Putin on the Writs

[Warren]

Sloping forehead. Dead giveaway.

Of what? That he’s a stagecoach tilter?

He looks like a 60s British bank manager who missed his bus.

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

[thoreau]

He kinda looks like William from Westworld.

[dead_elvis]

I'll bet his 23andMe test comes back with some McPoyle in him.

[Hugh Akston]

Some of Putin's proposed reforms

In draft amendments submitted to the State Duma lower house, Putin offered a glimpse of how his reforms look on paper. Under his plan, some of the president’s broad powers would be clipped and parliament’s powers expanded.

In one of the biggest changes, the status of the State Council, now a low-profile body that advises the president, would for the first time be enshrined in the constitution.

Under his proposals, the president would pick the make-up of the State Council which would be handed broader powers to “determine the main directions of domestic and foreign policy.”

[Dangerman]

I'll bet his 23andMe test comes back with some McPoyle in him.

Came here to say this. I want to shop in a bathrobe and a glass of milk.

[dbcooper]

[Hugh Akston]

"Putin" on the writs

Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged he was offered the chance to use a body double to make appearances in public for security reasons, but said he declined the offer and never used one.

Putin, 67, who has dominated Russian politics for more than two decades, has long been the subject of conspiracy theories in Russia - all of them unsubstantiated - that he uses a body double or even a small army of them.

[Hugh Akston]

Bernie is receiving positive press coverage from Russian state news agencies. Is there any reason not to assume he's also receiving direct orders from the Kremlin through his generic mind-control deodorant?

[thoreau]

The only thing Russia has ever done to influence a US election is run news stories and buy Facebook ads. They have never hacked a political party's emails and released that info at a time that would be advantageous for a favored candidate. Also, Eurasia has always been our ally.

[JasonL]

Well I’m glad some things are still predictable.

[Warren]

Well I’m glad some things are still predictable.

Ha! Even with one hip tied behind your back, you still got it.

[thoreau]

This is like when the hosts in Westworld see evidence that they are robots and just say "It doesn't look like anything to me."

[Eric the .5b]

I'm surprised the Trump administration's response to COVID-19 hasn't been any fodder for the Putin Mastermind Theory. What makes it awkward—the tinfoil hat league's support for re-opening, or Russia's obviously severe problems with COVID-19?

[Pham Nuwen]

I'm surprised it was you posting in this thread instead of taktix or Thoreau.

[Eric the .5b]

I'm surprised it was you posting in this thread instead of taktix or Thoreau.

I'm surprised you bring that up!

[Pham Nuwen]

I'm surprised it was you posting in this thread instead of taktix or Thoreau.

I'm surprised you bring that up!

Putin's check cleared.

[Taktix®]

I'm surprised the Trump administration's response to COVID-19 hasn't been any fodder for the Putin Mastermind Theory. What makes it awkward—the tinfoil hat league's support for re-opening, or Russia's obviously severe problems with COVID-19?

Firstly, until some actual evidence surfaces that the pandemic was intentional, I refuse to go down that rathole. Corona viruses aren't particularly rare enough that if it was a manmade thing, it could have been anyone and if Russia really were willing to cause this all then we're all fucked anyway, judging by our response to, in that case, what I could only assume to be the first of several bio-attacks...

Nevermind Putin the Mastermind, Putin the Well-Positioned Opportunist is taking full advantage of this crisis to keep knocking the US down a few pegs (if not outright attacking us, which I believe but you choose your own adventure):

Remember that plane load of medical supplies that Putin shipped us? It was full of stuff made by Russian companies still under sanction for attacking the 2016 election, in effect making us break our own sanctions by accepting it. Oh, and he billed us for it too.

Russia, along with China and Iran and probably N. Korea, are hitting our medical systems with cyber-attacks (and I regard any intentional delay in vaccine development as translating to actual lives lost as a result).

And I'm old enough to remember this past Thursday when Trump had a long talk with his handler just hours before the DOJ dropped the charges against Flynn (who plead guilty to lying to the FBI {ehh} about talking with Russian officials about sanctions ahead of the 2016 election {not so ehh}).

Me, Still Waiting for Someone to At Least Offer a Reasonable Explanation as to Why Trump Works So Closely In The Interests Of and At The Direction Of Vladimir Putin *skeleton gif*

[Eric the .5b]

I'm surprised the Trump administration's response to COVID-19 hasn't been any fodder for the Putin Mastermind Theory. What makes it awkward—the tinfoil hat league's support for re-opening, or Russia's obviously severe problems with COVID-19?

Firstly, until some actual evidence surfaces that the pandemic was intentional, I refuse to go down that rathole.

Thank goodness for small favors.

Nevermind Putin the Mastermind, Putin the Well-Positioned Opportunist is taking full advantage of this crisis to keep knocking the US down a few pegs (if not outright attacking us, which I believe but you choose your own adventure):

Reading that...I'd say that's pretty weaksauce, but it's really more like confusing coconut water with a nice green curry. Look into the stupidities around US aid to Italy since their outbreak.

Russia, along with China and Iran and probably N. Korea, are hitting our medical systems with cyber-attacks (and I regard any intentional delay in vaccine development as translating to actual lives lost as a result).

Except the article is not about attempts to undermine research, but attempts to steal research. And thanks to us having a president known for having tried to secure exclusive access to vaccine research for the US...yeah.

And Trump got charges dropped against someone who could be a serious PITA for him if he doesn't win re-election. You don't need to blither about "his handler" to explain that.

[Pham Nuwen]

So is Putin like the Emperor from Warhammer 40k now? Am I understanding this correctly?

[JasonL]

I thought at least the pivot would be to China Mastermind Theory. I guess once you are this invested in a bad guy it's hard to quit him.

[Eric the .5b]

So is Putin like the Emperor from Warhammer 40k now? Am I understanding this correctly?

I guess.

The thing is, to me, that Trump's handling of COVID-19 has been the sort of sufficiently advanced idiocy and sociopathic self-interest that really looks like deliberate malice. It's the single situation where he most looks like he's trying to outright sabotage the US, and the single strongest argument that he's the weapon of an enemy of the US...but I don't hear harping on that by the usual suspects. People go right to the political advantages Trump's little brain is trying to seek.

It's like it's too serious for the tinfoil hat treatment.

Even Taktix, who sees Russia under the bed and Putin orchestrating everything Trump does, can't work Putin into this whole mess beyond a piddling aid delivery. He quickly moves on to Flynn, who doesn't have a damn thing to do with COVID-19.

[thoreau]

Speaking only for myself...

One reason I'm not harping on Putin and Russia in the midst of COVID-19 is because obviously none of this was planned. I suspect that Putin is gratified by the fact that the US not exactly looking like a promising model or useful friend for anyone, but it's not like he can say "Da, five year plan is going as predicted!" At best he can say "Khorosho, am glad Donaldik not making America great!"

Flynn is worth harping on because Flynn was one of the many Trump administration officials who REALLY didn't want to talk about their interactions with Russia.

To me, this was never about a Russian Master Plan. It was always about Trump's conflicts of interests, which should be completely disqualifying in a head of state/head of government. Trump wants a real estate deal in Moscow, and he has a man-crush on Vladimir, so he has been kissing Putin's ass since 2015 (if not earlier). Putin saw this, saw a chance to fuck with Hillary Clinton (whom he had plenty of reason to dislike), so he did two things of consequence:
1) He sent his people to talk to the Trump camp and have the sorts of conversations that a more savvy operation would not agree to have. This gave all of them something to hide from the FBI, which had the predictable effect of creating chaos.
2) He sent his hackers to go after the DNC, so that Trump would feel indebted to Russia and resentful of America's security services. This can't lead to any specific, predictable geopolitical feat, but it does have the effect of driving a wedge between Trump and the experts he should be listening to. Putin surely appreciates that, and that surely gives him a general edge in the behind-the-scenes games of state. Again, I'm not saying that there's a direct causal line between a hack in 2016 and some behind the scenes covert shenanigans that neither side will publicly admit in some strategic waterway, but there's surely an advantage for Russia when Trump trusts Putin more than his own advisors.

At this point certain people inevitably like to say something about troll farms and how they were nothing and the Americans are responsible for how they voted. I agree, which is why I don't give a fuck about troll farms. I do give a fuck about the Trump camp compromising themselves at every chance because they're a mix of incompetent and greedy, and Trump trusting Putin more than his own advisors. I don't think it will lead to the culmination of some Slavic Master Plan, but it is one of those things that you simply cannot tolerate in a head of government.

And I really don't get why that's controversial here. Many of the people here work for large companies, and I cannot imagine their companies hiring somebody for ANY job that involved access to sensitive information if it emerged that the job applicant owed favors to people at a rival company and showed zero scruples about anything. Yet when Trump and his people compromise themselves because of da boss's man-crush and real estate interests, a bunch of people say "Eh, so what?"

[Eric the .5b]

And I really don't get why that's controversial here.

I don't see it as such, as stated here. But then, I've said as much before while arguing the other side from you, and you went into sarcastic remarks about troll farms and how foolish people were for refusing to listen to Taktix. (You later shifted to pooh-poohing his takes, even though they really never changed.) But this thread has always had a motte and bailey problem.

[Taktix®]

Here's Eric's post when you remove all the sarcastic condescending trollishness:

I disagree

Did you invite me to offer my opinion just to have a touch point to start talking a bunch of shit?

I love Ellie and a few others but I really regret coming back here every time I do.

Speaking only for myself, Fuck You.

[D.A. Ridgely]

Here's Eric's post when you remove all the sarcastic condescending trollishness:

I disagree

Did you invite me to offer my opinion just to have a touch point to start talking a bunch of shit?

I love Ellie and a few others but I really regret coming back here every time I do.

Speaking only for myself, Fuck You.

Stay for the good; ignore the rest (even if that includes me).

That rule works pretty much anywhere.