To Those Who Wonder About This ...

 ... and namely why China voted the way she voted (abstained from voting) on anti-Russian Resolution. 

As I wrote for years--be my guest and search this blog--China is a commercial civilization, and they love to trade. Hence their Belt and Road Initiative--a development of markets for Chinese goods. Critical in this whole idea always was and is the EU as the, highest, for now, solvency market. In this sense, China is torn between dissatisfaction from clear demolition of European solvency through effects of SMO and thus reducing the value of the main market for which BRI was conceived and, on the other hand, Chinese interests in terms of time Russia inadvertently bought for China by engaging a whole of combined West in a historic struggle. 

Now, the White House has POTUS who sees China not as a neutral commercial power but as a threat to the United States. It is clear that Trump needs to close the 404 Folder he inherited from DNC and Biden criminals and reroute America's resources towards the standoff with China, while simultaneously trying to woo Russia away from China, or vice-versa. So, China acts in this case as she always does--pragmatically and having own interests in mind first and foremost, as it should be. But let's put it into prospective here--SMO and Russia's victory over the combined West produced tectonic effects on Chinese plans which few could foresee in Beijing in 2021. It is a strain. This strain is not going to break close Russian-Chinese ties, but it surely changed the dyadic dynamics, and China now has to contend or resign herself to the fact that Russia reemerged as the premier global military superpower--a fact which many (not all, though, I stress it) in Beijing have been somewhat uncomfortable with and loved the idea of Russia being "a junior partner"--a cliche developed primarily in the West. So, China simply abstained, which, however, contrasts dramatically and historically with the US voting AGAINST anti-Russian Resolution. You gotta love this, LOL. Pop-corn time. 

This Is Exactly What...

... Naryshkin was talking about.  

МОСКВА, 7 мар — РИА Новости. В Карелии предотвратили теракт украинских спецслужб с участием гражданина Белоруссии, сообщили в Центре общественных связей Федеральной службы безопасности. "ФСБ России на территории Республики Карелия предотвращена подготовка террористического акта, планировавшегося спецслужбами Украины с участием завербованного гражданина Республики Беларусь 1974 года рождения, являвшегося членом запрещенного в Белоруссии националистического формирования "Полк имени Кастуся Калиновского" и находившегося в межгосударственном розыске", — говорится в пресс-релизе. По данным ФСБ, агент украинских спецслужб собирал и передавал данные об объектах транспортной инфраструктуры и органов исполнительной власти региона. В ЦОС уточнили, что преступник, действуя по указанию кураторов, изъял из заранее оборудованного для него схрона средства поражения и самодельное взрывное устройство, чтобы подорвать одно из административных зданий города Олонца. Во время задержания злоумышленник открыл огонь по сотрудникам органов безопасности, его нейтрализовали. Силовики и мирные жители не пострадали. На месте изъяли готовое к применению СВУ, изготовленное на основе пластичного взрывчатого вещества РЕ-8 (производство Великобритании), электродетонатора М-6 (производство США) и бытового таймера, а также пистолет Макарова и боеприпасы к нему. Возбуждено уголовное дело о приготовлении к теракту.

Translation: MOSCOW, March 7 – RIA Novosti. In Karelia, a terrorist attack by Ukrainian special services involving a citizen of Belarus was prevented, the Public Relations Center of the Federal Security Service reported. “The FSB of Russia on the territory of the Republic of Karelia prevented the preparation of a terrorist act planned by the Ukrainian special services with the participation of a recruited citizen of the Republic of Belarus born in 1974, who was a member of the nationalist formation “Kastus Kalinovsky Regiment” banned in Belarus and was on the interstate wanted list,” says the press release. release. According to the FSB, an agent of the Ukrainian special services collected and transmitted data on transport infrastructure facilities and executive authorities in the region. The DSP clarified that the criminal, acting on the instructions of his curators, removed weapons and an improvised explosive device from a cache previously equipped for him in order to blow up one of the administrative buildings in the city of Olonets. During the arrest, the attacker opened fire on security officers and was neutralized. Security forces and civilians were not injured. A ready-to-use IED made from the PE-8 plastic explosive (made in the UK), an M-6 electric detonator (made in the USA) and a household timer, as well as a Makarov pistol and ammunition were seized at the scene. A criminal case has been opened regarding preparation for a terrorist attack.

 

This activity will continue, and, in fact, will only increase because this is the only way combined West, especially Anglo-American part of it, are capable to do anything at all--attack civilian infrastructure and kill civilians. So, the fine line between acts of sabotage and pure terrorism will be increasingly blurred. Terrorism is the weapon of the weak, US and, especially UK, which militarily is a non-entity, are weak. Plus, the atrocity in Gaza increasingly washes away any remnants of morality, however minuscule to start with, of Washington and London who are, essentially, throwing a tantrum due to recognition of their complete inability to compete and to fight Russia conventionally. Different leagues, really. It is systemic and is endemic in economic and political systems of this version of capitalism which is done--Voennaya Mysl (Military Thought), a legendary magazine of Russian Ministry of Defense now fully recognizes the current conflict as a consequence of West's systemic failure. The process is unsustainable anymore and collapse could only be managed, not contained.

Obvious.

In an instant gratification culture and video-games based reality for huge swaths of modern public, including a vast layer of overweight soy-boys after 30, the strategy of SMO is absolutely incomprehensible. They want a show, they want Russian offensive. But Vladimir Putin is clear as is Russian strategy:

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday indicated he was bracing for a long war in Ukraine, saying that Kyiv could use any ceasefire to rearm and that Washington would continue to see Russia as an enemy no matter who won the 2024 U.S. election. Speaking for several hours at an economic forum in Russia's Pacific port city of Vladivostok, Putin said Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russian forces had so far failed and the Ukrainian army had sustained heavy losses of 71,000 men in the attacks. Only when Ukraine was exhausted when it came to men, equipment and ammunition would it talk peace, he said in reply to questions from a Russian television presenter acting as a moderator.

Cannot get any clearer than that. And again, Russia doesn't fight VSU, whatever is left of it or will be left, once Kiev regime initiates, prompted by its incompetent military-political advisers from NATO, a full, no holds barred, total mobilization. Russia fights NATO and NATO knows it and begins to convulse and panic in a face of strategic reality. After that, once the mobilization potential of NATO and its 404 cannon fodder proxies is exhausted, Russia will finally decide what conditions she will dictate to defeated West and Russian Army will go on the offensive when it deems proper. 

As I indicated many times in the past 18+ months, it becomes absolutely clear that NATO command corps IS utterly unprepared and is NOT capable of conducting any operations against competent and well-equipped enemy. They simply do not know what it is and will continue to send company or battalion size VSU cannon fodder into the meat-grinder. They do NOT teach in NATO how to conduct large scale operations involving formations of brigade-division level and up under the conditions of being outgunned and outmaneuvered. Hence bitterness and sour grapes from such people like Colonel Wilkerson who fumes that Russians sit in defense. Well, he as a former staff officer should know that "strategic defense" does NOT preclude offensive operations and Russians have been doing just that in economy of force mode on Kupyansk operational axis. 

But Putin goes further and speaks what I am talking about since the moment Mr. Trump appointed a nutjob and genocidal maniac John Bolton his National Security Adviser in 2018. 

Putin said the prosecution in the United States of former President Donald Trump was politically motivated and demonstrated the "rottenness" of the U.S. political system. But the Kremlin chief said that no matter who won next year's U.S. election, he expected no change in Washington's policy towards Russia. "The will be no fundamental changes in the Russian direction in U.S. foreign policy, no matter who is elected president," Putin said. "The U.S. authorities perceive Russia as an existential enemy."

It is great that the head of Russian State articulated well that Russia has NO plans on the US other than seeing it burn and crash or crawling to the table to sign capitulation. Now, with impeachment show getting under way, one may get a bucket of pop-corn and observe how cabal of mostly useless people tries to bury whatever is left of present iteration of the United States. 

Meanwhile, LOL. No, ROFL))

Deutschland importiert offenbar russisches Öl über Indien. Wegen des Ukrainekriegs hat Deutschland seine direkten Öleinfuhren aus Russland eingestellt. Doch nun kommt der Stoff anscheinend über einen Umweg. Die Profiteure: indische Milliardäre und russische Investoren. 

Translation: Germany apparently imports Russian oil via India Because of the war in Ukraine, Germany stopped its direct imports of oil from Russia. But now the material apparently comes via a detour. The beneficiaries: Indian billionaires and Russian investors.

No shit, geniuses from Spiegel. And how do you think, you losers, get any cash-flow to continue to pay salaries for your sorry whore asses not to freeze completely and have something to feed your woke wives and children? Yeah, Germany increased import... 12 times and Germany better suck up to India who agrees to even deal with hypocritical cucks from Berlin. This is what Germany has become:

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has ridiculed Germany’s professed concerns about arming his country with long-range missiles, telling Berlin’s top diplomat to her face that “You will do it anyway. It’s just a matter of time.” Speaking at a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Kiev on Monday, Kuleba was asked whether his meeting with Baerbock gave him “any hope” that Berlin could donate Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missiles to Ukraine in the near future. “No. I wouldn’t say that Annalena went beyond the official position of the German government,” he replied. Turning to Baerbock, Kuleba then said “you will do it anyway. It’s just a matter of time.” “We respect your discussions, we respect your procedures, but…there is not a single objective argument against doing it. The sooner it happens, the more it will be appreciated.”

But it is not just Germany, it is Europe as a whole. Mr Peskov today clearly indicated (in Russian) that both Macron and Scholtz have no sovereignity, which is true because both are lapdogs and will do as told. Europe has been had big time, let it enjoy.

Oh, No. Not Again!

It seems that the issue of Real RMA has got to Pentagon big time. Washington Examiner published today reflections of Pentagon's Assistant Director for Hypersonic Weapons Mike White on why the United States finds itself today where it finds itself in this never-ending competition for military supremacy. White doesn't mince words and goes for the jugular from the start:

“In past decades, we've been world leaders in hypersonics technology, but we have consistently made the decision to not transition that to weapon applications and build weapons systems out of hypersonic technologies that we were working on in the laboratory,” he said. But the Russians and Chinese have. 

There is something inherently false in most statements by US officials whenever they try to express themselves on the issue of the actual history. Especially the one which is so recent. While the article states (correctly):

Russia started hypersonic research around the same time as the U.S. in the late 1940s, building on a Cold War Soviet Union legacy.

It forgets to mention, of course, this crucial historic fact: by 1960s USSR/Russia crossed into the high-supersonic territory with a mind-boggling array of anti-shipping missiles which changed the balance of power in the world ocean. Those also provided a gigantic array of data required for further progress along the path to a genuine hyper-sonic capabilities. The United States, indeed, decided (wrongly) that it can maintain its perceived military dominance by a combat aircraft fitted into the rigid and obsolete doctrinal framework of Duhe's views on the role of combat aviation. Aviator "Union" in the US Navy sabotaged altogether any attempts to develop supersonic long-range anti-shipping missile. One attempt, however, was made but was abandoned for a variety of technical and financial reasons with missile turning out to be a very unreliable and extremely expensive weapon. White's explanation, however, is down right risible:

In response to a Washington Examiner question about why the U.S. waited to invest in hypersonic weapons when it knew Russia was making the transition to the weapons, White said that “the world has become a place where our great power competitors have watched us over the last several decades.” Noting U.S. dominance in space, land, and sea, he said, “It's really driven by the build-up of our great power competitors and their attempts to challenge our domain dominance."

This "explanation" sheds a light on the increasingly delusional, and filled with pain, world Pentagon resides in since everything White states here is put exactly upside down. 

1. The United States hasn't been a competitor in super-sonic, not to speak of genuine hyper-sonic, weapons since 1970s. It is also true in terms of Air Defense and ABM systems from whose missiles (SM-6) the United States tried to construct some sort of a hyper-sonic weapon. USSR/Russia pursued this capability relentlessly and if not for Gorbachev selling his country out would have had this capability not in 2010s but, likely, by 2000s. 

2. I have no idea where did White find US "dominance on land" but the actual track record suggests otherwise, not to mention the fact that last time the United States encountered what could be broadly defined as land power peer was in Korea, where Chinese troops turned out to be a rather potent competitor. 

But White gets one thing right, when defines what those weapons are as envisioned in the US:

“It's not going to be one or two hypersonic weapons,” Lewis said. “It's a range of capabilities. It's intermediate range. It's long-range. It's things coming off of ships. It's things coming off of trucks. It's things coming off of wings of airplanes and out of bomb bays. It's a full range of capabilities.” But, the experts admitted, the “things” won’t be ready until the mid-2020s.

Right, and that is the whole point. They won't be ready, and most likely, beyond the mid-2020s, by which time Russia (I am not sure about China 100%) would be moving onto the second generation of these weapons, granted that the bulk of those are already deployed in combat role, from Avangard to Kinzhal and now Zircon. For failing to react and adapt to an unfolding Revolution in Military Affairs when failing to lead it, the United States has only itself to blame, including learning all the wrong lessons from wars it fought and most of which it lost.

I Wonder Why.

Nah, not really. The United States today imposed sanctions (a favorite pastime after baseball in the United States) on a number of foreign companies, among which three are Russia's. 

Imposition of Nonproliferation Measures Against Foreign Persons, Including a Ban on U.S. Government Procurement.  

Among them, one company, certainly, stands out. It is NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM), which is a legendary producer of some of the most advanced space systems and...drum roll, drum rolling, still rolling... Soviet/Russian most remarkable anti-shipping missiles such as P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck), P-800 Onyx and, of course, 3M22 Zircon. Of course sanctions themselves are nothing more than an attempt "to do something" because, obviously, they in no way affect such a monster as NPOM and, in fact, point #3 is down right hilarious:

3. No United States Government sales to these foreign persons of any item on the United States Munitions List are permitted, and all sales to these persons of any defense articles, defense services, or design and construction services under the Arms Export Control Act are terminated. 

This reminds me of an old Russian saying that one, to spite others, goes out in winter storm and makes sure his ears get frostbitten. That surely shows them, right? I am sure NPOM just sleeps and dreams of American "munition item" to be sold to them to accelerate NPOM's development of supersonic and hyper-sonic cruise missiles. Oh, wait, the United States doesn't have any. So, never mind. I think there are many people in US Military-Industrial Complex and Intelligence structures who would love to learn what Russians are doing with their dramatically superior cruise missile programs. The question which must be asked here is this: why now? Let us try to answer it. 

No, the answer is not in the fact that alleged Russian stooge Donald Trump still fights the remnants of Obama-Clinton operatives within Department of State who do their utmost to sabotage Russian-American relations. This is not the case at all. First, DJT is no Russia's fan and, in fact, he is one of the most anti-Russian presidents in history. Nor, even if that wouldn't have been the case, anything would change because the United States simply CAN NOT behave otherwise for a number of internal reasons. But, but...what's coming soon up in DJT's President's International Schedule, ah, here it is: 

Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump will visit India, with stops in the capital New Delhi and the western state of Gujarat, from February 24-25, the White House announced Monday.  

Hm, but how this visit is related to  sanctions on NPOM? Very directly. Joint Venture between NPOM and India' DRDO is known to the world as Brahmos. It is the ONLY organization in the world outside Russia which produces the most potent and deadly anti-shipping and land-attack missile based on outstanding design of P-800 Onyx. It is a very-long range (800 kilometers) Mach=3 missile, which also is getting ready to go not only up to Mach=5, but full hyper-sonic by the year 2025 and, what is most interesting, this missile is getting ready for EXPORT (In Russian)! Now you can understand this clause in this sanctions declaration:

Scientific Production Association Mashinostroyeniya (NPOM)(Russia) and any successor, sub-unit, or subsidiary thereof;  

It is not about proliferation, it never was--it is an implicit admission of inability to compete with much better weapons Russia produces, especially in the nation (India) which was a recipient of this technology for decades and not only is expecting the start of the deliveries of S-400 AD complex soon, for which India payed $5 billion, but also has Brahmos missile as a mainstay of India's Navy. Now imagine the effect of even basic version of Brahmos going on sale for foreign parties. What if Mach=5 version goes on sale? I am not talking about full hyper-sonic variants, which, for now will remain only in Russia and India, once Brahmos JV finishes its development. This is the MAIN reason why NPOM ended up in this US Department of State list. 

As I say non-stop, ad nauseam--emergence of hyper-sonic long range anti-shipping missiles wrecks havoc with American naval strategy. It overthrows (well, it sort of did already) all traditional views and thinking modalities about modern war. At the center of it are those damn Russkies and their hi-tech corporations, such as NPOM, which produce the advanced military technology which changes global geopolitical landscape. It also changed geoeconomic one, once one considers that the United States increasingly is losing competitiveness to Russia in military technology. As one Russian (former naval officer) political observer noted--yes, Virginia-class SSNs are good submarines, yes, they are "fourth" generation, but their problem is that they carry obsolete weapons. Indeed, how should US Navy's excellent subs impress an enemy when the only things they carry are obsolete TLAMs and venerable subsonic AGM-84 Harpoons or possibly same subsonic LRASMs--an easy prey for any competent adversary with modern air-defense. But if even 30 years ago the United States could claim some leadership in enablers (from Combat Management Systems, to Sensors, to EW), this leadership is largely gone by now. And here we are--the need to stop competition by any means, including applying crude and always failing pressure--Trump's favorite and the only MO--on the so called American "partners", will only underscore an increased insecurity of the self-proclaimed hegemon, who failed time after time to demonstrate a viability of own doctrinal, strategic and technological views on modern warfare. And yes, do not forget shareholders, how can we forget them--it is for them that the US military-industrial complex exists.  

Yes, in related news:

The Philippines Army has zeroed in on purchase of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to be equipped on its first ever land-based missile system battery following extensive trials and the only thing that remains is finance aspect of the deal. “As far as the Philippines Army is concerned, the consensus on the BrahMos system is a done deal. Now, it’s all about the price negotiations and we hope the deal will be finalised next year,” a source familiar with the negotiations was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times on Monday.

Also in related news:

Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns Wednesday about the Philippines canceling a major military accord, saying the decision would save Americans money. The 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) created a legal framework for the presence of US troops in the Philippines and for organizing joint military exercises. Manila announced its decision Tuesday -- a move the US embassy in the Philippines called a "serious step" -- touching off a six-month countdown to the end of the deal.

Make your own conclusions.

Lavrov, Help! Again!

In the kingdom run by imbeciles this is possible, in fact it increasingly becomes not only highly probable but reaches a finite probability of happening of 1, or of 100%. 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers of both parties are pressuring the White House to extend the last remaining restraints on U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons deployments by demanding intelligence assessments on the costs of allowing the New START treaty to lapse. The demands, contained in three bills that may be harmonized this week, reflect doubts about whether the Trump administration has done sufficient analytical work on how China and Russia may respond to the 2010 treaty's expiration in February 2021. New START restricted the United States and Russia to deploying no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads, the lowest level in decades, and limited the land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers that deliver them. It can be renewed for up to five years if both sides agree. Moscow has offered to immediately extend the treaty. Washington still is considering the issue. U.S. President Donald Trump and his aides have argued that New START does not cover all Russian nuclear weapons and said they want to bring China, which they increasingly view as the primary, long-term threat, into a wider arms control framework. Some lawmakers and arms control experts view the proposal as a "poison pill" to kill New START, ending restraints on U.S. strategic nuclear weapons deployments, because China rejects the idea.

Firstly, these cretins do all they can to sabotage any kind of cooperation with Russia, including by means of national treason, accusing already incompetent POTUS of being Putin's personal asset, no less. Then they accuse Russia of some absolutely bizarre Orwellian shit, they insult Russia and Russian people non-stop and now, all of a sudden it dawns on at least some of them that you need to talk to Russia on START issues and you need to do it soon. La-dee-fvcking-da. Secondly, China is not interested and rightly so, she is nowhere near Russian and American levels of strategic weapons and any attempts to include China into START are foolhardy at best. Trump and his infested with neocons and chicken-hawks administration might have been more-or-less flexible and reasonable on this issue if not  the position POTUS was put into thanks to House's own crowd of psychopaths who do sincerely believe that Russia is evil incarnate. Any attempts by POTUS to find sensible strategic weapons accommodations with Russia will inevitably be interpreted as an impeachable offense. 

But thirdly, some "revelations", Putin did offer inclusion of Kinzhal and Poseidon into discussion on extension of START. It is obvious that Russia is not going to refuse these programs, especially when Kinzhal is already in its full combat capability and is operationally deployed. But Russia will be willing to discuss some limitations on these systems in numbers and a mode of deployment, What Russia is NOT going to negotiate is her brand new Sarmat and, such technologies as Peresvet. And here is one interesting speculative (read attentively--spe-cu-la-ti-ve) point I want to make. I seldom speculate but here it is, from the news piece:

Lawmakers, congressional aides and former officials say they are unaware of the administration conducting any formal intelligence estimates of the implications of New START's expiration either before or after Trump unveiled the idea. Nor are they aware of extensive inter-agency deliberations on devising a negotiating stance with China, or even whether any negotiations with China have occurred.

I am positive there are some estimates but they are not released because this will create a massive political crisis (not that this Impeachment catastrophe is not bad enough) when it will be disclosed that the United States lost any edge in strategic weapons and lost arms race and are absolutely not defended from any strike. Russia's interest in START is purely security driven--the fewer nuclear weapons the United States have smaller is the probability of this technology going "rogue". Economic consideration is the important secondary one--Russia simply doesn't want to spent more money than necessary on matters of defense, while maintaining a serious technological edge. Ah yes, Peresvet. This month, Peresvet is officially combat deployed (in Russian). As Valery Gerasimov described this system when talking to military attaches from many nations:

«С начала декабря месяца осуществляется боевое дежурство лазерных комплексов "Пересвет" в позиционных районах подвижных грунтовых ракетных комплексов с задачей прикрытия их маневренных действий»

Translation: since the beginning of December laser combat complexes Peresvet are combat deployed in the positional areas of the mobile ground missile complexes (ICBMs) in order to cover for their maneuvers. 

This is a very "loaded" statement for a reasons which pull very slightly the veil of secrecy over Peresvet's capabilities. There was very little doubt, once Peresvet was unveiled, that it would be more than capable to "blind" just about anything out there and, very likely, even recon satellites. But here is a trick--positional areas of mobile missile complexes such as RS-24 Yars, are a highest priority targets for US counter-force strategic weapons in first strike (Russia is not going to attack first). One can totally conceive here that in case of (God forbids) exchange when the US will lose targeting data from her recon satellite it wouldn't take much to launch at the positional area into the "last known" position of such system as Yars. Take the best case scenario of Yars' vehicles immediately reaching (not likely in real life) their maximum speed of 45 km/hr and having a map of possible roads of area, plus around 25-30 minutes of flight time by missile, so we are looking at a sector of the circle with the radius of 20 kilometers which could easily be "forked" by a few MIRVs from Trident-II D single missile. Do you get my drift? Yes, Peresvet is there to not just fight satellites, it is to allow all those mobile Topols and Yarses to launch undisturbed by means of not allowing MIRVs to get to them. How? Don't ask me. Russians, however, already announced that modernized and much more compact Peresvet will be paraded at the Red Square on May 9, very soon (in Russian). And this statement is also loaded. 

Ask yourself a question now, how can one present US political top with an intelligence "assessment" which blows out of the water the whole notion of the American technological superiority, especially in the field which all those war-mongering creatures who never served a day in military uniform love to masturbate to--modern warfare. It is not Russia's capabilities, now generally well-known, and discussed million times in US media, in a feeble attempt to self-medicate, which matter, it is the lack of such in the US. Yes, of course, the United States still can annihilate the world several times over, the US Navy can still wreck havoc on the geographic fringe of any continent but that doesn't change the fact that if such a calamity visits upon the humanity, the United States will be annihilated with 100% probability under any existing scenario of global conflict, that is when the United States initiates it. Others will not do such a thing globally, certainly not Russia. In this particular case it becomes clear that it is both in US and world's interests to see START extended, if not--I write about "Revelation Mode" non-stop for the last couple of years. 

Just to add to this topic. US News And World Report just recently published (yet another) power ranking of the nations. Russia came in second, obviously, behind the US. I just want to say--imbeciles: nations with GDP of $1.6 trillion do not make what Russia makes, especially in military field, and, yes, China's GDP is not $12.2 trillions, China's real economy dwarfs that of the US. But that just underscores my point--US elites are incompetent, ignorant and are not fit to run the country which they continue to push into the abyss. As long as the stock market driven by buybacks grows, I am sure, everything will be OK, right?

Why Russia Is A Clear And Present Danger to The US-II

One of the most original contemporary Russian thinkers, Sergei Mikheev on Liberalism and its severe crisis (English subs): 

He speaks about exaltation of "liberals", of their fanatical belief in the sanctity of what they do when destroying a foundation on which human civilization is based. A liberal, a euphemism for totalitarian, delusion which must be resisted. There is also some talk about fusion, both social and economic. The main issue is where is this golden middle which balances personal and communal, self-interest and obligations to society? Clearly not a path of modern day financial capitalism which destroys societies both from within and outward--enough to take a look at what this "liberalism" did to the United States and many destroyed by her nations in the last 30 years. A catastrophe. But I also repeat myself, my latest book dedicates its large parts to describing this situation. 

Can the United States find a cure? I don't think so, but it seems that Russia is trying to do this. Enough to take a look at staples of Western liberalism such as fanatical radical feminism (third-fourth wave), sexual perversion, even attempts to legalize pedophilia, "reverse" racism--all these phenomena are marginalized or, down right criminalized, in Russia and are espoused by a very narrow strata of the so called Russian "liberda" also known as Creakls (from the word Creative). In today's excellent piece for RIA, Victor Marahovsky, discussing Hong-Kong mutiny defines its "democracy" movement as:  

Говоря проще, власть, формальную и неформальную, в деловитом китайском мегаполисе перехватывают граждане, чьи специальности и профессиональные скиллзы сводятся к "менеджменту эмоций". Творческая интеллигенция и "активисты" — то есть узкоспециализированные гуманитарии, мастера создания лозунгов и логотипов, цепляния тревожных сердец, написания мобилизационных песен и зажигающих речей.

Translation: speaking simply, the power, formal and informal, in the business-oriented Chinese megalopolis is being usurped by citizens whose specialties and professional skills are reducible to "emotion management". Creative intelligentsia and "activists"--that is narrowly specialized humanities-educated masters of slogan-mongering, logotypes, of pinning worrying hearts pins, writing of the mobilization songs and inspirational flaming speeches. 

As you may expect, these people have zero capability to run a public restroom, let alone such metropolis as HK. But what does it remind you of? Same here, in the United States which is run by people most of who have zero abilities and skills to run anything and almost all, seem to originate in the law and political pseudo-science field. It always ends in a disaster. Such as Russia of 1990s. You take a look at the modern crop of the American politicians, especially Democrats, this is, frankly, scary. The only thing these people are good at is to how reelect themselves and serve interests of their political donors. Liberalism simply stops producing statesmen. Corruption and mediocrity it produces aplenty, together with snow-flakes and so called "Social Justice Warriors", but statesmen, people who put interests of the country above personal one? No. It also stops producing thinkers of scale. Enough to take a look at Western geopolitical and economic thought in the last 30 years--a collection of, at best, mediocrity, at worst--of pseudo-academic delusion, which tries to avoid a crucial question of the economic and cultural devastation globalism brought upon its main protagonist, the United States. Current, televised live self-destruction of the United States is an irrefutable empirical evidence of a profound, systemic crisis whose roots are in the utter corruption of the American government, which long ago is not by the people and for the people...

To Be Continued...  

Europeans Want Own Weapons.

Well, at least this is what they state. 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union governments gave the green light on Tuesday for 13 new defence projects in a step to develop more firepower independently of the United States. Under plans agreed by EU defence ministers in Brussels, work will begin on a new patrol vessel, an electronic jamming weapon for aircraft and technology to track ballistic missiles. The projects took months to negotiate but French President Emmanuel Macron underlined the desire for deeper EU defence collaboration last week when he said the U.S.-led NATO defence alliance was dying. Some 47 joint EU defence projects are now in the works following the signing of a pact by France, Germany and 23 other EU governments in late 2017 to fund, develop and deploy armed forces following Britain's decision to quit the bloc. Any new weapons on land, at sea or in the air and cyberspace can be put at NATO's disposal, but U.S. President Donald Trump's questioning of the alliance's significance has added impetus to European defence efforts.Macron has expressed doubt about NATO's security maxim that an attack on one ally is an attack on all. But many European allies reject his portrayal of NATO, which will hold a summit in London on Dec. 4, as brain dead. 

Looks like Macron made some decision personally, this one maybe out of personal conviction even. This fact:

European defence planning, operations and weapons development foresee France taking a big role in 60% of the 47 projects, often with Germany, Italy and Spain.

Speaks volumes. But while France may have some technological, by far not all, expertise to realize at least some of those programs the underlying issue remains--it may be too late for Europe. If to follow Macron's today statement at Paris Peace Forum:

In his opening speech, Macron advocated for multilateralism and a “balanced cooperation” between the nations. In an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, Macron said that the temptation of unilateralism is “very risky.” “We tried that option in the past: it leads to war,” Macron said. “Nationalism is war.” Climate change, demographic issues, migration, conflicts, terrorism and the fight against poverty were among topics at the forum, which runs through Wednesday.

One has to seriously question, granted it being a traditional political fodder in Europe, such "priorities" as climate change (the way Europeans want to deal with it--which is DOA), if "nationalism" is truly a real danger? I think President of France should be better situationally aware than your average Joe, or Jacques, for that matter, to not know that the so called "nationalism" was merely a response to a degenerate, culturally and economically, globalization. People simply fell back to their roots. One has to when seeing sodomy, pedophilia and Islamization flourishing in Europe. You know, like Poles today, or Russians who guard their children from European "progressive" so called "values".  

Trump is surely correct in one thing, granted this thing is built on a false premise, that Europeans were a free loaders and riders against Soviet/Russian "Threat". Not that the US didn't profit from it, pardon, I mean few American corporations, but Trump's logic is sound--how about Europe paying for her safety from those nasty Russkies, who, as we all are aware, sleep and dream of attacking Europe for some mysterious reasons. But, in the end, it is between Europe and the United States. Macron wanted to put a mantle of a mediator between Russia and combined West, but I don't think it is a serious attempt nor do Macron or France have enough weight to mediate anything. Russians just want Europe to buy their gas, which Europeans are hell bent on doing so, and that is good enough for Russia. Russia has a much bigger business to attend with China and there are some issues to be solved because for all her massive economy China also has some serious energy and military issues, especially if to consider the bat-shit crazy US political Parnassus, which may decide in the end to block China on SLOCs. United States would love to "pull" the war with China into the high seas where mighty US Navy can interrupt the flow of resources to China. But Europeans wanting own weapons is, certainly, a symptom, a late one, but important nonetheless. 

Meanwhile, Power of Siberia is getting ready, and now there is a very compelling school of though out there which thinks that during 2014 negotiations between Russia and China on this strategic gas-pipe issue, it was Chinese side which was more interested in the project, not actually Russia. But no matter now, it is ready and so be it. New ones are also in plans because China will need Russia's energy badly. That is unless the United States itself doesn't implode so badly that it will be, indeed, forced to live only by effectively regional aspirations, if that. But that is a separate issue altogether.  

P.S. Because people may ask due to rumors spread by all kinds of BS Artists from various US media sewers I forestall it--I don't see why Russia needed to "test" S-500 in Syria. This whole "story" reeks of yet another BS, especially related to F-35 damage control in US (and Israeli) media. I call it a BS.  

A Deafening Stupidity.

So, John Bolton concludes today that:

Jerusalem (AFP) - US National Security Advisor John Bolton on Tuesday described as "deafening" Iran's apparent silence on an offer to negotiate with Washington. "The president has held the door open to real negotiations," Bolton told journalists in Jerusalem. "In response, Iran's silence has been deafening," he added. Bolton is in Jerusalem for what Israel described as unprecedented talks with his Russian and Israeli counterparts, along with meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking alongside the US advisor, Netanyahu said there was "a wider basis for cooperation between the three of us than many believe." Bolton's comments come a day after the United States imposed sanctions on top officials of Israel's arch foe Iran.

Alrighty then! Iran doesn't want to talk. And why should she? Make no mistake, I am no fan of Ayatollah's rule in Iran nor am I an automatic Iran's supporter merely on the merit that Iran is in direct and stiff opposition to a bunch of Israeli stooges in Trump's Administration. Iran has her own issues and, in general, there is nothing black and white about that nation. Current United States, however, can easily be defined in a very contrast black and white manner: there are people who serve Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Gulfies, and there are people who do not. The former, not the latter, are in power and because of that there is no point of talking to them. These are precisely people who helped to form a correct, I might add, global opinion that the United States is not agreement-capable side, so, why waste time? Especially negotiating anything with such lunatics as Bolton, Pompeo or, in the end, Trump himself. 

As Phil Giraldi astutely observes today:

No one in the White House has ever made the effort to explain exactly how Iran threatens the United States, apart from repeated offhand comments about having to protect Israel or “send a message.” Urged on by Israel and Saudi Arabia, the United States has been playing the unwitting fool in its willingness to take the lead in denying Iran any legitimate role in the Middle East region. After pulling out of the JCPOA, the U.S. re-instituted punitive sanctions and then punished other countries for dealing with Iran or abiding by the JCPOA agreement. The Administration, including the president, boasted how the severe sanctions would cause the Iranian economy to collapse. Trump has also several times threatened to completely destroy Iran. As the punishment being meted out has increased, the Administration has also heated up its own rhetoric, claiming that it was Iran and not the U.S. that had become more aggressive and threatening.

Indeed, who, in this current administration, can make a case for a different course with Iran? Tucker Carlson and Dunford, who allegedly were the ones who convinced Trump not to attack Iran after the drone shooting down? Possible, of course, without all this BS drama about halting strikes in the last minute--a pathetic spectacle for the consumption of unsophisticated public. But, let's face the facts. Trump admired Bolton BEFORE even running for office, he wanted to exit JCPOA because it was Obama's "deal" and because Trump cannot not despise Iran, having assembled the Administration, which has loyalties to anyone and anything but the United States and her people. In the end, I am with Larison's definition of Trump as militarist. Indeed, if getting his second term, Trump will attack Iran, not only because he is surrounded by the cabal of hand-picked war-mongers and Israeli-firsters, but because he himself wants this. I would say that he wants it badly--he needs to realize himself as a big global shot--a first trait of a pathological narcissist, which Trump, by universal consensus is. Warfare is the shortest way to get there: win the war and voila'--the laurels of Caesar are at hand. There is, of course, one teeny-weeny problem with that--Iran is ready to fight back. 

Obviously purely military (technological, tactical and operational) realities of this possible war are beyond the grasp of Trump, Bolton, Pompeo or any other war-monger in D.C. But, if to follow a chilling revelation from Larry Wilkerson that Bolton and Pompeo, two utterly unqualified people, view and DO treat Pentagon as their own fiefdom, there is very little doubt that eventually any voice of reason, professionalism and caution will be suppressed there. The preparation for the war with Iran will continue. Iran knows this, hence the "deafening silence". Plus, people tend to not talk to cads and louts such as Bolton or Pompeo (or Trump) out of respect for themselves. Iran respects herself and, as Wilkerson correctly points out, it is normal for civilization with millennia long history and glorious antiquity such as Persia. A bit of respect would have gone a long way but this is a trait completely absent from current US policy and decision makers. A thin veneer of "culture" of these people is no thicker than the papers which their degrees in useless subjects are printed on.

So, neither Trump nor Bolton, nor anyone else in D.C., should expect anything but deafening silence in response. Meanwhile, NATO (ahem, puppets) produces this:

On Tuesday, NATO urged Russia to destroy a new missile to save a treaty that keeps land-based nuclear warheads out of Europe or face a more determined alliance response in the region. 

Apart from obvious and traditional lies of placing responsibility for the death of INF treaty on Russia--it was United States which unilaterally quit this, and other, treaties--Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday warned that if NATO wants another Caribbean Crisis it will get it. Russians are also aware of US inevitably abrogating START, because nuclear weapons are the only weapons the United States has at her disposal to remain relevant. Meanwhile, Russia simply doesn't look back and news on S-500 going into IOC and serial production should give some food for thought to those who still believe that they can fight Russia and survive. There are very few known facts about S-500 apart from well-publicized events such as S-500 hitting aerodynamic targets at unprecedented ranges of 300 miles and the ability to intercept hypersonic targets. RT, though, makes mistake when writes this:

The system is expected to engage intermediate-range cruise and ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles with speeds of up to Mach 5 and intercontinental ballistic missiles during terminal phase. With new interceptors reportedly capable of reaching low earth orbit, the system may double as an anti-satellite weapon and could intercept ICBMs mid-course, according to some reports.

S-500 can not intercept " hypersonic missiles with speeds of up to Mach 5" for a simple reason that anything "up to Mach 5" is NOT hypersonic by definition. Any targets with up to Mach 5 are standard and not hardest targets for S-300PMU2 or S-400. S-500 from the onset was developed as anti-hypersonic complex and that means that it can intercept hypersonic maneuvering targets (not to me mistaken with ballistics which are "hypersonic" by definition), that is greater than Mach 5 velocity, within atmosphere and from the inception was designed as the response to the American efforts within the framework of Prompt Global Strike (PGS) program. I do not want to speculate what is the upper velocity limit for S-500, but judging by the envelope PGS vehicles were trying to push it was around Mach 8-10, if one considers failed and abandoned Mach 20 tests for HTV vehicles. So, make your own conclusion what targets will S-500 intercept. One thing is certain--S-500 is a new word in air-space defense and that changes even further a balance of power globally, not to mention at Russia's borders with NATO, which, somehow, despite "I cross my heart and hope to die" promises to Russia not to expand to Russia's borders did exactly that. Nobody speaks seriously to people who have no honor. Especially when their backs are against the wall and they know they are losing big, if not already. 

UPDATE: Ohh, goody. 

President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to use "overwhelming force" against Iran if it attacks U.S. assets or personnel. "Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Will somebody explain to DJT that between bellicose proclamations and actually following through with them there is an abyss. Of course, there are also serious groups of behavioral psychologists who consult serious governments, evidently not US government, and who can easily lay it out that all this hot air Trump produces is a direct, unequivocal proof of a weakness. Unless, of course, DJT wants to use nuclear weapons on Iran, as his Israeli handler Sheldon Adelson suggested before. Yes, nuking Iran is the use of "great and overwhelming force", it will be the same force which will turn US into a rogue state sponsor of nuclear terrorism and will ensure that Israel will face an existential crisis. Other than that, I think militarily Iran is ready to face anything US is going to throw at her.  

Irina Alksnis Hits It Out Of The Ballpark.

Notable Russian journalist Irina Alksnis wrote a wonderful metaphysical piece on the fate of superpowers. I don't have time to translate it all but, apart from really universal perspective on the existence of real superpowers, she delivers both moral and, in a sense, sympathetic response to the the fate of the United States. I highly recommend, even if using crude Google Translate which will most likely degrade a wonderful emotional message of this piece, to read it by Americans and others. I will translate just conclusion:

Однако чтобы услышать эти немудреные советы – и тем более последовать им – Соединенным Штатам надо остановиться, хотя бы на мгновение, и замолчать. Прекратить сотрясать воздух заявлениями, требованиями и угрозами, которые выглядят то странными, то откровенно смешными из-за все более явной неспособности сделать их реальностью.А вот именно этого они, похоже, сделать никак не могут. В результате продолжается бесконечная громкоговорящая карусель: Москва, Асад должен уйти! Русские, мы накажем вас за защиту Мадуро! Россия, мы обеспечим свободу мореходства в Керченском проливе!А самое обидное для американцев, что только Россия может их понять. Потому мы помним боль, стоящую за этими словами.

Translation: However, to hear this simple advice--not to mention  following it--the United States need to stop, at least for an instance, and silence themselves. To stop shaking air with statements, declarations, demands, and threats, which come across as either strange, or outright silly because of their obvious inability to ever become a reality. But it is precisely, it seems, what the US is not capable of doing. As a result--the continuation of never-ending declaratory carousel: Moscow, Assad must go! Russians, we will provide for freedom of navigation in Kerch Strait! Russians, we will punish you for support of Maduro. But the most insulting for Americans is that only Russia can understand them. Because we remember the pain behind those words. 

I always said--genuine superpowers move in their own world and they have their very own, unique, complexes and "disabilities" only other superpowers can understand, even when being enemies. Irina Alksnis completely and masterfully conveyed this in her article.   

Ahh, This Crooked Russian Genetics Again.

I always knew that I, as a Russian, was genetically inferior to inhabitants of gated communities of NYC or D.C. After all, such an authority on genetics as Mr.Clapper stated that Russians are genetically not exactly the first rate material. Now the New York Times continues a glorious American tradition of guarding own bodily fluids with yet another specialist in genetics offering his views on Russian untermensch. 

Corruption is in Russia’s DNA, as it is in Mr. Putin’s.

I think, US media are moving in the right direction by ejaculating their hatred of Russia and Russians into well-known territory (symptomatically the piece is written by German dude) of racial, genetic and other relevant inferiority issues which usually end...well we all know where and how. But never mind, I, honestly, long ago resigned myself to the idea that I am inferior in every single respect to any psychopath (many with serious mental and sexual deviations) who populate mostly US main stream media and other elites, so I don't mind. But this latest from NYT is a good opportunity to address by far more important issue than Russian genetic inferiority and this is what Gilbert Doctorow unloaded on unsuspecting us in his piece which Paul Craig Roberts utilized in his article on Vladimir Putin's...class. Doctorow starts with a wowser:

From his first days in power, Putin hoped to integrate Russia in NATO and, more generally, in the Western world. Putin was the first head of state to phone George W. Bush after the attack on the World Trade Center and generously offered substantial help, opening up Russia’s back yard in Central Asia to American forces to provide logistical support of the operation the USA would launch against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

I have huge reservations about this line of reasoning, its main weakness (well, let's leave it like this--weakness) is in the fact that it is simply not true. I would have accepted this reasoning 10-12 years ago with reservations. It doesn't work like this and, probably, in fact, most likely, wasn't working like this from the inception. After all, it is not 1999, 2001 or 2003....wait a minute, it is 2019 and Putin is on record about his paradigm shifting experience after NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. In fact, Putin's appearance in Kremlin is a direct result of that--this was in 1999. We had 20 years to adjust our views but it seems that many simply refuse to face the facts. In the end, it was Putin's Munich Speech in 2007 which started what we can observe all today and everything else after that (in reality much earlier--with anemic Russian Armed Forces starting to receive much needed cash flow in 2003-04 already, does  Doctorow know this?) is contrary to this statement that Putin "wanted to integrate into NATO". 

Counter-positioning Putin, an extremely educated man and much higher in intelligence services food chain professional than it was known previously, to a peasant crude simpleton Khrushchev is altogether mind-boggling. Yes, unlike Khrushchev, Putin is too cultured, too intelligent and too situationally aware to lower himself, and Russia who he represents, to a level of a boastful hollow political and media mediocrities from the West just because Doctorow wants, get this:

That, my friends, is the reason I say Vladimir Putin has done his and our people a disservice by not engaging in public diplomacy with the American and European peoples, by not scaring us properly so that we can come to our wits and compel our politicians and media to do likewise. 

It is mind-boggling that Putin owes it to Western peoples, according to Doctorow, a debt of scaring the shit out of them for them to mobilize. Really? How about own responsibility to do the right thing? Putin engages people of the West constantly by being an incredibly open public persona and projecting exactly what Doctorow views as a disservice: universally admired intelligence, integrity and projection of Russia's true power. Just to conclude with Doctorow recent strange string of articles, he now, in his latest, concludes:

Throughout the past 25 years a more agile and determined Russia has bested the United States and had its way in each and every energy corridor which the United States tried with might and main and dirty tricks to block.   It remains to be seen whether the same agility and skills will bring Russia victory in the coming new arms race, or whether the bludgeon of American economic strength win out.

I have news for Doctorow and I am damn sure I am correct on that: America doesn't have a bludgeon of "economic strength", especially in a military field, where even vast sums of printed money do not produce adequate capability anymore. But what do I really know about military, and Russia. 

INF Treaty Is Officially Dead.

When even Foreign Policy magazine feels the pinch: 

Withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty would take the United States one step forward and many steps back on international security.

One has to consider that not everybody completely lost their marbles in D.C. but, as I stated not for once, by now it doesn't really matter because after the US officially informed Russia about quitting the Treaty, Russians responded in kind and immediately after that proceeded with what largely was in place already.  

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. The Russian government will allocate required funds for research and technological development (R&D) and for the development of new weapons following the United States’ withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF treaty), Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

What those R&D and actions could be? Very simple and expected--Russia will leverage her massive lead in both missile and anti-missile technology. As Putin termed it, Russia will start with "grounding" of 3M14 of Kalibr family cruise missiles, that is deploying them on the ground launchers, and then, surprise, surprise (not really)--development of ground-based hyper-sonic intermediate range missiles, while simultaneously deploying anti-air-missile complexes capable of dealing with exactly types of missiles the US has in mind. 

From the historic perspective Putin is being anti-Gorbachev in a most profound way. This all is not an accident, it is all part of largely healthy process of Russians reassessing their historic experience since 1980s, not least of which is the revision of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and inevitable facing of the same ol' problem Russia will have to face in the nearest future with Taliban and ISIS having plans for Russia's soft Middle Asia underbelly. Expect charges leveled at Gorbachev for withdrawal in 1989 and Yeltsin for betraying Najibulla government in Kabul in 1991. These are the charges I leveled at these, one dead another still living, lowlifes non-stop for years. One cannot escape geopolitical fate. So, it is official and maybe it is all for the good. Let Europe, meanwhile, deal with this new reality. 

Bolton Speaks.

OK, John Bolton gave Russia, namely her National Security Council head, Nikolai Patrushev, the last Chinese warning against meddling in US elections--we now know that Russia already has evil plans to "meddle" in these elections by means of investing another 97 cents or, maybe whole 97 dollars, in trying to subvert American democracy and promote communism. We know that because US media, known for their integrity and honesty, talk about this all the time. So Bolton was very stern while warning evil Russkies against that.   

Then Bolton added that:

Patrushev had not sought Russian waivers on sanctions during their talks, he added.  

I can hear a surprising, and desperate in some quarters, "Wha-a-a-a-t?" from most (not all) American Russia "scholars" and "journalists" who still reside in their make-believe universe and are still waiting for Russia to crawl back to their feet begging for mercy. Yes, any minute now. But jokes aside, Bolton was not meeting Patrushev for this BS. Bolton might be an aggressive neocon of sorts but he is not completely stupid and is at least aware of the real score. Here what is at stake:

Bolton, a critic of the New START treaty agreed during Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration, said the two sides did not set a date for deciding what to do about the treaty due to expire in 2021.“We are very very early in the process of considering what we are going to do with New START or the INF treaty,” he said, referring to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces pact. 

That is warmer, much warmer. The United States wants to discuss START only, what a surprise, on American conditions. US thinks it can negotiate from this position, but, of course it cannot since it is not in such position anymore. Not for quite some time. These conditions could be expressed (it is not mine) in this simple phrase: You, Russia, reduce weapons which you have in exchange for us, America, reducing weapons which we don't have. This is not going to fly, obviously. So, because the United States realistically cannot close the gap in, at least openly disclosed, weaponry any time soon, it will try the last, it thinks trump (sorry), card it has--economic warfare on a big scale. That, plus deploying whatever it has all around Russia waiting for the next Gorby or drunkard like Boris emerge from the deep recesses of Russia's political cellar. Russians do not really give a damn as long as somebody doesn't do a really stupid thing and tries going "hot". After watching performance by Mr. Mudd and, considering his very high post in national security hierarchy, I have to allow for a non-zero probability of some spoiled brats on the top pushing, out of noble indignation with those nasty evil Russkies, for a military solution. 

So, what's left? Well, Patrushev is an immensely powerful figure in Russia and is more than authorized to explain to Bolton how real situation looks like. Of course, as always there will be a lot of PR on the US side and Russia will continue to seek compromises when necessary but, I am sure, Bolton was presented with the case in this first meeting that either it is quid-pro-quo or nothing at all. Choice is America's. I think the bargaining started but it is not about Grand Deal--time for that is long gone. How to call this process? Feel free to try your imagination. 

UPDATE: Ah, speak of the devil, or as Russians say--the grand piano in the bushes (Royal' V Kustakh). I don't hold Leonid Bershidsky in any serious regard in terms of serious global and economic policies--one can not expect any competence from liberal Russian bankster and journo by (Western) education, but even he has to admit:

As the U.S. begins to consider an all-out economic war, the two strategic questions it needs to answer are: what it is willing to pay to extract any concessions from the Putin government at all, and how long it is prepared to wait. Macroeconomically, Russia, with unemployment at a record low, modest inflation and $400 billion of international reserves, is unlikely to collapse before the U.S. unleashes a global energy or debt crisis that could prompt its allies to desert it. If less than maximum pain is applied, Russia could manage for years with relatively low growth. That is the basis for Putin’s calculations. It bodes badly for the current direction of U.S. policy. If Washington inflicts as much pain as it can — and nothing changes — it will be a painful failure for the superpower.

The point I am trying to make for years now is not just that US and its political and so called "intellectual" classes are absolutely unaware of real Russia--that is not really the news--US Russian "studies" field is pathetic. The point is that they are unaware about American real standing, military and economic, globally. That's the problem. The problem also with the Western geopolitical calculus--it simply doesn't work. As per "macroeconomic"--each time when I hear (read) this economic psychobabble, I cringe.