@Big Al maybe it's not the system, but the man? Russians Know what vlad has done for them, and is still trying to do, unlike the west. Will he succeed? I think he has, for the most part.
And if he can keep the dumb fucks in the west from blowing up the world, I'LL be happy to vote for him!

Stop These Fucking Wars

peace

I'm trying to figure out what that 77% figure means. It doesn't appear that could ever happen here, not with this two party duopoly system designed to divide the public.
Seems like the only times we see that kind of figure is in autocratic countries with dictators or despots.
And I won't ever agree to one person having that much power for that long. It's not democracy. In fact I think humans have to evolve past having one person rule over countries.
Obviously he's quite popular but what kind of political system results in one person getting that high a percentage of the vote?

@Big Al

Or the United States. George Washington could have been president for life if he'd wanted. FDR pretty much was, elected 4 terms and dying in office. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if a lot of Democrats wanted Obama for life and a lot of Republicans wanted Reagan for life.

Putin took the looted, broken remnants of the Soviet Union and built them into a credible nation with renewed respect (you don't think Montenegro-gate would play as well as Russia-gate, do you?), rebuilt agriculture supplying 1/2 the world's wheat, and a recovering economy -- despite US and EU sanctions and despite constant attacks by the US.

The question I have for you is why wouldn't people vote for him?

I'm trying to figure out what that 77% figure means. It doesn't appear that could ever happen here, not with this two party duopoly system designed to divide the public.
Seems like the only times we see that kind of figure is in autocratic countries with dictators or despots.
And I won't ever agree to one person having that much power for that long. It's not democracy. In fact I think humans have to evolve past having one person rule over countries.
Obviously he's quite popular but what kind of political system results in one person getting that high a percentage of the vote?

@Big Al

why limit voters from having a 'same again' choice when they (finally) have one who's actually proven to have produced excellent results in a horrible situation, as existed prior to Putin, who has managed considerable improvements in the state of the country and the condition of his people's lives, and who may be the only one capable of handling an incredibly difficult situation?

The point of voting is supposed to be to empower the people, and depriving them of what they may feel is their best choice simply because s/he has already been proven to them seems kinda counter-productive.

Especially with NATO massing on their borders and the US PTB sharpening their nukes while the drool runs down their grinning jaws.

I'm trying to figure out what that 77% figure means. It doesn't appear that could ever happen here, not with this two party duopoly system designed to divide the public.
Seems like the only times we see that kind of figure is in autocratic countries with dictators or despots.
And I won't ever agree to one person having that much power for that long. It's not democracy. In fact I think humans have to evolve past having one person rule over countries.
Obviously he's quite popular but what kind of political system results in one person getting that high a percentage of the vote?

@Mark from Queens

These are oligarchal thugs, protectorates of moneyed-interests, hiding behind a religious revival, with no fealty whatsoever to the 99%.

Are you describing the United States here or Russia?

grip.

Let me first say for context: I think the whole contrived, concocted and convoluted Russian Red Herring Mania Meltdown by the venal MSM, put up to it by the scorned Clinton Cabal, will go down as one of most embarrassing, hideous, dangerous and dumb epochs of American history.

But that doesn't make me a fan of their counterparts in the Russian government either.

I consider Christopher Hitchens one of the world's greatest minds, historians, authors and socialists. And when he speaks (spoke, he's gone now) I listen very carefully, just as I would Gore Vidal.

This is a very unpromising development in the church that claims to be the nurturing mother of European civilization. But if you look just a little further east to another schism that took place in the bosom of the same church you will find that the other
schismatic force, now known as orthodoxy instead of Catholicism, has just instated as its dictator, its spiritual and earthly representative, Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Orthodox Church has now become the official Church of the Putin organization. No instatements of any police official, any military official any government, official the Putin regime, is complete without the kissing of the icons, the swinging of the incense the affirmation of the ancient verities of the very church that - since we're on the subject, managed to bring us all the way all the way to Western Europe with incredible trouble. The forgery, actually the fabrication, of the protocols of the Elders of Zion, the church of Tsarism, the church of serfdom, the Church of Russian imperialism the Church of tyranny and superstition - and now they're producing new icons.

Not content with the old ones, that baptized and confirmed serfdom, tsarism,
anti-semitism and fascism, they've created new new icons. You can see them; they are easily found on the internet. They would show him in a prayerful attitude, as the Father of his people and as the holy protector of Holy Russia, Joseph Stalin. Who it's true was a very leading member of Seminary in Georgia, under the name Joseph Vissarionovich jr. Even in his youth his mother is supposed to have said to him, when he became a chairman of the Central Committee of the Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 'you're a stupid boy; if you'd just have stayed in that seminary you could have been a bishop by now.' I believe the story anyway even if what is said by the mothers of gods isn't always to be taken completely seriously.

So that's a very bad development. And believe you me, we will all live to see and regret what we we've allowed to happen unnoticed, the conversion of modern Russia into a heavily-armed, aggressive, self-pitying, chauvinistic, theocracy.

Just imagine if George HW Bush, former CIA head, was made president over and over again. Putin is his counterpart, as head of the KGB.

I'm a lot less sanguine about this guy and his regime than a lot of folks here seem to be. Too much Putin-luvin' (and Trump at times too) here makes me a little unsettled. These are oligarchal thugs, protectorates of moneyed-interests, hiding behind a religious revival, with no fealty whatsoever to the 99%. The Russian people had a glorious practically bloodless revolution the first time around.

On Thursday, February 23, 1917, women workers in Petrograd left their factories and entered the streets to protest. It was International Women's Day and the women of Russia were ready to be heard.

An estimated 90,000 women marched through the streets, shouting "Bread" and "Down With the Autocracy!" and "Stop the War!" These women were tired, hungry, and angry. They worked long hours in miserable conditions in order to feed their families because their husbands and fathers were at the front, fighting in World War I. They wanted change. They weren't the only ones.

The following day, more than 150,000 men and women took to the streets to protest. Soon more people joined them and by Saturday, February 25, the city of Petrograd was basically shut down -- no one was working.

That's the kind of Russian I look up to with a sense of awe, solidarity and inspiration.

Those are my comrades. Not Putin's capitalistic, theocratic thugs.

@Mark from Queens when his term is up? Will he 'go gently into the night'? Or will he cling to power, still?
It seems(to me) that vlad's priority is 'Russia First'(in country). Oligarchs allegiance to the State first, then you can make shit-tonnes of money. But if you fuck with politics the State will crush you. Don't we have the reverse of that? I thought we Wanted business out of gov't? Not defending Putin, per se,just wondering wtf he should(could) have done? A judiciary totally bought off, a police force no better, no taxes being collected, bribes and corruption SOP, thousands(if not more) literally dying in the streets, Every Western institution rooting for him, and by extension, Russia, to fail so they could pick the carcass clean. Ffs folks, the guy ain't no angel, but Damn, look where he had to start from and where Russia is today? ALL the State institutions were fucked and OUR gov'ts were lining up for their turn.
OUR gov'ts have ringed Russia in steel and He is supposed to be the 'bad guy' because he's using every means available, sans oppression, to lift his country up? And don't cry me a river about some greedy fucking robber baron getting dick stomped into the dirt, I'd LOVE to see that happen here(fat fucking chance).
Or would you rather have WWIII? So far that ain't happened, and I give vlad Full Credit for that non-event, so far.
If that makes me a Putin dupe, or apologist, then I guess I'm guilty. At least there is One Statesman worthy of that title somewhere in this world(even if it ain't us).

Stop These Fucking Wars

peace

grip.

Let me first say for context: I think the whole contrived, concocted and convoluted Russian Red Herring Mania Meltdown by the venal MSM, put up to it by the scorned Clinton Cabal, will go down as one of most embarrassing, hideous, dangerous and dumb epochs of American history.

But that doesn't make me a fan of their counterparts in the Russian government either.

I consider Christopher Hitchens one of the world's greatest minds, historians, authors and socialists. And when he speaks (spoke, he's gone now) I listen very carefully, just as I would Gore Vidal.

This is a very unpromising development in the church that claims to be the nurturing mother of European civilization. But if you look just a little further east to another schism that took place in the bosom of the same church you will find that the other
schismatic force, now known as orthodoxy instead of Catholicism, has just instated as its dictator, its spiritual and earthly representative, Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Orthodox Church has now become the official Church of the Putin organization. No instatements of any police official, any military official any government, official the Putin regime, is complete without the kissing of the icons, the swinging of the incense the affirmation of the ancient verities of the very church that - since we're on the subject, managed to bring us all the way all the way to Western Europe with incredible trouble. The forgery, actually the fabrication, of the protocols of the Elders of Zion, the church of Tsarism, the church of serfdom, the Church of Russian imperialism the Church of tyranny and superstition - and now they're producing new icons.

Not content with the old ones, that baptized and confirmed serfdom, tsarism,
anti-semitism and fascism, they've created new new icons. You can see them; they are easily found on the internet. They would show him in a prayerful attitude, as the Father of his people and as the holy protector of Holy Russia, Joseph Stalin. Who it's true was a very leading member of Seminary in Georgia, under the name Joseph Vissarionovich jr. Even in his youth his mother is supposed to have said to him, when he became a chairman of the Central Committee of the Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 'you're a stupid boy; if you'd just have stayed in that seminary you could have been a bishop by now.' I believe the story anyway even if what is said by the mothers of gods isn't always to be taken completely seriously.

So that's a very bad development. And believe you me, we will all live to see and regret what we we've allowed to happen unnoticed, the conversion of modern Russia into a heavily-armed, aggressive, self-pitying, chauvinistic, theocracy.

Just imagine if George HW Bush, former CIA head, was made president over and over again. Putin is his counterpart, as head of the KGB.

I'm a lot less sanguine about this guy and his regime than a lot of folks here seem to be. Too much Putin-luvin' (and Trump at times too) here makes me a little unsettled. These are oligarchal thugs, protectorates of moneyed-interests, hiding behind a religious revival, with no fealty whatsoever to the 99%. The Russian people had a glorious practically bloodless revolution the first time around.

On Thursday, February 23, 1917, women workers in Petrograd left their factories and entered the streets to protest. It was International Women's Day and the women of Russia were ready to be heard.

An estimated 90,000 women marched through the streets, shouting "Bread" and "Down With the Autocracy!" and "Stop the War!" These women were tired, hungry, and angry. They worked long hours in miserable conditions in order to feed their families because their husbands and fathers were at the front, fighting in World War I. They wanted change. They weren't the only ones.

The following day, more than 150,000 men and women took to the streets to protest. Soon more people joined them and by Saturday, February 25, the city of Petrograd was basically shut down -- no one was working.

That's the kind of Russian I look up to with a sense of awe, solidarity and inspiration.

Those are my comrades. Not Putin's capitalistic, theocratic thugs.

@Mark from Queens

Putin openly talks about his work in the KGB, and no one in Russia is confused about the omnipresent oligarchy he works within. He has raised the standard of living for the Russian people from the destitution brought on by lawless crony capitalism. And they have re-elected him because of what he did.

Franklin Roosevelt was of the corporate elite, a Wall Street lawyer. He was part of the cabal that had brought on the devastation of the Depression. He raised the standard of living for the American people from the destitution caused by lawless crony capitalism. The American people elected him president 4 times because of what he did. They were under no illusions about who he was, who bankrolled his campaigns, or how far back they could fall if he lost. He was in a position of power because of his relationship to Wall Street gangsters, but he made incremental change in the interest of working people.

In addition, Franklin Roosevelt was bankrolled by the very firms that armed Hitler, and I believe they fully expected the United States under his leadership to enter the War on the side of Germany. He allowed Japan to attack the United States in order to make the decision to join the Allies, including the Soviet Union, the ultimate target of Wall Street's war.

In the same way, Putin faces the resurgence of Nazism in Ukraine, armed by the United States. Again. We will see whose side we are on in days or years to come, if we have any years to come.

In an article from last August, the writer q502 says,

https://medium.com/@q502/robert-mercer-money-launderer-for-vladimir-putin-8c596cd3d930

Russia is controlled by a vast organization comprised of the intelligence services, organized crime and big business. This organization is led by Vladimir PUTIN and control is maintained through corruption, blackmail and assassination.

We could just as easily replace a couple of words and say,

"The United States is controlled by a vast organization comprised of the intelligence services, organized crime and big business. This organization is led by the BUM OF THE MONTH and control is maintained through corruption, blackmail and assassination."

Putin is making progress for the Russian people, and they have re-elected him because of it. We are supporting Nazi fascism in Europe, Saudi Wahhabism in the Middle East, and offer the people of the world war and annihilation. Does it seem illogical if some of us see Putin as rational by comparison?

grip.

Let me first say for context: I think the whole contrived, concocted and convoluted Russian Red Herring Mania Meltdown by the venal MSM, put up to it by the scorned Clinton Cabal, will go down as one of most embarrassing, hideous, dangerous and dumb epochs of American history.

But that doesn't make me a fan of their counterparts in the Russian government either.

I consider Christopher Hitchens one of the world's greatest minds, historians, authors and socialists. And when he speaks (spoke, he's gone now) I listen very carefully, just as I would Gore Vidal.

This is a very unpromising development in the church that claims to be the nurturing mother of European civilization. But if you look just a little further east to another schism that took place in the bosom of the same church you will find that the other
schismatic force, now known as orthodoxy instead of Catholicism, has just instated as its dictator, its spiritual and earthly representative, Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Orthodox Church has now become the official Church of the Putin organization. No instatements of any police official, any military official any government, official the Putin regime, is complete without the kissing of the icons, the swinging of the incense the affirmation of the ancient verities of the very church that - since we're on the subject, managed to bring us all the way all the way to Western Europe with incredible trouble. The forgery, actually the fabrication, of the protocols of the Elders of Zion, the church of Tsarism, the church of serfdom, the Church of Russian imperialism the Church of tyranny and superstition - and now they're producing new icons.

Not content with the old ones, that baptized and confirmed serfdom, tsarism,
anti-semitism and fascism, they've created new new icons. You can see them; they are easily found on the internet. They would show him in a prayerful attitude, as the Father of his people and as the holy protector of Holy Russia, Joseph Stalin. Who it's true was a very leading member of Seminary in Georgia, under the name Joseph Vissarionovich jr. Even in his youth his mother is supposed to have said to him, when he became a chairman of the Central Committee of the Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 'you're a stupid boy; if you'd just have stayed in that seminary you could have been a bishop by now.' I believe the story anyway even if what is said by the mothers of gods isn't always to be taken completely seriously.

So that's a very bad development. And believe you me, we will all live to see and regret what we we've allowed to happen unnoticed, the conversion of modern Russia into a heavily-armed, aggressive, self-pitying, chauvinistic, theocracy.

Just imagine if George HW Bush, former CIA head, was made president over and over again. Putin is his counterpart, as head of the KGB.

I'm a lot less sanguine about this guy and his regime than a lot of folks here seem to be. Too much Putin-luvin' (and Trump at times too) here makes me a little unsettled. These are oligarchal thugs, protectorates of moneyed-interests, hiding behind a religious revival, with no fealty whatsoever to the 99%. The Russian people had a glorious practically bloodless revolution the first time around.

On Thursday, February 23, 1917, women workers in Petrograd left their factories and entered the streets to protest. It was International Women's Day and the women of Russia were ready to be heard.

An estimated 90,000 women marched through the streets, shouting "Bread" and "Down With the Autocracy!" and "Stop the War!" These women were tired, hungry, and angry. They worked long hours in miserable conditions in order to feed their families because their husbands and fathers were at the front, fighting in World War I. They wanted change. They weren't the only ones.

The following day, more than 150,000 men and women took to the streets to protest. Soon more people joined them and by Saturday, February 25, the city of Petrograd was basically shut down -- no one was working.

That's the kind of Russian I look up to with a sense of awe, solidarity and inspiration.

Those are my comrades. Not Putin's capitalistic, theocratic thugs.