The West should take on the Putin P.R. machine

[rmstock]

Russian President Vladimir Putin shown at a meeting in Sochi, Russia, on Thursday. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press)
Opinions
The West should take on the Putin P.R. machine
By David J. Kramer  October 23 at 8:04 PM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-west-should-take-on-the-putin-pr-machine/2015/10/23/16fdd26c-7442-11e5-8248-98e0f5a2e830_story.html

  "David J. Kramer is senior director for human rights and democracy at
   the McCain Institute for International Leadership.

   Even before Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed forces to Syria,
   U.S. military officials described his regime as an "existential threat"
   in light of his invasion of Ukraine. Putin, who oversees one of the
   most corrupt, kleptocratic regimes in the world, has been driving the
   international agenda of late — from Ukraine to Syria — while Western
   leaders, including President Obama, have been reactive and defensive.
   Wouldn't it be nice to go on the offensive, in a nonmilitary way, to
   knock Putin on his heels, while also shutting down his odious
   propaganda machine? Here's how it can be done:
   
   Freeze the assets of Putin's state-funded RT cable network, not because
   of the odious things it spews but in compliance with two court rulings
   against the Russian government involving the multibillion-dollar Yukos
   oil company. Those rulings were issued last year by the Permanent Court
   of Arbitration in The Hague and the European Court of Human Rights
   (ECHR) after they determined that the Russian government owed a
   combined $52 billion in damages to shareholders of the since-dissolved
   Yukos.
   
   According to the courts, the Russian government inflicted undue harm on
   those shareholders through punitive tax claims and asset seizures in
   the aftermath of the 2003 arrest of Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky,
   previously Russia's richest man. Yukos's assets were distributed to
   front companies and later acquired by Rosneft, which became the largest
   oil company in Russia, and other state-owned and regime-friendly
   entities such as Gazprom. This wiped out the holdings of Yukos's
   shareholders, and they sued.
   
   After years of deliberations and hearings, those shareholders prevailed
   in both The Hague and the ECHR. For the case to have been brought
   before The Hague, both parties — shareholders and the Russian
   government — had to consent to arbitration and agree to abide by the
   court's ruling. Moscow even nominated one of the three judges who heard
   the case; all three judges ruled against Russia. Moreover, under the
   New York Convention, to which Russia is a signatory, shareholders can
   ask other governments to enforce the court's rulings by seizing Russian
   state assets. As for the ECHR, Russia is a member of the Council of
   Europe and has been on the losing side of hundreds of ECHR verdicts, so
   it has no grounds to object to the court's jurisdiction in this case.
   
   Russian authorities have appealed The Hague ruling, but their prospects
   for overturning it are slim because appeals are limited to "technical"
   issues. Meanwhile, more than a year after the decisions, Russia has
   shown no intent to comply with them, leaving it to other states that
   respect the rulings of The Hague court and ECHR to find ways to force
   compliance.
   
   In July, British authorities froze RT's accounts to comply with the
   verdicts. Belgium and France also launched proceedings to take similar
   action against Russian state assets. The United States and other
   Western governments should follow suit in an organized effort,
   especially in light of a petition for the United States to do so by
   Yukos's former principals. (Khodorkovsky is not a party to the suit.)
   
   RT is the key to Putin's propaganda effort to discredit the West and
   obfuscate the truth of Russian actions. It has a global reach through
   cable and the Internet and claims an audience, likely exaggerated, of
   700 million people in 100 countries. It has a large studio in
   Washington and bureaus throughout the United States and Europe. Russian
   government financing for RT and similar propaganda outlets, including
   Sputnik news, is roughly half a billion dollars.
   
   Seizing Russian Embassy and consulate property in Washington and
   elsewhere is not an option given the inviolability of diplomatic
   missions. That leaves few other possibilities for going after Russian
   properties — and makes RT an inviting target. Even for Russia, with
   more than $350 billion in hard currency reserves and the most
   natural-resources wealth of any country in the world, $52 billion is a
   lot of money, especially in the midst of an economic crisis, low oil
   prices and the squeeze of continued sanctions against the regime.
   
   The Kremlin is nervous, as evidenced by its hiring of major Western law
   firms to challenge possible asset seizures. Over the summer, it warned
   the United States that it would snatch up U.S. assets in Russia in
   retaliation for any such steps taken by U.S. authorities, and
   legislation has been introduced in the Russian parliament allowing for
   confiscation of property of foreign states in response to Western
   measures. Standing up to such threats is best done by many Western
   countries acting in concert, and Russia can only go so far. Any Kremlin
   tit-for-tat games would drive international investors and corporations
   out of Russia in a hurry, an exodus that Russia's weak economy cannot
   afford.
   
   Enforcing the Yukos verdicts advances rule of law and respect for
   private property, and having RT bear the initial brunt of these
   verdicts is a way to get started. It has the added advantage of doing
   serious damage to Putin's propaganda machine. It is time for the United
   States and its Western allies to teach the corrupt Putin regime that
   there are consequences for outrageous behavior. It is time for the
   democratic community of nations to go on the offensive.
   
   [ ... ]"

[yankeedoodle]

To quote John McEnroe, "You CANNOT BE SERIOUS!"  Who gives a fuck what kike-boy Kramer and shithead John McCain think or say?

"David J. Kramer is senior director for human rights and democracy at
   the McCain Institute for International Leadership. 

But, perhaps this tells the story.  You see, Putin just CANNOT be allowed to be going around arresting and taxing the super rich.

[the] Russian government inflicted undue harm on  those shareholders through punitive tax claims and asset seizures in    the aftermath of the 2003 arrest of Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky,    previously Russia's richest man.

All Hail, Vlad the Great.  Long may he reign. 

[Michael K.]

It's a symptom of the overall problem.