August 15, 2008
Elaine Meinel Supkis
The recent tsunami of lies, misdirections and outright propaganda in the US media has swamped reality here. So it is time for us to go backwards, via my many cartoons, to see what actually happened this last 4 years between Russia and America. By no means are these excerpts from my blog all the postings I have done on this topic. They were too many. But the cartoons, set here from the earliest to the most recent, let us see pretty clearly how US/Russian relations deteriorated. From the very beginning, the US plan was to either destroy Russia as a country or to turn back the clock to the Cold War. All the flim-flam about Bush being friends with Putin was pure propaganda as we see in my own postings here.
Pootie-Poot Comes Home to Roost, By Dan Froomkin
Jennifer Loven writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush is guiding U.S. relations with Russia in a decidedly confrontational direction, evoking memories of Cold War bitterness."It's a marked turnabout from the sense-of-his-soul epiphany the president had seven years ago when he declared that Vladimir Putin was a trustworthy partner on the global stage. With only five months left in the Bush presidency, there is little time to repair damage in relations, much less capitalize on a new approach to make progress together on hotspots like Iran or North Korea. . . .
"'The administration is a bit behind the curve on this. They didn't understand what was coming,' said Janusz Bugajski, director of a new European democracies project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. . . .
"Putin is the only world leader who landed the Bush-reward trifecta: visits to the president's Texas ranch, the Camp David retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains and his parents' summer home in Maine. Bush even risked losing some of his democratic-reformer credentials by agreeing to attend Putin's lavish Red Square anniversary celebration in 2005 of Soviet victory in World War II.
I mocked Bush standing there while Putin put on his retro-Stalinist parade. It was a reminder as to who really fought the Nazis all the way into Berlin and who defeated them, utterly. If the US didn't do D-Day, Russian arms would have ended up in Paris again just like when they defeated Napoleon. The Washington Post here has tried to do a comprehensive history of the Bush/Putin relationship while not once, actually referring to past news stories.
This is a common tactic of warmongering media reporters in the US: they interview the usual suspects who are all warmongers. All of them give their various propaganda takes on the past. All end up lying in small or huge ways. None are checked for veracity. So here are a number of my own reports from 2005 onwards. The cartoons say it all!
April 20, 2005: Condi Practices Diplomacy With Pootie Poot
The NYT was gloating over how beautiful Condi was with her kick-ass boots and marital outfits. The Times swooned over her strength and power she projected. The Russians were not impressed. A month earlier, Bush told the media, he had a pet name for Putin: Pootie Poot. The ruler of Russia was not amused. I no longer have the photos of Putin giving Bush the look of death whenever Bush's back was turned. It was painfully obvious that Putin despised Bush. But was trying to be 'diplomatic'. Bush, as usual, being a monkey, thought this was being 'friendly'.
On HUGE propaganda game the media plays with our heads is the concept that Bush and McCain are personal buddies of world leaders and thus, have a good diplomatic standing with everyone such as Hu or Putin. This is a childish and very stupid reading of what 'diplomacy' really is! Putin and Hu will smile and shake hands because they are diplomats. When Bush engineered the sneak attack on Russian troops this week, Putin was visibly very angry. Bush was visibly very clueless looking. Time to go back to early 2005:
November 10, 2005: Russia and China Increase Joint Space Cooperation While USA Slides
The Putin/Hu relationship took off rapidly, like a rocket. Hu even rolled out the very finest red carpets for Putin when they had a joint state visit. Unlike the ugly, twisted affairs thrown by the Bush family, these were very formal occasions with 20 gun salutes, marching bands, ranks of officials lining the street, etc. The WP and NYT mistakes the 'informal' stuff of Bush as being 'friendly' instead of insulting. Because both Russia and China were alternately wooing or sizing up the US, they both tolerated this too-gross familiarity. But they obviously were relaxed and greatly pleased with each other's much more formal visits. Both Hu and Putin love formalities and relish the honors is bestows upon them.
December 3, 2005: Russia Leverages Power By Sharing Space Technology
At the base of all this are rockets and nuclear bombs. The US hysteria over Iran is a common theme. I am not including the zillions of cartoons I drew about Iran, Iraq, North Korea and the US screeching about nuclear bombs. Maybe later.
January 6, 2006:Putin Won Judo Contest with USA: Government of Ukraine Just Fell
The Russians liked my cartoon. I was kind of surprised. Seems Putin likes having people think of him as a sort of severe, strong person.
January, 2006: Putin Announces New Nuclear Missile System That Can Evade Star Wars Defences
Star Wars bothers both Russia and China. This is a neocon US scheme to make it impossible for anyone to nuke the US while the US nukes anyone who dares to challenge our domination of all world resources and finances. From day one, I have been 100% against the Star Wars programs. This is because the only way our rivals can destroy us is to do what we like to do: sneak attacks. So if they destroy us in WWIII before we can lock them down, they will. If we work with them to disarm ourselves, we avoid this hideous potential fate. Why we chose the 'get vicious' route is all about the neocon ideology of the New World Order.
February 1, 2006: Putin Sides With Hamas, Chides USA World Domination Efforts
This is the huge problem: Putin gave support to Iran and Palestine. This is what set our media on a long, three year screech fest against Russia.
March, 2006: White Knight For Palestine, Putin, Rides To The Rescue Of Hamas
March 18, 2006:USA Isn't Containing China, Only Annoying China
March 22, 2006: Hu And Wen Roll Out Red Carpet For Putin
April 21, 2006: AMERICA Is World's Biggest Currency Manipulator, NOT China!
April 24, 2006:The Growing Power of The Shanghai Cooperation Organization
McCain Wants To Alienate China And Russia If They Refuse USA Attacks On Iran
This is a reminder to everyone that McCain has been a hysterical warmongering chipmunk for a long, long time. He isn't some friendly guy who suddenly changed this year.
May 4, 2006: Cheney Demands Democracy For Russia And Dictatorial Rule For America
May 14, 2006: Rice And Russian Sec. of State, Lavrov, Fight Over Dinner
November 15, 2006: Bush visits Putin in Moscow, seeking support
President George W. Bush, eager to obtain Russian help in nuclear disputes with North Korea and Iran, tended to the sometimes frosty Washington-Moscow relationship Wednesday by paying a quick call on President Vladimir Putin.Bush paused to visit Putin for an hour and a half at an airport stopover on his way to Asia in an eight-day trip that is to include stays in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. Bush has meetings scheduled with several important allies on the sidelines of a summit meeting of Pacific Rim leaders in Hanoi later this week. Bush and Putin are to meet again Sunday at those talks.
January 22, 2007: Mainstream Pundits Begin To Notice Condi Rice Is Incompetent
March, 2007: Putin Is Hiding His Intentions With Iran From USA View
April 26, 2007: Condi Calls Russia 'The Soviet Union'
June 6, 2007: Washington Post Owner/War Criminal Attacks Putin
Img src="https://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/06/miz_liberty_berates_russian_bear.jpg">
July 2, 2007: Libby Free, Bush Wrangles With Putin, China Goes Forwards
October, 2007: Mad People Wielding Razor Blades Destroying US Diplomacy
Putin calls our government 'mad people wielding razor blades.' How apt. As we increase the pressure on Iran Kitty, Russia laughs as world oil prices shoot higher. We just made both Russia AND Iran stronger. Time to examine China's many diplomatic fronts and actions. Turkey is about to head off to the Axis of Smart Diplomats: Russia and China. Our blundering leaders are destroying every alliance.
Putin was right. The US has gone mad. We are wildly swinging our arms in all directions, slicing everyone with the razors. The US media certainly are inflicting many cuts on Putin. Like Iran's leaders, he can't open his mouth now without everything being twisted, manipulated or lied about. The entire US media is dead set on framing things so it is all Russia's fault and the US is pure as driven snow. Not covered with blood. This is in lockstep with an election that features only warmongers for President. It is thoroughly disgusting and disturbing. Instead of putting our leaders on trial for lying about 9/11, the anthrax attacks and the illegal invasion of Iraq after conspiring with Europe to disarm Saddam, we have worse and worse war criminals waiting in the wings to do even worse crimes. With AIPAC's help.
Dumb.
Putin is a germanophile. Likes beer over vodka and germany and france got more military manpower and technology right now than russia. Notice how german corporates don't get taken to the cleaners in russia, only the anglo-american conglomerates.
Posted by: thirsty | August 16, 2008 at 12:51 AM
The "I Won" cartoon is outstanding.
Putin as csar/caesar.
(I know they have same root).
Posted by: Bokonon | August 16, 2008 at 05:08 AM
France and Germany always think they have more manpower and military muscle than Russia. And always end up crushed by Russia.
Posted by: Elaine Meinel Supkis | August 16, 2008 at 06:55 AM
Thirsty is right.
Think about BP for example, they were just ousted from BP-TNK in Russia. And now Russia is closing in on BTC-pipeline in Georgia (BP owns 30%).
My all time favorite Bush-Putin moment is this.
Bush is such an embarrasment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSOOCos6Es4
US is the greatest country in the world by far. You just need a better president.
Posted by: JT | August 16, 2008 at 07:38 AM
Elaine,
With the USA pushed on to the back foot, is the USA likely to react more aggressively next time?
In Georgian crisis, the USA has almost only employed rhetoric which everybody knows that and two dollars is needed to buy a cup of coffee.
Posted by: Bokonon | August 16, 2008 at 08:38 AM
Let's look at some of the most ignored achievements of Putin:
1.) Bringing his country out of debt in 10 years (Clinton tried and after two terms just barely dented the US debt; more pretend economics than anything)
2.) Jailing Russian oligarchs and criminals who aided the West in looting Russia (I suppose Martha Stewart would count as a US version, I am crying just thinking about this comparison!)
3.) Destroying the warlords of Chechnya whose sole income was generated from illegal arms trade and the narco trade coming out of Afghanistan. Do we need to go into who controls that trade today and how it's No.1 market is the US. How $1 Trillion of this money is laundered in the US through Wall Street every year?
3.) Serving his people, not his friends. Lee Kuan Yew is another example of this type of leadership. (Bush, Cheney, et al ONLY serve their own interests and their friends). Carlyle, Halliburton, etc.
4.) Paying attention to TRUTH, not IMAGE. Hollywood is not TRUTH, Hollywood is ILLUSION. He has acted on the truths of Palestine, Iran and Venezuela, and to a degree Lebanon.
Is Putin ex-KGB? Yes.
Bush Sr. was ex-CIA.
Is Putin authoritarian? Yes
So are Bush, Cheney, & Rumsfeld.
Don't believe it? Try asking them a real question in front of CNN & Fox News.
Actions speak louder than words. Between what is said, and what is done is a very fine thread. It is pretty clear to me who Putin works for.
The Russian people.
Who does Bush work for?
Posted by: Carli | August 16, 2008 at 09:18 AM
Putin is light years better than Boris-One- more -Vodka-comrades- Yeltsin
But he is a nasty authoritarian like our own You-know-who.
But Putin is what the American govt richly deserves for the
fucking over they gave Gorbachev. We could've slowly defused
Russian paranoia over the loss of their former colonies. But
nooo, we want to put NATO troops and Nukes right at their
borders. And turn their colonies into our colonies. And turn Russia itself into a low low wage colony. Right now
Poland and Russia are emerging as a colony of low low priced tool anddie quality machining. But at least they have the skills
to pass onto a younger generation. Where I work no tool and die
makers are under the age of 55---NO exaggeration here.
Russia should up the ante and threaten to put nukes back into Cuba and Venezuela. This would be appropriate payback for
these stupid Texas gringos/gangsters.
Posted by: G | August 16, 2008 at 10:25 AM
This attack by the US was staged to get the sheeple to fall behind the national security blanket of John the warmonger Mccain. The timing is too ominous. The manipulations in the markets crashing commodities/rising dollar, goes hand in hand with scratching Russias eye. All to fleece the populace into thinking all will be ok if we get a strong president in office to deal with Russia. Its a sick mental game, that our evil zionist media portrays. Silver/gold crashing in paper mkt while all major refiners and wholesalers dont have any metal for sale, and US mint stops making gold eagle coins? Please. Americans are waking up and realizng their cash will be obliterated in a new cold war military spending spree.
Posted by: Ralph | August 16, 2008 at 11:04 AM
"It is pretty clear to me who Putin works for. The Russian people. Who does Bush work for?"
Bullseye Carli! The Bush Clan has disenfranchised, devalued, and denigrated the citizens of the USA. He willingly allowed US citizens deaths in New Orleans, the premeditated demise of soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan, WTC towers, and shipment of bumper crops of opiates from Afghanistan into the USA as the young people die from addiction. The USA is unprotected as troops, the National Guard, Navy, and all are equipment are protecting Bush cronies in crime abroad. Well, we all know what happens when the God of Wealth (Precioussssss) is your true Master. We've been dealt a disastrous outcome via the Cave of Death where wealth resides. We all lose.
"......It can never be too often repeated, that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest, and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in convulsion." Thomas Jefferson
Posted by: rockpaperscizzors | August 16, 2008 at 01:48 PM
I you click on my stories, it is quickly clear that I correctly called Putin a 'patriot'. He is a patriot for...RUSSIA. Indeed, this is very important. Hu and Wen are despotic but PATRIOTIC.
Our leaders are TRAITORS and despotic.
Posted by: Elaine Meinel Supkis | August 16, 2008 at 01:59 PM