Ukraine Gives Up on NATO

THIS is what happens when you have a President and Congress who are completely out to lunch regarding who's a friend and who's a foe. The Ukraine is no longer seeking to join NATO. And why would they now that Obama and crew have...

Insulted every ally and sucked up to every tin-pot dictator
Dumped the missle defence shield
Stopped production of the F-22
Slowed or stopped the Future Weapons program
Annouced it wouldn't use Nukes unless its too late

This is what happens when you put grade school teachers in change of a country.

More Bombings In Russia

The Islamaholics have bombed another Russian city killing 9 so far. The Russians were warned a wave of attacks were coming. The West should remember that lessons learned by these crazies in far off places like Russia or the Philippines can be (have been and will be) applied to attacks in the West. This is why no one in the Philippines was surprised on September 11th, 2001.

Some Russian Predicts End of USA (again)

You'd think Drudge would know better than to post up this rubbish but it is amusing.

RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF USA

A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts.

Because when you think of "Political Analysis" Russia is the first country that springs to mind. Right after Togo.

Professor Igor Panarin said in an interview with the respected daily IZVESTIA published on Monday: "The dollar is not secured by anything. The country's foreign debt has grown like an avalanche, even though in the early 1980s there was no debt. By 1998, when I first made my prediction, it had exceeded $2 trillion. Now it is more than 11 trillion. This is a pyramid that can only collapse."

If this guy was right, and he's not, and everything "collapsed" I'd say the standard of living would still be HIGHER than Russia. So shut up, Ivan.

The paper said Panarin's dire predictions for the U.S. economy, initially made at an international conference in Australia 10 years ago at a time when the economy appeared strong, have been given more credence by this year's events.

Yes. And Global Warming looks best in the summer too.

When asked when the U.S. economy would collapse, Panarin said: "It is already collapsing. Due to the financial crisis, three of the largest and oldest five banks on Wall Street have already ceased to exist, and two are barely surviving. Their losses are the biggest in history. Now what we will see is a change in the regulatory system on a global financial scale: America will no longer be the world's financial regulator."

When asked who would replace the U.S. in regulating world markets, he said: "Two countries could assume this role: China, with its vast reserves, and Russia, which could play the role of a regulator in Eurasia."

Right. Of course. China. Because they don't have any bad debt at all. And Russia. Right.

Asked why he expected the U.S. to break up into separate parts, he said: "A whole range of reasons. Firstly, the financial problems in the U.S. will get worse. Millions of citizens there have lost their savings. Prices and unemployment are on the rise. General Motors and Ford are on the verge of collapse, and this means that whole cities will be left without work. Governors are already insistently demanding money from the federal center. Dissatisfaction is growing, and at the moment it is only being held back by the elections and the hope that Obama can work miracles. But by spring, it will be clear that there are no miracles."

But what about the "HOPE"?

He also cited the "vulnerable political setup", "lack of unified national laws", and "divisions among the elite, which have become clear in these crisis conditions."

He predicted that the U.S. will break up into six parts - the Pacific coast, with its growing Chinese population; the South, with its Hispanics; Texas, where independence movements are on the rise; the Atlantic coast, with its distinct and separate mentality; five of the poorer central states with their large Native American populations; and the northern states, where the influence from Canada is strong.

The influence of Canada??? That statement proves this guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

He even suggested that "we could claim Alaska - it was only granted on lease, after all." Panarin, 60, is a professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has authored several books on information warfare.

Sure, claim that too. You've already claimed most of the North Pole. By the way, how are those oil prices?

Hey, Yorgi!

Russia sees in credit crisis end of U.S. domination

Then they knocked over the vodka bottle and woke up...

The Russian president said in a speech Thursday that the financial crisis in the United States should be taken as a sign that America's global economic leadership is drawing to a close, reiterating an argument that leaders here have been making for some time, though investors in recent weeks have been fleeing Russia and depositing money in U.S. Treasury bills.

right... American bad, Russia good...

Perhaps inevitably for a country long lectured to by the United States, Russia is using the occasion of the U.S. financial crisis to do some lecturing of its own.

Because they are so well qualified to lecture on things... like assassination and invasions...

President Dmitri Medvedev said Thursday that the U.S. crisis showed that "the times when one economy and one country dominated are gone for good." Speaking of the United States, Medvedev said the world no longer needed a "megaregulator."

Or any regulations apparently...

Russia has argued that the freewheeling Anglo-American style of capitalism is to blame for the crisis, a position echoed by Germany and other Continental European nations. Medvedev even called it financial "egoism."

Yep, its that free wheeling little guy from the Monopoly Game. It's all his fault.

A drumbeat of similar pronouncements has been heard in Russia in recent days. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a major speech Wednesday on U.S. financial "irresponsibility," blaming the plunge of more than 50 percent in the Russian stock market on the global economic slowdown and U.S. financial turmoil, rather than on any troubles endemic to Russia.

Troubles like Mr. Putin for example.

Birds of a Feather at UN

Here's no surprise. Russian and China won't condemn something they want to have the option to do in their citizens get uppity too. Imagine, demanding freedom! The nerve.

Russia and China dig in their heels over Burma as the West calls for UN sanctions

China and Russia signalled last night that they would block any UN sanctions against Burma as a UN envoy headed to Singapore to try to get a visa to enter the country.

The UN Security Council gathered in emergency session to discuss the crackdown on street protests in the country, amid calls from the US and the European Union nations for international action. After separate talks in New York, US and EU ministers condemned the violence against peaceful demonstrators and asked the 15-nation Security Council to “consider further steps including sanctions” against the junta.

But Wang Guangya, China’s UN ambassador, told the closed door Security Council meeting that, while Beijing favoured stability and national reconciliation in Burma, the crisis was an internal matter. “We believe sanctions are not helpful for the situation down there,” Mr Wang said.

Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s UN Ambassador, said what Burma needed first was a “return to security”.

Ibrahim Gambari, the UN troubleshooter, was due to fly to Singapore to press for a visa to make his first visit to Burma since he met the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi last year in an unsuccessful attempt to secure her release from house arrest.

Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, urged the Burmese regime to co-operate with Mr Gambari's mission and repeated his call for the “utmost restraint toward the peaceful demonstrations taking place”.

Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington's UN ambassador, also called on Burma to let Mr Gambari in without delay. “It is very important that this be done on an urgent basis,” Mr Khalilzad said. “It would not be good for Mr Gambari to visit grave sites after many more Burmese have been killed.”

Gordon Brown had earlier added his voice to the growing chorus of criticism, when he warned the reclusive regime in Burma that “the whole world” was watching the stand-off.

“Its illegitimate and repressive regime should know that the whole world is going to hold it to account,” the Prime Minister said, speaking at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. “The age of impunity in neglecting and overriding human rights is over.”

The pro-democracy demonstrations and crackdown by the army could not have come at a worse time for the reclusive military leadership in Burma.

World leaders were assembled in New York when the demonstrations in Rangoon gathered momentum and the struggle has dominated the debate at the UN General Assembly.

President Bush has announced fresh US sanctions against Burma, the European Union is strengthening its measures against the regime and further action may follow from the UN Security Council meeting.

France, which currently holds the presidency of the UN Security Council, appeared eager to set the example. President Sarkozy called last night on French businesses, including the oil giant Total, to freeze investments in Burma in response to the crackdown.

Burma was forced on to the formal Security Council agenda last September by a procedural vote. China, Russia, Qatar and Congo voted against. China and Russia also vetoed a US-sponsored resolution in January calling for Burma to stop persecuting minority and opposition groups and to start a political dialogue.

China, Burma’s largest trading partner, is regarded as crucial to the international response. In the past it has refused to interfere in the country’s internal affairs but may be softening its position.

The West hopes that Beijing, which is hosting next year’s Olympics, will take a tougher stand against Burma, as it has done recently in relations with Sudan and Zimbabwe.

“China has made some significant concessions recently on its links with Sudan, but it has not gone that far on its links with Burma,” said David Mathieson, a Burma consultant for Human Rights Watch.

“If things heat up, that is not going to look good for China in the lead up to the Olympics at all,” he said.

Russia Unveils its Un-Stealth Bomber

A few days ago the RAF scrambled their brand new Typhoon fighter jets to intercept a Russian "Bear" long range bomber. There has been a fair bit of opinions fielded on this and Russia's recent attempts to gain back its former glory. Here's my opinion.

Russia might want to think about designing and building some NEW bombers. This massive turbo-prop beast might have been top of the line in say the Cold War, which may I remind everyone is over and that we won but now it belongs in a museum.

The reason we won the Cold War is because free enterprise inspires something called "innovation" while totalitarianism punishes anything but uniform thinking and only creates corruption and killing fields. This is why while the Soviets were flying this thing thirty years ago the Americans had the Stealth Bomber.

The "Bear" would actually be classified as an "Un-Stealth" bomber as its engines are so loud and so distinctive sounding the Americans used track them with submarines.