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A marriage proposal that may become a demand

JANE ARMSTRONG

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 8:38 PM EST 29/12/07

Globe correspondents examine international issues set to make news in 2008 ...Read the full article

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  1. robert quinn from Japan writes: Belarus' national motto used to be: "A glass of vodka and a piece of lard is the standard of stability." Now were the average North Korean apprised of this, his reply might be, "vodka AND lard? Luxury." The rest of us can only marvel that there still exist people who advocate planned economies.
  2. Paul Thompson from Canada writes: Corporations plan, do they not? In that sense, all economies are planned, whether it's a state-run bureaucracy or the corporate-government interface. Neither are totally trustworthy, to say the least. I can see the glass of vodka, but a piece of lard? Uggh...
  3. CD W from Canada writes: hmmmm Lard!!!!! Homer Simpson to Russia!
  4. Randal Oulton from Canada writes: >> Paul Thompson from Canada writes: Corporations plan, do they not?

    And the more they plan, the less they seem to achieve :}
  5. WD of E-L from Canada writes: I would have expected a little more accurate and judicious use of terminology from the Globe and Mail. To say that "Ukraine and Georgia, rejected pro-Russian leaders and installed Western-backed presidents in the so-called coloured revolutions" is unfortunate and worse, misleading. Large sums of money were spent on the presidential elections in Ukraine, mostly by Ukrainians, but also by Western and Russian sources. There were critical differences. however: the Kremlin dumped over $300 million into the campaign, all directed to their crony Yanukovich; the West (US, Canada and Europe) spent a little less than $65 million over a longer term (since about 2000) on ALL forms of civil society building projects, including funds to Yanukovich's Party of Regions (truly Kremlin-backed), the Communist Party of Ukraine (pro-Russian, but not necessarily Kremlin-backed), as well as other pro-Russian and pro-Western parties and groups (including the scout movement, among others). Remember too that Putin flew to Kyiv to very-publicly anoint Yanukovich as his choice, appearing with him at a hastily arranged Sovietesque military parade. All this is meant to point out that Yanukovich was not merely "pro-Russian." Furthermore, what exactly is meant by the use of the ambiguous term "installed?" Installed like Lukashenko and Putin (and soon Medvedev)? Would she use this term to describe the election of any other president in Europe or the west? I strongly contend that, it would be more correct to switch the terms used by Ms. Armstrong and report instead, that, at least in terms of Ukraine (I can't speak with as much authority about Georgia) that it "rejected Kremlin-backed leaders and elected a pro-western president." Ms. Armstrong and the Globe and Mail are sending some odd little messages with their sloppy use of very loaded words.
  6. David R from Canada writes: Belarus, well it was nice we'll it lasted. Enjoy becoming part of Russia again with little to no say what will happen and no hope what so ever of ever leaving again.
  7. dallas mcquarrie from Regina, Canada writes: Much ado about nothing. All economies are planned - it's just a question of who does the planning and how well.
  8. Kathleen Degelder from Tacoma USA, Canada writes: The news article on Bhutto and Pakistan is closed for comment. Why?
  9. Kathleen Degelder from Tacoma USA, Canada writes: WD of E-L: I agree with you. Her writing is more like an opinion piece instead of facts.
  10. Boyd of the North from North of 60o, Canada writes: "A glass of vodka and a piece of lard is the standard of stability," he said. These low expectations haven't fuelled calls for change. Most believe “we have peace and stability.&8221;

    So much for "Peace, Land and Bread"... Can I blame mass telecommunications for the death of catchy phrases?
  11. Robert Tomas from St. George's, Grenada, Canada writes: What remained unmentioned in the article is the fact, that Belarus has an escape hatch: Poland. The country was for many centuries a polish territory, a large proportion of the population (about a third) trace their roots there and joining Poland would mean joining EU. Of course Lukashenko won't do it, but watch his rivals come out of the woodwork.....
  12. John Thatcher from Canada writes: Various news reports and opinion columns are closed to comments by readers/posters of the Globe and Mail because many of them post comments that are clearly and severely slanderous, libellous, defamation of character, incitements to hatred, and several other very serious criminal and civil offences. Whether the G&M agrees with those views or not, the corporation is still legally culpable and liable for permitting them to be publicly placed on a website. I suggest anyone who is curious about why the G&M closes comment on stories spend some time examining posted comments on the sites of other large news media corporations, such as BBC News, Reuters, and so on. Anyone who takes the time to do the research will immediately see the enormous difference in common courtesy, common sense, rationality and maturity, between the people who post comments on those boards, and the people who post comments on the Globe and Mail boards. There is a very great difference. The Globe and Mail seems to be forced to act as the social worker staff at a group home for juvenile delinquents. Other news outlets have adults who are good citizens as readers and posters. The difference is starkly obvious, since any educated 18-year-old would know and understand why G&M closes comments on some stories without needing to be told. Apparently only some G&M readers and posters need to told something that blindingly obvious.
  13. robert quinn from Japan writes: John, you're a whiny, logorrheic girl.
  14. Joe Schmoe from Toronto, Canada writes: Belarus is not a nation and probably never will be. It has no modern national identity of its own. There has never been a Belarussian state until the breakup of the Soviet Union. Even then, old Communist guard stayed in power and tightened its grip.

    Urban population mostly speaks Russian. The territory has been contested through the ages by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rzech Pospolita (modern-day Poland), Russia and later Germany and the Soviet Union.

    It's a borderland. There are no natural resources to speak of. There is no national idea to rally around.

    It pains me to admit it, but Russia will probably swallow Belarus sooner or later, when that clown Lukashenko is removed or dies (or both.) Geopolitical consequences will be profound. Baltic states will be lucky to survive. Ukraine will be squeezed even worse than it is now.

    Re: Vodka and Lard: Whoever provided the soundbite skipped three other major ingredients: Dark rye bread, rough salt and chopped onion. Taken together, it all makes beautiful sense.
  15. Sceptical Observer from Canada writes: Paul Thompson from Canada writes: Corporations plan, do they not? In that sense, all economies are planned, whether it's a state-run bureaucracy or the corporate-government interface.
    >>>Would you like to experience a state-run economy standard of living as in Belarus? Somehow the corporate-government interface is more human. But the state-run economy slogans are better as long as you read them living in Canada.
  16. Blair Langmuir from Reality, Canada writes: robert quinn from Japan was desperate to validate John Thatcher's comments, well done.

    If only these children hiding in their parent's basements could just go post at the sun or some other appropriate website. Leave the G&M for adults please.
  17. John Thatcher from Canada writes: Mr. Langmuir: - I couldn't have said it better. I think these folk are best left ignored. That's likely the most promising strategy towards encouraging them to go away. Thanks for your support in any case. The children have plenty of nasty names for others, while adults have facts, that don't require personal attacks to make them right, rather than wrong.
  18. robert quinn from Japan writes: John, Blair. Wit of the first water, sirs. It's true I live in a dank, depressing grotto, but Matron won't release me. How I long to join you on your Olympian navigations. Fly free, my brothers. Let loose your stellar intellects.

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