Gilbert Doctorow has accused me of "calumny" (the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation). I'll let you, the reader, decide if this is so.
Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Ritter. We're thankful for all you do.
Doctorow is a sniffy Atlanticist ninny who got his ass kicked last year by John Helmer in a debate on The Duran. Sadly, there's about as much chance he'd debate you as there is of him starting for the New York Knicks.
Articulate and emotionally charged as your style. I follow you. I have a Russian visa and hope to get there about early June. Was in Helsinki in 2023 but didn't go. Should have. I would like to meet you. @starstream007 at X МОЛОДЕЦ ! Ralph Schultz Chicago.
what has happened in the UK... is beyond belief! Your ex-central banker got installed in Canada as the "new" PM and is fully determined to replicate that disaster here!.. while becoming a BILLIONAIRE in the process, using OUR Pension Funds!
Bullshit. I’m in the U.K. and i have never had to provide biometric data/identification for anything other than my iphone. Nothing. Not civil society, let alone this article or anything else on Substack. I’m afraid you might need to go look up what “fascist” actually means, because it’s not what you are describing.
Well, iphone seems alarming enough, I wouldn't be so lighthearted about that!
In EU, we don't need to provide biometrics on my iphone, at least for now, but Brussels and also our local legislative are gradually going in the sasme direction, it is clear that this is only a matter of time...
Why are you so sure that you know the definition of "fascist"? I found tons of different definitions. When we say "fascism", we draw paralels from historical fascism (e.g. Italy, Spain, etc.): one of the central elements of fascism is militarism, financed by western financial and industrial private corporations, and persecution of everyone who is opposed fascist policies. Which, today, is definitely happening in the UK. Remember the granma being arrested for attending a peaceful protest against genocide in Gaza. Not to mention that independent journalists who "dare" to report on what is really happening in Gaza, are harrased, persecuted and stipped of their bank accounts. In Germany, the same applies to journalists who dared to report from Donbass (e.g. Alina Lipp). If that is not fascism, I don't know what is. How would you describe such a system?
Yes, i agree that Starmer’s government are ratcheting up the authoritarianism. However i wasn’t clear regarding the iphone - we don’t have to enter biometric data into the phones, it’s an optional security measure for locking and accessing the phone alongside six-digit codes. We aren’t required by anyone to use this feature.
Scott you should STOP responding to academic bootlickers like Doctrow and stop looking to 0.01 asskissers like Malcom Gladwell. You stand alone with your monumental achievements. You are the USA's #1 patriot. These cretins are not worth even 30 seconds of your time. Academics have NEVER made USA great. It's those like you who have actually put their boots on the real ground and shoulders to the wheel who have made America truly great. Farting around in libraries and publishing books and papers only makes you well qualified as a good solid water carrier like Doctrow and Gladwell.
Well if Scott is one of those Patriots who make America truly great, why isn't he devoting more of his time to denouncing the worthless Dumpster's fascist initiatives in the US? Because while Scott's work with trying to lessen Russophobia in the United States is truly commendable,, and on Danny Haiphong's show Scott was YELLING that he didn't vote for the national guard and Trump's gestapo to be terrorizing immigrants, BUT HE DID vote for The Dumpster because "Trump knows what a woman is",, now if that isn't some demented bigoted idiocy to be voting for someone on the basis of, I don't know what is...
Unfortunately, Scott has serious "anger issues," as the shrinks say; he is quite intolerant and seriously abusive. I stopped listening to his own podcasts a while ago, however, his contributions on the otherss podcasts are usually very valuable. I can just imagine how much his wife has suffered over the years. I guess, he also “knows women,” huh? This whole public spectacle of exchanging invectives with Doctorow is quite disgusting.
Yeah it looks like Scott has the same thing going as John Vance,, the famous American Colonel who was busted during the Vietnam war but came back to Vietnam as an "aid advisor" with a major general's rank LOL but the point is,, this guy just could not stop cheating on his wife WITH teen girls... I call it the "restless johnson" syndrome but yeah I agree his wife probably has some harrowing stories about how she's trying to keep their marriage together but in any case,, it's obvious how caught up Scott was AND IS in the MAGA cult because of his rancid bigotry,, Like Larry Johnson and Colonel McGregor acting like just because Trump is a disgusting demented bigot and he'll say the quiet part out loud, that Trump is some sort of demigod when all he is is a childish stupid lunatic who hates gay people and immigrants and black people and women...
Well I tend to cut Scott a LITTLE slack with that,, I'd read the comments too during a live stream but I agree the way he gets all bent out of shape about it is a little suspect... Last time I saw this happen was on Danny Haiphong's show and Scott was SCREAMING "I DIDN'T VOTE FOR TERRORIZING IMMIGRANTS, IMMIGRANTS DO VERY VALUABLE WORK IN THE US" and he might not have but he voted for the rest of Trump's lunatic program, apparently agreeing with Larry Johnson that the most important thing is "knowing what a woman is" which is THE MOST DEMENTED Q cult talking point,, especially when we know what we know about Trump's being involved with Epstein and his underage girl farm... Bottom line is SCOTT VOTED FOR ALL OF THIS,, I think because he wanted that unseemly solicitation conviction pardoned but I guess getting his passport and his gadgets back was good enough for him...
No, Scott should NOT stop exposing such pettiness. And, showing that you not only can, but must justify your use of "strong language" in the face of that pettiness. Doctorow could have asked to challenge Scott directly in a talk show. Instead Doctorow poured out his spite on camera without risking to be challenged. What a coward. By all means, Scott must respond to save people who think they are listening to "education" from being fooled.
There was a heated debate on The Duran when both Gilbert Doctorow and John Helmer were guests. I no longer tune in to shows when he is the guest, a sort of sense that something isn't quite right.
Ignore Doctorow. He's a wart on the backside of American intelligentsia. Even if he had said nothing nasty to you, this has become obvious to anyone paying attention.
With all of his academic credentials somehow Prof. Doctorow isn’t smart enough to understand that he ought not pick a fight with a man who is more experienced, wiser, and more courageous than he can imagine.
What academic credentials? He mostly worked in a corporate world and once taught something somewhere so he insist on calling himself a professor and a doctor. The latter, together with his last name and this henna hair, is quite ridiculous. It also took me a while to realize he is not that good at geopolitical analysis nor understands Russia or Russians. He should stick with the EU politics.
He’s married into this aging dissidents Leningrad crowd who are pro-western and consider themselves uber sophisticated bc in their youth they had a Tsvetaeva book hidden under their pillow and Vysotsky tapes and graduated from teachers colleges where they learned poor English. Most of them emigrated and spread their innate Rusophobia and anticommunism around universities and media in America. Welcomed by the CIA.
Scott, you talk and share a beer with Russians, at all levels, on and off the record. Doctorow watches Russian TV. You were targeted by the US government for understanding Russia too well. Doctorow repeats Rubio talking points regarding President Putin and his associates. When he "went off the rails", so to speak, I thought it was a crude effort to boost his visibility (nothing like a little debate to boost the "clicks"); but then he persisted and got it completely wrong regarding the theatre around the recent "peace plan". He has seriously damaged his credentials, while yours remain as strong as ever. Most importantly, your integrity and sincerity remain as pure as ever. Keep up the great work, and thank you. You and your colleagues on Judging Freedom and elsewhere are doing a great service for the world. Great article.
What I have learned in life was from 'experience' not University experience.
SO many of us who did find it difficult to use Grammar in school or learn different languages are 'put down.'
I am exactly the same as you.
4 countries later I can tell you (without doubt) that I support you.
Some of us are 'eyes wide open' and see the crass, under-aknowledged people who have seen the truth from experience. But we are belittled all the time.
I understand you and I would be very happy NOT to see Doctorow on anything with regard to Russia.
OH PLEASE,, if you're still stuck on this duopoly football game bullcrap you're too dumb to even converse with,, if Harris would have been elected the proxy war in Ukraine would still be stalled the way it is now, the culture War would still be going on because MAGA is still around,, and very little would have changed except that prices would not be going up because they wouldn't have started the idiotic tariff War...
"Mic Norton"... the picture you have next to your name represent the best the Left has to offer... just so peaceful... almost like the "fiery, but mostly peaceful" riots we saw in 2020... and yes, Scott's knowledge of Russia is absolutely astounding!
You're like every other MAGA moron,, you think you can shovel violent rhetoric 24/7 and that no one is ever going to call you on it... Has Kathy Griffin ordered any extrajudicial killings on anyone? NO,, she made a gag that accurately in my opinion expressed the end result of Trump's idiotic program,, so as the Muskrat said, deal with it LOL...
Semper Fi! A couple of points. After serving in Vietnam from 1969-1970, I went to college mostly under the GI Bill. Became a professional student for 14 years through summer school, achieving over three Master's degrees. With that background in mind, I’ll be the first to admit that experience trumps education, any day of the week.
Secondly, your achievements speak for themselves. Why the need to justify yourself to a blowhard academic?
Thirdly, I started lifting weights when I was 13 years old to prevent getting my ass kicked in the tough neighborhood I grew up in. The result was that I always chose to fight rather than ignore the source. It didn’t matter if the source was multiple individuals. My instinct was always to fight rather than turn the other cheek.
But alas, I just turned 75, as I reflect on my life, I now realize that allowing someone to set you off is a form of control. Yes, name-calling the sanctimonious Doctorow is counterproductive. My experience has been that most people choose to focus on your reaction rather than the circumstances that initially triggered the response.
Above all else, I want you to know I believe in your integrity and honor. This Marine grunt salutes you!
Yeah but that guy - salute - ISN'T an officer,, and AS AN officer aren't you EXPECTED to respond to challenges in kind? If so,, a response to an academic dipstick like Gilbert requires an academic response which you gave right here,, and OKAY maybe moron and piece of s*** were a little too far LOL but hey heat of the moment right?💯
Yeah I did,, Procopio said he thought Scott was demeaning himself by forwarding a big long response to Gil's slander,, that he thought Scott's credentials stood on their own without any pushback and Scott said, message received... MY point was that yeah that might be acceptable for a regular recruit or a PFC but nco's and officers I thought were expected to FULLY respond to an opponent and if it takes a full volume for that response then so be it...
Yeah well then Vinnie I retract the salute lol 👌,, all I was saying was that it's an officer's prerogative to expand on his rebuttal of some academic's accusations,, and "you're a moron ya piece of s" IS perhaps unbecoming of an officer however,, as a non-officer and only a gentleman I tend to cut Scott some slack...
Gilbert Doctorow is not really an academic. He worked in the corporate world. Scott is a highly educated man and an accomplished writer, he also possesses serious *academic knowledge about the military hardware. No, life experience is not superior to education. Only maybe in the humanities, which the engineering students call the Micky Mouse” subjects.
You have hit the proverbial nail on the head. Perfect, astute comment, I m o. And I love - and am not surprised by - Scott's response. Don't we have adversaries enough without this internecine putdowns and name-calling?? Let's not get so distracted and lose focus.
WELL Scott in my (amateur) opinion Gilbert IS a moron,, BUT you may have gone too far in calling him a piece of dump... A better descriptive might be, piece of garbage,, piece of work,, piece of unfinished pottery LOL,, BUT you were the target of his slander so I give you the benefit of the doubt...
The whole competition over who should be considered an expert on Russia, who understands Russia best, and what Russia “really is” — all of that is a typical exercise, including among those who consider themselves part of the Russian intelligentsia. So you and Gilbert are neither the first nor the last to end up arguing on that basis.
There’s no real point in the back-and-forth between you and Gilbert. But there is value in using disagreement and differences to test your own positions, refine your perspective, and find new thoughts and new words to express it.
Ultimately, all of us are both right and wrong — the question is always one of proportions: how much rightness, how much wrongness, how coherent our thoughts are, how consistent and well-founded they are, how vivid and complete our understanding is, and how strong its predictive power may be.
You, Scott, are sometimes right and sometimes wrong. So is Gilbert. And if someone takes your considerations as input for forming conclusions or making decisions, they will still have to deal with the inevitable mixture of rightness and wrongness in what you say — and with the breadth of your perspectives. From a game-theory point of view, everyone can play, and everyone is being played. So, one cannot know exact consequences of ones words and influence.
In Russia, people feel a huge warmth toward you, Scott, because there is something unmistakably, classically American about you, and it resonates with something classically Russian. Maybe, you know for yourself already, that pieces of classical American literature were on everybody's bookshelf at home in Russia/Soviet Union. That — you being you — gives you a tremendous advantage when building relationships — an advantage very few people have. A down-to-earth man who’s easy to connect with, who hugs, empathizes, laughs loudly, criticizes himself yet has plenty to be proud of, criticizes his own country yet clearly loves it. The list is incomplete, but the image is appealing; many Russians recognize in it a classic archetype — including within their own culture. That is the kind of person one can speak with heart-to-heart. The search for the “Russian soul” is like the search for the Holy Grail. Why look so far away?
But there is also meaning in Gilbert’s rightness and wrongness. As there is meaning in any doubt. To be honest, his analyses — based on Russian TV shows, which he takes far too seriously — make me laugh. Or maybe I’m wrong for underestimating the power of daily talking heads, whose endless chatter eventually produces real social and political effects (like in an unlikely vessel like Gilbert)? All of this can be discussed for a long time and in an interesting way. One can also wave it all aside as unimportant. But I think for Russians the two of you matter simply as people who pay close attention to them. Russia and Russians haven’t been spoiled with attention or respect for a long time. That is beginning to change. But for now, anyone who genuinely tries to understand and study us inevitably inspires a certain sympathy. A very important tool for a person trying to understand themselves is a mirror. You are, in a sense, a "mirror".
I hope to see you again on The Duran. The episodes you did there — a few years ago now (time flies!) — were excellent.
I hope you manage to get your “interview of a lifetime.”
John Prine sings: "...you forgive me, I'll forgive you, we'll forgive each other till we both turn blue then I'll whistle and go fishin' in the river." I suggest you e mail Professor Doctorow and suggest an extended, private back and forth; the minuscule community of men and women doing what both of you are attempting to do can only be weakened by this kind of bickering - and playing into the hands
those who will no doubt try to exacerbate these divisions. (and listen to John Prine - great old song)
No westerner can be completely “right” about Russians. All they know is from books and conversations with those who crowd them when they are there.
Ex: Scott and a few of his other comrades who travel to Moscow keep on saying—with this air of total confidence—that Russians are “spiritual” people, that the Orthodoxy is being alive and well in Russia, and that Russians are all very religious.
Ughh Gives me hives!
America is the only “white” religious country in the world and they are just projecting their little inner Christian. This is how they really know. It’s time for everyone to get a huge dose of humility.
Thanks for all you are doing Scott. I love your work even if I may not necessarily agree with all your opinions. Please keep going. Best wishes to your family.
JESUS CHRIST the guy is accusing Scott of being an agent for the Russian government because he accepted payment for articles on RT,, but since RT DIDN'T provide a script or an outline of what they wanted to see,, Scott is just practicing journalism which journalists all across the United States do every day... OH THAT'S NOT QUITE true,, we already know the MAGA cult has definite outlines for what they want their assets/ journalists to say, and the Democrats for their part have the chorus think tank providing guidelines for THEIR so-called influencers...
1. The word "expert" doesn't resonate with the same respect after the COVID lockdowns, curfews and mandates: "listen to the experts" has now an authoritarian resonance.
2. Doctor Doctor-ow (two doctors in a row, DrDr-ow, reinforced expertise) gets most of his analyses from Saint Petersburg opposition elites, foreign cab drivers, and watching Russian TV shows from his home in Brussels, the creepy gloomy wet NATO HQ city. Who needs a PhD title with a family name like Doctor-ow anyway?...
In short:
Gilbert Doc-Doc-Row, Russian TV Kremlinologist, the not so intrepid Tintin in NATO Belgium.
I will always take your word for the truth than what Gilbert Doctorow is claiming. Keep up your good work. It is highly appreciated and I watch your interviews everywhere where I can find them. 👍
Scott. I’m in your corner. I met you, your two daughters and the judge in Kingston two summers ago. The outline of your credentials is truly formidable. With all due respect, you are a little over the top when talking about Gilbert. It is below you. But I am still in your corner 100% and thankful that we have you. Please contact Gilbert and soften it up. There is to much war in the world to have a war between both of you. You are by far a bigger man than this intellectual dispute. Don’t we have enough of this now with this war?
I really hope Scott does contact Doctorow and they soften it up, I'm sure they can since they both love Russia and want what's best for Russia. So it's sad to see them fight like this over nothing really. So they disagree, so frickin what?!! They're adults, not adolescents, they need to live with others who disagree with them without making a scene of it.
Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Ritter. We're thankful for all you do.
Doctorow is a sniffy Atlanticist ninny who got his ass kicked last year by John Helmer in a debate on The Duran. Sadly, there's about as much chance he'd debate you as there is of him starting for the New York Knicks.
Great piece.
WELL maybe Doctorow could apply to the Celtics,, THEY might need a sniffy Atlanticist ninny for a water boy lol ...
exactly . ugh, The Atlantic has infected certain family member/s...so stupido.
Articulate and emotionally charged as your style. I follow you. I have a Russian visa and hope to get there about early June. Was in Helsinki in 2023 but didn't go. Should have. I would like to meet you. @starstream007 at X МОЛОДЕЦ ! Ralph Schultz Chicago.
Ooh, I have to look that up!
I have to provide identification biometric data to access this post!
The UK is already fascist, and they're only just beginning.
WEF vassals
Deepest sympathies, and thanks for reminding us of this situation. We must not let it spread.
what has happened in the UK... is beyond belief! Your ex-central banker got installed in Canada as the "new" PM and is fully determined to replicate that disaster here!.. while becoming a BILLIONAIRE in the process, using OUR Pension Funds!
And this is how he's in the process of accomplishing that: https://x.com/BCCuda/status/1993784207714476129 🤬😤
Bullshit. I’m in the U.K. and i have never had to provide biometric data/identification for anything other than my iphone. Nothing. Not civil society, let alone this article or anything else on Substack. I’m afraid you might need to go look up what “fascist” actually means, because it’s not what you are describing.
Well, iphone seems alarming enough, I wouldn't be so lighthearted about that!
In EU, we don't need to provide biometrics on my iphone, at least for now, but Brussels and also our local legislative are gradually going in the sasme direction, it is clear that this is only a matter of time...
Why are you so sure that you know the definition of "fascist"? I found tons of different definitions. When we say "fascism", we draw paralels from historical fascism (e.g. Italy, Spain, etc.): one of the central elements of fascism is militarism, financed by western financial and industrial private corporations, and persecution of everyone who is opposed fascist policies. Which, today, is definitely happening in the UK. Remember the granma being arrested for attending a peaceful protest against genocide in Gaza. Not to mention that independent journalists who "dare" to report on what is really happening in Gaza, are harrased, persecuted and stipped of their bank accounts. In Germany, the same applies to journalists who dared to report from Donbass (e.g. Alina Lipp). If that is not fascism, I don't know what is. How would you describe such a system?
Yes, i agree that Starmer’s government are ratcheting up the authoritarianism. However i wasn’t clear regarding the iphone - we don’t have to enter biometric data into the phones, it’s an optional security measure for locking and accessing the phone alongside six-digit codes. We aren’t required by anyone to use this feature.
I didn't know this, thank you for leting us know. Stay strong!
We are in the same boat, let's keep fighting! We have no other choice but to kick those psychos out of our governments and free our nations!
Scott you should STOP responding to academic bootlickers like Doctrow and stop looking to 0.01 asskissers like Malcom Gladwell. You stand alone with your monumental achievements. You are the USA's #1 patriot. These cretins are not worth even 30 seconds of your time. Academics have NEVER made USA great. It's those like you who have actually put their boots on the real ground and shoulders to the wheel who have made America truly great. Farting around in libraries and publishing books and papers only makes you well qualified as a good solid water carrier like Doctrow and Gladwell.
Well if Scott is one of those Patriots who make America truly great, why isn't he devoting more of his time to denouncing the worthless Dumpster's fascist initiatives in the US? Because while Scott's work with trying to lessen Russophobia in the United States is truly commendable,, and on Danny Haiphong's show Scott was YELLING that he didn't vote for the national guard and Trump's gestapo to be terrorizing immigrants, BUT HE DID vote for The Dumpster because "Trump knows what a woman is",, now if that isn't some demented bigoted idiocy to be voting for someone on the basis of, I don't know what is...
Unfortunately, Scott has serious "anger issues," as the shrinks say; he is quite intolerant and seriously abusive. I stopped listening to his own podcasts a while ago, however, his contributions on the otherss podcasts are usually very valuable. I can just imagine how much his wife has suffered over the years. I guess, he also “knows women,” huh? This whole public spectacle of exchanging invectives with Doctorow is quite disgusting.
Let’s keep out priorities straight! Life & death & preventing WW3 are #1 in my book- in this area Mr Ritter rules!
Yeah it looks like Scott has the same thing going as John Vance,, the famous American Colonel who was busted during the Vietnam war but came back to Vietnam as an "aid advisor" with a major general's rank LOL but the point is,, this guy just could not stop cheating on his wife WITH teen girls... I call it the "restless johnson" syndrome but yeah I agree his wife probably has some harrowing stories about how she's trying to keep their marriage together but in any case,, it's obvious how caught up Scott was AND IS in the MAGA cult because of his rancid bigotry,, Like Larry Johnson and Colonel McGregor acting like just because Trump is a disgusting demented bigot and he'll say the quiet part out loud, that Trump is some sort of demigod when all he is is a childish stupid lunatic who hates gay people and immigrants and black people and women...
Good one.
Alas, if the past is any indicator, Mr Ritter will continue to comment on braindead clowns spewing idiocy.
The man can not even stop reading the comment section when conducting interviews. At times even arguing with the comment section.
He really should pay more attention to his lovely wife.
Cheers
Well I tend to cut Scott a LITTLE slack with that,, I'd read the comments too during a live stream but I agree the way he gets all bent out of shape about it is a little suspect... Last time I saw this happen was on Danny Haiphong's show and Scott was SCREAMING "I DIDN'T VOTE FOR TERRORIZING IMMIGRANTS, IMMIGRANTS DO VERY VALUABLE WORK IN THE US" and he might not have but he voted for the rest of Trump's lunatic program, apparently agreeing with Larry Johnson that the most important thing is "knowing what a woman is" which is THE MOST DEMENTED Q cult talking point,, especially when we know what we know about Trump's being involved with Epstein and his underage girl farm... Bottom line is SCOTT VOTED FOR ALL OF THIS,, I think because he wanted that unseemly solicitation conviction pardoned but I guess getting his passport and his gadgets back was good enough for him...
No, Scott should NOT stop exposing such pettiness. And, showing that you not only can, but must justify your use of "strong language" in the face of that pettiness. Doctorow could have asked to challenge Scott directly in a talk show. Instead Doctorow poured out his spite on camera without risking to be challenged. What a coward. By all means, Scott must respond to save people who think they are listening to "education" from being fooled.
There was a heated debate on The Duran when both Gilbert Doctorow and John Helmer were guests. I no longer tune in to shows when he is the guest, a sort of sense that something isn't quite right.
Ignore Doctorow. He's a wart on the backside of American intelligentsia. Even if he had said nothing nasty to you, this has become obvious to anyone paying attention.
With all of his academic credentials somehow Prof. Doctorow isn’t smart enough to understand that he ought not pick a fight with a man who is more experienced, wiser, and more courageous than he can imagine.
I suppose Gil thinks Scott is just a typical jarhead,, but Scott's half hour academic response pretty well shows Doctorow as a pretentious windbag...
What academic credentials? He mostly worked in a corporate world and once taught something somewhere so he insist on calling himself a professor and a doctor. The latter, together with his last name and this henna hair, is quite ridiculous. It also took me a while to realize he is not that good at geopolitical analysis nor understands Russia or Russians. He should stick with the EU politics.
He’s married into this aging dissidents Leningrad crowd who are pro-western and consider themselves uber sophisticated bc in their youth they had a Tsvetaeva book hidden under their pillow and Vysotsky tapes and graduated from teachers colleges where they learned poor English. Most of them emigrated and spread their innate Rusophobia and anticommunism around universities and media in America. Welcomed by the CIA.
Scott, you talk and share a beer with Russians, at all levels, on and off the record. Doctorow watches Russian TV. You were targeted by the US government for understanding Russia too well. Doctorow repeats Rubio talking points regarding President Putin and his associates. When he "went off the rails", so to speak, I thought it was a crude effort to boost his visibility (nothing like a little debate to boost the "clicks"); but then he persisted and got it completely wrong regarding the theatre around the recent "peace plan". He has seriously damaged his credentials, while yours remain as strong as ever. Most importantly, your integrity and sincerity remain as pure as ever. Keep up the great work, and thank you. You and your colleagues on Judging Freedom and elsewhere are doing a great service for the world. Great article.
There is no need to apologise Scott.
What I have learned in life was from 'experience' not University experience.
SO many of us who did find it difficult to use Grammar in school or learn different languages are 'put down.'
I am exactly the same as you.
4 countries later I can tell you (without doubt) that I support you.
Some of us are 'eyes wide open' and see the crass, under-aknowledged people who have seen the truth from experience. But we are belittled all the time.
I understand you and I would be very happy NOT to see Doctorow on anything with regard to Russia.
I disagree with A LOT of what Scott does with regard to Trump,, BUT Scott's knowledge of Russia is impressive and genuine...
Scott also said that Trump is the dumbest man on this planet, and I AGREE!
YEAH SO WHY wont Scott do a complete 180, a complete retraction, and say that he was wrong in voting for THE MORON Trump?
Because voting for Trump was a better option than voting for Harris who would have let us to a nuclear exchange, dumbo!
OH PLEASE,, if you're still stuck on this duopoly football game bullcrap you're too dumb to even converse with,, if Harris would have been elected the proxy war in Ukraine would still be stalled the way it is now, the culture War would still be going on because MAGA is still around,, and very little would have changed except that prices would not be going up because they wouldn't have started the idiotic tariff War...
DO you really believe in the possibility of a nuclear exchange?
As long as nuclear weapons exist there's the possibility of an exchange...
Saying this does sound like a complete retraction, doesn't it!
The dumbest man on earth IS, in other words, a moron.
"Mic Norton"... the picture you have next to your name represent the best the Left has to offer... just so peaceful... almost like the "fiery, but mostly peaceful" riots we saw in 2020... and yes, Scott's knowledge of Russia is absolutely astounding!
You're like every other MAGA moron,, you think you can shovel violent rhetoric 24/7 and that no one is ever going to call you on it... Has Kathy Griffin ordered any extrajudicial killings on anyone? NO,, she made a gag that accurately in my opinion expressed the end result of Trump's idiotic program,, so as the Muskrat said, deal with it LOL...
Scott,
Semper Fi! A couple of points. After serving in Vietnam from 1969-1970, I went to college mostly under the GI Bill. Became a professional student for 14 years through summer school, achieving over three Master's degrees. With that background in mind, I’ll be the first to admit that experience trumps education, any day of the week.
Secondly, your achievements speak for themselves. Why the need to justify yourself to a blowhard academic?
Thirdly, I started lifting weights when I was 13 years old to prevent getting my ass kicked in the tough neighborhood I grew up in. The result was that I always chose to fight rather than ignore the source. It didn’t matter if the source was multiple individuals. My instinct was always to fight rather than turn the other cheek.
But alas, I just turned 75, as I reflect on my life, I now realize that allowing someone to set you off is a form of control. Yes, name-calling the sanctimonious Doctorow is counterproductive. My experience has been that most people choose to focus on your reaction rather than the circumstances that initially triggered the response.
Above all else, I want you to know I believe in your integrity and honor. This Marine grunt salutes you!
Thanks! Message received! Semper Fi!
Yeah but that guy - salute - ISN'T an officer,, and AS AN officer aren't you EXPECTED to respond to challenges in kind? If so,, a response to an academic dipstick like Gilbert requires an academic response which you gave right here,, and OKAY maybe moron and piece of s*** were a little too far LOL but hey heat of the moment right?💯
Have you even read Procopio's comment and Scott's response?
Yeah I did,, Procopio said he thought Scott was demeaning himself by forwarding a big long response to Gil's slander,, that he thought Scott's credentials stood on their own without any pushback and Scott said, message received... MY point was that yeah that might be acceptable for a regular recruit or a PFC but nco's and officers I thought were expected to FULLY respond to an opponent and if it takes a full volume for that response then so be it...
Thank you for inferring what I didn't even imply. Your ignorance of military protocols is obvious, and no further comment is necessary.
Yeah well then Vinnie I retract the salute lol 👌,, all I was saying was that it's an officer's prerogative to expand on his rebuttal of some academic's accusations,, and "you're a moron ya piece of s" IS perhaps unbecoming of an officer however,, as a non-officer and only a gentleman I tend to cut Scott some slack...
😀 "Water Walker" 😃
Let’s make some things clear.
Doctorow’s attacks on me demanded a response.
What people aren’t aware of is how these attacks resonate in certain circles.
And if left to themselves, there is an implied suggestion that they are valid.
So I am in no way saying my response was unjustified.
I do, however, agree that maybe I could have shown a little bit more decorum.
But having made comments that Doctorow publicly acknowledged, I have no choice but to own them.
Which I did, and still do.
If Doctorow would ever wish to have an open debate/discussion on all things Russia, I would not object.
Gilbert Doctorow is not really an academic. He worked in the corporate world. Scott is a highly educated man and an accomplished writer, he also possesses serious *academic knowledge about the military hardware. No, life experience is not superior to education. Only maybe in the humanities, which the engineering students call the Micky Mouse” subjects.
Hey Vince Procopio -
You have hit the proverbial nail on the head. Perfect, astute comment, I m o. And I love - and am not surprised by - Scott's response. Don't we have adversaries enough without this internecine putdowns and name-calling?? Let's not get so distracted and lose focus.
WELL Scott in my (amateur) opinion Gilbert IS a moron,, BUT you may have gone too far in calling him a piece of dump... A better descriptive might be, piece of garbage,, piece of work,, piece of unfinished pottery LOL,, BUT you were the target of his slander so I give you the benefit of the doubt...
Honestly, do we really need all this slander and name calling on all sides? Alternative media barely registers on the journalism horizon.
Or, simply, a European academic.
There ARE European academics who AREN'T morons,, I can't think of any offhand but I'm sure they exist lol ...
Hi Scott,
The whole competition over who should be considered an expert on Russia, who understands Russia best, and what Russia “really is” — all of that is a typical exercise, including among those who consider themselves part of the Russian intelligentsia. So you and Gilbert are neither the first nor the last to end up arguing on that basis.
There’s no real point in the back-and-forth between you and Gilbert. But there is value in using disagreement and differences to test your own positions, refine your perspective, and find new thoughts and new words to express it.
Ultimately, all of us are both right and wrong — the question is always one of proportions: how much rightness, how much wrongness, how coherent our thoughts are, how consistent and well-founded they are, how vivid and complete our understanding is, and how strong its predictive power may be.
You, Scott, are sometimes right and sometimes wrong. So is Gilbert. And if someone takes your considerations as input for forming conclusions or making decisions, they will still have to deal with the inevitable mixture of rightness and wrongness in what you say — and with the breadth of your perspectives. From a game-theory point of view, everyone can play, and everyone is being played. So, one cannot know exact consequences of ones words and influence.
In Russia, people feel a huge warmth toward you, Scott, because there is something unmistakably, classically American about you, and it resonates with something classically Russian. Maybe, you know for yourself already, that pieces of classical American literature were on everybody's bookshelf at home in Russia/Soviet Union. That — you being you — gives you a tremendous advantage when building relationships — an advantage very few people have. A down-to-earth man who’s easy to connect with, who hugs, empathizes, laughs loudly, criticizes himself yet has plenty to be proud of, criticizes his own country yet clearly loves it. The list is incomplete, but the image is appealing; many Russians recognize in it a classic archetype — including within their own culture. That is the kind of person one can speak with heart-to-heart. The search for the “Russian soul” is like the search for the Holy Grail. Why look so far away?
But there is also meaning in Gilbert’s rightness and wrongness. As there is meaning in any doubt. To be honest, his analyses — based on Russian TV shows, which he takes far too seriously — make me laugh. Or maybe I’m wrong for underestimating the power of daily talking heads, whose endless chatter eventually produces real social and political effects (like in an unlikely vessel like Gilbert)? All of this can be discussed for a long time and in an interesting way. One can also wave it all aside as unimportant. But I think for Russians the two of you matter simply as people who pay close attention to them. Russia and Russians haven’t been spoiled with attention or respect for a long time. That is beginning to change. But for now, anyone who genuinely tries to understand and study us inevitably inspires a certain sympathy. A very important tool for a person trying to understand themselves is a mirror. You are, in a sense, a "mirror".
I hope to see you again on The Duran. The episodes you did there — a few years ago now (time flies!) — were excellent.
I hope you manage to get your “interview of a lifetime.”
John Prine sings: "...you forgive me, I'll forgive you, we'll forgive each other till we both turn blue then I'll whistle and go fishin' in the river." I suggest you e mail Professor Doctorow and suggest an extended, private back and forth; the minuscule community of men and women doing what both of you are attempting to do can only be weakened by this kind of bickering - and playing into the hands
those who will no doubt try to exacerbate these divisions. (and listen to John Prine - great old song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBxN6L66cOc&t=1160s
No westerner can be completely “right” about Russians. All they know is from books and conversations with those who crowd them when they are there.
Ex: Scott and a few of his other comrades who travel to Moscow keep on saying—with this air of total confidence—that Russians are “spiritual” people, that the Orthodoxy is being alive and well in Russia, and that Russians are all very religious.
Ughh Gives me hives!
America is the only “white” religious country in the world and they are just projecting their little inner Christian. This is how they really know. It’s time for everyone to get a huge dose of humility.
So, that's settled that then!
Thanks for all you are doing Scott. I love your work even if I may not necessarily agree with all your opinions. Please keep going. Best wishes to your family.
JESUS CHRIST the guy is accusing Scott of being an agent for the Russian government because he accepted payment for articles on RT,, but since RT DIDN'T provide a script or an outline of what they wanted to see,, Scott is just practicing journalism which journalists all across the United States do every day... OH THAT'S NOT QUITE true,, we already know the MAGA cult has definite outlines for what they want their assets/ journalists to say, and the Democrats for their part have the chorus think tank providing guidelines for THEIR so-called influencers...
I think something happened to Doctorow recently.
1. The word "expert" doesn't resonate with the same respect after the COVID lockdowns, curfews and mandates: "listen to the experts" has now an authoritarian resonance.
2. Doctor Doctor-ow (two doctors in a row, DrDr-ow, reinforced expertise) gets most of his analyses from Saint Petersburg opposition elites, foreign cab drivers, and watching Russian TV shows from his home in Brussels, the creepy gloomy wet NATO HQ city. Who needs a PhD title with a family name like Doctor-ow anyway?...
In short:
Gilbert Doc-Doc-Row, Russian TV Kremlinologist, the not so intrepid Tintin in NATO Belgium.
I will always take your word for the truth than what Gilbert Doctorow is claiming. Keep up your good work. It is highly appreciated and I watch your interviews everywhere where I can find them. 👍
Scott. I’m in your corner. I met you, your two daughters and the judge in Kingston two summers ago. The outline of your credentials is truly formidable. With all due respect, you are a little over the top when talking about Gilbert. It is below you. But I am still in your corner 100% and thankful that we have you. Please contact Gilbert and soften it up. There is to much war in the world to have a war between both of you. You are by far a bigger man than this intellectual dispute. Don’t we have enough of this now with this war?
We need both of you. Respectfully. MB
I really hope Scott does contact Doctorow and they soften it up, I'm sure they can since they both love Russia and want what's best for Russia. So it's sad to see them fight like this over nothing really. So they disagree, so frickin what?!! They're adults, not adolescents, they need to live with others who disagree with them without making a scene of it.