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When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Petty moves from a petty man.

Books are my comfort food!

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

“But what about the lurkers?”

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

T R E 4 5 O N

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

You are here: Home / Politics / Activist Judges! / Song of the Week (Foreign Politics Edition)

Song of the Week (Foreign Politics Edition)

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Per the genteel NYTimes, “Russian Band Given 2-Year Term for Stunt Deriding Putin“:

MOSCOW — A Moscow judge handed down stiff prison sentences of two years on Friday afternoon for three young women who staged a protest against Vladimir V. Putin in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior last February and whose jailing and trial on hooliganism charges have generated worldwide criticism of constraints on political speech in Russia

While a guilty verdict against the three women, members of a band called Pussy Riot, was widely expected, suspense had built over how severe a punishment they would receive. Prosecutors had demanded three-year prison terms, but President Putin had weighed in on the side of leniency. …

The case has become a touchstone in the political conflict that began in Russia after disputed parliamentary elections last December. That is partly because of the sympathetic appearance of the defendants — two are mothers of young children — partly because their group uses music to carry its message, and because it has pitted them against a united power-structure: the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church.

As the judge read the lengthy verdict, hundreds of demonstrators had gathered outside the courthouse and shouted, “Free Pussy Riot!” …

Near the start of the highly anticipated proceedings, the judge said that Pussy Riot’s so-called punk prayer in Moscow’s main cathedral had amounted to the crime of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. She repeated that charge on Friday in her verdict. Because the women acted as a group, the maximum sentence under the law is seven years in prison….

As the trial opened, the women — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, and Maria Alyokhina, 24 — apologized, saying they had never intended to offend the Orthodox Church but rather sought to make a political statement against Mr. Putin and against the church patriarch, Kirill I, for supporting Mr. Putin in his campaign for a third term as president.

But prosecutors and lawyers for religious people who where described as victims of the stunt said the women were motivated by religious hatred. The defendants were accused of committing “moral harm” and even of practicing Satanism …

Emily Nokes at Seattle’s Stranger has a timeline on “Everything You Need to Know About Vladimir Putin’s Least Favorite Feminists“:

… Pussy Riot has no formal membership, tries to operate anonymously, and cites the riot grrrl movement as inspiration. According to a member of the collective: “We developed what they did in the 1990s, although in an absolutely different context and with an exaggerated political stance, which leads to all of our performances being illegal—we’ll never gig in a club or special musical space.”…

July 30: The Pussy Riot trial begins. The prosecutor demands three years in a labor camp for each defendant. The defense reports that the women have not been allowed adequate food, sleep, or medical attention. During appearances in court, they are kept in a glass and wood cage, watched by a “rotating cast of guard dogs… lest the three women try to run away from the glass ‘aquarium’ in which they are locked during the trial,” the New Yorker reports. Court sessions often last more than 10 hours.

August 3: There are reports of journalists being kept out of the courtroom. According to the Russian Legal Information Agency: “During the trial, the defense attorneys have also not had the opportunity to meet with their clients confidentially. The court has dismissed all of the defense’s appeals, and has not allowed witnesses for the defense or members of the press or the public to testify.”

August 6: The prosecution calls “injured parties” as witnesses, such as church security guards, a candle keeper, church cleaners, and a treasurer. According to the New Yorker, witnesses testify to being “profoundly offended” by the “loud, inappropriate” color of Pussy Riot’s dresses, their lack of sleeves, etc., and the candle keeper says, “They basically spat in my face, in my soul, in my Lord’s soul.” Even though the women performed for less than one minute in balaclavas and tights while the church was empty, a witness claims to have identified one of the women “by her calf muscles.” Rolling Stone reports that a real estate agent who also testifies watched the performance online and feels that “Pussy Riot declared war on God, Christianity, and the government.”…

And in another country, Rick Santorum has a peak sexual experience.

The group’s defense website is here.

Reader Interactions

81Comments

  1. 1.

    Ben Franklin

    Whether it’s Hooliganism or failure to use a condom, it’s all good for the Authoritarians.

    Let the criminals rot.

  2. 2.

    Culture of Truth

    Pussy Riot declared war on God, Christianity, and the government

    Sounds like they’ve got their hands full

  3. 3.

    Culture of Truth

    the candle keeper says, “They basically spat in my face, in my soul, in my Lord’s soul.”

    Wax on wax off

  5. 5.

    Kiril

    A few months ago I got curious and watched some Pussy Riot videos on YouTube and ran across a comment that perfectly expresses how I feel about their, and a lot of underproduced punk music:

    This is terrible. I love it.

  8. 8.

    Comrade Dread

    If that’s all they did, it doesn’t seem like it’s worth 2 years. Maybe probation or community service.

    Then again, I would have hoped that the church wouldn’t have pressed charges and told the girls that next time they should call ahead so they can put on a pot of coffee and arrange a space outside for their protests.

  9. 9.

    MaximusNYC

    These women are operating on a level that is so far beyond the understanding of both their opponents in Russia, and many of their supporters in the west.

    Check out their closing statements. Really good stuff. And they make a mockery of the idea that their actions were “motivated by religious hatred”.

    What many people don’t understand is that this was a protest specifically about the unholy attempt to fuse the church and the state. Of course, this is a problem we are not entirely unfamiliar with ourselves.

  10. 10.

    beltane

    The only humorous aspect to all of this is that I got to hear my 72 year old mother utter the name “Pussy Riot”.

  12. 12.

    Rekster

    From the Dallas Morning News:

    Peppard: Erykah Badu watching Moscow trial of P**** Riot

    This was the headline from the Pop Culture Blog on August 15, 2012.

    Heaven forbid they use the word Pussy. All the loons down here would have feared a horde of Kitty Kats were rioting!

  13. 13.

    MaximusNYC

    BTW, here is the English translation of their infamous song:

    (Chorus)
    St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin
    Drive away! Drive away Putin!
    (end chorus)

    Black robe, golden epaulettes
    All parishioners are crawling and bowing
    The ghost of freedom is in heaven
    Gay pride sent to Siberia in chains

    The head of the KGB is their chief saint
    Leads protesters to prison under escort
    In order not to offend the Holy
    Women have to give birth and to love

    Holy shit, shit, Lord’s shit!
    Holy shit, shit, Lord’s shit!

    (Chorus)
    St. Maria, Virgin, become a feminist
    Become a feminist, Become a feminist
    (end chorus)

    Church praises the rotten dictators
    The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
    In school you are going to meet with a teacher-preacher
    Go to class – bring him money!

    Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
    Bitch, you better believed in God
    Belt of the Virgin is no substitute for mass-meetings
    In protest of our Ever-Virgin Mary!

    (Chorus)
    St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin
    Drive away! Drive away Putin!
    (end chorus)

  16. 16.

    Mike in NC

    A Moscow judge handed down stiff prison sentences of two years on Friday afternoon for three young women who staged a protest against Vladimir V. Putin in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior last February and whose jailing and trial on hooliganism charges have generated worldwide criticism of constraints on political speech in Russia.

    A few years back I saw an old newsreel of the destruction of the original Cathedral of Christ the Savior, as ordered by good old Uncle Joe Stalin in the early 1930s. Boris Yeltsin had the thing rebuilt at considerable expense (with public donations) in the 1990s.

  17. 17.

    General Stuck

    George Bush ain’t buying it.

    “I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue.

    To dredge up Stalin. No Pusssy Riot, No problem.

  19. 19.

    Villago Delenda Est

    You know, “hooliganism” was a favorite crime for the old Soviet Union to charge anyone with who they didn’t like. For example, the guy who yelled “Brezhnev is an idiot!” in Red Square.

    Well, that and revealing a state secret, but I digress…

  20. 20.

    The Snarxist Formerly Known As Kryptik

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    It really doesn’t help that this is almost a blatant political show trial either. Guerrilla performances like that are always of questionable legality, but it’s obvious that it wasn’t really the show itself or the supposed blasphemy, but insulting Putin on a personal level and calling into question his political divinity.

  26. 26.

    Calouste

    @raven:

    I wonder how long it will be before we find out that the connection with special forces of at least one of the people involved in Swiftboating 2.0 didn’t go any further than the application form.

  28. 28.

    JustMe

    they had never intended to offend the Orthodox Church

    While the defendants deserved nothing more than a citation and a token fine, could they at least refrain from “piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining”-type defenses?

  29. 29.

    General Stuck

    @kvenlander:

    There always has been a malignant strain of nationalism in Russia, that lives on past experiments with various forms of government. A couple of years ago, I came across a documentary concerning the Putin fueled near manic lurch toward bringing out the beast of nation love.

    They were having government sponsored youth camps, like we do with church and scouting this or that for our young people, except they were worshiping the superiority of mother Russia, and Putin right along side that. Volatile country, and will continue to be, with a shit load of nuclear weapons.

  30. 30.

    Zifnab

    Twenty-somethings in spandex sending a former World Superpower into distress? Can a drunk guy riding a tank be far behind?

    :-p Shit like this doesn’t demonstrate Putin’s strength. It merely goes to illustrate how terribly weak he is.

  31. 31.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @General Stuck:

    Recall that during the darkest days of the Great Patriotic War, Stalin did not speak of defending the Revolution, he spoke of defending the Rodina. Mother Russia.

    They’ve always fallen back on nationalism, regardless of the regime. Tsars and Commissars both fell back to the defense of the Motherland.

  34. 34.

    chopper

    see, this is punk as fuck. punk rock in the US died the moment middle-aged people stopped being scared of it.

  35. 35.

    Citizen_X

    Gee, one starts to get the feeling that there should be, I don’t know, a wall between church and state, or something.

    I know, a heretical thought in the United Christian States of America.

  36. 36.

    Linda Featheringill

    a united power-structure: the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church

    Again? What the hell?

    I think that in the centuries before 1900, the Russian Orthodox Church served neither God nor man but rather was an arm of the State. In the 20th century, the Church wasn’t a major player. So now we’re in the 21st century and they’re going back to do that again?

    Where’s that comet?

  37. 37.

    Mike in NC

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Tsars and Commissars both fell back to the defense of the Motherland.

    Stalin gave the world “Motherland”, Hitler gave the world “Fatherland”, and Dubya gave the world “Homeland”.

  38. 38.

    Hill Dweller

    @raven:

    Hardball has the dumbest fucking Seal I have ever heard on.

    More articulate: Ryan Lochte or Birther SEAL?

  39. 39.

    The Sailor

    “but President Putin had weighed in on the side of leniency.”

    I was trying to come up with something clever, but I couldn’t get past “bullshit”.

    Edit: In ex-Soviet Russia church fucks … yeah, still nothing.

  42. 42.

    Valdivia

    So how do the Wingnuts defend this? They always say Putin is like a Soviet despot but now they have to condemn a group called P*s*y Riot and the video is about religion. Hmmmm.

  43. 43.

    Mike G

    An authoritarian politician sanctimoniously exploiting religion for his own purposes.
    It’s good thing that could never happen in the USA.

  46. 46.

    in canaduh

    oh please… now putin is the villain? issue du jour because russia is allied to syria? this is a joke putin destroyed chechnya and this is what gets people s panties in a knot? for real?

  53. 53.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    @celticdragonchick:

    What’s funny, is that Rod is a fucking convert who hasn’t been Orthodox all that long. He just happens to be one of the most prominent Orthodox writers. Also, he’s really deep (surprisingly so for a convert) into the scandals engulfing the Orthodox Church in America. Dreher is a fucking hack, someone who hides rather conventional conservatism behind his Whole Foods granola eating persona.

  60. 60.

    celticdragonchick

    @Amanda in the South Bay:

    Yep. I actually tried having a dialog with him for some time (private emails) and I thought he was a decent person, although I didn’t agree with on much obviously.

    Then, he started into some gratuitous and rather vicious attacks on trans women (even when the subject was something else entirely…) and I saw that he was not someone who could be reasoned with at all. He simply cannot admit to his own biases (while mocking the “bigotry” of the GLBT community)and he cannot learn from his own comment section where he is consistently debunked (bizarre theories that gay marriage will lead to severe freedom of speech prohibitions of Christians. His sole source for this is an unknown radical queer feminist professor. Repeated efforts to dislodge this fallacy have been ignored.)

    Rod is a hack, and his BFF Erin Manning is utterly fucking insane.

  62. 62.

    gogol's wife

    @Valdivia:

    I subscribe to a Slavic listserv, and when this whole thing happened, I had about 200 “Pu$$y Riot” messages in my inbox. Made me a little nervous.

  63. 63.

    Thoughtcrime

    “Tell me one area where Paul Ryan and Sarah Palin would disagree. I cannot find one area. So, somehow, he’s the smartest guy in the party and she’s the stupidest woman on earth but they agree on everything.”
    —Bill Maher

  64. 64.

    gelfling545

    @Valdivia: It was interesting just to hear the BBC reporting on this the last few days. You could almost hear the news readers bracing themselves to say it, almost like audible quotation marks.

  68. 68.

    Tony J

    @celticdragonchick:

    This. Dreher is the Romney of the American Conservative. He just can’t come to grips with the concept that his particular view on Christianity and its role in society can ever be questioned by people he doesn’t see as equals. Everything is an unwarranted and groundless assault on what he – knows – to be right, and he gets very pissy indeed if anyone questions his authority.

  70. 70.

    Todd

    Dreher is a complete tool. He is a convert to the OCA, which is a kludge put together for the benefit of ethnic Russians in the US during the middle of the last century. Wingnut converts have actually taken over the OCA (the Greeks, Arabs and Serbs more successfully resisted those Calvinists), and Rod stuck his nose in the middle of the OCA infighting by creating an Internet sock puppet site to support the incompetent culture warring convert that got himself named Metropolitan. The whole ordeal is a hoot – they’re now in incredibly dire straights, and the only real solution is to fold the thing into ROCOR, despite the fact that a lot of that leadership was KGB vetted and approved back during the cold war.

  71. 71.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    @Todd:
    Well, technically it’d be back into the MP, as the ROCOR and MP reunited a few years ago :P

    But yes, ditto on the OCA. Have you visited monomakhos? There’s a strong clique of converts (mostly centered in the Diocese of the South) who view everything through the lens of right wing politics.

  72. 72.

    AnonReader

    @celticdragonchick: My take on Rod is that he is your typical bully– by which I mean he has such extreme class insecurity that he’s always on the lookout for who he thinks is an acceptable “target” and decides to beat on them to prove his “cred” and hope that he won’t end up being the next target. I think what frustrates him to no end is the fact that no matter how much he tries to hold the “right” beliefs, suck up to the “right” people, and beat on the “right” targets, he can’t get the respect and admiration he thinks he deserves. Instead of realizing that the whole conservative mindset he subscribes to is to blame, he tries to find various liberal boogeymen to blame for our problems.

    @Todd: That’s an impressive amount of knowledge of Orthodox Christian jurisdiction inside baseball.

  73. 73.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    @AnonReader:

    My take is that there’s a lot of bishops secretly behaving badly in the OCA-Herman and Theodosius were heavily closeted, and spent shitloads of money on secret extortion-like stuff (hence the scandal revolving around Kondratick, et al). Benjamin got a DUI and is supposed to visit gay bars in SF, Tikhon (retired) spends his time on the internet gossiping and never visited his parishes while bishop of SF and the West, Nikolai and Isidore are supposed lovers who Nikolai beatup, and Isidore is a not so closeted homosexual who might be HIV pos, what else?Oh, the late Abp of the South, so beloved of converts, was an alleged child rapist in Mexico.

  74. 74.

    Todd

    @Amanda in the South Bay:

    George wont let me post at Monomakhos anymore – I kept upsetting his convert posters, convert priests and convert bishops. I got the banhammer when I challenged Hans Jacobse to show me evidence that he had a congregation that he met the needs of as opposed to just being a joke of an internet polemiscist that Metro Phil barely tolerates.

    Good times…

  76. 76.

    Binky Bear

    @Mike in NC: In point of historic fact, the Gestapo were the Gehaimat Staatspolizei, or homeland security police. Germany owns that one as well, though the Bush family has a long term lease on the term from back in the day.

  77. 77.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    @Todd:

    I could’ve sworn Jacobse was OCA, but I might have gotten him confused with Alexander Webster, another convert darling.

    Heh, I have way too much baggage to ever consider going back to Orthodoxy, much less Christianity, but if I could (and I live in CA) I’d go to a very po nashemu parish in the ACROD or rustbelt OCA (or maybe the UOC-USA).

  79. 79.

    RadioOne

    your video post sounds like a cross between Christian hymns and Atari Teenage Riot. Human beings should not compose this kind of music with both musical styles simultaneously in mind.

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