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Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations
Does freedom and democracy count if it's used against western interests? We have seen that in places like Russia, Iran, Iraq and Armenia, it does not. When the people exercise their "freedoms" to vote against western incursions we are told that "terrorists" or "oppressive dictatorships" have taken control over the population. And in order to punish the people's anti-West choices, the West threatens with sanctions and freezing of financial aid, in other words official forms of bribes. In the case of the Armenian Republic: Recent events in Yerevan have actually proven that Armenia is more "democratic" and expresses more "political freedoms" than any western nation today.
Can anyone here envision an equivalent of a treasonous criminal like Armenia's Levon Ter-Petrosian in American politics bringing millions of people into Washington DC and holding unsanctioned demonstrations against the state with a political platform that would be considered suicidal for the US, and then going very violent when security forces attempt to disperse them? Can anyone here imagine, let's say, Chinese or Russian owned news outlets taking over a large portion of America's news media and disseminating anti-state and pro-East propaganda? Can anyone here imagine foreign NOGs stirring public discontent in the US? Can anyone here imagine such scenarios in the US? No you can't because the authorities in this nation would 'never' allow such a situation to get to that dangerous level. Such types of foreign agendas in the US would be eliminated even before they are implemented. That is why politicians in places like Russia, Serbia, Armenia and China simply have to disregard the "people" and do what they have to do to protect the state.
This brings up the almost 'sacred' concept of "free and fair elections": The 'idea' that the masses should vote politicians into power, hence intimately partake in political decision making, is a 20th century western phenomenon. However, even in the West, this does not exist in reality, it's an illusion. But we must realize here that the "illusion" of the people partaking in the political system can only exist in wealthy, powerful and stable nations. In the US, for example, we essentially have 'two' government sanctioned political parties. Let me remind the reader that this is only 'one' more than a government sanctioned dictatorship. Politically, the Democrats and the Republicans in America are the same shit different assholes. They differ only in minor details, namely in the realms of domestic and social issues. Nonetheless, if anyone comes along that can seriously challange the political/financial status quo in the US, they would be eliminated in a heartbeat. It's no secret that the serious formulations of US national policy is made independent of the people by the US State Department, various special interests (Zionists, oil lobby, defense industry, mega-corporations, etc) and of course, the nation's intelligence services. Yet, every four years the people are allowed to 'think' that they are participating in the nation's political process.
As I said above, one of the fundamental differences between the West and the rest of the world is - standard of living, its wealth. Due to the West's centuries long political exploits - colonization, slavery, foreign wars, plunder, exploitation, etc - the West is immensely wealthy today. The entire world today is trying desperately to literally live up the western standards. And let's realize that it's much easier to control well-fed idiots than it is to control angry and hungry idiots. As a result of its wealth, western political/financial elite can provide for their masses and allow their masses to 'think' that they are participating in the "political system." And that is why unlike the rest of the world, the West can afford to put on 'a political show' every few years for the people.
Democracy, as preached by the West, does not work for fledgling or vulnerable nations because it envisions giving the ignorant masses the right to make political decisions. Politically speaking, the general population in any given nation is worthless. Thus, how can we them to make the right political decisions, especially in nations that have serious geopolitical and socioeconomic problems? The point is, from the great Hellenistic thinkers to the founding fathers of the US, voting politicians into power was never meant to be for the masses. As I said above, the people electing politicians to lead them is essentially a twentieth century western phenomenon. We require a license and/or training to do just about anything of importance in civilized nations. So why is it that the most important of all obligations a nation's citizen has, namely electing its leadership, is meant to be entrusted upon the whims and wishes of the masses?
The democratic system is inherently a flawed system and for nation's like Russia, Armenia and Serbia, it can be suicidal. I, personally, would rather see a constitutional monarchy be implemented in Armenia. If that cannot happen, then we need to be a one party dictatorship. If that cannot happen either, then let's simple give the house keys to Moscow. Simply put, we Armenians cannot risk playing with the notion of democracy, especially in a dangerous volatile environment like the Caucasus. Such an experiment could prove fatal for the Armenian state.
Armenian
****************************
Thousands of people gathered on Kiev's main square on Monday to protest against the U.S. president's visit, and the Ukrainian leadership's drive for NATO membership. George W. Bush will arrive in the city on Monday evening for talks with President Viktor Yushchenko expected to focus on Ukraine's plans to join the Western military alliance, before leaving for Bucharest on Tuesday afternoon for a NATO summit. "We are now on our way to the United States Embassy with a resolution and message for the American people, asking them to pacify their hawks - Bush and [State Secretary] Condoleezza Rice," a protest organizer who asked to remain anonymous told RIA Novosti.
Activists on Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) are displaying banners with the slogans "NATO is worse than the Gestapo" and "Put Bush's bloody dictatorship under an international tribunal." The organizer said between eight and nine thousand people are expected to take part in today's protest, which will run until April 4, the final day of the NATO summit. During the April 2-4 meeting, NATO members will consider whether to let Croatia, Albania and Macedonia into the alliance. Bush has made clear his support for Ukraine's membership plans, and is likely to raise the issue at the summit, which will be his last as U.S. leader. However, European NATO members, in particular France and Germany, have voiced doubts over allowing Kiev into the alliance, saying it would create dangerous tensions with Ukraine's neighbor Russia. Moscow has warned it could target missiles at Ukraine if the country joins NATO.
Protesters in Kiev have set up about a dozen tents on Independence Square, which was the focus of "orange revolution" protests that helped pro-Western Yushchenko into power in 2004. Ukraine's drive toward NATO membership has triggered domestic parliamentary opposition protests amid widespread antipathy toward the alliance. A survey published earlier this month said only 11% of Ukrainians supported the idea of NATO membership, while almost 36% were strongly opposed. The ex-Soviet republic requested to join the Membership Action Plan, a precursor to full membership in the Western military alliance, in January. The protest organizer said; "If Ukraine is not accepted into the Membership Action Plan, we will remove the tents. But if Ukraine joins the plan, we will toughen the measures." The protesters will gather on Tuesday morning in front of the presidential administration, where Bush will be meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart for closed-door talks.
Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20080331/102597128.html
“For the first time in my life I did not say I am Karabakhtsi [Karabakh Armenian]. They asked me where I am from, I told from Abovyan,” ArmeniaNow photographer Anahit Hayrapetyan tells about how every photographer and journalist in the neighborhood of the Myaskinyan monument on March 1 was asked about their descent in a fierce search for Karabakhtsis. Disinformation was spread that the troops that dispersed the sitting strike in the Liberty Square spoke the Karabakh dialect. But it was not an occasional matter: it was the expression of xenophobia generated by LTP’s movement, whose number one enemy turned to be the Karabakhtsis. The next day, March 2 a taxi driver crossing the damaged Mashtots avenue was showing me the shops explaining which belongs to whom, trying to justify the looting: ‘this is Lfik’s, this one belongs to a Karabakhtsi.’ Lfik is oligarch Samvel Alexanyan who is from Aparan [town in the North-West to Yerevan]. But what do the Karabakhtsis have to do with this? The driver continued – the Karabakhtsis have to be driven out.
On March 2 morning near the site of the fighting a man surveying the rubble saw soldiers on guard and said to no one in particular, but in their direction: “Karabakhi dogs”. This is not a single case as it has become a common point of view during the last commotion. The negative attitude toward the Karabakh Armenians appeared when the politicians from Karabakh who were brought by Ter-Petrosyan to solidify his power against the oppositional forces, overtook it and began using the fruits of the clan system Ter-Petrosyan had created. If the system is based on clans people protest against the clan in power. In former times the target of protests was the All-Armenian Movement and its leader, then those who forced Ter-Petrosyan’s resignation. The system remains the same; if tomorrow the Akhakalaktsi Armenians [Akhalkalak is the provincial center of the Javakhq region in Georgia, populated predominantly with Armenians] overtake the power they will get the use of it.
LTP turned the negative attitude toward the Karabakh Armenians into hatred, declaring the authorities Tatar-Mongols and saying: “Because of these two, 15,000 people have moved from Karabakh to Armenia, mainly Yerevan, within the last ten years. Each of them has been given a position. It did not suffice, and now it’s the sphere of business given to them (it’s unclear who has checked the figures).” Enmity was the main weapon of the leader for five months, when he stated the only mistake of the years of his rule was bringing the two politicians from Karabakh, the only thing he apologized for (he even defended the clan system he created by saying the 1995 Constitution was better than the amendments adopted in 2005); he declared all the deficiencies in Armenia originated in 1998, he refuted there were election frauds and state robbery before that, presenting the years of his rule as ideal times. For a protesting crowd the words of the charismatic leader were unquestionable and undisputed truth. Explaining the problems of the state with persons alone and blaming those persons in deadly sins (perpetrating the October 27 assassinations to cede Meghri), he inspired faith in the mass. They believed ‘go till the end’, and also made keeping power a matter of personal security for Sargsyan and Kocharyan.
LTP and his supporters increased the number of their voters by growing the hostile rhetoric of the campaign. LTP stated Serzh and Robert have served the Turks with servility for a long time. On the other side he called traitors and scum all those who did not join him and instead of opening cracks among the authorities, as he said, created deep breach of enmity in the society: if the leader calls somebody a traitor the mass is ready to destroy. (In the newspaper “168 Hours” singer Shushan Petrosyan told with horror she received letters that called her a traitor for supporting Serzh Sargsyan and threatened to kill her children; she said she did not take her son to school for two weeks because in fear of the threats. And the post-election demonstrations that passed by Vazgen Manukyan’s office scanned ‘Vazgen – a traitor!’, because their leader had stated so.)
However, a primary target remained the Karabakis, in a way that drew comparison ethnic fascism in the 20s-30s in Weimar Germany, where corruption, oligarchy, depreciation, monopolization of economy were blamed on the xxxs. The anti-Karabakhi prejudice reached its climax during the post-voting rallies in February, when a professor in Opera Square [the Liberty Square, the Theater Square] underlining their Karabakhi descent publicized the names of those rectors of universities who have to be punished amid the ardent shouts of the mass. And another speaker stated: “The Armenians in this square are thrice more in number that the Karabakh citizens. Long live the Armenians!” Armenians of non-Karabakhi descent began writing in blogs as a means of protest calling themselves Karabakhis as Turks called themselves Armenians after Dink’s assassination.
The 5 month-long political trainings resulted on March 1 taking the form of the Molotov xxxxtails and metal bars. The mass attacked the police shouting: ‘Turks, Karabakhis go away!’ They say the spirit of the Armenian people was broken that day; but if something was broken then maybe that was the spirit of xenophobia. Unlike Germany, where xenophobia was targeted against an external element, the ‘other’ for Levon is his native – xenophobia aimed against part of a mono-ethnic nation. Just like nationalism searches for enemies for crises among other ethnicities, similarly the ‘pragmatists’ radically denying national projects, search for an enemy to blame the crisis on, inside the nation. A poet woman, renowned intellectual inspired by the hatred of hundreds of thousands says Karabakhis are unable to run a state (LTP openly hinted on giving back Karabakh stating Karabakh is not a Kosovo and is unable to reach independence; he told in an interview Armenia has to restitute the damage caused to Azerbaijan).
[...]
Source: http://www.armenianow.com/?action=vi...g=eng#comments
On Freedom and Democracy
Does freedom and democracy count if it's used against western interests? We have seen that in places like Russia, Iran, Iraq and Armenia, it does not. When the people exercise their "freedoms" to vote against western incursions we are told that "terrorists" or "oppressive dictatorships" have taken control over the population. And in order to punish the people's anti-West choices, the West threatens with sanctions and freezing of financial aid, in other words official forms of bribes. In the case of the Armenian Republic: Recent events in Yerevan have actually proven that Armenia is more "democratic" and expresses more "political freedoms" than any western nation today.
Can anyone here envision an equivalent of a treasonous criminal like Armenia's Levon Ter-Petrosian in American politics bringing millions of people into Washington DC and holding unsanctioned demonstrations against the state with a political platform that would be considered suicidal for the US, and then going very violent when security forces attempt to disperse them? Can anyone here imagine, let's say, Chinese or Russian owned news outlets taking over a large portion of America's news media and disseminating anti-state and pro-East propaganda? Can anyone here imagine foreign NOGs stirring public discontent in the US? Can anyone here imagine such scenarios in the US? No you can't because the authorities in this nation would 'never' allow such a situation to get to that dangerous level. Such types of foreign agendas in the US would be eliminated even before they are implemented. That is why politicians in places like Russia, Serbia, Armenia and China simply have to disregard the "people" and do what they have to do to protect the state.
This brings up the almost 'sacred' concept of "free and fair elections": The 'idea' that the masses should vote politicians into power, hence intimately partake in political decision making, is a 20th century western phenomenon. However, even in the West, this does not exist in reality, it's an illusion. But we must realize here that the "illusion" of the people partaking in the political system can only exist in wealthy, powerful and stable nations. In the US, for example, we essentially have 'two' government sanctioned political parties. Let me remind the reader that this is only 'one' more than a government sanctioned dictatorship. Politically, the Democrats and the Republicans in America are the same shit different assholes. They differ only in minor details, namely in the realms of domestic and social issues. Nonetheless, if anyone comes along that can seriously challange the political/financial status quo in the US, they would be eliminated in a heartbeat. It's no secret that the serious formulations of US national policy is made independent of the people by the US State Department, various special interests (Zionists, oil lobby, defense industry, mega-corporations, etc) and of course, the nation's intelligence services. Yet, every four years the people are allowed to 'think' that they are participating in the nation's political process.
As I said above, one of the fundamental differences between the West and the rest of the world is - standard of living, its wealth. Due to the West's centuries long political exploits - colonization, slavery, foreign wars, plunder, exploitation, etc - the West is immensely wealthy today. The entire world today is trying desperately to literally live up the western standards. And let's realize that it's much easier to control well-fed idiots than it is to control angry and hungry idiots. As a result of its wealth, western political/financial elite can provide for their masses and allow their masses to 'think' that they are participating in the "political system." And that is why unlike the rest of the world, the West can afford to put on 'a political show' every few years for the people.
Democracy, as preached by the West, does not work for fledgling or vulnerable nations because it envisions giving the ignorant masses the right to make political decisions. Politically speaking, the general population in any given nation is worthless. Thus, how can we them to make the right political decisions, especially in nations that have serious geopolitical and socioeconomic problems? The point is, from the great Hellenistic thinkers to the founding fathers of the US, voting politicians into power was never meant to be for the masses. As I said above, the people electing politicians to lead them is essentially a twentieth century western phenomenon. We require a license and/or training to do just about anything of importance in civilized nations. So why is it that the most important of all obligations a nation's citizen has, namely electing its leadership, is meant to be entrusted upon the whims and wishes of the masses?
The democratic system is inherently a flawed system and for nation's like Russia, Armenia and Serbia, it can be suicidal. I, personally, would rather see a constitutional monarchy be implemented in Armenia. If that cannot happen, then we need to be a one party dictatorship. If that cannot happen either, then let's simple give the house keys to Moscow. Simply put, we Armenians cannot risk playing with the notion of democracy, especially in a dangerous volatile environment like the Caucasus. Such an experiment could prove fatal for the Armenian state.
Armenian
****************************
Thousands of Ukrainians rally against Bush visit, NATO bid
Thousands of people gathered on Kiev's main square on Monday to protest against the U.S. president's visit, and the Ukrainian leadership's drive for NATO membership. George W. Bush will arrive in the city on Monday evening for talks with President Viktor Yushchenko expected to focus on Ukraine's plans to join the Western military alliance, before leaving for Bucharest on Tuesday afternoon for a NATO summit. "We are now on our way to the United States Embassy with a resolution and message for the American people, asking them to pacify their hawks - Bush and [State Secretary] Condoleezza Rice," a protest organizer who asked to remain anonymous told RIA Novosti.
Activists on Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) are displaying banners with the slogans "NATO is worse than the Gestapo" and "Put Bush's bloody dictatorship under an international tribunal." The organizer said between eight and nine thousand people are expected to take part in today's protest, which will run until April 4, the final day of the NATO summit. During the April 2-4 meeting, NATO members will consider whether to let Croatia, Albania and Macedonia into the alliance. Bush has made clear his support for Ukraine's membership plans, and is likely to raise the issue at the summit, which will be his last as U.S. leader. However, European NATO members, in particular France and Germany, have voiced doubts over allowing Kiev into the alliance, saying it would create dangerous tensions with Ukraine's neighbor Russia. Moscow has warned it could target missiles at Ukraine if the country joins NATO.
Protesters in Kiev have set up about a dozen tents on Independence Square, which was the focus of "orange revolution" protests that helped pro-Western Yushchenko into power in 2004. Ukraine's drive toward NATO membership has triggered domestic parliamentary opposition protests amid widespread antipathy toward the alliance. A survey published earlier this month said only 11% of Ukrainians supported the idea of NATO membership, while almost 36% were strongly opposed. The ex-Soviet republic requested to join the Membership Action Plan, a precursor to full membership in the Western military alliance, in January. The protest organizer said; "If Ukraine is not accepted into the Membership Action Plan, we will remove the tents. But if Ukraine joins the plan, we will toughen the measures." The protesters will gather on Tuesday morning in front of the presidential administration, where Bush will be meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart for closed-door talks.
Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20080331/102597128.html
Internal Bleeding: Crisis has turned “Armenians” against “Karabakhis”
“For the first time in my life I did not say I am Karabakhtsi [Karabakh Armenian]. They asked me where I am from, I told from Abovyan,” ArmeniaNow photographer Anahit Hayrapetyan tells about how every photographer and journalist in the neighborhood of the Myaskinyan monument on March 1 was asked about their descent in a fierce search for Karabakhtsis. Disinformation was spread that the troops that dispersed the sitting strike in the Liberty Square spoke the Karabakh dialect. But it was not an occasional matter: it was the expression of xenophobia generated by LTP’s movement, whose number one enemy turned to be the Karabakhtsis. The next day, March 2 a taxi driver crossing the damaged Mashtots avenue was showing me the shops explaining which belongs to whom, trying to justify the looting: ‘this is Lfik’s, this one belongs to a Karabakhtsi.’ Lfik is oligarch Samvel Alexanyan who is from Aparan [town in the North-West to Yerevan]. But what do the Karabakhtsis have to do with this? The driver continued – the Karabakhtsis have to be driven out.
On March 2 morning near the site of the fighting a man surveying the rubble saw soldiers on guard and said to no one in particular, but in their direction: “Karabakhi dogs”. This is not a single case as it has become a common point of view during the last commotion. The negative attitude toward the Karabakh Armenians appeared when the politicians from Karabakh who were brought by Ter-Petrosyan to solidify his power against the oppositional forces, overtook it and began using the fruits of the clan system Ter-Petrosyan had created. If the system is based on clans people protest against the clan in power. In former times the target of protests was the All-Armenian Movement and its leader, then those who forced Ter-Petrosyan’s resignation. The system remains the same; if tomorrow the Akhakalaktsi Armenians [Akhalkalak is the provincial center of the Javakhq region in Georgia, populated predominantly with Armenians] overtake the power they will get the use of it.
LTP turned the negative attitude toward the Karabakh Armenians into hatred, declaring the authorities Tatar-Mongols and saying: “Because of these two, 15,000 people have moved from Karabakh to Armenia, mainly Yerevan, within the last ten years. Each of them has been given a position. It did not suffice, and now it’s the sphere of business given to them (it’s unclear who has checked the figures).” Enmity was the main weapon of the leader for five months, when he stated the only mistake of the years of his rule was bringing the two politicians from Karabakh, the only thing he apologized for (he even defended the clan system he created by saying the 1995 Constitution was better than the amendments adopted in 2005); he declared all the deficiencies in Armenia originated in 1998, he refuted there were election frauds and state robbery before that, presenting the years of his rule as ideal times. For a protesting crowd the words of the charismatic leader were unquestionable and undisputed truth. Explaining the problems of the state with persons alone and blaming those persons in deadly sins (perpetrating the October 27 assassinations to cede Meghri), he inspired faith in the mass. They believed ‘go till the end’, and also made keeping power a matter of personal security for Sargsyan and Kocharyan.
LTP and his supporters increased the number of their voters by growing the hostile rhetoric of the campaign. LTP stated Serzh and Robert have served the Turks with servility for a long time. On the other side he called traitors and scum all those who did not join him and instead of opening cracks among the authorities, as he said, created deep breach of enmity in the society: if the leader calls somebody a traitor the mass is ready to destroy. (In the newspaper “168 Hours” singer Shushan Petrosyan told with horror she received letters that called her a traitor for supporting Serzh Sargsyan and threatened to kill her children; she said she did not take her son to school for two weeks because in fear of the threats. And the post-election demonstrations that passed by Vazgen Manukyan’s office scanned ‘Vazgen – a traitor!’, because their leader had stated so.)
However, a primary target remained the Karabakis, in a way that drew comparison ethnic fascism in the 20s-30s in Weimar Germany, where corruption, oligarchy, depreciation, monopolization of economy were blamed on the xxxs. The anti-Karabakhi prejudice reached its climax during the post-voting rallies in February, when a professor in Opera Square [the Liberty Square, the Theater Square] underlining their Karabakhi descent publicized the names of those rectors of universities who have to be punished amid the ardent shouts of the mass. And another speaker stated: “The Armenians in this square are thrice more in number that the Karabakh citizens. Long live the Armenians!” Armenians of non-Karabakhi descent began writing in blogs as a means of protest calling themselves Karabakhis as Turks called themselves Armenians after Dink’s assassination.
The 5 month-long political trainings resulted on March 1 taking the form of the Molotov xxxxtails and metal bars. The mass attacked the police shouting: ‘Turks, Karabakhis go away!’ They say the spirit of the Armenian people was broken that day; but if something was broken then maybe that was the spirit of xenophobia. Unlike Germany, where xenophobia was targeted against an external element, the ‘other’ for Levon is his native – xenophobia aimed against part of a mono-ethnic nation. Just like nationalism searches for enemies for crises among other ethnicities, similarly the ‘pragmatists’ radically denying national projects, search for an enemy to blame the crisis on, inside the nation. A poet woman, renowned intellectual inspired by the hatred of hundreds of thousands says Karabakhis are unable to run a state (LTP openly hinted on giving back Karabakh stating Karabakh is not a Kosovo and is unable to reach independence; he told in an interview Armenia has to restitute the damage caused to Azerbaijan).
[...]
Source: http://www.armenianow.com/?action=vi...g=eng#comments
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