's boss, Roman Postnikov, who managed bureaucratically two Moscow rivers, was arrested on suspicion of faking a contract that permitted a fishing company to fish the rivers without going through bureaucratic channels to get the proper documents.
Boris (Badenuff) Simonov and Roman Postnikov are the fishery officials who will be jailed for two months pending further investigation, according to the Investigative Committee.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made a vow and a campaign promise to deal with Russia's widespread Chicago-style graft, but pundits bravely state that not much has changed since he took the oath of office in May of 2008.
On June 28,2010, 40 year old Mexican singer Sergio Vega was murdered in his red Cadillac while on a national tour over the weekend, mere hours after denying reports of his death, local media reported.
One can readily envision a mustachioed macho Mexican saying "Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated" only to "get his" after leaving his gig or singing performance in northern Mexican state of Sinaloa on Saturday when his car was chased and caught by unidentified shooters in some sort of truck.
This was fairly recent yet this has been going on for many years, singer/musicians singing narcocorridos, or songs celebrating the lives of drug gangsters, have become the targets of rival drug gangs in Mexico.
The movie,"Scarface" is probably sold-out with waiting lists for take home copies of the movie with Spanish subtitles.
Also on June 28, 2010 electoral officials in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas decided to have the election on July 4 despite the bloody murder of a governor candidate on Monday, that same day authorities stated. Unknown gunmen shot Rodolfo Torre and four aides full of hot lead. They were from the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which holds power in Tamaulipas but perhaps not enough power. The five dead men were traveling to a campaign event in the state of Tamaulipas just over the border from Texas.
"The elections will not be suspended. We are awaiting notification of the new PRI candidate," said electoral official Arturo Muniz who told Reuters. Apparently the PRI had a "brave new candidate waiting in the wings." It is hoped that Rodolfo Torre was not "offed" or "taken out" by fellow PRI rivals as some speculators have alleged.
Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, and others in South America get foreign aid for drug abatement via Andean Counterdrug Initiative and and counterparts. Jordan gets millions to leave Israel alone. Bosnia got money for reparations from 2001 to 2006 and this free money may continue forever. Additionally in this time frame, Former Soviet States Assistance (FSA) donated hundreds of millions to those while "SEED" donated assistance for Eastern Europe. INCLE or the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement covered non-Columbia, Peru, Bolivia enforcement. [2]
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[1] http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/politics/us-foreign-aid.htm
[2] http://gangstersinc.tripod.com/Rus.html
[3] http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/6328-1.cfm
[4] http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/7/11/divinity-student-detained-in-russia-when/
[5] http://www.crosswalk.com/1216169/
[6] http://www.worthynews.com/680-justice-denied-u-s-citizen-expected-to-serve-five-years-imprisonment-in-russia
