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The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming


monsoon

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Actually it doesn't say anything about self-governance or democracy. The short piece of the document that deals with this issue is rather generic and says that government should have the consent of the people and should not abuse the people. Theoretically any form of government could meet this standard.
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whatever happened to the wonderful idea of isolationism? i'd much rather speak softly and carry a big stick. back then we were respected. we need another teddy. i miss the days when the u.s. had a self sufficient and world leading since of pride. now we just live behind fear and have completely taken for granted the awesome resources that we have (and i'm not just talking about energy). will this be another cold war? probably. we won last time because we out spent the soviet union. this time the russians hold the giant oil card. the u.s. needs to do what it used to be so great at, being innovative and proud. not fearful and saber rattling.

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Here's the relevant text of the Declaration:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

It is implicit in this line that the People will "alter or abolish" government by democratic process (by logical necessity... democracy is government by the people). While it leaves open the possibility of establishing nearly any form of government later on, the prevalent thought throughout the document is that the People are obligated to overthrow the Government as soon as it fails to uphold the basic human rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness) spelled out in the first line.......

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Here is a rational article that I happen to agree with completely, even its criticisms.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jh...8/21/do2104.xml

A resurgent Russia will be just one of the challenges facing the next president. But while some of those challenges are a knock-on effect of the catastrophic errors of Bush's first term, some are beyond Washington's control.

America's detractors often imply that because everything lies within its power, anything that goes wrong is therefore its fault. Very often, neither is true. Bush's belief in the former was at the heart of his first-term folly, but as history beckons, it may relieve him of some of the blame.

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^ I don't necessarily disagree, though it's pretty obvious that Bush/the US provided a nice "cover" for Putin to take such actions. Via justification by virtue of related behavior. But that's really the kicker here - out of his control or not, Bush has provided excuses for tyrranical behavior in others. It may not be his fault that info on Iraqi nukes was wrong, but as you allude to above, history will judge him, and will likely relieve him of nothing.

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Geography matters! This is old-skool geopol. The power brokers of Russia want control of the pipelines. The power brokers of the US want a friendlier regime to control the pipelines. My hope is that the situation smolders rather than ignites. We really don't want Country Club George bumbling another delicate situation. If we can make it to January without a major incident, we can be more hopeful.

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Geography matters! This is old-skool geopol. The power brokers of Russia want control of the pipelines. The power brokers of the US want a friendlier regime to control the pipelines. My hope is that the situation smolders rather than ignites. We really don't want Country Club George bumbling another delicate situation. If we can make it to January without a major incident, we can be more hopeful.
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The Soviet Union /= The Russian Federation. It's is a naive notion that somehow the Russians are spoiling for another cold war. The fact that Putin was the head of the KGB is irrelevant just as is the fact that G.H. Bush, who came to power after the cold war, was the head of the CIA. I wish people would learn some real facts on this issue.

As far as being "knocked down a notch" the Russians don't need to do anything as Bush has done a much better job of that. The United States is now $10 Trillion in debt (and more being run up every day), has gotten itself involved in not one but two never ending military occupations, has let corporate interest move millions of jobs, technology, and processes overseas to enrich a few and is now the land where 1 out of 4 prisoners on the earth are locked up in American prisons. The Russians don't fear us, they feel sorry for us.

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The Soviet Union /= The Russian Federation. It's is a naive notion that somehow the Russians are spoiling for another cold war. The fact that Putin was the head of the KGB is irrelevant just as is the fact that G.H. Bush, who came to power after the cold war, was the head of the CIA. I wish people would learn some real facts on this issue.

As far as being "knocked down a notch" the Russians don't need to do anything as Bush has done a much better job of that. The United States is now $10 Trillion in debt (and more being run up every day), has gotten itself involved in not one but two never ending military occupations, has let corporate interest move millions of jobs, technology, and processes overseas to enrich a few and is now the land where 1 out of 4 prisoners on the earth are locked up in American prisons. The Russians don't fear us, they feel sorry for us.

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It would be my guess the ex-KGB agents, more than anyone else, would not want to be engaged in those kinds of activities again. Furthermore it's been my experience that Russians do not believe it was the United States bankrupting the Soviet Union that ended the cold war. So there is no embarrassment to contend with.
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No. The Soviet Union since the days of Stalin was a constitutional dictatorship that was very oppressive to the everyday citizen. The people were fighting to throw off this oppression it was as simple as that. In fact, the resulting market economy that resulted was also very unfair to many Russians and this is why Putin has been able to reign in some freedoms and still retain a 70%-80% approval rating.
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It was you, who in this topic, first said that "Russia has a grudge against us". When asked about this you then said it was Putin, then the ex-KGB agents, then the people in Moscow who were with Yeltson. Now you say not everyone in the country has the same opinion. You are not making any sense. I would suggest that you go and do some 'research' before you make global statements on what the Russian motives are in Georgia and towards the USA.
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