Is Russia still this insecure? Pravda still alive and well. AMERICANISATION OF CENTRAL EUROPE http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/02/16/26438.html An economic colonisation process is under way in Central Europe, a region more prone to fall under the influence of Washington than the European Union. While the European Union wades through a sea of red tape and bureaucracy before any measure is taken, the Americans are in there with the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), scouring the terrain for opportunities and making business and personal contacts to be followed up later. After this come the scholarships to study at Universities in the USA, where more personal contacts are made, to be called on in later business or political life. Subsidiaries are set up in the pristine conditions of the fledgling economies, creating jobs and wealth. At first sight, fine. No problem. However, upon closer inspection, the truth begins to dawn, but only after it is too late. The tens of NGOs operating in Slovakia, Prague and Budapest all follow the same directives. First, the local economies are encouraged to deregulate as much as possible, in the name of freedom of operation, but at the same time rendering them more fragile when faced by an economic giant such as the United States. What happens next is that the former state-owned enterprises fall prey to the Mafia, who grab everything in the deregulation process. Second comes the inevitable militarising process, the invitation to join NATO. The colonisation now complete, the process of political lobbying begins. Before the victim knows it, he has lost his identity, lost his sense of direction and lost his power to speak. He is paralysed from the neck down and totally impotent. Old values disappear, the social fabric begins to break apart, in comes the p*rnography, the sleaze, the perversion and the drugs. All of this is done in such a way that the fledgling economy actually thinks it is being helped. When the effects of the love-potion wear off, it is too late. The victim has been raped. Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru How pleasant. I wouldn't know where to start with this idiot, who is not named Sergei, but TOMOTHY. Got to hell, Timothy.
Most of that just sounded paranoid, but this is actually amusing. The Soviet Union railed against "old values" for its entire existence. Now suddenly they're worthwhile? Us companies want to exploit new markets. It does not always follow that the benefits are not recriprocal. Furthermore, I think it's unlikely that NGO's are somehow coordinated to fulfill the dastardly goal of Americanization. If the US really had something like this in mind, it would give more in foreign aid (I actually favor doing so, but for different reasons ). But I seriously doubt that the nation which is dead-last in foreign aid as a % of GDP has some sort of hidden agenda to subvert other nations, culturally. Moreover, any great power is going to try its best to spread its influence, Russia not excepted. While I don't think the US is being particularly insidious, I would grant that we're trying to promote our values, generally. But that's just simple power politics. America will always try to make the world more conducive to American interests. So will all nations. As long as it's not forced, I don't really see a problem with this.
haven, How about the NATO part? All of these countries have been pleading for entrance BEFORE all of this alleged economic scheming because of their big-bully neighbor. Strange how we have some elaborate, well coordinated, covert methods to colonize. He fails to mention that the Russian method of tanks was far more obvious. Also, I think he gives us too much credit. The mafia may have been a result of deregulation in Russia, but that does not mean that it will be the case in other countries. The final irony, is a Russian propoganda paper stating : 'Before the victim knows it, he has lost his identity, lost his sense of direction and lost his power to speak. ' Maybe he's confusing our 'occupation' of other countries with Russian occupation.
Yeah, I think they prefer membership in NATO to Russian occupation . Membership in NATO was also meant to be symbolic, too. In some respects, it was nothing more than a salve for some Eastern European nations not being accepted into the EU. That's what they really wanted.
