Oliver Stone: "Putin is a great leader for his country."

[Sandy Larsen]

On 5/8/2023 at 12:53 PM, John Cotter said:

I’ve asked Sandy repeatedly to identify any flaws he sees in Prof Mearsheimer’s reasoning and he has failed to do so. I haven’t seen you do so either. You’ve both thereby confirmed the validity of Mearsheimer’s thesis.

 

John,

You are good at drawing incorrect conclusions.

The reason I didn't look for flaws in Mearsheimer’s reasoning for you is because I ran out of energy. (I decided to focus solely on Chris's replies to my posts.)  From this you've drawn the conclusion that this somehow confirms the validity of Mearsheimer’s thesis. Wow.

 

[W. Niederhut]

36 minutes ago, John Cotter said:

Instead of logically rebutting my argument, you've again deflected with an unsubstantiated claim.

I repeatedly asked you before to produce evidence of the Russian government "plan" that you refer to, and you failed to produce it.

Huh, John?  Have you been drinking too much poteen lately?

Go to the Political Discussions board and read my old thread about Aleksander Dugin's 1997 textbook, The Geopolitical Future of Russia-- "Putin's Playbook."

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by W. Niederhut

[John Cotter]

37 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Huh, John?  Have you been drinking too much poteen lately?

Go to the Political Discussions board and read my old thread about Aleksander Dugin's 1997 textbook, The Geopolitical Future of Russia-- "Putin's Playbook."

 

I don’t drink poteen, William. I suppose I should go the easy “woke” way and object to the stereotyping, but I’d prefer to keep it logical and point out that your ad hominem discredits you, not me.

As for the Dugin dodge, this is yet another instance of your awful habit of recycling nonsense that’s already been debunked.

I’ve asked you repeatedly before to provide evidence of Dugin having an official Russian government role, and you failed to provide it.

Does the time ever come when questions as to the personality of someone who evinces such persistent perversity must be asked?

[Sandy Larsen]

1 hour ago, Chris Barnard said:

2 hours ago, Sandy Larsen said:

No, I am right, Chris. Tell me what Ukraine did that provoked Russia?

😂🤣🤣🤣🤣 You’re hilarious. 

 

Just as I figured.... you have nothing.

 

[W. Niederhut]

17 minutes ago, John Cotter said:

I don’t drink poteen, William. I suppose I should go the easy “woke” way and object to the stereotyping, but I’d prefer to keep it logical and point out that your ad hominem discredits you, not me.

As for the Dugin dodge, this is yet another instance of your awful habit of recycling nonsense that’s already been debunked.

I’ve asked you repeatedly before to provide evidence of Dugin having an official Russian government role, and you failed to provide it.

Does the time ever come when questions as to the personality of someone who evinces such persistent perversity must be asked?

Geez, John, this is simply ridiculous.

First of all, I was only joking about poteen, based on my familiarity with the old Irish folk song, The Humors of Whiskey.

Then, after misinterpreting my humor about whiskey as an "ad hominem" attack, you proceeded to launch into another one of your erroneous ad hominem diatribes.

As for the substance of my reference about Dugin, are you the only guy on the planet who still doesn't know that Aleksander Dugin has been called, "Putin's Brain?"

Does a scholar require an official government post to influence a nation's foreign policies?

The "Dugin Dodge?"  Surely, you jest.

I think you got hoodwinked by some Russian propaganda published to deny the significance of Dugin-ism in Putin's RF.

Putin and his inner circle have held Dugin in very high regard, and his 1997 textbook, The Geopolitical Future of Russia, has been studied in Russia military circles during the past quarter century.

As for my alleged "perversity," it's a apt description of your illogical, ad hominem post (above.)

Time for you to re-visit some basic facts about Dugin's famous textbook..

You have dodged Dugin far too long.

“The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia” by Aleksander Dugin was written in 1997. Since then, it has risen to the rank of textbook for the Russian military’s “Academy of the General Staff”. It lays out a Nationalist, Eurasianist political ideology and strategy for Russia to rebuild its influence and rise to world dominance. The strategic objectives laid out in the book are clear and systematic.

The textbook believes in a sophisticated program of subversion, destabilization, and disinformation spearheaded by the Russian special services. The operations should be assisted by a tough, hard-headed utilization of Russia's gas, oil, and natural resources to bully and pressure other countries.

First off, the textbook says that the United States need to be weakened internally.

Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics".

The book also recommends:

• Isolating the United Kingdom from the rest of Europe

• Annexing Ukraine

• Dismembering Georgia

• Creating a vital alliance with Iran

• Destabilizing Turkey

 

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, Sandy Larsen said:

 

Just as I figured.... you have nothing.

 

The difference between you and me is; when I made a small, tired error, I apologised and corrected it. That's called integrity. When I produced the Clinton evidence which was revealed in a FOIA request / lawsuit. You acted like it didn't happen. It's embarrassing, Sandy, you're a grown man. 

[Sandy Larsen]

8 hours ago, Chris Barnard said:

The difference between you and me is; when I made a small, tired error, I apologised and corrected it. That's called integrity. When I produced the Clinton evidence which was revealed in a FOIA request / lawsuit. You acted like it didn't happen. It's embarrassing, Sandy, you're a grown man. 

 

Chris,

You apologized because you'd been saying that there was a signed agreement when in fact there was not. Now you think that I likewise should apologize. My response is.... for what? I never said that Clinton didn't say a thing about slowing down NATO expansion. That is apparently what he told Boris Yeltsin. So I made no mistake AFAIK.

BTW, thank you for sourcing that information, as I requested.

 

[John Cotter]

8 hours ago, Sandy Larsen said:

 

John,

You are good at drawing incorrect conclusions.

The reason I didn't look for flaws in Mearsheimer’s reasoning for you is because I ran out of energy. (I decided to focus solely on Chris's replies to my posts.)  From this you've drawn the conclusion that this somehow confirms the validity of Mearsheimer’s thesis. Wow.

 

Sandy,

Actually, my conclusion is correct.

The fact that you bit off more than you can chew isn’t my fault.

[John Cotter]

8 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

Geez, John, this is simply ridiculous.

First of all, I was only joking about poteen, based on my familiarity with the old Irish folk song, The Humors of Whiskey.

Then, after misinterpreting my humor about whiskey as an "ad hominem" attack, you proceeded to launch into another one of your erroneous ad hominem diatribes.

As for the substance of my reference about Dugin, are you the only guy on the planet who still doesn't know that Aleksander Dugin has been called, "Putin's Brain?"

Does a scholar require an official government post to influence a nation's foreign policies?

The "Dugin Dodge?"  Surely, you jest.

I think you got hoodwinked by some Russian propaganda published to deny the significance of Dugin-ism in Putin's RF.

Putin and his inner circle have held Dugin in very high regard, and his 1997 textbook, The Geopolitical Future of Russia, has been studied in Russia military circles during the past quarter century.

As for my alleged "perversity," it's a apt description of your illogical, ad hominem post (above.)

Time for you to re-visit some basic facts about Dugin's famous textbook..

You have dodged Dugin far too long.

“The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia” by Aleksander Dugin was written in 1997. Since then, it has risen to the rank of textbook for the Russian military’s “Academy of the General Staff”. It lays out a Nationalist, Eurasianist political ideology and strategy for Russia to rebuild its influence and rise to world dominance. The strategic objectives laid out in the book are clear and systematic.

The textbook believes in a sophisticated program of subversion, destabilization, and disinformation spearheaded by the Russian special services. The operations should be assisted by a tough, hard-headed utilization of Russia's gas, oil, and natural resources to bully and pressure other countries.

First off, the textbook says that the United States need to be weakened internally.

Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics".

The book also recommends:

• Isolating the United Kingdom from the rest of Europe

• Annexing Ukraine

• Dismembering Georgia

• Creating a vital alliance with Iran

• Destabilizing Turkey

 

William,

So once again, instead of providing evidence that Aleksandar Dugin ever had an official role in the Russian government, you deposit another steaming pile of irrelevant nonsense.

It’s your persistently disruptive online behaviour that raises questions about your personality, not I.

Edited May 10, 2023 by John Cotter

[Sandy Larsen]

1 hour ago, John Cotter said:

Sandy,

Actually, my conclusion is correct.

The fact that you bit off more than you can chew isn’t my fault.

 

John,

Thank you for replying to my questions earlier. It was good to see that you  believe Putin is a brutal autocrat. And yes, I do understand that you believe he needs to be.

 

[John Cotter]

1 hour ago, Sandy Larsen said:

 

John,

Thank you for replying to my questions earlier. It was good to see that you  believe Putin is a brutal autocrat. And yes, I do understand that you believe he needs to be.

 

I appreciate your courtesy, Sandy. 

I would add, though, that I have used the term "ruthless" rather than "brutal" to describe Putin, because I believe ruthlessness is more in keeping with the Realpolitik or Machiavellianism that Prof Mearsheimer talks about.

[Michael Griffith]

On 5/7/2023 at 10:53 PM, Chris Barnard said:

Thats total BS, Sandy. I have taken the time to write you a detailed post explaining the provocations, Did you miss them, or just to ignore them? That’s not a debate, thats what we call a Michael Griffith

Leaving aside your grade-school-level punctuation errors, I see that you are part of the microscopic minority of Western civilization who thinks that Ukraine "provoked" Putin to invade. Gee, why am I not surprised?  

Given that you believe the Secret Team may have killed John Lennon, that you regard Fletcher Prouty as a reliable source on the JFKA, and that you swallow 9/11 Truther lunacy, it's not surprising that you think Ukraine provoked Putin to invade. 

And just FYI, I don't bother answering every idiotic argument and bogus claim that some people make in replies. It's not that I can't answer them; it's that I determine that I'd be wasting my doing in doing so.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Michael Griffith said:

Leaving aside your grade-school-level punctuation errors, I see that you are part of the microscopic minority of Western civilization who thinks that Ukraine "provoked" Putin to invade. Gee, why am I not surprised?  

Given that you believe the Secret Team may have killed John Lennon, that you regard Fletcher Prouty as a reliable source on the JFKA, and that you swallow 9/11 Truther lunacy, it's not surprising that you think Ukraine provoked Putin to invade. 

And just FYI, I don't bother answering every idiotic argument and bogus claim that some people make in replies. It's not that I can't answer them; it's that I determine that I'd be wasting my doing in doing so.

Well, well, well. I think picking at the spelling and grammar of others probably says more about you than it does anyone else. What it tells me is that you’re upset, Michael. 
 

At this point you are like an ambassador for the military industrial complex and all of its wrongdoing. It really makes me question your motivations as to whether this is more than a blind loyalty?! I am certain that virtue signalling or playing to the gallery wont undo the damage you have done to your reputation in recent weeks.  You’ve really fallen on your face. 
 

The funny part is; by you attacking me, you’ve just shown me and others how much you care, and how upset you are about it all. There must surely be this moment where you wish to god you hadn’t opened your mouth about Pouty or 9/11?!  

[W. Niederhut]

9 hours ago, John Cotter said:

William,

So once again, instead of providing evidence that Aleksandar Dugin ever had an official role in the Russian government, you deposit another steaming pile of irrelevant nonsense.

It’s your persistently disruptive online behaviour that raises questions about your personality, not I.

John,

      Did you even read what I wrote above, including my comment about intellectuals and "official roles" in government?

      As for my alleged "disruptive online behavior," the only thing I have "disrupted" in our dialogue here is your delusion that Putin's foreign policies haven't been profoundly influenced by Alexsander Dugin's The Geopolitical Future of Russia.

      Do some remedial reading.

 Russian intellectual Aleksandr Dugin is also commonly known as 'Putin's brain' : NPR     

 

[John Cotter]

6 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

John,

      Did you even read what I wrote above, including my comment about intellectuals and "official roles" in government?

      As for my alleged "disruptive online behavior," the only thing I have "disrupted" in our dialogue here is your delusion that Putin's foreign policies haven't been profoundly influenced by Alexsander Dugin's The Geopolitical Future of Russia.

      Do some remedial reading.

 Russian intellectual Aleksandr Dugin is also commonly known as 'Putin's brain' : NPR     

 

William,

What do the initials NPR refer to?

Do they refer to National Public Radio? Isn't National Public Radio funded by the US government?