Your Blowing It Obama

Why! Why! Why! Bill Richardson as Commerce Sec.? Maybe he will be good at it, but why put someone as Sec of State who disagrees with you on the most important foreign policy issue of our time, and then put someone with Richardson's experience in foreign policy and energy as Commerce Sec? Oh, and Richardson wasn't for the invasion of Iraq either. So very disappointed.

Them Fightin Words

If I could steal a line from Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holiday from the movie Tombstone, "Are we cross?"

(AP/Sea Times) Who was President Vladimir Putin talking about when he said the world faces threats to peace like those that led to World War II?

Putin's statement at a Victory Day parade on Red Square on Wednesday was artfully phrased to be both blunt and vague — but political observers have little doubt he was criticizing the United States for "disrespect for human life, claims to global exclusiveness and dictate, just as it was in the time of the Third Reich."

I have a hard time disagreeing with that statement, but is this not the ultimate pot calling the kettle black? Power grab in energy, mysterious deaths or the jailing of political opponents and a reverse of civil liberties in the U.S.Russia.

82nd Not Ready To Deploy

The Army says that the First Brigade of the 82nd Airborne is no longer able to respond within 18 hours to a war zone. In fact, the 82nd had to cancel the annual Memorial Day parade because the majority of their 17,000 troops were overseas.

Here is the part that should make some nervous, well unless you are an enemy of the U.S.

(NY Times) Pentagon officials worry that among the just over 20 Army brigades left in the United States or at Army bases in Europe and Asia, none has enough equipment and manpower to be sent quickly into combat, except for an armored unit stationed permanently in South Korea, several senior Army officers said.

“We are fully committed right now,” said Col. Charles Hardy of the Forces Command, which oversees Army training and equipping of troops to be sent overseas. “If we had a fully trained-up brigade, hell, it’d be the next one to deploy.”

Russian Journalist Takes Header Off Fifth Floor

I missed this one last week, but apparently another critic of Putin has met their untimely death. Vladimir Isachenkov was investigating the sale of weapons to Iran and Syria via Belarus when he was warned not to go public or he would face criminal charges. Apparently they were punishable by death.

(Canada.com) If confirmed, such a contract would upset the balance of forces in the Mideast and likely anger Israel and the United States.

Safronov did not say where the warning came from, according to Kommersant, but he had repeatedly been questioned in the past by the Federal Security Service or FSB, which suspected him of divulging state secrets in his reports. The FSB is the main successor agency to the KGB.

“Ivan Safronov said he was not going to write about it for a while because he was warned that it would create a huge international scandal and the FSB would launch a criminal case on charges of breaching state secrets,” it said.

And why would Israel and the U.S. be upset?

Upon his return from the trip, it said, Safronov told colleagues that he also had learned about Russian plans to provide Syria with Iskander missiles, MiG-29 fighter jets and Pantsyr-S1 air-defence systems.

The Iskander, a sophisticated surface-to-surface missile with a range of about 280 kilometres, would give Syria the capability to strike targets in Israel with high precision. Israel has complained about past sales of anti-tank missiles to Syria, saying that some landed in the hands of the militant group Hezbollah.

What would the Arab translation be for Bay of Pigs?

More Poisoned People In Russia

What the hell is going on in Russia?

Russian Spy Murder Comes To America

A man who said that Moscow was behind the murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, was shot several times outside his DC home. The man shot, Paul Joyal, said 4 days before he was shot

(BBC) Four days before he was shot, Mr Joyal told NBC's Dateline television programme that he had struck up a friendship with the former agent during trips to London.

In his interview, Mr Joyal said: "A message has been communicated to anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin - 'if you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you and we will silence you - in the most horrible way possible'."

Somewhat prophetic, huh?

What's Old Is New Again

The U.S. and Russia are up to old tricks. What once looked like positive steps between our government and theirs was nothing more than window dressing. In recent years we have seen Russia send missiles to Iran, which Russia says are for defensive purposes. We've learned that our military was sending missiles to Poland and the Czech Republic, for defensive purposes. And now we learn that Russia is close to an agreement with Syria to send them anti-tank missiles.

Wait, breaking news, Brittney's head is still shaved!

Going The Wrong Way

A Russian general has suggested that Russia might drop out of an arms-reduction treaty with the U.S. if we put weapon systems in Poland and Czech Republic.

(AP/IHT) "We shall see what our American partners do," Baluyevsky was quoted as saying by Interfax, ITAR-Tass and RIA Novosti. "Their actions to deploy missile defense sites in Europe are inexplicable."

Putin has said he does not trust American claims that the planned European missile-defense system is intended to counter threats from Iran, and he has warned that Russia would take retaliatory measures.

This may or may not be big news compared to a dead blond and snow in February(unless you live in Oswego NY), but it would be nice if the MSM started paying a little more attention.

Russian Arrested Trying To Sell Uranium

A Russian man was arrested in Tbilisi last summer, during a joint U.S./Georgia sting, for trying to sell a small amount(3.5 oz) of uranium to undercover agents. When Russian authorities were asked to help in the investigation, they did the Russian thing and stonewalled Georgian officials. So those officials have gone public with this to put pressure in Russia.

(BBC) "We were ready to provide all the information, but unfortunately no-one arrived from Russia, not even to interview this person," Mr Merabishvili said.

"It is surprising because it is in Russian interests to secure these materials. There are terrorist organizations in Russia who would pay huge amounts of money for this."

Brrrrrrrr!

China Boisterously Joins Militarization Of Space

While some say it was done to provoke, others say it was a wake up call. Up until now, our government hasn't made many concessions when it comes to militarizing space. Maybe it was because we thought no one else had the technology or the money to make it happen, and if we could do it first, what a military advantage for us it would be. Well, with a single missile China announced it's presence.

(NYT) “It could be a shot across the bow,” said Theresa Hitchens, director of the Center for Defense Information, a private group in Washington that tracks military programs. “For several years, the Russians and Chinese have been trying to push a treaty to ban space weapons. The concept of exhibiting a hard-power capability to bring somebody to the negotiating table is a classic cold war technique.”

Is this M.A.D., the space version?

Iran Stocking Up On Weapons

Russia has delivered short-range "AA" missiles to Iran as part of a $1 billion contract to supply Iran with weapons. And even after sanctions were placed on Iran, Russia says

(Reuters) "Iran is not under sanctions and if it wants to buy defensive ... equipment for its armed forces then why not?"

In other related news, it turns out that Iran has been using third-party groups to buy up surplus "U.S." military equipment. Stuff like rocket launchers, body armor(maybe that is why our troops buy their own) Chinook helicopter parts, jet parts and missile components. It's also said that Iran is now trying to acquire parts for the F-14 Tomcat. How easy is it for them?

(CBS) The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found it alarmingly easy to acquire sensitive surplus. Last year, its agents bought $1.1 million worth — including rocket launchers, body armor and surveillance antennas — by driving onto a base and posing as defense contractors.

"They helped us load our van," Kutz said. Investigators used a fake identity to access a surplus Web site operated by a Pentagon contractor and bought still more, including a dozen microcircuits used on F-14 fighters.

It's almost like some want Iran to become a military power so we can attack them.

Turkmenistan To Pick Candidates

Members in a council of elders in Turkmenistan have agreed to a Feb. 11 date to "pick" the candidates to run in the upcoming election to replace Saparmurat Niyazov, their forceful leader who died last week.

(AFP) "These elections will be of the highest standards," said Murad Karryev, head of Turkmenistan's central electoral commission. The country's interim president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has said that the elections will be "democratic".

Yes, because 2,500 people "picking" the candidates for the rest of the country has the smell of "democratic" elections.

Pay Attention To Turkmenistan

The ruler of Turkmenistan, Saparmurad Niyazov, has unexpectedly died. And while no one is saying there is any foul play(like polonium poisoning), it has left a vacuum in Turkmenistan which many parties are willing to fill. So why should we pay attention to this?

(SF Gate)Experts are now predicting a volatile power struggle in Turkmenistan, a desert country of 5 million with massive natural gas reserves and a strategic location bordering the Caspian Sea, Iran and Afghanistan.

The U.S. and Europe have tried to build pipelines bypassing Russian soil and sending gas to Europe and the rest of the world. By doing this, Europe would free itself from a building dependence of Russian energy. Which obviously would not make Russian President Vladimir Putin happy. And with Russian energy company Gazprom and Putin trying to consolidate the energy sector under government control, you have the ingredients for problems.

Russia Goes After IBM Now

So now the Russian government is accusing IBM of embezzlement. Why would anyone want or continue to do business in Russia? It seems pretty obvious that Putin and his circle don't want any company, that the government doesn't own, becoming successful in Russia.

Moscow And London Not Seeing Eye To Eye

It seems that the Litvinenko investigation is running into a little resistance in Russia. Scotland Yard investigators are being denied some of their early requests to access.

(UPI) It didn't help Russia's image when it surfaced Tuesday that Scotland Yard wasn't allowed to question imprisoned former spy Mikhail Trepashkin, who claims Russia created a spy division tasked with killing Kremlin critics such as Litvinenko.

It's good to see freedom on the march in Russia too.

Italian And Alexander Litvinenko's Wife Now Test Positive

An Italian security expert who met with Alexander Litvinenko at the infamous sushi bar has also tested positive for radiation poisoning. And CNN is just reporting from a family source that Alexander Litvinenko's wife might be poisoned too. This keeps getting bigger and bigger.

More Planes Under Suspicion

British officials are now interested in a fourth and fifth plane with a possible connection to the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

A fourth aircraft has become embroiled in the public health scare surrounding the death of Russian former spy Alexander Litvinenko, Home Secretary John Reid revealed today. And BA has decided not to return a third plane from Moscow until the position becomes clearer.
……
"There is one other Russian plane, that we know, that we think we would be interested in. There may be other airplanes of which we don't at this stage know. But those are the five we know of," Reid told parliament.

Getting a little cold in here, and I'm not talking about the winter storm today.

Thousands Now Possibly At Risk

Trace amounts of radiation have been found on some British Airways jets. These jets have been used in regular flights between London and Moscow. The airliner is currently in the process of contacting some 10,000 people, even though they say the risk is low. Seems like Putin has some explaining to do.

Another Ex-Russian Official Sick

This time it is ex-P.M. Yegor Gaidar. And like the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, Gaidar hasn't always agreed with Putin. Unlike Litvinenko, Gaidar is not in London but in a Russian hospital, so we have to wonder how much truth will actually come out about what Gaidar has.

Russia Sends Air Defense Missiles To Iran

The captain has turned on the seat belt sign because we are about to experience some turbulence!