One of the most ridiculous lies put forth by the Russophile maniacs is that Russia gets criticized for things America doesn't. Robert Amsterdam recently published a poll which clearly shows how ridiculous this claim is. Russia's image in the polls is actually a bit higher than that of America. If anything, it's America which is getting the short end of the stick.

Did you ever notice that when the topic of discussion is something like violence or corruption or anti-democratic behavior, then Russia is just a "normal developing state" like Brazil or Mexico -- but when the topic is membership in G-8 or the U.N. Security Council or being treated like an equal by the United States, then Russia is an "energy superpower" with lots of Nobel prizes and ICBMs and cosmonauts?

It's this kind of "thinking" that brought the USSR to its knees, and it will just as surely destroy Russia if the Russians don't put a stop to it.