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Putin Defiant, Lashes Out At West, Tells Russians Economy May Stay Weak For Two Years
Having started at noon Moscow time (4am Eastern), Putin's annual Q&A run for a massive three and a half hours, during which the Russian leader took numerous questions from the public and as expected, reiterated the key "rally around the flag" talking points that have permeated Russian rhetoric over the past few weeks as the economic situation in Russia deteriorated.
As Bloomberg notes, the conference was attended by hundreds of reporters and carried live on television around the world, the event took on heightened importance this year as the president sought to reassure a Russian public unnerved by the ruble’s plummet.
While he did acknowledge the difficult economic reality, Putin sought to reassure his countrymen that the current weakness "would last no longer than two years." Putin promptly pivoted against the west and accused the U.S. and European Union of trying to undermine his country and blaming external factors for the sharp plunge in the ruble, notably the drop in oil saying that “the economy will naturally adapt to the new conditions of low oil prices.”
As caught by the WSJ, when he was asked by a Russian television reporter about the sense that new divisions in Europe have emerged since the Ukraine crisis, Putin blamed the tensions on the West, saying “they didn’t stop building walls” after the end of the Cold War. He accused the West of building up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization toward Russia’s borders and expanding an antimissile systems.
“It’s not a matter of Crimea. We are defending our independence, our sovereignty and our right to exist, we should all understand this,” he said later in response to a question about whether the current economic troubles were “payment for Crimea.”
In tough language, Mr. Putin returned to an analogy he’d used earlier this fall, comparing Russia to a bear in the Siberian Taiga wilderness, saying it was naive to hope that the West would leave Russia alone.
“They will always try to put it in chains and once they have it in chains, they will take out its teeth and claws, which in this case means our strategic nuclear deterrent,” he said. “Once they’ve got the Taiga, they won’t need the bear,” he said, accusing Western leaders of saying publicly that Russia should be deprived of its vast natural resources.
Asked about tensions with the West, Putin struck a harsh tone, accusing it of seeking to subdue and disarm Russia. Acknowledging that Western sanctions over the country’s role in Ukraine were biting, he said the current economic troubles “are payment for our independence, our sovereignty.”
Putin did reserve some blame for his Russian peers, criticizing the central bank for not responding faster and halting the Ruble collapse. He vowed to guide the country through the current situation in the same way he steered Russia through the 2008 financial crisis, and warned citizens to brace for a recession. Somewhat ironically, Putin said that Russia shouldn’t waste currency reserves protecting the ruble as the country prepares for a downturn brought on by the collapse of the oil price and sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, he said.
“Under the most negative external economic scenario, this situation can last two years,” Putin said. “If the situation is very bad, we will have to change our plans, cut some things.”
Some of the other notable highlights: "Putin sparred with a Ukrainian journalist, reeled off statistics on the fall harvest and spoke about guiding gifted children. He even told reporters that he has a good relationship with his ex-wife and is in love with someone new. The tone of the back-and-forth was captured in an answer about the freeing from prison of former oil tycoon and political opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky: “I don’t regret anything. I did everything absolutely correctly.”
So will the presser do anything to change the status quo? Hardly: Putin will continue to be viewed as a pariah by the west, certainly for as long as he continues to challenge the US state department-imposed regime in the Ukraine. Meanwhile in Russia Putin is still enjoying popular support because the simple equation is that for the vast majority the recent territorial expansion courtesy of the full Crimean annexation is seen as worth the hardship and the soaring prices. Which is why Putin again accused the U.S. and European Union of using the Ukraine conflict as way to contain Russia as they have done since the end of the Cold War through the expansion of NATO, comparing the current situation to a new division akin to the Berlin Wall.
“This is payback for our natural desire to preserve ourselves as a nation, as a civilization and state,” Putin said. “The crisis in Ukraine should make our partners understand that it’s time to stop building walls.”
Finally, Putin said he’s firmly in control of the country and is not in any way worried about a coup from within his ranks. “People in their hearts and souls feel that we, and I in particular, are acting in the interests of the vast majority,” he said. Judging by his record high popularity numbers, the people appear to believe him.
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you mean Gold AND Silver Bells???
How did 14 people up vote a world ending nuclear war? Bunch of batshits around here.
It would be interesting to find out who owns Russia's Central Bank, and if they also own shares in the NY Fed, etc.
I can understand sober criticism of Putin the politician, but I can not understand the juvenile, sophomoric rooting for him {or more precisely Russia per se} to be weakened or fail.
As with Assad, he may be bad, he may pass silly laws against gay 'propaganda' and one might argue he could have handled Crimea/Ukraine differently (I don't myself see how - the writing was fairly plainly on the wall - or chessboard) - but the people opposing him, neocons and bankers and street Nazis, would seem to be orders of magnitude worse.
FWIW as a noob, the recent {I've been a reader for around a year or so} agglutination of ill-informed, anti-Russian trolls here was to be expected as ZH links have seemed to pop up all over recently, from the NYT to 4Chan - but one would have expected better offerings than homoerotic/homophobic non sequiturs and the Orwellized, MSM narrative of just who the aggressive, expansionist, warmongering side has primarily been.
Takes all kinds, I guess.
I think it depends on what and how much one reads.
This looks a lot like 1905.
https://consortiumnews.com/2014/11/11/the-neocon-plan-for-war-and-more-w...
https://consortiumnews.com/2014/04/27/why-neocons-seek-to-destabilize-ru...
Of course one person's propaganda is another's 'truth,' I realize. Still, it's tough to argue Russia has ceaselessly sought to encircle and destabilize the United States, or that the United States has not killed hundreds of thousands in needless wars based on unequivocal lies, or that it hasn't interfered in elections and mob coups far from its borders for the past 20 years.
All else aside, it's hackneyed, but worth repeating, that neither the Russian nor American people want war, and that international/central banks, the MIC and war profiteers seem to be driving the cars. But so far as I can tell, it is the American government which is committed to global hegemony in recent decades. And that is manifestly not for the benefit of the people of the world, least of all the Americans being taxed and bled to fund the Global Banking Empire.
You speak sense - expect to be downvoted and excoriated by the trolls.
I try not to feed them.
The number one job of any troll is to derail a conversation, hijack a thread, etc.
Reasonable arguments, of course, are another matter, it just seems most aren't reasonable. The men seeking a unipolar {or tripolar - London, Washington and Tel Aviv} are fascist warmongers.
And that is all they are.
What's your favourite type of sponge cake?
Fail. To completely and utterly nuke a thread, just criticize a religion. Or say red/blue team is best.
Type "Christians are the source of all evil throughout history. And Obama can do no wrong -- everything really is Bush's fault."
<enter>
Watch sparks fly.
I like your style counter. And you are correct.
Well said.
Good comment. Hope to see more.
"the juvenile, sophomoric rooting for him"
I imagine it's not so much Putin himself rather anyone who stands up to the sociopaths who rule the West.
And the laws against gay propaganda are not silly. Putin recognizes it for what it is: A systematic program, financed by Soros and his ilk, to undermine allthe institutions that underpin a country and a people.
I wish people would stop bringing up the " Vlad can just off the gas valve option".
That option was brilliantly taken off the table by the US.
Seriously that option is dead.
GazProm just laid off 20% of it's work force. Russia is worried about "color revolutions". WTF do you think is going to happen if they stop all their exports to Europe!?!? Oh yeah they shift all their exports to China within the next month....
ugh ZH sludge
No Gazprom didn't and they denied the MSM reports last week. They said they were looking at restructuring.
please explain 'brilliantly taken off the table'....could Vlad not demand payment in Euros, Rubles, Yuan & Gold?
Nyet.....I do not think so...I talked Houston Gazprom guy yesterday, He never heard of it.
but said many layoffs area companies including Hercules Offshore cut near 400, (you can confirm for self)
and many other making layoffs
Frac in OK, Texas is real kicked if price don't rise quick
It's not me, it's you.
“This is payback for our natural desire to preserve ourselves as a nation, as a civilization and state,” Putin said. “The crisis in Ukraine should make our partners understand that it’s time to stop building walls.”
Brilliant speech.
And he will end up getting everything he wants and needs from his countrymen. Even the ex-pats that left Russia never to return -will return in earnest and shame with good behavior, heart in hand and no rearview mirror!
Wish they where leader like this in my country instead of sucking asses from NATO and USSA, leader that protect national interest and their businesses.
Yes, the Western power always tried to take full control of Russia and it's natural resources, killing the culture, traditions and Christianity: Russia is also hated because she embrace Christianity instead of replacing it by Judaism, Free-Mason, Progressives and Islam...
Forget Lenin and Uncle Joe's 5 year plan, Vlad has 2 year plan, when he will have more "flexibility"
Don't I remember a few months back where we told the Russians that we would put the "squeeze" on them if they didn't back off the Ukranians? Looks like they didn't and we did.
so this will require moar gunz on both sides.
all the resources and energy in the world, all the ingenuity, art, cooperation, sense of wonder at this experience of life itself, and the incredible knowledge we've accumulated, this where we are, making angry faces at each other like chimps in a zoo.
wtf?
*crickets*
so this will require moar gunz on both sides.
True m g
But the line gets drawn between those that initiate and provoke the violence versus those that are forced to defend themselves!
That pitch about "The Wall" earlier this morning in Putin's speech certainly resonated with me!
the provocation matters least for those who suffer most though. we can be in danger of being so focussed on the act of provocation that we miss the broader malaise - the franz ferdinand incident was absurd and doesn't reconcile with the experience of entire generations of young men lost.
In the end m g we either understand our history, our direction, purpose and the current state we have created for ourselves.
Good or bad choices we're eventually forced to pick a side.
I used Putin's quote about the wall because it speaks so enduringly to Russia's history and the fact that Western Europe has always been antagonistic towards it -like that fact or not. Pick a timeline starting with Napoleon, "charge of the light brigades", WWI, WWII and you get a " Defensive Wall" when your adversary who you helped win the war that should have ended all wars with 20 million of your own countrymen dead after they declare victory turns around and threatens you!
Less than 40 years later that Defensive Wall comes down and gives way to detente which allegedly begins only to make way for an "Offensive Wall" by the same cast of characters that made you their enemy 69 years earlier after they helped you win that "war to end all wars"?...
Needless to say I picked my side and know a winner when I see one!
It's all bullshit though. A winner is anyone with access to a bunker. We've only got one planet. Count 'em.... 1.
Humans are sick with these phantasms.
Humans are sick with these phantasms.
True again. But I really hate the fucking bully who starts them all.
You go to market with your own basket and suffer the consequences of what you wind up putting in it!
There was a time I would have used 'lesser of two evils" to settle the differences, but my government and more importantly it's people have outdone themselves and broken every record in the largest of agencies...
The department of shame!
How much hate is enough hate though. Where does it stop. Einstein said that we can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them. I think he was right. When do we start to move away from the endless cycles of violence (& please can we do it soon)..
The tribe has a huge problem with Russia:
1) they cannot instigate a regime change there (like in Kiev) since Putin has an approval rating of around 80% and no meaningful (with the ability to govern) opposition;
2) they cannot invade or bomb Russia (like Iraq or Libya) as they understand this is suicide;
3) they cannot take out Putin as they realize this might bring in even a more hardline alternative;
4) they cannot isolate Russia completely (like Iran) since Russia is vital for Europe in terms of energy and trade in general.
Financial warfare via sanctions and money cut off is the only option, but that is not a long-term solution with Russia. The biggest problem the tribe has is not Putin himself, but the Russian people in general who have been alienated by the West for a very long time to come...
The tribe has a huge problem with Russia...
The tribe has a problem with anyone that doesn't do it's bidding or use it's money!
Sounds to me like he's laying the rhetorical groundwork to justify future hostilities, maybe even war. The chess pieces are certainly on the move. Both sides are rapidly escalating this, especially us. I can't help but to wonder whether behind the scenes, we might have reached some sort of agreement with the Saudis to tank the oil markets to apply economic pressure on the Russians, and to a lesser extent Iran. It seems to have worked too. An added benefit is the harm to our domestic oil production which 0bama and the lefties probably hate with a passion. Of course that's rather short sighted, given the fact if they do get us into a dammed war, we're gonna need every drop of oil we can produce domestically. Can't power tanks and planes with windmills and solar panels.....
The people who think Russia will somehow decline or back down don't understand anything about what is going on.
Russia cannot under any circumstance back down, else it leads to an accelerated strategy by the US take them apart with ultimate goal of making them just another tin pot nation whose resources are plunder by global oligarchs and US banksters.
China knows too well that it will be next if it presents a risk to US hegemony, as it does and will.
But at the moment US is trying to deal with Russia before moving onto China again. Remember US through its puppet Japan already invoked a lot tension between China and Japan until Russia needed to be 'dealt with' and remember calling China a currecy manipulator and so on.
CHINA knows if Russia is neutered by US geopolitical and financial games then the same will be done to it.
Thus China and Russia know they must join forces and build their shock absorbers financially, geopolictically and militarily. Thus brining in the likes of India and Brazil adds a very big slice.
The big problem the US has is that over the past 5 decades has made a real pig of itself and trashed its reputation and trustworthiness. All countries know that they will be strangled economically and every which way if given the chance. This plays into the hands of China as well.
So China and BRICS will be making sure Russia doesn't lose this game.
Excellent. Russia is China's anchor if it wants to avoid being absorbed by the West. It would love to have a pro-China ASEAN to the south but it must have a friendly, stable Russia to the north.
Yeah what a macho man, we luv him, he is kewl!
CHINA = FACTORY OF THE WORLD = YUAN/ROUBLE
GAS/OIL = ROUBLE/YUAN/GOLD = RUSSIA
IMPORT FOOD STUFF etc = BRICS supplies = ROUBLE/YUAN/GOLD/Swap-lines
http://blogs.reuters.com/data-dive/files/2014/08/pdfnews-1-e140744197773...
Main issue will be the capital markets, but China seems to be vying for that piece of business.
"the economy will naturally adapt"
Wait a minute. Does that sound like capitalism to anyone else? Those rooskies are better capitalists than we are!
Capitalism? Communism? Makes one wonder about the "usefulness" of such words. A long time ago I said that TPTB just use whatever they need at the time then get the propagandists, I mean Economists, to write out some blather to whitewash, I mean justify their actions.
"the economy will naturally adapt" : Of course it will. And all we need to do is wait for another MurderDeathKill and we'll know where to find the bad guy. (Demolition Man reference)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106697/
Russians are creative capitalists
It was the usury-capital financed marxists that hated the Kulaks
The communists were not "rooskies"
In fact they hated the Rooskies. Zinoviev rejoiced at the prospect of millions of them being killed.
Putin rolls hard.
Putin stacks phyz.
Putin knows Barry is a wrist flapping Nancy.
They're not backing down.
BRICS currency, maybe?
no more than 2 years? russia and china have a very good idea of what's coming for the IMF$ system, so it makes sense to stand strong as the debt mountain teeters. we're witnessing the last throes of a failed system.
Russia was just handed a currency devaluation that the west can only dream of. Plus they've managed to diversify out of U.S. Dollars into gold. China and India are their biggest buyers of weapons. They get Paid in Euros what they produce in Roubles.
Give your heads a shake.
No man crush here. But still, could you ever imagine an 'Murican "leader" having the balls to admit that a recession was dead ahead??? Hell no! Instead of reality we get fake reach arounds with promises of a rosey future and moar "free stuff"...yet we never reach full release.
"Putin promptly pivoted against the west"
For goodness sake, stop saying "pivot". That's dehumanizing gibberish for morons. Humans don't "pivot", objects do.
In proper English, you say'd say "Putin promptly turned to the west".
More truth from Vlad to his people in two hours than we got from the US administration in six years.
More propaganda on ZH
U.S. Orbital Sciences Orders Russian RD-181 Engines for Antares Rocket
Fake Russian and NATO Jet Aggression
U.S. Abbott Labs To Buy Russian Generics Maker VeroPharm
U.S. Medtronic To Continue Business In Russia
U.S. Chevron & Russia’s Lukoil Enter In Joint Project In Nigeria
Ford Launches EcoSport In Russia For Production In Naberezhniye Chelny
Russian Bank Hires Two Former Senators
European Space Agency (ESA) Proposes Joint Moon Trips With Russia
E.U. Member Signs Big Oil Contract With Russia
Finland’s Parliament Votes To Build Nuclear Plant in Pyhäjoki By Russian Consortium
Russia Delivers Last of U.S.-bought Helicopters to Afghan Military
Russia’s VSMPO Passes FAA Audit As Supplier For Boeing
Russia’s New Startup City ‘Tek!’ Comes to Silicon Valley to Recruit
http://newworldorderg20.wordpress.com
Yup, Russia sure is isolated, especially by the US. Sorry about that Europe.
apologies if this has been posted - at 20 minutes, it's fairly interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT085isnyB0
One thing I've expected to hear a little on, but have not, is the possibility that Russia could fully nationalize its central bank, which is privately owned, although I don't know by whom - but I will speculate that they don't especially care about the well being of the Russian real economy - to some considerable extent, Putin's hands seem to have been tied, and the damage done and ongoing by the "oligarchs" is a large part of the fragile state of affairs.
I'm not sure how much, as a practical matter, nationalization of their central bank would help in the short term, but in the mid to longer term, it might be absolutely vital.
I see private central banking as the true Dark Lord here, with the various neocon/ziocon and neoliberal militants more or less errand boys.
I'm sure we can expect more false flags, and more massacres of civilians by Kiev totally uncovered by the western media, and more unequivocal calls for genocide by Ukrainian nationalists, not all of whom are "Nazis" as it happens.
It is notable that the American people as a whole don't seem to be questioning why the US was involved in one failed, and one successful coup in Ukraine in the past 10 years or so, a country nowhere near its shores, nor why it is sending hundreds of millions of sorely needed tax dollars to furnish deadly weapons in a scenario which could, on the face of it, have been solved with diplomacy and some sort of autonomy for the breakaway regions.
Perhaps they just don't care?
That leave has been cancelled for certain American under-sea-boat crews does not give me a good feeling.
"I see private central banking as the true Dark Lord here"
And I think you are correct. ALl eveil stems from that source.
Might I suggest that Putin's Russia issue some domestic debt free "greenbacks" to keep the domestic economy rollin' along until oil prices stabilize....
We all know price of oil won't last this low for two years.
partial (for now) transcript: http://eng.kremlin.ru/transcripts/23406
looking back at the leaked clip of Obama promising Putin more flexibility after he is re elected
all faggotry aside
he is quite devious
Ukraine situation must be way more than meets the eye
Obama is a Saudi Puppet
He will even back stab them
He has even secretly promised the Muslims he will punish Israel
so much much for your Zio crap, you will see soon enough
Putin will not leave Ukraine
He may be a communist but he has strong ties with the Orthodox church
huge power struggle unfolding
Putin is a smart man, I admire his nationalistic spirit and courage to act decisively. However, he is pursuing the wrong policies. If he really wanted to help Russians, then he would crack down on the horrific INTERNAL organized crime and corruption. The external Russian speakers are always free to move back to mother Russia if they want to be in Russia, rather than Russia confiscating other people's lands.
Other peoples lands?
Who is other people to you?
world bolshie masters that enable "Red" Oligarch triple citizens sit in Kiev?
that murder the hard working productive people....
"and of all things on earth the Marxist hates the Kulak the most"
( from book: Count Your Dead, They Are Living Wydham Lewis 1937 )
Crimea is Crimean peoples land.
Crimea succeeded from Ukraine.
Crimea is still celebrating.
better worry about your own country
It is not possible to rationally argue a person to or from a position that they are irrational about.
Historical fact: Russian people populated the countries bordering Russia AFTER Russia invaded all these countries by force both under the tzars and soviets. Russia even deported large numbers of people from these countries to Siberia, eg turkmen from Crimea. THEN Russia claims that the "rights" of the transplanted Russian-speakers in the lands belonging to other peoples are not being "respected". Pure propaganda AND stupidity - if the Russians who are outisde Russia are unhappy about not being inside Russia, then all they have to do is pack up their invading asses and move back to the motherland - simple !
The great tragedy of Russia is the Russian people themselves. Every time I think of the profoundly disgusting leaders that Americans elect and wonder if it could be worse, I think of Russia, a country with the potential to be a genuine world leader, but whose own leaders have fucked the Russian people FAR WORSE than anyone else has, eg the Bolsheviks & Soviets killed More Russians than the so intensely hated Nazis killed !
And then there is the great Russian propganda boogey man - NATO. I know NATO very well - it is a pathetic hollow military alliance. The NATO bureaucray is HUGE while it's military assets and capabilities are tiny. NATO is just a European deceit to get America to pay for and provide the military for western Europe while the Europeans spend all their money on entitlements and easy-living cafe lifestyle. The Russian leaders all know that NATO is NO military threat to Russia, but it is very useful as a propaganda stage prop.
Historical fact: American people populated the America AFTER invading it by force under Spanish and English kings. The US even put the remaining not so large numbers of indigenous people to reservations after commiting on them the biggest act of genocide in history. So the American people have to go back to Europe or wherever they came from.
By the way, Crimea was taken after centures of wars between tatars and russians. Tatars were not indigenous inhabitans of the Crimea. They were nomads who settled there being a part of Mongolian invasion. The Russian were first defeated by Mongols and then there came centures of rivalry between Tatars, Russians, Poland. During this struggle the tatars became allies with Turkey. Nevertheless Russian army finally prevailed and defeated Tatars, Turks, and Poland. Russia took over Crimea in 1783. Should I remind you that California was taken over by the US in 1848? Also when Russia took over Crimea all Tatars became full citizens of Russian Empire. No reservations, or whatever happened to Native Americans.
Ukraine had nothing to do with Crimea. They were unable to defeat Tatars until Russians came. Ukraine is mostly the land that was taken over by Russia from Poland (and in turn Poland took these lands earlier after Kievan Rus was weakened encountering Mongols and other nomads). Another part of Ukraine was a rogue state of Kazaks. They were also unable to do anything serious on their own. Ukranians had settled in Crimea only after both Ukraine and Crimea became parts of Russian Empire.
The deportation of Turkmen minority from Crimea to Siberia happend 160 years later on by Joseph Stalin on the ground of mass collabaration with Nazis who had occupied the Crimea during WW2. However brutal this is comparable with mass detention of Japanese in the US during WW2. By this time the number of Turkmen were insignificant. So it is false to claim that Russians became majority in Crimea by deporting Turkmen or Tatars.
Nazis killed 27 millions of soviet people. Of them about 10 were combatans and 17 million were civilians. It were not just Russians. It were Ukranians, Belorussians, Jews, Georgians, Tatars, Uzbeks, etc, etc.
The number of executed during Stalin's repressionss was about 800 thousand. Before that there was a civil war during which several millions were killed by all sides (it was Bolshevist Red Army vs White Army vs Anarchist army vs Germans vs Antanta and Japanese ocuppational forces in several port cities). And there were few millions of victims of a couple of femines.
Femines were common in Russia during Tsarist times as well. This problem was solved only by intoduction of modern agriculture -- green revolution that was conducted in Russia by Bolshevists. For instance, such giant of ferillizer production as Uralkali (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uralkali) was built in 1934 by Bolshevists. Apparently only to starve russian people as idiotic western propaganda would say.
All in all your claim that Soviets killed more Russians than Nazis is false and is nothing but stupid cold war propaganda.
Of course, Russia perfectly knows that EU have no military capability whatsoever. All of the NATO military power relies on the US power. Also Russia knows that the US sets up anti-missile systems all around Russia while developing new hypersonic missiles at the same time.These two developments combined are targeted to reduce the nuclear deterrent Russia so far posseses. Also if Russia were to lose the military base in Crimea and get a US military base there with who knows what then the situation would be seriously excerbated from the perspective of Russian national security.
I stopped paying attention to this site after a flurry of articles on how Russia would come out on top in this conflict with US/EU.
Can you list the articles? I read this site daily and have not seen any article describing a Russian triumph.
Many, many articles and comments during the Ukraine invasion. Cheerleading for Russia/Putin was sickening.
.
Funny thing about that whole Ukraine invasion thing is that nobody can pin down a date when it happened, even though the Kiev Yatzi Junta was yodeling about a new one every week over the summer.
I suppose it would be to a fan of looting and ethnical cleansing.
Now I'm a fairy AND a misanthrope?
You are obviously the superior intellect, I'm going to go drink myself into a stupor and lament my trite, vapid, misspent life.
Russia hasn't lost yet. There's a bit to go in this game although I agree the odds are stacked in favor of the bad guys.
You're totally right, these kids have got a man-crush on Putty.
Stands to reason though, they've probably got Obola-like, effeminate fathers, if they had a man around the house at all when they were growing up. He's the burly, hard drinkin uncle with all the cool stories about bar fights and chasing tail in Bangkok that they always longed for. At least they can live vicariously through his aberrant, swaggering, shirtless bravado while they take an X-Box break to comment on ZH before putting on their hair nets and moping off to Del Taco for their shift.
Reductio fag hominem. This divingengineer guy sounds like a fappar*.
*fairies against President Putin and Russia
Fairies?
Ghasp and swoon, I just got the vapors!
3.5 hours, talking to international journalists on a variety of topics, giving lucid, sometimes humorous answers.
no one in the enlightened west could have managed this no one not even as a group.
rave on you mamby pamby trolls. LMAO
If you have not done so, listen to Putin's state of the nation address. The golden nugget is that Putin clearly states that the rollercoaster is to be expected since they are determined to remove those that would capitalize on its collapse. He also states they have all the reserves necessary to weather the storm.
This man is obviously much more than a community organizer....[snigger, snigger...]
I am disappointed to say this but I tend to admire Mr. Putin and envy the Russian people for having a competent leader with their country's best interest to heart compared to the cowardly, corrupt, mealy mouthed elected ruling political turds in the USSA led by an incompetent, divisive arrogant narcissistic illegal alien muslim sociopath pathological liar in chief fudgepacker only interested in its over privileged, opulent, celebrity grand imperial life style and too inept to talk without the presence of an idiot box teleprompter to tell it what to mouth........
Three and a half hours without a teleprompter. Impressive.
Sounds like leadership.
Would I be correct in assuming you're not a fan of Obummer?
Bloomberg is terrible.
That picture is from when he rose to leave at end.
Otherwise, was calm and looked good all maybe 3 1/2 hour.
Credible Legit
I thought he was lifting himself up to let a loud one rip while answering a question about what he thinks about Obama.
As I have said before, I will say again: not everything is as it seems. Everyone is playing their part very well in a play scripted well before any of us realized what crappy situation we are living in. Slowly, but very accurately, all pieces are falling into place, like a well engineered LEGO build. We will have a single world .gov and a single currency with a well scripted and orchestrated fall of the king dollar.
I'm not really a conspiracy fanatic but it's very hard to ignore the facts as things fall into place all too conveniently.
Consider, MA, that you might be looking at things the wrong way.
Consider studying Russia in the early 1900s and the role of 'western' bankers in aiding Japan, then revolutionary groups, then Bolsheviks.
Also consider that there may be more than one cabal wielding power, and that not all of their interests are aligned.
But those assaulting Russia did so in the beginning of the last century as well. But of course, one is not free to speak freely on such matters.
;o}
Yes, more than 100 years later the same people are trying to destroy Russia. This time I'm not sure why. After all they cleaned out the country during the Yelsin era.
I am an avowed conspiracy theorist, but I disagree with you.
Human beings have sought global government since the Fall of Man; it's nothing new. Today's epoch is just the latest variation.
But back to your thesis: IF what you were saying was true, it could have been much more easily accomplished 20 years ago, when Russia was in economic and military disarray, and CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE been. Today it is far harder to pull off.
Even the most rudimentary understanding of human competitive tendencies and unwillingness to cooperate (i.e., "playing a role," as you claim,) make your assertions altogether invalid. You are completely overlooking the human ego, while overestimating the probability that such disparate groups can all be made to agree and cooperate when properly orchestrated.
It does not work that way. Unintended consequences are a well-known phenomena to all for just this reason.
"What Putin is not telling us," by Pepe Escobar via Op-Edge@RT:
"Even facing what under any circumstances is a perfect storm; President Putin delivered an extremely measured performance at his annual press conference and Q&A marathon.
The perfect storm evolves in two fronts; an overt economic war – as in siege by sanctions - and a concerted, covert, shadow attack to the heart of the Russian economy. Washington’s endgame is clear: impoverish and defang the adversary and force him to meekly bow to the ‘Empire of Chaos’s’ whims. And bragging about it all the way to “victory.”
The problem is Moscow happens to have impeccably deciphered the game – even before Putin, at the Valdai Club in October, pinned down the Obama doctrine as “our Western partners” working as practitioners of the “theory of controlled chaos.”
So Putin neatly understood this week’s monster controlled chaos attack. The Empire has massive money power; a great deal of influence over the world’s GDP at $85 trillion, and the banking power behind that. So nothing easier than using that power through the private banking systems that actually controls central banks to create a run on the ruble. Think about the ‘Empire of Chaos’ dreaming of driving the ruble down by 99% or so – thus wrecking the Russian economy. What better way to impose imperial discipline on Russia?
The “nuclear” option
Russia sells oil in US dollars to the West. Lukoil, for instance, would have a deposit in US dollars in an American bank for the oil they sell. If Lukoil has to pay wages in rubles in Russia, then they will have to sell the US dollar deposits and buy in Russia a ruble deposit for their bank account. This in effect supports the ruble. The question is whether Lukoil, Rosneft and Gazprom are hoarding US dollars overseas - and holding back. The answer is no. And the same applies to other Russian businesses.
Russia is not “losing their savings”, as Western corporate media gloats. Russia can always require foreign companies to relocate to Russia. Apple, for instance, may open a manufacturing plant in Russia. The recent Russia-China deals include the Chinese building factories in Russia. With a depreciated ruble, Russia is able to force manufacturing that might have been located in the EU to be located in Russia; otherwise these companies lose the market. Putin somewhat admitted that Russia should have been demanding this much earlier. The – positive – process is now inevitable.
And then there’s a “nuclear” option – which Putin didn’t even have to mention. If Russia decides to impose capital controls and/or imposes a “holiday” on repayment of larger debt tranches coming due in early 2015, the European financial system will be bombed – Shock and Awe-style; after all, much of the Russian bank and corporate funding was underwritten in Europe.
Exposure to Russia per se is not the issue; what matters is the linkage to European banks. As an American investment banker told me, Lehman Brothers, for instance, brought down Europe just as much as New York City - based on inter-linkages. And yet Lehman was based in New York. It’s the domino effect that counts.
Were Russia to deploy this “nuclear” financial option, the Western financial system would not be able to absorb a shock of default. And that would demonstrate – once and for all - that Wall Street speculators have built a ‘House of Cards’ so fragile and corrupt that the first real storm turns it to dust.
It's just a shot away
And what if Russia defaults - creating a holy mess out of the country’s $600 billion debt? This scenario reads as the Masters of the Universe telling Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi to create credits in the banking systems to prevent “undue damage” - as in 2008.
But then Russia decides to cut off natural gas and oil from the West (while keeping the flow to the East). Russian intel may wreak non-stop havoc in pumping stations from the Maghreb to the Middle East. Russia may block all the oil and natural gas pumped in the Central Asian ‘stans’. The result: the greatest financial collapse in history. And the end of the ‘Empire of Chaos’s’ exceptionalist panacea.
Of course this is a doomsday scenario. But don’t provoke the bear, because the bear could pull that off in a flash.
Putin was so cool, calm, collected – and eager to delve into details - at his press conference because he knows Moscow is able to move in total autonomy. This is – of course – an asymmetrical war – against a crumbling, dangerous empire. What those intellectual midgets swarming the lame duck Obama administration are thinking? That they can sell American – and world – public opinion the notion Washington (European poodles, actually) will brave nuclear war, in the European theater, in the name of failed state Ukraine?
This is a chess game. The raid on the ruble was supposed to be a checkmate. It’s not. Not when deployed by amateur scrabble players. And don’t forget the Russia-China strategic partnership. The storm may be abating, but the match continues."
http://rt.com/op-edge/215675-putin-economic-sanctions-us-oil/
The U.S.-led sanctions are hurting Europe as much, if not more than they are Russia...
http://www.globaldeflationnews.com/u-s-led-sanctions-against-putins-hand...
The Money is too powerful. Putin stands in the way of The Money. The Money made Putin one of the richest on the planet all he had to do is play along. Then Putin spit in The Money's face.
I fear this will not end well for the huddled masses in Russia and Putin.
At this point Putin predicts a 2 year recession. More likely they are already in a severe depression that will lead to civil unrest and political change.
Soon we will be forced to save our Christian Russian brothers from Islamists already standing at the gates. The Money is preparing to feast.