State TV says Russia could turn USA into Radioactive Ash

You and me both. Was looking at that on a map and just thinking--so what?

 

You have to understand the Russian mentality and history.

The Crimea could be a complete pimple on the ass of Eastern Europe and Putin would want it.

He hated the breaking of the Soviet Union and he hated deals brokered by nikita khrushchev, mikhail gorbachev and especially Boris Yeltsin.

Putin believes that there should be one Russia, that all former members should be brought back together.... he is a lot like Adolf Hitler in that regard, but I digress.

The Russian people will go along with Putin... even if he drags them further into hell (which he has already started doing).... they were used to be ruled by the iron hand of the Boyers and Aristocracy, and then let a small band of bolsheviks overthrow their government.....

 

Crimea was a 19th century strategic necessity for Russia. It provided Russia with an effective navy in the Black and Mediterranean seas when those waterways were critical to Russia's economy and Russia faced European powers that might have tried to strangle its economy during wartime.

Crimea today is a feint designed to allow Russia to test the resistance of Europe and America to its imperial intentions in Ukraine. Most Russians consider Ukraine a part of Russia. The very seat of the ancient Rus people, for whom the whole country is named, is in Kiyev. Russian Maximum Leader Putin famously told President Bush that "Ukraine isn't even a nation". Ukraine has some of the most fruitful farmlands in Europe. The Ukrainian capacity for agriculture was a major point of Hitler's desires to destroy the Soviet Union - with Ukraine under German control, the Third Reich would have had food security and not be reliant on other countries for sustenance.

Russia clearly sees Ukraine in the same light. Russia + Ukraine is a much more powerful force than Russia - Ukraine.

 

Sactown, try watching Dr. Strangelove the movie. Perhaps you will stop worrying about the Ruskies messing with your sac and bodily fluids.

You might want to measure the relative value of your anxiety relief of imaginary fears , allegiance to the GOP meme of Obama the Kenyan pacifist etc. vs nuclear winter

 

Actually many of them did. Had you even heard of Dubai prior to the year 2000? Qatar? Lots of other developing countries without oil grew quickly too (due in large part to other commodities booms and an overall global credit boom)....but yeah Putin!

OK I'll play - which of "Yeltsin's reforms" did he reverse that specifically impacted the economy?

 

Anyone that thinks that Communist Russia wasn't "that bad" or has fond memories of it are out in left field.... The Soviet Union didn't give a **** about it's own citizens or any others. It was a bad place and time in human history.

 

Last time I checked Qatar and UAE were both stable and very prosperous nations even before 2000. What was Russia before 2000? Bankrupt (just defaulted), politically unstable (several coups or coup attempts in the 90s) and going through one economic crisis after another.

Yeah plenty of developing nations grew quickly in the 2000s, but also plenty didn't with oil our without oil.

Lowering interest rates from the sky high Yeltsin year levels, lowering taxes from the sky high Yeltsin year tax levels, brought inflation more or less under control etc.

 

Name one oil-rich country that didn't. Don't like UAE/Qatar? Ok how about ANGOLA? It's growing way faster than Russia, and did then too. Despite kind of being a hellhole.

Umm, Putin took over in 2000. he maintained a liberal/reformist economy until 2003 when he began renationalizing things and handing them over to his cronies.

Is there anything you won't say here, no matter how wrong?

 

Who needs food when you have vodka.

 

Of course they can, but Russia will probably turn into ash shortly after too.

 

FWIW I voted for Obama twice, too, though his current proclamations on Russia and NATO are not great or helpful. Of course Obama may just be doing it for domestic short term maneuvering as most of his actions seem guided by.

I certainly agree with wrt to the old Soviet Union that it was awful. I have always been critical of Marxist Leninism, in all its variants including Soviet Russia. I do think it is critically important to realize that Russia is not the old Soviet Union, though neo-con types don't want to realize this. It is a shame that the mainstream press seems to be in agreement with Fox News that there is virtually no difference between Soviet Russia and todays Russia.

That does not mean I don't see how the US is a very nasty imperial power at the moment or our actions such as invading Iraq unnecessarily is very much worse than letting the Russian speakers in Crimea vote to return to Russia or the Russian Confederation.

Obama and Fox and Friends aiding a coup in Ukraine and trying to extend NATO up to the Russian borders was stupid and unnecessary and I agree it is creating problems.

 

Wow. I guess I will reread your posts. I never would have guessed. You seem so eager for WW III and lots of military action or at least posturing. I usually see that constellation with the McCain-Cheney wing of the GOP.

 

bush set the record for most vacation days by a president

LOL go home bigtexxx, you're drunk

 

In the long run that might have helped the US out a bit.

 

The Russian culture and attitude is NOT that different than the Soviet Union. Putin is a product of the old system, he embraces the old totalitarian views and was extremely critical of Yeltsin and others that desired to be more like the West.

The Russian people were enthusiastic when the Soviet Union fell, not now. Putin and his exercise of absolute power and nation building is popular in Russia. Racism, aggression and isolationism all are popular and pervasive.

The difference is that for all Putin's bluster, he leads a nation that is not nearly as powerful or influential as he and the Russian people think.

 

There should be a Yakov Smirnoff joke in all of this, somewhere.

 

But the Russia/Siberia landmass is MUCH bigger than the size of the US. Much harder to kill everyone when the population is so spread out.

We should develop some biological weapons on the side: If we die, you get to die slowly and painfully.