Re: Russian tradition of assassinating journalists and human rights activists is alive

On Jan 31, 3:30 am, Vladimir Makarenko <vmak...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
vello wrote:

On his own job he so far performed and performs on "A" grade.
Turning country into "syrevoi pridatok Zapada"?
It was such for a Eltsin decade. Putin stopped that.

No. In Yelcin time it was taken as shame.

Sure - colonial contracts and money made on robbery of the nation
flowing not in but out of country - it was something to bite your lip
and feel ashamed.

Putin turns it into thing to
be proud of.

Sure - canceling colonial contracts and money flowing in the country to
build - it is something to bite your lip and feel proud.

Yelcin was able to destroy old society but not to build a new one.
Weimar Republic was a nightmare in compare with Hitler years - but
hardly there is a lot of people in Germany happy with fact that Herr
Adolf takes over back in 1933.

I'm bit lazy to search sources but you can do it: look
for Russia's import-export balance in 1998 and 2008 and raw materials
% in export turnover.

When you find it - please adjust the data for the oil price in 1998 vs
2008 and tell me in prices of 1998 what is the result for 2008. Because
I am 99% sure that non-oil part of Russian export has grown multifold
since 1998.

I will try if I find time for that. But again - it's not about
economy. And about economy, you can put two graphs on one paper, oil
price and Russia's yealy GDP. You will see they follow each other
almost perfectly.



 Russia's
Central Bank just decided to buy bad mortgages from the low income
people with allowing them to stay in the apartments on the rent basis.
With possibility to buy the mortgages back in the better times.
As to the single country currency as an anchor of the world economy -
one doesn't even want to think what could happen if instability happen
to the $$.
Now we can arrive to that either already played this situation in a war
game or untrained. You choose.
I understand you are not a fan of Putin but separate what he says from
your attitude to his personality.
Never met him so I have no idea about his personality. what I don't
like is running Russia as some third world country - no freedoms,
incomes just from natural sources.
Neither is true: there are basic freedoms and income does not come from
natural resources.

Well is freedom of speech a basic freedom?

What is this? Now there is no freedom of speech in Russia?  That is a NEWS.

For you, maybe. Not for people living in Russia and its near
neighbourhoods.

Or can you imagine free
society  where challenging prime and governing party may be taken as
offence?

It depends on how it is challenged.

It depends also how it is possible to challenge. Do you imagine Obama
winning last elections if all US media would be Bush-controlled - and
rare journalists brave enough to critizise Bush would be find dead in
unclear circumstances often?

If you like to live with consolation myths and fight - fine. Add a
couple of bears in the streets.
But why bother to persuade me - I know enough facts to disregard such
propaganda attitude.

Vladimir, you know me for years. I'm just sad that russian people are
again in position they had to believe in a "Great Leader".

First of all the crap reported by the Western media about "Great Leader"
cult has no substance - it is only in the minds of Western media and its
valued consumer. Secondly until Russian people start to feel and think
how to fight for their rights I feel no sadness for them - every nation
has a government it deserves.

Vladimir, for that case I don't need for Western media - I have 5
Russian TV-channels. when the gas war was running, there was not a
single moment on screen with some Ukrainian official clearing how they
see the things from Kiev - if at all, there was a photo of Yuchchenko
or Yulia and words "Ukrainian leaders try to say...". It reminds me
trick made by Soveckii Sport years ago: Serbian tennis player Martina
Navratilova was just fled to west. During Wimbledon coverage in SS i
noticed a weird thing: they list players of 1/24 finals but with just
23 name. Then 1/12 finals with 11 name. From quarterfinals with three
names it starts to be interesting for me - what they will do if
Navratilova will winn the tournament. Well, she did it! I was waiting
for SS coverage - and so it comes. In SS there was story about
"perfect US player Christine Evert, about his life and career - and
words: well, this time se lost the final game but we think his better
times are still to come. Not a single word about who wins the
tournament! v:-)

There are
no great leaders in Universe.

That is not true. You just haven't seen me.

My fault - I forgot you.

But you both, you and Putin, had to
understand that there is no some "system" behind using US dollar.
I do understand and Putin too that today the global financial system is
historically $$ tied as it was once to British pound and French franc.
What you do not understand in your anti Putin emotions that $$ will have
to share its today position anyway. What is suggested is not to allow
this happen in uncontrolled unpredictable way.

But who is in position to "control" it? And by what means?

THIS IS a question everybody scratches head. But it is unavoidable -
some supra national watchdogs will be set. Do not make a mistake -
nobody wants or will get central control disabling the market principles
but the question is how to enforce the rules. Because what we have today
when the global financial system wildly evolved on the growth of global
interdependency is like Caribbean in XVII cent - financial buccaneers
rule the waves.

Well it will not just work. Bretton Woods was made in times Western
countries feel great unity due Cold War - and it fails. Why you think
big players are able to play sometimes against their own interests
today in relatively secure world? Don't forgot that we live in times
top politicians are elected (and even in Russia Putin needs public
support). Leaders are just humans, not Gods, they will not start to
cut their popularity in nation where they are elected for good of
other nations whose votes don't count on elections in particular
country. I don't think your idea is bad - it's just unrealistic.

But end of
dollar era is well predictable: from some point in time some other
currency will take year by year more space in international trade -
and that is done.

I really do not think the system is moving just against the $$ in favor
of some other currency. I think it is going to "smooth" the $$ by taking
  into account the other currencies. In other words $$ is not going away
in any foreseeable future.

But how you see it will work in real life? I'm owner of oil well in
Arabia - you are owner of Makarenko Oil corporation. If you want to
buy oil we had to agree in what currency you will made your payment.
Other sellers-buyers will do the same and their choice may be some
other money. how can UN or any other international body decide what
Makarenko Oil will do with his own monet or Hussein Kala with his oil?

There are not everlasting things in the World. We
can even predict the successor with high probability - Euro in case EU
turns more nation-like or yuan if GDP of China will grow as big as EU
and US combined. Japanese economy is too small to support world
currency.

Again - the question is not IMO (and I am 100% sure in validity of that
opinion) in a currency to REPLACE $$ but rather to share the basket.
This way you got portfolio diversified to reduce the risks. What will be
VERY positive that it is both ways road - any currency in such a basket
will get an extra guarantee.
Simply - Share the Risks.

But you can do it right now - make your future deals about gas with
Russia or about oil with Saudis on basis not of dollar but a basket
of, say, dollar/euro/yen. If they find it good for them also, all
thing is done without any international control (big countries don't
accept such control anyway)-

After fall of Bretton-woods, it's just market play. You may use
dollar, yen, euro, swiss franc as reserve currency. All they are used
- but most folks choose dollars. Why? coz they know that most folks
choose dollars anyway and that is the guarantee the value of dollar
will last - all world can't go poorer (or richer) in same time. It's
like on horse races - if most put their money on the same proven horse
they most probably don't win or lose but keep their money. It is
stability. A lot of gamblers have made fortunes putting on other
horses - Soros for example - but leaders of nations are not free to
gamble with all national values - so they play to proven horse.
simple.
Ok, it is again home kitchen wise talk.

Well if you remember, I'm a graduate of faculty of economics of
Tallinn Technology University and till I try to keep an eye on economy
affairs. but - as any idiot or Nobel laureate - i'm not able to say
something wiser then I really am. Advice to you: deal with my
arguments, are they from kitchen or toilet can't change anything.

Well - then stop talking like you are dealing with North Korean children
who never heard what demand and supply of money is. Rather explain the
biggest scam of XXI century which is already estimated in global economy
liability at ~ $ 30 trln. Switch from "free market" and "folks" to
"Collaborative Debt Obligations" and "CDO swaps". Insight from
knowledgeable person is always precious.

Basic principles are simple in most cases, you need more "specific"
terminology if you are dealing with details. CDO' went up 5 times in 5
years - do any normal person thinks that it is in accordance of new
value created on Earth in the same timeframe? surely not. what "folks"
start to buy was not a real thing but belief that boom is endless. Oil
price was good example - no matter how high the prics was, futures fly
high coz anyone thinks - tomorrow they will be even higher so oil is
foolproof investment for anyone. CDO''s are not a reason of crisis but
just one way our wrong beliefs realized.



 "Folks" etc. I would suggest you
stop to repeat dead mantra about non existent "free market" and pay some
attention to the history of introduction of Euro and how it caused
reduction of the $$ role in the countries around the globe. It is indeed
amazing story - a brand new currency, created from a scratch and
introduced simultaneously in several very different countries. The fact
that the system didn't crash and the Euro firmly holds its value is a
clear proof that mindful control of currencies is possible (and desirable).

Euro was not a target but more like "collateral damage" of European
Union idea.

Anyway you like to call it - it was necessary, it was "devised" and it
was successfully introduced.

Maybe (for big european countries), sure (for small ones). But
basically - Europe is system build on three kits: UK, Germany and
France. In our rare case two of them were able to agree - and smaller
countries just make "follow the leader"-move.

Nations want to act together and from some point common
currency makes it easier (as one part of europeans think). But even is
such a homogeneous environment as Europe finding enough trust for
common currency have been problematical. More, there is some point for
relatively small countries (ie most of europe) to have a part of
larger monetary system - small countries have mostly very open
economies, most business is with foreign ones.

Now replace the word "Europe" with "world" and don't you think that the
world is coming close to the very situation where Europe was before
introduction of Euro?

No. Europe is very diversed if you look it from inside but very
unigrade if you compare Europe with other places on globe.

But some euro for all
world?

Who said that?

Is by you there a real hope that, say, Obama, Putin, oil
princes, Japan, China, India etc are able to think about World as more
important thing as their own nation? No hope by me.

Maybe "hope" is a too nice word - such sides like personas you mentioned
come together not because they want to but because they are forced by
greed or desperation.

It may be just
second printrun of Bretton-Woods. But is it wise to step on a rake
again - maybe this time it will not hit me?
I don't think money is behind our common problems today. Just there
was 10 years of endless optimism in the world (of economy) and we
start to build our economical plans on basis no matter what, tomorrow
there will be more money available then today. Did we make our loans
in dollars, euros or yuans don't change nothing - what counts is our
faulty hope for endless boom. There are no endless things.

OK, money is a measure of trust. No trust - no money. That is the root
of the problem.

Exactly. and differently from laws thrust is thing no one can "create"
by some agreement.

.

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