Theodore's World

Wild Thing's comment......

In Moscow, this was Christmas in July.Only Obama the idiot at work again. He makes me so angry!!!

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 PM | Comments (5)

Obama Behaving Like “ugly American” Tourist in Russia ?

.

.

Family Night for Obamas Miffs Some in Moscow

NY Times

MOSCOW — If Paris is for lovers, it looks like Moscow is for families.

After passing on dinner with the French president to go on a date in the City of Light with his wife last month, President Obama took leave of his Russian hosts on Tuesday night to seclude himself in his Moscow hotel with his wife, Michelle, and their daughters.

The first family enjoyed a relaxed evening at the O2 Lounge, the super-chic, super-pricey rooftop club at the new Ritz-Carlton, although no doubt the Secret Service first cleared the place of most if not all of the swaggering tycoons and leggy models who flock to such Moscow venues.

They could not ask for a more scenic vista. The glass-enclosed O2 offers a panoramic view of Moscow, including Red Square and the Kremlin, all the more striking as the lingering summer sun sets after 10 p.m. The club is “a place to see and be seen,” as its Web site says — that is, unless you are a visiting president who after a day and a half of blinis, beluga and bilats (the diplo term for “bilateral meetings”) just wants to hang out with the clan.

The decision to brush off the Russians on one of his two nights here miffed some in the Moscow government who did not understand why he would not devote the scarce time to his hosts. Mr. Obama had dinner with President Dmitri A. Medvedev on Monday and lunch with him on Tuesday. But with the second dinner slot unavailable, he ended up having breakfast Tuesday with Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, a known night owl not given to American-style early morning business meals.

The Obamas, though, wanted some downtime before getting back on Air Force One to head to Italy for three days of meetings at the Group of 8 summit meeting and, from there, to Ghana for a one-day visit.

Mr. Obama has seemed tired here, several times fumbling the pronunciation of Mr. Medvedev’s name and Mr. Putin’s title. Beginning a speech here, he mistakenly said he first met his wife in school instead of at the law firm where they actually met. And he misstated his younger daughter’s age.

He was quick on his feet, however, while addressing graduates of the New Economic School. In praising Russian culture, Mr. Obama cited painters, composers, dancers — and a hockey player, The Associated Press reported.

“As a resident of Washington, I continue to benefit from the contributions of Russians — specifically, from Alexander Ovechkin,” he said. Mr. Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals was the National Hockey League’s most valuable player.

And while Mr. Obama was tending to business, the first lady and the girls kept a separate schedule. Mrs. Obama visited an orphanage and then escorted the orphans to a special dance performance at a Moscow theater. Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, did not accompany her, remaining instead with Mrs. Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson.

“They came with me to Russia,” the first lady told the Russian orphans. “They’re with their grandmother. I think they’re making dolls.”

Much attention here focused on the fact that the Obamas named their younger daughter Natasha, or Sasha for short. (In Russia, Sasha is actually a nickname for Alexandra, not Natasha.) The president told ABC News that he laughed at the sight of his younger daughter walking through the halls of the Kremlin with a trench coat on and her hands in the pockets.

Mr. Obama jokingly called her “Agent 99,” after the “Get Smart” character. “She just looked like she knew where she was going,” he said. “I thought she was going to pull out her shoe phone.”

Wild Thing's comment.......

Great instead of sending a world class leader of an industrialized nation to speak to the Russians, we send the Griswald family from National Lampoon's European Vacation.

I can understand the sentiment of wanting to go off and have dinner with his family but a president has responsibilities and from othis trip and the one to France Obama treats them more like he is a tourist.

My Father had an international business and one cardinal rule is that whether you feel like it or not, if you are invited out by your hosts you go.

Top that off with it was NOT to have a quiet night with family. That quiet night was at a super trendy, super expensive, club to party. That is not what I call a quiet night with family.

He is being an “ugly American” tourist when he travels on our dime. We can't afford this kind of self-centered amateurism.

"Mr. Obama has seemed tired here, several times fumbling the pronunciation of Mr. Medvedev’s name and Mr. Putin’s title. Beginning a speech here, he mistakenly said he first met his wife in school instead of at the law firm where they actually met. And he misstated his younger daughter’s age."

Ever notice how this guy always seems "tired"? When he was making gaffes left and right during the campaign, it was blown off as being "tired"....far as I know, George W. Bush was NEVER "tired" (although, as President, he was probably exhausted at times). Even Bill Clinton was never "tired". And during the campaign, John McCain, at age 73, never used the excuse of being tired.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 PM | Comments (7)

Anti-American With a Podium Obama Refuses to Admit US Won Cold War

Townhall

Major Garrett interviewed President Obama after his little speech in Moscow. Even when he’s not apologizing he still downplays America’s standing in the world.

GARRETT: In your speech this morning, you said the Cold War reached its conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years. Mr. President, are the Russian sensitivities so fragile that you can’t say the Cold War was won? The West won it? And it was led by a combination of Democratic and Republican American presidents?

OBAMA: Well, listen, the — I think that you just cut out Lech Walesa and the Poles. You just cut out Havel and the Czechs. There were a whole bunch of people throughout Eastern Europe who showed enormous courage.

And I think that it is very important in this part of the world to acknowledge the degree to which people struggled for their own freedom. I’m very proud of the traditions of Democratic and Republican presidents to lift the Iron Curtain.

But, you know, we don’t have to diminish other people in order to recognize our role in that history.

.

Wild Thing's comment........

American patriots rolling in their graves at warp speed.

To admit the US won the cold war would be admitting that that the US did something good, Obama doesn't want to admit that. Obama was on the enemies side during the cold war. He still is, the marxist quisling.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (23)

Obama Lauds Putin’s ‘Extraordinary Work’ in Visit to Mend Ties

.

Barack Obama (L) and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) converse while having traditional Russian tea and snacks on a terrace at Putin's residence outside Moscow in Novo-Ogarevo on July 7, 2009. Obama praised Vladimir Putin's "extraordinary work" as Russia's president and now prime minister, but admitted their two nations still do not agree on everything.

Barack Obama (L) and first lady Michelle Obama look at a cat at Russian President's Dmitry Medvedev residence Gorki outside Moscow July 6, 2009. Visiting U.S. President Obama and Kremlin leader Medvedev agreed a target for cuts in nuclear arms and a deal to let U.S. troops fly across Russia at the start of a trip intended to mend strained ties.

Obama Lauds Putin’s ‘Extraordinary Work’ in Visit to Mend Ties

Bloomberg.com

Obama lauded Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his service to Russia, continuing a three-day push to overcome the animosities of the George W. Bush era.

“I am aware of not only the extraordinary work you have done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minister -- as president -- but in your current role as prime minister,” Obama told Putin after more than an hour of talks at the premier’s residence near Moscow.

Obama and Putin’s protégé and successor Dmitry Medvedev reached agreements yesterday on nuclear arms and Afghanistan, which Obama said marked a “new start” in relations between the two nuclear superpowers.

The two leaders called for a reduction of atomic warheads by as much as a third, while Russia also agreed to allow the transit of U.S. arms shipments to troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

While Obama, 47, and Medvedev, 43, “had a symbolically successful day” yesterday, the U.S. president’s meeting with Putin, 56, was “key” to the relationship because Putin is still the dominant political figure in Russia, said Andrew Kuchins, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Obama's meeting with the man widely regarded as the most powerful in Russia is taking place on the second day of the American leader's visit to Moscow.

Obama praised Mr Putin for his "extraordinary work" as president and PM as the pair met for the first time.

Mr Putin said Mr Obama's own role would be key in improving relations.

The breakfast meeting was held at Mr Putin's dacha outside the capital.

Obama said: "I am aware of not only the extraordinary work that you've done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minis-, uh, as president, but in your current role as prime minister."

Mr Putin said: "We link hopes for development of our relationship with your name."

Last week, Obama said he thought the former Russian president turned prime minister had "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new".

Obama is later due to deliver a major speech on democracy, the global economy and the US-Russian relationship.

On Monday, after meeting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he signed eight separate agreements with Russia.

They included a pact to negotiate a new arms control treaty to replace the 1991 Start I pact which expires in December.

.

Wild Thing's comment.........

LOL I love that photo where Putin is the one in only obvious chair. hahaha

And this from the NY Times:
In Russia, Obama’s Star Power Does Not Translate

"Let other capitals go all weak-kneed when President Obama visits. Moscow has greeted Mr. Obama, who on Tuesday night concluded a two-day Russian-American summit meeting, as if he were just another dignitary passing through. Crowds did not clamor for a glimpse of him. Headlines offered only glancing or flippant notice of his activities. Television programming was uninterrupted; devotees of the Russian Judge Judy had nothing to fear. Even many students and alumni of the Western-oriented business school where Mr. Obama gave the graduation address on Tuesday seemed merely respectful, but hardly enthralled. “We don’t really understand why Obama is such a star,” said Kirill Zagorodnov, 25, one of the graduates. “It’s a question of trust, how he behaves, how he positions himself, that typical charisma, which in Russia is often parodied. Russians really are not accustomed to it. It is like he is trying to manipulate the public.” ... Some Obama aides said they were struck by the low-key reception here."

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (12)

Obama Over His Head In Russia

Obama Over His Head in Russia. Talking to Puppet!

Lt. Col. Ralph Peters talking with Judge Andrew Napolitano who was subbing for Glenn Beck yesterday.
They discussed Obama's visit to Russia. Peters bluntly said that Obama is in over his depth in trying to deal with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He also said that what Obama craves most is adulation and applause. He descriptively said, "Obama is a vampire who doesn't live on blood - he lives on applause."

.

cnn

“The future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle or bury missiles in the ground.”

President BARACK OBAMA, calling on the U.S. and Russia to overcome Cold War mistrust and reduce nuclear arsenals, in his commencement speech before graduates of Moscow’s New Economic School

Wild Thing's comment.......

"The future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle "

Obama may have said this referring to the Cold War. but I take it as much more then that. We know how he feels about our troops and are they not an army on the field of battle??????? SCREW You Obama! We would have no future if it were not for our troops, we would not have had a future if it were not for our Veterans.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:46 AM | Comments (7)

July 03, 2009

Obama Tells Russia's Putin the Cold War is History

.

Obama tells Russia's Putin the Cold War is history

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama said former Russian President Vladimir Putin and his hand-picked successor should expect an in-person reminder the Cold War is over when the U.S. leader makes his first trip to a Moscow summit.

Days before he departs for Russia, Obama said Thursday that Putin "still has a lot of sway" in his nation as its nominal prime minister. "I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated," he said. "Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."

Wild Thing's comment.......

What a freaking Moron Obama is, he is dangerously arrogant. Putin knows he is a joke.

Putin has already warned Obama that communism (socialism) does not work. Putin will and can run circles around Obama .

I’m in for Putin all the way. He’s my guy. Heck, I want Putin to run for president in 2012. Obama has proven that being a citizen is not required. I want a president that’s willing to kill the crooks, Putin will. I just wish Putin was Black, then I know he would win.

Putin = Mighty Mouse 2012

heh heh Ok I was just kidding, I could not resist at this late hour in the middle of the night er ah morning ( 4:30 a.m.)

hahahaaha

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (12)

June 17, 2009

Putin Slams Obama Tax Proposal

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin shows his new car, a locally-produced Niva SUV, to the media in his Black Sea residence in Sochi, southern Russia. Photo by AP.

Putin Slams Obama Tax Proposal

Moscow Times

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on U.S. companies' foreign operations, saying it would amount to double taxation that will hurt the global economy.

"This is a serious decision for the world economy," Putin said at a meeting of the Presidium, the government said on its web site. "If taxes are imposed on all companies working abroad, then it will mean the total destruction of the system for avoiding double taxation."

Putin instructed Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin to hold discussions on the plan with Obama's administration.

Kudrin met with finance ministers from the Group of Eight over the weekend and signed an agreement with Italy outlining a system for avoiding double taxation.

Obama has proposed canceling a provision of the tax code that allows foreign subsidiaries of U.S. corporations to defer tax payments on money that is reinvested in local operations.

"It's a tax code that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York," he said in May, referring to the current state of the U.S. tax code, media reported.

Obama is scheduled to make his first official visit to Moscow on July 6-8.

Wild Thing's comment........

It’s pretty bad when the leader of a nation like Russia is saying this to the president of the USA. The funny thing is he may do it himself but he does not want the US to go socialist.

Putin has seized many companies, and likely ordered the murder of some former CEOs, one such case in London with radioactive poison of some kind. Was it two or three years ago, something like that.

There is a difference though, I can't see Putin wanting to destroy his country. He has no chip on his shoulder about the Russian Flag, the Russian anthem, and probably doesn't hate his military .......yes there is a difference.

Obama has every intenion of destroying America and making one that he wants, the socialist, communist, marxist model. And throw in the Muslims and who knows Shira law as well by the time he is done.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (4)

March 18, 2009

Will Russia Test Obama's Doctrine?

Will Russia Test Obama's Doctrine?

Investors Business Daily

As the 25th anniversary of the invasion of Grenada nears, Russia is contemplating permanent bases in the Western Hemisphere. Once again, there's a bear in the woods.

On the morning of Oct. 25, 1983, America's armed forces invaded the island of Grenada. The Marxist regime of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop had been overthrown by the even harder-line communist Bernard Coard just 12 days earlier.

We were enforcing the Reagan and Monroe doctrines forbidding foreign bases in our hemisphere.

Coard gave every indication he would continue transforming Grenada into a Soviet-Cuban base. The lives of nearly 1,000 American medical students were in jeopardy. Cuban troops roamed the island. And then there was the matter of that 10,000-foot runway the Cubans were building — a runway long enough to accommodate Soviet bombers and not likely to be used for a sudden influx of Western tourists.

An increasingly belligerent Russia may be about to again test President Obama, as Vice President Joe Biden predicted in the campaign.

On Saturday, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, chief of staff of the Russian air force's long-range aviation, announced that Venezuela's thug in chief, Hugo Chavez, had offered the Venezuelan island of La Orchila as a temporary base for Russian strategic bombers.

"There is such a proposal on the part of the Venezuelan president. Chavez proposed to us a whole island with an airfield that we can use for temporary basing of strategic bombers," Zhikharev told the Interfax news agency. "If there is a relevant political decision, then the use of the island by the Russian air force is possible."

Zhikharev noted that in 2008 he had been to La Orchila, 110 miles from Venezuela's north central coast, where the Venezuelan navy has its Antonio Diaz Naval Air Station. With "minor reconstruction," he said, the airfield there could accept fully loaded Russian strategic bombers. Orchila's runway is listed at 9,843 feet and is unpaved.

Zhikharev added that Cuba also has facilities that are ideal for use by Russian bombers on long-range patrols. "There are four or five airfields in Cuba with 4,000-meter-long (13,000-foot) runways, which absolutely suit us," he said.

Last September, two nuclear-capable Russian Tu-160 Blackjack bombers arrived in Venezuela after a 13-hour flight from their Russian base. These aircraft can carry 12 cruise missiles that can be fitted with nuclear warheads. They landed at the military air base Libertador in Palo Negro, 68 miles from Caracas, the day before the anniversary of 9/11. The base has a 10,400-foot runway.

Late last year, a Russian flotilla led by the Kirov-class Peter the Great, a nuclear-powered heavy missile cruiser, paid a visit to conduct exercises with the Venezuelan navy. The ship, armed with SS-N-19 Shipwreck long-range anti-ship missiles, sailed in an area where nine out of every 14 barrels of imported oil, even some Alaskan oil, must transit.

During his confirmation hearings last July, Gen. Norton Schwartz, nominated by President Bush to be Air Force chief of staff, commented on the possible basing of Russian strategic bombers in the Caribbean.

"I think we should stand strong and indicate that that is something which crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America," he said.

That was then, this is now.

Will President Obama draw a red line? Within hours of Obama's election, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev tested him by threatening to deploy SS-26 Iskander missiles in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad between our NATO allies Poland and Lithuania.

Medvedev said he would reconsider if we dropped our plans to deploy missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic meant to intercept Iranian missiles. Obama's administration has indicated a willingness to do just that and trade U.S. security for Russian promises.

Some will say this is a nonstory and point out that the Kremlin later explained that Zhikharev spoke "hypothetically." But the Kremlin let him speak to Russia's Interfax so that the word would get to us and make us think.

Obama and Medvedev are scheduled to meet in London on April 2.

Will Obama tell Medvedev to not even think about it? Or will he once again say let's make a deal?

Wild Thing's comment.......

Obama doctrine what is that Appeasement before Surrender ???

Obama is a hologram in front of a teleprompter and could not get a clue if it was a post it note stuck on his forehead.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (6)

March 03, 2009

Obama Offers to Scrap Missile Shield If Russia Cooperates on Iran

Obama Offers to Scrap Missile Shield If Russia Cooperates on Iran

FOX news

Obama offered to consider scrapping plans for a missile defense shield in Europe if Russia helps rein in Iran's nuclear program, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported.

Obama inherited plans to build the system in Poland and the Czech Republic from the Bush administration, but the new administration has equivocated over the project. Though the plans were put in place to deter nations like Iran and North Korea from launching attacks and developing nuclear weapons, Russia has interpreted the planned installation as a threat.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is called absolute defeatism. Obama wants to scrap a magnificent missile shield system and begs Russia to help us deal with the Iranian terrorist regime.

Keep the missile shield and destroy the Iranian regime nuclear facilities. That is what a true leader does. But Obama is not a leader.

Every day I feel sicker and sicker about this unspeakable occupier of the White House. Hussein sure is setting us up to be attacked. His actions scream weakness in defending our interests while destroying us from within, but of course since his parents and teachers were Communists.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (12)

December 30, 2008

Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.

As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.

In Moscow, Igor Panarin's Forecasts Are All the Rage; America 'Disintegrates' in 2010

The Wall Street Journal

by Igor Panarin

MOSCOW

For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument -- that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. -- very seriously. Now he's found an eager audience: Russian state media.

In recent weeks, he's been interviewed as much as twice a day about his predictions. "It's a record," says Prof. Panarin. "But I think the attention is going to grow even stronger."

Prof. Panarin, 50 years old, is not a fringe figure. A former KGB analyst, he is dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry's academy for future diplomats. He is invited to Kremlin receptions, lectures students, publishes books, and appears in the media as an expert on U.S.-Russia relations.

But it's his bleak forecast for the U.S. that is music to the ears of the Kremlin, which in recent years has blamed Washington for everything from instability in the Middle East to the global financial crisis. Mr. Panarin's views also fit neatly with the Kremlin's narrative that Russia is returning to its rightful place on the world stage after the weakness of the 1990s, when many feared that the country would go economically and politically bankrupt and break into separate territories.

A polite and cheerful man with a buzz cut, Mr. Panarin insists he does not dislike Americans. But he warns that the outlook for them is dire.

"There's a 55-45% chance right now that disintegration will occur," he says. "One could rejoice in that process," he adds, poker-faced. "But if we're talking reasonably, it's not the best scenario -- for Russia." Though Russia would become more powerful on the global stage, he says, its economy would suffer because it currently depends heavily on the dollar and on trade with the U.S.

Mr. Panarin posits, in brief, that mass immigration, economic decline, and moral degradation will trigger a civil war next fall and the collapse of the dollar. Around the end of June 2010, or early July, he says, the U.S. will break into six pieces -- with Alaska reverting to Russian control.

In addition to increasing coverage in state media, which are tightly controlled by the Kremlin, Mr. Panarin's ideas are now being widely discussed among local experts. He presented his theory at a recent roundtable discussion at the Foreign Ministry. The country's top international relations school has hosted him as a keynote speaker. During an appearance on the state TV channel Rossiya, the station cut between his comments and TV footage of lines at soup kitchens and crowds of homeless people in the U.S. The professor has also been featured on the Kremlin's English-language propaganda channel, Russia Today.

Mr. Panarin's apocalyptic vision "reflects a very pronounced degree of anti-Americanism in Russia today," says Vladimir Pozner, a prominent TV journalist in Russia. "It's much stronger than it was in the Soviet Union."

Mr. Pozner and other Russian commentators and experts on the U.S. dismiss Mr. Panarin's predictions. "Crazy ideas are not usually discussed by serious people," says Sergei Rogov, director of the government-run Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies, who thinks Mr. Panarin's theories don't hold water.

Mr. Panarin's résumé includes many years in the Soviet KGB, an experience shared by other top Russian officials. His office, in downtown Moscow, shows his national pride, with pennants on the wall bearing the emblem of the FSB, the KGB's successor agency. It is also full of statuettes of eagles; a double-headed eagle was the symbol of czarist Russia.

The professor says he began his career in the KGB in 1976. In post-Soviet Russia, he got a doctorate in political science, studied U.S. economics, and worked for FAPSI, then the Russian equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency. He says he did strategy forecasts for then-President Boris Yeltsin, adding that the details are "classified."

In September 1998, he attended a conference in Linz, Austria, devoted to information warfare, the use of data to get an edge over a rival. It was there, in front of 400 fellow delegates, that he first presented his theory about the collapse of the U.S. in 2010.

"When I pushed the button on my computer and the map of the United States disintegrated, hundreds of people cried out in surprise," he remembers. He says most in the audience were skeptical. "They didn't believe me."

At the end of the presentation, he says many delegates asked him to autograph copies of the map showing a dismembered U.S.

He based the forecast on classified data supplied to him by FAPSI analysts, he says. He predicts that economic, financial and demographic trends will provoke a political and social crisis in the U.S. When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in.

California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.

"It would be reasonable for Russia to lay claim to Alaska; it was part of the Russian Empire for a long time." A framed satellite image of the Bering Strait that separates Alaska from Russia like a thread hangs from his office wall. "It's not there for no reason," he says with a sly grin.

Interest in his forecast revived this fall when he published an article in Izvestia, one of Russia's biggest national dailies. In it, he reiterated his theory, called U.S. foreign debt "a pyramid scheme," and predicted China and Russia would usurp Washington's role as a global financial regulator.

Americans hope President-elect Barack Obama "can work miracles," he wrote. "But when spring comes, it will be clear that there are no miracles."

The article prompted a question about the White House's reaction to Prof. Panarin's forecast at a December news conference. "I'll have to decline to comment," spokeswoman Dana Perino said amid much laughter.

For Prof. Panarin, Ms. Perino's response was significant. "The way the answer was phrased was an indication that my views are being listened to very carefully," he says.

Wild Thing's comment.........

First I have to say this jerk has a HUGE ego.....look at his reaction about Dana Perino.

The article prompted a question about the White House's reaction to Prof. Panarin's forecast at a December news conference. "I'll have to decline to comment," spokeswoman Dana Perino said amid much laughter.

""The way the answer was phrased was an indication that my views are being listened to very carefully," he says."

Then we need to take into account this......

“Now he’s found an eager audience: Russian state media.”

Well of course Russia and Putin must love to hear someone tell them the USA will end.

This is a mythical scenario, one I mostly disagree with. Also my memo to him would be Comrade Professor, the first step is admitting you have a problem. Prof. Panarin's division of the USA is wishful thinking on his part, IMO.

Where I will agree, but not because he wrote it, many of you on here have said this as well that it could happen.....
As far as the civil war and the breakup and the economic collapse, he is probably right on the mark.

BUT the part about Alaska back to Russia........NO WAY.......maybe when we see Putin in Red Square in tights and a tutu dancing to the sugar plum fairies. LOL

He gives California and the other coastal states to China, WTF? I see no plausible scenario for that to happen. Then he splits the Southern states in half, which is again nonsense, that block of states would obviously act as a unit. Then he takes the block of midwestern states and puts them as “part of or under the influence of Canada” - I know he’s only an academic, but doesn’t he realize that particular subset of states has more people than the entirety of Canada?

Sounds like the professors in Russia are about as smart as the ones here. The leftists in our nation have been predicting the fall of the U.S. for some time too. They have been working on it for years, pushing their Progressive communist agenda and now with B. Hussein Obama the NON Constitutional elected Messiah.

However, just by looking at how he would split States up tells me he knows very little about the United States and the people who live here.

I say it is time for the American Spirit to rise again.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (12)

December 17, 2008

Russian Warships Head For Cuba

Russian warships head for Cuba

December 16, 2008

Breitbart

Russia said on Monday it was sending a group of warships to Soviet-era ally Cuba in its latest defiant naval move around US waters, part of a drive to revive old Cold War ties with Latin America.

The warships will visit Havana on December 19-23, the navy said, continuing a tour that has already taken in US foes Venezuela and Nicaragua and seen the ships pass through the Panama Canal for the first time since World War II.

"This will be the first visit to Cuba by Russian warships since the Soviet era," the Russian naval headquarters said in a statement.

The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and two other ships already held exercises with Venezuela's navy in the Caribbean Sea last month.

The naval manoeuvres close to US waters are seen as a riposte to Washington's own moves in Russia's Soviet-era sphere of influence, including in the Black Sea.

US officials have said they see no military threat from Russia's naval manoeuvres but continue to keep a close eye on the situation.

The naval visit to Cuba, scene of a dramatic 1962 stand-off between Moscow and Washington over nuclear missiles, comes as tensions over US missile defence plans in eastern Europe have prompted talk of a renewed Cold War among some analysts.

Last month Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a tour of Latin America where he visited Cuba and Venezuela and met former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, part of efforts to revive what he called "privileged relations" from Soviet times.

Last week he also received Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner, another Latin American critic of the United States.

Nicaragua's leftist President Daniel Ortega is to visit Moscow on Thursday, after he risked Washington's wrath this summer by following Russia in recognizing two Moscow-backed rebel regions of Georgia as independent.

The Russian moves in Central and Latin America follow heightened tensions over Russia's military onslaught in Georgia, a close US ally.

Russia strongly objected to US naval deployments off Georgia's Black Sea coast, accusing the United States of covertly rearming Georgia, a charge Washington denied.

On Monday the Russian navy avoided direct reference to the United States, saying that visits to Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela signified "long-term prospects for developing cooperation among these countries' navies in the interest of building stability and trust on the world's oceans."

During the Cuba visit, residents will be welcomed aboard the Russian ships and Russian officers will lay flowers at a memorial to Cuban campaigner for independence and critic of US expansionism Jose Marti, the navy said.

Last week the navy said it was sending ships from its Pacific Fleet to join ships from the Northern Fleet for exercises with India's navy and in parallel would continue anti-piracy operations off Somalia.

Despite the growing Russian assertiveness, defence experts have said Russia's navy remains severely weakened following years of post-Soviet neglect.

That impression was reinforced by the inadvertent fatal poisoning last month of 20 people aboard a Russian nuclear-powered submarine that was undergoing tests off the Pacific coast.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Well I am glad our Navy is not worried about this. But just in case I think I might just be a little concerned about the attitude of Russia this last year. I really think Putin misses his KGB and all the Soviet Union of the past.

.....Thank you Lynn for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:44 AM | Comments (12)

November 28, 2008

Russia to Obama: Normalize Iran Ties

Russia to Obama: Normalize Iran ties source

Russia says it is in contact with the Obama administration in a bid to convince it to normalize ties with Iran and solve the nuclear issue.

Moscow hopes that “the new administration understands that there is no alternative to the political process and dialogue at all levels,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

He said US President-elect Barack Obama would have to normalize ties with Iran to reach a solution to the nuclear dispute.

“We are doing it bypassing the Bush administration and reach Obama's team] through our embassy in Washington D.C. and our contacts with people who are around Barack Obama,” Ryabkov added.

The Russian official stated that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to Obama was a sign of Iran's intentions that could open a new chapter in Tehran-Washington relations.

Russia has repeatedly voiced support for a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear issue.

additional source Bloomberg.com

Russia Has Contacted Obama Aides to Pursue Iran Nuclear Deal

Bypassing the outgoing Bush administration, Russian officials have approached aides to Obama, 47. The president- elect takes office Jan. 20. “We are doing it through our embassy in Washington D.C. and our contacts with people who are around Barack Obama,” said Ryabkov.

The Bush administration refused to hold high-level talks with Iranian leaders until they agree to suspend uranium enrichment.

A letter of congratulations from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Obama was a “welcome sign” of Iran’s intentions to turn a new page in its relations with the U.S, Ryabkov said.

Wild Thing's comment........

Russiai sure loves to stirring the pot.
Medvedev also announced in a speech in Lima, Peru, that the Obama administration may renounce the US Missile Defense.

Article HERE.....Medvedev Sees Possible Compromise With Obama on Missile Defense

I guess we didn't know we actually elected Medvedev as US president -- I doubt Obama will stand up to him.

There is an excellent analysis by John Bolton:

“If President-elect Obama carries through on where I think his real instincts lie on missile defense, which is not to continue it, I think in Moscow they will read that as responding to the threat and indeed the intimidation reflected in Medvedev’s speeches. “

Foreign Policy Challenges for the New Administration by John Bolton November 24, 2008

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (12)

Russian President Visits Cold War Ally Cuba

Russian president visits Cold War ally Cuba

AP

HAVANA

Russia's president visited old Cold War ally Cuba on Thursday after meeting with his nation's new friends in Latin America in a tour aimed at reviving relationships that have frayed since the Soviet Union's collapse.

Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Havana from Venezuela, where he met with socialist President Hugo Chavez and agreed to help the oil-rich South American country start a nuclear energy program.

Russian officials deny that Medvedev's trip to Latin America — traditionally considered in the U.S. sphere of influence — is meant to provoke the United States, but the voyage included meetings with Washington's staunchest opponents in the region.

In Havana, Medvedev was greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Ricardo Cabrisas, the island's chief of foreign trade and investment. He was immediately sped away in a limousine without addressing reporters.

Medvedev later met with President Raul Castro, who was especially friendly with the Russians during the Soviet years.

Earlier Thursday, Medvedev and Chavez toured a Russian destroyer docked in a Venezuelan port, one of two large Russian warships that arrived this week for training exercises in the first deployment of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War.

Chavez saluted the captain, and while touring the vessel joked to reporters from the deck: "We're going to Cuba!"

The warships will hold joint exercises with Venezuela's navy next week. ....

Wednesday's accords included a pledge of cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy.

Moscow plans to develop a nuclear cooperation program with Venezuela by the end of next year, said Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency.

Cuba is the last stop on a four-nation tour, which also included visits to Peru and Brazil and talks in Caracas with Bolivia's Evo Morales and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Aw, look at the cute picture of Che in the background. How adorable.....not.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (8)

August 20, 2008

Cross Us And We Will Crush You, Warns Medvedev

.

Cross us and we will crush you, warns Medvedev

Times Online

Ceasefire latest: Russia stalls on Georgia pullout

President Medvedev of Russia yesterday promised a “shattering blow” against any foreign power that moved against Russian citizens.

The threat will compound the fears of former Soviet states, which are concerned that they could be next after Russia’s attack on Georgia.

“If someone thinks they can kill our citizens, kill soldiers and officers fulfilling the role of peacekeepers, we will never allow this,” Mr Medvedev told a group of Second World War veterans in Kursk. “Anyone who tries to do this will receive a shattering blow.”

He continued: “Russia has the capabilities - economic, political and military. Nobody has any illusions left about that.”

Russia’s incursion into Georgia, and its reluctance to leave, has alarmed former Soviet states such as Ukraine and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The war was designed in part to send a message to the former Soviet states that “you can’t solve your problems by running to give the West a hug”, Liliya Shevtsova, an analyst at the Carnegie Centre in Moscow, said.

At the start of the war, Mr Medvedev said it was his constitutional right to defend the “lives and dignity” of Russian citizens. Georgia’s allies now fear that Russia will begin to throw its weight around in defence of the millions of ethnic Russians who live outside the motherland.

The break-up of the Soviet Union left a huge Russian diaspora outside the country. There are more than 8 million ethnic Russians in Ukraine, 4.5 million in Kazakhstan and 1.2 million in the Baltic states.

Russia justified its attack on Georgia by insisting that it was acting to protect the 90 per cent of South Ossetians who have Russian passports.

How many of the passports are genuine is another question, as the region has long been infamous for smuggling and counterfeit passports and dollars.

Yevgeniya Latynina, a columnist, wrote last week that when the South Ossetian leader, Eduard Kokoity, received his passport, he opened it to find that it contained the picture of Abraham Lincoln from a $5 note instead of his own photograph.

Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine’s reformist President, who visited Tbilisi last week to support President Saakashvili of Georgia, said that the use of Russian ships for a war violated Ukraine’s neutrality and risked drawing it into conflict.

Ms Shevtsova, however, dismissed the idea that Russia might attack other countries.

“It is not possible,” she said, arguing that Mr Medvedev’s rhetoric was for internal consumption. “It would be suicide for Russia; it is just a show.”

.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Dear Comrade Medvedev,
Bite Me.
Sincerly,
Me.

What’s next? Will he start beating podiums with his shoe? ( channeling Khrushchev)

I wrote in another post how Russian passports had been handed out like candy to people, so this is true that many of the so called Russian passposts are not genuine. And Russia is trying to say they are. LOL

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (10)

August 18, 2008

Putin and Georgia

August 8th and 9th , 2008

On August 8th, large columns of Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry entered Georgia into South Ossetian through the Roksky Tunnel that penetrates the Caucasus Mountains. These forces, with heavy Russian air support, drove south and after a fierce counterattack by the Georgians was defeated, drove towards the Sough Ossetian capitol of Tskhinvali. Georgian air fileds and military bases all around the country came under attack, during which between 4 and 10 Russian aircraft were shot down.

In Beijing, where both U.S. President George Bush, and Russian Prime Minister (and defacto leader in many eyes) Vladimir Putin, were in attendance, as word of the Russian attack was reported, President Bush immediately held tense, one on one discussions with Prime Minister Putin in Beijing to try and immediately difuse and resolve the crisis.

.

August 9th, and 10th 2008

On August 9th the Russian troops opened a second front in Georgia by landing troops in amphibious operations and air transport landings in the other Georgian seperatist province of Abkhazia. These forces, assisted by Russian paratroopers, immediatly began pushing eastward and southward, dividing the country.

The rapid availability and deployment of these two invasion forces by Russia makes it clear that the Russian government had planned, deployed and staged these operations well in advance, raising the natural question regarding whether Russia instigated the attacks/shelling of Georgian villages and positions by South Ossetian forces to provoke the response by Georgia, which Russian then used as a pretext for an already planned invasion.

Fighting was fierce, Russian progress was rapid. On the 9th and 10th the Russians drove into and through the South Ossetian capitol of Tskhinvali, having used air support to loosen Georgian positions and then drive them back with their armored columns, artillary, and the use of SS-21 ballistic missiles.

President Bush statement:

"I'm deeply concerned about the situation in Georgia. The United States takes this matter very seriously. The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis. The violence is endangering regional peace. Civilian lives have been lost, and others are endangered. This situation can be resolved peacefully. We've been in contact with leaders in both Georgia and Russia at all levels of government. Georgia is a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity must be respected. We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops. We call for an end to the Russian bombings, and a return by the parties to the status quo of August the 6th. The United States is working with our European partners to launch international mediation, and with the parties to restart their dialogue. Russia needs to support these efforts so that peace can be restored as quickly as possible. "

.

August 10th and 11th, 2008

By the end of August 10th and into the 11th the Russians had driven into the Georgian city of Gori in the north, after significant air raids there had destroyed buildings, terrorized the population, and softened up the Georgian defensive positions. The Russians also drove on the Port of Poti and the town of Senaki in the west.

A couragous, but doomed attack by four small Georgian missile boats on the large Russian Black Sea fleet failed and two Georgian boats were destroyed in the exchange. Reports indicated that the small force may have damaged the Russian flagship, the guided missile cruiser, Moskva, causing her to withdraw, but those reports were not confirmed by the Russians.

RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER VLADIMIR PUTIN Statement, August 10, 2008

"The actions of the Georgian leadership in South Ossetia are a crime and foremost they are a crime against their own people because a deadly blow has been delivered to the territorial integrity of Georgia, which brings massive damage to its national identity.

It's hard to imagine after all that had happened and after all that is still happening they'll be able to convince South Ossetia to be part of Georgia.

In my opinion they are already elements of some kind of genocide of the Ossetian people. I think it would be correct if you instruct the military prosecutor to document all such incidents. "

By August 11th the Georgian military was retreating from Gori and falling back towards the capitol of Tiblisis where the President had called for a defense in depth of the city. Airbases around Tiblisi were under Russian air attack, as was the Presidential residence where the Georgian President had to be quickly evacuated from one press conference when air raid warning went off. The Russians were apparently at that point targeting the Georgian President.

Conditions in the west deteriorated as well. The major east-west higway in the nation had been cut, severing the west side of the country from the east side. Access to the Sea had been cut by Russian forces as well. Conditions for the Georgian Republic appeared very grave.

Some of President Bush's statement on August 11th, 2008

"I just met with my national security team to discuss the situation in Georgia.

I am deeply concerned by reports that Russian troops have moved beyond the zone of conflict, attacked the Georgian town of Gori, and are threatening the Georgia's -- Georgia's capital of Tbilisi. There's evidence that Russian forces may soon begin bombing the civilian airport in the capital city.

If these reports are accurate, these Russian actions would represent a dramatic and brutal escalation of the conflict in Georgia. And these actions would be inconsistent with assurances we have received from Russia that its objectives were limited to restoring the status quo in South Ossetia that existed before fighting began on August the 6th.

It now appears that an effort may be underway to depose Georgia's duly elected government. Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century. "

RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER VLADIMIR PUTIN Statement, August 11, 2008

"It's a pity that some of our partners, instead of helping, are in fact trying to get in the way. I mean among other things the United States airlifting Georgia's military contingent from Iraq effectively into the conflict zone. This of course will not change anything.

The very scale of this cynicism is astonishing -- the attempt to turn white into black, black into white and to adeptly portray victims of aggression as aggressors and place the responsibility for the consequences of the aggression on the victims.

Of course, Saddam Hussein ought to have been hanged for destroying several Shiite villages. And the incumbent Georgian leaders who razed ten Ossetian villages at once, who ran elderly people and children with tanks, who burned civilian alive in their sheds — these leaders must be taken under protection. "

.

August 12th, 2008

On August 12th a singular surprisingly effective diplomatic effort took place.

This action was coinducted by the five Presidents of European Union nations, all whom had suffered under Soviet domination, and all who bordered the current Russian sphere of influence and control.

These five personally came to the aid of Georgia on August 12th and 13th. The five Presidents, Ukraine’s Viktor Yushchenko, Poland’s Lech Kaczyski, Lithuania’s Valdas Adamkus, Latvia's Valdis Zatlers, and Estonia's Toomas Hendrik Ilves , while Russia was still bombing Georgia, and clearly targeting the Georgian President Saakashvili, flew to Tiblisi, Georgia on August 12th and personally sought out and stood with President of Georgia.

They risked their lives in defiance of the Russian military and leadership, in essence placing themselves directly in harms way as a shield to the Georgian President.

From that moment, the tempo of war seemed to ease as the Russian juggernaught, to that point seemingly unstoppable, paused to consider the ramifications of this event and the location of these Presidents in the Georgian capitol.

It should be recorded as one of the most couragous acts by actual leaders of nations in several generations...and it worked.

In addition, French President Sarkozy, as the current President of the European Union, worked tirelessly to broker a cease-fire agreement in Moscow that day that both nations would sign.

.

August 13, 2008

After the announcement of the agreement in Moscow, the French President flew to the European Union and then on to Tiblisi.

But, despite the asurance of the Russians, their troops continued to move towards the Georgian capital and continued operations in other parts of Georgia, occupying and destroying bases, demolishing naval vessels, and destroying infrastructure while the Georgian troops withdrew.

U.S. President George W. Bush scheduled and delivered a national message regarding the current status of the Republic of Georgia crisis.

snipet from his speech:

"We expect Russia to honor its commitment to let in all forms of humanitarian assistance. We expect Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, airports, roads, and airspace, remain open for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for civilian transit. We expect Russia to meet its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia. And we expect all Russian forces that entered Georgia in recent days to withdraw from that country.

As I have made clear, Russia's ongoing action raise serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region. In recent years, Russia has sought to integrate into the diplomatic, political, economic, and security structures of the 21st century. The United States has supported those efforts. Now Russia is putting its aspirations at risk by taking actions in Georgia that are inconsistent with the principles of those institutions. To begin to repair the damage to its relations with the United States, Europe, and other nations, and to begin restoring its place in the world, Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis. "

.

By the end of the day on August 14th, the Russians advanced to within 30 miles of Tiblisi, blocking the main east-west highway there just beyond the Georgian positions. They also destroyed the major east-west railway near there, destroying a major bridge for that railway. Aside from this however, no further major combat occurred between the two forces, and Georgian forces tensely manned their own positions, watching the Russians.

Also on August 14th, true to President Bush's word, US Air Force C-17 transport planes began arriving in Georgia, unloading supplies, and also U.S. military teams to assess the needs of the Georgians and prepare for the logistical efforts to meet those needs. The thousands of pounds of humanitarian supplies for the Georgian people were much needed and welcomed, as were the U.S. military personnel. An ongoing effort of 2-3 planes a day will provide the logistical and humanitarian needs of the Georgians, which will be augmented later by US Navy vessels coming in on Georgia's west coast. The Georgian people were beside themselves with joy and relief to see US military aircraft and personnel arriving. They knew full well, like with the five Presidents who came to stand vigil with them, that these troops and this equipment, in addition to the humanitarian effort, provide another shield from Russian attack and all the more opportunity to diffuse the crisis.

.

August 15, 2008

Late on August 15th, after a five-hour consultation with the U.S. secretary of State, Rice, the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili , signed the cease-fire agreement brokered by the French President with the President of Russia. Russian troops had moved to within 30 miles of the capital where that tense standoff with Georgian military continued.

.

On August 16th, in the morning, Russian President Medvedev officially signed the European Union brokered cease-fire agreemnent.

Under the terms of the agreement, 1500 Russian troops will remain in the Georgian separatist provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and can patrol a buffer zone of five miles outside of those provinces but cannot patrol in Gori and other Georgian cities or hamper aid distribution or control ports, highways or railroads. The Russians will remain until a group of international peacekeepers is identified, accepted, and deployed to the two Provinces.

In the mean time, French President Sarkozy, in his role as the President of the European Union, was working to provide peacekeepers to the Georgian seperatist provinces as soon as possible.

.

These girls are FOR Georgia and they are protesting in Berlin!

Protestors shout slogans as they gather during a demonstration against the conflict between Georgia and Russia in Berlin August 16, 2008. Russia defied U.S. demands for an immediate pullout of its troops from Georgia on Saturday, saying extra security arrangements needed to be put in place before a withdrawal could begin.

A protestor holds a placard which reads 'Europe wake up!' during a demonstration against the conflict between Georgia and Russia in Berlin August 16, 2008. Russia defied U.S. demands for an immediate pullout of its troops from Georgia on Saturday

.

August 17th, 2008

Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel speak while meeting in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008.German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Georgia on Sunday to meet with President Mikhail Saakashvili .

.

Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili meets refugees in Tbilisi

'Putin has given us an order that everyone must leave or be shot'

Times Online

“The soldiers told us they had an order from Putin - leave or be killed.” Manana Dioshvili showed no emotion as she described how Russian troops forced her to flee her home. Her former neighbours nodded in agreement, huddled together in a kindergarten whose windows had been blown out by a Russian bomb.

“That's how they explained themselves to us,” she recalled of the moment they fled the ethnic Georgian village of Kurta, near the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali.

“They said, ‘Putin has given us an order that everyone must be either shot or forced to leave'. They told us we should ask the Americans for help now because they would kill us if we stayed.”

Vardo Babutidze, 79, was not lucky enough to be visited by Russian soldiers. Her husband Georgi, 85, was shot twice through the chest by an Ossetian paramilitary who came to their house to demand weapons.

“We didn't have any guns, so he shot Georgi in front of me without saying a word,” she said. “A neighbour helped me to bury him in our garden and then I just fled.”

Manana Galigashvili, 53, whose husband Andrei stared vacantly from a bed behind her, said that Ossetian soldiers had returned later and torched the house. They, too, had left after a soldier threatened to slit their throats.

Frightened refugees told similar stories all over the city of Gori yesterday as the Russian army extended its reach deep into Georgian territory despite a ceasefire agreement signed by President Medvedev that requires them to withdraw.

Troops and tanks moved to within 25 miles (40km) of the capital, Tbilisi, setting up roadblocks and digging in defensive positions in the hills above the highway. A line of tanks faced towards Tbilisi outside the village of Kaspi, a day after soldiers had blown up the railway line linking the capital to Georgia's main port of Poti.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (9)

August 17, 2008

Ukraine Torments Russia With Show Of Solidarity

Ukraine torments Russia with show of solidarity

Times Online

Ukraine yesterday offered to create a joint missile defence network with the West amid fears that its port city of Sebastopol, home of the Russian Black Sea fleet, could become the next flashpoint between Russia and its former satellites.

The Ukrainian offer, which means its early warning radar stations could become part of the West’s civil defence system, will further damage poor relations between Kiev and Moscow.

Ukraine, which to the fury of Russia is looking towards Europe and membership of Nato, announced last week that it would require the Russian fleet to seek permission whenever ships entered its territorial waters.

Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine’s reformist president who visited the Georgian capital Tbilisi last week to support President Mikhail Saakashvili, said the use of Russian ships for a war violated Ukraine’s neutrality and risked drawing it into conflict.

He instructed his security council to draw up new rules forcing Russia to apply up to 10 days in advance for permission for its fleet to move in and out of Ukraine’s territorial waters.

This weekend Yushchenko said a threat to Georgia’s territorial integrity should be viewed as a potential threat to Ukraine’s: “We have lived through the most terrible 10 days of our recent history.”

The Russian response was immediate. Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian general staff, who last week warned Poland that it could face a nuclear strike after signing a deal with the United States to place a missile shield on its soil, made a belligerent statement to Ukraine.

He said Russian ships would ignore the order to seek permission, which he claimed was “illegitimate”.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, warned Yushchenko last February that Russia could point nuclear missiles at Ukraine if it cooperated with US missile defence plans.

Ukraine is insisting the Russian military must leave Sebastopol when the lease on the base expires in 2017. The Russian navy has made it clear it may refuse to do so.

Wild Thing's comment........

It's good to see solidarity of Russia’s neighbors in resisting this aggression. Dangerous times all because of Russia.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (16)

Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia One Of Obama's Sheep

Tim Kaine, the Governor from Virginia, actually made a comment that indicated he believed that the Russians agreed to a ceasefire in Georgia because Obama asked for it.

Here are Kaine’s actual words…

It was a bad crisis for the world. It required tough words but also a smart approach to call on the international community to step in. And I’m very, very happy that the Senator’s request for a ceasefire has been complied with by President Medvedev.

Wild Thing's comment........

I would like to thank Nicholas and a couple of guys at Gold's Gym and our mailman since they too called for a ceasefire.

Only one problem - after that claim was made by Gov. Tim Kaine, there is no cease fire.

BODS (Barack Obama Derangement Syndrome)
A syndrome that causes sufferers to attribute positive events and "changes" to Barack Obama, when they have absolutely nothing to do with him. Sufferers also tend to show obsession with words "hope" and "change" and tend to be extremely thin skinned towards criticism.

Also see: Insane.

....Thank you Cheryl for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (16)

August 16, 2008

Russia Alarmed by US-Poland Defense Missile Deal, Calls Poland "a target"

Russia alarmed by US-Poland defense missile deal, calls Poland "a target"

NASDAQ

The signing of an agreement that allows the United States to build a missile defense shield in Poland amid the backdrop of the invasion of Georgia drew severe criticism from Russia on Friday, who said that the deal is aimed at it.

In the strongest threat Russia has issued against a plan to establish missile defense elements along the borders of former Soviet ally nations, Russia's deputy chief of general staff, Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, warned that Poland has become a "target for attack" and that "such targets are destroyed as a first priority."

Addressing a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Russian resort of Sochi, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the deal "clearly demonstrates what we had said earlier - the deployment has the Russian Federation as its target."

The United States' chief negotiator of the deal, John Rood views the agreement important for the security of his country, Poland, and its NATO allies.

Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin was quoted as saying that the project has "no relation to the Iranian missile threat but is aimed against Russia."

Wild Thing's comment..............

I think General Moronovitch made a mistake.

Putin on "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century":

"World democratic opinion has yet to realize the alarming implications of President Vladimir Putin's State of the Union speech on April 25, 2005, in which he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union represented the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'

Hoover Digest

From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:

"The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order."

Asia Times

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (13)

August 15, 2008

Poland says “Yes” to American Missile Defense ~ Putin Doesn't Like It

Chief U.S. negotiator John Rood, left, and Polish negotiator Andrzej Kremer exchange documents they just signed on an initial agreement on conditions for placing a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Aug.14, 2008. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

U.S., Poland Reach Agreement on Missile Defense

Bloomberg.com

The U.S. and Poland signed a preliminary accord today that will allow for 10 U.S. interceptor missiles to be based in the eastern European country, completing a defense system that Russia opposes.

The U.S. has agreed to Polish requests including modernization of its armed forces in exchange for the location of the missiles, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in an interview with private broadcaster TVN24 this evening.

``We are now harvesting the fruit of many months of hard work,'' said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski at a joint press conference with U.S. Undersecretary of State John Rood in Warsaw. ``Only people of ill intent should fear this agreement.''

Talks on locating part of the planned missile-defense shield on Polish territory made headway yesterday in the wake of the Georgian conflict.

The Russian incursion heightened Poland's security concerns and ``made the Polish government a little more willing to conclude a deal,'' said Wade Boese, research director at the Arms Control Association, a non-partisan group in Washington. ``It may also have made the Bush administration more willing to meet the Polish demands.''

White House View

In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the purpose of the system ``is to protect our European allies from any rogue threats such as a missile from Iran'' and ``in no way is the missile defense aimed at Russia.''

Perino said she ``couldn't say'' whether Russia's attacks in Georgia spurred today's final action on the agreement.

Poland and the U.S. have been holding talks on establishing an American base in Poland for more than 18 months. While the U.S. signed a final agreement last month with the Czech Republic on locating a radar base there, the Polish government held out for additional security assurances.

The Polish government said before the current round of missile defense talks that the Georgian conflict had underscored its arguments in favor of more security guarantees.

Sikorski confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had called off a visit to Warsaw, planned for next month. He said he had received the information before an agreement had been reached with Rood over missile defense and said he thought the Russian decision had been made ``in connection with Georgia.''

Russian Criticism

Russia has sharply criticized U.S. plans to place elements of the defense shield in the two former Soviet satellite states, saying they threatened its national security. The Russian government has repeatedly warned it would build up military defenses along its frontiers if the project went ahead.

Sikorski will talk to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next week to find a date for signing a final contract, which also has to be ratified by the Polish parliament, he said today. If completed, the agreement will allow for the deployment of 10, two-stage missile interceptors made by Orbital Sciences Corp., based in Dulles, Virginia.

The missile shield may still encounter resistance from U.S. lawmakers. Congress, controlled by Democrats, has mandated that the interceptors' effectiveness be proven through tests and that the Polish and Czech Republic parliaments approve the deals before U.S. funding for the programs is approved, Boese said.

New President

``We're still talking a number of years before any interceptors can actually be deployed, and in the meantime you're going to have a new administration that could rethink the whole plan,'' Boese said.

The Pentagon wants to start construction in Poland by July next year in order to have an initial capability to defend against Iranian missiles by April 2012, according to U.S. Missile Defense Agency briefing charts.

According to Tusk, the U.S. agreed to initially station one battery of Patriot air defense missiles on Polish soil with potentially more to follow. This would be good news to Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co., as the two companies are the top contractors on the Patriot missile program.

Wild Thing's comment.........

This'll make Putin wet his KGB issued panties.

I think Russia will come to regret the day that they decided to invade Georgia.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (10)

August 14, 2008

Russia Tells USA To Choose Sides

.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday says the United States should choose sides.

Russia to U.S.: Choose us or Georgia

cnn

Russia pressed the United States on Wednesday to choose between "a real partnership" with Moscow or an "illusory" relationship with U.S. ally Georgia.

Washington said it's sticking with Georgia.

"As to choosing, the United States has made very clear that it is standing by the democratically elected government of Georgia," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.

She spelled out the Bush administration's stance after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Georgia's government "a special project for the United States."

"And we are aware that the U.S. is uptight about this project," Lavrov said in remarks broadcast on Russian television. "But a choice will have to be made someday between considerations of prestige related to an illusory project and a real partnership in matters which indeed require collective efforts."

Rice, amid reports that Russian troops remained on the move Wednesday, pushed Russia to abide by a cease-fire signed Tuesday by the Russian and Georgian presidents.

Russian military action in Georgia "must stop and must stop now," Rice said.

Rice said Moscow already faced "quite significant" diplomatic consequences over its conflict with Georgia before Tuesday's cease-fire agreement, which calls for Russian and Georgian troops to return to pre-conflict positions.

Bush said reports he had received were contrary to Russian assurances that it had halted military operations. Bush said he was told the Russian military had blocked Georgia's major east-west highway, and had soldiers at the main port at Poti. There were reports that some ships had been attacked, he said.

Russia has likely moved additional troops into the disputed Georgian provinces and into Georgia proper over the past several days, several administration officials told CNN on Wednesday.

The officials said the United States now believes Russia may have 15,000 or more troops in the region. That would be an increase from the 8,000-10,000 the U.S. government estimated when the fighting began. A Bush administration official stressed that the scope of Russia's military effort remains unclear.

Any violations of the cease-fire would call into question Russia's "suitability" as an international partner, Rice told reporters before leaving on a diplomatic trip to Europe.

Bush administration officials told CNN the United States and its European allies were considering kicking Russia out of the G-8, the group of the world's largest industrial economies, and other international organizations as punishment for its actions in Georgia.

Rice discounted concerns that Moscow would no longer assist Washington on thorny diplomatic issues such as efforts to halt nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, saying it had its own interests at stake.

"Let's be very clear whose interests are being served by the partnership that Russia and the United States have engaged in on Iran or North Korea," she said. "Again, it's not a favor to the United States."

Russia's move into Georgia came amid a struggle between the United States and Russia for influence within Eastern Europe. From Russia's point of view, American support for Georgia is a direct threat to its influence.

By striking heavily in Georgia, Moscow is sending a signal to other former Soviet republics, such as Ukraine and Moldova, said Sarah Mendelson, the director of the Human Rights and Security Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"If I were a neighbor of Russia and I saw what Russia had done in Georgia, I would be very nervous," Mendelson said. "I think those countries that are leaning toward the West are very nervous today."

Wild Thing's comment..........

Hmmmmm Russia to U.S.: Choose us or Georgia.....ok .......answer is Georgia.
Next question please.

The choice is not Russia or Georgia, but Tyranny or Liberty. So they are giving us a choice; to live on our knees as a slave or fight like free men and women. Well, for at least the next 4 1/2 months I know what the answer will be.

For us democracy is a universal project. That's exactly why it frightens the rulers in the Kremlin.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (15)

US Planes Begin Delivering Humanitarian Aid To Georgia

Georgians holding Georgian and U.S. flags celebrate Wednesday's arrival of U.S. humanitarian aid at the airport in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital. (AP)

US planes begin delivering humanitarian aid to Georgia

IRISH Times.com

US military planes have begun delivering aid to Georgia as Washington stepped up support for a shaky ceasefire with Russian troops around the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Russia said today it will soon pull out from Gori, a town 60km east of the capital Tbilisi, just outside South Ossetia and which contols the key road between eastern and western Georgia. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is set to hold talks with French president Nicolas Sarkozy before heading to Tbilisi.

Her trip comes six days into a conflict that has shifted from artillery, tank and gun battles at the weekend to increasingly sharp diplomatic and political exchanges out of Washington, Moscow and Tbilisi.

US president George Bush, flanked by Ms Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates in the Rose Garden, demanded Moscow end the crisis, abide by an agreed ceasefire and withdraw Russian troops sent into Georgia after fighting began last Thursday.

"The United States of America stands with the democratically-elected government of Georgia. We insist that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected," Mr Bush told reporters at the White House.

Moscow has denied violating a ceasefire and rejected claims its troops and armour had advanced on Tbilisi or looted Gori.

Speaking in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, told by Ms Rice that Russian servicemen were failing to prevent looting by irregular militias in Gori, said such actions would not be tolerated.

"I said from the very beginning that if any such facts prove true, we will react in the most serious way...The peaceful population should be protected. We are investigating all these reports and will not allow any such actions," Mr Lavrov said.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has urged France, which is mediating in the conflict, to encourage Tbilisi to sign a binding agreement

Wild Thing's comment.........

We lead...UN follows ONLY after how many nations individually contributed to the cause.

Australia to offer humanitarian aid to Georgia

Slovakia to send humanitarian aid to Georgia

Romania decides to send aid to Georgia

Norway announces more humanitarian aid to Georgia

France, Germany contribute aid for Georgia, UN feeds displaced

Netherlands pledges emergency aid to Georgia

Italy gives 200 thousand euro in aid to Georgia

Canada pledges one million dollars for Georgia

United Nations Steps Up Aid To Georgia

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (7)

August 12, 2008

Bush Tells Moscow To Leave Georgia ~ Followed By Russia Response

Bush tells Moscow to leave Georgia

The Australian

Bush has warned Russia to reverse course in Georgia, saying Moscow's military strike there had damaged its world standing and endangered ties with the United States and Europe.

“Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people,” Mr Bush said at the White House today.

“Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.”

He said the Georgian Government already had accepted outlines of a peace agreement that the Russian Government previously suggested it would accept.

Its terms include “an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of forces from the conflict zone, a return to the military status quo as of August 6, and a commitment to refrain from the use of force,” Mr Bush said.

He noted that European leaders and officials were pressing for Russia's agreement to the peace plan.

“Russia's Government must respect Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Mr Bush said. “Russia's government must reverse the course that it appears to be on as a first step toward resolving this conflict.”

“Russia's actions this week have raised serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region.”

Mr Bush's comments came just after the UN Security Council began fresh talks on draft text calling for an immediate truce in the Russia-Georgia conflict, agreed by US and European diplomats after several days of discord.

Few details were immediately available about the draft UN resolution, but the proposed text was based on a three-point peace plan that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is trying to sell to Tbilisi and Moscow.

The French blueprint called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities; full respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia” and “the re-establishment of the situation that existed before” Georgia sent forces into its breakaway South Ossetia enclave last week to wrest control from Moscow-backed separatists.

Earlier a diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported “good progress” after the expert-level meeting at France's UN mission and said the participants were consulting with their capitals on the next step.

The diplomat said the US side wanted tougher language condemning what Washington saw as Moscow's “disproportionate” response to the Georgian offensive.

But the Europeans were much more interested in crafting a text that would enjoy broad support, particularly from Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member of the council, he added.

“This is going to take some time, except if you want a Russian veto, which is not the solution,” the diplomat said.

Meanwhile, as Russian forces punched deeper into Georgian territory to crush any resistance to their withering assault, Mr Kouchner discussed his peace plan with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili before heading to Moscow.

The two visited the Georgian city of Gori, close to South Ossetia, and were forced to take cover when an unidentified helicopter flew overhead.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was also to visit Moscow and Tbilisi tomorrow, according to Mr Saakashvili.

Despite the flurry of international diplomacy to head off a wider conflict, Russia maintained an uncompromising stance, with its ambassador to NATO saying Moscow could not deal with Mr Saakashvili, a man it now views as a war criminal.

“Saakashvili is no longer a man that we can deal with,” Dmitry Rogozin said in Brussels.

“He must be punished for breaching international law. He is responsible for many war crimes (against South Ossetian civilians and Russian peacekeepers).”

And Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov dismissed the peace initiative, saying it did not amount to a ceasefire.

A “ceasefire agreement is signed by two sides when they meet,” he told CNN, adding first “we need a written agreement between Georgia on one side, South Ossetia and Abkhazia .. that they will never use force in the future.”

.

GEORGIAN Soldiers

.

Russia set to reject French peace plan

The Australian

INTERNATIONAL efforts to mediate an end to the conflict between Georgia and Russia were set to intensify today, but Moscow signalled it opposes a peace plan calling for an immediate truce.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, was due in Moscow to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on a plan to end the conflict.

But Russia's ambassador to the UN yesterday rejected the proposed Western draft resolution in the Security Council based on a three-point French peace plan.

"I cannot see us accepting this French draft,'' Vitaly Churkin told reporters, referring to a French-drafted text agreed by Western ambassadors.

The plan, which Tbilisi has accepted, calls for an immediate truce, respect for Georgia's territorial integrity and a return to the status quo that prevailed before Georgian troops punched into South Ossetia last week to wrest control from Moscow-backed separatists.

Churkin objected to the fact that the draft resolution did not refer to "Georgian aggression and to the atrocities we have seen''.

Moscow has accused Georgian forces of killing 2,000 civilians as well as Russian peacekeepers in what it described as war crimes.

Churkin however expressed hope that an acceptable draft would eventually be worked out and listed two Russian conditions: Georgian forces must pull out of South Ossetia and "the Georgians (must) agree to sign agreements on the non-use of force with the Ossetians and with the Abkhazians.''

Earlier yesterday Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov dismissed the EU efforts.

.

Wild Thing's comment........

Putin's a two-bit thug.

"...We no longer know the limits of the invading Russian army—Russia seems intent on overthrowing the democratically elected government of Georgia and occupying the country," said Alexander Lomaia, the Secretary of the National Security Council. "As a consequence, the National Security Council has just decided to bring the Georgian army to Tbilisi in order to defend the capital and prevent the fall of Georgia.." --- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

LINK for quote

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (10)

Putins Push

Putin Makes His Move

Washington Post ...for complete article

The man who once called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century" has reestablished a virtual czarist rule in Russia and is trying to restore the country to its once-dominant role in Eurasia and the world. Armed with wealth from oil and gas; holding a near-monopoly over the energy supply to Europe; with a million soldiers, thousands of nuclear warheads and the world's third-largest military budget, Vladimir Putin believes that now is the time to make his move.....

His war against Georgia is part of this grand strategy. Putin cares no more about a few thousand South Ossetians than he does about Kosovo's Serbs. Claims of pan-Slavic sympathy are pretexts designed to fan Russian great-power nationalism at home and to expand Russia's power abroad.

Unfortunately, such tactics always seem to work. While Russian bombers attack Georgian ports and bases, Europeans and Americans, including very senior officials in the Bush administration, blame the West for pushing Russia too hard on too many issues.

It is true that many Russians were humiliated by the way the Cold War ended, and Putin has persuaded many to blame Boris Yeltsin and Russian democrats for this surrender to the West. The mood is reminiscent of Germany after World War I, when Germans complained about the "shameful Versailles diktat" imposed on a prostrate Germany by the victorious powers and about the corrupt politicians who stabbed the nation in the back. ...

Now, as then... they are being manipulated to justify autocracy at home and to convince Western powers that accommodation -- or to use the once-respectable term, appeasement -- is the best policy.

But the reality is that on most of these issues it is Russia, not the West or little Georgia, that is doing the pushing.

.

Wild Thing's comment.............

"Europeans and Americans, including very senior officials in the Bush administration, blame the West for pushing Russia too hard on too many issues."

This is BS! The Russians are to blame for their own actions and no one else. I am tired of our country being blamed for things we did not start.

Russia is not just standing by doing nothing, they are ACTIVELY trying to thwart us, causing the deaths of our troops, and HELPING Iran get the bomb.

And with Putin, they have drifted massively backwards to becoming almost what they were before.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (8)

August 11, 2008

Bush, Cheney, McCain and Obama Comments On Russia-Georgia War

President Bush and VP Cheney

Fox News

BEIJING

President Bush has sharply criticized Moscow's harsh military crackdown in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, saying the violence is unacceptable and Russia's response is disproportionate.

Bush, in an interview with NBC, said:

"I've expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Ossetia."

Earlier, Vice President Dick Cheney said that:

"Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States."

John McCain and Barack Hussein Obama

Moscow Times

McCain, an outspoken critic of Moscow, said it was clear that the situation in Georgia was dire.

"Today, news reports indicate that Russian military forces crossed an internationally-recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia. Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory. What is most critical now is to avoid further confrontation between Russian and Georgian military forces. The consequences for Euro-Atlantic stability and security are grave. Tensions and hostilities between Georgians and Ossetians are in no way justification for Russian troops crossing an internationally recognized border," he said.

Obama:

His first comment UNTIL he heard what McCain's reaction was..............

“I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia’s territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis.”

Here is how Obama reacted when he heard that Russian troops were attacking targets in Georgia:

Then AFTER Obama checked out McCain's take Obama made another comment to try and sound more like a man I suppose.

“I condemn Russia’s aggressive actions and reiterate my call for an immediate ceasefire… Russia must stop its bombing campaign, cease flights of Russian aircraft in Georgian airspace, and withdraw its ground forces from Georgia.”

Wild Thing's comment..........

Just a thought, maybe Cheney can invite Putin to a quail hunt. heh heh Hint hint to Cheney.

And as for Obama....LMAO good grief! The empty-suited marxist, ignorant as always, gave Russia the benefit of doubt, as fellow travelers always do. Until one of his empty suit handlers told him something else to say.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:50 AM | Comments (15)

August 10, 2008

Georgian and Russian War News

Report: Russian Navy blockades Georgia

MOSCOW (AP)

A news agency says the Russian navy has deployed ships to blockade Georgia's Black Sea coast.

The Interfax news agency says the Moskva missile cruiser and other Russian Black Sea Fleet ships have been deployed to Georgia's coast to prevent any weapons supplies.

A Russian navy spokesman refused to comment on the report Sunday.

Unclear Whether Georgian Olympic Team Will Stay in Beijing

Russia daily online

The Georgian Olympic team will not participate in the 29th Summer Olympics and is leaving Beijing. Georgian media report that the athletes made that decision after a meeting with Sandra Roelofs, wife of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Beijing. The official reason for the decision is that the athletes want to be with their families during this difficult time for their country.

Saakashvili had stated previously that the Georgian athletes plan to stage a protest against Russian actions in South Ossetia, even though, under the rules of the International Olympic Committee, they could be disqualified for doing so. Georgian and Russian athletes were scheduled to face each other for the first time on August 13, during the women’s beach volleyball match.

No UN deal over Georgia

Reuters and video at link

U.N. Security Council fails to reach an agreement aimed at halting the bloodshed in Georgia.

The head of Europe's main security group says the region is on the brink of a full-scale war.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Russia is not going to stop with just South Ossetia... they want all of Georgia.

Georgian troops have been combating Islamic terrorism in Iraq, while previously Putin attempted to block any and all meaningful military action against Saddam, plus Moscow continues 'assisting' Iran's nuclear weapons quest against the West, and arming all of our and Israel's worst enemies.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (16)

August 09, 2008

U.S. Tells Russia To Pull Forces Out Of Georgia

Richard Holbruck discusses this on CNN

**** Just a correction I have to make. They announced last night that Bush and Putin DID talk before the Opening events at the Olympics. So perhaps this man did not know that before this video interview was done. --Wild Thing

U.S. tells Russia to pull forces out of Georgia

WASHINGTON (Reuters)

The United States told Russia on Friday to withdraw its forces from U.S. ally Georgia and stop its air attacks on the tiny Caucasus state following fighting in the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

"We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia's territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement.

Rice issued her statement as Georgia, a former Soviet state that now wants to join NATO, said it would declare martial law and battled to get control of the rebel enclave, which was fortified by Russian forces.

Georgia said Russian fighter jets bombed container tankers and a shipbuilding plant in the port of Poti, prompting Washington's sharpest rebuke of Russia since the crisis began.

"We deplore the Russian military action in Georgia, which is a violation of Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity," U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters at a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York.

The State Department summoned the Charge d'Affaires at Russia's Embassy in Washington, Aleksander Darchiyev, to see Rice's deputy John Negroponte, who pressed Moscow to stop its military activities in Georgia.

"The deputy secretary said that we deplore today's Russian attacks by strategic bombers and missiles, which are threatening civilian lives," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood of Negroponte's meeting with the Russian diplomat.

"These attacks mark a dangerous and disproportionate escalation of tension," he added.

Both Rice and the White House urged an immediate cease-fire in South Ossetia, and U.S. officials said they would send an envoy to the region to help mediate.

As fighting raged in and around the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Russia and Georgia were at war.

Rice said the United States was working with its European partners to launch international mediation, and "we urgently seek Russia's support of these efforts."

American military planners reviewed contingency plans for the possible evacuation of up to 3,000 U.S. citizens from Georgia, including about 130 defense personnel there to train Georgian military forces for duty in Iraq.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Russians will ignore America's wishes is my guess.

“Early Saturday, Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the Vaziani military base on the outskirts of the Georgian capital was bombed by warplanes during the night and that bombs fell in the area of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. He also said two other Georgian military bases were hit and that warplanes bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizable oil shipment facility.

Utiashvili said there apparently were significant casualties and damage in the attacks, but that further details would not be known until the morning.”

Also, another site reported that 1200 US special ops forces were present at the Vaizani base for training exercises with Georgias forces...they arrived on TUESDAY. I hope they are ok, the base having come under Russian air attack. ALso, earlier sources mentioned as many as 1000 US Marines were previously in the country.

Georgia is the third biggest contributor of forces in Iraq, with 2500 there. They have been recalled to Georgia because of the emergency. They have been such a good allie to us.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (18)

August 08, 2008

Russian Army Moving Against Georgian Forces

Russian Army Moving Against Georgian Forces Controlling Capital of Breakaway Province South Ossetia

Fox News

Reuters reports the Pentagon says it has had contact with Georgian officials but have not received a request for assistance..

Parts of Russia's 58th Army — including 150 tanks and armored vehicles — reportedly were moving Friday on the capital of South Ossetia after Georgian troops entered the city in an attempt to crush separatist forces seeking to control the breakaway province.

Kakha Lamaia, a member of Georgia's National Security Council, told Reuters the two countries are "very close" to war, if not already at war.

"If it's not war, then we are very close to it," Lamaia said. "The Russians have invaded Georgia and we are under attack."

President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reportedly were discussing the Georgia crisis after attending the opening of the Beijing Olympic games.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov told Reuters that he is "receiving reports of ethnic cleansing in villages of South Ossetia."

Fighting escalated between Georgian and Russian forces escalated earlier in the day with Georgia claiming to have downed four Russian combat warplanes, and Russian planes bombing the Vaziani airbase outside the Georgian capital of Tblisi.

Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov said that 10 Russian peacekeepers were killed and another 30 wounded durring Georgian shelling of their barracks.

Georgian officials denied firing on the Russian forces.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow was receiving reports that villages in South Ossetia were being ethnically cleansed.

"We are receiving reports that a policy of ethnic cleansing was being conducted in villages in South Ossetia, the number of refugees is climbing, the panic is growing, people are trying to save their lives," he said during televised remarks in Moscow from Russia's Foreign Ministry.

Georgian troops launched their offensive to regain control over the South Ossetia.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Russia, which has close ties to the separatists, of bombing Georgian territory.

Saakashvili also said it was in the United States' interest to help his country.

But Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship.

Russia's Channel 1 television earlier showed a convoy of Russian tanks that it said had entered South Ossetia. The report said the convoy is expected to reach the provincial capital within a few hours.

There has been no immediate comment from Russian officials.

Separatist officials in South Ossetia said 15 civilians had been killed in fighting overnight. Georgian officials said seven civilians were wounded in bombing raids by Russia.

Georgia declared a three-hour cease-fire to allow civilians to leave Tskhinvali. Georgia's Interior Ministry spokesman said troops were observing the cease-fire, which began at 3 p.m. local time (7 a.m. EDT).

A spokesman for President Bush said Russia and Georgia should cease hostilities and hold talks to end the conflict. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he is seriously concerned about the fighting and that the alliance is closely following the situation.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union. The country has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership — a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.

Saakashvili long has pledged to restore Tbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and built up ties with Moscow.

Relations between Georgia and Russia worsened notably this year as Georgia pushed to join NATO and Russia dispatched additional peacekeeper forces to Abkhazia.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is seeking to open a humanitarian corridor to guarantee safe access to Tskhinvali. Maia Kardova, ICRC spokeswoman in Tbilisi, said military vehicles are being given priority on the main road leading to the South Ossetia capital and this is making it difficult for rescue vehicles to get through.

Saakashvili urged Russia to immediately stop bombing Georgian territory.

"Georgia will not yield its territory or renounce its freedom," he said.

A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict, Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as misinformation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev later chaired a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, vowing that Moscow will protect Russian citizens.

"In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said, according to Russian news reports. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished."

More....................

Russian jets bomb Georgian airbase - Tbilisi

TBILISI, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Russian jets bombed the Vaziani military airbase outside the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Friday, a senior Georgian security official told Reuters.

"No one was wounded but some buildings have been destroyed," said Kakha Lamaia. The airbase is some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Tbilisi.

"They have declared war against us," said Lamaia. (Reporting by Matt Robinson, editing by Tim Pearce)

Reuters reports Turkey has agreed to supply Georgia with electricity amid the conflict...

Unofficial separatist sources have claimed that if the conflict was protracted they would be prepared to sabotage the Baku-Supsa pipeline that runs between Azerbaijan and Turkey through Georgia and is a key provider of energy for the EU and the United States *snip* FoxNews reports parts of Russia's 58th Army — including 150 tanks and armored vehicles — reportedly were moving on the capital of South Ossetia after Georgian troops entered the city.

AFP reports Georgia has lost control of parts of the South Ossetian rebel capital of Tskhinvali amid Russian bombardment ... “hundreds of civilians” killed in Tskhinvali.”

Wild Thing's comment.............

Russia is starting to act like the old USSR. Since then, Georgia has shot down 4 Russian military aircraft, and Russia has retaliated by sending a column of 150+ tanks into Georgia.
We have a military presence in Georgia, and they are an ally.
This could get real ugly, real fast.

We not only have military personel in Georgia, we have had personel at the Vaziani training center since 2002.

Marines and Georgians move to the Field

USMC news about it HERE

VAZIANI TRAINING BASE, Georgia-Hungry Marines and Georgians finally arrive at the end of the chow line giving them their first hot meal of the day and allowing them to continue their conversations over dinner.

....Thank you John 5 (VN 69/70) for sending this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 PM | Comments (8)