Saturday, June 05, 2010

It Wasn't the "Reset" Button

... it was the "rewind" button.

Dig this.
In the future, those organizing or participating in unauthorized demonstrations can simply be locked up, if the government approves a plan to assign police duties to the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia's domestic intelligence service and the successor to the dreaded KGB.

That's the proposed legislation in bill 364427-5, brought before the government by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is also the former head of the FSB. In the interest of suppressing opposition and taking even tougher action against the Islamic underground movement in the Caucasus, the bill would allow the FSB to imprison citizens they consider problematic for up to 15 days without even involving the courts.
And just what is "problematic?" Well, try this.
A mining accident in the coal-rich Kuzbass region of Siberia, for example, killed more than 90 miners in early May. Ever since their colleagues have been demonstrating for better working conditions. The Ministry of Internal Affairs brought in special police units and cracked down hard, arresting 28 demonstrators. The local governor declared to Putin that the outraged demonstrators were simply work-shy elements, who had been incited "by British and Ukrainian websites."
Nothing says "old school Russian police state" quite like paranoid propaganda justifying mass arrests. Outstanding!

By pushing this button, we just gassed 100 political prisoners. Hilaaaaarious!

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