Russia-Georgia-Ottesia News Explanations PLEASE?

Agreed. It is somewhat tiring but it really deserves anther thread if one wishes to continue.
However I still believe the graphic is incorrect or rather there needs to be several further definitions:
"corrected to 1954 dollars" in what way? what formula?
"defense spending" what does it include? not include?

 

You know squirl-speak.

I know squirl-speak, too. And it's been a lot of work picking up English over the past few years. Some of you may have noticed that mai speling hasnt ben 2 good.

 

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/andrew..._russian_foreign_minister?com_num=20&com_pg=1

WTG comrade Lavrov!

 

lucky he wasnt interviewed by CAPS LOCK REPORTER

no dodging questions with that guy

 

psssst, you're making it too easy




@gandhi: LOLZ

 

I am a secular humanist, a term that you can also look up on Wikipedia

 

And just think, Rice is MUCH more informed about things Russian/former-Soviet than anyone Obama would select (except for a bunch of American 1930s-era pseudo-Communists, who are planning to move from Chicago to Washington as we speak).

Perhaps he'd choose the Clinton "general(s)" who brought about Kosovar independence to help him, lol.

Damn, this world is complicated.

 

Yup, this world sure is.

I guess all those 1930s era Commies will be traveling by Federal Express as most of them are dead.

Funny thing about Condie learning all about Russia down there in Alabama or Georgia where she got her degrees.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqyxXX3Ra4A

 

Don't worry, there are going to be a lot of those people joining-in on the fun come the end of 2012......

 

yes, squirl, thats the non-normalised graphic that you were hiding, trying cheat us.

it shows that the US keeps arming itself at the cold war rate, although they were supposed to make peace with the world after 1989?...


As for your quotes from 1786 - I can only advise you to read an academic classic: Edward Said's "Orientalisme". You will see western misrepresentation of the muslim people has very old and deep roots.
I can dig up many quotes by 18/19cent. ministers (or poets) about 'the duty of the civilised world toward the orientals'. Read: colonial subjugation.
Doesnt it remind you of modern american duty to bring democracy to all those misfortunate around the world?

 

11 pages of posts and I still keep wondering...

...why is that, that the ones who were first to congratulate Kosovan independence are the ones who do not wish to even think of granting same rights to Southern Osetia?
The origin of the conflict was exactly the same in both cases. Just place "Southern Osetia" instead of "Kosovo", "Georgia" instead of "Serbia" and "Russia" instead of "USA".
Georgian authorities violated the rights of Abhazian and Osetian people and did start ethnic cleansing of their territory under the name of counter terrorist measures. Furthermore, as opposed to Serbia, which had the full right to commence military actions in Kosovo, Georgian troops were barred from Osetian and Abhasian territory by the 1991 peace treaties. What Russians did was far more humane than bombing Serbia back to stone age by the US Airforce and waiting 4 years to enter Kosovo, thus causing Serbian economy to collapse, and the Serbs to suffer. By invading rapidly and decisevly Russians did not only stop Georgian troops from slaughtering Osetians, but also spared thousands of lives on both sides of conflict.
Following the logic of the Kosovan supporters Russians should be crowned champions of the people and liberators... so why do they support Georgia now?
Why does the Polish TV name the Osetian militia "terrorists" and "self-proclaimed masters" when it used "freedom fighters" for the Kosovan, mob-sponsored KLA?
It's a case of "Kali's ethics" (after a fictional character named "Kali" from H.Sienkiewicz's novel about Africa)
Kali himself did put it straight:
"If Kali steals a cow - that's good;
If a cow is stolen from Kali - that's bad"

 

salute!

and vice-versa

 

wow, i knew the croatians were freely buying weapons, but they also got trained!?

wasnt there an embargo over the yugoslav countries!? LOL

per the american involvement in Georgia, Putin is playing some game in this interview with CNN from near the Georgian border. He hints it might be a pre-US-election game.

"I repeat: I will ask our military to provide additional information to confirm the presence of U.S. citizens in the conflict zone during the hostilities."


Matthew Chance: To conclude... Vladimir Putin: We could go on. I am in no hurry.

 

Unlike ronin, I can say this will be my last post on the topic.

Supporting a military is a national endeavor. During WW2, for instance, there was rationing (fuel, metals, etc.) that many citizens proudly undertook on a voluntary basis. Sometimes efforts went even further, like at the Hanford Engineer Works (part of the Manhattan Project). The site's 51,000 employees gave up a day's pay to fund a B-17 for the Army Air Force. So that got me to thinking: how have the statistical "days of pay" changed over the years? I found this great document which got me started. If you have any questions about sources or my method, see the attachment.

1954: >34 days (see source data)
2006: 15 days (using above pdf)

Clearly, grobar, defense spending in the US is not as high of a priority any more. You can claim that raw dollar amounts are the definitive measure, but that is ignoring the profound growth of the US population and economy. For a self-professing mathematician, your statistical analysis is woefully incomplete.

When a city grows, it is responsible for more people and property, so it hires more police officers. Conversely, a larger population/economy can support more funding for police. Countries are not much different in that regard.

I am not advocating more money for defense, nor am I saying that the US military is underfunded. I will say that the military's presence in the budget, and in the pocketbooks of Americans, has steadily decreased over the years.

 

Um, yes, it's true. I shall endeavor to not be so literal in the future, nor sarcastic Well, was thinking about the Alinsky, Ayers types thereabouts involved in Community Organizing in notoriously corrupt Chicago. Seriously, I was reminded of the 1860's Russian nihilists. Ayers could likely tell you about Sergei Ne4aev, and lots of other idealists who preceded other big chaps who studied his works, such as Messrs. Lenin et Stalin.

What is to be done? Indeed.

I don't get that one. Does South = bad, or worse-than-California?

BTW, next time I get out there, we need to get a beer together

 

(Edit: To be clear, Chernyshevskii wrote What Is to Be Done, sorry. Everyone should read it!)

 

i can only congratulate you for that.

the flat investment of 0.7 trillion $ annually since the 1950s has generated a growing economic return.

still it is 0.7 trillion spent to control my country (including). we cannot match that,
fortunately there is Iran, Russia and other defendants of independent economy&politics that manage to counter you by cheaper investment plans.

 

rotflmaomglooolfcopter

 

Grobar seems to be travelling through the absurd border without any notice.
Independent economy?
There's a Country in Asia that has already tried to be self sufficient... now it has to recieve humanitarian aid from it's southern neighbour... the neighbour the leaders of this country hate most, cause it's populated by the same nation.
Just compare the "flourishing" economy of North Korea with the "pathethic" one of the South Korea to get an insight into "independent economies".
Once there was a Sorbona educated guy, who thought that a small nation can be self-sufficient. That guy wanted to change his home country and it's society, abolish cities and towns and create heaven on earth for the people.
As in many cases before, paradise went to hell... and we now know that guy, once a decent PHD, as Pol Pot, one of the greatest slaughterers in history.
Was Cambodia a case of "independent economy" for you grobar?