Putin regrets that USSR did not fight for survival 15 Dec, 2011, 1945 hrs IST, AFP
MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed regret that the leaders of the USSR did not fight to the last to prevent its collapse two decades ago. "The USSR should have started timely economic reforms and changes as well as reforms to strengthen democratic change in the country," ex-KGB agent Putin told Russian television viewers in a phone-in. "They should have consistently, fearlessly and steadfastly -- without burying their heads in the sand or waving their arses in the air -- fought for the territorial integrity of our country," he said. Putin's comments were his latest expression of regret that the USSR collapsed 20 years ago in December 1991, after he in 2005 memorably described its demise as the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century. Meanwhile, Putin implicated Washington in the killing of Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi and launched a tirade against Senator John McCain in an extraordinary attack on US policies. The Russian premier used his annual televised phone-in to unleash the type of no-holds-barred attack that characterised his 2000-2008 term as president and threatens to shadow his expected return to the Kremlin in March polls. Putin turned stone-faced when asked about a tweet from McCain -- one of Washington's fiercest critics of Putin -- warning Russia it faced an "Arab spring" revolt over the disputed December 4 parliamentary elections. "Mr McCain fought in Vietnam. I think that he has enough blood of peaceful citizens on his hands. It must be impossible for him to live without these disgusting scenes anymore," Putin said in reference to Gaddafi. "Who did this?" Putin demanded. "Drones, including American ones. "They attacked his column. Then using the radio -- through the special forces, who should not have been there -- they brought in the so-called opposition and fighters, and killed him without court or investigation." The Pentagon immediately dismissed the charge as "ludicrous". "The assertion that US special operations forces were involved in the killing of Colonel Gaddafi is ludicrous," spokesman Captain John Kirby told AFP on the sidelines of US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's visit to Iraq. "We did not have American boots on the ground in the Libya operation. All our support was done through the air and on the seas." Russia had initially allowed NATO's air campaign in Libya to go ahead by abstaining in a UN Security Council vote. But it then vehemently criticised a campaign that Putin at one stage compared to a Western "crusade". The former KGB agent is widely expected to return to the Kremlin despite a recent dip in public approval and mass street protests -- the first of his rule -- over the outcome of this month's legislative elections. Putin last week blamed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of sparking the rallies by questioning the vote's legitimacy and had earlier accused the State Department of trying to destabilise Russia by funding the opposition. But his response was even more icy when asked about McCain's comments on he his planned return to the presidency and the street protests rocking Moscow. "I know Mr McCain," said Putin while stressing that he prefer not to refer to him as a "friend". "This was not addressed in my direction. This was said about Russia. Some people want to move Russia aside somewhere in a corner, so it does not intervene -- so that it does not intervene in the ruling of the world," said Putin. "They still fear our nuclear capabilities," he said in reference to the West. "That is why we are such an irritant. We have our own opinion and are conducting our own independent foreign policy ... And it clearly bothers someone." Putin has spent years carefully crafting a strongman image that combines feats such as hunting and whaling with a Cold War-style foreign policy that recalls Moscow's might and seems to have especially appealed to voters. That approach worked throughout the past decade and kept his approval at meteoric highs. But his ratings appear to have been hit by the September announcement that he planned to swap jobs with President Dmitry Medvedev next year. The dip in support suggests that Russians may be tiring of hostilities with the West and Putin stressed that the country was not moving into isolation despite his problems with Washington. "The West is far from homogeneous. We have more friends than enemies," Putin said. Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you! -----Original Message----- From: Dominic Tweedie <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:55:21 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [YCLSA Discussion] David Masondo on the Limpopo administration I'm not saying that DHM's politics are shifting, Cde Klaas. I strongly suspect that his politics have never shifted, and that he has always been a Harveyist by nature, or in other words a PBUL - a petty-bourgeois ultra-leftist. I think that while posing as an SACP cadre, DHM was really an entryist all along. That's, let me repeat, *ENTRYIST*. It means a person who enters a political organisation in bad faith, under false pretenses, with the aim of climbing high in its ranks, and then exploiting that position. I did not spell it out in my previous e-mails, but since you are keen to press on down your disastrous road, here it is. Let me repeat: David (DHM) Masondo was a hidden sectarian petty-bourgeois ultra-leftist climber from the beginning of his political career which took him to the position of National Chairperson of the YCLSA and membership of the SACP Central Commmittee, after which he collected his javelin in Limpopo Province as MEC for Finance. His latest hat is of spokesperson for the ANC in Limpopo, in which capacity he is busy trying to factionalise the media. I will predict that the very media victims will go light on David Masondo, and will instead blame "The ANC" or even the President of the Republic for what David "Harvey" Masondo has done all by himself. This is because the bourgeois media recognise DHM as one of their petty-bourgeois own. I predict that they will preserve him even when he appears to be trying to hurt them. VC On 16 December 2011 09:59, Klaas Nono Mabunda <[email protected]>wrote: > ** > If "remnants of factionalism call themselves non-factional, pose as > non-factional," > Then you too Alex & VC are factionalist that seeks to sit on a chair of > non-factional appearance, the article by Masondo actually put in > transparency and related aspects that the Limpopo Provincial Administration > 's Financial Problems are existing and bail outs and amicable resolution of > the encounter are called upon, yet you allow hatred myopic reactions to rub > all the visible issues Masondo raises and timely raise petty capitalisation > of sentences and unreadable paragraphs, then drag the Media accreditation > squabble in the whole thing, regardless that the ANC Limpopo has issued a > Media Statement that apologised on all those affected by the circumstances > and promised redress on the matter, you both speak like Masondo is the PEC, > let alone pretending to forget that Communications is the Subcommittee > within the PEC thus it acts on instructions and guidance of the PEC. > > You always find a way of turning tables against the floor and endure > pleasure in enjoying to claim misinterpretation of a document submitted > mainly by those against President Jacob Zuma 's tactic of leading, yet you > claim non-factionalism from your part, label comrades and force linkage > with Pseudoist like Trosky, then drag Lenin in the scene of your > differences just to better present your insinuate characteristics. > > The financial problems in Free State and North West are equivalent if not > worse than Limpopo, but an enforcement of Section 100[a] is enforced to > Gauteng and Free State, [b] to Limpopo, [b] being the most drastic > subsection under Section 100, whilst at the same space there are > contingency measures put in place to address the fiscal shortfalls of the > Provincial Government. > > North West is literally undergoing shambling leadership and management > crisis which stands at threatening both Organisational and State Security, > due to mounting in fightings on and about, however, scenarios of raising > descent to President Zuma and Mantashe 's leadership aren't rife there > hence no enforcement tightened. > > Including the Eastern Cape Department of Education, where have you > honestly seen the enforcement or imposing of Section 100 being fruitful to > both the state and the masses the state is expected to shelter, it is not a > solution at all. > > Why is the Bank Overdraft at Limpopo an issue or subject for intervention > now of late after that Provincial Government undergone the same challenges > dating back from the years as mentioned by Cde. David Masondo, why wasn't > the need to probe Supply Chain Processes there start at around before and > after the financial year 2003\2004 when Low Cost Houses where half built > but fully paid or why isn't the Department of Sports, Art and Culture there > not listed to be taken care of by National Ministers after the Department > has hosted in succession the Mapungubwe Festival, organised with over R3.4 > Million and only manage to make R80 000, which the Department has lost over > R2.8 Million. > Why wasn't it effected when the Department of Agriculture had problems > with accountability on State owned Farms. > > The Provincial Government indeed as Cde. Masondo has raised needs help not > technical antagonism to see to it the masses of our people are not > destitute and that the Economic or Revenue collection processes are not > intercepted. > > VC as always you allowed your inability to draw a line between > Factionalism and pointing out of facts, to deliver your tongue to > recklessness. > > Why dismiss a writing dogmatically in place of acknowledging the reality > it possesses. > > Perhaps your Mental Colonialism of Extra-Ordinary Special Type > (colonialism of EOSP) is real but applicable to you, As for terming him > Harvey, you lost memory and count of ideology and the fact that life is not > stagnant so is the seeing and understanding of issues at a particular > juncture of a comrade 's articulation and realities prompting the > articulation, are you saying that it is only communist if your believes > aren't shifting, or is reliability perhaps to you accredited when a person > resists growing ideologically. > > Cde. Masondo and many of us 's observation are true that the Decision is > Congress Biased whose outcome matters a lot to us all the residents of > Limpopo. > > "Eager for expropriation proves determination for rightful ownership, > especially where compensation is unlisted" > ------------------------------ > *From: * <[email protected]> > *Sender: * [email protected] > *Date: *Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:49:46 +0000 > *To: *<[email protected]> > *ReplyTo: * [email protected] > *Subject: *Re: [YCLSA Discussion] David Masondo on the Limpopo > administration > > Dear VC, > > This are my preliminary observations, I will return with final copy of > response on every word, sentence and paragraph including illustrations. > > The CDE who has been championing the so-called decriminalisation of > factions and championing factionalism himself, involved in it, is > complaining about what he perceives to be factionalism. I agree with you on > your point about what CDE David ("Harvey", as you have identified him) > Masondo (DHM) says about factionalism recently, I mean in his latest > article as pasted by Tu. In the Disruption of Unity, Lenin shows, taking > Trotsky head-on, how the worst remnants of factionalism call themselves > non-factional, pose as non-factional, and now we can add, complain about > what they perceive as factional. Read DHM's 2010 paper on Nationalisation > and Corruption (rejected by YCLSA) to see for yourself and come into > contact with written exhibit, and the look at his alignment and > realignments, part of which got him as MEC and Spokesperson. For DHM this > is purely non-factional. Jo! > > Secondly, according to DHM provinces are independent countries, only made > part of SA through Section 100 of its Constitution which amounts to > colonialism, perhaps of Extra-Ordinary Special Type (colonialism of EOSP). > This perception by DHM is obviously senseless, worst kind of factionalism, > in fact separatism of un-thought disorder. > > I'm very much interested since we went to elections two years ago, in > 2009, how Limpopo spent public money. By projects being complete is it > meant falling bridges, incomplete RDP houses that have been paid for in > full already? It only makes sense that the value of money for projects and > prices that have been paid be investigated thoroughly regardless of > provincial conference taking place or not taking place. Hiding behind > provincial conference, whose outcome matter less or not at all to many, is > really taking people for a ride. It also hides another dominant view which > DHM is part but does not talk about, i.e. a view to use the fact that there > is provincial conference and national conference taking place now or later > and then using them as shields and reasons to prevent real or alleged > corruption from being dealt with. > > Preliminary end. > > > Sent by AlexM > ------------------------------ > *From: * Dominic Tweedie <[email protected]> > *Sender: * [email protected] > *Date: *Fri, 16 Dec 2011 07:45:22 +0200 > *To: *<[email protected]> > *ReplyTo: * [email protected] > *Cc: *Group Communist University<[email protected]> > *Subject: *Re: [YCLSA Discussion] David Masondo on the Limpopo > administration > > > One thing I always try to maintain is readability. This post of your is > unreadable because it has no paragraph breaks, Cde Thamsanqa. > > In this form it just gives the impression of a long scream of pain by the > man whose glorious career as Finance MEC of Limpopo has been cut very short. > > At a personal level I am sorry for David Masondo, who has always been > polite and pleasant in his manner towards me. > > The fact that he managed to keep his politics (the politics of David > Harvey) hidden from view for so many years while he climbed the ladder, is > another matter altogether. > > I think that Cde Masondo has a problem to distinguish between the > constitutional workings of the mass movement, and factional activity. > > In his simple mind, factionalism is what his opponents do. The three > fingers pointing back at himself, he does not notice. > > We will just have to wait and see what the outcome of the Limpopo congress > is, if we can see it. > > It may be difficult to see, because now the same David Harvey Masondo has > popped up in the guise of ANC spokesperson, and he has been busy excluding > any journalists he may not like from the Limpopo Provincial Congress - > something that I cannot recall happening at any ANC, COSATU or SACP > Congresses at any level, before. > > > VC > > > > > > On 16 December 2011 07:02, Thamsanqa Tu <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Vice Chancellor Tweedie, >> >> I came across this piece of writing on David Masondo's facebook page, >> > -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. 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