June 2001. The eyes. The soul thing. By all accounts he’s likely running for President again in 2012.
Now, it’s true he didn’t lay down a cool cell phone, computer, music player or online store. But Putin did show some judo moves. Remember that fighter cockpit pose? And who can forget him hunting barechested flashing his own guns while holding a . . . gun? Besides Steven Seagal, who else can you envision down with rappers as a self-styed ‘jungle kid’? Along the way there was the side hobby. Little stuff. Like rolling back domestic pluralism, freedom, public safety. And abroad? One has to concede he outlasted untenable Neocon efforts to constrain Russian influence. His Munich speech blasting the Warlord ? Better than any Olbermann ‘Special [sic] Comment’. Putin knew when to walk through the open door of American strategic incompetence. And have you seen what Rummy’s lillypads go for on eBay lately?
His relevant presence 2009 is more stark when compared to his ‘peers’ at the G-8 in Genoa, July 2001. Most are mercifully forgotten. Berlusconi might wish the press and courts would forget him, too.
Canada – Prime Minister Jean Chrétien?
France – President Jacques Chirac?
Germany – Chancellor Gerhard Schröder?
Italy – Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi?
Japan – Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi?
Russia – President Vladimir Putin . . .
United Kingdom – Prime Minister Tony Blair?
United States – President George W. Bush?
Geopolitically, we energetically make the case that China won the so-called ‘Global War on Terrorism’. But if not Vlad, who? Brian Kilmeade? Can Steve Doocy rock this? Pat must be smiling broadly before suddenly realizing that even according to his last screed he should be conflicted.
An RJI Companies agent in September in Brussels pitched the project to a major PR firm, saying that the aim of the second contract is to help portray Russia as a benign great power entitled to negotiate with the likes of the US, China and the EU on global security and energy issues.
He added that part of the PR effort would be to cast a positive light on the actions of the Soviet Union before and after World War II in order to justify the idea that modern Russia should also impose its influence on neighbouring countries for the good of the world.
A senior executive at the PR firm in question recalled one particular exchange with the RJI Companies envoy: “I asked him ‘Do you want us to say that Stalin was not such a bad guy?’ And he said ‘Well, I know it will be difficult.’ I said ‘So, you want history to be rewritten?’ And he said ‘Yes, in a way’.”
“Expect to see more articles in European newspapers saying that Stalin had his good points as well,” the PR executive said.
When contacted by EUobserver, RJI Companies denied that the second contract has anything to do with Stalin. Ria Novosti denied that a second contract exists at all. “Our business is not to enhance Russia’s image. It’s to report news,” the company’s spokesman, Valery Levchenko, said.
Do you have a another candidate?
![“So [the Americans] object, so what? It's Jerusalem! I withstood American pressure, but Sharon surrendered in a shameful way. There can be no limitation on building in our eternal capital.”](http://www.stiftungleostrauss.com/bunker/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Bibi_As_The_New_Churchill.jpg "“So [the Americans] object, so what? It's Jerusalem! I withstood American pressure, but Sharon surrendered in a shameful way. There can be no limitation on building in our eternal capital.”")
Obama is still suffering from collateral damage from penny stock maven Tony Coehlo’s attempt to make Dems the Wall St. party – There is only so far the Dems can go rhetorically and policy wise to confront the Street. GS is one of Obama’s funders. It’s just a fact – like pointing out there is salt in the sea.
@Comment re Wall Street like top paid athletes, one can understand his desperation to blunt wing nut Obama-class war framing given Dem messaging ineptitude, but good Lord. . .
@Comment
Perfect, Kantians in Paraguay. . .
BHL busted in hoax:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2010/0210/1224264114285.html
Even though we’re in the tank for Obama and can pretty much come up with excuses for lots of things, this is pretty weak:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simon-johnson/obama-still-doesnt-get-it_b_456408.html
It still baffles how the Obama Administration always manages to find a way to be on the defensive. It’s a high science, like playing with mercury.
Hoekstra is pretty stupid:
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/hoekstra-brennan-never-told-me-the-fbi-mirandizes-people-in-its-custody.php
McCain will probably be re-elected, but we sure would be amused to see that meathead Hayworth defeat him.
This funny – He starts out pointing out a truth about some Obama problems, but then recommends Obama seek out advice from a collection of branded DC insiders for pure log rolling reasons:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/core-chicago-team-sinking_b_452664.html
Vidal does seem to be a bit of a nut – but isn’t Hitch too? Hitchens seems to be shadow boxing a bit.
Hitch now turns on Gore Vidal like a crazed vole.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/hitchens-attacks-gore-vidal-for-being-a-crackpot-1891753.html
Somehow we can’t see Vlad enjoying this . . .
A policy wonk’s dream: A cruise with Condoleezza Rice, Mikhail Gorbachev
Two decades ago Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the most powerful people in the world. Now? Yep, he’s entertaining vacationers on a cruise ship.
San Francisco-based World Leaders Travel announced plans Wednesday for a Black Sea cruise headlined by the former Soviet president as well as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Secretary of Defense William Perry . . .
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=77413.blog
Aldershot – are you still out there? Just thought of you watching c-span as a Conservative MP from Aldershot got up to speak.
Putin is a pretty good politician – Like many authoritarians, by his acttions, he underestimates his own political abilities. We imagine he was a pretty good spy. We’d love to see him go against the American team, but we’d wanna test the Americans for radiation following the match.
Imagine if Tiger was sort of associated with the arts – supported Opera and some edgy theater – Same person, minc you. Plus he was a critic of the religious right and got flack for mocking creationism after a Masters tournament – Then imagine, the first woman to be discovered was his sexy intellectual psychotherapist – then another woman turns out to be an elegant art gallery owner – followed by a pro sex feminist poet — followed by a Juliet Binoche type French actress, followed by a Parisian courtesan/intellectual.
Do you have any doubt Rich would be defending him against the Ken Starrs and the hicks?
Rich wrote a great anti McCain column recently == But when McCain was trendy and cool, Rich was constantly writing about The Great McCain and going on Imus to talk about his character etc.
If Obama goes below 45 – which he will at some point – Rich will dump him in a NY second. You can see him floating some opposition now. Testing the waters – but note , he pulls back and says the comparison to Tiger is not fair.
re Onion videos – Yeah, we think they are much better than the uneven paper – The paper was great at first, but soon became predictable and tire – The actors in the videos are excellent – Great writing and production – Outragerous topics too.
That Today Now morning show is actually a cut above Fox and Friends.
We have lost our sense of forgiveness as a society – For every woman Tiger fell for, he resisted a thousand. Does not the Lord grade on a curve? He faced the sort of temptation that ordinary folks can only dream about.
The media pile on is sad – a bunch of jealous hypocrites.
Our nominee Vlad just walks all over Rich’s Tigerisms. More black belt judo. And offers to join the Russian judo team. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091220/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_russia_putin_judo
Those Russians are sure gonna pop when he reveals his super powers. Flying Putin. As they say in Naruto, ‘BELIEVE IT”! He already may be working with S.H.I.E.L.D. on global warming.
Conrad’s first climate change column supra is an atonal, shrill rant. Surprisingly little of the old Conrad ‘showing up’, thematic content aside. That could have been ghost written by an above average Heritage intern.
The Onion video was fun. These links you’ve been sharing appear to be a cut above the paper versions we recall checking out. Nice production values and attention to detail.
Rich is as you note kicking someone when they’re down. One hopes Tiger’s soon-to-be ex-wife’s family protects and supports the kids. The sheer breadth of his lazy smear by association schtick caught the eye.
Tiger’s dalliances may not be pedigreed but then they were most likely hugely entertaining for him. It wasn’t complicated. Agree with you that Rich is likely a status princess. Better to be with another who is no fun at all and awful in action but have everyone else imagine it’s fun. Such silly looping also probably explains why Rich swings awkwardly and then looks ahead in vain, only to then see the ball mocking him, sitting intact on the driving range tee.
This is a very impressive column by Lord Black:
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/11/14/conrad-black-the-transformative-effect-of-teaching-my-fellow-inmates.aspx
His inability to admit his guilt is both a wound and a bow.
Our belief about climategate (h/t Sarah Palin) was that it was similar to the neocons – the Feithers – in OSP, who sincerely believed in the Saddam threat-of-sorts, but did not want to explain the real reasons for the threat or felt the narrative neeeded juice and hype so the fools in the media would hype the war to the masses.
It’s easy to see a bunch of scientists have little desire to explain why some contradictory evidence should be ignored or seen in a different light.
Conrad Black on climate change
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDA4NWUzN2VhMWM3OWJjM2I3M2Q0ODgxOTQwYmRiN2M=
No surprises there – Not as elegant as his war call against Russia over Georgia, but we really do think in 15 years “Chinese Warming” (our coinage) will be a major Republican meme and Conrad and Pat and all the doubters will be like antiques. Sort of like how NRO always has to explain away its racist early years.
Yeah – the more we think about it – Rich’s sudden interest in maintaining the sexual morality of a celeb who holds no public responsibilities – seems odd and contrived. Rich doesn’t like golf or sports much, which is fine – but we really do think if Tiger had a roster of elegant intellectual mistresses – authors, professors, French thinkers, art film producers, feminist scholars, etc – Then Rich would be more forgiving and not make Tiger the symbol of badness.
Tiger is himself – somewhat immature – for growing up in this golf gilded prison. He never really had a life outside. But the last time we checked, he was no hypocritical Henry Hyde type – moralizing etc.
Rich also is a pack follower – trashing Gore with known lies when it was trendy – Unlike Republicans who had the excuse of disliking Gore’s policies and so were being politically wise, Rich was just a liberal masochist who loved to lose to the big mean Republicans so he could sneer at Ralph Reed and Falwell and other suchs monstrs.
He’s kicking Tiger now – because Tiger is now down.
R
Call us cynical, but we think Rich’s snobbery is the main motive in his attack on Tiger – Not that he does not make some good points.
We just thk if Tiger had a more impressive roster of mistresses, Rich would be more forgiving.
Imagine if Tiger had a mistreses who were Shakespearean scholars or women who produced Chekhov or Pushkin – Imagine if they were upscale and bookish, rather than the vacuous-seeming semi-madam’s and PR-types, and frosted chickadees that Tiger digs over his hot Nordic wife.
Tiger’s tastes are funny – but pro athletes are not really known for their aesthetic discretion. All those gals of his are so transparently train wrecks in waiting, its amazing he juggled the lot as long as he did. Monica was much classier.
Tiger is an interesting symbol, but he is – to be clear – a fantastic golfer. Everything else is just stripping off a paint of coat. His comeback will be better than Agassi’s. Interesting to see Rich basically link Tiger and Barack – a connection the southern right usually makes.
re John Edwards – we always thought little of him, but we oft thought we were just being regionally prejudiced agains his accent. We thought he had a bad southern accent, as opposed to Fritz Hollings good sounthern accent. On that basis = admittedly shallow – we distrusted him from the beginning.
Frank Rich should go after Artur Levitt – a pompous former SEC head who hired Barry Barbash – the man who wrote the reg loopholes that allowed Enron to create its otherwise illegal off shore investment companies – so as to hide debt. Barbash has long since moved on – now a wealth asset manager with Wilkie Farr, but he was the one who basically created Enron, and the decade of Enron and Tiger.
Leo, this sounds semi plausible
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/historic_blockbuster_store_offers
Frank Rich anoints Tiger Woods as person of the year. How incisive and unique. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/opinion/20rich.html?_r=1&hp
Rich gives a comical stream of consciousness linking Tiger to well, everything. Rich’s free association rampage links him to the Iraq War, Enron, Bernie Madoff, celebrity and political scandal, Wall Street and the Obama Administration. Tiger should frame it.
If anyone speaks German, they will find this amusing, especially the comments.
Shorter: when Colonel Georg Klein ordered those two stolen fuel tankers bombed, his FAC called for 6 bombs and no warning. The US F-15E crews wanted to do one or more low passes as a warning to civilians first, and thought 6 was dangerously excessive. Eventually Klein’s FAC got 2 bombs 1 pass and about 140 dead Afghans.
Commenters furious and want US pilots held responsible for…refusing an order.
This one is pretty outrageous. Good acting:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/live_from_congress_the_skull
Of that list we think we only saw Fog of War – We go threw extremes of seeing lots of movies and then few movies.
Pete King is a hothead who is obsessed with being ‘tuff’ on non Irish terrorism suspects, but what’s his angle with Sahiligate?
Hey – can you imagine if the Italy rendition thing happened on Obama’s watch how the NRO types (Nordlinger et al) would react?
They have no self awareness.
Recall the embarassing lux hotel bills. That made them (agency) sound like a bunch of Palins going all hillbilly with the clothing allowance.
Speaking of film and Top of Decade lists, the whole thing is trickier than one supposes. Here’s the international Hollywood Reporter’s list of Top 10 films of this awful decade:
1- Letters from Iwo Jima
2-United 93
3- No Country for Old Men
4- The Fog of War
5- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
6- Far From Heaven
7- Divine Intervention
8- Cache
9- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
10- The White Ribbon
Feminists naturally note that it is exclusively XY dominated. The Stiftung loved Lost in Translation on so many different levels but was it a Top 10? Compared to what? This sorry lot? What about women producers? Surely that counts? Drew Barrymore gave the world not one, but two Charlies Angels *and* ‘He’s Just Not That Into You.’ Maybe, absence is an implicit compliment?
http://womenandhollywood.com/2009/12/04/sexism-watch-hollywood-reporters-list-of-top-films-of-the-decade/
The Italy rendition was Stupidity Unlimited – highlighted by whats his face justification of it even in the wake of its exposed lameness.
It’s one thing to think up a stupid idea, but then another thing to endorse a stupid thing after it failed = Yet we see this with many conservatives – (who like marxists in days gone by saying true marxism was not tried) – that try to claim this was a plausible scheme gone bad.
It made no sense to rendition that cleric – what was the point of sending him to Egypt for torture so he would lie when in pain? Why not surveil him? Why not be mature and let him lead us to other leads? Why not let the Italians keep an eye on him?
Just incredible brutal stupidity thought up by chickenhawks compensating for their own sense of personal weakness.
Yet – the negatives are just endless
Max vox Sydow – great in Condor
Ronin feels more archaic despite its recent vintage than the 60s films or even 3 Days of the Condor. It’s self importance was fatally undermined by the bungled American rendition efforts in Italy. The court proceedings showed a ‘covert world’ of stupidity, cluelessness and earnest bungling. Ronin’s faux macho brotherhood gravitas after all the post-2000 disclosures would require a screenplay with DeNiro reprising his role ala Midnight Run. Reno, we know, is excellent at truly awful comic turns in the two Pink Panther atrocities.
Perhaps the car chase now would have to be trying to find the exit ramp that accepts Visa in the hotel parking lot. Natascha McElhone would be elegant and classy in either version.
Ronin is on tonigt on fios mgm – We always watch it and enjoy it even thought its a lame storyline – The chases are good – some good acting too. Di Niro is not at his best though. Frankenheimer was someone who just understood creating intrigue/excitement. You can tell he loved the edgier dark side of Europe.
Two of the good videos on Onion are “Bring your daughter to war day” and “collapse of Staples center”
Make sure to check out some of those other Onion videos = Great production work. The McLaughlin-esqu roundtable about “getting stoked” is pretty funny.
This chart is funny, but also sad:
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/6a00d83451c04d69e2012876109f70970c-800wi.jpg
The Onion video is technically quite good. Surprisingly good. Agree it’s funny. The Onion we can relate to more than say JibJab. Those cartoons never resonate for some reason and have a distinct whiff of late Lorne Michaels about them. This skit had great script, performance and production design. The Onion really is evolving. Thanks for sharing.
This made us laugh:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/white_house_press_secretary_spins
The economic numbers today are very good news for Obama and you can the Republicans – whether a simpleton like Mike Pence or wheezy Boehner just babbling.
big ups to Comment @ #2
So Palin is now a Birther of sorts – Thus, capping off her role as the Empress of Alternative America
We recall Rumsfeld ginned up a hate campaign with the Charles Johnsons of the web against a WaPo cartoonist who mocked his indifference to injured soldiers. He pretended – in a cynical way – that the cartoon was mocking the injured solcdier, rather than him. So this cartoonist was pummeled by hate ginned up the Johnson’s of the web. Now Rummy
is preteneding Obama is insulting Afgan vets when he points out that Rumsfeld understaffed the operation. Truly, he is a wicked man – filled a love of torture and lies.
Blair converted to RB church — the Bishops in the US celebrated his conversion in magazines and on TV, despite the fact he is to the left of Ted Kennedy on all the political-social issues, Blair forced them to show their selective moral strictness. So Blair has the formula down – Communist and Trotsky during the college years – then slide into soft socialism during Cool Britainia, then seg into Bush with kind face war President, and when it all tanks become a famous convert and get big speaking fees at US Catholic colleges. Oh btw – honor UK war dead when you get a chance.
Bibi has done a good job for Israel’s economy, overall. He aggresively snatches western trade secrets, sets up intriguing trade barriers, promotes exports, and dilutes foreign brand values.