Putin doing stuff

[T.C.]

This Oct 17th Duran discussion (featured as a debate), directly relates to Putin.

Alex Christoforou presides, Alexander Mercouris officiates, and the debaters were John Helmer and Gilbert Doctorow.

Right away it got off to a rocky start, with Helmer doing what Helmer does and Gilbert taking offence to Helmer (there may have been some merit, and Doctorow was not happy). That said, things eventually settled down.

The primary questions centered on what does Putin think on x, y or z subjects, including some others in Putin's orbit. It was also an effort to try and understand what happens politically and militarily in Russia, and who controls and who revolves around Putin (there are a few oligarchs surrounding Putin that raised questions, with the consensus being, why does Putin keep them around). Secondary questions looked at the peace processes (past and future), and their failures and what might likely happen.

Brics and China was also a topic within the strategic relationships.

The last part of the so-called debate brought Helmer and Doctorow closer together, so the outcome was, as said, one of some consensus.

The take home message that seemed to be agreed upon, sensibly (IMO), is that Putin is a man who can change his mind. So, one thing may presents a certainty of thinking/action, and then it changes in midstream. To me, Putin has to weigh a multitude of interconnected matters of state and make decisions that look at the long-term, so it can be confusing for people who want one action and don't see it materialize, or do not understand his choice of people who may influence when there might be better choices.

I watched this live. Doctorow‘s a weird dude.

My main takeaway from the guy is you can’t know or even speculate on what Russia’s intentions were in different meetings and scenarios regarding Ukraine over the past 10 years.

But somehow it’s obvious that Russia’s intentions are to invade Poland next.

You can’t have any faith that any of the guy’s conclusions come from logical analysis. For him, true or false, real or not, is just whatever he wants it to be.

 

[iamthatis]

This Oct 17th Duran discussion (featured as a debate), directly relates to Putin.

Alex Christoforou presides, Alexander Mercouris officiates, and the debaters were John Helmer and Gilbert Doctorow.

Right away it got off to a rocky start, with Helmer doing what Helmer does and Gilbert taking offence to Helmer (there may have been some merit, and Doctorow was not happy). That said, things eventually settled down.

The primary questions centered on what does Putin think on x, y or z subjects, including some others in Putin's orbit. It was also an effort to try and understand what happens politically and militarily in Russia, and who controls and who revolves around Putin (there are a few oligarchs surrounding Putin that raised questions, with the consensus being, why does Putin keep them around). Secondary questions looked at the peace processes (past and future), and their failures and what might likely happen.

Brics and China was also a topic within the strategic relationships.

The last part of the so-called debate brought Helmer and Doctorow closer together, so the outcome was, as said, one of some consensus.

The take home message that seemed to be agreed upon, sensibly (IMO), is that Putin is a man who can change his mind. So, one thing may presents a certainty of thinking/action, and then it changes in midstream. To me, Putin has to weigh a multitude of interconnected matters of state and make decisions that look at the long-term, so it can be confusing for people who want one action and don't see it materialize, or do not understand his choice of people who may influence when there might be better choices.

Yeah, I read his recent piece on the Kazan BRICS Summit, and he is very pessimistic about it all - he basically said it was mostly pompoms, with a few gems picked from the rags. He seems put out that it was mostly smaller pragmatic reforms and not an all-out rejection of US Hegemony. Just like the SMO, things move more slowly than our light-speed expectations.

It's kind of a typical professorial stance, too - many are in the business of critique and have trouble getting out of that mindset. On the other hand, it is good to have guys like him around for some balance so that history doesn't devolve into cheerleader sort of narrative.

 

[Possibility of Being]

This Oct 17th Duran discussion (featured as a debate), directly relates to Putin.

Alex Christoforou presides, Alexander Mercouris officiates, and the debaters were John Helmer and Gilbert Doctorow.

For those who missed it, the debate followed a Helmer's post and Doctorow's critique of his take on some issues, re-posted by Helmer. The posts in chronological order:

Initial Helmer's post:
SENDING A BOY TO DO A MAN’S JOB – VLADIMIR MEDINSKY TO NEGOTIATE ISTANBUL-II

Helmer re-posting Doctorow's
PRESIDENT PUTIN’S MEDINSKY GAMBIT, ISTANBUL-II, AND “BETRAYAL OF RUSSIA’S STATE INTERESTS”

and finally, Helmer posting the video and a few quotes from the debate
THE DEBATE – THE GENERAL STAFF V THE KREMLIN, JOHN HELMER V GILBERT DOCTOROW

 

[Happy Poo]

Bit of a change of subject lol, wasn't sure where to put it. This just really made me giggle :D

Putin when he was little

 

[AzarHyun]

https://www.timesofisrael.com/putin-revives-antisemitic-trope-says-jews-are-tearing-apart-russian-orthodox-church/

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday used antisemitic rhetoric during his lengthy end-of-year press conference, accusing people including “ethnic Jews” of tearing apart the Russian Orthodox Church.

During the press conference, Putin was asked about punitive measures some European countries have taken against the Russian Orthodox Church in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine over the church’s close relationship with Putin’s regime. The Council of Europe recently labeled the church a propaganda tool of the Kremlin, and several European countries have expelled church officials due to security concerns.

“These people that are attacking the church, they are not atheists,” said Putin. “They are absolutely faithless people, Godless people. Well, ethnically, many of them are Jews, but you haven’t seen them visit any synagogue.”

After adding that the alleged opponents of the church were also neither Orthodox Christian nor Muslim, he added, “These are people without kin or memory, with no roots. They don’t cherish what we cherish and the majority of the Ukrainian people cherish as well.”

Critics of Putin decried the statement as antisemitic, noting parallels to Soviet state antisemitism under Josef Stalin, when the Kremlin persecuted Jews and accused them of being “rootless cosmopolitans.”