Russian reform.

[Ace42]

I've just seen on the BBC news that Putin is using the Beslan terrorist catastrophe to push through legislature that removes all locally elected parliamentarians and replaces them with individuals hand-picked by himself.

[Ace42]

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=584032&src=rss/uk/worldNews&section=news

[B I N G O]

I've just seen on the BBC news that Putin is using the Beslan terrorist catastrophe to push through legislature that removes all locally elected parliamentarians and replaces them with individuals hand-picked by himself.

That's kind of like a country run by Islamic fundamentalists... He better watch out before HIS govt starts sponsoring terrorism and we end up going to war with him too.

[EN[i]GMA]

I wonder what Bush's opinion on this is. He forcefully applies Democracy to 2 countries when one of his allies(?) is revoking their own Democracy.

[Funkaloyd]

The State Department is critical of Putin on this, but the State Department and Bush's White House have disagreed on democracy and human rights before, notably regarding Uzbekistan. Bush used outdated anti-Communism laws to waiver (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031230-12.html) the State Department's decision (http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1125098,00.html) that the government of Uzbekistan is too oppressive to receive US aid (they've actually boiled people alive (http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,963497,00.html)).

[EN[i]GMA]

Another flip flop perhaps?

Democracy for dollars!