How Long Until Belarus President's Playbook Comes to USSA?
January 28, 2006
10:04 a.m., MT

While wandering around the webosphere this morning, waiting for the caffeine to work its magic in my brain, I came across an ominous headline: Belarus leader orders ban against protests. The reality is actually a bit worse:

Authoritarian Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko warned activists late Friday that any protests over the country's upcoming presidential elections would meet a harsh government response.

In an interview carried on all Belarusian TV channels, Lukashenko vowed that he would not allow the type of mass street protests that brought opposition leaders to power in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

"There will be no disturbances. No one will climb onto the barricades to fight Lukashenko," he said. "If there are provocations, we'll give them such a going-over they won't know what's hit them," Lukashenko threatened.

I don't think Bushnev could get away with such tactics here, but given what he did get away with in the elections, it's a matter of time. Anyone care to take bets on how many presidencies it'll take from now for the USSA to degenerate into an outright dictatorship?

[You can blame my sour frame of mind on a caffeine headache induced by sleeping late. I slept late because I was up way past my usual bedtime listening to Jim Bovard's appearance on the Doug Basham radio show. Jim has agreed to be a Sunni's Salon interview victim, too, which promises to be much fun.]

Sunni

Comments: 2 people have contributed to the conversation

On Sunday, January 29th, at approximately 6:07 a.m. Mountain time, jomama said:

Anyone care to take bets on how many presidencies it'll take from now for the USSA to degenerate into an outright dictatorship?

I'm betting less than one.

On Sunday, January 29th, at approximately 2:21 p.m. Mountain time, Sunni said:

I think you might be right.

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