Talking about the Georgian Conflict
international |
anti-war / imperialism |
other press 
Wednesday August 20, 2008 18:27
by Y
Here is some good background from activists and writers on the left about the current situation in Georgia.
Mark Almond is especially interesting as he is very knowledgeable on Georgian democracy.
These speeches are from an SWP meeting held in Central London recently under the banner of the Stop the War Coalition.
Mark Almond is a writer and lecturer on history who teaches at Oriel College Oxford and is the chair of the British Helsinki Human Rights Group. He has served as an election observer under the aegis of the BHHRG in a number of countries including Georgia and Ukraine.
Boris Kagarlitsky is a Russian Marxist theoretician and sociologist who has been a political dissident in the Soviet Union and in post-Soviet Russia. He is coordinator of the Transnational Institute Global Crisis project and Director of the Institute of Globalization and Social Movements in Moscow.
Kate Hudson is currently the chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (since 2003) and is also a member of the Communist Party of Britain. She is also Head of Social and Policy Studies at London South Bank University and edits the journal Contemporary Politics.
John Reese from the SWP also spoke at the meeting- you can check out his speech on youtube.com by searching under -Georgia, Nato and Spreading War.
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Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4The Mark Almond speech is v. funny.
Visiting a Georgian prison Almond expressed concern to the prison governor at the possibility that political prisoners may have been tortured.
"Don't worry," he was told, "We beat everyone who comes here. We make no distinctions!"
If nuclear missiles can be shot down and destroyed before they reach their targets then it makes them obsolete.
it makes it illogical for states to possess nuclear weapons and its makes it illogical to maintain ruinously expensive nuclear programs.
It makes nuclear war in the 21st century less likely and means that in future cities will not be reduced to sheets of glass.
Your pseudo-logic impresses me, Dave.
Your statements, Dave, are logical ONLY if both sides possess the same or similar capabilities in 'missile defence', ... Dave.
Otherwise they make no sense, Dave. Not since the '60's, Dave, has Russia sought to place missiles in the US's backyard.
Indeed they are a recipe for certain 'first strike' reaction at some point in the future, Dave.
Many people, ( maybe you as well, Dave?) were suckered into believing that the US would change it's belligerent stance towards Russia IF ONLY Russia would 'play by Western rules'. The Russians attempted to do that for about 10 years. and then when they surveyed the wreckage of their country after 10 years of Western imposed 'disaster Capitalism' they made a decision to stop listening to western economic 'experts' and decided to retake the industries stolen by the Oligarchs. This is the grave sin of the Russians.
The US and NATO seek a massive pre-emptive advantage under the guise of protecting from the 'Russian Menace', Dave.
The Russian Menace, Dave, is however a reaction TO the NATO moves, not the cause of them.
Dave? I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do
If it were the it would be sufficient to place it with the US's own borders.
Why must it be placed on the Russian borders?
And who is to say it won't have offensive capabilities.
Essentially, anyone that claims the US is not trying to restart a Cold war/arms race with the Russians has to answer the question
"What the fuck are are the Yanks doing pointing extra missiles at the Russians in their own backyard? Was there a shortage of missiles that suddenly needed rectifing?"
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