tagged w/ Putin
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Feminist Punk Band Jailed for Cathedral Protest
Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot, two of whose alleged members face up to seven years in jail for a "punk prayer" they staged in Moscow's main cathedral, have received unexpected backing from a group of Orthodox Christians who say they are being too harshly punished.
The group's performances have seen them appear in masks in a range of unexpected places to sing anti-government songs.
Part of the growing protest movement against Vladimir Putin, who was elected to a third term last Sunday, the group sang an obscenity-strewn song in Christ the Cathedral Saviour last month, including an appeal to the "Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin," asking her to "chase Putin out".
The Russian Orthodox Church condemned the stunt and called for the group to be punished. Days after the performance the group's alleged members were arrested and two, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, have been charged with hooliganism. The pair, both of whom have young daughters, have been refused bail. Neither has admitted being part of the group.
Lina Moniava, a charity worker and Orthodox Christian, sent a petition to the head of the church appealing for them to ask for the criminal case to be closed. What the group did was "intolerable" said the letter, but "what is more intolerable is the reaction to the events".
One of the anti-Putin movement's leaders, Alexei Navalny, also called for the women to be released, saying the act was "idiotic" but that they were not dangerous. Pussy Riot performed a concert on the roof of the detention centre where Navalny was held after the first large protest in December and Navalny, also an Orthodox Christian, held a one-person picket outside police headquarters in Moscow, where the women are being held, last week.
There was plenty of support for the jailed pair at yesterday's opposition rally in Moscow, which saw up to 15,000 gather in the city centre.
"Pussy vs Putin" said one sign in English at the demonstration while another called for "Pussy Riot for the Eurovision". One protester held up the female torso of a shop dummy with "Free Pussy Riot" written on the back. The two women were included in a list of political prisoners read out from the stage.
By Kevin O'Flynn | Saturday 10 March 2012Feminist Punk Band Jailed for Cathedral Protest
Russian feminist punk band Pussy... more
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We have all seen the hunky-chunky topless photos of Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Putin riding bareback and posing with dead furry animals he has just killed with his amazing sniper skills.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Russian despot is trying to get into bed with Russia's youth by posing as the experienced lover that he may or may not be.
His new presidential TV ad has become a YouTube hit and has been viewed more than 400,000 times.
It shows a young beautiful woman visiting a fortuneteller to find out her destiny. The fortuneteller turns the tarot card to reveal a picture of the presidential candidate and tells the woman her "first time" will be with Putin.
Surely this could only seem like a good PR strategy to Putin, Berlusconi, Mr Clinton, Gingrich, any French politician, Zuma, or any other frisky old philistine?We have all seen the hunky-chunky topless photos of Russian presidential candidate... more
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"Vladimir Putin praised Cold War-era scientists on Thursday for stealing U.S. nuclear secrets so that United States would not be the world's sole atomic power, in comments reflecting his vision of Russia as a counterweight to U.S. power.
Spies with suitcases full of data helped the Soviet Union build its atomic bomb, he told military commanders.
"You know, when the States already had nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union was only building them, we got a significant amount of information through Soviet foreign intelligence channels," Putin said, according to state-run Itar-Tass.
"The were carrying the information away not on microfilm but literally in suitcases. Suitcases!"
Putin's remarks referred to the dawn of the Cold War more than half a century ago, but they echoed a message he has made loud and clear more recently: that the United States needs to be restrained, and Russia is the country to do it.
It has been known for decades that there were spies among the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, the U.S. atomic bomb design operation.""Vladimir Putin praised Cold War-era scientists on Thursday for stealing U.S.... more
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Their inspiration for a style of resistance never before seen in Russia, was the riot grrrl punk movement, including groups like Kathleen Hanna’s Bikini Kill, and flash mobs. The young women of the collective, average age 25, have revealed only the smallest details about their lives. None will divulge their day jobs. They only use first-names. In the two weeks since their mid-January action, the all-female group has become a potent symbol of anger at the status quo in Russian society and their videos have gone viral all over the world. Like many young people in Russia, the members of the Pussy Riot collective are furious at Vladamir Putin’s plans to seek the presidency again and his return was the impetus behind the formation of the group (as well as their song “Putin Has Pissed Himself”). http://www.freeturbine.com/index.php/news/general-music-news/item/pussy-riot-revolt-in-russia-putin-s-got-scaredTheir inspiration for a style of resistance never before seen in Russia, was the riot... more
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worrg
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A former UK government official has revealed to the BBC that Britain was caught spying on Russia when a fake rock discovered in Moscow was found to be hiding electronic equipment.
Russian authorities accused the UK of spying on their country in 2006 but the claims had never been acknowledged publicly by the UK before now.
The story was first featured on Russian TV but has resurfaced thanks to a BBC documentary featuring former chief of staff to Tony Blair, Jonathan Powell.
Commenting on the discovery, Powell said that it had been ‘embarrassing’ but that Russia ‘had us bang to rights.’
The full story of the fake rock is told in Putin, Russia and the West, showing Thursday 19th January at 9pm on BBC Two.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16614209A former UK government official has revealed to the BBC that Britain was caught spying... more
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Revelations about email transactions between the US State Department and the Russian election watchdog Golos prior to Russia's parliamentary elections threaten to bring the reset to a grinding halt.
Before a single vote was cast in the parliamentary elections, a string of incidents indicated that foreign governments were already exerting influence over the election process.
Golos, an independent watchdog that has been monitoring elections in Russia for 10 years, was fined 30,000 rubles ($1,000) last week by a Moscow court for publishing “election-related opinion polls and research” after a deadline for publishing such material had passed (it is illegal in Russia to publish such information five days or less before an election).
Duma officials who petitioned to start a probe with the prosecutor’s office argued that the NGO was funded by “foreign organizations” hoping to influence the results of the elections.
Watchdogs to guard the watchdogs?
The Russian news website Life News on Friday published emails it claims show correspondence between the US State Department and the Russian election watchdog Golos that detail payments for work done to discredit the results of Russia’s parliamentary vote.
Life News reported it has come into the possession of 60 megabytes of Golos' private online correspondence sent and received by Golos Executive Chief Lilya Shibanova and her deputy Grigory Melkonyants. Judging by the published documents, the Russian election watchdog, which claimed to be an independent entity, was actually funded by the US State Department to advance US foreign policy objectives.
One letter by Yulia Kostkina, a financial analyst for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to Golos Deputy Chief Grigory Melkonyants, reads like a shopping list of demands.
“The list of the lacking documents we are expecting from you: Policy and procedures of applying currency rates to Golos accountance and finance reporting; Procurement activities;
Procedures of property management considering the procedures, existing in USAID,” Kostkina writes.
Judging by the letters in question, there even seems to be a certain “price” Golos paid activists for any report on election violations.
Here is a letter by activist Andrey Suvorov to Melkonyants:
“Hello, I just wanted to discuss the conditions of our work once again.
Like we have defined it, it is piece-rated.
What will be the sum for one full appeal based on a violation report?
What will be the sum for the detected incorrect report about a violation?
Waiting for your answer.
If necessary, I will come up with my suggestions.
Best regards, Andrey.”
Shibanova explained the letters discussing ‘payments’ for violation reports by the fact that Suvorov is a lawyer who really was “piece-paid” for checking such messages.
She also told Life News, “this correspondence was attained illegally…and we will apply to the courts.”
Meanwhile, US officials have made no secret of their funding of Russian NGOs involved in the monitoring of elections.
Despite America’s financial problems, millions of dollars of taxpayer money have been allocated for the purpose of “improving” the Russian elections .
“We have, I know, spent more than $9 million to support free and transparent processes for Russia’s upcoming elections,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said. “Our interest is to support these NGOs that support the process, not necessarily to support… any given political party.”
Reset or Regret?
Even before Russian election monitors had released their official review of the parliamentary vote, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was already out of the gate, criticizing the election process as “unfair.”
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had harsh words for Clinton, saying she had “set the tone for some opposition activists, gave them a signal … and [they] started active work.”
Speaking at a meeting of the Popular Front Federal Coordinating Council this week, Putin said that “representatives of some foreign states” were paying politically-active NGOs in Russia to “influence the course of the election campaign in our country.”
“We need to safeguard ourselves from this interference in our internal affairs and defend our sovereignty,” the Prime Minister said. “It is necessary to think about improving the law and toughening responsibility for those who take orders from foreign states to influence internal political processes.”
Putin, stressing that Russia has nothing against the presence of foreign observers at elections, said Russia would draw the line at interference in its internal affairs from abroad.
"We favor foreign observers monitoring our political electoral processes. We favor this, we are not against this," he said. "However…when financing comes to some domestic organizations which are supposedly national, but which in fact work on foreign money and perform to the music of a foreign state during electoral processes, we need to safeguard ourselves from this interference in our internal affairs and defend our sovereignty.”
Meanwhile, Putin, who has announced plans to run in next year’s presidential elections, has pointed out that observers are not admitted to polling stations in the US.
"People are just kicked out of these polling stations, and that's it. They started admitting some (monitors) just recently. But usually it's like – get out of here. Everything is very tough there, really, and much less liberal," he said.
The war of words that has erupted between Moscow and Washington comes at a time of increasing tensions between the two nuclear powers.
Following the near-collapse in negotiations over US-NATO plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, Russia, which has been denied participation in the project and now views the system as a threat to its national security, is threatening to deploy ballistic missiles in Kaliningrad.
The question that observers are now asking is: is the recent fallout in bilateral relations a symptom of election-year rhetoric, or of much deeper problems between the two countries?
http://rt.com/politics/russia-us-elections-clinton-putin-2012-usaid-427/Revelations about email transactions between the US State Department and the Russian... more
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Russian protesters defying a ban on unapproved rallies have been facing off with supporters of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow city centre.
Protesters chanted slogans against the ruling party as the Putin loyalists beat drums and chanted "Putin, Russia".
Riot police arrested a number of protesters, including veteran liberal politician Boris Nemtsov.
Monday saw Moscow's biggest protest in years against alleged election fraud at Sunday's parliamentary election.
Mr Putin has played down losses by his party, United Russia, which won but with just under 50% of the vote, a sharp drop in its support.
Correspondents say the result reflects Mr Putin's declining popularity ahead of his bid for the Russian presidency in March.
Observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) say the election was slanted in favour of Mr Putin's party, United Russia.
Navalny jailed
Live video from Moscow's Triumphal Square, on a major road artery close to the Kremlin, showed crowds of rival demonstrators shouting slogans on Tuesday evening.
Alexei Navalny on way to court, 6 December Alexei Navalny is one of Russia's most popular bloggers
The jerky footage, broadcast over the internet by the Russian citizen journalism outlet Ridus, also appeared to show police intervening.
Correspondents say Mr Nemtsov and other protesters were hauled off to waiting police vehicles.
On Monday, police made at least 300 arrests and two key figures in the protest were both jailed for 15 days on Tuesday.
Well-known anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny was convicted of obstructing the course of justice and Ilya Yashin, leader of the Solidarity party, was convicted of a similar offence.
The arrest of the two men was heavily tweeted by Russian bloggers, who circulated photos of Mr Navalny and others in custody.
"There is not a single doubt that my case is under the special control of the party of crooks and thieves," he told reporters in court ahead of being charged, referring to United Russia.
The Russian interior ministry has denied any extra security measures in Moscow, saying that police and troop movements in the city were a "rotation".
Its press service told Interfax news agency that 51,500 police including 2,000 interior troops had been on a state of alert since 1 December, as part of election preparations.
"Statements that extra forces are being drafted into Moscow do not correspond to reality," it said.Russian protesters defying a ban on unapproved rallies have been facing off with... more
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Putin vs Obama (12 pics)
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neham
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10 months ago
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His speech concerning the possibility of Internet limitation was accompanied with a soviet political anecdote about the difference between Tseka (the Soviet Central Committee) and Cheka (the Extraordinary Commission). “Tseka clip-clops, Cheka snip-snaps. This is what I tell you, we are not going to snip-snap,” he joked.
http://publiciti.ru/en/news/4russia-s-pm-vladimir-putin-won-t-snip-snap-russian-internet21His speech concerning the possibility of Internet limitation was accompanied with a... more
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mcamca
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1 year ago
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Astrology charts for 2011 and the prophecies of Revelation on the rise of the Antichrist 666.Astrology charts for 2011 and the prophecies of Revelation on the rise of the... more
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Astrology charts for 2012. The rise to power of the the Antichrist Beast 666 in Russia as Vladimir Putin, now Russian Prime Minister, previously Russian President.Astrology charts for 2012. The rise to power of the the Antichrist Beast 666 in... more
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At 19:14 local time on Thursday in Paris, news site 20minutes.fr released a statement from Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who is currently in Brussels attending a joint press conference with Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission.
Putin warned the West against interference in the popular revolts currently sweeping the Arab world, saying they favor the establishment of extremist regimes.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Putin warns the West to stay out of Arab world uprisings - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/putin-warns-the-west-to-stay-out-of-arab-world-uprisings#ixzz1EuMaFpkjAt 19:14 local time on Thursday in Paris, news site 20minutes.fr released a statement... more
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Naomi Campbell: You're in pretty good physical shape. How do you manage to keep yourself so fit?
Vladimir Putin: Probably the same way you do.
Actually, I don't work out as much as I should, but I do believe that it's a healthy mind as well as a healthy body that keeps me fit, sound and calm.
Exactly. You just answered your own question.
What's your fitness regime?
I go to the gym, I swim daily and from time to time I meet with friends and do extra-curricular stuff. I had a good work-out just the day before yesterday.
Continue reading: http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2011-01/31/gq-comment-naomi-campbell-interview-vladimir-putin-fitness-tigers/fitness-regimeNaomi Campbell: You're in pretty good physical shape. How do you manage to keep... more
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mcamca
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mcamca
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Thursday, Russian Prime Minister and ex-KGB man Vladimir Putin held his televised Q & A session with the 'people'. He referred to traitors within intelligence services as 'swine', pointing to the most recent incident which delivered on June 10, 2010 Russian agents in the United States.
Putin declared that the Russian spies who were arrested in the United States this summer were betrayed by a fellow intelligence officer. He pointed to the fact that the 'traitors will croak themselves. Whatever equivalent of 30 pieces of silver they get, it will get stuck in their throats.'Thursday, Russian Prime Minister and ex-KGB man Vladimir Putin held his televised Q... more
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Vladimir Putin says that America is one to lecture others about "Democracy". In a report from RT news this report about the response from Putin over American criticism of his country. In another report, one leaked document has led to a firestorm as Moscow now demands an explanation for revelations that a planned covert action was planned by the US towards Russia.
Could it be that these documents are going to cut short America's Imperial Ambitions as the public in other countries begin to see that America is about corporate corruption and money and greed and projection of power, America will loose a major part of their credibility and ability to project that power...even though they have such massive military spending in comparison to the other state actors in the world. The pressure exerted by America seeking to remain the world's sole hegemonic power is that it forces all the allies to consider teaming up to form another alliance.
The whole secrecy of international policy or foreign policy in the US is what propels the corruption of corporate power and for a long time it has served as a way for the US to brand "America" like a product and sell the "idea" to the people of the world that it is the "shinning city on the hill that will bring justice to mankind....etc", but people weigh this in their minds against what they actually see what America does and now the revelations of corporate influence in the wars in Africa, its amazing that people can't see that Wikileaks serves a higher purpose, regardless of what you think about the media image of Julian Assange.
This information that gets released can serve as a great equalizer and ensure that no one country has the power to dominate the entire world, for such to allow such a power to exist threatens the entire human race. We know for a fact that most of these government "professional managers" are there to fill their own pockets and that corruption is at the highest levels and trickles down all the way to its underbelly. Most average people who get their information from Mainstream Media Outlets don't get the real story but the censored story that makes America always look like the hero of the story, regardless of the scandal that surrounds individuals that get caught doing the dirty work.
http://rt.com/politics/putin-cow-wikileaks/
The wiki revelations are taking over the job the fourth estate was always intended to do, uncover the corruption and blow the whistle. But once the fourth estate became all about profit, then the master it served changed, from the people to the stockholders.
I would be interested to hear about what you think about these ideas...Vladimir Putin says that America is one to lecture others about "Democracy".... more
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jubal
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The Russian prime minister is used to taking to the stage, but this time it was not for one of his speeches. Vladimir Putin made his audience sit up and take note, as he sang at a charity fundraiser.
The reception at an ice stadium in St. Petersburg was dedicated to fighting children’s cancer.
International celebrities including Kevin Costner, Gerard Depardieu, Mickey Rourke, Sharon Stone, Kurt Russell, Vincent Cassel, Monica Belucci, Ornella Muti, Goldie Hawn and many others attended the benefit concert.
Many of the stars are actively involved in charity work which draws needed attention to children’s oncological and ophthalmological diseases.
When the hostess approached Putin’s table and asked him to sing for the audience, his immediate reaction was “are you kidding me?”
But the hostess was determined to get the prime minister on the mic and reminded him about the songs he sang with the Russian sleeper agents extradited from the US last summer. Putin attempted to evade the proposal by saying that the singing she was referring to had come from the heart. However, after seeing the pictures of ill children shown to the audience on the big screen, he took to the stage.
“Like the majority of people I cannot – but do like to sing and to play – so you’ll have to rough it,” he warned as he sat at the piano and played the beginning of Blueberry Hill. The tune was immediately caught by Maceo Parker’s jazz band. The prime minister then took the mic and sang it in English himself.
Putin returned to the piano to sing in Russian “From What the Homeland Starts” – the song he sang with the exposed Russian agents.
The audience loved his performance and showed their appreciation with a standing ovation and applause. Many recorded the one man show on their mobile phones.
On December 1, Putin confessed to US chat show host Larry King that he does study some songs in English with his language tutor.
When the concert was over Putin took Sharon Stone by the arm and together with other guests they went on stage to sing a Russian song about cosmonauts, “Grass Near Home”.
Martyn Andrews, our entertainment expert and host of RT's cultural program "Moscow Out," thinks that Putin’s gesture at the charity event is great for his reputation, as he’s mostly stereotyped as cold and serious.
“It’s not the first time he sung like that," Andrews said. "The more he does things like this, the more people can connect with their leader.”The Russian prime minister is used to taking to the stage, but this time it was not... more
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