Xi is Smiling
60 Minutes did a story about the ‘Mysterious Russian Death Syndrome’ – it works like this:
A journalist, reporting from Chechnya, Anna Politkovskaya wrote stories about torture, kidnapping, murders by Putin’s soldiers.
A colonel in Chechnya had locked her in prison, tortured her, led her outside, told her, “I’m going to shoot you.” In the darkness explosions erupted around her, crouching shoulders trembling, she saw the flashes of light. He’d staged a fake execution, seeing her fear told her, “Take off your clothes.”
Released from prison, back home in Moscow, in an elevator in her apartment building she was shot in the chest, shoulder, and head on Putin’s birthday.
A KGB agent in exile, who knew her, said Putin ordered her murder – two weeks later he was poisoned sitting in a London hotel drinking green tea.
One night in Moscow another Putin enemy was shot 4 times while walking across a bridge near the Kremlin.
The first time Trump ran for President, Joe Scarborough asked what he thought about Putin killing journalists – Trump said, ‘Well, I think our country does plenty of killing, too, Joe,’ called Putin a strong leader.
In China step by step Xi Jinping climbed the Communist Party ladder – locked Uyghur Muslims in internment camps, tore down crosses in churches, put his own picture in their place.
In India arranged marriages are an old custom – betrothed as a child Narendra Modi had to marry at 18 – after he married left home, wandered adrift. Never divorced his wife.
Eccentric, charismatic, winning elections, leading India, when Trump boasted Trump had ended the war between India and Pakistan, Modi told him he was wrong. Trump hit India with 50% tariffs.
At a summit Xi paraded Chinese soldiers wearing gold laced uniforms, arms swinging in sync, past Modi, Putin, other foreign leaders. Trump growled on Truth Social, ‘It looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to the world’s deepest, darkest China.’
In the 19th century the world’s greatest power, Great Britain, ruled a quarter of the globe. Times changed. Bombed by Hitler in 1940 Britain barely survived.
Russian soldiers took Berlin. Hitler killed himself. America and Russia were the world’s greatest powers.
The Soviet Union collapsed – America was the one dominant power. But now power’s shifting again. China, Russia and India’s populations dwarf ours – our economy’s still bigger but India and China are growing faster than we are. To stop Xi’s anti-American alliance we’re going to need allies. But Trump’s fracturing alliances – his 50% tariffs drove Modi into Xi’s arms and left Xi smiling.
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Telling stories, in his memoir Carter Wrenn follows The Trail of the Serpent twisting and turning through politics from Reagan to Trump. Order his book from Amazon.
Xi is Smiling
60 Minutes did a story about the ‘Mysterious Russian Death Syndrome’ – it works like this:
A journalist, reporting from Chechnya, Anna Politkovskaya wrote stories about torture, kidnapping, murders by Putin’s soldiers.
A colonel in Chechnya had locked her in prison, tortured her, led her outside, told her, “I’m going to shoot you.” In the darkness explosions erupted around her, crouching shoulders trembling, she saw the flashes of light. He’d staged a fake execution, seeing her fear told her, “Take off your clothes.”
Released from prison, back home in Moscow, in an elevator in her apartment building she was shot in the chest, shoulder, and head on Putin’s birthday.
A KGB agent in exile, who knew her, said Putin ordered her murder – two weeks later he was poisoned sitting in a London hotel drinking green tea.
One night in Moscow another Putin enemy was shot 4 times while walking across a bridge near the Kremlin.
The first time Trump ran for President, Joe Scarborough asked what he thought about Putin killing journalists – Trump said, ‘Well, I think our country does plenty of killing, too, Joe,’ called Putin a strong leader.
In China step by step Xi Jinping climbed the Communist Party ladder – locked Uyghur Muslims in internment camps, tore down crosses in churches, put his own picture in their place.
In India arranged marriages are an old custom – betrothed as a child Narendra Modi had to marry at 18 – after he married left home, wandered adrift. Never divorced his wife.
Eccentric, charismatic, winning elections, leading India, when Trump boasted Trump had ended the war between India and Pakistan, Modi told him he was wrong. Trump hit India with 50% tariffs.
At a summit Xi paraded Chinese soldiers wearing gold laced uniforms, arms swinging in sync, past Modi, Putin, other foreign leaders. Trump growled on Truth Social, ‘It looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to the world’s deepest, darkest China.’
In the 19th century the world’s greatest power, Great Britain, ruled a quarter of the globe. Times changed. Bombed by Hitler in 1940 Britain barely survived.
Russian soldiers took Berlin. Hitler killed himself. America and Russia were the world’s greatest powers.
The Soviet Union collapsed – America was the one dominant power. But now power’s shifting again. China, Russia and India’s populations dwarf ours – our economy’s still bigger but India and China are growing faster than we are. To stop Xi’s anti-American alliance we’re going to need allies. But Trump’s fracturing alliances – his 50% tariffs drove Modi into Xi’s arms and left Xi smiling.
*******
Telling stories, in his memoir Carter Wrenn follows The Trail of the Serpent twisting and turning through politics from Reagan to Trump. Order his book from Amazon.