Excerpts:
Yevgeny Strelchik, a spokesman for the federal agency for media and communications which conducted the probe, said material collected from the newsroom had been examined and "small violations" had been found. "'The eXile' is subject to checks like any other media," Strelchik said, adding that more than 500 outlets are examined for conformity to media regulations every year. He dismissed talk of political overtones to the inspection. Ames conceded that the technical infringements were "absolutely valid." "We don't do things very professionally around here," he said.
"'The eXile' is subject to checks like any other media," Strelchik said, adding that more than 500 outlets are examined for conformity to media regulations every year. He dismissed talk of political overtones to the inspection.
Ames conceded that the technical infringements were "absolutely valid." "We don't do things very professionally around here," he said.
So there were valid, non-Stalinist motivations for the audit?
But he disagreed with Strelchik over the reasons behind the inspection, saying that the government apparently had lost patience after 11 years of seeing the newspaper publish Limonov's critical articles. Limonov is the leader of the banned National Bolshevik Party, and his critical writings and opposition activities have irritated the Kremlin. "I suppose that the problems started with my links to the newspaper," Limonov said Monday. "I don't see any other reason."
Limonov is the leader of the banned National Bolshevik Party, and his critical writings and opposition activities have irritated the Kremlin.
"I suppose that the problems started with my links to the newspaper," Limonov said Monday. "I don't see any other reason."
We're asked to take this on Limonov's word.
Ames declined to name the paper's sponsors, citing fears for their safety. "Being here makes me nervous," he said. "Everyone knows what happens when the government trains its eye on you."
"Being here makes me nervous," he said. "Everyone knows what happens when the government trains its eye on you."
Was it all the drugs they did in the 90's that made them not afraid for the safety of their backers or not nervous about being there before now? Because given the stuff they published, they should have been. Or by these statements does Ames mean "I continue to be (afraid, nervous) as I have been for the past 11 years" ?
This was the second time the newspaper had been inspected, Ames said. Authorities seeking to shut the paper down in 1998 ask editors at English-language daily the Moscow Times about possible repercussions in the West were they to do so -- and were persuaded against, he said.
2nd time. So why all the deer-in-headlights and "no one I've ever talked to has heard of anything like this" this time? I guess he's never talked to those 500 other places that were audited. Or they were lying about that. Is there one credible human being in this entire narrative?!
...
Oh, I hate turning my critical eye to the paper I support so much.
No fun. "Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.
Does "valid" necessarily imply "non-Stalinist"? I don't get what, exactly, Ames and his band of merry morons did to warrant an audit that isn't completely common on the Internets in almost any developed country. (And note to the Russian government: You don't look serious. You look like you're wetting your pants over the intellectual equivalent of any generic MySpace page.) It sounds, at least to me, like the bureaucrats decided they'd worn out their welcome, and that an audit might be in order to put enough pressure on the eXile to make it go away.
Now Ames has decided Russia is a scary police state. But Ames was telling me forever that Russia was this awesome place with drugs and women and, oh, Putin's good people and all that rubbish.
Seems to have a little trouble keeping his story straight. Shocking. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
BTW, I really don't think the Russian government is wetting their pants over this. That would be Mark... "Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.
