<DIV>Just as an aside, I don't think praising Stalin is automatically a negative sign  in Georgia. He's a signifier for national pride. Chris Doss <lookoverhere1@yahoo.com> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"> This is not how the Georgians see things. In an interview with a Dutch magazine, Sandra Roelofs, the Dutch wife of the new Georgian president and hence the new first lady of Georgia, explained that her husband aspires to follow in the long tradition of strong Georgian leaders "like Stalin and Beria". Saakashvili started his march on Tbilisi last November with a rally in front of the statue of Stalin in his birthplace, Gori. Unfazed, the western media continue to chatter about Saakashvili's democratic credentials, even though his seizure of power was consolidated with more than 95% of the vote in a poll in January, and even though he said last week that he did not see the point of having any opposition deputies in the national parliament. <A href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1183335,00.html">http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1183335,00.html</A> <HR SIZE=1> Do you Yahoo!? <A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=23609/*http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/static/index2.html">Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway</A> - Enter today___________________________________ http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk</BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!? <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=23609/*http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/static/index2.html">Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway</a> - Enter today