From the weekend:
There is a sense in which Vladimir Putin has given up on on America. His view: America is always bitching at him and Russia about something; America doesn't care about Russia's interests; He is truly mystified, hurt and angry by the personal criticism that has come his way since he became president again; In the past he cared very much about what Official America thought of him and his country but since 2012 he has cared much less. Putin is puzzled and off-put at the charges that his own election was not up to America's standards of fairness, in America's opinion. The same with the corruption and personal enrichment criticism. Henry Kissinger, if I recall correctly, gently remonstrated Official America, to let up a little on this criticism.
Putin has mentioned the Sochi Olympics as one of his grievances. Americans crabbed at him about the cost, about the contrast with the living standards of ordinary Sochi residents; they crabbed about whether the weather would hold up; about his treatment of gays and lesbians; they bitched about security.
There was that one round of Sunday talk shows when there seemed to be a concerted American effort to undermine his Olympics on security. Peter King I remember was one of the them, and at least one other person, got on the talk shows and spoke pretty alarmingly about security concerns in Sochi. This was right after there was a bombing at a train station that killed a lot of people but the bombing did happen quite a distance from Sochi. American officials told the media they were concerned that Russia wasn't sharing security information with them. And there was, as I recall anyway, more than one "news cycle" worth of that. It went on for some time time, more than a week it seems to me, a couple, a few, weeks maybe. The U.S. was going to "beef up" it's "Rapid Response Team" or whatever the hell they call it to evacuate! Americans if there was an "incident," i.e. if Putin couldn't protect them. Anybody remember where this American beefing up was to occur? In the Black Sea. Gradually, that "narrative" played itself out, there were more people, athletes, other countries, other Official Americans, who "pushed back" and finally, but pretty shortly before the opening of the games as I recall, Obama came out and gave his blessing: the Sochi Olympics would be safe. And then didn't attend the Games. Sent a gay and lesbian team to represent him. Putin came to see all of this as a "conspiracy," as a concerted effort by Official America to ruin his Olympics. The undersigned idiot blogger had the same thought! My guess is this is why Obama threw in that seeming non sequitur congratulating Putin on the success of his Paralympics.
He sees Official America as preachy, bitchy, hypocrites. International law: you trumpet it when it suits your interests, ignore it when it doesn't, and never see Russian interests anywhere. You invade where you want to invade, when you want to invade, and your attitude toward your "partners" is "if you're not with us, you're against us." (Bush43 or Rummy actually said that.) Interests: the Obamas are proud pragmatists. It's a cynical philosophy. Putin has, or sees himself as having, a moral-based political vision, and he is dismissive and cynical about the Obamas cynical pragmatism.
On the issues, and they are many and fundamental, that divide America, Europe and Russia, Putin has concluded that he is right and that is an intractable position in which to find an opponent.
This was not in the weekend roundup, this is just my own thought: Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, that
mad Irish woman, Victoria Nuland. I don't like them. They preach, they bitch, they don't sound tough
or look tough, men aren't intimidated by women yelling at them, they don't like it, it makes the men
contemptuous of the women. These women anyway look and sound ridiculous when they do it. The photos of the US ambassador to the UN, that daughter of Erin, confronting Churkin, standing over him and berating him in a sweater too big for her: Embarrassing. Not taken seriously. Taken
contemptuously. If Bill Clinton was America's first "black president," Barack Obama may be America's first female president and America's first female president walks alone.
Also from the weekend: Ellen Berry was right. It is not just Americans and Europeans who afflict Putin. It is his own liberals, Alexei Navalny, Pussy Riot, all those who dreamed publicly of a "Russia without Putin." And so he doesn't care as much what they think either and jails them to make the point.
All bad, it's all bad, and not all Putin's fault. Not by a long stretch. But the worst, and the still unexplained is what he has against the Foreign Ministry, why he cut them out on Ukraine, wouldn't
take Lavrov's phone call for godssake and is making decisions now with the advice of virulent anti-Americans, cranks, crack pots, Rasputins. Yes, Rasputins. Ras-Putin. That's worst of all.
There is a sense in which Vladimir Putin has given up on on America. His view: America is always bitching at him and Russia about something; America doesn't care about Russia's interests; He is truly mystified, hurt and angry by the personal criticism that has come his way since he became president again; In the past he cared very much about what Official America thought of him and his country but since 2012 he has cared much less. Putin is puzzled and off-put at the charges that his own election was not up to America's standards of fairness, in America's opinion. The same with the corruption and personal enrichment criticism. Henry Kissinger, if I recall correctly, gently remonstrated Official America, to let up a little on this criticism.
Putin has mentioned the Sochi Olympics as one of his grievances. Americans crabbed at him about the cost, about the contrast with the living standards of ordinary Sochi residents; they crabbed about whether the weather would hold up; about his treatment of gays and lesbians; they bitched about security.
There was that one round of Sunday talk shows when there seemed to be a concerted American effort to undermine his Olympics on security. Peter King I remember was one of the them, and at least one other person, got on the talk shows and spoke pretty alarmingly about security concerns in Sochi. This was right after there was a bombing at a train station that killed a lot of people but the bombing did happen quite a distance from Sochi. American officials told the media they were concerned that Russia wasn't sharing security information with them. And there was, as I recall anyway, more than one "news cycle" worth of that. It went on for some time time, more than a week it seems to me, a couple, a few, weeks maybe. The U.S. was going to "beef up" it's "Rapid Response Team" or whatever the hell they call it to evacuate! Americans if there was an "incident," i.e. if Putin couldn't protect them. Anybody remember where this American beefing up was to occur? In the Black Sea. Gradually, that "narrative" played itself out, there were more people, athletes, other countries, other Official Americans, who "pushed back" and finally, but pretty shortly before the opening of the games as I recall, Obama came out and gave his blessing: the Sochi Olympics would be safe. And then didn't attend the Games. Sent a gay and lesbian team to represent him. Putin came to see all of this as a "conspiracy," as a concerted effort by Official America to ruin his Olympics. The undersigned idiot blogger had the same thought! My guess is this is why Obama threw in that seeming non sequitur congratulating Putin on the success of his Paralympics.
He sees Official America as preachy, bitchy, hypocrites. International law: you trumpet it when it suits your interests, ignore it when it doesn't, and never see Russian interests anywhere. You invade where you want to invade, when you want to invade, and your attitude toward your "partners" is "if you're not with us, you're against us." (Bush43 or Rummy actually said that.) Interests: the Obamas are proud pragmatists. It's a cynical philosophy. Putin has, or sees himself as having, a moral-based political vision, and he is dismissive and cynical about the Obamas cynical pragmatism.
On the issues, and they are many and fundamental, that divide America, Europe and Russia, Putin has concluded that he is right and that is an intractable position in which to find an opponent.
This was not in the weekend roundup, this is just my own thought: Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, that
mad Irish woman, Victoria Nuland. I don't like them. They preach, they bitch, they don't sound tough
or look tough, men aren't intimidated by women yelling at them, they don't like it, it makes the men
contemptuous of the women. These women anyway look and sound ridiculous when they do it. The photos of the US ambassador to the UN, that daughter of Erin, confronting Churkin, standing over him and berating him in a sweater too big for her: Embarrassing. Not taken seriously. Taken
contemptuously. If Bill Clinton was America's first "black president," Barack Obama may be America's first female president and America's first female president walks alone.
Also from the weekend: Ellen Berry was right. It is not just Americans and Europeans who afflict Putin. It is his own liberals, Alexei Navalny, Pussy Riot, all those who dreamed publicly of a "Russia without Putin." And so he doesn't care as much what they think either and jails them to make the point.
All bad, it's all bad, and not all Putin's fault. Not by a long stretch. But the worst, and the still unexplained is what he has against the Foreign Ministry, why he cut them out on Ukraine, wouldn't
take Lavrov's phone call for godssake and is making decisions now with the advice of virulent anti-Americans, cranks, crack pots, Rasputins. Yes, Rasputins. Ras-Putin. That's worst of all.
