For those of us who have spent our lives in the United States, it’s difficult to imagine the reality of citizens living in countries that have been torn apart by leaders ruling with intimidation and repression—and without regard for human rights. (more…)
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Please have a seat.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been talking about what I believe should be our number-one priority as a country — building a better bargain for the middle class and for Americans who want to work their way into the middle class. At the same time, I’m focused on my number-one responsibility as Commander-in-Chief, and that’s keeping the American people safe. And in recent days, we’ve been reminded once again about the threats to our nation.
As I said at the National Defense University back in May, in meeting those threats we have to strike the right balance between protecting our security and preserving our freedoms. And as part of this rebalancing, I called for a review of our surveillance programs. Unfortunately, rather than an orderly and lawful process to debate these issues and come up with appropriate reforms, repeated leaks of classified information have initiated the debate in a very passionate, but not always fully informed way. (more…)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, December 28th, signed the law, which had been passed in response to the USA’s “Magnitsky Act”. The law has been dubbed in Russia as the “Law of Dima Yakovlev” (named after the boy, who died in a hot car in the U.S.).
The full title of the law is “On measures against persons involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation.” Previously, the bill was approved by the State Duma and the Federation Council. (more…)
