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In the other thread you've been bringing up Iraq as "proof" of our governments propagandising us, and I've been laughing at you.= KRAPO

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Originally posted by THGRRI: I'll say it again. There is no such thing as freedom in Russia. There they go together like oil and water.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
And I'll say it again: You have no idea what you're talking about. So, just to prove me wrong, here's a challenge: What's "freedom", THUGR? Define it for us.

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Originally posted by THGRRI: I'll say it again. There is no such thing as freedom in Russia. There they go together like oil and water.

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I'll bet you dollars to donuts you never answer the question. Just like you've never answered what you think "America's" interests are because ... get this ... you think it's a "trick" question.

Yanno, I chuckle every time I think about that. The only thing that makes it a "trick" question is your inability to answer it.

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It doesn't surprise me that I need to explain the meaning of freedom to you. Something I did and do with other questions posed to me by you. Including the one you imply I didn't.

Political freedom, political autonomy or political agency, is a central concept in history and political thought. It is one of the most important features of democratic societies.

These freedoms are currently being targeted for destruction by Russian trolls like you and kiki. How, by the delegitimation of our democratic institutions. These institutions are fighting back through our legal system. The rule of law. Those corrupted by Russia in our political system are heading to jail. As they do it is I who chuckles.

Tick tock, tick tock SIG. I have been taking a break from here but as the indictments start to unfold, you can bet my laughing and saying I told you so will be a constant ringing in your ears.

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Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy

The U.S. government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country's citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and powerful, a new study from Princeton and Northwestern universities has concluded.

The report, "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens" (PDF), used extensive policy data collected between 1981 and 2002 to empirically determine the state of the U.S. political system.

After sifting through nearly 1,800 U.S. policies enacted in that period and comparing them to the expressed preferences of average Americans (50th percentile of income), affluent Americans (90th percentile), and large special interests groups, researchers concluded that the U.S. is dominated by its economic elite.

The peer-reviewed study, which will be taught at these universities in September, says: "The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence."

Researchers concluded that U.S. government policies rarely align with the preferences of the majority of Americans, but do favour special interests and lobbying organizations: "When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it."

The positions of powerful interest groups are "not substantially correlated with the preferences of average citizens," but the politics of average Americans and affluent Americans sometimes does overlap. This is merely a coincidence, the report says, with the interests of the average American being served almost exclusively when it also serves those of the richest 10%.

The theory of "biased pluralism" that the Princeton and Northwestern researchers believe the U.S. system fits holds that policy outcomes "tend to tilt towards the wishes of corporations and business and professional associations."

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Originally posted by kpo:
Yawn.

Well at least you're on topic now.

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Originally posted by kpo:
In the other thread you've been bringing up Iraq as "proof" of our governments propagandising us, and I've been laughing at you. Is that what you want me to respond to?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
So I have a question for you, krappo.

It's obvious you're completely unfazed by the supposedly democratic US and British governments lying to, and propagandizing, their citizens - AS IF THEY WERE TOTALITARIAN STATES THAT HAD TO HIDE THE FACTS.

Why are you so comfortable with that?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
So I have a question for you, krappo.

It's obvious you're completely unfazed by the supposedly democratic US and British governments lying to, and propagandizing, their citizens - AS IF THEY WERE TOTALITARIAN STATES THAT HAD TO HIDE THE FACTS.

Why are you so comfortable with that?

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So THUGR: Is there political freedom here? Or even a functioning democracy?

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I've said my piece. I have no intention of entering into a protracted discussion with a witless worm and emptied headed troll.

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I've said my piece.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
So I have a question for you, krappo.

It's obvious you're completely unfazed by the supposedly democratic US and British governments lying to, and propagandizing, their citizens - AS IF THEY WERE TOTALITARIAN STATES THAT HAD TO HIDE THE FACTS.

Why are you so comfortable with that?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
So I have a question for you, krappo.

It's obvious you're completely unfazed by the supposedly democratic US and British governments lying to, and propagandizing, their citizens - AS IF THEY WERE TOTALITARIAN STATES THAT HAD TO HIDE THE FACTS.

Why are you so comfortable with that?

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Originally posted by captaincrunch:
I use to dread visiting my wife’s grandfather because he had this knack for asking us questions that seemed brilliantly crafted for how unanswerable they were. You felt him staring at you waiting for an answer, while my wife and I would stare at each other trying to think of one. This would go on for hours. He was 94, so love and respect.
When KillKill asks if we control our Media I’m transported back to grandpa Smith’s livingroom. “Media???” What does she mean by “Media?” Television? CNN, RT, Fox? Maybe Radio? Or, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter? Google News? Google News Italy? Newspapers perhaps? National Review? Maybe Magazines? Scienctific America, Time, Christian Science Monitor? Maybe Newsletters or blogs? Maybe Mailing lists? Maybe she means political forums? Sci-fi forums? Podcasts perhaps? How can you answer such a poorly worded question? Does she even know what she means by “Media?”

G, traveling, posting as CaptainCrunch. Replies may be spotty or non existant.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
I think you've just provided the perfect rationale for why krappo is utterly incapable of addressing anything related to Russia.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
So I have a question for you, krappo.

It's obvious you're completely unfazed by the supposedly democratic US and British governments lying to, and propagandizing, their citizens - AS IF THEY WERE TOTALITARIAN STATES THAT HAD TO HIDE THE FACTS.

Why are you so comfortable with that?

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And why have you ducked this question nine times?

It's obvious this is the question I'm asking you to respond to.

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But success came at a cost. Chirikova was arrested several times and other activists and journalists were set upon by unknown assailants. When Khimki newspaper editor Mikhail Beketov raised suspicions that local officials were profiting from the motorway project, his dog was killed, his car was set on fire and finally he was attacked so brutally that he suffered brain damage and never regained the power of speech.

Chirikova remembers going to visit him in intensive care. He had lost several fingers, had a leg amputated and part of his skull was missing after a beating with an iron bar.

"My legs were shaking so badly that I just sat on the hospital floor," she says. "For the first time, I was really afraid. Anyone who could do such a thing to another person has no moral principles and I understood that a bandit regime had seized power in my country."

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