^I wonder what Obama promised them in the first place for agreeing to sanctions that many European countries were against.
I take it these are the sanctions imposed over Crimea.
Sanctions are sanctions. The Japanese were drawn into a war with the USA over economic sanctions. The LORD is awaiting the heavens to align.
The LORD has had plenty of provercation from the crusader coalition ( harry watch the latest ISIS video. The depict their enemies as the crusadrs) who would have thought that.
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A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.
Bit sneaky using that holy water on the Sukhois. Cheaper than 5th generation stealth paint though I guess.
If holy water is fair game in love and war then why not send an air wing of crop dusters with tanks of Christian holy water to spray on the ISIS paramilitaries? It will either convert them or kill them!
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The LORD works in mysterious ways harry. My suggestion is to try and include more photos of a countries political leader with the countries religious leaders. Some countries have many different religious leaders. Why not start a new thread, I'm sure many will be thrilled. It may not get a 5* rating, but it will keep you busy.
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And unfcuk himself? NopeOriginally Posted by harrybarracuda
He is quite dangerous, mainly to Russia.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/putin-...133000224.html
One of the prevailing narratives about the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1980s was that the Kremlin destroyed its own economy from within by dedicating scarce resources to the arms race with the United States. Rather than investing in necessary technologies and infrastructure, the story goes, the Kremlin poured money into a self-destructive military build-up that eventually hollowed out the rest of the economy.
Not all historians of the period agree on that explanation, but many believe that military spending to the exclusion of other investment at least contributed to, if not directly caused, the collapse of the Soviet Empire.
Related: Putin’s War of Words with Turkey Escalates to Nukes and Ethnic Cleansing
So, one might expect that Russian leaders who lived through that period, such as current President Vladimir Putin, might be somewhat sensitive to the possibility that starving other parts of the economy in order to feed a growing military is potentially dangerous.
However, Sergei Alexashenko, former deputy chair of the Central Bank of Russia and former chair of Merrill Lynch Russia, doesn’t seem to be the case.
Now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Alexashenko wrote in an op-ed published Thursday in the Moscow Times that in a time of particular economic peril, the Kremlin is once again going down that same road.
“It is well known that only the upsurge in military production is keeping Russian industry afloat, even while it wastes precious resources needed for moving the economy forward,” he wrote.
Related: Putin Stirs the Pot in Turkey and Iraq
“The most discouraging outcome of 2015 is the continued decline in investment,” he continued. “The latest sequestration in the federal budget has led to a new round of investment cutbacks in non-military sectors. The volume of investment in both industrial and residential construction has fallen. In 2016, budget expenditures will drop by at least 3 percent to 5 percent in real terms. Two-thirds of all profits are earned by raw materials export companies, whose owners — according to the Finance Minister — prefer paying dividends to investing in development because they ‘lack confidence that investing profits in Russia would ultimately produce revenues.’”
It’s a grim picture indeed for Russia, which is suffering under multiple burdens. Stung by international sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, Russia has also had to deal with plummeting prices for oil and natural gas. The Russian economy is disproportionately dependent on income from oil and gas sales, and the price of crude oil, which has plummeted by nearly two-thirds in the last 18 months, has had a devastating effect on the government’s finances and on the ruble. After the oil-pricing cartel OPEC announced this week that it would not cut production, crude prices dropped even further and the value of the Russian ruble against international benchmark currencies like the U.S. dollar moved toward record lows.
The ruble is worth about half as much as it was when oil was selling at $100 per barrel rather than its current level in the mid $30s. Russia has spent down a large fraction of its foreign currency reserves to protect it, but with little success.
The only certainty in the Russian economy these days appears to be that ordinary Russians will continue to suffer. One of the most popular investment vehicles in the country today is a derivative tied to the rate of inflation that rises in value as the already punishing inflation rate increases.
However, even in the face of bad economic news – and partly because of it – Putin remains wildly popular in Russia. How long he can maintain that level of popularity in the face of a flagging economy is anybody’s guess. But given the resilience of Putin’s image through Russia’s recent setbacks, it may take more than the current level of privation faced by ordinary Russians to generate real public anger.
^bollocks
^^^ A clear example of what is called 'talking your own book'. Meanwhile in the real world, Vlad enjoys domestic support that a western leader can only dream of. To say nothing of the international world- where most People applaud has actions against this monstrosity. Russia's air strike operations in Syria have proven far more effective than the USA, and whatever piss poor allies they may have (but, p'ssst, the US wasn't really trying to eliminate IS or AQ). This through a combination of will, power, and ground force co-ordination. The US has the air power, but has been unwilling to use it effectively because of it's misplaced priorities (remove Assad before all else!) and it's embarassing, disgraceful Sunni 'allies'. They are now embarrassed on the world stage, and deserve to be so.
Last edited by sabang; 14-12-2015 at 10:32 PM.
Living off red-neck russian jingoism by bullying weaker neighbours is the way he maintains popularity. Nothing admirable in that.Originally Posted by sabang
In your dreams.Originally Posted by sabang
They use decrepit technology that results in far more collateral damage than the yanks. They are cowboys led by the biggest cowboy on the stage.Originally Posted by sabang
Removing IS is the No1 priority for the USA and the west. Assad is a secondary concern.Originally Posted by sabang
^
You're getting sadder and sadder by the day loopy
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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
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You don't really live in the real world with the rest of us do you OHOH?
Western democratic government is accountable for its actions in ways that more backward dictatorial regimes are not.
Western leaders do not have their political opponents assassinated and jailed.
Leaders like Putin and other similar tinpot generals really can and do have these things done.
^ Maybe Thailand isn't the real world for you but some find it real enough.
In what way are the western governments held accountable? If you mean the Bill or Ben choices offered to the sheeple i can only fart in your general direction. You must have missed the admittances of guilt proffered by th political leaders years after to many events had been found fraudulent. Look back at even the western history books and they spring up with regular frequency.Originally Posted by Looper
There are many political opponents that are assassinated literally or metaphorically, if, you care to read.
Tinpot General eh. To have publicly humiliated the so called world policeman, the world most powerfull military force, to have publically revealed the illegal acts undertaken by them and their vassals, to have illustrated their futile efforts to resolve self inflamed world problems at best, or more truthfully, instigated and fed the 100,000s deaths around the world in the name of "freedom". You are one of that noble breed the Boreray.
Bleating all the way to the abattoir again.
If a western leader tried to have their political opposition assassinated or jailed they would be dragged over the coals for abusing their power and would likely end up in jail. That is a healthy political system where leaders have to account for the ways in which they use their power.Originally Posted by OhOh
You seem to think it is admirable and exciting that Putin's domestic political opponents are scared of him due to his lack of accountability and ruthlessness. There is nothing to admire when this fear is inspired by the implicit threat that that power of the state can be used illegally to destroy their lives and maybe even end them if they dare to oppose him.
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