Georgia, the Olympics, the US armada and Iran

[Robert]

You know, just because the US has done some really nasty things doesn't mean others can't do nasty things.

True.
I don't think any of us want to see Russia setting up miltary bases all over the planet and arming countries who don't get on with the US.
But if they did, you can bet that the US would be the loudest critics and the UK 'liberal' media would happily trumpet the criticism, all the while neglecting to mention the gorilla in the room.

Georgians rocket bombed populated cities when the Russian did the same and far far worse in Chechnya.

Exactly and just because Russia did it, doesn't mean it's OK for Georgia to do it either.



There is rank hypocrisy on all sides.

Russia is no saint

I couldn't agree more but what I have problem with is the "Russia bad, Georgia good" blanket coverage. I've no idea what the Canadian press are making of it but over here it's almost unanimous condemnation of Russia and promotion of absurdly hypocritical US sound bites.
Georgia has almost completely escaped criticism here.

Having said that, I did see a Russian military commander on TV last night. He was asked (assuming the traslation was accurate)when they would leave and he said whenever they are ordered to. He was then asked about US demands they do so immediately, to which he responded along the lines of, "We don't demand they leave Iraq. They took Baghdad and, if we so choose, we'll take Tblisi."

Here is Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili's own explanation of the situation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... gia.russia

Take from that what you will.

It would be nice to have an article from Medvydev or Putin for balance.

 

[Robert]

You know, just because the US has done some really nasty things doesn't mean others can't do nasty things.

True.
I don't think any of us want to see Russia setting up miltary bases all over the planet and arming countries who don't get on with the US.
But if they did, you can bet that the US would be the loudest critics and the UK 'liberal' media would happily trumpet the criticism, all the while neglecting to mention the gorilla in the room.

Georgians rocket bombed populated cities when the Russian did the same and far far worse in Chechnya.

Exactly and just because Russia did it, doesn't mean it's OK for Georgia to do it either.



There is rank hypocrisy on all sides.

Russia is no saint

I couldn't agree more but what I have problem with is the "Russia bad, Georgia good" blanket coverage. I've no idea what the Canadian press are making of it but over here it's almost unanimous condemnation of Russia and promotion of absurdly hypocritical US sound bites.
Georgia has almost completely escaped criticism here.

Having said that, I did see a Russian military commander on TV last night. He was asked (assuming the traslation was accurate)when they would leave and he said whenever they are ordered to. He was then asked about US demands they do so immediately, to which he responded along the lines of, "We don't demand they leave Iraq. They took Baghdad and, if we so choose, we'll take Tblisi."

Here is Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili's own explanation of the situation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... gia.russia

Take from that what you will.

It would be nice to have an article from Medvydev or Putin for balance.

 

[Robert]

You know, just because the US has done some really nasty things doesn't mean others can't do nasty things.

True.
I don't think any of us want to see Russia setting up miltary bases all over the planet and arming countries who don't get on with the US.
But if they did, you can bet that the US would be the loudest critics and the UK 'liberal' media would happily trumpet the criticism, all the while neglecting to mention the gorilla in the room.

Georgians rocket bombed populated cities when the Russian did the same and far far worse in Chechnya.

Exactly and just because Russia did it, doesn't mean it's OK for Georgia to do it either.



There is rank hypocrisy on all sides.

Russia is no saint

I couldn't agree more but what I have problem with is the "Russia bad, Georgia good" blanket coverage. I've no idea what the Canadian press are making of it but over here it's almost unanimous condemnation of Russia and promotion of absurdly hypocritical US sound bites.
Georgia has almost completely escaped criticism here.

Having said that, I did see a Russian military commander on TV last night. He was asked (assuming the traslation was accurate)when they would leave and he said whenever they are ordered to. He was then asked about US demands they do so immediately, to which he responded along the lines of, "We don't demand they leave Iraq. They took Baghdad and, if we so choose, we'll take Tblisi."

Here is Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili's own explanation of the situation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... gia.russia

Take from that what you will.

It would be nice to have an article from Medvydev or Putin for balance.

 

[Robert]

You know, just because the US has done some really nasty things doesn't mean others can't do nasty things.

True.
I don't think any of us want to see Russia setting up miltary bases all over the planet and arming countries who don't get on with the US.
But if they did, you can bet that the US would be the loudest critics and the UK 'liberal' media would happily trumpet the criticism, all the while neglecting to mention the gorilla in the room.

Georgians rocket bombed populated cities when the Russian did the same and far far worse in Chechnya.

Exactly and just because Russia did it, doesn't mean it's OK for Georgia to do it either.



There is rank hypocrisy on all sides.

Russia is no saint

I couldn't agree more but what I have problem with is the "Russia bad, Georgia good" blanket coverage. I've no idea what the Canadian press are making of it but over here it's almost unanimous condemnation of Russia and promotion of absurdly hypocritical US sound bites.
Georgia has almost completely escaped criticism here.

Having said that, I did see a Russian military commander on TV last night. He was asked (assuming the traslation was accurate)when they would leave and he said whenever they are ordered to. He was then asked about US demands they do so immediately, to which he responded along the lines of, "We don't demand they leave Iraq. They took Baghdad and, if we so choose, we'll take Tblisi."

Here is Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili's own explanation of the situation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... gia.russia

Take from that what you will.

It would be nice to have an article from Medvydev or Putin for balance.

 

[smithy]

It's time to escalate the tension and call it easing the tension.

Indeed.

Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions.

You won't hear much of the Western press question US motives though, will you?

Absurdly hypocritical and completely compliant "Liberal Media". :roflmao:

The western press has been one of the harshest critics of the US over the past 5 years.

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN. That may be one reason why they aren't getting an easy ride :roll:

 

[smithy]

It's time to escalate the tension and call it easing the tension.

Indeed.

Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions.

You won't hear much of the Western press question US motives though, will you?

Absurdly hypocritical and completely compliant "Liberal Media". :roflmao:

The western press has been one of the harshest critics of the US over the past 5 years.

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN. That may be one reason why they aren't getting an easy ride :roll:

 

[smithy]

It's time to escalate the tension and call it easing the tension.

Indeed.

Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions.

You won't hear much of the Western press question US motives though, will you?

Absurdly hypocritical and completely compliant "Liberal Media". :roflmao:

The western press has been one of the harshest critics of the US over the past 5 years.

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN. That may be one reason why they aren't getting an easy ride :roll:

 

[smithy]

It's time to escalate the tension and call it easing the tension.

Indeed.

Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions.

You won't hear much of the Western press question US motives though, will you?

Absurdly hypocritical and completely compliant "Liberal Media". :roflmao:

The western press has been one of the harshest critics of the US over the past 5 years.

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN. That may be one reason why they aren't getting an easy ride :roll:

 

[smithy]

It's time to escalate the tension and call it easing the tension.

Indeed.

Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions.

You won't hear much of the Western press question US motives though, will you?

Absurdly hypocritical and completely compliant "Liberal Media". :roflmao:

The western press has been one of the harshest critics of the US over the past 5 years.

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN. That may be one reason why they aren't getting an easy ride :roll:

 

[smithy]

It's time to escalate the tension and call it easing the tension.

Indeed.

Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions.

You won't hear much of the Western press question US motives though, will you?

Absurdly hypocritical and completely compliant "Liberal Media". :roflmao:

The western press has been one of the harshest critics of the US over the past 5 years.

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN. That may be one reason why they aren't getting an easy ride :roll:

 

[smithy]

I still believe that the best plan for the US here is to get Georgia into NATO (and the US was pushing hard for Georgia to get accepted), and this little spat hurt their chances.

I'm not so sure about that. There are two sides to that coin, as smithy pointed out earlier, I think.

Georgia's only hope right now is to just concede S. Ossetia to the Russians and declare the dispute over.

Or just allow them independence, a lá Kosovo?

Neither South Ossetia or Abkhazia are interested in independence. They want to be part of a Greater Russia, partly because they've been groomed for the best part of a decade.

If either wanted independence rather than to join a new imperial Russia, it's a safe bet that Russia would have done nothing.

 

[smithy]

I still believe that the best plan for the US here is to get Georgia into NATO (and the US was pushing hard for Georgia to get accepted), and this little spat hurt their chances.

I'm not so sure about that. There are two sides to that coin, as smithy pointed out earlier, I think.

Georgia's only hope right now is to just concede S. Ossetia to the Russians and declare the dispute over.

Or just allow them independence, a lá Kosovo?

Neither South Ossetia or Abkhazia are interested in independence. They want to be part of a Greater Russia, partly because they've been groomed for the best part of a decade.

If either wanted independence rather than to join a new imperial Russia, it's a safe bet that Russia would have done nothing.

 

[smithy]

I still believe that the best plan for the US here is to get Georgia into NATO (and the US was pushing hard for Georgia to get accepted), and this little spat hurt their chances.

I'm not so sure about that. There are two sides to that coin, as smithy pointed out earlier, I think.

Georgia's only hope right now is to just concede S. Ossetia to the Russians and declare the dispute over.

Or just allow them independence, a lá Kosovo?

Neither South Ossetia or Abkhazia are interested in independence. They want to be part of a Greater Russia, partly because they've been groomed for the best part of a decade.

If either wanted independence rather than to join a new imperial Russia, it's a safe bet that Russia would have done nothing.

 

[smithy]

I still believe that the best plan for the US here is to get Georgia into NATO (and the US was pushing hard for Georgia to get accepted), and this little spat hurt their chances.

I'm not so sure about that. There are two sides to that coin, as smithy pointed out earlier, I think.

Georgia's only hope right now is to just concede S. Ossetia to the Russians and declare the dispute over.

Or just allow them independence, a lá Kosovo?

Neither South Ossetia or Abkhazia are interested in independence. They want to be part of a Greater Russia, partly because they've been groomed for the best part of a decade.

If either wanted independence rather than to join a new imperial Russia, it's a safe bet that Russia would have done nothing.

 

[smithy]

I still believe that the best plan for the US here is to get Georgia into NATO (and the US was pushing hard for Georgia to get accepted), and this little spat hurt their chances.

I'm not so sure about that. There are two sides to that coin, as smithy pointed out earlier, I think.

Georgia's only hope right now is to just concede S. Ossetia to the Russians and declare the dispute over.

Or just allow them independence, a lá Kosovo?

Neither South Ossetia or Abkhazia are interested in independence. They want to be part of a Greater Russia, partly because they've been groomed for the best part of a decade.

If either wanted independence rather than to join a new imperial Russia, it's a safe bet that Russia would have done nothing.

 

[smithy]

I still believe that the best plan for the US here is to get Georgia into NATO (and the US was pushing hard for Georgia to get accepted), and this little spat hurt their chances.

I'm not so sure about that. There are two sides to that coin, as smithy pointed out earlier, I think.

Georgia's only hope right now is to just concede S. Ossetia to the Russians and declare the dispute over.

Or just allow them independence, a lá Kosovo?

Neither South Ossetia or Abkhazia are interested in independence. They want to be part of a Greater Russia, partly because they've been groomed for the best part of a decade.

If either wanted independence rather than to join a new imperial Russia, it's a safe bet that Russia would have done nothing.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN.

Oh well, maybe some "unembedded" journalists but there's a war on and stuff happens.

I hear the Georgians have done their share of that sort of thing and that would fit too considering who they get their advice from. So far, though, I've seen a fair bit of news coming out of Ossetia with a fair bit coming from bloggers and other less connected journalists. Livejournal, apparently, is still up there.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN.

Oh well, maybe some "unembedded" journalists but there's a war on and stuff happens.

I hear the Georgians have done their share of that sort of thing and that would fit too considering who they get their advice from. So far, though, I've seen a fair bit of news coming out of Ossetia with a fair bit coming from bloggers and other less connected journalists. Livejournal, apparently, is still up there.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN.

Oh well, maybe some "unembedded" journalists but there's a war on and stuff happens.

I hear the Georgians have done their share of that sort of thing and that would fit too considering who they get their advice from. So far, though, I've seen a fair bit of news coming out of Ossetia with a fair bit coming from bloggers and other less connected journalists. Livejournal, apparently, is still up there.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

The Russians aren't allowing journalists near South Ossetia. They and the Ossetian paramilitaries have also been shooting at journalists and the UN.

Oh well, maybe some "unembedded" journalists but there's a war on and stuff happens.

I hear the Georgians have done their share of that sort of thing and that would fit too considering who they get their advice from. So far, though, I've seen a fair bit of news coming out of Ossetia with a fair bit coming from bloggers and other less connected journalists. Livejournal, apparently, is still up there.