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POPSObama Skips Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall, Sends a Video.....About Himself Did He Not Show Up Because It Wasn’t All About Him? Left-wing German paper Der Spiegel seems to have gotten that impression: Der Spiegel summed up as “People of the World, Look at Me”. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,567932,00.html Even worse- Obama spoke about himself to the crowd: “Few would have seen on that day that… that their American ally would be led by a man of African descent.” And, of course, he did not mention Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher in his speech.
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POPSRussia Reconsiders "There's no question that Stalin is undergoing a sort of renaissance in Russia. Despite the many millions killed or sent to labor camps during his reign, many now view his rule with a sort of hazy nostalgia. "The cynical position of the Stalinphobes is that only innocent people were kept in the gulag," he said. "Criminals who violated the law were kept in the gulag. And let the Western reader ask himself, should criminals be kept in spas or resort hotels?" Meanwhile, Stalin's image and name, systematically bleached out as the waning Soviet empire began to grapple with its bloody past, are creeping back into Russian life. His name was restored this fall to a Moscow metro station. His unmistakable mustached face beams from the wall of Soviet Meatpies, a kitschy diner downtown."
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POPS Debacle in Moscow by Charles Krauthammer
And what's come from Obama's single most dramatic foreign policy stroke -- the sudden abrogation of missile defense arrangements with Poland and the Czech Republic that Russia had virulently opposed? For the East Europeans it was a crushing blow, a gratuitous restoration of Russian influence over a region that thought it had regained independence under American protection. But maybe not gratuitous. Some brilliant secret trade-off to get strong Russian support for stopping Iran from going nuclear before it's too late? Just wait and see, said administration officials, who then gleefully played up an oblique statement by President Dmitry Medvedev a week later as vindication of the missile defense betrayal. The Russian statement was so equivocal that such a claim seemed a ridiculous stretch at the time. Well, Clinton went to Moscow this week to nail down the deal. What did she get? "Russia Not Budging On Iran Sanctions: Clinton Unable to Sway Counterpart."
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POPSThe Kremlin’s Eeeevil New Plan to Rein in Bloggers “There should be international rules drawn up through collective effort, and the worldwide web should continue to develop as it has done so far " as a common environment. Only this way can we counter terrorism, xenophobia, and other unlawful activity on the Web.”
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POPSObama’s French Lesson newest provocation did not warrant the imposition of tougher sanctions. Do the tally. In return for selling out Poland and the Czech Republic by unilaterally abrogating a missile-defense security arrangement that Russia had demanded be abrogated, we get from Russia . . . what? An oblique hint, of possible support, for unspecified sanctions, grudgingly offered and of dubious authority " and, in any case, leading nowhere because the Chinese have remained resolute against any Security Council sanctions. Confusing ends and means, the Obama administration strives mightily for shows of allied unity, good feeling, and pious concern about Iran’s nuclear program " whereas the real objective is stopping that program. This feel-good posturing is worse than useless, because all the time spent achieving gestures is precious time granted Iran to finish its race to acquire the bomb. Don’t take it from me. Take it from Sarkozy, who could not conceal his astonishment at Obama’s naïveté.
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POPSAhmadinejad: Obama Will 'Regret' Accusing Iran of Hiding Nuclear Plant Doesn't this seem like such a political farce? Everyone already knew about it so what's the secret? Is Medvedev's comment the price we paid Russia for ditching the missile shield? Is this a set-up to give Israel the go-ahead? FTA: "U.S. intelligence believes that the secret Iranian nuclear facility is in an underground tunnel complex on a military base controlled by the elite Revolutionary Guards." "The location at the military base would also undermine Iran's claim that the program is for civilian purposes." Ya think??
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POPSOur Missile-Defense Race Against Iran "Our security depends in large measure on beating Iran to the punch. If the U.S. succeeds in deploying missile defenses capable of intercepting Iranian long-range missiles before they are developed, it will help protect itself, its allies and its troops from the menace posed by a nuclear Iran. But if missile defenses become operational after Iran's long-range missile capability does, both America and its allies will find themselves vulnerable to nuclear blackmail, or worse, from the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism." I know no one wants to read this stuff and have this debate. It comes down to trust. Do you trust Russia? Iran? it's satellite minions? This President? The power of the UN? The EU? I abhor looking to other countries...hoping...that they will protect our overseas military or even our homeland.
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POPSRA's Daily Russian News Blast US to modify or jettison missile defense plans? NATO chief to meet with Russian envoy; Lukaschenko sends out mixed messages. South Ossetia denies book burning; think tank leader says Putin could be heading for Brehznev-style decades in power; Medvedev finds inspiration on blogosphere. Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has suggested the traditional ally of Russia must 'move away from dependence on just one country, even one that is near and dear to us'. The Moscow Times reports that the authoritarian leader has emphasized ties with Russia, whilst on a rare visit to EU-member state Lithuania. The Russian Foreign Minstry has said that the criminal investigation into charges of forgery against RIA Novosti's Tbilisi bureau chief is politically motivated. South Ossetia has denied bonfire-style burning of Georgian books and other classic works at the state university. An op-ed contributor in the Moscow Times is disturbed by what makes it onto Russian bookshelves.
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POPSU.S. Backs Away From Missile Shield Analysis: Demise of U.S. shield may embolden Russia hawks The U.S. move on the shield -- due to be announced later on Thursday but already flagged by Czech and Polish officials -- removes at a stroke the biggest outstanding obstacle to bilateral relations between the former superpowers and will be hailed by the Kremlin as a big victory. Russia's leaders have fiercely resisted the missile shield, saying it would upset regional security because it could be used to neutralise Moscow's vast nuclear arsenal. Ignoring U.S. assurances that the system was not targeted at Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev threatened last year to station missiles in a Russian enclave near Poland if the United States implemented the plan. But the shield's demise in its originally planned form may also have unintended consequences in the former Soviet bloc. Russian diplomacy is largely a zero-sum game and relies on projecting hard power to force gains, as in last year's war with Georgia over the . .
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POPSRussia Arrests 8 Suspects in Arctic Sea Hijacking The invaders reportedly had tied up the crew, beat them, claimed they were looking for drugs, then sped off about 12 hours later in an inflatable craft. Serdyukov reportedly said the hijackers boarded the freighter under the pretext that there was a problem with their inflatable craft. The hijackers, who were armed, then forced the crew to change course and turned off the Arctic Sea's navigation equipment, he was quoted as saying. By the time the Swedish report of the attack had emerged, the ship had already passed through the English Channel, where it made its last known radio contact on July 28. Signals from the ship's tracking device were picked up off France's coast the next day, but that was the last known trace of it until Monday. Serdyukov said the ship were found about 300 miles (480 kilometers) away from the island nation of Cape Verde. The 15 crew members were safe and had been taken aboard the Russian naval vessel for questioning, Serdyukov said.
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POPSThe Power Vertical Biden said "Russia has to make some very difficult, calculated decisions" and that Washington "vastly" underestimates its hand vis-à-vis the Kremlin: The reality is the Russians are where they are. They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they're in a situation where the world is changing before them and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable. Biden went on to say that the Russian leaders "aren't absolute average-intellect ideologues who are clinging to something nobody believes in. They're pretty pragmatic in the end."
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POPSMedvedev Resets The "Reset Summit" Mr Medvedev, speaking at the G8, also appeared to change his tone on the missile defence shield itself. During Mr Obama's visit he told the US leader, using markedly softer language than normal, that "no one is saying that missile defence is harmful in itself or that it poses a threat to someone". But in Italy on Friday, Mr Medvedev returned to the Kremlin's traditional posture on the system, describing it as "harmful" and "threatening to Russia". Aaaaand we're back to square one --- reset indeed. As I noted earlier in the week, the Russians are giddy that they pried loose a key concession from Obama in the form of linking strategic nuclear cuts to missile defense. Charles Krauthammer observes that not only is this linkage a terrible idea, but that Obama's faith in the power of anachronistic arms control mechanisms is comical ... and quite dangerous: Obama says that his START will be a great boon, setting an example to enable us to better pressure
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POPSNew World Currency Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took pulled a coin out of his pocket and presented it to the heads of the G-8 nations in Italy. With massive deficits and Congress proposing another "stimulus" world central bankers are getting nervous. They are losing confidence in the dollars future and are pushing for another currency. What does this mean to you? It means you should tell Congress no more printing of money by the Federal Reserve, no to big and bigger government, no to socialist spending, no to deficit spending. Yes to a balanced budget, yes to prosecution of fraud by those at AIG, Fanny and Freddie, Goldman Sacs, SEC, etc. etc. Instead of bailing out defunct companies and failed banks we need to bail out the economy. The economy is found in the production capabilities of the people. No producing people means no revenue.
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POPSSummit may unlock Russia trade: U.S. business leader Let's hope Obama and Medvedev can agree and turn things to a positive. This old cold war shit that Washington and Moscow have been holding onto is stupid, over, and time to move on. The new generations don't want to butt-heads, but grow the cultures and bring together two great countries. So much potential for positiveness with bright minds and talen in both countries, imagine what a better world it would be.
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POPSThe Clinton-Obama “feud” Growing? The White House has played an active role in clearing the field for Gillibrand, who was appointed earlier this year to fill the seat vacated when Obama tapped Hillary Rodham Clinton to be his secretary of state. Obama asked Rep. Steve Israel not to challenge Gillibrand, a request he honored. Just days ago, Vice President Joe Biden called Maloney to discuss the race, a clear sign that the White House didn’t want a primary fight next year. The Clinton-Obama relationship has always been strained, ever since Obama overtook Hillary in her bid for a history and a return to the White House. Obama appointed her as Secretary of State for his own political needs, not out of any sense of expertise on Hillary’s part for diplomacy. It took her almost no time to demonstrate that herself, with unforced errors like proclaiming her complete bemusement on multi-party democracy and the “reset” button she presented Sergei Lavrov that was mistranslated " and not in Cyrillic script, eith
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POPSThe American Empire Is Bankrupt by Chris Hedges
The cost of daily living, from buying food to getting medical care, will become difficult for all but a few as the dollar plunges. States and cities will see their pension funds drained and finally shut down. The government will be forced to sell off infrastructure, including roads and transport, to private corporations. We will be increasingly charged by privatized utilities—think Enron—for what was once regulated and subsidized. Commercial and private real estate will be worth less than half its current value. The negative equity that already plagues 25 percent of American homes will expand to include nearly all property owners. It will be difficult to borrow and impossible to sell real estate unless we accept massive losses. There will be block after block of empty stores and boarded-up houses. Foreclosures will be epidemic. There will be long lines at soup kitchens and many, many homeless. Our corporate-controlled media, already banal and trivial, will work overtime to anesthetize
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