McCain slams Putin.

Here's a copy of the article which John McCain wrote about Putin. The only reason I include it here is because it emphasizes how Obama is lacking on the world stage.

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Senator John McCain: Russians deserve better than Putin

By Pravda Ru (about the author)

September 19, 2013 at 14:30:11
Source: Pravda.Ru

By John McCain

When Pravda.ru editor, Dmitry Sudakov, offered to publish my commentary, he referred to me as "an active anti-Russian politician for many years." I'm sure that isn't the first time Russians have heard me characterized as their antagonist. Since my purpose here is to dispel falsehoods used by Russia's rulers to perpetuate their power and excuse their corruption, let me begin with that untruth. I am not anti-Russian. I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today.
I make that claim because I respect your dignity and your right to self-determination. I believe you should live according to the dictates of your conscience, not your government. I believe you deserve the opportunity to improve your lives in an economy that is built to last and benefits the many, not just the powerful few. You should be governed by a rule of law that is clear, consistently and impartially enforced and just. I make that claim because I believe the Russian people, no less than Americans, are endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

A Russian citizen could not publish a testament like the one I just offered. President Putin and his associates do not believe in these values. They don't respect your dignity or accept your authority over them. They punish dissent and imprison opponents. They rig your elections. They control your media. They harass, threaten, and banish organizations that defend your right to self-governance. To perpetuate their power they foster rampant corruption in your courts and your economy and terrorize and even assassinate journalists who try to expose their corruption.

They write laws to codify bigotry against people whose sexual orientation they condemn. They throw the members of a punk rock band in jail for the crime of being provocative and vulgar and for having the audacity to protest President Putin's rule.

Sergei Magnistky wasn't a human rights activist. He was an accountant at a Moscow law firm. He was an ordinary Russian who did an extraordinary thing. He exposed one of the largest state thefts of private assets in Russian history. He cared about the rule of law and believed no one should be above it. For his beliefs and his courage, he was held in Butyrka prison without trial, where he was beaten, became ill and died. After his death, he was given a show trial reminiscent of the Stalin-era and was, of course, found guilty. That wasn't only a crime against Sergei Magnitsky. It was a crime against the Russian people and your right to an honest government - a government worthy of Sergei Magnistky and of you.

President Putin claims his purpose is to restore Russia to greatness at home and among the nations of the world. But by what measure has he restored your greatness? He has given you an economy that is based almost entirely on a few natural resources that will rise and fall with those commodities. Its riches will not last. And, while they do, they will be mostly in the possession of the corrupt and powerful few. Capital is fleeing Russia, which -- lacking rule of law and a broad-based economy -- is considered too risky for investment and entrepreneurism. He has given you a political system that is sustained by corruption and repression and isn't strong enough to tolerate dissent.

How has he strengthened Russia's international stature? By allying Russia with some of the world's most offensive and threatening tyrannies. By supporting a Syrian regime that is murdering tens of thousands of its own people to remain in power and by blocking the United Nations from even condemning its atrocities. By refusing to consider the massacre of innocents, the plight of millions of refugees, the growing prospect of a conflagration that engulfs other countries in its flames an appropriate subject for the world's attention. He is not enhancing Russia's global reputation. He is destroying it. He has made her a friend to tyrants and an enemy to the oppressed, and untrusted by nations that seek to build a safer, more peaceful and prosperous world.

President Putin doesn't believe in these values because he doesn't believe in you. He doesn't believe that human nature at liberty can rise above its weaknesses and build just, peaceful, prosperous societies. Or, at least, he doesn't believe Russians can. So he rules by using those weaknesses, by corruption, repression and violence. He rules for himself, not you.

I do believe in you. I believe in your capacity for self-government and your desire for justice and opportunity. I believe in the greatness of the Russian people, who suffered enormously and fought bravely against terrible adversity to save your nation. I believe in your right to make a civilization worthy of your dreams and sacrifices. When I criticize your government, it is not because I am anti-Russian. It is because I believe you deserve a government that believes in you and answers to you. And, I long for the day when you have it.

Setting out daughter free on a global stage.

So the grand experiment has started. I am taking my oldest daughter to Africa to start her year of global learning.  On our way to Africa we stopped in Istanbul, as a test of what traveling means.  There are plusses and minuses with traveling with your adult child.   I wanted to see how she would cope and get a preview of how her year could go.
The plus is to see your teachings and believes show up.  Little gestures which show the character you have instilled in her.  There are no complaints so far.  When I saw another child at our hotel spend the breakfast whining and complaining to the annoyance of the room, I came to appreciate the child sitting across from me.  Our hotel and trip are not the usual she has had, however she had been willing to go with the flow.  The secret to life is not stating the problem but finding solutions.  The ability to make the best off your situation is the secret. I have seen her being kind to strangers and engage strangers.  I hope she saw how I engaged people and how in a foreign land you can make friends in short time, who then help you with local knowledge.  She was kind enough to offer a person sitting besides us in the plane gum when we were having some.  This led to conversation and exchange of information for her future travel to Germany.

In the middle of the night in Nairobi as we waited for out pick up we met a man on his first trip to Kenya from a town 40 miles from our city.  At three am we were laughing and enjoying what normally should have been a tiring moment.  We parted with hugs and well wishes and reinforcement of the faith in people.  Negatives abound, but positives cannot be missed for the fear of negatives. 

The common thing for us both, (and why I chose Istanbul ) is neither of us had been there before.  I did not have previous experience, thus I could not feel comfortable in where we went and how we acted.  My daughter often would say I don't care, I will go wherever. She was happy at times to not lead or have an idea of what to do.  Now granted this may be because you are traveling with your dad, but I think you cannot get the experience being passive. 

Many a times she would remark, how did you know about this place?  The fish sandwich under the bridge, the Turkish bath and the proximity of the hotel to all the sites.  The ability to be wandering in the grand bazaar and finding your way to the spot you entered to get the deal you wanted is not luck but work spent on preparation before the trip and being aware in the case of the bazaar of the markings and little guide marks as you walk.  The extra awareness you don't have when walking in your own surroundings.  Now this could be experience, but it could be the stuff you didn't get across.  The minuses when you wonder why does she not want to cruise, or why does she not know what we should do?  In a two day lay over, she saw blue mosque, hagia Sophia, cistern, galata bridge fish shop's, Taksim square area at night, rode the metro, learned the streets of old Turkey and walked into non tourist places.  Now this can happen on a longer stay, but it only happens in this time frame if one of you is doing the work of research during the breaks, instead of writing emails and blogs. Petty, but what she thought just happened, dad had worked out.  This is something I hope she picks up, because the other part of travelling of letting it just happen, will just happen.
As a gambler once said, 'there will time for blogging, when the traveling is done'

So as a parent, I cannot be prouder, I see the character which will do her good.  As a parent, I worry is she going to do the work and stay safe.  I believe all parents face this when they set their kids free for college and life.  If you are afraid to let them think, let them learn on their own, let them have their views then you are admitting your parenting failure.  Trust in the base you have built in them. In our case we let our child free on the global stage, since we believe the future belongs to those who think global.