meatcleaver
Posts: 9030
Joined: 3/13/2006 Status: offline
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SilverMark. The Russian economy is minute compared to the EU's, something akin to the size of London's economy, never mind the USA's. It has a population of 150 million compared to the EU's 500 million. Most European analysts are of the mind the Russian intervention in Georgia, which is agreed here, that Georgia provoked by attacking unarmed Russian civilians, was more about the weakness of Russian in response to the US plans to place missiles on the Russian border. NATO didn't want the missiles so the US is unilaterally going ahead with placing them, bribing both the Polish and Czech governments who are going against their own people's wishs according to the polls (70% against in both countries). This has caused a lot of arguments and had the effect of destabilizing Europe somewhat. Most Europeans and between the lines, most governments (not Britain) think that the US is the problem and not Russia which is why the vast mojority of Europeans wanted Obama to win rather than a Bush warmongering clone. Whether Obama knows what is happening in Europe or whether once he is in power he won't care or he is forced to carry on with the placing of missiles by the US military-industrial complex, we will have to wait and see. If Obama just becomes just another President that is trying to divide and rule Europe for purely US aggressive purposes, he won't be popular for long here. I'll be teaching some Russians along with some Germans later this afternoon, such mixing is not unusual now so the idea of Russia being the old USSR doesn't wash here and US scare mongering and paranoia, just alienates people. Hopefully Obama will take a rational approach to the west's relationship with Russia rather than the usual reflex paranoia that we have come to expect from the US in the last eight years.
< Message edited by meatcleaver -- 11/6/2008 4:16:16 AM >
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There are fascists who consider themselves humanitarians, like cannibals on a health kick, eating only vegetarians.
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