Money doesn't get you out of jail

CNN has the story of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man as the former head of the Yukos oil company, and his attempt to get out on parole. Didn't work, apparently, because the judge was pissed by "Khodorkosvy's refusal to take part in professional training in sewing while in prison". (How dare he...) Detained since 2003, Khodorkovsky has served more than half of his sentence and has been eligible for parole for the past 10 months. The prisoner's mother spoke to reporters: "I have lived in Russia for 74 years," she said. "I have never harbored any illusions but I have always hoped common sense would prevail. But, unfortunately, it is as it always was." The prosecution of the former oligarch was widely seen as an attempt to silence a Kremlin opponent and consolidate control over Russia's strategic energy sector. The charges and subsequent demand for huge back taxes led to the effective renationalization of Yukos, which was taken over by the state oil company Rosneft.