tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post8122453917893227624..comments2023-11-05T09:55:13.077+02:00Comments on Itching for Eestimaa: to die for danzig?Giustinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-1756203100760441122008-08-18T17:42:00.000+03:002008-08-18T17:42:00.000+03:00Bunny Wailer would disagree.Bunny Wailer would disagree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-25338422989558644552008-08-18T15:27:00.000+03:002008-08-18T15:27:00.000+03:00Eveybody's gay for Bob Marley.Eveybody's gay for Bob Marley.LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-18520360919929339562008-08-18T07:48:00.000+03:002008-08-18T07:48:00.000+03:00So your first wife was russian, your second georgi...So your first wife was russian, your second georgian and you are gay for bob marley... interesting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-54431568402687432402008-08-16T17:18:00.000+03:002008-08-16T17:18:00.000+03:00Oh, man ... this is too funny. All my life, never...Oh, man ... this is too funny. All my life, never really listening closely to the lyrics of 'No woman no cry' I was under the impression that Bob was singing about happy times men can have when their women are not around. <BR/><BR/>What a let down. <BR/><BR/>Really. <BR/><BR/>I thought he was such a freedom fighter.<BR/><BR/>;-)LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-53942502985569377622008-08-16T16:53:00.000+03:002008-08-16T16:53:00.000+03:00Fascist to rooskies is anybody who disagrees with ...Fascist to rooskies is anybody who disagrees with them.<BR/><BR/>Funny, growing up in small town Estonia, we used the word 'venelane' as a slur.<BR/><BR/>I never told that little factoid to my first wife who was russian. Heh-heh. Maybe I should have.LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-38541811333111859202008-08-15T13:19:00.000+03:002008-08-15T13:19:00.000+03:00Can I go back to Bob Marley for a second? I always...Can I go back to Bob Marley for a second? I always thought "No, Woman, Nuh Cry" was a song about a bunch of people holding a vigil in a besieged government building. I always see Toompea courtyard, barricades, and a bunch of people sharing porridge. The "government yard" line, I guess.Kristopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01394211030848077681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-161375761148911942008-08-14T19:31:00.000+03:002008-08-14T19:31:00.000+03:00I can say one thing about Estonians... for people ...<I>I can say one thing about Estonians... for people that don't want to get characterized as Fascists they make sweeping often negative generalizations about other people from other countries really easily.</I><BR/><BR/>Do you even know what fascism is? Hint: it's not just about making sweeping generalizations about foreigners.<BR/><BR/>If there is a country that resembles fascism today, it isn't eesti, it's venemaa. Putin is not Hitler -- he's Mussolini. He didn't invade Georgia because he has some sinister plan to colonize Earth; he invaded Georgia because he wants to show the world that Russia is great.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-74218978286927328142008-08-14T18:44:00.000+03:002008-08-14T18:44:00.000+03:00Stereotypes are there for a reason, puu.They are n...Stereotypes are there for a reason, puu.<BR/><BR/>They are not made up. <BR/><BR/>Live long enough and you'll get proof of each one of them.<BR/><BR/>And whenever rare exceptions happen, you rejoice.LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-85572628077965777702008-08-14T10:51:00.000+03:002008-08-14T10:51:00.000+03:00How long would it take for NATO to react? Some say...How long would it take for NATO to react? Some say Estonians would have to hold the enemy for a month. The point is not to have a front pass back and forth over Estonia, reducing it to rubble, but hold the enemy.Kristopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01394211030848077681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-60673780483731826202008-08-14T08:02:00.000+03:002008-08-14T08:02:00.000+03:00I can say one thing about Estonians... for people ...I can say one thing about Estonians... for people that don't want to get characterized as Fascists they make sweeping often negative generalizations about other people from other countries really easily. I spent some time with estonians in cyperspace last week.<BR/><BR/>Nasty bastards. However, like the georgians they are show-offs. By that I mean that when you confront them one-on-one in cyberspace, they completely break down and you see fear in their typing. But put a bunch of them together, they all begin to show off to each other and talk mighty when you know all they are really doing is swilling saku and switching channels.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-59711665892118913762008-08-13T12:38:00.000+03:002008-08-13T12:38:00.000+03:00If Germany and France could so easily ignore NATO ...<I>If Germany and France could so easily ignore NATO commitments, as you think they would do in the case of Estonia.</I><BR/><BR/>I don't really think that they'd ignore their commitments but a lot of people in Estonia do.AndresShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16923952410154441315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-79403662721185835322008-08-13T10:25:00.000+03:002008-08-13T10:25:00.000+03:00Estonian security is linked intrinsically to Balti...Estonian security is linked intrinsically to Baltic Sea regional security. <BR/><BR/>You cannot just have an action against Estonia: Kaliningrad is locked between Poland and Lithuania; St. Petersburg or Pskov would be NATO retaliation targets. And all those refugees wouldn't be streaming into North Ossetia: they'd be fleeing to Stockholm and Helsinki.<BR/><BR/>Things between the West and Russia would have to get extremely bad (talkin' World War III) before that happened.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-19392878935541839642008-08-13T09:20:00.000+03:002008-08-13T09:20:00.000+03:00AndresS ütles...You're probably right but try and ...<I>AndresS ütles...<BR/>You're probably right but try and explain that to an Estonian that has seen the Russian invade before. Nato and the rest of the "West" didn't show much force of any kind during this crisis which leads many Estonians thinking what the real response would be should something similar happen here. Would Germany, USA, France really come to the aid of Estonia? This is what a lot of Estonians are asking themselves.<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>NATO wasn't obligated to help Georgia, because Georgia wasn't a NATO member. <BR/><BR/>If Germany and France could so easily ignore NATO commitments, as you think they would do in the case of Estonia, then they let Georgia join, no problems.<BR/><BR/>But France and Germany opposed allowing Georgia to progress to NATO membership in their last summit. Why? Because they take the obligations of NATO seriously and they believed Georgian membership was too risky with the probability of war with Russia being high.martintghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16840407742014556024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-3102258020246075722008-08-13T08:37:00.000+03:002008-08-13T08:37:00.000+03:00There is no way, I repeat, no way, that Russia wou...<I>There is no way, I repeat, no way, that Russia would attempt to do the same to such a country.</I><BR/><BR/>You're probably right but try and explain that to an Estonian that has seen the Russian invade before. Nato and the rest of the "West" didn't show much force of any kind during this crisis which leads many Estonians thinking what the real response would be should something similar happen here. Would Germany, USA, France really come to the aid of Estonia? This is what a lot of Estonians are asking themselves.AndresShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16923952410154441315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-51493418115140521732008-08-13T03:08:00.000+03:002008-08-13T03:08:00.000+03:00From my days in the Soviet Army (85-87) I do not h...From my days in the Soviet Army (85-87) I do not harbour warm feelings toward ossetians or georgians.<BR/><BR/>Nasty bastards. However, they are show-offs. By that I mean that when you confront them one-on-one, they completely break down and you see fear in their dark eyes. But put a bunch of them together, they all begin to show off to each other and talk mighty.<BR/><BR/>The advenute they got themselves into, to me, it looks so typical. This is what you get being a stupid "churbann."LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-44668896285810372322008-08-13T02:46:00.000+03:002008-08-13T02:46:00.000+03:00I can tell one thing about Georgians - they are re...I can tell one thing about Georgians - they are really easily provoked. According to a person I know and who was in Georgia less than 6 months ago, people felt already by then really really tense about Russian presence in SO and it's "independent" KGBoverment. Those guys, this person described, were straight on zero patience type people but there was no sign of national grudge visible against SO. Russia, of course, was completely different matter.Urmohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840890694236049291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-16395148682426420782008-08-12T23:10:00.000+03:002008-08-12T23:10:00.000+03:00I wonder what effect this will have on Estonian po...I wonder what effect this will have on Estonian politics.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-90003898572315402022008-08-12T22:50:00.000+03:002008-08-12T22:50:00.000+03:00Isn't this all bit overdramatic? Yes, that was a b...Isn't this all bit overdramatic? Yes, that was a bit of a nasty blow that probably mainly happened because Germany blocked Georgian membership in Nato (one doesn't much appreciate Berlin-Moscow agreements in these matters...) But what did Georgia expect - win a war against Russia on its own? Yes, they were absolutely provoked, but with this balance of forces, you usually are better off with not doing what the enemy wants you to do. We'll see what happens when the dust settles - a Nato membership hopefully is now on offer. But I don't really see the implications for Estonia, a Nato and EU member. There is no way, I repeat, no way, that Russia would attempt to do the same to such a country. Not with this global balance of forces, and many, many really large scale things would have to happen for this to change - and at the moment there is no sign whatsoever of it happening.stockholm slenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-29963870766388588222008-08-12T22:43:00.000+03:002008-08-12T22:43:00.000+03:00My cents to the "soon-russia-invades-west" war sce...My cents to the "soon-russia-invades-west" war scenario: I'm pretty sure NATO would do their fighting exactly here. Because nobody is fool enough even in old Europa to think Russia would be satisfied with few countries. And it is much better to do the fighting not defending last meters of your own country. But being in this "buffer zone" also might be not a very good thing for Estonians, it would probably become meat buffer zone.Urmohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840890694236049291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-17407021328162750802008-08-12T22:15:00.000+03:002008-08-12T22:15:00.000+03:00How come I keep getting Bob Marley songs stuck in ...How come I keep getting Bob Marley songs stuck in my head: "War", "Exodus", "No More Trouble," "3 O'clock Roadblock,"<BR/><BR/>The soundtrack to our lives ....Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-78311007023284679982008-08-12T21:35:00.000+03:002008-08-12T21:35:00.000+03:00Good points in that Exiled piece, HH. I wondered t...Good points in that Exiled piece, HH. I wondered the same thing about why they didn't just seal the tunnel, but apparently the southern mouth of the tunnel is still in North Ossetia, Russia and has a couple AA batteries. That's what the online Estonian military experts say, anyway. <BR/><BR/>I still say Bush could take a couple thousand boys from Iraq and send them to Georgia. They may be tired, but it's not as if they know what the hell they are doing in Iraq, anyway.<BR/><BR/>The piece is also operating under the assumption that the US will make the next move, which Russia will then match - or that Russia will take a pass. Dead wrong.Kristopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01394211030848077681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-6516005911811536412008-08-12T19:28:00.000+03:002008-08-12T19:28:00.000+03:00Another refreshing and funny look at the past week...Another refreshing and funny look at the past week's events. I recommend to everybody who's been following the events in this Caucasus Blood Olympics. http://exiledonline.com/war-nerd-south-ossetia-the-war-of-my-dreams/#more-270LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-9277612247474377082008-08-12T19:15:00.000+03:002008-08-12T19:15:00.000+03:00I have been watching Russia Today to try to make s...I have been watching Russia Today to try to make sense of what they mean by Ossetia Genocide. <BR/><BR/>The only dead bodies they have shown yet are Georgian soldiers (sometimes in the most inexpected places of Tschinvali). <BR/><BR/>Interestingly, the day after they took over the Ossetian capital, the said "Tschinvali has been flattered to the ground". Does that mean the Russians have bombed a city full of civilians without even asking the Georgians to withdraw? Probably yes, since in the footage they have shown, you can see blown up Georgian military vehicles along with destroyed houses. So probably the guy who was aiming at the vehicles was the same guy who destroyed the houses.<BR/><BR/>Fortunately, the Russians have made so many military and diplomatic mistakes that the west is finally reacting. Hopefully the Russians will be pulled back through the Gori tunnel.Juan Manuelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01997278614759180471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-62026119405622706592008-08-12T17:08:00.000+03:002008-08-12T17:08:00.000+03:00Article 7 of the Russian Citizenship law says, and...Article 7 of the Russian Citizenship law says, and I quote: "The citizens of the Russian Federation who stay outside the Russian Federation shall be granted the Russian Federation's defence and protection." <BR/><BR/>Apparently the "protection" part of it refers to ordinary embassy services and the "defence" part is the invasion.<BR/><BR/>So yes, under Article 7, France could (shall) be invaded.<BR/><BR/>Notice that Article 7 also says "citizens who stay out of Russia", i.e. don't come back to Russia, but if you stay abroad, we will invade on your behalf.<BR/><BR/>They're generous that way.<BR/><BR/>Personally I would be happy if embassies just provided interest-free loans for their expats.Kristopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01394211030848077681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-7520861514528504382008-08-12T17:00:00.000+03:002008-08-12T17:00:00.000+03:00Aha. Forcing citizenship on Russians. Doesn't that...Aha. Forcing citizenship on Russians. Doesn't that sound like a convenient excuse for war? At least third of the local Russians would buy it if Russian media would tell them that Estonian citizenship is actually a bad thing, an insult to a member of the great nation.plasma-jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06485039580759398780noreply@blogger.com