I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am actually relieved. Been trying to get Ambersun to call me a Latvian for a long, long time now. Since I am a native speaker of Latvian I’ll take what I can get.

Andrejs, native baddist scurvy the uncorrected

ambersun - 01 September 2010 10:25 AM

http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/world/article.php?id=36047839

October 2 is just a month away…

Into - thank you very much for the link to the NY Times article on languages. 
I’ve sent it to other bi-linguals. 
The article doesn’t mention how people raised multi-lingually differ from their neighbors, but I’ve cetainly ‘felt’ different all my life.

Kaspars Gerhards is a poster boy for all the incompetent, lying, double-dealing politicians running/ruining Latvia today.  Thank you ambersun for posting the link above (sans any personal opinion as usual).  I missed it.  Now we can add “moron” to his political CV.  Elections couldn’t come sooner…..

ak

“Kaspars Gerhards is a poster boy for all the incompetent, lying, double-dealing politicians running/ruining Latvia today….”

Sorry, I meant to type ethnobureaucrats, not politicians.  He is way down the line in the list of politicians for the poster boy title.

ak

“Kaspars Gerhards is a poster boy for all the incompetent, lying, double-dealing politicians running/ruining Latvia today.”

Here is the video.

AK,
You obviously got what you wanted out of that video. Here’s the point you missed:
http://www2.la.lv/lat/latvijas_avize/jaunakaja_numura/komentari..viedokli/?doc=84612

M. Ruks: Gerharda nostāja – paraugs citiem politiķiem
02.09.2010.

LR satiksmes ministrs Kaspars Gerhards 31. augustā TV5 raidījumā ar zīmīgu nosaukumu “Bez cenzūras”, neraugoties uz žurnālista Andreja Mamikina pūlēm noniecināt latviešu valodu, atteicās runāt krieviski, demonstrējot valstiski atbildīgu attieksmi un vienlaikus studijā spilgti atklājot acīmredzamu tendenci mūsu valstī pēdējos gados. Žurnālists Mamikins diezgan ciniski pārtrauca sākto interviju, laikam jau tieši nodemonstrējot, ka latviešu valoda viņam, omulīgajam ziņu un notikumu apskatniekam ar mūsdienu Rīgas panorāmu fonā aiz muguras, ir pilnīgi nepieņemama. Izskatās, ka Mamikins savā prātā tomēr sajaucis aprēķinus – šķietami joprojām dzīvojot vai nu PSRS, vai cariskā Krievijā un vēl pēc ministra K. Gerharda aiziešanas īpaši šķendējoties savai auditorijai, ka tādiem “mēs apmaksājot” benzīnu utt. Jāpiebilst, ka šis kanāls TV5, piemēram, uz krievu auditoriju tendētā “Baltkom” programmpiedāvājumā tiek apzīmēts kā latviski raidošs.

Interesanti, ka vairākums plašsaziņas līdzekļu šo atgadījumu atspoguļo īpatni – akcentējot nevis to, ka ministram tika liegta iespēja turpināt interviju valsts valodā, bet gan pašsaprotamo lietu (tiesa gan, politiskās elites bieži ignorētu), ka kāds LR ministrs krievvalodīgā raidījumā runājis latviski. Domāju, ka pat ilgus gadus nacionāla mazvērtības kompleksā “audzinātai” TV latviskās auditorijas daļai tomēr šķiet, ka Latvijas valstī runāt latviski nav nekas ārkārtīgs, lai arī svaru kausi pēdējos gados bieži svērušies ačgārni – reizēm pat bez tulkojuma translējot kādus krieviskus viedokļus u. tml.

Taču krievvalodīgo auditorijas vērtējums pēc Mamikina raidījuma tūlīt speciāli izveidotā skatītāju aptaujā atklāj, ka normāla, saprotama, savas valsts likumus cienoša ministra rīcība esot “galēja nacionālisma demonstrējums”, un liek nopietni pārdomāt dažas lietas, kā arī signalizē, ka valsts valodu arvien vairāk nekautrējas demonstratīvi ignorēt dažādos līmeņos, ka mūsu valstī pastāv ļoti nopietni valodisku konfliktu draudi, un tas traucē ne vien ekonomiskai izaugsmei, bet arī dažādu sabiedrisku procesu attīstībai.

Kā gan Latvijas valsts virzīsies tālāk, naturalizējot iespaidīgu skaitu krievvalodīgo, kas joprojām tiek atklāti apstrādāta lielkrievu šovinisma garā?

Būtu ļoti labi redzēt, ka šāda ministra Kaspara Gerharda nesenā rīcība nav kāds izņēmuma gadījums, bet paraugs citiem politiķiem, ierēdņiem, žurnālistiem un beidzot pozitīvs pavērsiens, stiprinot latviešu valodu un cienot Latvijas valsti.

Maybe you’ll like this one better that promises Latvia a bright future with lots of the political honesty you’re used to seeing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiucLvwraVE&feature=email

Māris Ruks will be one of your new authorities, Ambi? Wonderful!

/P

Peteris,
And your new government will be the honest and ethical SC and your new “official bilingual” “minority” language will be Russian?

Any comment from your “cosmopolitan, bilingual (Russian/Russian)” Dvinsk, known to normal Latvians as Daugavpils?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiucLvwraVE&feature=email

It’s not your government, too, Mme. Prez? Aren’t you a citizen?

/P

Peteris, it’s your government since I never would have with “pathological tolerance”  watched the mess develop.

So maybe you don’t like Ruks as the messenger then maybe you prefer Kleckins?
http://www.delfi.lv/news/velesanas_2010/zinas/kleckins-uzstajigs-lugums-publiskaja-telpa-runat-krievu-valoda-ir-skandals.d?id=33867745

Uh, Ambersun—you didn’t answer the question. Are you saying that you are not a citizen? You keep proclaiming yourself Latvian, native Latvian, pretty much ultra-Latvian—so how could you not have watched this mess develop? I assumed that you are part of the Latvian nation. You’re not?

/P

By the way, I’m all for principled stand on the issue of the language, but doesn’t anyone else find the sudden change of heart toward Russian from the minister of transport just a tiny bit hypocritical? After all, he did give interviews in Russian to the same channel. Why the sudden change of heart if not hypocrisy ahead of the election to gain some votes.. Or is my version completely implausible and is sponsored by the Kremlin, ambi?

PS Funny, ambi, how you invoke anyone who fits your opinion showing your own lack of courage to say what you believe. Did you know, ambi, that Kleckins is an evil SC appointee to the board. Remember the Horizontal taimkods? Is he an authority?

“AK, You obviously got what you wanted out of that video. Here’s the point you missed:”
http://www2.la.lv/lat/latvijas_avize/jaunakaja_numura/komentari..viedokli/?doc=84612

Didn’t miss any points.  This crap you cited by the great “VVF as KGB agent” exposer Maris Ruks in the old Lauku Avize agitprop rag just reinforces my point.  Having totally disgraced himself in the scandalous airBaltic-Flick affair by lying through his teeth and demonstrating his total incompetence as a government minister (i.e. public servant whose salary I pay) Gerhards couldn’t think of anything smarter than to play the “government language” card after *agreeing* to go on a Russian language TV show and answer questions about his role in the affair, thinking that would some how redeem him in the eyes of all true patriots.  That makes him a moron, on top of being a total slimeball.

“Maybe you’ll like this one better that promises Latvia a bright future with lots of the political honesty you’re used to seeing:”

I’m watching all the election ads that I can find (I don’t need to go to the Lithuanian Delfi site to find stuff on Latvia, as you do for some reason, but as I said I’m glad you caught that clip).  Why you would say I’m used to seeing political honesty is beyond me. 

ak

Well, Aleksejs, if you want to join the cretin cabal and assume that I would so easily forget about Kleckins (or anything)  - or would anyone in Latvia with a memory - you deserve to be the leader of the simians.  So far you and yours have chosen to carry on about Gerhards, Kleckins, Ruks, anyone else? and whatever but so much for the point of finally someone - ANYONE - making a stand and just using the friggin “official” language of Latvian.  Whew.  So what about the reporter?  Such a “Stalinist” reaction, hey?  Do you know him or why he is in his position when such an offensively monolingual-Russian, thin-skinned extremist Russian- nationalist?  How about you, Peteris?  Perhaps compare and contrast to Glenn Beck since at other times you’re so much into the reporter?