Comments on: How Long Does Mikheil Saakashvili Have? http://registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/ Central Asia News -- All Central Asia, All The Time Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:53:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Emergency http://registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/comment-page-1/#comment-375849 Emergency Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:28:18 +0000 http://www.registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/#comment-375849 <a href="http://www.emergency.sownar.com/" rel="nofollow">Find the 10 differences between these two pictures</a> Find the 10 differences between these two pictures

]]> By: jb http://registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/comment-page-1/#comment-375823 jb Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:18:29 +0000 http://www.registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/#comment-375823 OK, <i>now</i> tell me Saakashvili is going anywhere. Tbilisi was nasty today, by the way, and the weather matched nicely. OK, now tell me Saakashvili is going anywhere.

Tbilisi was nasty today, by the way, and the weather matched nicely.

]]> By: jb http://registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/comment-page-1/#comment-375810 jb Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:36:25 +0000 http://www.registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/#comment-375810 Which all isn't to say that I haven't met and debated many fantastic people, and been invited to dinner more than once. But I still have to objectively think all parties here are naive. Which all isn’t to say that I haven’t met and debated many fantastic people, and been invited to dinner more than once. But I still have to objectively think all parties here are naive.

]]> By: jb http://registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/comment-page-1/#comment-375809 jb Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:34:59 +0000 http://www.registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/#comment-375809 As an american who just finds himself in Tbilisi at a convenient time, I have a rather different perspective. Saakashvili isn't going anywhere. The protests, which I've been able to attend for several straight days, are discordant and don't seem to want anything except <i>not this</i>. I've yet to have heard a single progressive idea from anyone in the crowd (albeit limitted to those who can manage english I can understand and not just those who want their picture taken). This isn't the way to run a political overthrow. All they're lacking are giant puppets and a few stubborn "free Mumia" folks to look just like the people who have unsuccesfually tried to overthrow Bush for yearhs. But none of this is to say I don't believe in them. There really ought to be more opportunities for Georgians, and the poverty problem is both real and accute. But these are Badri's protests. Imeda benefits from all of this more than anyone else, getting 24 hour coverage that anyone would watch (if they understood the language). The opposition and those who come out are being used. This won't produce anything useful (or so in the eyes of those who just want the government to employ everyone) or not useful (kicking out Saakashvili, who is at least better than most of the opposition). It just won't happen. As an american who just finds himself in Tbilisi at a convenient time, I have a rather different perspective.

Saakashvili isn’t going anywhere. The protests, which I’ve been able to attend for several straight days, are discordant and don’t seem to want anything except not this. I’ve yet to have heard a single progressive idea from anyone in the crowd (albeit limitted to those who can manage english I can understand and not just those who want their picture taken).

This isn’t the way to run a political overthrow. All they’re lacking are giant puppets and a few stubborn “free Mumia” folks to look just like the people who have unsuccesfually tried to overthrow Bush for yearhs.

But none of this is to say I don’t believe in them. There really ought to be more opportunities for Georgians, and the poverty problem is both real and accute.

But these are Badri’s protests. Imeda benefits from all of this more than anyone else, getting 24 hour coverage that anyone would watch (if they understood the language). The opposition and those who come out are being used. This won’t produce anything useful (or so in the eyes of those who just want the government to employ everyone) or not useful (kicking out Saakashvili, who is at least better than most of the opposition). It just won’t happen.

]]> By: Inkan1969 http://registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/comment-page-1/#comment-375806 Inkan1969 Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:40:34 +0000 http://www.registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/#comment-375806 You sound like your headline wasn't serious. In your post, you talked about how the issues between Saakashvili and Shevardnadze are different, and how these protests are small, and how Saakashvili's reforms seem to be successful. So you don't seem to think Saakashvili will be deposed anytime soon. I hope that's true, that he won't wind up overthrown. Instead I hope this opposition movement matures into a competitive political party in parliamentary elections, or they can field a competitive presidential candidate in scheduled elections, not rushed ones. You sound like your headline wasn’t serious. In your post, you talked about how the issues between Saakashvili and Shevardnadze are different, and how these protests are small, and how Saakashvili’s reforms seem to be successful. So you don’t seem to think Saakashvili will be deposed anytime soon. I hope that’s true, that he won’t wind up overthrown. Instead I hope this opposition movement matures into a competitive political party in parliamentary elections, or they can field a competitive presidential candidate in scheduled elections, not rushed ones.

]]> By: Bakinets http://registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/comment-page-1/#comment-375805 Bakinets Mon, 05 Nov 2007 09:19:37 +0000 http://www.registan.net/index.php/2007/11/05/how-long-does-mikheil-saakashvili-have/#comment-375805 The NYT piece quoted here misses the basic point. A key grievance, maybe the key grievance, against the Saakashvili administration is that after being relatively clean in the beginning, the level of corruption has exploded in the past year. Pretty much everything Okruashvili said regarding official corruption during his kompromat dump was true, and pretty much everyone knows it. (Okruashvili, of course, was corrupt before it was fashionable, but that's neither here nor there.) No one could have said, "Meet the new boss -- same as the old boss" in 2004 or 2005. But now they can. -Bakinets The NYT piece quoted here misses the basic point. A key grievance, maybe the key grievance, against the Saakashvili administration is that after being relatively clean in the beginning, the level of corruption has exploded in the past year. Pretty much everything Okruashvili said regarding official corruption during his kompromat dump was true, and pretty much everyone knows it. (Okruashvili, of course, was corrupt before it was fashionable, but that’s neither here nor there.) No one could have said, “Meet the new boss — same as the old boss” in 2004 or 2005. But now they can.

-Bakinets

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