Putin and his cronies have plundered Russia for a decade

dailymail.co.uk ^ | February 29, 2012 | Edward Lucas

[Tailgunner Joe]

For the past four years, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s prime minister, and his sidekick Dmitry Medvedev, who has the nominal post of president, have been engaged in a huge propaganda operation to fool Russians and the West.

With much fanfare, they have pretended to reform their benighted land. Mr Medvedev denounced corruption, and they pretended to be friends with the West, particularly through a warming of their relations with the U.S. in 2009.

But this has been a sham to conceal the truth: that Russia is shamefully misruled.

The ruling former KGB regime has squandered tens of billions of pounds and missed a once-in-a-lifetime chance to modernise the country.

It has no real interest in friendship or co-operation with the West, whatever our gullible diplomats and officials may think. It wants to launder money in London, but not to adopt our values of liberty or the rule of law.

Farcical

Mr Putin, 59, has admitted that standing again as Russia’s president — for up to two more six-year terms — in elections this Sunday was a decision he made only with Mr Medvedev.

But to call the event an ‘election’ is an insult to true democracies. Real elections involve a real choice between real candidates, where the outcome is in doubt.

In this farcical poll, just as in the shamefully rigged parliamentary ‘elections’ in December, any candidate who could present a challenge to the regime and its criminal cronies has no chance of taking part.

In fact, electoral fraud will scarcely be necessary. Mr Putin faces no real rival at the polls.

The other candidates — a clapped-out Communist, an extremist and a playboy billionaire — are not remotely plausible alternatives. Even Russians who detest Mr Putin would hesitate to vote for them.

[FedsRStealingOurCountryFromUs]

Wow. swap the words ‘Putin’ and ‘Russia’ with ‘0bama’ and ‘America’ and the story still makes sense.

[BooBoo1000]

Bella Ruska, Russia as a country is a great country, they have tremendous natural resources, hard working people, they just cannot get a real democratic party to lead them. It is too bad because Russia really has a lot to offer.

[GeronL]

Or Chavez and Venezuela, or Mugabe and Zimbabwe or Kim Il Sung and North Korea, or Fidel and Cuba....

if there is one thing leftists do, its loot.

[ETL]

"a huge propaganda operation to fool Russians and the West. With much fanfare, they have pretended to reform their benighted land."

Did Communism Fake Its Own Death in 1991?
American Thinker ^ | January 16, 2010 | Jason McNew

In a [] 1984 book [New Lies for Old], ex-KGB Major Anatoliy Golitsyn predicted the liberalization of the Soviet Bloc and claimed that it would be a strategic deception. ..."

"Golitsyn's argument was that beginning in about 1960, the Soviet Union embarked on a strategy of massive long-range strategic deception which would span several decades and result in the destruction of Western capitalism and the erection of a communist world government."

"Golitsyn published his second book, The Perestroika Deception, after the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991. This book contained further analysis of the liberalization, in addition to previously classified memoranda submitted by Golitsyn to the CIA. The two books must be read together to get a complete picture of Golitsyn's thesis."

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/01/did_communism_fake_its_own_dea.html

[ETL]

“We are creating a new world, a balanced world. A new world order, a multipolar world,” Chavez told reporters during a visit to Communist China, one of many. His “new world order” includes [RUSSIA], China, Iran,... and a significantly weakened United States, he explained.

Resurgent Communism in Latin America
by Alex Newman, March 16, 2010:

http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/world-mainmenu-26/south-america-mainmenu-37/3122-resurgent-communism-in-latin-america?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
______________________________________________________________

From the Russian News and Information Agency:
July 27, 2006
"'I am determined to expand relations with Russia,' Chavez, known as an outspoken critic of what he calls the United States' unilateralism, told the Russian leader, adding that his determination stemmed from their shared vision of the global order.":
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060727/51913498.html
______________________________________________________________

From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:
"The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/HI29Ag01.html
______________________________________________________________

"Joint war games are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2001, and reflect the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two Eastern Hemisphere giants."

http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed092605a.cfm
______________________________________________________________

Russia's Medvedev hails "comrade" Obama

Associated Foreign Press (AFP) ^ | April 2, 2009 | Anna Smolchenko

"Russia's Dmitry Medvedev hailed Barack Obama as "my new comrade" Thursday after their first face-to-face talks"

http://www.france24.com/en/20090402-russias-medvedev-hails-comrade-obama

April 1, 2009:
"Obama, Medvedev pledge new era of relations":
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090401/wl_afp/usrussiadiplomacynuclear_20090401152002
______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

President Obama and Venezuela dictator Hugo
Chavez at the 2009 Summit of the Americas in Trinidad.
Note the "soul bro" handshake. (my caption)

Obama, Chavez shake hands at Americas Summit:
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2009/04/17/2698451-obama-chavez-shake-hands-at-americas-summit
______________________________________________________________

From CBS-News, July 29, 2006:

Chavez Vows To 'Stand By Iran'
After Oil Talks In Tehran, Venezuelan Leader Called 'Brother' By Ahmedinejad

"Chavez pledged that his country would 'stay by Iran at any time and under any condition,' state television reported. Ahmadinejad said he saw in Chavez a kindred spirit." "'We do not have any limitation in cooperation,' Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. 'Iran and Venezuela are next to each other and supporters of each other. Chavez is a source of a progressive and revolutionary current in South America and his stance in restricting imperialism is tangible.'":
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/29/world/main1847331.shtml
______________________________________________________________

http://article.wn.com/view/2009/06/16/Iran_president_visits_Russia_despite_protests/

[ETL]

Putin praises Cold War moles for stealing U.S. nuclear secrets
Reuters | Wed Feb 22, 2012 5:04pm EST | Steve Gutterman

Vladimir Putin praised Cold War-era scientists on Thursday for stealing U.S. nuclear secrets so that United States would not be the world's sole atomic power, in comments reflecting his vision of Russia as a counterweight to U.S. power.

Spies with suitcases full of data helped the Soviet Union build its atomic bomb, he told military commanders.

"You know, when the States already had nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union was only building them, we got a significant amount of information through Soviet foreign intelligence channels," Putin said, according to state-run Itar-Tass.

"The were carrying the information away not on microfilm but literally in suitcases. Suitcases!"

Putin's remarks referred to the dawn of the Cold War more than half a century ago, but they echoed a message he has made loud and clear more recently: that the United States needs to be restrained, and Russia is the country to do it. …

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...

[ETL]

From the campaign trail, February 2008...

Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs

February 29, 2008 :: News
MissileThreat.com

A video has surfaced of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talking on his plans for strategic issues such as nuclear weapons and missile defense.

The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:

Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.

First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.[not win it -etl]

Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.

I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.

I will not weaponize space.

I will slow our development of future combat systems.

And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.

Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert [they are NOT on "hair-trigger alert" now -etl], and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.

You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.

Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
http://missilethreat.com/archives/id.7086/detail.asp

"MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States."
_____________________________________________________

"I will not weaponize space"

"I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems"
_____________________________________________________

2008 Pentagon Report (March 2008):
China's Growing Military Space Power
By Leonard David
Special Correspondent, SPACE.com
March 6, 2008

GOLDEN, Colorado — A just-released Pentagon report spotlights a growing U.S. military concern that China is developing a multi- dimensional program to limit or prevent the use of space-based assets by its potential adversaries during times of crisis or conflict.

Furthermore, last year's successful test by China of a direct-ascent, anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon to destroy its own defunct weather satellite, the report adds, underscores that country's expansion from the land, air, and sea dimensions of the traditional battlefield into the space and cyber-space domains.

Although China's commercial space program has utility for non- military research, that capability demonstrates space launch and control know-how that have direct military application. Even the Chang'e 1 — the Chinese lunar probe now circling the Moon — is flagged in the report as showcasing China's ability "to conduct complicated space maneuvers — a capability which has broad implications for military counterspace operations."

To read the entire publication [29.67MB/pdf], see U.S. Dept of Defense:
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf

[ETL]

Obama To Betray Missile Defense Secrets To Moscow
Investor's Business Daily ^ | January 9, 2012 | IBD staff

Appeasement: From ObamaCare to recess appointments, honoring the Constitution has not been an administration hallmark. But when it comes to betraying secrets to mollify the Russians, it becomes a document the president hides behind.

It was bad enough that the 2012 defense authorization bill signed by President Obama set America on a downward spiral of military mediocrity.

He also issued a signing statement, something he once opposed, saying that language in the bill aimed at protecting top-secret technical data on the U.S. Standard Missile-3 — linchpin of our missile defense — might impinge on his constitutional foreign-policy authority.

Section 1227 of the defense law prohibits spending any funds that would be used to give Russian officials access to sensitive missile-defense technology as part of a cooperation agreement without first sending Congress a report identifying the specific secrets, how they'd be used and steps to protect the data from compromise.

The president is required to certify that any technology shared will not be passed on to third parties such as China, North Korea or Iran, that the Russians will not use transferred secrets to develop countermeasures and that the Russians are reciprocating in sharing missile-defense technology.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...

[ETL]

"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century" -Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the collapse of the Soviet Union...
"World democratic opinion has yet to realize the alarming implications of President Vladimir Putin's State of the Union speech on April 25, 2005, in which he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union represented the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'
http://www.hooverdigest.org/053/beichman.html

[Smokin' Joe]

Nah. Putin started with the oil and gas industry over there. Obama just tried to kill ours here, he hasn’t succeeded in looting it yet (except for BP, and they’re British).

[nathanbedford]

The heartbreaking history of Russia demonstrates the immeasurable debt that we as inheritors of the Declaration of Independence owe to the Scottish Enlightenment and to the Founding Fathers who were themselves products of this grand Anglo tradition.

Statism is a virus which periodically erupts to infect the entire body corporate. Sometimes it takes the form of communism and sometimes the form of a vicious autocracy. Russia has been the victim of this virus in both of these forms and many more.

There is simply no foundation upon which a just society can be built in Russia. There is no fundamental conception of the individual as being unique building unit for just society. There is no experience of the rule of law. There is no institutionalization of criticism of the government. There is no transparency. There is no expectancy of justice from government.

There is only an abiding cynicism which dominates every part of the Russian culture. To believe in democracy is to be a fool. To trust in the rule of law, is to be a victim.

The lesson from all of this for we Americans is to look to the health of our institutions to read the future. Are our churches performing their role? Our media, our universities, are eleemosynary institutions? The answer is clearly, no!

The virus of statism is never dead but only dormant or active.

Today we see the virus emerging in the form of environmentalism, globalism, etc. The point is not to focus on the individuals such as Putin or even Obama, these are but the excressences on the surface of the virus within.

All of the decay represents the undermining of liberty and every bit of the decay in America has been the willful and intended object of The Frankfurt School. We see it compound by Cloward and Piven and by Saul Alinsky. Without them, Barack Obama would not be possible. If we eliminate Barack Obama we will have but put Clearasil on the pimple but we will not have treated the underlying virus.

A leader will not save Russia because there is really nothing there to save. If we do not look to our own institutions we will soon be as bereft as Russia.

[FlyingEagle]

Putin serves Polonium 210 tea. Never forget.

His journalists die suddenly and suspiciously.

He’s a communist overlord.

Controls crime, drugs and illegal gun running with insurrectionists in nearby states.

Lethal. Just like our guy.

[FlyingEagle]

“But to call the event an ‘election’ is an insult to true democracies. Real elections involve a real choice between real candidates, where the outcome is in doubt.

In this farcical poll, just as in the shamefully rigged parliamentary ‘elections’ in December, any candidate who could present a challenge to the regime and its criminal cronies has no chance of taking part.”

[Jacob Kell]

Are you saying that there is no way to save Russia?

[Jacob Kell]

About Golitsyn, The dude’s extremely non-credible. His claim that every defector who would follow him would be a plant should’ve raised warning flags all over Langley. Actually, it did raise those flags. Unfortunately, James Jesus Angleton chose to not heed those warning flags. Any competent intelligence officer would conclude that the defector making that claim was either (a) engaged in self-aggrandizement, or (b) a plant.

[nathanbedford]

I say that it is unlikely that Russia will be "saved."

If by "saved" we mean a just and civil society where one can pursue the goals set down in the Declaration of Independence, life, liberty and happiness and live in a place where property is respected under the rule of law.

I think we have learned from our experiences in Afghanistan and in Iraq that it is very difficult to "save" a society from the top down. And I do not see in place any of the elements needed to save Russia from the bottom up.

So long as the price of oil and other commodities stay high, Russia will have sufficient funds to enable Putin to stay in power. But if not Putin, there are 1000 other thugs to take his place.

[Bellflower]

Wow. swap the words ‘Putin’ and ‘Russia’ with ‘0bama’ and ‘America’ and the story still makes sense.

Exactly.