Like in the United States dissent is a legitimate and essential right in Russia, hell, it’s the corner stone to any democracy, however, I guess in Russia just don’t do it in church. Especially, and the case can be made, that the Orthodox Church in Russia has enjoyed a revival since the fall of communism and their atheist beliefs.
Now, in my eyes anyway, Russia is starting to look and act more like a fundamentalist Arab country like Iran. Which is strange because I was always told that President Putin was old school hard liner, a throw back to the days of the communist party.
In closing arguments this week, Prosecutor Alexei Nikiforov said, "The actions of the accomplices clearly show religious hatred and enmity. Using swear words in a church is an abuse of God. And given the "severity" of the crime, "requisite punishment” must be a real deprivation of freedom.” (Alexei Nikiforov is looking to get a three (3) year sentence.)
Ah, yeah, NO.
Now here is the thing: Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, all face charges of Article 13 for Hooliganism, and in that charge there says nothing about speaking out against the church or their beliefs. Actually the charge is as follows:
Article 213. Hooliganism
1. Hooliganism, that is, a gross violation of the public order which expresses patent contempt for society, attended by violence against private persons or by the threat of its use, and likewise by the destruction or damage of other people's property,
shall be punishable by compulsory works for a term of 120 to 180 hours, or by corrective labor for a term of six to twelve months, or by arrest for a term of four to six months, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to two years.
2. The same act, if it is:
a) committed by a group of persons, a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy, or an organized group;
b) connected with resistance to a representative of authority or to any other person who fulfills the duty of protecting the public order or who prevents violation of the public order;
c) committed by a person who was earlier convicted of hooliganism-
shall be punishable by compulsory works for a term of 180 to 240 hours, or by corrective labor for a term of one to two years, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to five years.
3. Hooliganism committed with the use of arms or objects used as arms
shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of four to eight years.
And from my understanding of what happened “Pussy Riot” did none of these things except express a “patent contempt” for the re-election Vladimir Putin and his ties with Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and is what is a clearly lined out in the Russian Constitution committed a clear violation of it by publicly backing Putin in elections. No violence occurred as well no property was damaged during the performance.
This is starting to look more as a show boat of a trial (think Kangaroo court which I have already written about in this case), Putin, using the church to further new laws when it comes to demonstrations against the Kremlin in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in modern Russian history. And what better way to do it than with fear and outrage, a little slight of hand if you will.
And now slight of hand and misdirection is being used against those from abroad that are speaking out in this case. Namely Madonna who has a planned concert in Moscow coming up on Tuesday. Madonna has told reporters that it would be "a tragedy" if the women were sentenced to prison. Stating: "I am against censorship and in my whole career I have always promoted freedom of expression, freedom of speech, so obviously I think what's happening to them is unfair."
As you might have thought, her words have angered many on the other side of this case who are now accusing Madonna of interfering in the country's internal affairs. Laughable by us, yes, but with the growing divide between Russians over the matter it becomes a concern especially now with religious figures vowing to stage protests outside Madonna's Moscow concert and another performance this week in Saint Petersburg. Ah, the irony in all that. I love the fact that they feel no qualms at all about protesting Madonna with Kirill Frolov, of the Orthodox Experts Association, saying, "We will drop by to say 'no' to blasphemy... and to explain our position to those who plan to attend her concert.” And also telling Interfax news agency: "A woman calling herself Madonna who intends to desecrate the cross, we will not stand for that.”
Now if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black!
Guess we all now have to sit and wait for is surely going to be a conviction of the three women. But how long that sentence will be is anybody’s best guess.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Pussy Riot, Kangaroo Courts & Putin
In a strange twist of fate in the trial of the activist punk band, Pussy Riot, in which three of it’s members face a 7-year prison sentence on “Hooligan Charges” for speaking out against not only the Russian Orthodox Church but the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Putin himself, however, has called on the court for leniency saying that he [Putin] did not think that they should be judge too harshly and added that he hoped the court comes to the “right decision”.
Putin’s comments come as the prosecution called it’s first witnesses, and if these first witnesses are any indication of how the trail is going to go, it harks back to a time when the Russian court system was considered just another extension to KGB where if you found yourself facing charges as thus you basically just went to jail, in what is usually termed as a “Kangaroo Court”. Why do you ask? Well that’s simple: the prosecution’s first witness, a one Oleg Ugrik, wasn’t even there at the time the band performed inside Christ Savior Cathedral. No, he [Ugrik], a construction worker, saw it on the internet, and was reportedly “so disturbed” by the “black energy that swept over him” after viewing the video that he [Ugrik] immediately called the police offering his help, who [the Investigators] of course called on him to testify. Ugrik told the court: “These girls lowered themselves into hell of their own volition. The rot that they have released into society, thanks to the Internet has spread to millions of people.” Ugrik also accused the girls of representing a satanic cult that has “declared war against God and the Orthodox Church. Even while the girls have been in jail this tumor has continued to grow.”
Which takes us to witness number two, Eteri Ivanishvili, who works at another church in Moscow as a bursar. She also wasn’t there. Ivanishvili made her connection to the “crime” (I say that as loosely as I can) via television as it was reported by the news. But since she “supposedly” had witness a similar incident at sometime at her own church the prosecution also thought she’d [Ivanishvili] would make an excellent witness. In her statement to the court, Ivanishvili said, “All the TV channels reported it,” she said. “It was horrible, all those baffled faces of the parishioners. I saw everything.” Although, when she was crossed examined by the defense Ivanishvili could not remember which of multitude of programming of the incident that she actually had seen it on. However, during the cross examination of Ivanishvili, the judge struck down any all questions that were related to politics or, indeed, criminal law. Leaving most of their [The Defense] questions to about the “rules of etiquette that apply in an Orthodox church”. The judge in the case also struck down the question: “If a cell phone starts playing loud music, is it’s owner punished for the disturbance?”
“What all this comes down too really is that people are upset, even angry about the relationship between the Russian government and the Orthodox Church“, according to the band's manager, who is married to one of the suspects. “Under the constitution, there is a clear divide between church and state, so Orthodox leader Patriarch Kyril isn’t really supposed to interfere in politics. But eventually they softened up, and Kirill called Putin’s time in office nothing less than a “godly miracle,” thanking him for saving Russia from the “catastrophe” of the 1990s.”
Back on February 8th of this year, Vladimir Putin, then running for a third term as President, paid a visit to the St. Daniel Monastery where he received the of endorsement from Patriarch Kyril. The endorsement (and the statement by Putin: “We must move away from the primitive notion of separation between church and state. On the contrary, we must devote ourselves to the totally different idea of cooperation.” Then there was the 120 million for the construction of Orthodox churches) brought many thinking that that meeting marked a blatant affront to the constitution. It seemed to conflate religious and political authority when the church worked in the service of the Emperor. Prompting “Pussy Riot” to pull their activist stunt at the holiest site in Russian Orthodoxy, Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
So are we seeing a return to old style politics in Russia? It just might be the case according to Masha Lipman, a political analyst in Moscow. She states: “We are seeing a concerted effort to instill fear, to let everyone know that dissent will no longer be tolerated.” Lipman points out that since his inauguration on May 7th, Putin has used every branch of power as a bludgeon. The Parliament, for instance, has passed new laws restricting street protests. Special forces have raided the homes of activists involved in demonstrations. Courts are also preparing to hear felony charges against other demonstrators later this year. Even some top officials have started advocating censorship of Internet content. And it seems that their first target of these new censorship laws is anticorruption blogger Alexei Navalny, who is said to be the the unofficial leader of the Russian protest movement. Reportedly, Navalny is facing ten years allegedly embezzling half a million dollars worth of timber back in 2009. Although, the charges are woolly that prosecutors have dropped them twice before for lack of evidence. But now it seems the embezzled funds have “somehow” increased by 10x making the charges much more severe.
So it is beginning to seem that the “Pussy Riot” trial is just the first in what is looking like a Russia returning back to it’s former self. And that in fact what happens at this trail will have a long standing effect on the Russian people.
Sources for this are CNN and TIMEWORLD
Putin’s comments come as the prosecution called it’s first witnesses, and if these first witnesses are any indication of how the trail is going to go, it harks back to a time when the Russian court system was considered just another extension to KGB where if you found yourself facing charges as thus you basically just went to jail, in what is usually termed as a “Kangaroo Court”. Why do you ask? Well that’s simple: the prosecution’s first witness, a one Oleg Ugrik, wasn’t even there at the time the band performed inside Christ Savior Cathedral. No, he [Ugrik], a construction worker, saw it on the internet, and was reportedly “so disturbed” by the “black energy that swept over him” after viewing the video that he [Ugrik] immediately called the police offering his help, who [the Investigators] of course called on him to testify. Ugrik told the court: “These girls lowered themselves into hell of their own volition. The rot that they have released into society, thanks to the Internet has spread to millions of people.” Ugrik also accused the girls of representing a satanic cult that has “declared war against God and the Orthodox Church. Even while the girls have been in jail this tumor has continued to grow.”
Which takes us to witness number two, Eteri Ivanishvili, who works at another church in Moscow as a bursar. She also wasn’t there. Ivanishvili made her connection to the “crime” (I say that as loosely as I can) via television as it was reported by the news. But since she “supposedly” had witness a similar incident at sometime at her own church the prosecution also thought she’d [Ivanishvili] would make an excellent witness. In her statement to the court, Ivanishvili said, “All the TV channels reported it,” she said. “It was horrible, all those baffled faces of the parishioners. I saw everything.” Although, when she was crossed examined by the defense Ivanishvili could not remember which of multitude of programming of the incident that she actually had seen it on. However, during the cross examination of Ivanishvili, the judge struck down any all questions that were related to politics or, indeed, criminal law. Leaving most of their [The Defense] questions to about the “rules of etiquette that apply in an Orthodox church”. The judge in the case also struck down the question: “If a cell phone starts playing loud music, is it’s owner punished for the disturbance?”
“What all this comes down too really is that people are upset, even angry about the relationship between the Russian government and the Orthodox Church“, according to the band's manager, who is married to one of the suspects. “Under the constitution, there is a clear divide between church and state, so Orthodox leader Patriarch Kyril isn’t really supposed to interfere in politics. But eventually they softened up, and Kirill called Putin’s time in office nothing less than a “godly miracle,” thanking him for saving Russia from the “catastrophe” of the 1990s.”
Back on February 8th of this year, Vladimir Putin, then running for a third term as President, paid a visit to the St. Daniel Monastery where he received the of endorsement from Patriarch Kyril. The endorsement (and the statement by Putin: “We must move away from the primitive notion of separation between church and state. On the contrary, we must devote ourselves to the totally different idea of cooperation.” Then there was the 120 million for the construction of Orthodox churches) brought many thinking that that meeting marked a blatant affront to the constitution. It seemed to conflate religious and political authority when the church worked in the service of the Emperor. Prompting “Pussy Riot” to pull their activist stunt at the holiest site in Russian Orthodoxy, Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
So are we seeing a return to old style politics in Russia? It just might be the case according to Masha Lipman, a political analyst in Moscow. She states: “We are seeing a concerted effort to instill fear, to let everyone know that dissent will no longer be tolerated.” Lipman points out that since his inauguration on May 7th, Putin has used every branch of power as a bludgeon. The Parliament, for instance, has passed new laws restricting street protests. Special forces have raided the homes of activists involved in demonstrations. Courts are also preparing to hear felony charges against other demonstrators later this year. Even some top officials have started advocating censorship of Internet content. And it seems that their first target of these new censorship laws is anticorruption blogger Alexei Navalny, who is said to be the the unofficial leader of the Russian protest movement. Reportedly, Navalny is facing ten years allegedly embezzling half a million dollars worth of timber back in 2009. Although, the charges are woolly that prosecutors have dropped them twice before for lack of evidence. But now it seems the embezzled funds have “somehow” increased by 10x making the charges much more severe.
So it is beginning to seem that the “Pussy Riot” trial is just the first in what is looking like a Russia returning back to it’s former self. And that in fact what happens at this trail will have a long standing effect on the Russian people.
Sources for this are CNN and TIMEWORLD
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Democrats, Once Again Making the Case of Why We Need More (New) Parties
I need to make the point first and foremost here that I am not a Republican nor do I like the Republican party. Then again I am not a Democrat or a fan of their party either because basically the two parties are chocked full of fucking idiots.
Case in point:
The Huffington Post is reporting that in a new documentary by Lauren Greenfield entitled: “The Queen of Versailles” that Florida real estate mogul, David Siegel, dropped off the cuff that he was one that was “personally responsible” for George Bush’s victory over Al Gore in the 2000 election and that "it may not necessarily have been legal." And as you can imagine the idiots from the left (like the idiots on the Right that are all about the stupid fucking “birth certificate”) are chomping at the bit waiting to say: “See, I told you so” have jumped on this in gusto so much so in fact that as I read the story and the posts about it this morning pulling my sorry ass out of bed I had to actually look at the date to make sure that I somehow didn’t sleep backwards in time and that, yes, it is still two-thousand-and-fucking-ten because here they are trying to make the case that Bush was illegally elected and the usual blahblahblah… and how it must be true because Siegel who was -go figure- apparently not happy with the way the film (a film that was about how he [David Siegel] and his wife, Jackie, set out to construct a giant 90,000-square-foot mansion in Florida modeled after Versailles and how their ambitious building project was put on hold following the 2008 financial crisis and not about the election in 2000) portrayed not only his [Siegel] family but his business as well filed a defamation lawsuit right before the premier of the documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.
(I can see the little rats that turn the Nay-Sayers and Anti-Busher’s brains leap into action with thoughts because of the suit that: “yes it all must be true. Otherwise why sue at all.”)
While Huffington Post calls it an unfortunate slip-of-tongue the case can be made that Siegel is somewhat of a braggart when it comes to Bush and the 2000 election. In 2009 Orlando Magazine did a profile of Siegel and he was adamant about his role in the election of Bush, stating in the publication, "It was legal ... I got [Bush] 2,000 votes in Florida."
What ever the case I think it’s high time we move on from this as well as the whole “birth certificate” thing and is he [Obama] a citizen or not shit. Bush’s presidency ENDED (in case you didn’t know) four-fucking-years ago and was re-elected in the four years before that, and Obama is fact facing re-election himself.
Although, this can all be a set up because again the state of Florida is basically up for grabs and if there happens to be another close race that somehow goes Mitt “The Twit” Romney’s way these same people will get to have another go around. Making themselves feel important once again.
Sources for this story include HuffingtonPost.com (HUFPOST), Orlando Magazine and other internet related sites.
Case in point:
The Huffington Post is reporting that in a new documentary by Lauren Greenfield entitled: “The Queen of Versailles” that Florida real estate mogul, David Siegel, dropped off the cuff that he was one that was “personally responsible” for George Bush’s victory over Al Gore in the 2000 election and that "it may not necessarily have been legal." And as you can imagine the idiots from the left (like the idiots on the Right that are all about the stupid fucking “birth certificate”) are chomping at the bit waiting to say: “See, I told you so” have jumped on this in gusto so much so in fact that as I read the story and the posts about it this morning pulling my sorry ass out of bed I had to actually look at the date to make sure that I somehow didn’t sleep backwards in time and that, yes, it is still two-thousand-and-fucking-ten because here they are trying to make the case that Bush was illegally elected and the usual blahblahblah… and how it must be true because Siegel who was -go figure- apparently not happy with the way the film (a film that was about how he [David Siegel] and his wife, Jackie, set out to construct a giant 90,000-square-foot mansion in Florida modeled after Versailles and how their ambitious building project was put on hold following the 2008 financial crisis and not about the election in 2000) portrayed not only his [Siegel] family but his business as well filed a defamation lawsuit right before the premier of the documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.
(I can see the little rats that turn the Nay-Sayers and Anti-Busher’s brains leap into action with thoughts because of the suit that: “yes it all must be true. Otherwise why sue at all.”)
While Huffington Post calls it an unfortunate slip-of-tongue the case can be made that Siegel is somewhat of a braggart when it comes to Bush and the 2000 election. In 2009 Orlando Magazine did a profile of Siegel and he was adamant about his role in the election of Bush, stating in the publication, "It was legal ... I got [Bush] 2,000 votes in Florida."
What ever the case I think it’s high time we move on from this as well as the whole “birth certificate” thing and is he [Obama] a citizen or not shit. Bush’s presidency ENDED (in case you didn’t know) four-fucking-years ago and was re-elected in the four years before that, and Obama is fact facing re-election himself.
Although, this can all be a set up because again the state of Florida is basically up for grabs and if there happens to be another close race that somehow goes Mitt “The Twit” Romney’s way these same people will get to have another go around. Making themselves feel important once again.
Sources for this story include HuffingtonPost.com (HUFPOST), Orlando Magazine and other internet related sites.
Friday, July 20, 2012
2012 And the Summer of the Zombie
Now we all know what happened back in May in Miami with a drug fueled [Bath Salts], Rudy Eugene, now not drug fueled cannibal attack of Ronald Pappo where half his face was eaten off before cops shot [Eugene] to death. But it seems that the story of zombies and zombie-like-ism doesn’t end there.
Then in July (the 11th) another incident along the same lines took place -also in Florida.
Police in St. Augustine were called to a home where the home owner said there was a naked man on his roof.
The home owner (according Daily News the source for this story) was alerted to a possible prowler outside his residence and when he went to investigate found that his patio was torn up and then saw a man climbing the side of the house up onto the roof.
New York’s Daily reported that it took five officers to subdue Haughee and that confrontation [Haughee] took a chunk out of one the responding officer’s legs. Haughee, even after being tasered, cuffed and shackled still had to be tranquilized by doctors.
Haughee was charged with five counts of battery, three of which were against a police officer, and was later released on a $32,000 bond -if you can believe that.
I don’t know what the fuck is going on in Florida and their ’NAKED’ zombies it seems to be spreading.
Earlier this month [July 2012] in China a drunk buss driver was caught on tape leaving his buss and then attacking a women in a car where he bit her in the face.
These are not the only weird incidents of zombie-like-attacks. Here is a list with links with other just as bizarre stories that seem to be… related?
May 16, 2012:15 Students and 2 adults break out in a mystery rash after a hazmat exposure at McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida. The infected appeared to be okay after enduring a decontamination gauntlet, but the cause of the outbreak was not discovered.
May 18, 2012: An unknown chemical exposure shuts down Terminal Two, the Delta Airlines concourse, at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Three TSA agents and two passengers are sent to the hospital with respiratory ailments.
May 21, 2012: A man in Westchester, Illinois, is apprehended after he grabs an 18-year-old woman by the throat and bites into her cheek.
May 23, 2012: Another Broward county school, this time Lauderdale Lakes Middle School, is put on lockdown while a hazmat squad investigates another contamination incident. Four students and a teacher in a science classroom had a red rash on their wrists, but all report they were not working with chemicals.
May 25, 2012: Hazmat and emergency personnel respond to a Lake County, Florida school after 27 children and adults are sickened on a school bus.
May 25, 2012: A “disoriented” passenger on American Airlines flight 320 from Jamaica to Florida (please note my plausibility of contagion travel to Florida in the article “Is the Miami Zombie part of a government cover-up”) rushes the front of the plane and has to be subdued by his fellow passengers.
May 26, 2012: the same day of he Eugene/Pappo, a Florida anesthesiologist spits blood in the face of a Florida Highway Patrolman who pulls him over for drunk driving. The involved Dr. Zachary Bird is violently agitated and in possession of large quantities of cash and some unknown pills.
May 29, 2012: A man in the Spring Valley area of San Diego bites part of his cousin’s nose offin a fight. Taken individually, it is easy to dismiss these as random unfortunate events. When reviewed as part of a larger picture, consider them as food for thought, rather than becoming food for zombies.Locally, the Longmont Zombie Examiner will continue to monitor the Colorado and Rocky Mountain region for any zombie, or other, paranormal occurrences.
[Other sources for this story are "pakalert", Daily News, and other internet related articles]
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Fred Willard Caught Pulling a Pee-Wee
Ironically, [Fred] Willard’s legal team is saying since he is (reportedly) going to be in the up coming movie “Yank” that Willard’s so-called Lewdness is part of his method acting style.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Prequels Rule the Day for Television in 2013
A&E’s series is not the first attempt to bring a "Psycho" spinoff, ironically NBC aired a 90-minute made for TV movie also titled "Bates Motel" back in 1987.
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