A VISIT WITH PUTIN IHT

by merrie | September 16, 2007 at 09:53 pm

390 views | 6 Recommendations | 5 comments

Putin's Russia is definitely a new hybrid. There's no threat of a new
Cold War, no ideology of world domination in the new Russia. The
president enjoys a level of popularity and legitimacy Soviet leaders
never had.
Now, Russians are suddenly living better than they ever have. They have
a combination of personal freedoms and prosperity they've never had
before. They can travel abroad and surf the Internet to their heart's
delight; the arts are booming; stores are overflowing; they can make
money. Lots of it.

The Russian president is at the top of his game, and he knows it. He is powerful, popular and master of a country that he has led from bankruptcy and despair to enormous wealth and power in the space of less than eight years.

Two days earlier, he had regally replaced one obscure prime minister with another, setting Kremlin-watchers in Russia and abroad scrambling for clues as to what this might mean for the presidential election, now only six months off, and for his own future.

Though he and his government maintain the myth that a real race is underway - there are five viable candidates already, including the new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, Putin tells visitors, throwing out yet another Byzantine morsel - nobody really doubts that the next president will be Putin's pick. Nor does Putin leave any doubt that he will remain on the scene.

merrie, you've convinced me you've done the work - it's authentic. I also think that you've been fair and thorough. I didn't get the sense that you were hiding your biases, or passing off other's work as your own. Or worse -- getting paid by those you cover -- so it's transparent and independent. I also think you deserve praise for being an eyewitness, and for your investigative efforts. Good stuff.

You have put the story in right perspective.

Who knows merrie Russia is certainly presuing a different strategy in regards to military technology. They are going for the more bang for your bucks option. Which seems to be realistic. Instead of trying to develope new and ever more sophisticated weapons they are going back to older style stuff. An example would be why deveope the i-gla 8 system when for the sam price you can fill the air with SA-2's. it does make sense because it negates all that super sophisticated anti-missile jaming equipment.

Anyway I put up an amusing Putin vid enjoy :)

Opps Wrong one Its the second vid.

Thanks for the flag Sth,

Great video! The other one is good too

I think after his presidency is finished, he could go into Movies, he gets two thumbs up, already. Ha,Ha,

But seriously, I like to see our leaders behaving like normal folks.

Here is something else that might help merrie.

US, RUSSIA DISMANTLE NUCLEAR SITES

Former Cold
War enemies the United States and Russia are now working together to
dismantle nuclear sites around the world. Their goal - stopping
extremists from obtaining dangerous nuclear material left over from the
Cold War. CNN's Jill Dougherty travelled to one site in Dalat, Vietnam,
to view the collaboration.

At a nuclear research reactor
in Dalat, Vietnam, a scientist opens a steel crate containing aluminium
fuel rods packed with highly enriched uranium - HEU. For 40 years, HEU
has powered this reactor, but HEU also is an attractive target for
terrorists. Just 25 kilos could make a crude nuclear device. According
to an international diplomat, in 1993 a Vietnamese citizen was arrested
in Hanoi for attempting to sell Russian-origin HEU. So this is a fresh,
highly enriched uranium. As you can see, I'm holding it with my bare
hands. It would be very easy for a terrorist just to walk away with
this stuff. The gamma and X-rays emitted are almost undetectable.
Vietnam has agreed to give up its HEU, and a team of experts from the
US, Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency is here in a
secret operation to remove it.

ANDREW BIENIAWSKI, ENERGY DEPT: 1 kilo of HEU that is removed is
one less kilogram that could be used by terrorists to potentially make
an improvised nuclear device.

As the amount of HEU is carefully measured, Russian experts
wrap the rods in plastic, then insert them in steel cylinders for
transporting. The IAEA expert then seals the cylinders. Meanwhile, in
the reactor's control room, Vietnamese scientists are testing a
replacement fuel that's been provided as part of the $2.4 million
operation, paid for by the US Government - low-enriched uranium that
cannot be used for a bomb. The test works. Security at the reactor will
be upgraded. One look at a door, blocked with a rusty pipe and chain,
tells why. The cylinders packed with HEU are now ready for transport.
This is the most vulnerable part of the operation - moving the fuel on
open roads. The convoy, guarded by Vietnamese soldiers, sets out for
the airport. From here in Dalat, it will be transferred to Ho Chi Minh
City, then back to where it originally came from in Russia. The HEU
will be blended down to a form that cannot be used for a nuclear
weapon. So far, the US and Russia have completed 13 operations like
this, removing 442kg of HEU from 11 countries. But there is more to be
done. Russia and the US are still only halfway there in securing
vulnerable nuclear materials around the world.

First Flagged at 3:13 AM, Sep 17, 2007 by Nksagar

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A VISIT WITH PUTIN IHT

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