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Understanding Vladimir Putin, the man who fooled the world

Putin was annoyed -- or maybe just bored. The Russian leader had been patiently fielding questions from a small group of international journalists in the restaurant of a modest hotel in Davos. Then one of the queries seemed to irritate him. He stared back at the questioner, an American, and said slowly, through an interpreter: “I’ll answer that question in a minute. But first let me ask you about the extraordinary ring you have on your finger.”

All heads in the room swivelled. “Why is the stone so large?” Putin continued. A few of the audience began to giggle and the journalist looked uncomfortable. Putin took on a tone of mock sympathy and continued: “You surely don’t mind me asking, because you wouldn’t be wearing something like that unless you were trying to draw attention to yourself?” There was more laughter. By now, the original question had been forgotten. It was a masterclass in distraction and bullying.

This Guardian article is a thorough examination of who Putin is. Know thy enemy.

[theguardian.com]

mischl 8 Apr 16
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6 comments

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How is that bullying?
There once was an Australian female reporter asked Olympian Ian Thorpe if his big feet indicated that other parts of his body were equally large.
She was fired from her job & eventually received compensation for wrongful dismissal. No one mentioned or claimed that she was bullying Thorpe. [thefreelibrary.com]

I've also wondered about those ostentatious rings worn by American men. What is their significance?

The thing about reading a transcript of what occurred does not take into account the tone of voice and demeanor. There is a very subtle thing a bully does that can not always be encompassed in a transcript. So subtle many miss it. I was raised by a narcissistic woman and it was only because I moved away when I was 20yo that I was able to see and pin point just what it was that she did.
I loathe the ad hominem approach so many elected officials take with questions they don't like.

@silverotter11 Stonewalling is also a form of bullying

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Putin is and always will be the enemy of free nations.

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I'm slowly beginning to understand that Putin is not a smart as people think he is (that is, not as smart as I once thought). He's a bully, and he uses any and all powers that he has to leverage his bulliness. Okay, that's not a word. But you know what I mean. How about "bullying," repeated aggressive behavior where one person in a position of power deliberately intimidates, abuses. Yeah, that's exactly the right description for that ex-KGB asshole.

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I do not see it as much different than the kinds of shit the US politicians do, when someone asks them a stupid question.

Yes, many U.S. politicians pull the same kind of shit. But a smart investigative reporter isn't gonna let the bottom feeder get away with such cleverness. Especially if he/she has had one or two semesters of Debate.

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A recent message for a journalist he did not like . . .

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Evil and intelligent, in other words fucking terrifying.

MizJ Level 8 Apr 16, 2022

I sincerely HOPE that enough people in the Free World realize that we MUST do something to prevent this wave of authoritarianism cancer from spreading. Otherwise, it's deja vu all over again...i.e., WW3.

@mischl Indeed. In France Le Pen is on the ballot again, just one more example.

@MizJ Pen, another fascist. Like the clown in Ukraine & his western sympathisers Biden, Trump, Obama, Johnston, Morrison. . .

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