Putin for the win!

[GannonFan]

How soon we forget...

Russia broke the bank in Afghanistan before we got their
They flushed billions down the toilet and we laughed all the while
Russia can't afford any kind of extended military anything - pretty much anywhere - they are near bankrupt

We should be laughing at Russia not lauding their collective genius
They are a 3rd world country almost flat broke

Just let the banks foreclose on them - soldiers who don't get paid - don't fight for long
Things break down and need fixing supply lines and air support - it ain't happening

Even the Republican Magazine FORBES says it ain't long till the whole thing folds

Again, thank God for fracking! By keeping world-wide oil prices super low, fracking has done more to injure our foreign political foes (i.e. Russia and Iran) more than anything else we've probably done in the past 30 years, Democrat or Republican. Even with the Saudis trying to pump out more oil to force the American frackers our of the market, those frackers still around, of which there are many, simply became more cost efficient and have frustrated Saudi attempts to eventually raise the prices back up again. Russia's big hammer was the ability to make tons of money and political tolerance off of Europe's dependence on Russia's energy supply and that's jeopardized when the world-wide market is so depressed price-wise. So again, thank you fracking!

[Chizzang]

Again, thank God for fracking! By keeping world-wide oil prices super low, fracking has done more to injure our foreign political foes (i.e. Russia and Iran) more than anything else we've probably done in the past 30 years, Democrat or Republican. Even with the Saudis trying to pump out more oil to force the American frackers our of the market, those frackers still around, of which there are many, simply became more cost efficient and have frustrated Saudi attempts to eventually raise the prices back up again. Russia's big hammer was the ability to make tons of money and political tolerance off of Europe's dependence on Russia's energy supply and that's jeopardized when the world-wide market is so depressed price-wise. So again, thank you fracking!

This ^ is 100% correct...

[CID1990]

I like to gently remind my more liberal colleagues sometimes (BTW at DoS, "more liberal colleagues" means everybody) when they talk about the global village- that in this village Russia is the trailer park.

They do have the Camaro and the nice stereo, but they are paycheck to paycheck to keep the tank full and the electricity on.

But that said, they ARE an adversary- solely by choice- and they bring to the table two things: one of the world's most shrewd diplomats in Sergey Lavrov, and a foreign policy which consists of only one litmus test: does this hurt or embarrass the US?

I got no problem with ^ that...
My concern is that regular old Americans not be fooled by FOX News
"Why aren't we fighting a land war against Russia in Syria" nonsense is so stupid it makes me pause

We were far more successful letting Russia do battle with Middle Eastern militants (it bankrupted them)
from 1979 to 1989 The Red Army drained all Russian available funds
and all we had to do was supply the Mujahideen with Stinger missiles

Historically
Every Russian escapade into the relative middle east has been a near catastrophic financial failure

I'm not hearing the same drumbeat to war that you're hearing.

Russia is taking this opportunity to poke Obama in the eye - all we had to do was nothing. No red lines, no calls for regime change. But he cant keep his mouth shut- narcissists are like that- and now the Russians get to look like good guys at the UN.

All we have to do at this point- is nothing. Russia will get their tails kicked soon enough

Want to bet the mouths keep running in Washington?

[CitadelGrad]

Again, thank God for fracking! By keeping world-wide oil prices super low, fracking has done more to injure our foreign political foes (i.e. Russia and Iran) more than anything else we've probably done in the past 30 years, Democrat or Republican. Even with the Saudis trying to pump out more oil to force the American frackers our of the market, those frackers still around, of which there are many, simply became more cost efficient and have frustrated Saudi attempts to eventually raise the prices back up again. Russia's big hammer was the ability to make tons of money and political tolerance off of Europe's dependence on Russia's energy supply and that's jeopardized when the world-wide market is so depressed price-wise. So again, thank you fracking!

This ^ is 100% correct...

Almost 100% correct.

It is the Saudis who are keeping prices low in order to drive the marginal players out of the American oil industry. To a large degree they have been successful. Saudi has actually resisted pressure from Russia and a number of OPEC countries to raise oil prices.

[Ibanez]

How soon we forget...

Russia broke the bank in Afghanistan before we got their
They flushed billions down the toilet and we laughed all the while
Russia can't afford any kind of extended military anything - pretty much anywhere - they are near bankrupt

We should be laughing at Russia not lauding their collective genius
They are a 3rd world country almost flat broke

Just let the banks foreclose on them - soldiers who don't get paid - don't fight for long
Things break down and need fixing supply lines and air support - it ain't happening

Even the Republican Magazine FORBES says it ain't long till the whole thing folds

Again, thank God for fracking! By keeping world-wide oil prices super low, fracking has done more to injure our foreign political foes (i.e. Russia and Iran) more than anything else we've probably done in the past 30 years, Democrat or Republican. Even with the Saudis trying to pump out more oil to force the American frackers our of the market, those frackers still around, of which there are many, simply became more cost efficient and have frustrated Saudi attempts to eventually raise the prices back up again. Russia's big hammer was the ability to make tons of money and political tolerance off of Europe's dependence on Russia's energy supply and that's jeopardized when the world-wide market is so depressed price-wise. So again, thank you fracking!

At what cost? There's no happy medium in this case.

Fracking in America generated 280bn US gallons of toxic waste water last year – enough to flood all of Washington DC beneath a 22ft deep toxic lagoon, a new report out on Thursday found.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... washington" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GannonFan]

This ^ is 100% correct...

Almost 100% correct.

It is the Saudis who are keeping prices low in order to drive the marginal players out of the American oil industry. To a large degree they have been successful. Saudi has actually resisted pressure from Russia and a number of OPEC countries to raise oil prices.

And that's the thing, though, the marginal players in the American oil industry either weren't very populous or they've become more efficient in this period of the Saudis flooding the market. The Saudis haven't tried to let the prices rise because they know the minute they do back off production the spigots in America will just turn back on and keep the prices low while the Saudi's worldwide share diminishes. The Saudis would've loved to let prices soar a while ago, but they haven't been successful in driving American frackers from the market. They don't really have an end game right now, and that's great news for us because it keeps Russia under pressure and unable to profit from their oil manufacture. Fracking ftw!

[Grizalltheway]

Again, thank God for fracking! By keeping world-wide oil prices super low, fracking has done more to injure our foreign political foes (i.e. Russia and Iran) more than anything else we've probably done in the past 30 years, Democrat or Republican. Even with the Saudis trying to pump out more oil to force the American frackers our of the market, those frackers still around, of which there are many, simply became more cost efficient and have frustrated Saudi attempts to eventually raise the prices back up again. Russia's big hammer was the ability to make tons of money and political tolerance off of Europe's dependence on Russia's energy supply and that's jeopardized when the world-wide market is so depressed price-wise. So again, thank you fracking!

At what cost? There's no happy medium in this case.

Fracking in America generated 280bn US gallons of toxic waste water last year – enough to flood all of Washington DC beneath a 22ft deep toxic lagoon, a new report out on Thursday found.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... washington" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Drill baby, drill! Let your grand kids worry about the mess.

[Ibanez]

Almost 100% correct.

It is the Saudis who are keeping prices low in order to drive the marginal players out of the American oil industry. To a large degree they have been successful. Saudi has actually resisted pressure from Russia and a number of OPEC countries to raise oil prices.

And that's the thing, though, the marginal players in the American oil industry either weren't very populous or they've become more efficient in this period of the Saudis flooding the market. The Saudis haven't tried to let the prices rise because they know the minute they do back off production the spigots in America will just turn back on and keep the prices low while the Saudi's worldwide share diminishes. The Saudis would've loved to let prices soar a while ago, but they haven't been successful in driving American frackers from the market. They don't really have an end game right now, and that's great news for us because it keeps Russia under pressure and unable to profit from their oil manufacture. Fracking ftw!

It's probably been a year but I listened to interviews with small oil producers talking about this very issue. Low gas prices hurt them, however they've been able to become more efficient by making lucrative deals with American companies so that their infrastructure can be repaired, upgraded, expanded, etc... All at the expense of foreign oil.

[GannonFan]

Again, thank God for fracking! By keeping world-wide oil prices super low, fracking has done more to injure our foreign political foes (i.e. Russia and Iran) more than anything else we've probably done in the past 30 years, Democrat or Republican. Even with the Saudis trying to pump out more oil to force the American frackers our of the market, those frackers still around, of which there are many, simply became more cost efficient and have frustrated Saudi attempts to eventually raise the prices back up again. Russia's big hammer was the ability to make tons of money and political tolerance off of Europe's dependence on Russia's energy supply and that's jeopardized when the world-wide market is so depressed price-wise. So again, thank you fracking!

At what cost? There's no happy medium in this case.

Fracking in America generated 280bn US gallons of toxic waste water last year – enough to flood all of Washington DC beneath a 22ft deep toxic lagoon, a new report out on Thursday found.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... washington" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's 280bn US gallons of toxic waste, but that doesn't mean that it can't be treated and isn't being treated. Toxic waste is an issue if it's released to the environment as untreated toxic waste. Clean it up before you put in back in the environment and it's not an issue. Not saying it's a small undertaking or not without problems, but it's not unmanageable either.

[GannonFan]

At what cost? There's no happy medium in this case.



http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... washington" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Drill baby, drill! Let your grand kids worry about the mess.

Nonsense, let us worry about the mess. Plenty of jobs out there in waste treatment. Cleaning up toxic waste that isn't released to the enviroment as toxic waste is a pretty established industry. No reason why we can't manage this.

[GannonFan]

And that's the thing, though, the marginal players in the American oil industry either weren't very populous or they've become more efficient in this period of the Saudis flooding the market. The Saudis haven't tried to let the prices rise because they know the minute they do back off production the spigots in America will just turn back on and keep the prices low while the Saudi's worldwide share diminishes. The Saudis would've loved to let prices soar a while ago, but they haven't been successful in driving American frackers from the market. They don't really have an end game right now, and that's great news for us because it keeps Russia under pressure and unable to profit from their oil manufacture. Fracking ftw!

It's probably been a year but I listened to interviews with small oil producers talking about this very issue. Low gas prices hurt them, however they've been able to become more efficient by making lucrative deals with American companies so that their infrastructure can be repaired, upgraded, expanded, etc... All at the expense of foreign oil.

Yup, the Saudis didn't see the long term impact of their gambit - now there's a very efficient and agile American oil supply. Yay fracking!

[Ibanez]

At what cost? There's no happy medium in this case.



http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... washington" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's 280bn US gallons of toxic waste, but that doesn't mean that it can't be treated and isn't being treated. Toxic waste is an issue if it's released to the environment as untreated toxic waste. Clean it up before you put in back in the environment and it's not an issue. Not saying it's a small undertaking or not without problems, but it's not unmanageable either.

Agreed and understood. But are companies like Halliburton to be trusted. Have you heard of the Halliburton Loophole?

[GannonFan]

That's 280bn US gallons of toxic waste, but that doesn't mean that it can't be treated and isn't being treated. Toxic waste is an issue if it's released to the environment as untreated toxic waste. Clean it up before you put in back in the environment and it's not an issue. Not saying it's a small undertaking or not without problems, but it's not unmanageable either.

Agreed and understood. But are companies like Halliburton to be trusted. Have you heard of the Halliburton Loophole?

Nobody should be trusted. That's not how regulation is supposed to work. But what they're doing isn't substantially different than any other industry out there so it shouldn't be too onerous to regulate as much as we need to to ensure everything's above board.

[HI54UNI]

Fracking in America generated 280bn US gallons of toxic waste water last year – enough to flood all of Washington DC beneath a 22ft deep toxic lagoon, a new report out on Thursday found.

And why would this be a problem? Sounds like we've found a place to put it!

[Ibanez]

http://nypost.com/2015/09/29/obama-has- ... ul-leader/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The baton was officially transferred Monday to the world’s new sole superpower — and Vladimir Putin willingly picked it up.
President Obama (remember him?) embraced the ideals espoused by the United Nations’ founders 70 years ago: Diplomacy and “international order” will win over time, while might and force will lose.

[dbackjon]

http://nypost.com/2015/09/29/obama-has- ... ul-leader/

The baton was officially transferred Monday to the world’s new sole superpower — and Vladimir Putin willingly picked it up.
President Obama (remember him?) embraced the ideals espoused by the United Nations’ founders 70 years ago: Diplomacy and “international order” will win over time, while might and force will lose.

[Ivytalk]

http://nypost.com/2015/09/29/obama-has- ... ul-leader/

If you're laughing at the priceless expression on Putin's face in the picture with Obummer, you're right! But the Post article itself is no laughing matter.

[Grizalltheway]

If you're laughing at the priceless expression on Putin's face in the picture with Obummer, you're right! But the Post article itself is no laughing matter.

It is a bunch of bullshit, though. If anyone's going to rival us as a superpower, it's China.

[Chizzang]

[Seahawks08]

If you're laughing at the priceless expression on Putin's face in the picture with Obummer, you're right! But the Post article itself is no laughing matter.

It is a bunch of bullshit, though. If anyone's going to rival us as a superpower, it's China.

ding ding ding we have a winner!

[Ivytalk]

It is a bunch of bullshit, though. If anyone's going to rival us as a superpower, it's China.

ding ding ding we have a winner!

No, we don't. It's WTAG! He's never a winner!

[Grizalltheway]

ding ding ding we have a winner!

No, we don't. It's WTAG! He's never a winner!

Troof. GATW, on the other hand, is a fuckin' boss.

[CitadelGrad]

[ASUG8]

What could possibly go wrong with US and Russian aircraft flying over the same airspace?

His comments come on the heels of news that Russia has begun carrying out strategic airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday. A Russian general, on behalf of a coalition being headed by Moscow, gave roughly an hour's warning to the U.S. to steer clear of the country's airspace as its warplanes joined in the fight against ISIS.

The U.S. State Department said Moscow's request would be ignored, adding that American jets would continue to fly missions as part of a separate air campaign to root out the militants.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-t ... ia-n436361" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


What's the over/under on someone "accidentally" letting a missile slip and catch a Russian or coalition aircraft?

[Ibanez]

What could possibly go wrong with US and Russian aircraft flying over the same airspace?

His comments come on the heels of news that Russia has begun carrying out strategic airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday. A Russian general, on behalf of a coalition being headed by Moscow, gave roughly an hour's warning to the U.S. to steer clear of the country's airspace as its warplanes joined in the fight against ISIS.

The U.S. State Department said Moscow's request would be ignored, adding that American jets would continue to fly missions as part of a separate air campaign to root out the militants.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-t ... ia-n436361" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


What's the over/under on someone "accidentally" letting a missile slip and catch a Russian or coalition aircraft?

Maverick and Goose are ready on the deck...