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Kasparov Ends Bid for Russian Presidency
washingtonpost.com — Garry Kasparov, the chess grandmaster and relentless critic of President Vladimir Putin, has ended his long-shot presidential bid, citing official harassment he said prevented him from holding a legally required nomination meeting.
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- allaboutdatiki, on 12/14/2007, -5/+48Perhaps his supporters should have rented a blimp ...
- elbergel, on 12/14/2007, -20/+7In Russia blimp rents you!
- cyrix, on 12/15/2007, -1/+6It would be "In Soviet Russia, blimp rents you!"
- sanman, on 12/15/2007, -1/+2Heh, no surprise Kasparov wimped out. People's opinions of him were pretty over-inflated. Playing chess isn't exactly the hardiest of career paths. Meanwhile Russian power's on the comeback trail with Putin, so it makes sense they'd support him.
- RedStarRizing, on 12/15/2007, -2/+0why u talk shyt about playing chess? you probably bag groceries
- elbergel, on 12/14/2007, -20/+7In Russia blimp rents you!
- reeder, on 12/14/2007, -11/+3Move along, nothing to see here.
- simplistics06, on 12/14/2007, -11/+3check mate
- colonelbuckshot, on 12/14/2007, -12/+3How about Bobby Fischer for U.S. President? /s
- bugsy187, on 12/15/2007, -0/+3How about a mildly retarded oil tycoon?
- 01l0, on 12/14/2007, -2/+65The thumbnail for this submission is awesomely irrelevant.
- supernova17, on 12/14/2007, -1/+20haha, I know. I forgot to uncheck it.
- happyseamonster, on 12/15/2007, -0/+0Well... it could be relevant in a way...
- dunderballer, on 12/14/2007, -1/+16Too bad. If you haven't seen his interview on Real Time: http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Z9g7jN3Kso
- venir, on 12/15/2007, -1/+8I saw this interview and really was hoping that he would have at least a shot at winning the election. He is an incredibly smart man and could do a lot of good for Russia. Sadly though, much like it is here in the States, the good candidates rarely prevail.
- locojones, on 12/15/2007, -0/+9I saw him on the Bill Maher show and was thoroughly impressed by his resolve, his competence, and his ability to answer questions clearly and concisely. When compared with our own politicians, who thrive on ambiguity and doublespeak, it makes me wish that Kasparov and more people like him were running here.
- donkz, on 12/15/2007, -2/+2A couple of well spoken sentences which are skewed out of proportion got you guys going... lame. He would never win anyway. Putin has already recommended presidential candidate that will win because in Russia Putin is actually respected. Keep away from propagandistic media, you'll be better off.
- venir, on 12/15/2007, -1/+8I saw this interview and really was hoping that he would have at least a shot at winning the election. He is an incredibly smart man and could do a lot of good for Russia. Sadly though, much like it is here in the States, the good candidates rarely prevail.
- thespudmall, on 12/14/2007, -11/+11In Soviet Russia Presidential Bid Ends You!!!!!!
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/15/2007, -2/+3Please for the love of God stop. That ***** was cliche waaay before the Simpson's coined it.
- flogistan, on 12/15/2007, -1/+3In soviet russia, god stop you!
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/15/2007, -2/+3God= Vladamir Putin?
- flogistan, on 12/15/2007, -1/+3In soviet russia, god stop you!
- Loie, on 12/15/2007, -0/+2agreed, but sadly this one could be true.
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/15/2007, -2/+3Please for the love of God stop. That ***** was cliche waaay before the Simpson's coined it.
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/14/2007, -5/+7Dude we are so *****! With Russia now acquiring the North Pole American kids will have to settle getting bottles of Smirnoff in their stockings instead of Nintendo Wii's. Russia GIVE SANTA HIS SOVEREIGNTY!
- vorjay, on 12/15/2007, -1/+5Smirnoff is French (British owned by Diageo), not Russian!
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/15/2007, -0/+3Hey! Its isn't my fault there's hot Russian (I think -_-) accent on TV telling me to drink that crap!
- jimmiss, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1No worries my friend, us Canadians are setting up arctic bases to defend our soveriegnty.
- RedStarRizing, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1then were screwed...
- Lyk4n, on 12/15/2007, -1/+1The Canadians are going to lose half their troops in vehicle flip-overs before they ever get to the Russians..
- RedStarRizing, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1then were screwed...
- happyseamonster, on 12/15/2007, -1/+0I'd take a bottle of vodka any day.
- vorjay, on 12/15/2007, -1/+5Smirnoff is French (British owned by Diageo), not Russian!
- sonnybobiche, on 12/15/2007, -5/+25I don't think diggers understand how serious the situation in Russia might become in the following years. We're too concerned about trivialities like Waterboarding (they'll do it whether its officially illegal or not) and the WGA strike to realize that across the world, a nation is turning its back on democracy and charging towards totalitarianism.
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/15/2007, -1/+9All joking aside, did you see that CNN investigation report of the Putin administration? Russia today is truly reminiscent of the US now (trying to undermine the democratic process anyway). Its no joke that the people just want bread and circuses, and that truly disturbs me.
- flogistan, on 12/15/2007, -3/+3Horse *****. SemiSar is right. They are probably more free than us. You are being inundated with propaganda because they won't give their natural resources away to international bankers who want to exploit russia. Every word in that CNN thing was bull. For every set of facts they presented, I could add a single sentence to the end that elucidated what was really going on there that they left out on purpose. They did it to create a false perception of what's really going on in Russia. If you want to know why they're lying to you, read Zbigniew Brzezinski - The Grand Chessboard. Putin is a great leader, he's just won't sell out his country and screw the russian people. There's so much more to it than they tell you in western media. It's not that complex. If someone laid out the facts for you, you'd get it in about an hour of reading.
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/15/2007, -2/+3I'd have to disagree with you there. Sure Russian citizens can buy and sell whatever they want but democracy there isn't as prevalent as it is here in the United States. Ron Paul would most likely be dead by now if the US was any way closer to Russia power politics. Also If you saw the program it shows there are kids today in Russia that believe that the killing of the KGB spy and a number of Russian reporters were all US plots and that is where things start to blur a bit. Its not obvious Putin was involved in those killings but its certainly more plausible compared to other theories. Putin's only trump card is the oil there and boasting he's keeping it from the US it makes him look tough (same with Bush and the Iraq issue). They think we want a war with them over it and that ain't true either. As long as we're looking for alternate fuels in the States they can sit on that "black gold" for all I care, 80 years down the line they'll be desperate to dump all of that somewhere else when it looses its value over alternative energies.
- flogistan, on 12/15/2007, -0/+2The documentary was classic propaganda and lies by omission. The point of it is for people to watch it, and think they know what's going on, when it merely mislead you hoping you would propagate the lies it contained. I can only tell you to read, and seek further information, and you'll know what's going on. I'd post a bunch of links to send you in the right direction, but I've done it so many times, I get tired of it. The first place to look is to the oligarchs. The story of that documentary should have centered around them, because that is the drama of Russia since the breakup of the soviet union. As you read about them, make a list of their names. Read about each one separately. Look into their connections to the bank of england. Look into how they ran the country during yeltsin's tenure and what they bought during that time and whose money they used. Look into their dealings in the oil industry. Look into the "terrorist bombings" that brought putin into power. Look into putin's relationship with the oligarchs and how that relationship went sour. Look into the American neoconservatives and their relationship with the oligarchs. Look into russia's debt, or lack thereof and the developments in their banking system. Look into who got screwed when putin began to run the country to favor russians instead of outside investors. Read Brzezinski's book. It all tells a great story that you won't see presented in western media in one place. That "expose" on CNN was a comical farce to confuse people with short attention spans. They could cover it clearly in a single two hour politically incorrect documentary that explained exactly what's going on. They don't because they don't want you to know. You just have to read, read, read, and then it all becomes crystal clear. It's much easier not to however.
- FMWatkins, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1Flogistan hit the nail on the head. It's proper propa(ganda). They hate Russian because Putin isn't toeing the line for the banking cartels anymore. Looks like Putin is protecting Russia's sovereignty. We need to pay closer attention to what's happening in our own governments...
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1Whether you like it or not any major world power's actions directly effects the others. They want to be left alone then they must prove to the US and Western Europe that they are not a threat, directly or indirectly.
- redivider, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1I could totally discredit your argument by adding some sentences after yours. You'd realize I was right in about 8 seconds. I won't actually give you any facts or anything, but I'm just saying... I could if I wanted to.
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/15/2007, -2/+3I'd have to disagree with you there. Sure Russian citizens can buy and sell whatever they want but democracy there isn't as prevalent as it is here in the United States. Ron Paul would most likely be dead by now if the US was any way closer to Russia power politics. Also If you saw the program it shows there are kids today in Russia that believe that the killing of the KGB spy and a number of Russian reporters were all US plots and that is where things start to blur a bit. Its not obvious Putin was involved in those killings but its certainly more plausible compared to other theories. Putin's only trump card is the oil there and boasting he's keeping it from the US it makes him look tough (same with Bush and the Iraq issue). They think we want a war with them over it and that ain't true either. As long as we're looking for alternate fuels in the States they can sit on that "black gold" for all I care, 80 years down the line they'll be desperate to dump all of that somewhere else when it looses its value over alternative energies.
- eclipse007, on 12/15/2007, -3/+2Rumor has it that a nation on this side of the world is turning its back on democracy and charging towards totalitarianism too.
- esbern1, on 12/15/2007, -2/+4oh wow aren't you forboding and mysterious.
- esbern1, on 12/15/2007, -2/+4oh wow aren't you forboding and mysterious.
- AaronCo, on 12/15/2007, -1/+0Across the world?! It's happening right here in our hemisphere too.
- RedStarRizing, on 12/15/2007, -2/+0democracy is *****
- jerozoid, on 12/15/2007, -0/+0u.s. invades sovereign countries and kill their people, its economy goes into recession and drags half of the world economy with it, the government fails to respond to natural disasters and does not provide the fund for proper infrastructure maintenance and you are concerned with waterboarding? and democracy in russia? maybe you should wake up and start taking care of more pressing domestic issues. and stop pretending that your country is fighting for freedom in the world.
yeah, and stop reading digg - it will eat your brain :-P - Beveridge89, on 12/15/2007, -1/+1Are Americans so egocentric that they have to claim to have the best in everything, including undemocratic governments?
Seriously, is there a problem in America with relating to the realities of the outside World? Because the more I come on here the more that seems the case.
- bffoley, on 12/15/2007, -7/+3One one hand, this sucks and the erosion of democracy (if there ever really was any) in Russia is disturbing.
On the other hand, do they really want a president who thinks Rome actually fell 800 years ago?- fadeout, on 12/15/2007, -1/+8Your definition of Rome is not necessarily that of many eastern Europeans, who feel that "Rome" isn't just a city but a culture/empire - that just moved to the east (Byzantium).
- kdkirsch, on 12/15/2007, -1/+6Kasparov was referring to Constantinople, which was the capital of the Roman Empire from 395-1204, after the western empire severely declined.
- hooblagoo, on 12/15/2007, -3/+22I would never have thought Kasparov would give up like this. I had faith in him.
I bet someone threatened his family members or something like that.- rishubhav, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1Its not like he had a choice, he was legally not allowed to run and he probably figured that it was better to bow out now angry and with the world's attention than be slipped in as a footnote election day...
- byrdgang, on 12/15/2007, -0/+5If you RTFA, you know would know why he's no longer running.
- SRSco, on 12/15/2007, -3/+10This is very depressing.
- deadnoob, on 12/15/2007, -2/+7damn, i liked this guy when i saw him on tv with bill maher. Thats too bad he cant help russia out.
- thespudmall, on 12/15/2007, -2/+13At least he does not have radiation poisoning.
- underburn, on 12/15/2007, -1/+6Yet.
- tac0flicker, on 12/15/2007, -1/+11he will probably live longer.
- joe90210, on 12/15/2007, -10/+2wow, what a surprise!! I was sure his 1% support among the people and his alliances with extremist communists and every other scum politicians he had to ally with would surely have made him a shoe-in for the presidency!!
- jimmiss, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1joe90210 = fake alias that a russian agency thinks an american just might have!
/sarcasm - warnergt, on 12/15/2007, -1/+1Putin is creating a dictatorship. He controls all the political parties except the Communists. Ironically, it is the Communists fighting for freedom in Russia now.
- jimmiss, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1joe90210 = fake alias that a russian agency thinks an american just might have!
- chesscat, on 12/15/2007, -6/+1Now he can go back to arranging this match: "Battle of the Has-beens: Kasparov vs. Fischer"
- loggia, on 12/15/2007, -3/+8That's too bad.
Gary, would you consider running here in the U.S?
Uh, seriously.- vinecrawler, on 12/15/2007, -1/+6... you have heard of the citizenship/ birth requirements right?
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -0/+3He is actually a US citizen, though not by birth.
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -2/+2Jesus ***** Christ! Most of you people only know him through that Bill Maher interview, where he told the American liberals exactly what they wanted to hear and now he's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- vinecrawler, on 12/15/2007, -1/+6... you have heard of the citizenship/ birth requirements right?
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -5/+5Putin's regime is far from perfect, but someone like Kasparov is not the right answer for the Russian people either. Simply put, the guy is a crackpot and an oligarch/neocon shill.
Also, he is just as full of ***** as the official government line, only on the opposite end of the spectrum. Russia will eventually find her away without people like him involved. In the short term, Putin and gang have actually been good for the country, but the Russians will start demanding better pretty soon.- Ilyanep, on 12/15/2007, -2/+5Just like they started demanding better under the communists? Took them only 80 years to get out of that one.
- vasionok, on 12/15/2007, -2/+1but they did --- when communists failed to sustain the growth, they kicked them out. It didn't took that much time.
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -0/+2The are already starting to. I was pleasently surprised the other day. I was watching a potical debate show called "K Bar'yeru" on NTV the other day and they had a liberal democrat debating a hard-core pro Putin guy, with the winner of the debate decided by SMS and Internet voting by the viewers. First of all, the democrat guy was tearing Putin a new *****, right there on the supposedly censored and state-controlled Russian TV. Secondly, contrary to the norm, the democrat actually received the most viewer votes.
Also, despite of how authoritarian Putin's Russia is portrayed in the Western press these days, it doesn't even begin to compare to any Soviet period and the general state of things is far better than it was under Yeltsin.
Any way, it's only up to the Russians. Only they can do anything about their political situation. They don't live in some backward little third world country that can be "gifted" the so-called "democracy" on the edge of a sword.
- redmonkey, on 12/15/2007, -1/+6Putin was good for country? Tell it people in jail by political reason.
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -1/+1Like who? You don't know WTF you're talking about. Your knowledge of Russia must be based on random ***** you pick while reading equally-ignorant Digg comments. The fact of the matter is, the average Russian is currently doing better than he has in a long, long time.
- redmonkey, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1I am reading russian Internet websites every day, I have 2 Russian TV channels on my cable, I am even watching"Russia today" channels sometimes(cannot stand this propaganda channel more the 10 minutes).
By the way, what about repressions against student who refuse to vote on last election? What about more then 100% vote for Putin's party in some regions? What about 6-7 years jail time for young people who just to sit in protest in government office? What about clerk who got 7 year in jail for refuse to testify about her boss. I could continue and continue.
- redmonkey, on 12/16/2007, -0/+1I am reading russian Internet websites every day, I have 2 Russian TV channels on my cable, I am even watching"Russia today" channels sometimes(cannot stand this propaganda channel more the 10 minutes).
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -1/+1Like who? You don't know WTF you're talking about. Your knowledge of Russia must be based on random ***** you pick while reading equally-ignorant Digg comments. The fact of the matter is, the average Russian is currently doing better than he has in a long, long time.
- Ilyanep, on 12/15/2007, -2/+5Just like they started demanding better under the communists? Took them only 80 years to get out of that one.
- mattsegal, on 12/15/2007, -0/+6I am legitimately upset. I saw him speak and he would have done Russia well.
- Frostman3D, on 12/15/2007, -3/+3This could be America soon folks.
- SemiSarcastic, on 12/15/2007, -1/+2Well if it does I'll blame you for it ;)
- hoovcluck, on 12/15/2007, -6/+3checkmate
- esbern1, on 12/15/2007, -1/+2awww don't digg him down, he thinks he's all clever now that he finally got to use the joke that everyone else has used any time kasparov is metioned and then you have to ruin his spirit.
- mrjit, on 12/15/2007, -2/+5This is a sad thing to read. Russia could be such a great country. They're a real view into what the USA could very well become if we, the citizens, allow it to occur -- which thus far we have.
- RedStarRizing, on 12/15/2007, -1/+0COULD BE>???!!!
- Zenas, on 12/15/2007, -6/+2Kasparov is a loser with less than 2% support. The only reason he has any Jewish media attention is that he opposes Putin, who actually is doing things in favor of the Russian people's best interests.
- esbern1, on 12/15/2007, -0/+2i see prison went poorly for him
- SLockhart, on 12/15/2007, -1/+0In Soviet Russia presidency bid ens you.
- toxicityj, on 12/15/2007, -1/+3I'm glad he got out before Putin had him killed.
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1He could never have been big enough of the threat for Putin and his people.
- direblue, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1Intelligent, articulate and well versed...did he really think he could have made it? Too bad that this is the truth about Politics. I think our equivalent would be Ron Paul, see any similarities?
- majorbabu, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1Can any one from Russia weigh in what the reaction of the average Russian person is to this sort of news?
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -0/+1Kasparov is not very popular, even with most liberal intelligencia, who are weary of Putin's tactics and suspicious of his motives. Kasparov is a joke.
- BabyWookie, on 12/15/2007, -1/+3Wow... Judging by most comments in this thread, the propaganda and misinformation campaign that has been conducted against Putin's Russia by the Western press for the past few years, has been extremely effective. You people are tools. You don't really know ***** about Russia and just spew forth and repeat the lies and the smears that have been fed to you by the media or random people on the Internet. They are pre-conditioning you for war and it's working... again. It's so sad.
Read some ***** truth for a change:
http://www.russiablog.org/2006/09/10_western_media ...
http://www.mikepiperreport.com/Articles_Archive/Am ...
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=vie ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0%2C ...
http://www.powerseductionandwar.com/archives/exper ...
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?storyID=72 ...
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/1975 ...
http://www.lewrockwell.com/buchanan/buchanan71.htm ...
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17 ...
http://www.russiablog.org/2007/11/one_cold_war_was ...- Zenas, on 12/15/2007, -2/+1The news is getting out. Watch how many Jewish shills dig us down.
- Zenas, on 12/15/2007, -1/+1Amen babywook. The Jew controlled media just hates Putin for kicking all those Jewish criminals out and imprisoning the rest and taking back the businesses they stole for a mere fraction of their value.
- RSS14, on 12/15/2007, -1/+3"The only thing needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing"
Kasparov tried. At least he tried. . .
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