Twice recently, I have heard people comparing the USA and the Russians or perhaps more accurately the Soviet Union. The first occasion was on 60 Minutes when the interviewer, Scott Pelley as I recall, talked to some Afghans (or is it Afghanis?) about a civilian massacre. The upshot of the conversation was that the Russians treated them better than we, the US of A, have been doing. Pelley reminded us that the Ruskies killed a million Afghanis so it obviously couldn't be true despite the recent sentiment of the poor Afghans whose friends and relatives had been slaughtered by some massive US bomb.
The second occasion where we were not so favorably compared to our Cold War rivals was by a Finnish folk band that arrived in Minnesota for a tour. As I recall, their tour was sponsored by the University of Minnesota. And so when they arrived at customs in Minneapolis on a flight from Amsterdam, HOMELAND SECURITY decided they were ne'er do well hippies. One of the dudes was strip-searched and subsequently recalled how it went down:
Perhaps the most damning comment on the incident was delivered by [J. Karjalainen] who was strip-searched. On a couple of occasions prior to 1991, he was detained by the KGB and interrogated. Compared to the ICE agents here in the Twin Cities, the KGB operatives, he says, "at least acted like human beings. Not a bunch of animals."
Details here: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/29/finnish-folk-band-fi.html
And to continue the theme, just listen to what Putin says versus what Bush says. Whatever you think of Putin, he is articulate and can clearly participate in world affairs while Dubya never ceases to embarrass.
Thoughts?