See the 2nd picture in this (you can use yandex to translate the page) – he’s good at doing Judo and considering the socialising of oligarchs (his chums) losses:
During the 1920s, the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929, after a period of wild speculation. By then, production had already declined and unemployment had risen, leaving stocks in great excess of their real value. Among the other causes of the eventual market collapse were low wages, the proliferation of debt, a struggling agricultural sector and an excess of large bank loans that could not be liquidated.
”
The fundamentals, real economy, employment and utilization, and debt levels all show a horrible economy now, and the government just makes up figures and spin to conceal it.
Save your ‘irrational exuberance’ for those on other sites, who don’t know better.
Yeah, right. You guys will find every excuse in the book to protect Putin and his propagandists.
Excuses for Lybia, Ukraine, Yemen, Minsk 1, Minsk 2, Syria (Assad will not last much longer), etc., etc.
Plus Putin and Lavrov have managed to slowly lose Cuba and Iran. Make no mistake, once sanctions are lifted, Iranians will jump all over iPhones, McDonalds, coke and all kinds of American crap because deep down it’s what they want.
You’ve been telling us for seven years now that we were in a bubble, about to collapse, blah blah blah.
All kinds of companies are reporting massive revenue and earnings gains in the U.S.; yet you guys persist with the propaganda. It’s the Zero Hedge technique: point only companies or sectors in difficulty, but omit the vast majority that are doing well. It’s like when they report in mcdonalds terrible sales and imply it’s a sign the U.S. economy is falling apart while failing to report that more expensive chains are booming.
It’s like reporting that the U.S. Economy is one the verge of collapse in the early 1900s because the horse buggy industry is going out of business.
Meanwhile, those Russians that were questioning Putin last week all looked gloomy and somewhat fearful of the future.
Even Saker knows all this, for as far as I know he’s decided to make his life in the U.S., right? So… this is where he sees his children’s future.
So if we’re all so delusional here, why do you come around to listen to us? Are you doing oppo-research maybe? Or is it that, deep down inside, you yourself no longer believe Washington’s ‘spin’ either? I mean, if you’re happy with what they’re reporting in USA Today and you really believe it, why bother with alt-media?
http://www.shadowstats.com/ has a stream of information about the credibility gap between reality and government figures.
Thing is, the MSM and such talk about money and markets as if that was the economy, but it’s not, and manipulating those can prop up the real economy for a limited time. Tangible production, useful employment and wages, and utilization are all down, and there’s only so much lipstick one can put on a pig before it becomes apparent it’s still a pig. Without customers with real wealth — not debt — to keep things humming it must collapse, and private debt is at amazing high levels. Student debt alone is enough to cause a major hit, not to mention the drop in the educated work force, which kills competitiveness.
But a lot of people don’t want to see it. Even many of the very wealthy won’t be able to survive because this is going to affect the entire western world, and will be accompanied by civil and political turmoil. There are also the problems with climate, farming, water, and other physical changes that may be nearly impossible to deal with — and that does not bode well for recovering because even changing the paradigm won’t make those problems disappear. It looks like what is coming will make the Great Depression look like no more than a practice run — and yet all the lessons supposedly learned then have been buried.
(None of the mainstream economists saw 2008 coming either. They are forever blowing bubbles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6SXi4I47Qw
DORIS DAY – I’M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES )
LMAO, “google up” is communicated as something significant… get out. Go discuss that at Bloomberg or such, there you might find someone who’s interested in such nonsense fantasy “values”.
Needless to say, all those “gains” are simply a reflection of the real-world inflation, as well as from draining the subservient european economies.
incl
In Europe, shares retreated after a three-day rally, dragged down by the decline in the US S&P 500 futures. The dollar retreated slightly, and a stronger euro is a no-no for the German exporters, rendering investors bearish.
from elsewhere”s
“The hefty raise(salary increase for chairman) came in a year that saw Google’s stock drop by 5 percent amid investor concerns about the company’s big spending on far-flung projects
I’m a businessman. I deal directly with people via the internet and shops. My revenues are down, all across the board. Guess what? The big guns [with most of their revenue making factories in China and other low cost countries] are making a killing.
Joe&Jane-6_pack on the other hand, have a ff-ing hard time to make ends meet.
Stocks and bonds are on the gambling end of the economy. Banks have become casino springboards, with all their reinvented ‘bear/bull’ shit crapola. Hard ff-ing cash is the real and only true reality.
It will take a few generations to come, for all this to change, but you will live long enough to see it for yourself [and thus, with your own eyes].
So all my neighbors getting new cars, improving their yards and homes, taking vacations… construction everywhere, packed restaurants, record attendance at amusement parks, etc. it’s all an illusion?
Just because you are struggling doesn’t mean the economy sucks.
Incidentally my employer, a midsize company, is hiring left and right.
I know it’s hard to admit you were wrong, I personally struggled with that, but at some point you have to face reality.
…
Despite the improving conditions, restaurant sales this year are expected to continue growing at a rate slower than historic standards.
From the early 1970s to the 2008 economic crash, the compound annual growth rate of industry sales has been 6.4 percent, nearly double the rate forecasted for 2015.
…
Real household income has fallen 8 percent from its high in 2007, Riehle said, and is only 0.4 percent above its 1995 level.
…
As for amusement parks, the story I heard from my mother and grandmother (living through the depression) was that people went to them because they didn’t have the money for a regular vacation, and it was a cheap substitute. One needs to be careful how to interpret information and beware of drawing overly simple conclusions.
Richard Wolff has said that car sales are up — using credit — because older cars which wouldn’t hold up much longer needed to be replaced, and were too expensive to keep running. Car companies also gave some decent incentives with credit terms.
Location is very important, and the economic conditions vary widely: people are certainly not buying homes or cars in Detroit and other cities in trouble, and states’ deficits are bad and growing. Anecdotal evidence, accurate or not, can not take the place of legitimate studies and overall figures. The wealthy are still doing well, even as the economy for most people plunges. Some people got rich during the Great Depression too.
I don’t know what your problem is that rant about Putin and all, but I posted about economics, and there’s no shortage of information about it from reputable professional economists — and I’m not talking about zerohedge here, which I read only on occasion.
If you don’t want to do the research and understand it, or ignore 1/5 of children living in poverty, etc., that’s your choice. Enjoy your delusions while you can.
Any relation with François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie, le roi de la Vendée? «Combattu souvent, battu parfois, abattu jamais » (until 29 March 1796)?
Sorry but I have an impression that your knowledge of economics is very limited. “High markets” is nothing good at all, except for the money-masters. It’s a transfer of your money into their pockets.
Saker, just saw a very disturbing headline in Haaretz :Russia won’t deliver S-300 missiles to Iran any time soon……….. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.653317.
It essentially saws that Russia will opt for bureaucratic red tape to stymie the just announced delivery of the Air Defense System to Iran. I hope this is not true. What do you think?
Of course it’s true. In fact the Russia government started back pedaling on the S-300 the DAY after Putin’s announcement they were lifting the ban on delivery. It was reported in several media outlets, things like those things take time to be built, delivered, negotiated, it’s complicated, blah blah blah. They were using every excuse in the book.
That’s what happens when you are a weakling and get scolded by Bibi and Barak.
Look, all I’m trying to do here is explain that you guys put your money on the wrong horse. I did too, but at least I’ve realized I was wrong.
Putin is no grand chess master. To the contrary, he is a pretty poor strategist who seems to rely quite a bit on improv.
As for Lavrov, I find it interesting that everything he gets his hands in seems to backfire on Russia. EVERYTHING!
Russia does not want to help her allies because west would get annoyed?
It is the same west which does all this to destroy Russia by any means.
When will Russia wake up?
30 September 2010
Quote “Russia has thrown its defence ties with Iran on the altar of its “reset” with the United States. President Dmitry Medvedev last week imposed a sweeping ban on defence sales that goes beyond even the international sanctions on Iran and is likely to have a long-term negative impact on Moscow-Tehran relations.”
Quote” That said, Resolution 1929 contained no explicit ban on air defence systems and Mr. Medvedev’s decree went a step too far. Ironically, defending Moscow’s ban on S-300, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in the same breath, lambasted unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran as being “ethically and morally wrong” and a “violation” of the U.N. resolution. … …”
14/04/2015.
and Russia has yet again back stabbed her ally in Yemen to please Saudis and anglos -what a loser Russia is!
Not a single resolution to the benefit of Russia has Russians been ever be able to bring on UN but they are the first to endorse or not veto any resolution which harms Russian allies.
The world watches this and that is why Russia will be left alone and then attacked without any ally-on all front by the same anglosaxon cabal and Saudi evil nation which Russia has always helped as opposed to her own ally.
It was not a missed opportunity but rather a deliberate act of cowardice this raise a lot of questions about Russia’s behaviour toward its allies in a moment when stakes are high and the Yemeni people is being bombed illegally by a coalition of rogue states.
Hey wait a minute! Don’t you get it? Backstabbing your allies is obviously an extremely elaborate chess move by grandmaster Putin.
I feel bad for those that truly care for Russia and its people, who really don’t deserve what’s happening, and keep falling for those cockamamie excuses for Putin’s weakness.
Russians learn from their past mistakes. They don’t want to repeat the mistakes of Nicholas II. They seem too cautious until you think about how they are opposing a modern day Roman Empire, every bit as ruthless as the original. Delenda est carthago. Substitute RF for Carthage and you get an idea of how they must feel. Once you bust up the Russian Federation into separate statelets, the military loses its ability to maneuver and retreat like an oceanliner on a vast ocean like how the Saker explained it. The Russian military won’t want to lose this maneuverability, even in the age of push-button nukes. They are very territorial that way.
Chareltte, why do you come here except to blast off your mouth about anti-Putin…we all like Putin here so you are a wolf among the sheep….why don’t you go start your own blog, instead of wrecking Saker’s ? And by the way, I don’t have the same opinion as PCR about sheep…I love sheep …have you ever even been around one ? So no, I don’t mean all the others here are “sheeple” I mean you’re the odd one out.
The Russian administration/elite are no different to their chums worldwide – the Russian people are sheeple the same as Western sheeple.
I’m afraid you are wrong, Charette may be in the vast minority but most certainly not the odd man out.
PS:
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
– Gautama Buddha
Do not believe anything just because you read it, either……
Here is an English version of the story you linked to. Of the many available English versions I chose one biased a bit more than average, just to show you.
It starts with “Russia’s Gonna Give Oligarchs Back Everything Europe Stole
Putin is tempting back his billionaire buddies with compensation for EU seizures.”
This whole thing is an anti-Russia beat up and you’ve apparently just believed it.
First, there is sure “gonna” about a law which has been read once and needs two more readings and Presidential approval before becoming law.
Second, the law talks of compensation ONLY if the property seizures were ILLEGAL, ie not according to the law of the country where they happened.
Third, many of the stories claimed confiscated multi-million$ villas will be compensated out of Russian taxpayer money. There is no such thing in the law. The stories all say “could”, based on ASSISTANCE from the Government for COMPANIES which are suffering/facing bankruptcy because of sanctions…. quite different from giving an individual compo for losing a foreign villa. Much of the companies assistance is long-term loans for operating funds, not bailout gifts.
So you’ve read a beat-up totally twisted story about this, BELIEVED IT and now don’t like Putin because of it? exactly what the authors of those stories intended.
LOL! Iran was never an “ally” of Russia, where do you come up with such nonsense?
The current mullah regime there was installed by the MI6 and CIA in late 70ies and they’ve been playing the “good cop/bad cop” with the empire ever since. The rest is just PR work.
wow, this is a great crosstalk…too bad the entire comment section is dominated by Putin bashers…not one of them even said anything about this video…
These two beautiful women are so knowledgeable about the middle east…they make me have hope for the future of the world…and the bloke from England has very intelligent and interesting comments to make also….
It is excellent, but I have to watch it again when I’m more awake to grasp it better. So far Yemen has been ‘on the back burner’ because I’m already so overloaded with information (and various other things to do). It does seem that the US is ‘doing it again’ — including messing things up, fubar style, except for the ongoing policy to have everyone in the world destroy themselves or be victims of genocide.
But maybe with a bit of luck this time it will include the Royal Saudis, who have long been a source of great evil.
Rulers of Russia are not taken seriously in the West. The West is not treating the nuclear threat from Russia seriously for strong reasons. The “nuclear shield” myth is stuck firmly only in the heads of Russian television audience, which is being misinformed by pro-Kremlin TV liars.
Unlike regular bombs and shells, nuclear charges can’t be stockpiled at depot and forgotten until the time comes. The reason lays in constant process inside nuclear charges which changes the isotopic composition of the charge and it degrades rapidly.
Absolute performance period for a charge in Russia’s ballistic missile equals 10 years, and then it has to be transported to a plant, as it requires plutonium replacement. Nuclear weaponry is an expensive pleasure which demands the upkeep of whole industry for constant maintenance and replacement of nuclear charges. Alexander Kuzmuk, the minister of defense of Ukraine from 1996 to 2001, recounted in interview that Ukraine had 1740 nuclear charges available. Alexander Kuzmuk – “However, the operation life for this ammunition has elapsed before 1997”. Thus, acceptance of the nuclear-free status was not more than a fine gesture for Ukraine.
Why is it “before 1997”? Because new nuclear charges production was set on hold during Gorbachev rule, and the guaranteed time of service for the latest soviet charges elapsed in the 1990’s. V.I Rybachenkov, the adviser of State Security and Disarmament Department of Russia’s Ministry of International Affairs – “Russia, as well as USA, doesn’t produce weapon-grade uranium, nor plutonium for more than 10 years already. It was stopped circa 1990.” The adviser “misleads the public” when he tells about USA, but when it comes to production of weapon-grade uranium and plutonium being ceased in USSR during Gorbachev rule – that’s pure truth.
Americans struck a “very profitable” bargain with heads of Ministry of Atomic Energy for 20 years, so there was no temptation to produce new nuclear charges for ballistic missiles. Americans were buying weapon-grade uranium from old soviet warheads and promised to purchase plutonium afterwards, while Russia’s reactors able to produce weapon-grade plutonium were brought to a stop. “Ministry of Atomic Energy of Russia: the fundamental milestones of nuclear sector development”: “1994 – the decision of Russian Federation government to stop generation of weapon-grade plutonium”.
Not only the guaranteed time of service for old soviet nuclear ammunition has ended before 1997, there is no plutonium to produce new warheads. They can’t be produced from outdated soviet plutonium since its isotopic composition has changed the same way as in warheads on active service. Russia has even lost technology for tank cannon barrels manufacturing, so after the first shots the dispersion of shells is hardly predictable. The reasons remain the same – specialists got old or dispersed from non-working enterprises and equipment got obsolete or stolen. The most complex technologies for acquiring weapon-grade plutonium and nuclear charge creation methods could be lost already and its restoration will take not a year or two years, but decade at least. But will Americans let Russian Federation to start reactors for acquiring the highly enriched plutonium once again? Russia has set a unique experiment on technological sphere destruction in modern anthropogenic society: technology fields are degrading before our eyes, society loses technology, infrastructure and the most important – the people able to work else from shop assistants and security officers. Russian Federation quiet naturally turned from a country possessing nuclear weapons into a country potentially able to possess it. The status of superpower has changed to status of potential superpower and it fundamentally changes the essence of Russia’s affairs with other states.
Why were Russian Federation treated with ceremony so far and not dealt shortly at the end of the 1990’s? The nuclear charges are still able to detonate for some time after the expiration of guaranteed performance period. It may be not at full explosion power of a design, but if it will bring several blocks in New York to ground zero and hundreds of thousands people will perish – the American government will have to answer unpleasant questions. Thus, American government has allocated the most powerful supercomputers to ministry of energy with official notice for scientists to create a model of nuclear charges deterioration, the only thing media “forgot” to report the model is set to simulate the Russia’s nuclear charges and not American ones. It was worth it and American elite intended to know with guarantee when not a single Russian warhead will detonate. The scientists did their job and the estimated time has come, American policy towards Russia started to change drastically as Russia’s nuclear status.
In spring of 2006 joint articles by Keir A. Lieber and Daryl G. Press on possibility of disarming strike to Russia’s nuclear forces appeared in “Foreign Affairs” and “International Security”. Lieber and Press gave reason for open discussion. Only a group of kvass patriots [T.N – ironic name for jingoistic stratum of society] sensed unkind and started to worry. Elite didn’t react as American plans were matching its plans – it didn’t intend to leave this state ruined and having a “weapon of retribution”, did it? But suddenly the position of Russia’s elite becomes complicated. In the beginning of 2007 an article gets published in influential Washington Post newspaper, which recommended not making advances to Russian ruling elite and show the crooks their place, as it they have no real power. And this is where Putin got mad and made a scene with “Munich speech” about multipolar world. In the beginning of 2008 the Congress gave an assignment to Condoleezza Rice to compile a list of leading Russian corrupted officials. Who earned big money in Russia fairly? Nobody. The last mist scattered and Kremlin elite keenly became aware about impeding finale.
Even during Medvedev’s “presidency” Russia’s authorities were voicing grandiose plans for military sphere – “The serial production of military ships is planned, the atomic submarines able to carry cruise missiles and multipurpose submarines in the first place. The system of airspace defense will be created”. It was answered in cold blood by Condoleezza Rice in interview to Reuters news agency – “These actions will not change the balance of power from perspective of nuclear deterrence”. Why would it change? What Medvedev is going to load on ships and into cruise missiles? There are no feasible nuclear charges. Russian missiles are fitted with decoy targets, there are no real targets. It is useless to build ICBM defense against “Satan” type of missiles [T.N. – SS-18 in NATO classification], miss once and you can say “adieu!” to ten large cities. But against radioactive junk present in Russia’s warheads nowadays (probably it has been removed as well, since outdated plutonium heats up like an electric iron) it is possible to build a missile defense and if it will miss the target – nothing terrible will happen even if you will need to decontaminate a hectare of your territory. Missile defense system is meant to catch radioactive scrap metal when Russian Federation will be disarmed once and for all.
And what about Russia’s generals? They fell into mysticism. The same way when the Third Reich have been crashing, the expected end of Energy Superpower [T.N. – the name is widely used by Russia’s government to characterize resource exports capability since 2006] raises the faith into secret super weapon among military officials, it’s an agony of ability to think soberly. Generals started talking about some warheads maneuvering in space (total nonsense in technical aspect), hypersonic high-altitude cruise missiles, and facilities sending high-power electromagnetic pulses. Generals do love Motherland, but even more they love money. Enriched uranium was sold 25 times cheaper of its value since it was plundered, stolen from your own people. Stolen goods are sold dirt cheap, generals got their share for selling “Satan” ICBMs to scrap metal. Generals got assigned batmen [T.N. – personal servant for officer] just like in tsarist Russia, allocated posh boardinghouse, while they could play soldiers in Chechnya by getting drunk and sending untrained boys to certain death facing no responsibility (was at least one general prosecuted for Grozny assault operation?). Son of each general could became the general as well, Russia have bred the largest amount of generals per capita than anywhere in the world.
Details on status of strategic weapons were discussed in Duma [T.N. – Parliament of Russia] at closed sessions to conceal the truth from public. Media discussed the condition of nuclear weapon carriers, but the main thing – the status of nuclear weaponry itself was kept in silence. Lies was beneficial to Americans as long as it gave possibility to wave with picture of dangerous Russian bear in front of own electorate noses. Lies were suitable for oligarchs, since they were going to leave “this country” [T.N. – disrespectful form of address, used in written form] soon. And generals keep silence. What can they say about stealing nuclear shield from people to sell it as a scrap metal to the enemy?
The balance of nuclear deterrence was regulated by agreements between USSR and USA for 30 years, since then USA doesn’t offers to start new negotiation process, there is nothing to talk about. Putin hurried to legalize demarcation of border with China, and China started to issue school books where almost all Siberia and Far East are territories seized by Russia from China. EU proposed Russia to sign Energy Charter Treaty, according to which EU will be prospecting oil and natural gas at Russia’s territory and transport it back to home, while Russia’s citizens are proposed to come away empty-handed. EU officials explained frankly Russia has three ways – lie down under EU, lie under USA or become a cheap labor for China, and that’s about it. The main players understand the situation and don’t restrict themselves.
After Russia has turned from real superpower into potential superpower the situation around bank account of Russia’s elite started to boil. UN passed the Convention against Corruption and the West doesn’t play jokes, it’s going to apply it to our kleptocracy. The West decided to pay to our traitors this way. Is it immoral to bilk a crook, is it a crime? No, not at all.
The dialogue of Russia’s rulers with the West degraded, both sides talk about different things. Moscow says – “You promised us!”, and the West answers – “But you have nothing except cheap bluff!” (when Russia sent Tu-160 to Venezuela it didn’t cause new Caribbean Crisis, since it was perceived by “possible opponent” as clownery).
Abundant natural resources of Russia can’t belong to weak depopulated state. USA decided to stop buying old weapon-grade uranium from Russia. It is profitable to buy it cheaper of its market value, but it is also important to bring Russian generals back to earth.
Meanwhile Russia has ceased production of weapon-grade plutonium. NTV [T.N. – TV channel] reported on the last reactor of this type existing in Russia being shut down in Zheleznogorsk. It used to produce highly enriched plutonium the last half of century. Krasnoyarsk-26, the closed town was founded specifically to maintain the reactor, later it was renamed to Zheleznogorsk.
Zheleznogorsk mining and chemical factory complex have been a unique atomic enterprise with no analogues in the world. Its production departments were situated deep under the ground.
If only Russia’s nuclear shield remained intact by some miracle and enriched plutonium production weren’t terminated, Russian Federation would be hopelessly falling behind competitors in technical aspect. For example, American nuclear potential has exceeded Russian nuclear fake for 1/3 long ago. According to Gazeta.ru, USA excels Russia for 1/3 in quantity of deployed long-range ballistic missiles, launching facilities and nuclear warheads.
Russian nuclear potential appeared to be lower the level of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, coming into effect in February of 2011. Experts have doubts on Russia’s ability to pull up its potential to this limit in 10 years.
In theory, Russia may be squished like a fly in 2015. Saint-Petersburg “Military Parity” edition writes about stock maintenance of Russian nuclear triad – the ICBMs, strategic submarines and heavy bombers in necessary quantity and quality will become a backbreaking mission for the country in the foreseeable future. The series of conceptual errors in nuclear arsenal development were committed in the late soviet and post-soviet periods, leading to situation where Russia risks staying with weapon unable to guarantee security.
Mobility of strategic weaponry as cure-all for invulnerability played a mean trick with USSR General Staff. The concept of designing the ICBMs on self-propelled motorized and railway chassis was erroneous in the first place. The state has been incurring severe expenditures during creation of combat groups along with designing the complex models of combat systems like mobile ground missile systems RT-2PM “Topol” (SS-25 in NATO classification) and combat railway missile systems RS-22 “Molodets” (SS-24 in NATO classification). American “Minuteman” and MX series ICBMs had similar combat performance and were stationed in highly protected underground silos where they remained ready for immediate application in case of extreme emergency.
With what Russia will be left before 2015. It is known RS-22 railway systems were decommissioned from strategic missile forces and destroyed. There is certain amount of RS-20 (R-36MUTTH) and RS-19 (UR-100NUTTH, SS-19 in NATO classification) types of ICBMs on active service, but their operating cycle is coming to an end. These missiles are not in production long ago and infinite “prolongations” of their presence in strategic forces can only cause a bitter smile. “Topol” and “Topol-M” remain to be the only real battle system.
In 1994-2002 the quantity of ICBMs of such type has been sustained at level of 360 launchers. And then everything started to crumble, of course. Launchers and missiles got obsolete, they should have been decommissioned from strategic missile forces. The deployment of stationary and mobile “Topol-M” missiles has been dragging behind the schedule catastrophically. Thereby, only 252 “Topol” ICBM launchers were left on service in 2006 from the highest quantity of 369 in 1993. In return only 42 stationary and 3 mobile “Topol-M” entered the service by 2006. 117 units were decommissioned and 25 entered the service. By evaluations of “Military Parity” edition, only 225 “Topol” of soviet production were left in service in 2007 and according to data from http://www.russianforces.org website the whole fleet amounts to only 213 units.
According to calculations of American experts, the whole park of mobile “Topol” launchers deployed in 1984-1993 will be decommissioned in the next 5 or 7 years. What will replace them? Russia is planning to deploy 120 “Topol-M” ICBMs, including 69 in mobile version by 2015. Russian Federation runs short again, since more than 100 old missiles won’t be replaced.
Thereby, Russia’s strategic missile forces will have around 76 stationary and 69 mobile “Topol-M” launchers at their disposal. It will be around 145 units in total amount. You should notice, we are talking about one-piece systems. When it comes to multiply charged systems similar to RS-24, the data on their deployment is absent. It should be mentioned, the planned deployment of such amount of “Topol-M” is based on numbers from the State Rearmament Program by 2015 which has never been fulfilled completely. Russia’s Ministry of Defence can’t freeze the prices of certain weaponry, including the strategic ones, what results in prices being bloated by military industry. Yu. Baluevskiy, the Head of General Staff told about it in interview to “Vesti-24” TV channel. And the reason is defense budget being absolutely not transparent item of state expenditures what leads to such kind of financial somersaults.
To summarize, Russia will have 145 ICBMs in service by 2015, with only half of them being mobile. It’s absolutely unnecessary waste of resources. Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology still holds Russian Federation as hostage with absolutely obsolete “concept of mobility” by being a monopoly in strategic missile design. Americans even give advices to Chinese not to follow the soviet way, as they totally understand the lack of prospects for such solution. And there’s impression foreign experts are not joking, as they had enough brains to abandon mobile MX and “Midgetman”. But Russians keep being stubborn. If one shall read military forums, the missile forces servicemen call “Topol” a “match sticks” for its low combat performance and their mobility even gave birth to anecdote: “Why “Topol” is mobile – to increase the missile flight distance.”
It is known, USA has accepted the program of B-2 stealth bomber modernization, which will result in equipping the newest active phased array radars with fantastic capability to reveal small-sized mobile ground targets and ability to carry 80 guided air bombs with GPS designation. Thus, the “invisible one” will be able to destroy up several dozens of mobile targets for a single flight; the bombing run will result in ruins of missile launchers, radar stations and airplane hangars. One proverb will be appropriate here in changed form – “It’s as if Mamay flew over here” [T.N. – “It’s as if Mamay came through here” proverb stands for chaos and destruction like after the raid of Mongols, Mamay was one of prominent Mongol military commanders].
Situation with maritime component of strategic triad is even more mournful. According the same foreign website, there are 12 strategic nuclear missile carriers in Russian Navy at present time – six of 667BDRM (Delta-IV) class and six of 667BDR (Delta-III) class. They carry 162 missiles with 606 nuclear warheads. It looks like a good arsenal, but it’s only a gross inspection. Submarines can be destroyed from air and space in a moment. The state of maritime component of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces by 2015 raises plenty of questions as well.
What about the military aviation? It’s beyond awful. It’s worse than strategic missile forces and maritime missile forces. According to western evaluations, the strategic aviation of Russia numbered 78 heavy bombers in 2008, including 14 Tu-160 (Blackjack) and 64 Tu-95MS (Bear-H) which are able to carry 872 long range cruise missiles.
Such stance of Russia’s strategic triad is suitable only for demonstration flights over the World Ocean. They are absolutely not fit for a combat response to a sudden attack. All bombers will be destroyed in a blink of an eye with newest means for airspace combat. When the strategic bomber patrolling has been reestablished, American press and even the official representative of the White House mocked openly over the prehistoric look of Russia’s Tu-95MS, considering them moth-eaten. Indeed, keeping a turbopropeller bomber, which has fan blades with radar cross-section (RCS) of a football field in present time – is nonsense. Tu-95 has no chances in penetrating even the airspace of a third-world country.
When it comes to Tu-160, the gigantic size of this plane turns each flight into something like a start of American Space Shuttle. Every plane of this type has its own title like a navy battleship for a reason. Bomber with a mass of 275 tons is filled with 150 tons of fuel. The preparation to a flight, refueling and rearming takes several hours and during this process a hive of service vehicles are standing around the plane. Obviously, these planes will be an easy target when the time X comes.
What Russia has in the end?
To be honest, the summary is unfortunate for imperial hopes.
Group of stationary and mobile “Topol-M” launchers will become an exclusive backbone of strategic missile forces while having a combat performance of light ICBM from 1970’s. Launching mass of 1-1.5 tons will be insufficient to carry out powerful combat equipment, including multiply charged warheads with individual guidance [T.N. – MIRV warheads]. In theory three 200 kiloton low-powered nuclear loads may be installed at the same time, but this decision will decrease the ICBM flight distance which hardly reaches 10000 km nowadays.
Equipping these ICBMs with some hypersonic maneuvering warheads able to “penetrate any missile defense” will make Americans think that Russia regards USA as the primary antagonist. Considering the background Chinese will appear to be the best USA friends to Pentagon hardliners even with their more bold strategic programs. However, sly Chinese are trying to achieve exactly that without making a show out of their arming program, as Russia does. Kremlin dwellers are trying to clank with weapons they do not have at their disposal. It’s a stupid strategy, laughable even.
Ideology for maritime component of the triad is demolished. Small missiles with menacing name “Bulava” [T.N. – RSM-56 Bulava, “bulava” means “mace”] will be installed to strategic submarine missile cruisers which are not worse by geometry and displacement to American “Ohio” class submarines. Insufficient range of these missiles will urge to station them at Pacific fleet right near to USA shores. It’s not a secret for this region to have a multilevel missile defense system which includes ship-stationed Standard SM-3 missiles [T.N. – RIM-161 Standard Missile 3] and not only the American ones, there are Japan and South Korean ships equipped with informational and executive AEGIS system and vertical launching missile systems. Add to this component a GBI antimissile base [T.N – GBI stands for “Ground-Based Interceptor”] in Alaska accompanied with SBX [T.N. – Sea-Based X-Band Radar] multipurpose radar sea platforms. These weapon systems are able to crack “Bulava” like nuts, if they escape destruction after the first strike. And this infested with anti-submarine systems area will be a place to navigate in for Russia’s “Borei” [T.N. – Borei-class submarines] with “Bulava”. Very “wise” decision, there’s nothing to say.
There is nothing more to say about strategic air force.
Apparently, the systemic crisis of Putin’s chain of command has destroyed the relics of Russian Federation, the military industry and nuclear shield. “Nuclear sword” has turned into fake which can scare only Georgia and militants from Chechnya. However, it’s not guaranteed even these small nations will waver in front of Russia’s junk inherited from militarist Soviet Union.
Despite the comforting declarations of Russia’s military officials, there is nothing to defend against NATO forces. The date when Americans will created full-scale anti-missile system is known, we are talking about 2015.
American “Lake Eerie” military cruisers [T.N. – USS Lake Erie belongs to Ticonderoga class] are equipped with AEGIS anti-missile systems, which is able to track and destroy not only ICBMs, but nuclear submarines as well and even orbiting satellites moving at 8 kilometers per second. This super weapon will block Russia’s imaginary and nearly corroded nuclear potential for 100%.
AEGIS anti-missile system development has been based on regular anti-air system with the same name. American engineers have just increased the power of radar emitter and modernized it for new software. And thanks to that AEGIS became able to track intercontinental ballistic missiles at huge distance of 320 km.
The primary armament for AEGIS system is high-power RIM-161 Standard Missile 3, it is capable to destroy targets in space and distance up to 500 km.
Designers equipped RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 with four stages with liquid fuel so it could strike targets outside atmosphere. First two stages accelerate it inside the atmosphere, the third stage propels missile into space and the fourth stage is kinetic projectile which hits the target.
American destroyers with newest AEGIS anti-missile system are located not only in Atlantic Ocean, they enter Black and Barents seas from time to time. This means each of them is able to hit ballistic missile from Russia’s submarine at initial phase of flight even if launch has been performed from Russian territorial waters. And it’s taking the fact 40% of Russia’s nuclear potential is based exactly at nuclear submarines.
AEGIS system can disable Russia’s missiles at acceleration phase, probably that’s why Americans refuse to negotiate anything in anti-missile defense. That is Pentagon has confidence about USA to possess such power and potential, so it can prevent nuclear strike from Russia.
By 2015 NATO forces will have 400 cruisers and destroyers equipped with AEGIS interceptors and Standard 3 missiles, each of these anti-missiles can destroy any Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missile. And it’s taking the fact Russia has only around 80 new intercontinental missiles left, the rest was produced in Soviet Union.
“Satan” and “Topol” missiles on service in Russia’s missile forces are 30 years old already. A fulminating mix they are filled with has lost its properties and metal enclosure of missiles is exposed to corrosion, this means in case of armed conflict many of these won’t take off. And it will be better than taking off and striking own territory because of unpredictable behaviour.
There is an old soviet anecdote where children boasting with their toys. Vanya tells about having a plush bear, Tanya boasts with new Barbie doll and son of alcoholic listens them with envy and suddenly bursts out with tirade – “I have… And my… I’ll fuck you up!”
Putin’s kneeling electorate behaves the same way today. Nanoleader [T.N. – sarcasm on state program for nanotechnology development giving no results and height of Vladimir Putin] has nothing to propose to society, the President of Russian Federation can’t explain to Russia’s citizens why he is paying tribute to Kadyrov [T.N – Ramzan Kadyrov, the President of Chechnya Republic] while terrorist attacks in Caucasus do not cease, why his project in Skolkovo have failed, why Russians soiled themselves with Superjet-100 project and many more. Siberian cranes and Aladdin’s amphorae don’t impress the public [T.N. – sarcasm on Vladimir Putin’s PR stunts]. The Great Victory cult with stripy scarves fizzles out and needs certain stimulus. And suddenly, the Crimea – such happiness!
This is not a place for republishing full translations from one blog of content from yet another blog, and then not even accrediting any of it. If you have no opinion of your own to post, please just keep reading until you form one.
wow, thanks for the report
contrast with this extract via Sputnik
“RAND’s Terrence Kelly published an excellent opinion piece at U.S. News & World Report last month outlining analysis-derived requirements for a NATO conventional deterrent in the Baltics:
Unclassified RAND war games indicate that Russian forces could overrun local defenders and the light U.S. and NATO units currently able to respond within as few as two days. While the capitals and a small number of key points could be held for some time, Russian forces could seal the border between Lithuania and Poland, prevent reinforcement by sea, and confront NATO with a fait accompli.
Once secured, these territorial gains would be defended by heavy ground forces occupying the conquered states, along with very capable Russian anti-air and anti-ship defenses on Russian territory. Any serious attempt to liberate Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would entail attacks to suppress these systems.
If a Russian invasion of the Baltic states could not be deterred or defeated, the North Atlantic Council and the U.S. president would be faced with a very unpleasant choice: conduct a costly counteroffensive and risk nuclear escalation, or abandon the Baltics to renewed subservience to Moscow. Such a catastrophic failure to uphold the mutual defense responsibilities of NATO could cripple or even destroy the North Atlantic alliance, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s primary goals. It is therefore of paramount importance to deter Russian aggression before it happens.”
The Defense Department cannot afford to replace its aging nuclear-missile submarines, ICBMs, and long-range strategic bombers unless it gets a funding boost or radical policy changes are made, according to a top Pentagon official.
Even if Congress approves the White House’s 2016 budget for the Pentagon, the Pentagon will find itself $10 billion to $12 short beginning in 2021, Frank Kendall, undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said Tuesday at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space conference.
“We don’t have a solution to that problem right now,” Kendall said,
[…]
Wow! What is it about the above post that brought out so many Putin-bashers? We do occasionally get them here at Saker’s, but never so many at once. And notice that–with the exception of Charette–they are all anonymous, too. And most don’t feature reasonable criticisms of Putin at all, just sweeping denunciations and vilification. Putin is said to be a liar, a weakling, and a back-stabber. All just because he refuses to initiate World War 3! Kind of makes you wonder what it would take to satisfy these people. Or are they just Ft. Bragg trolls trying to ‘demoralize the enemy’ here? Hard to say…
Seamus….its not the video its Charette…her’s was the first comment and then her friends helped her…those anonymouses….maybe all her ? who knows….its a game called trolling and sometimes they’re even paid by corporations…Saker’s site is … shall we say … dangerous to the corporate world…
No worries, Putin will do what he does best: nothing.
In other news, all U.S. markets at all time highs today… so much for the collapse “experts” have been selling us in the last seven years.
“Putin will do what he does best: nothing”
Not true.
See the 2nd picture in this (you can use yandex to translate the page) – he’s good at doing Judo and considering the socialising of oligarchs (his chums) losses:
http://xn--b1afaabpadniiq6cffk6e.xn--p1ai/index.php/item/2041-gosdura-sdelala-eshche-odin-shag-k-revolyutsii-pojmannym-za-yajtsa-zapadnymi-sanktsiyami-oligarkham-gosudarstvo-oplatit-stoimost-ikh-nedvizhimosti
If you think markets is a true indicator of an economy you have no understanding of economics or bubbles.
A for instance:
http://www.history.com/topics/1929-stock-market-crash
”
1929 Stock Market Crash
During the 1920s, the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929, after a period of wild speculation. By then, production had already declined and unemployment had risen, leaving stocks in great excess of their real value. Among the other causes of the eventual market collapse were low wages, the proliferation of debt, a struggling agricultural sector and an excess of large bank loans that could not be liquidated.
”
The fundamentals, real economy, employment and utilization, and debt levels all show a horrible economy now, and the government just makes up figures and spin to conceal it.
Save your ‘irrational exuberance’ for those on other sites, who don’t know better.
Yeah, right. You guys will find every excuse in the book to protect Putin and his propagandists.
Excuses for Lybia, Ukraine, Yemen, Minsk 1, Minsk 2, Syria (Assad will not last much longer), etc., etc.
Plus Putin and Lavrov have managed to slowly lose Cuba and Iran. Make no mistake, once sanctions are lifted, Iranians will jump all over iPhones, McDonalds, coke and all kinds of American crap because deep down it’s what they want.
You’ve been telling us for seven years now that we were in a bubble, about to collapse, blah blah blah.
All kinds of companies are reporting massive revenue and earnings gains in the U.S.; yet you guys persist with the propaganda. It’s the Zero Hedge technique: point only companies or sectors in difficulty, but omit the vast majority that are doing well. It’s like when they report in mcdonalds terrible sales and imply it’s a sign the U.S. economy is falling apart while failing to report that more expensive chains are booming.
It’s like reporting that the U.S. Economy is one the verge of collapse in the early 1900s because the horse buggy industry is going out of business.
Meanwhile, those Russians that were questioning Putin last week all looked gloomy and somewhat fearful of the future.
Even Saker knows all this, for as far as I know he’s decided to make his life in the U.S., right? So… this is where he sees his children’s future.
So if we’re all so delusional here, why do you come around to listen to us? Are you doing oppo-research maybe? Or is it that, deep down inside, you yourself no longer believe Washington’s ‘spin’ either? I mean, if you’re happy with what they’re reporting in USA Today and you really believe it, why bother with alt-media?
It’s because once in a while a good analysis gets posted and/or some posters make interesting, informative comments.
I also check the MSM even though I don’t trust them.
By the way, just today, sales of the following companies:
Google way up
Microsoft way up
Starbucks way up Amazon way up
Dunking donuts way up
But the U.S. economy is about to collapse, right?
Also, in other news Kadirof is turning against the Kremlin.
I’d say Putin will not last much longer… I hope he doesn’t get topple in front of the whole world on Victory Day.
There is a lot of wishful thinking in the US, but even ‘moderate’ sites like http://www.profitconfidential.com/economic-analysis/economic-outlook-for-2015/ are talking about basic problems. One thing they indicate is the growing wealth gap, which historically precedes a crash.
http://www.shadowstats.com/ has a stream of information about the credibility gap between reality and government figures.
Thing is, the MSM and such talk about money and markets as if that was the economy, but it’s not, and manipulating those can prop up the real economy for a limited time. Tangible production, useful employment and wages, and utilization are all down, and there’s only so much lipstick one can put on a pig before it becomes apparent it’s still a pig. Without customers with real wealth — not debt — to keep things humming it must collapse, and private debt is at amazing high levels. Student debt alone is enough to cause a major hit, not to mention the drop in the educated work force, which kills competitiveness.
But a lot of people don’t want to see it. Even many of the very wealthy won’t be able to survive because this is going to affect the entire western world, and will be accompanied by civil and political turmoil. There are also the problems with climate, farming, water, and other physical changes that may be nearly impossible to deal with — and that does not bode well for recovering because even changing the paradigm won’t make those problems disappear. It looks like what is coming will make the Great Depression look like no more than a practice run — and yet all the lessons supposedly learned then have been buried.
(None of the mainstream economists saw 2008 coming either. They are forever blowing bubbles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6SXi4I47Qw
DORIS DAY – I’M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES )
LMAO, “google up” is communicated as something significant… get out. Go discuss that at Bloomberg or such, there you might find someone who’s interested in such nonsense fantasy “values”.
Needless to say, all those “gains” are simply a reflection of the real-world inflation, as well as from draining the subservient european economies.
business news here
http://sputniknews.com/business/20150422/1021228899.html
incl
In Europe, shares retreated after a three-day rally, dragged down by the decline in the US S&P 500 futures. The dollar retreated slightly, and a stronger euro is a no-no for the German exporters, rendering investors bearish.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/business/20150422/1021228899.html#ixzz3YDWpZObN
and
from elsewhere”s
“The hefty raise(salary increase for chairman) came in a year that saw Google’s stock drop by 5 percent amid investor concerns about the company’s big spending on far-flung projects
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3053376/Google-s-billionaire-chairman-earned-nearly-109-million-year-tech-giant-s-stock-slumped.html#ixzz3YDX1G4kd
@
OnanAnon,I’m a businessman. I deal directly with people via the internet and shops. My revenues are down, all across the board. Guess what? The big guns [with most of their revenue making factories in China and other low cost countries] are making a killing.
Joe&Jane-6_pack on the other hand, have a ff-ing hard time to make ends meet.
Stocks and bonds are on the gambling end of the economy. Banks have become casino springboards, with all their reinvented ‘bear/bull’ shit crapola. Hard ff-ing cash is the real and only true reality.
It will take a few generations to come, for all this to change, but you will live long enough to see it for yourself [and thus, with your own eyes].
So all my neighbors getting new cars, improving their yards and homes, taking vacations… construction everywhere, packed restaurants, record attendance at amusement parks, etc. it’s all an illusion?
Just because you are struggling doesn’t mean the economy sucks.
Incidentally my employer, a midsize company, is hiring left and right.
I know it’s hard to admit you were wrong, I personally struggled with that, but at some point you have to face reality.
Really ? Where do you live ?
Israel?
Hurrah article, trying to paint a rosy picture, and consider the source (it wouldn’t do to be bleak) , and yet, buried in it:
http://nrn.com/finance/nra-2015-restaurant-sales-grow-38
…
Despite the improving conditions, restaurant sales this year are expected to continue growing at a rate slower than historic standards.
From the early 1970s to the 2008 economic crash, the compound annual growth rate of industry sales has been 6.4 percent, nearly double the rate forecasted for 2015.
…
Real household income has fallen 8 percent from its high in 2007, Riehle said, and is only 0.4 percent above its 1995 level.
…
As for amusement parks, the story I heard from my mother and grandmother (living through the depression) was that people went to them because they didn’t have the money for a regular vacation, and it was a cheap substitute. One needs to be careful how to interpret information and beware of drawing overly simple conclusions.
Richard Wolff has said that car sales are up — using credit — because older cars which wouldn’t hold up much longer needed to be replaced, and were too expensive to keep running. Car companies also gave some decent incentives with credit terms.
Location is very important, and the economic conditions vary widely: people are certainly not buying homes or cars in Detroit and other cities in trouble, and states’ deficits are bad and growing. Anecdotal evidence, accurate or not, can not take the place of legitimate studies and overall figures. The wealthy are still doing well, even as the economy for most people plunges. Some people got rich during the Great Depression too.
Ok Charette, this post absolutely qualifies you as either crazy or full of extremely wishful thinking.
At least look at the official numbers f.f. sake, one in six americans are on food stamps.
I don’t know what your problem is that rant about Putin and all, but I posted about economics, and there’s no shortage of information about it from reputable professional economists — and I’m not talking about zerohedge here, which I read only on occasion.
If you don’t want to do the research and understand it, or ignore 1/5 of children living in poverty, etc., that’s your choice. Enjoy your delusions while you can.
@ Charette
Really ? Where do you live ?
Not a wise answer. You know nothing. Russia is already in a very real war with the US. Putin HAS to pick his fights carefully. Read this for a better understanding: /what-does-putin-want-a-major-analysis-by-rostislav-ishchenko-must-read/
Any relation with François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie, le roi de la Vendée? «Combattu souvent, battu parfois, abattu jamais » (until 29 March 1796)?
Ok, I want to jump in at the top of this yucky thread that is completely dominated by charette the big troll.
This is one of the best crosstalks I’ve ever seen and the three guests are amazing. Peter Lavelle…where does he find these great people….?
Sorry but I have an impression that your knowledge of economics is very limited. “High markets” is nothing good at all, except for the money-masters. It’s a transfer of your money into their pockets.
http://rt.com/op-edge/252405-saudi-exceptionalism-war-yemen-operation/
article,as it says
Oksana Boyko interviewing Iran defence Minister as I type, on rt now 6.30 pm uk time….re s-300 contract etc
OT.
Is anyone else getting a ‘bad gateway’ error when trying to load Voltaire Net?
Yes.
It was fine just a few hours ago, though.
Saker, just saw a very disturbing headline in Haaretz :Russia won’t deliver S-300 missiles to Iran any time soon……….. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.653317.
It essentially saws that Russia will opt for bureaucratic red tape to stymie the just announced delivery of the Air Defense System to Iran. I hope this is not true. What do you think?
Of course it’s true. In fact the Russia government started back pedaling on the S-300 the DAY after Putin’s announcement they were lifting the ban on delivery. It was reported in several media outlets, things like those things take time to be built, delivered, negotiated, it’s complicated, blah blah blah. They were using every excuse in the book.
That’s what happens when you are a weakling and get scolded by Bibi and Barak.
Look, all I’m trying to do here is explain that you guys put your money on the wrong horse. I did too, but at least I’ve realized I was wrong.
Putin is no grand chess master. To the contrary, he is a pretty poor strategist who seems to rely quite a bit on improv.
As for Lavrov, I find it interesting that everything he gets his hands in seems to backfire on Russia. EVERYTHING!
But I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.
Do you trust Haaretz?
Russia does not want to help her allies because west would get annoyed?
It is the same west which does all this to destroy Russia by any means.
When will Russia wake up?
30 September 2010
Quote “Russia has thrown its defence ties with Iran on the altar of its “reset” with the United States. President Dmitry Medvedev last week imposed a sweeping ban on defence sales that goes beyond even the international sanctions on Iran and is likely to have a long-term negative impact on Moscow-Tehran relations.”
Quote” That said, Resolution 1929 contained no explicit ban on air defence systems and Mr. Medvedev’s decree went a step too far. Ironically, defending Moscow’s ban on S-300, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in the same breath, lambasted unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran as being “ethically and morally wrong” and a “violation” of the U.N. resolution. … …”
14/04/2015.
and Russia has yet again back stabbed her ally in Yemen to please Saudis and anglos -what a loser Russia is!
Not a single resolution to the benefit of Russia has Russians been ever be able to bring on UN but they are the first to endorse or not veto any resolution which harms Russian allies.
The world watches this and that is why Russia will be left alone and then attacked without any ally-on all front by the same anglosaxon cabal and Saudi evil nation which Russia has always helped as opposed to her own ally.
It was not a missed opportunity but rather a deliberate act of cowardice this raise a lot of questions about Russia’s behaviour toward its allies in a moment when stakes are high and the Yemeni people is being bombed illegally by a coalition of rogue states.
Hey wait a minute! Don’t you get it? Backstabbing your allies is obviously an extremely elaborate chess move by grandmaster Putin.
I feel bad for those that truly care for Russia and its people, who really don’t deserve what’s happening, and keep falling for those cockamamie excuses for Putin’s weakness.
Russians learn from their past mistakes. They don’t want to repeat the mistakes of Nicholas II. They seem too cautious until you think about how they are opposing a modern day Roman Empire, every bit as ruthless as the original. Delenda est carthago. Substitute RF for Carthage and you get an idea of how they must feel. Once you bust up the Russian Federation into separate statelets, the military loses its ability to maneuver and retreat like an oceanliner on a vast ocean like how the Saker explained it. The Russian military won’t want to lose this maneuverability, even in the age of push-button nukes. They are very territorial that way.
Chareltte, why do you come here except to blast off your mouth about anti-Putin…we all like Putin here so you are a wolf among the sheep….why don’t you go start your own blog, instead of wrecking Saker’s ? And by the way, I don’t have the same opinion as PCR about sheep…I love sheep …have you ever even been around one ? So no, I don’t mean all the others here are “sheeple” I mean you’re the odd one out.
All like Putin? i’m afraid I don’t.
This is why http://xn--b1afaabpadniiq6cffk6e.xn--p1ai/index.php/item/2041-gosdura-sdelala-eshche-odin-shag-k-revolyutsii-pojmannym-za-yajtsa-zapadnymi-sanktsiyami-oligarkham-gosudarstvo-oplatit-stoimost-ikh-nedvizhimosti
You can use yandex https://translate.yandex.com/translate to translate the whole page.
The Russian administration/elite are no different to their chums worldwide – the Russian people are sheeple the same as Western sheeple.
I’m afraid you are wrong, Charette may be in the vast minority but most certainly not the odd man out.
PS:
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
– Gautama Buddha
Do not believe anything just because you read it, either……
Here is an English version of the story you linked to. Of the many available English versions I chose one biased a bit more than average, just to show you.
http://www.vocativ.com/world/russia/russian-oligarchs-law/
It starts with “Russia’s Gonna Give Oligarchs Back Everything Europe Stole
Putin is tempting back his billionaire buddies with compensation for EU seizures.”
This whole thing is an anti-Russia beat up and you’ve apparently just believed it.
First, there is sure “gonna” about a law which has been read once and needs two more readings and Presidential approval before becoming law.
Second, the law talks of compensation ONLY if the property seizures were ILLEGAL, ie not according to the law of the country where they happened.
Third, many of the stories claimed confiscated multi-million$ villas will be compensated out of Russian taxpayer money. There is no such thing in the law. The stories all say “could”, based on ASSISTANCE from the Government for COMPANIES which are suffering/facing bankruptcy because of sanctions…. quite different from giving an individual compo for losing a foreign villa. Much of the companies assistance is long-term loans for operating funds, not bailout gifts.
So you’ve read a beat-up totally twisted story about this, BELIEVED IT and now don’t like Putin because of it? exactly what the authors of those stories intended.
Congratulations.
Baaaaa.
LOL! Iran was never an “ally” of Russia, where do you come up with such nonsense?
The current mullah regime there was installed by the MI6 and CIA in late 70ies and they’ve been playing the “good cop/bad cop” with the empire ever since. The rest is just PR work.
I see that a lot of people here are allowed to post comments very critical of Russia. Can I also say something bad about the Orthodox Church ?
Dabija…?
@ Anonymous
Thank you for sharing my concern.
wow, this is a great crosstalk…too bad the entire comment section is dominated by Putin bashers…not one of them even said anything about this video…
These two beautiful women are so knowledgeable about the middle east…they make me have hope for the future of the world…and the bloke from England has very intelligent and interesting comments to make also….
It is excellent, but I have to watch it again when I’m more awake to grasp it better. So far Yemen has been ‘on the back burner’ because I’m already so overloaded with information (and various other things to do). It does seem that the US is ‘doing it again’ — including messing things up, fubar style, except for the ongoing policy to have everyone in the world destroy themselves or be victims of genocide.
But maybe with a bit of luck this time it will include the Royal Saudis, who have long been a source of great evil.
Rulers of Russia are not taken seriously in the West. The West is not treating the nuclear threat from Russia seriously for strong reasons. The “nuclear shield” myth is stuck firmly only in the heads of Russian television audience, which is being misinformed by pro-Kremlin TV liars.
Unlike regular bombs and shells, nuclear charges can’t be stockpiled at depot and forgotten until the time comes. The reason lays in constant process inside nuclear charges which changes the isotopic composition of the charge and it degrades rapidly.
Absolute performance period for a charge in Russia’s ballistic missile equals 10 years, and then it has to be transported to a plant, as it requires plutonium replacement. Nuclear weaponry is an expensive pleasure which demands the upkeep of whole industry for constant maintenance and replacement of nuclear charges. Alexander Kuzmuk, the minister of defense of Ukraine from 1996 to 2001, recounted in interview that Ukraine had 1740 nuclear charges available. Alexander Kuzmuk – “However, the operation life for this ammunition has elapsed before 1997”. Thus, acceptance of the nuclear-free status was not more than a fine gesture for Ukraine.
Why is it “before 1997”? Because new nuclear charges production was set on hold during Gorbachev rule, and the guaranteed time of service for the latest soviet charges elapsed in the 1990’s. V.I Rybachenkov, the adviser of State Security and Disarmament Department of Russia’s Ministry of International Affairs – “Russia, as well as USA, doesn’t produce weapon-grade uranium, nor plutonium for more than 10 years already. It was stopped circa 1990.” The adviser “misleads the public” when he tells about USA, but when it comes to production of weapon-grade uranium and plutonium being ceased in USSR during Gorbachev rule – that’s pure truth.
Americans struck a “very profitable” bargain with heads of Ministry of Atomic Energy for 20 years, so there was no temptation to produce new nuclear charges for ballistic missiles. Americans were buying weapon-grade uranium from old soviet warheads and promised to purchase plutonium afterwards, while Russia’s reactors able to produce weapon-grade plutonium were brought to a stop. “Ministry of Atomic Energy of Russia: the fundamental milestones of nuclear sector development”: “1994 – the decision of Russian Federation government to stop generation of weapon-grade plutonium”.
Not only the guaranteed time of service for old soviet nuclear ammunition has ended before 1997, there is no plutonium to produce new warheads. They can’t be produced from outdated soviet plutonium since its isotopic composition has changed the same way as in warheads on active service. Russia has even lost technology for tank cannon barrels manufacturing, so after the first shots the dispersion of shells is hardly predictable. The reasons remain the same – specialists got old or dispersed from non-working enterprises and equipment got obsolete or stolen. The most complex technologies for acquiring weapon-grade plutonium and nuclear charge creation methods could be lost already and its restoration will take not a year or two years, but decade at least. But will Americans let Russian Federation to start reactors for acquiring the highly enriched plutonium once again? Russia has set a unique experiment on technological sphere destruction in modern anthropogenic society: technology fields are degrading before our eyes, society loses technology, infrastructure and the most important – the people able to work else from shop assistants and security officers. Russian Federation quiet naturally turned from a country possessing nuclear weapons into a country potentially able to possess it. The status of superpower has changed to status of potential superpower and it fundamentally changes the essence of Russia’s affairs with other states.
Why were Russian Federation treated with ceremony so far and not dealt shortly at the end of the 1990’s? The nuclear charges are still able to detonate for some time after the expiration of guaranteed performance period. It may be not at full explosion power of a design, but if it will bring several blocks in New York to ground zero and hundreds of thousands people will perish – the American government will have to answer unpleasant questions. Thus, American government has allocated the most powerful supercomputers to ministry of energy with official notice for scientists to create a model of nuclear charges deterioration, the only thing media “forgot” to report the model is set to simulate the Russia’s nuclear charges and not American ones. It was worth it and American elite intended to know with guarantee when not a single Russian warhead will detonate. The scientists did their job and the estimated time has come, American policy towards Russia started to change drastically as Russia’s nuclear status.
In spring of 2006 joint articles by Keir A. Lieber and Daryl G. Press on possibility of disarming strike to Russia’s nuclear forces appeared in “Foreign Affairs” and “International Security”. Lieber and Press gave reason for open discussion. Only a group of kvass patriots [T.N – ironic name for jingoistic stratum of society] sensed unkind and started to worry. Elite didn’t react as American plans were matching its plans – it didn’t intend to leave this state ruined and having a “weapon of retribution”, did it? But suddenly the position of Russia’s elite becomes complicated. In the beginning of 2007 an article gets published in influential Washington Post newspaper, which recommended not making advances to Russian ruling elite and show the crooks their place, as it they have no real power. And this is where Putin got mad and made a scene with “Munich speech” about multipolar world. In the beginning of 2008 the Congress gave an assignment to Condoleezza Rice to compile a list of leading Russian corrupted officials. Who earned big money in Russia fairly? Nobody. The last mist scattered and Kremlin elite keenly became aware about impeding finale.
Even during Medvedev’s “presidency” Russia’s authorities were voicing grandiose plans for military sphere – “The serial production of military ships is planned, the atomic submarines able to carry cruise missiles and multipurpose submarines in the first place. The system of airspace defense will be created”. It was answered in cold blood by Condoleezza Rice in interview to Reuters news agency – “These actions will not change the balance of power from perspective of nuclear deterrence”. Why would it change? What Medvedev is going to load on ships and into cruise missiles? There are no feasible nuclear charges. Russian missiles are fitted with decoy targets, there are no real targets. It is useless to build ICBM defense against “Satan” type of missiles [T.N. – SS-18 in NATO classification], miss once and you can say “adieu!” to ten large cities. But against radioactive junk present in Russia’s warheads nowadays (probably it has been removed as well, since outdated plutonium heats up like an electric iron) it is possible to build a missile defense and if it will miss the target – nothing terrible will happen even if you will need to decontaminate a hectare of your territory. Missile defense system is meant to catch radioactive scrap metal when Russian Federation will be disarmed once and for all.
And what about Russia’s generals? They fell into mysticism. The same way when the Third Reich have been crashing, the expected end of Energy Superpower [T.N. – the name is widely used by Russia’s government to characterize resource exports capability since 2006] raises the faith into secret super weapon among military officials, it’s an agony of ability to think soberly. Generals started talking about some warheads maneuvering in space (total nonsense in technical aspect), hypersonic high-altitude cruise missiles, and facilities sending high-power electromagnetic pulses. Generals do love Motherland, but even more they love money. Enriched uranium was sold 25 times cheaper of its value since it was plundered, stolen from your own people. Stolen goods are sold dirt cheap, generals got their share for selling “Satan” ICBMs to scrap metal. Generals got assigned batmen [T.N. – personal servant for officer] just like in tsarist Russia, allocated posh boardinghouse, while they could play soldiers in Chechnya by getting drunk and sending untrained boys to certain death facing no responsibility (was at least one general prosecuted for Grozny assault operation?). Son of each general could became the general as well, Russia have bred the largest amount of generals per capita than anywhere in the world.
Details on status of strategic weapons were discussed in Duma [T.N. – Parliament of Russia] at closed sessions to conceal the truth from public. Media discussed the condition of nuclear weapon carriers, but the main thing – the status of nuclear weaponry itself was kept in silence. Lies was beneficial to Americans as long as it gave possibility to wave with picture of dangerous Russian bear in front of own electorate noses. Lies were suitable for oligarchs, since they were going to leave “this country” [T.N. – disrespectful form of address, used in written form] soon. And generals keep silence. What can they say about stealing nuclear shield from people to sell it as a scrap metal to the enemy?
The balance of nuclear deterrence was regulated by agreements between USSR and USA for 30 years, since then USA doesn’t offers to start new negotiation process, there is nothing to talk about. Putin hurried to legalize demarcation of border with China, and China started to issue school books where almost all Siberia and Far East are territories seized by Russia from China. EU proposed Russia to sign Energy Charter Treaty, according to which EU will be prospecting oil and natural gas at Russia’s territory and transport it back to home, while Russia’s citizens are proposed to come away empty-handed. EU officials explained frankly Russia has three ways – lie down under EU, lie under USA or become a cheap labor for China, and that’s about it. The main players understand the situation and don’t restrict themselves.
After Russia has turned from real superpower into potential superpower the situation around bank account of Russia’s elite started to boil. UN passed the Convention against Corruption and the West doesn’t play jokes, it’s going to apply it to our kleptocracy. The West decided to pay to our traitors this way. Is it immoral to bilk a crook, is it a crime? No, not at all.
The dialogue of Russia’s rulers with the West degraded, both sides talk about different things. Moscow says – “You promised us!”, and the West answers – “But you have nothing except cheap bluff!” (when Russia sent Tu-160 to Venezuela it didn’t cause new Caribbean Crisis, since it was perceived by “possible opponent” as clownery).
Abundant natural resources of Russia can’t belong to weak depopulated state. USA decided to stop buying old weapon-grade uranium from Russia. It is profitable to buy it cheaper of its market value, but it is also important to bring Russian generals back to earth.
Meanwhile Russia has ceased production of weapon-grade plutonium. NTV [T.N. – TV channel] reported on the last reactor of this type existing in Russia being shut down in Zheleznogorsk. It used to produce highly enriched plutonium the last half of century. Krasnoyarsk-26, the closed town was founded specifically to maintain the reactor, later it was renamed to Zheleznogorsk.
Zheleznogorsk mining and chemical factory complex have been a unique atomic enterprise with no analogues in the world. Its production departments were situated deep under the ground.
If only Russia’s nuclear shield remained intact by some miracle and enriched plutonium production weren’t terminated, Russian Federation would be hopelessly falling behind competitors in technical aspect. For example, American nuclear potential has exceeded Russian nuclear fake for 1/3 long ago. According to Gazeta.ru, USA excels Russia for 1/3 in quantity of deployed long-range ballistic missiles, launching facilities and nuclear warheads.
Russian nuclear potential appeared to be lower the level of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, coming into effect in February of 2011. Experts have doubts on Russia’s ability to pull up its potential to this limit in 10 years.
In theory, Russia may be squished like a fly in 2015. Saint-Petersburg “Military Parity” edition writes about stock maintenance of Russian nuclear triad – the ICBMs, strategic submarines and heavy bombers in necessary quantity and quality will become a backbreaking mission for the country in the foreseeable future. The series of conceptual errors in nuclear arsenal development were committed in the late soviet and post-soviet periods, leading to situation where Russia risks staying with weapon unable to guarantee security.
Mobility of strategic weaponry as cure-all for invulnerability played a mean trick with USSR General Staff. The concept of designing the ICBMs on self-propelled motorized and railway chassis was erroneous in the first place. The state has been incurring severe expenditures during creation of combat groups along with designing the complex models of combat systems like mobile ground missile systems RT-2PM “Topol” (SS-25 in NATO classification) and combat railway missile systems RS-22 “Molodets” (SS-24 in NATO classification). American “Minuteman” and MX series ICBMs had similar combat performance and were stationed in highly protected underground silos where they remained ready for immediate application in case of extreme emergency.
With what Russia will be left before 2015. It is known RS-22 railway systems were decommissioned from strategic missile forces and destroyed. There is certain amount of RS-20 (R-36MUTTH) and RS-19 (UR-100NUTTH, SS-19 in NATO classification) types of ICBMs on active service, but their operating cycle is coming to an end. These missiles are not in production long ago and infinite “prolongations” of their presence in strategic forces can only cause a bitter smile. “Topol” and “Topol-M” remain to be the only real battle system.
In 1994-2002 the quantity of ICBMs of such type has been sustained at level of 360 launchers. And then everything started to crumble, of course. Launchers and missiles got obsolete, they should have been decommissioned from strategic missile forces. The deployment of stationary and mobile “Topol-M” missiles has been dragging behind the schedule catastrophically. Thereby, only 252 “Topol” ICBM launchers were left on service in 2006 from the highest quantity of 369 in 1993. In return only 42 stationary and 3 mobile “Topol-M” entered the service by 2006. 117 units were decommissioned and 25 entered the service. By evaluations of “Military Parity” edition, only 225 “Topol” of soviet production were left in service in 2007 and according to data from http://www.russianforces.org website the whole fleet amounts to only 213 units.
According to calculations of American experts, the whole park of mobile “Topol” launchers deployed in 1984-1993 will be decommissioned in the next 5 or 7 years. What will replace them? Russia is planning to deploy 120 “Topol-M” ICBMs, including 69 in mobile version by 2015. Russian Federation runs short again, since more than 100 old missiles won’t be replaced.
Thereby, Russia’s strategic missile forces will have around 76 stationary and 69 mobile “Topol-M” launchers at their disposal. It will be around 145 units in total amount. You should notice, we are talking about one-piece systems. When it comes to multiply charged systems similar to RS-24, the data on their deployment is absent. It should be mentioned, the planned deployment of such amount of “Topol-M” is based on numbers from the State Rearmament Program by 2015 which has never been fulfilled completely. Russia’s Ministry of Defence can’t freeze the prices of certain weaponry, including the strategic ones, what results in prices being bloated by military industry. Yu. Baluevskiy, the Head of General Staff told about it in interview to “Vesti-24” TV channel. And the reason is defense budget being absolutely not transparent item of state expenditures what leads to such kind of financial somersaults.
To summarize, Russia will have 145 ICBMs in service by 2015, with only half of them being mobile. It’s absolutely unnecessary waste of resources. Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology still holds Russian Federation as hostage with absolutely obsolete “concept of mobility” by being a monopoly in strategic missile design. Americans even give advices to Chinese not to follow the soviet way, as they totally understand the lack of prospects for such solution. And there’s impression foreign experts are not joking, as they had enough brains to abandon mobile MX and “Midgetman”. But Russians keep being stubborn. If one shall read military forums, the missile forces servicemen call “Topol” a “match sticks” for its low combat performance and their mobility even gave birth to anecdote: “Why “Topol” is mobile – to increase the missile flight distance.”
It is known, USA has accepted the program of B-2 stealth bomber modernization, which will result in equipping the newest active phased array radars with fantastic capability to reveal small-sized mobile ground targets and ability to carry 80 guided air bombs with GPS designation. Thus, the “invisible one” will be able to destroy up several dozens of mobile targets for a single flight; the bombing run will result in ruins of missile launchers, radar stations and airplane hangars. One proverb will be appropriate here in changed form – “It’s as if Mamay flew over here” [T.N. – “It’s as if Mamay came through here” proverb stands for chaos and destruction like after the raid of Mongols, Mamay was one of prominent Mongol military commanders].
Situation with maritime component of strategic triad is even more mournful. According the same foreign website, there are 12 strategic nuclear missile carriers in Russian Navy at present time – six of 667BDRM (Delta-IV) class and six of 667BDR (Delta-III) class. They carry 162 missiles with 606 nuclear warheads. It looks like a good arsenal, but it’s only a gross inspection. Submarines can be destroyed from air and space in a moment. The state of maritime component of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces by 2015 raises plenty of questions as well.
What about the military aviation? It’s beyond awful. It’s worse than strategic missile forces and maritime missile forces. According to western evaluations, the strategic aviation of Russia numbered 78 heavy bombers in 2008, including 14 Tu-160 (Blackjack) and 64 Tu-95MS (Bear-H) which are able to carry 872 long range cruise missiles.
Such stance of Russia’s strategic triad is suitable only for demonstration flights over the World Ocean. They are absolutely not fit for a combat response to a sudden attack. All bombers will be destroyed in a blink of an eye with newest means for airspace combat. When the strategic bomber patrolling has been reestablished, American press and even the official representative of the White House mocked openly over the prehistoric look of Russia’s Tu-95MS, considering them moth-eaten. Indeed, keeping a turbopropeller bomber, which has fan blades with radar cross-section (RCS) of a football field in present time – is nonsense. Tu-95 has no chances in penetrating even the airspace of a third-world country.
When it comes to Tu-160, the gigantic size of this plane turns each flight into something like a start of American Space Shuttle. Every plane of this type has its own title like a navy battleship for a reason. Bomber with a mass of 275 tons is filled with 150 tons of fuel. The preparation to a flight, refueling and rearming takes several hours and during this process a hive of service vehicles are standing around the plane. Obviously, these planes will be an easy target when the time X comes.
What Russia has in the end?
To be honest, the summary is unfortunate for imperial hopes.
Group of stationary and mobile “Topol-M” launchers will become an exclusive backbone of strategic missile forces while having a combat performance of light ICBM from 1970’s. Launching mass of 1-1.5 tons will be insufficient to carry out powerful combat equipment, including multiply charged warheads with individual guidance [T.N. – MIRV warheads]. In theory three 200 kiloton low-powered nuclear loads may be installed at the same time, but this decision will decrease the ICBM flight distance which hardly reaches 10000 km nowadays.
Equipping these ICBMs with some hypersonic maneuvering warheads able to “penetrate any missile defense” will make Americans think that Russia regards USA as the primary antagonist. Considering the background Chinese will appear to be the best USA friends to Pentagon hardliners even with their more bold strategic programs. However, sly Chinese are trying to achieve exactly that without making a show out of their arming program, as Russia does. Kremlin dwellers are trying to clank with weapons they do not have at their disposal. It’s a stupid strategy, laughable even.
Ideology for maritime component of the triad is demolished. Small missiles with menacing name “Bulava” [T.N. – RSM-56 Bulava, “bulava” means “mace”] will be installed to strategic submarine missile cruisers which are not worse by geometry and displacement to American “Ohio” class submarines. Insufficient range of these missiles will urge to station them at Pacific fleet right near to USA shores. It’s not a secret for this region to have a multilevel missile defense system which includes ship-stationed Standard SM-3 missiles [T.N. – RIM-161 Standard Missile 3] and not only the American ones, there are Japan and South Korean ships equipped with informational and executive AEGIS system and vertical launching missile systems. Add to this component a GBI antimissile base [T.N – GBI stands for “Ground-Based Interceptor”] in Alaska accompanied with SBX [T.N. – Sea-Based X-Band Radar] multipurpose radar sea platforms. These weapon systems are able to crack “Bulava” like nuts, if they escape destruction after the first strike. And this infested with anti-submarine systems area will be a place to navigate in for Russia’s “Borei” [T.N. – Borei-class submarines] with “Bulava”. Very “wise” decision, there’s nothing to say.
There is nothing more to say about strategic air force.
Apparently, the systemic crisis of Putin’s chain of command has destroyed the relics of Russian Federation, the military industry and nuclear shield. “Nuclear sword” has turned into fake which can scare only Georgia and militants from Chechnya. However, it’s not guaranteed even these small nations will waver in front of Russia’s junk inherited from militarist Soviet Union.
Despite the comforting declarations of Russia’s military officials, there is nothing to defend against NATO forces. The date when Americans will created full-scale anti-missile system is known, we are talking about 2015.
American “Lake Eerie” military cruisers [T.N. – USS Lake Erie belongs to Ticonderoga class] are equipped with AEGIS anti-missile systems, which is able to track and destroy not only ICBMs, but nuclear submarines as well and even orbiting satellites moving at 8 kilometers per second. This super weapon will block Russia’s imaginary and nearly corroded nuclear potential for 100%.
AEGIS anti-missile system development has been based on regular anti-air system with the same name. American engineers have just increased the power of radar emitter and modernized it for new software. And thanks to that AEGIS became able to track intercontinental ballistic missiles at huge distance of 320 km.
The primary armament for AEGIS system is high-power RIM-161 Standard Missile 3, it is capable to destroy targets in space and distance up to 500 km.
Designers equipped RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 with four stages with liquid fuel so it could strike targets outside atmosphere. First two stages accelerate it inside the atmosphere, the third stage propels missile into space and the fourth stage is kinetic projectile which hits the target.
American destroyers with newest AEGIS anti-missile system are located not only in Atlantic Ocean, they enter Black and Barents seas from time to time. This means each of them is able to hit ballistic missile from Russia’s submarine at initial phase of flight even if launch has been performed from Russian territorial waters. And it’s taking the fact 40% of Russia’s nuclear potential is based exactly at nuclear submarines.
AEGIS system can disable Russia’s missiles at acceleration phase, probably that’s why Americans refuse to negotiate anything in anti-missile defense. That is Pentagon has confidence about USA to possess such power and potential, so it can prevent nuclear strike from Russia.
By 2015 NATO forces will have 400 cruisers and destroyers equipped with AEGIS interceptors and Standard 3 missiles, each of these anti-missiles can destroy any Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missile. And it’s taking the fact Russia has only around 80 new intercontinental missiles left, the rest was produced in Soviet Union.
“Satan” and “Topol” missiles on service in Russia’s missile forces are 30 years old already. A fulminating mix they are filled with has lost its properties and metal enclosure of missiles is exposed to corrosion, this means in case of armed conflict many of these won’t take off. And it will be better than taking off and striking own territory because of unpredictable behaviour.
There is an old soviet anecdote where children boasting with their toys. Vanya tells about having a plush bear, Tanya boasts with new Barbie doll and son of alcoholic listens them with envy and suddenly bursts out with tirade – “I have… And my… I’ll fuck you up!”
Putin’s kneeling electorate behaves the same way today. Nanoleader [T.N. – sarcasm on state program for nanotechnology development giving no results and height of Vladimir Putin] has nothing to propose to society, the President of Russian Federation can’t explain to Russia’s citizens why he is paying tribute to Kadyrov [T.N – Ramzan Kadyrov, the President of Chechnya Republic] while terrorist attacks in Caucasus do not cease, why his project in Skolkovo have failed, why Russians soiled themselves with Superjet-100 project and many more. Siberian cranes and Aladdin’s amphorae don’t impress the public [T.N. – sarcasm on Vladimir Putin’s PR stunts]. The Great Victory cult with stripy scarves fizzles out and needs certain stimulus. And suddenly, the Crimea – such happiness!
THAT’S ALL FOLKS!
This is not a place for republishing full translations from one blog of content from yet another blog, and then not even accrediting any of it. If you have no opinion of your own to post, please just keep reading until you form one.
Hi K>K> yes, this is a ridiculously long post…perhaps to deviate new comers from coming back ???
Then, if Russia falls, what will China do ?
wow, thanks for the report
contrast with this extract via Sputnik
“RAND’s Terrence Kelly published an excellent opinion piece at U.S. News & World Report last month outlining analysis-derived requirements for a NATO conventional deterrent in the Baltics:
Unclassified RAND war games indicate that Russian forces could overrun local defenders and the light U.S. and NATO units currently able to respond within as few as two days. While the capitals and a small number of key points could be held for some time, Russian forces could seal the border between Lithuania and Poland, prevent reinforcement by sea, and confront NATO with a fait accompli.
Once secured, these territorial gains would be defended by heavy ground forces occupying the conquered states, along with very capable Russian anti-air and anti-ship defenses on Russian territory. Any serious attempt to liberate Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would entail attacks to suppress these systems.
If a Russian invasion of the Baltic states could not be deterred or defeated, the North Atlantic Council and the U.S. president would be faced with a very unpleasant choice: conduct a costly counteroffensive and risk nuclear escalation, or abandon the Baltics to renewed subservience to Moscow. Such a catastrophic failure to uphold the mutual defense responsibilities of NATO could cripple or even destroy the North Atlantic alliance, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s primary goals. It is therefore of paramount importance to deter Russian aggression before it happens.”
http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2015/04/defense-we-cant-afford-replace-aging-icbms-bombers-subs/110245/
The Defense Department cannot afford to replace its aging nuclear-missile submarines, ICBMs, and long-range strategic bombers unless it gets a funding boost or radical policy changes are made, according to a top Pentagon official.
Even if Congress approves the White House’s 2016 budget for the Pentagon, the Pentagon will find itself $10 billion to $12 short beginning in 2021, Frank Kendall, undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said Tuesday at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space conference.
“We don’t have a solution to that problem right now,” Kendall said,
[…]
According to Meyssan/Voltaire, it’s a test drive for an Arab kind of NATO, commanded by … Israel.
La Force « arabe » de Défense commune
http://www.voltairenet.org/article187351.html
Wow! What is it about the above post that brought out so many Putin-bashers? We do occasionally get them here at Saker’s, but never so many at once. And notice that–with the exception of Charette–they are all anonymous, too. And most don’t feature reasonable criticisms of Putin at all, just sweeping denunciations and vilification. Putin is said to be a liar, a weakling, and a back-stabber. All just because he refuses to initiate World War 3! Kind of makes you wonder what it would take to satisfy these people. Or are they just Ft. Bragg trolls trying to ‘demoralize the enemy’ here? Hard to say…
Seamus….its not the video its Charette…her’s was the first comment and then her friends helped her…those anonymouses….maybe all her ? who knows….its a game called trolling and sometimes they’re even paid by corporations…Saker’s site is … shall we say … dangerous to the corporate world…
@ Ann
You said you were a moderator. You should be able to know who is who.