An Old Joke - Where Are They Now
All of this talk about censorship reminded me of an old Ronald Reagan joke:
[A]t the Geneva summit, Reagan told the following joke which made Gorbachev laugh heartily: An old Russian woman goes into Kremlin, gets an audience with Gorbachev and says, "In America anyone can go to the White House, walk up to Reagan's desk and say, 'I don't like the way you are running the country.'" Gorbachev replied, "You can do the same thing in the Soviet Union. You can go into the Kremlin, walk up to my desk and say 'I don't like the way Reagan is running his country.'"
And, in their "where are they now" segment, I can happily report that Gorbachev has invented a "beltway" for Russia. Witness this gobbledygook:
The Gorbachev Foundation was set up in December 1991 and launched March 1992. The Gorbachev Foundation's mission is based on the belief that Russia, and the world, needs new thinking, new understanding and a new interpretation of the notions of progress, humanism and justice. The Foundation's mission has allowed it to engage people concerned with Russia's future.
Those who support the Foundation adhere to the ideas of reforms initiated during perestroika. Perestroika's progress was offset by the August 1991 coup and the follow-up developments.
International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (The Gorbachev Foundation) has a Public Affairs Center that was set up in January 2000. The Center is working to study and preserve the heritage of perestroika, as well as to discuss, support and promote the ideas and nongovernmental projects which facilitate the consolidation of civil society and democratic reforms in Russia.
The Public Affairs Center has two units: Research and Information Unit (the archive and library complex and display facilities) and Public Discussions Unit represented by the Raisa Maximovna Club and the Gorbachev Foundation's standing seminar.
The main stock of the archive is composed of print, electronic and audio-visual content. These include the materials depicting activities of Mikhail Gorbachev and the nation's socio-political history at large.
The main activity of the library is to collect books and other printed materials devoted to the era of perestroika, Gorbachev's activities, as well as to supply information on the most interesting domestic and foreign publications (regular displays).
The Gorbachev Foundation is engaged in many projects in Russia and abroad.
And, if you haven't heard, Ronald Reagan is dead.
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