Puppet MastersS


Caesar

Putting Putin's "soft authoritarianism" in perspective: Containing and balancing Russia's multifarious forces

putin stone
© Showtime

Comment: In Oliver Stone's Putin Interviews, Stone poses a question to Putin about the perception that Russia is not a democracy, but an authoritarian state. RBTH summarizes Putin's answer, where he compared the development of political systems to the development of an organism:
Concerning democracy, Putin said Russia is different from Western countries, which have century-old traditions of power changes. For hundreds of years Russia was ruled by an absolute monarchy, then for several decades it was ruled by Communists, and only in the 1990s did freedom finally arrive. "Certainly it cannot be expected that we would instantly have the same democratic model as in the U.S., Germany, or France," Putin admitted. "Societies must develop stage by stage, gradually."
Putin basically agreed that Russia was not democratic in the same ways as certain Western nations. The Russian president constitutionally has much more power than the American president. For example, Putin directly appoints regional governors, whereas in the U.S. state leaders are elected. But as Putin points out, Russia is not the U.S., and its democracy is only in its infancy - just over 2 decades. Keep all that in mind while reading the following account of the balancing act Putin must perform in ruling Russia.


As noted numerous times, Putin is not an all-powerful dictator. He is a soft authoritarian leader riding a relatively unstable or metastable 'sistema', state and society. One of his oft-discussed roles is as arbiter between institutions and elite clans seeking access to the state resource feeding trough. Another less discussed role is to balance various ideological orientations and political parties ranging across the entire political spectrum, state and society, allowing each to participate in Russia's political life within limits he largely sets. Some forces are allowed access to elements of power to one extent or another; others are kept at various distances from power centers and economic and financial resources controlled by the state, depending on their perceived controllability and potential to seriously weaken the regime should they defect to the opposition and thereby potentially threaten Putin's carefully balanced system. To be sure, when necessary Putin represses, but this must be done by carefully calibrating the extent to which he can repress and not provoke significant backlash.

Pistol

America has now been struck by radicalised liberal anti-Trump terrorism

trump cell phone
The ongoing information war against Donald Trump and his non-existent ties to Russia has become far more serious after today. The crisis now has physical victims, even though many see slain DNC worker Seth Rich as the first casualty of America's internal Cold War.

Today a lone-wolf terrorist gunman who openly spoke of the need to "destroy" Donald Trump ended up shooting five people at a local baseball game. The apparent primary target of the terrorist attack was House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a Republican.

The terrorist, a 65 year old US citizen called James Hodgkinson died in a local hospital after being neutralised by police.

James Hodgkinson was known as a man with strong views, something which in and of itself hardly ever leads to violence.

However, his hatred ended up turning into threats on social media.

Comment:


Attention

A tale of two leaders: May and Corbyn visit site of London tower fire

Jeremy Corbyn
© Neil Hall / Reuters Britain's opposition Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, visits the scene of a fire disaster, London, Britain June 15, 2017.
Prime Minister Theresa May made a private visit to the site of the Grenfell Tower blaze on Thursday, limiting her interactions to emergency workers. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, met with survivors and volunteers.

The PM arrived in the west London borough of Kensington and Chelsea on Thursday morning. She had initially planned a public engagement but in the end decided to appear privately.

She was shown around the cordoned-off area and met firefighters and police officers, but left before speaking to any local residents or victims of the tragedy, in which 17 people are confirmed to have died.

Attention

Putin: Russia ready to grant asylum to James Comey if he faces prosecution

James Comey
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
President Vladimir Putin says Russia is ready to grant James Comey asylum, and that the former FBI director "should be aware of that." He went on to question the difference between Comey and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
"[Comey] suddenly said he recorded a conversation with Trump, and then handed the tape over to the media, which is strange," Putin said during his annual Q&A session on Thursday, noting that the leak put Comey in a vulnerable position.

"What's the difference between him and Mr [Edward] Snowden then? He's a human rights activist then, not an intelligence chief," Putin said.

"At any rate, if this entails some kind of prosecutions against him [Comey], we are ready to grant him asylum in Russia. He should be aware of that," he added.

Dig

If Britain's Conservatives stick with Theresa May it will lead to election disaster

Theresa May
© European Press Agency
Clinging on to a discredited leader who has failed in the election is simply setting up the Conservatives for electoral disaster.

Still shell-shocked by an election result they never expected Britain's Conservatives are doing everything they can to ensure Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party wins the next election by a landslide.

The election left Britain's Conservatives seven seats short of a majority in the British Parliament, but still the biggest party, with the biggest share of the vote (42.5% to Labour's 40%) and the largest number of seats (318 to Labour's 262).

There is an anti-Labour majority in the British Parliament consisting of the Conservatives and the right wing Northern Irish Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (the DUP), which makes it impossible for Labour to form a government. The only possible government therefore is a Conservative government surviving with the support of the DUP.

Comment: Oh please, do keep her!
"Still shell-shocked by an election result they never expected Britain's Conservatives are doing everything they can to ensure Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party wins the next election by a landslide.'"



USA

The Afghanistan war racket

US soldiers Afghanistan
The United States will again escalate the war in Afghanistan.

Sixteen years ago the U.S, invaded the country and decided to eliminate the ruling Taliban for something that was planed elsewhere by a different group. Since the invasion the U.S. tried to defeat the Taliban. It has lost that fight. As soon as it leaves Afghanistan the Taliban will be back in power. But no one is willing to pull the plug on the nonsensical military approach.

The Taliban are part of Afghanistan and a significant segment of the population supports them. When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan it put the brutal and utterly corrupt warlords back into power. These were exactly the people the Taliban were created to hold down and the reason why they could take power in the first place. While demanding a strict religious life the Taliban successfully took care of local security and eliminated the lawless and corrupt rule of the warlords.

Fire

London politicians warned 'several times' about cladding fire risk to Grenfell Tower but ignored experts and residents

london Grenfell Tower fire
© Peter Nicholls / ReutersGrenfell Tower in London
Questions are mounting over opportunities that were potentially missed to prevent the deaths caused by the Grenfell Tower fire, after it emerged that ministers had been warned several times about the cladding used in the building's regeneration.

Fires in France, Australia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US have been linked to the aluminum composite panels used on the outside of the building.

Eyewitnesses of the west London tragedy have suggested that the fire spread quickly through the facade of the building because the cladding contained flammable polyethylene or a plastic core.

Three years ago, leading fire safety expert Arnold Tarling warned a meeting of the British Standards Institute that "this type of cladding fire" would soon take place in Britain and that it would lead to a large number of deaths.

Government fire safety advisor, Brian Martin, attended the event.

Comment: Huge fire engulfs West London Grenfell Tower apartment block - UPDATES


Vader

ISIS captures territory around once-Bin Laden stronghold Tora Bora in Afghanistan

Tora Bora mountains
© Getty ImagesView of the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan Michael Luongo
Islamic State fighters have captured a giant cave stronghold from the Taliban which was once Osama bin Laden's hideout in the early 2000s, Afghan officials have confirmed. The complex, called Tora Bora, still has strategic and symbolic importance.

Islamic State claimed its militants have already captured Tora Bora, AP reported. An audio message broadcast on the jihadists' Radio Khilafat late on Wednesday claimed that the battle is over.

Later in the day, Afghan officials acknowledged the seizure of Tora Bora.

Chess

Tories 'steadfastly' committed to N. Irish peace process with DUP deal - Sein Fein begs to differ

May Foster Tories DUP Brexit
© Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May and Arlene Foster
UK Prime Minister Theresa May insists the Conservatives are "steadfastly" committed to the hard-won Northern Irish peace process, despite holding controversial talks with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to prop up her minority government.

"We as Government remain absolutely steadfast in our commitment to the Belfast Agreement and the subsequent agreements," she told reporters during an official visit to France on Tuesday evening.

"We continue to work with all the parties in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in ensuring that we can continue to put in place those measures necessary to fulfil those agreements," she said.

May took up her familiar refrain, arguing the deal is vital to "give the stability to the UK Government that I think is necessary at this time."

Comment: The Tories' quest to retain power may yet reignite "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. Good going May!


Propaganda

Best of the Web: Politico report: Veterans Today and SouthFront turn American servicemembers and veterans into a fifth column

Fifth Column graphic
Politico, the most read "Capitol Hill" publication online, has released an investigation arguing that Veterans Today and SouthFront are shaking pillars of American society, foremost among them the military.

From our own point of view the article written by Ben Schreckinger provides another evidence of a high evaluation of our collaborative effort by mainstream media outlets and think tanks funded by corporates and governments. It explains why more and more people turn away from the mainstream coverage and analysis of the military and geo-political issues of our time.