Kasparov on Real Time

[Moderate Dem]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQYyPooETcI

If you didn't see Real Time last night, Bill interviewed Garry Kasparov, running for President of Russia. After the interview, the guests and the audience were blown away by this guy's sheer intellect. One small example was his explanation for Putin's involvement with Iran, such a simple explanation that I had never heard an American politician give.

Chris Mathews asked, "That was sophisticated and the audience was listening to every word. Our guys (candidates) never get to that level of sophistication, they talk down to us."

Kasparov gets in a few good natured digs at Bush, but he's definitely a pro-western politician.

Please watch this, and tell me if any American politician would dare to talk to the American people this way. I was truly impressed.

Doug

P.S. Real Time was also interrupted numerous times by (of all people) a bunch of 9/11 conspiracy nuts in the audience.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. It was AMAZING!

I have never been so riveted by a politician... he talked about things in terms of cause and effect and practical motives... he was rational. I don't know if I'd agree with him on everything, but it was a kind of political discourse we just don't see here.

When he explained all Russian foreign policy in one sentence I sat up on the couch and said, "Wow..." (And in the background you could hear Matthews exclaim, "Jesus!")

He said that Putin is popular only because oil is so expensive. Russia is doing well for that reason. So to remain in power, Putin's sole foreign policy mission is maintain (and increase) the price of oil.

Of course, cold-war types like Condi are not primed to equate Russia and Saudi Arabia because Russia was a net importer of oil for most of the cold war. But today Russia is best understood as a despotic oil state.

That's why Putin is stirring up shit in Iran... to maintain mid-east tensions for the sake of maintaining tensions. (It is not in Russia's national interest for Iran to become a nuclear power, and Russia will block them someday a few years down the road, but for now it serves Russia to supprt Iran just to keep tension high.)

And that's why Russia didn't do even more to block the Iraq war... not so much because our invading Iraq gave Russia a free hand in Chechnya or Georgia, but because the prospect of America utterly fucking up the middle-east represented a pay-day for Russia.

Something that follows from that is that the same goes for the supreme council in Iran. Their nuclear program is adding $10/barrel just by existing. It might be rational for Iran to fund a nuclear program for no reason other than maintaining tensions... it could be profitable even if they never produce a watt of nuclear power.

[Nomad559]

2. Real Time With Bill Maher - FULL VIDEO

Real Time With Bill Maher - 10/19/07

http://stage6.divx.com/user/Nomad559/video/1760374/Real-Time-With-Bill-Maher

:)

[AtomicKitten]

3. Kasparov is as brave as he is brilliant.

[RufusEarl]

4. I was simply speechless, after hearing him speak.

At least Matthews got it, i was a bit surprised at that given his lack of awareness.

Peace!

[Lint Head]

5. Kasparov will become a houshold name. I just hope he is

protected. We need more people in the world that speak the truth about human rights and freedom. There is no one with power in this country that has the courage to put their life in danger and speak the truth. Patrick Henry, "Give me liberty or give me death."
:dem:

[Mabus]

6. As a family of chess players

We've known who Kasparov is for longer than I care to remember. Last night on "Real Time" Kasparov was very eloquent, witty and insightful.

I was just a little puzzled by Tweety's remarks since he is one of the main drivers behind the lack of genuine political discourse in our country. Tweety likes sound bites better than he likes substance. He'll nitpick over one word, expression and then derive a motivation that he shares, repeats and perpetuates on his show. He'll do that rather than talk about the nuances of our own political figures. Stephanie Miller was right. Tweety is a tool.

[applegrove]

7. That man thinks clearer than clear. Of course Putin would love wars

and instability in the ME, all the oil companies do.

[KaptBunnyPants]

8. Hmm, I think Kasparov is wrong on this.

If Putin was acting to increase the price of oil, he would allow us to attack Iran. The uncertainty produced by wider Mid-East War would send the price of oil soaring even further. Iran is a good target for the oil industry. They have little oil themselves, so production lines wouldn't be endangered, but the ensuing panic would allow for vast amounts of war profiteering. I'm disappointed in Kasparov, I would hope someone of his intellect would see such an obvious flaw in his theory. If I were to venture a theory as to why Putin was involving himself in the US/Iran conflict, it would be that he wants influence within the region, not something as ridiculous as the idea that invading Iran would result in cheap oil. No one important wants cheap oil, not Russia's power elite and certainly not our own. How do oil companies make money if everyone's giving it away for nothing?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

9. Might not be that simple

Putin does not want us to attack Iran for a variety of reasons, even though such an attack would lead to oil price gains. He does not want Iran to be destablized and become another Iraq on his doorstep... a chaotic breeding ground for every sort of violent movement, a haven for Chechnyan rebels, and exporter of Islamis revolution throught the "stans", etc..

But he is happy to maintain a sense of crisis in the ME to support oil prices. The optimum is maximum oil prices without war. That's the sweet spot.

There would be downsides for everyone in the region in a US-Iran war.

[Monk06]

10. Yes it is more complicated than Kasparov's oil price treaty.

He neglected to mention that the US oil industry
also benefits from ME instability and high oil
prices.

As far as his Iran strategy is concerned he has
a well publicized plan to unite the Caspian states
within the context of the Caspian Sea Treaty which
represents Putin's response to the loss of the
ex Warsaw Pact alliance.

With this treaty he has a political pretext resistance
of sanctions against Iran and he has also removed
Azerbaijan from exposure to US influence. In so doing
he has neutered the Caspian Sea pipeline as an
end run strategy to weaken Russia's energy dominance
in Europe.

I'm surprised Kasparov didn't mention these issues.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

11. K& R for coolness. Great TV.