Russophobia in media

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Originally Posted by Eric C.

Lots of people speak of Hitler when referring to Germany of the 1930s, or Saddam Hussein when referring to Iraq of the end of the 20th century. It's a feature of the English speaking culture if you will - to make fun and parodies of obnoxious dictators. It's real fun, and it may begin to sound funny to you too - if you try understanding it a bit harder. ;)

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Last couple of years British and US media try really hard to paint Russia black. And Stalin is used for that too, somehow they managed to connect Stalin and modern Russia, completely removing the fact the he's Georgian and he ruled USSR not Russia.

Recent examples of blackpainting
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-ra...n-song-contest
Topic says: "Sweden defeats Russia to grasp Eurovision song contest victory"
Defeats? That's a strange word for a song contest where 28 countries gathered together to entertain the world.
But it keeps getting better

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Sure, Polina Gagarina had a nice song. Ish. And she genuinely cried, at the end. A Million Voices, yadda yadda. Niceish tune disguising toxic international hypocrisy, hurrah!

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Polina even gets "boos" at the end. I mean, really?

A propaganda piece from last year
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...ence-secretary

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Putin could be as bad as Stalin, says former defence secretary

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Senior Labour MP Bob Ainsworth warns that Russia is a bigger threat to world peace than Isis

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ok, good to know what British MP thinks, IDK about rest of Britain but I don't hear disapproving voices.

The whole western propaganda thing is seriously wonky. And it's not just what they say but how they say it. It's always "Putin's Russia", "Putin's regime", "Putin's cronies", etc.
What has Russia done that's so bad anyway? Imo, Russia hasn't done anything that the US or Europe hasn't done or wouldn't do. Every sovereign nation has the right to defend itself, protect it's people, protect it's National interests, and manage it's own internal affairs. It's only warmongers that refuse to respect another nation's rights.

So what's the defense against being brainwashed? Imo, the best defense is to turn the words back at them. So just say "Obama's US", "Obama's regime", "Obama's cronies", etc. I mean Princeton University already proved that the US is ruled by Oligarchs so why not?

But it's totally embarrassing that our media is all filled up with those wonky phrases. And it's even more embarrassing when they try to mix politics with sports and entertainment. And hey, I'm not the only American that feels the way I do about Russia. So why are our thoughts missing in the media?
And now they are trying to convince people that Russians can't think without undesirable NGO's. Really?
Sorry, but no way I'll ever believe that the people who created the Bolshoi theatre, Aleksandr Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, the Vostok spacecraft with Yuri Gagarin, borscht, the RD-180 rocket engine, the Proton and Angara rockets, etc, and won the Battles of Borodino, Sevastopol, Berlin, etc, can't think.
But isn't that just another form of propaganda - to try to convince people that Russians can't think without help from foreign countries?

And it's also degrading to anyone that believes all the propaganda. It just proves that they can't make their own informed decisions. And it also attacks their honor.
Well, my honor says that if you have a friend you respect that friend. And that's what allies are - friends. I have friends that don't believe everything I believe and that's cool - they are still my friends. Imo, respect is the most important part of friendship.
So there's obviously something seriously wrong about the way our media and our politicians think.
That's why I agree with President Putin. Allies can only be friends on equal grounds and that needs to happen with Russia, the US, and Europe. The Russophobic propaganda needs to end. That kind of thinking can only lead to new wars and we have too many already.

Btw, Polina Gagarina's performance was excellent and so was the Tolmachevy Sisters last year. But mostly I just listen to bands like Nautilus Pompilius, B-2, DDT, and Semantic Hallucinations. Russophobes are missing a ton of really awesome sounds.

I want to thank you for giving sources for your examples of Russophobia in the media. I am a U.S. citizen who has asked on other sites for examples from other U.S. citizens when they write about Russophobia or how people in the U.S. only receive negative news about Russia. I ask because I have not seen only bad news about Russia in the U.S. press. What are they reading? It's outside my experience, so I want to know. I never get any answers. What am I to think? From experience, I have come to not take all comments on the internet as the truth if they contradict what I see and hear around me. If other citizens see things I don't, show me where to look!

I don't want a debate, I just have been taught to not except anything at 'face value.' I think it is similar to people responding to a person who is very religious talking about the existence of God: the religious person is often asked "what is your proof." In a similar way, I just want to see the sources of Western bias because I don't have time to read every newspaper or website based in Western media, especially as I am trying to read Russian newspapers and translating some of them is difficult for me:unknown:

The point is: I appreciate you showing some source material.

As a side note, the use of the word "defeated" is often used in sports or competition here where I live: for example if Detroit's baseball team wins the a baseball competition and was competing against the Lansing team I would think nothing of reading the sentence "Detroit defeats Lansing in the ... series." The term is not always used in a military way of an actual defeat of an enemy: two teams competed with each other, one lost and one won because one team 'defeated' the other, it's a victory! It's a subtle difference but this is how some writers would use the word 'defeat' in this case. The word 'defeat' is more colorful, more expressive than writing "Hey, Detroit won."

However, in our present world I do see how the choice of wording was not good if the writer was using the word in a neutral way. Mary

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Originally Posted by maryo

As a side note, the use of the word "defeated" is often used in sports or competition here where I live: for example if Detroit's baseball team wins the a baseball competition and was competing against the Lansing team I would think nothing of reading the sentence "Detroit defeats Lansing in the ... series." The term is not always used in a military way of an actual defeat of an enemy: two teams competed with each other, one lost and one won because one team 'defeated' the other, it's a victory! It's a subtle difference but this is how some writers would use the word 'defeat' in this case. The word 'defeat' is more colorful, more expressive than writing "Hey, Detroit won."

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When two commands get together and compete the logical outcome is that one command might defeat the other one.
Eurovision had 28 contestants from different countries not 2 but somehow only Russia gets defeated. It's simply logical to conclude that it was Russia vs the rest of contestants, according to the author. Now the bigger question is, should Russians feel threatened by those 27 countries (let's not forget all the boos Polina has got) and are those countries hostile toward Russia? That's the message that the Guardian wanted to deliver to the readers and that's no more than propaganda.

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Originally Posted by hddscan

Recent examples of blackpainting
Sweden defeats Russia to grasp Eurovision song contest victory | Television & radio | The Guardian
Topic says: "Sweden defeats Russia to grasp Eurovision song contest victory"
Defeats? That's a strange word for a song contest where 28 countries gathered together to entertain the world.

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Fun fact: Russia actually beat Sweden by viewer votes. Italy came in first (366), followed by Russia (286) and then Sweden (279). Sweden "won" because of the jury votes.

Published here: https://eurovisiontimes.wordpress.co...he-televoting/
Based on the full data set of the results found here: http://www.eurovision.tv/page/results

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Originally Posted by hddscan

When two commands get together and compete the logical outcome is that one command might defeat the other one.
Eurovision had 28 contestants from different countries not 2 but somehow only Russia gets defeated. It's simply logical to conclude that it was Russia vs the rest of contestants, according to the author. Now the bigger question is, should Russians feel threatened by those 27 countries (let's not forget all the boos Polina has got) and are those countries hostile toward Russia? That's the message that the Guardian wanted to deliver to the readers and that's no more than propaganda.

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By the time Russia was "defeated", every other country except Sweden had already lost the contest. So, it was a rivalry of the two at that point, and obviously, one or another was to have "defeated" the other one.

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Originally Posted by Eric C.

By the time Russia was "defeated", every other country except Sweden had already lost the contest. So, it was a rivalry of the two at that point, and obviously, one or another was to have "defeated" the other one.

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By the time the article was published every country except Sweden was already "defeated", so your point of a particular timeframe is somewhat illogical. It would be more logical if it would be several articles before and if Sweden and Russian would only be two countries in the finals. More problems come when you look at the quote from the article in my first post, the quote shows hostility to Polina Gagarina, also author somehow was able to squeeze "toxic international hypocrisy" into the songs contest.

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Originally Posted by hddscan

By the time the article was published every country except Sweden was already "defeated", so your point of a particular timeframe is somewhat illogical. It would be more logical if it would be several articles before and if Sweden and Russian would only be two countries in the finals. More problems come when you look at the quote from the article in my first post, the quote shows hostility to Polina Gagarina, also author somehow was able to squeeze "toxic international hypocrisy" into the songs contest.

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So are you basically saying by this that the entire world is turning up against Russia, or you simply deny the writer's right to have his own opinion on a particular subject? Either way, further explanation would be quite interesting. =))

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Originally Posted by maryo

..... I am a U.S. citizen who has asked on other sites for examples from other U.S. citizens when they write about Russophobia or how people in the U.S. only receive negative news about Russia..... I ask because I have not seen only bad news about Russia in the U.S. press. What are they reading?.... If other citizens see things I don't, show me where to look!....

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And I wanna know what you're reading too. I haven't seen those positive news feeds in the mainstream American media. It would be really cool to read them.
My sources are:
1. The Washington Post
2. The New York Times
3. Forbes
4. Reuters
5. The Associated Press
6. The Los Angeles Times
7. CNN
8. Fox News (the worst)
9. Business Insider
10. The BBC - But their Russian articles were so weird, I stopped reading them.

Those are the ones I read the most. I'll give at least one example for each.

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Originally Posted by maryo

.....I don't have time to read every newspaper or website based in Western media, especially as I am trying to read Russian newspapers and translating some of them is difficult for me.....

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I have the time. I'm a speed reader. The brain can absorb information faster by simple word recognition and association.
The same thing applies when learning another language.
My Russian news sources are:
1. Rossiyskaya Gazeta
2. Komsomolskaya Pravda - Btw, it has a really cool section about growing veggies.
3. Krasnaya Zvezda
4. Moskovsky Komsomolets
5. Argumenty i Facty
6. Russia Today
7. Pravda
8. Sputnik International

If you hear and use words enough, you always remember them.

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Originally Posted by maryo

.....As a side note, the use of the word "defeated" is often used in sports or competition here where I live.....

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Well, "destroyed" would be the word to use... if you're hanging out at a local club. But Eurovision isn't a local dance club so no reason to tear it up, right?
So who invitied Brokncyde or Does It Offend You Yeah to the Eurovision finals... LOL! I mean I seriously doubt that it should get that skanky.
But yeah, there was booing in the crowd. I couldn't believe it... dead! 2 words - Totally rude! Варвар!

Okay, so I'm not perfect, right? And I've been on lock-down a lot at home but hey, I wouldn't even boo or use words like "defeated" at a formal social function.
And it was never a "fight" between Sweden and Russia. It was just a multi-cultural social function for audiophiles.
Imo, a cool headline woulda been "Sweden Owned Eurovision". That doesn't target other contestants and it totally is more "achievement" oriented.
Music isn't a conquest - well, unless you're all over metal, right?

EXAMPLES OF WESTERN MEDIA RUSSOPHOBIA:

1. The Washington Post - 21 May 2015

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Rather than confirm Mr. Kerry’s wishful assertion that cooperation is possible, Mr. Putin’s followers are crowing about what they describe as an American climb-down. Having failed to change Russian policy with sanctions and isolation, they say, President Obama has accepted that he must court the Kremlin and concede its core demands. Russian officials and media pointedly noted that Mr. Kerry did not challenge the Russian annexation of Crimea — the signal achievement of Mr. Putin’s aggression — in the talks.

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The U.S. Continues To Send The Wrong Message To Russia

2. The New York Times - 22 May 2015

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But Mr. Putin has put so much pressure on Ukraine and the five other countries to back away from any shift toward the West that the European Union on Friday declared its Riga meeting a success simply because leaders had managed to stand still.

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Russia Casts A Shadow Over European Meeting

3. Forbes Magazine - 7 January 2015

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This year will be a tough one for Vladimir Putin as the Russian people come to better understand the huge social and economic costs of his Ukraine venture. Putin has violated his pledge of growth and prosperity. He has lost Ukraine and has turned Russia into a rogue state. The sanctions combined with low oil prices have created a perfect storm of declining living standards and double digit inflation that is draining Russia of its reserves. Russia now lacks the resources for a Novorossiya campaign (which the Russian people show little interest anyway). Putin has created the opportunity for a new Ukraine and for regime change at home. We must wonder, like President Obama does, whether this guy is smart after all.

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Will 2015 Be A Turning Point For Putin And His Regime?

4. Reuters - Today

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Germany protested to Russia on Monday over Moscow's refusal to let a conservative German lawmaker into the country, a decision the Foreign Ministry criticized as unacceptable, in the latest sign of East-West tensions over the Ukraine crisis.
Karl-Georg Wellmann, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and head of the German-Ukraine parliamentary group, had called Russia a "warmonger" earlier this year for supporting separatist forces in Ukraine, which Moscow denies.
Wellmann, who has called for tougher sanctions against Russia, told Reuters he spent the whole of Sunday night in the transit section of a Moscow airport and flew home the next morning, having been told he was not allowed to enter the country until 2019. He said no reason was given.
He said that he had a diplomatic passport to enter Russia, and had planned to meet Russian and German embassy officials.
"I wasn't planning to meet any opposition leaders or demonstrators," he told Reuters. "Evidently I was stopped by certain powers."

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Germany protests 'unacceptable' ejection of Merkel party MP from Moscow

And all Wellmann wanted to do was start a Color Revolution in Russia. How unfair! Now the Russian people will miss out on all that bloodshed and violence!
Btw, has anyone seen the massive list of Russians that are denied entry in European countries and the US?
But somehow it's wrong if it's Russia that does it......

5. The Associated Press - Today

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The exercise is part of a series of Russian military maneuvers taking place amid tensions with the West over Russian actions in Ukraine. The current drills are preparation for even more massive Center-2015 maneuvers set for later this year.

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Russia Launches Massive Air Force Exercise With 250 Aircraft

So the message here is that it's okay if the US launches military exercises in Korea amid the North-South tensions - But it's not okay if Russia has exercises in it's own country.

6. The Los Angeles Times - 2 May 2015

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Still, hostile words emanating from Moscow, an escalation of Russian warplane intrusions into or near NATO airspace and incidents like the September abduction of an Estonian security official along the Russian border have eroded Latvians' confidence that the Western military bloc would protect them from the stealth intrusions and disinformation that Russia has used to destabilize Ukraine.

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Latvia, With A Large Minority Of Russians, Worries About Putin's Goals

So when was this famous Russia-Latvia war? I totally did miss that. Also, I'm totally certain it was the Euromaidan that destabilized Ukraine, not Russia.

7. CNN - Today

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At the center of Roscosmos' problems is the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome. The new space launch site in the eastern part of the country was originally set to open by the end of this year, and its first manned missions were planned for 2018.
But the project has suffered a series of setbacks because of funding problems and alleged corruption. Golikova, the audit chief, said construction costs have ballooned by 20%. Several criminal cases are under way over corruption allegations.
The cosmodrome is crucial for Russia's ability to launch rockets. The country still relies on the Soviet-era Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for its space travel.

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$1.8 Billion Disappears In Russian Space Program

This one is totally bizarre! It's the Russian Federation that kept the International Space Station manned and successful since it's conception, not the US or Europe.
Also, the US doesn't even have a working space program.
And btw, rockets are also launched from Plesetsk in Arkhangelsk. Baikonur is NOT Russia's only means for launching rockets.
So if a rocket crashes in the US then that's a mechanical issue. But if one fails in Russia then it's corruption? I totally do NOT get that... period!
All the article proves is that Russia IS fighting corruption.

8. Fox News - 26 April 2015

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That Obama’s emails were obtained by Russian hackers in particular – presumed to be linked to the Russian government – caused the intrusion to be seen as so serious that officials met on a nearly daily basis for several weeks afterwards, The Times reported.
“It’s the Russian angle to this that’s particularly worrisome,” a senior US official told The Times.
While the White House is hit by daily cyber attacks, primarily from Russia and China, the hacking occurred at a time of renewed tension with Russia, particularly over the crisis in Ukraine and Russia's military patrols in Europe.

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Russian Hackers Obtained Obama's Unclassified Emails, Report Says

So if the NSA listens to Merkel's private phone then it's "National Security". But if Russia does something similar then it's "hacking".
Does the phrase "double standard" have any meaning in Washington DC's life?

9. Business Insider - 12 November 2014

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Back in 1939, Winston Churchill famously remarked that Russia was "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."
For most people, his words ring true to this day.
Although Russia is the largest country in the world and has the eighth-largest GDP, little is widely known about the nation and its culture.

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30 Crazy Things You Didn't Know About Russia

Churchill. The same dude that tried to get the US to nuke the USSR in a surprise attack... After the Russians defeated the Nazis in the Battle of Berlin.
Imo, Churchill was the riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. So maybe he was looking at a mirror when he said that.

And those are a lot friendlier than their news feeds last year. And they are considered to be the most successful and reputable western news services.
I refuse to read anything else from the BBC but you can find their propaganda by typing the search term "BBC on Russia".

If you need any more examples of Russophobia in the western media, just ask. I have a huge collection of links for all those sources.

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Originally Posted by UhOhXplode

Music isn't a conquest - well, unless you're all over metal, right?

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I still remember how those humble Finnish guys pwned them all at Eurovision 2006. =)) I thought back then they had set a bar for the contest, which their followers would keep up with, but unfortunately, we all saw what followed next. xD Anyway, now if I watch it, I do expect some conquest and battle, or would you assume I would watch it coz I'm a great fan of that sort of music? :D

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Originally Posted by Eric C.

So are you basically saying by this that the entire world is turning up against Russia

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Not the entire world but some countries

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Originally Posted by Eric C.

or you simply deny the writer's right to have his own opinion on a particular subject?

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He's a journalist not a fiction writer. Journalists should not put their own opinions to news, they should report facts, otherwise it's not news but biased opinion or even propaganda, thank you for confirming that you think so too.

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Originally Posted by Eric C.

I still remember how those humble Finnish guys pwned them all at Eurovision 2006. =)) I thought back then they had set a bar for the contest, which their followers would keep up with, but unfortunately, we all saw what followed next. xD Anyway, now if I watch it, I do expect some conquest and battle, or would you assume I would watch it coz I'm a great fan of that sort of music? :D

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LOL! No way! xD Epic cosplay, btw. (the Finnish band) :thumbs: But yeah, that bar fell. It's so too emo now.
Anyway, I'll watch Eurovision more if they'll back bands like this :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO-JbFtgeX4

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Karl-Georg Wellmann, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and head of the German-Ukraine parliamentary group, had called Russia a "warmonger" earlier this year for supporting separatist forces in Ukraine, which Moscow denies.
Wellmann, who has called for tougher sanctions against Russia, told Reuters he spent the whole of Sunday night in the transit section of a Moscow airport and flew home the next morning, having been told he was not allowed to enter the country until 2019. He said no reason was given.

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Germany protests 'unacceptable' ejection of Merkel party MP from Moscow | Reuters

So, Russia hits back and it doesn't help the dialog.

This sort of "russians are the bad guys" thinking has been standard in America since the Cold War. Even if we mask it with jokes about vodka and bears, Americans' actually idea of Russia is scary.

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Originally Posted by UhOhXplode

The whole western propaganda thing is seriously wonky. And it's not just what they say but how they say it. It's always "Putin's Russia", "Putin's regime", "Putin's cronies", etc.
What has Russia done that's so bad anyway? Imo, Russia hasn't done anything that the US or Europe hasn't done or wouldn't do. Every sovereign nation has the right to defend itself, protect it's people, protect it's National interests, and manage it's own internal affairs. It's only warmongers that refuse to respect another nation's rights.

So what's the defense against being brainwashed? Imo, the best defense is to turn the words back at them. So just say "Obama's US", "Obama's regime", "Obama's cronies", etc. I mean Princeton University already proved that the US is ruled by Oligarchs so why not?

But it's totally embarrassing that our media is all filled up with those wonky phrases. And it's even more embarrassing when they try to mix politics with sports and entertainment. And hey, I'm not the only American that feels the way I do about Russia. So why are our thoughts missing in the media?
And now they are trying to convince people that Russians can't think without undesirable NGO's. Really?
Sorry, but no way I'll ever believe that the people who created the Bolshoi theatre, Aleksandr Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, the Vostok spacecraft with Yuri Gagarin, borscht, the RD-180 rocket engine, the Proton and Angara rockets, etc, and won the Battles of Borodino, Sevastopol, Berlin, etc, can't think.
But isn't that just another form of propaganda - to try to convince people that Russians can't think without help from foreign countries?

And it's also degrading to anyone that believes all the propaganda. It just proves that they can't make their own informed decisions. And it also attacks their honor.
Well, my honor says that if you have a friend you respect that friend. And that's what allies are - friends. I have friends that don't believe everything I believe and that's cool - they are still my friends. Imo, respect is the most important part of friendship.
So there's obviously something seriously wrong about the way our media and our politicians think.
That's why I agree with President Putin. Allies can only be friends on equal grounds and that needs to happen with Russia, the US, and Europe. The Russophobic propaganda needs to end. That kind of thinking can only lead to new wars and we have too many already.

Btw, Polina Gagarina's performance was excellent and so was the Tolmachevy Sisters last year. But mostly I just listen to bands like Nautilus Pompilius, B-2, DDT, and Semantic Hallucinations. Russophobes are missing a ton of really awesome sounds.

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Please do not ban me for this defense of Putin. You know who these people are who hate Putin so much? These are closet communists in the American government who hate Putin for his statement which divided the world between good and evil, Putin and his cohorts having been good: " There is no alternative to democratic capitalism"- Putin. True!

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Originally Posted by xXHoax

This sort of "russians are the bad guys" thinking has been standard in America since the Cold War. Even if we mask it with jokes about vodka and bears, Americans' actually idea of Russia is scary.

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Agreed, I think many people I have come across can't believe I lived in Russia for a month. Or even that I just went there in the first place. Its like it is taboo. Of course not all people are like that.

Of course, there are misfits. One reason why Putin has to rehash his image over and over again as moderate Left sympathizer despite his animosity with it because if not, the misfits should have been in power. Millions died under Josef Stalin and nobody, I repeat, nobody among Gennady's followers apologized. If you become poor, blame it on Putin despite you having been a violent drunkard.:lol: I am poor. I don't blame it on the capitalist. I blame it on myself. I did not study well. The stress you experience at university is only 10% of the stress you will experience in the workplace. A lot of people know this but still remain irresponsible procrastinating on their studies to drink and pick up girls in university like me. Do not eavesdrop on your fellow officemates. Behave responsibly on the workplace. Whatever their political opinions are not for communist fellow workers to mind and make them an object of harassment and provocation like workplaces in Canada. Those are not office matters.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/news/...E&ocid=sk2mdhp

Why do Leftists get fired in the workplace? It got nothing to do with political ideology. It got to do with economic sabotage. Read the above. Ohhh, plenty of businesses go down because of closet communist workers. Read the draft plan of Vladimir Lenin on company sabotage. Don't tell me that 'slow downs' are not part and parcel of economic sabotage. There are other venues like court tribunals or labour department to air your grievances. There are a lot of trade union lawyers. You do not have to slow down to reduce production. Common sense.

If you are not meant for the office, this I tell you, a lot of Arab carpenters here in Canada are multi-millionaires, setting up their own carpentry shops. If you know that you have poor lifestyle management, you should be aware you have and solve your money problems. Learn how to take hold of money so that you will not 'blame Putin for your misery'. Filipina market vendors can send their children to universities. So can you.

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Originally Posted by dinlot

Of course, there are misfits. One reason why Putin has to rehash his image over and over again as moderate Left sympathizer despite his animosity with it because if not, the misfits should have been in power. Millions died under Josef Stalin and nobody, I repeat, nobody among Gennady's followers apologized. If you become poor, blame it on Putin despite you having been a violent drunkard.:lol: I am poor. I don't blame it on the capitalist. I blame it on myself. I did not study well. The stress you experience at university is only 10% of the stress you will experience in the workplace. A lot of people know this but still remain irresponsible procrastinating on their studies to drink and pick up girls in university like me. Do not eavesdrop on your fellow officemates. Behave responsibly on the workplace. Whatever their political opinions are not for communist fellow workers to mind and make them an object of harassment and provocation like workplaces in Canada. Those are not office matters.

Volkswagen Canada halts sales after emissions scandal

Why do Leftists get fired in the workplace? It got nothing to do with political ideology. It got to do with economic sabotage. Read the above. Ohhh, plenty of businesses go down because of closet communist workers. Read the draft plan of Vladimir Lenin on company sabotage. Don't tell me that 'slow downs' are not part and parcel of economic sabotage. There are other venues like court tribunals or labour department to air your grievances. There are a lot of trade union lawyers. You do not have to slow down to reduce production. Common sense.

If you are not meant for the office, this I tell you, a lot of Arab carpenters here in Canada are multi-millionaires, setting up their own carpentry shops. If you know that you have poor lifestyle management, you should be aware you have and solve your money problems. Learn how to take hold of money so that you will not 'blame Putin for your misery'. Filipina market vendors can send their children to universities. So can you.

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What does all this have anything to do with the topic?

Deleted. L.

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Originally Posted by dinlot

Deleted. L.

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Dinlot is banned for three days for trolling and anti-Semitic posting.

Thank you for giving me only 3 days suspension, sir Lampada. I am back and eager to start over again having my grammar corrected. I will no longer involve myself on politics and anti-Semitism.

Well, after listening to western remarks - or was somebody quoting Mein Kampf? - at the UN General Assembly, it's very clear now how most of the Russophobic media originates. Any country that wants "world order" on their terms only, will target any other country that opposes their dreams of global domination. Intelligence services are skilled at disseminating disinformation to achieve their goals. Apparently, Palestine raising it's flag, on Wednesday, at the United Nations somehow threatens that domination dream, as well. As for me, I will be watching and cheering as the Palestinian flag is raised. Imo, the UN should be a venue for dialogue and world order, not a venue for neurotic dreams of exceptionalism or world conquest.
Disinformation is a powerful tool. It has been used to generate popular support for geonocides and is now being used to target specific peoples and countries. It is also being used now to curb the learning potentials of students in schools - there are no educated pawns to control. But fortunately the EU - and especially Germany - are starting to realize how many regional and global issues can't be resolved without Russia. To resolve those issues and ensure regional security, the disinformation campaign targetting Russia must end. I will be watching for that to happen - at least in Europe.

Deleted. L.

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Originally Posted by dinlot

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Dinlot is banned for 7 day for trolling and flaming

So tiresome that people bring Hitler and Stalin into this discussion about modern 21st century Russia! Please don't do it here!
That's the level of discourse that the Western bias would like the discussion to be at! IMO it adds nothing we don't already know. Whether you are defending Russia, or criticising it, these personages belong in historical threads

Another thing I am thoroughly fed up with in Western and media and online, is the following:

• As soon as any Russian person defends his country, he is accused of being "brainwashed" by Putin's propaganda, and similar ridiculous statements. Or he is a "Putin stooge", if it's an official person.
• As soon as any Western person challenges the propaganda vignette of Russia online, they are accused of being a "Russian psy-ops agent", "troll factory worker" or similar.

This is so devious, because it aborts the discussion without the person not even having to counter the argument. All that's needed is to accuse the opponent of not being genuine. At the same time the US is developing bots and and a batallion of staff to skew online discourse. In addition to funding media such as Radio Free Europe and various more subtle approaches to manipulating the discourse.


Coming across some of my old posts here, I actually saw this new anti-Russia climate coming, back in 2010! Sad when a negative prediction like this comes true.

It's obvious to me that somebody in the US wants the Cold War back: they've got all mainstream media with them.

European countries and media, having stopped thinking for themselves - get the news about Russia from US media and press releases. Instead of, say, going to Russia and drawing their own conclusions!
Why are we getting our news and views about Russia from the USA! Russians are our neighbours! We can judge Russia ourselves, and form our own relationships.

What is the goal of these US led agitators? Divide and conquer? Increase weapons sales...? Something else?
I don't really see it. But whatever it is, it's destructive.

I have long since started seeing the US as the bully and aggressor in world politics, and Russia as the least bad of the major powers. Russia correctly predicted the outcome of interference in Libya, Syria, Iraq etc. Russia's media reports more honestly about many aspects of European politics and news, than do European media themselves.

I find the situation very, very sad - for us Europeans, and for the Russians! After the Cold War the hopes were so high for friendship and understanding across the whole continent. But now we are back to lies, propaganda and scaremongering again.

There is one single fact that should be added to all this crazy stuff about "Putin's aggression" "Putin's regime", "Putin's propaganda" etc in the Western media to get the point.

The fact is: all Putin's' oligarchs keep their money in Western banks.


The picture can be attributed not only to Russians and Ukrainians, but to all nations:

Attachment 1219

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RedFox

There is one single fact that should be added to all this crazy stuff about "Putin's aggression" "Putin's regime", "Putin's propaganda" etc in the Western media to get the point.

The fact is: all Putin's' oligarchs keep their money in Western banks.


The picture can be attributed not only to Russians and Ukrainians, but to all nations:

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Sorry I don't understand. What's the exact relevance of the Russian oligarchs keeping their money in Western banks?

So according to me, the Russians can do whatever they like in their own country. Whether Putin is a dictator or not doesn't matter to me. It's obvious that most Russians prefer him over the altarnatives, either way. Democracy in many ways, is an illusion. As long as Russia is stable with good living conditions for its people, I don't care.

The Ukraine situation is very complex and although I don't think Russia is completely innocent, it didn't start any of the problems. The South Ossetia situation I simply don't consider Russia to be the aggressor. Either way - Russia is not guilty of a fraction of the suffering in the world that the US has created recently.

My main criticism against Russia (although it's really none of my business) would be:

1) Corruption
2) Income differences - I.e. poor pensioners and rural dwellers vs oligarchs. Should not be allowed imo. But this is true for half the world, not just Russia!
3) Environmental policies should be stronger. (again, Russia is no worse than half the rest of the world on this, including the US).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hanna

,,, European countries and media, having stopped thinking for themselves - get the news about Russia from US media and press releases. Instead of, say, going to Russia and drawing their own conclusions!
Why are we getting our news and views about Russia from the USA!,,,
What is the goal of these US led agitators? Divide and conquer? Increase weapons sales...? Something else?
I don't really see it. But whatever it is, it's destructive...

---

Well, the first part is easy to answer. Consumerism and apathy.
An Apple employee in China offed himself because he knew he could never afford to buy an iPhone. And a lot of people in the US have more than one job. Wages are kept low enough that people don't have very much free time to learn what they really need to know. If I didn't have so much money thrown at me, I probably wouldn't have very much free time to learn anything either. And advertising. Nobody's cool unless they have iPhone, a late model Ferrari, and hangout with celebs, right? Money, money, and more money.
Corporations get all the money, most of the people have to choose between food and insurance, and everyone becomes corporate pawns who care more about products and fame than they do about personal honor or pride.

And apathy. Most people in the US are either Democrats or Republicans because other parties never win. So now those 2 parties = winners and winners must be right. But the international narrative of the 2 parties is almost identical.
Well, people don't have time to learn and the leaders they respect are all saying the same thing. People who have no time to learn - and no way to ever win if they did - will probably just believe whatever their leaders tell them and those views are all over the news.

For the part in bold - whatever the goal is, it's pointless. Russia is highly evolved and very much a part of almost everything happening on the planet. And from the legitimate polls I've seen, the Russian people are very proud of their culture and their country. Imo, it's not "Putin's Russia" that we are seeing - It's "the Russian peoples' Russia". So even if something happened to Putin, I totally believe that Russia would continue very much the same as it is now.
I hope that's true. Despite everything our country and Europe has done, a member here helped me with my Russian grammar today - that's why I edited my signature. They didn't have to help me but they did and that's very cool. Stuff like that is worth a ton more than any iPhone or Ferrari. So the world needs countries like Russia if only to remind us that there's more important stuff in life than consumerism and money.
What's really sad is all the time that's wasted on useless propaganda that could have been used for people and friends.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hanna

Sorry I don't understand. What's the exact relevance of the Russian oligarchs keeping their money in Western banks?

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In this thread, as well as at this website as a whole, we talk about USA, Russia, France, Germany etc as if they were real players of the world policy. "USA did that". "Russia does that". "France says these things". Worse yet, we take it personally, as though they were our parents or friends. We call it "patriotism", but it is just nonsence and insanity.
Goverments are not our friends, and they do not care about us. The only thing they care about is money.

When we talk about international relationships and policy, there are no such independent beings as "Putin", "Russian government", "Russian politics" and so on. As well as there are no such things in western countries too.
Putin has no real power since he has no real control over "his" money.

The world is ruled by corporations, that control financial system, natural resources, industries and media.

Nationality (as well as patriotism, religion etc) is just one more thing that is used to control people. Europeans can hate Russians, Russians can hate Ukrainians, Serbs can hate Croats and so on, if it is economically profitable for our rulers. And those rulers are the same, no matter if you live in Russia, Ukraine or Sweden.

That is my point.

Привет, Ханночка!
Привет, RedFox!
Привет всем!

Хочу напомнить, что у нас есть правило об использовании русского языка во всех разделах, за исключением нескольких:
"9 - All posts must be in English or Russian, except for the special "Beyond Russian" section of the forum where you can use several other languages.".

Я не буду сильно настаивать на его соблюдении, но я знаю, что раздел Политики был создан с целью помощи студентам знакомиться с политической терминологией и уже заодно получать представление о российской политике.

Well the winds are turning and more and more people are beginning to see that they can trust Russian media to repeat the important stories that mainstream will ignore.

I can't say how good or bad Russian media are at domestic news. But right now I am seeing more honesty about Europe and the Middle East from Russian media than any other media I have access to.