400,000 flee violence in Kyrgyzstan; US base threatened

RussiaToday said:

The UN says that up to 400 thousand people have fled from the ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan. It also warns that many are facing shortages of food, water and medical supplies. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan's interim government says it could close the U.S. Manas air base in the country if the UK doesn't extradite Maksim Bakiev, the son of the ousted President.

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It's bad enough to cite Russia Today when we're talking about American or European issues, but it's downright ridiculous to listen to anything it has to say when it's talking about a situation where its patron is so deeply involved. It's like reading Xinhua to find out what's going on with Tibet.

RightinNYC said:

It's bad enough to cite Russia Today when we're talking about American or European issues, but it's downright ridiculous to listen to anything it has to say when it's talking about a situation where its patron is so deeply involved. It's like reading Xinhua to find out what's going on with Tibet.

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So do you just listen to American News ? maybe you need to broaden your horizons !

scooby-doo said:

So do you just listen to American News ? maybe you need to broaden your horizons !

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I listen to reliable news wherever it comes from. I don't listen to state-run propaganda enterprises.

Ethnic Fissures Imperil Stability of Kyrgyzstan - NYTimes.com

...The provisional Kyrgyz government has lost control of large areas in the southern part of the country because of its failure to quell attacks that have killed at least several hundred ethnic Uzbeks, and possibly many more. ... Moreover, as many as 400,000 have fled their homes. Barricading themselves in their cities and neighborhoods, Uzbeks have essentially set up autonomous zones and are refusing to recognize the authorities in the capital. ... the government has charged that the deposed president, Kurmanbek S. Bakiyev, incited the violence as a way to return to office.

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RightinNYC said:

I listen to reliable news wherever it comes from. I don't listen to state-run propaganda enterprises.

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Gave up on CNN, ABC, NBC, etc. did you? :mrgreen:

RightinNYC said:

It's bad enough to cite Russia Today when we're talking about American or European issues, but it's downright ridiculous to listen to anything it has to say when it's talking about a situation where its patron is so deeply involved. It's like reading Xinhua to find out what's going on with Tibet.

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So what in the article do you take exception to?

In other words what is not true?

Lord Tammerlain said:

So what in the article do you take exception to?

In other words what is not true?

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I am a member of the Lord Tammerlain fan club.

RightinNYC said:

It's bad enough to cite Russia Today when we're talking about American or European issues, but it's downright ridiculous to listen to anything it has to say when it's talking about a situation where its patron is so deeply involved. It's like reading Xinhua to find out what's going on with Tibet.

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Is RT state controlled? Also how is Russia directly involved in whats going on in Kyrgyzstan?

Sigh! I am really sad about what is happening in Kyrgyzstan. I was there a couple of years ago. It is the only country in Central Asia where it is easy to get a tourist visa. The nature is so pure and unspoiled there, because it is the wild west of travelling, which has prevented tourists from going there and spoiling it. As well that, the governments have been so unstable there, that investors dont want to touch it, which has prevented most of the spoiling, because I doubt any Kyrgyzstani government would have made rules to protect the environment and Kygyzstani people from being exploited by foreign industry. The current violence is likely to not only prevent the nature being spoiled, but to also deprive a lot of families of the summer income they get from the few tourist like me, who come alone, during the short period every year when the weather there allows it.

Lord Tammerlain said:

So what in the article do you take exception to?

In other words what is not true?

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If I claimed that Obama hated America and cited an Alex Jones youtube as proof, no one would expect you to sit through 10 minutes of it and make a bullet point list of the things you found objectionable. The fact that the source is overwhelmingly biased renders its entire content untrustworthy.

Similarly, I'm not sitting through a 10 minute video from Russia Today so that I can provide you with a list of points that I think it embellished or over/underemphasized in order to reflect the Russian government's viewpoint. There are thousands of reliable sources out there with information on the situation in Kyrgyzstan, so there's no reason not to use those as a platform for discussion.

SE102 said:

Is RT state controlled?

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/a...p/News/World/Countries and Territories/Russia

But on Russia Today, an English-language news channel begun in 2005 and financed by the Russian government, a more generous picture emerges. In this Russia, corruption is not quite a scourge but a symptom of a developing economy. And concerns about street thugs, poverty and Ukraine’s aspirations for European Union membership trump fears over Vladimir V. Putin’s grip on power.

This Moscow-based channel’s view of Russia is available to 120 million television viewers worldwide. That includes 20 million in the United States since last summer, when Russia Today was added to Time Warner Cable’s digital package in the New York City region.

The Russian government has already poured more than $100 million into Russia Today, prompting charges that Kremlin sponsorship affects its coverage. Andrei N. Illarionov, a former adviser to Mr. Putin and now one of his critics, last year called the channel Russia’s “best propaganda machine for the outside world.” The station is part of the state-owned news conglomerate RIA Novosti, and news organizations routinely refer to it as “state-run,” including The New York Times, which has said it was created to promote “pro-Kremlin views.”

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Russian News, English Accent - Up To The Minute - CBS News

Interesting stories like the Russian art scene reported by John Kluver, one of the few Americans working for "Russia Today." A former CNN cameraman-turned-correspondent, he's still trying to learn the ropes.

And he has no illusions about his employer.

"When I talk to friends and they say, 'Hey John, what are you doing there? What's with the new project?' I usually describe it in English or in Russian as a propaganda tool for the Russian government," he says.

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SE102 said:

Also how is Russia directly involved in whats going on in Kyrgyzstan?

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The Russian government considers Kyrgyzstan to be within its sphere of influence. Russia gets very testy when other countries interfere in the affairs of its "near abroad," particularly where the country affected has strong ethnic ties to Russia or was a former Soviet republic. It threw a ****fit when the west got involved in Kosovo, but turned around and did the exact same thing in Georgia. It has apparently decided that its interests in Krygyzstan will be best served by allowing the situation there to play out for the moment, which means that nobody else is going to get involved either. I don't know that I necessarily blame them, but they, more than anyone else, have the ability to put an end to this.

Let's hope this does not have a major impact on the Transit Center at Manas since this is the best way to move troops into Afghanistan. Also, it is important for supplies into the area, and also for projecting power in Eastern Europe.

Ty RNYC I did not know that it was a state channel. Interesting.