Morning Joe: All Episodes Talk

[Chloesmom]

Looks like another seat just opened up at the MJ table.  I wonder how the crew will address Friend of the Show Harold Ford Jr.'s transgressions:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/harold-ford-fired-morgan-stanley_us_5a29743ee4b0b185e53a0ce6

I already set a reminder for Friday's show as I don't want to miss a second of the opening.

[teddysmom]

12 minutes ago, Chloesmom said:

Looks like another seat just opened up at the MJ table.  I wonder how the crew will address Friend of the Show Harold Ford Jr.'s transgressions:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/harold-ford-fired-morgan-stanley_us_5a29743ee4b0b185e53a0ce6

I already set a reminder for Friday's show as I don't want to miss a second of the opening.

 

She just tweeted "This doesn't feel right" re Al Franken.  I have to agree.  

[oakville]

1 hour ago, Chloesmom said:

Looks like another seat just opened up at the MJ table.  I wonder how the crew will address Friend of the Show Harold Ford Jr.'s transgressions:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/harold-ford-fired-morgan-stanley_us_5a29743ee4b0b185e53a0ce6

I already set a reminder for Friday's show as I don't want to miss a second of the opening.

I find that shocking. I thought he was happily married with a baby. Mika will defend him for apologizing to the woman he grabbed. Mika will reiterate that she was right about trying to have drinks after work with potential colleagues leads to harassement.

I wonder why he is never introduced as working for Morgan Stanley.? Mika always calls him a professor at  Michigan State

[stormy]

Harold mentioned his three year old daughter yesterday.

If he's fired from MJ, I won't miss him. He's dull and boring.

[Chloesmom]

2 hours ago, teddysmom said:

 

She just tweeted "This doesn't feel right" re Al Franken.  I have to agree.  

This is one instance that I will be very interested to hear what they have to say as they really are wired into those particular grapevines.  If this is correct, it is estimated that between WaPo and CNN they are investigating between 20 to 30 people.  Good God.

[Mumbles]

Quote

Harold mentioned his three year old daughter yesterday.

When that baby was born and they announced it on MJ, Mika was more excited than Ford. 

His wife is from a wealthy family and does like interior design or fashion, i.e. a job that other wealthy ladies do a few hours here and there between lunches with their similarly situated friends. Every time I saw a photo of them, Ford still had those cold dead eyes. But if he harbored any further political ambitions - and I think he did, he had talked about running for Senate in NY - at some point he needed to get married and pop out a kid or people would have whispered (and it makes for better campaign literature.)

[Landsnark]

3 hours ago, oakville said:

I wonder why he is never introduced as working for Morgan Stanley.?

I know.  I had no idea he worked for Morgan Stanley.  I've probably seen him on the show 400 times?

[stormy]

Chuck Todd reported on it on MPT Daily today. He never said Ford Jr is fired. He said Ford Jr is suing Morgan Stanley for unlawful firing and in his statement he denies the allegations.

[Landsnark]

6 minutes ago, stormy said:

Chuck Todd reported on it on MPT Daily today. He never said Ford Jr is fired. He said Ford Jr is suing Morgan Stanley for unlawful firing and in his statement he denies the allegations.

Imagine Harold Ford Jr. approaching you in an aggressively sexual manner at work.  I'd leap out a window.  Those humorless dead eyes and boring focus on getting his grope on.

[Mumbles]

Quote

I know.  I had no idea he worked for Morgan Stanley.  I've probably seen him on the show 400 times?

Right, it's always the U Michigan stuff. As if he's some sort of intellectual.

His wife's stepfather is the former chairman of the board at Morgan Stanley.

[stormy]

In his statement, Ford also said he'd never aggressively touched a man or a woman.

[oakville]

6 hours ago, stormy said:

Harold mentioned his three year old daughter yesterday.

If he's fired from MJ, I won't miss him. He's dull and boring.

Yes, but Joe touted HF Jr. him for a cabinet post last year in the Trump administration.

HF Jr was always available to provide 3 points on any issue & agree with Joe.

HF Jr is disputing the woman's allegations and plans to sue her. Will Mika defend a close friend of the show and go after the woman?

[oakville]

5 hours ago, Mumbles said:

When that baby was born and they announced it on MJ, Mika was more excited than Ford. 

His wife is from a wealthy family and does like interior design or fashion, i.e. a job that other wealthy ladies do a few hours here and there between lunches with their similarly situated friends. Every time I saw a photo of them, Ford still had those cold dead eyes. But if he harbored any further political ambitions - and I think he did, he had talked about running for Senate in NY - at some point he needed to get married and pop out a kid or people would have whispered (and it makes for better campaign literature.)

I remember when he was trying to run or Hillary's seat. He was accused of being a carpetbagger from Tennessee. He tried to campaign in a helicopter & fly over Manhattan. He was blasted as being elitist.

 MSNBC  said that Ford Jr will not appear on MSNBC while they investigate the matter.

Edited December 8, 2017 by oakville

[Mumbles]

Quote

I remember when he was trying to run or Hillary's seat. He was accused of being a carpetbagger from Tennessee. He tried to campaign in a helicopter & fly over Manhattan. He was blasted as being elitist.

I remember that he called Gillenbrand “young lady” (she is his age) but forgot about the helicopter. O.M.G.  Google Peter Beinart’s article about him in the Daily Beast. He was worse than I remember. It’s a great hate-read (Wall Street executives deserve their salaries because they took risks! He was pro-life in Tennessee but that only meant he was pro-veterans! Astounding.)

[WhineandCheez]

Harold Ford, gee whiz!!  LOVED the map highlighting how close Pensacola, where Chief pussy Grabber is,  is to Mobile, where the Teen grabber is.

[oakville]

6 minutes ago, WhineandCheez said:

Harold Ford, gee whiz!!  LOVED the map highlighting how close Pensacola, where Chief pussy Grabber is,  is to Mobile, where the Teen grabber is.

Trump has guts going into Pensacola which used to be known as Scarborough Country.

[Chloesmom]

I wish this is the Mika that shows up every day.  I really enjoyed the conversations at the start of the show including Mika saying she has spoken to Halperin's accusers and believes them.  I don't know whats up with HF Jr. because I too remember some of the stunts he has pulled in the past so I am team Morgan Stanley which is saying a lot because I usually hate Morgan Stanley. 

1 hour ago, oakville said:

Trump has guts going into Pensacola which used to be known as Scarborough Country.

Oakville, based on the description Joe gave of those wharf rats he should feel right at home saddle and all . . . :)

Edited December 8, 2017 by Chloesmom
Edited because I went a little too far afield.

[oakville]

Friday Recap. Mika & Joe are on their high horses today about critics of their show. Joe said they have had to contact authorities after receiving threats. Joe blasted right wing, Lego playing,juice box drinking & cheetos eating critics.

Joe said that Muller protected America after 9/11. Joe supports the rule of Law. Critics of Muller's investigations are on the side of the Autocrats!

Joe went into a long tirade defending Mika for going after Clinton in 1999. Mika was a leader back then.

Mika is uneasy about Franken resigning.

Mika asked if all women need to be believed.

Mika was VERY cold when she read the allegations of misconduct by Harold Ford Jr. He did not get "our friend" treatment that Halperin & others get.

That is very harsh. Ford Jr is one of their regular panelists. Mika brought his baby on the set.

Joe said Democrats would not have asked Franken to resign if the Governor was a Republican.

KCDC agreed with Joe but said it was a hypothetical question.

Mika said the panel will be getting kcdc t shirts soon.

Mika said she could get anyone fired if she claimed that he grabbed her butt.

Joe said he has taken thousands of pictures with people and can't remember if anyone touched him inappropriately.

Joe was very mad at people who grab Mika. He went on a 4 minute tirade yelling at people who disrespect Mika.\

Mika beamed at Joe throughout his tirade. It looked like he was the Football Captain defending the Cheerleader Queen.

Joe is now shouting restaurant recommendations in Pensacola at boy reporter Vaugn.

Von was not happy with NBC putting them in the Hilton Garden Inn.

Joe said the Fish House serves wharfrats! Yuck.

John Lewis is backing out of the Missississpi Civil Rights museum visit because Trump will be attending.

Joe is outraged. Lewis is a hero. Joe said Lewis was right not to stand with Trump.

[oakville]

Joe is a pro israel. Dr Z called Joe superficial. Eugene was a panelist for 3 minutes. He left & Haas took over.

The Middle East is complicated. Divided Leadership. The saudis & Israel are getting together to fight Iran.

The announcement is bad for peace negotiations.

[Landsnark]

Mika's sanctimony re: Clinton is nauseating.
Why are they SO fixated on that, pleading with us all to re-litigate Bill Clinton's relative morality?
Mika is trying to take the higher ground above the higher ground of Senate Democrats... Bbbbbbut CLINTON!  I WAS FIRST!

[WhineandCheez]

Quote

 

Joe was very mad at people who grab Mika. He went on a 4 minute tirade yelling at people who disrespect Mika.\

Mika beamed at Joe throughout his tirade. It looked like he was the Football Captain defending the Cheerleader Queen.

Joe is now shouting restaurant recommendations in Pensacola at boy reporter Vaugn.

 

Oakville, your recap this AM is  The Shit!!  Does anyone know who these bloggers are that threatened Mika and Joe, and also who the "Juice box" bloggers are??

If I ever hear on the news that someone is shooting up Rockerfeller Center, I will know that Kasie Hunt finally could no longer take anymore of this "KCDC" harassment.  I am sure she hates the name.

Edited December 8, 2017 by WhineandCheez

[stormy]

When Eugene Robinson shows up today, panel discusses John Lewis not attending the opening of the Civil Rights Museum.

Everyone agrees he's doing the right thing but no one points out that fat ass will probably throw out a racial slur like he did with the Wind Talkers.

[teddysmom]

1 hour ago, Landsnark said:

Mika is trying to take the higher ground above the higher ground of Senate Democrats... Bbbbbbut CLINTON!  I WAS FIRST!

Mika, a shit ton of people were appalled at what Bill Clinton did (incl. yours truly) but it's been litigated and we've moved on. You do remember the House voted to impeach him, and that affair was the focus of news coverage for almost two years.  You were not the first.  Get over yourself.  You come out strong on Franken then fuck it up with the Bill Clinton stuff. 

  Let's focus on what's happening now instead of playing "I told you so" from 20 years ago. And do yourself a favor, don't ever say "I want Kirsten Gillibrand to run for President" again.  

[millennium]

1 hour ago, teddysmom said:

Mika, a shit ton of people were appalled at what Bill Clinton did (incl. yours truly) but it's been litigated and we've moved on. You do remember the House voted to impeach him, and that affair was the focus of news coverage for almost two years.  You were not the first.  Get over yourself.  You come out strong on Franken then fuck it up with the Bill Clinton stuff. 

  

It's high time that Bill Clinton RESIGN from not being President anymore!   

[MulletorHater]

1 hour ago, teddysmom said:

Mika, a shit ton of people were appalled at what Bill Clinton did (incl. yours truly) but it's been litigated and we've moved on. You do remember the House voted to impeach him, and that affair was the focus of news coverage for almost two years.  You were not the first.  Get over yourself.  You come out strong on Franken then fuck it up with the Bill Clinton stuff. 

  Let's focus on what's happening now instead of playing "I told you so" from 20 years ago. And do yourself a favor, don't ever say "I want Kirsten Gillibrand to run for President" again.  

WORD to your entire post, TeddysMom.  I always cringe when Meek-a and her fiance go on one of the self-congratulatory rants.

It's as if these people can't keep "the Clintons" out of their mouths no matter the topic, from Senator Franken to global warming to Joe's increasingly high pompadour. 

I also found myself rolling my eyes at Joe's lack of awareness at how the members of his "former" party  have already broken precedent in usurping the will of the voters.  Or, maybe he truly doesn't remember the 8 years of deliberate obstruction that President Obama endured, including the outrageous theft of the Supreme Court seat that was Obama's right to fill with a candidate of his choosing?  That the GOP did this despite the will of the voters--the majority of whom decisively elected Obama twice--seems to be lost on Joe and the bobble heads who allow him to control the narrative.  So, please do not insult the audience's intelligence about how it would "set a precedent" if the Senate overrode the will of Alabama's voters and refused to seat Predator Moore.  

[teddysmom]

2 hours ago, stormy said:

Everyone agrees he's doing the right thing but no one points out that fat ass will probably throw out a racial slur like he did with the Wind Talkers.

I realized you were talking about Trump but first I thought you were talking about SHS, who made some dipshit remark about it.  John Lewis doesn't realize the sacrifice of the Civil Rights movement.  

 https://www.salon.com/2017/12/07/sarah-huckabee-sanders-attacks-john-lewis-knows-nothing-about-the-civil-rights-movement

[Eliot]

2 hours ago, teddysmom said:

Mika, a shit ton of people were appalled at what Bill Clinton did (incl. yours truly) but it's been litigated and we've moved on. You do remember the House voted to impeach him, and that affair was the focus of news coverage for almost two years.  You were not the first.  Get over yourself.  You come out strong on Franken then fuck it up with the Bill Clinton stuff. 

  Let's focus on what's happening now instead of playing "I told you so" from 20 years ago. And do yourself a favor, don't ever say "I want Kirsten Gillibrand to run for President" again.  

It's ironic that Mika is bemoaning the conflation of the Weinstein-Lauer-Halperin type sexual assaults with the still-unacceptable-but-different-degree type offenses of Franken...and yet still can't distinguish between an alleged rape (Juanita Broderick) and a consensual affair with an underling (Monica Lewinsky). The latter was certainly inappropriate and an abuse of power, but it wasn't criminal assault or even sexual harassment.

[millennium]

2 hours ago, MulletorHater said:

So, please do not insult the audience's intelligence about how it would "set a precedent" if the Senate overrode the will of Alabama's voters and refused to seat Predator Moore.  

He insults our intelligence simply by pretending that such a thing has a chance in hell of happening.

[oakville]

The juice box drinking, Lego Playing , Cheetos eating critics of Mika are  out in force today because Mika belittled Frankens accuser , Leanna for being a former Playboy model.

Morning Joe is getting a. BAd reputation now that 3 regular panelists have been removed from the show for sexual misconduct. 

Edited December 8, 2017 by oakville
Spelling

[sugarbaker design]

22 minutes ago, oakville said:

now that 3 regular panelists

3?

Halperin and Ford.  Who'd I miss?

[teddysmom]

1 hour ago, oakville said:

The juice box drinking,

Yeah what is up with that? Pour it in a cup you loon. 

Oh I thought you were talking about Mika drinking her coconut water or whatever, it looks like a big juice box.  Joe needs to find better descriptions of their critics.

Try "well read, politically savvy viewers who call us on our bullshit and point out what a bunch of hypocrites we are". 

Edited December 8, 2017 by teddysmom

[oakville]

22 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

3?

Halperin and Ford.  Who'd I miss?

Glenn Thrush

[Mumbles]

Plenty of other news organizations other than Mika - the Atlantic, the Nation, Michelle Goldberg in the New York Times - have raised the troubling issue that Bill Clinton and his supporters used a smear campaign against women who accused Clinton of sexual harassment - not Lewinsky, but Jones (who got a $700k settlement), and Willey.  Anyone remember Carville saying drag a dollar bill through a trailer park and you don't know what will turn up? Imagine if Weinstein had said it now. So Mika is not being a hysterical hypocrite when she raises this. Times have changed, thankfully. Had the Clinton stuff come out now, the result would probably have been different. 

And Bari Weiss raised a good question they I have been thinking - had Clinton won, would we be having these discussions at all? Or is this a proxy fight against Trump and his horrific treatment and views against women? 

[millennium]

1 hour ago, oakville said:

The juice box drinking, Lego Playing , Cheetos eating critics of Mika are  out in force today because Mika belittled Frankens accuser , Leanna for being a former Playboy model.

Morning Joe is getting a. BAd reputation now that 3 regular panelists have been removed from the show for sexual misconduct. 

I sort of winced when she brought that up.    what's the phrase?   slut shaming?  I think she was on safer ground when she raised the fact that Leanna is a Trump voter.   not that it matters.   that photo sealed Franken's fate.

[Chloesmom]

16 minutes ago, millennium said:

I sort of winced when she brought that up.    what's the phrase?   slut shaming?  I think she was on safer ground when she raised the fact that Leanna is a Trump voter.   not that it matters.   that photo sealed Franken's fate.

Mika and her point would have been better served with the photos of Leeanne actively participating in grab ass with various men (please note she grabbing them) and perhaps shouldn't have been so offended by Franken's actions.

[Landsnark]

It seems incongruous that the pendulum has just suddenly swung as far over as possible.  I suppose it's steam being let out of the system with Weinstein's outing finally unplugging the blockage.  Wall Street and Sports haven't exploded yet, so that's to come.
It's incongruous because 55% of white women voted for a man who is a self-proclaimed sexual predator.  Didn't bother them then.  Suddenly bothers them 10 months later but only when it's other men whose politics they disagree with?
If Mika wanted to declare that Clinton shouldn't have hired PR flaks to defend against/deflect accusers, she could mention that.  She doesn't.   She says "Clinton did it," as if we all equally understand what the fuck that is shorthand for.  He sort of banged a 20something who pursued him in order to have sex with him.  He was also a womanizer in general.  Infidelity as President is slightly distasteful conceptually, with a younger woman is thoroughly distasteful, and being a womanizer isn't necessarily distasteful - he was appealing to a lot of women - your mileage may vary.  Today it MAY disqualify him.  Who knows?  Who cares?  What odd theoretical gymnastics she engages in for ponderous reasons.

Meh, I have no problem agreeing that a Playboy model who's made her entire career firing up men's basest sexual motivations seems to have been electively delicate about her status as a sex symbol as regards a man in a party she campaigns against.  He pretended to grope a woman whose career was inspiring men to view women as sexual objects.  BFD
If Franken had released pictures of Tweeden nude, Tweeden goofing around with men, and released the soldiers' pics/testimony of them doing what Franken did... would that be beyond the pale?  Nah.  He should have.  He should have punched her back so hard the back of her head hit the floor first, but... he's a decent guy who apologized for her perceptions of offense.  And he paid.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Landsnark

[stormy]

I voted for Franken twice. He barely won by some 300 votes the first time and it was a long drawn out recount. 

The voters here in MN didn't force him out, it was a group of narrow minded people in Congress who will gain nothing.

They think they now own the high road. BFD.

At least Mika sorta glossed over the fact that Tweeden is a right wing radio show host and Hannity guest.

Edited December 8, 2017 by stormy

[millennium]

37 minutes ago, Landsnark said:

It seems incongruous that the pendulum has just suddenly swung as far over as possible.  I suppose it's steam being let out of the system with Weinstein's outing finally unplugging the blockage.  Wall Street and Sports haven't exploded yet, so that's to come.
I

The irony of it all -- and this is a point I haven't heard Mika raise -- is that the success of the "me too" movement isn't due to some public epiphany or concern for women in the workplace but rather the crass, perpetual motivators known as dollars and cents.  

I don't fully understand why women feel vindicated by what's going on.   I don't believe it was a sense of justice or respect for the accusers that saw these prominent men cast out of their positions.   It was fear, plain and simple.   Fear of negative publicity on social media leading to protests and diminished corporate profits. 

Men are and forever shall be horn-dogs.   No matter how much sensitivity training they receive, no matter how many are sacrificed on the altar of the me-too movement.   To think they will change is wishful thinking.   Men may become more wary about acting on every impulse but the impulse, and thus the problem, will remain.    

Sooner or later some man will be falsely accused and taken down.   Human nature being what it is, it's bound to happen.   And when the injustice of it comes to light after that person's career has been destroyed, the me-too movement will probably go the way of the ice-bucket challenge and women could possibly find themselves in a worse position than before.

[car54]

Nicolle Wallace said on her show that Harold Ford will not appear on MSNBC shows until the legal matters are settled.

[stormy]

Mika said the same this morning

[Mumbles]

Mediaite had a story about how some of the emails they’ve seen (presumably given them by Ford?) suggest that there’s more to this story than meets the eye. I hope it’s more than “the accuser kept interacting with Ford even after the alleged incident” because that’s not unusual, many victims of harassment have little choice. But in any event I am interested in learning more. I still think Ford is a soulless, substanceless dummy and I’d be glad if he never appeared on the show again, but because he’s a soulless, substanceless dummy. 

[millennium]

This show is a de facto shill for Roy Moore and the Republican Party.   They pretend to be aghast at everything that's happening in Alabama, but twice in just the last hour they have replayed, in full, Trump's robo-call for Roy Moore complete with the text of the call on the screen.    They have also twice replayed Trump exhorting the deplorables in Floribama to go out and vote for Roy Moore.   That's a total of FOUR unfiltered Roy Moore endorsements by  Trump aired nationally on this program in just the last hour.   

They also let Steve Stiver slide by unscathed, failing to ask him how he feels about the Republican party on its way to becoming the party of pedophiles and other sexual predators.

[oakville]

Monday Recap. Alabama Monday. Joe bragged about knowing the state. Mika & Joe were excited about Corey Booker & Deval Patrick visiting the state to excite African Americans. Eddie Glaude said that would anger white soccer moms.

Heilemann put a damper on the African American voter surge to help Doug Jones. Obama only got 39% of the vote in Alabama.

Joe was happy that Shelby , the senior GOP senator won't vote for Moore. He is popular in rural Alabama & helped build the Mercedes Plant.

I am waiting for Joe to say that women will turn out in the rain for Doug Jones.

Moore is not holding campaign events .

Mika was breathelessly reading that Moore did not suppport any amendments to the Constitution after #10. He will bring back slavery to Alabama. I doubt he can do that, Mika.

[oakville]

Joe went on & on about growing up in the South. He named various cities he lived in. At no time did Joe hear any of his friends make racially insensitive comments. Joe played with African Americans kids & everyone got along. Eddie called JJoe's experience naive. Racism existed in the South after 1963. He said he lived on the wrong side of the tracks.

They showed the Roy Moore supporters focus group. Yikes!. One lady blamed George Soros. Joe said that Clinton supporters in 1999 would bash Juanita Broderick. & Monica Lewinsky. They are as delusional as Moore supporters according to Joe.

Never forget the evil Clintons! Mika moaned in agreement.

Carol Lee said people don't trust the media. Why did the allegations come out right before the election? Why did people wait 40 years.?. People are mad about the doctoring of the Yearbook.

Joe doesn't like Tribal voters. Jane Fonda vs John Wayne voters in 1994.

Joe said that Trump is a life long democrat & liberal. It doesn't matter anymore. Why won't voters listen to all knowing Joe?

Edited December 11, 2017 by oakville

[Jaded]

I'm from AL, stuck a state over and younger then Joe. He's a liar who lies when it comes to not hearing any racially insensitive remarks and other things when living down here. I have family who believe the George Soros voting machine crap. Seeing people in AL not care that Moore is a molester doesn't surprise me either especially since he blathers on about his religion. That's all it takes to bait a lot of bible belt religious people. It's so frustrating to be around and witness.

Edited December 11, 2017 by Jaded

[millennium]

38 minutes ago, oakville said:

 

Heilemann put a damper on the African American voter surge to help Doug Jones. Obama only got 39% of the vote in Alabama.

 

He pretty much said, hey, African Americans, don't waste your time voting for Doug Jones, it won't make a difference.   Again, this on a morning when they have aired four Roy Moore endorsements by Donald Trump with little or no comment or criticism by the panel.   I think Mika said "Wow" and Scarborough opined, "He sounds a little strange" but that's it.  

I'm turning it off to listen to some music instead.   I think I'm reaching a saturation point.  Everything on MSNBC is Trump.   Everything on CNN is Trump.   Everything on FOX is Trump.   It's like the old Apple 1984 commercial.   

More and more I'm watching BBC news to find out what's happening in the world.

Edited December 11, 2017 by millennium

[Chloesmom]

That Roy Moore focus group, egad!  How bad do you have to be that Frank Luntz of all people are like wait, what?  It was beyond jarring to hear out loud things you were pretty sure some people have been thinking.

Jaded, thanks for calling out Joe as a liar.  Never heard a disparaging racial word . . . right.

[navelgazer]

Julia Ioffe of the Atlantic was on briefly to talk about her article in the Jan/Feb 18 issue, What Putin Really Wants.  The panel asked her some really open-ended, leading questions, but they didn't seem prepared for her answers, that Putin isn't a master manipulator but a scared figurehead who's just trying anything he can to stay in power.  Ioffe seemed to stumble in her answers, too.  Maybe everybody had Monday-morning-itis?  Anyway, I've skimmed the article and it seems worth a read. 

[Chloesmom]

Oh ffs, stop it with that robocall already.

[Chloesmom]

17 minutes ago, navelgazer said:

Julia Ioffe of the Atlantic was on briefly to talk about her article in the Jan/Feb 18 issue, What Putin Really Wants.  The panel asked her some really open-ended, leading questions, but they didn't seem prepared for her answers, that Putin isn't a master manipulator but a scared figurehead who's just trying anything he can to stay in power.  Ioffe seemed to stumble in her answers, too.  Maybe everybody had Monday-morning-itis?  Anyway, I've skimmed the article and it seems worth a read. 

Navelgazer, thanks for posting that link to Julia's article.  Wow, what a read!