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Putin being a corrupt, opportunistic dictator doesn't mean you have to believe Western countries are saints with their foreign policies. They aren't mutually ex

Putin being a corrupt, opportunistic dictator doesn't mean you have to believe Western countries are saints with their foreign policies. They aren't mutually exclusive.

DyslexicAtheist 11y ago
as opposed to the US which is a democracy?
- moonshinefe 11y ago
  I didn't mean to imply that. I think the US is a republic with some vestiges of democracy, but I feel that's corrupt as well at this point.
  - DyslexicAtheist 11y ago
    sadly so. what hurts double is that the US is kind f a role model (or has been fr us Europeans) because we kind of grow up with Hollywood and it's original values (freedom). Seeing this deteriorate feels like a betrayal when as a foreigner you have no way of shaping their policy (yet still be affected by it)
    - rdancer 11y ago
      You can buy or hack elections same as anybody else, and you can campain on issues. If anything, foreign Hacker News readers have more say than the average U.S. citizen.
  - rdancer 11y ago
    It should be a republic, but it isn't really. Republic implies rule of law, which the U.S. doesn't really have anymore. The government, and to a certain extent the upper classes, are not ruled by law at all, they have impunity, and neither are the lower classes, as they mostly bargain a plea deal.
tomp 11y ago
I won't comment on corrupt and dictator, but opportunistic? Hardly. He's just protecting his interests, in a very transparent and predictable way. He was the only one supporting Assad and warning about the "Islamist rebels" in Syria, long before the current crisis happened. Sure, he annexed Crimea, but what do you think would happen if Russia/China orchestrated a coup/revolution in e.g. Japan, where US has military bases with significant strategic importance? Do you think US would peacefully stand away?
- PerfectDlite 11y ago
  Oh, old Russian propaganda about 'US orchestrated a coup'? I thought it was already gone sour, but apparently some people still believe in that fairy tale.
  - rdancer 11y ago
    Wait, the US effected a government change? I don't believe that has ever happened! /s

Putin being a corrupt, opportunistic dictator doesn't mean you have to believe Western countries are saints with their foreign policies. They aren't mutually exclusive.

DyslexicAtheist 11y ago

as opposed to the US which is a democracy?

moonshinefe 11y ago
I didn't mean to imply that. I think the US is a republic with some vestiges of democracy, but I feel that's corrupt as well at this point.
- DyslexicAtheist 11y ago
  sadly so. what hurts double is that the US is kind f a role model (or has been fr us Europeans) because we kind of grow up with Hollywood and it's original values (freedom). Seeing this deteriorate feels like a betrayal when as a foreigner you have no way of shaping their policy (yet still be affected by it)
  - rdancer 11y ago
    You can buy or hack elections same as anybody else, and you can campain on issues. If anything, foreign Hacker News readers have more say than the average U.S. citizen.
- rdancer 11y ago
  It should be a republic, but it isn't really. Republic implies rule of law, which the U.S. doesn't really have anymore. The government, and to a certain extent the upper classes, are not ruled by law at all, they have impunity, and neither are the lower classes, as they mostly bargain a plea deal.

tomp 11y ago

I won't comment on corrupt and dictator, but opportunistic? Hardly. He's just protecting his interests, in a very transparent and predictable way. He was the only one supporting Assad and warning about the "Islamist rebels" in Syria, long before the current crisis happened. Sure, he annexed Crimea, but what do you think would happen if Russia/China orchestrated a coup/revolution in e.g. Japan, where US has military bases with significant strategic importance? Do you think US would peacefully stand away?

PerfectDlite 11y ago
Oh, old Russian propaganda about 'US orchestrated a coup'? I thought it was already gone sour, but apparently some people still believe in that fairy tale.
- rdancer 11y ago
  Wait, the US effected a government change? I don't believe that has ever happened! /s