The State of Affairs in Russia

[Admiral Yi]

I don't think Americans get to name the PM of Canada. Hubris much?

Only 3.  That still leaves a bunch Canuckistan can choose for itself. 

[Sheilbh]

I feel like pointing out that Canada does have laws restricting foreign ownership of media companies...

Including for people with dual citizenship?

I wouldn't mind restricting foreign ownership of media companies. In my view it should be based on residency. So Murdoch and the Barclay brothers can come here and pay taxes

[The Minsky Moment]

I don't think Americans get to name the PM of Canada. Hubris much?

Only 3.  That still leaves a bunch Canuckistan can choose for itself. 

They still get Kim Campbell.

[Barrister]

I don't think Americans get to name the PM of Canada. Hubris much?

Only 3.  That still leaves a bunch Canuckistan can choose for itself. 

They still get Kim Campbell.

I believe she lives in the US these days.

[Valmy]

I liked how Robert Borden was fighting to get Britain to turn over its Caribbean possessions to Canada.  Not only did Britain not do so it made Canada take Newfoundland.  Talk about adding insult to injury.

[Syt]

http://rt.com/politics/190620-court-gay-propaganda-ban/

Russia's Constitutional Court backs ban on 'gay propaganda to minors'

The Constitutional Court of Russia has acknowledged the ban of homosexual propaganda among the under age as lawful and dismissed a complaint by well-known LGBT activists.

The ruling was made in response to a complaint lodged by activists Nikolay Alekseev, Yaroslav Evtushenko and Dmitry Isakov. They tried to dispute the law section of Russia's administrative code that describes how the law defines "propaganda of non-conventional sexual relationships to minors."

The activists claimed this law section undermines their constitutional right of freedom of speech and discriminates against them. The law prohibits the dissemination of information about non-traditional sexual relationships that could spark interest from young people under the age of 18.

The Constitutional Court said that the law was aimed at "saving a child from the information impact, which could push him to nonconventional sexual relationships, which in their turn prevent from building a family, as it is traditionally understood in Russia."

The court also ruled that the ban on propagandizing non-conventional sexual relationships is not a ban or censure of homosexuality itself. "They don't require an automatic ban of promotion of any information concerning unconventional sexual relations," the court's statement said.

Previously the complainants had been found guilty of disseminating propaganda of unconventional sexual relations to minors. Each was fined 4,000 rubles ($100).

Alekseev and Evtushenko were held to account in December 2013 for taking part in a picket in front of a children's library in a northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk. The poster read "There is no gay propaganda." In Kazan in January, Isakov held a similar poster in a one-person protest.

The court said it has dismissed Alekseev's arguments that "his actions were not propaganda, but were aimed at spreading objective information, which cannot inflict harm to health, moral or spiritual development of minors." Alekseev's claim was "contradicted by the materials in the case," the court said. Similar statements were made regarding Evtushenko's and Isakov's cases.

Constitutional Court judge Nikolay Bondar told Rossiyskaya Gazeta: "Minors must not be involved in corresponding events, such as rallies or discussions, and the information promoted must not be aimed at them." He added: "The practices of some European countries, which are connected with the deformation of traditional values of family and marriage, can't be an example for us."

The law on "gay propaganda to minors" came into force on June 30, 2013. Fines for breaking the law are 4-5,000 rubles ($100-130) for private citizens and 40-50,000 rubles ($1,000-1,300) for civil servants. Propaganda via the media or the Internet by legal entities raises the fine to 1 million rubles ($26,000).

[Jacob]

What a surprising turn of events.

[Syt]

I was actually a bit surprised by the open criticism of Western countries' more tolerant policies.

[Jacob]

I was actually a bit surprised by the open criticism of Western countries' more tolerant policies.

Seems to me that Russia is very deliberately drifting in that direction. I expect it'll keep drifting.

[Barrister]

I liked how Robert Borden was fighting to get Britain to turn over its Caribbean possessions to Canada.  Not only did Britain not do so it made Canada take Newfoundland.  Talk about adding insult to injury.

Someone has been telling you stories.  Borden was PM during the 1920s, and while there was interest in adding some Caribbean islands to Confederation, nothing ever came of it (much as nothing has some of the idea every time it comes up, even today).

But Borden was long gone from the scene when Newfounland enterested confederation.  This was in the late 40s, more than 20 years after Borden's era.  And nobody was forced to take anyone - Newfoundland voted (reluctantly) to enter Confederation, and Canada gladly accepted them, even offering some inducements.

[DGuller]

This is why I don't feel sorry for Russians themselves as their country becomes a fascist state.  If you want to have a free society, you kinda have to grit your teeth and tolerate some things you don't approve of.

[DGuller]

I was actually a bit surprised by the open criticism of Western countries' more tolerant policies.

"Tolerantnost'" has been used as a term of disparagement for a while now in Russia.  Russians see tolerance as akin to not disciplining your children for acting out.

[grumbler]

I was actually a bit surprised by the open criticism of Western countries' more tolerant policies.

"Tolerantnost'" has been used as a term of disparagement for a while now in Russia.  Russians see tolerance as akin to not disciplining your children for acting out.

Thanks.  Always nice to have an insider to explain the nuances.

[CountDeMoney]

Canadians, I can name 3. Harper, Mulroney, and Trudeau.

Gary Trudeau was an awesome PM.  Is he able to run again?

[Martinus]

I find it quite apt that Russia's currency sounds a lot like "rubble". What a shithole.