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Saturday, April 01, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
OTHER IDEAS
An unlikely reformer
It is easy to understand that (Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin) a man who speaks of safety in the streets, and about defending the right to property, gains sympathy in the chaotic Russia of today. Putin is seen by many as a young and competent monitor, untainted by corruption and old power structures.
Putin is also the butcher of Chechnya. The ruthless warfare is closely associated with the outgoing prime minister. He has not shown any examples of democratic or liberal qualities. Instead, he has made very thoughtless comments saying a country may best be ruled by a king.
Russia today is a country suffering under runaway crime that permeates all of society. It is possible that Putin will manage to curb some of the open crime. But it appears unlikely that he is the leader who will take Russia further down the reform road. Orderliness and toughness are one thing, democracy and market economy something else.
SVENSKA DAGBLADET (Stockholm)
March 28
"A student wouldn't walk into a professor's office asking a question using bad English. Why would they send me that kind of mistake in an e-mail?"
Kenneth Brown, assistant professor at the University of Iowa business school and tracker of e-mail etiquette.
"I thought if they had to listen to stuff they hate, it would teach them to respect other people's rights. ... We're gonna crank that crap up while they're in there."
Alexandria, La., District Judge Tom Yeager. He sentenced two men who were convicted of violating a Rapides Parish noise ordinance to listen to three hours of the music they hate most -- country and Western.
"The reason I put it up is because it's the dead of winter. People are sick of winter and want to go into a bar with a tropical flair."
Tom English, owner of the Boston bar Tom English's Cottage. Each winter, English puts in a display featuring stuffed monkeys, which some local activists claim mocks Black History Month. Local officials may suspend or revoke the bar's license.
Jay Townsend, Buchanan campaign manager, said the court decision will remove some distractions.
"Sometimes it's difficult to hear what someone is saying in the dining room in the middle of a food fight."
Jay Townsend, manager of Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign, on the difficulty of campaigning while Reform Party leaders are hauling each other into court.
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