Putin Shuffles the Deckchairs
|
posted by zaina19 on September, 2007 as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 9/28/2007 5:53 PM Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 Putin Shuffles the Deckchairs For some reason western media outlets are acting as though today’s announced cabinet reorganization by Vladimir Putin is in some way significant. It is nothing more than a ritual. Nor does it have much to do with the December 2nd parliamentary elections, which are little more than a farce scripted long ago. Putin will use this ostensibly open phase to sound out his cronies and prolong the tension that is building toward the crisis of the March 08 presidential election, the one that really matters. Medvedev and Ivanov will be shopped around a bit, though we doubt either of them are destined to sit in Putin’s Tzarist throne. Perhaps a few insufficiently loyal members will be replaced, as has been the trend when any crisis nears. By the way, the possibility of a third time for Putin has again reared its head. He will speak at the United Russia party congress on October ... >> full
comments (0)
Moscow Vigil for Polikovskaya
|
posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 9/28/2007 6:04 PM Friday, August 31st, 2007 Moscow Vigil for Polikovskaya Thursday, August 30 would have been the 49th birthday of Anna Politkovskaya, the investigative journalist shot down almost one year ago in Moscow. A vigil was held on her birthday to honor her memory and her fight for truth and justice. From the Moscow Times: The meeting came on a day Russian media reported that two of 11 suspects arrested in connection with her murder on Oct. 7 had been freed, while five others had complained of being abused during their detention. Thursday evening, about 250 people gathered in a small corner of the square, much of which was crowded with stages and equipment already in place for the weekend’s City Day celebrations. Among those who attended were opposition politicians, including United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov; Eduard Limonov, a leader of the Other Russia movement; and Vladimir Ryzhkov, the leader of the now-defunct Republican Party, as well as Lyudmila Alekseyeva, ... >> full
comments (0)
Nikita Mikhalkov’s new film could be a return to form for the director.
|
posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
Laying down The Law Nikita Mikhalkov’s new film could be a return to form for the director. By Alastair Gee Staff Writer For The St. Petersburg Times Actor Sergei Makovsetsky who plays one of the jurors in Nikita Mikhalkov’s award-winning new film ‘12,’ a remake of ‘12 Angry Men’. Except for a few scenes, Sidney Lumet’s celebrated 1957 film “12 Angry Men” takes place entirely in a cramped, stuffy jury room. Twelve sweating jurors debate whether to send a teenager to the electric chair for stabbing his father. Eleven vote yes. One, played by a serene Henry Fonda, disagrees. Lumet’s focus isn’t on the accused, the victim or where they come from — he concentrates on the jurors as doubt creeps over them. That’s not the case in the 2007 remake by internationally renowned Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, who won a Special Lion award for Overall Work at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this month. His film switches back and forth between the jury room and war-torn Chechnya, the accused’s ... >> full
comments (0)
I got sideswiped last week by Ann Coulter.
|
posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
Posted on Fri, Sep. 28, 2007 While the truth gets its boots on By MARK BOWDEN/The Philadelphia Inquirer I got sideswiped last week by Ann Coulter. It was just a glancing blow. I wasn't so much a target as collateral damage, a bystander struck by falling debris as the giant fire-breathing lizard rampaged through the city in search of bigger game. No serious damage done. If you are reading this, Ann: I'm OK. I'm not mad. Here's a pertinent excerpt: "Democrats yearn for America to be defeated on the battlefield and oppose any use of the military. ... It has been the same naysaying from these people since before we even invaded Iraq. ... Mark Bowden, the author of Black Hawk Down, warned in the Aug. 30, 2002, Los Angeles Times of 60,000 to 100,000 dead American troops if we invaded Iraq -- comparing an Iraq war to Vietnam and a Russian battle in Chechnya. He said Iraqis would fight 'tenaciously' and raised the prospect of Saddam using weapons of mass ... >> full
comments (0)
|
