Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Books are my comfort food!

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Everybody saw this coming.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

I really should read my own blog.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

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”

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

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… )

Reader Interactions

33Comments

  1. 1.

    Adam L Silverman

    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.

  7. 7.

    Adam L Silverman

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  16. 16.

    Anne Laurie

    @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

    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

    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

    @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

    @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.

  22. 22.

    Amir Khalid

    @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.

  24. 24.

    biff murphy

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

  25. 25.

    Buckeye

    @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.

  28. 28.

    cliosfanboy

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

  29. 29.

    Cheryl Rofer

    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.

    @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

    @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.

  33. 33.

    agorabum

    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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