Russians and Serbs are among the top French Open performers
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Pat Buchanan’s commentary with a chronology of policy decisions affecting US-Russia relations.
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The Czech population is very much divided on the idea of installing a missile defense system on its territory.
China has formally stated opposition to the planned installation of that deployment.
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Excerpt:
«’Everybody wants good relations with the Russians,’ Blair said, ahead of an important G8 summit in Germany which kicks off Wednesday, whose focus on climate change and African development threaten to be overshadowed by the row, AFP reported.»
On the Tuesday (June 5) early evening’s aired BBC newscast to America (New York time), a featured Russian analyst didn’t address a rather arrogant remark from the BBC presenter about how Russia benefits from good ties with «Europe» (Europe is put in quotations to highlight that Russia is a European country). The Russian analyst suggested that worsened Russia-West relations hinder the development of democracy in Russia. Are there not numerous instances of countries having good relations with the US, when democracy issues have been downplayed?
For example, some would cite Western relations with Russia for a good portion of the last decade. Another such instance would be when then Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic signed on to the Clinton administration desired Dayton Accords in 1995. Suddenly, the overall Western rhetoric level against him dropped, as formal relations between Belgrade and the West briefly improved (on this point, reference then New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis and US State Department official Richard Holbrooke, among others). During this period, Milosevic didn’t become more democratically inclined. A few years later, the Milosevic the monster image was recast upon his defense of Serb interests in Kosovo. A far less violent defense than what Turkey employed against Kurdish terrorists. An action that sparked little protest against that NATO member country which is frequently characterized as a Muslim democracy, while Russia is frequently portrayed as something less of a democracy.
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EU and NATO officials give a cautious response to a US State Department official’s claim that an international peacekeeping force inclusive of Russian participation might replace the exclusive Russian force in the disputed Trans-Dniester (Pridnestrovie) region of the
former Moldavian SSR.
The AP dispatch quotes a Moldovan government that the Russian force favors Trans-Dniester? How so?
Russia has ruled in favor of Moldova in a land dispute between the two parties.
Russian aid to Trans-Dniester has been halted for several months. Russian diplomacy on the disputed territory has been known to override meeting with Trans-Dniester authorities. Opting instead to discuss Trans-Dniester issues exclusively with the Moldovan government.
Of recent note, there has been an
ignited interest in that region. Next week, the Moldovan president is scheduled to be in Moscow.
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Excerpt:
«Marina Smirnova, the wife Igor Smirnov’s younger son Oleg Smirnov, is the daughter-in-law of Pridnestrovie’s president. She is a candidate in a by-election to the Supreme Council, Pridnestrovie’s parliament, where a vacant seat is currently being contested in Slobozya among five candidates.»
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Excerpt:
«The MiG-29M OVT (Fulcrum F), a highly maneuverable air superiority fighter, was unveiled for the first time in August 2005 during the MAKS Air Show outside Moscow.
The single-seat fighter, which is also marketed for export as the MiG-35, is powered by RD-33 OVT thrust vectoring control engines. The RD-33 OVT engines provide superior maneuverability capability to the aircraft, enhancing its performance in close air-to-air engagements.»
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«Berl Lazar told the President about plans to create a Russian-Jewish museum. The Chief Rabbi explained that the museum will be designed to educate the younger generation in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect.
Vladimir Putin supported the idea of establishing such a museum. The President remarked that many people will want to support a project designed to ensure that all faiths live in peace and harmony — a genuine strength of a multinational and multi-religious country such as Russia.»
The above referenced hyper-link, has links to topics related to Jewish issues in Russia.
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Ukrainian Mass Jewish Grave Found — June 5, BBC dispatch
Opening byline:
«A mass grave believed to contain the bodies of several thousand Jews killed by the Nazis has been found in Ukraine.»
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There’re many interesting blogs dealing with the former USSR and former Yugoslavia. The following four active ones were recently forwarded to my attention:
Among other topics, the above hyper-linked blog covers former USSR and former Yugoslavia issues.
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This blog offers a different view from the one posed by the relatively well known (in former USSR English language blog circles)
Transitions On Line affiliated
Steady State.
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Described as a «Blog Ark of the Diaspora from the former New York Times Eastern Europe and Russia Forum.»
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Interesting insight on WW II and other somewhat related matters.
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The way it should be.
Despite some omissions, the above feature article is a nice compilation of Russian/former USSR things to do in the Big Apple.
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Excerpt:
«’Being in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in my life is a big deal for me,’ said Andreyev, who will next look to end sixth seed Novak Djokovic’s run.»
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Belated congratulations to Team Canada on its IIHF Men’s world championship victory in Moscow.
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«The Suvorov piece was absolutely fantastic. Thanks for this. I hope many people read this!»
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«NICE ARTICLE!!!!!!
Interesting too the comparison between standards of war then and now!
War is ALWAYS BRUTAL! But I think today, we LIE MORE about it!
There is something ’sick’ about the way the U.S. conducts itself in war!
Every horror is committed, but is either subjected to incredible ’spin’ by the spin masters as a white wash — or there is finally the ’OH, SORRY’ response when even the spin won’t work! Worse we destroy people while continuing to tell them that we are their ’friends’! If I were an Iraqi today, I would want to ’blow up’ at this hypocrisy. Which is maybe why they are in fact finding so many suicide bombers ready to do just that!»
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’But his drolleries served sometimes to hide, more often to express, a soldierly genius, the effect of which the Russian army did not soon outgrow. If the tactics of the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 — 1905 reflected too literally some of the maxims of Suvorov’s Turkish wars, the spirit of self-sacrifice, resolution and indifference to losses there shown formed a precious legacy from those wars’.»
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I don’t quite get Wikipedia’s stated claim. The Russo-Japanese War was fought for good measure at sea. Suvorov was an army tactician. The Japanese surprise attack on Port Arthur was an early day version of Pearl Harbor in 1941. On the battlefield, Suvorov was never a victim of surprise. On the contrary, he stressed preparedness and his battle plan manner was often a surprise to his foes. Along with the element of a surprise attack, the Japanese were in a geographically better position to fight the Russians in that part of Asia. In the not too distant past, the US lost a war in Asia to a foe that wasn’t a great power. Note that the Japanese were seeking a peace accord with the Russians. This was because of Japan’s own feeling of vulnerability in continuing the ’04-’05 war.
This past Sunday,
CSPAN ran an interview
Lewis Lapham of Harper’s Magazine. On how some aspects of war are interpreted, Lapham made similar observations to what was stated in The TT article on Suvorov. The related points being in reference to the WW II bombings of Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the actions of American Civil War General William Sherman.
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