July 16, 2010 — Contents

FRIDAY JULY 16 CONTENTS

(1)  EDITORIAL:  Once Again, Russia comes in Dead Last

(2)  EDITORIAL:  Russia is a Nation of Drunken Murderers

(3)  A Country ruled by Amoebas

(4)  Kozlovsky, Under Siege

(5)  The Road to Russia is Paved with Good Intentions

NOTE: Part One and Part Two of a Hermitage Capital documentary on the Kremlin goons who murdered Sergei Magnitsky and continue their reign of terror in the service of Vladimir Putin have been posted online. Required viewing!  Also available in Russian, whose Part One already has nearly a quarter million views.

EDITORIAL: Once again, Russia comes in Dead Last

EDITORIAL

Once again, Russia comes in Dead Last

The virtual ink on our recent survey of Russia’s evaluations by ten major international ratings agencies is barely dry and, yes, you guessed it, once again Russia has been rated and once again it has come in dead last.

This time, Russia was compared to eighteen major nations in Europe in regard to the amount of time their citizens spend wasting time waiting in lines — and Russia was by far the worst of any country in the group.  Russians spent twice as much time waiting in lines as the second-worst nation on the list.  It comes as no surprise, of course, to anyone who has spent any time living in Russia, nor does the nasty, hostile reception you get at the end of that time spent waiting.

EDITORIAL: Russia, Nation of Drunken Murderers

EDITORIAL

Russia, Nation of Drunken Murderers

Last week on the Sea of Azov (Russian-language source), six young campers drowned after being allowed to swim in a prohibited area and being sucked under by dangerous riptides, while three drunken teachers were supposed to be supervising scratched themselves like apes on the beach.  Three other children were hospitalized, one in critical condition.

It is no stereotype, no prejudice, just simple undeniable fact:  Russia is a land of drunken murderers.  Russians pay no more attention to the election of their leaders than they do to the care of their children; instead, they pay attention to the best way of laying hands on vodka.

A Country Ruled by Amoebas

Hero journalist Yulia Latynina, writing in the Moscow Times:

Moscow road workers closed the bridge on Leningradskoye Shosse without any forewarning, leaving only one of three lanes open in one direction and backing up traffic to Sheremetyevo Airport for hours. As a result, thousands of passengers missed their flights and Aeroflot suffered losses of 700,000 euros ($877,000) on the first day alone.

This kind of stupidity happens only in Russia — or maybe Zimbabwe as well. Where else would the authorities effectively shut down the only road leading to an international airport? In Europe, they have to contend with volcanoes. In Moscow, we have Mayor Yury Luzhkov.

Sheremetyevo Airport director Mikhail Vasilenko said the problems were an underhanded attempt by Luzhkov to drive people away from using Sheremetyevo and toward the city’s other major airport, Vnukovo, which is opening a new terminal this month and happens to be owned by City Hall.

But Vasilenko’s claim is based on an implausible assumption — that an amoeba is capable of making a plan. It can’t. An amoeba can only eat.

Kozlovsky, Under Siege

Russian opposition leader Oleg Kozlovsky

Opposition leader Oleg Kozlovsky, writing on the Huffington Post:

The building of autocracy in Russia is done in small steps. One brick was added to the wall this Friday by the State Duma. An act that further restricts public gatherings and protests in the country passed in its first hearing.

The most widely discussed “innovation” of the new act is that it obliges organizers of all actions involving cars or any other means of transportation (including trains, bycicles etc.) to de facto receive approval from the authorities. It is an apparent response to recent protests of car owners (the so-called “blue buckets”) and opposition actions in Moscow trains. The government and police found it difficult to stop or persecute participants of those protests, so now they’ll have a pretext.

The Road to Russia is Paved with Good Intentions

Care to guess what this glass represents? Answer after the jump.