Sunday, April 15, 2007

Irony is as irony does

Peaceful demonstrators in Moscow, out to protest what they claim to be Putin's trampling of democratic freedoms, were rounded up by Russian police and arrested to quash hopes of demonstrations against the Russian president.

And yet Mr. Putin denies trampling on democracy, and accuses the protesters of destabilizing Russia. Yes, demanding free elections does cause chaos in a country. You wouldn't want that.

I know Russia is supposed to be new and improved, but I'm having my doubts, between mysterious journalist deaths, radiation poisoning and let's not forget the Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko's bout with poison.

I still think it isn't the Middle East we have to worry about. My greatest fear is Russia and China forming a strong alliance, and Russia kicking off all the oil supplies to Europe towards China instead. With their growing amiability, I wouldn't be surprised.

4 comments:

Yianna said...

I'm so with you on that. I believe Putin is fundamentally an evil man, (remember his comments about rape?) and he will not hesitate to destroy people who do not agree with him.

bryan-in-greece said...

I agree - Putin is just bad news waiting to happen.

Anonymous said...

I think that Putin is a bad man too, but I disagree with your point of view that the Middle East isn't more of a powder keg to worry about.

St. Caffeine said...

Russia most certainly is a problem and will remain one as long as world oil prices remain unusually high. If you really want a worrisome take on it, search The New Yorker magazine's archive for recent reports -- especially those by David Remnick and Michael Specter. Chilling.