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#121 |
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So nice to know we've got a resident expert on the Ukraine's interests.
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#122 | |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Join Date: Dec 2004
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I would've love to watch the West Germany to succeed so well without the 1953 haircut and without having payed all the forgiven war debt. In fact, it's funny that, despite all the corrupt mistakes, Greece is under a choking German dictat of debt (many of that illegitimate) that will never be payed. But when, recently, greeks claimed that they may demand back the €162 billions from the II WW that Germany never payed back... The EU and Germany say that's unlikely to happen. Would Germany have succeed so well without that? Of course not. So, when the USA (many times under the NATO umbrella) invades other countries for the most ridiculous reasons... That's Free Market Economy too? I'd love to hear what Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel, the two most powerful women in Europe of the past 50 years, and the two biggest defenders of Free Market Economy (only for the benefit of their own countries, obviously), would say about it. True. But Russia has a public debt of 11% of its GDP. The US has 74%. I must remind you that Ukraine had general elections just a few months ago and that those elections were recognized by the international community as normal. You and I may not agree with the results of those elections, but they existed and they legitimated a parliament and a government. I also must remind you that Yanukovich's party had weaker results in the West, where the protests started, but he had expressive majorities in the "russophone" East as well as in Crimea. |
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#123 | |||
The Fly
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#124 | |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Barcelona, Spain [Lisbon, Portugal]
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I want to see what happens if China's growth cools down - if it freezes - and if it stops buying and investing in US's public debt. I must remind you that China has already demonstrated its support to Russia in this Ukrainian question. Plus... Russia dependent on gas and petrol export? It's the opposite. Europe is dependent on Russia's gas export. The Eastern Europe countries are (Portugal and Spain, for instance, buy it to North Africa countries like Algeria and Morocco, not to Russia). Germany is dependent on Russia's and Ukraine's gas export. I repeat, in case you didn't read it. There were general elections a few months ago. Elections that were recognized as normal, without irregularities by the international community. Yanukovich has weaker results in the West, but had strong majorities in the East and that was enough for him to win. I repeat: it was just a few months ago. You can't say the same about May's elections, where they were decided by a provisional government based on the parliament's constitution and that has in it 5 neo-nazi Ministers from Svoboda. And don't come to me again with the "Putin's worse than them". I was reading more about Svoboda and asking to the ukrainians I know here, and the greek Golden Dawn are a mere group of good boys compared to the Svoboda. |
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#125 |
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Based on what I've read (obviously I can't comment from the ground) it does seem that Golden Dawn could only dream of having the vast increase in influence that Svoboda and Right Sector have had over the past year, hell, try six months. But at the same time the Ukrainian resistance is almost non existent in certain places (ie. the country's west) whereas in Greece I think it's fair to say the opposition to Golden Dawn is quite substantial (and there is at least some sort of class consciousness present).
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#126 | |||
The Fly
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The United States did not launch an unprovoked invasion of another country. That is what Russia has done in Ukraine. No one in the Crimea was killed or attacked, no ethnic Russia, nobody. The idea that Russian forces are in Crimea to protect from fascists and Nazi's is a total joke. Yes, Europe does have greater business ties with Russia than North America, but that does not mean that Europe needs Russia to somehow survive. The world is full with many other energy options and business opportunities. NATO does not need Russia and is ready to defend Europe, politically, economically, and if need be with its military! If Putin and Russia were in a position of STRENGTH, then why are they invading the Ukraine? They have moved to military options because every other tool they have used in the Ukraine has flopped. The Russians are SCARED. Ukraine is moving to the west and the Russians are afraid of losing their influence there for good! Russia has invaded Ukraine not out of strength, but because the hand they were playing there was soooo weak! Quote:
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#127 |
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#128 |
The Fly
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I only stated that NATO will defend itself if attacked. The Rah Rah Rah's belong to the Putin side. The only country that has invaded another and is threatening to change international borders just as Hitler did in 1938 is Russia.
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#129 | |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Join Date: Dec 2004
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I'm not going to reply to your comments anymore in this thread. As I said earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if you're from one of those Eastern Europe countries (eventually Poland, Hungary, Slovakia...) that were in the ex-URSS as were brainwashed just as it entered the EU, which would explain the black-white/good-evil/borderline-type logic on your comments, reinforced by a distorted reading of the other users' posts and information of this thread. |
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#130 |
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Russia wants to have the people vote?
OK, let's have a vote in Chechnya. |
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#131 |
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^
Yes, and that's not the only Russian republic which would like an opportunity to vote. |
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#132 |
The Fly
Join Date: Dec 2013
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Its been talked about for days, and said by Russians, Putin, and others. Any talk of Fascism in this crises is simply a smoke screen to make Russia seem even handed. The only anti-democratic forces in this conflict are the Russians. Yes, they are going to have vote in Crimea in a few days at the point of a foreign gun. There is no threat to ethnic Russians in the crimea and even if there was, it would be a job for Ukrainian police to deal with, not the Russian military!
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#133 |
Resident Photo Buff
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"I Am A Ukrainian"
Blatantly false. One can decry the Russians' aggression while at the same time acknowledging that there are troubling reports of fascists on the Ukrainian side. Acknowledging that there are fascist elements on the Ukrainian side does not necessarily make one pro-Russian.
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#134 |
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I'm not sure how much more convincing anyone needs that actual fascists are a prominent fixture in Ukraine's current political sphere, there is ample proof and anybody who's trying to deny it as 'oh that's just what the Russians are saying!' is deluding themselves. The future is unclear but the threat is real.
I've known of people who have fled the country (eastern part) to family in Russia simply because of that threat and that a lot of things have 'stopped' ie. schools + stores, and that for them at least they don't feel safe about stepping outside. Basically, Russia's intervention in Crimea is only half the story about what's going on in Ukraine right now but you're unlikely to hear about it outside of blogs/news sources from people in that general Eastern European region. Lots of tension, back-and-forth in a fair few major eastern cities. |
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#135 | |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
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#136 |
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I'm surprised you even bothered with SB for so long, Aygo, he's not going to change his stance regardless of how much you give him that suggests otherwise.
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#137 | |
The Fly
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Its the same thing. A smoke screen of trumped up charges to justify an illegal invasion in 1938 by Hitler and now in 2014 by Putin. |
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#138 | |
The Fly
Join Date: Dec 2013
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Its amazing, a country has been invaded by 30,000 troops and is being threatened with having part of its territory annexed by another country and were having people talk about alleged fascist and Nazi's. If such extremist do exist, its a problem for the local police force, just as it is in Chicago, Atlanta, Munich or London. |
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#139 |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Another article from the chronicler I posted on page 8 or 9, resulting in a research about the parties who compose the provisional government (all of them goodfellas).
Again, since it's in portuguese, and because I find interesting and important to share, I'm making a free/quick translation. The original is here. I introduce you the defenders of the "European values" in Ukraine The Guardian and CNN, unsuspecting of having any antipathy to the "Ukrainian question" that mobilizes many Portuguese journalists, revealed the contents of wiretaps between the responsible for the Foreign Policy of the European Union, Catherine Ashton, and the Foreign Minister of Estonia, Urmas Paet. The wiretaps had been disclosed by the Russian media, which raises again new questions about the conduct of espionage and intelligence services in Europe. Again, the behavior of the American NSA and the smoothness of the reaction of European states leaves little room for large indignities. Summing up, here's what happens: the snipers that mortally hit both protesters and police on Independence Square in Kiev, were the same and there are very strong suspicions of not being connected to the deposed regime. Rather, it is more likely that they were "agents provocateurs" linked to the rebels. What seemed to be a conspiracy theory launched by the Russians thus gained a new credibility. After explaining that the bullets could've only been fired by the same people, Paet says to Ashton about the current coalition (provisional) government: "There is now a growing knowledge that, on the back of the snipers, wasn't Yanukovych , but someone of new coalition." By ignorance, many will be incredulous. After all, everytime Western citizens see a lot of people in a square they imagine that there can only be the people struggling for freedom and democracy. Not understanding that the conflicts in each country - whether in Egypt or Ukraine - can't be resummed to such simple and "spring-ish" dichotomies, which can solved with a like on facebook. Especially in countries with ethnic conflicts, subjected to strong economic interests and with little democratic tradition. The Ukrainian opposition, now in the provisional government, is not only - or even primarily - composed of Democrats. Most are engaged in so corrupt and so dependent ruling parties of the ukrainian oligarchs as the deposed government was. And these are just the less "bad". The others, who had an absolutely central role in EuroMaidan and the violent takeover of several symbols of power, are bound to much more sinister organizations that we can imagine. The method of electing some members of the provisional government, based on the "democracy of Sparta", may seem naive and just anecdotic. But it is not. It corresponds to an undemocratic political movement that gained momentum in recent years. So, let's meet them. First, a paramilitary group, openly xenophobic, the Pravyi Sektor ("Right Sector"), heir of the "Tryzub" ("Trident") and leaded by Dmytro Yarosh. During the revolution, Yarosh was accused of asking for the support of Dokka Umarov, leader of the faction of the Chechen guerrilla that is linked to Al-Qaeda. The complaint is still being investigated (although, it may be of a fraud). But his organization, quite violent, played a central role in the arming of paramilitary forces during the protests. Militias which have, in the meantime, been officially recognized by the interim government. The Pravyi Sektor promised to outlaw the Party of Regions (Yanukovich's party, which was in power) and the Communist Party. Another group is the Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian People's Self Defense (Una-Unso ), Orthodox fundamentalists, nationalists, anti-Semites and supporters of an authoritarian government for the country. The militants are organized in volunteer brigades, with training in Chechnya fighting alongside the chechen rebels. But the most important political force among radical nationalists is, by far, the Pan-Ukrainian Union "Freedom", known by Svoboda only ("Freedom"). The Svoboda is openly neo-Nazi and was founded in 1991 with the "suggestive" name of Social-National Party of Ukraine. Those who are not getting there by the name can always see their symbol to be clarified. Simultaneously to the "mandatory" facelift that several right-wing organizations of Eastern Europe did, with the purpose of being able to be supported or at least tolerated by some Western powers, the PSNU-Svoboda was transformed by his leader Oleh Tyahnybok. Svoboda is considered by the Simon Wiesenthal Center the fifth most anti-Semitic party in the world. It is openly xenophobic, defending the segregation of Jews and Poles. It is also, of course, homophobic. One of his deputies, Igor Miroshnichenko, assumed admirer of Röhm, Strasser and Goebbels, declared that "homosexuality must banned in this country because it is a disease that helps the spread of AIDS." This same deputy described in its Facebook page, the actress Mila Kunis (Ukrainian origin, with Russian father and Jewish mother) as a "zhydovka", an insulting term to refer Jewish women. The Svoboda not only defends the outlawing of abortion, but criminalization of its public defense. He also advocates the outlawing of any communist party, the universal right to go armed/to carry a gun, the return of Ukraine to the nuclear and that "Spartan democracy." To all this, it's added the accession to the European Union and to NATO, which he absolutely consideres consistent with its political position. Which says something about the image of the democratic requirements that the European Union has [addendum: the EU has announced, desperately, that the agreement with Ukraine is set to be signed quickly, on March 21st]. The cut of the leader of the Svoboda with the rest of the opposition, who however made amends on behalf of the "European values ", took place in 2004, when in a televised speech, praised the Ukrainian resistance in World War II by having fought against "Muscovite-Jewish mafia", leaving this poignant patriotic memory: "They put their guns to shoulder, went to the forest and fought the Muscovites, Germans, Jews and other scum who wanted to take from us the State of Ukraine". On the EuroMaidan Svoboda demonstrators exhibited, opening their parades, proudly, a photography of Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist leader during World War II, who collaborated with deportation to Nazi extermination camps of hundreds of thousands of Jews, Communists and Gypsies. In an attempt to win votes to the also unwise/not-recommended (but now transformed into a heroin in the West) Yulia Tymoshenko, the also non-recommedable Vicktor Yushchenko came to give the title of Hero of Ukraine to Bandera, removing it after angry protests from international Jewish organizations. The same European Union that now embraces the pupils of Bandera, at that time, condemned Yushenko for this tribute. Let there be no confusion. Svoboda is not a small clique. They had 10.5% of total votes in the last elections, elected 38 deputies and had more than 30% in three provinces in the extreme west of Ukraine. In the "heroic" city of Lviv, where the revolt against the government had its start, the neo-Nazis had more than 50% of the votes. Cheery, isn't it? After the protests, these almost unparalleled groups in Western Europe, were they relegated to the margins? On the contrary, Svoboda has one of the vice-prime-ministers, Oleksandr Sych. His war-horse was the outlawing of abortion, even in cases of rape. When this position was contested, he argued that women "should have a kind of life that avoids the risk of rape, including not drink alcohol and not getting along with little to recommend companies." There's also the secretary of the National Security Council and Defense, the Ministers of the Environment and Agriculture, and also the General Prosecutor of Ukraine. This addition to the defense minister, the Admiral Igor Tenjukh, not being militant has supported the Svoboda party in its public initiatives. Already the Pravyi Sektor has its sinister leader, Dmytro Yarosh, as vice-secretary of the National Security Council and Defense. And Una-Unso has the Minister of Youth and Sport and the President of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. In other words, three parties to the right of the PNR(Portugal)/Front National(France)/Lega Nord(Italy) and the Golden Dawn(Greece) run a government that nobody elected, the Defense, the fight against corruption and the General Attorney. Now that the dust begins to settle down, maybe we better realize that here there are no heroes and villains. Much less in a country that had to choose between starvation and deportations of Stalin and Hitler's Holocaust. Things are more complicated, despite the television images of the revolt of the Crimean Russians that always appear as animalistic and violent, while the Ukrainians appears as a blue and yellow party repressed by state forces. Before the growing power of the Nazis in the Ukrainian state, now the Russian minority has good reason to think that will not have place in this new Ukraine. As for me, I do not know if I like that the Ukraine of Sir Tyahnybok and his Svoboda have its place in the European Union. For the worst, it's enough what we already have got. |
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#140 | |
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Oh, what's that? You can't? |
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