Russian money is earning interest, but this belongs to the institution in which it is place and not Russia, so it’s not theft. I bet she wouldn’t say that if it were her money:
After the announcement from the G7 conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the “theft” of Russian assets “will not go unpunished.” Yellen pushed back on that, telling co-anchor Jon Karl “[the assets have] been impounded, the investments that Russia had have matured, so Russia’s funds are sitting in cash. But they’re generating income for the institution, which Russia has no claim on.”
I find this narrative, that Russian assets can be taken at will, without legal due process, and without compensation, unnerving. There should not be any problem finding a court that will give Russian and Allied representatives a hearing and make a ruling, so do it.
The assets haven’t been taken, although there are those who advocate that. The Russian assets have been frozen so that Russia and Russians can’t use them.
I wish Ukraine would sue Russia for damages but the powers that be do not generally want to end up in the world courts with the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th worlds.
Lets float a hypothetical: sue Russia, in the US, over assets in the US. Not a slam dunk, as the “crime” is in Ukraine, not the US. That would avoid the issue of the US generally ignoring the rulings of international courts.
Of course, the problem with that is the USian money interests want the US to be a haven for money from sketchy characters. Suing Russia might make the money interests worried that other sketchy characters might pull their money out of the US, and that would hurt their profits.
Malaysia does not believe in freedom of religion. Hamas is only at war because of a lack of belief in freedom of religion. The Arabs mostly want Hamas defeated because the Muslim Brotherhood would want to topple their government as well. That is why leading up to Memorial day oil was weak in the marketplace. The Arabs were pumping because of Hamas’s war in Gaza.
Stability depends on freedom of religion. Wars are fought over religion. Malaysia can have a revolution at any time. In the long run the Western democracies are stable above all else.
I was there for quite a few weeks recently and they certainly do believe in freedom of religion. I recall one street that had a Catholic church, mosque and Hindu temple all next to each other. It’s a very mixed society and they all got on OK as far as I could see.
While freedom of religion is de jure symbolically enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution, it de facto faces many prohibitions and restrictions. A Malay in Malaysia must strictly be a Muslim, and they cannot convert to another religion .
There are next to no organizations or institutions in the Muslim world that truly work towards freedom of religion.
Separately
The Basic Laws establish Israel as a Jewish state, and proclaim full social and political equality for all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation. The Declaration of Independence of 1948 also guarantees freedom of religion for all, irrespective of religion.
The Israeli and American satellite Jordan is closer to freedom of religion.
The Constitution provides for the freedom to practice the rights of one’s religion and faith in accordance with the customs that are observed in the kingdom, unless they violate public order or morality. The state religion is Islam . The Government prohibits conversion from Islam and proselytization of Muslims.
My comment the UAE is the next closest to having freedom of religion. It is not that free though.
In the months after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, didn’t Russia force a bunch of Western companies to relinquish their Russian holdings?
McD, a couple German companies… Come to mind.
They either sold at firesale prices or “for 1EU” or some such.
“Poor Russia” is theater to get “sympathy” for Russia.
Count me as unsympathetic.
Russia/Putin pushes the “West must adhere to Rule of Law” while ignoring its/Russian own actions that ignore Rule of Law.
And war crimes, and crimes against humanity, etc.
