patrick.net

I'm certain my hunch about the wild night in Havana has everything to do with it. Obama was sure that dumb little Island wasn't capable of lifting every word and every byte of Intel Obama's entourage exchanged those few days.

They need to shift focus away from Saudi Arabia.

Defense Contractors Tell Investors Russian Threat Is Great for Business
http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2016/august/20/us-defense-contractors-tell-investors-russian-threat-is-great-for-business/
The escalating anti-Russian rhetoric in the US presidential campaign comes in the midst of a major push by military contractors to position Moscow as a potent enemy that must be countered with a drastic increase in military spending by NATO countries.
Weapon makers have told investors that they are relying on tensions with Russia to fuel new business in the wake of Russian’s annexation of Crimea and modest increases in its military budget...
Retired Army Gen. Richard Cody, a vice president at L-3 Communications, the seventh largest US defense contractor, explained to shareholders in December that the industry was faced with a historic opportunity. Following the end of the Cold War, Cody said, peace had “pretty much broken out all over the world,” with Russia in decline and NATO nations celebrating. “The Wall came down,” he said, and “all defense budgets went south.”
Now, Cody argued, Russia “is resurgent” around the world, putting pressure on US allies. “Nations that belong to NATO are supposed to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense,” he said, according to a transcript of his remarks. “We know that uptick is coming and so we postured ourselves for it.”
Speaking to investors at a conference hosted by Credit Suisse in June, Stuart Bradie, the chief executive of KBR, a military contractor...

Laura Ingraham ‏@IngrahamAngle
We have gone from "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall" to "Mr. Putin, whatever you think is best." #flexibility #USSR #Motherland

Not much to lose and a decoy from the Israel UN vote debacle. Trump has a huge focus on China-if he makes do, big liberal companies like Apple and others have billions to lose-we may gain millions of jobs-but what do those billionares care about??

Logan, don't deflect and post someone else's thoughts, rather than a single,original idea of your own.

freespeechforever says

patrick.net Question of Decade: Why Does Establishment Claim Russia is "Enemy"?

In the 1700s the people began to topple monarchies and replace them with republics. The monarchies hated the very notion of a republic because it meant an end to the free ride they've been getting for centuries. In the 1900s the people began to topple capitalist rulers and replace them with communists. The capitalists hated the very notion of communism because it mean an end to the free ride they've been getting for centuries.

Neither republics nor communism are particularly great systems, but that's not the point. The point is that the powerful never want to lose power or the gravy train of wealth they extort from the general public. Both republics and communism threatened that gravy train.

I don't have any problem with Logan or anyone else posting someone else's idea with attribution, like he did. As long as it's an interesting point, it's worth posting.

Logan Mohtashami says

Laura Ingraham ‏@IngrahamAngle

If the name behind the tweet didn't ring a bell.... then I should also add that this was said on September 10, 2013

Politics

POLY

TICKS

... advantage ... disadvantage ... just some of us know that game by now and know that what one party believes today... it might not believe in the next cycle

Logan, you should've just stated that you think that Laura Ingraham now has a hypocritical posture, flip-flopping, relative to where she stood in prior years on the issue of Russia, vis-a-vis The United States.

And you did not respond with your own opinion about why Russia is portrayed as an enemy of the U.S., and whether they should or should not be, and the reasons as to why such is the case.

Please do not try reason with the self promo bot.

freespeechforever says

Russia is portrayed as an enemy

Russia is a bad demographic economic country, small country, doesn't really make anything of value, it's currency moves all over the map with the price of oil... they have a lot nuclear weapons, that's about it.

But.. to be portrayed as a enemy is because they don't have our same values, Putin is a dark soul man.... He doesn't like NATO and I don't blame him one bit.

US establisment? It's Russia who openly declared US as enemy in their military doctrine. Shall we continue to excersize "strategic patience" and pretend they didn't? To what end?

Logan, you be to be the biggest fool l've ever met online. (And that's saying something)
You haven't yet answered the question.

I'm doubting you even understand the question... I thought you studied history? Your summation of Russia/USSR is...
Has bad demographics.
Doesn't manufacture much.
Volatile currency in relation to oil.
Has a lot of things that go boom.

Putin is a dark soul man? WTF are you talking about? You don't even know him. Perhaps you think he's James Brown??

Therefore what? We in the west have a grudge against 'them' because of their ineptitude?

Short, badly written sentences full of non sequiturs, coupled with incoherent babbling, faulty reasoning and inability to express oneself with any clarity whatsoever... Only underline the chaos of your thought processes as you attempt to fight through the narcissism that blankets your brain.

freespeechforever says

single,original idea of your own.

What this you speak of?

I find the recent U.S. troop movements in Poland, Norway, Ukraine, etc, during Obama's last lame-duck days very telling and disturbing.

It's as if the military-industrial complex is screaming "we're going to try & make a good/bad empire duopoly relevant again" (because it's highly profitable building weapons in such eras where we can deceive the masses.

Gotta scare people into believing that there's an imminent threat to their existence that requires nearly 32% of their total taxes and government budgets if they're going to make war-profiteering great again!

rando says

They need to shift focus away from Saudi Arabia.

Good job patrick. One person on patnet with a clue. That is above average.

That being said Trump embracing Russia and sucking up to Putin is stupid. Russia isn't going to directly challenge the US. They are going to continue to support their cold war alliances, most of which are countries the US opposes. Including shia muslim countries. Russia will cause mischief to their advantage anywhere the opportunity pops up. If it that causes problems for the US then too bad. The US needs to be respectful, but extremely wary of Russia. It is very unlikely they are never going to be a friend or ally. History and culture is very much against it.

What I don't understand is that through the 2000s, Putin was a ruthless dictator, having journalists & others mysteriously die, however, during that time period, he was a this 'nice guy' free market President, great ally of America in the mainstream press.

And then, starting around the Sochi Olympics, the media suddenly started calling him a ruthless dictator when that was never hidden for all the years before it.

Russia & Saudi Arabia have core, common interests, IMO, chief among them being higher long-term crude oil prices, natural gas prices and pipeline distribution network to Europe, and, particularly important to the Ruling House of Saud Family (despite their reluctance to openly admit it), destroying militant Islam (which threatens the Saudi Ruling Family, which is why Osama Bin-laden, aka Tim Osmond, financed while the CIA when he was fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, was banished from the kingdom despite having a politically connected and wealthy father who had co tracts with House of Saud).

junkmail says

You don't even know him.

Clap Clap Clap

Chart please.

Logan Mohtashami says

Laura Ingraham ‏@IngrahamAngle

We have gone from "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall" to "Mr. Putin, whatever you think is best." #flexibility #USSR #Motherland

AllTruth says

Ruling House of Saud Family (despite their reluctance to openly admit it), destroying militant Islam (which threatens the Saudi Ruling Family, which is why Osama Bin-laden, aka Tim Osmond, financed while the CIA when he was fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, was banished from the kingdom despite having a politically connected and wealthy father who had co tracts with House of Saud).

sure, but that doesn't mean that there aren't people in the House of Saud still financing terrorism

http://www.salon.com/2016/01/06/saudi_arabia_funds_and_exports_islamic_extremism_the_truth_behind_the_toxic_u_s_relationship_with_the_theocratic_nation/

You guys should listen to what Rex Tillerson said about Russia ( congressional testimony) in terms of why and what form is Russia our adversary.

No time. I read faster than he talks.
Link please.

Logan Mohtashami says

You guys should listen to what Rex Tillerson said about Russia ( congressional testimony) in terms of why and what form is Russia our adversary.

Logan, you should a) post anything that is YOUR OWN OPINION RATHER THAN KEEP REFERRING TO OTHERS' OPINIONS (because your brain is tiny, apparently), and b) post some random charts while you're at it.

prodigy says

No time. I read faster than he talks.

Tillerson called Russia an "unfriendly adversary" which poses a "danger" as it attempts to advance its own interests in eastern Europe.

Name a country that doesn't attempt to advance its own interests, Logan.

Dumb Fuck!

AllTruth says

Dumb Fuck!

That was Tillerson's answer to the question is Russia our enemy

You old man are particular grumpy on this thread, am I missing something here, is this the big thread idea for Pat.net

Or did the pill not work this weekend?

Logan, you are proving my point.

There's not a single, original thought in your empty skull.

A head CT scan would show a parakeet on a swing inside your head.

This is common knowledge.
What about his testimony is not?

Logan Mohtashami says

Tillerson called Russia an "unfriendly adversary" which poses a "danger" as it attempts to advance its own interests in eastern Europe.

AllTruth says

A head CT scan would show a parakeet on a swing inside your head.

This is my point, I am missing something here?. prodigy says

What about his testimony is not?

So, going with my theme of not having the same values as America. Now, obviously the term enemy can mean a lot things these days with how the world is more connected together

Tillerson's answer ..... which is the question that is proposed on this thread

"We're not likely to ever be friends," he said, adding that the United States and Russia "do not hold the same values."

So I gave you the thesis of not having the same values, hence why we always look at Russia as our enemy. Also, most likely the new Secretary of State had a similar view to the question that was proposed on this thread.

:-)

Logan parrots Tillerson's canned answer made to a Senate Panel that he knows wants to keep U.S.-Russian relations in bad shape (and actually actively try and further undermine) as he seeks Senate confirmation to become Secretary of State.

Of course Tillerson is going to provide responses that are canned, such as "they don't share our values." (Do China, Saudi Arabia, etc.)

Yet Logan doesn't realize that Tillerson isn't able to express his genuine, free opinions if he really wants to pass the Senate Kabuki Theater "tell them what they want to hear" litmus test.

If you don't like the answer ( We don't share the same values) then you don't like the answer.

However, that was my answer to why the Establishment looks at Russia as our enemy.

LOGAN - DO YOU think Russia (or China, or Iran, or Saudi Arabia, or any of another 100 nation-states) NOT SHARING OUR VALUES MAKES THEM OUR "ENEMY?"

AllTruth says

"ENEMY?"

China... obviously we have an economic relationship with, but we don't think of the as our true friends

Iran .... is more of an enemy to Israel which is a ally and we don't think of them as friends

Saudi Arabia, nobody really thinks of them as a friend, like Iran they're not friends with Israel either

Russia, is the same, they're more of a threat to Europe not to us directly

Plus, the hacking inncident, not that it changed the election is still an attack to our democracy. ( In terms of what the Establishment) thinks of them by not sharing our values

Plus, Putin himself and what he has done to some of his opponents, goes against our values.

China is way more of a long-term threat to the US than Russia, by a factor of about 20x.

China's economic growth is the engine that Russia now lacks and has always lacked, and that will allow China to invest far more heavily into weapons systems and conventional military forces than Russia could ever hope to.

China is already the world's #2 economy with a population of 1.3 billion.

China and the U.S. barely have any "shared values."

You buy into the "Putin boogeyman" propaganda, lock, stock and barrel.

Putin is hamstrung by factors China's leadership is not.

AllTruth says

by a factor of about 20x.

China doesn't come close to Russia's nuclear weapons.

To me the difference is that Russia's economy isn't strong and they don't have much to lose, where China actually wants to move forward with their state capitalism thesis.

However, your claim in terms of economics, the only 2 major economic powers are going to be China and the U.S.

Logan Mohtashami says

they don't have much to lose

Bwahahaha

What an idiot!

They have their lives to lose.

AllTruth says

Russia & Saudi Arabia have core, common interests, IMO, chief among them being higher long-term crude oil prices, natural gas prices and pipeline distribution network to Europe, and, particularly important to the Ruling House of Saud Family (despite their reluctance to openly admit it), destroying militant Islam (which threatens the Saudi Ruling Family, which is why Osama Bin-laden, aka Tim Osmond, financed while the CIA when he was fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, was banished from the kingdom despite having a politically connected and wealthy father who had co tracts with House of Saud).

Sorry, but Russia and Saudi Arabia have very little common interest. Here is a good article laying out the problems between them. http://nationalinterest.org/feature/russia-saudi-arabia-are-headed-showdown-16362. The house of Saud and Saudi money, both government and private, is THE source of terrorism around the world. They created and funded the entire worldwide Wahhabi jihadist terrorism movement and are actively supporting jihadist groups in Syria as well as across the region even into Russia. They have zero interest in destroying militant Islam, they are supporting it. They are only interested in controlling it so it doesn't threaten them. Russia is mostly allied with the shia in the middle east. Syria, Iran, Iraq. Wahhbabi (aka saudi) is a radical sunni sect dedicated to destroying shia and moderate sunni. Not much common ground to be had.

Bin Laden wasn't exiled for supporting terrorism. He as exiled for being a threat to the Saudi government, claiming they weren't Islamic enough. Big difference.