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Are The Russians Coming?
Submitted by Erico Tavares of Sinclair & Co.
Are The Russians Coming?
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that a serious confrontation with the West is coming.
In a recent speech at the Valdai conference in Sochi, laced with geopolitical and historical references, he stated that “changes in the world order – and what we are seeing today are events on this scale – have usually been accompanied by if not global war and conflict, then by chains of intensive local-level conflicts.”
What type of conflict is he referring to?
In the nuclear age, a head on collision between the major world powers is unthinkable. The devastation that would ensue would likely end civilization, if not all life on this planet. It would take a real act of desperation for anyone to use that card.
Russia remains a nuclear powerhouse for sure. However, when it comes to conventional warfare their capabilities have significantly fallen behind in recent decades. And it turns out that this has real geopolitical consequences.
Russia’s Asymmetrical Disadvantage in Conventional Warfare
The following picture, widely circulated in the Western media some days ago, depicts a Russian strategic bomber being intercepted by a Portuguese fighter jet on a NATO mission [Note: so far this is perhaps the most salient feat in Portuguese military achievements in an otherwise terrible year].

More than yet another alleged incursion into NATO airspace, what is striking in this picture is the obvious difference in technologies of the two aircraft: the Russian bomber, the Tupolev Tu-95 or the “Bear” as it is known in Western circles, still runs on propeller engines. First introduced back in 1952, it is an icon of the Cold War - and one of the noisiest military aircraft around. Russia is the only country in the world which still uses propeller-powered bombers.
For sure the “Bear” can still get the job done, but compare that to its US rival, the B-52 Stratofortress, introduced at around the same time. Having been continuously upgraded over the years, it now features subsonic, jet-powered engines and advanced technological capabilities. It is so modern and effective that the US Air Force is considering extending its use beyond 2040. And the B-2 stealth bomber, a (very expensive) marvel of modern US technology, is so far apart that it is not even comparable.
Unlike its Western counterparts, in order to project force the Kremlin can only rely on its dated Cold War arsenal. Looking at military spending in recent decades clearly shows why.
Military Expenditure in Selected Countries (constant 2011 US$ billion): 1988-2013
Source: SIPRI.
After the collapse of Russia's economy in the early 1990s, the country's military spending pretty much went down with it. It has started recuperating only recently. On the other hand, the US has been outspending everyone else by a wide margin since the end of the Cold War, and is clearly on a league of its own. Even “pacifist” Japan and Germany together spend more than Russia today, as part of their international commitments. Saudi Arabia, Russia's oil rival and fierce opponent of its allies in the Middle East, is not too far behind.
Putin is keenly aware of this asymmetry in conventional terms. Going back to the speech referenced earlier, he stated that “in the event of full renunciation of nuclear weapons or radical reduction of nuclear potential, nations that are leaders in creating and producing high-precision systems will have a clear military advantage. Strategic parity will be disrupted, and this is likely to bring destabilization.”
Western military leaders are of course emboldened by this situation and may just keep on pressing their advantage.
But Russia is not out. While it may be out-gunned for now, its military is still world class, featuring impressive capabilities – including various types of advanced nuclear weapons. And it is not alone either. The world’s emerging superpower, China, is increasingly on its side, which had not been the case during the Cold War. Moreover, it has diplomatic and economic arguments which can augment its military capabilities. Just ask any European using Russian gas to keep warm this coming winter.
Perhaps this is why Forbes magazine just ranked Putin as the world’s most powerful man for the second year running. The question is, how will he use that power?
A New Cold War?
While the world’s superpowers could not risk fighting each other directly during the Cold War (although they came close a few times), they were actively engaged in a warfare of another kind: supporting proxy wars, with one side trying to entangle the other in messy and expensive regional conflicts, while overtly and covertly undermining the support for its ideology.
The Iron Curtain, the Vietnam War, the Soviets in Afghanistan, the regime overthrows across Latin America, the nuclear arms race... We should all be thankful that those days are behind us. Or are they?
Today the US can entangle itself with no help from others, given all that has been going on in the Middle East. The bills keep piling up, and there could be a scenario where the US might run out of dollars before the world runs out of terrorists. Still, renewed intervention is a real prospect should things start spinning out of control in the region – nobody else has the capability to step in and preserve energy flows to the West. Senator John McCain, which clearly favors a more muscular approach, will have a very busy time as the new head of the Senate Armed Services.
Russia is also gradually being dragged into regional conflicts of its own. With the situation raging in Ukraine, one wonders how much longer it can stay on the sidelines, particularly if pro-Russia forces start losing considerable ground there. And things are not looking too great for the besieged Assad regime in Syria, which hosts the Russian fleet at the Mediterranean port of Tartus. The bills are starting to add up for the Russians too.
But confrontation can extend beyond military means alone. Globalization and greater economic integration in the post-Cold War world facilitated the creation of another “weapon” that can be used as a retaliatory measure: economic sanctions.
For all of Russia’s bravado in the face of Western imposed sanctions pursuant to its role in Ukraine, there is no doubt that they have a real bite to them. The collapse of the rubble has accelerated in recent weeks and ordinary Russians are now paying dearly for essential foreign goods, even those that originate in the countries that stepped in to replace European food and other imports. Furthermore, the coincidental (or not) sharp decline in oil prices undermines Russia’s staying power in this situation, as well as its ability to use its own energy supplies as a retaliatory measure given the dwindling of foreign reserves.
So far the West seems to be prevailing here, but there could be serious blowback consequences on Russia’s main trading partners.

Composition of Russia’s Imports by Country: 2012 est.
Source: CIA World Factbook.
The graph above shows that many Western companies – and crucially banks, many of which are heavily exposed to emerging markets – might share the pain as well. Let’s not forget that the disruption of international trade pursuant to the introduction of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930 in the US and the subsequent retaliatory measures largely contributed to the length and depth of the severe global depression that followed.
Not even China, which so far has emerged as a beneficiary of these East-West spats by securing long-term imports of cheap Russian gas and increasing its global influence while everyone else gets bogged down in regional conflicts, might escape unscathed.
Therefore, as each side escalates its retaliation and seeks to inflict greater damage on the other, both in terms of economic loss and human suffering, we might be getting close to a point of no return. A dynamic can be set in motion where nobody will want to “lose face” and yield to the demands of the other side. And the world might once again be inexorably slipping into another Cold War, just as Putin warned. We will all be worse off as a result.
It seems that international diplomacy is becoming as dated as those Russian bombers. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.
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well, I'm sure a lot of the foks on here will be happy to be speaking russian.
"Emergency. Everybody to get from street..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El03KPUeQc4
Boris? Is that you?
+1 Whitaker Walt for the Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming reference.
Freedom from the NWO is coming.
This article is a classic example of Confirmation Bias, filled with half-truths, rationalization, lies by omission and lacking in subtlety. One of the major tentacles of America's destroyer is shown quite clearly in that first chart, and it has nothing to do with other nations. It's called the MIC.
Beware of John McCain and all like him.
Russia's budget is just as large as Saudi Arabia's.
But the only thing that matters is that Russia can still destroy the world with its nuclear arsenal.
The Consequences of Nuclear War
http://www.planbeconomics.com/2013/04/the-consequences-of-nuclear-war.html
Is this the weekend red-baiting article we're suppose to discuss amonst ourselves? [sigh...]
Russia’s Asymmetrical Disadvantage in Conventional Warfare [Enrico: please don't use asymmetrical. Ever. It makes you look as intellectually challenged as our defense lobbyists and MIC shills when they use it in their favorite meaningless phrase "asymmetrical warfare"]
The B-52 and Tu-95 were designed for one purpose: to carry nuclear missiles or bombs for a counter-strike. They were part of the Mutually Assured Destructon doctrine that has prevented nuclear war for half a century. Their relative advantage or disadvantage in a conventional war between Russia and the U.S. is irrelevant. Any war between the U.S. and Russia will be nuclear.
Strategic bombers are a usefull relic for aggressive actions against countries without any air defenses, nothing more. I won't even get in to the absurdity of arguing conventional jet vs. jet turbo-prop on a strategic bomber [Yes, Enrico - the Bear uses jet engines.]
B-2's are more advanced, but their 'stealth' was designed as a first-strike weapon to outwit 30-year-old Soviet-era air ground-based defense radar. For any ex-Air Force types out there familiar with the 80's-era Pentagon senior command purges, you'll also mark this as the point in time that Israel began stuffing Strategic Air Commnad with Israeli-firster commanders. The 'old' commanders insisted we didn't need a first strike weapon - that it went against (amonst other doctine) the U.S. Constitution. Israel lobbied the shit out of congress to pay for that because they had very clear first-strike plans for the B-2: Libya, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
They purged the Air Force top brass of anyone who wouldn't go with the Israeli-approved program. Kind of like the current purge of Strategic Air Command's missile and bomber commanders today: "Will you obey an order to launch your ICBM if Israel is attacked?" --> "Are you insane? Fuck NO!" --> "You're fired". In the 80's, if you spoke out against Israel's pet B-2 program, you were also fired. Side note: the Israeli lobby has been pushing for the U.S. to gift them a couple of B-2s for years, but they'll settle for a couple of B-52s. The Republicans probably have a few repainted in Israeli Air Force markings waiting to be delivered.
Military Expenditure in Selected Countries (constant 2011 US$ billion): 1988-2013
... and 95% of the U.S. money has been spent on useless wars and unneeded shit. We spent far too much on conventional first-strike weapons which have all been employed in aggressive military actions based on quesitonable justifications and little value to the U.S.
Russia has spent money selectively and wisely on what does matter for strategic defensive purposes: the S-500 Air Defense System, the P-800 Yakhount and the Topol-M - none of which have ever been used in any battle that I know of. As a result, Russia is 'weaker' in the ability to attack another superpower in a conventional war, but is more than capable enough of defending itself and counterstriking if attacked first.
A New Cold War?
Enrico just parrots the line that the U.S. must be prepared to act for it's own 'energy security', which is a euphamism for 'Israeli interests'. Energy security does not trump the Constitution, nor will it ever morally justify genocide in any Middle East country. The U.S. has the blood of a million Iraqis on it's hands from the last time it 'helped' Israel.
He then mentions economic sanctions as if they were a good thing giving us some kind of advantage in a cold war. The thing is that economic sanctions are an overt act of aggression directed at the common citizens of a foreign nation, not its government. That makes it 'hot' and that makes it an act of terror, not a cold war. AIPAC has said as much about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) actions against them, calling them an act of terror. They're also crying that the U.S. might end BDS actions against Iran. Ain't Karma a bitch?
Composition of Russia’s Imports by Country: 2012 est.
"...Therefore, as each side escalates its retaliation and seeks to inflict greater damage on the other, both in terms of economic loss and human suffering, we might be getting close to a point of no return..."
And the world will always remember that it was the U.S. that perpetrated and prolonged every sanction war waged today. No amount of propaganda is going to change that.
HAD lo login to say: VERY WELL STATED>
Agreed.
absolutely! 100% nailed it!
Asymmetrical warfare exists, just not when discussing two ICBM nuclear powers going toe to toe. On the other hand, if your talking about respective leaders...
And fuck the zionists.
'Asymmetrical' is to 'Asymmetric' as 'Orientated' is to 'Oriented' or 'Incidences' is to 'Incidents.' But you're right: we see Asymmetric strategy and tactics everywhere we look nowadays, most ominously against THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
Yep.
Excellent response, Paveway.
You'd think Erico would at least look at the Tu-95 on wikipedia before spouting off as if it were an Avro Lancaster.
He is also clearly uninformed regarding the Syrian military and their progress in exterminating the foreign vermin that the US and Saudis have sent there.
This lack of attention to detail makes Mr. Tavares eminently qualified to write for The Diplomat.
Cruise missiles on a re-engined, stretch Sopwith Camel at standoff distance can be economical yet effective.
Big old slow prop and jet bombers and surveillance planes are pretty much toast in a really hot conflict between advanced foes.
I don’t think they would be very close to the action if things really heated up.
Those long endurance air-to-air refueled Bears are there to make a statement,, and also to “listen”.
"listen" is the key. bears will be put to ingenious (and fatal to the west) use if the time comes.
Listen Select Zero's.
Bears in the air will do more than just scare.
+ 1000 for mentioning the Sopwith Camel!
quite agree...the major powers can't afford even a conventional confrontation as the loser will resort to nuclear weapons use and the end then comes very quickly. All future fights. as in the past, will have to be done by proxies against the rival power or the rival's proxy. Russia has an ace up it's sleeve in conventional weaponry, her greatly advanced cruise missiles which are much faster, go further,. hit harder and are more accurate than the west's. Probably the reason war with Iran was put on hold as cooler heads weighed consequences of what the Russian missiles would do to a NATO fleet within the first hour of combat. Aircraft carriers don't come cheap.
All Russia has to do is to sell oil/gas in Ruble, and problem solved.
not so simple, because for russia to increase or decrease the supply of rubles and to finance their companies they need to get dollars first, (russian central bank csan't print rubles) even if they sell oil in rubles, foreigners will still buy dollars, exchange them rubles, and then pay the them for russian oil and gas. If the russian cerntral bank doesn't have enough rubles saved up, it will go to the us fed to get dollars, (buy us treasuries to get dollars) and only then will it be able to increase the domestic supply of rubles.. messed up right? A gold and silver standard would solve all that, but then the global financial system run by the FED would collapse... the Russian cerntral bank is indirectly, yet literally controlled by the FED.
even all of the russian gold holding owned by the russian central bank, are technically not under the control of Russia, but under the control of this central bank... although being physically located in Russia, nothing a few men with ak47s can't solve, bankers are pussies physically....
Sashko,
I'vebeen trying to collect info on the RCB, can you provide any direction?
Thanks in advance.
sashko, thank you for your summary. i've wondered why russia didn't simply mint out a gold rouble coin? i thought it might provide russians some currency stability.
Haha thank you guys!
To: tired1
The russian central bank is a privately owned bank just like the FED and the russian ruble does not belong to the government but to this central bank.
Here is a link of to how the Russian Central Bank works and finances its operations and stabilizes the currency, however it is in Russian... I can't find anything like this in English. (It is a very good interview on the inner workings of the russian central bank, if you understand Russian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwXGdY3cMWI
P.S. as to who controls the Russian Central Bank? it is under the indirect control of the same people who created the Federal Reserve, (Rothchilds) but Putin is trying to get more control over it. - this is my personal opinion
To: Emersontreturn
Russia does have its own gold and silver bullion coins just like the USA, you can buy them in major Russian banks like the Sberbank, but they have larger premiums then the American population would find on the American gold/silver bullion.
http://www.artc-derzhava.ru/goldcatalog/112/
P.S. http://www.treasury.gov/ticdata/Publish/mfh.txt
sashko, thanks for the link.
Tired1
Here is the conversation from the video that I sent you. You can google translate it into English, I guess for a start, but its I can't find any good descriptive sources on how the Russian central bank works in English.
http://rusdozor.ru/2014/11/07/dmitrij-enkov-skolko-rossiya-platit-v-ssha/
Thanks very much. I'm a Russian speaker myself.
Actually, I was working in Moscow in the mid 90's when many of these events took place. I was completely clueless about the US inspired evil that was being instigated. At that time I was optomistic and glaad that finally, something good was going to happen in Russia. What I fool I was.
I guess I can safely assume that the RCB structure was arranged by those very wise men from Harvard?
Do you have any insights into the nature of the polical obstacles Putin has in getting more control of the Bank?
The way the bank is structured, putin has no control over its board members and they only need like 1/3 of the members in the room to make a decision... its messed up, putin just approved the last chair of the russian central bank, so "supposedly" she listens to him.. but who knows...
Sashko! No mention of the Altyn??
Putin doesn't care about the rouble any more and won't spend a dime to defend it - precisely because of the reason you stated: roubles belong to their (essentially) Western-controlled central bank. Russia will replace the rouble next year.
In 2015, Russia will be part of the new Eurasian Economic Union, and EEU countries will use the gold-backed Altyn - at least for international trade. This is entirely fine with China, who will either join themselves or issue some similar kind of gold-backed yuan for international trade. When India's population figures out that they have been screwed out of importing gold (discussed below), they will be pissed off enough to abandon USD for international trade and either join the EEU or demand gold-backed currency.
I'm surprised I even have to say this here on Zero Hedge. China and Russia have both been demanding physical delivery of gold contracts for the last five or six years - a trickle at first which has turned into a steady stream of physical delivery demands. COMEX should have collapsed years ago. The way they kept it open initially was for fed to loan U.S. gold to dealers who lent it to COMEX contract holders that had to deliver.
When the fed ran out (the Ft. Knox stuff), they used the gold that other countries central banks had stored in the U.S. vaults. Can they do that? Absolutely - the gold was originally deposited to the central banks allowing them to do whatever they want with it. Can the German central bank lend the gold to the fed and can they then loan it out to COMEX rubes? Of course! That's why Germany can't get it's gold back. All they have is an IOU from their central banks that does not require immediate repayment in gold. Our Ft. Knox gold is gone, but it wan't really stolen - our treasury simply traded it for these. Could the fed ever make good on them? Ha... sure, sure... they PROMISE!
This HotCopper blog explains it much better. The central bank's response was (at first) to take out the Cyprus banking system. Theft of Libyan and Iraqi gold helped a bit. Strong-arming India to limit imports helped a little. The central banks have nothing left anymore besides Russian sanctions and nuclear war. Even taking out Iran and stealing THEIR gold won't help - the central bankes are completely fucked and COMEX is toast. They'll try to burn Russia and China on delivery in the final days, but both countries expect that and planned accordingly. Not like it matters - they probably have 25,000 tons stashed away by now between them and keep taking delivery. The only reason gold is down is because it keeps getting re-re-hypothicated with naked shorts by all the central banks.
Putin figured out the whole popular uprising scheme we used in the Middle East and Ukraine and only has to clamp down for another six months or so. After that, the USD/Gold Ponzi will collapse. America and Europe will be an economic wasteland and pose no further threat to Russia (or anyone else). Like I said before: your gold (if you're in the U.S.) will be worthless - it will be illegal to hold or use it just like in 1933. Bernake doesn't care - his Israeli gold account is plenty healthy and he as a nice villa in Tel Aviv picked out for when the shit hits the fan here. Right next to the Cheney and Bush villas.
Edit: Well, not entirely worthless. You will be given a gold certificate for it just like in 1933 - for pennies on the dollar. Say gold hits $600 when they issue the order. You WILL get $600/oz IOUs (FRNs payable in USD, not gold) for your confiscated gold, not a penny more. By 2016 it will trade at $3500/oz, but you will go to prison if you attempt to sell any of it in the U.S. because you were suppose to turn it in. You can also use some scheme to smuggle it out of the U.S. and smuggle it into a non-ZATO country and sell it. Good luck explaining that to the customs and tax authorities there. After the required bribes, taxes and such, you'll be lucky to get the formerly legal U.S. rate of $600/oz.
Edit2: If you're a vampire, you can just leave it at the bottom of the lake 'storing' value. In 20 or 30 years, you can drag it out and live large in the old age home. Or your kids can live large when they're in an old age home.
interesting, this is the fist time i actually heard of the Altyn, I will have to look it up:) Thanks you made my night with this post ahha!
What a piece of rubbish ... You are guilty of stealing at least half an hour of my lifetime
Well I acquired some nice gold Sochi coins in Moscow at 1 SBERBANK
Retail gold.
Aren't you a bit extreme in your description of how the CBR works? Sure dollars as well as gold and other international currencies form part of it's asset side of the ledger against which it can issue liabilities ( Rubles). But it could also increase th supply of Rubbles against an increase of Russian Gov. Bonds. If it shies away from doing that today it is because of the pressure on the Rubble which something like this would only exacerbate. However, there is a debate currently in Russia about this particular policy (of high interest rates used to defend the Rubble choking corporate borrowing and growth) . For me it is not a matter of the CBR being an appendix of the Fed but rather of having the same central-bank mindset.
...Sash...good overview. "What If" China supplied Russia with mountains of Treasury Bills that it has a surplus of? China is getting discounted natural gas. China cuts a deal to Russia for it excess Treasuries?
China is in the same boat. The point is the USA can print debt money and finance themselves on behalf of the rest of the world, while all other countries have to work for the dollars.
Perhaps this is the motive behind the news story of China buying into America's TBTF's and a couple of Canadian banks? If China can get controlling interest in the entities that control the Fed...? China now also will get to sit on the BOD's in a keep your enemies close scenario. The CDN purchases probably tie in with the news that Canada and Chins are now going to conduct their trade in Renminbi. All these banks are part of the BIS system so the fight is about which set of elites is going to control the one world bank and who will have control of the one world currency
For the most part agree with wht Sasho89 and Paveway wrote.
But it emphasises the weakness of Russia in engaging Israel/US on convential terms and perhaps even covert terms. Russia simply cannot withstand the expense and their forces cannot withstand losses of equipment and personnel. This sets the stage for the relentless destruction of all of Russia's allies (see Iraq, Syria, Libya etc.) and NATO missiles all along Russia's borders.
Other than China the countries aligned with Russia in pursuit of the destruction of the dollar can be picked off individually and nothing will (or can) be done by Russia. Putin and Russia lost their chance when Russia let Iraq, Libya, Syria and soon Iran to be taken down - but an unwillingness to take the required action appears to mean a slow demise of Russia.
The elite of Russia also seem to be concerned about this and at one time were moving their assets out of Russia. When it gets worse they will put a great amount of pressure on Putin. (Notice how Putin is now selling gas to WUkrain, their enemy, and how Russia does not intervene to protect EUkrain.)
Freedom from the NWO is coming.
Utter stupid talk. China and Russia are predatory states that hope to be the ones controlling the NWO, not stopping it. You probably thought the Soviet Union actually collapsed. Uhh, not so much. They just changed some of their bluster and put on suits and got all them stupid mericuns to pay for some of their changes. Welcome to the 1980s. You probably also think China moderated. Yea, not so much.
you're ignorant, follow the money and learn how the central banks work and who controls who first... then make sheeple statementsl like that lol, The FED had made Russia and China its bitches financially speaking, that's why they want to get rid of the dollar.... if the FED had to buy rubles or yen just to increase or decrease the supply of dollars domestically and finance your companeis, plus your central banks interest rate would be 8 9 percent, while russias and chinas near zero when financing companies, how would you feel about the ruble and yen?
you're ignorant
Umm, no. How do you feel about the US either dismantling or downgrading our nukes while China and Russia modernize and build theirs?
>>>You probably thought the Soviet Union actually collapsed. Uhh, not so much.
Stick to selling home security to preppers, Joel. It's an honorable trade.
Leave the psychohistory and geopolitics to Krugman, Friedman and Hari Seldon.
In other words, your version of the NWO. Thanks, it was an honorable opinion but it also happens to be wrong.
.
This sort of comment is a pretty reliable indicator of net.kook status. For confirmation, look for signs that the commenter believes that Leonid Brezhnev is still calling the shots in the Kremlin.
Confirmed net.kook.
And your little take on it is a pretty reliable indicator that you managed to figure out that you don't like the system as it is, and have done an analysis on Putin's Russia as deep as your pecker so you toss out names like you know something. Run along scooter, mommy bought you another box of Polonium Os. Confirmed dumb.shit.
"The Phony Litvinenko Murder" William Dunkerley
media dumb you down much?
some here actually do know what they are talking about in real
it is called knowledge
Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.
The MIC not withstanding?
Good luck with that.......
Our friend Radical Marijuana has always said that it is not about actual nuclear warfare, but rather about the threat of nuclear warfare, that keeps the little people scared in their shoes, ready to give up the last of god-given freedom for a little more protection from the State.
No one's getting glassed any time soon. We got Fuku spreading around the wealth already, slo-mo style. SLOOOOOO-MOOOOOOO.
Almost everyone is so ignorant and innumerate about nuclear energy.
Because Fuku was online and cranking for fifty years before the tsunami, and because they never came up with a method to dispose/recycle the spent fuel, the Fuku site (and every other fission reactor on the planet) has accumulated several tons of the most deadly radioisotopes known. And as we now know, many of those plants are not walk-away safe. If for any reason they go unattended for a few days, they will catch fire and spew.
A nuclear weapon, on the other hand, releases a few pounds of radioactive crap when it explodes.
On a long enough timeline, we are not only dead, but extinct (and slightly radioactive).
You're completely discounting the appearance of a 'radiation eating' Godzilla sparring partner to save the day ? A little imagination goes a long way :)
No it's Nudelman
Nyet
No chance Russia would show NATO their worst equipment then send the real deal during a war. Nope, no chance of that.
I'm no military guy. In fact, I don't know shit about it, and I'm rather proud of that. But I vaguely remember the MIG being fairly 'modern.'
But it could be from watching too much Top Gun as a kid.
In 2004 the US played air war games with India who used Russian fighters like the SU 27. India racked up an impressive 9 to 1 kill ratio against the US forces surprising the crap of the top brass. The US has since tried to close any gaps, but pissed away a lot of opportunities squandering massive pork dollars on the F-22 and the still to become active F-35.
But if it makes Amerikans feel better we can all chant "We're #1!" better than 'they' can...
Like baby seals, man.
Baby seals.
Sent old armor against Georgia 08-08-08, and it was good enough...
against Grizuns T-72's with better fire systems...(supplied from Ukraine, btw)
http://www.alternet.org/story/112457/that_was_no_small_war_in_georgia_--_it_was_the_beginning_of_the_end_of_the_american_empire/
Do you know how they call a hamburger in Russia?
A hamburger....
Do you know how they call a laptop in Russia?
A laptop...
So... WE'RE ALL RUSSIANS IN A WAY!!!
You're going to pick up Russian in no time, Bob.
hamburger is gamburger.
hamburger = gamburger
laptop = notebook
Kinda close though.
ha ha so happens that i am taking up the russian language...
luv russian ways....
...head's up ZHers...you desire to learn Russia from being immersed in Russia. Hang out with Russian hotties, etc. Give the lousy weather (wx) a skip and head to Phuket or Pattaya, Thailand. YES! Live frugally and take courses in Tai and Russian. Lotsa gorgeous Russian hotties. They departed and live in Thailand.
there are alot of russian already on here... just look at some of the posts.... duh !!
Funny you should say that, dumbshit.
Watching the World Chess Championship from Sochi this morning. The Norwegian Carlsen, playing the Indian Anand, with a Russian commentator and they're all speaking English at the news conference! The Russians got them a hard road in the propaganda battle.
Did I say dumbshit? I meant you're a dumbass.
calling names make you more dumbass in real...
Yes, mommy.
Already do!
A prop fighter can still out manuever a jet aircraft in some flight regimes, and you can put a bunch in the air. Russia is not driven by the Military Industrial complex. All they have to do is kill the dollar then how long before we need spare parts or gas from outside the US.
The US has enough power to devastate the whole of Russia but we would not be able to put troops on the ground or support them.
Russia is doing the same as the US during the cold war and forcing Nato and the US to spend money on stupid face saving measures that hasten collaspe of the currency.
Its like NATO making fun of the Mi-25 because in had tubes instead of transistors. Then some brightboy figured out what value tubes had after an EMP blast. Shit never changes.
Again, the Octopus is not 'out there.' Tim Geithner: "We're going to kill the dollar."
Whilst the TU-95 is hardly a fighter [ ;-> ], those turboprops give it a helluva long endurance, along with a nice slow minimum airspeed - ideal for the real purpose of these "no longer Cold War Bombers" - ELINT.
Consider also they have a very high carrying capacity, and those clearly visible dorsal vents suggests significant internal generation capacity, which in turn suggests offensive EW capability (such as spoofing Mil. GPS data, so creating significant location errors).
Russians make the best possible use of existing equipment. The only innoovate when there is a clear, unfilled need. So, although on paper they may appear to "spend" less than the US, their spending is far more effective (i.e. far more "bang" per buck, or Rouble, in their case).
Something to "bear" in mind??
My wife, mother-in-law and children already speak Russian.
I'll stick to learning German though.
I wouldn't risk my life to protect a corrupt, parasitic government.
Who cares what language we speak?
@ BKbroiler: "well, I'm sure a lot of the foks on here will be happy to be speaking russian."
1. Spell much? Was Spell Checker optional on your device, or you couldn't find the ABC spell-checker on the ZH Comment Toolbar?
2. Are you referring to the ones who come here as double-citizens, i.e. Russians who came here via Israel? I.e. Russian Jews who loved Israel so much they left Russia and went to Israel, but then discovered that they didn't like it as much any more and then went to the US by the tens of thousands? Are talking about all these "Russian speakers", trolling on this site?
p.s. Is that a pic of Robert Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan) in your avatar? /s
The neocons who own US foreign policy have never seen a war they did not like. Such hubris will cause a major war with Russia.
Obama commits US to war against Russia in defense of Baltic states
8 September 2014In a series of speeches and press conferences in connection with last week’s NATO summit in Wales, President Barack Obama publicly declared that the United States military will maintain a permanent presence in the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which border Russia. He vowed that US air and ground forces will remain poised forevermore to respond to claims of Russian aggression by the governments of these countries by attacking Moscow.
In appearances in the Estonian capital of Tallinn and later in Wales, Obama announced a series of military moves against Russia by the United States and NATO as well as expanded economic sanctions and pledges to bolster the military forces of the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. He made clear in addition that Washington will push for all three countries to join the US-dominated NATO military alliance.
These statements represent an immense escalation of US and NATO military threats against Russia. Without any public discussion, and entirely over the heads of the American people, the Obama administration has committed the country to go to war with the second largest nuclear power in the world over three small countries in Eastern Europe.
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/09/08/pers-s08.html
Demonization of Putin continues unabated:
Since the beginning of the week, the three most influential mass circulation newsmagazines of the United States, Britain, and Germany—Time, The Economist, and Der Spiegel—have published cover stories that combine wild accusations against Vladimir Putin with demands for a showdown with Russia.
The most striking and obvious characteristic of these cover stories is that they are virtually identical. The CIA has scripted them all. The stories employ the same insults and the same fabrications. They denounce Putin’s “web of lies.” The Russian president is portrayed as a “depraved” mass murderer.
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/07/30/pers-j30.html
Already here. Just head to Brighton Beach
nyet, that is other invaders...not Rus
John Titor said this would happen. He said in 2000 that wwiii would break out in 2015 with a nato army going to the baltics prompting a nuclear war.
had to google that one... so a FAKE GUY floats in from the future... wow ! thats so amazing ... what will they think of next ???
FAKE FAKE FAKE
Faker than MSM noose? Perspective...
hahaha skate you rock ! nice one
You sure that wasn't John Connor?
What was the term, "Bring 'em on!!!". I don't think a pussy like Obama is up to it, but maybe Jeb? Questing being, in a conflict pitting Jeb and Putin, who would the red teamers support?
If Jeb Bush gets elected president, the only invasion you'll have to worry about is the one from the southern border that Jeb throws open, wider than anything Obama ever imagined.
Jeb Bush is the worst of all worlds.
-30-
Sadly, the 'alternative' would be Hitlery.
(hahahahaha, alternative)
Either way. Forward.
But to Jeb the invasion is "an act of love". So it's all good!
Ofcourse ....... ANOTHER FAKE WAR to take the heat off the bankers .... FAKE WAR COMING OUR WAY BY OUR FAKE LEADERS !!!
why its history repeating itself... but hey it worked before.. so which of you idiots is going to up your self for the next oil bank war.... yeah yeah yeah
Russia is the only country in the world which still uses propeller-powered bombers.
Maybe it's a cost benefit thing, or they figure that the additional cost of keeping up the MIC joneses does not yield additional benefit for the purpose of the aircraft. Or, they may be doing it for some other reason, redundancy perhaps modern bombers have too much tainted technology with microchips to be considered reliable.
But those bombers are EMP proof. Tubes instead of transistors.
another good reason to own an old tube radio (apart from the sound).
Bear makes huge scary noise.
Look what it carries...
I sometimes wonder how much of this overpriced US MIC whizzbang will work in a really hostile electromagnetic environment. That's just to name one of the nasty surprises the hi tech boys are going to get.
Bingo.
Or maybe with their subs, SLBMs and ICBMs, it won't matter very much. A "precision" nuclear strike with a smallish, say 60kt, bomb from a bomber still wipes out everything in a fairly large radius. For the vast majority of targets that would get hit with a nuke, it doesn't matter very much if the accuracy is 200m CEP like the Russians claim their weapons are or if you can choose to hit the desk on the left side of the office vs the desk on the right side of the office, like you can do with precision guided munitions from a bomber.
I would think you hack a twitter feed to screw with the Algo driven HTF's, and collaspe the market.
Billy Ray Valentine: [watches Louis clean his shotgun] You know, you can't just go around and shoot people in the kneecaps with a double-barreled shotgun 'cause you pissed at 'em.
Louis Winthorpe III: Why not?
Billy Ray Valentine: 'Cause it's called assault with a deadly weapon, you get 20 years for that shit.
Louis Winthorpe III: Listen, do you have any better ideas?
Billy Ray Valentine: Yeah. You know, it occurs to me that the best way you hurt rich people is by turning them into poor people.
Coleman: You have to admit, sir, you didn't like it yourself a bit.
I was in Hawaii a few months back and I met a totally insane woman who told me hundreds of thousands of Russian agents are within the USA right now and when the time comes they will enable the massive militia groups, homegrown naturally within the United States, to take back their country and install a more libertarian government that will be better for the entire world and in particular the eastern bloc. That is in part why the US is so desperately trying to get all of the guns and why they are spying on absolutely everyone they are becoming increasingly paranoid because the Russian agents cannot be found and they cannot control the increasingly anti-government sentiment sweeping through the nation - which is only spurred on by ZH on a daily basis - another site obviously heavily influenced by Russian interests and perhaps one intended to spurn on people who would fight in a revolution against their governments if the Russians set rally flags for us to do so...
This lady was literally batshit crazy rambling nonsense all day and night but who kn
Nah, it will show up as an EMP. No Russian secret agents required.
Dzt, and the whole electric grid will be down. Whether it kills your car will depend on how close you parked it to the center of the burst (did you leave it within 1000 miles of Kansas or something like that)...
You'll know it when the power doesn't come on in a day or a week. When you and your neighbors are enjoying the ambient temperature, and trying to figure out how to get some clean water.
All of the tests that I've seen where cars are killed with EMP have used 100kv/m. EMP from a nuke won't get above 50kv/m unless you're close enough to worry about shit like blast and fireballs.
That depends on burst altitude. HEMP can go beyond 80KV/m on the ground for a large ionosphere burst.
Sounds like you two had a lot in common upstairs.Both batshit crazy.
I think ZHrs believe that supporting the Constitution is a patriot's duty and it has nothing to do with supporting Russia.
America is #1 at wasting taxpayer dollars on whiz-bang overpriced technology and feeding the M.I.C.
Instead of jailing corrupt bankers and politicians we dove deeper into the quagmire of the Middle East.
Now we are trying to resurrect the bogeyman of our Parent's generation - RUSSIA!
Never mind that we were all sold-out to Communist China for the corporatocracy.
The best armor and swords didn't prevent Rome rotting from within.
Best armor and swords? I doubt the US even has that. Let's take a look at something most of us here know something about. AK vs M16. Which one is the hi tech junk, the MIC was repeatedly (no really look it up) awarded millions to fix, and which one is the real working weapon.
Both work just fine. The AK is more reliable after you've literally dropped it in the mud, but I would not be at all scared to carry an AR if my life depended on it. A lot of the problems with the AR came because of stupidity, not inherent overall design flaws. You know, like a committee refusing to chrome the bore because "it wasn't in Stoner's original design." Well, when you're in a fucking jungle, that shit will rust. Also using a dirty burning powder didn't help with the reliability when the chamber was already pitted with rust.
I've never had a FTF with an AR. Not one. I've fired quite a few of them with countless rounds, and not one failure. I've been on the firing line at high power matches where the guys shooting service rifle class were using ARs were not having problems. I've been down in the pits pulling targets for ARs and the guys sending bullets over my head weren't having problems. But what the fuck do I know?
Blowing gas into the action is an inherent design flaw for several reasons. The need for the forward assist is another overall design flaw. In a military weapon you must have the ability to directly operate the bolt carrier, everything else is just unneeded complexity and gimmickry. Also, the reliability of a military rifle is not determined on the range. In battle, you will most likely end up with your face and rifle in the mud. Now, the ARs sucked in Vietnam, they sucked (not as much, but still sucked) in Iraq and you can bet they will seriously suck in Prokhorovka or any other magic and wonderful place East of Poland.
AK47. When you absolutely, positively...
Gorbatchev slams West, supports Putin at the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11218459/Mikhail...
LEARN RUSSIAN
LEARN CHINESE
it is great to learn other languages...
fun, interesting, and a challenge
Russian Accelerator....forget Pimsler, Rosetta and other
My oldest daughter is taking Chinese in school. I think she's on her 2nd year of it, can read their language VERY well, and can speak it enough to communicate with Chinese people if she needed to. She's actually the best in the class. A couple of years ago, she asked me what would be the best foreign language to learn, and I told her it would probably be Chinese or Spanish - given the unfortunate future our politicians are creating for us....
I truly believe Putin does not want war, of any kind, yet he will not back down either when pushed beyond his line, wherever that may be.
Obama chooses to think Putin is inferior, that America the "Super Power" and its military might is above what the world can throw at it.
The above two statements can be proved by words and actions the past number of years.
Unfortunately for Obama and those who think like the Nobel Peace Prize winner, this attitude of supremacy often causes a serious misjudgement and underestimate the will of peoples from other lands, often leading to the severe humbling of the superior.
The Germans discovered this when attempting to squash the insurgents in the Warsaw ghetto and the battle for Stalingrad. No nation or person is omnipotent, why pretend there is one?
Putin and Russia have been backing down and avoiding conflict with Israel/US for a very long time. But you are right about not being pushed beyond his line, thing is, his line is tanks or planes crossing Russia physical borders. So that will not happen.
They will physically attack Russia without crossing that line in that way. Disruptions and turmol internally in the outlining regions of Russia is on the table.
The U.S. economy is big, and fundamentally unstable, as is Europe's economy. By this I mean that, as any giant has two Achilles heels, so the West's Achilles heels are the petrodollar and low interest rates.
Lose either one (or both) of these benefits, and the U.S. economy will come tumbling down of its own weight, like the Twin Towers.
Putin and the anti-dollar axis definitely appear to be hammering away at those Achilles heels. If they succeed at some point in shaking loose the moorings of the petrodollar and/or low interest rates, and if that effort continues to be aided by none other than the U.S. itself by virtue of its arrogant, shortsighted policies, then we're going to see a catastrophic Western collapse that will show the crash of 2008 to be what it really was - merely an advance tremor of "The Big One".
So Russia's aging military might, while important, is no longer the main factor in how this all turns out.
The US should remove the garrisons in Europe .
They are not frontline troops anymore , and are more hostages than threats . Also , very expensive .
See
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com/2014/09/failed-state-usa.html
The fact that the only effective counter the Russians have is nuclear
should make everyone seriously nervous. To the Russians, a nuclear
response to a potential invasion is perfectly reasonable... given what
happened to them TWICE in the last century!
As for those Tu95s ( or any other "nuclear" bomber ) by the time they
( or rather their standoff nuke missiles ) arrive, most of both sides
will be ruins courtesy of the ICBMs. The bombers are merely there
to get any stragglers.
OTOH, the Tu95 has outstanding "terror" value. Its big, very noisy,
stays in the air forever, and "probably" has 6 standoff nuclear cruise
missiles on board. Sometimes propaganda value can be more
useful.
The Russians are waiting.
Trying very hard to wait till the U.S. collapses due to it's own terrible policies.
The U.S. sees that it is likely going to lose that waiting game. So it tries very hard to bait Russia into doing stupid things. While also forcing others to do stupid things to bait Russia on it's behalf.
The U.S. knows it is going to collapse to a great degree. But feels it is militarily powerful enough to survive it, and the economic and political destruction it will cause all around the world. IF!
There are no large, powerful countries that do not escape the chaos too much.
Russia, China and possibly a good portion of the EU are right now capable of retaining a good portion of their internal power and structure if the U.S. collapses.
That does not mean they will bother to attack the U.S. in any way after the collapse. It means they will be free of U.S. pressure and control. They will carry on better than the U.S.
The U.S. will not be able to afford all the global military reach required to keep control, if there are stable local economies and governments left.
The U.S. will then be clearly seen as just another country, not the leader. Not able to manipulate much beyond it's borders.
Having to pull itself back together. Into a country that exists in this world, not as a country that the world exists for.
Nobody really needs to attack the U.S. It is doing that to itself.
Russians are waiting to be left alone without outside aggression.
Stolypin said "give Russia twenty years without inside and outside interferences and you
will not recognize it"
The U.S. will then be clearly seen as just another country, not the leader. Well as warned by a President long ago...Beware of foreign entanglements.
The insanity that is Israel is being overlooked with its Sampson option, it is the real threat.
1. "NATO airspace" - no such thing in the nature. The only real space - the vacuum in NATO's generals heads.
2. TU-95 is old? It can still discharge its load on your heads.
3. B-52? Ask vietnamites how many of them they turned into coca-cola cans.
4. Suggest to the author of this article to watch less Holywood crap, and try to think sometimes.
Yes...search US air losses Vietnam,
Vietnam air war,
Vietnam air aces
@ corbeau
. . . but, OK
"They will carry on better than the U.S."
You mean like the Soviets' Kruschev 'buried America' after all those decades. Like that, Bob?
you're buried in commies right now, real ones and real deep...
and too dumb to know it...
beside that...Kruschev was Soviet era
He was a Ukrainian national
Soviet is defunct get over it
some people are saying that Putin's speech at the Valdai conference at Sochi was the most important political speech since Churchill's Iron Curtain speech at Fulton, Missouri on March 5, 1946
And it also is the most important speech since !
@ Oldrepublic
A source close to O'ballsUp told me that on one caucasion Barry nearly wrote a good speaks!
"Even “pacifist” Japan and Germany together spend more than Russia today, as part of their international commitments."
The Germans are no longer pacifists: http://youtu.be/1wy7EyfF8mY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wy7EyfF8mY
Dont confuse the people who join the military, with the voice and beliefs of the population.
Two very different things.
At some point my ZH friends you are going to have to sit down, take a stiff drink and understand no matter where you are, no matter which cuntry, no matter who leads you, you are being played.
Your collective governments are taking the right fucking piss, look at mine, they fuck kids left right and centre and have used and continue to use 'My' police force to cover it up. They are mother fucking fiends who think they have immunity because of position.
As a collective we have to wake our selves up and step up to the plate, these fucking monsters are using us, for their own personal gain and filthy deprived fantasies, on our bastard mother fucking money.
Now fucking let that sink in. And dont for one fucking moment think it just happens on these sceptic isles, this is world wide, to the very top of our most trusted institutions of deranged filth.
Only we, as in us, the proletariat can stop this, voting is gonna do fuck all. Let do this folks, lets show these fucking criminals what criminals deserve. Lets give these cunts war.
This IS going to stop.
;-)
Always enjoy your posts and rants.
Cheers Blano mate.
That is the truth you have just read. This has to stop.
We cant go on like this mate.
I still cannot understand how the British people know the BBC kill's and fuck's lots of little children until they are dead ,but yet they still pay(TV Licence) for thier privilige to be entertained by pedohiles and rapists , must be a cultural thing.
If it comes to a conventional war between the Russia and the neo liberals, there will only be one winner. Nobody beats the Russians when it comes to ground fighting. They will never give up. The West is playing with fire, and is showing that the decline is inevitable, both financially and politically. Let us hope they stand down the nutters behind the nuclear, and other advanced weaponry, which the public has little knowledge of.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that a serious confrontation with the West is coming."
Ummmm, no.
"have usually been accompanied by if not global war and conflict,"
Read the whole speech.
1. Fly lines of 20 bears separated by 250 miles latitude towards east and west coasts, low and slow until spotted by coastal radar.
2. Set autopilot and detonators to clime full power to aircraft service ceiling, Set backup detonation if warhead drops 500' from highest point (plane hit by defensive fire or stalls lower).
3. Bail out to be picked up by trawlers.
4. All warheads detonate at high altitude resulting in EMP Stone Age for hundreds of miles, taking out 80% of population's electricity for years.
Yeah, those old crates are harmless.
For sure the “Bear” can still get the job done, but compare that to its US rival, the B-52 Stratofortress, introduced at around the same time. Having been continuously upgraded over the years, it now features subsonic, jet-powered engines and advanced technological capabilities. It is so modern and effective that the US Air Force is considering extending its use beyond 2040. And the B-2 stealth bomber, a (very expensive) marvel of modern US technology, is so far apart that it is not even comparable.
Now that we're on the subject of conventional vs. nuclear capabilities... Just how old is that F-16 flying alongside the Tupolev, or for the F-15s and F-18s in the "NATO arsenal", compared to Russia's MIG-29 and MIG-35 and other? How well do they stack up to one another?... Last I checked the F-16 and F-15 came off the assembly line in 1973 and it's 3rd/4th generation status is in dire need of upgrade with or without the F-22 and F-35 that have had their known problems for some time.
Conventional capabilities aside, Russia always built it's technology with a nuclear advantage in mind when the Cold War started and it has paid dividends given the new "Iron Curtain" the West has been frantically building in the shape of an "ABM ring" and now "on the border in Ukraine" in violation to it's treaty obligation(s) of NATO enlargement in order to protect Russia from an Iranian missile attack over the last two decades ... No small wonder Stalin didn't trust them when they were carving it up in Yalta after WWII?!!!... If the U.S. Navy and Air Force decide to test the waters with a battery of cruise missiles we will see just how long those boats stay on the water and how many of those plains make it back to their bases.
Cause all it will really will take to start it is "one" and then it's up to the Russian's to decide whether the offending incoming is either conventional or nuke! And the biggest problem?...
Game Over Man!!!
Remember. The banksters always finance both sides of a conflict.
+1
With the disparity in spending, just which country is the most likely to promote war?
Putin needs to down the israeli oligarchs one by one.
The whole conversation about the "Bear" is spurious. This isn't WWII where bombers need to fly over cities. The TU-95 is a standoff cruise missile launch platform. It can standoff 1500 miles from the target and launch cruise missles.
There is still something to be said about Russian luggage.
Why drop from above and get there first when you can walk it across .
Russia is desperately building a force to defend the home land. You look at their forces and missile technology prevails over everything. They even have a seperate Missile Force. The missiles nearly all fill a defense role. Anti Aircraft, Anti Shipping, Surface to Surface. These are what Moscow hopes will defend it from the NATO attack they think is coming. As for Moscow attacking Europe? Only a deluded fool, with zero military knowledge of NATO and Russian forces would even think.
Right now Russia can barely defend itself against NATO. Selling fear of Russia works because it preys on ignorance. Russia actually had major snags in it's war with Georgia. It lost the first Chechen war in the 90's. But don't mistake that weakness. They are building defenses fast, and the nuclear backup is being quickly modernized. Putin believes he can defend Russia. He is not insane, if he attacked Sweden or even Finland, he could not win. So lets stop the bullshit. Russia is defensive in every sense. Putin did nothing until NATO siezed Kiev, even then he refuses to accept Novrussia as a state or as part of Russia. All he will do is give weapons to Donetsk to defend itself. As I said, Russia is 100% about defense of their homeland.
Isn't it all about fooling the ignorant who have the power to vote?
I agree with your observations about Russia. Mind you, they know what it is like to suffer in war, there are still survivors left from that era.
Most Americans have no clue what is is like except what they see on Rambo movies and they all believe they are Rambo or that the calvary will come in to save them. It isn't going to happen, but this administration as well as the last few need to be taken down a few notches to reality.
Yes, there were snags 08/08/2008, but still was short over Georgia with tons of new taxpayer equip and training.
Russians sent old armor only, even obsolete.
Grizuns T72's had more modern fire systems supplied by Ukraine...yes Ukraine
http://www.alternet.org/story/112457/that_was_no_small_war_in_georgia_--_it_was_the_beginning_of_the_end_of_the_american_empire/
I read somewhere that 94% of serviceable NATO hardware was fielded by the U.S. so I wonder how valuable these "member states" really are.