In my last blog entry (28 March, 2019) I wrote that,
"Similarly, William Barr's unprecedented conclusion that Trump did not "obstruct justice" has hit the judicial rails, and may be on the verge of 'exploding in his face'. (MSNBC: 27 March, 2019)
Barr may yet be " ... hoist by his own petard ..." meaning that the bomb-maker i.e exonerating Trump from obstructing justice, may yet be blown up by his own bomb."
In a strange turn of fate, we now have Volodymyr Zelensky (left), Poroshenko’s second-round opponent and the unexpected presidential favourite, similarly " ... hoist by his own petard .."
I refer, of course, to the absurd attempt by Zelensky, to wrong-foot President Poroshenko by calling upon hims to take a drug test before he would debate him.
Poroshenko called Zelensky's bluff (right), and now Zelensky, an actor with roles in many comedies and talk shows, has to step up to the plate to debate a seasoned politician, whom Putin hates, in a stadium packed with thousands of spectators from both camps.
Comedians normally bask in the sunshine of their supporters. They do not perform where they know that half of the audience will ridicule them.
Like Trump, their ego's are just too fragile to confront a large audience that will not shower them with adulation.
Putin has already succeeded in propelling such a fragile 'ego'-candidate into the White House and, as Oliver Caroll writes,
“Russia sees Zelensky as a new Macron or Trump, a novice to be exploited and played with,” Frolov [the former diplomat and foreign policy expert] believes." (The Independent : 7 April, 2018) (my emphasis)
And whilst Zelensky the comedian has failed in wrong-footing President Poroshenko, UNIAN reports that,
"Soldiers with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) will case their colors and deploy to Ukraine within days. About 150 soldiers will deploy in mid-April, according to a Friday release from the 101st Airborne, and they are expected to be gone for nine months." (UNIAN : 6 April, 2016) (my emphasis)
Added to which,
"Two ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Odessa, Ukraine this week for a routine port visit.
...
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO has increased its presence in the Black Sea.
Patrols by NATO Maritime Groups increased in 2018 to three patrols for each group for a total of 120 days of NATO Group presence over the year, compared to two patrols for each group and a total of 80 days in 2017, say the Alliance." (George Allison: UK Defence Journal : 5 April 2019) (my emphasis) (my emphasis)
And as reported in a Putin supporting DW documentary, "On the eve of presidential elections in Ukraine, the power struggle on the Sea of Asov is coming to a head. The Sea of Azov borders both Ukraine and Russia". (DW: Youtube : 26 March 2019) (my emphasis)
Furthermore, US Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (left) recently wrote that,
"Additional U.S. sanctions must be on the table to impose direct costs on Putin and his henchmen. We should also work closely with the NATO alliance to enhance our military presence and capabilities in the Black Sea region.
...
Now it’s time to increase funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, as well as the State Department’s security assistance programs. And a larger share of this funding should go to support defensive lethal aid that will make Ukraine a more difficult target for Putin’s aggression." (Politico Magazine: 4 April, 2019) (my emphasis)
On the economic front, Putin is now resorting to 'muzzling' his Statistical Committee so that the Russian people are kept in the dark about just by how much they are paying for Putin's dangerous adventurisms abroad.
As reported by Paul Goble (right),
"The Russian state statistical committee
has announced that it will stop publishing monthly figures on the state of
Russian incomes, likely because recent months have shown such a precipitous
drop in them (finanz.ru/novosti/lichnyye-finansy/rosstat-prekrashchaet-publikaciyu-ezhemesyachnykh-dannykh-po-dokhodam-rossiyan-1028042521)." Window on Eurasia : 1 April, 2019) (my emphasis)
Which raises the question,
"For how long can Putin continue to pull the wool over the eyes of the Russian people about the real cost of his war with Ukraine?"
(to be continued)
"Similarly, William Barr's unprecedented conclusion that Trump did not "obstruct justice" has hit the judicial rails, and may be on the verge of 'exploding in his face'. (MSNBC: 27 March, 2019)
Barr may yet be " ... hoist by his own petard ..." meaning that the bomb-maker i.e exonerating Trump from obstructing justice, may yet be blown up by his own bomb."
In a strange turn of fate, we now have Volodymyr Zelensky (left), Poroshenko’s second-round opponent and the unexpected presidential favourite, similarly " ... hoist by his own petard .."I refer, of course, to the absurd attempt by Zelensky, to wrong-foot President Poroshenko by calling upon hims to take a drug test before he would debate him.Poroshenko called Zelensky's bluff (right), and now Zelensky, an actor with roles in many comedies and talk shows, has to step up to the plate to debate a seasoned politician, whom Putin hates, in a stadium packed with thousands of spectators from both camps.
Comedians normally bask in the sunshine of their supporters. They do not perform where they know that half of the audience will ridicule them.
Like Trump, their ego's are just too fragile to confront a large audience that will not shower them with adulation.
Putin has already succeeded in propelling such a fragile 'ego'-candidate into the White House and, as Oliver Caroll writes,
“Russia sees Zelensky as a new Macron or Trump, a novice to be exploited and played with,” Frolov [the former diplomat and foreign policy expert] believes." (The Independent : 7 April, 2018) (my emphasis)
And whilst Zelensky the comedian has failed in wrong-footing President Poroshenko, UNIAN reports that,
"Soldiers with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) will case their colors and deploy to Ukraine within days. About 150 soldiers will deploy in mid-April, according to a Friday release from the 101st Airborne, and they are expected to be gone for nine months." (UNIAN : 6 April, 2016) (my emphasis)Added to which,
"Two ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Odessa, Ukraine this week for a routine port visit.
...
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO has increased its presence in the Black Sea.
Patrols by NATO Maritime Groups increased in 2018 to three patrols for each group for a total of 120 days of NATO Group presence over the year, compared to two patrols for each group and a total of 80 days in 2017, say the Alliance." (George Allison: UK Defence Journal : 5 April 2019) (my emphasis) (my emphasis)
And as reported in a Putin supporting DW documentary, "On the eve of presidential elections in Ukraine, the power struggle on the Sea of Asov is coming to a head. The Sea of Azov borders both Ukraine and Russia". (DW: Youtube : 26 March 2019) (my emphasis)
Furthermore, US Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (left) recently wrote that,
"Additional U.S. sanctions must be on the table to impose direct costs on Putin and his henchmen. We should also work closely with the NATO alliance to enhance our military presence and capabilities in the Black Sea region. ...
Now it’s time to increase funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, as well as the State Department’s security assistance programs. And a larger share of this funding should go to support defensive lethal aid that will make Ukraine a more difficult target for Putin’s aggression." (Politico Magazine: 4 April, 2019) (my emphasis)
On the economic front, Putin is now resorting to 'muzzling' his Statistical Committee so that the Russian people are kept in the dark about just by how much they are paying for Putin's dangerous adventurisms abroad.
As reported by Paul Goble (right),
"The Russian state statistical committee
has announced that it will stop publishing monthly figures on the state of
Russian incomes, likely because recent months have shown such a precipitous
drop in them (finanz.ru/novosti/lichnyye-finansy/rosstat-prekrashchaet-publikaciyu-ezhemesyachnykh-dannykh-po-dokhodam-rossiyan-1028042521)." Window on Eurasia : 1 April, 2019) (my emphasis)Which raises the question,
"For how long can Putin continue to pull the wool over the eyes of the Russian people about the real cost of his war with Ukraine?"
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