As much as I try to find exciting subjects in my locale that interest and directly affect me I keep getting side tracked by the ongoing antics of the international political class and it's commercial media. While there are many doomed and pitiful leaders that amuse daily, I am instead constantly directed to hyper active and surprisingly effective Doctor of Jurisprudence, international evil villian extraordinaire, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. I am usually not too surprised by the acts attributed to the Kremlin because I acknowledge the high level of Putin's conflict generating apparatus even at the expense of his citizens who he professes to represent but clearly cares not a wit about. Can you imagine what he could achieve if he were to be constructive? I am just deeply embarrassed that they can pull off even half of the acts attributed to them given the condition of the Russian Federation and the combined forces aligned against them. The West/EU has become flabby and it just goes to show that shiny toys and platitudes from fickle politicians won't carry the day against a dedicated enemy. As if that should surprise anyone! A thinking person would give credit where credit is due. So, well done Mr. Putin. You have become everyones bogeyman which I am sure serves many different agendas but most importantly, your own.
Living in a Baltic State you could forgive me for obsessing about Putin but we consider him a hot local issue and a real danger in spite of the Kremlin's attention currently being directed elsewhere in it's pursuit of Empire. You just have to listen to the ethnic Russians voice their support and feel their anticipation. Listen to the local Russian language news channels and the perpetual outrage conveyed therein, count the pro Putin tee-shirts, Saint George ribbons, Russian flags, Putin cell phone covers, Russian Federation automobile license plates, note the superior attitudes and denigrating conversations when out and about on the beach in Jurmala, on public transport or in the shops and cafe's, etc. But now Putin has even injected himself into the greatest shit show on earth, the US Presidential race. I'm speaking about the Hillary Clinton email hack if you haven't been keeping up. The Kremlins involvement is far from a fact at this point in time but you have to admit the circumstantial evidence is starting to pile up and it would be irresponsible on our part not to speculate.
Not to be outdone by competition for the gaze of the masses the psycotically narcissistic Trump in his usual damn the torpedoes style has climbed over Putin in an attempt to reclaim the ever moving spotlight and inadvertedly (or more likely not really caring in his crack head single minded promotion of "The Donald") removed any doubt that he is a Putin apologist and more. By actually inviting Russia to get involved in a presidential race he has in the minds of many committed an act of treason.
The thing that all of this has in common is Putin's involvement real or imagined. Since Russia is actually at war with the West and has been for quite some time I would opine that it is more real than imagined. Call it an asymetrical non-shooting war or whatever makes you feel good but when everything is weaponized war it is.
I hate to bring it up but you Mr. Trump are hardly unique in your man love of Mr. Putin and must join a long and varied list of fellow apologists and sycophants ranging from the far left to the far right and the evangelicals, all of whom hate the current system and think that they and they alone in true fascist style could do better.
A short list off the top of my head:
pretty much anyone at Opednews or Alternet ;)
Australia;
Tom Switzer, a journalist and lecturer at Sydney University
America;
Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif, Putin arm
wrestler.
John Mearsheimer, a professor at the University of Chicago
Stephen F. Cohen is
professor emeritus of Russian studies, history, and politics at New York
University and Princeton University
Sen. Amy
Klobuchar Minnesota secretary of state
Gilbert
Doctorow, a like-minded Brussels-based
U.S. expatriate and self-styled “professional
Russia-watcher,” has had a long career in multinational business as well as
scholarship and punditry.
James Carden, the formerNational Interest columnist who is now editor of
ACEWA’s website.
Italy;
half the country
Germany;
former chancellor of the
SPD, Helmut Schmidt
former chancellor,
Gerhard Schröder
Philipp Missfelder, the
foreign affairs spokesman for the parliamentary group of Chancellor Angela
Merkel's conservatives
German feminist
intellectual leader Alice Schwarzer
Armin Laschet, who heads
Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in the populous state of North
Rhine-Westphalia, has even warned against anti-Putin populism
Gregor Gysi, the head of
the Left Party and former head of the successor party to East Germany's
communists which preceded the Left Party
Left Party. Gysi's party
ally, deputy chairwoman Sahra Wagenknecht
conservative
politician Alexander Gauland as well, if he were still in parliament. Gauland
spent many years as an influential politician with Merkel's conservative CDU.
Today he's a senior official with the euro-critical, conservative, Alternative
for Germany party (AFD).
Klaus von Dohnanyi would
question the inviolability of European borders. Dohnanyi is a conservative
Social Democrat and enjoys widespread respect among CDU politicians as well. He
is the personification of Germany's political center.
Britain;
Liam
Halligan, author of a weekly Economics Agenda column in The Sunday Telegraph.
He has lived in Russia and between 2007 and 2013 was Chief Economist at
Prosperity Capital Management - the world’s largest asset-management company
that specialises in Russia/CIS investments.
Austria;
Canada;
And on and on it goes. Feel free to add to that list or submit that someone should be removed and why you think so.
Why is it that so many westerners fall for the Kremlin propaganda and blame Russia's bad behaviour on NATO or western leaders various and sundry? It is clear that Putin made a calculation a long time ago that to achieve and maintain power he was going to have to build a cult of personality that criminaly cannabalized itself while he blamed his inability to drag Russia into the modern world on the west or the EU or whoever was convenient on any particular day. Drag down the enemy at any cost so Russia and Putin's shortcomings are not so readily apparent.
