I have volunteer in a Republican Congressman's staff, as well as with a County Executive to win election.

But I mostly just take an interest and study it.

You are not doing a good job at all. Maybe Putin won't like you so much after. See you in the Gulag!

You are debating me, which you say there is no need for in Russia. Practice what you preach if you truly believe it.

We certainly know that Vlad the Dictator must appreciate your un-substantive efforts.

... So...There is no room for debate in Russia?...

hopefully - no and never will be .

Then what are you doing?

I have tried to span the world and time periods with my readings, so as to get a better grasp of culture. I have read Kokoro to begin understand Japanese culture, I have the Enuma Elish to begin to understand Babylon, parts of the Koran, some Confucius etc. Though the insight you may gain is minor, it is invaluable.

I think that a novelist would  want to read the same simply for the cultural insights and the ways that different cultures view nature, gender, power, and anything else.

Russian literature is an essential for anyone who wants to write.

why do you think everybody should spend time in their lives on something like politics?  It doesn't appeal to me at all, and i doubt the use of it.

Because politics is the ultimate philosophy. It has so much depth, and it is always evolving. There is so much to consider. I am sure that you more political than you think you are. Here are questions that most people have an answer to, that are philosophical and political.

Is the death penalty a suitable punishment?
Is the War in Iraq justified?
Is Islam a religion of peace, or brutal?
Is abortion justified all the time?
Should homosexuals be allowed to marry?

Politics, like philosophy is really useless unless you are a person who uses it day to day. But without any philosophy, there is no thought, without thought life is not worth living.

Lerik, why do you suggest The Idiot? I already have the book, but it is certainly daunting.

It's a stretch to suggest that "we don't allow the killing of anyone who dissents."

I mean Americans who aren't a threat to America. For example, if we killed dissenters Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore would be dead. But I am sure that if we knew where Adam Gadahn was he would be dead in an instant (if we couldn't capture him alive and allow him to face justice.

my ''beef'' with it is that it entitles anyone for free speech -
because i hate when, for instance, the faggots speak out publicly .

So only those who you agree with should be allowed an opinion? There is no room for debate in Russia?

Canerican, the US propped up dictatorial regimes in Chile, Nicaragua, Haiti, Iraq among other countries, back in the 1980's

Well it has been happening since the 1900's actually. And I am critical of America for doing that. By quarrel is against Authoritarianism much more that Communism, but Communism inevitably leads to Authoritarianism.

 I think that the theory of Communism and Socialism is excellent if every country in the world follows it. Unfortunately talented people go to Capitalist societies where they can have stature and fortune. That is why Communism must be repressive, it must survive, and it needs people to do so. Why does Hu Jintao, or Kim Jong-Il not allow people outside media? Because they know human nature desires freedom that cannot be allowed in Communism.

A Communist has to be the most arrogant person in the world. They say, everyone except he whom I support is too stupid to make their own decisions, therefore they shouldn't be allowed the right to make their own decisions.

I couldn't care less about Napoleon. Russia is not respected by the West because it kills anyone who speaks against them, it has a history of explicit anti-Semitism dating from the 1600's and reaching a crux in about 1904.
America may have interventionist programs, but at least when we invade a country we allow them to leave and we don't allow the killing of anyone who dissents, unlike the crushed leaders of the USSR who killed Hungarians, Poles, Germans, and people from around the world en masse.
I can understand why you might be bitter, America succeeded at crushing the Russian economy during the Cold War, and far fewer countries seriously attempted to overthrow Capitalist leaders (I can only think of 3), and than tried to overthrow Communist leaders (we know this because when the Soviet Union crumbled the Iron Curtain brought in Capitalist leaders)
In the world now there are 3 Communist nations left. Obviously the world has decided that the failed Soviet system is not for them.

Oh and Kasparov was arrested for protesting Czar Putin's authoritarian policies. He wasn't arrested for his own protection. Do you even read your own country's news?

... How is it logical for America to kill all of Czar Putin's critics?

so that, later, it could accuse him of killing his opponents.

What does America get out of that? Russia has already been disgraced on the world stage since 1950.

Right, because Communists don't repress political dissenters. Have you every read the book 1984? In most countries they don't "arrest people for their own protection" unless they are suicidal. They are allowed protection. Gary Kasparov was arrested at an anti-Putin demonstration.
I feel bad for you, but the freedom that you have to even use the internet freely will be eroded quite soon for you. Putin will handle people who say the wrong thing the same way Stalin did: with a bullet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge

Wouldn't it seem odd that America is being accused of killing people who are critical of Russia. I mean, a journalist critical of Putin fell out of a high window. Another critical of him was "randomly" shot by a sniper as she got off her elevator in her apartment.
And Vladmir Litvenko... He even accused Putin of signing off on his death shortly before he died. Several people have come forward saying the same thing.
How is it logical for America to kill all of Czar Putin's critics?

I haven't read any deep philosophy in nearly one and a half years. I have been focussing on school mostly (I have been reading 200 pages a week for the past 3 months). I have also been working on discovering my own political leaning. I have gone from being an Socialist 2 years to Conservative-leaning Moderate, it has been a very intellectually exhaustive experience, but something everyone should spend time on in their lives.
 In all honesty the deepest thing I have read beside some history texts and some racial philosophy from the 1950-60s is the Reagan diaries.
I am looking for a book to ease me back into reading, I was thinking of Dead Souls or White Nights. Any ideas? Perhaps I should re-read TBK or C&P...

Who arrested Kasparov? Surely not the Americans.

There was a piece that I had found about 8 years ago, all I remember was that it was called "The Joust" and it was unusual because it was written only about 2 years prior to the time that I heard it first, and it featured modern rock instruments, but also used medieval instruments like the crum horn and the sacbut.

I like the 4 season suite, Mozart, Beethoven,  Tchaikovski. Although I must admit I have really not listened to much classical in the past 6 months or so.

Thanks. It's very interesting how skeptics on global warming are often confused with people who don't care about the environment. We will be faced with many environmental challenges in the very near future if changes aren't made. The problem that I have with the global warming theory is that it blinds people to the issues, not the least of which is the lack of fresh water, desertification (the expansion of deserts), and soil degradation. We are living past our means, and there needs to be great concern for the environmental problems that have been proven, because if we aren't careful, we will feel the effects of an unsustainable planet greatly in less than 20 years.

By the way, the Brothers Karamazov is an amazing piece of work as I'm sure you have seen. I can understand why time would be limited. I read it for the first time when I was 17 and it took me about 4 months to get through since it is so intensive.