No More Wikipedia for Vladimir’s Neo-Soviet Serfs
Vladimir Putin’s friend list grows shorter. There’s Hugo Chavez, there’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, there’s Bashar Hafez al-Assad, and, of course, there’s Barack Hussein Obama.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s definitely not there, though.
In September 2008, a group of Russian performance artists staged an event in a Moscow supermarket (warning: Russian language link with strong photographic content). They tried to speak out against Russia’s barbarically hostile attitudes towards blacks, Jews, and gays by mock-hanging several bodies from the rafters of the market in the manner of the KKK.
Cut to November 2012. Merkel arrives in Moscow for a meeting with the Russian dictator. She has noisily proclaimed well in advance that she plans to confront Putin on his human rights record, including the now infamous prosecution of three members of the Pussy Riot art collective for an event they staged in a Moscow Orthodox cathedral. She’s as good as her word. The German press even publishes an op-ed by Pavel Khodorkovsky, scion of the jailed Putin opponent, castigating Putin for seeking to take Russia back to the days of Stalin.
Putin’s response was truly jaw-dropping, one for the ages. Putin told Merkel, before rolling microphones, that Pussy Riot deserved imprisonment because they were antisemitic, and for proof he points to the fact that one member of the trio participated in hanging a Jew in effigy at the Moscow supermarket in 2008. Putin figures he can get away with this unmitigated lie, one of the biggest whoppers ever told by a head of state in world history, because (a) Merkel may not be familiar with the relatively obscure 2008 incident and (b) even if she is, she’ll be terrified of seeming to side against the Jews because of Germany’s Nazi past. He’s right.
Leave aside the fact that the three Pussy Riot members were arrested for being anti-Orthodox, not antisemitic. Forget about the fact that Putin did nothing in 2008 about the alleged antisemitic act, and has in fact never done anything to punish anyone for being antisemitic. He’s never even given a speech in defense of the Jews, who routinely see egregious acts of racism on the streets of Putin’s Russia. He aggressively supports the Orthodox church, giving it vast influence in the corridors of the Kremlin. Ignore the fact that two of the three Pussy Riot convicts had nothing whatsoever to do with the supermarket event.
Just focus on the fact that Putin feels so secure that he can precisely reverse the facts about what happened in the supermarket and tell his egregious lie to one of the most preeminent world leaders, while speaking before a crowd of journalists. What does that tell you about what is happening in Putin’s neo-Soviet state these days?
Putin has just implemented a draconian new law giving the Kremlin the power to block websites it doesn’t like, and already more than 200 such sites have disappeared from the Russian Internet, including the Russian Wikipedia which had contained merciless personal criticism of Putin. Simultaneously, a terrifying second new law came into force that lets Putin jail any political opponent on treason charges, at will. It’s predicted that Putin will soon take dramatic steps to wipe out Internet anonymity so that prosecutions against Internet offenders can roll forward.
Putin’s efforts at propaganda are truly Soviet in nature; the Daily News, for instance, recently ran a shocking story about how the liberal Huffington Post and CNBC outlets have essentially handed their pages over to Putin’s propaganda wizards without the slightest clue to their readers that it has happened.
Thankfully, Germany doesn’t stand alone. France recently poked Putin in the eye by granting formal recognition to the Syrian rebels, condemned by Putin as Russia continues to support the dictatorial regime they oppose.
Left/libtards are envious.
Without doubt. Obama will soon have an internet “kill switch” which will allow individual sites to be shut down. It will be interesting to see how he uses it, and to watch the Liberal Lemmings cheer, thus exposing, again, their true hatred of diversity and freedom of speech.
Rezko Update: Mystery man’s true identity revealed
http://illinoispaytoplay.com/2012/11/18/rezko-update-mystery-mans-true-identity-revealed
Those who believe that The One is not headed down the same totalitarian path, would do well to recalculate their calculus.
Revolutionaries are the same world over, whether they hew to socialist/Marxist/communist/Islamist dictates. They aim for only one outcome – TOTAL control.
And herein lies their morphing/nexus – http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/11/16/with-israel-at-war-israeli-hasbara-informational-campaigns-how-effectivenecessary-are-they-in-general-prof-paul-eidelberg-enlightens-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/
And the U.S. will be headed off the same cliff, and not only in the fiscal realm.That is just the radical left’s first pit stop, in order to effectuate the rest.
Coming soon to the USA! We now have our own dictator in place, which is such a profound tragedy considering our history and constitution. How did we let it get so bad?
Delicious republican tears
Putin on his human rights record, including the now infamous prosecution of three members of the Pussy Riot art collective for an event they staged in a Moscow Orthodox cathedral.
Why would you use the word “event” for what these girls did, namely violate the rights of others. Should free-market supporters be allowed to use a union hall without permission for the purpose of mocking the organization? The two-year sentence they got might have been a bit more than I would have given but it doesn’t rise to the level of crime against humanity.
Say Bill, not that I think that’s your real name, you getting a check from Puty Poot? How much has he bought you for?
The Pussy Riot band, conducted a brief political protest in an organ of the neo-Soviet government. The Orthodox church is hand in glove with Putin.
In the event they actually could be convicted by a jury of their peers of the misdemeanor of trespass, they would at most deserve a few days in jail. Their sentence of years is a grotesque miscarriage of justice–and a crime against humanity–that can only be applauded by the vile, the evil. You are that man.
Merely that it is not the least of Putin’s crimes doesn’t excuse it in the least.
Putin and Medvedev should be force fed Po219.
I’m certainly no fan of Putin. But, he was certainly correct about the Pussy Riot incident in the cathedral. Pussy Riot received no permission to stage a protest in the church. What Pussy Riot did was to desecrate a place of religious worship even though its clerical members may have been locked in arms with the Soviet or Russian governments.
By protesting inside the church Pussy Riot showed a profound disrespect to Russian Orthodox people. Pussy Riot could have been just as effective if they did it outside the church.
Bill Lawrence obviously understands the nuances of the event.
That said, Putin did go way overboard with the punishment.
“Putin did go way overboard with the punishment.”
By a factor of a 100 at least, and breaking legs of political opponents, jailing them–and, oh yeah, the Po219 thing.
Pussy Riot cannot have desecrated that church–the “clergy” there had it already done.
Putin’s apologists will share in his reward.
And Tom, on whose payroll are you? You have to be paid by someone to utter such blatant nonsense. Any other explanation would question your intelligence, and I am sure you are not stupid…
Can’t you see that the new soviet union is not where you think it is? Can’t you see there is today more fundamental freedoms in Russia than in the West? and that things are not likely to improve for us?
Of course things are not perfect over there. How could they be after 75 years of marxist experiments and 10 years where Russia was dispossessed of the best part of its economy.
It will not have escaped your notice that the international hyper-class that now rules over the western world supported both the marxist experiment and the dispossession.
Never believe a thing the main stream media (the relay of the hyper-class) says about Putin and the new Russia. They are everything they hate.
It is a mistery to me why this site so uncritically opens its pages to Ms Zigfeld.
“And Tom, on whose payroll are you? You have to be paid by someone to utter such blatant nonsense.”
None at all. Name one thing I’ve said which is false, g’head.
“Can’t you see that the new soviet union is not where you think it is? Can’t you see there is today more fundamental freedoms in Russia than in the West? and that things are not likely to improve for us?”
So you’re a UK Patrick and Russia has more fundamental freedoms than we do? I’m writing nonsense?
“Never believe a thing the main stream media (the relay of the hyper-class) says about Putin and the new Russia. They are everything they hate.”
I know of a certain leadlined coffin, required to be so from the Po219 contaminating the corpse. Facts are a terrible thing when they line up against you, Patrick.
“And Tom, on whose payroll are you? You have to be paid by someone to utter such blatant nonsense.” . . None at all.
So you’re a fool for free?
Name one thing I’ve said which is false, g’head.
Actually, I think you were telling the truth when you said “Say Bill, not that I think”
What this group did was use somebody else’s property to mock a belief held by a lot of people. You’re OK with that. My suspicion is that you would not be OK with that if it was your property or your belief, hence my suspicion is that you are a phony and a hypocrite.
Now if you really are an ends justifies the means kind of guy and are invoking to defend the deed efficacy for the goal of removing Putin, how did that strategy work out for you?
Shorter Bill, “I have no counterarguments until the last two paragraph.”
“What this group did was use somebody else’s property to mock a belief held by a lot of people. You’re OK with that.”
I’m OK with a week in jail for that, since I’ve already said that, and said that here, you must know you lied just now, and you’re the sort that doesn’t care.
“My suspicion is that you would not be OK with that if it was your property or your belief, hence my suspicion is that you are a phony and a hypocrite.”
Since you claim to think this has something to do with offending the sanctity of a church somehow justifying the sentence, I know you’re a phony and hypocrite–or you’re really dumb.
“Now if you really are an ends justifies the means kind of guy and are invoking to defend the deed efficacy for the goal of removing Putin, how did that strategy work out for you?”
So, opposing Obama in the last election and failing means I should quit there, too?
Fount of wisdom, you are.
Since you claim to think this has something to do with offending the sanctity of a church somehow justifying the sentence,
Um, who defended the sentence?
Um, who defended the sentence?
“The two-year sentence they got might have been a bit more than I would have given but it doesn’t rise to the level of crime against humanity.”
Bill Lawrence, defending the sentence as possible maybe a bit too much–therefore generally a reasonable sentence, only maybe too much.
You think it’s a crime against humanity? All I can say is that they were lucky they weren’t caught selling bootleg DVDs in Mississippi.
Putin may be a bastard but he’s a bastard for his country. We have a bastard too, but the difference is that ours doesn’t like this country.
“Putin may be a bastard but he’s a bastard for his country.”
Oh yeah? Looks more like he’s a bastard of, for, and by Putin. What favors has he done Russia? Do they have less corruption? Do they have a diversified economy that can support their growing population? Oh, it’s shrinking in fact? They have a popularly supported government with a healthy opposition party?
*Ok, so maybe we aren’t doing so well on that score right now, but I’ll give it 2016 before I start thinking about an epitaph. Russia has had 100 years now of damn little improvement.
Whose fault is that Tom? the poor Russian prople’s? Putin’s?
As for the favors he has done Russia, travel there (as I do) and ask the Russian people who regularly vote him in with huge majorities. Please don’t mention vote rigging. There is no more of that than in the west.
Russians can be very critical of him but they know what they owe him.
It is Putin’s fault more than any other single Russian person’s, and he–like Obama–seems to think his people should be thanking him.
“There is no more of that than in the west.”
No more than is in some precincts of Philly.
Get back to me when protest leaders and the political opposition aren’t jailed, beaten, and murdered.
I doubt you’ve been talking to many Russians Tom.
But there you are: knowing a bit about life there I know that the official western line is deliberately misleading and I just wanted to point you to the gross mistake you make.
But wait Tom: you haven’t told me on whose payroll you are! One of those NGOs behind the “Orange revolution” in Ukraine? or one supporting our Georgean friend, this parangon of democracy and decency?
“I doubt you’ve been talking to many Russians Tom.”
I’d as soon ask a Democrat here how the economy is doing.
“But wait Tom: you haven’t told me on whose payroll you are!”
I have said, none. I honestly don’t think you can claim the same, here, “Patrick_UK”
One obvious distinction between here and there, here, a Democrat could deviate from the party line and say the debt is unsustainable, that unemployment is terrible, and that Obamacare will kill millions of people early and ends tens of millions of jobs.
And they could do with a megaphone in front of a crown and not be assaulted by the police.
That was suppose to be “crowd” not “crown”, but considering Putin’s authoritarianism, it still works.
I wonder how long before that will be happening here? I know the “fairness doctrine” is waiting in the wings but I have a feeling that it will pale in comparison to what our divider in chief has in store for us “bad people”.
“in the manner of the KKK”
Did the United States invent hanging? Are Americans responsible for ALL of the travails of the human condition? I lived overseas for over 15 years. I noticed much the same human condition without American sponsorship. It would be nice if this form of the Big Lie would go away.
Putin vows to halt Russia’s population plunge with babies, immigrants,
If current trends continue,
Russia’s population will drop from 143 million to 107 million by 2050.
Putin vowed in a newspaper article to reverse that trend when he was elected.
44 million Russians are heavy smokers, 20 million alcoholics.
Most adult women have had or will have abortions.
Putin is gonna ‘fill er up’ with immigrants,
Think Islamic, That will increase the Russian population?
Another one bites the dust..
Putin is not the democrat of course like the majority of the Russians(as all polls show ).Neoconservative`s idea of the democracy promotion have revealed itself in Iraq and in the Arab spring.As we must defend Israel from the spring- initiated islamists so we must first help Russian neighbours like Ukrainians,Moldovanians,Georgians and others from the Russian attempts of domination.So we`ll help the Russian growing democracy better.There must not be more political prisoners in Ukraine and Georgia.
Both Putin and Obama grew without fathers.
What is that Pus*y riot , new name for Arab spring ?
Stalin aside, there is this distinction between Putin and the tired, fedora-hatted old fools who used to run things, like Krushchev and Brezhnev. As brutal and murderous as they were, they had at least some lingering instinct towards civility, even if they never indulged it. When it came to the persecution of ordinary dissidents, there were charges, show trials, legal formalities that were observed however mendaciously. While assassination of spies and foreign enemies was honed to an art form by the KGB as a tool of trade, one thing the old men didn’t do as a matter of policy was the outright murder of ordinary dissidents like critical journalists, cynically dressed up as unsolved crimes. Think about it: Putin has knocked off a host of domestic dissidents like Anna Politkovskaya. We know, and Putin knows we know, that his minions did it, and he wants us to know – it is a tool of policy. Overall Putin may not be as openly barbarous (yet) as most of his predecessors, but he actually operates in a moral vacuum far more profound – in my opinion – than any of his predecessors except Stalin.
Which eloquently indicates the depths to which Putin is capable of sinking, and to which he is likely, ultimately, to sink.
How about this: instead of constantly butting into other people’s business, let’s make our own country a bastion of political freedom first?
Remember that film maker Obama blamed for Benghazi? He’s in jail. Never mind it was for parole violations, he’s a political prison the same that the Pussy Riot people are..
Ditto for Wesley Snipes, who was a tax protester, and Bernard von NotHaus, who came up with coins used for barter, but has been labeled a “terrorist” and will probably die in jail.
And let’s not forget about the essentially state controlled media we have, at least when a Democrat is in office. ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Bloomberg, Current, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC
A man’s head has to be really far up his own rear to be unable to see other people’s troubles breed trouble for us–one like Ron Paul.