Oleksandr Muzychko was one of the most militant members of the Right Sector group that played a key role in the EuroMaidan Revolution's toppling of President Viktor Yanukovych
©Courtesy
Militant Ukrainian activist Oleksandr Muzychko, known as Sashko Biliy (Sashko the White), was shot dead in a standoff with the police officers late on March 24 in western Ukraine's Rivne Oblast.
Police said Muzychko was killed during a special operation to destroy a criminal group that investigators say Muzychko took part in.
Muzychko, 51, was an active member of the Right Sector, the politicized militarist organization that played a strong role in the EuroMaidan Revolution that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Feb. 22.
After initial reports that police officers shot him twice in his heart, police later on March 25 said that Muzychko shot himself before any shots came from police officers.
The finding was scorned by Rights Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh.
Yarosh, a candidate for Ukraine's presidency in the early May 25 election, demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and the arrest of officers who participated in operation on Muzychko.
Now, with the protests over and a new government in charge, there is uncertainty about the role that the militant Right Sector will play. Right Sector representatives didn’t get any representation in the government. Thhe organization’s leader, Dmytro Yarosh, declared that he will run for president.
Right Sector members ignored the newly-founded National Guard that recruits activists from the recent protests. In an interview to the Korrespondent magazine Yarosh said he has been “negotiating” with law enforcement institutions about the possibility of the Right Sector’s fighters joining them.
The exact number of Right Sector members is kept in secret, but Yarosh revealed that 10,000 people have joined the organization since the beginning of Russia’s intervention in late February.
The secretiveness and the uncertainty about the Right Sector’s place in the post-revolutionary Ukraine helped to the organization’s bad image among the east Ukraine people, especially those supporting Russia. Russian TV stations picture Yarosh and his people as aggressive fascists.
The murdered Muzychko was a controversial figure and a gift to Kremlin anti-Ukrainian, anti-West propaganda.
On Feb. 24, two days after the protesters’ triumph, Muzychko showed up in the regional council of the western Ukrainian city of Rivne, where he resided, holding a machine gun and refusing to give it back to the government, which had called for activists to surrender illegal weapons this month. The request has been widely ignored.
“Who of you wants to take my gun, come and try,” he said in the recorded speech, putting the machine gun on the table to pull out a polished knife from his belt.
Muzychko said Right Sector will keep the arms to ensure that the new government works honestly and doesn't become corrupt. He called the new Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk a bastard. He was also unhappy with Avakov and threatened “to hang him like a dog.” Avakov countered by saying that Muzychko’s actions were “sabotage against attempts to set an order (in Ukraine), a betrayal of EuroMaidan.”
Roman Koval, coordinator of the Right Sector in Rivne, was quoted by TSN website saying that the Right Sector will seek revenge on Avakov for the murder of Muzychko.
“I take this dare,” said Avakov when asked about the Right Sector’s revenge. “My position about the bandits who carry guns and violate the order will remain harsh.”
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/police-kill-radical-right-sector-activist-340835.html
Nationalists gather in Kiev. Source: AP
HUNDREDS of Ukrainian far-right nationalists have rallied outside the parliament building in Kiev, smashing windows and demanding the Interior Minister’s resignation, days after police shot dead one of their leaders.
Elite police killed Oleksandr Muzytchko, the regional leader of Pravy Sektor (Right Sector), in a shootout that erupted on Monday during a raid to arrest him in the western city of Rivne.
The authorities have said that Muzytchko opened fire first, and was killed by a bullet from his own weapon.
Pravy Sektor played a crucial role in the deadly protests that unseated pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych last month, and has been branded a neo-Nazi organisation by Russia.
Brandishing the red-and-black flags of the paramilitary group, up to 1000 people rallied near parliament yesterday—Thursday night, local time—to demand the sacking of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
Read more
Activists smashed several windows and threatened to force their way into the building, before retreating with a vow to return tomorrow.
Pravy Sektor last weekend formed a political party, electing Dmytro Yarosh as its nationwide leader and putting forward his name as candidate in Ukraine’s presidential election on May 25.
According to Russian news agencies, the group’s slain leader was wanted in Russia, which-accused him of causing the death of about 20 Russian soldiers while fighting alongside separatists in Chechnya.
The heavily built Muzytchko was notorious for YouTube videos in which he was seen brandishing a Kalashnikov in Rivne city council, and roughing up the city’s prosecutor.
http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/farright-activists-turn-on-kiev/story-e6frg6so-1226868022147
Ukraine's interim President Olexander Turchynov has condemned the ultra-nationalist Right Sector, saying the group is bent on "destabilisation".
Right Sector activists blocked the parliament (Rada) building in Kiev on Thursday night and smashed windows.
They blamed the interior minister for the killing of a Right Sector leader.
Meanwhile, ousted President Viktor Yanukovych has called for a national referendum to determine each region's "status within Ukraine".
He fled to Russia last month after massive demonstrations against him and clashes between protesters and police in which more than 100 people died. The Kremlin says the new government in Kiev came to power illegally.
The Right Sector played a key role in the Kiev clashes that led to the removal of Mr Yanukovych
Mr Muzychko died in a shoot-out with police in western Ukraine
"As a president who is with you with all my thoughts and soul, I urge every sensible citizen of Ukraine: Don't give in to impostors! Demand a referendum on the status of each region within Ukraine," said Mr Yanukovych, quoted by Itar-Tass news agency.
In his first comments since Crimea voted to become part of Russia, Mr Yanukovych denounced fresh presidential elections planned for 25 May.
Meanwhile, Russia's defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said that all Ukrainian service personnel loyal to Kiev have now left Crimea and all military installations there are under Russian control.
'Attempt to destabilise'
The shooting of Sashko Bily is a contract killing ordered by the minister
Roman Koval, Right Sector member
At a parliament session on Friday, Mr Turchynov, called the Right Sector rally outside parliament "an attempt to destabilise the situation in Ukraine, in the very heart of Ukraine - Kiev. That is precisely the task that the Russian Federation's political leadership is giving to its special services".
Right Sector activists are furious over the death of Oleksandr Muzychko, better known as Sashko Bily, one of their leaders. The interior ministry said he died on Monday night in a shoot-out with police in a cafe in Rivne in western Ukraine.
A member of the far-right group in Rivne threatened revenge for the killing of Mr Muzychko.
"We will avenge ourselves on [Interior Minister] Arsen Avakov for the death of our brother. The shooting of Sashko Bily is a contract killing ordered by the minister," Right Sector member Roman Koval was quoted as saying by the Ukrayinska Pravda website.
The Right Sector played a prominent role in the Kiev protests - and the clashes with police - which led to the removal of Mr Yanukovych from power. Its main support base is in western Ukraine.
http://m.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26784236

Top Ukrainian security officials saidThursday that Russia now has 100,000 troops on its side of the Russia-Ukraine border. Other estimates put the number much lower, around 30,000, but still enough to overpower the undermanned and undersupplied Ukrainian armed forces.
CNN reportedWednesday that U.S. intelligence assessments have increased the likelihood that Russia will invade Ukraine in the past week. This has been based on a number of worrying indicators about the Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border. “This has shifted our thinking that the likelihood of a further Russian incursion is more probable than it was previously thought to be,” one official told CNN.
Russian forces are currently positioned in and around the cities of Rostov, Kursk, and Belgorod and could try to establish a land corridor from Russian to Crimea by attacking the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk. Russian agents have already been activein that region of Ukraine.
At Thursday’s State Department press briefing, Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf said that the size of the Russian force on the Ukrainian border was changing rapidly.
“We are constantly assessing how many there are, talking to the Ukrainians about that as well. But they are massed on the border,” she said. “And we are concerned about Russia taking further escalatory steps with whatever number of tens of thousands of troops they have there, and have called on them not to do so.”
In a speech in Brussels Wednesday, President Obama said that the U.S. and its allies will continue to progress with sanctions against Russia in response to its aggression in Crimea and its threatening actions toward the rest of Ukraine.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/28/ukraine-s-interior-minister-arsen-avakov-begs-rebels-to-help-defend-ukraine.html
The United Nations Security Council will meet Friday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine as concerns mount over new details about Russia's military buildup on the Ukrainian border, including Moscow's reported efforts to camouflage troops and equipment.
The council is expected to meet privately Friday afternoon, a day after the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution affirming Ukraine's territorial integrity and deeming the referendum that led to Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula illegal.
The vote came as the Pentagon said there are no indications that Russian forces along the border with Ukraine are carrying out the kind of legitimate military exercises that Moscow has cited as the reason for their controversial deployment in the region, Reuters reported.
"We've seen no specific indications that these -- that exercises -- are taking place," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters.
"The thinking in the U.S. government is that the likelihood of a major Russian incursion into Ukraine has increased"
- senior U.S. official told Fox News
The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday that Russian troops are concealing their positions and establishing supply lines, stoking fears among U.S. intelligence agencies that have struggled to assess Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans.
Senior U.S. military officials told the newspaper that Russia's efforts to camouflage its forces and equipment could be designed to obscure images taken by American spy satellites or to conceal the location and size of their force from the Ukrainian military.
Another senior military official told The Journalthat the Pentagon is concerned that the Russians have moved into place additional supplies, such as food and spare parts, which could support both a routine exercise or a prolonged military incursion into Ukraine.
"They are positioning logistics. That is necessary for the exercise but could also be used for further aggression if they choose to go," the official said. "They have in place the capability, capacity and readiness they would need should they choose to conduct further aggression."
U.S. Defense officials told Fox News the numbers of troops far exceeds the amount needed for a training exercise. And the fact that there is no real evidence any large-scale exercises have occurred, and that none of the troops have returned to their bases, is also concerning to U.S. observers.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/28/concerns-mount-over-russian-troop-buildup-on-ukraine-border/
Obama calls on Putin to move troops from Ukraine border.

Single  by Belinda Carlisle
from the album Runaway Horses.
"Summer Rain"
Whispering our goodbyes
Waiting for a train
I was dancing with my baby
In the summer rain
I can hear him saying
Nothing will change
Come dancing with me baby
In the summer rain
I remember the rain on our skin
And his kisses hotter than the
Santa Ana winds
Whispering our goodbyes
Waiting for a train
I was dancing with my baby
In the summer rain
I remember laughing til we almost cried
(There at station that night)
I remember looking in his eyes
Oh my love, it's you and that I dream of
Oh my love, since that day
Somewhere in my heart I'm always
Dancing with you in the summer rain
Doesn't matter what I do now
Doesn't matter what I say
Somewhere in my heart I'm always
Dancing with you in the summer rain
I can hear the whistle
Military train
I was dancing with my baby
In the summer rain
I can here him singing
Ooh "Love Is Strange"
Come dance with me baby
In the summer rain
I remember the rain pouring down
And we poured our hearts out
As the train pulled out
I can see my baby
Waving from the train
It was last time that I saw him
In the summer rain
Every time I see the lightening
Every time I hear the thunder
Every time I close the window
When this happens in the summer
Oh the night is so inviting
I can feel that you are so close
I can feel you when the wind blows
Blows right through my heart
Every night and every day now
Though I know you've gone away
Somewhere in my heart I'm always
Dancing with you in the summer rain
The song is about a man who goes away to war and leaves his wife, saying that nothing will change—they will be together forever and always. The song is set in the present as his widow sings it, remembering the last time she saw him.

Moscow (AFP) - A leading anchor on Russian state television on Sunday described Russia as the only country capable of turning the United States into"radioactive ash", in an incendiary comment at the height of tensions over the Crimea referendum.

"Russia is the only country in the world realistically capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash,"anchor Dmitry Kiselyov said on his weekly news show on state-controlled Rossiya 1 television.

Kiselyov made the comment to support his argument that the United States and President Barack Obama were living in fear of Russia led by President Vladimir Putin amid the Ukraine crisis.

His programme was broadcast as the first exit polls were being published showing an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voting to leave Ukraine and join Russia.

He stood in his studio in front of a gigantic image of a mushroom cloud produced after a nuclear attack, with the words"into radioactive ash".

"Americans themselves consider Putin to be a stronger leader than Obama,"he added, pointing to opinion polls which then popped up on the screen.

"Why is Obama phoning Putin all the time and talking to him for hours on end?"he asked.

Kiselyov has earned a reputation as one of Russia's most provocative television news hosts, in particularly with his often blatantly homophobic remarks.

But he is also hugely influential with his weekly news show broadcast at Sunday evening prime time.

Putin last year appointed Kiselyov head of the new Russia Today news agency that is to replace the soon to be liquidated RIA Novosti news agency with the aim of better promoting Russia's official position.

Kiselyov also made great play of Russia's so-called"dead hand"capability to fire nuclear-capable intercontinental missiles automatically in the case of attack.

The system, also known as Perimeter, was in use during the Cold War but its use in post-Soviet Russia is not officially confirmed.

But Kiselyov appeared to claim it remained active, giving Russia the chance to strike back even if its main command positions were taken out in a strike by the West.

"Even if people in all our command posts after an enemy atomic attack cannot be contacted, the system will automatically fire our missiles from mines and submarines in the right direction,"he added.

The channel's graphic showed the line of a Russian missile heading towards the Pacific coast and the United States.

Pro-opposition news site slon.ru did not mince its words in describing the implications of Kiselyov's comments.

"This evening... Dmitry Kiselyov threatened the United States with a nuclear strike if the conflict over Crimea deepens,"it said.

Russia and the United States are reducing their Cold War missile and nuclear warhead arsenals under the terms of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that entered into force in 2011.
http://news.yahoo.com/state-tv-says-russia-could-turn-us-radioactive-212003397.html

Israel. The Holy Land.

Unethical human experimentation in the United States.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States
Throughout the 1840s, J. Marion Sims , who is often referred to as "the father of gynecology ", performed surgical experiments on enslaved African women, without anaesthesia . The women—one of whom was operated on 30 times—regularly died from infections resulting from the experiments. [ 2 ] In order to test one of his theories about the causes of trismus in infants, Sims performed experiments where he used a shoemaker's awl to move around the skull bones of the babies of enslaved women. [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
In 1874, Mary Rafferty, an Irish servant woman, came to Dr. Roberts Bartholow of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati for treatment of her cancer. Seeing a research opportunity, he cut open her head, and inserted needle electrodes into her exposed brain matter. [ 5 ] He described the experiment as follows:
When the needle entered the brain substance, she complained of acute pain in the neck. In order to develop more decided reactions, the strength of the current was increased ... her countenance exhibited great distress, and she began to cry. Very soon, the left hand was extended as if in the act of taking hold of some object in front of her; the arm presently was agitated with clonic spasm; her eyes became fixed, with pupils widely dilated; lips were blue, and she frothed at the mouth; her breathing became stertorous; she lost consciousness and was violently convulsed on the left side. The convulsion lasted five minutes, and was succeeded by a coma. She returned to consciousness in twenty minutes from the beginning of the attack, and complained of some weakness and vertigo.
—Dr. Bartholow's research report [ 5 ]
In 1896, Dr. Arthur Wentworth performed spinal taps on 29 young children, without the knowledge or consent of their parents, at the Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts to discover whether doing so would be harmful. [ 6 ]
From 1913 to 1951, Dr. Leo Stanley, chief surgeon at the San Quentin Prison , performed a wide variety of experiments on hundreds of prisoners at San Quentin.

Deep Throat Ultimate Linda Lovelace 2 DVD Pack.
Over 4 hours of nostalgia!

Tytchev, 1866 .
For the insight of Russia you should not use your brain.
And measurement of Russia in common yards is vain.
It has a very special and very unique gist...
A great belief in Russia you ought just to persist!

It's not who votes, it's who counts the votes. -Joseph Stalin.

About 93 percent of voters in the Crimean referendum have answered ‘yes’ to the autonomous republic joining the Russian federation and only 7 percent of the vote participants want the region to remain part of Ukraine, according to first exit polls.
Polling stations closed in Crimea after the referendum where residents were to decide on the future status of the region.
“The results of the referendum exit polls in Crimea and Sevastopol: 93 percent voted for the reunion of Crimea with Russia as a constituent unit of the Russian Federation. 7 percent voted for the restoration of the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Crimea and Crimea’s status as part of Ukraine,”the Crimean republican institute for political and social research said in a statement as cited by RIA Novosti.
The overall voter turnout in Crimea constituted over 80%, reports local news agency Kryminnform.
In Sevastopol, about 85% of voters cast their ballots by 1600 GMT, two hours before the polling stations closed, according to the chair of the city’s election commission Valery Medvedev.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW

1931 Dr. Cornelius Rhoads, under the auspices of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Investigations, infects human subjects with cancer cells. He later goes on to establish the U.S. Army Biological Warfare facilities in Maryland, Utah, and Panama, and is named to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. While there, he begins a series of radiation exposure experiments on American soldiers and civilian hospital patients.
1932 The Tuskegee Syphilis Study begins. 200 black men diagnosed with syphilis are never told of their illness, are denied treatment, and instead are used as human guinea pigs in order to follow the progression and symptoms of the disease. They all subsequently die from syphilis, their families never told that they could have been treated.
1935 The Pellagra Incident. After millions of individuals die from Pellagra over a span of two decades, the U.S. Public Health Service finally acts to stem the disease. The director of the agency admits it had known for at least 20 years that Pellagra is caused by a niacin deficiency but failed to act since most of the deaths occured within poverty-striken black populations.
1940 Four hundred prisoners in Chicago are infected with Malaria in order to study the effects of new and experimental drugs to
combat the disease. Nazi doctors later on trial at Nuremberg cite this American study to defend their own actions during the Holocaust.
1942 Chemical Warfare Services begins mustard gas experiments on approximately 4,000 servicemen. The experiments continue until 1945 and made use of Seventh Day Adventists who chose to become human guinea pigs rather than serve on active duty.
1943 In response to Japan's full-scale germ warfare program, the U.S. begins research on biological weapons at Fort Detrick, MD.
1944 U.S. Navy uses human subjects to test gas masks and clothing. Individuals were locked in a gas chamber and exposed to mustard gas and lewisite.
1945 Project Paperclip is initiated. The U.S. State Department, Army intelligence, and the CIA recruit Nazi scientists and offer them immunity and secret identities in exchange for work on top secret government projects in the United States.
1945 "Program F" is implemented by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).
http://www.rense.com/general36/history.htm

country may be turning into a fascist state.
Big Brother is watching you.

Ukraine has a plan "B" in case of open aggression by Russia, NSDC Secretary Andriy Parubiy announced during a briefing on Wednesday.
When asked whether the National Security Council is developing a plan for the evacuation of residents of Crimea in case of real beginning of hostilities Parubiy said, "Of course, we have a plan "B". I cannot tell the details, but this plan will be elaborated and implemented very quickly. It is not only about the evacuation," he said.
Parubiy added that the Ukrainian government has information about the concentration of Russian troops across the border with Ukraine. He recalled that Russia previously declared the military exercises, and after five days the troops were to be withdrawn from the Ukraine-Russia border.
"But today those forces have not been recalled; instead, military capabilities are increasing in those groups on the border with Ukraine," he said.
"Unfortunately, the situation is critical not only in Crimea, but across the north-eastern border. Indeed, some of the Russian troops are a few hours travel from Kyiv,“ said Parubiy.
"I cannot say much, but I will say that our units are located so that we could fight off an attack from any direction ," - said Parbuiy.
He once again urged the international partners of Ukraine to help; if the world will not help, "the question of need for nuclear disarmament will rise very sharply, because each state determines that there are no guarantees other than that the presence of nuclear weapons is a real limiting factor."
According to him, the most risky in terms of separatism are Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Odesa.
"There have been attempts to create fighting forces similar to the Crimean "self-defense", but thanks to joint efforts of Ukrainian power units even their bases were localized."
He added that the National Security Council has information that Russia has invested heavily in a group of Russian agitators, "who in the early days were able to enter Ukraine and are now moving from one city to another, creating an appropriate image for Russian channels."
According to Parubiy, generally, the Ukrainian authorities have succeeded in localizing the separatist sentiment in the southeast.

MOSCOW—Top Russian officials and some of the country's wealthiest tycoons have been scrambling to assess the potential fallout of Western sanctions on an already sputtering economy. But insiders say President Vladimir Putin isn't hearing their concerns.
Instead, the Russian leader appears focused on keeping control of the breakaway Ukrainian region of Crimea despite the costs, some of which are already being felt.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579437221593163530?mod=ITP_pageone_0&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304914904579437221593163530.html%3Fmod%3DITP_pageone_0
Putin Stubborn , Stupid , Silly Man!!

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has expressed support for sending international observers to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
He said in Brussels on Thursday after meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk thatthe only way forward was a political solution and that NATO supported international efforts aimed at finding this way through the sending of international observers and a peaceful dialogue.
Rasmussen reiterated the alliance's support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and the fundamental principles of international law.
He said that the crisis in Ukraine "presents serious implications for the security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic area as a whole." He added that the crisis was the gravest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War.
Rasmussen also noted that the alliance intended to step up its partnership cooperation through the NATO-Ukraine Commission to support democratic reforms.
This will include bolstering ties with Ukraine's political and military leadership, strengthening efforts to build the capacity of the Ukrainian military and more joint training and exercises, he said.
At the same time, he commended the people of Ukraine for their determination and courage and for the restraint shown by the Ukrainian armed forces, and reiterated that a political solution was the only way out of the crisis.
In this regard, Rasmussen urged Russia to fulfill its international obligations and halt the military escalation in Crimea.
"We call on Russia to withdraw its forces to their bases, and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine. There should be no attempt to draw new lines on the map of Europe in the 21st century," he said.

Ukraine has ordered a full military mobilisation in response to Russia's build-up of its forces in Crimea.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Ukraine was "on the brink of disaster".
In Crimea, Ukrainian soldiers faced off with Russian soldiers surrounding their bases while the Russian army is said to be digging trenches on the border with mainland Ukraine.

Ukraine Kiev Protest : Sniper Fires On Cops | Raw ... - YouTube.
( 18 ) Ukraine Martyrs: Kiev , Snipers shooting at unarmed ... - YouTube
Paet:"All the evidence shows that people who were killed by snipers from both sides, policemen and people from the streets, that they were the same snipers killing people from both sides. ... Some photos that showed it is the same handwriting, the same type of bullets, and it is really disturbing that now the new coalition they don't want to investigate what exactly happened.So there is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers, it was not Yanukovych, but it was somebody from the new coalition."

The House Energyand Commerce Committee is giving its blessing to a bill being introduced Thursday by Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who is running for Senate.
Gardner said his bill to expedite natural gas exports "serves our national securityinterests as an aggressive Russian regime looks to expand power in former Soviet Union countries. By acting to speed up export approvals, we can help our allies in the region and across the globe while creating jobs and economic opportunity here in Colorado."
It comes as Republicans and centrist Democrats in both the House and the Senate are amplifying calls to speed natural gas export approvals to give Ukraine relief from Russia. Gazprom, Russia's state-owned energy firm, supplies most of the Ukraine's energy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin wields his natural gas supplies as a diplomatic stick in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Ukraine situation has proven a talking point for Republicans and centrist Democrats who are displeased with the pace of Energy Department approvals for natural gas exports to nations that lack a free-trade agreement with the U.S. The DOE must find such exports in the public interest — it has green-lighted six projects, with 24 pending.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/ukraine-a-talking-point-for-both-backers-and-detractors-of-natural-gas-exports/article/2545225
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059995636

Don't read too much into the conversation.
That was the message Wednesday from Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet after a phone call between him and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was leaked.
In the recording, which was posted to YouTube and picked up by Russian media, Paet talks about his recent visit to Ukraine. He says a doctor named "Olga" told him opponents of Ukraine's ousted President may have been responsible for deadly sniper fire.
President Viktor Yanukovych fled more than a week ago in the wake of protests in Kiev's Independence Square, where snipers from nearby rooftops killed scores of people.
"(Olga) can say that it is the same handwriting, the same type of bullets, and it's really disturbing that now the new coalition that -- they don't want to investigate what exactly happened. There is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind snipers, it was not Yanukovych, but it was somebody from the new coalition," Paet told Ashton.
She replied: "I think we do want to investigate ... I didn't pick that up. That's interesting. Gosh."
Paet's office released a statement Wednesday that confirmed the authenticity of the recording. It said the call took place on February 26.
"Foreign Minister Paet was giving an overview of what he had heard the previous day in Kiev and expressed concern over the situation on the ground. We reject the claim that Paet was giving an assessment of the opposition's involvement in the violence," the statement read.
"It is extremely regrettable that phone calls are being intercepted," said Paet in the same statement. "The fact that this phone call has been leaked is not a coincidence."
Ashton's office declined to comment on the conversation, saying she does not discuss leaks.
CNN could not immediately reach the Ukrainian government for comment, nor could it confirm the identity of "Olga."
Russia's state-news agency RIA-Novosti said she was Olga Bogomolets, chief coordinator of medical aid at the main protest camp in Independence Square.
CNN has previously talked to Bogomolets. She volunteered last month to treat protesters and accused forces of shooting to kill, saying she had treated 13 people she believed had been targeted by "professional snipers."
"They were shot directly to their hearts, their brain and to their neck," she said. "They didn't give any chance to doctors, for us, to save lives."
The recording is the second such recent leak on Ukraine.
Early last month, a leaked audio recording of a phone call allegedly caught a U.S. diplomat to Europe using profanity to express strong frustrations with inaction and indecision by the European Union in resolving the crisis.
In the conversation, voices closely resembling those of Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt discuss a plan to broker a deal between the Ukrainian government and the opposition.
At one point the woman, who sounds like Nuland, can be heard saying "f**k the EU."
The call could not be independently verified, and it was not clear when and where it was recorded.
http://cnnmobile.com/primary/wk_fullarticle?articleId=urn:newsml:CNN.com:20140306:ukraine-leaked-audio-recording:1&category=intleurope#page2

Venezuela's President severed diplomatic relations with Panama Wednesday, accusing the Central American nation of being a "lackey" for the United States in a conspiracy plot against his government.
He accused Panama of pushing for regional organizations to intervene in Venezuela. As a result, Maduro said he was cutting off diplomatic and political ties and freezing trade relations with Panama's current government "in defense of the homeland's sovereignty."