In October 2014, Medvedev said that a reset of relations with the U.S. was "impossible" and that relations had been damaged by "destructive" and "stupid" Western sanctions against Russia. The sanctions had been imposed because of the Ukraine crisis and the shooting down of flight MH17, which Western powers said was the result of a missile fired from rebel-controlled territory.[14]
Barack, Hillary: Moronic “Reset” Idea for Relations With Russia
The optimism surrounding U.S.-Russia relations that began in Bush's presidency had dissipated by the end of it, and so Obama pledged to "reset" relations with Putin's successor, Dmitri Medvedev (you might remember Hillary Clinton's much-mocked "reset button," which she, as Secretary of State, gifted to her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov). The proposed reset didn't have much of an effect, though, and after Putin stepped back into the Russian presidency in 2012, he and Obama never developed much of a friendly relationship.
Within the US attitudes toward foreign languages are shaped by immigration and all non-anglophones are assumed to be immigrants (whether they are or not) and thus encouraged to speak as much English as possible. In that context speaking their language to them is seen as enabling them to persist in dysfunctional behavior.Outside the US attitudes toward foreign languages vary widely according to historical relations, perceived difficulty and income level of the country in question and actual need to know the language to get things done. Often enough Americans have positive attitudes toward learning other languages they just have no idea how to go about it.IME in Poland, Americans outperform Brits (and lots of other Europeans) by a wide margin in learning Polish. Some of the grammar can make your hair stand on end but they get in there and try and usually get better over time. Many Brits live for years in Poland without making any effort to learn the language whatsoever AFAICT. There are exceptions both ways but those are the averages. 2ff7e9595c
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