American men meeting Russian women in ........America?????

[Brad and Vika 129]

I think we stop short (usually) of direct control of media, text books, etc to convey "official" state ideology.

So I take it you haven't lived in the US over the last 8 years.

Don't mistake left or right leaning coverage for direct control. Remember that when Bush II took office, there was a HUGE outcry against the liberal bias in the media. The pendulum swung way to the right, and is now headed back to center (for a limited time).

In Belarus, the Office of the President of the Republic actually OWNS 100% of the newspaper monopoly. There is also state ownership and control to a slightly lesser degree of the text book printing monopoly and tv news. The former two were once clients of mine. Most private businesses are required to give a "golden share" of ownership to the government (meaning Lukashenko), in addition to taxes. Check out the official press releases from the Belarussian embassy, the stuff is an unbelievable departure from reality.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I think we stop short (usually) of direct control of media, text books, etc to convey "official" state ideology.

So I take it you haven't lived in the US over the last 8 years.

Don't mistake left or right leaning coverage for direct control. Remember that when Bush II took office, there was a HUGE outcry against the liberal bias in the media. The pendulum swung way to the right, and is now headed back to center (for a limited time).

In Belarus, the Office of the President of the Republic actually OWNS 100% of the newspaper monopoly. There is also state ownership and control to a slightly lesser degree of the text book printing monopoly and tv news. The former two were once clients of mine. Most private businesses are required to give a "golden share" of ownership to the government (meaning Lukashenko), in addition to taxes. Check out the official press releases from the Belarussian embassy, the stuff is an unbelievable departure from reality.

Ah good ol dictator Lukashenko....he's still thinks he can bring back the Soviet Union. Belarus....where else can you see statues of Lenin in almost every city you go to other than good ol repressive Belarus. Private industry there has been all but eliminated, the news there is like watching an old 1960 Soviet propoganda cartoon...which btw they run those old cartoons on a daily basis.

When he doesn't get what he wants from someone there...he takes it. Lucky for Lukashenko he gets his money from the Kremlin. Other money's come from his prostitution business ...he gets a cut of that from the pimps that fly out plane loads of young Belarusian women to Turkey and a few Arab countries. He gets a cut of just about everything there. He's nothing more than a mafiaso thug financially supported by Russia.

Belarus is listed in the top 10 of most censored countries. But good ol Russia is moving up on the list also. Putin has taken control of every major media source in Russia one way or another.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090131/ap_on_...xKADFCdrS50bBAF

[Brad and Vika 129]

I think we stop short (usually) of direct control of media, text books, etc to convey "official" state ideology.

So I take it you haven't lived in the US over the last 8 years.

Don't mistake left or right leaning coverage for direct control. Remember that when Bush II took office, there was a HUGE outcry against the liberal bias in the media. The pendulum swung way to the right, and is now headed back to center (for a limited time).

In Belarus, the Office of the President of the Republic actually OWNS 100% of the newspaper monopoly. There is also state ownership and control to a slightly lesser degree of the text book printing monopoly and tv news. The former two were once clients of mine. Most private businesses are required to give a "golden share" of ownership to the government (meaning Lukashenko), in addition to taxes. Check out the official press releases from the Belarussian embassy, the stuff is an unbelievable departure from reality.

Ah good ol dictator Lukashenko....he's still thinks he can bring back the Soviet Union. Belarus....where else can you see statues of Lenin in almost every city you go to other than good ol repressive Belarus. Private industry there has been all but eliminated, the news there is like watching an old 1960 Soviet propoganda cartoon...which btw they run those old cartoons on a daily basis.

When he doesn't get what he wants from someone there...he takes it. Lucky for Lukashenko he gets his money from the Kremlin. Other money's come from his prostitution business ...he gets a cut of that from the pimps that fly out plane loads of young Belarusian women to Turkey and a few Arab countries. He gets a cut of just about everything there. He's nothing more than a mafiaso thug financially supported by Russia.

Belarus is listed in the top 10 of most censored countries. But good ol Russia is moving up on the list also. Putin has taken control of every major media source in Russia one way or another.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090131/ap_on_...xKADFCdrS50bBAF

Back in the Yeltsin days, Lukashenko proposed a complete Union of Belarus with Russia. There was actually some speculation that because of Yeltsin's flaws, Uncle Sasha and the boys could have wound up running the whole thing (Stalin setting the precedent). When Putin took power, I understand that his government expressed delight at the wonderful opportunity for Russia to reunite with their brothers in Belarus, and would immediately proceed with annexation of this new, autonomous Russian republic. Guess who was almost out of a job. There has been a relative stall in "unification" since then.

When Belarus proposed (and announced publicly four years ago) that they would use Russia's ruble as their currency eventually, the response was reportedly "why would we allow that?" That having been said, Russia does seem to tolerate a fair amount of goofy policy from Belarus. When the price of gas and oil was increased, Belarus immediately agreed to the new price. They then increased the cost of transporting energy to Europe through Belarus by a roughly equivalent amount. Notice that the recent deal with Ukraine specifically prohibited an increase in transport costs through Ukraine.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Lukashenko likes to make threats to the west about a union of the two countries...Russia and Belarus that is. Putin on the other hand is biding his time. It's like the constrictor waiting to swallow the rabit.

Ukraine....if Obama doesn't realize that's the key right now he's nuts. Iraq means nothing on the scale of world affairs right now compared to Ukraine. Germany put the screws to Ukraine in regards to the NATO MAP program last year, and if Germany pulls that stunt again it's going to result in a seperate alliance with the US, Poland, the Baltic countries, and Ukraine. Right now Russia is trying to pull NATO apart at the seams, and it seems to be working.

Here's two good links worth reading if you have the time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7861248.stm

http://www.kommersant.com/p838631/r_528/foreign_relations/ <---older article, but not all that old.

[Brad and Vika 129]

Lukashenko likes to make threats to the west about a union of the two countries...Russia and Belarus that is. Putin on the other hand is biding his time. It's like the constrictor waiting to swallow the rabit.

Ukraine....if Obama doesn't realize that's the key right now he's nuts. Iraq means nothing on the scale of world affairs right now compared to Ukraine. Germany put the screws to Ukraine in regards to the NATO MAP program last year, and if Germany pulls that stunt again it's going to result in a seperate alliance with the US, Poland, the Baltic countries, and Ukraine. Right now Russia is trying to pull NATO apart at the seams, and it seems to be working.

Here's two good links worth reading if you have the time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7861248.stm

http://www.kommersant.com/p838631/r_528/foreign_relations/ <---older article, but not all that old.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Ah good ol dictator Lukashenko....he's still thinks he can bring back the Soviet Union. Belarus....where else can you see statues of Lenin in almost every city you go to other than good ol repressive Belarus.

Every city I've been to in Russia has statues of Lenin. Most have been torn down, but many are kept up for historical purposes. Which I think is fine and good. Russia and the FSU countries have a tendency to bury their history, hence the saying that to learn about history in the West, you need a book, but to learn about history in Russia you need a shovel.

I don't know about the political climate in Belarus, but I doubt very seriously the populace would allow a slide back into Communism. The free market has taken hold in all of Eastern Europe. I don't see Communism as having a snow ball's chance in hell at this point.

I'm not exactly sure what Belarus market institution would be called, but if it's not communism, it's socialism. Free market in Belarus is all but non existant other than hotels, restraunts, and a few odd ball industry's. Almost all farms...I would guess 90% or better are owned by the government. Small business have been squeezed so hard that business owners have given up.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...20Aleksandr%20G.

"Risky Business in Belarus"

http://www.president.gov.by/en/press48069.html#doc

"Belarusian model of socially-targeted economy much similar to the Chinese one"

http://belarus.blogsome.com/2006/12/12/the...shenko-belarus/

[Brad and Vika 129]

Ah good ol dictator Lukashenko....he's still thinks he can bring back the Soviet Union. Belarus....where else can you see statues of Lenin in almost every city you go to other than good ol repressive Belarus.

Every city I've been to in Russia has statues of Lenin. Most have been torn down, but many are kept up for historical purposes. Which I think is fine and good. Russia and the FSU countries have a tendency to bury their history, hence the saying that to learn about history in the West, you need a book, but to learn about history in Russia you need a shovel.

I don't know about the political climate in Belarus, but I doubt very seriously the populace would allow a slide back into Communism. The free market has taken hold in all of Eastern Europe. I don't see Communism as having a snow ball's chance in hell at this point.

I'm not exactly sure what Belarus market institution would be called, but if it's not communism, it's socialism. Free market in Belarus is all but non existant other than hotels, restraunts, and a few odd ball industry's. Almost all farms...I would guess 90% or better are owned by the government. Small business have been squeezed so hard that business owners have given up.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...20Aleksandr%20G.

"Risky Business in Belarus"

http://www.president.gov.by/en/press48069.html#doc

"Belarusian model of socially-targeted economy much similar to the Chinese one"

http://belarus.blogsome.com/2006/12/12/the...shenko-belarus/

It is socialist - no question about it. There are many businesses that are privately held though (albeit with a "golden share" to the government). The word is that business people should make sure the government knows them, but doesn't notice them. And there is a HUGE contingent that want communism to return, because they perceive that their lives were better, more prosperous, and more secure with that system. If you consider where they are socially (at least every one over 30) you can see why.

[K1researcher 0]

The country would not tolerate a return to old-style communism. This is a key factor to think about when discussing this. What is communism? The soviet Union was not Lenins communism, nor trotsy's. Maybe Stalin's for a few years ...

At any rate I have spoken with some hard line communists some who literally fought the great patriotic war, and while they yearn for the old days of communism, most understand that the nation could not revert to that state again.

However, how far is socialism from communism in reality? In the west we often think of Communism as being synonymous with dictatorship, which is not the case. Lenin, Marx, and even Hitler were from Socialist parties. One the temporary leadership is withdrawn from communist government it becomes much the same as socialism.

All that said .. i think the US should ally with Russia and take over Europe and make the frenchies speak Russian and the Italian speak Portuguese and everyone else speak finnish (cuz its freaking hard) muhahahahaha

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

If Lukashenko is to ever be taken down...gotten rid of, alot of it depends on how well Ukraine does in regards to it's economy and democracy. Ukraine is the only democratic Rus state right now and if Ukraine can succeed and prosper in the next few years, Belarusians will take that as a sign that democracy and capitalism can work. Ukraine is not autoractic, and it mirrors the west more than Belarus and Russia. Again Ukraine is the key and Putin knows this. When Russia starts giving out passports to Ukrainians...Ukraine can begin to worry. And Russia is pushing for this "dual passort" for Ukrainians. What this will do is give Putin a reason to "protect Russian citizens in the Crim" just like he did in Abkazhia and South Ossestia. Russia's lease of the naval base in Sevastapol runs out in 2017 and Putin is sweating this. He has pused for a extension of that lease but he has gotten a big no from Yushenko. Good for Ukraine is what I say.

Edited February 3, 2009 by Why_Me

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

If Lukashenko is to ever be taken down...gotten rid of, alot of it depends on how well Ukraine does in regards to it's economy and democracy. Ukraine is the only democratic Rus state right now and if Ukraine can succeed and prosper in the next few years, Belarusians will take that as a sign that democracy and capitalism can work. Ukraine is not autoractic, and it mirrors the west more than Belarus and Russia. Again Ukraine is the key and Putin knows this. When Russia starts giving out passports to Ukrainians...Ukraine can begin to worry. And Russia is pushing for this "dual passort" for Ukrainians. What this will do is give Putin a reason to "protect Russian citizens in the Crim" just like he did in Abkazhia and South Ossestia. Russia's lease of the naval base in Sevastapol runs out in 2017 and Putin is sweating this. He has pused for a extension of that lease but he has gotten a big no from Yushenko. Good for Ukraine is what I say.

http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274792.html <--- It looks like the land grab for eastern Ukraine has already accelerated.

[K1researcher 0]

If Lukashenko is to ever be taken down...gotten rid of, alot of it depends on how well Ukraine does in regards to it's economy and democracy. Ukraine is the only democratic Rus state right now and if Ukraine can succeed and prosper in the next few years, Belarusians will take that as a sign that democracy and capitalism can work. Ukraine is not autoractic, and it mirrors the west more than Belarus and Russia. Again Ukraine is the key and Putin knows this. When Russia starts giving out passports to Ukrainians...Ukraine can begin to worry. And Russia is pushing for this "dual passort" for Ukrainians. What this will do is give Putin a reason to "protect Russian citizens in the Crim" just like he did in Abkazhia and South Ossestia. Russia's lease of the naval base in Sevastapol runs out in 2017 and Putin is sweating this. He has pused for a extension of that lease but he has gotten a big no from Yushenko. Good for Ukraine is what I say.

http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274792.html <--- It looks like the land grab for eastern Ukraine has already accelerated.

I gotta call shenanigans on that article ... no sources its all speculation with an extreme ukrainian nationalistic tendency. I can tell you are very anti-Putin, but I think you are using a bit too much subjective reasoning especially with Abkazhia and South Ossestia. There are many more reasons as to that incursion and I rarely hear this reasoning except from the west where the news surrounding it was so polluted it was virtually worthless.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

If Lukashenko is to ever be taken down...gotten rid of, alot of it depends on how well Ukraine does in regards to it's economy and democracy. Ukraine is the only democratic Rus state right now and if Ukraine can succeed and prosper in the next few years, Belarusians will take that as a sign that democracy and capitalism can work. Ukraine is not autoractic, and it mirrors the west more than Belarus and Russia. Again Ukraine is the key and Putin knows this. When Russia starts giving out passports to Ukrainians...Ukraine can begin to worry. And Russia is pushing for this "dual passort" for Ukrainians. What this will do is give Putin a reason to "protect Russian citizens in the Crim" just like he did in Abkazhia and South Ossestia. Russia's lease of the naval base in Sevastapol runs out in 2017 and Putin is sweating this. He has pused for a extension of that lease but he has gotten a big no from Yushenko. Good for Ukraine is what I say.

http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274792.html <--- It looks like the land grab for eastern Ukraine has already accelerated.

I gotta call shenanigans on that article ... no sources its all speculation with an extreme ukrainian nationalistic tendency. I can tell you are very anti-Putin, but I think you are using a bit too much subjective reasoning especially with Abkazhia and South Ossestia. There are many more reasons as to that incursion and I rarely hear this reasoning except from the west where the news surrounding it was so polluted it was virtually worthless.

I am very anti Putin. But facts are facts....I personally don't know the entire facts behind the Georgia - Russia confllict...although Kosovo helped pave the way for that. Back to the Russian citizenship law....it's on the books.

http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/01...94040876142.txt

http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_new...an%20Federation

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/ukraines-ru...-citizens.htm/2

http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23...ion-ukrainians/

Edited February 3, 2009 by Why_Me

[Brad and Vika 129]

Enjoyed the article Why Me, thanks. Also - I warned you about the Putinists They will be coming out of the woodwork now.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Enjoyed the article Why Me, thanks. Also - I warned you about the Putinists They will be coming out of the woodwork now.

Derzhava <---That's a word most all educated Russians know. It has more than one meaning, but in the end it comes down to Russian hegemony. It's teachings are installed by the Russian Orthodox church, and they are furthered by whatever Russian dictator is calling the shots at the time. Presently it's Tsar Putin.

The terms "Rus'", "Kyivan Rus'", "Ruthenia" and "Ruthenian" as opposed to "Russia" and "Russian" are used to distinguish between the early mediaeval state with the centres in Kyiv and Novgorod and the independent duchies it disintegrated into on one hand, and the later state with the centre in Moscow on the other. The latter could be considered a distant descendant of the former yet the two are not identical. The confusion with the names is often purposefully used by Russian nationalists to lay claims on all political and spiritual heritage of Kyivan Rus'.

Edited February 4, 2009 by Why_Me

[K1researcher 0]

just fyi only the loc site is verified, but it is verified from an independent news agency and thus invalid ;-) (i have been nailed on that many times in my studies)

I love Putin, think he did wonders for the Country. Russia really was rough in the 90s, I had to have body guards around and hope someone didn't buy one of them off :-(

Under Putin the crime just plummeted and now its a wonderful place that I would even live (this was discussed thoroughly before the k-1 was done)

I know where you are coming from but after enough reading (rus and eng) I just dont see the Georgia action as wrong.

Now keep in mind I admire Putin but would not be a putinist as i dont really like ANY politician. But I cannot argue with the good he did for the country.

If Lukashenko is to ever be taken down...gotten rid of, alot of it depends on how well Ukraine does in regards to it's economy and democracy. Ukraine is the only democratic Rus state right now and if Ukraine can succeed and prosper in the next few years, Belarusians will take that as a sign that democracy and capitalism can work. Ukraine is not autoractic, and it mirrors the west more than Belarus and Russia. Again Ukraine is the key and Putin knows this. When Russia starts giving out passports to Ukrainians...Ukraine can begin to worry. And Russia is pushing for this "dual passort" for Ukrainians. What this will do is give Putin a reason to "protect Russian citizens in the Crim" just like he did in Abkazhia and South Ossestia. Russia's lease of the naval base in Sevastapol runs out in 2017 and Putin is sweating this. He has pused for a extension of that lease but he has gotten a big no from Yushenko. Good for Ukraine is what I say.

http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274792.html <--- It looks like the land grab for eastern Ukraine has already accelerated.

I gotta call shenanigans on that article ... no sources its all speculation with an extreme ukrainian nationalistic tendency. I can tell you are very anti-Putin, but I think you are using a bit too much subjective reasoning especially with Abkazhia and South Ossestia. There are many more reasons as to that incursion and I rarely hear this reasoning except from the west where the news surrounding it was so polluted it was virtually worthless.

I am very anti Putin. But facts are facts....I personally don't know the entire facts behind the Georgia - Russia confllict...although Kosovo helped pave the way for that. Back to the Russian citizenship law....it's on the books.

http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/01...94040876142.txt

http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_new...an%20Federation

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/ukraines-ru...-citizens.htm/2

http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23...ion-ukrainians/