We Have A Smart President

The President is finally speaking sense:

“The proposition that the government is always right is manifested either in corruption or benefits to ‘preferred’ companies,” he said.

“My choice is different. The… economy ought to be dominated by private businesses and private investors. The government must protect the choice and property of those who willingly risk their money and reputation.”
…
[He] said that the country must begin to attack the problem immediately to avoid “the point of no return from the (economic) models that are moving the country backwards.”

“Corruption, hostility to investment, excessive government role in the economy and the excessive centralization of power are the taxes on the future that we must and will scrap,” he said.

Of course the "we" who have this smart President is the collective "we" (heh). Because it is the President of Russia.

H/T Dave of Classical Values. Well more than a hat tip actually. I practically stole the whole thing from him. But it was a really good idea. And I had to give it my own twist.

Lies Of Chernobyl

Deputy of the USSR Supreme Soviet Alla Yaroshinskaya featured at 1 hour 17 minutes into the video posted here has an Internet post on some of the things she found out when she got her hands on a secret report of the Chernobyl accident.

Let me start with the editor's description of her post:

In 1990, journalist Alla Yaroshinskaya came across secret documents about the Chernobyl catastrophe that revealed a massive cover-up operation and a calculated policy of disinformation. The state and party leadership had knowingly played down the extent of the contamination and offered a sanitized version to the outside world.

I'm going to excerpt what I consider especially relevant bits of what she wrote. You should read the whole thing.

Despite the changes brought about by Mikhail Gorbachev's vaunted perestroika and glasnost, the catastrophe at Chernobyl remained a classic Soviet cover-up, one that survived the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The number of people radically affected by the explosion was kept secret and the result was far greater mortality and suffering. Only in recent years have researchers and scientists begun to uncover the full truth of Chernobyl.

The West is not immune to the mentality of keeping secrets. There are of course commercial reasons for that. Lawsuits. No point in giving your prospective opponents free discovery.

Under the Soviet system, it was quite natural that neither the government of the Soviet Union nor the local authorities were prepared to take legal responsibility for the ecological, social, and other problems caused by Chernobyl – even though Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika were already in place. However, the scale of the accident and the changes that had taken place in the society by that time made it impossible to conceal the fact of the accident altogether; people in the affected territories repeatedly demanded the introduction of legislation to cover their health problems, ecological damage, and compensation for material losses arising from the accident.

Even the USSR had commercial reason for the coverup.

The Supreme Soviet had this to say.

The accident at the Chernobyl NPP in its consequences is the gravest disaster of the present time, affecting destinies of millions of people residing in a vast territory. The ecological effect of the Chernobyl accident has made the country face the necessity of solving new, exceptionally complex, large-scale problems affecting virtually all spheres of social life, many aspects of science and manufacturing, culture, ethics, and morality.

I don't think the general problems for Japan will be any different.

And what about the investigations done?

...the dosimetric and epidemiological data are insufficient to establish parameters for dose distribution, social-biological effects – eg mortality rates – differentiation of people's sensitivity to radiation, and so on.

So despite what you read in the press including places like Instapundit no one knows the real death toll and medical costs of the Chernobyl accident. It reminds me of the old saw:

Never ask a question you don't want the answer to.

Maybe the real reason dosimiters for people working on the disaster were initially in short supply (despite them being available from other plants) was that the Japanese didn't want the workers or the general population to know how bad they had it.

She gives some early reports on medical problems from the accident and then says this:

So far, the number of sick had been increasing daily, but from 13 May, the number of hospital patients in the reports fell sharply, while the numbers of those discharged began to increase.

- Protocol of 13 May 1986:

Make note that in the course of yesterday, 443 persons have been hospitalized, 908 persons have been discharged from hospitals. 9733 persons including 4200 children are undergoing treatment and medical examination in hospitals. Diagnosis of radiation syndrome has been established in 299 cases including 37 children.

Why did the process of discharging people from hospitals become so rapid after the number of patients had exceeded 10 000? The answer is hidden in the same documents.

- Protocol of 8 May 1986:

[...] The ministry of health care has confirmed the new norms of acceptable radiation levels for members of the public as ten times the previous norms. Increase of these norms to levels 50 times higher than previously is permitted in specific cases [...] By these means the health safety of the public of all ages is guaranteed, even should the current radiation situation last for 25 years.

These norms applied even to children and pregnant women. In one stroke, the 10 000-plus people hospitalized because of exposure to radiation were automatically reclassified as "healthy" and discharged. The official number of people suffering from acute radiation syndrome also fell significantly. It goes without saying that Party bosses increased the acceptable dose in this way simply to hide the numbers affected.

Well isn't that interesting. It reminds me of a report my friend Eric of Classical Values sent me a while back about a secret plan to increase the radiation dose people are allowed to receive. I think the numbers in the report are in error. But the plan to increase the allowable dose may be in fact correct. For obvious reasons. Especially with government so heavily involved in both insuring medical care and insuring the nuclear industry. Not to mention reducing the costs of accident and nuclear waste site cleanup.

Back to Alla's report.

During hearings before the Supreme Soviet in 1990, Academician Ilyin, the director of the Institute of Biophysics, and one of those responsible for concealing the truth about the health situation in the affected areas, admitted under the pressure of deputies' inquiries that:

1.6 million children received radiation doses that are causing us concern; a decision should be taken on further action [...] If the dose limits were lowered to 7 rem[1] per 35 years [of life], we would have to increase the number of 166 000 people currently scheduled for resettlement by a factor of 10. The resettlement of 1.6 million people would have to be considered. Society must balance all the risks and gains of such an action.

It had become a matter of economics: the USSR could not afford to resettle so many people. The truth about the health of the population had to be concealed from the population itself.

Japan may soon have a similar problem. If they stick to pre-accident guidelines. If significant radiation reaches Tokyo it is going to cost a LOT to move that city.

I'm also beginning to think that the stupid idea of the German Greens to shut down all German nuclear power plants may not be so stupid after all.

There is more of the report from Alla Yaroshinskaya but I have gone on at length and I'm getting depressed. So if you care to, go and read the whole depressing thing. And in case you care she explains that the death tolls and mortality rates from official sources are not being reported. Let me add that the report was published in 2006. Long before any news of the Fukushima disaster was available.

In other nuclear disaster news, private groups in Japan are beginning to supply aid to pregnant women and children. The Japanese people are starting to act. Very sluggishly. The government? Not so much.

Women who have just delivered babies are included in the evacuation since the hospital released them early to make way for the people injured in the disaster.

The group made a deal with the city of Yuzawa in Nigata prefecture to provide rooms for the women, children and infants in a nationally famous ski and snowboarding resort. Nestled in the Japanese Alps, it is about 77 minutes by bullet train from Tokyo. The town is closed to tourists until further notice because of a lack of electricity and gas but Waseda Shotenkai’s evacuees will be allowed in.

Other nongovernment groups are working with Waseda Shotenkai and the government has also set up a special division to assist these groups.

Yasui says that besides the radiation levels, the situation in the refugee shelters in the Fukushima, Miyaki and Ibaraki prefectures is severe and getting worse every day, especially for pregnant women and children. More than 161,000 are in shelters, according to the National Police Agency.

There is not enough milk, hot water, diapers and other much-needed daily necessities. Some people are suffering from dehydration, malnutrition and infectious diseases, which are now beginning to spread. There is also stress and fatigue, particularly among mothers.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Friday that the government does not plan to extend the evacuation zone beyond 12.5 miles. He said the government would monitor prolonged unsafe levels of radiation that would pose a health risk.

So they are monitoring the radiation. Well that is a comfort. I wonder if they will be making announcements of what they are monitoring? My guess? Not if they can help it.

Update: 7 April 2011 1703z

Here is a more definitive link to the fight going on inside the EPA about raising allowable radiation exposure limits: Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Welcome Instapundit readers. May I also suggest Well This Is Odd.

Blogging The New Ukraine

The Ukrainian Institute of New Virology blogs about world politics. Russian politics, American politics and Ukrainian politics. It is Not Entirely Safe For Work. But it is a good read. Here is their masthead:

Ukrainian Institute of New Virology (UIONV) is a newly founded institution. The Institute is engaged in the study of pathogenic viruses, struck in recent years Ukraine and the rest of the world, the development methods of prevention and treatment of diseases caused by respective viruses. The research based on a bold hypothesis proposed by Professor Kovbasyanya (on the left you see a photo of this brilliant scientist), who is the founder and scientific head of our Institute, that different viruses are seeing now are simply different modifications of the same virus. In essence, this means that, for example, such diseases as pig flu, Pedophilia, "Left Diplomas", etc. caused by the same virus that we have yet to be fully explored and identified. So far, according to our hypothesis, we know only one of its modifications - A (H1N1). Research is being conducted intensively and in the practical field, perhaps we will soon gather in the manufacture of vaccines, it will depend on the funding of our research.

I enjoyed my visit there (yeah that NESFW thing) and plan to visit more often. It would be hard to visit less often as I have only been there once. So far.

Only 60%

My #2 son, who is an avid student of the Russian scene, was discussing the situation in Russia these days with one of my relatives. The relative said to him that Russia was run by a Mafia. He replied that it used to be 100% that way but that now it is only 60% mafia run.

The US Navy Worries About Global Warming

The US Navy worries that reduced ice in the arctic will increase its responsibilities for maritime patrols in that area.

Climate change and reduced sea ice cover may result in opening up the Arctic to vastly increased resource development and commercial traffic. These trends will inevitably spark international conflicts and create a need for more military forces to provide security and protect interests in the Arctic region. This is bad news for the U.S. Navy, already hard-pressed by shrinking fleets and rising challenges elsewhere.

Rear Adm. David Titley, the U.S. Navy's top oceanographer, was recently in Barrow, Alaska supervising a global warming research expedition. According to Titley, changes in Arctic sea ice cover will require a new assessment of the Navy's maritime strategy. Such an assessment will likely recommend changes to military infrastructure in the Arctic, military force structure deployed to the Arctic, and new capabilities to respond to a changing Arctic climate.

Resource development in the Arctic will certainly be a problem. Especially if there are conflicts between Russia and the USA or Russia and Canada. However the worries about the Russians may be overblown because the Russian Fleet is in serious decline. And fears of loss of Arctic Sea ice may also be overblown. Because the extent of Arctic Sea Ice appears to be rebounding unusually early compared to 2007 and 2008. Of course that is weather and not climate. But the Climate experts at the IPCC expect a cooling trend until at least 2020. So the Navy may have a bit of time to get its act together.

Sinking The Russian Fleet

The Russian Fleet is in dire straits. In ten years it may no longer (for practical purposes) exist.

The NVO report does not pull any punches: "The Russian Navy is on the verge of irreversible collapse. Within ten years there will be in the entire navy less than 50 vessels still capable of operations, which would be a number not even the size of one of our 'lesser fleets' like the Baltic Fleet or the Black Sea Fleet."

The report rates the navy's situation as the worst in almost a century and concludes "this present catastrophe is comparable to what happened in the course of the [post-1917 Bolshevik Revolution] Civil War years when the fleet was left in ruins. If during the oil and gas boom of the 2000s the Russian Navy received practically no funding, now today during a period of difficult [economic] crisis the fleet will--without a doubt--have to die within the next few years. This is not merely a possibility, it is a fact."

Those warships still left in useable condition have seen their level of operations scaled back in order to preserve their service life. This is particularly true in the case of the submarine fleet, which has seen its Cold War high tempo of patrols drop off to almost nothing. Last November's joint naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy off the coast of South America amounted to a little more than symbolic participation by only four Russian vessels that made the trans-Atlantic crossing.

The end of the Russian Navy will mean their further decline as a super power. There is nothing like 70 years of socialist/communist mismanagement to run a country with abundant physical and human capital into the ground.

And going in the opposite direction is the US Navy. If the US Navy's investment in Polywell Fusion pays off it will mean much lower operational costs for the US Fleet (much lower oil consumption). Such an advance will leave the rest of the competing navies of the world in the dust. We Will Know In Two Years. I'm optimistic.

The American Thinker has a good article up on the Polywell Fusion Reactor with the basics.

Why hasn't Polywell Fusion been fully funded by the Obama administration?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Shake YOUR Hand?

Obama in Russia. Evidently the guy don't get no respect.

H/T Backyard Conservative

America's First Non-American President

Barry Rubin tells on Facebook

Why Obama Doesn't Understand Putin; Why Putin Doesn't Like Obama

Mr Rubin then says at this link:

If one looks deeper into Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s annoyance at U.S. President Barack Obama it reveals a lot more than just the differences between the leadership in Moscow and Washington.

Putin is a traditional leader, which means he believes in making his country strong, never apologizing, using power in international relations, and having ambitions to gain influence in other countries. Indeed, he’s also somewhat aggressive seeking to restore the glory of Russia past.

Mr. Rubin goes on to say:

One of those "old" and "outdated" ideas of international relations is to reward your friends and punish your enemies. Obama has reversed that concept in his policy.

To which I replied:

Barry says:

"One of those "old" and "outdated" ideas of international relations is to reward your friends and punish your enemies."

And yet Obama understands that very well when it comes to American politics. So the question is: why does he think things work differently in international relations? Unless he is committed to reducing American power.

Barry R. then came back with:

Barry Rubin on Facebook said he agrees with me but he is being jerk and asking me to remove his words posted at Facebook. So they are gone.

Thank you Barry Rubin. And thank you for being what you are.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

US Flotilla Transits Turkey Arrives In Georgia

I'm going to go into some detail on the ships which is interesting in and of itself. However, the most interesting part to me is that the warships had to transit Turkey to arrive in the Black Sea. That I believe is the most critical development in the region of Georgia. Turkey is supporting Georgian independence from Moscow. By treaty they are supposed to allow small warships to transit the Straights of Bosporus. However, they made no diplomatic representation such as "We deplore the build up of Naval power in the region". I must say that it is a most welcome yet unexpected development. It also means that flights from Turkey to Georgia are also assured. Further it means that the Ukraine can be defended from Russian moves.

Here are the ships involved according to The US Navy.

BATUMI, Republic of Georgia (NNS) -- USS McFaul (DDG 74) pulled into the port of Batumi, Georgia, Aug. 24 to deliver humanitarian relief supplies to the country as part of the larger United States response to the government of Georgia request for humanitarian assistance.

There will be a total of five ships including the USS Mount Whitney and USCGC Dallas.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dallas (WHEC 716) and USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20) have also on-loaded humanitarian supplies destined for Georgia. Dallas left Souda Bay, Crete on Thursday with more than 76,000 pounds of relief supplies and will arrive in Georgia within a week. U.S. Navy C-9, C-40 and C-130 aircraft have flown tens of thousands of hygiene kits into the country over the past week.

The USS Mount Whitney is a rather interesting ship. Here is a description given by the US Navy:

MOUNT WHITNEY (MTW) serves as the Command Ship for Commander, SIXTH Fleet/ Commander, Joint Command Lisbon/Commander, Striking Force NATO and has a complement of 150 enlisted personnel, 12 officers and 150 Civilian Mariners from Military Sealift Command. MTW was the first U.S. Navy combatant to permanently accommodate women on board.

MTW carries enough food to feed the crew for 90 days and can transport supplies to support an emergency evacuation of 3,000 people. The ship makes 100,000 gallons of fresh water daily and carries over one million gallons of fuel, enough for a round trip, 16 knot, 35 day voyage from Norfolk, Virginia to Mozambique in the Indian Ocean. The ship's two anchors weigh 11 tons each and are attached to 180 fathoms (or 1,080 feet) of anchor chain. Each chain weighs almost 25 tons. Total electrical capacity is 7,500 kilowatts, a sufficient amount to power a small city.

The ship's afloat communications capability is second to none. MTW can receive, process and transmit large amounts of secure data from any point on earth through HF, UHF, VHF, SHF, and EHF communications paths. This technology enables the Joint Intelligence Center and Joint Operations Center to gather and fuse critical information while on the move. As the most sophisticated Command, Control, Communications, Computer, and Intelligence (C4I) ship ever commissioned, MTW incorporates various elements of the most advanced C4I equipment and gives the embarked Joint Task Force Commander the capability to effectively command widely dispersed air, ground and maritime units in an integrated fashion.

If it was refueled before entering the Black Sea it could support operations independent of land based supplies for quite some time.

Note that with the length of anchor chain supplied it could anchor in 250 to 350 feet of water. i.e. it doesn't need to be in a harbor to anchor.

So what kind of ship is it? In simple terms it is a floating command post. What does it represent in strategic terms? A challenge to Russian supremacy in the Black sea.

Want to hear a Russian General whine about the American forces being moved into the Black sea? I knew you did.

The deputy chief of Russia's general staff suggested that the arrival of the ship and those of other NATO members would increase tensions in the Black Sea. Russia shares the sea with NATO members Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria as well as Georgia and Ukraine, whose pro-Western president also is leading a drive for NATO membership.

"I don't think such a buildup will foster the stabilization of the atmosphere in the region," Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn as saying Saturday.

If by "stability" he means Russian Control I think he is totally correct. However, had Russia wanted stability I don't think they should have gone around whacking their neighbors.

What would the Russian objective have been? Control of the pipeline passing through Georgia. They didn't get it. That means they spent a fair amount of military resources and are not going to get any long term profit from it. In fact they will have the cost of maintaining their troops in a hostile territory. The odds are they will be pulling out as soon as they can do so without losing much face.

How do the Georgians feel about the arrival of the American Navy?

At dockside in Batumi, with the McFaul anchored offshore, U.S. Navy officials in crisp white uniforms were met Sunday by Georgian officials, including Defense Minister David Kezerashvili.

Speaking to The Associated Press on the aft missile deck of the McFaul, anchored a mile offshore, Kezerashvili said Georgians would feel safer now.

“They will feel safe not because the destroyer is here but because they will feel they are not alone facing the Russian aggression,” he said.

And how about the US Congress? Do they get it? Indeed they do. At least a little bit.

In another sign of U.S. support for Georgia, Republican Senator for Indiana Richard Lugar met with the nation's leaders in Tbilisi. He urged European leaders to cut their dependence on Russian energy imports.

``It is imperative that the EU minimize energy dependency upon Russian gas and oil resources, even at this point, it is important for the United States to maintain a dialogue on the energy resources,'' he said.

Indeed it is a necessity. So where will the supplies come from to support Europe down the road? It seems to me that it is critical for the US to start exploiting its vast untapped oil reserves. Drilling, mining and refining US oil is way more profitable than fighting wars over it. Besides, better the Euros spend their money with us than with the Russians or Iranians. Oil at $70 a bbl. will lead to a much more peaceful world than oil at $140 a bbl. Now all we have to do is get the Democrats on board or replace them.

In the long run we will have to get off oil. In the mean time there is no point in fighting wars over it.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

They Are Burning The Houses

Michael Totten reports from Georgia

On Monday, I visited one of the schools transformed into refugee housing in the center of Tbilisi and spoke to four women—Lia, Nana, Diana, and Maya—who had fled with their children from a cluster of small villages just outside the city of Gori. “We left the cattle,” Lia said. “We left the house. We left everything and came on foot because to stay there was impossible.” Diana’s account: “They are burning the houses. From most of the houses they are taking everything. They are stealing everything, even such things as toothbrushes and toilets. They are taking the toilets. Imagine. They are taking broken refrigerators.” And Nana: “We are so heartbroken. I don’t know what to say or even think. Our whole lives we were working to save something, and one day we lost everything. Now I have to start everything from the very beginning.”

Imagine how desperate the Russians and Cossacks must be to steal the toothbrushes and toilets and what low lifes they are.

Michael has more. Read It All.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

No Deal

The deal brokered in Lebanon to end Muslim on Muslim violence is off. Maybe way off.

Several Sunni factions in Lebanon announced Tuesday night that they are freezing a truce they had signed with Hizbullah a day earlier.

The agreement, intended to defuse sectarian tension, prohibited any Muslim group from attacking fellow Muslims.

"The agreement will be temporarily frozen pending appropriate circumstances that allow for its implementation," Sheikh Hassan al-Shahhal, who signed the memorandum with a Hizbullah official, told reporters Tuesday, according to The Lebanese Daily Star. The Sunni community, he said, needed to stand "more than ever" united and to shun divisions, while the memorandum needed further study.

Hizbullah officials said Wednesday that they respect the groups' choice of freezing the memorandum of understanding for more discussions and revisions.

Hmmm. Something has happened to weaken the Hizballah position in Lebanon. Meekness has never been one of their virtues. Normally a change like this would be accompanied by threats and bombast.

It appears the correlation of forces in the world is changing. Something has shaken Iran. Could it be economic troubles?

Tehran, 13 August: The punch line of economic models for single- product countries is that they can considerably quicken the process of non-reliance on mono-product policies.

Fundamentally, Iran's economy relies on oil revenues. The extent of this dependence is so much that some experts believe that Iran's oil should be named 'black disaster'.

Since the discovery of oil in Masjed Soleyman, the dependence of Iran's economy on oil sales has not decreased. On the contrary, it has increased on a daily basis and this process has gathered pace and accelerated. Based on this, when a national government with great ideals came to power, one its main mottos and strategies was the formation of an oil-free economy. Unfortunately this policy never materialized and compared to 50 years ago, the Iranian economy's dependence on oil has increased. However, oil prices and its fluctuation are also very dangerous and worrisome.

During recent days, oil price dropped from 140 to 113 dollars in less than a week. This drop happened while three important events which traditionally were considered reasons behind the increase of oil prices occurred in the world. These events included the Beijing Olympic Games, the start of the summer season and an increase in global oil consumption, and most important of all the regional war between Georgia and Russia in the Caucasus.

The Russian economy is also highly dependent on oil these days. Might this explain their move into Georgia? Perhaps the move was not about South Ossetia at all. Perhaps it was really an attempt to keep oil and natural gas from flowing through Georgia in an attempt to prop up world oil prices.

Perhaps the Russians and Iranians are anticipating further drops in oil prices over the coming year. Especially since the Russian grab for the Georgian oil pipeline has failed. Maybe not totally, but essentially.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the interests of the newly emerging states of the Caucasus and countries such as Ukraine and Belarus have repeatedly and fiercely clashed with those of Russia. In particular, they have competed with each other over energy resources and the transmission corridors of the former Soviet Union.

Russian interruptions of gas supplies to Ukraine, Belarus and the rest of Eastern Europe are legion - and so are the restrictions they have imposed on the transmission of Kazakh oil to the international market across their territory. If Russia controls the flow of energy, it also has dangerous sway over the economies of Western Europe.

The EU had been trying to wean itself off energy dependence on Moscow by developing a network of energy routes through Georgia. It's no wonder that the Russians turned their attention in that direction.

If the Iranians are expecting further drops in the price of oil they may be cutting back on funding for their Hizballah Army in Lebanon. Armies like to be paid. Without pay they dissolve.

Talleyrand is reputed to have said something like: "you can do anything with bayonets, except sit on them". Maybe this is one of those cases where the bayonets must be sent home for lack of maintenance.

If America starts drilling for oil (which is looking more and more likely) it is more than possible we can put an end to a lot of unrest in the world by forcing oil exporters to focus on economics rather than war. And that may explain the changes in the correlation of forces.

Not Just Camping Out

The US military has been training the Georgian Army since 2002. Us troops were scheduled to leave Georgia in March of 2009. It appears the schedule has been changed.

During the Soviet era, Krtsanisi military base outside Tbilisi was home to the Red Army.

Now it is US soldiers who are in charge and, according to the US Ambassador in Tbilisi Richard Miles, they are in Georgia to stay.

In 2002 the Bush administration set up an 18-month, $65m programme aimed at training and equipping Georgia's impoverished army.

The programme was part of America's war on terror and it started after the US confirmed Russian allegations about the presence of Chechen and al-Qaeda fighters in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, on the border with Chechnya.

Details are still to be announced of the new permanent programme, but analysts say that any sort of US military presence is good news for the Georgian Government, which sees the US engagement as a security guarantee against Georgia's northern neighbour - Russia.

So lets see. America will have Patriot Battery troops in Poland and a permanent training base in Georgia. What does a permanent training base mean? Airfields. And what does that portend? Fighter aircraft based in Georgia to protect supply flights. It also means that the Georgian Army can be resupplied with American eqpt. We have a lot of used eqpt in Iraq that can be transfered to Georgia once it gets replaced by new American eqpt. Nothing like second hand eqpt. to teach maintenance.

Some how I don't think this is what the Russians expected when they moved into Georgia. It also means that Russian resupply to Iran is complicated. In case of American "trouble" with Iran.

Last week, the Bush administration also called for Russia to remove its military and said it was even prepared to take up some of the costs needed for the relocation of Russian troops.

Now there is something the gangsters running Russia can understand. Bribery.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Obama Adviser Meets Syrians

In The Ties That Bind I discuss Russian proposals for selling nuclear capable missiles to Syria. And then I learn today that an Obama adviser was recently in Syria at an oil company sponsored conference to discuss what? Dried fruit exports? Maybe. Oil exports? Much more likely.

Barack Obama’s Middle East Policy Adviser recently discussed presidential politics with high-level Syrian officials during a conference underwritten Syrian business interests and a Canadian oil company.

Adviser Daniel Kurtzer told the New York Sun the trip was not related to his campaign work, but that he did discuss the next president’s role in Syria’s relationship with Israel with Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.

"I urged him to move ahead in the Israel-Syria negotiations as much as possible so that whoever is the next president would not start from too far down the track," Kurtzer told the Sun. "I did not say anything about Obama or McCain. I said whoever is the next president is not going to want to inherit a process that isn't going anywhere."

The exchange took place at lawyer’s conference organized by the British Syrian Society in Damascus in early July. Kurtzer was invited because he is on the board member of the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative.

You know I don't think all the details of Obama's advisers discussions in Syria have been fully reported. But that is just me. I tend to be suspicious of Syrian intentions and the intentions of its best friend Iran. And of course who trusts the Russians these days? Iran and Syria that is for sure.

I think we have to get serious in America and turn on the oil spigot to restrict the incomes of folks who mean us ill. Democrats - are you listening?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Ties That Bind

You have to wonder what the Russians are thinking.

Syria’s official news agency SANA announced Mr. Assad would begin a “working visit” to Moscow on Wednesday at the invitation of Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev.

Ahead of the visit, Mr. Assad told Russia’s Kommersant daily on Wednesday that his country’s defence ties with Moscow, in the context of developments in Georgia, would be the main issue during his talks. “Of course, military and technical cooperation is the main issue. Weapons purchases are very important,” he said, adding: “I think we should speed it up. Moreover, the West and Israel continue to put pressure on Russia.”

Mr. Assad said a new situation had arisen after Moscow came across the use of Israeli military equipment by Georgia in its conflict with Russia.

“I think that in Russia and in the world everyone is now aware of Israel’s role and its military consultants in the Georgian crisis. And if before in Russia there were people who thought these forces can be friendly, then now I think no one thinks that way.”

I think he got that right. He just got it backwards. No one in the world now thinks the Russians are nice friendly folk who just want to do business and enjoy life.

Speaking on the conflict between Georgia and Russia over Georgia’s breakaway republic of South Ossetia, Mr. Assad said: “On this issue we fully support Russia. The war, which was unleashed by Georgia, is the culmination of attempts to encircle and isolate Russia.”

Earlier, Iran’s Press TV, quoting Israeli media reports, said Russia planned to position the nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in Syria. The Israeli report also said Russia could also release to Iran, the advanced S-300 missiles, which had so far been withheld.

Analysts point out the release of advanced Russian military equipment to Syria and Iran is likely to dampen the sentiment of war against Tehran in U.S. political circles. Nevertheless, a large flotilla of U.S. British and French naval ships has been heading towards the Persian Gulf. The naval taskforce, believed to be largest in Gulf waters since the first Gulf War, includes the U.S. warships — Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Iwo Jima.

I did a post on that Naval movement Perhaps They Miscalculated. Then yesterday I got this e-mail from Fabius Maximus.

Here is the final nail in the coffin of the rumor featured in your post of August 12. Is a retraction in order? (I apologize if I have overlooked it).

This rumor was widely circulated in the Internet and in the Middle East media, so this is not a trivial issue.

Stop the presses: no naval armada has sailed to blockade Iran!

Summary: For a week rumors about a US armada sailing to the Gulf circulated around the Internet and in Middle Eastern media, despite having almost no supporting evidence. One of the two major sources for the “US fleet sailing to blockade Iran” story now has admitted his error. No word yet from the other (and more high-profile) source, Debkafile (does Debkafile post retractions?) or the blogs which promoted the rumors.

He goes on about the misinformation that the inet is promoting on at Fabius Maximus. Which is more or less a reproduction of the e-mail.

Now what do I think? The Theodore Roosevelt was in port at the time I wrote my report according to sources I have found of late: i.e. comments at blogs. However, that does not in my opinion invalidate the general idea of an Iranian blockade in the works. I'd like to wait a week or three and see what happens. He may be right about no blockade. However, it seems if Iran and Syria are getting nuclear capable missiles that could lead to pre-emptive attacks by Israel and precipitate a blockade of Iran by the USA.

It is really hard to see where this is all going. I thought it was 1936 (re:Germany France and the Rhineland) it may be much later than that - 1939 (re: Germany and Russia dismembering Poland). If so we may have a very big war on our hands. All this could have been prevented if the USA was supplying more oil to the world markets limiting the profits of our enemies Russia and Iran, not to mention our "best friend" Saudi Arabia.

Who do I blame for this situation? The Democrats who have declared new American oil sources off limits. Had they allowed drilling and mining of new oil resources it might have defused this run up to a what appears to be a very serious oil war. Evidently they have decided that Blood For Oil is better than drilling for oil. Scum of the earth. And if a single Democrat who is against American contributions to the world oil market is left in the House after November it will just prove we deserve a world wide oil war.

You can watch a video that gives Harry Reid's opinion of drilling for oil and the response of an ordinary citizen at Harry Reid Makes Me Sick. An eye opener.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Revoke The Games

In response to my post Let the Games End, commenter Karl notifies me that a petition to revoke the Winter Olympic Games in Russia in 2014 has been started.

If you want a badge for your site this is the place to go.

It is the least we can do.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Let The Games End

There is talk of denying the Russians the Winter Olympic games in 2014.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz and Republican Bill Shuster , the co-chairs of the House Georgia Caucus, announced they intend to introduce a resolution when Congress returns calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to find a new venue for the winter games.

The resolution states that the Russia’s invasion of the Georgian republic makes it an unacceptable host site and notes that Sochi is located about 20 miles from the current conflict zone.

“Russia must realize that its actions in Georgia will not be ignored by the international community. We stand by Georgia, our friend and ally, and call on the IOC to designate a new venue for the Russian Olympics,” Schwartz said in a statement.

You have to admit that having the Olympics 20 miles from a potential war zone is going to reduce the crowds. Perhaps the Russians could increase the interest by insisting on some new sports. Sports where the Russians are sure to be winners.

If a war starts up in the middle (or at the beginning) of the Olympics, that could be especially handy for purposes of finding victims (er, contestants) for the new sports. Perhaps we could start with an Olympic roping and throat slitting contest. Or maybe a pillage and intimidation race. And for the really adventurous a rape sprint and a rape marathon. You give the woman a head start and if the male catches her it is totally free style. No killing though. That should be reserved for the throat slitting contest.

I think this one case where it is past time for the games to end.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Space Without The Russians

For about five years America is going to depend on the Russians for access to the Space Station. Suppose because of happenings in Georgia the Russians decline to do their part?

“The new challenge we have is that for approximately five years, the plan — which is a very bad plan but is the only plan that NASA and the administration and Congress have approved — is to be dependent on the Russian Soyuz vehicle to get people to and from the international space station,” said Tom Feeney, (R-FL). “And so now, with the political realities with Russia invading Georgia, we have a new wrinkle thrown in.”

Tom Feeney is right. It is a very bad plan. So what can be done?

Full speed ahead with private efforts to get into space in the same way the US Government sponsored air mail contracts to get the fledgling aircraft industry off the ground.

How about a competition to get private industry to supply the space station?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Green Speculation

Commenter RAH at the Belmont Club (5:26 pm) speculates on how the Green Movement and CO2 hysteria have played into the hands of the Russians.

Russian President Medeyev was Gazprom President. In his new position he is buying contracts from other countries. Venezuela sells oil to Russia; Libya just signed a contract with Medeyev and Gazprom. I believe that they got the contracts from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Saudi Arabia provides oil to the US as well as Kuwait and they are our client countries.

They have been trying to secure outside sources for oil and gas. They recently this spring went to the artic to lay claim to the sources that may be there. Both Sweden and Finland are contesting those areas. Canada also has interest in the artic. The sea ice in the artic actually has changed and the melt has been prominent in the Russian area. The Canadian ice has been getting thicker. The Russia took advantage of the open sea to explore and lay claim. Russia has been the primary interest in the PARS field in Iran that the French company just pulled out.

So Gazprom has known about the need to get more sources since this is Medeyev’s obsession. The clash for oil sources will be the 21st century issue for some time to come. The fools who decry no oil for blood are clueless about how seriously nations will get to secure their energy. Energy is really the life and blood of a nations economy.

After the Soviet fall the Communist and Marxists groups and agitators went into the Green Movement. The Green Movement and the global warming scare have been targeted at Europe. Now it is curious that Russia has been from the 1990’s trying to become Europe’s energy supplier as the Green movement has insisted that power generation be only from natural gas and not coal that Germany has in abundance. Also they forced Germany under Schroeder to phase out the nuclear power generators. Later Schroeder went and worked for Medeyev’s Gazprom.

There is a true collusion from the promoters of Global Warming and the Green Movement that has been strangling Europe to work against its own national interests.
The vociferous attack against those that speak out about global warming as a product of human produced CO2 has been very strong and picked up by the liberal left and almost accepted doctrine in the West. Now we are just starting to show the cracks in that movement and science with bad methodology and sensors and cook algorithms.
Now what would be a good idea is to look at the funding of these groups and see if they have been funded or a disinformation campaign by Russia. The timing is right and the interests do coincide.

Russia never stopped working against the US and since we are their competitor on the world stage it is not surprising. Russia has fomented terrorism in Libya from the 1970’s and then in Syria and Iraq and Iran. They are also working in South America with Venezuela and Bolivia. So Russia has never stopped the Cold War it just went in different direction and form

Speculation of course. But it rings true. The parts fit. So who is funding AL Gore? And isn't it time McCain dropped his carbon tax ideas?

In any case it also fits with the idea of the Uber Enviros being like Watermelons: Green on the outside Red on the inside. They should be ashamed of themselves. Starting resource wars and all especially in the midst of plenty (at current prices).

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Russians In Georgia Demobilize

It seems Russian forces in Georgia have gone static.

IGOETI, Georgia -- Russian forces built ramparts of earth around tanks and posted sentries on a hill in central Georgia on Saturday, seemingly digging in amid Western pressure for Moscow to withdraw its forces under a cease-fire deal signed by Russia's president.

The #1 advantage of mobile forces is that they are mobile. Digging in is not a sign of strength. It is a sign of weakness. My guess is that fuel deliveries are not enough to keep the Russian forces moving. Demobilizing makes forces brittle. Just ask the Germans who used that tactic in WW2. Or Saddam in 1991.

Near Igoeti, a Georgian journalist photographed a Russian armored personnel carrier that had broken down and was set afire by its occupants, who preferred to destroy it rather than let it fall into the hands of the Georgians.

That is interesting. American mobile forces have repair facilities they carry with them they also have carriers they can load vehicles on to carry them back to repair units that have more capability than mobile repair units.

In addition there are rumors the Russians have withdrawn their jets from the battle space. That is something you don't do in mobile warfare. It means death. Just ask Rommel.

George Patton had a few things to say about mobile warfare:

"I don't want to get any messages saying, "I am holding my position." We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy.

An American hospital ship is due into the area in about three weeks. I would think the counter attack would begin around then.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Some One Just Got A Pole Up Their Posterior

The Polish President is not a happy camper. He has issues with Germany and France.

WARSAW, Poland: Poland's president criticized the way France and Germany have handled the crisis between Russia and Georgia, accusing them Saturday of being too soft on Moscow due to their commercial ties with Russia.

Lech Kaczynski also said that European Union policy was being decided by the two EU giants without taking into consideration the views of new EU members such as Poland that once fell under Moscow's control during the Cold War.

"Once again, it turns out that the real decisions in this organization are being made between Berlin and Paris," Kaczynski said in an interview published by the daily Rzeczpospolita and also posted on his official Web site.

"Saying that the Union will have a common policy toward Russia is laughable," Kaczynski said.

He said that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were setting EU policy toward Russia, even though it is the easternmost members that have the most at stake.

By commercial ties he means Europe's dependence on Russian gas and oil.

Who stands with the Poles and Ukrainians and Georgians? The Americans. The Europeans are taking the same attitude towards Russia re: Georgia as they did towards Germany in the Rhineland incident in 1936. Or Poland in 1939. It is not our problem. And if it is a problem who cares about the Georgians and besides there is nothing we can do (so true) or will do (truer still).

If France and Germany want to be de facto Russian allies I say it is time to dissolve NATO. If they want some one to come to their aid in case of war perhaps they could enlist Russian help. Or perhaps China would be interested. Or their buddies in the Islamic world. Axis of weasels indeed.

Cross Posted at Classical Values