The passports. Sorry for slow reply.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew
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The passports. Sorry for slow reply.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew
Do you think it was OK when Saddam went after the Kurdish separatists or when the Chinese go after the Tibetan separatists, or does your approval of separatists depend on who they are against?Quote:
Originally Posted by gloomyDAY
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...eir-homes.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by PolePosition_1
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/28676Quote:
At a compulsory interview a new Russian appointed chief of police gives people a stark and simple choice: take a Russian passport, or leave the town.
Passports are a vital plank in Russia's strategy of securing a toehold in democratic Georgia. By issuing citizenship to South Ossetians, Russia gained a pretext to invade in early August, claiming to be defending its own from Georgian attacks.
http://www.channel4.com/news/article...nflict/2394567Quote:
I am sorry to say that, Moscow and the entire West because now Russia is basically protecting its clients and its own citizens. Up to 80 per cent of South Ossetian population have Russian passports
Believe what you want, but Russia has been clever. Give Russian passports to local people and you can claim that you're protecting your citizens whilst invading and extending your sphere of influence. Very clever :)Quote:
South Ossetia in Georgia shares a border with North Ossetia in Russia, as the two halves were divided following the Russian Revolution. However, recently many South Ossetians took up the offer to hold Russian passports.
Of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eki
Saddam, as I stated earlier, is an evil dictator who made Kurdish people's lives very miserable. China decided to take over Tibet on a whim and subjugate everyone is sight. Both of these instances are ripe for revolt.
Now let's take Quebec as an example. Should they gain independence from the Canadian government? No! There isn't a single person being oppressed and no one can claim that the Canadian government is aiming to take away any of the Quebecan's rights.
If the people of Quebec want to be independent, but they aren't allowed to, isn't that itself oppression? Was that right when Finland declared itself independent in 1917, when they were an autonomous part of Russia, and weren't particularily oppressed by the Russians?Quote:
Originally Posted by gloomyDAY
I think one has to draw the line somewhere. More important, surely, is whether the likes of Quebec, Scotland, Corsica, etc are actually being disadvantaged by being part of the countries to whom they belong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eki
But where should that line be drawn? And how do you define advantage and disadvantage? It's been said that China tries to modernize Tibet by building new infrastructure, but the Tibetans want to preseve their own culture and old customs. Is modernizing an advantage or a disdvantage, is preserving your culture and customs an advantage or a disadvantage?Quote:
Originally Posted by BDunnell
Some in the more prosperous Northern Italy want Northern Italy to become independent from the less prosperous south. Economically it could be an advantage to them, but should they be allowed?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_League_(Italy)
Quote:
After its success in the 1996 general election (10.1%, 59 deputies and 27 senators), the party announced that its aim was the secession of Northern Italy under the name Padania, an expression previously referring to the Po River valley, but to which Lega Nord gave a geographically broader usage that has steadily gained currency, at least among its followers. The party even organized a referendum on independence as well as elections for a "Padanian Parliament" (with no international recognition).
In later years the League have deemphasised demands for independence and focused rather on devolution, while remaining within the framework of Italy, as in its original goal: not to secede from Italy but to transform it into a federal state.
All hail our new Russian overlords!
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/87/...01_TopolM.html
http://www.dailytech.com/Russia+Test...ticle12818.htm
I wonder what the history books will list as the official start date of the 2nd cold war? lets just hope it stays a cold war :)
Gordon Brown is calling for measures to reduce Europe's dependancy on Russia for oil and gas. Good stuff. And in other news a guy who ran an anti-kremlin site was accidently shot by police.
Dear GloomyDAY, I think it's time for you to understand that no country in the world should be allowed to play the " universal gendarme " role and to decide for others. Democratic or tyranic, any country's sovereignity must be respected.Quote:
Originally Posted by gloomyDAY
Why not? Is America alone on earth? If you have to share the globe with other countries shouldn't you have relationships based on respect with them?Quote:
Originally Posted by gloomyDAY
But that's the main differnce between America and Europe. Americans must always be " productive ". We, europeans, (still ) have a bit of morals. :laugh:
Were we in the position to wait? :laugh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ioan
I don't think anything, I just remember we were waiting much enough. It was always a national tragedy when we were rejected. We were admitted only after we were degrading servile to their interests.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ioan