The death of Russia’s brutal dictator-for-life Vladimir Putin, and the end of Russia, will comprise the final chapter of the Cold War—which began at the end of World War II, and lasted more than 70 years.
Lots of us have lived through that war since we were children. Growing up a mile west of UCLA’s Westwood campus in Los Angeles, and attending elementary school not far away in the suburb of Brentwood, my classmates and I had to go through mock nuclear explosion drills and hide under our desks and shield our heads from “falling debris.” I remember it well.
It is estimated that the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin was responsible for the deaths of more than 30 million men, women and children—his own countrymen—including millions during the collectivization of the Soviet farms in the 1930s. As the Soviets moved through Germany and captured Berlin at the end of World War II, they raped at least two million German women in what is now acknowledged as the largest case of mass rape in history.[2]
To their credit, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush set their sights on destroying the Soviet Union; and it is gone, without a shot being fired. After Soviet forces left Afghanistan in humiliation and defeat—and in body bags—the USSR imploded. The Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain fell, and the rest is history. Yet, the Cold War did not end.
Putin is a killer, and Stalin’s heir.[3] After World War II, he came to prominence as a KGB operative in East Germany—or the DDR, as it was known before the collapse of Erich Honecker’s government—which was one of the most repressive regimes in the Soviet Union’s orbit, or the Evil Empire. Following the USSR’s implosion, Putin and his thugs and cronies hijacked Russia’s incipient democracy, and have been exploiting it ever since.
Despite being a “public servant” all of his life, Putin has amassed a fortune estimated to be $70 billion; “Versailles” has been built for him already[4]; and his cronies have amassed billions of dollars too, and are living like kings outside of Russia. The Russian people need to recover what Putin and his cronies have stolen from them, and then terminate all of them—like the last Czar and his family, and Italy’s Benito Mussolini. Nothing less will suffice.
The world must never forget that Putin left the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing to launch his aggression against Georgia. Then, he left the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and launched his aggression against Crimea and the rest of Ukraine. Also, the world must never forget that in addition to downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17—and killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board—Putin killed Alexander Litvinenko and countless others.
Russia is crippled as a result of our economic sanctions and the fall of oil prices. By ratcheting up the sanctions even more—such as unilaterally denying Russia access to the SWIFT banking system—Putin and Russia will be in free fall, and in a death spiral from which they will not recover. Putin’s “invasion” of Syria may prove to be quicksand for him, just as Afghanistan was for the Soviets.
Russia is weaker today than the former USSR before it collapsed. It spans nine time zones and includes 160 ethnic groups that speak an estimated 100 languages. It is by no means monolithic, and may crumble “overnight.” Once Putin is gone, Russia may be dismembered—never to rise again—with China taking part (e.g., Siberia, which it covets) and the rest becoming independent states like the former Yugoslavia.
Each of the new states will act in its own best interests, just as has been true in the former Yugoslavia, and among the countries that were spun off from the USSR—which have thrived as part of the West. Putinism will not survive Putin. It will suffer an ignominious death, like its namesake; and constitute a tragic watershed in history, like Adolf Hitler’s “Thousand Year Reich” and Nazism.
Let the celebrations begin. The end is near . . .
© 2015, Timothy D. Naegele
_______________________________________________
[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (see www.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com; see also Google search: Timothy D. Naegele
[2] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin’s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao’s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust”)
[3] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/ (“Russia’s Putin Is A Killer”)
[4] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putin%27s_Palace
NaegeleBlog 
Wow, that’s a lot of history in a few lines….every student should be made to read it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Please kick Russia out of SWIFT. Just do it now and stop thinking and talking about it. The west is allowing its’ fear of Russia’s threats to determine western policy. The west is not kicking Russia out of SWIFT because the West is scared of Russia. Just kick Russia out of SWIFT and stop talking about it and stop thinking about it. when our western leaders talk about it and think about it they talk themselves out of doing it. They need to stop talking about it and stop thinking about it and just do it. Russia is not going to start WW3 over a diplomatic economic punishment like kicking them out of SWIFT. They will scream and threaten but they will not risk the destruction of their own country over an economic diplomatic punishment. And if Russia does attack us over it then it would not be a total all-out war situation and we should respond with a commensurate attack. Just do it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your comments.
I respectfully disagree with the following:
Other countries may be afraid of the murderous Putin and Russia, but the United States is not. Russia is a pygmy state by comparison.
See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures (“List of countries by military expenditures”)
Both Putin and Russia are in a death spiral from which they will not recover. To his credit, Barack Obama has been ratcheting up our sanctions and other pressures against Russia. It is being done on an incremental basis, not all at once.
One must never forget that Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush set their sights on destroying the USSR, and it is gone, without a shot being fired. Putin must be terminated like Mussolini, not coddled.
LikeLike
After the cold war, for some time, Russia was financially destitute. Russia was starving. And during that time Russia was not bullying other nations, stealing other nations’ territory, and causing trouble all over the globe. And during that time the west invited Russia into the fold and helped Russia back to her feet. And as soon as she got back on her feet the first thing she started doing was developing better military technology and modernizing its’ military. At the same time she began to steal other countries territory, bullying other nations, thwarting the west’s efforts to move the world into more civilized behavior, and generally causing mayhem and destruction.
It was a mistake to help Russia out of it’s financial ruin. We should have left her there.
The character of the Russia people is not conducive to peace and harmony with other countries. Russia’s mentality is a bully mentality and if Russia has money Russia will abuse other nations. The only safe Russia is a destitute Russia. We need Russia to go into ruin and we need to keep Russia in ruin for as long as we can.
About a year ago I was reading a story about the Russia stealing Crimea from Ukraine. The story included a brief interview with a Russian sociologist. That sociologist was praising Russia’s Crimean land grab. She was talking about how taking Crimea was making the Russian people happy…making the Russian feel good. She said, “Before we were losing territory but now we are gaining.” And this made her feel good and this made her happy. She was feeling good and happy, and she was saying that the Russian people were feeling good and happy, because Russian leaders were bullying another country and stealing that country’s territory. Now contrast her attitude with the attitudes of western sociologists. Look at the difference between a Russian sociologist and a western sociologist. Western sociologists are trying to stop all wars. Western sociologists are trying to get more funding for the poor and the disabled and the marginalized. Western sociologists complain about their own countries when their countries hurt people from other countries. The sociologists of a country are some of the most sensitive people of any country. That Russian sociologist I talked about is one of the more sensitive people in Russia and she’s all for her leaders going into other nations, killing people, and stealing their territory. And she is one of the more sensitive persons in Russia.
It’s the nature of the Russian people. They don’t care about anyone except themselves. This is their mentality. They don’t care about right from wrong.
LikeLike
Thank you again for your comments.
First, as my article above states, the “Cold War” did not end. It merely morphed into its present form.
Yes, the USSR is gone, but Putin and his thugs and cronies seized power and have been continuing the Cold War to this day. Only when Putin and Putinism are gone, and Russia no longer exists, will the Cold War have truly come to an end.
Second, I agree with your second paragraph. However, there was hope for a different result. Since Putin is a KGB-trained killer and “Cold Warrior,” nothing has changed except Russia today is weaker than the Soviet Union was before it collapsed.
Third, when I was in law school, my wife and I spent a summer vacation in Europe, traveling more than 15,000 miles before the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain fell. We met a couple at Split in the former Yugoslavia. The husband was German; and I will never forget him telling me that the Yugoslavs and Greeks were afraid of the Germans because of World War II. He was very proud of that fact.
On a later trip to Germany, after the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain fell, I was visiting friends; and I was told by someone that the only thing wrong with Hitler was that he did not “finish the job” of killing all of the Jews. I listened, because I wanted to learn what the Germans truly believed.
Thus, the Russian “mindset” that you describe exists outside of Russia.
LikeLike
I agree with you that the Cold War did not actually end because if it had ended then Russia would not have been developing new military technology, modernizing its’ army, toughening up its’ army, and generally readying itself for conflict even as the Kremlin was calling the West its’ “partners.” I also don’t think Russia stopped its’ anti-western thinking since the so-called end of the Cold War. I think that when Russia called us “Partners” and pretended we are Russia’s friends it was MASKIROVKA. This is a tactic Russia uses to trick its’ adversaries. They aren’t even ashamed of it. Basically the tactic is to deceive the adversary. In this case, Russia pretended to get along with the adversary (the west) so the adversary would soften its’ military while Russia strengthens its’ own military and then Russia can get its’ adversary at a disadvantage. It was a dishonorable and deceitful tactic unbefitting of an honorable military but Russia and it’s military are not honorable. And look how soft the west has become. Russia’s tactic of Maskirovka actually worked and now the west is scared of Russia. I disagree with you about America not being worried about Russia because I myself am worried about Russia. But the difference is that I know that Russia’s belligerence and threatening attitude and behavior is having an affect on my perceptions and I take that into account. I do not believe western leaders are mindful of that, and I include USA leaders in my assessment.
I think Russia does what all bullies do – project a tough invincible dangerous image. I think that Russia would start a war but I really doubt Russia would push it all the way to all-out war. Russia knows all-out war means the end of Russia as well as the west. I even think that there’s a chance that before a war between the west and Russia got to the point of all-out war China might tell Russia to cool it because I don’t think China wants to get nuked and I think that China knows that if all-out war breaks out between Russia and the west then China could get nuked if it was an accomplice of Russia’s. I don’t think China wants to get nuked over an argument between the west and Russia. No matter how much bluster China talks BEFORE such a war took place I think that if such a war did take place China would start moving towards the sidelines. I think all-out war between Russia and the west would end up being Russia/Iran/North Korea versus the west and Russia/North Korea/Iran would be utterly destroyed during such an all-out conflict as would be a lot the west. And I think Putin would be happy with the part about the west being destroyed but I don’t Putin would be happy with the part about Russia being destroyed.
Valdimir Putin would be up in his big new “Doomsday” plane but sooner or later that plane has to land and I don’t think Vladimir Putin wants to land into a Russia that is a radioactive wasteland of carnage and rubble. I think he’s just as worried about the west as the west is worried about him, and if western leaders would get that into their heads they could manage that murderous thug better. I don’t think he’s going to push the nuclear button and I don’t think he can win in a man-to-man battle against the west. I think he knows this and I think that when push comes to shove he may start some small war against the west but he isn’t going to let it go full-on total war.
LikeLike
Putin is only interested in two things: his personal survival, and power.
By invading Georgia and then Crimea and other parts of Ukraine, he has played to the issue of Russian nationalism, and diverted attention from problems in the “Motherland.”
As more Russians come home in body bags, and as economic conditions deteriorate even more, the Russian people may decide that his is not the path to follow.
His own self-preservation and power do not include a major war. His military is not capable of one. Yes, he bluffs Europe, but that is all he is able to do.
Again, Russia is a pygmy state, and he is its pygmy leader. When he goes, Putinism goes with him.
LikeLike
I despise Russia for kidnapping other nations. Other nations should not have to be part of Russia if they don’t want to be part of Russia. Each nation should be free to select its’ own destiny. Russia’s interference in the efforts of other nations to join the west amounts to enslaving those other nations.
All of that having been said, I disagree with you about Russia’s military capabilities. I do think that their new tank is superior to our Abrams tank. I acknowledge that Russia lacks the money to fund the full deployment of their new tank but they are deploying some of them. I also think that their S-400 and coming S-500 are horrific weapons that can potentially literally anihilate our air force. And then there’s the Chinese carrier killers, which could factor into a US versus Russia war. These 4 weapons are plenty potent and the Russian air force is formidable as well. And Russian ground forces look pretty smooth & effective in Ukraine. I know Ukraine is not the same as NATO but the point is that the Russian troops still look much more capable than they are given credit for. As much as I despise Putin I still have to admit that he has improved his military substantially and we need to take his military seriously or else we won’t be prepared if war breaks out between NATO and Russia. We underestimate Russia at our own peril. Russia is a tough potent military. True enough the Russian state is a pygmy but its’ military is not.
LikeLike
I think S-400 and S-500 will be good for bullying / threatening aircraft from ‘safe’ territory in a limited conflict. e.g launching from Russia into the airspace of a limited Baltic conflict.
In the event of all out war, where NATO is prepared to strike inside Russia, I expect these systems will be persecuted to extinction in the opening phases of conflict.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And Russia’s arms sales are picking up so it can use arms sales to offset some of its’ losses due to lower oil prices. Putin knows what’s happening. He sees that oil prices are low and could drop further. He knows Russia has western sanctions leveled against it. He knows these things hurt Russia financially. And yet Putin still keeps pushing Russian aggression. That could mean that Putin has a trick or two up his sleeve. For example, maybe he knows that arms sales can make up for some of the economic losses stemming from low oil prices and maybe he knows that his middle eastern aggression can potentially push oil prices higher. Maybe this; maybe that. The point is that the Russian economy is in trouble now, Putin is aware of it, and he is probably planning action that could help the Russian economy. To prevent him from saving the Russian economy NOW is the time to kick Russia out of SWIFT. By delaying we are giving Putin a chance to come up with a way around Russia’s financial problems.
LikeLike
A few brief thoughts about both of your last sets of comments.
First, it must be remembered that the murderous Putin invaded Georgia with a conscript army, using Soviet-era equipment. Thus, anything is an improvement over this.
Second, the best that he and Russia have today has been on display in Crimea and the rest of Ukraine. It is not impressive.
Third, yes, he has weapons systems on the “drawing boards,” with a few in limited production. However, Russia’s dire financial straits prevent him from doing much more. He and Russia are “paper tigers,” and pygmies.
Fourth, the Pentagon is well aware of what he and Russia have, and what they do not have.
Fifth, his “bark” is fall louder than his “bite.” Like the USSR, where he learned at the feet of the best, he and Russia are engaged in pure propaganda and blustering. It is “show,” which our weak allies have taken in, to some extent.
Sixth, I agree with respect to SWIFT, which may come. Time will tell.
LikeLike
Since I haven’t posted in awhile I wanted to ask you what you think of the upgrade plans to the US’s Abrams tank? I think the upgrades makes the Abrams more competitive with Russia’s new Armata tank.
I still think that we need to go back to the drawing board and come up with something even better than the Armata but I don’t see a rush because, like you said, Russia doesn’t have the money to buy all of the Armata tanks that it wants whereas we are fully capable of funding the upgrades to our Abrams tanks.
On the other hand, if Trump lifts sanctions against Russia then Russia will have access to money and then it will have more money to beef up its’ military.
My 2 big concerns about Russia now are
1. Donald Trump is too accommodating towards Russia.
2. S-400 and their pending S-500 are a problem.
As you can see my number one concern about Russia is our President-elect Trump. His nice-nice with Putin/Russia is a big problem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you again for your comments.
I was an Infantry officer, and armor was never remotely an area of my expertise, so I will respectfully beg off addressing your comments in that regard.
As stated elsewhere, I do not believe our President-elect will be deceived by Putin in the least.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/#comment-9523
LikeLike
About your second point, I thought Putin’s Crimea force looked impressive.
About your third point, yes he only has limited production of his new tank but he has a good supply of his S-300 and S-400 air defense systems and they are hands down the best air defense systems in the world. They are better than Patriot or THAD.
About your fourth point, yes the Pentagon is aware of what Putin has and the Pentagon itself is scared of Putin’s S-300 and S-400. Putin can almost ground our entire Air Force with these two systems. And he’s got the S-500 coming. I wish we had the S-400 instead of the Patriot and THAD.
We need to break Russia’s back financially and leave them in a state of financial wreckage.
LikeLike
The force in Crimea is the best that he has. And as a propaganda piece, they had to look good, or at least decent.
The Pentagon is not “scared” of anything. Having worked there in intelligence, they have plans and plans and plans, for each and every contingency. Despite being a “government bureaucracy,” it is head and shoulders above every other organ of American government . . . thank God.
I agree with your last paragraph completely.
LikeLike
Do you remember what I said about Putin having a plan to try to find ways around low oil prices? Look what just made the news:
http://sputniknews.com/military/20151207/1031340227/russia-iran-military-contracts-worth-billions.html
And this explains why Russia was keen to do the Iran/USA nuclear deal – he figured that if the deal was done then Iran would be able to start selling oil and Iran could use its’ oil revenue to buy Russian military hardware. Iran is going to sell a lot of oil and they are going to give a lot of that money to Russia for weapons sales.
The west needs to disrupt Putin’s schemes now by kicking Russia out of SWIFT.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments.
First, Sputniknews.com is “an international multimedia news service launched on 10 November 2014 by Rossiya Segodnya, an agency wholly owned and operated by the Russian government.”
See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_(news_agency) (“Sputnik (news agency)”)
Thus, it is pure Russian propaganda spewed out to the world by the murderous Putin’s shills and lackeys. It is as believable as what the USSR used to promulgate. No one should take it seriously.
Again, I agree with your last paragraph.
LikeLike
I know Sputnik is a mouthpiece for the Kremlin but I also saw the same story in other media sources. A number of media sources are saying that Iran will be making huge military hardware purchases from Russia. If this is true then that is two problems: 1. Russia will get needed revenue 2. Iran will develop a monster army. We don’t need either of these two things happening. We need to speed up the bankrupting of Russia and we need to do something to prevent Iran from building a huge army.
LikeLike
Thank God the price of oil continues to fall. That will hurt Russia in two ways. 1. Russia will have less revenue from oil. 2. Iran will have less money from oil to buy Russian military hardware. Plus Iran won’t have the oil revenue to build the Frankenstein monster army that it wants to build. This would all be good but oil prices need to come down to $20 or even $10 a barrel to wreak enough havoc on the Russian and Iranian economies.
And it would still be best to also kick Russia (and Iran too) out of SWIFT. All you have to do is look over the stuff said by Iran and Russia at their recent meeting and it becomes apparent that Russia and Iran are dangerous monsters who want to create an nightmarish world.
If the west and Saudi Arabia can bankrupt Russia (and hopefully Iran too) they need to keep Russia and Iran destitute for a good amount of time. It can’t be just 2 or 3 years.
Like I said before, Russia was destitute awhile ago and we allowed her to get back to her feet. We did business with her. We funded her and we brought her into the fold. It was a mistake. Russia is a foul and evil place, and its’ citizens rationalize and justify the plunder of other nations. That’s how the Russian people are hardwired, and they are not going to change. Russia has taught us that the only time they aren’t hurting people is when they are destitute.
If we can get Russia destitute for 15 – 20 years that would suffice. By then the world would be different in ways that would inhibit Russia from becoming as powerful as it is today. You see, it takes money for Russia to become powerful and the primary way that Russia makes money is via oil. In 20 years from now oil will not have the clout that it does today because alternative energy sources will be in much wider use. The quick-charging, affordable, electric car with a 300-mile range is coming.
Oil has seen most of its’ best days.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments.
First, as I wrote in the article above:
Second, with respect to so-called man-made “global warming” or “climate change,” I have written:
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/a-34-trillion-swindle-the-shame-of-global-warming/ (“A $34 Trillion Swindle: The Shame Of Global Warming”)
LikeLike
I totally disagree with you about man-made global warming.
The man-made global warming warnings do not originate from democrats or any politicians for that matter. These warnings originate from scientists and the scientists will align themselves with whichever party is willing to try to solve the problem. If republicans were trying to solve the problem and democrats were being obstinate then the scientists would align themselves with the republicans. The scientists are on the side of solving the problem, not on the side of republicans or democrats. You’re focused too much on democrat versus republican…Obama versus republicans.
This is about the fact that the environment is becoming less and less hospitable according to the scientists. Take the politics out of it.
That aside, it doesn’t matter how you feel about global warming because the affordable efficient electric motor is coming no matter what. It’s almost here and it will kick oil to the curb. And when it kicks oil to the curb that will rob Russia of its’ ability to generate large amounts of revenue with which to make mischief. So we only need to make the Russians destitute for about 20 years and then after that their oil won’t afford them the luxury of generating the revenue to bully other nations. At least I don’t think so. At any rate, we should make Russia destitute and keep her destitute for as long as we can.
LikeLike
I respectfully disagree regarding so-called man-made “global warming” or “climate change.”
Scientists are “whores” just like politicians; and they are bought and sold (e.g., government and/or university grants).
Enough said. We do not agree, and there is no point in discussing the subject further.
LikeLike
And I’m a lot less certain that Russia will fall than you are. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think Putin will back off some as soon as his reserves shrink down to the danger zone and the stupid west will allow him back into the fold again. I think this would be a huge mistake because as I’ve said Russia is incapable of living in peace and harmony with other nations. If the west accepts an olive branch from Russia and let’s Russia back into the fold then Russia will bide her time, build strength, build reserves, and then start causing trouble again. Russia needs to be put into a destitute state and kept in that state long term or else Russia needs to fall as you indicate. One or the other. The west should never take Russia back into the fold again but unfortunately in the west there is a lot of sentiment to take Russia back in. If you do not believe me just look at France.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now you have Italy trying to prevent sanctions against Russia from being renewed. Europeans are weak appeasers. You would think they would have learnt from WW2 that appeasement is a mistake but Europe is stupid. They think it’s possible to get along with a monster. Russia = monster.
I actually think that there’s a chance that Europe would willingly agree to accept Putinism rule of their own countries rather than fighting against Putinism.
If the west lifts sanctions from Russia that will strengthen Russia and it will help Russia continue its’ brutal aggressive land grabbing. Europe is its’ own worse enemy.
LikeLike
Europe is very weak. This has been true for decades.
But see http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21683967-montenegros-accession-fills-one-few-remaining-gaps-western-alliance (“In the Balkans, NATO has outmuscled Russia”)
LikeLike
I think that Mr Putin should stop activities in the Middle East and point his guns towards the real source of global mess-the usa. I think he has been too patient and unlike the author of this article I see the reality: usa is collapsing, nato is useless and cautious, un is serving the loosing usa. EU is waking up and dis-identifying from its ” leaders”- the puppies of usa. To the author I would say that I feel sorry for him for being a victim of brainwashing from early age. I wonder if you have missed the opportunity to cross-check the news.You can do it now.It will help. You are one of the millions of brain-washed patriots believing in their government. There is a solution for you: go for counselling or see a psychologist. Overall: your article is just a wishful thinking. May be you still believe in Santa and bin Laden’s 9/11? Really? Plus, do some fact-proving before you post. Please, do not bother to respond to my comment. Thank you.
LikeLike
Thank you, Comrade. It is always nice to hear from the murderous Putin’s shills, much less one using a South African IP address.
The question for you is what will you do for a living when Putin and Putism are dead and buried, and Russia is dismembered like the former Yugoslavia?
LikeLike
You are the one who doesn’t get it.
In the USA we have something called freedom. In Russia there is tyranny instead. Tyranny = slavery. And you are so mindless you can’t even figure out that you are a slave. You do what your government tells you to do but in America the government does what the people tell the government to do.
And your government keeps you brainwashed full of nationalism to blind you from that truth that you are a slave to your government.
You need to open up your eyes to the fact that you are a slave. It’s the 21st century and you are a slave. What a loser.
LikeLiked by 1 person
right back at you.
LikeLike
You think Russia is about freedom. LOL. Here’s Russian freedom:
Ukraine: we are a free state and we chose to join the western civilizations.
Russia: No Ukraine you will be a Russian vassal.
Ukraine: No. We own ourselves and we chose the west. We are not Russia’s slave.
Russia: Ukraine you will be our vassal state or we will steal Crimea and Eastern Ukraine (at least).
Ukraine: No you can not have our territory and we chose to join the west.
Russia: Fine then we are stealing Crimea and Eastern Ukraine (at least) and we are going to keep your country in a frozen conflict so that you can’t be a stable and free democratic country that is part of the west.
Ukraine: That is not fair. We are our own country and we are free so we should get to join the west if we want to.
Russia: Hahaha! Yes you are your own country but we here in Russia don’t care. You have only as much freedom as we allow you to have. We are stealing large amounts of your territory and we are going to keep you in a frozen conflict. And we are destroying much of your country by making war in it and wrecking all of the infrastructure. Everything. And we are not paying one cent to cover the costs of the damage that we do in your country. As a matter of fact, we’re going to sue you for bond money you owe us but we won’t pay you back for the expense of cleaning up the mess we made of your country when we sent our goons there to do war against you inside of your own country.
This is Russian freedom.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree completely, John. Thank you for your comments.
Putin is a “Cold Warrior” who will suffer the fate of his comrades in the USSR.
While I disagree with Barack Obama in many respects, his policies vis-à-vis Putin are correct. The sanctions and fall of oil prices are “gutting” Russia, with much worse yet to come.
At some point, Putin and Putinism will be history, and nothing more. The sooner it happens, the better.
LikeLike
Kerry and Obama sure are spending a lot of time talking to Putin and I think it’s a big mistake. It also suggests your theory that the west will bankrupt Russia is incorrect. If the west were going to bankrupt Russia then the west, including Obama and Kerry, would simply ignore Putin while they keep sanctions on Russia and keep dropping the price of oil until Russia collapses. But instead Kerry and Obama talk to him and talk to him and talk to him I’m really worried that Obama and Kerry are going to put America in grave danger. You see, the biggest threat of Russia is not what Russia is doing in Ukraine or Syria. No. The biggest threat from Russia is its’ modernizing and expansion of its; own military. This is a problem and it doesn’t bode well for the future. And the only way to put a stop to it is to simply bankrupt Russia now. But if that was the plan then Kerry and Obama would not be talking with Putin about Ukraine and Syria at all. After all, if Obama and Kerry were planning to simply bankrupt Russia (falling oil prices plus sanctions) then there would be no reason to talk with Russia about Ukraine and Syria because once Russia goes bankrupt Russia will leave both Ukraine and Syria. The mere fact that Obama and Kerry are talking with Putin shows that Obama and Kerry do not intend to bankrupt Russia if they can avoid doing so, and this means that they will let Russia keep modernizing and expanding their military.
Big mistake!!!!!!!!!
We should bankrupt Russia.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments.
I agree with your last sentence.
With regard to talking with Putin, Barack Obama probably “hates” Netanyahu of Israel just as much if not more, yet they talk.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/ariel-sharon-is-missed/#comment-7737 (“Netanyahu Sets Off Firestorm Of Criticism”)
One lesson I learned early on in Washington is that you always take the calls of your adversaries and/or enemies. It is a lesson well learned.
LikeLike
Putin Plants The Holiday Jet Bomb That Killed 224 Russians [UPDATED]
The UK’s Daily Mail has reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3374231/Did-Putin-plant-holiday-jet-bomb-killed-224-Russians-s-outrageous-theory-ex-KGB-agent-claims-dossier-proves-Kremlin-orchestrated-atrocity-justify-waging-war-Syria-decide-yourself.html (“Did Putin plant the holiday jet bomb that killed 224 Russians? It’s an outrageous theory. But an ex-KGB agent claims this dossier proves the Kremlin orchestrated the atrocity to justify waging war on Syria… and decide for yourself”); see also http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/12103602/America-to-investigate-Russian-meddling-in-EU.html (“Russia accused of clandestine funding of European parties as US conducts major review of Vladimir Putin’s strategy”—”James Clapper, the US Director of National Intelligence, has been instructed by the US Congress to conduct a major review into Russian clandestine funding of European parties over the last decade. The review reflects mounting concerns in Washington over Moscow’s determination to exploit European disunity in order to undermine Nato, block US missile defence programmes and revoke the punitive economic sanctions regime imposed after the annexation of Crimea”—”‘The Russian campaign exists in a grey area, operating covertly – and often legally – to avoid political blowback, but with the clear aim of weakening Western will to fight, maturing doubts over Nato, the EU, Trident and economic sanctions'”—”Russia also took an active interest in the Scottish referendum which threatened Britain’s Trident base at Faslane and which was given extensive coverage on Russia Today. Afterwards, Russia claimed the count was flawed and suggested the result was rigged”)
The world must never forget that Putin is a KGB-trained killer and Stalin’s heir, who served in East Germany—or the DDR, which was one of the most repressive regimes in the Soviet Union’s orbit.
Stalin was responsible for the deaths of more than 30 million men, women and children—his own countrymen—including millions during the collectivization of the Soviet farms in the 1930s.
As the Soviets moved through Germany, they raped at least two million German women in what is now acknowledged as the largest case of mass rape in history.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin’s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao’s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust”)
After the USSR imploded, Putin and his thugs and cronies hijacked Russia’s incipient democracy, and have been exploiting it ever since.
The world must never forget that he left the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing to launch his aggression against Georgia. Then, he left the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and launched his aggression against Crimea and the rest of Ukraine.
Also, the world must never forget that in addition to downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17—and killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board—Putin killed Alexander Litvinenko and countless others.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“)
The Russians may leave Syria in body bags, like the Soviets left Afghanistan. Russia is crippled as a result of our sanctions and the fall of oil prices, with much worse yet to come.
See, e.g., http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/oilprices/12104181/Russian-oligarchs-lose-11bn-in-just-10-days-during-oil-price-crash.html (“Russian oligarchs lose $11bn in just 10 days during oil price crash”—”The gilded generation of Russia’s richest men have suffered drastic losses during the market turmoil this year, hastening the end of an era of world dominance”—”[T]he era of the Russian oligarch is now drawing to a close, as the oil price crash and the collapse in the Russian currency leaves some of the world’s richest men nursing huge losses”—”Industrial sectors from steel to mining have been in the vanguard of the sell-off in Russian stocks, while the Russian rouble has dropped in value to new lows”—”In total the 13 richest Russians, who control around $130bn between them, have lost as much as $11.1bn since the start of the year”—”In a cruel twist of fate the sudden reversal of fortunes could see the newly enriched of Russia facing the age old problem of being asset rich but income poor, a headache that might more usually be associated with expatriate British pensioners”—”[M]any oligarchs have chosen to take their money out of the country”—”This creates a situation of vast wealth on paper, but assets such as luxury houses tend to generate little cash unless rented out, and assets such as yachts, private jets, helicopters and football teams can cost millions to support each year”—”[P]roperty in Russia will suffer from currency devaluation”—”The Russian rouble has more than halved against the pound during the past two years”)
The murderous Putin and Russia are in a death spiral from which they will not recover.
Putin must be terminated like Italy’s Mussolini, not coddled.
LikeLike
I previously said that the biggest threat from Russia is not its’ bullying in Ukraine or it’s military intervention in Syria; rather the biggest threat from Russia is in it’s modernization and expansion of its’ military. Here is a new news article supporting my position:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/12/29/intelligence-report-warns-russian-naval-buildup.html
This is the reason why Russia must be bankrupted. The US and Saudi Arabia must lower the price of oil down to $17 – $20 a barrel and the west must keep existing sanctions on Russia, and perhaps even kick Russia out of SWIFT as well.
If the West and Saudi do not do this then Russia will soon regain the strength it had during Soviet times and it will complete its’ partnering with China to form the most powerful military juggernaut this world has ever known. And then we will all be at their mercy.
We need to bankrupt Russia for the sake of freedom and democracy and the forces of goodness over evil. But I honestly think that Saudi and the West may let Russia off the hook by letting oil prices increase and scaling back sanctions when they should be increasing sanctions against Russia.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments.
As stated in my article above, I believe we will witness the end of Putin, if not Russia too.
Russia is far weaker than the former USSR before it imploded. Any sense of Russian military “greatness” is a facade and little more.
With respect to China, Russia is a vassal state. China needs Russia like it needs more air pollution in Beijing.
LikeLike
Putin Killed Litvinenko [UPDATED]
[Putin, Litvinenko and Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 that Putin shot down, killing all on board]
The UK’s Daily Mail has reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3409405/Inquiry-says-Litvinenko-killed-Putin-s-spies.html (“‘Putin personally approved my husband’s assassination’: Fury of Litvinenko’s widow as bombshell report blames Russian leader for poisoning – sending relations between London and Moscow back into deep freeze”) (emphasis added) and http://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Litvinenko-Inquiry-Report-web-version.pdf (Read the Report); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-7049 (“Litvinenko Tape Points Finger At Putin, While America Provides Proof“) and http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/21/alexander-litvinenko-was-killed-killed-for-calling-putin-a-pedophile.html (“Alexander Litvinenko Was Killed ‘for Calling Putin a Pedophile’”—”The allegation—that Putin had used his position as head of the Russian intelligence service to destroy video evidence of himself having sex with underage boys—was ‘the climax’ of an increasingly bitter personal feud between Alexander Litvinenko and the Kremlin leader”)
After invading Georgia and Ukraine, and seizing Crimea, and downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17—and killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board—and killing Litvinenko and so many others, Putin’s days are coming to an end.
He must pay the ultimate price, and follow in the footsteps of Italy’s Benito Mussolini. Nothing less will suffice.
LikeLike
Of course Putin killed Litvinenko. He sent people inside another country (UK)to murder Litvinenko by radioactive poison. What would you expect from a man who was complicit in shooting down a civilian airline (MH17) over the skies of Ukraine where he has his regular military and some goons waging war and causing mayhem and destruction in another sovereign country? This is the kind of stuff that Putin does and of course UK will do very little about it. A complete ban on all Russian financial trade should take place along with a complete ban on all commercial trade but of course UK will do nothing other than some impotent finger wagging at Russia. And now you have that fool John Kerry talking about lifting western sanctions against Russia in just a few months. I fear that when the dust clears Russia will get to keep eastern Ukraine and Crimea, finish building its’ Frankenstein military, and be the leader of the middle east. The west is in trouble.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments.
Yes, the UK’s David Cameron is weak and spineless, and will “huff and puff” but essentially do nothing about it. Among other things, he is “preoccupied” with Brexit.
I agree with you too:
Needless to say, I hope that the rest of your comments do not come true. It would be a tragedy beyond belief.
Owing to the fall of oil prices and our sanctions, and Putin’s adventurism in the Middle East, he and Russia are “poised” for a collapse (e.g., they are running out of financial reserves), which could be hastened easily by additional sanctions, and the further fall of oil prices.
To let them off the hook now would be a mind-boggling disaster.
Also, the ban against Russia competing in world athletics must continue for years if not decades to come.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-7836 (“Ban Russia From All Athletic Competition Based On Its War On Athletics”)
LikeLike
Russians’ Anxiety Swells as Oil Prices Collapse [UPDATED]
This is the title of a New York Times article, which echoes what I have written above. It states:
See http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/world/europe/russians-anxiety-swells-as-oil-prices-collapse.html?_r=1 (emphasis added)
Aside from the catastrophe of Russia’s foreign currency reserves running out, perhaps the key sentence of this article is the following:
Putin and Russia are in a death spiral from which they will not recover.
As my article above states:
The Russian people and the world must never forget that the murderous Putin is Stalin’s heir. And as stated in my article above:
See also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin’s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao’s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust”)
LikeLike
Opec Has Failed To Stop US Shale Revolution
The UK Telegraph‘s International Business Editor in London, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, has reported:
See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/12169239/Opec-has-failed-to-stop-US-shale-revolution-admits-energy-watchdog.html (“Opec has failed to stop US shale revolution admits energy watchdog“) (emphasis added; charts omitted); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/the-economic-tsunami-continues-its-relentless-and-unforgiving-advance-globally/#comment-7283 (“US To Launch Blitz Of Gas Exports, Eyes Global Energy Dominance“)
The biggest losers will be the murderer Putin and Russia.
Aside from the catastrophe of Russia’s foreign currency reserves running out, perhaps the key sentence of a recent New York Times’ article is the following:
Putin and Russia are in a death spiral from which they will not recover. Putin’s fantasies about Russia becoming a superpower are delusional.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“)
LikeLike
Putin’s Mistress Surfaces Again With Respect To World Athletic Ban [UPDATED]
The UK’s Daily Mail has published an article about the murderous Putin’s mistress, Alina Kabaeva, who is rumored to be the mother of their two young children:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3486031/Is-Putin-s-lover-Russia-s-secret-weapon-Maria-Sharapova-scandal-Glamorous-ex-gymnast-half-age-lands-Kremlin-sports-job-s-drugs-ban-too.html (“Is Putin’s ‘lover’ Russia’s secret weapon in Maria Sharapova scandal? Glamorous ex-gymnast half his age lands top Kremlin sports job . . . And she’s had drugs ban too!“) (emphasis added); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1028 (“Tycoon Alexander Lebedev, Putin’s “Full Of Sex” Mistress Alina Kabayeva, And WikiLeaks“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1139 (“Killer Putin’s Mistress On Cover Of Russian Vogue“)
Reports have circulated for years that Alina Kabaeva has had two children with Putin, and that she and their children live at least part time in Switzerland.
Also, Russia has been banned indefinitely from world athletics.
The ban must continue through the Rio Olympics. Otherwise, its doping of athletes will have no consequences.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-7836 (“Ban Russia From All Athletic Competition Based On Its War On Athletics“) and http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/sports/russia-doping-sochi-olympics-2014.html (“Russian Insider Says State-Run Doping Fueled Olympic Gold”—”Dozens of Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, including at least 15 medal winners, were part of a state-run doping program, meticulously planned for years to ensure dominance at the Games, according to the director of the country’s antidoping laboratory at the time”) and and http://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-doping-charges-put-ioc-on-defensive-1463094414 (“Russian Doping Charges Put IOC on Defensive“) and http://www.wsj.com/articles/eight-russian-athletes-retest-positive-for-using-doping-in-2012-olympics-1464456377 (“Eight Russian Athletes Test Positive for Doping in 2012 Olympics“) and http://www.wsj.com/articles/world-anti-doping-agency-finds-cheating-conspiracy-at-highest-levels-ofrussian-sports-1468848784 (“World Anti-Doping Agency Finds Cheating Conspiracy at Highest Levels of Russian Sports”—”Russian sports officials collaborated with state security services on a massive cheating program that included corrupting the testing lab at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, according to a report issued Monday by the World Anti-Doping Agency”—”The report said Russia developed a system for hiding dirty urine samples during the Sochi Olympics, in which samples were passed through a ‘mouse-hole’ that existed between the lab and the FSB building next to it. In addition, an FSB employee had access to the lab by posing as a credentialed member of the sewage and maintenance staff”) and http://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-loses-appeal-against-olympic-ban-on-track-and-field-athletes-1469096268 (“Russia Loses Appeal Against Olympic Ban on Track-and-Field Athletes”)
The 2018 FIFA World Cup must not be held in Russia.
LikeLike
The Murderous Putin Cuts And Runs From Syria [UPDATED]
The Wall Street Journal has reported:
See http://www.wsj.com/articles/putin-orders-withdrawal-of-some-russian-forces-from-syria-1457980402 (“Putin Says Russian Forces to Begin Syria Withdrawal“) (emphasis added)
After his ferocious and inhuman acts against the Syrian people, and those of his puppet Assad, the murderous Putin is not withdrawing from that country for altruistic reasons. He and Russia are in a death spiral from which they will not recover.
As stated in the article above:
Adolf Hitler sought to destroy the USSR in “Operation Barbarossa,” yet he failed. Reagan and Bush succeeded.
Our sanctions and the fall of oil prices have been devastating Russia’s economy; and its foreign currency reserves are running out. Russians’ anxiety has swelled as oil prices have collapsed.
Putin is a KGB-trained killer, who must never be trusted. After invading Georgia and Ukraine, and seizing Crimea, and downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17—and killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board—and killing Alexander Litvinenko and so many others, Putin’s days are coming to an end.
He must be terminated, like Mussolini before him. Nothing less will suffice.
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa (“Operation Barbarossa“)
LikeLike
Putin is ratcheting things down in Syria because he knows it would be hard to get sanctions relief if he doesn’t start pretending to be more civilized. He’s trying to trick people like you into thinking that he’s not as bad as he’s made out to be. GOPers will fall for it and Putin/Russia will get sanctions relief and Putin and his thuggish brand of politics WILL rise..
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/27/politics/trump-putin-call-russia-sanctions/
LikeLike
More idle speculation.
As the CNN article noted:
I agree with that, and have gone farther than Senator McCain and underscored it in my article above.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Boycott The Rio Olympics Because Of The Killer Putin’s Russia, and Zika [UPDATED]
The Wall Street Journal has reported:
See http://www.wsj.com/articles/ioc-stops-short-of-banning-entire-russian-delegation-from-rio-olympics-1469369374 (“IOC Stops Short of Banning Entire Russian Delegation From Rio Olympics“) (emphasis added)
This is outrageous. Both the IOC and FIFA are travesties, which must be turned upside down to eliminate the corruption from within.
There is something tragically wrong with the regulation of international sports, when Russia can defy all of the rules, and still be allowed to compete.
Russia should have been banned indefinitely from world athletics. And the ban should have continued through the Rio Olympics. Also, the 2018 FIFA World Cup must not be held in Russia.
Otherwise, its doping of athletes will have no consequences; and all of Lance Armstrong’s victories and honors should be restored.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/#comment-8492 (“Putin’s Mistress Surfaces Again With Respect To World Athletic Ban“)
Also, the cloud hanging over the Rio Olympics stemming from the Zika virus crisis is considerable if not ominous.
Those athletes who have skipped the Olympics because of this factor alone—which can have a devastating effect on young families—have been wise to do so.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/global-chaos-and-helter-skelter/#comment-8876 (“Zika Crisis: Rio Olympics Should Be Moved Or Postponed“); see also https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1529920/un-atomic-agency-helping-guard-rio-olympics-from-isis-terror-attack/ (“OLYMPICS ‘DIRTY BOMB’ FEARS – UN atomic agency helping guard Rio Olympics from ISIS terror attack”)
LikeLike
The Russian People Need To Terminate Putin And His Cronies [UPDATED]
Garry Kasparov has written in the Wall Street Journal:
See http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-s-r-felland-the-world-fell-asleep-1481930888 (“The U.S.S.R. Fell—and the World Fell Asleep“) (emphasis added)
Of course Garry Kasparov is correct.
As I have written in my article above, Putin is a killer and Stalin’s heir. Following the USSR’s implosion, Putin and his thugs and cronies hijacked Russia’s incipient democracy, and have been exploiting it ever since.
Despite being a “public servant” all of his life, Putin has amassed a fortune estimated to be $70 billion; “Versailles” has been built for him already; and his cronies have amassed billions of dollars too, and are living like kings outside of Russia.
The Russian people need to recover what Putin and his cronies have stolen from them, and then terminate all of them—like the last Czar and his family, Italy’s Benito Mussolini, and Rasputin. Nothing less will suffice.
See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin#Assassination (“Grigori Rasputin“)
LikeLike
Putin: Russia Is The Strongest Nation In The World
This is unhinged and delusional.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/ (“Russia’s Putin Is A Killer”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin’s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao’s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust”)
Yet, the Washington Post has reported:
See https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/donald-trump-says-he-wants-to-greatly-strengthen-and-expand-us-nuclear-capabilitiy-a-radical-break-from-us-foreign-policy/2016/12/22/52745c22-c86e-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html (“Trump says he wants to ‘greatly strengthen and expand’ U.S. nuclear capability“) (emphasis added)
As I wrote in my article above:
The Russian people need to recover what Putin and his cronies have stolen from them, and then terminate all of them—like the last Czar and his family, Italy’s Benito Mussolini, and Rasputin.
Nothing less will suffice.
LikeLike
Mr. Naegele, I used to post here a lot. I stopped posting because it looked like the the USA and its’ allies were winning the diplomatic war against Russia by bleeding Russia financially through sanctions plus low oil prices. I was worried for awhile because I saw Putin winning in Crimea, the Donbass region, and Syria, but then I saw where Russia was reducing arms expenditures so I concluded that while Russia may be winning temporarily by using force, he’s losing on the economy and his country is going down the tubes slowly. I was confident that if USA and its’ allies would continue their sanction and low oil prices the USA and its’ allies would ultimately win the “war” against Russia because Russia would not be able to afford to continue causing trouble. I was thinking that we are 4 – 6 years away from Russia caving in.
And if Hillary Clinton had won the election the USA and its’ allies would have continued the Obama strategy and this is what would have happened.
But Trump won the election and he wants to make nice-nice with Putin. Trump has even said he would drop sanctions against Russia in exchange for a nuclear arms reduction deal. How stupid and nuts is that? We need nuclear arms because Russia is not our only [enemy] with nukes. China has nukes, North Korea has nukes. We need to keep our nukes.
Besides, Russia violates most of the nuclear deals it makes anyway so if we make a nuke deal with Russia we would reduce our nuclear arms but Russia wouldn’t and then we’d have limited firepower and Russia would be loaded with nukes. Big mistake. We should not be making deals to get rid of our nukes and we should not be dropping sanctions against Russia. We need sanctions and low oil prices so we can keep Russia poor so Russia can’t afford to build the Frankenstein monster army that it wants to build.
But now here comes Trump and he wants to dump sanctions. And if he does that then Russia’s revenues will increase and it will be able to fund its’ military expansion.
Trump is a problem. Trump is too nice to Russia and Trump is too accommodating towards Russia. I think that the salacious stuff in the Christoper Steele dossier is probably true because there is no other reason that I can think of for Trump to be so accommodating towards Russia.
Russia is on the ropes but it looks like Trump might let Russia off the hook.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your comments. Welcome back.
I understand all of your concerns. At the outset, it must be kept in mind that in 2001 George W. Bush famously said about Putin:
See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia_Summit_2001 (“Slovenia Summit 2001”)
Similarly, Barack Obama announced his policy of “Reset,” and told outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2012 that he would “have ‘more flexibility’ to deal with contentious issues like missile defense after the U.S. presidential election.”
See, e.g., http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-summit-obama-medvedev-idUSBRE82P0JI20120326 (“Obama tells Russia’s Medvedev more flexibility after election”)
Both presidents took positions that were accommodating if not pathetically naïve, but their views changed with the passage of time.
My sense is that our President-elect is not a fool, nor is he naïve. He knows Putin is a killer; and much of what he has been saying is “gamesmanship.” Also, it drives many in both of our political parties nuts, and keeps them off guard.
I agree with you that Russia today is a mere shadow of its former self, and weaker than the former USSR—which was defeated without a shot being fired.
It is worth mentioning that China’s newest “super weapon” is its new aircraft carrier, which it bought from Russia—the blind leading the blind.
See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_aircraft_carrier_Liaoning (“Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning“)
I am not convinced that any truly meaningful sanctions will be removed from Russia. More importantly, if we open our energy spigots wide, as the largest energy producer in the world, we will be in a position to supply Europe and Asia (including China), and hurt Russia’s exports and economy even more.
For a long time now, I have believed Putin’s actions constitute false bravado intended primarily for domestic consumption. Also, I believe Russia’s military is spread too thin in Crimea, other parts of Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere in the world.
Again, one must never forget that a similar scenario led to the collapse of the USSR. And with the end of Putin, “Putinism” dies with him.
Next, addressing your first comment, I do not believe in “diplomatic wars.” I have almost zero faith in the State Department, and believe “wars” are won economically and militarily.
Also, I agree with you regarding the need to maintain our nuclear superiority and strengthen missile, cyber and other defenses.
Lastly, you have suggested that Putin might have something on our President-elect, which Putin could use to compromise or blackmail him.
I assume our intelligence people know what it is, and have been briefing the President-elect right along. Can it be worse than Bill Clinton or JFK’s antics when they were presidents, or Clinton’s travels to the Virgin Islands on the “Lolita Express” without his Secret Service detail, to “ravage” underage girls? I doubt it.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/washington-is-sick-and-the-american-people-know-it/#comment-7185 (“Clinton Fatigue”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/john-f-kennedy-the-most-despicable-president-in-american-history/ (“John F. Kennedy: The Most Despicable President In American History”) (see also the extensive comments beneath the latter article)
LikeLike
Thanks for responding.
You pointed out that diplomacy is useless with Russia. You said the only way to deal with Russia is with economic leverage and/or the militarily. So let me first say that when I said the west was beating Russia diplomatically I really meant to say the west was beating Russia economically. I’m not a pro in foreign affairs so I used the wrong term (diplomatically) when I meant to say “economically” since when I said the west is winning diplomatically I was referring to the sanctions, which are of course causing economic damage to Russia. We are on the same page there. We need to hurt Russia economically.
Some Europeans want to end the Russian sanctions and some do not. The ones that want to end the Russian sanctions claim the sanctions aren’t changing Russia’s behavior so the sanctions aren’t working. But that IS a lie.The sanctions ARE working. You yourself said (in our past discussions) that Putin may have some good weapons designs but he lacks the funds to buy them. I agree. And It’s those sanctions and low oil prices that keeps Putin from having the funds to field all of the monster weapons he wants. The sanctions are forcing him to alter his defense spending.
I hope you’re right about Donald Trump not being compromised, but it sure feels otherwise. Trump’s offer to drop the sanctions (against Russia) in exchange for a nuclear arms deal would obviously benefit Putin/Russia more than the west since dropping the sanctions in exchange for a nuke deal means both sides get the equal benefit of arms reduction but Russia would get the added benefit of getting the sanctions lifted. Such a deal would be obviously heavily weighted in Russia’s favor.
I understand that you believe that the flattery Trump showers on Putin/Russia and the deals (heavily lopsided in Russia’s favor) Trump offers to Putin are all meaningless. I understand that you believe Trump saying that kind of stuff is no different from previous administrations trying to do re-sets with Russia or looking into Putin’s eyes and seeing Putin’s soul. I appreciate your point. But IMO Trump is going much further in the flattering things he says and in the ridiculously lopsided offers he’s making to Putin/Russia. I think it looks very suspicious. It feels like Trump may be in Russia’s pocket.
You asked me what kind of compromising material Russia could possibly have on Trump that could damage him. You pointed out that there has been some bad behavior by some of our past presidents and they weren’t destroyed by it.
Firstly, Those bad things done by past presidents weren’t video-taped by a foreign foe so there wasn’t irrefutable evidence to that stuff in the hands of a foreign foe. Also, some of those bad things done by past presidents were done in a different time. Today, video-tape (in the hands of a foreign foe) of certain behavior by a President could destroy him. If the Russians have video of Trump having sex with a minor child, or video of Trump having homosexual sex, or video of Trump having violent sex with a woman wherein the woman got badly hurt, it could destroy Trump’s Presidency and his personal life. He could be impeached with serious shame, and he could spend the rest of his life in humiliation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you again for your comments.
First, I believe we need to not only hurt but destroy Putin and his cronies and thugs, or allow the Russian people to do this and take back their country—as I stated in my article above and in other writings.
I have no beef with the Russian people. They have been victimized by Putin throughout his career.
Second, many in Europe are “weak sisters,” and weak allies. The ones who understand Putin the most, or should, are those who suffered under communism. Angela Merkel should know this, having grown up in the DDR where Putin began his career as a KGB agent. However, perhaps she was “brainwashed” during her time under its repressive regime. Maybe she never saw the suffering of so many.
Third, there are lots of ways to defeat and/or destroy Putin and Putinism. Sanctions are one; economic destruction directed at Putin and his cronies and thugs is another; direct military action is a third. Again, we destroyed the USSR and communism economically and ideologically, without a shot being fired.
Fourth, I believe Trump is much more adroit and savvy than either George W. Bush or Barack Obama in dealing with Putin. He has dealt with “killers” all of his life. To flatter them, and then insert the shiv, is second nature to him. Anyone who has spent any time dealing in NYC with tough hombres is not mesmerized by the likes of “two bit” Putin.
Fifth, my guess is that the worst the Russians have on Trump is not as bad as you suggest. My guess too is that our intelligence services are privy to what Putin has, and have shared it with Trump already. As a tough guy, which he is, he needs only to remind Putin that he will be terminated summarily if any damage is done; and obviously, we have ways of doing that instantly.
As I have written before, I do not believe Putin is suicidal.
LikeLike
Just to let you know, I do not believe for one second that Mr.Trump is a homosexual or a child molester or a violent sexual woman-beater. It probably seemed like I was suggesting he might have these kinds of proclivities but I do not believe that for one second. However, I would not put it past the Russians to slip some chemical into his drink at a party to get him pliable enough to do things he would never think of doing on his own. I do NOT trust the Russians and I think they would do anything. Remember that you yourself agree that the Russians slipped radiation poison into Alexander Litvinenko’s tea.
I know it sounds like some cheap far-out spy thriller plot but I really believe that the Russians would do exactly what Mr. Steele claimed in his dossier so these allegations seem plausible to me. Again, I do not believe for one secon that Mr. Trump would do the things alleged in Mr. Steele’s dossier unless he was drugged or something.
Please note that it’s being reported that there are other videos with sound involving other locations in Russia. Please read this linked article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-russia-claims-more-than-one-sex-tape-blackmail-cia-agents-bbc-paul-wood-a7523321.html
Paul Wood is not a tidbit reporter.
And I do believe Mr. Trump may very well be “adroit” enough to deal with Putin as long as Putin doesn’t have compromising video, as I’ve suggested, against President Trump. But if Putin has that sort of video/audio against Mr. Trump then that changes that equation.
I like President Trump’s stance on China, though. I think we need a tougher policy regarding China. And that make me think that maybe Mr. Trump is going all soft on Russia because he knows that if he doesn’t get close to Russia then Russia might come to China’s aid (against us) if we tangle with China. What do you think of that?
LikeLike
I do not trust the killer Putin and his thugs and cronies at all, and believe they should share Mussolini’s fate.
But Steele has run a small, essentially-two-man office in the UK; and he may not be credible at all.
Years ago, I dealt with an investigative firm in New York City named Orbis, which claimed to have a worldwide presence, and now seems to be defunct. They pitched me in Washington, D C., trying to get new business.
Vestiges of the firm appear to exist today, and this may be one of them.
Next, I fully expect that the very worst will be asserted against Trump by his “enemies” during the next 4-8 years, in an attempt to tear down his presidency and/or impeach him. In an effort to restore or rehabilitate his failed racist presidency, Barack Obama may participate.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/is-barack-obama-a-racist/ (“Is Barack Obama A Racist?”)
It will be interesting to see if he pardons Hillary Clinton before he officially leaves the White House. If he does, there will always be a permanent blight against his presidency, like that against Jerry Ford’s presidency after he pardoned Richard Nixon.
If Obama does not do it, Hillary may be indicted, convicted and spend time in prison. Indeed, there are reasons to believe that her “surrogates” may cut deals to avoid prosecution themselves, and “spill the beans” on her criminality in the process of doing so. As an adjunct to this is what did Barack Obama know, and when did he know it?
See, e.g., http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/01/20/hillary-clinton-trump-inauguration/ (“Trump Supporters Chant ‘Lock Her Up’ When Hillary Clinton Announced At Inauguration”) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4140810/Hillary-Clinton-white-pantsuit-Trump-inauguration.html (“An ice-cold handshake at last between President Trump and Hillary Clinton – after she sits glum-faced through his inauguration as crowd chant ‘lock her up'”)
Lastly, Trump would be smart to play off Russia against China; the “step-child” against the parent.
LikeLike
Just to let you know, if not for the POSSIBILITY of Russia having compromising material (videos as I’ve described) on President Trump then I would not have a problem with Mr.Trump being President.
Some people are very upset about Mr. Trump becoming President Trump for many reasons, but if it were not for the possibility that Russia might have serious compromising material to hold over President Trump I would be fine with Mr. Trump being President Trump. That is my one concern about President Trump.
And the point is not lost on me that Putin does share some Christian values with the USA GOP. I think Putin could use those shared Christian values to get the GOP to buddy up to Russia.
I also worry that Putin could give President Trump some good deals on the geopolitical and then perhaps the GOP leadership could get to thinking that maybe the USA could become good friends with Russia. I think it would be a mistake.
Putin doesn’t give anyone a fair deal LONG TERM. If the GOP cozies up to Putin we will regret it down the road. Putin ultimately wants his Russia to lead the world and the only way Russia can lead the world is if Russia somehow knocks America down from the top because America presently leads the world. So even if Russia starts behaving better It’s a trick to dupe America into making itself vulnerable so Russia can knock America down. The desire to lord it over the world is in Russian DNA.
Russia actually has a word for tricking their foes – it’s called Maskirovka. It was Maskirovka when Vladimir Putin some years ago said that he could imagine Russia joining NATO. He was feigning friendship for the west while he was really plotting ultimately defeating the west. That is why he kept modernizing his nukes and kept working on better conventional weapons. He would be friendly with us while at the same time he was trying to build a Frankenstein army to defeat us. Mark my words; its a mistake to trust Russia.
And I understand that you’re OK with the common man in Russia, but I’m less so. The point is not lost on me that Putin has high public approval for his murderous imperialistic foreign policies. I don’t hate the Russian people but I do not count on them to put the kabosh on Putin either. How am I supposed to faith a bunch of people who support a cold blooded killer like Vladimir Putin?
I think we need to count on western sanctions and low oil prices to drive Russia into bankruptcy. We can and will do this if President Trump doesn’t let us down by lifting sanctions. We need to keep sanctions on Russia, we need to pressure everyone else to also keep sanctions on Russia, and we need to keep oil prices low.
Now the New York Times is reporting that US Intel is taking the allegations in the Christopher Steele dossier serious. Our government is investigating this stuff.
LikeLike
Thank you for your additional comments.
I read the New York Times‘ article, and there is nothing of value in it.
If the intelligence and law enforcement agencies went after Hillary Clinton with the same gusto, she would bave been indicted by now.
Since the clock is ticking and Barack Obama has not pardoned her yet, she may be indicted in the months to come.
Next, Putin does not have any more “Christian values” than Stalin and Hitler had. He is pure evil personified.
Lastly, Putin is delusional. Russia is a pygmy nation, which will not lead anything. Like the USSR that is dead and buried, this is Russia’s future trajectory, as I have discussed in my article above.
LikeLike
I’m NO FAN of Hillary Clinton and I did NOT vote for her. But I agree with the FBI’s decision not to prosecute her for the email scandal for the reasons stated in the below quote from a story which quoted FBI director James Comey:
“To warrant a criminal charge, Mr. Comey said, there had to be evidence that Mrs. Clinton intentionally transmitted or willfully mishandled classified information. The F.B.I. found neither, and as a result, he said, “our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.”
There are other FBI investigations of Hillary Clinton ongoing. Time will tell whether or not she has committed actionable offenses. I’m confident that if the authorities find clear violations of the law by Hillary Clinton they will pursue those violations.
But Hillary Clinton is small potatoes to me because she can’t do damage to the USA. If she had been elected President I would be expressing my concerns to you about her being a person who is under FBI investigation on numerous fronts and now she’s President of the USA.
BUT she was not elected. She can’t harm the country. And I think you’re too concerned about a has-been and no-count presidential candidate (Clinton) and insufficiently concerned about the possibility that our actual President, Donald Trump, may be seriously compromised by Vladimir Putin, of all people. I think your judgment is clouded by your political positions. You seem to have lost your objectivity.
You’re dismissive of the NY Times article, which is now being reported by many other news outlets. If REGULAR CITIZEN Hillary Clinton used her governmental position(s) to get some kind of personal advantage funneled to her through her charity that is small potatoes compared to the very real possibility that PRESIDENT Trump might be compromised by that murderous tyrannical thug, Putin.
It appears you’re willing to sweep under the carpet the possibility that President Trump might be seriously compromised by our worse enemy because you’re just happy that your political party is in charge.
You’ve lost your objectivity.
LikeLike
Thank you again, Russell.
First, I am not a Republican, nor a member of either political party. I have been an Independent since I left the U.S. Senate, after watching and working with both parties, up close and personal.
Indeed, as I wrote when this blog began:
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/about/#comment-861
Second, as I have said many times, I believe Hillary Clinton and her surrogates should be investigated thoroughly, and indicted for the crimes that they have committed, and serve time in prison.
Third, I have been an outspoken critic and opponent of communism and Putin all of my life, and my statements and record speak for themselves. Indeed, my article above pulls no punches and condemns Putin essentially for all eternity, which is an “honor” that has been reserved for Hitler, Stalin and Mao, among others.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin’s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao’s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust”)
Third, I was born and raised in California, and my parents revered Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Yet, when I was old enough to vote, I became a Democrat and remained one until friends of mine were killed in Vietnam, for nothing. The Iraq War was another war in which American lives were lost or maimed, and trillions of dollars were wasted, for nothing.
I never voted for Nixon, although I had three chances to do so. However, he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by the Democrats. I have zero doubts that they will do everything in their power to destroy the Trump presidency, because they are vicious. Donald Trump is our first Independent president, beholden to neither political party, but willing to work with both if it serves the interests of the American people.
His Inauguration Address today captured that vision.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/the-president-and-first-lady/#comment-9534 (“A NEW DAY!”)
He is not a pawn of the killer Putin. He is commander-in-chief of the strongest military in the world, and leader of the strongest economy in the world, both of which are likely to become much stronger during his presidency. He does not need Putin at all, period.
LikeLike
How can you possibly KNOW that President Trump is not a “pawn” of the killer Putin. I don’t know it. There are at least 5 USA intelligence agencies investigating that matter. Do you know something they don’t know?
IMO you do NOT have an open mind. The evidence at this point does not say that President Trump is definitely a Putin pawn but the evidence at this time does say that there IS a very real chance that President Trump is a Putin pawn.
If you have irrefutable evidence to the contrary I’m sure the national news media and those 5 USA intelligence agencies would love to see it. So why don’t you disclose your irrefutable evidence to the media and the 5 USA intelligence agencies investigating the matter.
I don’t like the democrats anymore than you do but I like this country more than I like any political party.
The evidence says that there IS a chance that Putin has President Trump under his thumb and if you really wanted Putinism eliminated you would keep an open mind to that possibility because if President Trump is a Putin pawn that could strengthen Putinism.
LikeLike
Yes, Christopher Steele has been running a PRIVATE intel office in UK but he used to work for M16. He used to be the top spy for M16 in Russian matters. He was a highly credible and respected spy for M16 for a long time and when he retired from M16 he did not instantly lose his Russian contacts. He says he got his information from the contacts he developed over years as M16’s top Russian spy.
He’s considered to be a quality spy by US intelligence agencies.
I’m not saying that Mr. Steele could not possibly be mistaken but I am saying that Mr. Steele is EXACTLY the person who would be able to get quality intel regarding possible Russian/Trump ties and compromising material. And he is professional and heady enough that he should not be dismissed.
IMO you have lost every last vestige of objectivity.
IMO you’re allowing your ideological beliefs cloud your judgment. IMO your ideological beliefs have pushed your anti-Putin position to a back-burner because it’s more important to you to protect people who share your politics.
I put country before politics. It appears you put politics before country,
LikeLike
Thank you again.
First, I have never put politics before my love of this country and its people.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/america-a-rich-tapestry-of-life/ (“America: A Rich Tapestry Of Life”)
I served in our military with the DIA at the Pentagon, and in the U.S. Congress, and am very proud of what I have done.
See, e.g., http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf
Second, there is every reason to believe that Christopher Steele is a cipher, and nothing more.
LikeLike
Without a good reason you wave away any evidence that you might be wrong, and that should tell you something. I hope you recover your objectivity.
LikeLike
There is credible evidence of the Clintons’ criminality and depravity, which have hurt our great country already.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/washington-is-sick-and-the-american-people-know-it/#comment-7185 (“Clinton Fatigue”) and http://www.dickmorris.com/dog-didnt-bark-no-pardon-hillary/ (“The Dog Didn’t Bark: No Pardon For Hillary”)
And the same thing is true of John F. Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/john-f-kennedy-the-most-despicable-president-in-american-history/ (“John F. Kennedy: The Most Despicable President In American History”)
They have been treasonous.
LikeLike
OK. Pres Kennedy was a bad guy and so is Hillary Clinton. But neither of them are in a position today to hurt our country in order to help Russia. Today it is President Trump who is in that position.
And the whole knows that President Kennedy challenged Russia so far as to invoke nuclear war. And obviously since Russia tried to keep Hillary Clinton from getting into the White House that shows that Clinton was no friend of Russia’s.
Trump is the only one of those 3 people who looks suspiciously to close to Russia.
I thought your agenda was the demise of Putin and Putinism. But now you’re circling the wagons around a man, President Trump, who appears to have every intention of strengthening Putin and Putinism.
LikeLike
As I have written, the despicable and irresponsible JFK almost brought about a “nuclear winter,” which might have destroyed the United States, Russia and the peoples of both countries.
His tragic life was depraved in almost all respects, as my article about him—and the extensive comments beneath it—describe in considerable and vivid detail.
I do not believe President Trump will strengthen Russia at all. Indeed, the people that he was appointed view Putin and Russia as our enemies.
LikeLike
If President Trump squashes the investigation into Russian/Trump involvement then as far as I’m concerned that will be the final piece of evidence I need to believe that the Russians have him under their thumbs. There is no reason for him to kill the investigations unless he has something to fear from the results of the investigation.
LikeLike
Nonsense.
It is motivated by Democrats who want to destroy the Trump presidency. Yet, it is these same people who covered up the Clintons’ criminality thus far, as they did in the case of John F. Kennedy.
LikeLike
I’m clearly the only left in this blog who is against Putin and Putinism.
LikeLike
Clearly, I am against Putin and Putinism, and have equated them with Hitler, Stalin and Mao, and the other vicious killers throughout history.
Others who read this blog have read the article above, because I get regular statistics concerning which articles are read. You are not alone, by any means, but others do not choose to comment.
LikeLike
You could care less if Putin hacked our most recent elections and successfully compromised our present President. You’re more concerned about John Kennedy’s bad behavior 50 years ago even though it no longer has any effect on anything today. You’re more concerned about some now powerless private citizen, Hillary Clinton, wanting to use her own ISP instead of the government ISP a couple years ago.
You are no independent. You are a republican and that’s fine. I’m cool with republicans…until they become hacks. And you are a hack.
Only a hack is more concerned with JFK’s bad behavior from 50 years ago than a present day threat that the current President may be seriously compromised by the Russians.
I am the only person in this blog who is steadfastly anti-Putin. Your anti-Putinism only lasts until President Trump tells you to forgive Putin. You will be singing praises of Putin within a year.
You’re already overlooking bad behavior by Putin so you don’t have to face the truth that President Trump may have been seriously compromised by Putin. You simply don’t want to know.
You’ll be kissing Putin’s ring within a year.
LikeLike
Thank you for your additional comments.
First, I supported Barack Obama’s treatment of both Russia’s Putin and Israel’s Netanyahu—because I believe they are moral equivalents—even though I never voted for him.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/is-israel-doomed/ (“Is Israel Doomed?”)
After reading his book “Dreams from My Father” and watching him govern, I believe Obama is a black racist.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/is-barack-obama-a-racist/ (“Is Barack Obama A Racist?”)
Tragically, his epitaph and legacy are the following:
See http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/2/the-obama-years-stumble-to-a-cheesy-climax/
Second, the “jury is still out” with respect to our new president’s treatment of both Putin and Netanyahu. It is my hope that his policies will approximate those of Barack Obama in this regard, but we shall see.
Again, none of his appointments are consistent with appeasing Putin in the least (e.g., General James “Mad Dog” Mattis at DoD), or with your greatest fears—which speaks volumes.
LikeLike
It’s kind of funny because you’ve had this blog against Putin going for years and you pretend your anti-Putin stance is solid as oak but you’ll drop your anti-Putin stance as soon as the GOP starts getting along with Putin. And that will be within a year.
Putin will give Trump some good deals to show off to the GOP in congress and then the GOP will start softening its’ position on Putin. Then you’ll start a new blog about how Putin has turned over a new leaf and you’ll draw back your anti-Putin position.
Putin will play you extremist’s along for a little while. And while he’s playing you along he will also be working on bringing America down from the top spot in the world. You see, America is currently the greatest nation in the world and Putin covets that position. And his intention is to take it from us.
And he’s long-gaming us. And you and your extremists don’t want it taken from us but Trump will be showing you all some great deals he got from Putin so you will buddy-up with Putin. And then all of a sudden Russia will be the number one nation on earth and America will be moving downward.
We may just go down the ladder a rung or two but we could also crash to the bottom and go through the floor because Putin might wipe us out so that he can wipe out the threat of us ever getting back on top of Russia again.
He can wipe us through a number of holes in our armor. The most obvious one is via finances. He’s already building alliances. With China’s help he’s also building new banking systems and things like that. He will strengthen those systems more and more, and then the USA-led system will crumble beneath the USA and the USA will be left holding the bag.
You extremists are going to get America into trouble that we may not be able to recover from.
And please stop kidding yourself that you’re some kind of independent. You are definitely GOP and that’s fine. I truly am independent but I agree with a lot of the GOP positions. At any rate, not only are you NOT an independent but you are also an extremist on the GOP side. I would go so far as to say that you appear to be an extremist right-wing political hack.
You should stock up on “I love Putin” t-shirts now because you will be loving on Putin within a year.
I’m the only person left in this blog who is truly anti-Putinism.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments, as always.
Wild, is all I can say at the outset.
Among other things, you said:
As I have stated many times in the articles and comments here, I am not a Republican, and view many Republicans as Neanderthals.
Second, I do not believe Putin is long for this world.
Third, you added:
Nonsense. Russia is weaker today than the USSR was before it imploded. Regrettably you are engaged in fantasies, not dissimilar from those of the delusional Putin.
Fourth, you stated:
Wow. You seem to have lost it. Sorry about that.
Have a nice day.
LikeLike
I think President Trump’s isolationism could strengthen Russia and Putin. President Trump appears to be withdrawing from the world and anyplace that the USA withdraws from Putin/Russia can move into. President Trump is now at odds with Mexico (over the wall and the disrespectful way President Trump engages Mexicans and Mexico) and the net result could be that Russia and/or China could start making overtures to Mexico. And Mexico might accept those overtures from Russia and/or China, I think the USA will start moving down from the top of the heap in the next year or two and Russia and China will supplant the USA as co-number 1 countries. I think that as the USA moves downward our economy could collapse because one thing that keeps our economy afloat is our status as the number 1 country in the world. That’s how we get away with having our massive national debt. And as soon as we lose that lofty number 1 status the reality of our national debt will crash our economy.
There was only one ever way to keep this from happening – increase taxes (to pay down the national debt) cut government spending, and stay involved in world affairs so that we could maintain our status as the number 1 country in the world. I hope President Trump does this but it doesn’t look like he’s going to. He’s doing the SPENDING CUTS part but he’s not doing the TAX INCREASE part and he’s withdrawing from the world rather than staying involved in global matters.
I think we’re beginning the rise of Russia/Putin.
LikeLike
False bravado for domestic consumption on the part of Putin is not the same as real power.
He and Russia are pygmies on the world stage, and much weaker than the USSR before it imploded.
They are tied down in Crimea, Syria and elsewhere, and like the Lilliputians. You give them credit that would hearten even Putin, whose days are numbered.
LikeLike
President Trump will soon lift sanctions against Russia. And then the entire EU might follow suit and drop sanctions. If USA and EU drop sanctions against Russia that will let Putin off the hook and Russia WILL rise.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/russia-sanctions-trump-putin-234262
LikeLike
First, the Politico article that you cite does not say that at all. It merely states that sanctions against the killer Putin’s Russia and his cronies and thugs, and the full extent of them, are “under consideration.”
Second, it adds:
So be it.
Third, even if the sanctions were lifted in their entirety, which I do not expect to happen, you assert that “Russia WILL rise.” To what level? From being a marginal economy at best, to being a “slightly more than marginal” one.
There is fantasy and then there is reality.
LikeLike
Killer Putin’s Puppet Assad Tortures And Exterminates 13,000 Captives [UPDATED]
Russia’s killer Putin is Stalin’s heir, and he must be terminated as brutally and viciously as possible, to send a message to the world.
His puppet, Bashar al-Assad, must share a similar fate, like Hitler and his puppet Mussolini, and like Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and his sadistic sons in recent years.
The UK’s Daily Mail has reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4201616/Torture-Syrian-regime-exterminated-13-000-captives.html (“Inside Assad’s death chamber: Three minute trials . . . then torture and hangings as report says Syrian regime ‘exterminated’ 13,000 captives“) (emphasis added; charts and diagrams omitted); see also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4215532/Assad-s-21st-century-holocaust.html (“Syria’ President Assad’s ’21st century holocaust'”)
Both Assad and Putin must be terminated, like Mussolini was.
Nothing less will suffice.
LikeLike
The Kremlin Is Starting to Worry About Trump
Ivan Krastev (Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria) and Stephen Holmes (Professor of Law at New York University) have written for Foreign Affairs:
See http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/02/13/the-kremlin-is-starting-to-worry-about-trump/ (emphasis added)
LikeLike
Killer Putin Steals $200 Billion From Russian People [UPDATED]
The UK’s Daily Mail has reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4242718/Vladimir-Putin-200-billion-fortune.html (“Is Putin the world’s real richest man? After 17 years in power, Russian leader has a ‘$200 billion fortune, 58 planes and helicopters and 20 palaces and country retreats'”) (emphasis added)
Putin is pure evil.
As I have written in the article above:
And it is a mistake to state that the killer Putin is “rumored to be dating Olympic gold medalist Alina Kabaeva.” According to reliable reports, he has fathered two children by her; and they live most of the time in Switzerland.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/#comment-8492 (“Putin’s Mistress Surfaces Again With Respect To World Athletic Ban“)
Also, the Daily Mail article neglects to state that Boris Nemtsov was assassinated by Putin’s thugs outside of the Kremlin on February 27, 2015.
See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Boris_Nemtsov (“Assassination of Boris Nemtsov“)
LikeLike
The Butcher Putin Kills Again!
The UK’s Daily Mail has reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4342008/Russian-MP-fled-Moscow-shot-dead-Kiev.html (“A widow weeps: Distraught wife rushes to the scene of her husband’s assassination as ANOTHER Putin critic is gunned down in the street after fleeing to the Ukraine in fear for his life“) (emphasis added)
Putin is every bit as vicious as Hitler and Stalin. He must be terminated in a fashion similar to that of Mussolini. No mercy must be shown.
LikeLike
Terminate The Rabid Dogs: Putin, Assad And Kim Jong-Un
The UK’s Sun has reported:
See https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3293221/russia-and-iran-say-they-will-respond-to-american-aggression-following-air-strike-in-syria/ (“Russia and Iran pledge to hit back against further Syria strikes as they blast US for ‘crossing red lines’“) (emphasis added); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/the-next-major-war-korea-again/#comment-9880 (“The Burier Of Bin Laden, USS Carl Vinson, Moves Into Korean Waters“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/the-president-and-first-lady/#comment-9876 (“Trump Attacks“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“)
LikeLike
With Energy Prices Falling, Trump Has Putin Over The Barrel
American conservative commentator, economic analyst, television personality, and newspaper columnist, Lawrence Kudlow, has written in the New York Sun:
See http://www.nysun.com/foreign/with-energy-prices-falling-trump-has-russias/90024/ (emphasis in original)
Taking this discussion beyond Mr. Kudlow’s fine article, it is time to crush Russia’s killer Putin, as I have written previously:
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“)
LikeLike
Russia’s Killer Putin Is Boxed!
In the game of chess, the end choices are “check” and then “checkmate.” At the very least, Russia’s Vladimir Putin is “boxed,” in check; and at some point, he may find himself in checkmate and his end may be upon him, which the article above predicted.
He has come a long way from being a ruthless KGB agent in the former DDR, or East Germany. He has solidified his power, by killing or “reassigning” those who would challenge him. Yet, down deep, he has always known that the United States wants him dead: with his head “mounted on a slab”—having met a fate rivaling that of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Italy’s fascist Benito Mussolini before him.
Yes, there have been “feints” in his direction, but they have been short-lived and often disingenuous; and he has been smart enough to know that. Overtures made by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama were “sleights of hand,” and he knew it. But now the situation is even more dire for him.
Any chances of rapprochement with the United States went out the window when claims surfaced of Russian collusion in our 2016 elections. Barring a miracle for Putin, President Donald Trump’s hands are tied. He cannot appear to favor Putin or Russia in any way, lest his critics have more ammunition to attack him.
The same thing is true with America’s Leftist Democrats, who have staked their attacks against Trump on Russia’s actions. As the “Uranium One”-Russian scandal continues to unfold—casting its net far and wide to encompass Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Robert Mueller and so many others—Putin will be like an “untouchable leper.”
When all of the scandals relating to Putin and Russia unfold completely, Americans of all political stripes will be clamoring for retribution—pounds of flesh. This can be manifested in a myriad for forms, ranging from direct military action to economic sanctions that have real teeth, such as denying Russia access to the SWIFT payments system and cratering its economy.
Stay tuned. The endgame will not be pretty for Comrade Putin.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/the-real-russian-conspiracy-barack-obama-the-clintons-and-the-sale-of-americas-uranium-to-russias-killer-putin/ (“The Real Russian Conspiracy: Barack Obama, The Clintons, And The Sale Of America’s Uranium To Russia’s Killer Putin“) (see also the comments beneath the article)
LikeLike
Russia Banned From Winter Olympics
Rebecca R. Ruiz and Tariq Panja have written in the New York Times:
See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/sports/olympics/ioc-russia-winter-olympics.html (“Russia Banned From Winter Olympics by I.O.C.“) (emphasis added; graphic omitted)
As the Times‘ article states:
This is significant because of killer Putin’s background in East Germany, or the DDR.
As I wrote in my article above:
See also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/#comment-9111 (“Boycott The Rio Olympics Because Of The Killer Putin’s Russia, and Zika“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/#comment-8492 (“Putin’s Mistress Surfaces Again With Respect To World Athletic Ban“)
LikeLike
NEVER Trust Russia’s Killer Putin! [UPDATED]
Julian E. Barnes and Emre Peker have written in the Wall Street Journal:
See https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-nuclear-plant-stokes-europes-fears-of-a-power-play-1514116800 (“Russian Nuclear Plant Stokes Europe’s Fears of a Power Play“) (emphasis added); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/the-real-russian-conspiracy-barack-obama-the-clintons-and-the-sale-of-americas-uranium-to-russias-killer-putin/ (“The Real Russian Conspiracy: Barack Obama, The Clintons, And The Sale Of America’s Uranium To Russia’s Killer Putin“)
As discussed in my article above, and in the footnotes and comments beneath it, the bottom line is: NEVER trust Putin.
Just ask the people of Georgia, Crimea, Ukraine, Syria and the loved ones of those whom he has killed since coming to power in the DDR many years ago.
The United States has vast energy resources, which are being exported after years of being “frozen” by the failed Obama administration. It is time for America to supply the oil and natural gas needs of our allies abroad—as well as those of China.
LikeLike
The Fall Of The Berlin Wall, Remembered [UPDATED]
The following article appears in the UK’s Economist:
See https://www.economist.com/blogs/kaffeeklatsch/2018/02/28-years-two-months-and-27-days (“The Berlin Wall has now been down longer than it was up“) (emphasis added)
As a German friend of almost 53 years wrote to me today:
Perhaps the Economist article speaks volumes about Merkel’s earlier privileged status in East Germany when it describes her “working as a physicist in East Berlin, [where] she was taking her regular Tuesday-evening sauna when travel restrictions were lifted.”
. . .
I was in Berlin the first time, during the summer of 1965, when I met my German friend and his then-wife on the coast of the former Yugoslavia. Earlier that summer, I had walked through Berlin’s “Checkpoint Charlie,” into the no-man’s zone of rubble near the border crossing.
I traveled extensively in Germany before and after the Wall came down—beginning on November 9, 1989 and continuing over the following days and weeks—and I was in Berlin when the Soviet troops were leaving. They were selling their uniforms, and plumbing fixtures from their barracks, and going back to “tent cities” in the USSR.
All of that was heady and exciting, but perhaps the most interesting experience—shortly after the Wall came down—was driving across the former “Iron Curtain” into a little village, which had been off-limits before. The menacing guard tower was gone; the road continued on, whereas before it had stopped at the fence; and everything had been done so “seamlessly” that one would not have known that the fence and guard tower were ever there before.
The West and East Germans were part of a true miracle, which swept the former Soviet Bloc countries too. As soon as money came from West Germany, residents of East Germany (or the DDR) literally abandoned their once-coveted Trabants—by the side of roads, and in pastures—and bought shiny new VWs to replace them.
Fast-forward to today, and Germans are “fractured.” Many, like my friend, are disgusted with Merkel and have proudly joined the AfD. And it seems that she has morphed into her former DDR “self,” not far removed from that of her DDR “stable mate,” Putin.
One thing that is just as certain as the fall of the Wall and the Iron Curtain is that Putin’s days are numbered; and Putinism will not survive the death of Putin.
Once Putin is gone, Russia may be dismembered—never to rise again—with China taking part (e.g., Siberia, which it covets) and the rest becoming independent states like the former Yugoslavia.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“) (see also the comments beneath the article); see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Curtain#Fall_of_the_Iron_Curtain (“Fall of the Iron Curtain“)
A vibrant Germany may benefit. Right now, however, it is fractured and desperately seeking its soul.
The country has been overrun with immigrants, primarily from the Middle East, who are changing the “face” of Germany, especially as its ethnic German population ages. What will the German of the future look like physically?
Also, Germany lost World War II, but “won” the war economically through its control of the EU, which seems like a governmental “monstrosity” and bureaucratic “nightmare” today.
LikeLike
THE DEATH OF PUTIN AND RUSSIA, UPDATED
Jay Akbar has written for the UK’s Sun:
See https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5700668/vladimir-putin-russia-nuclear-weapons-icbm-missile/ (“Putin boasts Russia has developed an intercontinental nuclear missile that can’t be stopped or shot down by any country’s defence system“) (emphasis added; illustrations omitted); see also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5502965/Cold-snap-Britain-mercy-Russian-gas-giants.html (“Cold snap to ‘put Britain at the mercy of Russian gas giants'”)
As presidential adviser and political pundit Dick Morris has stated correctly, the facts are far different from what Russia’s killer Putin portrays for domestic and international consumption:
See http://www.dickmorris.com/russia-strong-nukes-short-money-lunch-alert/ (“Russia: Strong On Nukes, Short On Money!“); see also https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-will-be-the-worlds-largest-oil-producer-by-2023-says-iea-1520236810 (“U.S. Will Be the World’s Largest Oil Producer by 2023, Says IEA“) and https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/condoleezza-rice-putin-nuclear-threats/2018/03/02/id/846426/ (“Condoleezza Rice Dismisses Putin Threats: He Says ‘Absurd Things'”—”Sanctions . . . are very effective against Putin and his inner circle”—”[C]ontact with the West is ‘really important’ for younger Russians. We want to isolate Putin and Putinism, but we don’t want to isolate the Russian people”)
Lastly, Putin’s “puffery” belies reality. What he did to influence U.S. elections has translated into being a pariah and “untouchable” for Americans and their politicians. He was stupid; and it is likely to cost him dearly—and the Russian people. No rapprochement is possible today, as both U.S. political parties heap scorn on Putin’s activities. His latest killings in the UK are the “icing on the cake.”
Putin is dead, for all practical purposes. By doing exactly what Dick Morris has suggested—stepping up energy production, lowering the prices of our energy products, and watching Russia “die of starvation”—Putin’s world will come crashing down.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/the-real-russian-conspiracy-barack-obama-the-clintons-and-the-sale-of-americas-uranium-to-russias-killer-putin/ (“The Real Russian Conspiracy: Barack Obama, The Clintons, And The Sale Of America’s Uranium To Russia’s Killer Putin“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/#comment-11112 (“Russia’s Killer Putin Is Boxed!”—”The endgame will not be pretty for Comrade Putin”)
LikeLike
Like Hitler, Stalin And Mao Before Him, The Only Good Putin Is A Dead Putin
Joel Gehrke has written in the Washington Examiner:
See https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/nikki-haley-warns-russia-could-use-chemical-weapons-in-new-york (“Nikki Haley warns: Russia could use chemical weapons in New York“) (emphasis added); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin%E2%80%99s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao%E2%80%99s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust“)
As discussed in the article above, its footnotes and the comments beneath it, Putin has killed and killed again. The killings in the UK are simply his latest.
He must be terminated, like Benito Mussolini before him.
Nothing less will suffice.
LikeLike
PUTIN’S RUST BUCKETS HAUL COLD WAR RELICS TO SYRIA
Jessica Finn and Jennifer Smith have written for the UK’s Daily Mail:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5618609/Russian-ships-laden-tanks-seen-Bosphorus-en-route-Tartus-Syria-led-air-strikes.html (“Russian reinforcements head for Syria: Warships laden with tanks, military trucks and armoured patrol boats sail towards the Middle East as the world awaits Putin’s response to airstrikes“) (emphasis added; diagrams and videos omitted)
Russia is weaker today under Putin than it was before the USSR collapsed.
The United States has vast energy reserves, and it is time to flood global markets and drive down the prices, and bankrupt Russia.
Putinism will not survive the death of Putin.
LikeLike
CRUSH PUTIN: U.S. TO BECOME WORLD’S TOP OIL EXPORTER
Tim Daiss has written at OilPrice.com:
See https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Citi-US-To-Become-Worlds-Top-Oil-Exporter.html (“U.S. To Become World’s Top Oil Exporter“) (emphasis added)
Aside from supplying our needs, the United States must supply Europe and China more aggressively.
No mercy must be shown to Russia’s killer Putin. He must meet a fate similar to that of Benito Mussolini before him.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/the-real-russian-conspiracy-barack-obama-the-clintons-and-the-sale-of-americas-uranium-to-russias-killer-putin/ (“The Real Russian Conspiracy: Barack Obama, The Clintons, And The Sale Of America’s Uranium To Russia’s Killer Putin“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/ (“Russia’s Putin Is A Killer“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin%E2%80%99s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao%E2%80%99s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust“)
LikeLike
KILLER PUTIN’S FORTUNE NOW ALMOST 200 BILLION DOLLARS! [UPDATED]
Henry Holloway has written in the UK’s Daily Star:
See https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/712604/vladimir-putin-net-worth-wealth-money-russia-world-cup-pictures-homes-planes-cars-yachts (“Putin net worth: Russian leaders alleged £150 billion fortune“) (emphasis added)
My article above stated that Putin’s net worth was estimated to be $70 billion. Needless to say, the latest estimates dwarf that figure, and arguably makes him the richest man in the world.
As stated in my article:
One thing is certain: Putinism will die with Putin.
LikeLike
GERMANY: TRUMP IS RIGHT, AGAIN! [UPDATED]
George Martin has written for the UK’s Daily Mail:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5942109/Donald-Trump-RIGHT-Germany-imports-70-cent-gas-Russia.html (“Donald Trump is RIGHT: Germany imports 70 per cent of its gas from Russia in a controversial deal that has enriched its former Chancellor and it will soon receive even MORE – but the US could step in“) (emphasis added; video and diagram omitted); see also https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-slams-captive-germany-nato-summit-081237901.html (“Trump and Merkel clash at fraught NATO summit“) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5941337/Germany-captive-Russia-Trump-dresses-NATOs-secretary-general-Brussels.html (“Trump calls Germany ‘a captive of Russia’ at NATO summit“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/global-chaos-and-helter-skelter/#comment-13611 (“Will The EU Live As A European Superstate, Or Die?“) and https://www.nysun.com/foreign/trumps-best-bet-in-europe-is-elizabeth/90324/ (“Russia is an emasculated remnant of the Soviet Union with a GDP smaller than Canada’s“)
Of course our President is correct. Merkel is a product of East Germany—or the DDR, as it was known before the collapse of Erich Honecker’s government—which was one of the most repressive regimes in the Soviet Union’s orbit, or the Evil Empire. This is where killer Putin and his brutal KGB reigned.
Germany lost World War II, but it won the economic war by its control of the EU and euro. Any doubts, just ask the Greeks.
Aside from replacing Russian natural gas and other energy products with American exports, Trump is also right in demanding that NATO countries increase their defense spending to 4 percent of their economic output, double the group’s current goal of two percent.
See https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-tells-nato-leaders-military-spending-4-percent-155939755.html (“Trump tells NATO leaders to increase defense spend to 4 percent“)
LikeLike
Trump Calls Off Cold War II [UPDATED]
This is the title of an article by Pat Buchanan—an adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, and a former GOP presidential aspirant himself—who has written:
See http://www.wnd.com/2018/07/trump-calls-off-cold-war-ii/ (emphasis added); but see https://www.yahoo.com/news/latest-trump-white-house-putin-summit-163902954–politics.html (“Trump says he misspoke on Russia meddling”—”President Donald Trump says he meant the opposite when he said in Helsinki that he doesn’t see why Russia would have interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections. Back at the White House on Tuesday, the president told reporters that he said he meant he doesn’t see why Russia ‘wouldn’t’ be responsible. He also said he accepts the American intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the election, but he denied that his campaign had colluded in the effort”) and https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-stands-by-his-positive-read-of-putin-summit-amid-criticism-1531847452 (“Trump Reverses Course, Says Russia Meddled in 2016 Election”—”‘The president is different than many leaders we’ve had who basically will litigate things to death and not meeting with people,’ [Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.)] told PBS late Monday. ‘I think Trump is different in that he is willing to meet with foreign leaders and actually I think you may get a breakthrough because of the meetings.’ Mr. Trump acknowledged Mr. Paul’s comments on Tuesday, tweeting, ‘Thank you @RandPaul’ then quoting other remarks of the senator: ‘The President has gone through a year and a half of totally partisan investigations – what’s he supposed to think?'”) and https://www.nysun.com/editorials/the-helsinki-hysteria/90328/ (“The Helsinki Hysteria”—”The hysteria greeting President Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin is something to behold. . . . It’s hard . . . to credit the Democratic Party, or its intelligentsia, when they pose as hawks. The New York Times? Its chairman, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., was once asked by his own father: ‘If a young American soldier comes upon a North Vietnamese soldier, which do you want to see get shot?’ Replied the younger Sulzberger: ‘I would want to see the American get shot.’ . . . Mr. Trump [has not] shipped plane loads of cash for Mr. Putin’s covert military operations against our allies the way the Democrats did for the ayatollahs. . . . Secretary Clinton failed at her own Russian reset. The Democrats shrank from arms sales to Ukraine. Crimea was lost on their watch. Arms sales to Ukraine were finally approved only under Mr. Trump. It was the Democrats who, in the Kerry-Lavrov ‘framework,’ waved the Russ into Syria. It was on the Democrats’ watch that Russia attempted to subvert our election”)
As my article above and the comments beneath it make clear, Russia’s killer Putin is the enemy of free people everywhere, just as Hitler, Stalin and Mao were. Make no mistake about that.
Also, when Putin dies, Putinism will die with him; and Russia may be dismembered like never before.
However, the un-American black racist Barack Obama and his co-conspirators—who have tried to destroy the candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump—are every bit as evil as Putin. Each must pay a very heavy price, which will send a message loud and clear to all of the world: NEVER AGAIN!
The treasonous wrongdoers include but are not limited to Obama; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton; former Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch; Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and former Deputy AG Sally Yates; former FBI Directors Robert Mueller and James Comey; former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; former CIA Director John Brennan; former National Security Advisor Susan Rice; former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe; Senior Advisor to Obama, Valerie Jarrett; and DOJ/FBI current or former employees such as Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and Andrew Weissmann.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/the-united-states-department-of-injustice/#comment-14220 (“Peter Strzok’s Arrogance Is The Product Of A Corrupt FBI“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/15/the-department-of-injustices-inspector-general-is-complicit-in-the-deep-state-cover-up/#comment-14180 (“DOJ’s Rod Rosenstein Is A Traitor“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/robert-mueller-should-be-executed-for-treason/#comment-14117 (“Traitor Mueller’s Pit Bull Weissmann Arranged Meeting With Reporters To Discuss Manafort Investigation“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/15/the-department-of-injustices-inspector-general-is-complicit-in-the-deep-state-cover-up/ (“The Department Of Injustice’s Inspector General Is Complicit In The Deep-State Cover-Up!“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/americas-newest-civil-war-2017-and-beyond/#comment-13471 (“CRUCIFY MUELLER AND ROSENSTEIN!“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/robert-mueller-should-be-executed-for-treason/#comment-13002 (“Congress Must Impeach Deputy AG Rosenstein And FBI Director Wray“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/robert-mueller-should-be-executed-for-treason/ (“Robert Mueller Should Be Executed For Treason”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/the-real-russian-conspiracy-barack-obama-the-clintons-and-the-sale-of-americas-uranium-to-russias-killer-putin/ (“The Real Russian Conspiracy: Barack Obama, The Clintons, And The Sale Of America’s Uranium To Russia’s Killer Putin“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin%E2%80%99s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao%E2%80%99s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/is-barack-obama-a-racist/ (“Is Barack Obama A Racist?“)
Lots of us began as Democrats, but will never vote for one again.
Indeed, the feeding frenzy occasioned by our President’s remarks in Helsinki underscores that fact in spades.
LikeLike
America’s Politicians Fret Over Russia And Our Elections, Instead Of Real Threats To Our Power Grid
In addition to a nation-ending EMP Attack, which might be launched by Russia, China, North Korea or terrorists, America’s power grid is vulnerable in other ways.
Betsy McCaughey—a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research—has written a fine and timely article for the New York Sun:
See https://www.nysun.com/national/kremlin-eyes-us-power-grid-as-pols-take-a-powder/90348/ (“Kremlin Eyes U.S. Power Grid as Pols Take a Powder“) (emphasis added); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/emp-attack-only-30-million-americans-survive/ (“EMP Attack: Only 30 Million Americans Survive“)
Putin and Russia can be brought down to their knees. While it has been reported that Putin has amassed wealth exceeding $200 billion, and that he is reputedly the richest man in the world today, he operates through cronies and oligarchs who can be sanctioned beyond belief.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“) (see also the extensive comments beneath the article)
Also, America’s real “biting” actions are twofold: (1) cut off Russia’s access to the SWIFT banking system, and (2) stop Russian energy products from going to our NATO allies in Europe, and especially Germany, and ratchet up America’s energy exports to Europe.
These two measures alone would bring Russia to its knees, and cripple its economy.
Never forget: Putinism dies with Putin.
LikeLike
The Circle Of Enemies Around Russia
Henry Meyer and Irina Reznik have written a fine article for Bloomberg:
See https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Putin-s-waning-clout-in-European-backyard-exposed-13148692.php (“Putin’s waning clout in European backyard exposed by Greek spat“) (emphasis added)
As I have stated above:
Putinism dies with Putin.
LikeLike
Putin’s Death Squad In London [UPDATED]
Richard Spillett and Charlie Bayliss have written for the UK’s Daily Mail:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6134111/How-Salisbury-assassins-spent-two-days-Britain-deadly-attack.html (“The assassins’ trail: How Russian spies flew into Gatwick, spent two days at £48-a-night east London hotel and made TWO train journeys to Salisbury before fleeing via Heathrow after carrying out poison attack“) (emphasis in original; surveillance photos omitted); see also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6134281/How-Salisbury-assassins-used-perfume-bottle-toxic-nerve-agent-threw-away.html (“How Salisbury ‘assassins’ used fake perfume bottle of toxic Novichok“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/#comment-12553 (“Like Hitler, Stalin And Mao Before Him, The Only Good Putin Is A Dead Putin“) and https://www.economist.com/britain/2018/09/05/britain-identifies-two-russians-as-suspects-in-the-skripal-poisoning (“Britain identifies two Russians as suspects in the Skripal poisoning“) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6133853/Wanted-Novichok-poisoning-Prosecutors-two-Russians-hunted.html (“Salisbury poisoning: Two Russians wanted for Novichok attack are named“)
Nothing like this happens without killer Putin’s blessings.
He must share Mussolini’s fate. Nothing less will suffice.
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6133853/Wanted-Novichok-poisoning-Prosecutors-two-Russians-hunted.html (“Britain launches cyber warfare on Russia: Theresa May vows to cripple Putin’s spy network in response to smirking assassins’ novichok attack on Salisbury“) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6140773/Russia-poses-active-threat-warns-UK-spy-chief.html (“Russia poses active threat, warns UK spy chief“)
LikeLike
It May Be Time To Snuff Out Putin
Reuters has reported:
See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6742481/After-Putins-warning-Russian-TV-lists-nuclear-targets-US.html (“Putin’s US nuclear hit list revealed: Russian state TV names Camp David as the top location the Kremlin would target with ‘unstoppable’ hypersonic nukes which can strike in just five minutes“) (emphasis added; illustration and video omitted)
Nothing happens in Russia without killer Putin’s blessings . . . just like Russia’s massive payments to the Clintons.
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/the-real-russian-conspiracy-barack-obama-the-clintons-and-the-sale-of-americas-uranium-to-russias-killer-putin/ (“The Real Russian Conspiracy: Barack Obama, The Clintons, And The Sale Of America’s Uranium To Russia’s Killer Putin“)
LikeLike
Russia’s Killer Putin Seeks To Silence His Critics
Stepan Kravchenko has written for BloombergQuint:
See https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/insulting-putin-may-now-land-you-in-jail-under-new-russian-law#gs.25nzp3 (“Insulting Putin May Now Land You in Jail Under a New Russian Law“) (emphasis added); see also https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/03/18/putin-signs-fake-news-internet-insults-bills-into-law-a64850 (“Putin Signs ‘Fake News,’ ‘Internet Insults’ Bills Into Law“)
Putin’s days on this Earth may be coming to an end—which cannot come fast enough—as he seeks to tighten his ruthless, despotic grip.
LikeLike
Putin Will Leave Power Like Fidel Castro Did, by dying of old age rather than a coup. Putin has many more years ahead of him. Nobody voluntarily gives-up political power. Only age and dying can do that, I am afraid.
LikeLike
Thank you, Craig, for your comments.
Perhaps that is conventional wisdom, but Hitler and Mussolini may have had similar thoughts.
Since his rise began as a KGB functionary in the former DDR, Putin has lived by the sword. That may be his fate too. Only time will tell for certain.
LikeLike
Stalin And Hitler Break Bread In Moscow [UPDATED]
Maxim A. Suchkov has written a Russian “puff piece” for Al-Monitor:
See https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/04/russia-israel-syria-putin-netanyahu.html (“Putin, Netanyahu break ground on deeper Russia-Israel engagement“) (emphasis added)
How ludicrous. Both men are killers and America’s enemies, just as Stalin and Hitler were.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/20/the-real-russian-conspiracy-barack-obama-the-clintons-and-the-sale-of-americas-uranium-to-russias-killer-putin/ (“The Real Russian Conspiracy: Barack Obama, The Clintons, And The Sale Of America’s Uranium To Russia’s Killer Putin“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/is-israel-doomed/ (“Is Israel Doomed?“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/the-death-of-putin-and-russia-the-final-chapter-of-the-cold-war/ (“The Death Of Putin And Russia: The Final Chapter Of The Cold War“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/ariel-sharon-is-missed/ (“Ariel Sharon Is Missed“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/the-madness-of-benjamin-netanyahu/ (“The Madness Of Benjamin Netanyahu“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/israels-senseless-killings-and-war-with-iran/ (“Israel’s Senseless Killings And War With Iran“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/ (“Russia’s Putin Is A Killer“) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin%E2%80%99s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao%E2%80%99s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust“)
As a former KGB agent, Putin’s path of deaths is well documented, in the articles above and elsewhere. The same is true of Netanyahu.
Indeed, it is not surprising in the least that Palestinians and/or followers of Islam might want to see Israel’s complete destruction and the annihilation of Jews. This is what Netanyahu has wrought.
Also, it is small wonder that anti-Semitism has risen in Europe and elsewhere.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/ariel-sharon-is-missed/#comment-7039 (“Is Night Falling Again For European Jews?“)
LikeLike
Has Russia’s Killer Putin Stepped Into Middle East Quicksand?
Pat Buchanan—an adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, and a former GOP presidential aspirant himself—has written:
See https://buchanan.org/blog/is-putin-the-new-king-of-the-middle-east-137628 (“Is Putin the New King of the Middle East?“) (emphasis added); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/19/the-middle-east-is-not-americas-fight/ (“The Middle East Is Not America’s Fight“)
Buchanan neglects to add that Barack Obama drew a red line in the sand of Syria, and never enforced it . . . and retreated with his tail between his legs.
Also, the despicable Republicans who voted with the Democrats against President Trump should be targeted for defeat.
LikeLike
See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9986291/Vladimir-Putin-oversees-huge-military-exercises-striking-distance-Europe.html (“The bear roars: Vladimir Putin oversees huge military exercises within striking distance of Europe including beach invasion by the world’s largest hovercraft and thousands of paratroopers”)
The collapse of America’s presence in Afghanistan, and our humiliation at the hands of the Taliban, have emboldened our enemies from Russia’s killer Vladimir Putin to China’s evil Xi Jinping. They view Joe Biden as a failed, pathetic President, whose tenure in office may be short.
Standing in the wings is Willie Brown’s ho Kamala Harris, who is even worse and more pathetic and devisive. The only upside for Americans is that when Putin dies, Putinism dies with him; and Russia may implode into a thousand pieces, stretching across multiple time zones, and encompassing a myriad of ethnic differences.
LikeLike
See https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/13/russia-putin.html (“Russia’s Putin on oil prices: $100 barrel is ‘quite possible'”)
This is one of the many tragic legacies of the failed Biden-Harris presidency.
Under our President Trump, we were moving rapidly toward energy independence. Brain Dead Joe canceled the Keystone Pipeline, putting Americans out of work, and making us dependent on the volatility of Middle East oil again.
Also, killer Putin and Russia’s only exports of significance are energy products. Low prices cripple our enemy Russia’s economy.
LikeLike
2021 LIVING IN AN INSANE ASYLUM: CALIFORNIA
Today, America continues its ongoing Leftward drift further into socialism, sic. communism in many states (CA & NY) and in the Federal Govt. (“Deep State”), as well. In-fact, Calif. today is a Fascist State in most every way according to the definition of Fascism, except instead of a dictator, we have a One-Party Democratic State with “King Newsom” at the helm.
( Newsom just ordered CDEQ to draft new rules banning gas motors for lawnmowers, blowers, hedge trimmers, and even chain saws). Gardners and homeowners alike by 2022 must use hand tools, or those powered by electric motors or propane ( for tractor lawn cutters).
Gov. Newsom also signed SB 09 and SB 10 in Sept. which revoked Zoning Designation R-1 Statewide ( Single Family Residential) and now supports mixed-use in its place. R-1 and the burbs will eventually become high density communities from San Diego to Beverly Hills in ten years or less.
Developers still must have plans which comply with all relevant City & County building codes, but the neighborhood homeowners and Associations no longer have a say (vote) in the permitting and planning process, as these bills do not allow a public notice period for approval.
“King Newsom” in effect, just cancelled suburbia by statute, as it traditionally was anyway. So, just go and build those duplexes in the back yard (1-2 story) wherever you want. Homes may sell for more money but the buyers may increasingly be developers rather than families or owner-occupants.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well said, in all respects, Craig.
To become California’s next U.S. Senator (replacing Dianne Feinstein), or America’s next President (replacing the Biden-Harris axis), Newsom is carving out a political presence to the far left of California’s already far-Left eco-Nazis.
When rolling blackouts occur in California, or its electrical grid otherwise goes down, Teslas and other electric vehicles may be stranded by the sides of roads, etc.
I am reminded of my time in Berlin and East Germany right after the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall fell. Soviet troops were selling their uniforms and plumbing fixtures from their barracks, and retreating to “tent cities” in the U.S.S.R. (or the Soviet Union).
However, most startling to me was the abandonment of Tribants next to roads, and in farm pastures. The West Germans had given money to the East Germans; and many former residents of the DDR used it to buy new VWs and the like, leaving their Tribants as vivid memorials to the collapse of that communist regime.
Will Teslas and other electric vehicles, and electric lawnmowers suffer a similar fate? Time will tell.
LikeLike
WAITING FOR THE FAT LADY TO SING ??
One possible trend may further unfold in the coming years and decades here at home in the United States: numerous additional migrations in-addition to the current, ongoing Red State migrations. One could easily envision millions more small and large businesses relocating their principal residences towards freer, less regulated economies in jurisdictions with lower overall costs and lower taxes.
To some extent, the growing expat community is also a mirror reflection of this existing domestic trend, as is growing numbers of former Americans who end-up choosing to renounce rather than live abroad and still be on-the-hook for Federal Income Taxes every year despite receiving no govt. services in-return.
It will be fascinating to watch these trends evolve and develop over time (years-decades) from the grandstands. I have little inclination to move abroad at 67 but who knows what the future will bring. Sure not i. One thing preppers often emphasize is preparation and some gold 1 oz. coins in your pocket just in case things really “go south”. All you really need is enough gold to “bribe the border guards”, particularly if they are paid in devalued U.S. Dollars or Pesos alike. When the U.S. catches a (financial) cold, Mexico soon follows behind.
Rome, Italy once was the home of over 1 million residents in its heyday (180 A.D). It was diverse, cosmopolitan, and had a vibrant service economy in antiquity for a time. Eventually, corruption, increasing taxes on wealth, and other economic burdens gradually took-over and drove Romans out of their largest city and into the countryside to subsist as best they could. Glorious Rome, began to depopulate. In fact, Rome ceased to be the capital of the Roman Empire as early as 286 A.D.
Turns-out decline takes a very long time to play-out before the collapse happens and it too is a long process. The progressive depopulation of Rome was actually the beginning of a long Medieval Period when civilization went dark for centuries. Populations drastically declined, as they may in North America before its over. Waiting for the Fat Lady to Sing. You could even view this historic trend as a kind of ancient “preppers”, if you will.
In 476 A.D., German armies led by Odoacer, revolted against Emperor Augustus and deposed him , and then granted Odoacer kingship for awhile. This was not the first sacking of Rome, as before him King Alaric the Visigoth had previously “sacked” Rome in 24 August, 410 A.D. This was just the first of several Roman ‘sackings’ by barbarians ( illegal immigrants) before the finale. At the end, only a few hundred Romans still resided in the City of Rome. See the analogies in history? They actually rhyme as Mark Twain once suggested is often the case.
Another Historic Perspective on Ancient Rome’s Fall from Grace
https://www.history.co.uk/shows/barbarians-rising/articles/why-did-ancient-rome-fall
Graph of Rome’s Population Trends (2900 B.C. – 2000 A.D.)
Some Philosophy about Living in “Interesting Times”
“Live Long and Prosper”: Leonard Nemoy as Spock in Star Trek
“There is nothing new under the Sun” ( King Solomon): Ecclesiastes 1:10
“Life is a Bitch and then You Die” Contemporary Coffee Mug Message
Life is full of a diversity of viewpoints and (individual or personal ) interpretations, sic. perceptions about reality. However, few of them last and survive the test of time ( truth is timeless, after all ).
LikeLike
Thank you again, Craig.
Needless to say, all of this would be thrown into a cocked hat if we go to war with China (e.g., over Taiwan).
As someone reminded me yesterday, China might be prepared to lose a third of its population (e.g., 500 million), just as Mao sacrificed 35-40 million during his “Great Leap Forward.”
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin%e2%80%99s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao%e2%80%99s-chinese-holocaust/ (“The Silent Voices Of Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust And Mao’s Chinese Holocaust”) and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_China (“Demographics of China”)
LikeLike
After our humiliating defeat in Afghanistan, Russia’s killer Putin views Brain Dead Biden as a fool; and to solidify his hold on Russia, Putin may invade Ukraine.
China’s Xi Jinping may move as well, sensing that the Biden-Harris presidency may be over later this year, when our elections occur.
See also https://www.the-sun.com/news/4463631/war-fears-over-russias-plot-ukraine-invasion/ (“WW3 fears over ‘Russia’s plot to justify Ukraine invasion’ as expert warns escalating tensions may spark major conflict”) and https://dnyuz.com/2022/01/14/u-s-considers-backing-an-insurgency-after-battling-one/ (“U.S. Considers Backing an Insurgency, After Battling One”) and https://apnews.com/article/europe-russia-media-ukraine-vladimir-putin-f24e6bd400e20d7890daff371cd80eb2 (“White House: Russia prepping pretext for Ukraine invasion”) and https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-accuses-russia-fabricating-pretext-invade-ukraine/story?id=82267027 (“US accuses Russia of ‘fabricating a pretext’ to invade Ukraine”) and https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/world/europe/russia-ukraine-invasion.html (“Russia Issues Subtle Threats More Far-Reaching Than a Ukraine Invasion”)
When Putin dies, Putinism will die with him. Until then, he may create chaos: the last gasps of a brutal dictator.
LikeLike
See also https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10424125/New-pictures-claimed-pole-dancing-room-inside-Putins-alleged-1billion-Black-Sea-palace.html (“Jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny’s team releases new pictures they claim show a pole-dancing room inside ‘the Russian President’s £1billion Black Sea palace'”)
As indicated in my article above, Putin’s “pleasure palace” near Sochi rivals Versailles.
LikeLike
See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10478725/Putin-Xi-new-axis-evil-aiming-shatter-Wests-power-writes-MARK-ALMOND.html (“Putin and Xi… a new axis of evil: China and Russia are fielding a joint team at the Winter Olympics and aiming to shatter the West’s power”)
This article is accurate. But it must never be forgotten that Putinism dies with Putin.
LikeLike
ARE RUSSIANS LEARNING THE TRUTH FINALLY?
See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10600711/Ukraine-war-Guests-Russian-state-TV-invasion-like-Afghanistan-worse.html (“Russian state television DEFIES President Putin’s propaganda edict and broadcasts criticism of the war in Ukraine – with guests describing the shambolic invasion as ‘like Afghanistan, but even WORSE'”); see also https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/volodymyr-zelensky-is-winning-support-using-crucial-american-world-war-ii-tactic/ (“Volodymyr Zelensky is winning support using a crucial American World War II tactic”) and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10602157/Ukraine-Inept-Russian-tactics-baffle-military-experts.html (“‘Inept’ Russian tactics baffle military experts: Tank commanders allowed Ukrainians to ambush them by driving straight up a main road as analysts say they’ve lost enough armoured vehicles to equip the ENTIRE German army”); but see https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10603045/Putin-places-head-FSBs-foreign-intelligence-branch-house-arrest.html (“Putin ‘has placed the head of the FSB’s foreign intelligence branch under house arrest because he is furious at security services for failing to warn him’ that Ukraine could fiercely resist invasion”)
Will it make any difference?
The most prominent attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler is referred to as the “20 July plot,” which failed; and thousands of Germans were executed or committed suicide.
In a quotation attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “when you strike at a king, you must kill him,” or he will get you –which happened in the failed attempt to kill Hitler.
See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot (“20 July plot”)
LikeLike
As I Predicted, Russia May Fragment
See, e.g., https://dnyuz.com/2022/10/08/a-distracted-russia-is-losing-its-grip-on-its-old-soviet-sphere/ (“A Distracted Russia Is Losing Its Grip on Its Old Soviet Sphere”); see also https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11301055/Zelensky-hits-terrorist-state-Russia-video-filmed-bomb-site-missile-strikes.html (“Putin is losing support at home says boss of GCHQ,” the UK’s intelligence, cyber and security agency)
LikeLike
No One Should Be Surprised About Putin’s Wealth
Years ago, when I wrote the article above, it was estimated that he was worth $70 billion.
But see https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11923621/Is-Putin-RICHEST-man-world.html (“Is Putin the RICHEST man in the world? How the Russian leader – official salary £107k a year – is believed to have amassed a £200 BILLION fortune with palaces, planes, yachts (and his favourite £10,000 coat)”)
LikeLike
Putin’s Eagle’s Nest
See https://www.businessinsider.com/revealed-vladimir-putins-secret-black-sea-bunker-russia-kremlin-palace-2023-5 (“Revealed: Vladimir Putin’s Secret Black Sea Bunker”); see also https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kehlsteinhaus (“Kehlsteinhaus”)
LikeLike
Now apply your smae logic to the disastrous US foreign policy of the last decade or two. I guess you’re okay with the coup we staged in 2014, or the subsequent ethnic cleansing where 13,000-20,000 men, women and children were killed by US backed neo-NAZIs? I guess you’re okay with the US puppet wanting nukes pointed at Russia? On hypersonic missiles a nuke can hit Moscow in 3-4 minutes from several places on the border. Does that sound like sane foreign policy to you? The US has dirty hands, very dirty hands. Our puppet and his cronies are corrupt, very corrupt. Your article is as biased as it is disgusting. The US provoked this conflict, we bribed the puppet to take big $US instead of negotiating a peaceful resolution, as Russia/Putin had been trying to do for years. People like you revel in your ignorance.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comments.
First, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush brought down the former Soviet Union without a shot being fired. I was in Berlin when it happened — cheering with German friends — as the Soviet troops were selling their uniforms and plumbing fixtures from their barracks, and going back to “tent cities” in the USSR.
Second, Vladimir Putin is a killer. It’s all he knows and does. The sooner that he is greeted at the Gates of Hell by Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung, the better.
Third, the collapse and dismemberment of Russia will be cheered around the world. No one should ever forget its savagery in Ukraine, or the wholesale rape of at least 2 million German women when Soviet troops overran Berlin at the end of World War II. A secretary of mine was there.
Lastly, Russians should be treated as global pariahs and savages for at least a generation.
Please read my article above and its footnotes, which provide adequate support for this conclusion.
LikeLike