Trial of a Mass Murderer: "I Would Kill Again."
Anders Behring Breivik Photo: Oslo Politidistrikt via WIkipedia
Personally, I am humbled by the courage and dignity shown by the Norwegian people in the aftermath of these horrific events.
The insistence that even this will not shake Norway's sense of propriety shows real strength.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Breivik trial: Norway's troubled example to the world
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I think the authorities in Norway are making a big mistake allowing Breivik such an easy platform.
It's all very well sympathising with the fair and reasonable, democratic instincts of the majority of Norwegian citizens.
But Breivik isn't trying to reach them, he's trying to motivate into action the same tiny warped minority like himself --- fanatical, self-deluding morons who wallow in hatred. Breivik wants to appear as some kind of heroic martyr to these dangerous unstable people who care nothing for other peoples lives.
Allowing him to use his fascist salute at every appearance is not wise. Reasonable people can see a cold-hearted mass-murderer posturing and living out his deluded fantasy. The tiny minority of people he's trying to attract will see something completely different. For heaven's sake put him in handcuffs to stop him saluting and using the lives of those he senselessly murdered as a platform. The murders were obviously just a vehicle so he could get this platform. The Norwegian authorities may think they are showing democratic ideals, instead they are indulging a dangerous fantasist in his recruitment programme. It's important to understand the damaged psychology of those he's using this trial to motivate.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Breivik trial: Norway's troubled example to the world
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I would not expect to hear anything pleasant or uplifting when a mass murderer explains his actions, but it is important that he is given the opportunity to do so. He is entitled to due process of law administered in a calm and dispassionate court and that is what the Norwegian legal system is providing. That is what distinguishes justice from lynching.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Anders Breivik's trial will only vindicate Norway's liberal legal system
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The mass media fascination with this event is dangerous and stupid. This was a very unfortunate incident, orchestrated and executed by a lame, petty little narcissist who was probably irremediably abused as a child or had serious developmental issues during his teenage years and decided that the "some men just want to watch the world burn" line by Michael Caine in The Dark Knight applied to him as well. In his own delusion of omnipotence he truly believed himself able to escape his own irrelevance, and the smartest thing he could come up with is an half-baked exercise in political opportunism, investing what must have been hundreds of hours in one of the silliest, most simplistic and contradictory exercises in video propaganda ever seen. A ticket to the loony bin in a healthy society. But what do we get instead? The kabuki theater of journalists, sociologists and anonymous opinionated people trying to figure out the inner workings of this guy's soul. And in the process, his "ideas" get projection and promotion which is precisely what the guy wanted.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Anders Breivik's trial will only vindicate Norway's liberal legal system
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The reason he is in a suit and treated respectfully, is because in Norway you are innocent until proven guilty. I think the humanity in society can be judged by the way we treat our prisoners, and in this regard we can be proud. I do cringe when I`m watching him on tv, but we can`t rewrite our laws for one monster, that would give him more power. I`m Norwegian and I hope he lives a very long life. I hope someday he will understand the magnitude of what he has done. Listening to him today, I don`t believe he is capable of feeling remorse, but still I hope someday he will. I think the ultimate punishment would be for him to comprehend what he has done. Death is no punishment. His political views are in my opinion of no relevance, he disqualified himself from any debate, by killing 77 innocent people.
Read the article REUTERS/Norway killer on trial: "I would have done it again"
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21 years doesn't seem like much, but the article does point out he can be held longer if still deemed dangerous. The Norwegian justice system operates on a philosophy of rehabilitation instead of punishment. Rather than punish the murderer, they try to make him not a murderer. And if he's still dangerous in 21 years they won't let him go.
You can argue whether that's fair or not, but Norway definitely has a lower homicide rate than the U.S. so they must be doing something right. In 2010 the country had 31 murders total, out of a population of almost 5 million.
That said, anyone who commits an atrocity on this scale should never be free ever again.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
On Witness Stand, Norwegian Says He Would Kill Again
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What would be the purpose of killing him? I fail to see the rational. Hardly anyone in Norway wants it including the victims and their families. Killing him would go against their wishes and the values we cherish in Norway.
Should we do it because it satisfies some revenge urge by foreigners? Killing him will not bring any of the dead back, nor make the those affected happier.
In fact to me killing his just seems like a too easy way out for him. I want him to sit in his cell the rest of his life thinking about what he has done. I want him to live long enough to see that he was wrong and that his dystopian view of the future of Norway and Europe never comes to fruitation.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
On Witness Stand, Norwegian Says He Would Kill Again
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I understand the idea that a civilized society might choose not to impose the death penalty. In spite of my generally left-leaning ways, I do support it in some cases - this would be one (Timothy McVeigh is another).
Governments kill people all the time - soldiers in wars, cops on the beat. Had there been a chance for the cops to shoot this guy during the commission of his crime, they would have, without a second's thought. That he wasn't killed then leads to the spectacle of a trial and countless dollars keeping him incarcerated.
What's galling about this is that this psychopath gets a public platform to spew his insanity, and if guilty, he gets only 21 years in prison. While the U.S. has too many non-violent people in jail, any reasonable person must wonder how any society cannot at least have life withour parole.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
On Witness Stand, Norwegian Says He Would Kill Again
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Sorry, but to those who can only see this murderer's acts in the realm of insanity, you are sadly mistaken. There are sane, calculated and hateful people out there-a frightening but true reality. His philosophies are racist, skewed and sickening ( we can unfortunately find like-minded racism and bigotry elsewhere in our own country and world). I think he is disturbed at best, with no empathy or care for other human beings. He performed a detailed massacre that he seems pleased with and would repeat again. I wouldn't want to offend the people in the world who have mental illness who are goodhearted, hardworking people. We'd be better of calling this killer, a monster, no more, no less. In my view, he deserves life in prison or whatever facility will keep him out of reach of other innocent civilians.
My heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
On Witness Stand, Norwegian Says He Would Kill Again
A sea of flowers and teddybears outside Oslo cathedral commemorating the victims of the massacre in Oslo and on Utøya.
August 2011 Photo: Oskar Seljeskog via Wikipedia
The Great Ship RMS Titanic - A World Remembers and Reflects
Titanic leaving Belfast Photo: Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff via Wikipedia
As the anniversary of Titanic's sinking arrives tomorrow, I've had opportunity to reflect on these stories of grace under pending doom that keep emerging.
Just a couple of years ago, while doing some genealogical research, I came across a relative who died in the Titanic tragedy: Wallace Henry Hartley, the young violinist who led the eight-member orchestra on the doomed ship.
Wallace, my distant cousin, and his fellow musicians are credited by most accounts with keeping the passengers calm by doing what they did best: playing music. It may seem like a useless thing to do in what was imaginably a scene of increasing horror and chaos but in the words of several survivors, it was seen as an act of grace --- there was no way that these eight men nor any of the others could be saved once the last lifeboat had been released and so, whether out of acceptance, duty or just as a means of distracting themselves from the inevitable, Wallace and his fellow young musicians played music.
All of these men were young --- Wallace was the oldest. The youngest was 20. Wallace was engaged to be married. At least two left widows and one didn't know that he was about to be a father. Legend has it their last song was "Nearer, My God, to Thee." Read the article NPR/History Lost And Found: A Letter From Titanic
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The Titanic is one of the most memorable events in maritime history, but I
believe that the catastrophe’s fundamental cause was a failure in leadership.
One of the main reasons we need good leaders in organizations (not to mention
aboard ocean liners) is that weird things happen—and when they do, somebody
needs to interpret what’s going on, provide confident direction and
course-correct as necessary. My colleagues at The Forum Corporation and I have
researched the business lessons from the Titanic; we made some interesting
discoveries about what leaders did and didn’t do that contributed to the
outcomes of the disaster. See http://www.forum.com/blog/three-leadership-lessons-from-the-sinking-of-the-titanic/ to learn more
Read the article
WALL STREET JOURNAL/How bad management helped sink the Titanic
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There was no panic; because the majority of the passengers traveling second and third class were blocked from use of the upper decks by floor to ceiling metal gates that were locked and guarded by crewmen of the Titanic during the sinking to give the first class passengers first shot at the lifeboats. These gates were never unlocked as far as anyone knows. These facts were kept from the public by the British for many years. The truth can be found in a book written by Senan Molony entitled "The Irish Aboard the Titanic".
Read the article NPR/Why Didn't Passengers Panic On The Titanic?
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True, all accounts describe a generally stoic scene as the Titanic went down--but saying that "a hundred years ago, women and children always went first" requires a really heavy qualification. There were a great many men in first class who got into lifeboats, and even some crewmen (more than just to man the boats)--partly because in the first hour or longer, few passengers believed the situation was serious, and so women were reluctant to get into the boats without men. And it was no secret that second and third class were locked away from the boat deck--Walter Lord's class A Night to Remember published in the 1950s detailed that. Lord also describes that people expected that kind of inequality back then--third class was not the same as first class, after all. In some ways, it was a more stoic and fatalistic, more passive, culture. The Titanic story probably influenced behavior on the Lusitania, as well as the fact they were at war, and of course the speed with which the boat was going down. It was an obvious emergency from the start, while the Titanic seemed at first like a tedious accident that would slow down the voyage.
Read the article NPR/Why Didn't Passengers Panic On The Titanic?
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My great-grandparents were on the Titanic, first class. They had dined at the captain's table that night, then retired early. Later that night the ship's purser knocked quietly on
their door and asked for Gr.Grandpa to come out in the hallway. A brief conversation and then he came back into the room and told Gr.Grandma to quickly get dressed. Gr.Grandpa then took her to where they were loading the lifeboats. She climbed in and when she was seated, she looked up and said: "Herbert, why aren't you getting into the boat?" He replied, "I will see you later dear." She later told the family there was plenty of room in the lifeboat. The lifeboat was quickly rowed away from Titanic, and the Carpathia eventually arrived. Gr.Grandma never really recovered from that sad event. Gr. Grandpa was known for his generosity and intelligence and kindness. He was sorely missed.
Read the article NPR/Why Didn't Passengers Panic On The Titanic?
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Uh, define civil? First off, the Lusitania was rocked by two giant explosions while traveling in what had been declared a war zone, had an immediate loss of electricity and it was clearly obvious within minutes the ship was going to sink, as it did in 18 minutes. The Titanic took two hours and 40 minutes. The officers had time to calmly prepare the lifeboats, the crew to wake up passengers, the band was playing, lights were on, lifeboats at first couldn't reach capacity because people wouldn't leave the ship. Civil enough, sure, because many people didn't take the danger level seriously. Now let's fast forward into the night as the danger becomes more apparent. Officer Lightoller did in fact have to pull his gun on a crowd of men and women who looked like they were going to mob a boat that was loaded to capacit. Officer Lowe inside a boat being lowered did have to fire shots alongside the ship as it appeared a large group of men on along the open promenade of A deck were about to jump into the boat. The crew had to link arms around lifeboat D to keep people from swarming it. Lifeboat 15 did in fact almost get lowered right on top of lifeboat 13 in all the confusion. Sure people were stoic......for about the first 90 minutes.
Read the article NPR/Why Didn't Passengers Panic On The Titanic?
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The fact is, the "official story" of the Titanic is as full of holes as the "official story" of September 11. No competent firm associated with the sea plays games with design. Most accidents seem to have occurred despite ship design, Titanic seems to have been built to guarantee sinking. There seems to have been no attempt to avoid ice. One radio operator even told other ships to stop sending reports. Lifeboats could carry 65 people or more, but the first was launched with only 19 people aboard. Carpathia was only 58 miles away but took four hours to reach them. Californian saw rockets launched but assumed they didn't mean distress, something no ship's captain would do. In the time it took to sink, the Titanic could have sent a boat to Californian for help. A movie reel shows the Titanic being eased out of harbor by English tugs, obvious for their shape, but the reel claims to show the Titanic's sister ship in New York harbor, and the names of the tugs are scratched out on the film. The story is non credible in the extreme.
Read the article NPR/History Lost And Found: A Letter From Titanic
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The Duff Gordons, whatever you might think of them, were fiercely scapegoated. The titled couple was not alone in seating themselves in an underloaded lifeboat. Almost all the first boats left half-filled. And Sir Cosmo was hardly the only man in first class to be saved. A number of men left with their wives in the first boats.
Also, the Duff Gordons' boat was loaded under the supervision of a ship's officer who then ordered it to be lowered. The couple had nothing to do with its not carrying its full complement nor were they responsible for its being launched when it was. The officer in charge, probably First Officer Murdoch, made the decision to send it away partly filled, worried perhaps that there wasn't time to round up more people to go in it. The lifeboat the Duff Gordons were in, Boat 1, was one of the last to be lowered (at approximately 1:15 a.m.) from the forward starboard boat deck -- so most people on the deck at that point had moved farther along toward the boats located aft.
As to Boat 1's failure to return to pick up people struggling in the water after the Titanic sank, again the Duff Gordons are unfairly singled out for censure in this regard. The truth is only one lifeboat out of the 18 launched that night (2 floated off as the ship went down) made a concerted effort to rescue people in the water. This was Boat 14, commanded by Fifth Officer Lowe. And it should be noted that even Officer Lowe waited for the cries of the drowning to "thin out" before he made his rescue attempt. So that shows that there was a real danger of boats swamping in the mass of people, or at least that there was a real fear of that happening.
In boat after boat, when the suggestion was made to go back, most passengers expressed fear of being overwhelmed by the throngs in the water. None of these survivors were held accountable for their actions, or in-actions in this respect, yet the Duff Gordons were vilified for opposing a rescue effort. I think it's a simple case of reverse class discrimination. Because the couple was wealthy and titled, and Lady Duff Gordon was famous, the public (fueled by the tabloids) assumed they had secured some sort of preferential treatment in abandoning ship and/or used their social standing to influence the crew not to succor the drowning.
Finally, with regard to the alleged 5 pounds bribe. It's preposterous when you really examine the possibility. One might be willing to question the Duff Gordons' morals but to believe the bribe theory one must question the morality of all seven sailors who received the money. It just doesn't stand scrutiny. Plain and simple: the money was offered by Cosmo to help the crew in Boat 1. And it was a fine act of charity, especially considering how the company that owned the Titanic, the White Star Line, hardly lifted a finger to help the crew in the immediate aftermath of the sinking.
Read the article DAILY TELGRAPH/Titanic survivors vindicated at last
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I think I would give them the benefit of the doubt - but I am not naive enough not to imagine that there are many people who, cognisant of the future of their correspondence, would take pains to make sure the self-penned record of their activities placed them in the best possible light. I doubt anyone whose behaviour at the sinking of RMS Titanic might have been called reprehensible, would be so foolish as to confirm it in writing.
Read the article DAILY TELGRAPH/Titanic survivors vindicated at last
View of the bow of the RMS Titanic photographed in June 2004 by the ROV Hercules during an expedition returning to the shipwreck of the Titanic Courtesy of NOAA/Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island (NOAA/IFE/URI).
A more fundamental question; why 'women and children first?'
The doctrine makes total sense in a situation where the assumed superior strength of the man means he has a better chance of survival in the situation from which everyone is escaping. I don't think that is true of immersion in freezing sea water; no one was going to survive by swimming home or fighting the iceberg. Indeed, I would argue that the lot of survivors is infinitely better if families stay together. If only 100 survive it is surely better that the 100 are able to resume some kind of normal life, rather than all being widows and orphans. If you had to lose half your shoes, would you prefer it to be half the pairs or all the left ones?
That's apart from the absurdity of allowing half empty boats to be launched because there were only men available to put in them... Even if you cleave unquestioningly to the 'women first' doctrine, that is very different from 'women only.' It is deeply distressing that the then prevailing notions of honour condemned many men to meaningless deaths. Cosmo would have to be bonkers to choose to abandon his wife and die when the boat was about to leave with empty spaces in it.
And I appreciate £5 was a lot of money to a destitute sailor in 1912, but not enough, I would have thought, to procure murder. If the sailors had judged it right to go back, they would have. They had more than the ordinary humanitarian motivation to do so, since a large proportion of those in the water would have been their friends and colleagues. Gratitude and pity seem like entirely plausible motives for the payments, and I would give him the benefit of the doubt, despite my natural distaste for the privilege he represents.
Read the article DAILY TELGRAPH/Titanic survivors vindicated at last
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I've been fascinated by the Titanic story since I first saw 'A Night To Remember' way back in the day.
Not really by the sinking itself, or by the 'social commentary' about the class system, but by the individual stories that have become integral to the event.
I have always hoped , if ever I were to find myself in such an extreme situation, that I would behave 'honourably', even if such a concept is now out of fashion. That existential choice, which is what almost every Titanic passenger had to make, is what makes the story still compelling. For me, anyway.
Even after 100 years.
Read the article DAILY TELGRAPH/Titanic survivors vindicated at last
Titanic Sinking - Willi Stower,1912 via Wikipedia
Contrary to this depiction, the sinking occurred in the middle of a moonless night.)
The story and demise of this "indestructable ship" is the story of human nature itself: courageous acts and cowardice, behavior both honorable and despicable. The arrogance of not having enough lifeboats for all was a tragic mistake.
The tragedy of 1,500 lives lost will never be forgotten and it shows that real life drama out does anything that imagination and Hollywood can dream up.
Thank goodness for science and the knowledge that we have now to understand what happened to this magnificant ship. Bravo James Cameron.
Read the article DAILY BEAST/Titanic Hit Iceberg 100 Years Ago
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It always takes a disaster with technology to make changes in our lives. "IF" Titanic had not hit the ice berg and sunk, then, most likely, the rule of having enough life boats for all abord instead of by tonnage would not be in place for years. The wireless would not have been such a big deal other than a play thing for the rich to send messages, not an emergency becon. Look no closer than NASA, it took Challenger and Colombia to change the cavalier attitude NASA had for the space program. Man thinks they can harness nature until nature shows who is the real boss.
Human arrogance is the only constant in history.
Read the article CNN/All aboard! Respect, remembrance mix with the macabre
World Without Pity: Human Trafficking Traps 2.4 Million Victims
Young women used in prostitution wait for customer/exploiters in Mumbai's red
light district. They face routine violence from pimps and customers and a wide
range of diseases and adverse health effects -- from sexually-transmitted
diseases and tuberculosis, to rape, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, and
murder.
Photo: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department." Images of Human Trafficking
I swear, I don't understand how anyone can NOT be morally outraged at the fact that such outrageous dehumanizing treatment of our fellow human beings... and still consider themselves to be human beings. Because, PSYCHICALLY, anyone who either condones, knowingly contributes or actively engages in (and directly or indirectly profits from) this reprehensible, 'soul-killing' criminal activity is a different, lesser, sub-human species... and they need be rendered extinct.
If you're aware that some aspect of this activity is occurring in the city/town where you live and even if it involves people you know... speak up and speak out. Exercise your humanity and PROUDLY be an informant to the authorities and the public at large. Be a 'rat', a 'snitch', a 'narc', a 'stoolie', a 'squealer', a 'tattler' or whatever other term has been used in our society to intimidate people from speaking up and speaking out about the injustices they know of or bear witness to.
In the present interconnected age of social media where - as we've seen with recent incidents like the KONY2012 video and the Treyvon Martin case - memes travel across the nation and the world at dizzying, previously unimagined speed... silence may well be the greatest crime of all
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Human Trafficking Victims: 2.4 Million People Across The Globe Are Trafficked For Labor, Sex
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Cultures like to think of prostitution as the oldest profession. Wink, Wink. Odd that no one would suggest prostitution to their daughters as a legit. business, yet everyone thinks it's fine for someone else's daughter, as though a special caste existed. As though women who get caught up in prostitution and trafficking schemes are somehow to blame. Social conditions push women into prostitution. We buy into the Happy Hooker story without a thought. I have seen comments on HuffPost from men who blame even 12-yr.-old girls at truck stops for their own circumstances. I say CRIMINALIZE THE USERS OF WOMEN FOR PAID SEX as SWEDEN as done. It's been HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL and puts the blame squarely where it belongs, on users of women.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Human Trafficking Victims: 2.4 Million People Across The Globe Are Trafficked For Labor, Sex
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If more countries had legalized sex workers who were regulated in order to insure good treatment, it would destroy the human trafficking black market. Today we have a situation with sex work that we had with alcohol during the prohibition. All we are doing is helping the mafia with the current set up banning sex work.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Human Trafficking Victims: 2.4 Million People Across The Globe Are Trafficked For Labor, Sex
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Slave labor is forced labor. Countries like China may have factories we would call sweatshops with millions of employees. These people are slaves in that their economy doesn't offer them the chance to get a better job but they're free to quit the company they work for at any time.
It isn't forced labor thus it isn't slavery.
These people who are trafficed have no choice but to do what they do and quitting isn't an option they could take. They cut hours at a Chinese factory lately in response to outrage toward their long hours and the employees are upset because they now make less money.
These people can quit when they want to and are being compensated for their work. Human trafficing slaves can't and aren't.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Human Trafficking Victims: 2.4 Million People Across The Globe Are Trafficked For Labor, Sex
This woman used in prostitution in Western Europe is forced through threats and
intimidation to give all earnings to her trafficker. The amount varies between
200 and 400 Euro ($250-$500 USD) per month. These fees come on top of a huge
bogus "debt" typically about $35,000 Euro ($44,000 USD) owed by the woman to the
trafficker who brought her, usually from Africa or Eastern Europe. Wealthy
European countries are magnets for sex trafficking.
Photo: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department." Images of Human Trafficking
While all countries in the World are involved in human trafficking. Some are involved at greater degrees than others. Human trafficking is made easy by harsh economic conditions on people, low priority on Governments' agenda, cultural indifference and sometimes cultural support. Thank to those who speak up now, we all become more aware of a problem that was somehow taboo. Unfortunately this awareness will not be translated in action when one sees that all around the so-called industrialized world, Governments structures and budgets are destroyed under the pretenses of austerity and fiscal responsibility. Since it is a reality we are facing now, and since the problem is more acute now than ever, the only quick response can come from private citizens who can use social networks to expose those who participate in human trafficking, to report human trafficking activities and facilitate authorities' work.
Also, the World drive for immediate gain has taken its toll on international organizations like the UN, UNICEF. I invite readers to read the 1948 Universal Proclamation of Human Rights as well as the 1950 Universal Proclamation of Children Rights, and notice how far we have drifted from these ideas.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Human Trafficking Victims: 2.4 Million People Across The Globe Are Trafficked For Labor, Sex
A 9-year-old girl toils under the hot sun, making bricks from morning to night,
seven days a week. She was trafficked with her entire family from Bihar, one of
the poorest and most underdeveloped states in India, and sold to the owner of a
brick-making factory. With no means of escape, and unable to speak the local
language, the family is isolated and lives in terrible conditions.
Photo: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department." Images of Human Trafficking
A quote from an Indian Supreme Court ruling on child labor is painted in big
letters on a wall of this school for rescued children, proclaiming: "Every child
has the right to food, play, education, and love." But out of 1,000 raids in one
district of Northern India over the past five years to free enslaved children
like this one, only 40-50 traffickers were convicted and fined.
Photo: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department." Images of Human Trafficking
LINKS
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
"Cuba and the World Need Change" - Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI aboard Shepherd One via Wikipedia
Fidel attended a boys Roman Catholic boarding school in Santiago de Cuba. During the revolution in the fifties era and early sixties, the Church was perceived by the Castro's hill troops to be supportive of Batista and the government. Thus, they made it tough for the Church when they were victorious, and when the Russian form of communism was adopted, the Church was defined as something dangerous and to be eliminated. People in Cuba are very warm hearted and so kind and loving. Faith has not eroded as much as one might think. The Church structures are incredible, the Havana Seminary is full of soon-to-be young priests, and things are looking up. Maybe this would be a good time for Castro to get serious with this Pope, because his remaining days are fewer, and some of his past activities, not too saintly. It wold be a good example for the country if he attended Church.
Read the article GLOBE & MAIL/Pope meets Fidel Castro as papal visit to Cuba wraps up
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The RC Church "was perceived as supportive of Batista" because it WAS supportive of Batista.
Fulgencio Batista was a murderer and a thug. Batista let US companies and the Mafia come into Cuba and run casinos and brothels, and Batista and his cronies took a cut.
. . . the RC Church pretended that nothing bad was happening. The RC Church supported Batista. Individual priests and nuns sometimes did what they could to oppose Batista, but the hierarchy of the Church supported him, and was sad when he was overthrown.
Read the article GLOBE & MAIL/Pope meets Fidel Castro as papal visit to Cuba wraps up
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The pope had the opportunity and audience to exhort the Cuban people to stand up and break their shackles and didn't, and that is sad.
His holding a friendly meeting with the Castro's and then not speaking out publicly against them, makes it clear where his and the church's sympathy lies.
Read the article MIAMI HERALD/Pope Benedict XVI meeting with Fidel Castro
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There are many more Catholics in Cuba than
1 Secular liberals
2 Marxists.
3 Guardian readers( worldwide).
Obviously Marxism as understood thus far has failed in Cuba as elsewhere. As the Holy Father says the challenge now is to engineer a transition to freedom and justice, including economic justice, without violence or losing some things which have worked in Cuba. The US lifting its embargo would help with this.
There will be a Catholic church in Cuba long after Castro, both of them , and there dynastic regime have gone.You can be sure of it.
Read the article GUARDIAN/The pope has work to do selling Catholicism in Cuba's busy marketplace
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"During his visit, Pope Benedict XVI’s message to Cubans was clear: religious freedom can foster other freedoms."
Which is why, I would suppose, the Pope opposes them so strenuously in his church...
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Pope Calls for ‘Authentic Freedom’ in Cuba
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First, a doctrinal point: The article states that Catholics (and others) worship the virgin of El Cobre. While a Catholic ignorant of Church doctrine may do such a thing, Catholicism teaches reverance for saints, but reserves worship for God.
Second, I would like to address the two main strains of thought on the question of papal hypocrisy in calling for greater freedom. I would like to begin with a note that I am a Catholic and a libertarian, and zealous in each. In my eyes, there is no conflict between the two so long as one properly understands each.
To those who believe religion itself to be opposed to freedom, I answer that religious doctrine freely accepted is no tyranny. A religious sect may have strict moral teaching, but so long as one's conscience freely adopts doctrine, it is not contrary to freedom, rather, it is an act of freedom in self-government.
To those who point to social teachings, you may have a fair point. Indeed, I have often shared your discomfort when Rome follows a moral lesson with "and there should be a law!" Nevertheless, if we are to hold this as the standard, what business does any but the most libertarian among us have in speaking of freedom? As only a minarchist, I am thus a hypocrite, and surely too are most of you.
However, whatever reforms may be appropriate within the Roman Church, I think we can agree that it is good when any figure of authority, no matter their imperfections, presses for the liberation of the serf or slave.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Pope Calls for ‘Authentic Freedom’ in Cuba
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For us in the US, the visit of the Pope may or may not have any significance. For the people in Cuba, it is an explosion of fresh air to hear the Pope asking them not to be afraid. I left Cuba over 40 years ago, no one trusted any one then, no one trusts any one now. The government teaches you to only trust the government, children are taught to love the leaders more than their own families, they are encouraged to turn them in if they hear any comments against the government. It is time for my long suffering country to be free from the dictatorship.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Pope Calls for ‘Authentic Freedom’ in Cuba
Massacre in Panjwai Marks Dire Hour in US, Afghan Relations
U.S. Soldiers with Special Operations Task Force-South and their Afghan counterparts stand guard as villagers gather for a shura, or consultation, with local officials following a clearing operation in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, Afghanistan, April 19, 2011. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel P. Shook
Unlike Iraq, I strongly support the war in Afghanistan. We went there to protect our interests, and to stop the horribly evil Taliban. Over 1,700 American soldiers have lost lives; many more wounded. We've spent over a trillion dollars. Yet, a vast majority of Afghans and Pakistanis either hate us or don't like us. This is another Vietnam.
We have no option but to pull out. But we need to be prepared. Taliban will not only take over Afghanistan with acts of savagery, they will threaten Pakistan, the entire region, and our interests worldwide. I think 1) we withdraw troops, 2) hope for Afghan army to take over, and 3) suppress Taliban with massive investment in unmanned aircraft and technology.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Attack May Derail Effort to Force Taliban Into Talks
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We should be able to pull U. S. troops out of Afghanistan as quickly as we inserted them into Iraq. Blow the whistle and start the process now. If private military contractors don't want to go with us, they can apply to Mr. Karzai for their paychecks. As long as we are there, incidents like this one and the burning of the Korans will continue to happen. The fact that the Taliban has blood dripping from its hands is no excuse for the blood on our hands.
Until we leave, the attention of the Afghan people will be distracted from the blood on the hands of their countrymen because they have invaders to focus on instead-- and let's be honest: blood on the hands of one's countrymen is somehow less infuriating than blood on the hands of an unwelcome invader. Many people suffer domestic violence in silence but will call the police immediately should an intruder enter their homes. The sooner we leave, the better. President Obama, stop this insanity now.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Attack May Derail Effort to Force Taliban Into Talks
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The disparity between what we are told or what we believe about war and war itself is so vast that those who come back are often rendered speechless. What do you say to those who advocate war as an instrument to liberate the women of Afghanistan or bring democracy to Iraq? How do you tell them what war is like? How do you explain that the very proposition of war as an instrument of virtue is absurd? How do you cope with memories of children bleeding to death with bits of iron fragments peppered throughout their small bodies? How do you speak of war without tears?
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Attack May Derail Effort to Force Taliban Into Talks
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"Cry me a river. The fact that Afghanis' recently murdered Americans' over the burning of a book shows how little they value human life. As far as I'm concerned this is just karma."
Are you serious?! An American soldier loses his mind and goes on a killing spree and that is the fault of the Afghans. You are a sick man.
This incident demonstrates why we need to end this war sooner than later. Too many soldiers have done too many tours and it is taking a toll on their ability to do their jobs. This incident, the urinating on dead bodies incident, the buring of the Korans (which should have been an obvious no, no to anyone that is at all familiar with the religion and country) just show that our forces need to leave.
At this point they are doing more to fuel the flames of hate towards America rather than achieving their goal of building support for our efforts.. The Taliban and other radical Islamic groups will gain more support and begin to bounce back if this type of thing continues. It's probably already happening.
Get out now.
Read the article NPR/Taliban Vow Revenge For Alleged U.S. Attack On Civilians
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I will not excuse a war crime by saying the enemy does the same thing. We are supposed to be morally superior to the Taliban, but when you have US soldiers in a country where their so called Afghan allies may turn their weapons on those soldiers at any time, and the insurgents look just like any one else in the populace, you put a LOT of stress on US soldiers.
This is Vietnam II. Instead of Vietanimzation, we're attempting to do Afghanistination. In the end, the same thing will happen, when we pull out, be it today or after 2014, the Taliban will take over just like the N. Vietnamese took over after we left there.
How much more blood and treasure must we spend over there?
Read the article NPR/Taliban Vow Revenge For Alleged U.S. Attack On Civilians
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"Get us out of there immediately. No possible good can be accomplished by our further presence."
While I'm inclined to agree with you first statement, your second statement should be modified: there's no possible good TO THE USA by staying there anymore. To the Afghan people, especially the women, there's a lot of benefit for us being there. To me, it would be more hateful to be so uncaring as to wish civil war and the return of the Taliban and their oppressiveness especially towards women. The normal Afghan people don't deserve that any more than they deserve American soldiers killing civilians. But, I have a feeling more innocents would be killed in the first days that the US leaves than have been killed by US soldiers in 10+ years if we suddenly pulled out.
Read the article NPR/Taliban Vow Revenge For Alleged U.S. Attack On Civilians
This is an act of one lone idiot. It's funny that the Taliban and Afghan law
makers call us terrorists and men of terror when on lone idiot decides to take
it upon themselves to act out. But a whole fanatical regime can practice this
type of behavior as a policy of sorts and that's alright. As a Iraqi war vet
myself I'll be the first one to tell you this soldier was wrong and should be
punished accordingly but please don't sit there and claim how righteous or law
abiding these Taliban fighters are. The Taliban practices and perfected terror
in this region of the world. Being under US rule or protection is better then
being under the tyrannical regime we replaced.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Killings Prompt Afghan Condemnation
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Osama bin Laden is dead. Why are we still in Afghanistan? When will we learn
that nation building is fools gold?
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Killings Prompt Afghan Condemnation
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Afghanistan is your typical Pentagon/White house mission creep poster boy. We
hit them in 2001 for 9/11 which was needed for national revenge and morale
restoration and we almost caught Osama in Tora Bora which should have ended it
right there but we messed up and then the leaders both military and civilian
formulated yet another case of nation building like in Iraq, etc to insure it
would never be another incubator for our opponents.
The key problem with
nation building is that there is no nation there just a bunch of stone age war
lords fighting over rocks and some sheep. There is no way you will ever upgrade
that society in our lifetime into something resembling a responsible modern
nation but the vested interests will always show us how it will be done because
they know it all...........a variation on the master of the universe on Wall
st.
We now have the technology to hit the terrorists remotely with CIA
informers on the ground to tamp down new threats. To soften the political blow
we just accelerate our departure till after the elections and get out in early
2013 and leave behind that $400/gal. gasoline bill we currently pay and avoid
any more casualties or maiming of our troops for this lawless and God forsaken
land and its unfortunate inhabitants who must crawl up the chain of civilization
like our forefathers did centuries before us or alternately become refugees and
simply vote with their feet..........when they write the history books about
this I believe this moment and the previous assassinations of our troops by
Afgan troops will be one of those historic moments when all the leadership
propaganda and lies was washed away in the blink of the eye by a dose of
reality.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Killings Prompt Afghan Condemnation
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As a 'nam vet, this has all too familiar a set of diagnostics.. a war with a confusing and complex "moral" mission, a war that has gone on too long, and has cost our presumptive "friends" way too much. And, the cost to us has been incalcuable when we tally this soldier's actions along with the collective PDST and its impacts on those who waged war in this sinkhole.
Obama's strategic actions have done more to cripple AlQueda than any land action in Afghanistan, and there's no point to stay'n. We're done, we're cooked, we have no real mission and we will only have more rogue events on all sides of the table.
Read the article DAILY BEAST/Afghans Want Public Trial
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The US is out of touch if it still seeks a presence in Afghanistan. The dream of imposing its order is over. To understand why, perhaps you’ll need to imagine yourself an Afghan citizen, any citizen at all. You learn foreign soldiers have made a game of killing innocents, urinated on dead bodies, burned your holy book, and now killed nine children, three women, and four men as they slept — execution style.
You read the bureaucratic words of the foreigners: “regret”, “condolences”, “bring to justice” … and you understand that their concern now is “damage control.”
Your life’s passion, for the sake of your countrymen, for the sake of your own women and children, will now be to rid your country of these foreigners once and for all. And this will be the case whatever your politics used to be.
This horrendous act effectively ends the west’s war in Afghanistan. The only Afghans who want the soldiers to stay will be those who have been bought off. The entire land will be united as it has never been united, by the passionate wish to rid the country of the foreigners.
The “chaos” of Afghanistan may well be replaced by a single-minded consensus … just not the one the west had in mind.
Which NATO president or prime minister will dare to ask troops to remain there, knowing that they will have no chance to succeed, knowing that they will be the object of hatred and the target of revenge wherever they go? Any politician who seeks to continue the war for one more day will have the blood of his own soldiers on his hands.
At long last this war is finished.
Read the article REUTERS/Afghan civilian deaths spark calls for U.S. exit
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I, like many Americans, love, support, and thank our troops in person or in our hearts everyday. It is such an insult to our troops when a rogue soldier or group of soldiers does such despicable things such as urinating on dead bodies, burning their Quran, and getting up and shooting innocent women and children in their sleep. Anti-Americanism is so strong over there, and our good troops don’t need these people making it worse for them. Those idiots do not represent our values, and shouldn’t be there. It’s racism and hatred, the things that cause strife in our own country. We are not proud to have them represent us, not do we support them. Get them out of other countries so our troops don’t have the additional pressures of Anti-Americanism because of them.
Read the article REUTERS/Afghan civilian deaths spark calls for U.S. exit
Afghan villagers gather for a shura, or consultation, with local officials following a clearing operation
in Panjwai district, Kandahar province, April 19, 2011. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel P. Shook)
Kony2012 -- Eyes of the World Are Now on the Invisible Children
INVISIBLE CHILDREN - WATCH THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE
I come from Northern Uganda, I live in Los Angeles, I lost a few family members to Joseph Kony's Violence, one of them taken at the age of 12, we never saw him again never heard about him again, my mother was once taken by the Kony's rebels from a Bus Ambush, luckily enough they let her go free with a group of other people because they had injuries from gun shots, I studied in a School were classes used to be cancelled because of Kony's rebel activities, I support this Video because it's bringing awareness to the whole World, I hope it results to bringing Education to the war affected Kids, communities and the whole region
Read the article. NPR/ Joseph Kony Is Infamous — But Will He Be Caught?
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If this movement
captures a ICC most wanted then it is a success. The fact that some of the
information is dated does not mean that it did not happen in the
past.
Read the article VANCOUVER SUN/Outrage grows over 'Stop Kony' campaign
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It is obvious that capturing Kony is extremely difficult. The man has been committing atrocities for over 26 years. However, the goal of the video, in my opinion, is to bring awareness of the horror to millions who have never heard of Kony. By contibuting to Invisible Children, schools are constructed or reconstructed, jobs are created and early warning programs are implemented to save lives. This is truly a worthwhile organization and thanks to social media being used in a socially conscious manner, perhaps there can be peace and fulfillment in the lives of thousands of children and their families. I truly have hope that this video and efforts of the organizers, workers and all involved will in fact change the world to be a better place.
Read the article. NPR/ Joseph Kony Is Infamous — But Will He Be Caught?
INTERPOL WANTED POSTER
The detractors of the Stop Kony 2012 message seem to be missing a point that resonates loudly with myself and many of my peers who care about the movement. I am a veteran of seven deployments since 1998, and among my peers we've often debated what purpose we actually were serving with our efforts. The deliberations are weighed with so many ambiguities that none of us feel comfortable with our actions in total, and we all have doubts as to what good might have been accomplished.
In the event of the LRA, it's clear that acting to stop those predations would be an unambiguous good. The exact number of victims, or percentage of aid allocation, or reciprocal atrocities on the part of the government are immaterial. A serial perpetrator of horrors against kids is being targeted for action, and there doesn't need to be a solution to the larger conflicts to see that stopping Kony is a worthy enterprise.
Read the article. NPR/ Joseph Kony Is Infamous — But Will He Be Caught?
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I understand why people have allowed themselves to be upset by the video. Yes, it explains the situation at the comprehension level of a four-year-old, and it doesn't give enough voice to the victims.
But, had the video never gone viral, articles like this one and conversations being had all over the internet would have never been written. Doesn't that say something? Was that not their goal in the first place?
Western involvement, even when it is well intended, does not always yield good results. Does Invisible Children have the right solution? Probably not, but at least they are trying to change something terrible about the world. They are sparking a desire for more knowledge. Surely, that can't be such a bad thing.
Read the article. NPR/ Joseph Kony Is Infamous — But Will He Be Caught?
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I've heard so many theories and counter-theories i'll leave it to those truly in the know. although i suspect that a campaign that has become so mammoth is naturally going to have its backers and naysayers, fanning the flames and making the whole picture that little more murkier...
Read the article GUARDIAN/Kony 2012: what's the real story?
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A stand, albeit flawed, is better than no stand at all.
I admire and respect the filmmakers with all their Hollywood theatrics for taking a stand for the rights of children in Uganda.
It's more than I have been able to do this year, besides supporting a couple charities here and there and discussing world issues with friends.
I would rather see the brilliance of the message as apposed to the medium.
The message is stop Kony, make a global stand for the rights of every Ugandan child.
Well instead of critiquing the pros or cons of the filmmaking process or administration funds of Invisible Children, I would rather back a worthy cause ... however imperfect.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Kony 2012: what's the real story?
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I think with situations like Kony 2012 people often fail to step back and see the bigger picture. Yes, Kony is awful. Yes, what he is doing is horrific. BUT if he his caught does that solve the problem? NO!
He is part of something that is much bigger and much more powerful. In order help the 'invisible' children (and indeed every other invisible person) a much more fundamental change needs to take place in society and that is not just Ugandan society but our global society. Until society is over hauled so that the basic problems which go hand in hand with inequality are solved the vicious cycle will continue. Where people are equal, where people are not facing poverty, where people are educated and where women are respected, such horrific human rights abuses decrease. In these societies maybe just capturing one guy would solve the problem, however that is not the reality here.
There is a an intensely problematic empirical thread running through this whole campaign especially as it has taken on a life of its own on Facebook and Twitter. Sure, we’ll help you capture this guy so that we can feel better about ourselves and feel like we’ve done some good and then we’ll go back to our everyday lives while some other tyrant rises up to take his place because none of the basic problems which have allowed this situation to occur in the first place have been addressed - poverty, corruption, access to education etc. This of course applies to so many situations where conflict occurs, including on our own doorsteps – traveller violence in Ireland / gang violence in London / drug wars in the U.S ... these are a product of society at large and our society’s failure to address the needs of those who are marginalised and to ensure equality prevails.
We constantly try to identify the ‘bad guy’ in this case Kony, however if we look at the big picture and step back and try to understand where this problem has evolved from, we would be uncomfortable to discover that more often than not the real, more consistently bad ‘bad guys’ are the supposed civilised western countries who devastated the African continent through colonisation. In short, it will take much more than just the capture of Kony to protect the invisible children.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Kony 2012: what's the real story?
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It's a powerful video, that's for sure. Although I believe that the video raises some much needed awareness on the terrible things that are going on in Uganda, my concern, in a wider context, is that such approaches face particular limitations. My humble opinions are as follows:
1) I would imagine that many of the supporters of Kony 2012 would have been ignorant of Joseph Kony's existence until yesterday and the video certainly excels in readdressing this issue. However, the video fails to develop a long-term strategy as to what is to be done after Kony is captured/disposed of. The approach appears to be incredibly short-sited in my opinion and appears to foster a "lynch mob" mentality. Sure, we need to deal with him, but the number of comments along the lines of "let's kill him!", "send in the special ops to wipe 'em out" reveal a distinct lack of understanding of the broader social/political outcomes of such action. Kony needs to go but it's not a case of sending in the SAS and everyone living happily ever after.
2) The media, as demonstrated by Kony 2012, is clearly an immensely powerful tool. However, who should decide what is a worthy cause to fight for in the first place? And, how do we prioritise these issues? My problem here is that many will follow a cause without thinking and make sweeping judgments on situations and scenarios they have little or no understanding of. Sure, we could have a video depicting the atrocities in Burma, North Korea or Yemen but a video of this production quality and appeal could easily have been developed to support the plight of "wronged" persons/groups who do not merit it.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Kony 2012: what's the real story?
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My response is in regards to “A 28-minute long film about the plight of children in Africa has been watched more than 21m times on You Tube. But the charity behind it is facing some criticisms for their Hollywood-style campaigning on the issue. Are the criticisms fair?”
Do we criticize Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg? I honest believe the creators of this video should be applauded for what they have done, 21 million views and it is not a video of a monkey smoking a cigarette or someone falling of a roof accidentally on purpose, Finally it is something that matters and can actually make a difference. This could (and should) be recognized as innovation in the same way we celebrate the Facebook creator, He made something that affected our lives, now someone tries to use innovation to affect the lives of people less fortunate and we criticize them.
I’ll keep this short as I doubt you will even get a chance to read this…. And that really is my point, everyone is talking about it and that alone is why we cannot criticize. Everyone knows now the answer to the Facebook status they created 30 minutes ago, ‘What is this KONY thing about?’
So we can all continue to ask ourselves the above question OR we can ask ourselves this, ‘What can I do to help’
Read the article GUARDIAN/Kony 2012: what's the real story?
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This is from a missionary friend who lives in Gulu, Uganda. She emailed me this last night. She's over there, I think she knows what's up.
"Being here in Gulu, Uganda I have seen the devastation of lives caused by this man. I have listened to young men talk about what it was like to be a child soldier; to see their parents or other family members killed. Many are still looking for family taken by the LRA, wondering if they are alive or dead.
Some of the women I'm working with in the village were either child soldiers or have been forced to live in IDP camps for years in order to stay safe from the LRA.
I think it's because of the efforts of IC and young people like yourself these last few years, that have taken the time to become involved and take action, forcing our government to take action, that Gulu is now relatively safe and people are busy putting their lives back together.
However, Kony/IRA are now in the Congo doing the same devastation and he must be stopped. It's going to take people raising their voices in order for governments to take action if there is to be an end to Kony and his LRA."
Read the article GUARDIAN/Kony 2012: what's the real story?
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Hollywood slick? Yes. Exploitive? Yes. Dumbed-down? Definitely. Telling the story from a young, white, western pov? Sure. Manipulative? Of course. And that is what makes it GOOD. It's a sorry piece of propaganda that doesn't do those things. If it doesn't manipulate you, then it has utterly failed. Even if you felt offended, you felt something and that is the point. This is an extremely effective piece of propaganda aimed at getting a very simple message to the masses. It doesn't matter why people are watching. That is not the question their elected officials will ask.
Read the article GUARDIAN/Kony 2012: what's the real story?
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There are many compelling criticisms of Invisible Children, including the apparent weaselly way this video messes with the facts, but the accusations about how its money is spent should not be chief among them.
The first of Invisible Children's two stated goals is to educate leaders and lobby for policy change; travel, salaries, and filmmaking, then, are important costs in achieving its mission. I'm curious where critics would redirect the organization's funds? It's clear that IC isn't equipped to deliver much on-the-ground programming, not does it seem to claim to. Arguments to the contrary reflect a common misunderstanding about the way charities behave and the sorts of activities we as a society allow charitable exemption for (which often include advocacy and awareness-building).
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Online, a Distant Conflict Soars to Topic No. 1
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It is apparent that the main intent of this video is to achieve maximum viral status. It is also apparent, to me, that Mr. Russell and his organization will benefit the most from its popularity. Of course the issue of helping to stop the kidnapping and exploitation of children in Africa is important, but I am always skeptical of propaganda documentaries and organizations that play on the knee-jerk idealism of young people to raise money. I just wish that someone could make it this fashionable to help children in our own country.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Online, a Distant Conflict Soars to Topic No. 1
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This article misses a central factor in the success of this campaign...grass roots activism. Thier KONY touring vans are loaded with young energetic roadies who screen the film and engage highschool and college kids at merch tables stocked with laptops and brochures. The branding of this cause is top notch. Give credit where credit is due.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Online, a Distant Conflict Soars to Topic No. 1
LRA CRISIS TRACKER
Russians Vote Vladimir Putin Back into Presidency
Vladimir Putin Presidential Press Office via WIkipedia
The 'skewed' grade to Putin's election is promoted by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) But an analysis by Reuters has a different conclusion. (Analysis: Price of victory may be too high for Putin. Reuters, March 4, 2012) The (OSCE) is the European organization commissioned to protect the interest of the U.S. and its European allies in Europe. And the OSCE is still chaffing from its failure to convince Putin to pull back the Russian forces he sent to South South Ossetia and Abkhazia to kick out the invading forces of Georgian president Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. The OSCE tried to negotiate their withdrawal, but Russia stood firm, and both South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence with Russian backing and military protection. The OSCE evaluation is probably the sweet revenge of the West against Putin now.
There were cameras rolling in all polling stations across Russia, and I hope the OSCE has some "non-skewed video" to support its allegations? Surely, there was opposition to Putin in Moscow due to the foreign NGO activities, and Russians who don't like Putin and his recycling gimmicks to stay in power. But across the vast land of 11 times zones of Russia, the opposition was non-existed.
Then, there is something else that is too strange and highly suspicious today -as of this writing: All the headlines under "Putin" on Google's News homepage -except the Russian RT - are from Western media sources ONLY! All Indian, Chinese, Arabic and other foreign English "Online" media sources are "filtered out by the Google company," except Thailand's "Bangkok Post" that predict "protests" against Putin! This is the first time in the last decade that I noticed such a complete "blackout" of other than Western media sources online. That seems to me to be an orchestrated Western effort to give the OSCE anti-Putin charade maximum coverage by convincing Google to filter out all other news that might be objective about Putin's victory.
I have written many anti-Putin comments in the past, but monopolizing headlines, and filtering out all other news not in synch withe the West's views is certainly offensive to the intelligence of the readers. The West's Cold War with Russia is over, but the West has now replaced it with a "Media Cold War." Nikos Retsos, retired professor
Read the article GUARDIAN/Russian election 'skewed' in Vladimir Putin's favour, observers say
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The lack of a coherent opposition isn't entirely Putin's fault either. If the only other choices to a Putin government are extreme Nationalists or backward Communists it's no wonder people would vote for Putin.
Look at our own countries elections. Labour is currently unlikely to win at the next election because they are simply not a viable option, even against a generally disliked Tory government. This doesn't mean that the Tories are rigging the election, it just means that the opposition have failed to get their asses in gear.
If the Russian opposition parties are so disorganised that they can't even strike a blow against Putin when he is facing such low opinion polls then what chance is there for them to ever topple him?
Read the article GUARDIAN/Russian election 'skewed' in Vladimir Putin's favour, observers say
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I am no fan of Putin as what kind of president KGB agent can be (there is no such thing as ex-KGB), but ordinary russians like him as they never had it so good. There was no alternative, second in line was communist leader and if he would get to power, there would be no further democratic elections in Russia.
Elections were skewed (airtime on TV, coverage in press) towards Putin, but you cannot rig 15% of the vote. He won and I think these were the cleanest Russian elections.
Btw, if ballot stuffing and "carousel voting" are (rightly so) examples of electoral fraud, shouldn't outright lying about after-elections actions (Lib Dems Student Fees) or pushing for policies that were not in manifesto (Torries NHS) also be type of electoral fraud? Because anyone can promise streets pawed with gold and after election claim that there is no money for that gold, so we will now be selling off the asphalt and dustroads will have to do..
Read the article GUARDIAN/Russian election 'skewed' in Vladimir Putin's favour, observers say
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There's no issue with his campaign - self-reliance and independence is great for Russia. However if bad decisions are made like with Syria then its all down hill....from here.To be a world power includes much more responsibility than just economics. In this world the superpowers must balance humanitarian efforts #1 priority before anything. People should not be left for slaughter or starvation. Then after that it a matter of balancing world resources for the benefit of all the worlds people.
Read the Article TIME/In Russia, an Election Victory for Putin, and Then a 'Paid Flash Mob'
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I can't understand how a small number of senior KGB officers and political
bigwigs from the old Soviet Empire could become multi billionnaires in such a
short time without something a bit strange happening.
I feel sorry for the
ordinary Russian people. They suffered under the Tzars, suffered under Communism
& nothing has improved as the wealth of their country is plundered by the
current regime
Read the Article .BBC/Russia election: Monitors say vote skewed for Putin
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The West don't like Putin because he is a strong man who thinks for Russia
first. I don't contest that the election were rigged but the West played a great
hand in supporting the opposition. They need a weak Russia to exploit and i would
love someone else in power but there is no one else for the moment than Putin to
lead Russia. Other candidates are puppets sadly
Read the Article .BBC/Russia election: Monitors say vote skewed for Putin
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I live in Russia. I was in Moscow on March 4 in the elections as an observer.
Elections were fair. Putin is the only good option the leader of our country.
Why do it? Quite simply, the other candidates simply do not deserve trust.
Read the Article .BBC/Russia election: Monitors say vote skewed for Putin
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Our media coverage and analysis is amazingly inept. Why can you people not accept (or understand) that although there is a significant opposition to Putin in Russia, the majority of the population still prefers him to any alternative?
He is the one who over the years created some measure of stability following the crazy years of Yeltsin. And he is the one who provided a strong government. That is what people want, not the chaos that we in the West call "Democracy".
Corruption? They always had it and always will have it. Just like here in the glorious US of A.
Read the Article NEW YORK TIMES/
Observers Detail Flaws in Russian Election
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Some of the comments here are interesting as far as deference to Putin. He is
indeed a Russian ethnically and nationalistically. He is also a de facto
dictator and btw, rather anti-semitic with no love for Israel. But the US does
get to play cold war with him and the agencies get to stay in the game.
I
lived in Russia when "perestrioka" was occuring under Gorbachev. Unfortunately,
Russia got alot of bad advice from "experts" like academician Jeffrey Sachs who
championed, along with western banks and consultants, for the mass and rapid
privatization of enormous state enterprise, well before Russia had any time to
make the necessary changes to law, institutions and market systems.
The
country and its citizens are still paying for the ineptness.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Putin Wins Disputed Victory
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Putin is a vastly better manager of resources than any American president in our
lifetimes except perhaps for Clinton. He has ruined the lives of a few insanely
greedy oligarchs who were paying virtually no taxes but the lives of 99.9% of
the Russian people clearly are better since he took over.
Plus he is
trying to help a country where the weather is horrible, the Muslim people hate
his guts and Communism ruined the growth of a decent infrastructure for most of
the 20th century.
Sure longtime autocratic rule is bad but Russia under
any other man would have been a disaster. And in the end he is doing the best he
can to make the lives of the Russian middle class better.
Plus it is hard
to believe that he is not a secret very close friend of the US Military. Why
would they have taken down our missiles in Poland and Czech Republic pointed at
Moscow. All this American rhetoric against him is probably a sham.
Shame
on the WSJ reporter who wrote this story. You have missed ALL the key points.
Hard to bat zero but you have.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Putin Wins Disputed Victory
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To put it simply -- Russia NEEDS Putin for stability. He may have his flaws, but
he certainly knows how to run this huge country (tried and tested).
Under
the Putin administration the economy made real gains of an average 7% per year
(2000: 10%, 2001: 5.1%, 2002: 4.7%, 2003: 7.3%, 2004: 7.2%, 2005: 6.4%, 2006:
8.2%, 2007: 8.5%), making it the 7th largest economy in the world in purchasing
power. (Source: Wikipedia)
Since we are way past the cold war era, a
strong and stable Russia is good news for both America and Europe.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Putin Wins Disputed Victory
Putin uses a tranquiliser gun to sedate an Amur Tiger in the Ussuri Nature Reserve in Primorsky Krai, 31 August 2008. Photo: Premier.gov.ru via Wikipedia
