tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15037609.post4576636872187454290..comments2023-10-01T16:53:17.274+01:00Comments on Cicero's Songs: Putin makes his moveCicerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02090838836212624633noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15037609.post-39377440040118074292007-12-04T11:30:00.000+00:002007-12-04T11:30:00.000+00:00Lepidus, While I know too many Conservatives seem ...Lepidus, While I know too many Conservatives seem happy to back their ally Vladimir Putin, even you can tell the difference between a duly monitored free and fair election, which is what we can expect in Tbilisi next month and the riduclous farce that we have just endured in Russia. That the Saakashvili government is not beyond criticism does not make Putin a democrat.<BR/><BR/>This is not just about a stolen election or even about a government, it is about a system that has stripped opposition of any possibility to become a government. <BR/><BR/>As you can clearly see, Saakashvili could be defeated at the ballot box, Putinism can not be (yet).Cicerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02090838836212624633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15037609.post-4165261171538756702007-12-04T01:58:00.000+00:002007-12-04T01:58:00.000+00:00Who was the election stolen from? Even without all...Who was the election stolen from? Even without all the "administrative resource" shenanigans, UR would have had at least 50% of the vote, and the liberals nowhere close to the 7% mark needed. The results correlate fairly closely to the pre-election polls (and The Levada Center is not some Putinist outfit). IMO, Just Russia may have had a bit of a lift to push it through. So we have what we have.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15037609.post-86101605424586975922007-12-03T19:59:00.000+00:002007-12-03T19:59:00.000+00:00Yes an election with a muzzled media, opposition b...Yes an election with a muzzled media, opposition beaten up, opponents charged suspiciously quickly with offences. A joke of a "democratic mandate." Oh hang on a sec that would be Georgia, so that's Ok then by Cicero. The Economist condemns Sash and Putin equally so why not you then<BR/><BR/>LepdiusAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com