Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site rochester.UUCP
Path: utzoo!lsuc!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!qantel!lll-crg!seismo!rochester!ray
From: ray@rochester.UUCP (Ray Frank)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: More double standards
Message-ID: <13524@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 27-Nov-85 09:08:18 EST
Article-I.D.: rocheste.13524
Posted: Wed Nov 27 09:08:18 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 29-Nov-85 21:10:03 EST
References: <544@qantel.UUCP> <7800608@inmet.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 44

> In article <13348@rochester.UUCP> ray@rochester.UUCP (Ray Frank) writes:
> >
> >Have you ever wondered how the Soviet Union came to be the largest country
> >in the world?  How about expansionism?  Aggression?  They've  built up their
> >empire for the past 700 years.
> 
> For those who are unaware, the Soviet Union is less than 70 years old, and
> have *not* been building up their empire for 700 years.  The Soviet Union
> came to be so large because it inherited the lands of Imperial Russia.

The Soviet Union as we know it today is only 70 years, but 'mother' Russia
dates back well before 70 years.  The government has changed just as the
government of England has changed since the days of the all powerfull kings
and queens.  But England is still England just as Russia is still Russia with
it's idiologies still intact.

You say Russia 'inherited' the lands from Imperial Russia.  What happened,
some rich person died and gave a country to Russia.  No, Imperial Russia
has been growing with an insatiable appetite for real estate for 700 years.

Because of the Soviet suppression of Solidarity in Czechoslovakia and the
invasion of Afghanistan by imperialistic Russia troops, we invoked sanctions
against Russia, ie; limited trade, no direct commercial flights to Russia, etc.
During the recent Summit, we lifted most of these sanctions.  Guess what,
Solidarity is still dead, and 100,000 Russias are still killing in Afganistan.
And people say we took a hard line at the summit talks.  Seems that Russia
came out ahead.  This in general seems to be the atitude of Russian negotiators,
what's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable.  

And for those who don't know, Russia has been working on their own star wars
since 1975, just because it is not as successful as they had hoped in no way
diminishes the fact that they tried to do what they are most against us doing
in 1985, that is, star wars research.  I suppose we should let them win this
one too and drop all research?

I'm not saying we should'nt have summits, horror of horrors, we should have
many summits.  But we need to go into negotiations with open eyes.  We need
to let the Soviets know that we know where they're coming from and what they
want.  We can't pretend they're nice guys ready to be honest and accomadating.
The U.S for the first time in memory has taken a rather hard stand with the
Soviets, having from past dealings with them, realized that this is all they
understand or respect;  negotiating from a position of power and realism.

ray