page 18
(The Study of Threes)
http://threesology.org
3 Russian Females sent to Prison
In the weeks before Pussy Riot band members were sentenced to two years in a Russian prison, the feminist punk group’s plight had become a global cause, attracting activists and celebrities alike.
But some are already starting to question whether the outpouring of support for Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Marina Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich is little more than a star-studded fad – and if it can do anything tangible to help them.
Following the guilty verdict handed down Friday (8-17-2012) in Moscow, cities across the United States took part in Pussy Riot Global Day, with demonstrators donning colorful ski masks, or balaclavas, in solidarity with the band. Following small gatherings in New York and Washington, events are planned in San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Moscow’s sister city, Chicago. Pussy Riot was convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” for singing a song lambasting Russian leader Vladimir Putin's increasingly autocratic hold on power – and his regime's increasing suppression of protest speech – from the altar of Moscow’s Christ the Savior cathedral in February of this year. The band stormed the venue in protest of Putin's close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Actress Chloe Seveigney took part in the New York demonstrations Thursday night, reading a letter written in prison by Ms. Alyokhina. Alicia Silverstone, meanwhile, wrote a letter to President Putin asking him to ensure that Alyokhina would have vegan dietary options available to her in prison. "I'm sure you can agree that everyone has the right to show compassion and refrain from hurting animals by being vegan," the vegan actress wrote.
'Democracy at its best'
On Twitter, famous names including Elijah Wood, Carrie Brownstein, and Russian tennis star Martina Navratilova expressed their support. “Today is free Pussy Riot day. How great is that? Democracy at its best. And by imprisoning them, Putin is making it so much a bigger deal!!” Ms. Navratilova tweeted.
Musicians have been especially vocal. Paul McCartney released a statement on his website Thursday encouraging “Nadya, Katya, and Masha” to “stay strong and believe that I and many others like me who believe in free speech will do everything in our power to support you and the idea of artistic freedom.” Madonna pleaded for the band’s release during her concert in Moscow last week, taking off her jacket to reveal the words “Pussy Riot” scrawled across her back. Moby, Peter Gabriel, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, and Bjork have all chimed in as well.
But detractors worry that despite the backing of Amnesty International and statements of disapproval from the White House, State Department, German parliament, and the EU’s foreign policy chief, the star-studded display is just that – a display, and a simplistic reduction of a very complicated issue.
“Clueless Western supporters have glommed on to the story at its most black and white, imposing easy narratives on it and making a balaclava look as cute as a hemp tote,” writes Michael Idov in the Guardian. “The case is seen as a magnet for vapid celebs.”
Reuters points out that while Pussy Riot have become darlings abroad – mainly in countries like the US where provocative political stunts are commonplace (and unprosecuted) – the support at home isn’t quite so enthusiastic. Despite protests outside the Moscow courthouse where the trio were on trial, “a poll of Russians released by the independent Levada research group showed only 6 percent sympathized with the women and 51 percent found nothing good about them or felt irritation or hostility. The rest could not say or were indifferent.”
But the massive attention garnered by the punk group’s plight could have a more lasting effect, even if it does nothing to help the women themselves. “The odd circumstances of Pussy Riot's actions mean that these three women will get far more international attention than the much larger number of political prisoners,” David S. Meyer, a professor of sociology and political science at the University of California in Irvine who studies large protest movements, writes via e-mail. “If things go well for the opposition, Pussy Riot will shine a light on others in prison for their opposition to Vladimir Putin.” Global pressure could play a more long-term role, Professor Meyer says, in intensifying the scrutiny on Putin’s methods. “Amnesty International and other groups will work mostly on the politics of attention, getting people and governments to pay attention, again, to Putin and Russia,” he says. “Their success will depend upon just how much the political and economic powers in Russia care about the good opinion of others.”
So if nothing else, Pussy Riot has the world’s attention. Time will tell whether they keep it long enough to have the lasting impact they were fighting for in the first place.
updated 8/18/2012 3:03:42 AM ET
© 2012 The Christian Science Monitor
“Nadya, Katya, and Masha” (All 3 have names ending with an "a".)
NASA's Curiosity rover hasn't rolled its wheels on Mars yet, but scientists have already figured out what the rover will be doing and where it'll be going through the end of the year.
On Saturday night (08-18-2012), Curiosity is due to use its laser blaster for the first time, taking 30 shots at a poor little rock known as N165. In the coming days, the rover also will analyze the rocks that have been exposed at a blast mark known as Goulburn Scour, which was left behind by Curiosity's rocket-powered sky-crane descent stage during the Aug. 5 landing. And it will take its first test drive, going about 10 feet (3 meters) to limber up for its first long-distance journey.
Over the course of a month or two, the six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover will make a trek to a spot that's been nicknamed Glenelg, about a quarter-mile (400 meters) east of the landing site, project scientist John Grotzinger told reporters during a teleconference today. "With such a great landing spot in Gale Crater, we literally had every degree of the compass to choose from for our first drive," Grotzinger explained in a news release. "We had a bunch of strong contenders. It is the kind of dilemma planetary scientists dream of, but you can only go one place for the first drilling for a rock sample on Mars. That first drilling will be a huge moment in the history of Mars exploration."
Glenelg is the spot where three types of geological formations come together. Heading to Glenelg means the rover will have to retrace its route to move on to its prime target, a 3-mile-high (5-kilometer-high) mountain known as Aeolis Mons or Mount Sharp. But Grotzinger and his colleagues think the scientific payoff will be worth it.
Grotzinger told reporters that Glenelg, a Gaelic-derived place name that describes a rock formation in northern Canada, was particularly apt for the Martian site because it's a palindrome, spelled the same way forward and backward. Similarly, Curiosity will have to double back toward its landing site after visiting Glenelg on Mars. "We get it coming and going," he said.
http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/17/13338840-mars-rover-gets-set-for-laser-blasts?lite
Herb O. Buckland
herbobuckland@hotmail.com