Kasparov Arrested

Garry Kasparov, former Chess Grand Master and current candidate in the 2008 Russian presidential race, was jailed in Moscow on Saturday after being convicted of organizing a demonstration in opposition to the leadership of President Vladimir Putin.

According to the Associated Press: Kasparov, who is running for president as a member of an opposition party called the United Civil Front, was sentenced to five days in jail for "organizing an unsanctioned procession "of at least 1,500 people directed against President Vladimir Putin," of chanting anti-government slogans and of resisting arrest."

In an interview his assistant Marina Litvinovich reported that Kasparov was forced to the ground and beaten by riot police prior to his arrest.

Two riot police testified in court that they had been given direct orders before the rally to arrest Kasparov, one of President Vladimir Putin's harshest critics.

For more on the detainment of Garry Kasparov see the Associated Press article.

When he was interviewed on the Bill Mahr show, Kasparov predicted this action by Putin's government, stating that "anything can happen to me and to thousands of other activists in our country that are fighting the regime, because this regime has no allergy for blood."

What does this have to do with American politics? The answer is simple, our own President George W. Bush has "looked this man in the eye" and was able to "get a sense of this man's soul," a soul which is "very straightforward and trustworthy." While at the same time our President's dear friend is imprisoning political opposition leaders, saber rattling, and supporting Iranian nuclear research.

There is no question that this Administration's State Department will not raise any outcry against a known corrupt government. Yet again, Bush's administration has failed.