Kasparov

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A top Putin critic on how to oppose Trump: “making him look like a loser is crucial” | Feb 11th, 2017

A conversation with chess champion Garry Kasparov.

 

After helping Trump, will Russia meddle in other elections? | By Andres Oppenheimer Miami Herald (TNS) Jan 17, 2017

A little-noticed paragraph in the recent U.S. intelligence community report about Russia’s hacking of the U.S. elections makes me wonder whether Moscow’s next step will be to conduct cyber-espionage campaigns to help elect authoritarian populist leaders in Germany and France’s elections this year, and in Mexico’s 2018 elections.

It sounds like the plot of a political thriller. But the Jan. 6 joint statement of the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency says Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered cyberattacks to help Donald Trump win the U.S. presidential election, and Russia will continue “future (voting) influence efforts worldwide, including against U.S. allies and their election processes.”

The statement did not elaborate but states Russia has a “long-standing desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order.”

To do that, Putin has stepped up his cyber-espionage activities, hacking the Democratic National Committee’s computer networks and handing over thousands of its emails to WikiLeaks, including many pertaining to former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign. In addition, Russia planted fake news in U.S. social media to hurt the Clinton campaign, it said.

After reading the U.S. intelligence community’s statement, I called Garry Kasparov, the well-known Russian dissident, head of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation and former world chess champion, to ask him why Putin might have wanted to influence the U.S. elections in Trump’s favor. He cited several possible motives.

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Putin’s Meddling | Slate Trumpcast | Dec 15, 2016

Jacob Weisberg talks to Garry Kasparov, the former World Chess Champion and Russian, pro-democracy leader, about Vladamir Putin’s meddling in our election and America’s response.

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Jacob Weisberg: I was doing a little research and I came upon this headline from CNN, Oct. 21, “Kasparov: Russia Absolutely Trying to Elect Trump.” And there are more like this. I mean, you were saying this all fall. And now you’re hearing people saying, Why wasn’t this a big deal? Why didn’t we hear more about Putin intervening on Trump’s side with these hacks on the DNC? You must feel a little frustrated.

Garry Kasparov: Oh, I hate saying, I told you so. I remember when I submitted my book to the publisher—they liked the title, they liked the book, but they were not sure about the subtitle: “Why Vladimir Putin and Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped.” They thought it would be too provocative and probably not substantiated.

Me and many of my colleagues, like the late Boris Nemtsov, have been telling people around the world that Vladimir Putin was our problem but, eventually, will be everybody’s problem because, as with every dictator, he will look for a global stage to boost his grip on power domestically. It was very natural for him to look at the United States as the ultimate prize for his dictator’s pride, to demonstrate that he’s so powerful, so invincible that he would defy the most powerful nation in the world.… Read More

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