World Opinion - Четыре

This is part four in case the Russian was a bit indecipherable.

The United States is a very large country. We are a country with over 300 million people living at any given time, within our borders. According to recent accounts, we add one new person every 30 seconds, and that new addition is not from birth increases. We have as many opinions in this country as we do people - on every subject.

At any given time we have Jerry Springer guests, some believe Elvis is alive, that UFOs fly our friendly skies, that bigfoot and creatures from middle earth transform into what appear to be earthlings, all the way over the ledge with the 9/11 conspiracies. We do have our share of fruitcakes, nuts, fools, idiots, and retarded rodeo clowns, BUT that number is, as a whole, statistically insignificant. Less than 1% of a population at any given time is irrelevant as to what their opinions are, and we tend, generally, as Americans, to be middle-of-the-roaders (not to be mistaken for middle -earthers although the US is or could be in the middle of the earth depending on ones perspective.

The number of fools and idiots, nuts, and fruitcakes who believe the nonsense listed above are deserving of a strong suggestion that they not reproduce, for all our sakes. That is generally how Americans regard idiocy. Then we have the flavorful retarded rodeo clowns who run around screaming and hissing about repairing American relations around the world to a chorus of Amens. For me, the chorus is even more problematic than retarded politicians. Mindless fools who like the sound of something and Amen it to death, who repeat the same mantra without evidence nor purpose - simply because they are the chorus.

One presidential candidate said they would immediately send two former presidents on a round-the-world tour to tell the world we are back (and open for business I presume) and work very hard to repair relations with all the nations of the world that have, for seven or eight years been trampled upon. I assume that also means the Lincoln Bedroom would also be back up for sale. A wise owl would ask - who are these nations we must repair relations with. Anyone who does not ask that question is neither wise nor very useful, instead they play to rhetoric and the retarded rodeo clown mentality (aka Jerry Springer guests).

So who are they, these esteemed nations we must work so hard to rebuild relations?

We have sorted out a few countries - Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, and North Korea. Now we will sort out Russia.

First, a few issues need to be sorted first - our relationship with Russia is two parts. First, leader to leader, and second, country to country. Leader to leader: Bush and Putin enjoy closer relations than any previous occupants of either office. Bush and Putin, personally, get along much better, more open discussions and agreements, than we will find with any previous occupants of either office - the White House or Kremlin. We cannot improve that relationship much unless we cede Alaska back to Russia.

Second, what disagreements exist do so in a very cordial manner. The hype is blown out of proportion by the media in both countries. In Russia, it is on purpose. In the US, the media blow it out of proportion without a deeper sense of what has transpired, and is ongoing.

Having set the stage with the above, there are major issues. Russia is seemingly sliding back toward totalitarianism, violates human rights, and conducts itself (intelligence agencies) as assassination squads around the world. Fewer television stations, less open media, government controlled media with the Kremlin dictating how much news and what type of news can be reported. The Kremlin called the print media in to hear directions - 50% of all news had to be positive about Russia. Further, the US had to be portrayed as the enemy of the Russian people.

Putin has seized control of television and print media. Centralized control over what is heard and printed. Journalists have been gunned down for doing very little but questioning the government and its policies.

Is this who we are supposed to rebuild relations with? Russia, attempting to, through blackmail, subvert the independent states that surround Russia, into a more closely held confederacy that would bind them almost as if they were within the greater Union. An attempt to rebuild the collapsed soviet Union - if only in terms of land mass.

What is quite interesting to ponder, if only during those moments when we seek to escape reality - when the Soviet union collapsed, in the weeks and months that followed, there was talk of Russia seeking admittance to NATO. Years later, Russian media reported an interest on the part of the government to seek US missile defense protection - to come under the umbrella of American protection. By 2003, the interest had waned, and an increased sense of Russian nationalism had gripped the military/government in Russia.

We cannot forget the Ukraine. The history of the Soviet Union is inextricably tied to the Ukraine for several reasons - food is one (grains), and the nuclear stockpile is the other. Today, possession of nuclear weapons and the wealth generated from those weapons sales/dismantling along with resources in the Ukraine - manganese, natural gas, oil, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, and nickel. Access and control of these resources benefits Russia. A Ukraine that does not call the Kremlin every morning for orders is a Ukraine that is a potential concern. In 2004-2005, Ukraine held elections and Victor Yushchenko ran for the presidency against a hand-picked Russian supporter from the Kremlin. Yushchenko was poisoned, seriously so - 1000 times the amount of dioxin was found in his system. Now, lets play 3 guesses as to who benefits if he dies?
a. France
b. Iran
c. Russia

C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C.

(I will not mention Georgia in this posting, but they cannot be ignored for they are as damning as the Ukraine.)

One need not be an OJ detective to see the path to conviction in the case. Motive, benefit, opportunity.

Assassination of political leaders in other countries, journalists who opposed the Kremlins authoritarian policies, a country awash in the mafia and corruption - control of the Kremlin not by the few munchkins who are elected but by billionaires and wealth/power that is unseen every day in Russia. Russian interest serves their benefit. Russia is their playground and the resources and wealth of Russia have been raped in order to provide great wealth to the handful who control.

Recently, the English papers ran several articles about Putin's secret accounts in Switzerland and in other European cities where billions may be hidden.

A country that is aiding - Iran to build a nuclear reactor, North Korea in its military development, and oddly, the opponents of the US - including Saddam until he collapsed in the week after the US invasion.

The US has stated it will use preemptive action against terrorists or states that harbor/aid/abet terrorists. We would use our military. We have not said we would use nuclear weapons first since the Cold War. Russia has now stated they will.

Some in this country believe we should mend fences with Russia? What searingly stupid moronic lunacy - Russia should be apologizing to us for assisting the enemies of the US and free peoples in South Korea and the Middle East.

Russia has been sorted.

We can move on now and deal with a few easy ones next time: France, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and England.