Remarkable story! Your insight of Putin’s tactics while you were young were extraordinary. While others may have brushed it off when Putin spoke in English you became more aware. I can imagine the questions you asked yourself. Did your peers and yourself discuss it after it happened? Your experience did show that Putin slipped when he broke his cover that he actually knew the English language, however that was 30 years ago. He has perfected his KGB traits since then. trump, Tucker and the MAGA cult have easily fallen into his trap and have caused our fight and the World’s fight for Democracy the most detrimental in our history. Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication to the cause. (Oh my God, a towel under the door to prevent from being gassed!)
While at P&G we were doing a major chemical development project with a Dutch company there would typically be 10-12 of us in a room, 5-6 on a side. The Dutch would often switch to Dutch for their side conversation. Otherwise we were only in English.
Then after about a year, we had a new finance guy join our team, named Yonker (a very Dutch name). The next meeting, the Dutch guys asked for a break and they went out into a separate room. Something they had never done.
Yonker got their attention. After the second such break, they asked him about his background. They were sure he could speak Dutch. Even after he stated he could not, they never again held side discussions in the room.
Great post. Their sense of self-regard and towering hubris would have prevented them from accepting any advice from anyone, including you. I've heard the Putin-correcting-the-interpreter story before, and it's chilling to think what other manipulative tricks he's used on the greedy doofus Trump.
OMG David!!! Your story is a political Science lesson. The country must hear your experience with Putin. I am mesmerized
You are truly a Renaissance Man, David. Amazing memories which inform your view of today’s world. Thank you for sharing with all of us.
Remarkable story! Your insight of Putin’s tactics while you were young were extraordinary. While others may have brushed it off when Putin spoke in English you became more aware. I can imagine the questions you asked yourself. Did your peers and yourself discuss it after it happened? Your experience did show that Putin slipped when he broke his cover that he actually knew the English language, however that was 30 years ago. He has perfected his KGB traits since then. trump, Tucker and the MAGA cult have easily fallen into his trap and have caused our fight and the World’s fight for Democracy the most detrimental in our history. Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication to the cause. (Oh my God, a towel under the door to prevent from being gassed!)
While at P&G we were doing a major chemical development project with a Dutch company there would typically be 10-12 of us in a room, 5-6 on a side. The Dutch would often switch to Dutch for their side conversation. Otherwise we were only in English.
Then after about a year, we had a new finance guy join our team, named Yonker (a very Dutch name). The next meeting, the Dutch guys asked for a break and they went out into a separate room. Something they had never done.
Yonker got their attention. After the second such break, they asked him about his background. They were sure he could speak Dutch. Even after he stated he could not, they never again held side discussions in the room.
Thank you for the perspective. Wish drumfp and tc actually cared for this country, not theirs russia.
Great post, David!
Power hungry fools 🤨
Thank for an interesting insight into Putin even back in the day!
Great post. Their sense of self-regard and towering hubris would have prevented them from accepting any advice from anyone, including you. I've heard the Putin-correcting-the-interpreter story before, and it's chilling to think what other manipulative tricks he's used on the greedy doofus Trump.
Tucker gets an “F” for this interview! At least he’s consistent!
This just confirms what many people know, 🍊 💩 has been living in Putin's pockets for decades. He's been compromised. And the US has paid the price.
Thanks for sharing your experience. And those are great pictures!
Wow
Such a great life story.
I love this post, David. Putin is canny; our folks are not. Sigh.