It’s probably just that Putin finished remodeling his Dacha in Crimea and he wants to show it off to the press.
Harper should have bought those F-35s (in all seriousness, I think most Canadians are ignorant of the reality that we too share a border with Russia, one that they dispute and are actively building military forces to potentially seize).
Ok, I’m baffled by this statement. What border? As for the F-35, it depends on the doctrine, they may not need it, and it is extremely expensive, limiting the quantities. RCAF has only a small number of CF-18s, and presumably the F-35 would fill the air superiority role, but I don’t think Canada could acquire enough to be effective.
Anyone else tired of hearing about Putin’s BSD?
That guy has a larger following than Kim Kardashian’s ass.
Canada has overlapping claims in the Arctic with Russia, and we share a border over the pole. Russia has been actively increasing their Arctic warfare capabilities. The Russians want access to the gas/oil and shipping lanes that Canada currently claims (and Russia claims as well). Just turn your globe 45 degrees and look at the world a bit differently. Canada and Russia share a huge Arctic sea (most frozen packice) border. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_claims_in_the_Arctic There is no reason to believe that Putin wouldn’t make a land grab in the far North. My comment on the F35s was just an offhand remark, but the underlying premise I stand by. Canada needs to take its Arctic sovereignty seriously, something many Canadians don’t consider. Russian expansionism is a far away problem to them because of how the world map is drawn. But they are right there, just over the pole. If Canadians believe that Obama is going to ride in on a white horse and save some of our seabed claims from Putin, they’re foolish. Unless Russian paratroopers are in Edmonton, the US isn’t going to get involved. It’ll just be more meaningless sanctions.
Canada can’t do anything on its own against the 2nd most powerful military in the world. Spending billions on trying to do so will only delay the inevitable outcome by a few days. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses instead of throwing away money and sacrificing human life in a conflict you have 0% chance of winning.
Palantir, fly west or fly north over the north pole and voila, Russia.
Do we need a new fighter plane, yes. but it’s not the F35. It’s too expensive and we won’t have enough of them to be effective. Not to mention going single engine in the arctic is just silly.
To say F35’s fit our defense doctrine is laughable. We have no doctrine. Our country’s size greatly outstrips our defensive capabilities, which is a mish-mash of aging equipment and the quality few who serve.
Ask the Germans how a really good piece of technology (Pz. VI Tiger) vs a mass of Soviet junkers (T-34) worked out for them. The Soviets have got more ex personnel and mothballed squadrons than our active ones.
Can’t believe I never thought of it, but I think you’re right. The hydrocarbons industry has been very interested in the arctic in recent years, too (Lukoil, Exxon and RD Shell come to mind), so there’s value there. There’s a chance the US wouldn’t interfere militarily, too…all the more reason for Russia to consider it.
Looks like CT called it in this thread:
The NY Post cover was “Vlad The Impaler”
https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/nypost_20150314_nn-03_001.jpg
I think the baby angle is the simplist most likely thing. Putin is well known for being highly secretive about his personal life.
The guy has had such a shitty year, I can completely understand him wanting to get out of the Kremlin for a week with his GF and getting away from it all. I can also completely beleive that he would lie to the entire country about it, as rediculous as that would be in any other major democratic country.
So he still won’t come out with regard to their relationship?! I’d be really pissed if I were her
Haha, yeah. Most women would not tolerate this. I guess though, being the mistress of the richest and most powerful man in the world is enough for her to do so.
I’m pretty sure the 1st Canadian Polar Bear regiment will take care of invading Ruskies. While the rest of the world is busy developing crazy expensive planes and missles, we’re developing our Ninja Polar Bear Army. With global warming, these polar bears have nothing to lose. Two squares of seal a day goes a long way with these folks. Plus, natural camoflage.
If they fail, our whale squadrons will just bodycheck their subs. game over. 1972 biatch!
He’s back:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/vladimir-putin-appears-in-public-jokes-about-10-day-absence-1.2996471
Putin’s decision to abruptly postpone a trip to Kazakhstan planned for last week fuelled speculation that he was unwell or isolated by a palace coup. A Swiss newspaper claimed that Putin had travelled to Switzerland, where it said his reported girlfriend — former Olympic gold-winning gymnast Alina Kabayeva — had given birth to their baby. The Kremlin has denied all those allegations.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov greeted reporters Monday with sarcastic remarks: “So, have you seen the president paralyzed and seized by the generals? He has just come back from Switzerland, where he attended the delivery.”
Russia’s economy is going down the drain, much to the disdain of some wealthy folk, many of which could resort to desperate measures. I guess Putin is somewhere in hiding, figuring out who might be after him. There has been a strange series of “suicides” among backers of former Ukrainian president Janukovic this week. A major opposition politician from Tajikistan was murdered last week also. Western media is so fond of conspiracy theories that they ignore the obvious evidence for a major purge on the way.
In the end it could also be ruse, just like the “accidental” violations of NATO airspace. Maybe it’s all just a test to see how NATO can handle the uncertainty.