World Forums

by **Pabs** on 05 Aug 2008, 18:51

mate wrote:
bineaz wrote:Any other windy city folks down for a reunion?

how about.... Windycity ?

:laughup:

by **mate** on 05 Aug 2008, 20:35

Windy now lives in New Jersey. I'll look him up when I get sued.

:wink:

I'm going to be in Chicago any combination of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If all goes well, I should be going often enough, as my first project is based there.

by **bineaz** on 06 Aug 2008, 11:10

mate,

I've had problems logging on here but you have my e-mail right?

by **mate** on 08 Aug 2008, 22:13

Bineaz

I will be in Chicago Sunday, Monday, and some of Tuesday. I think I can get some time Monday evening. I am staying at the W Lakeshore. I'll send my cell phone # to your email.

Leo, are you around? Let's see if us 3 can perhaps have a drink or something like that.

by **agentesecreto** on 08 Aug 2008, 22:40

Now, that's a trio I'd want to miss. Don't forget that buying drinks is not in Leo
's genes.

by **Pabs** on 08 Aug 2008, 23:49

maybe he's wearing shorts. It's summer time afterall.

:razz:

by **mate** on 09 Aug 2008, 00:12

agentesecreto wrote:Now, that's a trio I'd want to miss. Don't forget that buying drinks is not in Leo
's genes.

Listen chump, the only reason you never want to get together with visitors is that the game would really be over for you. We'd take turns stepping all over you.

:wink:

by **agentesecreto** on 09 Aug 2008, 19:28

The reason you wont be meeting with me, it's because I am a bit selective of my associations. Now, get lost Chucky.

by **mate** on 09 Aug 2008, 23:48

...I am a bit selective of my associations...

Yeah, like the 18th Street Gang. I suppose membership has its privileges.

:lol:

by **agentesecreto** on 09 Aug 2008, 23:59

Actually, you'
re not too far away from the truth. I grew up East of what is now "Melrose"secluded northof the Wilshere Center,a stone throw away from L.A City College but within the Rampart Division. Many of the guys from 18th Street went to Middle school with me but they weren't what they are now. They were in the most part, nice kids looking to belong. Unfortunately some took the wrong path and are now forever lost. But I tell you, you wish you could have called some of those guys your friend. Loyalty was the word of the day and unlike today's thugs, if they knew you in the neighborhood, they protected you like pitbulls.

by **onze** on 10 Aug 2008, 14:36

Georgia on my mind......

by **Pabs** on 10 Aug 2008, 15:24

where's Leonid these days ?

by **agentesecreto** on 10 Aug 2008, 19:00

Pinching Pennies.

by **mate** on 10 Aug 2008, 21:20

But I tell you, you wish you could have called some of those guys your friend. Loyalty was the word of the day and unlike today's thugs, if they knew you in the neighborhood, they protected you like pitbulls.

No wonder you never got into the gang...or were booted out. Nobody likes a chicken.

:wink:

by **mate** on 10 Aug 2008, 21:22

Bineaz & Leo

I am in the Windy City on the lake shore. Man, this is a nicer city than I had imagined. It has echoes of Manhattan, but is kinder and gentler. Even the bar tenders are nice.

:lol:

The car drivers push it, but yet still back away. In NYC, you actually might get run over. All in all, this is a place where I could live. Not bad.

by **Falc** on 10 Aug 2008, 23:07

Mate's kind of town Chicago is, Mate's kind of ......

Been to the Windy City on a few occassions. It is a good place to visit.

by **bineaz** on 11 Aug 2008, 11:40

mate,

I replied to your PM, though I didn't understand why you said I can give your phone number to whomever asks. :razz:

The Russians are dicks for dicking around in Georgia. Sore losers.

by **onze** on 11 Aug 2008, 12:30

too bad Georgia isn't within NATO yet.....

by **bineaz** on 11 Aug 2008, 14:41

I had a pleasant conversation with our buddy mate. I even learned his real name--you'd be surprised. Unfortunately, due to scheduling and logistics we can't meet this week but mate hopes to be in Chicago again soon and we will make a point of getting together. We also hope Leo can join us, if palo is not available. ;)

by **bineaz** on 11 Aug 2008, 14:47

onze wrote:too bad Georgia isn't within NATO yet.....

Yea, I'm sure Russia is thinking the same thing.

The rampaging Bear
August 11, 2008
By Sunday, Russia's mauling of Georgia had intensified a warning as clear as it is ominous: Moscow now is willing to deploy overwhelming military force to keep republics of the former Soviet Union from tilting too far to the West.

It's telling that Russia has attacked the most progressive, pro-American of its former republics, a democracy that has cooperated with the U.S. in anti-terror and other intelligence efforts—and a country eager to join the U.S. and its European allies in NATO. This incursion helps explain why.

Georgia is the land of the Rose Revolution, the peaceful democratic uprising of 2003 that pointed the nation and its president, the U.S.-educated Mikhail Saakashvili, toward the West and away from Russia. "This is about annihilation of a democracy on [Russia's] borders," Saakashvili told the BBC. "We on our own cannot fight with Russia."

With the Olympics in full bloom and the U.S. presidential campaign rumbling along, it's hard for Americans to focus on a nasty skirmish on the Russian border. But the stakes for America are significant. Hence Washington's swift response:

President George Bush called on Russia to stop bombing Georgian territory and, in a direct challenge to Moscow, expressed strong support for Georgia.

Who started this conflict—and why—isn't the issue as Monday dawns. The Russians have been looking for an excuse to flex their muscle to intimidate Georgia and encourage its two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This military pummeling surely has rattled fledgling nations that were long dominated from afar by Moscow. Leaders of those countries surely now fear they're next. Those leaders have looked to Washington, NATO and the UN for economic help—and, should the need arise, protection from an oil-emboldened Russia.

The U.S. almost certainly won't be sending troops to this conflict. Nor does Washington want to aggravate Moscow, which it hopes will help prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. That said, crucial principles of freedom and democracy are on the line for the U.S.—and so is loyalty to an ally. If the West looks away in order to appease the Bear, years of liberalizing progress in what was the Soviet sphere could well evaporate.

The accepted wisdom, as we said above, is that the U.S. needs Russia to help contain nuclear proliferation. But this nation also needs a Russia that is not bullying its neighbors—or crushing democracy and free speech in its own land. It doesn't need a Russia that is marching backward to totalitarianism and Soviet-style brutality.

But as the bombers deployed over Georgia attest, the old Russian calculus of power remains potent: In the minds of Russian leaders, they're still locked in a zero-sum game with the West, particularly America. By that paranoid thinking, what's good for the U.S. is bad for Russia, and vice versa.

The U.S. and its NATO allies have limited options short of the military intervention none of them wants. They do, though, need to employ united, forceful diplomacy to blunt this Russian land grab before it spreads.

For Americans who lived through the Cold War and rejoiced when the Berlin Wall fell, this conflict carries uneasy echoes of that era. America prevailed then by countering every Russian threat, not always with military force but with canny diplomacy. Russia was then, and is today, vulnerable to world opinion and pressure. It is now emboldened, and like any bully, looking to see how far it can push its geopolitical influence and military reach. If the world doesn't resist now, it will tacitly encourage more of the same.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opin ... 5722.story

There's another view that hits closer to home: A super power invading a sovereign country on a trumped-up pretext to advance its own geopolitical interest. Sound familiar.

by **onze** on 11 Aug 2008, 16:44

USA should have never set a precedent with Kosovo's independance......Now Georgia is fucked and won't longer exist.That is Russia's escuse to annex Georgia one more time , that way they will control the entire oil & gaz transit to the west from north to south....

by **Falc** on 11 Aug 2008, 17:15

But was it not Georgia that started this fiasco? The message is loud and clear to others not to try anything. What if Mexico tried to take back the Alamo? Don't you think the response would be similar?

by **onze** on 11 Aug 2008, 18:49

when Georgia broke up from the ussr or the russian federation back in the early 90', South Ossetia was part of Georgia.Saakashvili's mistake was to get too close to the west and nato....he is about to pay...shame

by **mate** on 12 Aug 2008, 22:00

It was good at least speaking to Bineaz. He is a good guy with a pleasant personality. As I will be going to Chicago regularly in the next year, we'll have lots of opportunities to meet in person. We'll also find Leo, even if we have to drag him out of his house.

:wink:

By the way, I was surprised at how clean Lake Michigan was. My hotel was the W Lakeshore and right across the street was a sand beach. Lots of bathers, swimmers, and boarders were there. Now I can see why they call this America's 3rd coast. It really is some coastline. You cannot see across the lake to the other side.

Next time I am going swimming for sure.

:wink:

The restaurants were outstanding, by the way. The wine lists were very impressive as was the knowledge of the Sommeliers. For whatever reason, I imagined Chicago as a hard core blue collar town with deep dish pizza and their style of hot dogs. Well, it is a real city after all.

:lol:

by **agentesecreto** on 12 Aug 2008, 22:39

Wine list?

What kind of man are you? Or better yet, are you?

Elitist pig!

by **mate** on 12 Aug 2008, 22:51

Palo, wine is the only high end thing about me. Otherwise, I'm eating hamburgers and even tacos. So relax, I'll patronize your road side stand next time I go to Los Angeles.

:wink:

by **agentesecreto** on 12 Aug 2008, 23:34

I know your type. One of them brought us a painting by his wife as a gift. He bears wine and 5 dollar words when 5 cent words will do.

by **bineaz** on 13 Aug 2008, 11:36

Mate,

It was a pleasure chatting with you too. I'm glad you appreciated our city. Coming from someone familiar with NYC (Chinatown prosciutto!) and SF, that's a nice compliment. Our little dictator Daley would appreciate it.

You were staying in one of the nicer areas but the whole lake front is a jewel; consider that parkland stretches for 28 miles (with as many beaches) plus north shore communities (and it's a shore not a coast:). You may have missed your chance for swimming though. August and September are the warmest months.

by **agentesecreto** on 13 Aug 2008, 17:24

Too bad your climate sucks. But don't head West. WE are full and already we boast a large number of impressive snobs.

Bon Appetite Madamme Mate.

by **mate** on 13 Aug 2008, 23:12

Hey, where is Leo these days? Has he posted on any of the other boards?

Palo, I'm in Sherman Oaks often enough. It's your call to have a buritto with me or not. Hell, the last time I visited I dressed up for and played in an over 30 football match. You could have at least cheered me on.

:wink:

by **bineaz** on 14 Aug 2008, 12:02

Too bad your climate sucks. But don't head West…

BAH -- I wouldn't trade the Great Lakes for anywhere. Wait 'til water is worth more than oil.
:cry:

by **bineaz** on 14 Aug 2008, 12:13

bineaz wrote:....Wait 'til water is worth more than oil.

Obviously it is already worth more than oil as it's essential for life as we know it. It's just people don't act that way, especially those moving to a "better" climate. :roll:

by **onze** on 16 Aug 2008, 05:57

Russia won't leave Georgia until the freely elected georgian president Mikheïl Saakachvili resigns.....time to freeze russian assets in western europe ...too bad we don't have the balls to military confront Putin in central asia....

by **mate** on 16 Aug 2008, 22:47

Leave it to the stupidity of the Russians to shoot themselves in the foot. At a peak time of anti-Americanism and even some rehabilitation of the Russian image, these fools are accelerating the race to get into NATO and under the American security umbrella. I guess it flies over Putin's head that this will have economic repercussions as well, since nobody wants to be at mercy of a sole provider of energy commodities.

From the Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia, to Croatia, Bosnia, Western Europe, and even unto Japan and China, the Russians once again are reminding everyone that they are an armed and egotistical aggressor spreading anything but liberal development. Nothing the United States could have done repairs our image as much as what Russian baboons are doing.

And to fucking think that we let these animals invest and buy assets in the West with impunity whilst they nationalize BP investments, never mind their outright meddling in and invading neighboring nations. Just to not confuse anybody, a Russian military leader threatens Poland with nuclear attack.

What galls me is that if it weren't for nuclear weapons, we would hand the Russians their assess.

by **agentesecreto** on 17 Aug 2008, 15:07

If it weren't for that, the USA would also not bully other countries.
And you call yourself a moderate?

Welcome to the COld War II. Let he games begin. Russia is more compact , richer and still has its formidable armed forces. This should also help avoid the invasion of other countries.

by **onze** on 18 Aug 2008, 14:27

the russian savages didn't pull back their troops of drunkards yet and they probably won't....instead they brought few batteries of short range missiles SS-21 in south-ossetia, capable of reaching Tbilissi.....putin has already annexed 1/4 of Georgia.....

hopefuly russia will be kicked out very soon from G8

by **surnami** on 18 Aug 2008, 14:33

Scores of Russian reporters, critical of Putin, disappear each year or have fatal "accidents".

by **onze** on 18 Aug 2008, 17:13

russian savages bis

U.N. rights body urges Russia fight racism

GENEVA (Reuters) - A key United Nations rights body voiced alarm on Monday at mounting racial violence in Russia and called on Moscow to take firm action against ultra-nationalist and neo-Nazi groups and hate speech in the media.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also urged the Russian government to hold an investigation into police repression of Georgians in Russia in 2006.

The Committee said it was "gravely concerned about the alarming increase in the incidence and severity of racially motivated violence, especially by young people belonging to extremist groups."

The targets of violence and hate speech, it said, were Chechens and other people from the Caucasus, people from Central Asia, Roma, Meskhetian Turks, ethnic minorities of Jewish or Muslim faith and Africans.

The Committee's report followed a discussion its 18 expert members held with a Russian delegation -- and with rights groups from the country -- earlier this month as part of a review of U.N. states' racism record.

Russian human rights activists said during the hearings that police often stood by when skinhead and neo-Nazi groups staged demonstrations against Jews, ethnic minorities or foreigners.

OFFICIAL RACISM

The Committee said a "thorough investigation" was needed into events in 2006, which Tbilisi at the time said reflected official racism against Georgians, stoking tension between the two former Soviet states.

According to reports cited by the Committee, Russian police rounded up hundreds of Georgians and ethnic Georgians with Russian citizenship, held them in packed jails and deported them to Georgia with little or no legal process.

The review was held before this month's conflict setting Russian and pro-Russian forces against Georgian troops in and around Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Roma also suffered from discrimination, the report said, asserting that courts around the country were ordering the destruction of well-established settlements while children attending school were put in special classes.

It called on Russia to take action against police and other officials engaging in "racially selective arrests, searches or other unwarranted acts" based on how people looked.

The Committee noted the government had tried to combat incitement to racial, ethnic and religious hatred in the media and, to a lesser degree, by political figures and parties.

But it said there had been an increase in racist and xenophobic statements in the media and by public officials.

by **onze** on 18 Aug 2008, 17:25

russian savages bis repetita

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said: "The world has seen that even today, there are political morons who are ready to kill innocent and defenseless people in order to satisfy their self-serving interests, while compensating for their own inability to resolve complicated issues by using the most terrible solution -- by exterminating an entire people."

"I think that there should be no mercy for that. We will do our best not to let this crime go unpunished."

He was speaking at a visit to the military headquarters at Vladikavkaz, near the Russian-Georgian border.

Ukraine will be next if not Poland

by **Pabs** on 18 Aug 2008, 20:55

the UN is speaking about wrong-doing's ?

LOL, too funny. Well, maybe these people (Africans, gyspy's, etc) should stay in their own country if they feel mistreated.

What's next ? Affirmative action & land grants to non-Russians ?

Every European nation should take a page out of what Russia is doing.