Yeah, Yeah, I Know, Beaten To Death...

...topic and many people spoke about US "elites" generally having no clue about the world outside and, in case of Russia, having a deliberate BS narratives which, in addition, exacerbate institutional ignorance in the West in general, and US in particular. Among the latest on ignorance of Russia is by Tarik Amar in RT. 

Ignorance of Russia among Western elites is dangerous. A belligerent new intervention reveals just how far removed from reality many Western hawks are 

But truth is, former Sweden's PM Karl Bildt is known in Russia as a certified moron, same as former US Ambassador Michael McFaul, so there is very little use in discussing people who have serious learning disabilities and are uncultured, to boot. By being uncultured I, of course, do not mean that they lack superficial refinement, they don't, I am sure they know many fine Scotches and love to eat in reputable restaurants. No, by being cultured I mean people with moral principles and serious understanding of their craft. 

But the moment Amar makes his argument about general Western ignorance of Russia (not to mention a deliberate malicious lies), bang--one of the "Russia scholars" rears his ugly mind on Yahoo news and, first, bloviates on economic matters of Russia which he cannot possibly understand and then comes up with this wowser:

Courageous Navalny personifies limited but growing opposition to the Putin regime, which after two decades is now increasingly repressive. Management of the latest press conference reflects this harshness. In the past, media applied for accreditation. This time, by contrast, the Kremlin selected those who could attend. Approximately five hundred domestic and international press representatives participated. Among publications excluded was “Novaya Gazeta.” Managing Editor Dmitry Muratov just received the Nobel Peace Prize. Fellow journalist Maria Ressa of the Philippines also got the prestigious award. Both demonstrate great courage in opposing repression, resisting intimidation, thereby risking their lives and their careers. Media understandably focus on Ukraine, where Russia’s ominous military buildup continues. Putin heatedly asserted NATO is the provocateur, which is false.

Hm, let's see who the author of this drivel is. His name is Arthur I. Cyr. And as you may have guessed it already he is a... political "scientist".

Professor Cyr is a board member of the Japan America Society of Chicago, Real Racine, and the Racine YMCA Youth Leadership Program. He is a Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, member of the Century Association and the Council on Foreign Relations, the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Dr. Cyr served in the U.S. Army reserves and on active duty as an officer in military intelligence. He is a 1966 graduate of UCLA and received a Ph.D. with distinction in political science from Harvard University in 1971. At Harvard, he was a Frank Knox fellow in England, an NDEA Title IV fellow, and a teaching fellow. 

What is most aggravating here is that this guy served in "intelligence" and was involved with Chatam House, which explains why the guy spews utter BS--West's situational awareness of Russia is not just zero, it is genuinely negative due to the fallacy of the whole educational and analytical framework in the combined West which time after time provided astounding records of failure. It is especially true of UK-based "think-tanks" which still cannot overcome their sorrow of finding UK a lapdog of the United States and a country whose military and economic capabilities are those of a second-rate power, which is being kept in this league due to association with the US. Judging by the British "elites" the degeneracy is now a defining trait there. But, hey, at least English Premier League is still really good.  

Dude, that's the Siemens hat you are wearing.

The only competencies these people have are those of "analysts" of apparatchiks' games inside the swamp of America's political discourse and they still cannot learn the difference between policies and PR politicking which passes for policies. And Mr. Cyr by repeating same beaten to death tropes proves without a shadow of a doubt that political science, same as Western economism are scientifically fraudulent fields entirely unfit for tackling the issues of the modern era and the proof is in the pudding: since NO Western think-tank or member of "academe" could foresee a military and economic (not to speak of cultural and social) calamity which befell the Western civilization. Their failure is so stunning in its scale and scope that by now one has to question if these people, among which is Mr. Arthur I. Cyr are competent enough to mow the lawn let alone offer their utterly ignorant opinions on the subject they have no clue about.  In reality, they never did--I should know, I was there, while holding a very serious clearance. They didn't, simple as that. So, it is not me but Mr. Cyr who arrives to sheer idiocy as his conclusion:

Realism should guide policy, emphasizing the essential role of nation-states, and focus on national interests. A source of basic U.S. strength is our market economy, increasingly the way of the world. Russia today remains influential but isolated.

I once expressed myself on American "realists".  Come to think about it, this whole blog is about American "realists". And how there is very little realism in them.