Court bans punk "Pussy Riot" video

Wisdom Quarterly; Reuters; AFP

Punk band "Pussy Riot" (L-R) Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alyokhina, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sit in glass-walled Moscow court cage, 10-10-12 (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov).

  

Vlad the impertinent dictator will ruin country

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court ruled on Thursday [Nov. 29, 2012] that video footage of the Pussy Riot punk group protesting against President Vladimir Putin in a church was "extremist" and should be removed from websites. (See it below with lyrics).

The demonstration last February offended many Russian Orthodox Christians. But Putin has been criticized by U.S. and European leaders over what they saw as disproportionate jail sentences imposed on three Pussy Riot members. Their trial was also seen by Putin's critics as part of a clampdown on dissent.

(AFP) Putin reoccupied Kremlin after a crushing election victory that
Russian and foreign observers said was skewed in his favor from the start.

The Moscow court said it had based its ruling on conclusions by a panel of experts who studied the video, showing band members in colorful mini-skirts and ski masks dancing in front of the altar of Moscow's main Russian Orthodox cathedral.

Judge Marina Musimovich said the footage "has elements of extremism; in particular there are words and actions which humiliate various social groups based on their religion." More

PUNK PRAYER lyrics: Saint Maria [Kwan Yin], Virgin, Drive away Putin/Drive away! Drive away Putin!//Black robe, golden epaulettes/All parishioners are crawling and bowing/The ghost of freedom is in heaven/Gay pride sent to Siberia in chains//The head of the KGB is their chief saint/Leads protesters to prison under escort/In order not to offend the Holy/Women have to give birth and to love//Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!/Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!//Saint Maria, Virgin, become a feminist/Become a feminist, Become a feminist//Church praises the rotten dictators/The cross-bearer procession of black limousines/In school you are going to meet with a teacher-preacher/Go to class -- bring him money!//Patriarch [Kirill] Gundyaev believes in Putin/Bitch, you better believe in God/Belt of the Virgin is no substitute for mass-meetings/In protest of our Ever-Virgin Mary!//Saint Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin/Drive away! Drive away Putin!

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A Question for Brit Hume.

We all know by now that Brit Hume slammed Buddhism this past weekend by saying Tiger Woods needs to turn to Christianity if he wants to be forgiven and redeemed. The irony being that by bringing up Buddhism on such a public level he has sparked curiosity in the religion. That said, Buddhists really don't care how many Buddhists there are in comparison to other religions. We're not interested in competing with other belief systems. We don't do the proselytizing thing. It's a bit too forceful for us easy going Buddhists. For a more in-depth analysis of this statement click here to read my original post but for the purposes of this post I want to ask Brit a question.

You say Christianity is the way to go and that Buddhism is lacking. However, you didn't specify, which church is the right one? What if Woods chooses the wrong one and every day he just keeps making "God" angrier and angrier? You didn't stop to think about that one did you? Stick to the news, Brit or enroll in a theology course and get educated. Better yet, go interview an actual Buddhist -- You're a journalist, so, go find out the facts of Buddhism before you denigrate the religion of 330 million people. Thank-you.

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