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They Killed My Lawyer

foreignpolicy.com

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61–70 of 72 posts

Re: They Killed My Lawyer

#61

Post by flipbrad »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #53
osipov wrote: post #4

>>It is also a story about how Stalinism and the gulags are alive and well in Russia today. It is difficult to convey the depth of my disgust after reading the above sentence from the first paragraph of the article. I share both Russian and Jewish heritages and to my dismay I frequently encounter writings that belittle the history of Holocaust. In comparison, Stalinism and gulags are less known to the Western audienc…

Ok, I'll bite. How is there a qualitative difference between killing a man and killing a race? I'll grant you that the Holocaust was about 12 million times worse than killing Sergei Magnitsky. But how is that more than a quantitative (not qualitative) difference?

I don't know if I back the argument, but I'd suggest that widespread knowledge of a class of people being wiped out greatly increase the stress, fear and terror struck into the hearts of all others in that class who have yet to get rounded up. furthermore, if they flee, communities get uprooted. and, though I hate to say it, whilst the killing of a man is in some cases justifiable (self defence, death penalty if you're into that kind of thing, which many societies worldwide are, etc) i really cannot see any argument for systematic killing merely based on race.

Re: They Killed My Lawyer

#62

Post by puns »

osipov wrote: post #14
chrischen wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wikipedia also says: "Browder exposed management corruption and corporate malfeasance in these partly state-owned companies"

There is plenty of corruption everywhere in Russia. There is no point in trying to find saints or sinners in the story. Rather one should recognize the hypocrisy of kettle calling a pot black.

Why not? Do you suggest we assume everyone corrupt just because there is "plenty of corruption everywhere in Russia"? Everyone is guilty by association?

Re: They Killed My Lawyer

#63

Post by dandelany »

osipov wrote: post #4

>>It is also a story about how Stalinism and the gulags are alive and well in Russia today. It is difficult to convey the depth of my disgust after reading the above sentence from the first paragraph of the article. I share both Russian and Jewish heritages and to my dismay I frequently encounter writings that belittle the history of Holocaust. In comparison, Stalinism and gulags are less known to the Western audienc…

The only good that can come, now, out of Stalinism and the gulags, is the opportunity to learn from an ugly past. It is essential that we understand the atrocities committed throughout Russia's history and critically analyze the events of today's Russia through this historical lens. If we get offended any time any parallel is drawn between current events and past evils, how can we hope to apply the lessons learned from them in any meaningful way?

Re: They Killed My Lawyer

#64

Post by selven »

osipov wrote: post #4

>>It is also a story about how Stalinism and the gulags are alive and well in Russia today. It is difficult to convey the depth of my disgust after reading the above sentence from the first paragraph of the article. I share both Russian and Jewish heritages and to my dismay I frequently encounter writings that belittle the history of Holocaust. In comparison, Stalinism and gulags are less known to the Western audienc…

Stalinism has two widely known parts to it. One part is starving millions of people. This is not happening. Another part is killing enemies of the state. This, and some other high-profile political murders in and relating to Russia, fits that second definition perfectly, and in that way it is Stalinist.

Re: They Killed My Lawyer

#65

Post by [deleted] »

osipov wrote: post #46
ezy wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Give me a break. This is utter crap. You're obviously using the hyperbole at the start of the article to score points. You go on to impugn the character of the author, while not directly addressing the thesis at any point in your responses. You're relying on people to yield so as not to offend you -- but that's crap, they really shouldn't care. "hurtful" indeed... What they can argue is that because of a bit of hyper…

Can you explain how my following argument impugns the character of the author? The article claims to be "about how Stalinism and the gulags are alive and well in Russia today". My counterclaim is that the article sets up a false moral equivalence from the start measuring a death of a lawyer to events at scale of Holocaust or Stalinist repressions. If you read my comment, it is obvious that it attacks the editors of F…

[deleted]

Re: They Killed My Lawyer

#66

Post by prewett »

andreyf wrote: post #60
astine wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does that have to do with anything? He was in fact guilty of tax evasion, which was in fact against the law.

He was clearly guilty of much more than tax evasion. The rule of law failed in regard to most of his misdeeds.

I think what usually happens is the government can prove tax evasion, but they cannot prove "by a preponderance of evidence" (or "beyond a reasonable doubt," whichever is applicable here) so easily. Sure, everyone knew that Capone was guilty of more than tax evasion, but could they prove it in a way that his high-priced lawyer could not convince a jury of his peers otherwise?

Re: They Killed My Lawyer

#68

Post by gchpaco »

asciilifeform wrote: post #57

There are a number of people prattling on about "the rule of law." "The rule of law" is not an unmitigated good, like clean air. Laws can be and are written to benefit the lawmakers, their pets, and their puppetmasters - as they were in 1990s Russia.

It's a damn sight better than "the lawmakers, their pets, and their puppetmasters get to do whatever they want whenever they want" which is the usual alternative.

Re: They Killed My Lawyer

#70

Post by duke_sam »

helveticaman wrote: post #59

This is the kind of event that sets your credibility as a business-friendly country back ten, twenty years. How far does the rabbit hole go in Russia? All the way to the other side of the earth, apparently. Disgusting.

Well at least getting the word out will do some good. If companies stop trying to establish a presence in Russia because of actions like this then maybe some change will come about. The biggest problem at the moment is that Russia supplies vast amounts of crucial energy to Europe. With that kind of leverage it's hard to see how political leaders in the EU will have the backbone to encourage Russia to stop acting like a corrupt dictatorship.
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