Zaza Rallies for Peace

[Swish]

click

More than 100 people from Eastern European Georgia, including Hawks center Zaza Pachulia, gathered at Centennial Olympic Park at a peace rally.

Good to see Zaza caring for his country. I like Za, I really do, if he holds to his potential he can be very useful.

[DrReality]

He needs to show his passion more on the court. Said it before and I'll say it again, he needs to play every night like he did against Boston.

[Swatguy]

He needs to show his passion more on the court. Said it before and I'll say it again, he needs to play every night like he did against Boston.

I believe he will. He is playing for a new contract now.

[frosgrim]

He needs to show his passion more on the court. Said it before and I'll say it again, he needs to play every night like he did against Boston.

Agreed, but showing some emotion about one's homeland where one's relatives and loved ones are, while being invaded, is a slightly different story. The Russians are in full-fleged invasion mode and are threatening to invade the captial Tblisi if they don't get what they want. The quote that really gets me about this invasion is "we have sufficiently punished Georgia". That sounds like a return to the old Soviet domination ways. Not a good sign.

[Sasha_Volkov]

$10 says Zaza fouls Kirilenko a bit harder this season.

[Theeyo]

$10 says Zaza fouls Kirilenko a bit harder this season.

I busted out laughing when i read this...i wouldnt doubt it

[Swish]

He should go Rocky on him. A Marvin/Rondo type clothesline in his future?

Watch out for Z's noggin Andrei.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

He needs to show his passion more on the court. Said it before and I'll say it again, he needs to play every night like he did against Boston.

Why does everyone say Zaza played well against Boston? have you check his stats (15mins 28%fg 4pt 3reb)? That one incident with KG doesn't excuse him from his production. The day they trade away Zaza or get a new coach is the day the Hawks bench can be productive.

[Seano]

Agreed, but showing some emotion about one's homeland where one's relatives and loved ones are, while being invaded, is a slightly different story. The Russians are in full-fleged invasion mode and are threatening to invade the captial Tblisi if they don't get what they want. The quote that really gets me about this invasion is "we have sufficiently punished Georgia". That sounds like a return to the old Soviet domination ways. Not a good sign.

Well, you have to look beyond the simplistic view of 'big, bad imperialist Russia invading tiny, plucky, democratic Georgia', because there's a whole lot more to the story than that. The reality is that Georgia pushed this confrontation. They are the ones who started it (by bombing South Ossetia), and so they pretty much invited a Russian counter-attack....though the scale of that counter-attack is what took everyone by surprise. No one expected the Russians to respond with that kind of ferocity. And RE: Georgian 'democracy', yes it is a democracy in name and Saakashvili is our fair-haired boy in the region, but he is also showing more and more signs of an authoritarian bent, and that is worrisome. And as harsh as the Russians have been on him, he's been equally as harsh on the South Ossetians and Abkhazians. It's a case of the big guys beating up on the smaller guys all over again. As Georgia does to S. Ossetia and Abkhazia, so does Russia do to Georgia....

And the United States played a large role too, infuriating and threatening Russia by promoting NATO membership for Georgia and the Ukraine so strongly. I mean that's trying to create a hostile and destabilizing environment right on Russia's doorstep, and thank god the Europeans tabled the motion for Georgian acceptance into NATO....else we might have had something *really* serious here, because legally NATO forces would have been required to come to the assistance of Georgia, and then you've got nuclear powers squaring off against one another on the battlefield. Not good, not good at all. And our backing of Georgia for NATO membership would be along the same lines as if the Warsaw Pact had tried to add Mexico or Canada into its sphere of influence and under its protective umbrella...something obviously just completely unacceptable. And the reason the Europeans were reluctant to see Georgia given NATO membership are clearly on display in Georgia's treatment of its breakaway republics....because Georgia is not stable enough nor is it nearly responsible enough to be given NATO membership and all the gravity, caution and care that that entails.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia sat back for a period of almost 20 years, but now they are asserting their influence as a great power once again. They are no longer a global superpower as we still are, but they are obviously no one to be provoked in any way, shape, or form- and the Georgians clearly provoked them. They were looking for a fight, and they got themselves one. It looks to be over now though, thankfully. Anyway, way off-topic. Sorry about that....

[thesheedera]

Well, you have to look beyond the simplistic view of 'big, bad imperialist Russia invading tiny, plucky, democratic Georgia', because there's a whole lot more to the story than that. The reality is that Georgia pushed this confrontation. They are the ones who started it (by bombing South Ossetia), and so they pretty much invited a Russian counter-attack....though the scale of that counter-attack is what took everyone by surprise. No one expected the Russians to respond with that kind of ferocity. And RE: Georgian 'democracy', yes it is a democracy in name and Saakashvili is our fair-haired boy in the region, but he is also showing more and more signs of an authoritarian bent, and that is worrisome. And as harsh as the Russians have been on him, he's been equally as harsh on the South Ossetians and Abkhazians. It's a case of the big guys beating up on the smaller guys all over again. As Georgia does to S. Ossetia and Abkhazia, so does Russia do to Georgia....

And the United States played a large role too, infuriating and threatening Russia by promoting NATO membership for Georgia and the Ukraine so strongly. I mean that's trying to create a hostile and destabilizing environment right on Russia's doorstep, and thank god the Europeans tabled the motion for Georgian acceptance into NATO....else we might have had something *really* serious here, because legally NATO forces would have been required to come to the assistance of Georgia, and then you've got nuclear powers squaring off against one another on the battlefield. Not good, not good at all. And our backing of Georgia for NATO membership would be along the same lines as if the Warsaw Pact had tried to add Mexico or Canada into its sphere of influence and under its protective umbrella...something obviously just completely unacceptable. And the reason the Europeans were reluctant to see Georgia given NATO membership are clearly on display in Georgia's treatment of its breakaway republics....because Georgia is not stable enough nor is it nearly responsible enough to be given NATO membership and all the gravity, caution and care that that entails.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia sat back for a period of almost 20 years, but now they are asserting their influence as a great power once again. They are no longer a global superpower as we still are, but they are obviously no one to be provoked in any way, shape, or form- and the Georgians clearly provoked them. They were looking for a fight, and they got themselves one. It looks to be over now though, thankfully. Anyway, way off-topic. Sorry about that....

I have no idea if this is good balanced info or a serious spin job, but it sure as hell seemed informative to me. I haven't been paying much attention to this situation, so thanks for a great recap.

Now if it's just a huge spin job, go to hell you red bastard.

;)

[hussamga]

Sounds like Georgias war of 1812 to me...

But seriously, theres been alot of issues with countries gaining independence only to have problems maintaining their territorial integrity. Georgia is powerful (enough to be independent) and has the resources and water access to black sea. I dont know what South Ossetia has for resources to maintain economic security if it does secede, but there must be an energy play within.

Its hard to believe russia and how it likes to spin events..while im sure there have been faults for each side...the greater blame must be placed on Russia since it accepted the independence of Georgia years ago...

Edited August 13, 2008 by hussamga

[pound4pound]

This post reads better in the original Russian

"Наилучшим образом, вы должны посмотреть за примитивный взглядом ' большой, плохой вторгаться малюсенький, отважное, демократическое Georgia' Россия империалиста; , потому что there' гораздо A.S. больше к рассказу чем то. Реальность что Грузия нажало эту конфронтацию. Они одни которые начали его (путем бомбя южное Ossetia), и так они довольно очень пригласили русское контрнаступление….однако маштаб того контрнаступления что приняло каждое сярпризом. Никто ожидали, что русские ответили с тем добросердечным зверства. И RE: Georgian ' democracy' , да народовластие в имени и Saakashvili наш fair-haired мальчик в зоне, но он также показывает больше и больше подписывает авторитарной склонности, и то вызывающий тревогу. И как жестковато как русские на ем, he' s, котор будут поровну как жестковато на южных Ossetians и Abkhazians. It' случай A.S. большие ванты вверх на более малых вантах все с начала. По мере того как Грузия делает к S. Ossetia и Abkhazia, поэтому делает Россия делает к Грузия…. И Соединенные Штаты сыграло большую роль слишком, разъяряющ и угрожающ Россия путем повышать членство НАТО для Грузия и Украин настолько сильно. Я значу that' s пробуя создать вражеское и дестабилизируя право окружающей среды на Russia' порог s, и благодарит бога европейцы поставили движение на обсуждение для Georgian принятия в НАТО….еще мы могли иметь что-то *really* серьезное здесь, потому что законно необходимы, что пришли силы НАТО к помощи Грузия, и после этого you' ve получил ядерные державы придавая квадратную форму против одного другое на поле брани. Не хорошо, не хорошо на всех. И наша затыловка Грузия для членства НАТО находилась бы вдоль таких же линий если Варшавский пакт попробовал добавить Мексика или Канада в свою сферу влияния и под своим защитным зонтиком… что-то очевидно как раз вполне неприемлемое. И причина европейцы была неохотна увидеть что Грузия, котор дали членство НАТО ясно дальше дисплей в Georgia' обработка s своих республик breakaway….потому что Грузия не стабилизировано достаточно ни оно почти ответственное достаточно даться членство НАТО и полностью силу тяжести, предосторежение и внимательность которую то повлечет. После распада Советского Союза, Россия сидело назад на период почти 20 лет, но теперь они утверждают их влияние как великая держава еще раз. Они не более длинни глобальная высшая сила по мере того как мы все еще, но они очевидно никто, котор нужно спровоцировать в любом случае, формируют, или Georgians формы и ясно спровоцировало их. Они искали драка, и они получили одно. Она смотрят, что будет сверх теперь однако, благодарно. В лубом случае, -тема путя. Огорченно"

[Seano]

Sounds like Georgias war of 1812 to me...

But seriously, theres been alot of issues with countries gaining independence only to have problems maintaining their territorial integrity. Georgia is powerful (enough to be independent) and has the resources and water access to black sea. I dont know what South Ossetia has for resources to maintain economic security if it does secede, but there must be an energy play within.

Its hard to believe russia and how it likes to spin events..while im sure there have been faults for each side...the greater blame must be placed on Russia since it accepted the independence of Georgia years ago...

Well, they've both been pushing each other. The fact that Russia was able to respond so quickly and with such overwhelming force suggests they were readying for a Georgian conflict for some time. But there's also no question that Saakashvili's close affiliation with the West and especially the United States gave him the feeling that he had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted in the breakaway republics without fear of consequence, which was obviously a gross miscalculation on his part.

Georgia was always a part of Imperial Russia, long, long before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. So they were not a people who were conquered and subjugated by the Soviets as were the citizens of the Baltic States and eastern Europe. Josef Stalin himself was born and raised in Russian Georgia. And the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have always been much more closely affiliated with Russia and have felt much more a part of Russia than they've ever felt 'Georgian', and for that they've paid the price ever since Georgia was granted its independence. Under the authority of the government in Tblisi, they have been persecuted by ethnic Georgians, discriminated against, treated extremely unfairly, and finally openly attacked....and Moscow foresaw all this and prepared accordingly. Russia has been issuing Russian passports and granting Russian citizenship to occupants in the breakaway republics for several years now, presumably to give them an excuse for military action (in the form of coming to the rescue of Russian citizens), should the situation ever come to a head, which really was an inevitability that it would. Now the Russian reports of Georgian 'genocide' in the breakaway republics are laughably inaccurate and such obvious propaganda that it seems almost pointless....but that doesn't change the fact that the people in those territories were without question persecuted and treated very, very poorly by their Georgian masters.

This is not the weakened and kindler, gentler Russia of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. There was hope for awhile there that Russia and the West could even become 'friends' if not allies, but those hopes are clearly gone. It seems there will always be tensions between the two sides, because we are so different fundamentally and with such divergent objectives and aims. And Vladimir Putin is an old-school hardliner. He's ex-KGB, and it shows. He has been quoted as calling the dissolution of the Soviet Union a 'geopolitical tragedy', and despite his personal frindship with George W., it's clear the guy is hard as steel, and he's going to do whatever he feels will advance the interests of Russia whether that's in opposition to the West or not.