President Obama can’t help but troll
It should be noted that the recent statements coming from representatives of the U.S. government are characterized by some confusion and extraordinary simple thinking. That is, such statements do not need analyzing, because they do not carry any semantic weight.
For example, Obama claims that Russia is not a major geopolitical enemy of the U.S. Hence, a natural question arises. Who is the main geopolitical enemy of the United States? Is it Iran, Syria, Cameroon, China or North Korea? If it is Syria, where a gang of thugs, hired by the U.S. secret services, has been fighting against the legitimate government of Bashar al-Assad, what can we say about the strength and power of America? Do the claims and ambitions of the United States coincide with their possibilities? How many times did Washington threaten to punish the Syrian president? Yet, it seems that the latter will live to a ripe old age in his residence, surrounded by his relatives.
If Washington considers the DPRK to be the main geopolitical enemy of the U.S., in this case, everything is so hopeless for Obama, that this subject does not present any interest. The DPRK is headed by the Communist Democratic dynasty of Kim, which since the Korean War of 1950-1953 has outlasted more than one U.S. president.
Judging by the pomposity, with which President Obama makes his statements, only China may be the main geopolitical enemy of the United States. The White House would not agree with anything less than that. Will the Russian President Vladimir Putin oppose this interpretation of Obama’s words? – Of course not. Who wants to become the major geopolitical enemy of the U.S.? Nobody. Only the United States in Hollywood movies can repel alien attacks. “The strength of America is galactic in nature, and it picks its enemies on its own.” – This is a fact.
Oh yeah, not everything is lost for Russia yet. Thank you for that, Mr. Obama.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that, according to the U.S. President, Russia is not the main, and perhaps is not even a geopolitical enemy at all, it still represents some danger to the United States. After all, it was Russian soldiers, armed with balalaikas and riding fighting bears, who ruined the American auto industry and the city of Detroit. These are to be blamed for everything.
Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Cameron urged other countries to isolate Russia and to exclude it from the club of world economies, i.e., to establish a new “iron curtain”. Frau Chancellor and Mr. Prime Minister are obviously living in some personal parallel reality. They have forgotten, or never knew that the Soviet Union in its time, in spite of all the curtains, blinds and doors, successfully dealt with the world and, in particular, with the West. The Kremlin has always honored the precepts of their leader, who once said that capitalists would sell the very rope with which they would then be hung. Russia sells oil and gas, and if someone does not want to buy its oil and gas, they can buy these commodities from many other countries, for example, from Iran, or build nuclear power plants, or switch to coal, or whatever. It’s a free world, in which no one imposes anything on others, isn’t it?
Speaking of oil
Senator McCain, who is involved in every political show in Washington, has recently said: “Modern Russia is a gas station, trying to pass itself off as a country.” Senator Lindsey Graham supported the statement of his colleague: “It’s an oil and gas company, trying to pass itself off as a country”. McCain said that the troops of this ‘gas station’ “are massing right now at the border with eastern Ukraine and are ready to invade” (Voice of America).
I wonder, do the U.S. senators fill their blogs in Facebook and Twitter by themselves, or do their secretaries do this work? It seems that they don’t know what Internet “trolls” are, and that such behavior is reprehensible, even for heroes of the XXX movie format.
It is worth reminding that in Internet slang, a “troll” is a person that provokes emotional squabbles by harassing other users or posing as some other person. Trolls provoke anger, conflict, implicitly or explicitly bullying, belittling, and insulting other members of the social networks, often breaking the rules of the site. Trolling is carried out both by real people, interested in gaining more visibility and publicity through outrageous behavior and by anonymous users, who remain anonymous.
So, let us say a few words about gas stations. U.S. senators get their salaries in U.S. dollars. What is the material support for this currency? No, not gold. Goods? No, not goods. How many products can you find now in the world with the label “Made in USA”? Alas, very few, and even those few are now made in China. The United States long ago stopped being an industrial leader of humanity.
U.S. dollar, as a world currency, is supported by the global equivalent of value, namely oil and oil products, which are used in all countries, even in the most savage ones. Transactions involving international oil trading are made in U.S. dollars, so far.
During 2000-2011, Russia’s share of world oil production has increased from 8.9% to 12.8%. The share of 12.8% was maintained in 2012. In this respect, Russia competes with Saudi Arabia. The five largest oil producers also include the U.S., China and Iran.
So, why are U.S. senators not happy with the Russian gas station? It is selling its products for dollars, but could require payment in yuans. Why? Because with yuans one can buy a lot of useful things, but with U.S. dollars one can buy nothing but a headache. Depositing one’s savings in U.S. banks and in securities of U.S. corporations has recently become a doubtful affair. Who knows what new proscription lists are there on President Obama’s desk? It is best for Russian citizens to keep their money in the Sberbank of the Russian Federation. – After all, the security of these deposits is guaranteed by the military power of the “gas station”!
Konstantin Penzev, author and historian, columnist, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook“.
