I’m going to do something I seldon, if ever do. I’m going to make a prediction. By New Years Day next year, Vladimir Putin will no longer be the Russian dictator. And before you start shitting all over me, just remember that I predicted 2 months before the first GOP primary election that the GOP nomination was Trump’s for the asking in 2016.
Putin has become what former US Vice President Al Gore called an Inconvenient truth when he spoke about global warming. But worse yet, Putin is a man on an island. Putin is the last of a dying breed, the last of the post Soviet loyalists left anymore. There is nobody in his breed that is actually still active in Russian politics anymore.
In his lust for the past, Putin has crossed a line. If Putin had satisfied himself with just advancing into the two Russian separatist controlled breakaway republics, provided a land bridge back to Russia, he probably would have gotten away with it, just as he did in Crimea. But he wanted the whole pie, and not just a slice. And that’s not working.
The Ukraine is fighting like hell for their nation and sovereignty, and the Russian army doesn’t seem to have its heart in the fight. But worse yet, Putin has united almost the entire planet against Russia, not only with crippling economic sanctions, but with lethal aid that can kill Russian soldiers. And they aren’t going anywhere, and neither are the Ukrainians.
But when the shit hits the fan, don’t look for the Russian oligarchs to be the ones who overthrow him. They know which side of the toast their bread is buttered on. It was Putin who made them oligarchs by bestowing his largesse upon them, criminals that they were. And not only does Putin have the oligarchs by the old short-and-curlies, he has their children, upon whom the oligarchs have showered their gifts by the old short-and-curlies. They are not going to do anything to kill the golden goose.
When it comes, it will come in the classic Russian style, in a Palace coup. The military will give Putin some room to continue his folly, but I honestly believe that there is no senior Russian military officer that would lt Putin call a tactical nuclear strike on a country with no nukes. That way lies self destruction. But even before that, when the sanctions force the mass of Russian citizens into the street in protest, the military will act. They cannot afford to see their country sent back to the stone ages just to satisfy Putin’s delusional dream. They have to be able to rebuild from this debacle.
No matter how it actually goes down, we are about to see the final act of the death of the USSR. I’m old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the dissolution of the USSR. And when Putin finally goes down, we will finally see the last nail in the coffin of the old USSR ideology. There is nobody left from that era who could take over power. Don’t touch that dial.
Hey Murph, you need to re-read this and edit it. Thanks.
Agreed, Mr Murphy, that if Russia ha a saviour, it will be the Red Army. But I suspect that Putin knows this too and may yet declare a purge on the army leadership, as Stalin so infamously did before WW2. And it may well be the start of said purge that gets the military command to finally act to rid themselves, and their country, of this insanely dangerous tyrant.
Ultimately it will be the Ukrainians that damage putin & will either directly or indirectly bring him down. We’ve become a culture of whining, self important, complainers that cry foul cuz our little feelings have been ruffled. Can u imagine OUR citizens risking EVERYTHING to try & save OUR country? No. The last time that occurred was WW2. My grandparents got their picture in the paper cuz they had 4 sons & their oldest daughter’s husband fighting in both theaters of the war. I knew them all. Luckily no one was killed, although looking back I can see how they struggled with their experience. Now we have a fucking country with a goddamn network supporting fascism. We have one of our two political parties supporting fascism. We have 75+ million citizens who don’t give a rat’s ass about the 400,000 dead American boys lying in graves around the world. They support a traitor & a career criminal. The Ukrainians are shining a light on our collective lack of will to keep our own fucking democracy alive. The difference is they are living the reality of London in ww2. We are destroying ourselves because we are too damn comfortable & lazy. Hey. If our citizens hammer the gop in the next two elections, I’ll happily admit I was wrong. Don’t bet on it.
Hear, hear! Bully, bully. Beautifully said Scott. No one could have a problem comprehending your message. Pretty damn clear! Thank you.
And Murph, how I pray that you are right. Being a 60-year-old cynic, I doubt it. But boy would I be THRILLED if I were proven WRONG!!!! Here’s praying.
Thanks. I seem to ruffle feathers due to my messages. I would love to see the traitors catching the election results on the prison TV. Not gonna happen but maybe they can get prison time for smoking weed. That’s a surer bet than betrayal of the highest offices in the land. What a fucked up place planet earth & the quote shining light on the hill actually are. 2.3 million in jail & no traitors. Bah. Humbug.
You’ve never ruffled mine, I prefer straight-shooting and you do it. Was fixin’ to compliment you on that comment myself 🙂
Nope, my feathers are all good!! I applaud both of your posts here, but vis-a-vis the feathers, I think most of them will be from younger birds, who don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, since they don’t learn anything at school anymore. Or from the red-hat brigade who refuse to believe anything that isn’t told them by DT.
I’m just not seeing the oligarchs not protecting their wealth–and it is in danger right now. They have theirs and I do not think they want the idiot from the kgb losing it for them. It’s easier for them to have the bastard poisoned and install another puppet. That would make all this go away very quickly.
I really hope the US and EU countries are having back channel talks with Russian diplomats, explaining to them that Russia cannot “win” this war. If Ukraine ends up with no choice but to surrender, the sanctions, the freezing and seizure of Russian assets, etc. will continue indefinitely. As will guerilla warfare by Ukrainian citizens against Russian occupiers. Russia will go bankrupt, and it will run out of young conscripts to fight. Because of its low birth rate, Russia’s population has been shrinking and for some time.
Here is the US, Democrats must make the case that there’s a huge difference between disagreeing with the President and actively sabotaging his leadership. In times of crisis, a weakened US presidency will make the world a much more dangerous place.
I believe it was Thomas Paine who stated, & I paraphrase, that arguing with someone who has abandoned reason is like giving medicine to a corpse.