Seizing Russian tankers is piracy. Putin is right.
Wed 11:03 am +00:00, 29 Jul 2026 4Russia’s navy is protecting tankers as is the Chinese navy.
Putin met his naval commanders recently, and refused to put out a transcript of the conversation. The film version has been seen andit is clear that Putin wants to hit back. An upgrade from the SPecial Military Opweration afetr four years. Peskov has already said the SMO is past, on western media, and it is a real war now as the Europeans have made it so. Major escalation is clearly coming.
I do wish Alexander would stop fidgeting in his chair when he does his podcasts and stop waggling his head and waving his fists while he hunts for a word. I usually just leave his face visible, because his hand movements are so irritating
I know what you mean, but I see it differently Belyi. He is apparently a kind of genius with an unusual ability to hold a huge amount of information in his head, sort and structure it all, and then present it coherently within a structure of perception that he maintains continuously. These are most unusual qualities. The Other Alex is more a collector of news stories that fit with a world view that he maintains, without lacing it all together into one garment, as it were, with less handle on a total overview.
Great ability is usually accompanied by inability in other areas. To be human in fact. Being human is an important part of his crediility. Do you want a machine? I like imperfection. It makes a source understandable and more believable. And likeable. I relate to imperfection. It’s just like me. It’s probably also why they work well together. Christoforou is smooth and self assured (and amusing) possibly verging on the flippant, as he skips between segments. Mercouris has to overcome a slight shyness. He also couldn’t skip a detail if he wanted to. They need each other.
Mercouris’ accent is classic English, but his cultural background is elsewhere. Brits are superficial to a great extent, trained not to delve too far from birth, and go to the solution first. He is more typically central or Eastern European in his ways where a four hour meeting is the norm. While Brits sort out the issue in ten minute chats (or shorter), and rush forward, others in the region like to go through every detail and make sure all is correct as often as possible. Denial of immediate comforts no problem. Formality takes over.
I’m not criticizing his content, although he is a bit long-winded, neither am I comparing him with Alex. But I watch many other commentators and not one fidgets like Alexander. I don’t find it very professional.
Don’t stop his mannerisms. That’s the way to spot AI. They can’t replicate personality, head shuffles, fist waves and catchphrases like ‘just saying’. Imperfections mean real. Too perfect means AI. AI means deception.