I'm in a bit of shock. Yesterday, I posted a diary on inefficiencies and wastefulness in the Russian energy sector as reported in a Spanish newspaper article. I added a few ideas of my own on the Russian government's world view and crossposted it on Daily Kos and the European Tribune. The European Tribune version and comments here.
The responses that I got on DK were totally different from the ones that I got on ET. Here on Kos, the response was along the lines of "Wow, that's an important problem and it's good to know about it."
On ET the response was along the lines of "Why are you picking on an impoverished country like Russia and, by the way Bush, is a dick." Shoot, I even got called a "Cold-War-style war monger"! I kid you not.
So, the question that I want to ask here on Kos is: What do you folks think explains the different reaction? Has Bush pissed people off so badly around the world that you can't criticize anybody unless you set aside a paragraph or two to criticize the US as well? Or has Russia once again become a sacred cow for some people that can't be criticized at all? Or is there just something about European sensitivities that I don't understand? Mind you I lived in Spain for three years and in the old USSR for one. Plus I've been there for shorter visits a couple of dozen times. I thought I understood how Europeans see things.
So, here's my request to my fellow Kossacks. Follow this link to read the diary and comments on DK and this one to read the same diary, but very different comments, on ET.
Then come back here and post any comments and ideas you might have that explain the widely varying response that the same diary got on two continents.
Thanks. I'm really looking forward to what everyone has to say.