Well the orange turd hearse classified the for attacking Syria last night. Congress can’t even see it!!!

Submitted by Amanda Matthews on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 8:04pm

We aren’t allowed to know why he killed those people. And here I thoughy it was because of a dubious chemical attack.

DONALD TRUMP ORDERED SYRIA STRIKE BASED ON LEGAL JUSTIFICATION THAT EVEN CONGRESS CAN’T SEE

ON FRIDAY NIGHT, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to conduct a bombing attack against the government of Syria without congressional authorization. How can this be constitutional, given the fact that Article I, Section 8 of America’s founding document declares that “The Congress shall have Power … To declare War”?

The deeply bizarre and alarming answer is that Trump almost certainly does have some purported legal justification provided to him by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel — but no one else, including Congress, can read it.

The Office of Legal Counsel is often called the Supreme Court of the executive branch, providing opinions on how the president and government agencies should interpret the law.

We know that Trump received a top secret OLC opinion justifying the previous U.S. strike on Syria on April 6, 2017. Friday’s bombing undoubtedly relied on the same memo or one with similar reasoning.

So while over 80 members of Congress wrote to Trump on Friday night stating that “engaging our military in Syria … without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution,” their action has no impact. The military will rely on the OLC’s opinion that, constitutionally speaking, Trump’s orders were perfectly fine. And it will be quite difficult for members of Congress to argue otherwise, since they don’t even know what the Trump administration’s precise rationale is.

https://theintercept.com/2018/04/14/donald-trump-ordered-syria-strike-ba...

Somebody is going to have to yank Cheetolini’s chain.

Tags:

Sneaky son of a bitch

Vote

Comments

Submitted by Pricknick on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 8:25pm

Nothing will happen.

over 80 members of Congress wrote to Trump on Friday night stating that “engaging our military in Syria … without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution,”

So out of 535, we have over 80 that believe in the rule of law.
Yea......we're fucked.
I don't blame just trump. I blame our government for the last 60 years for where we are today.
And always remember "we need to look forward".

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 8:29pm

Doesn't matter

The strikes were illegal according to international law. This type of action is supposed to only be used if our country was attacked or there was a threat to it. Congress asking him to wait until they authorize it doesn't matter either because of international law.

If congress is going to be making a big deal out of this then they are effing hypocrites because they certainly didn't say a damn thing about Obama's war crimes.

—

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Submitted by Linda Wood on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 9:42pm

Yes,

I agree with you all, and especially about your comment, Pricknick, that "we need to look forward," meaning no consequences for lying to Congress, to the United Nations, and to the American people about slam dunk WMD intelligence to take the United States military to war in Iraq, to kill upwards of a million people, and to maim and murder thousands of young Americans who trusted our so-called leadership.

Because of this forward-looking trashing of our law, we are at it again, and again, slaughtering innocent people and putting the American people at risk of nuclear war, which we cannot win, which tells us whose side our leadership is on. Our leadership is on the side of Saudi royalty and Israeli ring masters, each of which uses religious extremism to excuse their commission of atrocities.

We are no longer in a democracy, if we ever really were.

Submitted by Pricknick on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 10:24pm

Interesting times.

@Linda Wood

Our leadership is on the side of Saudi royalty and Israeli ring masters, each of which uses religious extremism to excuse their commission of atrocities.

Now that's funny! I'm a proud atheist.
As such, in that respect, I am much closer aligned to Russia than I am to my own country.
If or not we ever had a democracy is debatable at best, as we currently do not have a democracy but full blown capitalism and all it can buy or take.

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by Ellen North on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 11:36pm

Actually, Russia has a State religion...

@Pricknick

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by Pricknick on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 1:09am

Unfortunately.

@Ellen North

Actually, Russia has a State religion...

On the plus side, Russia has more belief in the separation of church and state than our so-called constitutional reformists.

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by CB on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 1:14am

What do you mean by "state" religion?

@Ellen North
There is no official state religion in Russia. Freedom of worship is guaranteed in their constitution since 1990. Also note that there are several dozen state supported languages as well as state supported ethnic schools. No other country in the world has such ethnic diversity being supported by the state.

Religion in Russia Today

With nearly 5,000 religious associations the Russian Orthodox Church accounts for over a half of the total number registered in Russia. Next in numbers come Moslem associations, about 3,000, Baptists, 450, Seventh Day Adventists, 120, Evangelicals, 120, Old Believers, over 200, Roman Catholics, 200, Krishnaites, 68, Buddhists, 80, Judaists, 50, and Unified Evangelical Lutherans, 39.

Many churches and monasteries have been returned to the Church, including the St. Daniel Monastery, the current seat of the Moscow Patriarchate, the spiritual and administrative center of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Some statisticians estimate the percentage of believers at 40 per cent of the entire Russian Federation. Close to 9,000 communities belonging to over forty confessions had been officially registered in the country.

The majority of religious Russians are Christians. The country has over 5,000 Russian Orthodox churches. Many are built anew or under repair on parish and local budgets money.

Among the several more ambitious projects is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, erected in Red Square to commemorate the liberation of Moscow by Minin and Pozharsky’s militia, pulled down in 1936, and recently rebuilt from scratch. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demolished in 1931, is restored. Patriarch Alexis II described its rebirth as "a sublime act of piety and penitence".

Russia had 150 Roman Catholic parishes, two theological seminaries and an academy before the revolution of 1917. All were suppressed in the Soviet years, and the believers -- ethnic Lithuanians, Poles and Gennans -- were banished and seattered about Siberia and Central Asia. 83 communities have reappeared by now, and Apostolic Administrations linked to the Vatican have been established in Moscow for European Russia, and in Novosibirsk for Siberia. There are four bishops and 165 priests working among the approximately 1,300,000 Catholics in the country. The theological seminary, Mary Oueen of the Apostles, opened in Moscow in 1993 and was transferred to St. Petersburg in 1995.

The two million Protestants have 1,150 communities.

The nineteen million Muslims, the second largest religious community in Russia, have over 800 parishes and mosques, mostly in Bashkortostan, Daghestan, Kabarda-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Tatarstan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya. The Muslim Board for Central European region has been re-established. The Moscow Muftiyat, an independent ecclesiastical body, is responsible for the Moscow, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Tula, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Yaroslavl and Kaliningrad regions, and Sochi, the renowned seaside resort in the Krasnodar Territory.

Buddhism is widespread in Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva, and the Irkutsk and Chits regions. The Russian Federation currently has ten datsan monasteries, with the total monastic body approaching 200. Another ten monasteries are under construction.

The Russian Federation has 42 Jewish communities. Moscow accounts for over 10 per cent of Russian Jews, and has three synagogues, one of which is Hasidic.

Putin periodically visits with most of the major religious leaders throughout the country on a regular basis.

One of Europe’s largest mosques opens in Moscow (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Thousands of Muslims have gathered in central Moscow to witness the opening of one of the biggest mosques in Europe. The ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

The mosque was officially opened by the Russian president and Russian Grand Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin on Wednesday.

Vladimir Putin met with Crimean Tatar community representatives
by Vladimir Putin

... Let me assure you that we will do everything we can to ensure that you feel genuinely and completely at home in your own land.

But we cannot do this effectively without the Crimean Tatars themselves, without people genuinely seeking to develop these lands, and without the support of the people who live there. This concerns not just the Crimean Tatars but people of all ethnic backgrounds living in Crimea. This concerns the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the other repressed peoples such as Greeks, Bulgarians and Germans. In short, it concerns everyone living in Crimea. This is why I wanted to meet with you today. I wanted to take this occasion to stress Russia’s commitment to resolving all of the problems that have built up over the past decades, and I hope for your understanding and for cooperation between us.

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 2:21am

so true, yep./nt

@CB

#3.1.1 There is no official state religion in Russia. Freedom of worship is guaranteed in their constitution since 1990. Also note that there are several dozen state supported languages as well as state supported ethnic schools. No other country in the world has such ethnic diversity being supported by the state. Religion in Russia Today With nearly 5,000 religious associations the Russian Orthodox Church accounts for over a half of the total number registered in Russia. Next in numbers come Moslem associations, about 3,000, Baptists, 450, Seventh Day Adventists, 120, Evangelicals, 120, Old Believers, over 200, Roman Catholics, 200, Krishnaites, 68, Buddhists, 80, Judaists, 50, and Unified Evangelical Lutherans, 39. Many churches and monasteries have been returned to the Church, including the St. Daniel Monastery, the current seat of the Moscow Patriarchate, the spiritual and administrative center of the Russian Orthodox Church. Some statisticians estimate the percentage of believers at 40 per cent of the entire Russian Federation. Close to 9,000 communities belonging to over forty confessions had been officially registered in the country. The majority of religious Russians are Christians. The country has over 5,000 Russian Orthodox churches. Many are built anew or under repair on parish and local budgets money. Among the several more ambitious projects is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, erected in Red Square to commemorate the liberation of Moscow by Minin and Pozharsky’s militia, pulled down in 1936, and recently rebuilt from scratch. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demolished in 1931, is restored. Patriarch Alexis II described its rebirth as "a sublime act of piety and penitence". Russia had 150 Roman Catholic parishes, two theological seminaries and an academy before the revolution of 1917. All were suppressed in the Soviet years, and the believers -- ethnic Lithuanians, Poles and Gennans -- were banished and seattered about Siberia and Central Asia. 83 communities have reappeared by now, and Apostolic Administrations linked to the Vatican have been established in Moscow for European Russia, and in Novosibirsk for Siberia. There are four bishops and 165 priests working among the approximately 1,300,000 Catholics in the country. The theological seminary, Mary Oueen of the Apostles, opened in Moscow in 1993 and was transferred to St. Petersburg in 1995. The two million Protestants have 1,150 communities. The nineteen million Muslims, the second largest religious community in Russia, have over 800 parishes and mosques, mostly in Bashkortostan, Daghestan, Kabarda-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Tatarstan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya. The Muslim Board for Central European region has been re-established. The Moscow Muftiyat, an independent ecclesiastical body, is responsible for the Moscow, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Tula, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Yaroslavl and Kaliningrad regions, and Sochi, the renowned seaside resort in the Krasnodar Territory. Buddhism is widespread in Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva, and the Irkutsk and Chits regions. The Russian Federation currently has ten datsan monasteries, with the total monastic body approaching 200. Another ten monasteries are under construction. The Russian Federation has 42 Jewish communities. Moscow accounts for over 10 per cent of Russian Jews, and has three synagogues, one of which is Hasidic. Putin periodically visits with most of the major religious leaders throughout the country on a regular basis. One of Europe’s largest mosques opens in Moscow (PHOTOS, VIDEO) Thousands of Muslims have gathered in central Moscow to witness the opening of one of the biggest mosques in Europe. The ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The mosque was officially opened by the Russian president and Russian Grand Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin on Wednesday. Vladimir Putin met with Crimean Tatar community representatives by Vladimir Putin ... Let me assure you that we will do everything we can to ensure that you feel genuinely and completely at home in your own land. But we cannot do this effectively without the Crimean Tatars themselves, without people genuinely seeking to develop these lands, and without the support of the people who live there. This concerns not just the Crimean Tatars but people of all ethnic backgrounds living in Crimea. This concerns the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the other repressed peoples such as Greeks, Bulgarians and Germans. In short, it concerns everyone living in Crimea. This is why I wanted to meet with you today. I wanted to take this occasion to stress Russia’s commitment to resolving all of the problems that have built up over the past decades, and I hope for your understanding and for cooperation between us.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by Linda Wood on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 12:13pm

CB, once again,

@CB

thank you so very much for this crucial information. The whole obnoxious intelligentsia premise is that Russia is still Communist. It's as if our mainstream pundit army fell asleep for a generation and has just awakened with a complete blank space where their minds should be.

During the years I was debating at dkos and elsewhere about public education, I eventually downloaded the Finnish National Curriculum. Our debate was over the false premise that Finland's teachers could teach anything they wanted and that there was no required curriculum. Baloney. Total baloney.

One of the most amazing things to me about Finland's National Curriculum, in addition to its size and depth, was that all students were required, under the topic of Ethics, to study religion, to spend a certain number of subject hours, starting in the earliest grades, studying their own family's religion, and if they didn't have one, studying ethics. In higher grades students studied comparative religion. In the Ethics curriculum, young children were taught such subjects as "The Golden Rule" and "Right from Wrong"!

This was several years ago, and I was aware that there was an effort to "reform" the Finnish curriculum, possibly by such media stars as Pasi Sahlberg, the Finnish educator who had come to work for the World Bank. Sahlberg made at least one video propaganda piece with teacherken at dkos, which I found to be insidious as hell. So by now the reformed curriculum in Finland may no longer teach ethics or anything else of substance, for all I know. But religion was alive and well in Finland at that time, and I consider that to be one part of their successful peaceful democracy. What I could gather from reading the curriculum was that the Finns considered religion to be part of the study of ethics, not booga-booga ritual and sources of hate.

#3.1.1 There is no official state religion in Russia. Freedom of worship is guaranteed in their constitution since 1990. Also note that there are several dozen state supported languages as well as state supported ethnic schools. No other country in the world has such ethnic diversity being supported by the state. Religion in Russia Today With nearly 5,000 religious associations the Russian Orthodox Church accounts for over a half of the total number registered in Russia. Next in numbers come Moslem associations, about 3,000, Baptists, 450, Seventh Day Adventists, 120, Evangelicals, 120, Old Believers, over 200, Roman Catholics, 200, Krishnaites, 68, Buddhists, 80, Judaists, 50, and Unified Evangelical Lutherans, 39. Many churches and monasteries have been returned to the Church, including the St. Daniel Monastery, the current seat of the Moscow Patriarchate, the spiritual and administrative center of the Russian Orthodox Church. Some statisticians estimate the percentage of believers at 40 per cent of the entire Russian Federation. Close to 9,000 communities belonging to over forty confessions had been officially registered in the country. The majority of religious Russians are Christians. The country has over 5,000 Russian Orthodox churches. Many are built anew or under repair on parish and local budgets money. Among the several more ambitious projects is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, erected in Red Square to commemorate the liberation of Moscow by Minin and Pozharsky’s militia, pulled down in 1936, and recently rebuilt from scratch. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demolished in 1931, is restored. Patriarch Alexis II described its rebirth as "a sublime act of piety and penitence". Russia had 150 Roman Catholic parishes, two theological seminaries and an academy before the revolution of 1917. All were suppressed in the Soviet years, and the believers -- ethnic Lithuanians, Poles and Gennans -- were banished and seattered about Siberia and Central Asia. 83 communities have reappeared by now, and Apostolic Administrations linked to the Vatican have been established in Moscow for European Russia, and in Novosibirsk for Siberia. There are four bishops and 165 priests working among the approximately 1,300,000 Catholics in the country. The theological seminary, Mary Oueen of the Apostles, opened in Moscow in 1993 and was transferred to St. Petersburg in 1995. The two million Protestants have 1,150 communities. The nineteen million Muslims, the second largest religious community in Russia, have over 800 parishes and mosques, mostly in Bashkortostan, Daghestan, Kabarda-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Tatarstan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya. The Muslim Board for Central European region has been re-established. The Moscow Muftiyat, an independent ecclesiastical body, is responsible for the Moscow, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Tula, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Yaroslavl and Kaliningrad regions, and Sochi, the renowned seaside resort in the Krasnodar Territory. Buddhism is widespread in Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva, and the Irkutsk and Chits regions. The Russian Federation currently has ten datsan monasteries, with the total monastic body approaching 200. Another ten monasteries are under construction. The Russian Federation has 42 Jewish communities. Moscow accounts for over 10 per cent of Russian Jews, and has three synagogues, one of which is Hasidic. Putin periodically visits with most of the major religious leaders throughout the country on a regular basis. One of Europe’s largest mosques opens in Moscow (PHOTOS, VIDEO) Thousands of Muslims have gathered in central Moscow to witness the opening of one of the biggest mosques in Europe. The ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The mosque was officially opened by the Russian president and Russian Grand Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin on Wednesday. Vladimir Putin met with Crimean Tatar community representatives by Vladimir Putin ... Let me assure you that we will do everything we can to ensure that you feel genuinely and completely at home in your own land. But we cannot do this effectively without the Crimean Tatars themselves, without people genuinely seeking to develop these lands, and without the support of the people who live there. This concerns not just the Crimean Tatars but people of all ethnic backgrounds living in Crimea. This concerns the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the other repressed peoples such as Greeks, Bulgarians and Germans. In short, it concerns everyone living in Crimea. This is why I wanted to meet with you today. I wanted to take this occasion to stress Russia’s commitment to resolving all of the problems that have built up over the past decades, and I hope for your understanding and for cooperation between us.

Submitted by Timmethy2.0 on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 12:38pm

There has to be some left over state religion from

@CB
the soviet days. I had a conversation recently with someone who grew up in Soviet Russia. I told him that I imagine work was easy to find under "communism" and he replied that it was illegal not to work. It was your duty to the state to work. That mindset must still be there in people's minds even if it's buried. Especially if they get nostalgic for Soviet times.

#3.1.1 There is no official state religion in Russia. Freedom of worship is guaranteed in their constitution since 1990. Also note that there are several dozen state supported languages as well as state supported ethnic schools. No other country in the world has such ethnic diversity being supported by the state. Religion in Russia Today With nearly 5,000 religious associations the Russian Orthodox Church accounts for over a half of the total number registered in Russia. Next in numbers come Moslem associations, about 3,000, Baptists, 450, Seventh Day Adventists, 120, Evangelicals, 120, Old Believers, over 200, Roman Catholics, 200, Krishnaites, 68, Buddhists, 80, Judaists, 50, and Unified Evangelical Lutherans, 39. Many churches and monasteries have been returned to the Church, including the St. Daniel Monastery, the current seat of the Moscow Patriarchate, the spiritual and administrative center of the Russian Orthodox Church. Some statisticians estimate the percentage of believers at 40 per cent of the entire Russian Federation. Close to 9,000 communities belonging to over forty confessions had been officially registered in the country. The majority of religious Russians are Christians. The country has over 5,000 Russian Orthodox churches. Many are built anew or under repair on parish and local budgets money. Among the several more ambitious projects is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, erected in Red Square to commemorate the liberation of Moscow by Minin and Pozharsky’s militia, pulled down in 1936, and recently rebuilt from scratch. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demolished in 1931, is restored. Patriarch Alexis II described its rebirth as "a sublime act of piety and penitence". Russia had 150 Roman Catholic parishes, two theological seminaries and an academy before the revolution of 1917. All were suppressed in the Soviet years, and the believers -- ethnic Lithuanians, Poles and Gennans -- were banished and seattered about Siberia and Central Asia. 83 communities have reappeared by now, and Apostolic Administrations linked to the Vatican have been established in Moscow for European Russia, and in Novosibirsk for Siberia. There are four bishops and 165 priests working among the approximately 1,300,000 Catholics in the country. The theological seminary, Mary Oueen of the Apostles, opened in Moscow in 1993 and was transferred to St. Petersburg in 1995. The two million Protestants have 1,150 communities. The nineteen million Muslims, the second largest religious community in Russia, have over 800 parishes and mosques, mostly in Bashkortostan, Daghestan, Kabarda-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Tatarstan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya. The Muslim Board for Central European region has been re-established. The Moscow Muftiyat, an independent ecclesiastical body, is responsible for the Moscow, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Tula, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Yaroslavl and Kaliningrad regions, and Sochi, the renowned seaside resort in the Krasnodar Territory. Buddhism is widespread in Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva, and the Irkutsk and Chits regions. The Russian Federation currently has ten datsan monasteries, with the total monastic body approaching 200. Another ten monasteries are under construction. The Russian Federation has 42 Jewish communities. Moscow accounts for over 10 per cent of Russian Jews, and has three synagogues, one of which is Hasidic. Putin periodically visits with most of the major religious leaders throughout the country on a regular basis. One of Europe’s largest mosques opens in Moscow (PHOTOS, VIDEO) Thousands of Muslims have gathered in central Moscow to witness the opening of one of the biggest mosques in Europe. The ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The mosque was officially opened by the Russian president and Russian Grand Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin on Wednesday. Vladimir Putin met with Crimean Tatar community representatives by Vladimir Putin ... Let me assure you that we will do everything we can to ensure that you feel genuinely and completely at home in your own land. But we cannot do this effectively without the Crimean Tatars themselves, without people genuinely seeking to develop these lands, and without the support of the people who live there. This concerns not just the Crimean Tatars but people of all ethnic backgrounds living in Crimea. This concerns the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the other repressed peoples such as Greeks, Bulgarians and Germans. In short, it concerns everyone living in Crimea. This is why I wanted to meet with you today. I wanted to take this occasion to stress Russia’s commitment to resolving all of the problems that have built up over the past decades, and I hope for your understanding and for cooperation between us.

—

Beware the bullshit factories.

Submitted by CB on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 1:50pm

Under Stalin there was no particular state religion.

@Timmethy2.0

He allowed the three main religions at the time, Russian Orthodox, Islam and Judaism to operate provided they stay out of politics. They were useful in that they were, as Marx said, "the opium of the people" during times of distress and were all useful in controlling the people to some extent.

Here's some interesting articles for thought:

Once Forbidden, Historic Russian Translation of the Talmud Gains Steam
A monumental effort with commentaries is launched with the first three volumes
...
Pro-Russian Jews, Not Anti-Soviet Politics

The first modern attempt to translate Jewish texts into Russian was undertaken by Professor Herman Branover in the early 1970s while the renowned physicist was still living in the Soviet Union. Following his emigration in 1972, Branover, a pioneer in the field of magnetohydrodynamics, was chosen by the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—to become the head of the newly founded, Jerusalem-based Shamir Association for Jewish Professionals, as well as editor-in-chief of its publishing house.
...
Exported Around the World

Knizhniki’s offices and showroom are located in the heart of Moscow’s Marina Roscha district, a neighborhood that has in recent decades become the most identifiably Jewish in Eastern Europe. Sitting in a low-slung building between the seven-story Marina Roscha Jewish Community Center and the sprawling campus that contains, among other institutions, the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, the Shaarei Tzedek social-services center and the Beit Shvidler Jewish day school, the publisher’s modest headquarters belies its impressive output.
...
Since 2007, it has published more than 450 books—not just books but beautiful books, ranging from illustrated editions of translated Yiddish poetry, books of Jewish literature and history, and colorful children’s books. That same year, Knizhniki launched the Library of Classic Jewish Texts, and has translated and published Chassidic classics such as Torah Ohr and Derech Mitzvosecha, as well as the 13th-century Sefer HaChinuch and Rabbi Jacob Ibn Habib’s Ein Yaakov.

In the process, the Jewish publisher has become one of Moscow’s most respected book publishers despite its ostensibly niche market.

And while there was a time in the not-so-distant past that Russian-language Jewish books were printed exclusively outside of Russia to be sent into the country, today Knizhniki’s books are being exported around the world, having become popular sellers in Israel and the United States.
...

Islam in Russia: History, Politics and Culture

Today "it is openly said that Russia...is not only an Orthodox, but also a Muslim country. Living in the country today are more than 20 million Muslims, including members of more than 30 indigenous Russian nations," according to Talib Saidbaev, advisor to the Head Mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia....
...
The difficulties and possibilities of integrating Muslim citizens are frequently debated in many European countries. However, several speakers pointed out that Russia is different from states such as France and Germany in that Muslim peoples have lived in the territory of Russia for centuries....
...
All the speakers agreed that the recent increase in expression of Islamic identity among Russian Muslim groups is not, in most cases, an anti-Russian phenomenon. Shireen Hunter of the Center for Strategic and International Studies emphasized that an individual's identity is always made up of many layers. "When we are talking about the Islamic assertion of identity among the Russian Muslims...I think that it is not so much against Russia or against Russian-ness in the civic sense. I believe that most [Muslims] feel committed to the integrity and survival of Russia," she stated....
...
Overall, however, speakers believed that Russia has the potential to succeed in integrating its diverse religious communities, including Muslims. According to Hunter: "[A] prosperous Russia, and an open Russia that allows the legitimate expressions of ethnic or cultural distinctiveness...is going to be very, very attractive, and nobody is going to want to be divorced from that."

Submitted by Timmethy2.0 on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 1:56pm

I'm sure it's complicated

@CB

Of course Russia has a very strong religious history from before communism.

#3.1.1.2.3

He allowed the three main religions at the time, Russian Orthodox, Islam and Judaism to operate provided they stay out of politics. They were useful in that they were, as Marx said, "the opium of the people" during times of distress and were all useful in controlling the people to some extent.

Here's some interesting articles for thought:

Once Forbidden, Historic Russian Translation of the Talmud Gains Steam
A monumental effort with commentaries is launched with the first three volumes
...
Pro-Russian Jews, Not Anti-Soviet Politics

The first modern attempt to translate Jewish texts into Russian was undertaken by Professor Herman Branover in the early 1970s while the renowned physicist was still living in the Soviet Union. Following his emigration in 1972, Branover, a pioneer in the field of magnetohydrodynamics, was chosen by the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—to become the head of the newly founded, Jerusalem-based Shamir Association for Jewish Professionals, as well as editor-in-chief of its publishing house.
...
Exported Around the World

Knizhniki’s offices and showroom are located in the heart of Moscow’s Marina Roscha district, a neighborhood that has in recent decades become the most identifiably Jewish in Eastern Europe. Sitting in a low-slung building between the seven-story Marina Roscha Jewish Community Center and the sprawling campus that contains, among other institutions, the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, the Shaarei Tzedek social-services center and the Beit Shvidler Jewish day school, the publisher’s modest headquarters belies its impressive output.
...
Since 2007, it has published more than 450 books—not just books but beautiful books, ranging from illustrated editions of translated Yiddish poetry, books of Jewish literature and history, and colorful children’s books. That same year, Knizhniki launched the Library of Classic Jewish Texts, and has translated and published Chassidic classics such as Torah Ohr and Derech Mitzvosecha, as well as the 13th-century Sefer HaChinuch and Rabbi Jacob Ibn Habib’s Ein Yaakov.

In the process, the Jewish publisher has become one of Moscow’s most respected book publishers despite its ostensibly niche market.

And while there was a time in the not-so-distant past that Russian-language Jewish books were printed exclusively outside of Russia to be sent into the country, today Knizhniki’s books are being exported around the world, having become popular sellers in Israel and the United States.
...

Islam in Russia: History, Politics and Culture

Today "it is openly said that Russia...is not only an Orthodox, but also a Muslim country. Living in the country today are more than 20 million Muslims, including members of more than 30 indigenous Russian nations," according to Talib Saidbaev, advisor to the Head Mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia....
...
The difficulties and possibilities of integrating Muslim citizens are frequently debated in many European countries. However, several speakers pointed out that Russia is different from states such as France and Germany in that Muslim peoples have lived in the territory of Russia for centuries....
...
All the speakers agreed that the recent increase in expression of Islamic identity among Russian Muslim groups is not, in most cases, an anti-Russian phenomenon. Shireen Hunter of the Center for Strategic and International Studies emphasized that an individual's identity is always made up of many layers. "When we are talking about the Islamic assertion of identity among the Russian Muslims...I think that it is not so much against Russia or against Russian-ness in the civic sense. I believe that most [Muslims] feel committed to the integrity and survival of Russia," she stated....
...
Overall, however, speakers believed that Russia has the potential to succeed in integrating its diverse religious communities, including Muslims. According to Hunter: "[A] prosperous Russia, and an open Russia that allows the legitimate expressions of ethnic or cultural distinctiveness...is going to be very, very attractive, and nobody is going to want to be divorced from that."

—

Beware the bullshit factories.

Submitted by CB on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 3:07pm

That's true.

@Timmethy2.0

But that is also the centuries old history of Europe when the Pope had more power than the Kings and Queens. I would suggest that religion in the US had more power over the state in the last century than it did in Russia during the same period. In fact, the USSR and Russia have always been condemned as "Godless countries".

How many times do you hear the term "God bless America" after political speech in the US? What about those presidential prayer breakfasts and even the Pledge of Allegiance - "for one nation under God"? Or the military "for God and country"? Even on American money - "In God We Trust"? The US prides itself on being a "God fearing country"? And lastly, the obnoxious (to the world at large), "the shining city... a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace;". More than half of all Americans think the US has a special relationship with "God". This kind of crap led to genocide of indigenous peoples, Manifest Destiny and other horrors, including a rational for ~~attacking~~ doing God's work in the ME.

I've never heard this kind of shiite in Russia. Or, for that matter, in 98% of nations in the world.

It is inbred in American politics: God in the State Constitutions

Submitted by Linda Wood on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 4:32pm

AMEN!

@CB

Submitted by Timmethy2.0 on Mon, 04/16/2018 - 4:53pm

They have some history of religious persecution

@CB @CB
Don't know about the Muslims (although I'm sure it was very prevalent), but I do know there were a lot of violent pogroms against Jews. I guess Stalin didn't have much to do with the Russians who corraborated with Nazi occupiers to kill millions. Stalin killing 30 million or so Russians and imprisoning many millions more doesn't quite fit into the religious persecution category but I think it should overrule any kind of moral argument made for Stalin. Colonists and Americans have done some pretty awful things to descendents of people kidnapped from Africa and to the indigenous people here, but that's no excuse for serious oppression in Russian history.

—

Beware the bullshit factories.

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 2:19am

have you lived in Russia and if yes, when?

@Pricknick

I am much closer aligned to Russia than I am to my own country.

May be you are much closer aligned to your imagination what Russia is or was than to 'the real thing'?

All I would say these days is that I feel more threatened by the US than by Russia.

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https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by Linda Wood on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 11:48am

Me too!

@mimi

Yes. Fascism is threatening life on earth, and fascism central is Langley Virginia.

Submitted by CB on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 2:24pm

One of the main tools of fascism

@Linda Wood
is the concept of "divide and conquer". This has been a major tool of the CIA and US military since either came into being. We see it being done on a grand scale and to great effect in the various ME conflicts.

Submitted by Ellen North on Sat, 04/14/2018 - 11:38pm

Same old, same old. Lie, deny and stall or say it's Top Seekit.

Edit: anyway, he can't actually make it legal to run around attacking other people in their own countries, taking over their governments by proxy and wrecking/stealing their stuff, even if he could manage to make it 'legal' in his own, and the same goes for anyone else. It's still thuggery, theft and murder, even when you do it with a yuuuuge military which you've bled your people and country dry for, as have your predecessors.

He's still in defiance of international law and basic human moral and survival standards by running around attacking and invading other people/their countries and wrecking or stealing their property, and so are his lying, cheating, murderously bullying criminal buddies; no different from Hitler, which more people are beginning to point out, at long last.

Edit: should have known these points would have been covered better already; what I love about this place!

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by k9disc on Sun, 04/15/2018 - 2:54am