27th May 2004, 6:39 PM
Russia... if you don't know, don't say anything. Read something about it. :)
Putin is an elected leader. See, he doesn't have to block elections! When he controls all of the national media networks, why do something like that? You already have the elections in the bag...
For instance, last year or so he put (Michael?) Yukos, billionaire and one of the richest men in Russia, in jail. Why? For breaking the law during the lawless early '90s. Now, he's probably guilty. However, a LOT of people did bad stuff like then with no punishment. So why is he charged now? Simple. He was a major player in one of the last truly independant media networks in Russia. Guess whose side that network is on now?
We don't have that there. But I'm pretty sure that a lot of hardline conservatives really, really wish that we could be... all I need to do to get proof of that is to look at people like Ashcroft or Cheney. They do so much to try to hide their actions from public scrutiny, to make their views the law of the land without the effort of actually seeing if the people want that, weakening government oversight, immediately denouncing anyone who dares to question their actions as unpatriotic... of saying that questioning anything the president does during war is unamerican... yes, I think that people like that greatly envy Putin.
Putin is an elected leader. See, he doesn't have to block elections! When he controls all of the national media networks, why do something like that? You already have the elections in the bag...
For instance, last year or so he put (Michael?) Yukos, billionaire and one of the richest men in Russia, in jail. Why? For breaking the law during the lawless early '90s. Now, he's probably guilty. However, a LOT of people did bad stuff like then with no punishment. So why is he charged now? Simple. He was a major player in one of the last truly independant media networks in Russia. Guess whose side that network is on now?
We don't have that there. But I'm pretty sure that a lot of hardline conservatives really, really wish that we could be... all I need to do to get proof of that is to look at people like Ashcroft or Cheney. They do so much to try to hide their actions from public scrutiny, to make their views the law of the land without the effort of actually seeing if the people want that, weakening government oversight, immediately denouncing anyone who dares to question their actions as unpatriotic... of saying that questioning anything the president does during war is unamerican... yes, I think that people like that greatly envy Putin.
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