I thought the same thing with regard to Trump’s announcement of our military weakness. It’s been a source of concern for me as well.

Does she remember what she instigated about 20 years ago in Balkans?

You might be on to something there. Hillary probably equates the Russia of today with the Russia of 20 years ago. We successfully pushed them around back then...let's do the same thing now!

Which adviser would tell a President Hillary that today's Russia is not the same as the Russia back then? Who would risk being the target of her vulgar screaming fits? No one.

Documents Show How Russia's Troll Army Hit America:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/maxseddon/documents-show-how-russias-troll-army-hit-america
____________________________

Kremlin pays internet trolls to flatter Putin
Ben Hoyle - Moscow
October 11 2013

Russian investigative journalists and bloggers have uncovered an army of internet trolls paid to pour invective on the Kremlin's opponents and heap praise on President Putin.

Posing as job applicants, the reporters discovered the government hacks working at a small company called the St Petersburg Internet Research Agency. ..."

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article3891720.ece
____________________________

Russian Propaganda Is Taking Over Online Comment Boards

Pamela Engel
May 4, 2014

British newspaper The Guardian notes that recently, readers have been complaining of pro-Russia propaganda being posted in the comments section of articles about Russia and Ukraine.

One reader wrote to The Guardian:

"One need only pick a Ukraine article at random, pick any point in the comments at random, and they will find themselves in a sea of incredibly aggressive and hostile users (the most obvious have accounts created since February 2014 ... but there also exist those who registered with the Guardian before the high point of the crisis) who post the most biased, inciteful [sic] pro-Kremlin, anti-western propaganda that seems as if it's taken from a template, so repetitive are the statements. Furthermore, these comments are consistently capturing inordinate numbers of 'recommends', sometimes on the order of 10 to 12 times what pro-Ukrainian comments receive."

Guardian comment moderators believe this is an orchestrated campaign.

Russia has worked hard to make people believe that the country is supporting the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine and defending those people against some type of threat. These "comment mills" play into that strategy.

Last year, The Atlantic wrote about how the Russian government apparently pays people to "sit in a room, surf the Internet, and leave sometimes hundreds of postings a day that criticize the country's opposition and promote Kremlin-backed policymakers."

This practice isn't new, according to The Atlantic. But it can stifle open discussion about political issues in Russia, giving a louder voice to those who support the Kremlin.

http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-paying-people-to-post-pro-russia-propaganda-in-comments-2014-5

I forgot the list, here it is:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas

Mr Putin, what do you think of your "useful idiot"
supporters on Free Republic?

____________________________

Useful idiots

Thomas Sowell
May 20, 2003

Thomas Sowell

"The term 'useful idiots' has been attributed to Lenin, as a description of those mindless people in the Western democracies who would always find ways to excuse whatever the Soviet Union did. Columnist Mona Charen's new book Useful Idiots shows that such people are still with us.

Long after the Soviet Union's horrors had become too widely known around the world for their sympathizers in the West to be able to get away with whitewashing the USSR, new Communist dictatorships arose to become the new objects of the affections of the Western intelligentsia and of like-minded people in the media and in politics. ..."

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2003/05/20/useful_idiots

Russian nuke subs alone could turn the East Coast into a carbon field. Within minutes of a shooting war Russia will kill satellites/everything in Earth’s orbit up to and including geosynchronous orbit. The modern era of civilization will end. The first wave of nuclear ICBM strikes will kill 100 million Americans as population is concentrated in major cities. Another 75 million will die with 72 hours. In places which could survive blast, e.g., NORAD, Russia has direct targeting of it planned and will have he 200 miles around it glowing with radiation for centuries. Anyone in there has to stay in there or they will die quickly.

In the words of Donald Trump, “Wouldn’t it be nice to get along with other countries for a change?” I’d only add, especially Christian ones fighting Islamic terrorism.

Well if that happens, may all of Congress be in session.

At the speed of light, you could make it to Mars, or maybe Venus.

And the bad news is?

Being located on the Jersey coast bracketed by and within forty miles (As the crow flies) of NYC, Earle Naval Ammunition Depot and Fort Dix/McGuire AFB, you wouldn't have JimRed to kick around any more!

This is news? And if you ask me, with the airspace intrusions Russia has been making in Alaska and on the West Coast, me thinks that coast would be vanquished a close second behind, if not simultaneously with DC.

How Russia arms America's southern neighbors

Ioan Grillo
May 9, 2014

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Russia's push into Ukraine has put many on edge. But less known is that Russia is also strengthening its military links south of the Rio Grande and re-establishing itself as a power in the region.

Vladimir Putin has been strengthening military links here, and Russia is now the largest arms dealer to governments in Latin America, surpassing the United States.

Russia has even floated the possibility of building new military bases in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and putting its warships permanently in the Caribbean.

In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov recently visited Cuba, Peru, Chile, and Nicaragua, where he announced that Russia would also pour money into the new Central American canal project. ..."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/140508/russian-arms-military-trade-latin-america
___________________________________________________

Russia Boosts Arms, Training for Leftist Latin Militaries

Moscow defense minister inks deals with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua for joint exercises

BY: Bill Gertz
February 20, 2015

Russia agreed to provide military training for three leftist regimes in Latin America and increase military visits and exercises following a visit last week to the region by Moscow's Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, Pentagon officials said.

Shoygu met with defense and military leaders in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua and signed several agreements on warship visits and military training during the visit, which ran from Feb. 11 to 14. It is not clear whether any new arms deals were completed during the visit.

Defense officials said the Russian leader is seeking bases in the region for strategic bomber flights that Shoygu recently promised would include flights over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-boosts-arms-training-for-leftist-latin-militaries/
___________________________________

From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:
"The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/HI29Ag01.html
______________________________________________________________

" Joint war games are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2001, and reflect the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two Eastern Hemisphere giants."

http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2005/09/war-games-russia-china-grow-alliance

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170287,00.html
______________________________________________________________

Sept 11, 2014

China and Russia to build major seaport: report

China and Russia will build one of the largest ports in north-east Asia on Russia's Sea of Japan coast, reports say, in a further sign of the powerhouses' growing alliance.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-11/china-and-russia-to-build-major-seaport-report/5738036
______________________________________________________________

Obama: "We Welcome China's Rise"
CBS News ^ | January 19, 2011 | Stephanie Condon
______________________________________________________________

Nicolás Maduro Moros, more commonly known as
Nicolás Maduro, is a Venezuelan politician who has
been the 65th President of Venezuela since 2013
--Wikipedia
______________________

Photobucket

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

photo Obama bow Red China_zpsaue3iloo.jpg
________________________________________________________

"We are creating a new world, a balanced world. A new world order, a multipolar world," Chavez told reporters during a visit to Communist China, one of many. His "new world order" includes [RUSSIA], China, Iran,... and a significantly weakened United States, he explained.

Resurgent Communism in Latin America
by Alex Newman, March 16, 2010:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/world-mainmenu-26/south-america-mainmenu-37/3122-resurgent-communism-in-latin-america?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
______________________________________________________________

From the Russian News and Information Agency:
July 27, 2006
"'I am determined to expand relations with Russia,' Chavez, known as an outspoken critic of what he calls the United States' unilateralism, told the Russian leader, adding that his determination stemmed from their shared vision of the global order.":
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060727/51913498.html
________________________________________________________

Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro

And the bad news is?

And BTW, no hard feelings; I had the same attitude when hearing that the NORKs could soon be able to nuke 'Frisco...

Ted Cruz on Russia, Syria, Obama, 'missile defense', and the New START Treaty with Russia...

"If we want to actually dismantle ISIS, we need to dramatically change course. We need a real, robust campaign that maximizes our overwhelming air advantage.

We need to focus our efforts not on trying to create friends, but on supporting our real ones, especially the Kurds in Iraq and Syria who have actually had success against ISIS."

-snip-

"We can redouble our efforts to develop the defensive weapons that neutralized the offensive Soviet threat -- particularly missile defense, which has seen a 25% budget reduction under Obama, according to an analysis from the conservative Heritage Foundation, and has been constrained by bad arms deals like New START.

We should not only move quickly to install the canceled interceptor sites Putin opposed in Poland and the Czech Republic, but also to develop the next generation of systems that will only increase his discomfiture.

These options do not entail a ground war in Syria, yet would effectively shake us free from the failed policies that have brought us to our current impasse.

These options set us on a new path that puts Putin on notice that the United States is reclaiming our traditional role as leader of the free world."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html

**********************************************************

"I think it would be a mistake to get involved in the Syrian civil war. There have been voices in Washington eager for us to send our sons and daughters over to fight that civil war for some time. I haven't been one of them. I think the touchstone of U.S. military policy should be protecting the national security of this country."

"What we're seeing Putin in Russia do is a direct response to the profound weakness of Obama over six and a half years.

Putin views Obama as weak, as ineffective, and frankly, as a laughingstock. And, as a result, he is moving in, he is invading his neighbors, like Ukraine, he's kidnapping Estonians, and he's moving into Syria to gain a stronger foothold in the Middle East."

https://www.tedcruz.org/news/icymi-cruz-we-have-no-business-getting-in-the-middle-of-the-syrian-civil-war-goal-should-be-to-defeat-isis/

**********************************************************

Ted Cruz:
"We need a coherent plan to address both the specific crisis in Syria and the challenge posed more broadly by Putin's resurgent Russia.

The good news is that America still has options, if our leaders can summon the will to exercise them.

For starters, in Syria we can't double down on the failed strategies that have given Putin his opportunity to intervene.

We are now two years out from President Obama's proposed intervention after al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. ..."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html

**********************************************************

"According to the Washington Free Beacon, Russia's nuclear arsenal how has over 100 nuclear warheads above the limit set by the treaty.

Since the treaty was launched, Russia has deployed 111 new nuclear warheads, bringing its total number of deployed warheads to 1,648. That treaty limit is 1,550 warheads - a number that must be reached in 2018.

Comparatively, the numbers of U.S. nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers have fallen dramatically and are already below the limits set by the treaty. Additionally, the United States has decreased the number of warheads in its deployed nuclear arsenal by 250.

While the United States intends to eliminate heavy bombers and launchers, Russia has launched a strategic nuclear force expansion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also recently announced a new doctrine that placed priority on nuclear forces.

If this raises concern for you, you are not alone.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, said Russia "is in the business of violating treaties."

Rogers said Putin has violated several agreements and treaties in the past, and he simply "violates any treaty or agreement that puts limits on capabilities that Mr. Putin and his cronies desire."

"Russia's arguable adherence to the New START Treaty just indicates how bad a deal it is for the United States," he said.

Adm. William Gortney, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, said Wednesday that Russia has read our play book and is "fielding cruise missiles that are very, very accurate, very long range."

Gortney said these missiles have the ability to reach targets in Canada and the United States. He added that Russia has been participating in war game scenarios recently that simulate cruise missile strikes in Alaska.

This news is serious because it appears Russia has no intention of abiding by New START or any other treaty. We should therefore be building up our military and our arsenals instead of depleting them.

source:
http://theminorityreportblog.com/2015/10/11/red-alert-russia-just-did-this-to-its-nuclear-arsenal-and-it-should-put-us-on-high-alert/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

From Sept *2016*!

Russia 'to revive the KGB' after Putin wins biggest majority

Telegraph (UK) ^ | 19 September 2016 • 3:39PM | Marc Bennetts

Russia plans effectively to revive the KGB under a massive shake-up of its security forces, a respected business daily has reported.

A State Security Ministry, or MGB, would be created from the current Federal Security Service (FSB) , and would incorporate the foreign intelligence service (SVR) and the state guard service (FSO), under the plans. It would be handed all-encompassing powers once possessed by the KGB, the Kommersant newspaper said, citing security service sources.

Like the much-feared KGB, it would also oversee the prosecutions of Kremlin critics, a task currently undertaken by the Investigative Committee, headed by Alexander Bastrykin, a former university classmate of President Putin.

The Kremlin has not commented. ...

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...

***********************************************************

"For 16 years Putin was an officer in the KGB, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he retired to enter politics in his native Saint Petersburg in 1991.

He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsin's administration where he rose quickly, becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999 when Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned. Putin won the subsequent 2000 presidential election, despite widespread accusations of vote-rigging,[3] and was reelected in 2004."

"On 25 July 1998, Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin head of the FSB (one of the successor agencies to the KGB), the position Putin occupied until August 1999. He became a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on 1 October 1998 and its Secretary on 29 March 1999."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin

Basically the situation for, oh....around the last 50 years.

The millennial snowflakes never knew, and some older folks have forgotten.

Not all Yankees are Damn Yankees.

Also, the East Coast includes the Old South....

And, to be blunt, that IS “the US East coast” by any sptretch of the matter. Jacksonville IS a valid and important nuclear target - IF the attacker wanted to attack the US militarily as a US Navy base and airbase.

But to a terrorist - who ARE attcking the US with Obola’s nuclear weapons?

No. Does not even come up on their list of 100 targets. The cities attacked by terrorists - who ARE the threat and NOT this unidentified “Russian threat” of this news media propagandized piece! - are the democrat cities of New York, Boston, Washington DC. Maybe Philly - because of the Liberty Bell if nothing else. Not even Orlando is attractive as a nuclear terror target - It’s too far away. Too much associated as a”Mickey Mouse” land.

I think the truth is somewhere between extreme positions that are taken by those who admire Putin to the extent of being sycophants, and those who have not adjusted their thinking since Brezhnev ran the USSR.

Trump seems to have established a position in this new reality, HRC is still back in the Cold War mentality and some internet bloggers seem to be on Putin’s payroll.

On the question of Ukraine, we should negotiate an end to that unnecessary crisis, set the border in east Ukraine where demographics work best, accept the Crimean reality, and make it clear that further incursions are not tolerated. This principle should then extend to the Baltics and Poland, no further adventurism there.

And on Syria, we should acknowledge that the policy followed by NATO for the past several years is idiotic, that Putin’s support for Assad makes more sense than any other alternative, and work to co-ordinate strategy against ISIS, Al Qaeda and other bad actors in that complex war zone. Assad was far less of a threat to western interests and security than almost anyone else who could conceivably govern Syria but the fact is self-evident that nobody else can govern Syria anyway.

As for Iran, we need to hassle that out in a second round of talks that would take place once a better relationship is restored. The main thing we all need to do in relation to Iran is to nullify their nuclear threat and keep them contained until some future date when a less radical government is offered up by their political system.

Having Russia as an enemy right now is a dangerous and unnecessary risk. Our real enemies are radical Islam and China, as well as non-state rogue actors with abilities to disrupt cyber networks. If it turns out that the Russian government is behind any of that, we need to raise it as a serious concern, but I believe it’s more likely to be happening from other sources, notably China.

This issue alone is probably a foundation for electing Trump and not Clinton. With Clinton, we are going to get all of Obama’s bad judgment times a worse attitude and the hawkishness of an era that is not exactly fully relevant to the modern situation.

I hope Trump delivers a major speech on this set of issues and offers a detailed and (dare I say) nuanced position on a better relationship we need to have with Putin and Russia. This could win him the election but tick tock. People are already voting.

I think the truth is somewhere between extreme positions that are taken by those who admire Putin to the extent of being sycophants, and those who have not adjusted their thinking since Brezhnev ran the USSR.

In case you haven't been following too closely, Putin's Russia is fast approaching the dark times of the Soviet Union/Evil Empire.

For just one of many examples...

Mikhail Lesin, co-founder of the Russian government-controlled news outlet "Russia Today" (RT), which the FR Putinistas often link to in their threads, was found dead in a Wash DC hotel this past November (2015).

Word is he had had a falling out with Putin and was about to become an informer, a 'snitch'. Putin's Russia is very much like the Mafia.

RT (Russia Today) and the other Moscow-controlled media outlets reported at the time that there were no signs of foul play--that he died of a heart attack.

However, when the autopsy report came out 5 months later (May 2016) it was revealed that he actually was murdered. Beaten to death with a blunt object.

_________________________________

MIKHAIL-LESIN-DIES

Mikhail Yuriyevich Lesin (July 11, 1958 – November 5, 2015) was a Russian political figure, media executive and an adviser to president Vladimir Putin.[1]

In 2006 he was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", one of Russia's highest state decoration for civilians.

Mikhail Lesin was nicknamed the Bulldozer because of his ability to get virtually all Russian media outlets under The Kremlin's control.[2]--wikipedia
___________________________________

"RT [Russia Today] has been called a propaganda outlet for the Russian government[10][11][12] and its foreign policy[10][11][13][14] by former Russian officials[15] and by news reporters,[16] including former RT reporters.[17][18][19]

It has also been accused of spreading disinformation.[20][21][22]

The network states that it offers a 'Russian perspective' on global events.[24]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_%28TV_network%29
______________________________________

RT = RUSSIA TODAY

Nov 2015...

Vladimir Putin's media Svengali who was found dead in DC hotel was 'murdered for being an FBI informant'

Millionaire Mikhail Lesin, 57, was found dead in $240-a-night in Washington DC last Friday [Nov 6, 2015] and police are investigating
The pro-Putin 'propaganda channel' he set up, RT [Russia Today] , claimed he 'had been suffering from a prolonged unidentified illness'
But DC police have made no such finding
"Nicknamed the 'Bulldozer', Lesin was one of the key props of the Putin presidency, personally masterminding a wide-ranging media crackdown which has left the vast majority of Russian TV stations and newspapers obedient to the Kremlin."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315994/Vladimir-Putin-s-media-mastermind-dead-DC-hotel-murdered-FBI-informant-alive-claim-Russians.html#ixzz3rOUopg7Q
_________________________________________

The following article is from last December (2014)
"Mikhail Lesin has stepped down as head of major state-controlled media holding Gazprom-Media, the company said late last week.
Gazprom-Media, whose holdings include independent radio station Ekho Moskvy, said Lesin's resignation was due to family reasons, Russian media reports said Friday.
The holding's board of directors will finalize his resignation at an upcoming meeting, Gazprom-Media was cited by Ekho Moskvy as saying. No replacement has been named.
Earlier, a flurry of reports of Lesin's imminent resignation appeared on Russian news wires, all based on undisclosed sources and giving divergent accounts of the motive.
Forbes Russia cited sources in the media and government as confirming the resignation, with one of the individuals claiming that the decision was made personally by President Vladimir Putin."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/513690.html
_______________________________________________________
UPDATE: MAR 2016...

Mikhail Lesin, Ex-Putin Aide, Died of Blunt Force Trauma in Washington: Autopsy
by Alastair Jamieson and Alexey Eremenko
Mar 11 2016
A former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin found dead in a Washington hotel room was killed by a blunt force trauma to the head, U.S. authorities said Thursday.
Mikhail Lesin, 57, was found dead on the floor of his room in Dupont Circle on November 5.[2015]
Autopsy results show that he died from “blunt-force injuries of the head,” according to a joint statement Thursday from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported by NBC Washington , but the exact manner of death was undetermined.
Also contributing to his death were “blunt-force injuries of the neck, torso, upper extremities and lower extremities,” the statement said.
Russian media originally reported that Lesin, a former government minister, had suffered a heart attack. ...”
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/mikhail-lesin-ex-putin-aide-died-blunt-force-trauma-washington-n536456
______________________________________________________________
"On Friday, November 6 [2015], RIA Novosti reported that Lesin died of a heart attack citing a spokesman for the family as saying: "Today, Mikhail Lesin died ... His death came supposedly from a heart attack."[35][38]
RT [Russia Today] reported the next day that the cause of death was a heart attack.[31][39][40][41]
https://web.archive.org/web/20161026095000/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Lesin
______________________________________________________________

"When he [Mikhail Lesin] quit Gazprom Media in December [2014], a move seen as a shock, he cited ‘family reasons’ although there were unconfirmed claims he had fallen out with other influential figures close to Putin. ..."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315994/Vladimir-Putin-s-media-mastermind-dead-DC-hotel-murdered-FBI-informant-alive-claim-Russians.html
______________________________________________________
From 2014...

"Mikhail Lesin has stepped down as head of major state-controlled media holding Gazprom-Media, the company said late last week [Dec 2014].
Gazprom-Media, whose holdings include independent radio station Ekho Moskvy, said Lesin's resignation was due to family reasons, Russian media reports said Friday.
The holding's board of directors will finalize his resignation at an upcoming meeting, Gazprom-Media was cited by Ekho Moskvy as saying. No replacement has been named.
Earlier, a flurry of reports of Lesin's imminent resignation appeared on Russian news wires, all based on undisclosed sources and giving divergent accounts of the motive.
Forbes Russia cited sources in the media and government as confirming the resignation, with one of the individuals claiming that the decision was made personally by President Vladimir Putin."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/513690.html

______________________________________________________

"When he [Mikhail Lesin] quit Gazprom Media in December, a move seen as a shock, he cited ‘family reasons’ although there were unconfirmed claims he had fallen out with other influential figures close to Putin. ..."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315994/Vladimir-Putin-s-media-mastermind-dead-DC-hotel-murdered-FBI-informant-alive-claim-Russians.html
______________________________________________________

" [RT (Russia Today) founder, Mikhail] Lesin was a central figure in the early Putin years, spearheading the Kremlin's effort to silence the country's independent television, the first step in the consolidation of authoritarian rule.

The first target was NTV, at that time Russia's largest and most popular independent TV channel, whose hard-hitting news broadcasts, talk shows, and satirical programs criticized the government over growing corruption and the war in Chechnya and gave airtime to the opposition.

In June 2000, a month after Putin's inauguration, NTV's founder and majority shareholder, Vladimir Gusinsky, was arrested and placed in Moscow's infamous Butyrka prison.

While he was there, the information minister made an offer: Gusinsky could have his freedom if he agreed to transfer his media holdings to Gazprom, the state-owned energy monopoly. ..."

http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/vladimir-kara-murza/ominous-return-putins-media-enforcer

Useful idiots

How Russia arms America's southern neighbors

Russia Boosts Arms, Training for Leftist Latin Militaries

Ted Cruz on Russia, Syria, Obama, 'missile defense', and the New START Treaty with Russia...

Russia 'to revive the KGB' after Putin wins biggest majority

Mikhail Lesin, Ex-Putin Aide, Died of Blunt Force Trauma in Washington: Autopsy