Monthly Archives: July 2009

July 14, 2009

Post-summit analysis: a couple of links

Obama is not the messiah.  Or a dupe for the Kremlin.  (My RealClearPolitics.com column on the Moscow trip.) Cheney (not that Cheney) slams Obama for supposedly too pro-Russian in his comments on the Cold War’s end in his speech at … Continue reading →

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Filed under Barack Obama, Russia, Russian-American relations

July 14, 2009

Post-summit Moscow report: Business as usual

In my Weekly Standard article before Obama’s trip, I said that the most likely outcome would be “business as usual.”  And, evidently, so it is. The latest news: Russia will not agree to tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear … Continue reading →

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Filed under Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Russian-American relations

July 9, 2009

The (second) Georgian war will not take place?

Will there or won’t there be another Russian attack on Georgia?  Since I raised the issue in my Wall Street Journal op-ed a few days ago, a follow-up. In a July 7 article on Grani.ru, Andrei Piontkovsky, one of the … Continue reading →

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Filed under Russia-Georgia conflict

July 8, 2009

Crossing the line

As I said in my previous post, I have limited sympathy for Sarah Palin. However, this, from Andrew Sullivan (on top of the never-ending flogging of Trig Palin conspiracy theories), is outrageous.  I saw the reference to the “white trash … Continue reading →

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Filed under blogs, Sarah Palin

July 8, 2009

My latest on (oh no!) Sarah Palin

She’s not the savior of conservatives. And she’s not nearly as much a victim of the “liberal media” as her defenders make her out to be (at least if we’re talking about the mainstream media; there has been some incredible … Continue reading →

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Filed under feminism, Sarah Palin, U.S. politics, women

July 7, 2009

Obama in Moscow: From the department of bad parody

Obama and Putin meet for breakfast at Putin’s Novo-Ogarevo residence. The Obama Putin breakfast meal was served indoors on an open terrace, with some tables covered with blue, white and red tablecloths in the style of classic Pavlovsky Posad shawls. … Continue reading →

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Filed under Barack Obama, kitsch, Russia, Vladimir Putin

July 7, 2009

Obama in Moscow, cont’d: A strange appointment

So, we now have a bilateral presidential commision, to be coordinated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. It includes 13 working groups headed by corresponding high-level Russian and American officials (e.g., Health: Tatyana A. … Continue reading →

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Filed under Barack Obama, Russia, Russian-American relations

July 7, 2009

Obama’s Moscow speech: A-

First, there was the Cairo speech to the Muslim world.  Now, Obama speaks to Russians at the graduation ceremony of the New Economic School. It was a very, very good speech that hit almost all the right notes.   The right … Continue reading →

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Filed under Barack Obama, Russia, Russian-American relations

July 7, 2009

Obama Moscow update

So, there’s an agreement on nuclear weapons cuts.  Is that such a step of major importance today, when the once-terrifying prospect of all-out nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States is of far less concern in the … Continue reading →

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Filed under Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, foreign policy, Russia, Russian-American relations, Vladimir Putin

July 6, 2009

“Just call them ‘gentlemen’”: An American expat’s advice to Obama

Mickey Berdy, an American living in Moscow where she works as a translator and interpreter, comments on the Obama visit: “Putin” is easy to pronounce, but “Medvedev” is a mouthful for English speakers. Happily, you can avoid their last names … Continue reading →

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Filed under Barack Obama, Russia, Russian-American relations