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Cars & Coffee Killer
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Putin
Seems this ex-KGB psycho wants to rekindle the Cold War. Too bad the supposed plot in Iran didn't pan out.
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Some Porsches long ago...then a wankle... 5 liters of VVT fury now -Chris "There is freedom in risk, just as there is oppression in security." |
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Sure looks like we're headed that way... but I will say that he is revered in Russia. More than we can say.
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Well he's made clear that the Caspian can't be used to attack Iran. He's also warning the US against any such attack.
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Dog-faced pony soldier
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He's just doing what the Russian people would want - trying to ensure that Russia is not marginalized any worse than it already has been and is viewed as a significant player on the world stage.
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And I am heading to Moscow shortly. Why could'nt he have waited six months to become more difficult? The question is, how far is he going to go?
His term is supposed to end shortly but wonder what trick he is going to use to get around this?
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2021 Subaru Legacy, 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins (the workhorse), 1992 Jaguar XJ S-3 V-12 VDP (one of only 100 examples made), 1969 Jaguar XJ (been in the family since new), 1985 911 Targa backdated to 1973 RS specs with a 3.6 shoehorned in the back, 1959 Austin Healey Sprite (former SCCA H-Prod), 1995 BMW R1100RSL, 1971 & '72 BMW R75/5 "Toaster," Ural Tourist w/sidecar, 1949 Aeronca Sedan / QB |
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Cars & Coffee Killer
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Quote:
I'd guess that he will let someone else get elected, assasinate them on their second day in power, and be right back in the President's chair.
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Some Porsches long ago...then a wankle... 5 liters of VVT fury now -Chris "There is freedom in risk, just as there is oppression in security." |
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Cars & Coffee Killer
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Our boy is at it again:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_opposition Quote:
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Some Porsches long ago...then a wankle... 5 liters of VVT fury now -Chris "There is freedom in risk, just as there is oppression in security." |
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Control Group
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He is a bad actor who will be in power for a long time to come. I would like to go to Russian Georgia someday and see where my grandfather lived as a youth.
Here is a bit of trivia for you Chris. Gulliver(as in, "I have a pain in me gulliver") is a bit of a corruption of the russian word for head. Fair amount of the slang in Clockwork Orange is derived from russian for some reason.
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IIRC, Burgess wanted to paint a UK that was overrun with poor, eastern European immigrants.
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Some Porsches long ago...then a wankle... 5 liters of VVT fury now -Chris "There is freedom in risk, just as there is oppression in security." |
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Fair and Balanced
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Garry Kasparov explains Putin's game
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I certainly don't trust Putin on any level, his KGB past is all I need to know that he's not batting for the good guys. I wonder how much control he has over the Russian Mafia, from what I understand from a relative, that thats who's running the show on the streets, especially in Moscow.
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I'm sure the mafia does have a large hand in Moscow, but corruption and bribery are rampant throughout the country. The big, new money in Russia comes from bribery. And its very evident in Russia's large cities.
Despite what Kasparov says, the Russians DO love their president and he has an extremely high approval rating. Russians are now enjoying a very quickly escalating standard of living. It'll be interesting to see what kind of fate Kasparov meets. ![]()
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Still, Putin nationalized Yukos. Russia's wealth is tied to high oil prices. Notice how Iran starts making noise every time prices start to fall?
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Some Porsches long ago...then a wankle... 5 liters of VVT fury now -Chris "There is freedom in risk, just as there is oppression in security." |
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[QUOTE=motion;3574691]
Despite what Kasparov says, the Russians DO love their president and he has an extremely high approval rating. Russians are now enjoying a very quickly escalating standard of living. /QUOTE] Why wouldn't you like the guy? He's doing absolutely everything right in a very, very tough environment. Democracy is fine and all, but when the existing institutions themselves don't support a "pure" democracy - then it is better to have a so-called "guided" democracy where the executive tries to keep the train on the rails. He's a thug of course - but he's a smart thug with a sense for nuance. He understands both the carrot and the stick. Unlike the shrub.
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Several years ago I read a lengthy article in the Economist about how the infrastructure in Russia was deplorable. IIRC they had spent so much money in the 'arms race' that basic needs/repairs (ie: streets, water systems, sewer systems, electricity supplies, etc.) in many locals were literally ...crumbling.
Anyone here travel there much? Are those issues being addressed, since the break-up of the USSR?
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canna change law physics
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One of the guys reporting to me spent 2 years in Russia. We were talking about this stuff yesterday on the phone and he stated that as long as they have Vodka to drink, girl to f*** and food to eat, they are happy. They know the rulers rule, and as long as theyhave those three things, they are happy.
At that point I had an epiphany: This is the way thing have been forever. The peseants toil, and are rewarded with life, food and drink. Up until recently, they wouldn't even be called upon to fight, since that was the job of the rulers and the armies. Socialism, the state taking care of you, is just a different name for serfdom.
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The infrastructure is a mess. Everything is shoddy Soviet-era block construction and crumbling. The new money is starting to make an appearance in Moscow, St Pete, Kazan, etc, but its going to be quite a while before the rest of the country sees improvement.
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