a. Cold War II b. John Titor

[m0ds]

Firstly, I just want to celebrate with you the fact that this post makes me the #1 topic starter on the forums! Hahahaha! OH MY. I need to shut-up :p

Now, onto serious matters. Has anyone else been following the growing tension bewteen Russia & the West, especially against the UK? For those who haven't been following it, an ex-KGB agent was poisoned with a radioactive substance in a sushi bar in England earlier this year, and Russia have refused to send the #1 suspect over to the UK for questioning. Because of that, the UK did something like extradite 4 or 5 Russian officials from the UK. And because of THAT (and other things, like the USA wanting to build a nuke detector in Poland) Russia has now re-started circling bombers over UK and European airspace - something they haven't done since the Cold War.

Is it me or is Vladamir Putin a bit of a cock? I'd like to know if there are any Russian's here and what they think of Mr Putin, but I just can't get my head around the fact Russia has been so arrogant not to let UK officials interview the one and only person suspected of poisoning Litvienko. That to me suggests they really did do it & were trying to spark something because of it. What do you think?

Okay so that's part A. Are we heading for another Cold War, is there actually quite a distressing amount of tension or is it just over the top nonsense?

The second part I wanted to talk about was John Titor. Heard of him? I hadn't until a few weeks ago! Apparently Titor is a time traveller from 30 years in the future, who posted on several high ranking Scientific websites stating various incidents will occur in our future including Olympic Games being cancelled after 2004 and nuclear holocaust sometime in 2015. Sadly though all his predictions so far have not come true. The one remaining thing is if the next major Olympics are cancelled, as he said they would be cancelled due to increasing terrorism threats. Anyone read up on Titor, and got any comments? I'm just interested to know really You can find an article on him at Wikipedia.

Anyway yeah, that's it. I'm interested to read what people think, know or have an opinion on about these two subjects! And I'm also interested to know if you really beleive Putin is leading Russia into a desirable nation to be part of.

Peace!

[Tuomas]

Well, I guess it's a point of view thing, as in, where you get your news from. As much as I know, the one that was responsible of poisoning Litvienko +sp was found guilty, and is to be charged sooner or later, that in Russia too. Then about the cold war II. I've been following Putin's actions quite closely, as that is what I study, foreign politics. Anyway, to my knowledge, Putin has opened some few air force bases that excisted when the Soviet union was around. Also, they have invested into new armory and things that go with. In Finland, it seems, that the main reason for this would be the US plan for a missile base in Czech and in Poland, basically, I've never heard it was anything against the UK. As far as I see it, Russia is gaining its position as the second, or the parallel hegemony, after the fall of the soviet union this being due to the great progress of the russian economy. So far they've also put back in air the old planes they had around 80's. In my opinion, Russia is gaining back their position as the other great power in the world, but they're challenging the US, not the UK.

[blueskirt]

Thank m0ds, this John Titor thing just made my day, I haven't laughed this much in a while now. I can't believe there's no cheesy action/adventure game about this story. With C64 graphics!

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Putin does seem a bit off, but so does just about every world leader these days.  Maybe it's something in the water?  Stupidity serum, perhaps?

[Ishmael]

Although having not studied the matter that closely, I second Tuomas on that Russia is just going back for it's position as a great power, seeing how the US is about to police the entire globe in a few years if nobody does anything.

But most world leaders seem off in the head, true.

[Radiant]

Yeah, I've heard of Titor. Apparently he's a fraud, but in an innovative and funny way.

I mean come on, this is the Internet Age. People will do anything to get attention, including but not limited to selling individual pixels, declaring their house to be an independent nation, and giving their daughter a forty-letter name with no vowels. Titor is simply more succesful than most of these.

[space boy]

declaring their house to be an independent nation

Oh, someone had this idea before me?

[Adamski]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Start_Your_Own_Country

[Miez]

Is it me or is Vladamir Putin a bit of a cock?

No doubt in my mind ... as are most people in power today. Power corrupts, I guess...

[Darth Mandarb]

What we need to do is to allow Skynet to run everything.

Wait ...

[Snarky]

Well, I guess it's a point of view thing, as in, where you get your news from. As much as I know, the one that was responsible of poisoning Litvienko +sp was found guilty, and is to be charged sooner or later, that in Russia too. Then about the cold war II. I've been following Putin's actions quite closely, as that is what I study, foreign politics. Anyway, to my knowledge, Putin has opened some few air force bases that excisted when the Soviet union was around. Also, they have invested into new armory and things that go with. In Finland, it seems, that the main reason for this would be the US plan for a missile base in Czech and in Poland, basically, I've never heard it was anything against the UK. As far as I see it, Russia is gaining its position as the second, or the parallel hegemony, after the fall of the soviet union this being due to the great progress of the russian economy. So far they've also put back in air the old planes they had around 80's. In my opinion, Russia is gaining back their position as the other great power in the world, but they're challenging the US, not the UK.

After it's short, messy experiment with democracy, Russia under Putin has become an authoritarian police state. (This, coincidentally, is the topic of this week's The Economist cover story. Read it here.) In the medium-to-long term, that's very bad news for the rest of the world.

Actually, scratch that. It's bad news right now. Whether it's the country's attempt to seize the North Pole, cyber-war attacks against Estonia, gas embargos (or threats of same) against Georgia, Armenia, and much of Eastern Europe, fantastical assassinations in foreign capitals, or bombs dropped on Georgia, Russia is showing its teeth and revealing itself as an aggressive rogue nation.

It's not the Cold War II, but I fear that Russia is a bigger threat to world peace than Iran, China, North Korea, or any of the other usual suspects.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

well, it's more true to say Putin himself is the threat.  I'm sure most russians just want to live decent, comfortable lives like just about everyone else.  Meat, bread, maybe a tv that isn't locked on 1-sided political brainwash broadcasts...

[radiowaves]

Its not only Putin, its most of his/its government and people who are brainwashed.
I Live in Estonia, former SSSR country, and I am 100% shure that Russians ambitions are the same they were in the past. As you probably know, almost half of the population here is formed by russians who have come here in the past and who are still coming. Better work opportunities etc. Sadly, most of these people don't speak much estonian, and even if they do, they still watch russian channels. That gives Russia the chance to subvert our country from inside.
I've seen russian channels and I know they are very one sided and full of propaganda lies. Fact is, most of bigger russian newspapers and radio and tv channels are under Putins control. You've probably heard about the Aljošha scandal, which even had its own thread here, it ended with a big riot where most of the people just went robbing. But in meantime, in russia, there were some big propaganda, lots of protestors stton on front of the Estonian embassy in Moscow, with hammers, ready to pull it down. The fact is that these protestors vere given tents, T-shirts, they were brought there by buses, and large part of them was just young students.
And this sort of subverting from inside is spread all over the Easte-Europe countries where many are now part of the EU. Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania... There are frauds all over the place, its about time UK got his eyes off from Bush's ass to see the rest of the world.

Second thing that concerns me is the new Russia-Germany gas trail they are planning which brings lots of scandal. Putin has promised that the new line crossing the Baltic Sea will be guarded by his military. Thats the reason why they are building it on Finnish side, because he is neutral. If they brought it closer to Estonia, NATO would be all over the place. And russian pipelines are know for theyr leakages and explosions, if something happens, no-one takes the blame. Thats Gazprom, and I am shure this issue will be causing some conflicts in future, and I won't be surprised if they turn off the gaslines that run in baltic because of that.

Its clear that Russia has its big ambitions,. Now that the world is closing to a crisis chain reaction, new resources and ways to success are been looked for. The last thing is that Russia recently made deep sea explorations in North Pole. Mir 1 and Mir 2 decended 4 kilometers to take samples. They want to prove that underwater Mendelejev and Lomossov hills are the contiuings of Eurasia, which would give Russia more land. Governemnt has said that explorations will be fully covered with infinite funds. Now when did Russia go exploring?? When Kursk sinked, no-one got to investigate it. Clearly they are looking for oil and other benefications. So long neutral shared North Pole. Now that the ice is melting, and new sea ways opened up in North-Canada, some interesting stuff may happen there also. I wonder when they conquer the South Pole...

Last thing I want to mention is the Russian rocked scandal in Georgia. Just to mention that russians airplanes are flying everywhere...


World is coming to a crisis, I am shure of that. Some big things may happen. Its clear that there are two big problems causing it, they are Russia and USA. USA is scamming its way through the Middle-East and Iran etc, subverting Pakistan. Russia is conquering North and East-Europe. Lets just wait until some secret plot with China reveals....

Oh, and just one flick I discovered today: http://englishrussia.com/?p=727
Some of the Russians propaganda posters are copied from Nazis..

[shitar]

Fuck me, anytime a Slavic nation tries to do anything beneficial to themselves they are the next fucking antichrist and are "rogue" nations, needing to be destroyed. When the "west" does it, it's a "noble cause" and the holiest fucking thing since Christ was born. No difference in Nazi Germany and modern West's views on the Slavic people.

[Nikolas]

Oh man

It was SO nice that you hadn't posted for 8 months...

[shitar]

Well, I guess it's a point of view thing, as in, where you get your news from. As much as I know, the one that was responsible of poisoning Litvienko +sp was found guilty, and is to be charged sooner or later, that in Russia too. Then about the cold war II. I've been following Putin's actions quite closely, as that is what I study, foreign politics. Anyway, to my knowledge, Putin has opened some few air force bases that excisted when the Soviet union was around. Also, they have invested into new armory and things that go with. In Finland, it seems, that the main reason for this would be the US plan for a missile base in Czech and in Poland, basically, I've never heard it was anything against the UK. As far as I see it, Russia is gaining its position as the second, or the parallel hegemony, after the fall of the soviet union this being due to the great progress of the russian economy. So far they've also put back in air the old planes they had around 80's. In my opinion, Russia is gaining back their position as the other great power in the world, but they're challenging the US, not the UK.

After it's short, messy experiment with democracy, Russia under Putin has become an authoritarian police state. (This, coincidentally, is the topic of this week's The Economist cover story. Read it here.) In the medium-to-long term, that's very bad news for the rest of the world.

Actually, scratch that. It's bad news right now. Whether it's the country's attempt to seize the North Pole, cyber-war attacks against Estonia, gas embargos (or threats of same) against Georgia, Armenia, and much of Eastern Europe, fantastical assassinations in foreign capitals, or bombs dropped on Georgia, Russia is showing its teeth and revealing itself as an aggressive rogue nation.

It's not the Cold War II, but I fear that Russia is a bigger threat to world peace than Iran, China, North Korea, or any of the other usual suspects.

And that is lesson 1 of Political Party Hacks 101, class. AMERICA is a bigger threat to world peace than Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia.

[space boy]

And that is lesson 1 of Political Party Hacks 101, class. AMERICA is a bigger threat to world peace than Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia.

you forgot poland

[Ishmael]

And that is lesson 1 of Political Party Hacks 101, class. AMERICA is a bigger threat to world peace than Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia.

I second that.