Russia 3

Litvinov? Interesting that you should mention him, considering the history and all.

 

 Jake TapperVerified account ‏@jaketapper 3m3 minutes agoPresident Obama has given 35 Russian operatives 72 hours to leave the country & is shutting down two Russian compounds in Maryland/NY 

 

 

josh wrote:

When Russia comes up, do you wear knee pads or no knee pads?

Sexual slander and defamation of character noted.  You guys really can't take it when someone says something nice about Russia, huh?

just imagine if I had made similar remarks about one of the Russophobes here. I'd never hear the end of it. Let's see how the mod(s) handle this.  Should be amusing.

yippie kay yay

 

Josh, re: post 202.  Really?  You can do better. How 'bout not getting quite so personal.  I actually have opinions on all of this, but I think I'll stick to refereeing. 

ikosmos wrote:

josh wrote:

When Russia comes up, do you wear knee pads or no knee pads?

Sexual slander and defamation of character noted.  You guys really can't take it when someone says something nice about Russia, huh?

 

Not a matter of saying something nice. But I don't think I've seen such impressive cheerleading since college.

I do not understand the Russophobes or the people who attack those who call out Russophobia.

Barack Obama's decision to expel 35 Russian diplomats is perhaps best described as "idiotic." 

Boze wrote:

Barack Obama's decision to expel 35 Russian diplomats is perhaps best described as "idiotic." 

It is indeed. He looks petulant going out, when he could have aimed for what the media would have called "statesmanlike." And unlike environmental rpeervation orders, expelling Russian diplomats achieves nothing. 

Russia has fiscal balance in sight with oil at $50 per barrel:

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Back-to-Black-at-50-Oil-Russia-Cou...

 

Angela Merkel, Russia’s Next Target

We have seen all of this before, employed by the K.G.B. and the East German Stasi: psychological warfare, rumor-mongering, schemes to bribe politicians and then expose them as criminals. They used it both internally, against dissidents, and externally, against Western enemies. Mr. Putin and his former K.G.B. colleagues should know that, this time, we have a better sense of their dirty tricks, and how they have updated Zersetzung for the internet.

The government has its role to play, but so do journalists and civil-society groups. We journalists will put pressure on companies like Facebook and Twitter to be vigilant against fake news; we will expose the patterns of Russian agitprop where we see them.

But it is just as important to be clear about the ideology driving these attacks. In September, my newspaper, Die Zeit, joined with the broadcaster ZDF to reveal details of Moscow’s highly sophisticated disinformation campaign. We had gained access to roughly 10,000 emails that showed how ideologues close to the Putin administration advised the pro-Russian rebel government in Eastern Ukraine.

Among the emails was a document that set “thematic guidelines” which rebel-allied media outlets had to follow — if necessary by distorting facts and faking news. “Today’s Russia is no longer the Russia of the 1990s, but is working unwaveringly to re-establish the strength of the Soviet Union. Today’s Russia is on an equal footing with the West,” it read. “A global diplomatic war is underway. But the West is also suffering in this war, and it is still unclear who will prevail.”

No doubt similar marching orders have been given to the armies of hackers who were sent to attack the Democrats, and who are now plotting attacks on Germany. It is quite clear who will lose. Mr. Putin and his reckless fakers should be aware that the only thing they will harvest from this mendacity is another lost generation of Russians who could serve their country better by being given the opportunity for honest and constructive intellectual challenges. A government that maligns the outside world to make feel Russia great again is doomed to fail — as it failed before.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/01/opinion/angela-merkel-russias-next-ta...

Russia Boosts Anti-Missile Shield Over Crimea with S-400 System

https://on.rt.com/809b

"A new battery of S-400 long-range surfact-to-air missiles has been fully deployed in Russia's Crimea."

Bizarre Glitches Have Some Convinced Russia Is Hacking U.S. Media

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/01/13/c-span-russia-today-msnbc-pompeo...

ikosmos wrote:

Russian President's year-end (FOUR hours long*, extemporaneous) press conference.

Never mind the content, which is fascinating. Just the fact that the Russian President does this, over and over again, is impressive. What Western leader does this? I mean, hours of off-the-cuff, detailed, sometimes humorous, answers to all and every question thrown at him.

I just ran across another take on Putin's press conferences, by a Russian journalist. The piece is in the form of advice to U.S. journalists who are about to face 4 years of interactions with an authoritarian leader rather like Putin. This is the introduction, but I think the whole thing is worth reading.

Alexey Kovalev wrote:

Congratulations, US media! You’ve just covered your first press conference of an authoritarian leader with a massive ego and a deep disdain for your trade and everything you hold dear. We in Russia have been doing it for 12 years now — with a short hiatus when our leader wasn’t technically our leader — so quite a few things during Donald Trump’s press conference rang a bell. Not just mine, in fact — read this excellent round-up in The Moscow Times.

Vladimir Putin’s annual pressers are supposed to be the media event of the year. They are normally held in late December, around Western Christmas time (we Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas two weeks later and it’s not a big deal, unlike New Year’s Eve). Which probably explains why Putin’s pressers don’t get much coverage outside of Russia, except in a relatively narrow niche of Russia-watchers. Putin’s pressers are televised live across all Russian TV channels, attended by all kinds of media — federal news agencies, small local publications and foreign reporters based in Moscow — and are supposed to overshadow every other event in Russia or abroad.

These things are carefully choreographed, typically last no less than four hours, and Putin always comes off as an omniscient and benevolent leader tending to a flock of unruly but adoring children. Given that Putin is probably a role model for Trump, it’s no surprise that he’s apparently taking a page from Putin’s playbook. I have some observations to share with my American colleagues. You’re in this for at least another four years, and you’ll be dealing with things Russian journalists have endured for almost two decades now. I’m talking about Putin here, but see if you can apply any of the below to your own leader.

 

ikosmos wrote:

See how easy that is? And what's a name like kropotkin anyway? Sounds Russian to me.

"Round up the usual Russian suspects."

I'm a Prince of a fellow so I get the royal exemption.

kropotkin1951 wrote:

Great little piece.  It sounds like Putin uses every trick in the book while most Western leaders use a slightly smaller palette of hues to distort the truth. What I don't understand is why Putin hasn't had this journalist arrested or murdered yet? 

Hilarity. Unfortunately, there are a number of Russian journalists - such as Anna Politkovskaya - who are no longer able to be tickled by your puckish sense of humour.

Kovalev probably won't die for his open letter, but I wouldn't put money on his odds if he started a serious investigation into the affairs of Putin or his cronies. Russian journalists are murdered at an alarming rate.

Here's further to how Russian jounalists are looking at the US right now:

https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/you-thought-this-was-rock-bottom-ame...

Quote:

A more bittersweet comedy captured the fact that American journalists can afford to offend the commander-in-chief, without risking the dismantling of their publication. Russian journalists don’t have this luxury, and staff who have worked at independent Russian news outlets like Dozhd, Lenta.ru, RBC, and others know all too well that falling afoul of the Kremlin means you could lose your broadcasting contracts, your office lease, or your chief editors.

For a laugh, some Russian Twitter users joked about a world where Russia’s harsh media landscape extended to the United States.

Don't forget sticky keyboard syndrome. Seems to happen whenever Russia or Vlad Putin are the subects of discussion (if you can call it that).

sherpa-finn wrote:

Dream on. Even Princess Anastasia didn't get an exemption.

Right. And the current government has a direct link to the Provisional one that executed the Romanoffs, therefore this is relevant. 

Are you one of those people who think all Germans are Nazis? Or does this sort of unrelenting bigotry just apply to Russians?

Inquiring minds want to know. 

Sean in Ottawa wrote:

This is fair. I think those who say that Russia is not left anymore and does not deserve extra sympathy for having once been communist must also not connect the present Russian government to previous government including precommunist ones for the purpose of a negative comment either.

This is a clumsy way of putting things but I think we agree. I would add some detail and just note that you could have a grey area.

For example, in many European countries after WW2, every single political party was discredited by their cooperation with the Nazis ... except the Communists. And that made things much easier for the Communists to have post-1945 political successes in those same countries. I'm thinking mainly of eastern Europe (but not only). And I would say that those political parties discredited by collaboration with the Nazis deserve all the opprobrium they got after 1945. I think the US Marshall Plan was a measure - in part - designed to address that "problem" for the non-Communists.

 

In any case, Babbler kropotkin was making a joke by calling himself a Prince ... like the historical figure he's named himself after. I presume most babblers know that.

Babbler bagkitty posted a story from [foreign-owned by IMG/Dutch businessman Derk Sauer] Moscow News in the Russophobia thread so I am taking the liberty of putting the story here (where, I think it belongs). 

Last fall, a conservative Parliamentarian in the Russian Duma proposed some legislation on de-criminalizing domestic violence, or so it is claimed. The Russian government rejected the legislation. This was reported in the same Moscow News but somehow missed by our intrepid babbler bagkitty. lol.

Anyway, this is no laughing matter. The same conservative legislator has brought a similar bill forward and got First Reading just this week.

Let's see where it goes and keep on top of this. Maybe hold off from sending in the US tanks to "liberate" Russian women from the Putin regime for the nonce.

Russian Government Rejects Bill Decriminalizing Domestic Violence

I thought you would get the point without having it spelled out for you. Oh well.

Quote:

When the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan on 7 October 2001, the oppression of Afghan women was used as a justification to overthrow the Taliban regime. Five weeks later the US First Lady, Laura Bush, stated triumphantly: 'Because of our recent military gains in much of Afghanistan, women are no longer imprisoned in their homes... The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women.' But in a detailed report released on 6 October 2003 Amnesty International had a rather different picture to paint: 'Two years after the ending of the Taliban regime the international community and the Afghan Transitional Administration, led by President Hamid Karzai, have proved unable to protect women.

I just wanted to get ahead of any promotion of the "liberation" of Russian women by "the freedom loving NATO regimes" . Cheers.

The Betrayal of Afghan Women by NATO barbarians.

 

Timebandit wrote:

A bill decriminalizing domestic battery has passed now. ... This is a fact.

AFAIK, this is a lie. It passed First Reading. That's it.

Where's your proof? In your dirty underwear? Can we not see it due to "National Security" ?

lol. Keep moving those goal posts, you genius. I bow to your great skill with a deck of cards and some quick chatter.

It only show what a profound thinker you are, how you are so skillful at refuting this Putin-bot, like George slaying the dragon, and your farts don't smell, and so on.

It's interesting that none of you winners has pointed out the obvious. While Sweden criminalized corporal punishment of children in 1979,  the Canadian regime has never done so. We have a loophole for all those conservatives who think it's good to physically punish their children.

Real children are at risk while you drop your stinky load on Vlad the Merciless. Canadian children.

What a lot of stinking hypocrites.

 

ikosmos wrote:

lol. Keep moving those goal posts, you genius. I bow to your great skill with a deck of cards and some quick chatter.

It only show what a profound thinker you are, how you are so skillful at refuting this Putin-bot, like George slaying the dragon, and your farts don't smell, and so on.

It's interesting that none of you winners has pointed out the obvious. While Sweden criminalized corporal punishment of children in 1979,  the Canadian regime has never done so. We have a loophole for all those conservatives who think it's good to physically punish their children.

Real children are at risk while you drop your stinky load on Vlad the Merciless. Canadian children.

What a lot of stinking hypocrites.

 

We aren't talking about Sweden or Canada, we're talking about Russia - a country where it appears it will soon be legal to smack the wife and kids around at least once a year. Your failure to read carefully does not equate to moved goalposts, but your frantic attempts to draw the discussion to other countries speaks volumes.

ikosmos wrote:

Timebandit wrote:

A bill decriminalizing domestic battery has passed now. ... This is a fact.

AFAIK, this is a lie. It passed First Reading. That's it.

Where's your proof? In your dirty underwear? Can we not see it due to "National Security" ?

That is a pretty offensive post.

****

"A bill aimed at decriminalising domestic violence to preserve the “tradition of parental authority” has easily passed through the first stage of approval in the Russian parliament.

....

The proposed law was approved by 368 MPs, with only one coming out in opposition."

This is about RUSSIA. You statred the thread. You made it about Russia, let's talk about Russia. After all, it's your very favouritest subject.

A first reading with massive support has an excellent chance of passing. And all but one of RUSSIA'S federal representatives voted to support BEATING WOMEN AND CHILDREN WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES.

There's your admirable regime, ikosmos. Men who approve of men slapping women around. It doesn't matter what Sweden or Canada does. Or if it does, let's have a thread about it. But this? This is ALL on RUSSIA. And this is the Russia thread. Because you set it up that way, ikosmos. We're just playing along.