Hi all. Long time reader, first time diarist.
Condi is in Moscow to 'smooth the way' for a Bush-Putin summit this summer, according to this article in The Guardian. A confused reader could be forgiven for wondering which foreign minister was visiting what time zone. However, for the rest of us, there's glorious irony:
But speaking aboard her aircraft as she flew to the Russian capital, she told reporters: "The centralisation of state power in the presidency at the expense of countervailing institutions like the duma [lower house of parliament] or an independent judiciary is clearly very worrying."
Wow... I seem to recall reading something very similar to this about a different nation. But where...?
Oh wait - yes, I remember. It was in these very pages. Shocking.
The justification for this centralization (reverting back to Murican English spellings) of power in the executive also sounds suspiciously familiar:
[Putin's] allies claim the reforms will strengthen state control in the fight against Chechen terrorism...
I imagine that that little gem can be found in the
How to Be a World Leader manual.
But wait, there's more! In another classic 'I'm rubber and you're glue' moment:
Ms Rice also condemned the growing state manipulation of Russia's broadcast media yesterday, saying: "The absence of an independent media on the electronic side is clearly very worrying."
And U.S.-Russian relations are chilly? It's like looking in a freakin' mirror! This isn't some bizarre form of self-loathing, is it?
Whatever the case may be, I, for one, will be searching the headlines for Condi's incisive and critical in-flight comments on the state of democracy, the judiciary, and the media in the capital to which she returns. Or her press office could make it easy on her: just cut and paste these comments and switch a few names around. Done.