Pussy Riot Found Guilty

"The women say their "punk prayer" was a political act in protest against the Russian Orthodox Church leader's support of President Vladimir Putin."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19297373

I can see the banners now - "Free Pussy !"

putin is prude, he'll never 'put out' his pussy

I guess they'll be Putin prison then

"Gay parades banned in Moscow for 100 years"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19293465

  On 8/17/2012 at 4:03 PM, Dan C said:

"Gay parades banned in Moscow for 100 years"

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...europe-19293465

that should do it for a while

shame. they were hot.

Wish I could make it down to the Russian embassy to make a bit of noise tonight, but I'm preparing to move house on Monday and need every moment to pack. Suffice to say, this is shit but wholly expected.

But if anyone thinks it's a far cry from what Western governments do, remember in this country we throw people in prison for Facebook and Twitter posts, and Charlie Gilmour got 16 months for fucking around at the Cenotaph.

  On 8/17/2012 at 4:11 PM, sirch said:

shame. they were hot.

...and they won't be after 2 years?

The whole incident is frustrating and alarming, and the absolute cherry on top of the ludicrous arrest and trial was they were actually sentenced for:

  Quote

"Tolokonnikova, Samutsevich and Alyokhina committed an act of hooliganism, a gross violation of public order showing obvious disrespect for society," the judge said. "The girls' actions were sacrilegious, blasphemous and broke the church's rules."

Rather ironic that the government of Russia has gone from oppressing the Orthodox church under communism to now oppressing citizens by enforcing Orthodox church rules. Yet another example of why religion should have no place in government - as if this case wasn't enough of an affront to freedom of speech.

"Charlie Gilmour got 16 months for fucking around at the Cenotaph. "

The Cenotaph is a memorial to a million people, including many young boys who died in the first world war. One reason we have this memorial is because many of these bodies were blown to bits, making identification and a proper burial impossible. My great Uncle was marching in France when he stopped to do his shoe laces, then a few moments later a sneaky bullet hit the poor chap who replaced him in the marching line. My great grandfather fought at Gallipoli when he was 15 years old, and it was a disaster where many of our brightest people were exploded into blood, guts, and dust. The fact that this punk ass son of a rocker thought it was funny to act like a clown at a memorial to the dead from this terrible war makes me sick. He should have been whipped, for his ignorance more than anything else.

As for Pussy Riot, what did they even do wrong? 2 years in prison for playing rock music? That's crazy.

Not a surprise. Putin deals with problems by either killing or arresting, regardless of public opinion to the west. This is obviously bad news, but it's inspiring to see that musicians are still willing to risk going to prison to stand their ground on political protest. On the other hand, public opinion will probably have forgotten about them by the time they get out.

  On 8/17/2012 at 5:50 PM, chunky said:

"Charlie Gilmour got 16 months for fucking around at the Cenotaph. "

 

The Cenotaph is a memorial to a million people, including many young boys who died in the first world war. One reason we have this memorial is because many of these bodies were blown to bits, making identification and a proper burial impossible. My great Uncle was marching in France when he stopped to do his shoe laces, then a few moments later a sneaky bullet hit the poor chap who replaced him in the marching line. My great grandfather fought at Gallipoli when he was 15 years old, and it was a disaster where many of our brightest people were exploded into blood, guts, and dust. The fact that this punk ass son of a rocker thought it was funny to act like a clown at a memorial to the dead from this terrible war makes me sick. He should have been whipped, for his ignorance more than anything else.

 

As for Pussy Riot, what did they even do wrong? 2 years in prison for playing rock music? That's crazy.

That church is a memorial to over a million people persecuted under the USSR for their religious beliefs, including many young etc. etc. bla bla bla get some perspective.

Seriously, with your authoritarian "they should have been whipped" language, you'd fit right in in Putin's Russia. Don't you realise that the language you're using to condemn Gilmour is EXACTLY what you'd be saying about PR if you were a Russian?

  On 8/17/2012 at 6:18 PM, Iain C said:

Seriously, with your authoritarian "they should have been whipped" language, you'd fit right in in Putin's Russia. Don't you realise that the language you're using to condemn Gilmour is EXACTLY what you'd be saying about PR if you were a Russian?

You don't mess with peoples graves man. Ain't you seen that film Young Guns with the Indian Burial ground?

I didn't realise that this band was staging a protest at the national church. Trying that on with an authoritarian dictatorship wasn't a smart idea. I'm not sure why USA and British media would encourage them in the first place, that seems like a dumb move to encourage these women to go to prison where they're going to be raped and treated like dogs by the horrendous guards. Of course, I'm joking about whips, in a British prison you get a TV and playstation, along with easy access to drugs. Ken Clarke hates the idea of putting people in prison, he is very generous to prisoners. A Russian prison for women ain't going to be anything like that, it's going to be hell. So I do have more sympathy for these women, as I feel that they've let themselves be manipulated by people from liberal democratic countries without fully understanding the harsh consequences. Insulting the war dead in such a stupid way makes my blood boil, going to prison for criticising the government is a different issue. It's brilliant that we can sit in front of the pc and type David Cameron and Barack Obama are useless PIMPS for some ruthless murdering banker COWARDS, without ending up in jail.

They weren't manipulated - they knew exactly what they were doing. And they should be applauded for doing it. I hate liberal democracy as much as you do, but this one isn't our fault. These women have intelligence and agency, they knew full well what the stakes were, and they did it anyway. That's courage.

And yes, it's great that you can criticise Barack Obama and David Cameron online in a flippant way without going to jail. Just don't try "insulting the war dead" as a misguided and dumb part of a legitimate protest, riding your bike near the Olympic stadium or making the wrong kind of jokes on Twitter. You're naive if you think Western governments don't criminalise and disproportionately punish legitimate protest. Or rather, I suspect that you personally just don't care, as long as it's YOUR values being "defended".

  On 8/17/2012 at 8:15 PM, Iain C said:

They weren't manipulated - they knew exactly what they were doing. And they should be applauded for doing it. I hate liberal democracy as much as you do, but this one isn't our fault. These women have intelligence and agency, they knew full well what the stakes were, and they did it anyway. That's courage.

 

And yes, it's great that you can criticise Barack Obama and David Cameron online in a flippant way without going to jail. Just don't try "insulting the war dead" as a misguided and dumb part of a legitimate protest, riding your bike near the Olympic stadium or making the wrong kind of jokes on Twitter. You're naive if you think Western governments don't criminalise and disproportionately punish legitimate protest. Or rather, I suspect that you personally just don't care, as long as it's YOUR values being "defended".

Neo-Conservatism: The only thing you are conserving is your outdated ideas of a past that never existed.

Kudos to these girls for speaking out against that KGB ass. I just hope they are strong enough to make it through the two years.

man thats sad . I would have jailed them for being awful instead , has anybody even bothered to listen to their music ? its SHIT

in a way though if theyre goal was to get media exposure for whatever their cause is, theyve probably been more succesful than they ever intended.

Yeah, their music sucks. I think this is the best solution for everyone.

  On 8/17/2012 at 6:03 PM, kokeboka said:

Not a surprise.

yeah. what did people expect. it's not the 60's anymore. this is Prison Planet, 2012.

  Quote

it's inspiring to see that musicians are still willing to risk going to prison to stand their ground on political protest. On the other hand, public opinion will probably have forgotten about them by the time they get out.

totally. life moves so fast now. s'why i said it's a shame. and it's a waste.

it's Russia, ffs. people either disappear or go to jail for a long time.

i doubt they'll get out in a year for good behavior or anything like that.. :(

These girls are my new heroes.

let's hope they make some lasting waves and cause some pussies to riot, or something.

Why make a protest at a church? Personally the right to protest doesn't trump the right to religious practice or the right to avoid shit punk music. Protest outside parliament, or in a park, or on the street - not in a church. They were rightly arrested for what they did, even if what they were protesting against is right, or even if the sentence is likely to be extremely harsh.

ukranian feminist activist group sawing off some memorial cross in support for pussy riot, lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG6-6HD7_HA

oh, HAY RANDY !

  On 8/17/2012 at 10:59 PM, jhonny said:

Why make a protest at a church? Personally the right to protest doesn't trump the right to religious practice or the right to avoid shit punk music. Protest outside parliament, or in a park, or on the street - not in a church. They were rightly arrested for what they did, even if what they were protesting against is right, or even if the sentence is likely to be extremely harsh.

it was also a protest against the russian orthodox church support of putin.

  On 8/17/2012 at 11:01 PM, eugene said:

 

it was also a protest against the russian orthodox church support of putin.

indeed.

  On 8/17/2012 at 10:59 PM, jhonny said:

Why make a protest at a church? Personally the right to protest doesn't trump the right to religious practice or the right to avoid shit punk music. Protest outside parliament, or in a park, or on the street - not in a church. They were rightly arrested for what they did, even if what they were protesting against is right, or even if the sentence is likely to be extremely harsh.

I think you are missing the point.

They knew exactly what they were doing. They knew they would get arrested. Their arrest, trial and harsh sentencing clearly illuminates major flaws in Russian leadership.

I honestly get choked up at the thought of how powerful their statement is. These women are bigger fucking badasses than any of us could ever hope to be.

  On 8/17/2012 at 10:59 PM, jhonny said:

Why make a protest at a church? Personally the right to protest doesn't trump the right to religious practice or the right to avoid shit punk music. Protest outside parliament, or in a park, or on the street - not in a church. They were rightly arrested for what they did, even if what they were protesting against is right, or even if the sentence is likely to be extremely harsh.

i think they got a bit swept up in it all. they should've just sacrificed Yoko Ono and then moved to Kansas.