tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8119431684867910557.post5806068569721879118..comments2023-11-05T13:12:36.685+03:00Comments on Mark MacKinnon's blog: S Novom Godom!markmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08667875925403626247noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8119431684867910557.post-70042253364117496342008-01-31T07:51:00.000+03:002008-01-31T07:51:00.000+03:00British council ... well those guys were violating...British council ... well those guys were violating Russian law. They were having commercial activities and didn't pay taxes. Isn't that enough for get them closed.<BR/><BR/>Same thing with the head of St.Petersburg branch of BC. He was stopped by the road police not because of any political reasons but because he's violated Russian law. He was driving in the opposite direction on the one way road. And he was affected by the alcohol.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8119431684867910557.post-50449653004242754732008-01-23T16:55:00.000+03:002008-01-23T16:55:00.000+03:00Excerpt:"Four more years of Saakashvili starts off...Excerpt:<BR/><BR/>"Four more years of Saakashvili starts off with his government laying charges against tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili. Patarkatsishvili's no saint, but neither are Vladimir Gusinsky, Boris Berezovsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky. If this was Putin laying charges against another oligarch, wouldn't we all be asking questions about whether the President isn't really just trying to quash all political opposition?"<BR/><BR/>****<BR/><BR/>Is their credible information proportionately linking the above mentioned Georgian oligarch with the kind of questionable manner as the KGB (Khodorkovsky, Gusinsky and Berezovsky)?<BR/><BR/>Saying that BP is no saint is relative. Neither is Georgia's current president. For that matter, a recent BBC telecast showed Georgian protestors critical of the OSCE monitoring during the recent Georgian presidential campaign.<BR/><BR/>Unlike post-Soviet Russia, post-Soviet Georgia has:<BR/><BR/>- two presidential elections with the winner tallying over 90% of the vote <BR/>- two presidential administrations overthrown<BR/>- displayed an inability to govern two ethnic regions. <BR/><BR/>-----------------------------------<BR/><BR/>As per the point about the disputed former Communist bloc territories, I gather a reference to the hypocrisy of believing that Kosovo should be independent unlike the other mentioned areas. Of recent note, a European legal body has correctly suggested the same.<BR/><BR/>On the disputed former Communist bloc territories, Russian policy has been more sane and objective than the US and some other NATO countries.<BR/><BR/>-----------------------------------<BR/><BR/>The British Council matter appears to be an unfortunate example of what happens when relations between countries are worsened.<BR/><BR/>-----------------------------------<BR/><BR/>Mikhail Kasyanov poses no threat to Russia. Ditto how Ron Paul has been shunned by some of the American elitny. Say what you want of the latter. He certainly can't be legitimately accused of doing the same as Misha 2%.Michael Averkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06603725363455929103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8119431684867910557.post-24651417985802598672008-01-23T11:49:00.000+03:002008-01-23T11:49:00.000+03:00It was hardly abuse - I knew exactly what you mean...It was hardly abuse - I knew exactly what you meant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8119431684867910557.post-22544236089379415662008-01-22T16:45:00.000+03:002008-01-22T16:45:00.000+03:00Re: my Noviy God greetings - thanks for the correc...Re: my Noviy God greetings - thanks for the correction... I must confess that my use and abuse of the various Russian tenses occasionally makes my Russian friends giggle. I blame my gradeschool teacher's embrace of Hooked on Phonics.markmachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08667875925403626247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8119431684867910557.post-63267602190530924662008-01-22T16:41:00.000+03:002008-01-22T16:41:00.000+03:00Yep. I should have made clear that it's the Canadi...Yep. I should have made clear that it's the Canadian edition (which was published in hardcover way back in April) that's going paperback - still, that means you can find it at online bookstores like Amazon if you live outside Canuckistan.<BR/><BR/>Anyone else as shocked as I am to see Kasyanov accused of forging signatures? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7201806.stm)<BR/><BR/>Sigh.markmachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08667875925403626247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8119431684867910557.post-3721431109824851512008-01-19T06:15:00.000+03:002008-01-19T06:15:00.000+03:00Your book is going softcover already?Didn't the ha...Your book is going softcover already?<BR/><BR/>Didn't the hardcover just come out in October?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8119431684867910557.post-30984412963099254732008-01-17T21:21:00.000+03:002008-01-17T21:21:00.000+03:00In the spirit of proletarian solidarity, I will on...In the spirit of proletarian solidarity, I will only note that your opening should be:<BR/><BR/>"Я желаю Вам хорошего здоровья, удачи и успехов в новом году!"<BR/><BR/>Желать takes the genitive case and "in the new year" must be in the prepositional.<BR/><BR/>Other than that, alles gut!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com