Soviet Warships Will Visit Cuba

danged typos..

Well, if the United States wants to expand NATO all the way to Russia's backyard then it stands to reason they would want to respond by spreading their influence in our backyard.

We need to scrap the NATO. After the Cold War ended, so did the Warsaw Pact. NATO has outlived it's usefulness and it causing more harm than good.

Our trade embargo sure is changing Cuban behavior.

What's next, missiles in Turkey?

We're already installing Missile Systems in Countries Neighboring Russia.

One of the reasons Russia is getting a bit peckish toward us.

This is because Obama's not President yet!

Sincerely

The DR "right"

I hope they don't cruise within our 3 mile limits and all hell breaks loose.

What a lot of Americans turn a blind eye too is the fact that Russia is resource rich and America is resource depleted. Our huge appetite for all things material and all things material wrapped in three layers of plastic and cardboard has made countless fortunes, but sucked up resources like a cheap whore.

Today we need more resources then ever. This was the west's "conservative" philosophy gone awry.

Russia never lost the cold war. It learned from American success and American mistakes. So did China. Look at her success. Today China suffers from the same environmental rot and problems with resource depletion that is eating up America.

The Russians made horrible environmental mistakes because of a lack of good environmental legislation, but they still have huge amounts of natural resources that are opening up because of global warming. They embraced capitalism, as did China and they are now ready to make their move, but they still have the hardball Russian politics that built the Berlin wall. It's time to watch our ass.

The Russians are sensing Obama's fear. Will he stand up or hide under his desk like Kennedy did during The Bay of Pigs.

Gasp!!! Ships sailing the open seas and visiting other countries!! When will the outrage stop!??!

The U.S. is not resource depleted. The godamn hippies won't allow the government to do what it needs.

FuckWit Thom,

You really should do some research before posting bullshit. You must think everyone is as stupid as you.

Reignition of the Cold War?

Bush's Fault.

More profits for the Military Industrial Complex.

fwt is his usual blind, fact depleted, ethnocentric fool. If an apple hit him, he'd swear it was an onion, no doubt thrown by Obama.

Soviet Warships to visit Cuba.

So?

I'd worry more about where their subs are.

Our trade embargo sure is changing Cuban behavior.

#3 | Posted by danni

I can't see how a leader letting a country wallow in poverty is a good thing. What does an embargo have to do with bad management? Chavez take note.

OK, so has the savior spoke out on how he will handle the Russians expanding influence in Latin America? What is his policy?

Soon all you libs won't be able to blame all the world's ills on President Bush. Unlike most of you in your blind hatred of our president wishing our country to fail at every turn, I'm praying for Obama to succeed. I'm just curious to see how much of his far left sweet talk during the campaign, that the libs bought into, will be changed once he is facing the awesome responsibility of being the leader of the free world.

Soon all you libs won't be able to blame all the world's ills on President Bush. Unlike most of you in your blind hatred of our president wishing our country to fail at every turn

With a non-moron for President things will improve.

No one wished for Bush to fail, but it should have been obvious from his previous history of doing just that that he wouldn't be the sharpest knife in the drawer.

#14 | Posted by johnnylock at 2008-12-15 11:55 PM

Soviet Warships to visit Cuba.

So?

I'd worry more about where their subs are.

At the bottom of some Norwegian fjords with their crews. Haven't they suffered several disasters with their aging fleet?

And now with the price of oil down so low, they don't have the werewithal to rebuild their military.

Does anyone think that the worldwide depression is an American plot to destabilize some of the countries that are pursuing policies adverse to us by depriving them of oil revenues.

Now Saudi oil only costs a couple of bucks a barrel to process, but Venezuelan oil for example is suffering declines in production and is very expensive to extract. www.telegraph.co.uk www.wtrg.com

Come on conspiracy theorists. How can you allow a matter of this magnitude exist without developing theories to explain it, theories that are based on information derived from your conjecture. Come on. There are several of you, who are quite creative, and could with your vivid imaginations do quite well as writers. Provide us with your explanations of he role of the malevolent United States in creating a worldwide financial and economic crisis as a method for implementing national policy, and also imposing a one world government (not the Islamic one).

#16 | Posted by SonOfaDemocrat at 2008-12-16 12:34 AM

OK, so has the savior spoke out on how he will handle the Russians expanding influence in Latin America? What is his policy?

Well, there are various strategies. He can wear a dashiki and allow the foreign leaders to touch the hem of his garments.

He can take bread and loaves and feed he masses, so that poverty will be eliminated.

I wish him well too. But there are countries and blocs with interests antithetical to ours. The simplistic idea that with Bush's term over, there will be "Peace in the Valley," is fit for schoolchildren, not adults. There is a constant tension with the antagonists attempting to advance their own interests, and it plays out in unexpected ways.

Now the Chinese are exploiting sub-Saharan Africa with a more insidious type of colonialism. They are buying up or securing 99 year leases on huge tracts of land, and using Chinese labor to grow crops, which depletes the land and water, which cannot sustain such activity on marginal lands. Other countries are using African to grow biofuels. Hw does this relate to our commitments?

How does the presence of Russians in Latin America, and the spread of leftist regimes affect us? Will there be a clash?

Whatever happened to the Monroe Doctrine? Did Kennedy abandon it at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

The Russians are sensing Obama's fear. Will he stand up or hide under his desk like Kennedy did during The Bay of Pigs.

#9 | Posted by fwthom

Last time I checked... Bush is still President. Will he stand up?

"Whatever happened to the Monroe Doctrine? Did Kennedy abandon it at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis? "

No, I think he was still fucking her during that time.

www.state.gov

Monroe Doctrine, 1823

In his December 2, 1823, address to Congress, President James Monroe articulated United States' policy on the new political order developing in the rest of the Americas and the role of Europe in the Western Hemisphere. The statement, known as the Monroe Doctrine, was little noted by the Great Powers of Europe, but eventually became a longstanding tenet of U.S. foreign policy. Monroe and his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams drew upon a foundation of American diplomatic ideals such as disentanglement from European affairs and defense of neutral rights as expressed in Washington's Farewell Address and Madison's stated rationale for waging the War of 1812. The three main concepts of the doctrine--separate spheres of influence for the Americas and Europe, non-colonization, and non-intervention--were designed to signify a clear break between the New World and the autocratic realm of Europe. Monroe's administration forewarned the imperial European powers against interfering in the affairs of the newly independent Latin American states or potential United States territories. While Americans generally objected to European colonies in the New World, they also desired to increase United States influence and trading ties throughout the region to their south. European mercantilism posed the greatest obstacle to economic expansion. In particular, Americans feared that Spain and France might reassert colonialism over the Latin American peoples who had just overthrown European rule. Signs that Russia was expanding its presence southward from Alaska toward the Oregon Territory were also disconcerting.

For their part, the British also had a strong interest in ensuring the demise of Spanish colonialism, with all the trade restrictions mercantilism imposed. Earlier in 1823 British Foreign Minister George Canning suggested to Americans that two nations issue a joint declaration to deter any other power from intervening in Central and South America. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, however, vigorously opposed cooperation with Great Britain, contending that a statement of bilateral nature could limit United States expansion in the future. He also argued that the British were not committed to recognizing the Latin American republics and must have had imperial motivations themselves.

The bilateral statement proposed by the British thereby became a unilateral declaration by the United States. As Monroe stated: "The American continents are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers." Monroe outlined two separate spheres of influence: the Americas and Europe. The independent lands of the Western Hemisphere would be solely the United States' domain. In exchange, the United States pledged to avoid involvement in the political affairs of Europe, such as the ongoing Greek struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire, and not to interfere in the existing European colonies already in the Americas.

By the mid-1800s, Monroe's declaration, combined with ideas of Manifest Destiny, provided precedent and support for U.S. expansion on the American continent. In the late 1800s, U.S. economic and military power enabled it to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. The doctrine's greatest extension came with Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary, which inverted the original meaning of the doctrine and came to justify unilateral U.S. intervention in Latin America.

Good one Danforth. FF

Whatever happened to the Monroe Doctrine? Did Kennedy abandon it at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

#20 | Posted by Johnson

You had me until that Johnson cause I thought the Monroe Doctrine was JFK's justification for demanding the removal of the missiles. Mind you I'm not a fan of JFK as a rule but I thought that was something he had done right.

I would hope that you folks believe in the "Manifest Destiny" of the United States.

www.wisegeek.com

Excerpt:

The idea of Manifest Destiny was also behind American political actions overseas. Although the term ceased to be used in a political context in the early twentieth century, the far-reaching impact of Manifest Destiny was clear. A section of the Manifest Destiny editorial reminded Americans that they were uniquely positioned to spread democracy throughout the world, and this concept clearly played a role in twentieth century American foreign policy. Many historians use the term "Manifest Destiny" to refer to the period in American history which was marked by rapid expansion "from sea to shining sea" through annexation of the Western half of the continent.

Cheney obviously orchestrated this via his ties to Big Oil.

www.commondreams.org

Well before it became apparent that the military-industrialists, war-profiteers and mercantilists would lose their puppetship in Washington, the Neocon Zionists composed a list of "competitors for and producers of" hydrocarbons.

Being well versed in the rhetoric of Chicago-educated economic quackery, they subscribed to the theory that price for a certain commodity was a direct function of demand for that commodity---in this case, oil.

After calling in a few favors from their Israeli-backed banking CEOs and using Rupert Murdoch as their mouthpiece, a "credit crisis" was packaged and sold to the American people.

The markets responded.

The economy slowed and consumption of oil dropped.

Unocal's land lease rates for its secret pipeline through China, Goatfuckistan, and the Caspian Sea suddenly dropped by 60%.

Meanwhile, the CIA have quitely working with Pinochet and elements of the old Contra movement to hire into and infiltrate the Venezualean oil industry so that KBR will be in position to acquire most of the assets when that country collapses.

(Excerpted from Counterpunch.org)

#27 was for your #19

Hmm. so George Bush's policy is an extension of the policies of leaders whom the leftists admire. It's just that Bush is doing it, and somehow he causes them to become discombobulated and froth at the mouth.

Well lefties, whatcha gonna do when Bush ain't aroun'? How long you folks gonna keep sayin' "Bush did it." "Bush's fault."

Yes, he is omnipotent, and is responsible for tsunamis, earthquakes, what have you. Why even yesterday, a supernova exploded, and of course, "It's Bush's fault." How are you folks going to explain the world and events without Bush available as the demiurge?

What's going to happen to your world as a morality play?

Ignore my #25 Johnson I get your point now.

#27 | Posted by Pinche_Mao at 2008-12-16 01:19 AM

Unocal's land lease rates for its secret pipeline through China, Goatfuckistan, and the Caspian Sea suddenly dropped by 60%.

Meanwhile, the CIA have quitely working with Pinochet and elements of the old Contra movement to hire into and infiltrate the Venezualean oil industry so that KBR will be in position to acquire most of the assets when that country collapses.

Oh, oh. this is getting really scary. I didn't know that so much information was in the public domain.

"They" know about Goatfuckistan? Goatman must have been compromised. They're probably also aware of the new innovations involving the use of maritime drilling platforms on the steppes.

I wonder if they know about the plan to connect the Caspian Sea to the Yellow River in China, or if they still think the plan is to connect it to the Yangtze.

I don't know if this information has been widely disseminated, but some Jews in Israel, undoubtedly Zionists, are doing a form of recycling to further undercut the market. As they repave roads, they are using the energy derived from placing piezoelectric crystals beneath the asphalt to convert vibration into electricity, and recycling it. The crystals can produce up to 400 kilowatts from a 1-kilometer stretch of a four lane highway. Devious. Devious. And all to cause the collapse of the world economy.

Crises abound. I can assuage your fears somewhat with the information that there are three dashikis on order for Obama, and that he'll take the oath of office in one. I am not sure of what will happen, but some claim that there will be a star to guide people to Washington. If there is a star, we can all rest easy. These nefarious plans of the rightists will never materialize.

Yes, he is omnipotent, and is responsible for tsunamis, earthquakes, what have you.

You ain't even heard the half of it yet.

All that has transpired in the last 8 years can be boiled down into three words:

My Pet Goat.

Ever-conscious of the corporate tools that comprise the "media", Bush continued to read the aforemntioned book as the worst terrorist attack in history ocurred on U.S. soil. Shrub knew damn well that although the #1 contibutor to the GDP of our oil competitors was the extraction and sale of hydrocarbons, the "default" industry (#2) was goat production.

As the esteemed Juan Cole has noted, after the Jew-backed jerking of mohair subsidies in the U.S. market, the industry was primed for a comeback in the new context of globalization controlled by multi-national corporations.

Knowing the degree of immiserization that would be caused be a drastic plunge in oil prices, the Bush cabal sought to soften the blow by propping up the goat markets.

Bush's pointed insistence at reading books about goats ensured global attention to the industry.

Was the pet goat an Angora?

Boer?

Spanish?

Did it emit methane?

Could it be stump-broke?

Like so many other plots hatched in the bowels of this bumbling, criminal organization, the goat tack failed.

Now we're left with a crumbling infrastructure, our Childrens' future sold out to China, crushing debt, and a foreign policy that continues to create terrorists.

And now they're even throwing shoes.

Worst. President. Evar.

Excerpted from Pinche Mao @ Counterpunch

Devious. Devious

They're jews, Johnson.

To bobsf...Hippies? Are you sober? Man, where you been for the last 40 years, the bottom of a gin bottle? These people who you claim are the ones keeping us from exploiting the last of the untapped resources left in America are the ones using the least. The ones using the most and controlling the output aren't hippies. They are the ones trying to keep the price up. Why do you think that tens of thousands of leases are drilled and capped? The hippies don't need the shit. I think you are delusional and grossly misinformed. I'll even bet you are a Republican who dabbles in the stock market. Think Forex. The dollars headed south because of Republicans not hippies.

"I'd worry more about where their subs are."

#14 | Posted by johnnylock

Just as the Russians need to worry about where our subs are.

Why are we supposed to be afraid of Russia again?
Why are they supposed to be our enemy?
Is it only because daddy told you they were bad?

They embraced capitalism, as did China and they are now ready to make their move, but they still have the hardball Russian politics that built the Berlin wall. It's time to watch our ass.

#8 | Posted by RingMaster

funny flag!

"I'd worry more about where their subs are."

#14 | Posted by johnnylock

lol. you have no idea. what little nuclear subs they have left, they're poisoning the crew. just recently in the pacific (i think pacific) it happened. also they are down to ONE aircraft carrier.

russia is getting worse before it gets better. nothing to worry about.

"you have no idea. what little nuclear subs they have left,

#38 | Posted by Yodar013

And neither do you.

"they're poisoning the crew."

Unfounded supposition.

"just recently in the pacific (i think pacific)

You "think." You made such bold statements, now you just "think" it happened somewhere in the Pacific?

Lazy, lazy. A quick search can yield lots of info. In the case of this "poisoning" of the crew, as reported, there was an accidental release of freon from the fire fighting system. The sub itself was not damaged. It occurred in the Sea of Japan, which is kinda sorta part of the Pacific Ocean (kinda like the Gulf of Mexico is part of the Atlantic).

"also they are down to ONE aircraft carrier."

Cite source please. Also, perhaps the Russians have figured out that the ROI on a carrier plus supporting assets is not worth the huge investment. Carriers can be great when projecting power against ill/under-equipped foe, but when the Big Shooting starts, carriers make Nice, Big, Fat Targets for cruise missiles. One Moskit and 5,000 seamen die.

"russia is getting worse before it gets better."

Seems to me that after the collapse of the USSR, things got pretty bad, but are only getting better, much helped by the thawing of Siberia and the easier access to the Black Gold.

"nothing to worry about."

Nothing to worry about...

Okay...

Proxac? Valium? Halcyon?

zot, i knew u'd do the research for me and u did. thanks.

now do some research on the direction of the russian economy, and the social direction that putin is taking the country. do research on the selling off of russian assets, the gross depletion of FDI and the national disputes to access to the north pole black gold. also do some research on how putin came to the conclusion that it belongs to them, and how by that same 'putin reasoning' canada owns europe. also do some research on the population change in russia over the years and suppressing of democratic values.

trust me, they are nothing to worry about. its so typical of russians to say that the cold war isn't over. even american-russians say that. a culture who's pride is more important than its future.

Can you imagine what the Russians think when our own sub surfaces and hits a Japanese trawler?

and btw, its proZac and HalcIon. and if you need drugs to keep you calm about the big mighty scary russian aggression, then u need to also take the foil off ur head and chill.

owe and do some research on the boots worn by the russian troops that marched into Georgia.

putin is a prick and he's making that country get worse before it gets better unfortunately.

Cuban poverty is a consequence of US policy, not Castro. The primary forces behind US policy towards Cuba is the CIA and organized crime. They're quite a team, probably even killed Kennedy.

can you imagine what the russians think when they see us shooting missiles out of the sky? they pee their pants because they think we really designed the shit for them. clue to russia and zot: great power war is long over.

nutcase, well it was castro that decided to tell us to F off, so its the chicken or the egg. ur right though, we should have 'given in' and opened up trade with them, we could have won that country over like we won over nam.

and we all know it was the fuku curse out of the DR that killed kennedy..... for similar cia reasons as you put.

The Russian Navy is a shadow of its former self. Even with the money from oil and gas revenues it had not seen a major expansion. We sent ships to Georgian ports on the Black Sea, so they are sending a couple of ships to visit in our neighborhood. A few neocons will predict the end of the world as we know it (and push for big defense expenditures that also benefit thier think tanks) but otherwise this is a non-story.

The most telling note is the Russians sent two warships, a supply ship and a tug boat......

well put armadillo. thats exactly what it is, a saving face move. and neocons/generals that push for this great power war bullshit with china are just wasting our money and resources.

The next war isn't going to be fought with the navy anyway. Like someone else pointed out, navy ships are just big floating targets these days.

It looks to me like the Russians have the advantage when it comes to space warfare. Our shuttle system is aging, cumbersome and takes too many tries to get it right in time of war. The Russians have heavy lift capabilities that we now are dependent on too. One nuke in space and our whole satellite system could be in trouble. It's time to stop the aggression and begin working together.

Will he (Obama) stand up or hide under his desk like Kennedy did during The Bay of Pigs? - FWTHOM

Well, he will certainly do something other than read "My Pet Goat" during an attack on the country.

Reading this type of news, it's hard not to think of 20 or so years wasted. Since the fall of communism, the door was wide open to make cuba an ally, or even for the u.s. to incorporate the island as you did with puerto rico. Being this rancorous borders on obsession and makes people blind to obvious opportunities.

yea the shuttle system difference is embarrassing.... however nasa was/is a waste of money. private enterprise will pave the future of space flight.

but ur overall point: its time to stop the aggression and begin working together. is spot on. we've dropped our aggression towards russia, but they haven't reciprocated.... they're outside foe to keep citizens in check is the USA, we got terrorists.

they'll never admit and you'll never find evidence of the hopkins doctors that flew to moscow in the 70's to give brezhnev a triple bi-pass, or the US navy helping re-train the russian navy from a global navy to a coastal peacekeeping force in the early 90s. again, current russian pride is more important than future russian prosperity in their minds.

panch, in the 20 or so years that communism has fallen, there are many more problems that are a direct result of the weakening russian power. countless small global conflicts have been created as a direct result of russia's decline. and they won't work with us with what little power we have left because they are too proud and frankly because we took advantage of being the sole super power and abused that position (read iraq).

"...if you need drugs to keep you calm about the big mighty scary russian aggression, then u need to also take the foil off ur head and chill."

#42 | Posted by Yodar013

I guess I work in an environment that allows me to view things differently than you. The Bear is neither clawless nor toothless.

"putin is a prick"

Perhaps, but he is once scary, intelligent, capable prick.

the future power partners of the world are with the US, china and india. lets not repeat the same mistakes. and lets hope the chinese are willing to work more with others.

I could never figure htis on-going obsession against Cuba, excpet for the fact that both parties needed the Cuban ex-patriot vote to win Florida. Even after almost 50 of isolation, Cuba is still communist and still under the Castros.

Cuba is not a significant threat, and our efforts so far have not brought the end of the regime. We have more to offer the Cubans than the Russians or the Chinese. If we started to play nice with them and offered them a carrot or two we could probably ween them off the Russians pretty quickly and put this Cold War leftover to bed.

zot, why not respond to one of my 'points' or examples of weakening russian power? instead u choose to respond to my sarcastic joking comment? what environment do you work in? and yes the bear is not only clawless, its pawless and jawless.

sure, i'd say putin is intelligent and capable, but instead of going with scary, i'd go with egotistical, short and selfish. overall he's a fucking dick who thinks he can kill off whoever he wants without any backlash from the international community. nobody trusts his ass and thats why the egoist has to align himself with assholes in iran, venezuela and cuba. u think he likes those guys? yea right.

and besides what napoleon complexed jerk-off needs to have national photos of himself fishing topless or wrestling a bear? the guy is a joke and nothing to be scared of. hell, he's scared of shit we are putting up in poland that doesn't even concern him or his country.

armadillo, its more complicated than that. we've tried a bit. the castros won't have it. they've got their personal carrots and they could give a shit about the people.

ringmaster: the name follows the post.

The hippies comment was from LeeAtwater.

clue to russia and zot: great power war is long over.

Just played in a different setting. The Chinese mainland and Taiwan are suddenly bffs, Israel and Syria are talking and Isreal has dusted off the saudi peace plan. The arabs in the ME are starting to play nicely with Iran, too.

Power shifts, and the rules do too.

lol, yea well we all know why the arabs in the ME are playing nicely with iran.... they finally found out that the US isn't going to stop iran from having the bomb. in return, we got a dramatic downturn in iranian support to al sadr's shiite militia. hence the iraqi stability for a couple years now.

good to hear about the new bffs, that had to happen eventually.

yodar,

I'm not sure I understood your post. Who cares about russia in the context of building a solid relationship between the u.s. and cuba? The whole point is to cut them out of the deal.

It just seems like a huge missed opportunity that can only be explained by a cry-baby, vindictive, short-sighted vision of int'l affairs.

"Does anyone think that the worldwide depression is an American plot to destabilize some of the countries that are pursuing policies adverse to us by depriving them of oil revenues.

Johnson here is your answer:
www.worldreports.org

I just hope one of those toxic pieces of russian junk, especially if they have one of their nuke subs in the gulf doesn't sink. The russian navy hasn't been very good in upkeeping their ships and a 10,000 mile cruise has to be detrimental to naval designs which probably saw it's last overhaul 20 years ago.

Should we get worried when they send their warships up the Potomic and point all the guns at the White House. Thats when the Talkmeister can really use his Harvard debating skills.

To yodaro13...I never heard of him. I wrote it. The comment was from me.

Sorry, you meant the comment I wrote about. Dummy me.