EDITORIAL
Russia’s Jackass “President”
Last week, the farcical spectacle of Russian politics became even more ludicrous. And Russia edged that much closer to the abyss from which there can be no return.
Even as Vladimir Putin took the wheel of a fire-fighting aircraft to “prove” he remains the same superhero who single-handedly “saved” Russia from collapse, when asked his puppet “successor” Dima Medvedev said he had no idea who the candidates for “president” of the country would be in 2012, giving rise to howls of derision from Putin’s flunkies. Finally, Russia’s top doctor said there was no health risk to Russians resulting from the massive cloud of smog hovering over their homes as a result of the national wave of wildfires, not even if that smoke was radioactive.
It could not be more clear, then, that Medevedev is not the master of his domain, that he does not even have the requisite authority to decide if he will seek reelection — just as we have been saying since his first took “power” two years ago. It could not be more clear, by his own words, that the Medvedev presidency is simply a shameless fraud being perpetrated on the sheep-like denizens of this benighted country.
Nor could the failure of the policies of Medvedev’s lord and master Vladimir Putin, whose incompetence is now palpable.
The Moscow Times reported: “The government on Monday backed a plan to spend 54 billion rubles ($1.8 billion) on state-of-the-art firefighting aircraft and trucks for the Emergency Situations Ministry, which is under enormous strain as it fights wildfires in central Russia.” Even a child — even a Russian child — could clearly understand that if the government could take this action after the wildfire crisis, it could have taken it before then, and it should have. But it didn’t, and that is a fundamental failure of the Putin regime.
Putin chose instead to squander his attention and Russia’s resources on bloodthirsty violence and revenge in the Caucasus, wanton aggression against Georgia, and relentless provocation against the Western democracies, especially the United States. Putin acts without regard to the interests or the desires of the people of Russia, because they do not choose to hold him accountable for any of his actions, much less any of his failures.
Russia has become a new but not improved version of the USSR, issuing insane, ridiculous denials of facts (like the health risk to Russians resulting from contaminated air) that are obvious to all thinking people. It has reduced itself to sham elections and puppet rulers who themselves freely admit they have no power, meanwhile creating yet another fiendish dictatorship in the Kremlin.
An article we republish in today’s issue makes clear that authoritarianism cannot succeed as an economic system when competing with free market democracies. The people who live in such dictatorships live in poverty, both economic and spiritual, and ultimately see their nations collapse into the dust of failure. In the failure of the Putin regime, we see conclusive proof that this is so.
La Russophobe 
” Russia has become a new but not improved version of the USSR, issuing insane ”
To me the historical parallels are much closer to the Russian Empire 1905-1917 rather than anything during the Soviet period. The amount of wealth floating around the country makes comparison to the Soviet Union and it’s command economy too difficult. The political narrative though goes back centuries.
Was Putin stripped half-naked as usual when he was saving mother M. from fire, too? It’s now pretty hot in Russia this summer, so at last he would have an excuse. I’d also suggest an ammo belt across his manly dwarf chest (Putin show theme song for this season: “fight fire with fire! the fire is a terrorist, waste it in the outhouses and hang it by its balls”).
Meanwhile, Luzhkov outdoes Putin and poses in his underwear only: https://themoscowdiaries.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/okay-now-i-feel-bad/
Lots of Putins playing with water in Moscow last year: https://themoscowdiaries.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/real-men-frolick/
You want to talk about false political leaders? hahaha this should be good. In your beloved U.S.A. the political candidates are chosen by the Banking families that run your country and profit from emposingtheir lies on, which you swallow with no problem because frankly you don’t really give a sht. Those puppet candidates are then put to the polls and regardless of who is elected, theyare still under full control of the Banking leaders.
Russia attacked Georgia? It has been internationally recognised that Georgia was the one who sent its troops onto territory that was watched over by Russian peace keepers, which was approaved by the UN, read a bit then comment. Oh yea and guess who was arming, training and supporting the Georgians? the Americans with great president, G.W.Bush at the helm.
Seriously Kim, come up with something a bit better
Where on Earth is Banking?
“It has been internationally recognised” – yes, by Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru. “Russian peace keepers” were not UN but CIS-approved (Georgia is no longer CIS member, resigned).
“Oh yea and guess who was arming, training and supporting” the Ossetian and Abkhaz separatists?
I’ve got a question for you. Did Russian forces return to their positions before the war (in Russia) yet, as they promised in the ceasefire deal offically signed by Russia nearly 2 years ago? When will they finish/start their withdrawal? Also, in the peace deal of 1996 Russia promised to Maskhadov to negotiate with him the final status of Chechnya until 2001. Why is this taking so long?
Andrey you are wrong as usual.
The Russian peace keepers were not in any way UN mandated. They were CIS mandated, and had absolutely nothing to do with the UN.
The only UN mandated peacekeeping force was UNOMIG in Gali, which was pretty much there to protect ethnic Georgians from the ravages of the virluently racist Apsu separatists.
Also note that the international report stated that the use of force by Russia was illegal under international law, and that none of the actions taken by Russia were legal or justified under international law.
Particularly condemned was the Russian invasion of west Georgia from Abkhazia, the destruction of ancient Georgian villages, and Russian sponsored ethnic cleansing of Georgian civilians both inside and outside the conflict zone.
America’s flaws won’t ever make Russia any better.
How is Chechnya relevent? its part of Russia, hence not part of this discussion. The UN charged Russian peace keepers to stand in those two provinces, trust me i work there, the Georgians attacked. There is no legitimate reason why Russia would attack Georgia it is far too insignificant.
The fact the the Amercans were training and arming the Georgians is no secret, althouh perhapsin the U.S. they don’t like to talk about that.
And Banking is not a place, its related to the savings and loan industry
No, the UN did not charge the Russian peace keepers to do anything.
Once again, the only UN mandated force of peace keepers in Georgia was UNOMIG, in Gali, which was vetoed by Russia in 2009.
By the way idiot, if Georgia is “far too insignificant” to be attacked by Russia why are the Russians so paranoid about Georgia wanting to be part of the EU and NATO?
Russia can’t stand the fract that the BTC pipeline, and in a few years Nabucco enable central asia and Azerbaijan to export directly to Europe.
The August 2008 invasion was long planned and rehearsed, the Russian troops taking part had received handouts months prior to the war describing Georgians as “the enemy” as part of their training.
You really are a moron Andrey.
Um, but when exactly Moscow and Maskhadov agreeed “its part of Russia”? Their peace treaty said it will be discussed further to be decided until the end of 2001, but I’m having trouble to find when the final talks were conducted. Could you please help me out with this?
andriusha/bednashka
Vy ne zametili shto russia gniot is wnutrii – a vy ruskie duraki vsiegda dumayetse shto russia eto imperiarosia taka samay kak mongolska imperia – vy zametili gdzie seiczas Mongolia?
Vy toze ne zametili shto dla ameyantsov rossia et strana tretievo mira, NIKTO PRO ROSSII NE GOVORIT – please face reality – it is simply pathetic seeing russia playing a world power.. Concentrate on feeding your hungry, sick, drunk population…..
How is Chechnya relevent? its part of Russia, hence not part of this discussion. The UN charged Russian peace keepers to stand in those two provinces, trust me i work there, the Georgians attacked. There is no legitimate reason why Russia would attack Georgia it is far too insignificant.
The fact the the Amercans were training and arming the Georgians is no secret, althouh perhapsin the U.S. they don’t like to talk about that.
And Banking is not a place, its related to the savings and loan industry
Greenpeace Russia had published a map on Tuesday showing that over 20 fires had broken out on radioactively polluted areas in the Bryansk region, including three on heavily polluted territories.
Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/77862/#ixzz0wJXdEcV1
Maybe an “Iron Curtain” will prevent the wind from blowing ?
During forest fires in Belarus, 150 kilometers from Bryansk in 1992, a higher level of “Chornobyl” radionuclides was registered in just five hours in Vilnius, which is 800 kilometers away. Radionuclides can move distances of hundreds of kilometers. It is an established fact,” the ecologist said.
The head of Greenpeace Russia’s energy program, Vladimir Shurupov told Interfax on Wednesday that smoke coming from fires in the Bryansk region will not reach the Moscow region, or Western Europe in windless weather.
Given that minor radiation doses are involved here, radionuclides will not reach Moscow, or Western Europe, in our opinion,” he said.
Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/77889/#ixzz0wJa7QXNl
Great cartoon of “putin + crossbones” at this link.
Other toxic substances in Moscow’s air are at nine times the normal level.
In early August, a journalist called the office of Moscow’s mayor, seeking comments on the situation. “The office is closed,” a woman at the press office answered, adding that smog had gotten inside the mayoral building, which is located less than two miles from the Kremlin, so everyone was ordered to go home. This was a weekday, shortly after lunch. “Is it at all possible to get a comment from Mayor Yuri Luzhkov?” the reporter asked. “He is not in Moscow,” the woman replied.
Indeed, there are reports that the mayor’s press secretary has been telling journalists that there is no reason for the mayor to return to Moscow. “Why should he?” said the secretary. “Is there a crisis in Moscow? No, there is no crisis.”
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/albats2/English
Greenpeace today published a map showing that wildfires are spreading across the radiation contaminated forests.
The map was generated using the map data of The International Atomic Energy Agency and information provided by the international fire monitoring system Fire Information for Resource Management based on MODIS satellite images.
The map based on data acquired on August 9th clearly depicts that nuclear contaminated areas suffer from more than 20 fires. At least 3 blazes hit the highly contaminated forests of Bryansk region.
“The radioactivity level may rise but not in levels caused by the Chernobyl disaster. But I wouldn’t underestimate the exposure risk as we know little about the health effects of CO and low-dose radiation combination”, said Vladimir Chouprov, Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace Russia.
http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/en/news/smog-may-be-followed-by-radia
Map of the forest fires in the radiation contaminated areas in Russia :
Is it OK in Russia to operate an aircraft without a license? The link says the Paramount Leader did not have flight training that the paper is aware of. So, i assume he does not have a pilot license.
LA RUSSOPHOBE RESPONDS:
No pilot’s license, for sure . . . but a license to kill. That solves all problems.
While russia burns, nashi parade in moscow?
Moscow youth groups mark Georgian-Ossetian conflict
The Candle of Memory civil action started at 11 p.m. on August 8. About 500 activists participated in it, representative of the Nashi movement press service Anna Biryukova told Interfax.
According to the information of the Investigation Committee at the Russian Prosecutor’s Office, Georgian aggression killed 162 peaceful residents of South Ossetia and 67 Russian soldiers. 255 Ossetians were injured, over 30 thousand were forced to leave places they lived.
Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/77492/#ixzz0wLa3nQQD
Considering the Russians were trumpeting the number of 2000 “murdered Ossetian civilians” right from the first few seconds of the fighting, 162 was quite a climbdown.
Seems the Russians were lying, no surprises there.
In addition, it seems they were wanting to massacre a large section of the Georgian population and claim their dead bodies as “cruelly murdered Ossetians”, but that the Chechen Vostock and Zapad Battalions opened an escape corridor for Georgian civilians, refusing to follow orders, hence their disbandment after the war.
Considering the Russians did the same thing during the war in Abkhazia, I think it quite possible.
@”Georgian aggression killed 162 peaceful residents of South Ossetia and 67 Russian soldiers.”
And 0 (zero) SO militaries and paramilitaries. Or maybe they too were “peaceful residents”. Peacefully looting & burning.
To be fair, the barbaric incompetence of the governing local (in Victoria) Labour Party in dealing with our own bush-fire tragedy is equally shocking as that of the Putin’s regime.
Two years ago the fire that raged in Victoria’s mountains regions, has destroyed some two million ha of bush, thousand and thre hundred houses and killed two hundred people was the result of a direct neglect by the Dept of Emergency Srvices whose chairman was Labor’s designated Victorias’a Police Commisioner, Christine Nixon.
That tragedy could be easily prevented.
There is no doubt that all the Leftist parties display the breathtaking indolence in deailing with disasters.
What about Obama’s response to the Gulf oil spill?
The real tragedy is that the ignorant Western HOMO-CONSUMUS-DENEGERATUS is so attracted to the idea of socialism that it will vote for the Leftists no matter what.
Only when the prices of beer, vodka and sausage goes up the mob wakes from its slumber. But it takes lot of time…
Bogdan, all governments are inefficient by definition, whether they’re leftist or rightist, look at the botched job George W. Bush’s government did in New Orleans when it got flooded several years ago and I don’t think anyone would accuse George W. Bush of being leftist.
The only pro of a small government is that it keeps out of the way as much as possible while with a big socialist style government, it tries to dictate to its citizens what they should and shouldn’t do at every step of the way but when push comes to shove and it has to deliver it as a rule fares little better than a small government, the only difference usually is that a lot more money gets spent in the process.
You all need a tad bit of understanding of how state and federal governments operate here. The feds can NOT just start marching into any state, no matter how horrid the “natural” disaster is. The govenor of the state must ask for federal assistance. In the case of Katrina, the feds were waiting for the govoner to ask. The gov. (a democrat) at the time delayed…thus making Bush look like an incompetent idiot. On the other hand, the current gov. of Louisiana (a republican) had been asking for help, Obama has been denying it or delaying it. Sound like political bs? It is, and the people pay. This has been done before, Hurrican Andrew in Florida. Democrat gov., republican pres. (Bush 41) and gov. delays asking for help, pres. looks like a fool….and the press just feeds the flames. In Russia, Putin throws money at people, flys airplanes, fends off wild tigers, greases the palms of his buddies; then wonders why when he huffs and puffs, he can’t put out a forest fire. In other words, he needs no govenor to ask him for help; he could have put his money where it should have been.
Nonsense Igor. Bush bears NO responsibility for hurricane Kathrina rescue fiasco. The entire blame rests with Democratic Governor of Luisiana- Bianco and New Orleans’ mayor Nagin. Skortly before Kathrina struck, Bush phoned Bianco two times with the offer of help. Both times his offer was rejected.
Nagin not only did nothing to prepare the New Orleaners for the evacuation but allowed some two hundred shool busses to be flooded.
The alleged Bush’s failure was the lie spread by Americas leftist propaganda. Bush’s fault was that he didn’t bother to defend himself and erroneously took blame on himself.
Appart from that, the US Constitution prohibits the US President from using any federal power without the specific request made by the state governor and such a request has NEVER been made by Bianco.
Compare the indolence of Bianco with the masterful governing of Luisiana by her successor, Republican Bobby Jindal or with the superb job conducted by Sarah Palin in Alaska or that being done by Christopher Christ in New Jersey.
Equally there is NO COMPARISON between the performance of the former Australian Liberal Prime Minister John Howard and his Labor successors Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard; both complete morons who are driving Australia towards bancrupcy.
Well, Bogdan I only read the news and at the time it looked like Bush got all the flak for the humanitarian disaster in New Orleans that followed hurricane Katrina and I don’t have the kind of intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of US(let alone) politics that you seem to possess. I however do find the notion that republican is always good and democrat is always bad rather hard to buy into. After all republican and democrat are just labels, as are Labour and Tory(or Liberal which seems to be the Australian version), you have to look at the sort of policies they implement while in office.
In Russia things are easier, throughout history we’ve almost always had just one type of government, the kind that wants to control everything, not just big but gargantuan. It reminds me of an old anecdote about some Soviet functionaries visiting London with Khrustchev, who fell to talking with their counterparts from the British civil service and one of the questions they asked them was ‘Who’s in charge of supplying bread to London?’ since in their vision of the world every little thing had to have someone in charge of it. It seems to be a peculiarly Russian obsession with our governments to always be in complete control of things and make things happen rather than just sit back and let them happen on their own. So they’re always meddling in things, always getting in the way, demanding their cut either in the form of official tax payments or in the form of bribes or both (one of the more charming aspects of dealing with Russian government officials is that even if you bribe them they often won’t do what you bribed them to do), thus in the minds of most Russian people who’re not part of the officialdom, government always equals evil – it’s no coincidence that Ayn Rand was Russian – you have to have witnessed first hand a truly huge and oppressive government at work to learn to appreciate the fact that if a government starts getting bigger and bigger and begins taking control of more and more things nothing good can ever come of it.
it’s no coincidence that Ayn Rand was Russian
Obviously, she wasn’t.
Opps, sorry B. Igor’s comment just made me jump so I answered him without realizing you already had. Glad to see someone else realizes how things go down around here.
However, I agree entirely with your notion that only a small government is a garantor of prosperity. The big governmental apparatus will always screw up the things as it always triggers the so called “negative sellection”.
The idea of a small government is being pushed by the new generation of conservatives led by the superwoman Sarah Palin.
So there is still a hope that the present trend towards the self-destruction by the West could be reversed.
Speaking of the Russian “immediate withdrawal to pre-war positions”, promised by Medvedev exactly 2 years ago:
Russia deploys anti-aircraft missiles in Abkhazia
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/08/11/georgia-russia-missile.html
The Georgian Foreign Ministry urged the international community to take decisive measures to pressure Russia to stop its “militarization” of the disputed territories and abide by the terms of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile elsewhere in the Caucasus (and slowly spilling to Moscow too):
Kremlin fires Dagestan police boss as violence worsens
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67A3UC20100811
Chechen rebels claim small blast near Gazprom HQ
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67B0UC20100812
However they are still playing with explosives. Given the current Russian climate (literally), this is quite nonsensical. If they were smarter, they would be playing with matches instead – and maybe gasoline.