My god. You seriously think it would be more democratic to let in Russian citizens before a Ukrainian vote? You just buy whatever is fed to you, don’t you? As long as it’s dissing the West, other than that you are the height of critical thinking. :rolleyes:
Perhaps you favor some ideal of democrat leader that did not exist and cannot easily exist in Russia at the end of centuries of authoritarian rule in 1991. To be fair you’d have to acknowledge that it was Kleptocrats that hijacked Russia’s move towards democracy under Yeltsin.
Here’s a great read summarizing the moves to democracy in Russia written in July 2013 just before Putin changed his mind about ridding the civil war in Syria of the CW arsenal.
**Why Putin Is Still so Popular in Russia ** Russians seem to prefer a strong, authoritarian state to the weak government and economic chaos they experienced under Yeltsin. Christopher Read - Jul 23 2013, 10:20 AM ET
This article was originally published at The Conversation.
Key Quotes:
Disliking Putin for not quickly eliminating the ingrained imperfections of Russian democracy is one thing, but to say Putin hijacked the move to democracy in Russia is a stretch.
{"There are many freedoms in Russia despite the obvious imperfections of its democracy. One of the most important features which is still lacking as a key to escaping this historic cycle is a genuine rule of law. - Christopher Read - Jul 23 2013, 10:20 AM }
"
This is an awareness of Russian reality that is rarely seen in Western politics and journalism:
{“However, his authoritarianism has been aimed in the direction of constructing a viable state, not only from the Soviet rubble but from the dissolution of central authority and economic meltdown promoted by Yeltsin. The dangers of over-centralizing are obvious, and the process is far from over. The situation needs to be watched carefully, but the full complexity with which Putin is dealing needs to be taken into account” - Christopher Read - Jul 23 2013, 10:20 AM }
Fuckin’ ridiculous. If they don’t have Ukranian citenzenship, they can’t vote. If they do, they sure as hell can – whether you (and all your cohorts) like their vote or not.
Would you agree on a travel ban on all Arabs after 9/11? :rolleyes:
How hard is that to figure out? Seriously, doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to figure it out. Your post is so far out of context it might as well be speaking about rugby.
It’s the ban on Russians that’s xenophobic and absurd.
Gee. All those poor Russians that were planning on"vacationing" in the Ukraine will have to wait a month. Regardless, a ban on Russian visitors has little to do with “Democracy being alive and well”. If ethnic Russian voters are turned away at voting booths then you can start your wailing and rending of clothes.
and as mentioned above, it’s nothing like 9/11. In case you forgot, Russia actually annexed a part of their goddamn country. Oh but hey, we got to have open borders, so we don’t appear xenophobic to RedFury.
Dude, where did you get the info that there was going to be a massive influx of Russian vacationers for the referendum? And if they are not Ukranian, so what?
Maybe it is xenophobic and absurd but it is also standard practice in times when those with intent to incite violence or terrorism are expected to come in from a particular country.
Putin’s dream is not of recreating the Soviet Empire than of recreating Imperial Russia with him as functional Tsar. It really is not dissimilar to the Islamist dream of recreating the Caliphate. It is also just as realistic, as likely to cause lasting harm to the world, and as fueled by those who are actually poorly equipped to thrive in the emerging new world inhaling too much petro-vapor.
I think all the strangely uniformed men and trucks with Russian license plates just before the Crimean referendum is all the cite anyone needs, if they aren’t naive to the point of idiocy.
You did make the point that the restrictions are for Russian nationals coming in from Russia, right?
Were Japanese internment camps the same as having travel restrictions on people from Japan coming into the United States during WW2? These restrictions are somewhat similar to the latter and not at all to the former.
Keep plucking that chicken after Iraq & Afghanistan (and weren’t we all impressed by the US’s easy dominace of each) vs the world’s arguably mightiest Nuclear Power. That’ll go well…right into WW-III
Wait, so you blame the U.S. for Russia performing a land grab and risking a nuclear WWIII?
Or is your position that the Russian military force would have a chance in hell against the U.S. and its allies in a war outside of Russia’s borders?
If the point of your rah-rah Russia post was either of these, please explain how that position might be arrived at through logic. I’m not interested in bizarre fantasies, so if you don’t have some sort of reliable reference to back it up, don’t bother replying.
Not quite like yours. You sound more and more like a xenophobe that thinks every Russian is out to destroy Ukraine.
It is. Nationalist/Nazis backed by The West talking about a “united” Ukraine. There isn’t “one,” far from it – guess you fail to see the humor in that. Tragic as is.
Borders? What borders? And what the fuck is the illegitimate Gov in Kiev going to do about it?
Meanwhile, Obama can boast his throat off. He isn’t going to do shit about it. Too fucking scared – as we should all be.
@scabpicker: Keeping it short. I blame The West led by the US into trying to circle Russia into oblivion what with Nato expansion and endangering Russia’s only outlet to the Mediterranean via their Black Fleet.
They haven’t and they won’t. Called ‘miscalculation.’ Or “fucked-up” in short.
I don’t know of any attempt to deprive Russia of access to their Mediterranean ports by the U.S., Ukraine or anyone.
And again, if Russia’s upset because their neighbors are interested in joining NATO, they should probably ask themselves why it looks so appealing to their neighbors.