Thread: "Russophobia" and "Russophilia" :)

It was so obvious why that quote from "For Whom The Bells Toll" was used. What's not obvious is how anyone could consider it to be a threatening statement... Well, unless they think classic books are a threat. lol.
And when I think about all those people in the peaceful OWS demonstrations that were beaten and pepper sprayed, I think using that quote was appropriate. Apathy supports monsters.

President Putin's job approval rating = over 82%.
President Obama's job approval rating = about 41%.
So which President should somebody suspect got into office with a corrupt election?
Only a Russophobe would say Putin.

Btw, the Princeton University study concluded that America is an Oligarchy, not a Democracy:

Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
In English: the wealthy few move policy, while the average American has little power.

BBC News - Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy

So how can anyone say that our government isn't corrupt? It doesn't matter who we vote for because they aren't the people who make the important decisions.

Originally Posted by UhOhXplode

It was so obvious why that quote from "For Whom The Bells Toll" was used. What's not obvious is how anyone could consider it to be a threatening statement... Well, unless they think classic books are a threat. lol.
And when I think about all those people in the peaceful OWS demonstrations that were beaten and pepper sprayed, I think using that quote was appropriate. Apathy supports monsters.

President Putin's job approval rating = over 82%.
President Obama's job approval rating = about 41%.
So which President should somebody suspect got into office with a corrupt election?
Only a Russophobe would say Putin.

Btw, the Princeton University study concluded that America is an Oligarchy, not a Democracy:

BBC News - Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy

So how can anyone say that our government isn't corrupt? It doesn't matter who we vote for because they aren't the people who make the important decisions.

My final reply for a while unless some new posters participate. Sorry. The U.S. is a democracy if you consider that democracies ...A) don't work and B) are flawed since it is empowerment of special interest groups and a dumbing down of the masses. Imho, whether you want to call America an oligarchy or democracy, is rather irrelevant. Those who find democracy to be an ideal will obviously disagree.

Whether approval ratings are high or low or election % are at 80% or 90%, is not enough info to go on. What was the turn out? What is the evidence that the entire election was fair or untainted. Sorry, but you obviously don't talk to many Russians. Talking to a bunch of Putin fans here is not going to provide a fair sample. If you insist you have never heard of any Russian citizens or politicians claim of rigged results and interfering with elections, then I question how much you have investigated what happens in Russia. Plus, the media is controlled and there is a heavy influence on that industry to what they will spin and how they will do it. So, having "80% vote for Putin' is more or less not indicative of firm support or a functioning political system that approves of the status quo. On the other hand, one could possibly argue that the electorate's minds are molded to support the status quo based on repetive conditioning to accept the current system since citizens would have to take time to weed through information outlets which are all presenting information how they (i.e. the Government) want it delivered.

It should not be rocket science that you can have corruption in both the USA AND Russia and there isn't one that is 'better' than the other. Corruption is...uh, corruption.

Thanks for reading. Good day.