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As a Russian, I think you're full of shit. It's not about the votes (officially, Putin got 46 million votes; Obama got 69 million). It's about the harassment, m

by ak217 14y ago

As a Russian, I think you're full of shit. It's not about the votes (officially, Putin got 46 million votes; Obama got 69 million). It's about the harassment, media manipulation, gutting of the judiciary, vote rigging, and now, terror. In the long run, the terror may be something of a good thing: it may hasten Putin's demise. In the short run, he has squandered the last of the opportunities that the Soviet industrial and technological base had given him. And it's not that he always was evil: until 2002, he legitimately did a good job of strengthening the state when it was weak and reeling from Chechnya. But then he never stopped.

lionheart 14y ago
Russia's population is a 1/3 of the US. Why would you use the # of votes as an absolute?
- Steko 14y ago
  Because the person he was replying to framed it that way.
beambot 14y ago
It's about the harassment, media manipulation, gutting of the judiciary, vote rigging, and now, terror. I seriously couldn't tell: are you talking about Russia or the US here...?
- rdtsc 14y ago
  > I seriously couldn't tell: are you talking about Russia or the US here...? Let me answer for him: "Yes"
- beambot 14y ago
  Not sure about the downvotes... But my point stands: As an American, these seem to be common political tactics here too. If GP doesn't want to compare Putin and Obama on votes, I'd appreciate a point-by-point breakdown along these axes.
  - justin66 14y ago
    This is a puzzling comment which makes me wonder about your perception of both the US and Russia. Can you really imagine a punk rock band in the US getting two years in prison (a felony in any state in the US) for a stunt like Pussy Riot pulled, involving absolutely no property damage or physical harm? Or journalists critical of the regime being assassinated pretty frequently (with little hope of those murders ever being solved)? Or gay protesters being beaten in the streets? Where are you living in the US that the exercise of government power seems somehow similar to all that?

by ak217 14y ago

lionheart 14y ago

Russia's population is a 1/3 of the US. Why would you use the # of votes as an absolute?

Steko 14y ago
Because the person he was replying to framed it that way.

beambot 14y ago

It's about the harassment, media manipulation, gutting of the judiciary, vote rigging, and now, terror. I seriously couldn't tell: are you talking about Russia or the US here...?

rdtsc 14y ago
> I seriously couldn't tell: are you talking about Russia or the US here...? Let me answer for him: "Yes"
beambot 14y ago
Not sure about the downvotes... But my point stands: As an American, these seem to be common political tactics here too. If GP doesn't want to compare Putin and Obama on votes, I'd appreciate a point-by-point breakdown along these axes.
- justin66 14y ago
  This is a puzzling comment which makes me wonder about your perception of both the US and Russia. Can you really imagine a punk rock band in the US getting two years in prison (a felony in any state in the US) for a stunt like Pussy Riot pulled, involving absolutely no property damage or physical harm? Or journalists critical of the regime being assassinated pretty frequently (with little hope of those murders ever being solved)? Or gay protesters being beaten in the streets? Where are you living in the US that the exercise of government power seems somehow similar to all that?