Russia pick up points while US head for the canvas!
Ian Brockwell
September 19, 2008
The last 10 years for Russia can almost be compared to a "Rocky" movie, with Russia playing the part of Rocky Balboa, the underdog that everyone had written-off as a no hope contender.
In the blue corner was the USA, taking the role of Apollo Creed, the glitzy favorite complete with American flag shorts, a fighter few would bet against.
America took the opening rounds, but over the last few years (or rounds) Russia has made a comeback that even Rocky would be proud of. And as the fight reaches the closing stages it would seem that Russia is set to be the new "champion"
As Condoleezza Rice tries to convince the public that Russia is "isolating" itself from the rest of the world (Condoleezza Rice - Talking through her "farce" on Russia again), this is very far from reality. In truth it is the US that is cutting itself off from the rest of the world and becoming isolated.
The Bush administration has attempted to bully other countries into accepting its demands, using threats and insults to achieve this. Even Europe, America´s oldest ally, has been at the receiving end of the administrations anger, because they are reluctant to apply more pressure on Russia.
European support for the US began to fall after the illegal invasion of Iraq, hence the very limited military support. But there has been a far more noticeable cooling in the relationship since the Russia/Georgia conflict. Despite considerable pressure from the US, Europe refused to impose sanctions on Russia.
This was not entirely due to Europe´s dependence on Russian gas, but an overdue reaction at being constantly told what to do all the time, by a country (the US) that is more interested in its own agenda.
However, with the United States in deep financial trouble, looking for a war with Iran, and trying to pick a fight with Russia, is it any wonder that Europe are looking to place some distance between them and the US?
This arrogant and aggressive stance by the Bush administration is seriously hampering the more restrained and respectful approach that Europe have employed with Russia (which has been achieving much better results). Unlike the US, Europe do not see Russia as a new "Soviet Union" with global ambitions, they see Russia as a profitable trading partner (that isn´t up to its neck in debt!).
It was perhaps no surprise that the Russian stock market provided the biggest gains on the world market today (more than 22% on the RTS and 28% on the MICEX index), putting the more famous markets into the shade. Clearly, investors see a much more stable future in Russia than they do in the US, and my earlier suspicions that investors were perhaps "pressured" into selling by politicians, seems even more likely now (Is the West manipulating the Russian Stock Market?). But how can an investment company justify ignoring such an attractive market for more than a few days without losing the trust of its clients? Some US financial experts believe that the RTS will not go above the 1300/1400 mark (it is currently 1295.91), but I believe they are very wrong and I think this will pass the 1700 mark before slowing down.
It is a shame that America should face such humiliation, or that the taxpayers should be the ones to finance the failing companies. But maybe this is the price the public must pay for pretending everything was OK when their government was invading foreign countries, spending billions of dollars on wars, bankrupting the country with their policies, taking away your freedoms, your houses and your jobs, and letting the Mainstream Media fill your heads with their propaganda.
The final bell is about to sound, and the only chance "Apollo" has in this fight is to find a better leader (not the ones on offer at the moment), politicians that show some respect to other countries, and make friends with as many people as possible. Otherwise get used to hearing "Yo, Rocky!" much more in the near future.
In the blue corner was the USA, taking the role of Apollo Creed, the glitzy favorite complete with American flag shorts, a fighter few would bet against.
America took the opening rounds, but over the last few years (or rounds) Russia has made a comeback that even Rocky would be proud of. And as the fight reaches the closing stages it would seem that Russia is set to be the new "champion"
As Condoleezza Rice tries to convince the public that Russia is "isolating" itself from the rest of the world (Condoleezza Rice - Talking through her "farce" on Russia again), this is very far from reality. In truth it is the US that is cutting itself off from the rest of the world and becoming isolated.
The Bush administration has attempted to bully other countries into accepting its demands, using threats and insults to achieve this. Even Europe, America´s oldest ally, has been at the receiving end of the administrations anger, because they are reluctant to apply more pressure on Russia.
European support for the US began to fall after the illegal invasion of Iraq, hence the very limited military support. But there has been a far more noticeable cooling in the relationship since the Russia/Georgia conflict. Despite considerable pressure from the US, Europe refused to impose sanctions on Russia.
This was not entirely due to Europe´s dependence on Russian gas, but an overdue reaction at being constantly told what to do all the time, by a country (the US) that is more interested in its own agenda.
However, with the United States in deep financial trouble, looking for a war with Iran, and trying to pick a fight with Russia, is it any wonder that Europe are looking to place some distance between them and the US?
This arrogant and aggressive stance by the Bush administration is seriously hampering the more restrained and respectful approach that Europe have employed with Russia (which has been achieving much better results). Unlike the US, Europe do not see Russia as a new "Soviet Union" with global ambitions, they see Russia as a profitable trading partner (that isn´t up to its neck in debt!).
It was perhaps no surprise that the Russian stock market provided the biggest gains on the world market today (more than 22% on the RTS and 28% on the MICEX index), putting the more famous markets into the shade. Clearly, investors see a much more stable future in Russia than they do in the US, and my earlier suspicions that investors were perhaps "pressured" into selling by politicians, seems even more likely now (Is the West manipulating the Russian Stock Market?). But how can an investment company justify ignoring such an attractive market for more than a few days without losing the trust of its clients? Some US financial experts believe that the RTS will not go above the 1300/1400 mark (it is currently 1295.91), but I believe they are very wrong and I think this will pass the 1700 mark before slowing down.
It is a shame that America should face such humiliation, or that the taxpayers should be the ones to finance the failing companies. But maybe this is the price the public must pay for pretending everything was OK when their government was invading foreign countries, spending billions of dollars on wars, bankrupting the country with their policies, taking away your freedoms, your houses and your jobs, and letting the Mainstream Media fill your heads with their propaganda.
The final bell is about to sound, and the only chance "Apollo" has in this fight is to find a better leader (not the ones on offer at the moment), politicians that show some respect to other countries, and make friends with as many people as possible. Otherwise get used to hearing "Yo, Rocky!" much more in the near future.
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