Czechs expect more Georgia-type crises from Russia

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by onodera
Lancer, you do understand that by chest-pounding and surrounding us with military divisions you will lose whatever respect you still have among the general population, don't you? No one will even have to switch on the propaganda machine. "We're going to beat you into submission" is something the Russians react very strongly against.
And we're not going to step down either. We've been doing that for 20 years, and a lot of people feel it's time to stop, dig our heels in and defend our interests in the countries that used to be parts of ours.

Whose general population? Russia? That's very seldom been a big concern. Russians are bullies and just this side of neanderthal.

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by Lancer


"pinko cosmopolitan hippie"

You are both pigdogs!

[Deity Dude]

Originally posted by Comrade Snuggles


Given that the United States has started seven times the number of fights that the USSR/Russia has since the end of WWII,

Can you list all of the conficts on both sides and the resulting 7-1 ratio they represent. Somehow I don't believe that stat, but as always I am willing to listen.

[The Vagabond]

Originally posted by Lancer


Very few good reasons to do it and some really big bad reasons why not. The good reasons are 1) There's democracy in Georgia and we're for that.

Georgia is democratic? A regime that came to power as a result of a coup d'etat with subsequently getting 95% (!!) of votes in the elections? Even Putin never got more than 70% of votes (and no more than ~50% of votes in Moscow and St.Petersburg).

[C0ckney]

georiga is a beacon of freedom and democracy compared to russia, which, sadly, becomes more like east germany with each passing year.

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by The Vagabond


Georgia is democratic? A regime that came to power as a result of a coup d'etat with subsequently getting 95% (!!) of votes in the elections? Even Putin never got more than 70% of votes (and no more than ~50% of votes in Moscow and St.Petersburg).

Vagabond I'm disappointed in you.


Democratic = friendly to the US
Undemocratic = not friendly to the US


Whether a country is really democratic is totally irrelevant, all that is needed is the rhetoric and the West looks the other way if you do what they want you to do.

Russia could be like Switzerland and with its currently foreign policy people woulds still be calling it undemocratic.

[The Vagabond]

Heraclitus, but I am not disapointed in you.

[The Vagabond]

Originally posted by C0ckney
georiga is a beacon of freedom and democracy compared to russia, which, sadly, becomes more like east germany with each passing year.

... or this is what the West needs to believe in order to close the gap between its values and its interests.

[C0ckney]

i don't know what the 'west' believes. there are many opinions on russia and i don't claim to speak for anyone but myself. however, it seems clear to me what is happening there.

[onodera]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Whose general population? Russia? That's very seldom been a big concern. Russians are bullies and just this side of neanderthal.

Thanks a lot, Sloww.
At least we're THIS side of neaderthal, unlike Texans.

A majority of Russians supports the intervention in Georgia. A majority of Ameircans doesn't support the war in Iraq. So, which country goes against the will of its people and which one is a beacon of hope and democracy?

[BeBMan]

Mauritania

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by C0ckney
georiga is a beacon of freedom and democracy compared to russia, which, sadly, becomes more like east germany with each passing year.

And what's the point of this? I could see comparing Russia to the USSR, but East Germany of all places?

[Lancer]

He just wanted to bring you in to the discussion Etchy.

Che's 7-1 plane thing is absurd. I guess he needed a BS stat to back up his BS.

Georgia is at least as democratic as Kuwait, right?

[C0ckney]

the point etchy is not respect of foreign policy, where russia is behaving like...well...russia, but rather domestic policy. more specifically it looks like putin is trying to create a situation similar to the one in east germany, where there are many parties, but only one group really in control.

if free and fair elections were held in russia tomorrow, all the evidence suggests that putin would win them handsomely. so why then, do we see the harassment, imprisonment and even murder of opponents and critics. why do united russia pay people to vote for them, or intimidate them into doing so, in elections they would win anyway. why have regional governors gone from being elected to being appointed by the kremlin, so that they have become little more than agents of putin. why have the rules been changed to make it more difficult for smaller parties, or coalitions to get into parliament ect. ect.

if putin just wanted to rule russia, he could do so without any of that, since he is extremely popular. however, it appears that he wants to make all political life in russia revolve around him and his cronies, to create a situation where no serious threat to his position can ever develop from within, whilst retaining a façade of elections and democratic institutions.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by onodera
dig our heels in and defend our interests in the countries that used to be parts of ours.

They left you for a reason, remember? Something about freedom from Russian oppression?