Russia offers America a way out

[Mega]

Read between the lines!
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...emical-weapons

America gets to "Force" Syria to hand over "Weapons"...........face saver!

Mike

[lektrode]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

Read between the lines!
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...emical-weapons

America gets to "Force" Syria to hand over "Weapons"...........face saver!

The White House gave a cautious welcome on Monday to a Russian proposal for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control, opening up the first real chance of a political settlement to the crisis since hundreds of civilians died in an attack on a Damascus suburb last month.


Russia's suggestion, made as a result of an apparent stumble by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, set off a diplomatic scramble in Washington as administration officials sought to assess whether it offered a way out for Barack Obama from what has become an increasingly intractable problem.


US deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said "it would be terrific" if Syria followed through the proposal advance by the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, to put its chemical stockpiles under the control of international observers.
But he nevertheless expressed scepticism over whether it would do so. "Unfortunately, the track record to date does not inspire a lot of confidence," Blinken said.


The White House said it would work with the Russians to explore the deal, in discussions that would take place "in parallel" with continued efforts in Washington to persuade US lawmakers to authorise the use of military force against Syria.


A day of intense diplomatic activity began in London, where Kerry suggested that the only way for Syria to avoid the threat of a US attack would be for it to hand over all its chemical weapons within a week. The remarks were characterised as a blunder by some Washington commentators, and the Department of State at first attempted to play down their significance, saying Kerry had been speaking "rhetorically" about a situation that was unlikely to materialise.
....

.....

The former US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, speaking after a hastily arranged meeting with Obama at the White House, where she was due to speak at an event about illegal wildlife trafficking, said the move could represent an "important step"

uh huh... John F(raud) 'stumbles' (shocking, just SHOCKING, i tell ya...) and ole hil has to be summoned
to the oval office to tell the community-organizer-in-chief what to do next...

hey! - now thats comforting.... apparently, anyway - so... we step back from the precipice for another day:
and at the close its: S&P UP and oil/$us/au/ag down...

nervindx0909.jpg

[verdo]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

Yeah the U.S. wont accept this. You aren't allowed to use chemical weapons unless it serves U.S. interests (like in the iran-iraq war)

[Forrest]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

One hopes that a deal will be made, or we will have a worse reckoning day when the new war is over, since we are all poised for a crash. And even our beloved President has managed to let his people walk him back from his hasty red line statement, while Assad is actually willing to do what they can, without addmitting any fault or participation, to keep us out of HIS country, according to this evenings interview with Charlie Rose.

If it weren't so embarassing for our country, one would be happy to send Putin a Thank You card for arranging it. And Obama has been kind enough to confide in his interview with someone else, name unknown, this evening, that Putin and he have been talking about just this solution for days!!!!

[GRG55]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

WHAT DID I JUST READ?
By Barack Obama
Imagine my surprise when I opened the New York Times and read Vladimir Putin's Op-ed. I didn't know what I was reading for a few minutes. Sometime's my Chief of Staff will put The Onion in front of me just to shake things up so it took me a moment to realize this was not a joke.

First off, let me say I had a very nice time at the G20. The food was good, although a bit heavy for my taste, and the weather was pleasant. Certainly you can see the sky sometimes, which you can never do in China.

As I continued to read the Op-ed, I really couldn't understand whether we were being insulted or praised. Mr. Putin seemed to respect the United States for one paragraph, and then blast us in another. Now understand, I admire Mr. Putin. For his age he seems to be in great physical shape and even though I could kick his ass in basketball I do believe that if a bear were to attack the both of us, he would be the one to shoo it away.

But let's make one thing perfectly clear: this is written by a man who is the head of Russia. Russia, where the air conditioning in the room conked out even though I was in the Presidential Suite. Russia, where no one smiles and where people actually look disappointed that they are white.

Mr. Putin, we put a man on the moon and you barely got a monkey home safely. We invented the computer and you invented the way to steal it. Your country is filled with our fast food businesses and yet there is not one Russian take out place in the whole United States.

You are known for Siberia, we are known for Big Sur. We make Cadillacs and Lincolns and God knows what you call those little square deathtraps. It's one thing to put down exceptionalism, but before you do that, you at least have to produce one Broadway show, or make one commercial airliner, or invent one type of salad.

Having said that, your people are wonderful and I know that you care about them deeply, except, of course, for the gay ones. As a matter of fact, you care about them so much that you hate to see them argue, especially with you, so you graciously offer them the solace of prison.

In any case, I enjoyed your editorial and I am very impressed that it was printed in The New York Times. If only there was a newspaper in your country that would print this.

My very best wishes,

Barack Obama.

[bill]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

Russia known for Siberia.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinio...in/485802.html

Corrupt Clans Lead Siberian Regions to Ruin

10 September 2013 | Issue 5209
By Vladimir Ryzhkov




I took an active part in the elections held in two beautiful republics of Siberia: Tyva and Khakasia. They offered a clear example of the dysfunctional political and economic system that has developed during President Vladimir Putin's rule, as well as the chaotic way in which it is disintegrating before our eyes.
First, that system could be called a "businessocracy." In both Tyva and Khakasia, career businessmen hold office and use their authority to enrich themselves, their families and their close friends.

Tyva is led by the ruling Kara-ool family's three brothers: Sholban, Leonid and Yury. Leonid Kara-ool recently served a prison term for drug trafficking, the local media implicated Yury in illegal seizures of businesses and Sholban, as the Moscow-appointed head of government, controls not only a large number of businesses, but also the republic's budget. A gas station belonging to Sholban Kara-ool's wife stands at the entrance to the Tyva capital, Kyzyl, and all state employees are required to fill their tanks there. The sale of alcohol is forbidden during evening hours in Kyzyl, but Sholban Kara-ool-owned shops sell vodka around the clock. The Kaa-Khemsky coal mine has a monopoly on supplying Tyva with coal but went bankrupt in 2009 and was sold to entities owned by billionaire Oleg Deripaska. The local opposition press reports that Kara-ool and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu both own shares in the enterprise.
Local officials also make big money on state contracts. For example, over the past 10 years the cost of building a single kilometer of road in Tyva has risen from 1 million rubles ($30,000) to 100 million rubles ($3,000,000). The leadership of Kyzyl, with close ties to the Kara-ool brothers, is also actively engaged in business. They distribute state money to hand-picked businesses and occasionally seize control of other people's firms. These dealings are often reported by Risk, the republic's only opposition newspaper.
There is a similar system of government in the neighboring republic of Khakasia. The regional government is headed by Viktor Zimin who, like Kara-ool, was appointed by Moscow. Zimin was a businessman before coming to power. Both he and Kara-ool are united by their long friendship with Shoigu — a Tyva native — and a mutual love of horses, hunting and fishing.
The local press has linked Viktor Zimin to an automobile business and a coal mine. His wife, Tatyana Zimina, owns Prommetall, a business that was charged in 2009 with exporting expensive, high-grade steel from the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant after the disastrous explosion there and listing it as cheap scrap iron in an attempt to export it to China. Criminal charges were filed in the case, but were later mysteriously dropped.
His brother, Vladimir Zimin, owns a sizable farming operation in the Askizsky district of Khakasia, where he also heads the District Council of Deputies. As a farmer, Vladimir Zimin receives major subsidies from the federal budget.
Viktor Zimin's niece previously headed the state purchasing department in Khakasia and another relative is developing business opportunities in Sayanogorsk after receiving a major state contract for repairs to the Sayano-Shushengskaya power plant. Several of Zimin's deputies are also involved in business.
This system of government is not only authoritarian, but also highly criminal.
Sholban Kara-ool has allegedly committed assault and battery and his associates have committed murder, attempted murder, rape, large-scale embezzlement and so on. When opposition figures Boris Nemtsov and Yevgenia Chirikova flew to the Khakasia captial Abakan two years ago, Zimin organized a crowd of aggressive youth who not only attacked the guests, but also disrupted their presentation of the report "Putin — Corruption."
In the recent elections, Zimin managed to have the local elections commission overrule two earlier decisions by the Central Elections Commission and prohibit Party of People's Freedom candidates from participating in the race for the Supreme Council of the republic. He also prevented Party of People's Freedom candidate Oleg Ivanov from passing the municipal filter required in order to run for the head of the Khakasia government.
This criminal "businessocracy" is also leading the regions toward total collapse.
Even while the authorities in Khakasia prosper, the republic's rich resources and industrial potential eke out a miserable existence. In fact, Tyva and Khakasia are ranked last in both Siberia and Russia overall for personal income, investment and business climate. Tyva suffers from 21 percent unemployment and has the highest infant mortality rate in the country.
Khakasia has a debt approaching 10 billion rubles ($300 million), with an annual budget of 16 billion rubles ($480 million), but the annual cost of supporting government officials has risen from 250 million rubles ($7.5 million) to 600 million rubles ($18 million). This debt has also not stopped Zimin from creating the government-run RTS television station at a cost of 300 million rubles. The citizens of Khakasia often go for months without access to subsidized medicine because of the enormous debt the republic's government already has to pharmacies.
The commercial interests of the people in power have distorted their priorities beyond recognition. The general welfare of the people is eclipsed by the vested interests of the ruling clans, the desire to suppress competition, the formation of regional and local monopolies, murky structures for embezzling state funds and the creation of a system of propaganda and repression designed to keep the beneficiaries of the "businessocracy" in power.
Finally and importantly, the people of Tyva and Khakasia are well-informed about the corrupt activities of the authorities and have extremely low faith in them. This creates opportunities for the opposition and activists to improve the political system and create more transparent and effective leadership in the regions.

[metalman]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

WHAT DID I JUST READ?
By Barack Obama
Imagine my surprise when I opened the New York Times and read Vladimir Putin's Op-ed. I didn't know what I was reading for a few minutes. Sometime's my Chief of Staff will put The Onion in front of me just to shake things up so it took me a moment to realize this was not a joke.

First off, let me say I had a very nice time at the G20. The food was good, although a bit heavy for my taste, and the weather was pleasant. Certainly you can see the sky sometimes, which you can never do in China.

As I continued to read the Op-ed, I really couldn't understand whether we were being insulted or praised. Mr. Putin seemed to respect the United States for one paragraph, and then blast us in another. Now understand, I admire Mr. Putin. For his age he seems to be in great physical shape and even though I could kick his ass in basketball I do believe that if a bear were to attack the both of us, he would be the one to shoo it away.

But let's make one thing perfectly clear: this is written by a man who is the head of Russia. Russia, where the air conditioning in the room conked out even though I was in the Presidential Suite. Russia, where no one smiles and where people actually look disappointed that they are white.

Mr. Putin, we put a man on the moon and you barely got a monkey home safely. We invented the computer and you invented the way to steal it. Your country is filled with our fast food businesses and yet there is not one Russian take out place in the whole United States.

You are known for Siberia, we are known for Big Sur. We make Cadillacs and Lincolns and God knows what you call those little square deathtraps. It's one thing to put down exceptionalism, but before you do that, you at least have to produce one Broadway show, or make one commercial airliner, or invent one type of salad.

Having said that, your people are wonderful and I know that you care about them deeply, except, of course, for the gay ones. As a matter of fact, you care about them so much that you hate to see them argue, especially with you, so you graciously offer them the solace of prison.

In any case, I enjoyed your editorial and I am very impressed that it was printed in The New York Times. If only there was a newspaper in your country that would print this.

My very best wishes,

Barack Obama.

hah. the fellas over at the huntington post get off a good one now & again.

pop quiz... who said...

We don't need a weakened government but a strong government that would take responsibility for the rights of the individual and care for the society as a whole.

No references to the need to fight terror can be an argument for restricting human rights.

I believe that the presidential term should be limited.

Anyone who doesn't regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants it restored has no brains.

Russia needs a strong state power and must have it. But I am not calling for totalitarianism.

Our aims are absolutely clear: They are a high living standard in the country and a secure, free and comfortable life.

The path towards a free society has not been simple. There are tragic and glorious pages in our history.

Indeed, Russia and the U.S. were allies during the two tragic conflicts of the Second and the First World Wars, which allows us to think there's something objectively bringing us together in difficult times, and I think - I believe - it has to do with geopolitical interests and also has a moral component.

History proves that all dictatorships, all authoritarian forms of government are transient. Only democratic systems are not transient. Whatever the shortcomings, mankind has not devised anything superior.

Russia will not soon become, if it ever becomes, a second copy of the United States or England - where liberal value have deep historic roots.

Yes, life in Chechnya so far looks more like a life after a natural disaster.

[touchring]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

One hopes that a deal will be made, or we will have a worse reckoning day when the new war is over, since we are all poised for a crash. And even our beloved President has managed to let his people walk him back from his hasty red line statement, while Assad is actually willing to do what they can, without addmitting any fault or participation, to keep us out of HIS country, according to this evenings interview with Charlie Rose.

If it weren't so embarassing for our country, one would be happy to send Putin a Thank You card for arranging it. And Obama has been kind enough to confide in his interview with someone else, name unknown, this evening, that Putin and he have been talking about just this solution for days!!!!

If I were Obama, I wouldn't care much about about Putin winning, as I suspect he does. Russia is going to be obsolete soon with the rapid development in fracking, natural gas infrastructure and electric car technologies.

Putin may have personally won, but what about Russia?

[Mega]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

"Mr. Putin, we put a man on the moon and you barely got a monkey home safely. We invented the computer and you invented the way to steal it. Your country is filled with our fast food businesses and yet there is not one Russian take out place in the whole United States."


Your German rocket engineers put you on the moon, you did NOT invent the computer, the BRITISH invented it (a Mr Flowers from our post office telecom company) in WW2 to crack German codes.......we read Hilters e-mail before him!

Yes America has been at the lead on a number of things, STD's Fast (Killer) Food....Fruad etc. However with the DEATH of the Petro $ its all over.................Ha Ha Ha.........you imperist scum!

;)
Mega

[Fiat Currency]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

Your German rocket engineers put you on the moon, you did NOT invent the computer, the BRITISH invented it (a Mr Flowers from our post office telecom company) in WW2 to crack German codes.......we read Hilters e-mail before him!

Yes America has been at the lead on a number of things, STD's Fast (Killer) Food....Fruad etc. However with the DEATH of the Petro $ its all over.................Ha Ha Ha.........you imperist scum!

Thanks for the morning chuckle Mega

You forgot to add the part where that company who makes those Cadillacs, was bailed out by the State, and for the first time in US legal history screwed over the bondholders, and then the President illegally gave a piece of the company to the union.

[GRG55]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

Thanks for the morning chuckle Mega

You forgot to add the part where that company who makes those Cadillacs, was bailed out by the State, and for the first time in US legal history screwed over the bondholders, and then the President illegally gave a piece of the company to the union.

I thought that was a smart move...after all, why should the taxpayers take all the future losses?

No worries though...because the Americans invented the jet engine. They needed it for their cruise missiles, non?

[Fiat Currency]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

No worries though...because the Americans invented the jet engine. They needed it for their cruise missiles, non?

Now I think you're just baiting me You surely know that

Dr. Hans von Ohain and Sir Frank Whittle (German/English) invented the jet engine, adding even further irony to Mega's wit.

The US' treatment of G.M. from my eyes, was more Russian than Russia.

I'll give you the nod on cruise missiles and drones though.

[c1ue]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

I'll give you the nod on cruise missiles and drones though.

Quite certain the first cruise missiles were German. Everyone worked on them, but the Germans were the only ones to use them in any numbers, to any effect.

Ballistic missiles, however, are all American.

[Mega]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

Let us not forget that Roll royce were kind enough to sell a number of jet engines to Russia just after the War......in the mistaken be-leaf that they couldn't reverse engineer them.........a copy of the Rolls Royce engine went on to power the Mig 15 over korea.......it could easy beat the F86 in a climb owning to its vasty better engine..............

;)
Mega

[GRG55]

Re: Russia offers America a way out

Now I think you're just baiting me You surely know that

Dr. Hans von Ohain and Sir Frank Whittle (German/English) invented the jet engine, adding even further irony to Mega's wit...

I'll never tell...

The US' treatment of G.M. from my eyes, was more Russian than Russia.

Which seems fitting since it was GM that produced the closest thing to a Lada...the Vega...few of which made it to trade-in because most were abandoned by their owners on the side of the highway and just corroded away...