The Volokh Conspiracy - Mad Bad Vlad:

A misogynistic anti-Condi Rice rant by Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky reminded me of this other item from 1993 (quote verified via the Times of London):

"I've had several blood tests and there is no Jewish blood in me, not even 5 per cent."

The Times aptly characterized this by saying, "He formally denied that he was Jewish in nonsensical terms which only served to betray his obsession with the subject." (Some years later, Zhirinovksy admitted that his father was indeed Jewish.) Another reason to like Rice — anyone who annoys Zhirinovsky gets extra points in my book.

Thanks to Ann Althouse and InstaPundit for the pointer.

UPDATE: Here's the Russian interview. Zhirinovsky, it turns out, also writes: "The civilized world should think and decide whether unmarried political leaders should be forbidden from coming to power. Now in the Soviet system this was all developed to an A+ level. Leading positions were open only to family people, free from inferiority complexes." And a lovely bunch of family people they were.

FURTHER UPDATE: Clayton Cramer has a suitably snide (well, beyond snide) comment on this.

(link)

anonymous coward:

Perhaps next he'll be forced to admit he's actually an unmarried black woman with a secret yearning to be ravished by a barracks full of soldiers. (Or at least the last of these.)

I also appreciate his proposed invasion of Alaska and his bird flu policy ("arming every Russian and ordering them to shoot everything with feathers")!

1.13.2006 1:21pm

Some Guy (mail):

Had the distinct pleasure of walking through one of Vlad's Commie-Nazi get-togethers at Red Square in 1998 or 1999. Imagine ten thousand skinheads in front of the Kremlin. Now imagine them with confusing combinations of hammers and sickles and swastikas.

It was right around Kosovo, so they were happy to see two Americans strolling around in clothes they could never afford, talking with two cute Ukrainian blondes who wouldn't give them the time of day. Luckily, some 15-year old Russian army kids were around (and armed to the freaking teeth), so the Nazis thought the better part of valor was hissing from a distance.

Posers.

1.13.2006 1:32pm

M (mail):

The only thing to be glad about w/ Zhirinovsky is that he's old and drinks like a fish, so maybe he'll die soon. The thing that's not good about that is that there are many less clowinsh and much more dangerous nationalists waiting to take his place in Russia, many w/ the tacit support of the Kremlin. (Not, I think, because Putin is a rabid nationalist, whatever his other [many] failings may be, but because they find it useful to play this very dangerous game, as do politicians from all over from time to time.)

1.13.2006 2:05pm

ytterbium (mail):

True, but he does want Alaska back. They get it if they take Don Young(R-Ak) and Ted Stevens(R-Ak)with it. Then the Russians can pay for the Bridge to nowhere.

1.13.2006 2:12pm

Sasha (mail):

For the Russian version of the comments, see this opinion article in Pravda, also highly critical of Rice:

http://pravda.ru/world/09-01-2006/73182-zhirinovsky-0

Note that Zhirinovsky compares Rice to Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, and Alexander the Great (and not in a good way).

1.13.2006 2:21pm

JohnAnnArbor:

True, but he does want Alaska back.

I'll bet we kept the receipt. Call the National Archives.....

1.13.2006 3:04pm

David Matthews (mail):

"Кондолизы Райс"

Well, I figured out that that was Condi Rice in Cyrillic, but, the rest of the article didn't seem too unflattering, to me -- perhaps because I don't know Russian.

1.13.2006 3:15pm

Moral Hazard (mail):

For the Russian version of the comments, see this opinion article in Pravda, also highly critical of Rice:

I got a kick out the babelfish translation. I loved the part where they said: It is understandable that the largest Eurasian power is not baby.

Pretty conceited considering that in Eurasia the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, China, India and Japan all have a higher GDP.

1.13.2006 4:02pm

Gordon (mail):

Amidst all the vile talk, I got a chortle about the comparison to a "malicious mother-in-law."

1.13.2006 4:23pm

Mark Brady:

And what, pray, are the other reasons to like Condi Rice?

1.13.2006 4:27pm

NickM (mail) (www):

Note that Zhirinovsky compares Rice to Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, and Alexander the Great (and not in a good way).

Perhaps Mr. Zhirinovsky should make the unflattering comparison to Tamerlane while speaking in Uzbekistan. :-)

This cannot be a pleasant thing to read for the Iranian government. They have national memories of 3 of the 4.

Nick

1.13.2006 4:57pm

Tony (mail):

Re. Clayton's comment - the "Jewish blood test" is indeed kind of odd. I happen to work in the area of genomic analysis, and it is theoretically possible to determine the fraction of a person's genome (i.e. what particular segments of their chromosomes) that is statisticially consistent with a particular ancestral population. But as far as I know there is nobody offering such a service commercially, and it's only in the past few years that it's been reasonably affordable.

I'd be really curious to know just what this "test" was that can determine that his Jewish fraction is less than five percent. Unless it's some sort of proctological test, i.e. something he pulled out of his ass.

1.13.2006 5:15pm

JohnAnnArbor

Call the Archives to what--destroy the receipt? Remember we get rid of Don Young and Ted Stevens-a very good deal.

1.13.2006 5:36pm

Clayton E. Cramer (mail) (www):

Call the Archives to what--destroy the receipt? Remember we get rid of Don Young and Ted Stevens-a very good deal.

But then we'll be paying Zhirinovsky's government for all those billions of barrels of oil they'll pull out of ANWR.

1.13.2006 5:47pm

Hattio (mail):

All right.
Once again, the "bridges to nowhere" do NOT lead to nowhere. Do some research before you comment. One goes between the largest city and it's largest suburb. It would cut a one hour plus drive to 20 minutes for thousands of people every single day. The fact that only 50 people live on the point of land it's going to is irrelevant, as it's not for their specific benefit.
The second bridge would go to the only airport in Ketchikan (a land-locked city on an island). As it is, the only way to get off the island is by boat, whether you eventually fly or not. The fact that no one lives on hte island where the airport is at, is once again irrelevant.
As I've said before, there's good reasons to oppose either bridge. That they lead to "nowhere" or that there's not enough people on the island or point of land they lead to is not it. Geeze I thought you guys were supposed to be conservatives who were suspicious of everything the MSM reports. Where's the skepticism on this issue????

And I don't want to choose between my state and my country (unless of course Alaska secedes), so can we PLEASE not talk about giving AK back to the Russians.

And if you're going to make us go to the Russians, don't make us take Uncle Ted with us.

1.13.2006 7:14pm

"Leading positions were open only to family people, free from inferiority complexes."

Somehow I think that had more to do with having leverage to prevent defections.

1.13.2006 7:19pm

Bobbie:

Hattio, would it make the pedantic in you happpy if we said the "bridge to almost nowhere"?

1.13.2006 7:39pm

No, it'd make me happier if you decided to either discuss the merits or not. Again, I'm not saying the bridges are a great idea. Personally, I agree with one and not with the other. But, the fact that something costs a lot of money and only benefits the people of one state has never exactly been a standard we use. (Anybody want to stand up and justify re-building New Orleans every 100 or so years at a cost of billions, but still slam Alaska?). There were 4,000 earmarks or something like that. The bridges in Alaska weren't most of the budget or even the most expensive.

1.13.2006 7:42pm

Vovan (mail):

Mr Zhirinovski is the direct "voice" of the Kremlin, aptly simplifying the official russian foreign policy for majority of Russians, that are no longer mentally burdened by the Soviet educational system.

He also has a lot more power in the government that a casual reading of wikipedia and/or English- speaking news outlets would lead some people here to believe.

1.13.2006 8:51pm

lee (mail):

I reserve the right to slam Alaska! As I understand it you people expect to get more of that negative state income tax as the NATION of the USA takes oil out of the A(that's ARCTIC not ALASKA)N(that's NATIONAL not ALASKA)WR. WHY?
As far as New Orleans, something that's near a river(a big river) but below it, should be a swamp. Something that's beside a lake(a big lake) but lower than it, should be a swamp. Something that's within a few miles of the Ocean but below sea-level, should be a swamp. And New Orleans is all three. And remember you have to take Uncle Ted AND Cousin Don.

1.13.2006 8:58pm

George Gregg (mail):

Didn't Alaska end up getting the money for the bridges, after all? I seem to recall that the federal funds were sent to Alaska even in such a way that they were totally unearmarked, too. And then the state put the funds in its budget as earmarked for the bridges. Nearly a half a billion bucks.

I just hope you guys enjoy those bridges I helped pay for...

1.13.2006 11:51pm

Ah yes, here it is. Scandalous.

1.13.2006 11:54pm