Obama, Putin: Checkmate

[newthinking]

October 1, 2015
Obama, Putin: Checkmate

(Story at counterpunch http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/01/obama-putin-checkmate/)




Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message at the UN General Assembly was stark; either sovereign states get together in a broad coalition against all forms of terror, and the principle of statehood is respected as enshrined in the UN charter – or there will be chaos.

This UN General Assembly revealed that the Obama administration’s perpetual newspeak does not cut it anymore. A review of UN speeches by both Putin and Obama is almost painful to watch. Putin acted like a serious global statesman. Obama acted like a poseur flunking a screen test.

Putin’s key talking points could not but be easily accessible to the Global South – his prime audience, much more than the industrialized West.

1) The export of color – or monochromatic – revolutions is doomed.

2) The alternative to the primacy of statehood is chaos. This implies that the Assad system in Syria may be immensely problematic, but it’s the only game in town. The alternative is ISIS/ISIL/Daesh barbarism. There’s no credible “moderate opposition” – as there was not in NATO-“liberated” Libya.

3) Only the UN – as flawed as it may be – is a guarantor of peace and security in our imperfect, realpolitik geopolitical environment.

Gotta slay those myths

Continued:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/01/obama-putin-checkmate/

[Jim__]

1. Pepe Escobar is an analyst for Russia Today.

[newthinking]

3. He is an independent journalist. He does work for many publications.

[MattSh]

5. So?

[Jim__]

7. RT (founded as "Russia Today") is a Russian state-funded television network.

... Putin acted like a serious global statesman. Obama acted like a poseur flunking a screen test.

I'll let you figure it out.

[heartofstone]

8. Correct me if I'm wrong....

but doesn't the UK, Australia and Canada all have state funded media outlets that tow the government line? The BBC s state funded media as is CBC in Canada, I believe. Pepe Escobar made his name at Asia Times Online from what I understand. He was recently published in the Nation magazine also and he's regularly at Tom Dispatch. http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176026/tomgram%3A_pepe_escobar,_the_pivot_to_eurasia/

[Jim__]

11. Read the citation.

... ... Putin acted like a serious global statesman. Obama acted like a poseur flunking a screen test.

That's not reporting.

[Demeter]

15. Sorry, but it's an accurate description, and that's serious reporting

[MattSh]

10. Well DUH!

Living in Ukraine, I'm quite familiar with Russian media. Even the stuff that Ukraine has banned.

But hey, if the State Department tells me that RT is bad, I must turn off my brain and listen to the State Department instead. And the US media too. Must accuse other people of lying first before they find out that we lie all the time!

Because they only want what's best for us, I'm sure...

[Jim__]

12. You have to turn off your brain to accept that article as reporting.

[MattSh]

13. So what's wrong with it?

Elaborate. If you can...

[brush]

2. One question: Where is the Sputnik News, where this linked article first appeared, published?

[newthinking]

6. What is the difference between McCarthy calling people communists for being friends or

having simply talked or rubbed elbows with, and following this line of thinking?

They used to do the SAME thing in the 50s.

If your articles appeared in the "wrong" publications you could get labeled, ostracized, and lose your career. We had learned a lesson from that episode that we seem to be forgetting.

Pepe is an independent journalist and his works show up in a lot of places. He doesn't work for the Kremlin.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Sputnik News is the new Russian state-run news agency

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_%28news_agency%29

[underpants]

4. "principle of statehood is respected " From Putin?!?

Oh please

[Chan790]

9. Yeah, that was a spit-take line for me too.

I mean some concepts have no credibility at face-value. That's one of them.