Russia's Response to the Mueller Report
President of the Russian Federation
“I believe that this problem is rooted in the domestic developments in the United States.
We are not enjoying the current developments, but we did not start it. It is stretching the truth to say that this is the punishment for Ukraine and Crimea. It all began back under President Barack Obama, long before Washington launched its “colour revolution” project in Ukraine. It began with Edward Snowden, who was stuck in Russia because he could not fly anywhere – his passport was cancelled. The US President, the Secretary of State and the FBI and CIA directors put pressure on us to surrender him without delay. We said we could not do so because all the accompanying information indicated that he was facing the death penalty. This is why Obama banned bilateral contacts and cancelled his visit ahead of the G20 summit in St Petersburg. By the way, we were preparing for that meeting an agreement on the further reduction of strategic offensive arms, which should have followed on the 2010 Prague Treaty, as well as a declaration that set out an agenda on strategic stability for many years to come. Obama’s inability to forgo personal resentment buried a very important document, which could have been put to very good use now.Next, sanctions were imposed over the Magnitsky case. A closer look at the problem revealed that Bill Browder, who raised the ballyhoo, had problems with the law, and not only Russian law. The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia brought charges against Browder in the United States. American courts had to accept numerous facts supporting our suspicions. However, the court’s operations were clearly interfered with by those who did not want to ease pressure on Russia, that is, by Browder himself and his supporters. In other words, Ukraine was just another pretext.
The US elite disliked the changes that took place in Russia after Vladimir Putin became our president, when we gradually got back on our feet and regained our independence. Most importantly, we started thinking independently and stopped listening to the advisers who were entrenched in our key ministries in the 1990s.
The election defeat of the Democratic Party provided the pretext for preventing the normalisation of relations with Russia. Three weeks before leaving the White House, Barack Obama seized Russia’s diplomatic property. It happened in a country where this cannot be done for any reason, where private property is a sacred right and others’ property must never be taken. It was a time bomb, and its clock is still ticking. The Democrats have done their best to use the Russian card so as to do maximum damage to the current administration. When a great nation spends three years speculating about foreign interference that allegedly predetermined the outcome of its presidential elections, we see this as disrespect for the great American people.
Speaking about the election turbulence, I would like to refer to the Democratic Party. Contrary to what the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is trying to prove, there are solid facts showing that the Democratic Party violated the law when illegal methods were used to force Bernie Sanders to quit the race. Everyone has forgotten about this, talking about Russia all the time rather than about what is happening in the United States.
We are open for dialogue as long as the United States is. President Vladimir Putin has said this more than once at his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Hamburg in 2017, in Helsinki last year, as well as during their contacts at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. We do not want to interfere, and we do not want to give any reason for accusing us of interference in the internal fighting and conflicts in the United States. What we have is a constructive agenda. We have outlined a number of cooperation areas, including the establishment, upon our presidents’ approval, of a business council comprising five, six or seven top officials each from the largest Russian and US corporations. I am sure that such a high-level council could become a major stabilisation factor, at least for our business communities.
We have also proposed establishing, if our presidents approve this, a council of leading Russian and US political scientists who can be charged with preparing a positive agenda. We have offered an extended programme for a dialogue on strategic stability, including on the INF Treaty and a future agreement on strategic offensive arms, as well as on cooperation in space and on ways to prevent its militarisation with unpredictable consequences. They have put all this on back burner. We have not received a clear response to these proposals. When the United States initiated the procedure to withdraw from the INF Treaty, President Putin said at a meeting with Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and me that we had more than once told our American partners about all our initiatives, and that our partners surely know about them. If they opted for disregarding these initiatives, we will no longer knock on a locked door and will stop reminding our partners about our initiatives. Our American colleagues can tell us when they are ready. We will be willing to start the talks”.
SERGEY LAVROV
Foreign Minister of Russia
This article goes on to list the timeline of events that happened starting on May 18, 2016. Director of the U.S. National Intelligence James Clapper reported that the American Intel community had found evidence of foreign spy services attempting to hack networks of the Democratic National Committee (the DNC).
The thing here is how could Clapper make that accusation when no intelligence agencies looked at the DNC computers? The FBI was denied the opportunity to investigate the alleged 'hack'. The only agency that did this was CrowdStrike which was hired by the DNC and its owner had ties to Ukraine. Or was someone from there.
Everyone should read this report. It documents the fake news, lies, violations of diplomatic standards and international law, and gratuitous aggressive actions taken against Russia during the period beginning May 18, 2016 and continuing through the issuance of the Mueller Report.
January 6, 2017 - Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified intelligence report with “assessments” that stated U.S. Intel services “are high confident” that “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. election”. The report said that Russian intelligence services had gained access to the DNC computer network for nearly a year from July 2015 to June 2016 and had released hacked material to Wikileaks “to help President-elect Trump”. Although this report contained no evidence of “Russian meddling” and “Collusion between Russia and Trump campaign” American media has continued to speculate about the alleged “Trump-Kremlin conspiracy” as well as the false narrative of “Russian interference in the U.S. political processes”.
Reading through this I forgot how many people in Trump's administration were going along with the ruse. Tillerson and Nikki Haley to name just two. Then it lists their actions and next is the list of articles written about it. I read yesterday that over 250,000 articles were written about how Donald and Vlad worked together to sway the election and to keep Herheinous from winning. This report is 121 pages that debunks Russia Gate's mass hysteria and Russian-phobia. There have been lots of nasty side effects that have come from this psyops on Americans and unfortunately it doesn't look like it's over. Democrats are going to continue wasting their time on reinvestigating things that the FBI and Mueller already have. But I'm very sure that they won't invite Ray McGovern from VIPS or anyone who would tell them the truth about how the DNC computers were not hacked or anything that would put a cork in this. Pelosi and other democrats are saying that they are not interested in impeachment so why waste their time on this? We know that answer don't we?
Comments
Paul Craig Roberts discusses the report
Paul Craig Roberts Warns The Orchestration Of Russophobia Is The Prelude To War
Heh... remember this?
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
@snoopydawgRussiagate has three
I'll add a few more things:
1A) I don't know if there was ever really a fear of a reduction in said military budget, but now they have their "reason" (fear of Russia) to continue inflating the bloated military budget now.
1B) Terrorism had lost its spunk; we needed a new enemy. America cycles through its enemy lists. Back I think like 10 years ago I made a joke wondering if America would get tired of terrorism and go back to the golden oldie of Russia being the current bad guy. And there it is. We need a constant supply of current bad guys -- whether terrorism, or Russia, or "regimes". Think, who talks about Islamic terrorism now? That's right, we don't. It served its purpose after being funded by the US and Saudi Arabia. Maybe in 15 years we'll get another terrorism reboot.
1C) I'd also add this growing concern of a multi-polar world with Russia and China becoming a force. The thing is that America's bellicose belligerence is driving the two countries together.
2) This one is probably the largest thing. The complete and utter failure of Clinton's campaign is possibly the greatest failure of a political campaign in American history. It is that monumental her abysmal failure. Again, I can't emphasize the abject failure of this campaign. She has been gunning for this position for over 20 years, setting everything up and rigging everything along the way and yet still lost. So now, to protect herself and Obama's illegal actions,she concocted this story simply to save face. Of course, her death cult will believe anything their goddess says. There isn't a greater death cult in human history that the Clinton cult. This isn't a joke or meant to be hyperbole. Name a group of people hellbent on killing every person on this planet in a nuclear war simply because their candidate lost. Fundamentalists want a large enough apocalypse to occur to somehow bring forth the Rapture. Who else has called for the wiping of all life on Earth besides America and now more than ever Clinton supporters? It really is frightening to just stop and think how vile and evil a group of people have to be to want to kill all life on this planet because of the biggest temper tantrum ever seen.
/End Rant
Edit: Grammar check.
Excellent rant, SD!
And excellent additional points of what Russia Gate has been about. America has had to make up its enemies since the Cold War ended. It didn't have to be this way either. After the collapse of the USSR we could have turned to peace, but starting with Clinton's presidency every president since him has created more hostility towards Russia and now we have countries on their borders with troops in them and becoming members of NATO. The biggest irony would be for Ukraine which is full of neo Nazis to join. And yes terrorism has almost run its course and we turning to Russia and China as our new enemies. Why? Because the USA is not the only superpower in the world anymore.
Heh...
This after she cheated to win the primary and then to the absolutely worst candidate ever to lose to. But not only that, she also used her party's intelligence agencies to spy on her opponent to make sh*t up about him and she still lost. This really puts her failure on full display doesn't it?
I agree with your points in your other comment here. It will be interesting to see what happens with Bernie if the democrats rig the primary again.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Much longer than that, I think
I believe she's had presidential ambitions her entire adult life, perhaps even longer than that. Everything she's ever done has been planned and executed with that goal in mind, most likely including her choice of mate (Bill). I've been thinking lately that Hillary is the engine running the Clinton machine. I'd bet that she feels great resentment toward Bill, because he got what she feels entitled to. The US presidency.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
To own the DNC and all that entails, almost ALL Super delegates
and to have all the media in her pocket yet as you say she was...
"setting everything up and rigging everything along the way and yet still lost"
From "101 Things we learned from Wikileaks' Podesta emails" (just a few of the examples)
Rigging the Media
(18) Media collusion: “Washington correspondent John Harwood sends Podesta his private approval of Hillary Clinton appearances, as if he’s on the team. Columnist Nicholas Kristof, in advance of an interview with Bill Clinton, emails his questions, which Podesta’s team passes around to staffers to shape Clinton’s answers. A Washington reporter gives Hillary Clinton veto power over quotations he can use from an interview. Another reporter is praised as someone who has ‘never disappointed’ in delivering stories the campaign wants ‘teed up’ for public consumption”.
(19) More media collusion: “Clinton’s campaign coordinated with the New York Times, which gave it approval on quotes for a long profile on the candidate. Times reporter Mark Leibovich emailed campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri on July 7, 2015, seeking approval on the Clinton quotes. A Boston Globe editorial writer worked with the Clinton campaign to give her a ‘big presence’ in coverage during the candidate’s swing through the area amid the Democratic primary. Marjorie Pritchard, the Globe’s op-ed editor, emailed campaign chair John Podesta to tell him, ‘It would be good to get it in on Tuesday, when she is in New Hampshire. That would give her a big presence on Tuesday’”.
..............................................
"(23) CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, via his staff, sought out the Clinton campaign for questions to ask Donald Trump in an interview. The Democratic National Committee more than once advised CNN on what questions to ask Republican candidates in interviews. One email listed the questions to be put to Donald Trump. Another email consisted of DNC questions supplied to CNN to ask Ted Cruz.
(24) Arianna Huffington prefers some distance, in order to use the Huffington Post “to echo our message without any perceived conflicts”.
(25) An aide to Hillary Clinton alluded to having “VERY friendly and maleable reporters” put out the Clinton narrative on the email controversy.
(26) Maggie Haberman of Politico was a favourite of the Clinton campaign: “We have has a very good relationship with Maggie Haberman of Politico over the last year. We have had her tee up stories for us before and have never been disappointed. While we should have a larger conversation in the near future about a broader strategy for reengaging the beat press that covers HRC, for this we think we can achieve our objective and do the most shaping by going to Maggie”.
https://zeroanthropology.net/2016/11/08/101-things-we-learned-from-wikil...
She had the ambitions to become President since over 20 Years ?
@Strife Delivery
Looks like it - a little bit at least - and that would be since 26 years now. I think both HRC and Bill Clinton have/had both what it takes to become Presidents. I won't tell why though...
[video:https://youtu.be/U5kVNIyJauQ]
I just wonder who made this video, cut it and meddled with it. Did this happen as it was shown in this video?
And I am sitting here wondering why she stuck by her man. You are not wondering about it?
https://www.euronews.com/live
@snoopydawg It's odd that PCR uses
It's odd that PCR uses the word "war" in his heading but does not include it in his list. It should be included, because everything has been pointing in that direction for quite a while. They -- deep state, neocons, oligarchs -- have a plan, a goal (most likely conceived in think tanks), toward which they are advancing, and that goal goes way beyond domestic politics. One does not build up a massive military just for the heck of it. The U.S., which serves transnational corporate interests and not the American people, has been openly attempting to take over the world, both militarily and hegemonically, since at least the 1990s, probably the 1980s. This is the neocon goal, the overriding concern, and they have already shown that they will resist/destroy anyone who gets in the way of that goal.
The global hegemonic spread got its start in the 1980s with deregulation and supply side economics, both of which made possible the social, political and economic preeminence of corporate wealth, the 1%. The hegemonic goals took recognizable form in the 1990s with WTO/GATT and NAFTA, which elevated transnational corporations over the nation state (a coup), and the 1996 Telecom Act which ushered in mass media consolidation, necessary for information control. The military aspect got underway in the 2000s via the 9/11 false flag operation which enabled the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama seamlessly continued the military advances in the Middle East under the convenient guise of the WOT, and attempted to advance global corporate hegemony via TPP.
If we wanted to reduce all that to personalities, we'd have Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, and Obama all serving the same set of bosses. We've already seen the deep family-style relationships that sprang up between the Clintons and Bushes, now including the Obamas. Trump was an accident; he got in their way for a while. Tulsi Gabbard would also be a clear threat to their plan, so they've effectively disappeared her.
Russia and China are competitor states, both must be overcome or subdued, but we're not ready to tackle China yet. That's why Russia has become our "enemy." It feels artificial because it is artificial.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
We only ever hear about us re-igniting the Cold War as a result
of this hoax.
This is the first time I’ve heard it from the Russian perspective in over two years.
Good job Snoopy Dawg in bringing it home and enlightening us.
You’ve done good!
Thank you, Sirena
Lots of actions were taken during this massive propaganda effort to get people to think that Russia is our enemy and that they not only attacked our country, but our democratic values. We know how hard it was for people to vote for Bernie. From having their party affiliation changed to being kicked off the voting rolls, to the way the democrats ran the caucuses and seeing states that he won go to Herheinous to the shenanigans that happened at the convention and everything in between.
But sure, blame Russia for everything that is wrong with the country. It wasn't Russia who lied us into one war after another. Or gave us the hideously flawed ACA. Or bailed out the banks whilst Americans were left to sink or swim. Or watching cops getting away with murdering our fellow citizens. Or, or....
.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
foreigner!
Whilst? You are not allowed to be part of our 'Merican democratic process whilst using foreign words.
Thanks, snoopydawg,
for all of the work you do. I've been trying to find a transcript of President Obama lamenting the fact that some Americans trust the word of Putin more than they do our own intelligence agencies. I remember hearing or reading him say something to that effect. And that's really the crux of this problem. His supposedly puzzled outrage over why anyone would trust Putin, a former KGB officer, over our CIA.
I guess I will start to count the ways: the CIA lies to us about everything; they lied us into Vietnam; they lied us into Ethiopia; they lied us into Nicaragua; they lied us into Iraq; they lied us into Angola; they lied us into the Balkans; they lied us into Sudan; they lied us into Afghanistan; they lied us into El Salvador; they lied us into Laos; they lied us into Cambodia; they lied us into Yemen; they lied us into Libya; they lied us into Syria; and they lied us into Ukraine. They have imported drugs into the United States. They have gouged the eyes out of people they've assassinated. They've armed every death squad on the planet. They have no credibility.
All the good people in the CIA, the FBI, and the NSA have told us about the bad things these agencies have done. The CIA trained jihadists in the remote detonation of explosives at Harvey Point, North Carolina, while Khalid Sheikh Mohammed studied chemical engineering at a small college nearby. Astonishingly, he became a jihadist expert in remote detonation of explosives! Remarkable!
You and I both know I am barely scratching the surface of the abomination that is called the CIA, founded by Allen Dulles, Hitler's New York lawyer. But in case anyone ever wonders why I would trust Putin over our intelligence agencies, it's because Putin is Russian, and I can trust Russians to fight fascism, whereas my intelligence agency, the CIA, is the legacy of the industrial cartel that armed Hitler, and everything the CIA does is consistent with the goals and methods of fascism, to destroy the labor movement and democracy worldwide through unspeakable violence and terrorism.
Amazing isn't it, Linda?
That so many people believed it in the first place is astonishing, but even after Mueller said Trump and people in his campaign did not collude to steal the election from Her and still think that he did. And that Russia interfered with the election just because a Russian company placed some ads on FB or that the same Cambridge Analytics that Obama's campaign used and got an award for was this time used illegally.
And after the intelligence agencies lied about the things you listed people decided that this time they were telling us the truth. Especially this:
Would WWII have even happened if Hitler had to do everything himself? Starting with the Maine has there been a war that wasn't based on lies?
SMDH.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Has there *ever* been a war that wasn't based on lies?
I can't think of any, and I'm fairly well versed in both ancient and modern history.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
One of my favorite ways to start an argument is to
assert, blandly but categorically, that the fascists won WWII.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
We are looking not at Cold War 2.0, but WWII version 2
Russiagate has become an extension of WWII but with an updated allies on Russia's borders. Cold War I was an ideological battle with not much xenophobia. In fact, my recollection was the Americans understood the difference between Communist rulers and people within the Soviet Union. Defectors from the Eastern block were cheered on and gladly accepted. And now the media and democrats see no difference between the Russian people and Putin--they are all in it together--every Russian is immediately tied to the Kremlin and controlled by Putin.
The conflict in World War II was much much more about ethnic and racial hatreds against the Jews and Slavs. What we see is the repetition of those same narratives in the West including a massive military build up on Russia's border by German and their allies--remember the invasion of the Soviet Union was not just and only the Germans, but a coalition of other allies.
And we know what happened--war.
Yes every Russian was included in the play
Imagine if the things said about Putin and Russia were said about Bibi and Israel?
We saw the fluff that came from what Omar said about Israel when people said that she was slamming the whole Jewish population and yet we have subjected to anti Russian slanders for over two years.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Case in point
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Sorta ironic about Obama's trust in intel agencies
Obama was blatantly lied to about the military progress of fighting ISIS other aspects Syria and Iraq. In fact, remember when Obama said ISIS was reduced to the JV team, and later was embarrassed when ISIS nearly toppled the Assad regime.
What Obama said about Islamic State as a 'JV' team
Analysts Detail Claims That Reports on ISIS Were Distorted
@Linda Wood
That is one of the nicest, succinct summaries I've seen. And though the details you spell out are stipulated and not even disputed at this point, yet inexplicably some are still puzzled why nobody trusts the agency?
Actions tell us what we need to know. Simple as that.
@Linda Wood
I believe I remember what Putin did to win over quite a few Americans. He (or perhaps a speechwriter of his) wrote a very persuasive op-ed for the NYTimes arguing against a U.S. military strike on Syria. It was titled "A Plea for Caution From Russia By Vladimir V Putin Sept. 11, 2013." You can pull up the article by doing a search on the title. Many of the comments expressed immense admiration and support for Putin among NYTimes readers. It's quite likely that this is what Obama was referring to. (I happen to remember it because I wrote and saved a comment to the op-ed, and it was easy to find in my files.) To me, the op-ed displayed amazing familiarity with and insight into the American people. There are times I think we're outclassed by the Russians.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
No doubt about it, we ARE.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Speaking about the election
This little quote hidden in the middle from the Foreign Minister is the golden nugget here.
Everyone in the world knows the Democratic Party rigged the primary; the only people who continue to deny this are Democratic politicians, various parts of the bitter Democratic base, and pathetically, Sanders himself (in the sense that it happened to him but did absolutely nothing to counter it let alone speak out about it as it was happening in real time).
German MSM have barely informed people who Bernie Sanders *IS*,
let alone that in 2016 he was cheated out of the nomination in a whole string of different states using various kinds of establishment dirty tricks.
Except, of course, when there is a Hollywood-star identity politics hook or the U.S. deep-state fake civil society is promoting an astroturf movement as a “color revolution,” the German mainstream media elite really seems afraid of reporting positively on any kind of bottom-up populist movement succeeding anywhere. It’s as if they think if they do so, that will boost domestic right-wing populists, so they bend over backwards to avoid it.
We have not done what is most important
I envy the propaganda that tells me to think for myself. gosh darnit
Like the Clintons and their Third Wayers, still a disease in the amerikan body politic. trench mouth
Bernie is down there doing battle with them against Trump and the right wing, fighting to save neoliberalism. Man, plutocracy sucks. Why do citizens keep voting for it? I don't know.
All Your Base Are Belong To Us
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvTxv46ano width:450]
I am not interested in reading Muellers investigative cover-up, if I'm still alive in ten years maybe by then it will be more entertaining kabuki. long yawn
Special Counsel's Office
https://www.justice.gov/sco
"Related Court Documents" do in fact say russia did it, depending on what your definition of "it" is.
of course
thanks and good luck
Because Americans love living on their knees, begging.
It's all we seem to know at this point, and we aren't even good at it.
Voters: "Oh Mr. Capitalist, please let us have these modest policy proposals that'll improve our lives just a little bit, Mr. Capitalist, sir. We would be ever so grateful."
Capitalist Pig: "We can't afford it because that would cut into our profits. You're lucky I even pay you at all. Get back to work."
Voters: "Yes sir."
It's gone on like this for about 50 years now. You'd think the voters would be sick to death of it, but nope. They just stay on their knees and beg.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
The Black Panthers talked about TPTB oinking in people’s faces
The internet and the online payment system have now brought us into the age of “OoFaaS” — one can now pay or donate good money to have establishment figures “oink in one’s face as a service.”
Yeah, I expect the capitalist pigs to
turn breathing into a service. Can't pay? Sorry, kid. We gotta shut off your lungs.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
I think that is already happening in hospitals or other health
care places one way or another.
Due to the corporate pigs running the show, we have people trying to 'crowdfund' for their needed medical help and we get tragic stories of people that are no longer breathing because they couldn't come up with the money demanded in the time allotted.
tired of getting video clips oinked in my face
at least I learned a new English word, oink. So thanks for that. Otherwise, I oink back.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Good get, thanks for posting it.
I don't think we need another Cold War.
Of course, I don't own shares in Boeing, Raytheon or Lockheed Martin.
I was born into the first Cold War. I believe I can be forgiven for believing in the Russian bogeyman during my youth. By the time Regan tried to revive the Cold War in the 80s I had achieved some measure of maturity and thought it was bullshit.
This time, I'm absolutely sure it's bullshit.
Russia is a country other than ours, not a threat to our existence.
Vladimir Putin is the president of a country other than ours, not a Bond villain seeking world domination.
That is all.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
I'm usually greeted
with looks of dismay and eye-rolling when I tell friends and guests that I believe Putin to be easily the best statesman on the world stage in the past 20 yrs. Intelligent, level-headed, positive, patient (almost to a fault), long-suffering (very Lincolnesque qualities) and willing to continue to try to work with a reluctant and even hostile US govt, R or D, which seems intent on ratcheting up tensions which we all know have sent us down a dangerous path.
His FM Lavrov also displays similar positive qualities of leadership and intelligence, as does the spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, a no-nonsense feisty woman, Maria Zhakharova, who often calls out the propaganda and false facts from the western media.
I don't think the high quality of these 3 Russian govt officials can be matched anywhere in the western world.
I believe Oliver Stone's four part interview with Putin
reveals a character quite unlike the one painted by western media, and yes not only was Putin asked about the allegations of Russian meddling in the US election but Oliver Stone also asked him about Edward Snowden one day when riding in a car with Putin (Putin loves to drive).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvlKSbYkTXI
Vladimir Putin also showed that smarmy Fareed Zakaria to be totally inept in this six minute video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPc3FN5pbHc
Last but not least is the full ,unedited (unlike what got shown in the media),twenty minute interview of Putin by Megyn Kelly and yes she repeated every unproven talking point but Putin handled them all very well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_WPk6Rxx00&feature=youtu.be
Yes, familiar with
all those interviews. Unfortunately the long Stone interviews only got minimal coverage over here, relegated to a premium cable channel and barely noticed in the larger MSM.
Also impressive are Putin's annual town hall-like Q&A sessions with the public, televised to the nation, lasting 3-4 hrs. Includes skeptical questioners too, not just fawning adoring public. He also does similar televised Q&A sessions with Russian youth. No American president has done such public forums to my knowledge where they take questions, over hours, from the public. We get their speeches, a one-way communication nearly always.
No comparison
Here, we get "audiences" packed with ringers, questions pre-fed to the makeup-plastered politician who dares not step out of viewing range of the teleprompter. Oh, let's not forget the in-ear radio receiver — the better to hear offstage prompts with.
We definitely see the
ringers with these Town Hall cable news gatherings. The other night, in that 5-hr back-to-back-to-back ... candidate town hall marathon at St Anselm College, NH, I've never seen such a well-scrubbed, good to go in the corporate world group of university students who looked like they came out of a cookie cutter mold at Pepperidge Farms Bakery, with perhaps some finishing school at Langley VA.
Great work, SD!
This report is excellent!
I can't wait to watch The Real News segment, too. What a lot of lying pieces of crap - Obummer, Herheinous, The Clap, all of them. I hope they are all taken down by Herr Drumpf. That would be their comeuppance.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
The Russian government
The Russian government constantly amazes me with its calm, rational approach to everything. Contrast that to our shrill, gossipy, highly personalized, blame-throwing discourse. I admire the Russians for this and wish we could be more like them in that regard. But let's not forget that theirs is a far more controlled, authoritarian government than ours. Someone, I think Pluto's Republic, wrote about RT's political discussion show Crosstalk with American ex-pat Peter Lavelle at the helm, and I agree it's a very good show, gives a useful balance to what we hear/see at home, and I like Lavelle and his crew very much. Furthermore, it's impressive that RT has been a better host to Chris Hedges, Lee Camp, and others including the late Ed Schultz, than the American MSM could ever be. On top of that, Russia has provided life-saving asylum for Ed Snowden and Suzie Dawson. But you can't help noticing that neither Peter, nor Chris, nor Lee, Ed, or Suzie ever say anything even remotely derogatory about Russia or Putin, and there's got to be a reason for that.
So I appreciate what they do for us but am also just a bit wary.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
I'm not sure about more
authoritarian -- I haven't lived there, don't personally know any Russkies, and tend to be skeptical of such negative takes. More "controlled"? In a media sense? I don't think so. It's not all Kremlin-controlled if that's what you mean. Many privately-owned media outlets there, and some are anti-Putin to various degrees. Are they allowed to say anything? Likely not.
Controlled? Watched or read the US MSM in the past few years? Has the unmistakable flavor of being Deep State/MIC-controlled media. We are lucky to have a few brave honest voices in journalism who can get the true word out on the internet. CNN, Msnbc, the NYT and WaPo will only give the DS pov. Not so in Russia -- there are far more political discussion shows, often with a live audience, and usually with a fair range of perspectives, including anti-Putin, not just center to center-right to right as in our fair Land of the Free and home of the Braves.
As to RT, far and away the best cable news discussion channel that was available here (until our cable system pulled it from their lineup), former host Abby Martin, a lefty's lefty, was able to criticize Russia's intervention in Crimea and do so with impunity. It was her own decision to leave, and in subsequent interviews has made very positive comments about her time at RT. As to the other hosts, whose shows are broadcast into the US, the feeling might have been that Americans only get the anti-Putin/Russia perspective on their MSM, so why not take the opportunity to show a different perspective that isn't so hostile to Russia. That and, comparatively speaking, there is not much to criticize, at least in FP terms, about Russia; some domestic problems now and then, yes, like any other country. Did you have some examples of specific events re Russia/Putin that those RT hosts failed to cover critically?
@wokkamile wokkamile, I'm sorry
wokkamile, I'm sorry you took my comment as an attack on Russia. About 90% of what I wrote is complimentary toward the country and RT. I simply included a very minor caveat based on things I've heard in the past (this would include such things as LGBT intolerance) and the fact that I never hear a word of criticism about Russia or Putin from the westerners toward whom RT and Putin have been so very kind. So thanks for letting me know about Abby Martin's experience. In response to your criticisms, I did a brief web search but, given the anti-Russian bent of our corporate media, didn't consider most of the results trustworthy. About the only one that looked half-way credible was this: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/03/putins-new-law... but it too could be propaganda, given the author's association with The Daily Beast and Newsweek.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
Yes, I did note your
90% positive comments, but as is often the case, we want to respond only to the part we disagree with.
There might be some there there to criticize on those new bills passed into law, but b/c I'm reading about it in msm outlets very hostile to Russia, it would be helpful to hear what a few independent voices like Stephen Cohen have to say. Definitely the LGBT law has been discussed critically in the west. Putin, iirc, has tried to emphasize it only pertains to advocating to youth in their schools.
It's a different country, more conservative overall and not as far advanced on some social issues as we are, or appear to be. On free speech, I would imagine the authorities also have great ongoing concerns about one of these astroturfed "color revolutions", CIA-backed, popping up in their country to create unrest and political instability. And they don't have a First Amendment tradition as we have here.
I implicitly trust those you've named when they ALL
say that they have total control over what they produce on RT
"There are very few channels left where you can speak of these things, go after corporations that own our systems and own most of our politicians. I have a TV show on RT America because I have been given complete freedom. I write my own words."
"I haven’t planned my set out. Nothing is off limits. I've talked about the Russiagate stuff. The New York Times and NPR did hit pieces on me. They tried to say, "Oh, he refuses to talk about Russia." They try to claim I don't talk about Russiagate, but in fact I've talked about it many times. I just don't talk about it in the way the corporate media wants me to. We're in the middle of neo-McCarthyism."
https://www.westword.com/arts/comedian-lee-camp-talks-rt-america-russia-...
Here is another regular on RT Stephen F Cohen and Aaron Mate interviewing him on Real News Network.
"There is much to criticize the Russian president for, says Professor Stephen F. Cohen of Princeton and NYU, but many US political and media claims about Putin are false - and reckless"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUoJwXtMue4
@aliasalias Thanks, aliasalias. Yes
Thanks, aliasalias. Yes, I've heard my favorites on RT's "Shows" talking about the editorial freedom they enjoy, and I too believe them. Am also a fan of Stephen Cohen and Aaron Mate, and of course Cohen knows Russia inside and out. The reluctance to critique or make fun of Russia could be simple courtesy toward one's host.
I'm actually somewhat fond of Putin and have collected some tidbits about him that I find rather charming. He's an interesting person.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
It makes me sad.
The Russian Foreign Minister comes off as a sensible, reasonable, intelligent diplomat. Our equivalent, Secretary of State Pompeo, comes off as the Oprah Winfrey of foreign relations: "You get sanctions! You get sanctions! You get sanctions! Everybody gets sanctions!"
I take a different view.
I think the FM's statement was self-serving propaganda. OTOH, I think Putin made a masterful statement. I don't trust Putin at all, but I think he is a highly inteligent man with an IQ 10X that of the current nincompoop in the White House.
He may not be dreaming of world domination but certainly of re-creating the Czarist Empire and domination if not conquest of Europe. Economic domination is so much better than bloody conquest.
And, why, oh why, hasn't Donald the Dolt directed his Justice Department to launch a (low profile) criminal investigation of HRC and the DNC? There is ample evidence. Instead he just whines, "I didn't do it!"
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
How much of the report did you read?
I'm not sure what you mean by this..
What countries has Russia invaded since Putin became president? Ukraine? Was Russia involved there before we overthrew the government? Crimea? Russia was protecting its naval base. Syria? Russia was invited to help Assad defend Syria from our illegal attempt at regime change.
Putin decreased the military budget so he could address poverty issues there. We've increased ours so we can continue to ignore ours. Is Putin riding a white horse? Of course not. But I don't see him doing anything close that matches our insane quest of global hegemony.
I agree that Trump has enough information to start an investigation into what Hillary and Obama did during the election. Horowitz and Huber are supposed to be investigating Hillary's FBI investigation into her emails and into the FBI and their using the Steele dossier to wiretap Trump.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
I think the poster above
is confusing Russia with the US in terms of world domination. Russia under Putin has had enough problems just righting the ship after 8 yrs of drunken incompetence by the US's boy, Yeltsin. There was quite a lot on Putin's desk to dig out from, but he appears to be successful in most efforts. And remains highly popular among the population.
Also, where are all the Russian military bases in hundreds of places around the world? And their many military interventions? Not so much actually on either count.
And Russia, the western part, is part of Europe, so it shouldn't shock anyone that they might want to do business with their neighbors, for mutual economic benefit. Looking at everything Russia does only through a very narrow lens which is tainted with hostility and suspicion is what the MSM and MIC want us to do.
As to Lavrov's so-called "propaganda", as there were no specifics given but just a sweeping statement, it's difficult to comment. The FM did seem to give a very useful and accurate summation of the history and origins of recent deteriorated Russia-US relations, facts which rarely are brought up in the US media.
Mike Pompeo
declares the CIA lies, cheats, and steals. So if you doubt what the CIA says, he's confirming that they lie.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfrhATD4nM0]
Pompeo
brags about the CIA lying, and he appears to think that's what makes the CIA a force for American exceptionalism.
seems to me a lot of folks are too stupid to ...
keep their mouth shut and their fingers off the cameras and video editing software.
What a pity.
https://www.euronews.com/live