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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Late Night Scary Tales Open Thread: “We Can Expect Two Very ‘Entertaining’ & Chaotic Years”

Late Night Scary Tales Open Thread: “We Can Expect Two Very ‘Entertaining’ & Chaotic Years”

by Anne Laurie|  April 6, 20191:24 am| 33 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

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Lot of that going around, and not just here in the Fortuitously Isolated Continent…

Fascinating article in a mainstream Russian paper today, claiming “Putin’s no longer the guarantor of stability”. Political scientist predicts “the system will collapse. Key phase of crisis will last a few days: days that will shock Russia & affect the world.” #ReadingRussia pic.twitter.com/gnEHzNfHl8

— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) April 5, 2019

Via Mig Greengard, who does not love Putin’s kleptocracy. The author, Steve Rosenberg, is the Moscow Correspondent for BBC News — hardly a publication given to overstatement, normally.

(Yeah, I’m kinda hoping Adam or Cheryl shows up to tell us that this is just another straw in the wind… )

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Reader Interactions

33Comments

  1. 1.

    Adam L Silverman

    April 6, 2019 at 1:40 am

    The article is legit, whether it means anything or not is another matter. The Russian economy is in very bad shape. If you think wealth inequality in the US is bad, Russia’s makes the US’s problem look reasonable. But, again, whether this actually leads to anything or not is another matter. Brute force and propaganda, if used correctly, can go a long way. And while Putin may not be a genius, he’s a methodical planner who has spent years cementing his control. Most societies never tip over into revolution and most people never revolt or support a revolt no matter how bad things are or get. It may also be that the article is, itself, part of the propaganda. Part of Putin’s maskirovka.

    And with that, I’m going to bed.

  2. 2.

    Adam L Silverman

    April 6, 2019 at 1:45 am

    Actually, I’m having a protein drink and a banana.

  3. 3.

    Jay

    April 6, 2019 at 1:54 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Stretch first if protien drink and bananna is code for Netflix and Chill.

  4. 4.

    Adam L Silverman

    April 6, 2019 at 1:55 am

    Oh goody, someone’s burning black churches in Louisiana.

    Three historically black churches burned in 10 days in Louisiana. This should be national news.https://t.co/iWhnNi2Rbm

    — BeaglesResist (@BeaglesResist) April 5, 2019

  5. 5.

    Jay

    April 6, 2019 at 1:59 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I think rykkha (sp) posted it yesterday,

    F€ck Nazi’s.

  6. 6.

    Anne Laurie

    April 6, 2019 at 2:07 am

    @Adam L Silverman: That’s actually reassuring. Sleep well!

  7. 7.

    Adam L Silverman

    April 6, 2019 at 2:08 am

    @Jay: Nope, it’s code for protein drink and a banana so I don’t pass out because my diet right now is basically protein drinks, bananas, lean protein, and vegetables.

  8. 8.

    Adam L Silverman

    April 6, 2019 at 2:10 am

    @Jay: I’ve been a bit busy. So other than cleaning you all out of moderation, I’ve not been following along much in the comments.

  9. 9.

    Adam L Silverman

    April 6, 2019 at 2:11 am

    @Anne Laurie: It’s reassuring until the Russian government collapses and you’ve got no one in charge of Russia’s 4,350 nuclear weapons. Then, not so much.

  10. 10.

    Jay

    April 6, 2019 at 2:16 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Sorry, left off the snark tags,….

  11. 11.

    Jay

    April 6, 2019 at 2:20 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Thank you for your service, //

  12. 12.

    NotMax

    April 6, 2019 at 2:56 am

    @Adam L. Silverman

    The Tarzan diet?

  13. 13.

    sukabi

    April 6, 2019 at 2:58 am

    @Adam L Silverman: hey, have you seen this Seth Abramson twitter thread?

    If true focusing on Russians only was too narrow.

  14. 14.

    opiejeanne

    April 6, 2019 at 3:17 am

    @sukabi: Well, that’s certainly not reassuring. I was sleepy until I started reading that.

  15. 15.

    sukabi

    April 6, 2019 at 3:24 am

    @opiejeanne: yeah…I’d rather it was just the Russians…it does explain alot about the last 3 years

  16. 16.

    Anne Laurie

    April 6, 2019 at 3:33 am

    @opiejeanne: Not an expert on this topic, obs, but I have heard that Seth Abramson is better at spinning theories than at providing proof. If that helps.

  17. 17.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    April 6, 2019 at 4:06 am

    Well, fat bastard was here today, had a fund raiser in the Hills and then dinner at his golf course in PV before flying to Vegas(I assume so he could sleep in his golden hotel that doesn’t have gaming). They had a Republican committeeman on the news who said that Emperor Tang would be competitive in California and would campaign here.

  18. 18.

    MomSense

    April 6, 2019 at 4:33 am

    I find it hard to believe this article would make it to the paper unless Putin wanted it there. Is this a scare people about the uncertainty that change would bring so they’ll choose to keep dancing with the devil?

  19. 19.

    Amir Khalid

    April 6, 2019 at 5:01 am

    @MomSense:
    That sounds plausible, Then again, I think we all understand that Putin is not universally beloved in Russa, and it is just possible there are still journos willing to take risks to saythings that need saying.

  20. 20.

    MomSense

    April 6, 2019 at 5:09 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    I think a lot of journalists do take risks and apparently they tend to have balance issues. They keep falling off of balconies. I don’t know enough about how the newspapers operate in Russia but I imagine the editors keep a pretty tight hold on what makes it to print.

  21. 21.

    M. Bouffant

    April 6, 2019 at 5:16 am

    May you live in interesting times.

  22. 22.

    Amir Khalid

    April 6, 2019 at 5:34 am

    @MomSense:
    Yes, and it mght mean something that an editorial board okayed the piece for publication. I don’t know enough about Russian news media to be sure if it does.

  23. 23.

    Geoduck

    April 6, 2019 at 6:15 am

    @Anne Laurie: He included a pile of footnotes in his book, if that matters one way or the other.

  24. 24.

    biff murphy

    April 6, 2019 at 7:21 am

    What if it were not just Russia, but a global reaction to abusive power? huh,huh?

  25. 25.

    Buckeye

    April 6, 2019 at 7:23 am

    @sukabi: That it’s not just the Russians who are interfering isn’t new.

    @Geoduck: Seth’s footnotes probably don’t mean much, not if they’re not of quality sources, or if he doesn’t actually know how to analyze them. He’s not an expert on Russia, NatSec, history, hasn’t practiced law in years, etc. He tends toward conspiracy theories (he though Bernie was winning the primaries).
    There are actual experts and journalists out there covering this, Seth isn’t one of them.

  26. 26.

    cliosfanboy

    April 6, 2019 at 7:31 am

    @Adam L Silverman: I’ve been on a protein and veggie diet with a low amount or carbs since May 2016. Lost 80 lbs and kept it almost all off.

  27. 27.

    cliosfanboy

    April 6, 2019 at 7:35 am

    @opiejeanne: of course a bothsider shows up in that thread
    Argh

  28. 28.

    cliosfanboy

    April 6, 2019 at 7:37 am

    @Buckeye: a good reminder. Thanks. Ann Coulters books have footnotes too. Their presence is necessary but not sufficient in themselves

  29. 29.

    Cheryl Rofer

    April 6, 2019 at 7:39 am

    Probably a dead thread, but I agree with Adam’s first comment. I’ve been thinking of doing a post on some current events in Russia. Will see how this weekend goes, with finishing up income taxes and cleaning the house.

  30. 30.

    Keith P.

    April 6, 2019 at 7:59 am

    @cliosfanboy: When I was a kid (this was about 18 years ago), one of my uncles who was in Weight Watchers told me that the biggest takeaway he got from his time in there was that eating a lot of vegetables makes up for a lot of indulgences. I guess they’re either increasing bowel transit time (time for food to go through your system) and lowering the caloric density.

  31. 31.

    Buckeye

    April 6, 2019 at 8:06 am

    @cliosfanboy: Seth’s books having footnotes is definitely not an indication that I think that the book has value. I’d rather have law analysis from Marcy Wheeler, and I’m not a Marcy fan. And I think Seth is even worse than Marcy in dealing with criticism. Not a good thing.

    @Cheryl: I’d love an update on Russia, it’s so hard to keep up with everything there, when trying to keep up with everything here.

  32. 32.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 7, 2019 at 10:21 pm

    DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has resigned.

    Such sad, sad faces at the link.

  33. 33.

    agorabum

    April 8, 2019 at 6:38 pm

    I remember giving a report about the likely fall of the Chavez administration because of oversteps back in 2000. And yet the regime has survived even Chavez’s death!

    I don’t doubt that people in Russia are not happy. I just doubt that anything will change.

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