tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post5526014046035376574..comments2023-10-28T12:01:47.929+00:00Comments on Edward Lucas: G8 from Economist websiteEdward Lucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11369936559712607693noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-30215203848170954412007-06-08T13:11:00.000+00:002007-06-08T13:11:00.000+00:00Under communism, almost everyone is unhappy, even ...Under communism, almost everyone is unhappy, even Party officials. Of cause if someone was raised in a pro-communist family he will not himself be necessarily pro-communist. Still, he will see things from a different perspective.dmitriyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05122385202365560555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-83375334500447187672007-06-08T09:39:00.000+00:002007-06-08T09:39:00.000+00:00Putin's remarks certainly repay careful parsing. O...Putin's remarks certainly repay careful parsing. One could also interpret them as meaning new as in additional targets in Europe. <BR/><BR/>Dmitriy: I have spoken to Merkel at some length. Whatever her family background, she loathes communism and has unhappy personal memories of it. Being raised in a pro-communist (or anti-communist0 family is neither here nor there.<BR/><BR/>Please stop ascribing MI6 links to people, alive or dead. I have deleted another post of yours on this. These smears are impossible to disprove, and insofar as they relate to living people, they may be defamatory--in which case I get sued for libel.Edward Lucashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11369936559712607693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-28677337825861867852007-06-08T01:13:00.000+00:002007-06-08T01:13:00.000+00:00>Do share the same politics as your father, Dimitr...>Do share the same politics as your father, Dimitriy?<BR/>Do you?<BR/><BR/>>Deny<BR/>What I am denying? Edward is denying that Angela Merkel was raised in a very pro-Communist family.dmitriyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05122385202365560555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-40739581438569387792007-06-07T13:19:00.000+00:002007-06-07T13:19:00.000+00:00What exactly did Merkel's father have to do with M...What exactly did Merkel's father have to do with Merkel's views?<BR/><BR/>Do share the same politics as your father, Dimitriy?<BR/><BR/>Deny. Obfuscate. Make counter allegations.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-43579868159187095792007-06-07T04:17:00.000+00:002007-06-07T04:17:00.000+00:00One more thought. Horst Kasner moved from West to ...One more thought. Horst Kasner moved from West to East in 1954. Why did he do this? He was neither a Communist, nor a total idiot, believing in "worker's paradise". <BR/><BR/>http://www.goethe.de/ges/pok/thm/fpo/en877581.htm<BR/>"In 1958 Kasner became the head of what was known as the ‘Pastoral College’ (Pastoralkolleg) in Templin, a training centre for Protestant clerics and at the same time something like a spiritual centre for his Church. Later, however, he was called ‘Red Kasner’ because he attempted to come to terms with the GDR state and was even a leading member of a ‘brotherhood’ of pastors, the ‘Weißensee Work Group’, who co-operated with the state authorities. This group came under the influence of the State Security Police."<BR/><BR/>Was he recruited by Stasi? I guess no. If the Communists wanted to build a loyal East German church they would find someone in East Germany, not in the British occupation zone.<BR/><BR/>Did he work for a German cause? No, he opposed unification of Germany and supported separate East German church.<BR/><BR/>So, there is only one reasonable opportunity left - Horst Kasner worked for a British secret service.dmitriyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05122385202365560555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-9951472851522814072007-06-07T03:45:00.000+00:002007-06-07T03:45:00.000+00:00>Mr Sarkozy’s family fled communist Hungary. Like ...>Mr Sarkozy’s family fled communist Hungary. Like Germany’s Angela Merkel, who grew up in the Soviet-run part of Germany, he finds Mr Putin’s nostalgia for the Soviet Union repellent.<BR/><BR/>Edward, please do a little fact-checking when your write your articles. Angela Merkel's father Horst Kasner moved with his family from British occupation zone to Soviet zone in 1954 and exchanged his West German passport for an East German one. This was not an arbitrary decision. <BR/>In East Germany he worked on bringing Evangelical Church closer to the regime.<BR/>When the Berlin Wall was built he was allowed to travel abroad, so he was clearly very loyal to GDR. Angela Merkel grew up in a privileged and pro-communist family.dmitriyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05122385202365560555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-8246334223179303342007-06-06T11:59:00.000+00:002007-06-06T11:59:00.000+00:00Russia did not initiate this situation. It is simp...<I>Russia did not initiate this situation. It is simply responding to the cards which it was dealt.</I><BR/><BR/>russia is initiating a new situation all by itself. rejecting any trust or friendship with the west, and ignoring reassurances that the weapon sheield is to protect from obvious and clear enemies iran and north korea, russia is desperate and pathetic in its attempts to reassure itself of its own relevance in world affairs - and in doing so might well do more damage than even itself can imagine (and not just to it's own non-existant reputation).klxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02756387772020517484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-68639053870918615732007-06-06T11:19:00.000+00:002007-06-06T11:19:00.000+00:00Edward:Having read through a translated transcript...Edward:<BR/><BR/>Having read through a translated transcript of Putin's answer regarding targeting missiles at Europe in yesterday's JRL, my reading of Putin's answer is that they would be targeting the missile shield sites themselves not arbitrary European targets.<BR/><BR/>Here's the exact (as translated) question & answer:<BR/><BR/>CORRERE DELLA SERA ... And the second point. You said that you do not want to participate in an arms race. But if the United States continues building a strategic shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, will we not return to the situation and times in which<BR/>the former Soviet Union�s nuclear forces were focused on European cities, on European targets?<BR/><BR/>VLADIMIR PUTIN: Certainly. Of course we will return to those times. And it is clear that if<BR/>part of the United States' nuclear capability is situated in Europe and that our military experts<BR/>consider that they represent a potential threat then we will have to take appropriate retaliatory<BR/>steps. What steps? Of course we must have new targets in Europe. And determining precisely<BR/>which means will be used to destroy the installations that our experts believe represent a potential threat for the Russian Federation is a matter of technology. Ballistic or cruise<BR/>missiles or a completely new system. I repeat that it is a matter of technology.<BR/><BR/>The key parts of his answer are:<BR/><BR/>"... that they represent a potential threat..." <BR/><BR/>The word "they" being key as it refers to the US missile shield sites NOT non-military sites.<BR/><BR/>and<BR/><BR/>"... destroy the installations that our experts believe represent a potential threat..."<BR/><BR/>Here the word "installations" is what he suggests might be targeted.<BR/><BR/>If my interpretation is in fact what Putin meant to say then it dramatically changes his answer from one of unbridled aggressiveness to one of brinkmanship. He's simply calling the West's bluff.<BR/><BR/>Good for him. Russia did not initiate this situation. It is simply responding to the cards which it was dealt.<BR/><BR/>- Tim PostAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02385244147976050110noreply@blogger.com