Did you actually watch that 2nd video?
The guy that was kidnapped basically explained that the bearded guy is not a Russian operative.
That should really be common sense. Unless Russia is training its special forces to blend in by being 55+ having a messy beard ( his would take many months to grow) and being 90lbs overweight, he is not special forces. Maybe he was 20 years ago, but he isn't now.
That's really an non-argument though, and proves nothing.
Anyone who thinks Russia doesn't have boots on the ground, active special forces and intelligence / military personnel actively coordinating and handling the "rebels" in the east, is a fool, whether this "bearded guy" is one or not.
Ok, sometimes you can tell more from what isn't being said than what is.
Does anyone think Russia wouldn't have intelligence operatives in the Ukraine, Blearus, Georgia, etc? Anyone think the USA doesn't? If you think we don't, how'd we get those recordings?
With that, lets look at what is actually being said :
"Intel is producing taped conversations of intelligence operatives taking their orders from Moscow and everybody can tell the difference in the accents, in the idioms, in the language. We know exactly whos giving those orders, we know where they are coming from,"
OK. Russia has intelligence operatives in Ukraine, and they take their orders from Russia. And?
Now the next part - maybe if the USA didn't have a 15+ year history of direct lies and deception in order to justify illegal actions and demagogue other countries I might believe it :
""But he claimed that the intercepts provided proof of the Russians deliberately fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraineand lying about it to U.S. officials and the public."
All I can say right now is show me the proof. Otherwise Kerry is just another lying sack of shit in Washington.
Just like these guys :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
Scott Ritter, UNSCOM weapons inspector :
"And here we are, someone who the CIA knows is a fraud, the US Government knows is a fraud, is allowed to sit in front of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and give testimony as a expert witness. I got a problem with that, I got a problem with the American media, and I've told them over and over and over again that this man is a documentable fraud, a fake, and yet they allow him to go on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and testify as if he actually knows what he is talking about.[86]"
"Secretary of State Colin Powell had told the United Nations Security Council, "We have firsthand descriptions of biological weapons factories on wheels and on rails. We know what the fermenters look like. We know what the tanks, pumps, compressors and other parts look like."
"The Pentagon team had been sent to investigate the trailers after the invasion. The team of experts unanimously found "no connection to anything biological"; one of the experts told reporters that they privately called the trailers "the biggest sand toilets in the world." The report was classified, and the next day, the CIA publicly released the assessment of its Washington analysts that the trailers were "mobile biological weapons production."
These people are complete lying sacks of shit. They should have all been tried for treason and crucified in front of the capital.
Kerry, Obama, etc etc are all cut from the same cloth and do not deserve our trust whatsoever.
If he has proof, let him present that proof.
1. Are you denying Russia is in Eastern Ukraine causing havok?
2. I see you are arguing two wrongs make a right again.
Late Wednesday evening, the United States Court of Federal Claims granted SpaceX’s request for an injunction to prevent US-based companies from buying RD-180 rocket engines for use in government space launches. The injunction specifically applies against the United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed-Martin that provides unmanned rocket launch services to NASA and other US government agencies.
1 - I'm not the one saying they are causing havoc. If one makes a claim, I would expect to see proof of it. I do not need to prove your claim wrong, you need to prove it right.
2 - I did not say two wrongs made a right. I said that the US gov't does not deserve trust because their past lies have led to invading other countries under false pretenses. Even when those deceptions were uncovered - they lied again. Who is the fool the continue to believe them?
That Russia has 'operatives' there means absolutely nothing. The USA obviously has 'operatives' there as well - and well connected ones at that.
Consider, what if the Ukrainian situation were happening in Mexico, with Mexico nearing chaos. Would it be news if Russia were to point out that the USA has operatives in Mexico, and accuse us of trying to affect the situation? It would be - because WTF would Russia be doing in Mexico??? By the same token, WTF are US agents doing in Ukraine tapping phone lines???
Late Wednesday evening, the United States Court of Federal Claims granted SpaceX’s request for an injunction to prevent US-based companies from buying RD-180 rocket engines for use in government space launches. The injunction specifically applies against the United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed-Martin that provides unmanned rocket launch services to NASA and other US government agencies.
lol - one beneficiary of sanctions: SpaceX
http://arstechnica.com/science/2014...es-violate-russian-sanctions-gets-injunction/
Does SpaceX have an engine that can compete with the RD-180?
My understanding is that Merlin is not even in the same ballpark as far as thrust goes.
RD-180 is about 6 times more powerful.
win for humanity
Meh. Reminds me of the time when the Carter Admin got all twitchy about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, prohibited export of huge quantities of equipment ordered for Soviet gas & oil development. Caterpillar got fucked half to death, nearly went under. Private US space concerns will be facing similar issues from the other side.
Russian rocket engines are the industry standard, for good reason. They're extremely robust & powerful, almost as reliable as dirt, along with being very highly refined at this point in their development. There is no competing product for the RD-180.
I'm sure we can just purchase the stolen designs from the Chinese.
We hold a license to manufacture and deliver RD-180 engines, says Matthew Bates, a spokesman for Pratt & Whitney, which formed a joint venture with Russian engine manufacturer NPO Energomash in 1997 called RD Amross.
If Russia were to hold the RD-180 hostage, the Defense Department estimates it would need $1 billion over five years to establish production on U.S. soil.
apparently p&w have had a license to produce the engines in the us for years:
http://aviationweek.com/awin/us-rd-180-coproduction-would-cost-1-billion
If Russia were to hold the RD-180 hostage, the Defense Department estimates it would need $1 billion over five years to establish production on U.S. soil.
$1 billion over 5 years doesn't seem like that much
If the US was able in 1942 embark on a crash program for ships/aircraft within a 2 year period to out produce every country, starting almost from scratch; already having the specs for the engine should not take 5 years.
Um, shouldn't the country in question decide which sphere of influence they want to be in? Instead of other countries deciding for them?
If, hypothetically, Russia should consider Finland to be in their sphere of influence (after all, Finland was once a part of the Russian empire before it won its independence), should we just stand by if Russia wants to dominate Finland against their will?
We're not forcing Ukraine away from Russia (if anything, Russia's belligerence is forcing Ukraine into our arms). Despite what the Russian propaganda may claim, the Ukrainian protestors who overthrew Yanukovych are not secret American agents. We're not forcing Ukraine to enter our sphere of influence. They don't want to be a Russian puppet. They asked for Western aid. Shouldn't their wishes count for something?
(On that note, I think Crimea belongs with Russia, and I'm fine with Russia taking Crimea, because that's what the Crimeans want. My beef with the Crimean takeover is the bullyish way in which Russia did it--sending in troops, shutting down opposition media, running propaganda campaigns claiming that Ukrainians are Nazis, etc.)
Putin must now weigh whether Russia's interests are better served by the kind of neutrality deal the Obama administration appears ready to offer. The U.S. view is that the new government in Kiev will be stable only if Russia is invested in its success -- and that, in turn, will happen only if Moscow concludes that a new Ukraine won't be a platform for NATO or the European Union.
Putin clearly could obtain such assurances of a non-threatening Ukraine if he opted for de-escalation and a diplomatic course. U.S. officials are signaling their hope that the U.S. and Russia could cooperate in building a neutral, non-NATO Ukraine, following a successful May 25 election. Indeed, administration policymakers have been studying the Cold War experience of Finland for guidance on issues that might face a future Ukraine.