We have found that our friend, the Republican nominee [Richard Nixon], our California friend, has been playing on the outskirts with our enemies and our friends both, he has been doing it through rather subterranean sources. Mrs. Chennault is warning the South Vietnamese not to get pulled into this Johnson move.Former President Lyndon Johnson • In newly released tapes recorded inside the Oval Office, in the days leading up to the 1968 presidential election. Johnson’s administration was on the verge of orchestrating an end to the Vietnam War as the election between Nixon and Vice President Hubert Humphrey crept closer (which would have been a major boon to Humphrey, no doubt), but in October the South Vietnamese dropped out of the Paris peace talks. Thanks to the wiretapping and monitoring of then phones of a number of ambassadors by the NSA, the President learned the likely cause of the collapsed talks, just days prior to Nixon’s Election Day victory. He had, through a Republican activist named Anna Chennault, convinced the South Vietnamese to walk away from negotiations, insisting they would get a better deal out of a Nixon presidency (the war would ultimately continue for four more years). Johnson never revealed this to the public, despite the obvious import of Nixon derailing American diplomacy for his own ends, as doing so would have likely revealed the nature of the wiretaps. In his private anaylsis of Nixon, however, Johnson was characteristically blunt, denouncing his actions as “treason,” and saying he had “blood on his hands.” source
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law broadening the definition of treason which opponents say could be used to smother dissent and put almost anyone who has contact with foreigners at risk.
The law allows Russians representing international organizations to be charged with treason, as well as those working for foreign intelligence. It took effect on Wednesday when it was published in the official gazette, despite a promise by Putin on Monday that he would review it.
Political opponents and rights activists say the legislation is the latest in a series of laws intended to crack down on the opposition and reduce foreign influence since he returned to the Kremlin in May for a six-year third term.
Unsurprisingly, Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency has been anything but good news for those hoping to see an expansion of individual freedoms in Russia. Between the incarceration of several Pussy Riot members, increased hostility towards protesters and other political opposition, and newly strengthened treason laws, the future of those opposed to Putin’s return is looking grimmer by the day. source
» It’s worth noting that these rebel leaders are being tried in absentia, as they’re currently busy doing rebel stuff. Additionally, if and when Gaddafi’s government falls, the outcome of these trials will likely be inconsequential. Nevertheless, it’s an indication of the regime’s confidence in its ability to triumph that they’re proceeding with the trials anyway. Whether this portrayal of confidence is genuine or tactical remains to be seen.
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