Comments

1
While I understand the ambassador's position somewhat (as he is entirely correct in pointing out the fact that the people of the US is very selective [and particularly in this case without truly understanding the issues at work - take for example the Stoli dumping boycott without knowing that Stoli is manufactured in Latvia, not the Russian Federation] at what and who it wags its finger at), and I understand the Mayor's position (he did what was right [odd though that may seem for an idiot like McGinn is]) - why can't either of them learn to spell and grammar check their letters? I'm quite serious, these two men are helping run the world and basic language escapes them - and the person who actually wrote the letter?
2
The Seattle City Council is being chickenshit. they need to step up and support a resolution condemning Russia for its anti LGBT laws.
3
Suck it, consul Yushmanov!
4
Sounds to me like CG Yushmanov needs to have daily protests outside his Madison Park mansion...
5
To DJMalessence: shouldn't in be "the people of the US are very selective?" After all, you brought up the whole grammar thing.
6
Can you get statements from all the city council members on whether they'd support a city council resolution?
7
Also to DJMalessence: How does a single, convoluted sentence of 128 (!) words reflect any command of "basic language"?
8
Badass.
9
Don't forget the "we oppose arizona over the papers legislation, but will not stop our contract with the arizona-based speed camera reviewers" resolution.
10
The city council should be worrying about city issues - not butt pirates in Russia.
11
I can't believe it. The Seattle City Council anoints itself with global importance on world issues all the time. This truly baffles me.
12
1, I liked the cherry-picked facts to support your conclusion. Stoli (&SPI) is a Russian company, the profits go to Russians, and it is promoted by them as an image and symbol of Russia. It leads me to the conclusion that your first premise is false: You don't really understand much of anything.
13
Given that the IOC has its tongue way up Putin's ass (and if you look at their history that should hardly come as a surprise), a boycott is unlikely to succeed, NBC is going to give this as little coverage as possible, and the athletes have a powerful incentive to downplay any moral qualms they may have, we still have one option open to us.

Counter protests. On a HUGE scale, big enough to compete with (or at least challenge) the Olympic spectacle. And a history lesson too, about the two Jewish athletes who were kicked off the US Olympic team in 1936 to avoid upsetting Der Fuehrer.

Protests on this scale require planning and publicity. 200 people at city hall won't cut it. Dan, how about releasing the Flying Monkeys on such a worthy cause?
14
If we keep pressuring the council they'll come around soon enough. Silly of them to stumble so hard trying to avoid McGinn during his campaign. Set it aside for now, Clark et al.
15
How about we pass the same law here in Seattle, but strike the word "homosexual" and replace it with "Russian". Then, allow roving bands of seattleites to kidnap, beat and torture Russians and post the acts on social media. Have the SPD say they're "investigating", but don't actually make any arrests of those who have identified themselves as the perpetrators on social media.
You know, "for the children".
Yushmanov couldn't possibly object, as long as we're doing it "to protect the children".
Right?
16
Consuls general, dear.
17
Dear Consul Yushmanov:

Where as Russians are universally acknowledged as perpetrators of violent nationalism, violent crime and human trafficking, the King County Criminal Code shall be amended as follows:

1) add Article 6.13.1 reading as follows:

"Article 6.13.1. Propaganda of Russian values among minors

Propaganda of Russian values among minors -

is punishable by an administrative fine for citizens in the amount of four thousand to five thousand dollars; for officials –forty thousand to fifty thousand dollars; for legal entities – four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand dollars".;

2) in Article 28.3, Section2, Clause 1 figures “6.13” shall be changed to “6.13.

Propaganda of russianism in King County took a wide sweep. This propaganda is delivered both through the media and through active social actions that promote Russianism as a behavioral norm. It is especially dangerous for children and youth who are not yet capable of a critical attitude to the avalanche of information that falls upon them every day. In this regard, it is necessary to primarily protect the younger generation from the effects of Russianist propaganda, and the present bill pursues this goal.

Family, motherhood and childhood in the traditional, adopted from the ancestors understanding are the values ​​that provide a continuous change of generations and serve as a condition for the preservation and development of the multinational people of American society, and therefore they require special protection from the state.

Legitimate interests of minors are an important social value, with the goal of the public policy toward children being to protect them from the factors that negatively affect their physical, intellectual, mental, spiritual,and moral development. King County Criminal Code directly states the obligation of public authorities of the County to take measures to protect children from information, propaganda and campaigning that harm their health and moral and spiritual development.

In this connection it is necessary to establish measures to ensure intellectual, moral and mental security of children, including the prohibition onto perform any act aimed at the promotion of Russianism. By itself, the prohibition of such propaganda as an activity of purposeful and uncontrolled dissemination of the information that could harm the health and moral and spiritual development, as well as form misperceptions about the social equivalence of conventional and unconventional human relationships, among individuals who, due to their age, are not capable to independently and critically assess such information cannot be regarded as violating the constitutional rights of citizens.

Given the above, a bill suggesting amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences was prepared to introduce administrative responsibility for propaganda of Russianism among minors. In this case, administrative responsibility is established not for the sheer fact of the person’s Russian origin, but only for propaganda of Russianism among minors.

This bill imposes the right to make records of administrative offences for public actions aimed at propaganda of Russianism among minors on the law enforcement officials (the Police), and trial of cases of administrative offences– on the judges.
18
Michael McGinn thank you once again for a bit of leadership in sleepy Seattle. Meanwhile Sally J. Clark , Tom Rasmussen, Bruce A. Harrell, Nick Licata, Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Jean Godden, Richard Conlin, Mike O'Brien leadership of Seattle's city council isn't about doing what is within your job description, it is about caring the vision and spirit of the city. I am disappointed. As 2013 winds to an end, I hope something really visionary can come out of Seattle. You have an extremely willing populace who would even pay real tax dollars toward a pipe dream of a monorail expansion. Do something with these willing voters. Build the equivalent of a modern day Space Needle--be it massive investments in bike lines, new BID options to allows neighborhoods to make more green space, ending teen homeliness, better support of minority business with incubator like offices, miniature llama farms, no not that. You complained about the previous mayor not allowing you to do great things, so we campaigned for you and for a new more radical mayor....and still same boring city council.
19
Since Seattle City Council Members now set interest rates for the Fed, and Seattle Mayors are making foreign policy for the State Department, I suggest that when dealing with the Ruskies were not merely follow Kennan's policy of containment, but actively support Rollback and push American values deep into their domestic agenda.
20
@19, are you sure that you're not Sgt. Doom today?
24
Sally Clark, as I've always said, has her head up her ass.
25
#20

Yes.

26
I CAN PROTEST RUSSIA FROM MY HOUSE!
27
You can Call Sally Clark's office and leave a comment 206-684-8802
28
Heheh DJMalessence - you ended two of your phrases (which should have been broken out into their own sentences [your use of hierarchical parenthetical structures is more loquaciously inflated than grammatically intelligent]) with unnecessary (and repetitive) prepositions. You're funny.
29
Local investigative journalist David Neiwert has a powerful post right now on crooksandliars.com connecting Russia's anti-gay pogrom and growing fascism with the American far-right.

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/…
From the article:

Back when he was rehabilitating his career after spending time in prison for fraud related to his gambling addiction, David Duke spent a great deal of time organizing neo-Nazis in Russia:

White supremacist David Duke has set his sights on Russia. Saying that the nation holds the "key to white survival," Duke has recently embarked on a campaign to spread his racial theories of white superiority and anti-Semitism in the former Soviet Union. The notorious American hatemonger has recently launched an appeal to Russian nationalists. In Duke’s eyes, Russia presents an unmatched opportunity to help protect the longevity of the white race, since he predicts that "racially aware" parties could achieve political influence there. He believes that Russia’s "sense of racial understanding" will unleash a trend internationally.

Duke has taken at least three recent trips to Russia to speak with nationalists and to promote his new book, The Ultimate Supremacism: My Awakening on the Jewish Question (the Russian title translates as The Jewish Question Through the Eyes of an American). Duke has indicated he may move there to more actively "struggle against people of other colors and with Jews," according to the Interfax news agency.

Also:

This organizing appears to have melded with another branch of far-right activism in Russia, also with its roots in American radicals -- the virulent anti-gay radicals who blame the Holocaust on gays and sponsor anti-gay legislation in places such as Africa and in Eastern Europe.

The largest of these organizations calls themselves the Watchmen on the Walls, and they represent a coalition of Russian-American, American, and Russian right-wingers whose loathing of LGBT people and their rights knows no bounds.

One of the Watchmen's leading figures is a Holocaust revisionist named Scott Lively, who blames Teh Gay for the deaths of millions during World War II. And these are the kinds of things he's prone to pronouncing:

And in the United States where the sexual revolution began, it was the homosexual political movement that designed this strategy to attack Christianity. The homosexual movement teaches sexual freedom, and its first target is the heterosexual people. The homosexual activists stayed hidden but they taught this philosophy through their activists. And out of the philosophy came the principalities and powers that is destroying the West: The pornography industry, the abortion industry, and the destruction of marriage through divorce. These things are the product of a way of thinking. They deny the Truth of God. They deny the design of God for human beings. And their purpose is the change the cultures of the world.

Now, the homosexual movement has been winning this war in the United States, and it has been winning this war in Europe. And we’re looking at the future collapse of Western civilization. And Watchmen on the Walls is an organization to fight against this collapse. Watchmen On the Walls is an organization of men and women with courage, who will stand on the Truth of God and without compromise demand that the culture will follow the guidance of God. That marriage and family must be held at the highest level.”

Lively has also given talks wherein he describes, in a jocular fashion, the bashing death of a gay man by Russian nationals in Sacramento.
30
Ed Murray was there to. Doesn't anybody care? Aren't they going to call into question the official Washington State position? I guess he's off the hook because he's gay?

Sincerely,
Smartass

p.s. Sally Clark, stop being such a pansy and stand up for human rights already.
31
The whole "you're missing the target because Stoli is manufactured in Latvia" thing is simply stupid. Apple manufactures computers in China, but no one would claim Apple is a Chinese company. Come on, people.
32
There McGinn goes again, being divisive by saying what he means, plainly, and not changing the message to suit his audience.
33
This should be a total no-brainer for the City Council. There should have been an instantaneous, no thought needed, response of "yes" when asked if that was the city's official position.
34
What!? This is ridiculous. Is there any valid reason why the city council shouldn't put it's support behind a human rights event attended by BOTH mayoral candidates? I can't think of one. This isn't exactly a fringe issue either. Even centrist Adam Smith has spoken against Russia's "homosexual propaganda" law (http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsno…).
35
Didn't we pass some measure restricting city business with Arizona?
36
Why do people keep claiming that Stoli is a Latvian product, not a Russian one? The company just admitted in the New York Times that all of the products used to make the vodka come from Russia. It's only bottled in Latvia.

As to the actual article, good for the Mayor for doing the right thing and taking a stand. That is called leadership.
37
It's just more American exceptionalism Andrey.

Why does Putin persecute gays then pose for homoerotic photos? He's another confused individual.
38
Pissing off Consul General Yushmanov and other official Russians is proof that you're doing the right thing on the face of it. Fuck your garbage third world country, which has brought nothing but misery to its own citizens and to the outside world for more than a hundred years.
39
McGinn: "pweeese pweese pweese support me, gay community! I pwomise Im on your side! Keep lil ol me in awfice, so I can continue to cover for the lil ol SPD and their harassment and assaults on gay individuals, homeless people, and nonwhite people of the brown, red and black persuasion in Seattle!"

"Vote for me, I hate Putin too! And though my hate is mainly ceremonial because I have no power to have any effect on what happens in russia, I do have the power to secretly support military drones for the police to spy on you...I mean keep you safe...

..cut lanes out of major arteries in town to 'help improve traffic' (by making it so poor people find jobs/homes elsewhere)...

..Im also leading the city in green development (of microcondos and epod-ments that clog parking and traffic, and offer cheap, cramped tiny living quarters for ignorant yuppies who dont know they are living in glorified cubbyholes...did I mention were demolishing old homes and neighborhood landmarks to build them too!)

Vote for McGinn, and not that mean progressive pro-99%er, gay candidate! If you dont vote for me, the developer firms that bankrolled both of my campaigns and run most of the at-large city council will have to find some other city to ruin!
40
Sally Clark! Stop it. Just stop it.
41
mcginn will get my vote. again. such a great guy and totally dreamy. ed murray and sally clark are truly disappointing.
42
охуеть - пиндосы ебнулись на всю голову.
43
охуеть - пиндосы ёбнулись на всю голову!
лечить
всех
срочно!
44
и комменты сосут.... уроды...
45
How many of the 1-2 sentence comments are from McGinns digital PR firm (paid for by the same developer firms that bankrolled most of the city council)?

Anyone wanna guess? They are on retainer ever since he made the primary, so you wont see as many of them, but they are here (the slog being the only paper that seems willing to give McGinn a pass for his 1%er, anti civil liberties, and pro-police bigotry).

46
Keep the Mayor, vote out City Council.
47
Re: 42-44, Google Translate sez:
ohuet - Pindos ebnulis on his head!
treat
all
Urgent!

and comments suck .... freaks
So there's that.
48
NICE JOB, MAYOR!
49
The attack you reference in the second paragraph ("raped and murdered on camera") looks, according to the source you link to, not to be a murder. Looks like he was raped and threatened with a gun, but not killed.
50
The Russian flag flies over the courtyard at Two Union Square. On Aug 11, I wrote to Tim Holt of Washington Holdings, the building's management firm. He responded, "Thank you for your offer to provide us with a LGBT flag to fly in the Arne Gillam Courtyard. The flags flown in this courtyard are the largest trade partners of the State of Washington from the prior year. We have not screened any countries by any other criteria other than the unbiased economic trade value. We have intentionally stayed clear of screening any countries based on their political views or actions.

I can assure you we do not agree with this position and several other things that these various countries support.

Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention."

SO, Russia is one of the State of Washington's "largest" trade partners. Governor?
51
3 day boycott of the sponsors of the Russian Repression Olympics. Join in:

https://www.facebook.com/events/58731555…
52
spokeswoman Dana Robinson-Slote explained that the council declined because they were not part of the protest, and they considered it "off-topic" because it did not "directly relate to city work." ... This is an obvious lie given the Update section. She is not fit for the job.
53
Well done, Mr. Mayor and counsellors. Now, let's get more mayors and city councils on board.
http://stories4hotbloodedlesbians.com
54
Tim Holt of WA Holdings pretends to be an objective capitalist nothing is farther from the truth. He and his Director of Security Barry Shrudder absolutely refused to lower the big flag on top of Two Union Square after President Obama ordered all flags lowered to half staff to honor U S Senator Ted Kennedy's Death. Google Dave Fry's Picture of the Day August 27,2009 !

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