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Showing posts from March, 2014

Whose snipers in Kiev?

This is a partial transcript of an intercepted phone call between Estonian foreign minister, Urmas Paet, and European Union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton, which seems to have taken place about 1 March 2014. Paet had visited Kiev briefly, and Ashton asked for his impressions. Paet remarked how low public trust is in the new Ukrainian government. These people have ‘dirty pasts’, he said. Then he talked about ‘Olga’, who is a medical doctor. Ashton had also met her. Olga told Paet how the same snipers killed both civilians and policemen in Kiev. To Ashton’s evident surprise, Paet says ‘… behind the snipers it was not Yanukovitch but it was somebody from the new coalition.’ This transcript, which the Russell Foundation has compiled, is taken from the last three minutes or so of the conversation. The web link to the intercept itself is given at the end. ASHTON: ... I’ve said to the opposition leaders, shortly to become government, you n...

Margaretta D’Arcy

The Russell Foundation has received a nice postcard from Margaretta D’Arcy, who is in Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison for protesting about US military use of Shannon Airport. We sent her some books by Bertrand Russell when she complained about the poor library at Limerick Prison, where she was held previously. The Irish Times published our letter about this on 14 February. Margaretta can now be reached at the address below. *** Margaretta D’Arcy 79759 Dóchas Centre Mountjoy Jail, North Circular Road Dublin 8 Thank you so much for the books which arrived safely at this jail. The women are delighted as of course they know about Bertrand Russell but have not read of him so there is strong [interest] there. Yours in solidarity, Margaretta D’Arcy