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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (220642)	2/24/2005 3:26:26 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1574029

re: To people of average intellect and above, it is the clear inference. To a dogma-blinded talk show conservative brain dead Republican party hack... Hey, this insult game is kind of fun... and you don't have to bother your little head with actual thinking! In the IQ and Politics comparison, Arkansas ranks 35 out of 50 which is "below average intellect". I wouldn't bother to respond to him. He wouldn't understand. Message 21077569 ted

To: Road Walker who wrote (220642)	2/24/2005 4:38:59 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574029

Analysis: Putin humiliated next to Bush Bratislava, Slovakia, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- We may not yet be talking about divorce but the extended honeymoon period between U.S President George W. Bush and his increasingly autocratic Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin came to a definitive end Thursday at a summit between the two leaders in the Slovak capital of Bratislava. It all happened following the end of bilateral talks when a televised press conference turned into a relentless and devastating assault on Putin's backsliding on democratic reform. Since global democratization has been made the centerpiece of Bush's second term foreign policy agenda, analysts and politicians in the United States and elsewhere had billed this meeting as the first key test of the American president's credibility. As Russia analysts James M. Goldgeier and Michael McFaul had put it in a commentary in the current issue of the Weekly Standard: "If the president neglects to affirm his commitment to freedom with Putin at his side, Bush will be signaling that his words don't count." So most of us were expecting the issue to be raised, if only in passing. But no one could have been prepared for what was about to unfold. While observing diplomatic niceties, President Bush's opening remarks included a pointedly blunt statement of his concern that Russia was not fulfilling "fundamental" democratic principles. And this was nothing to what President Putin was forced to endure in the subsequent questions, every single one of which focused on democracy. "I think it's very important that all nations understand the great values inherent in democracy," said President Bush standing just three feet away from Putin. Bush asserted that in his country he was held to account by a free press, and that his laws were checked by a constitution upheld by a free judiciary -- the very elements of a free society that rights groups have become increasingly vocal in criticizing Putin for deliberately destroying in Russia. A slavishly loyal question to Putin from Russia's Interfax news agency merely served to underline how far Russia now stands from normal democratic procedures. The reporter petulantly asked what this talk about lack of freedom in Russia "was all about" suggesting President Putin should raise issues about press freedom in the United States. Journalists lose their jobs in America too, he said. When President Bush said it was true that journalists did get fired in America, but by their editors and not the government, one almost started to feel sorry for President Putin. Putin, to be fair, did at least maintain his cool, rejecting accusations that Russian freedom was under threat. And Bush maintained a gentle disposition, saying at least he could trust the Russian president's word, even when they disagreed. Nevertheless, there was no getting away from it. Vladimir Putin had just gone through the most humiliating experience of his presidency. Amid such extraordinary scenes it would be easy to forget that other major issues crucial to both countries were also discussed. The two leaders pledged to work together more closely on preventing the spread of nuclear materials. They both agreed, at least President Bush said so, that Iran and North Korea should not be allowed to develop nuclear bombs. They also agreed to work on enhancing energy cooperation and to bring peace to the Middle East. And it is important, of course, that Russia does cooperate with the West on such issues because without Russian cooperation such issues will be that much more difficult to resolve. What happens now between the two leaders will be interesting to watch. President Putin's standard response to criticism from abroad is to resort to Soviet style accusations against "foreign interference". It could be that he kept his cool Thursday because he couldn't quite believe what was happening to him. When goes back to Russia, he may reflect bitterly on what went on in Bratislava and that could herald some harsh words in retaliation against America. It will also be interesting to see whether this summit will weaken his credibility further at home. This week's events come in the wake of a string of serious blows to him both from inside Russia and from surrounding countries. Late last year he publicly backed the losing candidate in presidential elections in Ukraine which were won by pro-Western reformist Viktor Yushchenko -- a man who wants to pull his country out of Russia's ambit and integrate it with the West. This was more than a humiliation. Putin has built his political personality around the image of a man capable of restoring Russia's national pride. Losing Ukraine was not part of the plan especially since he had already lost Georgia in that country's own democratic revolution a short time before. His policies in Chechnya have also failed spectacularly and were brought home in the most brutal fashion in the Beslan siege when Chechen militants took over a school and left more than 330 dead, around half of them children. To cap it all, there is widespread discontent in Russia about welfare reforms, particularly pensions. One recent poll suggested Putin's support had dropped to only just over 40 percent from levels of around 65 percent a year ago. We will have to wait and see what unfolds. From the Bratislava summit however, three things are certain. The first is that Vladimir Putin emerged from it as a beaten man. The second is that George W. Bush has just passed his first real test since he pledged last month to put democratization at the heart of his presidency. And the third is that Presidents Bush and Putin will never quite look at each other in the same way again. It was a spectacle not to be missed. washtimes.com

To: Road Walker who wrote (220642)	2/24/2005 4:41:48 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1574029

Putin gives no ground to Bush democracy "concerns"' BRATISLAVA : Russian President Vladimir Putin gave little ground to his US counterpart George W. Bush's stated concerns about a series of decisions widely seen in the West as undermining Russian democracy. During a joint press conference after a summit in a castle overlooking the Danube river, Putin said there could be "no return" to Soviet-style government but that Moscow would develop democracy at its own pace and in its own image. "We are not going to make up, to invent any kind of special Russian democracy. We're going to remain committed to the fundamental principles of democracy that have been established in the world," Putin said. "But, of course, all the modern institutions of democracy, the principles of democracy, should be adequate to the current status of the development of Russia, to our history and our traditions," he said through an interpreter. Bush declared that "democracies always reflect a country's culture and customs and I know that, but they have certain things in common: they have rule of law, and protection of minorities, a free press and a viable political opposition." "I was able to share my concerns about Russia's commitment in fulfilling these universal principles," said the US president, who has been increasingly vocal in criticizing Putin on the issue. The Russian president took a jab at those scoldings, saying: "If we talk about whether we have more or whether we have less democracy it is not the right thing to do." The two leaders, whose once warm relationship chilled when they broke over the war in Iraq, seemed closer on a range of international issues, from the war on terrorism to Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs. "We agreed that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. And I appreciate Vladimir's understanding on that issue. We had a very constructive dialogue about how to achieve that common goal," Bush said. "We talked a lot about the situation in Iran, about the situation in North Korea," said Putin. "It is important to neutralize the attempts to proliferate weapons of mass destruction." Bush indicated that his personal relationship with Putin had not suffered from their break over Iraq or a series of steps seen as autocratic, including moves against the oil giant Yukos, a clampdown on the media, and centralizing political power in the Kremlin. "I can tell you what it's like dealing with the man over the last four years. When he tells you something, he means it. He asked what some of my concerns were, and he explained answers," said the US president. Even before they spoke, the White House released a series of joint statements recommitting both countries to cooperating on energy, fighting nuclear weapons proliferation, curbing the spread of shoulder-launched rockets, and helping Russia join the World Trade Organization. But these mostly focused on existing initiatives, and the statements seemed designed to reinforce the idea that Washington and Moscow are still working together on important issues. Washington and Moscow also agreed to keep working on enhancing security at Russian nuclear sites -- days after a US intelligence report said theft of radioactive materials from such facilities "has occurred." Ahead of their talks, Bush gave his strongest endorsement yet of European efforts to convince Iran not to develop nuclear weapons and said he hoped for a peaceful end to the dispute. "Hopefully we'll be able to reach a diplomatic solution to this effort. We're more likely to do so when we're all on the same page," said Bush, who in the past has stressed that he cannot rule out using force against Tehran. Bush began his day by meeting with Slovakia's President Ivan Gasparovic and Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, before making an emotionally charged speech to thousands of cheering Slovak citizens in a town square. Bush vowed to stand with Slovakia's young democracy and hailed what he called a "purple revolution" in Iraq, where ink of that color was used to mark those who voted in January 30 elections. With the summit stakes high, Slovakia layered tight security, deploying more than 5,000 police officers, 400 soldiers as well as emergency workers and firefighters, while two Slovak MiG jet fighters protected the skies with two more MiGs standing by. channelnewsasia.com