Two more critics of Vladimir Putin take bullets in the head

[Onkel Neal]

ANOTHER RUSSIAN fighting for human rights and the rule of law has been murdered in Vladimir Putin's Moscow. Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who defended Chechens brutalized by Russian troops and journalists who wrote about the abuses, was shot in the head yesterday by a masked man carrying a silencer-equipped pistol. An opposition journalist who tried to intervene, Anastasia Baburova, was also fatally shot in the head. This occurred in broad daylight, on a busy street in central Moscow less than half a mile from the Kremlin. It was another demonstration that assassinations are a dominating feature of political life under Mr. Putin's regime.

The larger story here is of serial murders of Mr. Putin's opponents, at home and abroad. Ms. Baburova, 25, is at least the 15th journalist to be slain since Mr. Putin took power. No one has been held accountable in any of the cases -- including that of Anna Politkovskaya, a former client of Mr. Markelov who also was murdered execution-style in broad daylight, on Mr. Putin's birthday in 2006. In London, dissident former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned; so was Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who survived. Karina Moskalenko, another opposition lawyer who has represented Ms. Politkovkaya's family, fell ill from mercury poisoning in Strasbourg, France, in October, just before a hearing in the case. Last week in Vienna, a Chechen dissident who had received political asylum was murdered on the street -- shot twice in the head.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...011902604.html

Wow, Russia, you really are making progress...

You know, I'm shocked not to find more outrage here in GT about this. I mean, George Bush is gone, so I would think his courageous, outspoken critics would turn their sights on some other act of atrocity. I mean, there is still some bad stuff in the world with Bush gone, isn't there?

Well, yeah, I mean, ya know, dude, we have to keep fighting the eveel Amerikuns, you know.We don't have time to fight cuddly Mr Putin, and Chavez, Kim Il jung, or Akmehadexahdez at the same time....those guys don't merit our attention...

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Wow, Russia, you really are making progress...

You know, I'm shocked not to find more outrage here in GT about this. I mean, George Bush is gone, so I would think his courageous, outspoken critics would turn their sights on some other act of atrocity. I mean, there is still some bad stuff in the world with Bush gone, isn't there?

Well, yeah, I mean, ya know, dude, we have to keep fighting the eveel Amerikuns, you know.We don't have time to fight cuddly Mr Putin, and Chavez, Kim Il jung, or Akmehadexahdez at the same time....those guys don't merit our attention...

Oh, I have plenty of outrage about it. I'm outraged that we aren't taking advantage of the situation through economic dominance via free-market policy.

And surely, you wouldn't believe that liberal Bush-bashers are going to focus on this kind of stuff. After all, the media hasn't told them to vent their outrage about it yet. Don't you remember? Genocide against Kurds in Iraq is okay, but toppling the Baathist perpetrators isn't. And btw, they don't care if the U.S. leaves the country and paves the way for Shiite Muslims to massacre Sunni Muslims. They care about American soldiers, but not enough to stop encouraging extremist agressors whose entire strategy is to undermine the American people's will.

I hope you're prepared to watch as almost every single act of "incompetence" under Bush is repeated or exacerbated under Obama with little to no criticism.

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I'm sure you're aware that we're travelling that familliar path.

[joegrundman]

oh cool! another "aren't liberals rubbish" thread.

We haven't had any of these recently

[Sea Demon]

Originally Posted by joegrundman

oh cool! another "aren't liberals rubbish" thread.

We haven't had any of these recently

Liberals are merely accountable to their own words and deeds. I know liberals don't like it but tough crap.

[Hunter]

Working with press and living here in Russia I am always wondering how media in general and western one especialy manages to pervert facts and wash brains with far going 'analisys' on 'Putin's regime' just as soon as another freaky jornalist or a businessmen with criminal bakground dies due to involvement with former Olgarchs business, Chechen mafia and other dirty things. Anna Pulitkovskaya, once used to be famous by its freaky articles in support of Chechen insurgents, both of above sponsored by Boris Berezovsky who had profitable drug, weapon and diamond business with then Chechen President Dudaev, former Beresovsky's chef of security Alexander Litvinenko, once again Beresovsky's Georgian bisines partner and personal enemy of Michail Saakashvilli who had to escape from Georgia after competeting in election campain Badry Patarcazishvilli, and even Ukrain president who was poisoned during drinking Vodka all night long vis-a-vis his own cheif of National security service must be realy 'democratic' leaders who endangered 'bloody KGB' regime esteblushed in Russia by Vladimir Putin. And 34-years old lawer Stansilav Markelov, and Anastasia Baburova, who is called 'An opposition journalist' while realy started her journalist carrier just 3 month ago, being a second year student, must be acctually a heavyweight persons to make Putin to order assasinate them causing widespread reaction in press. Nonsence![quote]ANOTHER RUSSIAN fighting for human rights and the rule of law has been murdered in Vladimir Putin's Moscow. [\GUOTE]After 08.08.08 we have a joke here in Russia that the only human rights protection organization in this part of world is Russian Army, which grants peace, living and dignity for about 150 million Russians and other former Soviet citizens rulled by various freaks.

[Sea Demon]

Originally Posted by Hunter

After 08.08.08 we have a joke here in Russia that the only human rights protection organization in this part of world is Russian Army, which grants peace, living and dignity for about 150 million Russians and other former Soviet citizens rulled by various freaks.

Yikes!! I hope for your sake and ours that is only a joke.

[Hunter]

[quote=Sea Demon]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Yikes!! I hope for your sake and ours that is only a joke.

As Russians say each joke has its share of hummor
(as well as its share of thuth obviously)
other human rights organisations acting in Russia proved themselves throught 1990s to protect everyone's reghts except co-citizence ones. They could do everything with Russian population in Chechnia and some of of former Soviet Republic prohibit language, withdraw civil rights, pasports, rape, enslave, kidnap, cut throats etc, but noone of those rightwhatchers said a word against it. For them it was always the government guilty for implementing force to protect citizens.
Neither they didn't said a word against oligarchy and coruption which florished during Yeltsin term in office and have stolen most profitable nationional industries making millions people job- and homeles within 1991-93. But they always stand against Putin who established certain rules in economy and national administration (you have to pay taxes and stay loyal to the country. Otherweise, there is no reason for your business just steal national resorces), and regained control over economy from the gangsters, and made the whole system to progress with more or less success. Unfortunately, it is still based on his own authority and there is no grant that if he retire the chair won't be occupied by a person who thinks about his own pocet rather than about the nation. And I bet that if such person would came to power in Russia, it would be imidiately called a truly democratic leader in western media. But, right now we need a strong leader who could finish all that mess and keep national administration working. Concidering, popularity of Russian Prime Mnister and misirable authority of opositon among population, it is hard to believe that there are any reason to kill anyone.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

We don't have time to fight cuddly Mr Putin, and Chavez, Kim Il jung, or Akmehadexahdez at the same time....those guys don't merit our attention...

Of course these are 'tiney' countrys which are insignifigant.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

I mean, there is still some bad stuff in the world with Bush gone, isn't there?

No, not really. :p

[Kapt Z]

You just can't keep an old KGB guy down....

[Stealth Hunter]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

We don't have time to fight cuddly Mr Putin, and Chavez, Kim Il jung, or Akmehadexahdez at the same time....those guys don't merit our attention...

No, we really don't. And we don't have the money either. We're over $10 trillion in debt to Japan and China, and to top it off, our military is dwarfed by the size of Russia's and nothing compared to Korea's fanaticism. Besides that, our economy is still unstable, we haven't even begun pulling troops out of Iraq, and we have just gotten a new president. We've got enough to worry about at the moment. How do you expect to be the world's policeman if you don't solve your own problems first?

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Stealth Hunter

No, we really don't. And we don't have the money either. We're over $10 trillion in debt to Japan and China, and to top it off, our military is dwarfed by the size of Russia's and nothing compared to Korea's fanaticism. Besides that, our economy is still unstable, we haven't even begun pulling troops out of Iraq, and we have just gotten a new president. We've got enough to worry about at the moment. How do you expect to be the world's policeman if you don't solve your own problems first?

You're right, I didn't phrase that very well. I did not mean to imply the US govt should fight those tyrants, I meant that the people who squeal about how bad Bush/the US is never make a peep about the real problems, like these dictators and their human rights abuses. The only time these people mentioned Saddam Hussein was when the US called him to account.

[August]

Originally Posted by Stealth Hunter

We're over $10 trillion in debt to Japan and China

I call bull to that statement. Care to back it up?

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by August

I call bull to that statement. Care to back it up?

It is bull. It's called a "trade deficit". Hardly debt.

[August]

Originally Posted by Aramike

It is bull. It's called a "trade deficit". Hardly debt.

Maybe not, he might be talking about government bonds or something I suppose...