“…. (We) all know Canada lives in the shadow of its larger neighbour to the south. The abject cruelty shown by Canadian soldiers in international conflicts is scantily referred to, as indeed is the utter incapacity of this country to host a major international event, due to its inferiority complex, born of a trauma being the skinny and weakling bro to a beefy United States and a colonial outpost to the United Kingdom, whose Queen smiles happily from Canadian postage stamps. Maybe it is this which makes the Canadians so…retentive, or cowardly…. Vancouver is mutton dressed as lamb. Take off the outer veneer, and the stench is horrific.” Pravda, Feb.19, 2010.
“The Soviet Union did not collapse. It simply disengaged, on a voluntary basis, as foreseen in the constitution. No sweat, no problems, no big deal…. It is not Moscow’s fault that the Baltic States decided to side with NATO not out of any animosity towards Russia but more so because it is good business and greases a few palms, but don’t tell Washington. It is not Moscow’s fault Georgia is run by a tie-chewing homicidal maniac who should be strung up by is balls.” Pravda, Feb.28, 2010.
These passages were written by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey, a British subject and self-proclaimed “one of the leading song-writers of the 1980’s” who has been on the permanent staff of Russia’s foremost newspaper, Pravda, for several years.
Bancroft-Hinchey once wrote that the “main trait most journalists must have is modesty.” This makes one wonder what mental and moral gymnastics a non-Russian writer for Pravda must undergo to have his comments regularly published.
Let’s try to simulate his thought process as he settles in at his computer keyboard to type out the above two comments: “Let’s see…. that which irritates Canadians the most is being called inferior to the U.S. Yeah, reminding the world that ‘Canada lives in the shadow’ of the U.S. will really make Ottawa cringe. I bet they haven’t heard that one before. I’ll call Canada ‘the skinny and weakling bro to a beefy United States’. Boy, the Canucks are sure to cower with that one. And I’ll throw in a ‘bro’ to show them I know Afro-American idiom. Hey, maybe I can use ‘dude’ somewhere here.”
“Ok, so I’ve worked the Olympic fiasco to death. I’ve got to get on my regular beat now. Hmmm…’The Soviet Union did not collapse’. That’ll rattle them. ‘It simply disengaged, on a voluntary basis.’ Oops, Putin’ll have a fit. He saw the U.S.S.R.’s cave-in as the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century. I know, I’ll balance this off with some snide references to the Baltic states and corruption within NATO and I’ll call Saakashvili nuts who should be strung up by same. The Yankees will wince for sure. That’ll show ‘em.”
Watching Moscow demonize the USA has been a time-honoured pastime for a few generations. But rarely do we see Pravda (a.k.a. the Kremlin’s mouthpiece) attempt to ridicule and humiliate Canada with such ‘over-the-top’ excess. Ah, yes Mr. Bancroft-Hinchey, many think that you have a sought-after prescription for medication called ‘vials of wrath’ that elevates your conniption level accordingly.
One can sympathize with the frustration of world-ranked Russian athletes, whose trip to the winner’s podium was cut short by a fraction of a second or an elusive judge’s point. One may even understand coaches, journalists, yes even prime ministers, searching for answers in the most implausible places. But one must adjust one’s cognitive filter for crudeness/boorishness to handle Bancroft-Hinchey’s prose. One must assume it’s OK. It passes Pravda’s quality control.
Sticks and stones … and hyperbole (4)
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Commentary here is supposed to reflect readers' opinion. With "plants" like this one and the endless stream of provocation from Maxim de la Trine, that is hardly the case.
The editors are inexplicably lax here.
The editors are inexplicably lax here.
And of course McDonald's e-mail address is a false one:
That figures.
That figures.
I. McDonald is correct that “Pravda Online” is unaffiliated with the former USSR Communist Party (CP) mouthpiece of the same name. The latter was disbanded as a result of Boris Yeltsin’s fiat dissolving the CP and seizing “all” of its property in August-September 1991.
So McDonald is correct in a “sort of” way: the vast majority of the Pravda staff established a new “independent” journal of the same name and in 1999 launched Pravda Online. The most prominent leaders of the initiative were former Pravda editors Vadim Gorshenin and Viktor Linnik.
Even today, Pravda Online has impeccable access to Russian Federation (RF) military brass.
As for its Business Model? An English language page which bears no resemblance to its Russian language page? A website with “journalists” who write in English? A website with no discernable advertising on its English pages? A website that continually bashes the US and justifies RF hypocrisy (e.g. RF`s illegal withdrawal from the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty). Follow the money.
I doubt that Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey is a volunteer.
Or do you believe that Canada/Britain/USA or maybe the Freemason's are funding the website?
So McDonald is correct in a “sort of” way: the vast majority of the Pravda staff established a new “independent” journal of the same name and in 1999 launched Pravda Online. The most prominent leaders of the initiative were former Pravda editors Vadim Gorshenin and Viktor Linnik.
Even today, Pravda Online has impeccable access to Russian Federation (RF) military brass.
As for its Business Model? An English language page which bears no resemblance to its Russian language page? A website with “journalists” who write in English? A website with no discernable advertising on its English pages? A website that continually bashes the US and justifies RF hypocrisy (e.g. RF`s illegal withdrawal from the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty). Follow the money.
I doubt that Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey is a volunteer.
Or do you believe that Canada/Britain/USA or maybe the Freemason's are funding the website?
Arvamus
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