Russia weighs Cuba, Venezuela bases: report
Cuba Next? Chavez Offers Venezuelan Island to Host Russian Bombers at US Doorstep
Russia could use bases for its strategic bombers on the doorstep of the United States in Cuba and Venezuela to underpin long-distance patrols in the region, a senior air force officer said Saturday.
And….
RIA Novosti - World - Iranian president declares his country a space and nuclear power
TEHRAN, March 13 (RIA Novosti) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday that pressure from Western powers trying to keep Iran in economic isolation have in fact spurred the country to become a space and nuclear power.
And…
Bin Laden accuses moderate Arab leaders, urges jihad | Top News | Reuters
Bin Laden, who made a similar call for jihad on January 14, described Israel’s offensive in Gaza and its attacks on the Palestinian territory as a “holocaust” and said militants wanting to help Gazans should support Iraqis fighting U.S.-led forces and Baghdad’s government.
And….
China ‘worried’ about US Treasury holdings
BEIJING (AP) - China’s premier expressed concern Friday about its holdings of Treasuries and other U.S. debt, appealing to Washington to safeguard their value, and said Beijing is ready to expand its stimulus if economic conditions worsen.
I feel so much safer with Barry Hussien Obama and his international relations expertise in the Oval Office now. Don’t you?
Submit to Stumbled Upon!
Gosh, if I squint my eyes just a little, I might think I was in the glory days of the Carter Administration!
Then I realize that we’ll soon look fondly on the Carter years.
OTOH, anything that makes the Russians spend lots of money to project power in the middle of a global economic meltdown with deflated oil prices, is probably a good thing.
All those air patrols and cruises are going to take their toll. Maintenance and new parts cost an awful lot. Each new ship, airplane and tank is going to require more money and increased conscription.
Heh. I must say I find it ironic that Reagan’s fears of the
SovietsRussians on our doorstep are finally going to come to pass.Didn’t it take Carter over a year to get into this much hot water? Is it the world getting faster, or is Obama just broadcasting “kick me” on all frequencies?
Carter was a governor and former naval officer. It took the world awhile to realize he was incompetent. Barry’s resume just screams out empty suit. Now we’re seeing why the world wanted him to win.
And they were happy to see him go.
These last three comments look like spam.
And so they were, along with another that wound up in moderation. All of them from the same IP address.
Seriously, was Carter in this much trouble this early on? I was too young to remember.
Ann,
The short answer is ‘no.’
Everything was a less complex in that era. Vietnam was a fresh memory. Taxes were high. About the only thing I can remember him doing early was the pardoning of the Vietnam era draft dodgers. The Carter financial crisis hit in 1978, I believe. Even then, there was more a sense of ‘temporariness’ to that crisis. It was a simpler world. Carter was inept, but most of us believed that the country would do just fine. His ‘human rights’ priority, was viewed as idealistic, and positive by many, and as naive by others, but it did not affect us really.
I was old enough to remember, and it did seem that he started benignly at first. Then came the shaky economy, the second wave of gas lines, inflation, the refusal to give refuge to the Shah of Iran and the hostage crisis. Carter’s last two years gave him his reputation. It should be noted that in 1980 Carter was still close in the polls until the public had a chance to take Reagan’s measure. Only when the public found Ronnie acceptable did they see fit to toss the peanut. It still took a strong candidate to defeat an incompetent incumbent.
Thanks Haverwilde & Lorenzo. I was also too young to remember, being a mere -7 years old at the time.
The problem with recent events is that one often overlooks the people for whom they’re “history” instead of “memory.”
Speaking of polls, here’s an exhaustive analysis of the polling in the two weeks preceding the Carter/Reagan election. There was only one debate, and it did, as some have noted, turn the tide toward Reagan.
What I found interesting was the polls put out by left bastions the NYT, WaPo, and CBS. All of them showed Reagan losing, even when all other polls showed him winning by, in some cases, wide margins.
On 10/29, WaPo showed Reagan losing by 39-43, while on 10/30, DMI showed him winning 45-35. Nice to see the MSM giants have remained consistent in their poll-rigging bias over the years.
It makes for a curious cognitive break. Folks like me make assumptions - “How could (x or y or z) be any more obvious?” - when, in fact, those we are talking to don’t find these assumptions obvious at all, because of the vast gulf between history and personal experience/memory.
Carter did not help himself with his infamous “malaise” speech, either. I was in high school at the time, and remember how lame and whiney it seemed.
Back then more than a few Republicans actually had a spine. I kid you not!