Election condemned from within and without PDF
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posted by zaina19 on December, 2007 as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/10/2007 4:12 AM Election condemned from within and without PDF Written by Sean Sampson Monday, 10 December 2007 Many ways for Putin to keep power To no one’s surprise at all President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party scored an overwhelming victory in the Duma elections on 2 December. Whilst the fact of victory was not in doubt, exactly what role Putin will fulfil when his term as President ends early next year remains unclear. United Russia scored 64.1% of the vote, giving it a large enough majority in the Duma for it to rewrite the Constitution by itself. Just three other parties cleared the seven per cent threshold for seats in the Duma. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation was the next largest party with 11.6% of the vote. The other two parties which won seats were the Liberal Democratic Party (8.8%) and A Just Russia (8.4%), both of which are pro-Kremlin. Unfairness condemned Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in ... >> full
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/10/2007 4:23 AM In The Pope We Trust 09 December 2007 By Garvan Grant Last week, Pope Benedict XVI, who is unquestionably the holiest and kindest person on the planet, issued the second encyclical of his papacy. Entitled Spe Salvi, which can be very loosely translated as SomeHope of Being Saved, the pope outlined his belief that mankind cannot be saved by National Socialism, fast cars, loose women or banana daiquiris, no matter how good any of them taste or make you feel. He warned that science, materialism and atheism cannot redeem mankind, but that faith and hope can. These are reassuring words to hear from the pope, particularly as we approach Christmas, which celebrates the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ. As God said in the Bible just before his only begotten son was born: ‘‘Always celebrate my son’s birthday by eating, drinking and spending as much cash as possible.” Pope Benedict’s timely document, which has been read by Catholics everywhere, may just cause a lot ... >> full
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Kasyanov Chosen Kremlin Hopeful
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/10/2007 4:41 AM Monday, December 10, 2007 Kasyanov Chosen Kremlin Hopeful By Francesca Mereu Staff Writer Mikhail Metzel / AP Mikhail Kasyanov celebrating his nomination as a presidential candidate with supporters at a conference Saturday. Despite having difficulties with holding a congress the night before, the Russian People's Democratic Union managed to select its leader, Mikhail Kasyanov, as its candidate in the March presidential election. Kasyanov, a former prime minister, was approved unanimously Saturday by an initiative group of 692 members at the Moscow Palace of Youth. He told the meeting that the country faced an important choice in the presidential vote. "We are approaching a decisive moment: Either we follow the mainstream path of building a civilized state, or we continue to roll into the abyss where the current authorities are taking us -- the dead end of totalitarianism," Kasyanov said Saturday, Interfax reported. On Friday evening, the delegates to the planned congress were denied entry to a conference hall that had been rented in Moscow's International ... >> full
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Communists to Rally Against Vote Dec. 22
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/10/2007 4:44 AM Monday, December 10, 2007 Communists to Rally Against Vote Dec. 22 Combined Reports Final Election results Party % of Vote Votes (mln) Seats Rank Total (%) United Russia 64.30 44.71 315 Communist Party 11.57 8.05 57 LDPR 8.14 5.66 40 A Just Russia 7.74 5.38 38 Agrarian Party 2.30 1.60 0 Yabloko 1.59 1.11 0 Civil Force 1.05 0.73 0 SPS 0.96 0.67 0 Russian Patriots 0.89 0.62 0 Social Fairness 0.22 0.15 0 Democratic Party 0.13 0.13 0 Source: Central Elections Commission The Communist Party is planning demonstrations nationwide this month to protest "flagrant violations" during the State Duma elections, a senior party official said. Communist supporters will take to the streets in several cities Dec. 22 to protest the Dec. 2 elections, in which United Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, garnered 64.3 percent of the vote, first deputy party ... >> full
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/10/2007 4:53 AM Monday, December 10, 2007 Worn Out by Elections By Robert Coalson With the dust settling from the State Duma elections, all eyes have turned to the presidential election in March. But some in the Kremlin might be turning their thoughts to the presidential election in general -- as in getting rid of it altogether. One thing seems clear when one looks back at the presidency of Vladimir Putin from the early assaults on independent media, the Yeltsin-era oligarchs and the recent Duma elections: It demonstrates a clear, almost step-by-step progression toward a closed, unaccountable and authoritarian political system. And such a system can never be complete when a figure as powerful as this president serves, at least theoretically, at the pleasure of the people. The model for this type of reform was established in 2004, when the presidential administration produced a series of reforms that essentially created the current political system. In addition to reforms that brought the Duma under control, the ... >> full
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