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  1. #91
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    visit-red-300x50PNG
    Sorry, guys, for some reason I

    didn't get a notification again. I'll answer soon.
    By the way, Greg, is there a topic about cinema at the

    forum?

  2. #92
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    No problem Alexey, we're always

    here. And I saw a shortcoming in my previous reply, but let's continue and I'll correct it.

    There is a

    thread about Good Movies Lately here, and you

    can post anything you like. If you want to create a different discussion you can start a new thread. As a member

    you can create a thread on any topic. Just put it in Open Discussion. Let me know if you need any help. What do

    you have on your mind besides politics and great photography?


  3. #93
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    It is me again







    If Europe thinks its boundaries to be

    inviolable


    Well,

    actually the US signed this treaty too




    Modern Europe is only a little more enlightened, and they are

    concerned more with economic unity than ethnic freedoms.

    I

    think that the US virtually have not such problems since the significant part of the native population died out (and

    many were killed by European invaders) and now constitutes a very small percentage of total population.


    As far as I know Europe does much for ethnic cultural freedoms but this

    problem has not any solution from my point of view. If every nation has to have a state of its own – what should be

    borders? If not, how I can have the same rights as the ‘title’ nation if I want to speak my ethnic language?



    What you say makes

    sense, if you consider "self-determination" to be a goal for a modern political philosophy.


    No, I haven’t any

    strict views of my own on the subject. I just think that if a territory has a right to separate, any part of it has

    to have the same right. That’s only one thing I am saying. But it is impossible.





    [SIZE=

    3]--As for me I think nothing, but I am sure that if Russia begins to built

    military bases in Cuba the US wouldn’t be too happy too.

    [/SIZE]

    --Ah, do

    you interpret such actions through the lens of a Soviet camera? Or is the camera a modern Russian one? They are very

    different.
    Is it so hard to understand "manoeuvres

    defensif"?




    I just think that nobody cannot be unbiased. Say, Mexicans will elect

    somebody like Saakashvili and a civil war among different ethnic groups will begin (God forbid, of course).


    I think that it would be difficult for the US not to interfere at all if

    it happens at the US’s borders.



    As another thought, what do

    you think of the UN?




    Nothing Rather, it is a bit better than nothing but the UN is

    incapable to solve serious problems, I think.



    As for my

    pictures, they are only good "snapshots", and not artistically rendered. I will gather some and send them to you.


    Great, I am waiting

    for it : )

  4. #94
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    There is a thread about


    Thanks a lot,

    Greg. I am going to read it and post my questions




    Let me know if you need any

    help


    No, no,

    everything is OK Thank you!





    What do you have on

    your mind besides politics and great photography?




    Money My main concern is how to get money from the Russian

    Internet : ))

  5. #95
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alex157 View Post
    If every nation has to have a state of its own – what

    should be borders? If not, how I can have the same rights as the ‘title’ nation if I want to speak my

    ethnic language?
    I understand and partially agree. The only problem is with old borders

    drawn arbitrarily, without respect to major cultural/religious populations, as in the former Yugoslavia and

    Albania. After the Soviet demise such things were inevitable I think. And then there was Milosevic, another small

    problem.


    Quote Originally Posted by Alex157 View Post
    No, I haven’t any strict views of my own

    on the subject. I just think that if a territory has a right to separate, any part of it has to have the same right.

    That’s only one thing I am saying. But it is impossible.
    Self determinism is pretty

    important as a foundation for a Democracy. But you are absolutely right about small indigenous groups. They will

    not have the power to realize any independence of course.


    Quote Originally Posted by Alex157 View Post
    I

    just think that nobody cannot be unbiased. Say, Mexicans will elect somebody like Saakashvili and a civil war among

    different ethnic groups will begin (God forbid, of course).

    I think that

    it would be difficult for the US not to interfere at all if it happens at the US’s borders.

    Interesting analogy Alexey, especially in the light of your

    comment about borders. Of course the US would have an interest in the outcome. That raises a question I have.

    What is the international status of South Ossetia?

    As you recognized, there is a cultural

    difference between the north and south. If either area have an allegiance to Georgia or Russia then their political

    sponsor has an obligation: Georgia in the south and Russian in the north. But I'm not sure of the dynamics of

    these areas among their people, if you exclude powerful armies.

    Going back to the subject of this thread

    (remember that?) the west is becoming a little nervous of Putin for other reasons as well. We will

    see.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alex157 View Post
    Nothing

    Rather, it is a bit better than nothing but the UN is incapable to solve serious problems, I think.

    And are corrupt and political.



    Last edited by idesign; 09-23-2008 at 08:34 PM.


  6. #96
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    I understand and partially agree. The only problem is with

    old borders drawn arbitrarily, without respect to major cultural/religious populations, as in the former

    Yugoslavia and Albania.

    Major on minor?



    After the Soviet

    demise such things were inevitable I think.

    Well, the same

    problems are in Catalonia or the Country of Basques, for example.





    And then there was

    Milosevic, another small problem.




    Yes, sure, but now there are another guys there.




    Interesting analogy Alexey, especially in the light of your

    comment about borders. Of course the US would have an interest in the outcome. That raises a question I have. What

    is the international status of South Ossetia?

    The same as of

    Kosovo : ) It is a part of Georgia, of course.


    As you

    recognized, there is a cultural difference between the north and south.


    Well, I don’t think

    so. The only difference, I believe, is that there were many ethnic Georgians in South Ossetia, of course. As well as

    there were quite enough Serbs in Kosovo. Of course, the difference is that some Serbs remain in Kosovo, but I think

    that all Georgians were banished from South Ossetia and Abkhazia…




    If either area have an allegiance to Georgia or Russia then their

    political sponsor has an obligation: Georgia in the south and Russian in the north.


    I think that the

    main problem is that Russia is more tolerant to ethnic minorities than Georgia. Actually even as an Empire ethnic

    minorities in Russia were much more equal to the main nation that in the Western Empires. Maybe because Russians

    were mainly serf slaves so there were no difference for Czars :

    )

    Georgians want to make everybody Georgians and it is not OK with Abkazs

    and Ossetins.





    Going back to the subject of this thread (remember that?)
    the west is becoming a little

    nervous of Putin for other reasons as well.
    We will

    see.

    Yes, all

    troubles at the Caucasus are only coming : ))




    And are corrupt and political.




    Well, Greg, what is not corrupt and political in the modern

    world? : )

  7. #97
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    Hi Alex,
    After finally getting

    around to doing some more reading about Georgia, I have to agree with you. Saakashvili made a big mistake, and his

    country paid a price. The Russian response may have been a little heavy-handed, but Putin is the kind of person who

    likes to prove his point.

    The discussion about Kosovo, Basques, ethnic sovereignty and such can be discussed

    endlessly, and is probably one of the more interesting discussions available. Ethnic and religious tensions that

    history ignored - or suppressed under a dictatorship - later become revolutions if they can, genocides if they're

    very unlucky, or victims of re-suppression if they're only moderately unlucky. This ignores political tensions

    which suddenly appear in the vacuum of a failed imperial tyranny such as the Soviets.

    Considering all that, the

    Balkans were a very old soup that boiled over after its last restraint was removed. It was going to happen, and the

    Western powers had to make a choice. Recognizing Kosovo was not so much a matter of violating borders, but of

    recognizing a new political landscape that they did not choose, but had to accept.

    In sheer pragmatic terms, a

    population must have the means to revolt in terms of capability, then it must have legitimacy in its political

    sphere. These two rules prohibit many populations from breaking whatever "chains" they have, or perceive to

    have.

    On another note, I see that Putin, ooops, Medvedev wants to place missiles near Poland. Medvedev said that

    he is counting on our new President to make "conciliatory gestures". What do you think of this? What do you think

    of our new President?


  8. #98
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    Greg hi,



    After finally getting around to doing some more reading about Georgia, I have to agree

    with you. Saakashvili made a big mistake, and his country paid a price.





    Well, I remember a line from ‘Jackie Brown’. - Can you trust Melony? –

    You can trust that Melony will be Melony.

    Or something like this.

    Saakashvili is Saakashvili and I think that it is a great mistake of the US government that it supports such guys.

    Again, Hitler was elected democratically too.








    On another note, I see that Putin,

    ooops, Medvedev wants to place missiles near Poland. Medvedev said that he is counting on our new President to make

    "conciliatory gestures". What do you think of this?




    Nothing : ) As far as I know we have not military units to the west of

    Moscow at all and all this is just a show. A good half of Russians are very anti-Western and I think that the

    Kremlin guys just try to satisfy them.







    What do you think of our new

    President?




    Well, I am glad that after Bush America chose something else For me it shows that

    democracy works.

    Much more a bit later – we are making our site and my

    brains don’t work completely : )

    What do YOU think of new President?


  9. #99
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by idesign View Post
    On another

    note, I see that Putin, ooops, Medvedev wants to place missiles near Poland. Medvedev said that he is counting on

    our new President to make "conciliatory gestures".
    You might be too young to remember, but I would say

    "Cuban missles in reverse."
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  10. #100
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mtnjim View Post
    You might

    be too young to remember, but I would say "Cuban missles in reverse."
    I think its apples and oranges. A

    non-nuke defensive missile program in Europe, with full NATO support - in our current political climate - is much

    different than Nikita K. trying to plant offensive nukes in a puppet state ruled by a certified gangster.

    The

    spirit of Che Guevara died its final death when the Soviets caved to JFK (btw, the last Democrat with balls), and

    subsequent communist revolutions in the Americas died slower deaths as toilet paper became more and more scarce, but

    in much higher demand. Or, you could say that the need to wipe one's ass properly became both a real and political

    necessity with Castro wannabes running amok and attempting too late their plans for centrally-controlled paradises.

    They missed the trend, and got caught with their ideology failing like an adolescent at the Mustang Ranch.



    Castro just got lucky at just the right time with just the right amount of thuggery. The kind of thuggery that

    won't pass the scrutiny of today's international scrutiny unless you're Castro, or Putin, which leads to the crux

    of this thread which is Russia's new Tsar. Of course the big differnce between petty dictators and big ones are

    big weapons. Which leads to a need to contain them.
    Last edited by idesign; 11-21-2008 at 07:23 PM.


  11. #101
    Moderator belgareth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alex157 View Post
    What do YOU think of new President?
    A

    major mistake and disaster waiting to happen. McCain wasn't much better and I didn't vote for either of them. I

    think we are in for some very bad times.

    But then, I've been saying that for a long time and as predicted,

    things have continued to worsen under each successive president. Obama's crazy ideas are just going to speed things

    up.
    To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

    Thomas Jefferson

  12. #102
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by idesign View Post
    I think its

    apples and oranges. A non-nuke defensive missile program in Europe, with full NATO support - in our current

    political climate - is much different than Nikita K. trying to plant offensive nukes in a puppet state ruled by a

    certified gangster.
    It might not look so different through Russian eyes.
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  13. #103
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mtnjim View Post
    It might

    not look so different through Russian eyes.

    I think Putin has two eyes, one sharper than the other.


  14. #104
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    Alex! Its been a long time

    since we have spoken мой друг, вы

    хорошие?

    We have a new President now, what do you think of our future

    political relations with Obama? Do you think he is a match for Medvedev/Putin?

    I also see that Moscow and Kiev

    have a dispute with gas deliveries to Europe. What is the real problem with Gazprom?


  15. #105
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    Quote Originally Posted by idesign View Post
    Alex! Its

    been a long time since we have spoken ìîé äðóã, âû õîðîøèå?

    We have a new President now, what do you think of

    our future political relations with Obama? Do you think he is a match for Medvedev/Putin?

    I also see that Moscow

    and Kiev have a dispute with gas deliveries to Europe. What is the real problem with Gazprom?
    Hello

    everybody
    Idesign, sorry for some delay in my answer
    well, the only problem with our gas that it cannot be

    devided among 100 millions of people so some of them get much bigger money from it than others

  16. #106
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    No problem Alexey, its only been

    a year, and I had a girlfriend who took that long to get ready for a date. Come to think of it, she was Russian!



    A lot of water has flowed under the bridge (but not gas) in the past year or more. How is everything in your

    part of the world?


  17. #107
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    Quote Originally Posted by idesign View Post
    No problem

    Alexey, its only been a year, and I had a girlfriend who took that long to get ready for a date. Come to think of

    it, she was Russian!

    A lot of water has flowed under the bridge (but not gas) in the past year or more. How

    is everything in your part of the world?

    yes, Greg, with Russians it can take years I mean getting

    ready for a date

    Inded gas is flowing all right
    We are OK. Well, politically we are in shit up to our

    ears as always, but it is our normal condition
    How things are going on on the forum?

  18. #108
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    The forum is good Alex, but

    politically we're in shit up to our tallest basketball stars, especially considering that some of them are from

    China.

    Are you keeping up with the American experiment?


  19. #109
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    Quote Originally Posted by idesign View Post
    The forum

    is good Alex, but politically we're in shit up to our tallest basketball stars, especially considering that some of

    them are from China.

    Are you keeping up with the American experiment?
    No, Greg, we are far ahead



    But I am sure that many of my compatriots would be happy to hear that American has some troubels too



    By the way, we had a terrible summer - it was almost as hot as in Florida in August

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