JVLV.NET: AFRO-MAIDAN SPOOF ON FERGUSON IS NO JOKE! 12/12/14, By Leni and Jiri Valenta

With glee over Ferguson, Russian media is having a Schadenfreude field day. The photo of a black woman holding a Russian sign, "Americans ask Vladimir Putin to send troops" is no joke, however. Their attempt to link Ferguson with the Maidan uprising or what they call "colored" revolutions in the Ukraine, falls very flat.  Sadly, present Russian methods of law enforcement should give Russians pause before the pot calls the kettle black.

The  Maidan uprising against former Ukrainian president Yanukovych occurred because of the latter´s corrupt, self- serving  practices and the  Ukraine’s  preference for closer trade ties to the EU than to the Customs Union.  There was no looting, as in Ferguson, unless you consider the government appropriation of Yanukovych´s ill begotten luxuries, including a private zoo, as such.  Neither are the Western Ukrainians fascists as Russia and the Separatists proclaim.  Do you really think  America would support Poroshenko if they were?

The issue for the U.S. has to do with race relations and law enforcement.  The uproar in Ferguson over the killing of unarmed teen Michael Brown includes the following scenario.  When the police Officer, Darren Wilson, asked him not to walk in the middle of the street, Brown reached into officer´s car and punched him in the face.  Likely, this was motivated by his having shop-lifted a convenience store ten minutes earlier and pushed the proprietor around.  The officer then pursued Brown .  Subsequently, the youth  turned, and Wilson maintained that even despite his having shot Brown six times in the arm,  Brown  began  to charge him.  Thus, he acted in self-defense.  Accepting his story, the Grand Jury ruled he  should not be indicted. 

The Black community throughout the U.S., believes otherwise, motivated by the perception that too many  young black males have been unduly persecuted and slain by the police.  The killing of Brown  raised the specter of ethic inequality that seemed to have been laid to rest until the acquittal this past year of neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, in highly publicized killing last year of  another unarmed youth, Trayvon Martin. The continuing uproar,  has since been exacerbated by the recent Grand Jury acquittal of a white officer who performed a choke-hold on a black suspect that resulted in his death in New York City.   

The normal Grand Jury procedure is for the prosecutor to vigorously make a case against an accused, yet some witnesses  in the Brown shooting complained  this was not the case.  The varied testimony of  many of the witnesses to the shooting reminds one of the Japanese play, Rashoman.   Yet the Grand Jury appears to have ruled on the forensic evidence that was available, if not conclusive.

The Ferguson furor will likely die down.  Law enforcement will hopefully  achieve greater technical competence and sensitivity.  Russian police officers, who have similar problems, are reportedly studying Ferguson with regard to anticipated Muslim mayhem in the future.    

The unrest now in many American cities demonstrates the existing fault lines within  society, which clearly needs attention. Nor should  Mr., Putin  exult in believing this provides a green light for his adventures in the Ukraine. The GOP majority in the coming Congress will  make arms to the Ukraine a clear priority.  Obama, despite his lame duck status, could be helpful  to Putin in finding a negotiated solution.  At the present time, the Russian stock market is worth less than the capitalization of AAPL. So the distraction of Ferguson is not really helping Russia, as it needs to extract itself from  quagmire of declining oil prices, sanctions and world opprobrium over Ukraine.  Final word, the attack last night by Muslim extremists in Chechnya, with over a dozen dead, seems to suggest that Putin´s Russia is not necessarily immune to ISIS-Chechen fighters returning from tthe struggle in Iraq and Syria an bringing terror home with them.