EDITORIAL
Putin lies as the Nation Dies
Once again, instead of facing a dangerous threat to the health of the Russian people, the Putin regime’s only response is lies and coverup. Well, what else can we expect from a clan of proud KGB spies whose forefathers have liquidated far more Russians than any foreign enemy ever dared to dream of doing?
The Wall Street Journal reports:
A top Russian virologist’s charge that health authorities are drastically understating the number of cases of H1N1, or swine, flu — a claim that senior health officials fiercely rejected — has raised questions about Russia’s claims to be relatively unaffected by the pandemic. The controversy started late Sunday, when state television carried an interview with Dmitry Lvov, head of the government’s Institute of Virology, who reported what he said was Russia’s first death from H1N1 influenza, saying his institute had tested a sample from the victim. Dr. Lvov, one of the country’s most prominent health specialists, also said there were “tens of thousands” of H1N1 cases in Russia, far more than the 381 the government officially reports. In his TV interview, Dr. Lvov accused Dr. Onishchenko’s agency of trying to cover up the scale of the outbreak to conceal the failure of their efforts to keep it out of Russia. Dr. Onishchenko rejected those allegations.
Tens of thousands. Once again, just to be clear: Tens of thousands. And the government has reported what? 381.
The Journal continues:
A doctor answering a swine-flu hotline at the state-run Influenza Institute in St. Petersburg this week said, “There have been lethal cases of this flu in Russia. It couldn’t be otherwise; we’re not isolated from the world.” Officially, Russia is one of the few countries left in the world without a single H1N1 death.
381 infections and not one single fatality? Does anyone in his right mind believe this? How are these outrageous, utterly ridiculous lies any different from those told in Soviet times?
They are no different. The Kremlin, as always, cares only about its own power and nothing at all about the people it governs, whose lives it will sacrifice in any number for any end. And the Russian people richly deserve this treatment, since they stand mute while their government murders them in their thousands.
Little wonder, then, that Russia’s population is rapidly disappearing and it reamins one fo the most hopeless failures among the major nations of the world.
La Russophobe 
After reading the above editorial my memory was jolted about a very similar situation to h1n1. Not much in the media about it recently and it sounded pretty serious to me when I heard it. There were reports about TB mutating into something like a much more serious strain. Remember this thing can infect through the air, like on an airplane, and was possibly or likely mutating in Russia, of all places LOL, on account of nonstrict medicational supervision of some kind. Especially in the Petersburg area ( prison population.) I’ve even heard of at least one case that I can remember in which some people were infected with TB while flying from Russia to America. (Although not necessarily a new particularly virulent strain)This sounds to me like something that should be monitored and reported on and yet not a lot out there! Perhaps someone at LR can help us out on this one!
When i first started hearing about Swine Flu was in Europe were i read that a school in England had a epidemic were some young children died and in another case some teenagers died as well
hey la russophobe! i was wondering if you will be publishing saakashvili’s most recent UN speech?
Here you go Kate.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, dear ladies and gentlemen
I thank you for the opportunity today to address this, the 62nd annual gathering of the UN General Assembly.
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=15886
Andrew it’s from 2007
/ 27 Sep.’07 / 12:18
The 2009 one is here:
Saakashvili’s Address to UN General Assembly
Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 26 Sep.’09 / 12:36
As delivered
New York, September 24, 2009,
64th UN Session General Assembly
Mr. President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates.
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to address the 64th annual general debate of the UN.
Each year we gather here to confront our common challenges and to express our vision for the world we share — the world for which we are common stewards.
And each year we promise to do more – to do better – to live up to and defend the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=21504
P.S.
Personally from myself I can add that:
I’ve been following this politician some time already. I have been to Georgia few years before Saakashvili came to power and few years after he became a president. He IS one of the most bravest economic reformer I have ever seen. Georgia defiantly has many problems, but in it;s region Even if Putin does EVERYTHING he can Georgia is still the country I like the most. It’s VERY liberal and free. I respect that.
AND today Georgia in on the 11th place by doingbuisness index of the World Bank. Amazing? It’s reality and it shows!
http://www.doingbusiness.org/EconomyRankings/
Thanks AntiPukin,
and your comments are spot on.
I have seen immense changes for the better in this country over the last 5 years.
Georgians deserve our support against the evil that is the Russian state.
So, for that matter, do the people of the North Caucasus, Ukraine, the Baltic republics, and all of the former Communist Bloc.
The thing is I only wish we really supported that country more. It’s a hard fact that there is not enough of real political and economic support. I’m pretty sure that the money US and EU, Japan and others have provided after Russian
aggression WILL be VERY VERY VERY useful for this country to stabilize itself after Russian invasion. But US needs to do much more. I can guarantee to ANYBODY that as soon as Georgia will become a NATO and EU member (and it has to be done ASAP!) It will become one of the fastest growing economies in the world. This are a very ambitious people, but currently they have too many challenges.
I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! I LIVED THERE NEARLY TWO YEARS AND TRAVELED TO MOST REGIONS OF THIS SMALL AND BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!
Also I have been MANY times to Russia… and I know very well, what I’m talking about when I say that Putin BELONGS in JAIL in a Hague tribunal! And Russian people have to clear their heads, they disgust me.. even though I gave them chance over and over… they never change. 80% of that nation are zombies and they don’t even want to change! It is sad for me, because I have many Russian friends and I hate to see how bad they feel about their country.
thanks for the article andrew, and thank you for supporting georgia. i think saakashvili gave a very good speech, he touched upon extermination of the chechen people and how russians have killed thousands of innocent civillians including women and children. I think this is important, since chechen people have been given very little to almost no voice in the UN. And lastly of course the bloody, unlawful russian occupation of abkhazia and ossetia still continutes as saakashvili pointed out. almsot half a million georgians remain displaced because of it. Abkhazia is a nation built on upon killing and some of the worst atrocities of the late 20th century were committed against georgians there. i hope that the world will not once again turn a blid eye to this bloody, terrible occupation and will start doing something about it.
My pleasure Kate and Bohdan.
I live in the Republic of Georgia nd love this country and its people very much.
They truly wish to create a fully democratic european state, and are fully deserving of our support.
My thanks to both Andrew and Antipukin for the articles by Saashkashvili as he presented them to the world body that is the United Nations. What an example he has set for the rest of the free world to follow!
When will the free world realize that lying/murdering thugs like Putin only understand strength when dealing with them. As they see anything else as a sign of weakness to be exploited to their advantage and to the utmost, fully.
The former Estonian PM supporting Georgia.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Estonian_Signatory_Laar_Champions_Stand_Up_For_Georgia_Letter/1837609.html
“But, of course, I am a little afraid — looking at the comments on the possible report, and looking at the statements of several people who belong to that commission — statements they made even before [joining] the commission. [They seem to be] looking at things from a very, we can say, interesting point of view, forgetting history, forgetting context, and forgetting one simple point: that during the war, no Georgian soldier, no plane, no other military equipment left the legal, internationally recognized territory of Georgia. It was Georgian territory, and no Georgian soldier [left] the borders of Georgia.
So it could not have been any aggression, any attack, or anything like this. One other country — the neighboring country — actually [entered] Georgia in several ways, in several areas, in several trajectories. That’s very clear; this is a fact. And the problem is that some people do not want to look at the facts.”
I mean I never doubted Estonians, but it has to be such a small nation to realize the simple truth and even worse… to not start blaming Georgia for Oil and Gas money… (Yes I’m looking at you Germany. I must say that I am Very disappointed by Germans. I did some research and my friend from Germany a historian reminded me that it was SHEVARDNADZE A GEORGIAN who did all the dirty political work and pulled the strings to MAKE SOVIET ARMY LEAVE GERMANY AND REUNITE GERMANY! I have asked the same thing in Russia and they said that was the truth and that they where still pissed at Georgians and Shevardnadze because of this “mistake” and this was also a part why they wanted to punish Georgians all the way from 1991… Yet Germany was a country that has blocked Georgians from NATO in Bucharest, turning a green light for a Putins Nazi invasion! SHAME ON YOU GERMANS!)
And the Russian “provocations” continue:
EU Official Calls Georgia Explosion A ‘Provocation’
September 25, 2009
TBILISI — The head of the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia says an explosion near the site of talks between Georgian, South Ossetian, and Russian officials is a “dangerous provocation,” RFE/RL’s Russian and Georgian services report.
EUMM head Hansjoerg Haber said the incident threatened the participants in the meeting. The explosion occurred on a road near the village of Ergneti, south of South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, when a police car drove over it. No casualties were reported.
The explosion happened just 40 minutes before a meeting between the Georgian, South Ossetian, and Russian sides to discuss the situation in the region and ways to implement a mechanism for incident prevention that was worked out during recent discussions in Geneva.
Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over Georgia’s breakaway republic of South Ossetia in August 2008 that left Russian forces in control of the territory.
http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Official_Calls_Georgia_Explosion_A_Provocation/1836187.html
great article andrew. i am afraid that the west is slowly abandoning georgia, and starting to blame georgia for the war. im shocked to see so many reports in the media blaming georgia and writing things without considering any historical context or any real information and knowledge of what is happening in ossetia(real name samachablo) and abkhazeti.