U.S. Warns Russia to Act More Like A Democracy

Russia, having publicly made a tactful response, retires to its private chambers and laughs its ass off. Really, you can't make this stuff up:

The Bush administration has warned Russia that the upcoming summit of the Group of Eight nations in St. Petersburg could be a debacle unless the Kremlin takes specific actions in the coming weeks to demonstrate a commitment to democracy, according to U.S. officials.

The administration has privately identified to Moscow concrete steps it should take before the July meeting, such as registering civil society groups that have been harassed, as a way of deflecting criticism that Russia has no business hosting a summit of democratic nations. And administration officials have sharpened their rhetoric about Russia's backslide toward autocracy.

(Photo: Vlad Putin reassures Bush that he still has the good soul Bush saw deep in his eyes back in '01. Really.)

Please take a look at VDems friend Glenn Greenwald's new book, "How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok", if you need a comprehensive, lucid, non-hysterical overview by a Constitutional lawyer of all the ways the U.S. isn't acting like a democracy these days -- and what to do about it.
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