I was wondering if anyone else enjoyed this story from last week as much as I, or if I just have a perverse sense of humor?I'm referring to the reappearance of our missing Chevron oil tanker, the now secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who had been strangely absent from the international diplomatic stage in September. She was accompanied by our secretary of defense, Robert Gates, a former Texas university president in charge of educating our kids, now charged with overseeing their destruction.
They had gone to Russia to meet with President Putin. I think it was to be a fairly ordinary photo-op for Rice and Gates to demonstrate to us all that, on occasion, they can do diplomatic stuff . But what they got was nothing like they were expecting, I'm sure.
Putin kept the pair waiting beyond their appointed meeting time. When he did finally show up forty minutes late, he left Rice and Gates "taken aback" by his adamant opposition to their plans for missile defense systems in Eastern Europe. Lecturing them in no uncertain terms, Putin effectively handed the pair their asses on a platter.
It was amusing, and rare indeed, to see Rice and Gates on the other side of the serving line digesting a humiliating slice of humble pie. It's a pie they are used to dishing out to others, but never eating themselves. Nice to see them finally get a chance to sample what they serve.
(Photo attribute: YURI KADOBNOV / AFP, Getty Images)
7 comments:
When I first reads this news item, I thought of your writing style, because the things Rice was spewing, could just as easily been said about the US government. Samplings:
"In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development,"
"I think there is too much concentration of power"
Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary.
There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma," said Rice, referring to the Russian parliament.
The top American diplomat encouraged the activists to build institutions of democracy. These would help combat arbitrary state power.
The U.S. is concerned about the centralization of power and democratic backsliding ahead of Russia's legislative and presidential elections in December and March. Putin will step down next year as president.
>>.See what I mean? Hauntingly similar problems here in the US. What next- is Rice going to offer shiny Diebold vote counting machines to ensure democracy in Russia?
"I talked to people about how they see the coming months. How these two elections are carried out will have an effect on whether Russia is making the next step on toward democracy,"
>>After all, the US is the authority on functional democracy-- right?
The nerve of the US to presume they can counsel other countries on how to run an election!
Seriously-- these visits & advice must drive other countries leaders to drink.
My question is - How do they keep a straight face?
Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday received a chilly reception from Putin and senior Russian officials on U.S. proposals for cooperating on a missile defense system in Eastern Europe that Russia vehemently opposes.
>>Chilly? I'm surprised they were just not flat out uninvited.
"To the degree that anyone can predict, it looks like it will be fairly stable," she said. "But, I would just caution that change is change."
>>Thank you Dr. Rice. It takes someone with multiple degrees to make such a profound statement. For the record--Irony is irony, and stupidity is stupidity.
Most recent human-rights reports on Russia note continuing centralization of power in the Kremlin, a compliant legislature, political pressure on the judiciary, intolerance of ethnic minorities, corruption and selectivity in enforcement of the law, and media restrictions and self-censorship.
>>Are there glaring parallels here?
Rice & her advice, are a worldwide joke.
yea - right on - had not heard - thanks for the update!!
az: You're welcome. I have to say, one of the things I ponder regularly is how a (Texas A&M) university president in charge of educating the students who represent the future of this country, can give that up to oversee many of same caliber young men and women killed in bogus wars. Tragic, tragic indeed.
And while I don't lose sleep over it in the middle of the night, there have been a few mornings when I awoke at 10 minutes to four and wondered "What the hell makes Robert Gates and other administration mucky-mucks tick?"
Of course, I had to get up. Whatever the hell it is, it's pretty damn pathetic.
Fran: Thanks for this wonderful list of examples of sanctimonious double speak that drips from ALL administration officials' lips. (Totally sickening, but needs to be read and absorbed by all Americans!)
Sadly, I confess, while it's good to hear this same boldness now being echoed by our historical adversaries, Russia and China, re "DO NOT ATTACK IRAN" or "IF YOU SUPPORT THE DALAI LAMA...blah, blah" respectively, the world becomes a more dangerous place, yet, if we can say it, they certainly are entitled to do so also.
Eventually, all sanctimonious, self-righteous bullying bastards are stood up to.
I hope this plays out peacefully. I'd like to see how the the Age of Oil ends. Sadder, however, is the fact I won't be here for the end of (this middle of) the largest mass extinction since mankind's appearance on the world stage plays out.
That's the one that has me really curious.
Dada:
Have you seen the film, Children of Men? It takes place in 2027 and men and women can no longer have children due to a series of human mistakes. Without the prospects of having children, there is no hope for the future of humans beyond the oldest dying out in another 40 to 60 years beyond 2027. While it's science fiction, it does address your curiousity of how the end happens. Michael Caine and Clive Owen are the main actors in this political chiller.
Thanks for the invite to Las Cruces. The day we're headed that way I'll be in touch. Likewise, if you're headed toward PHX, let me know either here or at eProf2 blog, which still has a comment area.
eprof2: Backtracking a sec, just a couple of days after you mentioned Paul Allen's grand radio antennas plan for NE CA, it was featured on late night talk radio. As a result, I sat up and paid attn. (42 are now up and running with a much grander number when totally complete.) Very impressive. Thanks.
Re "Children of Men": Curiously, my wife watched/taped it this past weekend. Movies for me are like sweets, i.e., I am able to totally resist them UNTIL I taste just a bite, then it's all over for me.
Case in point...I passed through the room yesterday as she was watching a Bruce Willis movie about a NSA ultra secret code an autistic kid cracked. A couple minutes and I was hooked.
Thus far I had resisted Mrs. Dada's offer to watch it, but now I must reconsider. (I hope she didn't record over it!)
I am curious how this mass extinction plays out. More so than the end-of-the-empire years the US has now entrenced us in. (Although with nuclear weapons and a few madmen in control of 'em, end of the empire and mass extinction may in this case be synonymous, huh?)
Sadly, a "mass extinction" may be just what these high level diplomatic meetings actually produce. All previous mass extinctions were caused by powers beyond the doomed species' control. This one is arguably being caused by US. I find that ironic --
or, to quote Fran (above) "irony is irony and stupidity is stupidity"! OMG girl, that is about the funniest damn thing I've heard in a long time! Of course when you pal around with bush for so long, exercising your oil tanker with his oil rigging, I guess you gotta expect your brains to spring a leak, Condi.
Dada, while I like hearing that Putin handed Condi & whatshisname their asses, I get seriously creeped out by him. He's got the cold eyes of a predator eyeing up his prey. Bush must've been chugging the vodka pretty hard to have ever seen anything else.
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