News from Russia: dissidence and porn

Bad news for the right to express an opinion. There is a law in Russia that you can't protest in public about anything. On the Crossing Continents programme a reporter covered a very brave man who kept getting arrested for marching, on his own, with a placard that wasn't at all outrageous. It was such a waste of police time! and they were driving this poor man mad. One thinks of Winston Smith in 1984. Big Brother was certainly watching this poor bloke. The rest of the Russians didn't seem to care a damn that their fundamental liberties had been taken away. This is a serious programme. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07pj822
However, Putin has found a way to make the Russians cross.

From The Week:

The Russian state has blocked access to free porn websites, amid much outrage. Millennials view the concept of free, readily available porn as a human right, and any attempt to suggest that they shut their eyes and try to imagine rude things with their own brains as Luddite, draconian and plain kinky. One frustrated Russian contacted the state censorship department on Twitter demanding "an alternative", and was advised: Dear Lyola, as an alternative you can meet someone in real life.     There's a kernel of sense here. Turning off internet port might be character-building for our nation's youth. Perhaps experiencing 1980's style arduous sexual yearnings might stop them whining..." Grace Dent, the Independent.