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"Let Them Fly There Now": Putin Threatens To Shoot Down Turkish Jets In Syria, Calls Erdogan An Ass Kisser
It’s been nearly a month since Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 in what not only represented the most serious escalation to date in Syria’s five year conflict but also marked the first time a NATO member has engaged a Russian or Soviet aircraft in at least six decades.
The “incident” - which came several weeks after Ankara downed what certainly appeared to be a Russian drone - infuriated The Kremlin, setting off a war of words that culminated in a lengthy presentation by the Russian MoD which purported to prove that illicit Islamic State oil flows through Turkey. Both Putin and a number of other Russian officials have implicated Erdogan and his family in the trafficking of illegal crude and there’s speculation that Ankara’s brazen move to fire on the Russian warplane stemmed from Erdogan’s desire to “punish” Russia for disrupting what Deputy Minister of Defence Anatoly Antonov sarcastically called “a brilliant family business.”
As for the Russian foreign ministry, Sergei Lavrov canceled a planned trip to Turkey and Maria Zakharova went so far as to reference Turkey’s infamous political blogger Fuat Avni (a pseudonym) on the way to suggesting that Ankara had been planning to shoot down a Russian fighter jet for at least a month.
In an effort to ensure that the downing of a Russian warplane in Syria was a “one and done” event, Moscow deployed the Moskva off the coast of Latakia and sent in the S-400 air defense systems (which were rumored to have already been in place).
Those moves rattled the US and its partners who fear that a nervous Putin might “inadvertently” shoot down an American, French, or British warplane. Indeed Putin ratcheted up the rhetoric last week. While not detailing 'who' he was focused on, the President told a session of the Defense Ministry's collegium that "I order to act extremely tough. Any targets that threaten Russian forces or our infrastructure on the ground should be immediately destroyed."
Well, in case that wasn’t clear enough, Putin took it a step further on Thursday.
During his annual news conference in Moscow, the Russian President literally dared Erdogan to send Turkish F-16s into Syrian airspace.
As Bloomberg reports, “President Vladimir Putin signaled that Russia is ready to shoot down any Turkish military aircraft that strays into Syrian airspace."
“Turkey constantly violated Syrian airspace in the past. Let them fly there now,” he said, pointing out that Russia’s most advanced air-defense system, the S-400, is covering all of Syria.

(in case the S-400s and the Moskva should prove insufficient, Putin always has the "hands on" option)
"This is the 11th press conference Putin will have with Russian and international journalists during the three terms he has served as head of state," Sputnik notes. "These large press meetings, held once a year, usually last several hours. Almost 1,400 journalists have received accreditation for this year’s event."
As for whether The Kremlin thinks the US was in any way involved in the downing of the Russian warplane, Putin said he wasn't aware of any American involvement, but did suggest (literally) that Erdogan may have been trying to kiss Washington's ass or, in Bloomberg's more politically correct terminology, "Turkey may have been trying to curry favor with the largest member of NATO".
Putin: “If someone in Turkey decided to kiss Americans on a certain body part, I don’t know whether it was right or not."
Watch the full video below.
For those who missed it, here's an infographic look at the S-400:
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I just love a good cat fight......except when it can lead to world war.
That's why we had to create Thunderdome....settle it in private.
Two men enter....one man leaves.
Got $50 bucks on Putin.......anyone?
It's all a F-Assad
This is a Bear vs. cat fight and we all know cats are pussies.
I like pussy
Vlad, put a Kreb's safety lever on that thing, so that you can manipulate it, correctly, with your trigger finger.
The rifle, that is.
I thought WW3 was supposed to have started after that Russian plane was shot down?
Haven't seen any mushroom clouds round my way.
JHFC, is that an assault weapon he's holding? Doesn't he know they're dangerous?
Damn, Putin's a real man, unlike the bisexual, mulatto illegal.
Yea you wont see obongo in a pose like that. Putin is a real man though..
Putin doesn't know what he is doing with that AK. Which is strange considering his background.
And how do you know that?
Because I actually know how to use that AK-103 that he's holding. You don't close your eyes with a rifle, ever. It distorts your sight picture and makes you literally blind to your surroundings.
^--- Retired 11b here.
It's a fucking foto-op.
No, he's shooting on a simulator.
Here's where the photo was pulled from:
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/39-photos-of-vladimir-putin-2013-3#her...
Looks like a photo op to me. I'm surprised you talk about the "closed eye" and totally miss the lack of eye or hearing protection.
It's a simulator. You don't need hearing or eye protection on a simulator. It works with cameras and light beams. Not cordite and flying projectiles.
They took photos of him pretending to know what he's doing with the rifle. So yes, you would think it's a photo op, doesn't negate that he's not showing that he knows what he's doing.
The Putin worship here is amusing. I thought the Jew apologists were bad...
What does Russia have over USA for USA to retreat in the ME?
controlled opposition?
Putin knows how to hold an AK. Wonder if Barry knows how to hold an AR?
The only gun Bambam knows how to hold is Reggie's.
I've done a lot of precision shooting with rifles and there are times you actually want to be blind to your surroundings when you're firing. You need absolute focus on your target for example when you're firing at a small target from an unstable platform from 500 yards. Also, scoped rifles don't quite invite keeping both eyes open although it's of course possible. It's different when using a shotgun where you need to keep your 3D perception intact and handguns on moving targets. I've never been in combat and I can imagine keeping both eyes open there is important regardless of weapon. However, I find it likely that I would have closed one eye aiming that AK like Putin is doing, and I'm not a novice.
If I'm shooting a bow, I keep both eyes open.
If I'm shooting a rifle, I keep both eyes open right up to the last second or so,
Doeesn't take long to close one eye!
Whatever - everyone who shoots will find what works for them, given enough practice and awareness of form.
"Whatever - everyone who shoots will find what works for them, given enough practice and awareness of form." EXACTLY! The proof should be on whether you can consistently hit what you're aiming at.
I may be the only one to ever shoot an M16 the way I did, prone position that is. One side of the T-handle would literally rest inside one of my nostrils! After a lot of shooting I'd come away with a bloody nose. That's at 500 yds, open sights. Qualified "Expert" at the range. Pretty sure I was sighting with only one eye.
Nid likes the Zionists. Anything to troll for them is game...
Geez, it’s a discipline and training thing..
Don’t distend any unnecessary muscles when creating the sight picture and training on the target.
Both eyes open but slightly contracted to tune the depth of field.
Acknowledge the dual image but enjoy the fact that you know the one that is true.
More light information is gathered that way.
Same thing goes in point of aim and rapid acquisition of a shooting spot with a hand gun..
But what do I know.
FFS, this is like arguing with a global warmist who refuses to talk about the overarching formula and tries to bury you with minutiae.
For some longer, more precise shots with irons - you can squint partially shut one eye. This helps maintain full peripheral vision. When doing this, it may appear that the one eye is completely closed when it is not.
Many Russians received training on AKs since they were kids. Search YouTube and you can find videos of them speed field stripping them. Given his background, its likely that Putin has used AKs since he was a child/teen. Its possible, but seems unlikely that he doesnt know how to use one.
Americans like to spend all sorts of money on 'dood dads'. Whatever. If it helps you, why not. But, Russians invented the AK and have equipped their armies with them for almost 70 years. That includes their spec op Spetsnaz units. They probably have a good handle on running their rifles - even without the add on Amerikanski gadgets.
Obongo knows what end to sit on
I was wondering the same thing. It's gotta be information, not threat of force which is well known. It has to be something big. I was wondering last night as I lay in bed if Putin threatened to prove unequivocally that ISIL is a US/NATO/Israel creation or maybe he went real big with 9/11. To have been the proverbial fly on the wall during the Putin Kerry meeting...
Russia has Putin and USA has Obama. Nuff said.
Just because Bloomberg says Putin is using a "simulator" doesn't make it so. I see no indication it is a simulator. No wiring, no laser, no sensors. Looks like a basic, late production AK103 that’s all.
There are also pictures of him shooting one handed with no eye protection in the GRU shooting range. Sure he didn’t use the Weaver or Isosceles stance but I bet he hit his target enough to qualify.
Say what you want, but this is just a photo op.
Bingo.
From the various photos of him through the years. Putin seems to like weapons, and be very comfortable handling them.
Furthermore, if you carry one and use it for any length of time, you will develop you own instinctive style. Just live with a rifle 24/7 for a while, never letting it get beyond arms reach, and it becomes like a natural apendage.
I miss my guns so much that when I visit the US I take my favorite suppressed M16 with 11.5 inch barrel out of the vault and sleep with it. However, when I finally come to my senses I put it back in the vault and take out a Mossberg 500 with surefire forend to bed, chamber empty, safety off, and trigger pulled. I think a jury would be more sympathetic towards me for shooting someone with the Mossberg vs. emptying a 30 round mag of 5.56 into them in the middle of the night. Putin may like his AKs but I prefer sleeping with a Mossberg which is easier to chamber a round in the dark, and the surefire light really helps.
He's in a suit and tie. I don't think any part of the picture is real, so worrying about if an eye is open is probably a bit much. Do guys in combat wear cufflinks, watches and rings? It's a political pic, nothing more.
In my day (M16A2 back then) we were taught one eye open shooting over iron sights. You can't even properly zero a ghost ring equipped rear sight rifle with both eyes open due to parallax. See Field Manual 23-9.
Both eyes open IS better for situational awareness in CQC, and with some of the newer optics.
But Putin's not doing room clearing or door kicking/breach bang clear though, he's making pinpoint shots over iron sights. Plus, he's following Russian training protocols, not US ones (note the offhand grip).
Yep.
I'm (really) short-sighted in the right eye, long-sighted in the left. Can't even see the front sight clearly with my right, certainly not the target. Have to shoot both eyes open, it's mandatory for me. I see two targets usually, one with each eye, have to figure out which one is the "real" one. Sometimes two front sights. Parallax is a bitch.
But I'm fucked if I'll buy a pair of glasses. Seem to be able to get heart shots on deer from 50-70 yards over iron sights, that'll do me.
"Not cordite and flying projectiles."
Cordite has not been used as a small arms propellant since WW2 and that was only the Brits.
Oh fuck me.
The Neocons will be glad to know that once they fight through Russia's air defenses, armor, missile batteries, Navy, Army, and civilians, it will be a piece of cake from there since Vlad can't use a rifle properly.
Should we pop the champagne now?
So because the link says "Here, Putin trains with an assault rifle simulator", it must be so??
Excuse me, but it depends on what I want to shoot as to whether I close an eye. If I just want to rip off a bunch of shots in a general direction, fine, eyes wide open. However, if I want to take a carefully aimed, precise shot at the target, I close one eye, just like using a scope.
Now, a shotgun is a different story. Always leave eyes open.
Nothing wrong with closing your eye, don't be an abnoxious super duper tacticcool master expert. He could have closed it because photographer was distracting him. He is just doing some precision shots on the simulator.
Or winking at the blond next to him.
Another photo op, just like that Lion he killed with his BEAR hands. The shirtless toughguy pose. Quite amusing actually.
What do you want? You want him to undergo a sex change like our amerikan heroes?
Would that make you happy?
If a shirtless, bear-wrasslin' gun shootin' karate choppin' dude reflects their still masculinized culture then HATS OFF to that culture.
You're a dick. Closing one eye depends on the distance to your target or how you train. Some people shoot with both eyes open and some with dominant side open. Myself I shoot with both eyes open with closer target and dominant eye open and the other close in longer distances. You said you're retired 11B? I don't think so, it seems you're more like a motorpool grease monkey.
The retired 11 Boo-Boo here is talking about the "spray and pray" method. The few thousand rounds expended and hope you hit something for every insurgent killed method.
No, NidStyles, he's doing it right...that's how he winks at Turks. ;)
One day, you and I will drink beer.
If you are one of the many who get a double image when aiming with both eyes open you better close the off eye.
" It distorts your sight picture and makes you literally blind to your surroundings."
Bullshit on your first statement but particularly true on the second. It does cut down you peripheral vision but your side should be covered by another team member.
What really makes you blind is a flood of adrenalin and fear.
Oh, and just because you did something for 20 years does not mean you did it right. Only means you did it for a long time.
While I don't like everything about Vlad, I do think he's got Russia's best interest at heart and he's been very measured in his responses toward the west over the past two years. He's a good leader and he has some wisdom that our guy will never have. That aside, I was really surprised to see him closing his left eye. Maybe he was just blinking as the pic was being taken. ;-)
Crap
Do explain why an intelligence officer would know how to fire an AK... he wasn't special forces or military
Depends on the training requirements. USMC requires (last I looked, and it was this way when I was in) EVERYONE qualifies: and that includes up to 500 yds with a rifle (open sights still?).
Anyway... this macho stuff is just shit. It tells me more about how insecure folks are than how macho they are... (I'll concentrate on the "walk," thank you very much).
Putin doesn't know what he is doing with that AK. Which is strange considering his background. dupe
What the fuck, didn't I read this exact same comment posted above??
Edit, i sure did and it was posted at the same time. ZH double I guess that got split up. Either way, Putin is a trained fucking soldier, I think he knows what the fuck he is doing, especially while not at a real range and posing for the photo op...
So is Hillary.
Yeah, the fish licker has a bigger pair than the Obamanation or Hubby Bill.
Unfortunately, she is a criminal psychopath.
Fortunately, Putin knows how to deal with criminal psychopaths.
Yes, it is an authentic assault rifle with 3 position safety lever ( if you look closely at the lever stops or dimple in the side of the rifle) not the illigitimate 2 position assault rifle that retarded anti gun Americans define as assault rifle. Looks like Putin is firing in semi auto judging by the position of the lever.
WW3 Started when Putin blocked the invasion of Syria by parking a Missile Cruiser off the coast. It then spread to the Ukraine. So far i would say the Russians are winning. We live in such interesting times
Do you have a recommended two point sling?
URBAN ERT Hybrid goes both ways (insert Obama or Hillary comment here).
http://www.urbanertslings.com/amd-65-urban-sentry-hybrid-sling/
No need. Never engage the safety. Good to go.
You won't be going with me. No place for stupid in the field.
I will stay home and protect the women.
But who will protect them from you?
;)
So does Hillary
“50 years ago the streets of Leningrad taught me one lesson. If the fight is inevitable, be the first to hit.” – Vladimir Putin
"If the fight is inevitable, be the first to hit.” Boy is that the truth. I was bullied in 6th grade; this fuckhead wouldn't stop picking on me. Knocked my books out of my hands in front of everyone, a crowd laughed, he turned to accept the applause, I lost it and kidney punched him REAL HARD...he hit the deck and started crying...didn't fuck with me after that.
~~~~~~~
Thinking about it, I could have killed him...my dad said "good job!'...the school didn't do anything...I'll bet today the cops would have been called, tased my ass, and I'd have been brought up on attempted murder...ruining my fucking life because some asshole that enjoyed picking on people was put in his place.
in the 4th grade i had a bully that made me miserable. after school on the walk home we got into a fight. he was huge and overweight and i wasn't very big. but i got him in a piggyback and then did a sit-out and he laid there on the ground like a grounded fish. i could have done anything i wanted to him, but i just told him to find somebody else to pick on.
he actually never picked on anyone else, and remains an old friend to this day
No idea what happened to that dick that picked on me: rarely saw him after the "incident". I figured he'd kill me the next day...didn't...rarely saw him in Junior High, never came across him in High School. 40 years later, at a park, this guy walks up to me, that I didn't know, and asks me if I'm "my exact name"...I thought, "oh fuck, what'd I do to you"...he remembered me from Junior High...didn't mention the "incident" though.
we had a bully in parochial middle school who finally got his come-uppance from a "fat man dude"on the playground in front of everybody ... but I preferred wit.
One day on the bus, before his beatdown, the bully quickly yelled from the back seat "ALL FAGS LOOK THIS WAY!"
I turned around and said; "Really?" ....even he smiled at that one.
Now that's funny right there...lol!
Yeah,
had a kid bully me for a few days....then one day walking towards class he started to whisper shit in my ear from behind....
I turned around gave him a right to the face....then a good left to the face...and by then i had found my range....a huge big right to the face that knocked him off his feet to the gound.....everyone saw it....and no kids ever bothered me after that.
All these years later I still remember it.
My family moved right before I started 6th grade. I was bullied by the kid who lived down the street from me. He picked a fight when school started and slugged me good. I got back up, hit him and knocked him down and we both were sent to the principal's office. We ultimately became good friends. His younger brother and my younger brother are still best of friends 30 years later.
But I am not proud to say that I also once bullied someone. In 6th grade I did not have many friends due to being the new kid and somewhat shy. My only two real friends were an overweight Mexican kid and a Pakistani kid named Akbar. By the time I was a freshman I lost contact with these two and had assimilated and found a new group of friends. We were riding our bikes home from school one day and happened to come across Akbar walking home by himself. My new friends dared me to beat him up. Peer pressure being what it was, I did. I grabbed him and punched him three or four times with my new friends cheering me on. He didn't fight back at all (can't blame him being outnumbered 6 to 1even though I was the only one hitting him) and I could see he was terrified and couldn't understand why I was doing this to him. I apologized to him the next time I saw him. He politely and graciously accepted my apology but I have never spoken to him since. That forced me to re-evaluate who my friends were. I stopped hanging out with them. I resolved to never bend to peer pressure again after that. I still feel guilty when I think about it. I am even more ashamed that I let myself be pressured to do something that I knew was wrong to be accepted. My attitude totally changed after that.
Marine Corps, barracks having trails of blood down the walkway... Had one new guy in the unit that had been recently released out of the brig and everyone shied away from him, folks were afraid of him. One day, on those very blood-trailed walkways, he stepped in front of me and attempted to intimidate me. I'm not what you say an intimidating force, so I might have looked like an easy target. What this guy didn't figure, didn't understand, is that psychology goes a LONG way- I have what you might call an unusual mindset, key being is that I just don't get intimidated. I suppose that I called the guy's bluff. I do know that that guy later said that he admired me. I tend to think more that some folks just get stuck with some stupid programming and all it takes is adjustment: probably saved the guy another trip to the brig; he seemed like a much better person, not having to feel like he had to run around being macho or with a chip on his shoulder, he could now actually relax and be more in tune with the real world (where one is better off not pretending).
I'll look to back down the situation, but if it's not going to go that way and I have no exit then I'll make the other person find out what their insurance costs are going to be (it won't be a paltry sum), if the person isn't killed: it's like firing a weapon, you really don't pull the trigger with anything other than the belief that you aim to kill.
Erdogan = Ass kisser of US, NATO
Obama = Ass kisser of Israel
ISIS = IS-rael-IS
both are true, how should I vote?
Oh I get it, it's not an either-or...
Vote with your feet. Thrust a boot up each ones ass.
When Putin called Ergodan a backstabber he was right.
Last September the largest mosque in Europe was opened -- in Moscow. It is beautiful and was built to address the needs of a huge Islamic population living in the Moscow area.
Putin was the main speaker, and among the many dignitaries who attended was Ergodan. For Ergodan to attend the opening ceremony of the Cathedral Mosque, and then shoot down a Russian plane must have absolutely infuriated Putin. There was no good reason for it. It was a stupid gamble and Ergodan lost. Notice how his NATO friends stay away from him when they know he has crossed Putin for nothing.
I've see that mosque. it is near the old olympic stadium.
During the opening ceremony Russia's highest Islamic leader sat on one side of Putin and Ergodan sat on the other side.
https://www.rt.com/news/316327-moscow-mosque-largest-europe/
Russia's highest Islamic leader sat on one side of Putin and Ergodan sat on the other side...
As a Christian, I find it somewhat refreshing to see that even in Russia there is something akin to our, (the USA), sentiment of equal protection under the law for religious expression.
Unfortunately, we've morphed the concept to allow for the unchallenged belief that equal protection means equal validity, value and truth.
The only place this erroneous and open stupidity leads to is the eventual acceptance of superior protection and preferential treatment by governmental edict / proclamation to certain chosen expressions thereof.
Personally, the SuperWalmarting of religion does nothing in my mind to prove the truth or value of the wares being peddled inside the edifice. In fact, in their quest to appeal to their fellow man Mega-worship centers have been known to sacrifice man's need to appeal to his Creator.
If God can’t compete in the marketplace of ideas with particular attention to addressing personal guilt, forgiveness, reconciliation and deliverance then it won’t matter how many times Dear Reader’s (s)elected, hope will be nothing but a cruel joke.
Jmf.
In USA, it's Rev Al sits on one side of Barry and Farrakhan on the other.
it's not Adelson & Wolfowitz ?
It's ALL silly.
WTF would a god, would "God," be recruiting?
It's all about being in a CLUB. And the aim of ALL clubs is to INCREASE growth, eventually having EVERYONE in the club. And you bet your ass that if there were only one small group to "convert" and they wouldn't then they'd for sure be subjected to violence: they'd be seems as blocking the "return" or other such "interesting" notions.
Boxed Merlot, Islam has been a part of Russian history for a thousand years, for better or worse. The Islamic world is on Russia's southern border. There have been conflicts and treaties. The issues have been familiar to them all that time but it was handled differently, owing to the solid identity cores of both. The only indigenous Buddhist ethnic group in Europe live in Russia, harking back to the days of the Mongols. The Russians are old hands at this.
Russia is open to its traditional religions--Islam being one--because they know the social disruption that is caused when cults take hold and spread. By contrast, our part of the world is hostile to religion, only see for yourself how merchants, politicians, the media, teachers, etc., fear for their jobs if they say "Merry Christmas" on the company clock. No one has that fear in Russia.
Russia was a practicing Christian Orthodox Empire when the Western fed central banker parasites destroyed it and killed millions of its believers, including many Islamic groups, then imposed and managed the alien Soviet system. Yes Virginia, there was a system of hidden hands that managed the Soviets all along. What you are seeing now is simply a reconstitution of pre-Bolshevik natural social growth in a different way to meet modern needs.
In response to this provocation, kisser Erdogan will simply use an ass-symmetric response, by attacking in Iraq, and then daring Putin to fight there.
Putin has a nice cheek weld.
Yeah except that stock is visibly too short for him; his neck position is unnatural, your head should simply fall forward onto the stock and be in the correct position. AK's are difficult to get comfortable on if you have long arms.
The stock was designed "short" for an average height conscript, bundled in warm clothes and deployed in a Russian snowbank.
yeah he needs a mcmillan stock on it.
He still looks like he has fired one in anger before though...unlike say Obama or nearly every other western leader who I doubt have every fired a weapon in their lives, in anger or otherwise.
One does not simply fire in anger <a href="https://imgflip.com/i/vy7cu"><img src="https://i.imgflip.com/vy7cu.jpg" title="made at imgflip.com"/></a>
ah fuck. :(
i hate shit technology
Does it hook up to a printer?
I recall Oblamo handling a shit gum years ago; I believe a comparison would be both instructive, and hilarious.
This old meme.
Yes it was the first time in the history of shotgunning that a Browning went Pew Pew.
The stock is cut down to fit a child. Putin is smaller than most American middle schoolers and the stock is obviously too short even for him.
He could break your neck, or mine, like a chicken bone.
The AK's are designed for smaller people from 3rd world countries. The weapon of choice for countless revolutionaries, mercenaries, freedom fighters, guerrillas, or whatever brand you want to put on insurgents of all stripes. Cheap, relatively simple, highly reliable and efficient.
$50 on Putin? Dude, is that all you got?
A match between Obama and Putin and I'm betting the ENTIRE FUCKEN FARM on Putin!
What idiot would take the other side of that bet? You'd probably have to bet $10,000,000 on Putin just to win a $1.00
Yeah, but Obama might pull his hair and scratch his face once or twice. . . Before he calls in his Wookie backup. As everyone knows, "it's not wise to upset a Wookie." Cuz a wookie will pull arms out of sockets when they lose.
Not so fast FB, maybe you haven't seen the video of Obam wielding those 5 lb. dumbells, scary shit.
Oboma could win with a surprise blow.
Careful, he might break out the pink girls' bike.
Disappointing photo by the way. Putin should have his shirt unbuttoned, pants on but unzipped and that blonde bent over in front of him wearing nothing but thigh-highs and ear muffs while he nails the shit out her with fire blazing out the end of that weapon!
Fuck Yeah!
!!!!!!
Imagine Obama's face when his "advisors" hand him that picture; inferiority complex hits real hard!
A match between Obama and Putin and I'm betting the ENTIRE FUCKEN FARM on Putin!
I'm not much of a fight fan, but I would SO pay to see that ... OMG. Except for the first few girly pawings of the Halfrican it would be more of a grudge beating than a "fight" .... and I'm totally OK with that....
I've got Cdn$100.oo that says Putin punches Erdogan in the face the next time they meet. :D
Got $50,000 on Putin.
This is like two kids in elementary school daring one another to do stupid shit. Both are too scared to back down. Erdogan was just dared to lick a flag pole in -5° weather.
Its just a matter of time now.
"How well does the S-400 work against the 3rd Gen F-16?"
I bet the world will soon find out.
and that's why you see the German kid smack in the middle of the two snowball's trajectories, and the French kid at the Russian's elbow
oh, I forgot, nobody is supposed to see those two kids. focus on the bragging ones, that's where the "action" is
I was doing some capital markets work yesterday for a client, and was having to look over the Green Paper concerning the CMU & the proposed Prospectus Directive amendments, I then thought for a moment "Perhaps Ghordo has been right all along ...."
Then I read a few lines further down and realized Switzerland is better capitalized than the EMZ is due to the inherent efficiency within the Franc Union.
Then I realized again I am right, as a NEURO would be way better capitalized than the current Euro is if we could eject the Latin countries.
a neuro would be a chess piece like a king. the eur is more like a queen. think like Putin, what are the inherent qualities and issues of those two pieces?
besides what I am quipping your "Latin-Phobia", Germany needs partners. trusted and trustworthy long-term partners. this excludes Poland for Polish reasons and excludes the UK for British reasons
and it excludes Russia for Russian reasons. that does not mean that cooperation isn't possible, on the contrary. modern Germany is all about cooperating with willing partners
so Germany went for the two that are more intimate family members, and that's France and Italy (add the three small ones, and that's the original six-pack)
of course Switzerland is "everything better" then the eurozone... except for size. it is, after all, the template for many things. and yet, even then, the SNB was heavily dependent on the ECB and even the FED just to keep the Swiss Franc at bay. without the eur, it would have had a very hard time to keep price stability, and it still has
but size matters. China and the US are there, and push at their weight level. you can't reinvent a europe to fit your wishes, and your wishes are somewhat foreign, to boot
Would not Austria and the Scandinavian countries
be the immediate family?
I think your anaology is a little off.
The EUR is the King piece. Its the powerful due to its reputation, and the other peices are desperate to protect it, but at the end of the game its a fairly weak & toothless.
A NEURO and a SEURO would be like a queen & a rook, respectivly.
Absent the King there isn't a need to sacrifce themselves to save another piece on the board, and are much stronger than pawns.
I always thought the king was a worthless chess piece. Couldn't do shit himself and had to rely on his posse. When he was cornered, he was a fucking surrender monkey.
a queen is expendable, and can do things and go where a king can't. meanwhile, the king is the focus of the whole game, the most important one bar none
you still have fantasies of a strong and inflexible currency being able to survive a currency war. perhaps you deny that there is one going on?
but even more important: all in all, you still have foreign fantasies of "cultural darwinism" clouding your judgement
imagine for a moment you and me standing on the ancient Limes, on our back the Roman Empire and in front of us the territories inhabited by the Germanic tribes
behind us, the Latin culture that simply has and does everything. in front of us, the poor, brutish and completely uncultured Germanic tribes
according to your logic, you would have to say that behind us are the winners and in front of us are the complete losers. "oh, and look at those pathetic Gothic refugees"
again, could you please explain to an old european where your strange "Latin-Phobia" comes? it's terribly un-German, you know? proper Germans are fans of Latin european cultures
I'm still trying to figure out why you think the Brits, Poles and Russians are still pissed at the Germans, but the French & Italians aren't.
I think, while my cultural darwinism might be a factor in my thought processes, I think you dismiss the idea of "compatible cultures" completely, in favor of ... well;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jiaU0xbOKs
oh, my. I think here is the problem: you think in the completely wrong categories. pissed at the Germans? that's as bad as the "they all hate each other"
and that "it's a small world" is still an American cultural import. it's Disney, for criminy
It's nice to see the Russian MIC has been busy these last few decades. Think that powerful financial/political influence might be driving Putin forward just a bit?
It would be foolish to think the MIC influences American foreign policy and not Russia foreign policy.
even more foolish would be to think that the Russian oil and natgas biz would not influence even more Russian foreign policy, given their weight in the Russian economy and state
and just recently a Texan federal lawmaker made a kind of declaration of war in the matters of oil price that frankly was a bit... disturbing for me. (got to find the link in ZH)
Aren't the military industries in Russia state-owned? I doubt state-owned industries would be dictating state policy.
Russia doesn't have much time left to cut the US to its size. If the US ever develops capability to neutralise a nuclear threat from Russia, it will be game over for Russia. Russia will be openly flaunted and humiliated should that ever happen. Russia can't risk it nor can Russia try to keep spending on armaments research to continue to keep the US vulnerable to a Russian attack.
Russia needs to prove that she is a reliable ally capable of protecting her allies even against open aggression from the West. Once that is done in Syria, the BRICS bank will be ready to launch its currency which will destroy the US financially once all major exporters including the oil exporters of the Middle East switch to that for their export trade. Even the US puppet regimes in the Middle East will dump the US$ like hot potatoes once it starts dropping in value and they know Russia will come to their rescue should the US attempt to flex its muscles. Once the US is destroyed financially it won't have the resources to keep building systems to neutralise threats that exist only in their imagination.
You think Putin is scared ?
Judging by that smirk on yesterdays caption contest I get the impression he's enjoying
mindfucking NATO at every turn.
He's making NATO look like little boys playing at soldiers.
Nice toys, but no balls against a real opponent.
I suspect you might be correct. But a cornered animal will strike back. Political negotiation is all about allowing your opponent the ability to back out gracefully. War is negotiation without that concern.
The US/NATO were warned, and more than once, what would happen. I pointed out in a post a day or two back that Turkey had been be told to leave, they have decided to play chicken,,a really bad game to play on both their part and NATO.
Notice that the UK has been rather quite the last week ;)
I have noticed the silence from the UK. I find that strange since global financial power still is situated in London to a great extent. Is Londan backing away from the US like it is the Euro?
I have been told they received the same personal message as was given to Turkey and NATO. Do no harm to Syrians or Russian Federation. UK also needs to fly in and out across a RF battery
Global political chess is so much more interesting than tiddlywinks.
If things flare up, which way, if any, will China lean? I would think with Putin or will they attempt to stay out of it at all costs?
You are falling for the good cop/bad cop routine.
None of this would be happening without China's full aprobation.
I would not want to be a Turkish grunt in Iraq when IRAQ forcibly kicks them out with Russian arms and "advisors".
What’s NATO going to do, attack Iraq?
Erdogan will lose his game of pigeon chess because both the Russians and Iraq could go for some nice, roast squab.
"Is Londan backing away from the US like it is the Euro?" I am not sure what you mean, by that
So far he has always left a gracefull exit open.
It won't matter in the end though.
The neocons will never let their dreams of Pax Americana go quietly
into that long goodnight.
CD I suspect a sea change is afoot starting yesterday. Kerry kissed Putin's ring and said Assad can stay in Damascas. Biden called in his ergodan dog and Putin just dropped off 100 tanks in Iraq. The just announced saudi/sunni alliance to crush daesh crumbled faster than it was announced when Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia read about it first in the news.
And all this happened yesterday, WTF??
http://english.shafaaq.com/politics/17039-100-russian-tanks-arrive-umm-q...
During big news days (for example Fed raising rates) I always try to discover what is not being widely reported. Often what is not being said is far more important than what is being said.
A respite I think and not a serious de-escalation. For the Saud's this is a matter of life and death of the kingdom. Iran in on the march, expanding inton Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Iran believes the apocalapyse is upon us and they can speed it's arrival by bringing war to the ME. Iran wants the kingdom and not for oil, it's control of a way of thinking for about 1/3 of the earth's population. Iran's government has publicly stated that when the King of Saud died, it was a sign that it was about to get real. They actually list them out, and that list is beginning to get ticked off.
Don't know if there is anyway to stop this mess, they believe they are following god.
Saudis are already dead. They just don't know it yet...
The Kingdom is surely sh8tt8ng itself. Noble uncles quietly talking in dark corners.
CD is surely right of course. Following one of the prior links HT CIRPS "We have made progress in al-Dolab area, in which ISIS has withdrawn from to the villages beyond, after the battles which involved a private American force , and provided a great impetus firearm, and opened hubs around the region enabled them to storm and surprise ISIS fighters."
http://english.shafaaq.com/politics/12492-first-ground-clash-between-isi...
@CD +1000. This is the most important "trueism" that cannot be overstated. I
that need some clarification, if even true.
That de-escalated quickly.
I consider myself an american patriot. But, if I had to chose on a personal level who I would rather follow into combat as a plain soldier it would have to be Putin. Let's vote on this....UP>Putin DOWN>Obama
Putin would lead you into a battle; Obama would lead you into a quagmire.
...or a special bathhouse.
And then he'd tell you "Don't ask but especially don't tell"
Correction:
Putin would physically lead you into a battle; Obama would order you, from a safe distance, into a quagmire.
da, the foxhole vote