Warning! Politics (again)
Russia is officially a democracy, but like many others (like Singapore) people opposing the rulers tend to end up in jail on bogus charges, have their finances destroyed, their reputations ruined by slander, or a combination. There is a feminist, politically motivated punk group consisting of an unknown number of members in Russia called "Pussy riot", which, among other issues, are opposed to Vladimir Putin. To protect themselves, they've tried to hide their identity. After a brief (admittedly, and unsurprisingly non-authorised) performance in a church, where they protested against the strong ties between both the church and the state, and the church and Putin, three of them where identified and prosecuted. At first, I thought the charges where merely the best excuse for prosecuting them that the state could come up with - hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, which carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. However, the church (russian orthodox) really do seem to be out to get them as well. One comment from a lawyer opposing the three women: "Feminism is a mortal sin".
For a while it looked plausible that Rick Santorum would become the republican nominee for president, and with the Citizens United ruling even someone like him could get elected, as long as enough wealthy people think he'll do an even better job of transferring money, assets, and power from the poor to the rich than Obama.
Now, while I think he would make a terrible president (well, OK, he'd probably be good for the very wealthiest, and to some extent for catholic extremists), he would have one advantage.
The US has discovered the same thing as many other countries in the past (including the Soviet Union, and the UK (twice)). Invading Afghanistan is possible, but not easy. Ruling it, for a foreign invader, now that is hard. One thing that would make things easier would be successful negotiations with the Taliban.. (Of course, letting them get more power back would be terrible for the people of Afghanistan, but their wellbeing has never seemed to interest many people).
Santorum would have the advantage when it comes to negotiating that he, as far as I understand, has quite a lot in common with them:
*Both are religious fanatics who thing religion should play a huge role in how a country is run. Granted, they belong to different religions, but they do believe in the same god. (both use remarkably boring names for him. While other religions came up with names like Oden (AKA Odin or Woden), Zeus, Baal or Shiva Christians call him “God”, while Muslims call him “The god” (or Allah, in Arabic). This is a bit strange considering that the inventors of both religions otherwise seemed to have so much imagination.
*Both have similar opinions when it comes to women's rights (opposed)
*Both have similar opinions when it comes to non-religious education (opposed)
*Both agree what should be done with people whose sex life doesn't correspond to what they think is acceptable (Kill!)
Together, they could lead the country into a new era of utter misery, just like God/Allah would have wanted!
For a while it looked plausible that Rick Santorum would become the republican nominee for president, and with the Citizens United ruling even someone like him could get elected, as long as enough wealthy people think he'll do an even better job of transferring money, assets, and power from the poor to the rich than Obama.
Now, while I think he would make a terrible president (well, OK, he'd probably be good for the very wealthiest, and to some extent for catholic extremists), he would have one advantage.
The US has discovered the same thing as many other countries in the past (including the Soviet Union, and the UK (twice)). Invading Afghanistan is possible, but not easy. Ruling it, for a foreign invader, now that is hard. One thing that would make things easier would be successful negotiations with the Taliban.. (Of course, letting them get more power back would be terrible for the people of Afghanistan, but their wellbeing has never seemed to interest many people).
Santorum would have the advantage when it comes to negotiating that he, as far as I understand, has quite a lot in common with them:
*Both are religious fanatics who thing religion should play a huge role in how a country is run. Granted, they belong to different religions, but they do believe in the same god. (both use remarkably boring names for him. While other religions came up with names like Oden (AKA Odin or Woden), Zeus, Baal or Shiva Christians call him “God”, while Muslims call him “The god” (or Allah, in Arabic). This is a bit strange considering that the inventors of both religions otherwise seemed to have so much imagination.
*Both have similar opinions when it comes to women's rights (opposed)
*Both have similar opinions when it comes to non-religious education (opposed)
*Both agree what should be done with people whose sex life doesn't correspond to what they think is acceptable (Kill!)
Together, they could lead the country into a new era of utter misery, just like God/Allah would have wanted!