Unlike the jarring, ruthless, civilisational changes of the 1990s, the changes to Moscow over the past five years were almost imperceptible on a month-to-month basis.
Katie's only crime is being ruthless and clever.
The ruthless tactics adopted include the use of government machinery and media.
A lone voice was the captain, Casey Stoney, who thanked Powell for "making her dreams come true" in giving her the armband, but tellingly also described her as "ruthless".
In a wide-ranging attack on the Coalition's environmental policies, Butler said the government was guilty of showing a "ruthless" disregard for the nation's natural assets.
The casinos all belong to the ruthless, Trumpish Terry Benedict Andy Garciaa), who is also courting Ocean's ex-wife Tess Julia Robertss in an underwritten update of Angie Dickinson's role), which makes it hard to tell whether Ocean is planning this intricate stick-up to get rich or just to get his girl back.
And the people who facilitate this are ruthless traffickers who don't even expect to get their boats back, still less provide a crew or skipper.
Today, even ruthless despotism, as the implosion of Iraq, Libya and Syria reveals, is no longer a reliable bulwark against militant disaffection.
But when he asked, 'Who do you want in Downing Street?' (modestly thinking 'You want me, the ruthless, randy Ed!'), I felt my shoulder blades crawl as though their skin was covered by a thousand red ants".
That ruthless and relentless desire to score goals and stamp his authority on every occasion is the source of his greatness.
Vince Cable, the business secretary described his Conservative colleagues as "ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal" though he went to insist that this did not mean the Liberal Democrats couldn't work with them (see 9.46am).
