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smitty_one_each (243267)
smitty_one_each
(email not shown publicly)
http://www.emacs ... ChristopherSmith
Middle aged would-be F/OSS hacker. Emacs, Python, C++ preferred. Gentoo by choice, Windows in chains.
(email not shown publicly)
http://www.emacs ... ChristopherSmith
Middle aged would-be F/OSS hacker. Emacs, Python, C++ preferred. Gentoo by choice, Windows in chains.
Journal of smitty_one_each (243267)
Here is the offending submission:
Thursday August 21, @04:48AM
http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=835315
The one comment thus far seems to take me to task for not researching the fact that Georgia invaded itself, triggering the Russian intervention.
Two glaring WTFs emerge:
The one comment thus far seems to take me to task for not researching the fact that Georgia invaded itself, triggering the Russian intervention.
Two glaring WTFs emerge:
- If this is really all about preventing genocide, then why are the Russians not interested in having UN peacekeepers come in and stabilize things?
- WTF Abkhazia, and naval actions against Georgia?
Furthermore, WTF does Russia expect to gain by putting nastygrams in my Journal, and mod-bombing me?
Or would the Russians declare this an elaborate head-fake by an enemy designed to make them look stupid?
Hopefully the civilized world continues to pressure Russia, and non-thuggish regimes continue to flourish worldwide, to the point that those Soviet leftovers realize no one fears them.
Possibly the anonymous cowards have flagged me for further attention, and can at least proffer a link of two explaining how Russian aggression seems justified. And their smouldering trousers.
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Breaking my Confucius streak here (Score:1)
The point you're missing is that the agressor in this situation is not Russia, it's Georgia. Taking that to be support of Russia would be incorrect. But truthfully, Georgia started it.
Russia has overreacted, but they are the protector of Slavs and Rus, and that's who lives in the region that Georgia invaded. You're claiming that Georgia invaded Georgia, but that's irrelevant. The nation of Russia does not follow the political boundaries. Russia is a nation. An ethnicity, as much as a country. More, even.
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You're claiming that Georgia invaded Georgia, but that's irrelevant.
Oh, well, as long as you can simply label facts such as borders as irrelevant, then you kinda win all arguments outright.
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If you'd studied as much Eastern European history as I have, you'd not make that statement because the absurdity of it in light of history would be apparent.
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http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/foreign-policy/21953/is-this-the-right-policy-toward-russia/ [themoderatevoice.com]
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Georgia is a sock-puppet state, set up by the Soros-wing of the Neo-Lib conspriacy - using US foreign policy goals as the was to "onboard" elements like the CIA to the project.
Control of gas pipelines is the principal short-term game-piece.
Saakashvilli has a crony in McCain's foreign policyadvisor - and AG Mukasey was a pertner in the same New Youk law firm as Saak...
Russia isn't a 'nice guy' - but they are reacting to the attempt by trillionaire "western" interests in ass-raping them in their own yard. If
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Nobody seems to have many great ideas for treating diplomatic paranoia.
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The control of the oil is definitely a part of it, and it's certainly handy that there are Eastern Slavs in a nice convenient place for Russia to protect.
But you absolutely cannot say that Georgia was attacking part of Georgia. They were attacking Slavs, with affinity towards Russia. Though not all non-Russian Slavs appreciate or even like Russia, the Georgian Slavs do. The Poles, for example, really don't like the Russians. They are Western Slavs, and have always had a psychological desire to be part of th
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In my opinion, the USA is to blame here as well, for fucking around in this region and disregarding how Russia would feel about it. Russia's response cannot be a surprise to anybody who understands what's going on.
Where I think there is room for criticism is the fact that the missile shield was signed rather quickly on the heels of the South Ossetia invasion.
This leads to speculation that the US knew what was going to happen, and threw Georgia under the bus to gain leverage in Poland.
On the one hand, that is the sheer Darwinian nature of these things.
On the other, peoples lives are liquidated in the process.
The conventional wisdom on Slavs seems to echo that on Germans in the 1930s...
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Gaining more influence in Poland doesn't make much sense, because Poland has always been aligned with the West. We don't need to build that affinity, it's already there. In the words of GW Bush, "Don't Forget About Poland." Poland is eager to help even in ridiculous wars, just to demonstrate how much they love the West.
But that's a good point about hearing an echo of the Germans in the 1930's. I don't know how much you know about nationalism. Most Americans can't define the word, and even most of those who
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Gaining more influence in Poland doesn't make much sense, because Poland has always been aligned with the West. We don't need to build that affinity, it's already there. In the words of GW Bush, "Don't Forget About Poland." Poland is eager to help even in ridiculous wars, just to demonstrate how much they love the West.
Your point would carry some weight, if Poland were the sole audience.
But that's a good point about hearing an echo of the Germans in the 1930's. I don't know how much you know about nationalism. Most Americans can't define the word, and even most of those who can don't really understand it. One of the characteristics of conservative nationalism, which is also a characteristic of the entire Eastern European region, is that it looks to the glory of the past. Ask any Czech if they'd like their country to return to the glory of the 14th century, and they'll probably say yes. The problem is that their glory of the 14th century conflicts with the glory of their neighbors at different times.
I'll agree that the US understanding of nationalism lacks the historical understanding present in so many other places.
Part of this is because the lumpen proletariat knows more about Paris Hilton than history.
Part of this is because the US is such a polyglot nation that you can't point to any ethnic tradition applying to more than a minority of people.
Part of this is that, when you scrape back much history, you find that many of the fou
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I don't think you really understand what's going on. Whatever's happening in California and Texas, it's not nationalism. Not even close.
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Sure, you're right that comparing South Ossetia to SoCal is bogus, but, given the proper leaven of loudmouths, that bogosity could be reduced.
Recall that these truths are all socially constructed.
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It's quite a bit more than that, but honestly, it's not an easy thing to explain nationalism. It's an experiential phenomenon, so experience is the best way to communicate it.
I'm not one of those people who ever says that you can't understand something until you live it. You can most certainly learn about nationalism is from reading about it, it's just that the amount of reading you have to do is daunting. Do it though, you'll find it worthwhile.
Ever read "The Painted Bird" by Jerzy Kozinski? Highly recomme
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it's not an easy thing to explain nationalism
Looking at those books on Amazon, you might enjoy this:
http://www.hungarianquarterly.com/no139/p15.html [hungarianquarterly.com]
Thankfully, I can't say I've been through anything at the depth that poet appears to have gone.
Which is not to say that my 'pampered' American existence has been without incident, either.
If you've read Victor Frankl, he sort of achieved a paraphrase of Nietzsche, where to that which did not kill Frankl, he did manage to adapt.
And I know that I would, too.
Thus, I bristle slightly at what I perceive i
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Thus, I bristle slightly at what I perceive is your implication that, because I haven't gone through the Russian or Georgian experience, I'm unqualified to comment.
I actually said the opposite of that. I said that I reject the idea that some people put forward that a person can only know some things by experience. I think it's easier to learn some things by experience, but you can learn anything from a book. Even an understanding of nationalism can be communicated, with some hard study, though the printed w
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How about that poem, though?
Rather an intense bit of work.
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Actually yes, it's a primo example of the kind of literature that comes out of that vast tragic region. Those books I recommended are more of that. "The Painted Bird" has a scene where a guy gets his eyeballs removed from his head, and reduced into jelly under someone's boot. If you like war pornography (and who doesn't, really) then that book is the tentacle rape of war porn. Good stuff.
Incidentally, Jerzy Kozinski committed suicide. I have no idea why he did it, but thinking about it made me realize anoth
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I don't read horror books or watch horror movies.
Why?
Reality has enough "evil that men do" content, without piling any more atop.
Some may find catharsis there, but I find it diminishes my joy in life.
Sad about Kozinski. While I'm generally biased against suicide, abortion, and much of the other crap miscalled 'culture' these days, it is healthy to fall short of judging a particular case, as it's really impossible to know the exact details of how a suicide decisio
Oh...the AC (Score:1)
Nevermind... Don't take him serious. I doubt he's actually "working" as a Russian agent(not too paranoid, are we?). As for the rest of us? You never know [porkepyn.com]... :-)
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While the trolling can be funny, clearly the mod system is being abused on you right now. Those mods are from no friend. Fire off an email to whoever is charge around here, and make sure he's aware of it. That ain't cool. Hopefully they'll get caught in metamod.
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Not that I care a whole lot about the incident: it's about like being cut off in traffic.
However, clowns running amok are not helpful for the community, and, for that reason, I did send some specifics upstream.