Don’t worry. I’m right on top of whatever happens in Pravda, the leading newspaper of the Russian Federation. Or, at least, I’m right on top of whatever they report in their English language version. The thing that had me choking on my onion and boursin cheese bagel this morning was the story headlined FBI arrests another spy in the White House, ‘prevents’ Philippine revolution. The whole Philippine thing is entertaining and laughable on its own, but further down in the story the reader will find so many layers of irony and amusement as to spray their breakfast cereal about the room.
Both the US and Russia have had their McCarthies, their purges, and spies, so a harkening back to McCarthyism might be chuckle-worthy. But then the author, Ivan Shmelev, drops the hammer. Here it is:
The CIA’s and FBI’s “success” in the struggle against spies can probably be interpreted as an attempt of the services to put a good face on things against the harsh criticism of unprofessional work in connection with the investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. More and more reports about the background of the horrendous attacks surface in the USA, casting doubts on the official version of the tragedy. One shall assume that American special services are trying to display vigilance looking for spies in the White House.
If nothing else, I like Pravda as a guage of how the rest of the world sees us. Their glasses don’t have the same rosy lenses favored by American media.