Last week:
"Torrential rains and flooding in southern Russia kill 103; 5 electrocuted after transformer falls into water" by Jim Heintz | Associated Press, July 08, 2012
"Torrential rains and flooding in southern Russia kill 103; 5 electrocuted after transformer falls into water" by Jim Heintz | Associated Press, July 08, 2012
MOSCOW — Intense flooding in the Black Sea region of southern Russia killed 103 people after torrential rains dropped nearly a foot of water, forcing many to scramble out of their beds for refuge on roofs and in trees, officials said Saturday.
Many people were asleep when the flooding hit overnight....
Ilya V. Ponomaryov, a member of the opposition in Parliament, called for an inquiry on why the death toll was so high. It was an unusual challenge to government handling of disasters in Russia, where deaths are often attributed to natural causes, engineering flaws, or mistakes by low-level technicians.
In Britain, rain gradually eased across parts of the country Saturday after a week’s worth fell within hours, flooding homes, washing out roads, and disrupting train travel. In northeast England, a man in his 20s died when his car ran off the road in heavy rain overnight Friday....
Related: Torrential rains bring floods to UK
About all I saw of it in my Glob.
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"Putin orders investigation on Russia flood deaths" July 09, 2012
KRYMSK, Russia — Russia’s president moved quickly to address anger over the deaths of at least 171 people in severe flooding in the Black Sea region that turned streets into swirling muddy rivers and inundated thousands of homes as many residents were sleeping.
Vladimir Putin, who was criticized in past years for a delayed or seemingly indifferent response to disasters, flew to the region in southern Russia committed to showing he was taking charge of the situation....
I just can't read this axe-grinding Jewish crap anymore, readers. I'm sick of the slant, sick of the supremacism, sick of the subtle insults, sick of shit.
Russia has seen a series of natural and man-made disasters in recent years, many of them blamed on aging infrastructure or lax safety rules.
Gee, that sure as hell sound familiar, 'murkn!!!
Torrential rains dropped up to a foot of water in less than 24 hours, which the state meteorological service said was five times the monthly average.
The water rushed into the hard-hit town of Krymsk early Saturday with such speed and volume that residents said they suspected that water had been intentionally released from a reservoir in the mountains above.
Federal investigators, however, acknowledged Sunday that water had been released naturally from the reservoir, but they insisted it did not cause the flooding, and the dam had not been breached....
I guess the inference is the Russians did this as some sort of false flag attack, huh?
Related: Rising water breaches Mo. levees, causes nuclear alert
Oh, U.S. also does that sort of thing to manage a flood?
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Related:
"The flooding has Russians again questioning the government’s ability to keep them safe. Still fresh in their memory are a string of disasters — from the bungled response to the sinking of the Kursk submarine in 2000, to the wildfires that swept through a swath of Russia in 2010, to the capsizing of an overloaded river boat that killed more than 120 people last year....
Related: Rain Finally Falls on Russian Fires
That's the good thing about living in AmeriKa: we know the government doesn't give a damn about our safety. They only care about the elite interests that pull their strings.
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This week: Thousands flee Japan’s floods
UPDATE:
"In Russia, officials revealed the arrest of three officials in Krymsk, where residents erupted in anger against the government after a 20-foot wall of water barreled without warning through neighborhoods this month, killing at least 171, an official count said. The three officials, who were detained Friday, face charges of negligence in their official duties, which could bring up to seven years in jail."
When it rains it pours:
"Russia plans law to restrict foreign organizations" by Laura Mills | Associated Press, July 07, 2012
MOSCOW — The US-funded election monitoring group Golos, whose observers recorded widespread fraud in Russia’s recent elections, has long been treated as an enemy of the state.
Related: Russians Reject Putin
That's strange since he won.
But under a Kremlin-backed bill that won preliminary approval Friday in Parliament, Golos would have to declare itself a ‘‘foreign agent,’’ a term that is still synonymous with espionage for Russians who lived during the Cold War.
The law would impose harsh rules on all foreign-funded nongovernmental groups involved in political activity, part of a broad crackdown on civil liberties and dissent that has accompanied Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency in May.
‘‘All the cards are in their hands: arrest, shutting us down. . . . They have a hundred different ways to render us ineffective,’’ said Grigory Melkonyants, deputy director of Golos.
The Kremlin-backed United Russia party, which has a majority in Parliament, is expediting the bill and it could come up for a final vote as early as next week. The bill passed Friday by a vote of 323 to 4, with one abstention, in the first of three required readings.
Golos, which depends on grants from European nations and the United States, has faced growing pressure since November, when Putin accused Western governments of trying to influence the December parliamentary election by funding Russian NGOs.
A Kremlin-friendly national television station then aired a program that attacked Golos directly, showing shots of suitcases full of US dollars and claiming that Golos was openly supporting opposition parties.
Golos then became the focus of police raids, detentions, and cyberattacks.
Still, the organization was able to field thousands of observers in December and again in March for the presidential election that gave Putin a third term. Golos also ran a website that compiled evidence of thousands of electoral violations nationwide.
Under the new law, any material such groups distributed would have to come with a warning that it was written by a foreign agent, and organizations would have to file detailed quarterly financial reports.
Failure to comply would bring fines of up to about $150 for members, $1,150 for the heads of these organizations, and up to $31,000 for the organizations themselves. Anyone who continued to participate in groups that violated the rules could be fined up to $9,000 or sent to prison for two years.
Human rights activists have criticized the law for its sweeping definition of ‘‘political activities.’’
A group would be considered political if it aimed to influence public opinion.
Many in the NGO community worry that such a broad definition of political activity could also threaten groups dedicated to strictly social causes.
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Related: Russian lawmakers OK bill on foreign-funded groups
What the Russians don't want is an AIPAC situation like what AmeriKa is faced with.
Russia passes law allowing stricter control of Internet
Russia reopens probe of opposition leader
Also see: Russian Parliament passes law governing adoptions by Americans
Support upheld in Russian adoption
"14 pilgrims dead as bus overturns
KIEV — A bus carrying Russian religious pilgrims crashed early Saturday, killing 14 of 45 on board. Emergency officials said the crash occurred when the driver apparently lost control. The bus overturned near Chernihiv, about 90 miles northeast of Kiev. Another 29 people were hospitalized with injuries. The pilgrims were headed for a monastery in Pochayev (AP)."
