Land of Magog Growling!
Russia is the land of Magog!
Nation interest fuels her Engine,
Things are seldom what they Seem,
SKIM MILK may masquerade as Cream,
Or a S300 missiles cargo as a timber Cargo,
Or a German U-238 Cargo to Haifa PORT as Coal,
The world is a stage and nations are its Masqueraders,
Mother BEAR is Growling for Her Satellite Cubs to come Home,
So economic gain by Iranian oil revenues is bear’s national Interest,
The nation masqueraders in shipping one cargo may involve four Nations,
The Cargo may finally end up on a Liberian Ship in an Uninvolved Nation’s Port!
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF INTERNATIONAL SMOKE AND MIRRORS!
September 15, 2009
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Ezekiel 39:6 – And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Begin Article from Khaleej Times Online via World News
The Russian Bear Growls All Over Again
M.N. Hebbar (View from Europe)
15 September 2009
Things are seldom what they seem; skim milk masquerades as cream.’ This familiar quote from W.S.Gilbert made the rounds again as two seemingly unrelated events occurred within the span of less than a week.
It began when the Arctic Sea, officially carrying a cargo of timber worth $1 million, disappeared en route from Finland to Algeria on July 24. It was recovered off West Africa on August 17, when eight alleged hijackers were arrested. Rumours were afloat that the ship was carrying a secret cargo of long range S300 missiles—Russia’s most advanced anti-aircraft weapon—headed for Iran. Suspense was added by a flurry of diplomatic activity, with Israel’s prime minister making a secret trip to Russia a few days ago to persuade Moscow to desist from helping Iran.
The Kremlin officially denied the story but later said it defended Russia’s right to sell the missiles to Iran and that its co-operation with the Islamic republic, includ
ing in military technology, was legitimate.
It also warned that military action against Iran would be counterproductive.
Barely days later, Russia’s prime minister Vladimir Putin used his official residence outside Moscow to announce to the world that he would seek accommodation with the current President Dimitri Medvedev to swap places with him when his term ends in 2012, thus making himself eligible to lead the country for possibly two six-year terms. Putin stepped down in 2008 on a similar understanding with Medvedev. Was anything wrong with this arrangement
? No more than when Britain’s Gordon Brown took over Tony Blair’s job after a “gentlemen’s agreement” between the two. This revolving door manoeuvre will further ensure that Putin will remain the paramount leader until 2024. His return to the highest office would reflect the real power structure in Russia.
It is an open secret that although President Medvedev is the final arbiter of Russian politics, it is Putin who calls the shots.
Putin used the press conference to expound on a range of domestic and foreign policy issues that left few in doubt that he remains Russia’s undisputed leader. He was direct in his criticism of the West, not least the United States, accusing Washington of dragging its feet on Russia’s long negotiations to join the World Trade Organisation and of misleading Moscow over Nato enlargement to the east, while acknowledging President Obama’s revised stance regards stationing of missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic. But Putin would do well to recognise that his tough policies towards the West would lead to Russia’s paranoid isolationism, characteristic of the Cold War.
Despite its resurgent revenues from hydrocarbons, Russia’s economy has taken a direct hit in the global recession, a fact Putin touched upon during his speech while stressing the need to rein in inflation and hold down the rouble to revive the battered economy.
Russia’s foreign policy has not helped but rendered it virtually friendless.
Belligerence and coercion rather than accepted democratic values have shaped decisions while lacking the company of trusted republics or other nascent democracies in the post-communist era.
Russia’s grievances assail the West for being responsible for most of its woes, beginning with the chaotic times of the 1990s.
Frankly, Russia is not a democracy. Nor does it want to be at the moment. It has been compared to a Frankenstein monster: it had all the necessary components but couldn’t seem to function properly. Russians may not ever want to become a Western-style democracy after their disillusionment with Boris Yeltsin’s version. So Russia and the West find themselves trapped in the past
like an estranged couple in a marriage whose vows cannot be dissolved.
More to the point, Russia pretends to be a democracy and tries to get the rest of the world to dilute its democratic standards so as to qualify. And the world tones down its criticism for fear of riling an emerging energy superpower.
A divided Europe lies prostrate due to dependency on Russia for gas supplies and Russia has not hesitated to use energy as a political weapon.
On the other hand, the Obama administration wants Russia’s co-operation on a range of global issues, including nuclear arms reduction, Iran and international terrorism as well as its tantalisingly huge reserves of hydrocarbons. Obama has been engaging respectfully with Moscow, bearing in mind the mutual interests and trade-offs at stake.
Give the devil its due, though.
Russia has taken significant strides under the Putin regime, with even remote provinces experiencing an unprecedented rise in standards of living. The citizens have a palpable sense of pride and confidence in the man at the helm. Up to a point, Russians seem prepared to sacrifice political freedoms for the sake of stability and prosperity. But the government must deliver.
Russia has been struggling hard to regain the stature and prestige enjoyed in the heydays of the Soviet Union. The loss of empire, however hard to swallow, cannot be assuaged by nostalgic clinging to the past. It takes a mature democracy to come to terms with it and move on to emerging realities. Russia can still make it, even with its own brand of political model.
M.N.Hebbar is a veteran journalist and commentator on European affairs
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