The Nation will take you to visit the Kremlin

[bluedye33139]

The Nation, a magazine that routinely attacks Democrats and consistently pushes a pro-Kremlin agenda, will take you to Russia to visit with Russian officials if you pay the money.

They have gone from being a crypto Kremlin operation to being a fully active operation.

https://www.thenation.com/travels/russia/

[evertonfc]

1. they suck

[fpublic]

2. Bingo for jingoism

"... fully active (Kremlin) operation"?
the Nation Magazine?
With John Nichols, Rev. Wm. Barber II, Joan Walsh, Chris Hayes on the masthead?

Your DU post from Feb 2017, "We must be merciless" sums up your strategy with this OP: "...I have been torn between my ethical and positive self and my ruthless Machiavellian self...I believe that we have reached a time in history where Machiavellian power politics must be used...must beat the Trump Administration to the ground with allegations that Trump and his henchman are operatives of the Kremlin... At this point, it does not matter to me if this is true or not. It has the appearance of Truth, and there is a long history of Trump's involvement with Putin and Russia. "

I do agree that Dems need to be tough and aggressive but to stoop to the jingoist tarring of The Nation as a Kremlin operation needs to be called out.

No way I can acquiesce to such crude power politics. If like your manifesto, DU stops caring what is true and swerves to desperate smears just because of a zero-sum calculations, then DU will have lost.

[pnwmom]

4. RT has had some liberals on its masthead, too. That doesn't make it a trustworthy source. nt

[bluedye33139]

5. So defend the Nation

Knock yourself out. Got a lot to say about me, but what can you say about the project of putting people in contact with Kremlin officials?

Can you identify what you were trying to do with this quotation from years ago?

do you think that I'm hiding facets of my persona and personality and you're discovering them?

[Celerity]

3. Meet with editors of Novaya Gazeta, Russia's independent muckraking newspaper, and other independent

media and cultural leaders.

https://www.thenation.com/travels/russia/




Novaya Gazeta is very anti-Putin.


The Putin Regime Is Forcing Russia’s Best and Brightest Into Exile

The hammer of oppression falls hard on women and men who dare to speak out against the Kremlin and its policies.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-putin-regime-is-forcing-russias-best-and-brightest-into-exile

MOSCOW – Best-selling Russian novelist Yulia Latynina begins her mornings with long runs on the beach, a tropical wind blowing through her flame-red hair—far away from the dark, freezing winters of her homeland.

These days Latynina, along with her mother Alla Latynina, a literary critic, and her father, the prolific poet Leonid Latynin, enjoy stunning views of a mountain valley, of blooming gardens, of light rays changing colors above the sea as they write, but for safety reasons they asked me not to mention precisely where they are. Suffice to say that they spend most of their time far away from their Moscow home.

The family’s nightmare began in 2016 when mobs of trolls attacked Latynina on social media after she published an article in Novaya Gazeta about “Putin’s chef,” billionaire caterer Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is also the Russian president’s go-to guy for such nefarious activities as internet-based attacks on American presidential elections and mercenary armies for deployment in Africa and the Middle East.

“Get out of Russia, we’ll breathe easier without your liberal stink,” one of the posts said. Soon, ugly words turned into ugly actions: Latynina’s attackers followed her for weeks until, in August 2016, somebody poured excrement all over her as she was on her way to the radio station Echo of Moscow.

snip

[DFW]

6. The Nation is not as monolithic as it is sometimes made out to be

They are willing to print other points of view. They have even run something I once wrote, and I am certainly no Warren-Sanders fan. Now, I love Katrina like a sister. We have been friends for many years, although she knows perfectly well that our views diverge seriously on many issues (Russia being one of them--she has her contacts there that I don't, I have mine in Washington that she doesn't, even though she has more). By the way, The Nation has been running December cruises to Cuba for many years. No one seemed to get all steamed up over that.

Though she is friends with Elizabeth Warren, Katrina agreed with me (last time we met up, anyway, this was in July) that while she favors Warren, she would probably not be the best candidate for the Democrats to run. This is an objective opinion that runs openly contrary to her personal sentiments. I haven't spoken with her since, so maybe she has changed her mind--and then, again, maybe she is only publishing things she thinks her audience wants to hear. She has quite a few firebrands among her writers and is quite aware of it. Sure, she runs their stuff. But if you have something eloquently phrased that puts forward a progressive-but-not-extreme opposing view, send it to her. She sees material that is sent in, and you might just find yourself published in The Nation. I'm certainly not the first or last "nobody" to have something published there.

By the way, it was at a Nation event in Washington that I asked Barber if he would be willing to speak at the Democratic convention in 2016, and he said though no one had asked him, he'd be willing. So I put in the word with my contacts at the DNC, and lo and behold, he was on the program. By the time the convention was happening, it was clear that Hillary would be the nominee, but you didn't see Barber backing out, did you? It is easy to see absolutes everywhere, but reality, especially in Washington, is rarely as cut and dried as many make it out to be.

[bluedye33139]

8. Real question. You think I am going to oppose contact with Cuba?

Are you seriously telling me that I am going to be opposed to cultural contact with Cuba and contact with Cuban government officials?

False equivalence much?

Personal background that might interest you. I lived in Miami for a long time, speak Spanish, love Cubans, love keeping culture, have some problems with Cuba's totalitarian past but generally speaking and quite comfortable with Cuba.

So, no, I am not going to complain about cultural trips to Cuba. Odd that you would think I would.

[DFW]

10. It must be difficult walking around with that lead chip on your shoulder

Contact with Russia is the best way we'll ever give their people the impression we're not their enemies--just like Cuba. I didn't think you'd object to contact with Cuba, just find it odd that contact with Russians should be in another category. I used to hang with Soviet officials all the time when my Dad worked in DC. It wasn't difficult. TACC was on his floor in the National Press Building, and they hardly even bothered to disguise their KGB status. Igor Ignatiev even tried to recruit my dad, and when my dad told him to cut the crap and get real, he sheepishly said, OK, well, I was instructed to try.

As for me, I never lived in Miami, but I have lived in Spain, speak both Spanish and Russian, as well as 6 other European languages (7 if you include English). I was only in Cuba once, invited by their government (long story). Interesting, but I have about a hundred other places I want to see first before I go back, half of which are less than 2 hours' flight from where I live (Düsseldorf).

[bluedye33139]

11. I walk around okay

It must be wonderful to dispense insults like this. Thank you for establishing your range.

My question was whether you actually thought that I would attack the idea of supporting Cuban people. I do not see an answer. It seems like a worthless driveby throwaway point. Do you care to expand on it?

I do not believe that Cuba poses a threat to United States. I do not believe that the Cuban government poses a threat to the United States. There is no evidence of the Cuban government poisoning our elections. For these reasons, I have no problem with Cuba.

After the DNC hack, it became clear that Russia was seriously determined to attack our democracy.

The Nation works to minimize the Russian threat to our democracy. For that reason I detest that stupid rag.

[NCLefty]

7. I think Chris Hayes is still "editor-at-large" for them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hayes

[bluedye33139]

9. An.

One of the editors at large.