Taverner
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Tue Mar-09-10 05:22 PM
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So all in all, is Vladamir Putin a bad guy? |
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Yes, he poisons dissidents, and works to undermine them at any cost
But he is making a better environmental record for Russia than the US, and he does get things done...
Then again, the trains 'ran on time' under Pinochet, Hitler, Stalin and Mao. Do I want to live under THAT? No.
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Bucky
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Tue Mar-09-10 05:30 PM
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1. He isn't a Pinochet, much less a Stalin. But his efforts impede long term prospects for democracy |
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Still, it's useful to read a little Baron de Montesquieu now and then. The theory of how size of a nation impacts the type of government it needs is instructive. He said a small nation or city state could be a republic, but a medium sized country had to have a monarch and a large nation required a despot to hold together. The bigger the country, the more autocratic the leadership has to be.
This goes a long way toward explaining both post-Soviet Russia's drift toward authoritarianism and the US's own problem with irresponsible legislatures and the growth of the imperial presidency. Democracy just doesn't function that responsibly once you get a polity over the 10 million mark. California is in the crapper in large part because it's a country-sized state with a direct democracy system of legislation by referendum. Sorry, but 10 million voters are just not going to pass a responsible law code.
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Taverner
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Tue Mar-09-10 05:33 PM
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3. Yes. You. Have. A. good. Point. |
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As much as I hate to admit it...
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Fire Walk With Me
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Tue Mar-09-10 05:31 PM
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2. I'm only afraid of him when his giant floating head shoots laser beams at Alaskans. |
MilesColtrane
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Tue Mar-09-10 05:49 PM
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4. His name is Vladamir fer chrissakes! |
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You know any nice Vladamirs?
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Taverner
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Tue Mar-09-10 06:16 PM
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5. Vladimir Illyich Ulyanov - I mean he wasn't exactly nice, but not the devil he's been made out to be |
proteus_lives
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Tue Mar-09-10 08:30 PM
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7. Lenin is responisble for many, many deaths. |
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His secret police killed thousands. He betrayed his own revolution.
People tend to whitewash him because he died early and because of Stalin.
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Flaxbee
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Tue Mar-09-10 08:18 PM
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6. Yes, actually, one of my best friends is |
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named Vladimir.
Putin's alright. Not a saint, but he's done a hell of a lot more for Russia than Yeltsin did ... and the prosperous state of the country less than 10 years after a gigantic collapse (1989 - 1999) does tend to put his actions in a positive light.
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Sky Masterson
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Tue Mar-09-10 08:36 PM
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Kaleva
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Wed Mar-10-10 01:42 AM
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9. "Yes, he poisons dissidents..." |
cherokeeprogressive
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Wed Mar-10-10 01:45 AM
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RandomThoughts
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Wed Mar-10-10 07:27 AM
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11. Based on what I have seen in the news, I would have to say... |
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LOL
Nevermind, how would we know?
Shrug
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Captain Hilts
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Wed Mar-10-10 07:43 AM
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12. Russia is a LONG way from having a better environmental record. than the US. nt |
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Wed May 01st 2024, 07:31 AM
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