Laughland's great strength is that he sees what no one else in the west seems to. Where reporters in Kiev, including the Guardian's own Nick Paton-Walsh, encounter a genuine democracy movement, Laughland comes across "neo-Nazis" (Guardian), or "druggy skinheads from Lvov" (Spectator). And where most observers report serious and specific instances of electoral fraud and malpractice on the part of the supporters of the current prime minister, Laughland complains only of a systematic bias against (the presumably innocent) Mr Yanukovich.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
The Guardian has an opinion piece on John Laughland - PR Man to Europe's Nastiest Regimes, by David Aaronovitch. Finally someone other than the readers is saying how pathetic the guy is.
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Thanks for posting this article, Neeka. It's a necessary corrective. Not clear on why Laughland isn't living in Minsk, since I'm sure he could get a Belarussian visa for life. No Western meddling allowed there. It's a workers' paradise!
ReplyDeleteI ran into an article by Mr. Laughland last night titled "The West closes its eyes to the truth in Ukraine" on www.antiwar.com. I think that perhaps it's is Mr. Laughland who has his eyes (and ears?) closed!
ReplyDeleteI have sent off two long emails to management at antiwar.com regarding this kind of 'reporting'. Please help! antiwar.com is usually on target about a lot of things but they are missing this big story completely! They need real analysis in English that reflects what is actually happening and WHY!!! Most importantly WHY!!!
Wayne Boyer
Chatsworth lake, CA USA
I think today's Guardian article (first link) explains WHY perfectly well.
ReplyDelete-- Mishah
I have just read Mr. Aaronovitch's article in the Guardian. Apparently Mr. Laughland already has a reputation for off-target nonsense. Please note references to www.antiwar.com and the US Libertarian Party in Mr. Aaronovitch's article. As I am a member of the Libertarian Party and a long time avid reader of antiwar.com it is clear to me that Mr. Laughland is NOT any flavor of 'libertarian' and antiwar.com while having a lot of good material on Iraq, Kosovo, etc. is so far missing the truth on events in Ukraine. Please help! Click on the comments link at antiwar.com and help them understand the Ukraine situation!
ReplyDeleteI may be contacted at wrboyer123@aol.com if it helps anybody.
I don't know how to contact Mr. Aaronovitch but I would be glad to help him understand more about US libertarianism and how it relates to world events. Note; It is NOT rightwing like Pat Buchanan and not supportive of any flavor of abhorent authoritarian government.
Wayne Boyer
USA
Whilst I was in the US Sept/Oct I saw the 'third party' presidential election debate, featuring candidates from the Green, Constitution, Socialist and Libertarian parties. Essentially they all agreed on a lot of things, though often for different reasons. Badnarik of the Libertarian party (sorry about the spelling of his name, probably wrong), made perfect sense and I agree it's a mistake to associate libertarian with right-wing. Cobb from the Green Party got my vote though. Essentially it was an intelligent debate which completely put the mainstream presidential debates into perspective.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Stevo