We have been discussing the accumulation of power by the Russian Orthodox Church under Vladimir Putin, including crackdowns on free speech. The latest victim is Irina Kudinova, who was charged with mocking the Church with the photograph above. Russian prosecutors charged her after she simply posted the above picture which was curiously portrayed as phallic and indecent. They alleged that this posted picture involved the “deliberate desecration of a religious object” and “insulting the feelings of believers.” A judge has ruled that it is merely an Easter cake and nothing more.
Not only did the court drop the charges but Kudinova was awarded 20,000 rubles in a court action for false accusations and criminal responsibility for “insulting the feelings of believers.”
The prosecutors consulted with “experts” before the case was dropped despite the complaint by priest of the Temple of the Archangel Michael and his parishioners.
While the lawyers debated the intent behind the photo, there was no discussion of the woman’s right to be take pictures, even if she intended a phallic meaning. The Court accepted that the government could prosecute such pictures in utter disregard to free speech principles. Instead, it simply ruled that this is merely a picture of a cake.
Tell a mainstream conservative OR liberal that some country or event in the world is none of the United States business and they will look at you as if you came from Mars.
“What, what do you mean??? It’s all our business, we are only trying to help, spread democracy, freedom, etc.”
It is all in the eye of the beholder Mister Putin. You’re a dick, you;re a dick. You’re a dick all the way. From your first cigarette to your last dying day.
And by this I imply dictator.
Allan said, “Definition: An optical illusion is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual percept that appears to differ from reality.”
Turley said, ” The Court accepted that the government could prosecute such pictures in utter disregard to free speech principles. Instead, it simply ruled that this is merely a picture of a cake.”
Only 46 days left till April 1st.
The Kremlin is the most phallic set of buildings I have ever seen.
You are thinking of St. Basil’s.
http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2011/st_basils/st_basils_09.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Kremlin_from_Bolshoy_kamenny_bridge.jpg/300px-Kremlin_from_Bolshoy_kamenny_bridge.jpg
The white towers with the gold domes are on The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael. All the other pictures were too big for the blawg. And this one is too small.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Cathedral_of_the_Archangel_in_Moscow_Kremlin.jpg/260px-Cathedral_of_the_Archangel_in_Moscow_Kremlin.jpg
The one in the foreground is The Cathedral of the Archangel. The one in the behind it is The Cathedral of the Ascension.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Moscow_Kremlin_overview_map.png/250px-Moscow_Kremlin_overview_map.png
A tiny sketch of the whole Kremlin. The Easter cake appears to be an artistic commentary (parody) on the Cathedrals and towers of The Kremlin.
Make that architectural criticism, instead.
OTOH, this is how the “rot” starts in a society. Smart alecs poking fun at established institutions. Today, it’s phallic food art, and tomorrow it is the moral degeneration of the nation.
Freedom of speech and personal expression are way over valued in the West.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Fine. I suggest you transhuminate to the People’s Republic of China.
Transhumanate
From the Wikipedia article on Transhumanism [differentiated from transhumance]:
Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations as well as ethical limitations of using such technologies. The most common transhumanist thesis is that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into different beings with abilities so greatly expanded from the current condition as to merit the label of posthuman beings.
“Ah, brave new world that has such people in it!”
Their bones may of corals be made.
The Russian Federation supposedly has Freedom of Speech.
Without free speech, there could be no disinformation.
Nyet! Without free speech, there would be no remedy for disinformation.
Former spy Alexander Litvinenko, a fierce critic of the Kremlin, was killed in November 2006 by radioactive polonium-210, believed to have been administered in a cup of tea,
Hate speech laws, blasphemy laws, and criminalizing the incorrect use of pronouns might sound like the surest way to protect delicate sensibilities from offense, never mind the offense others feel who are targets of the law. However, once you grant the government the power to criminalize speech, then the government gets to define what you are allowed to say, and what you are not, what you are allowed to paint or photograph, and what you are not.
Imagine that, the country with the most robust individual freedoms in the world, reduced to controlling the very words and expressions that people say. The English lexicon repeatedly curtailed, with words excised such as “thug”.
We are seeing a strong push for a dictatorial state over the power of speech in academia, but we know where this will lead. Academics should know better.
One day, the censorship and criminality of speech might favor you, in your choice of pronoun or support for unlimited illegal immigration. But another, that power will turn on you, and you could be imprisoned for hate speech for merely criticizing your government.
Vote wisely…