What a humorous way to start the day.......BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
ByGerry Smith January 14, 2022, 6:44 PM EST Listen to this article 2:19
DirecTV, one of the largest U.S. pay-TV providers, plans to drop One America News Network, dealing a major blow to the conservative channel that’s been criticized for spreading misinformation and had a loyal fan in former President Donald Trump.
The satellite-TV provider has notified OAN’s owner, Herring Networks Inc., that it plans to stop carrying the company’s two channels when their contract expires. Herring Networks also owns AWE, a lifestyle channel that stands for “A Wealth of Entertainment.”
“We informed Herring Networks that, following a routine internal review, we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement expires,” the company said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News.
DirecTV’s contract with Herring Networks expires in early April, according to a person familiar with the matter. Herring Networks didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
OAN depends heavily on DirecTV, its largest distributor, to reach its audience. The channel is still carried on Verizon FiOS and smaller pay-TV providers, according to its website. The broadcast can also be streamed via an online-TV service called KlowdTV. OAN has never been carried by Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc. or Dish Network Corp., three other major providers.
DirecTV, which is owned by AT&T Inc. and TPG via a joint venture, has offered OAN to customers since April 2017 after Herring Networks won a lawsuit that forced the satellite-TV provider to carry the channels.
I guess even the name denotes nothing to our Lil Schitty.......Health has nothing to do with mandating a vaccine for Covid!!!!! Thanx SCOTUS for thinking protecting citizens is a partisan problem!!!!!
Increase in wood as main source of household heating most ... In total, about 2.5 million households (2.1%) across the country use wood as the main fuel for home heating, up from 1.9 million households (1.7%) in 2005.
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American heavy bomber under development for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Northrop Grumman. As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber program (LRS-B), it is to be an advanced, very long-range, large, heavy-payload stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the USAF, able to deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons.[1][2][3]
The first prototype of the US B-21 stealth bomber has been completed
The first two prototypes of the B-21 stealth bomber for testing have just been completed by the US, but they have not been able to fly this year and have to be postponed to next year.
The United States continues to demonstrate its ability to lead in the field of military engineering. After the B-2 stealth bomber clearly demonstrated its power, it did not stop at this success, the US continued to develop a new generation of stealth bombers with the designation B-21. https://defenceview.in/the-first-prototype-of-the-us-b-21-stealth-bomber-has-been-completed/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20B-21%20prototypes%20are%20in%20full%20production.,been%20completed.%20at%20Factory%2042%20in%20Palmdale%2C%20California.
My old employ moving technology forward to protect your sorry ass, goat fucker!!!!!!
Disclose.tv https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1482344708546482176 NEW - Germany: President of the State Protection and Counter-Terrorism Agency (Verfassungsschutz) sees "new scene of enemies of the state" at protests against Covid restrictions, which can "no longer be clearly assigned to right-wing or left-wing extremism" (Welt)
VIENNA — No one expected much progress from this past week’s diplomatic marathon to defuse the security crisis Russia has ignited in Eastern Europe by surrounding Ukraine on three sides with 100,000 troops and then, by the White House’s accounting, sending in saboteurs to create a pretext for invasion.
But as the Biden administration and NATO conduct tabletop simulations about how the next few months could unfold, they are increasingly wary of another set of options for President Vladimir V. Putin, steps that are more far-reaching than simply rolling his troops and armor over Ukraine’s border.
Mr. Putin wants to extend Russia’s sphere of influence to Eastern Europe and secure written commitments that NATO will never again enlarge. If he is frustrated in reaching that goal, some of his aides suggested on the sidelines of the negotiations last week, then he would pursue Russia’s security interests with results that would be felt acutely in Europe and the United States.
There were hints, never quite spelled out, that nuclear weapons could be shifted to places — perhaps not far from the United States coastline — that would reduce warning times after a launch to as little as five minutes, potentially igniting a confrontation with echoes of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Russia Issues Subtle Threats More Far-Reaching Than a Ukraine Invasion
VIENNA — No one expected much progress from this past week’s diplomatic marathon to defuse the security crisis Russia has ignited in Eastern Europe by surrounding Ukraine on three sides with 100,000 troops and then, by the White House’s accounting, sending in saboteurs to create a pretext for invasion.
But as the Biden administration and NATO conduct tabletop simulations about how the next few months could unfold, they are increasingly wary of another set of options for President Vladimir V. Putin, steps that are more far-reaching than simply rolling his troops and armor over Ukraine’s border.
Mr. Putin wants to extend Russia’s sphere of influence to Eastern Europe and secure written commitments that NATO will never again enlarge. If he is frustrated in reaching that goal, some of his aides suggested on the sidelines of the negotiations last week, then he would pursue Russia’s security interests with results that would be felt acutely in Europe and the United States.
There were hints, never quite spelled out, that nuclear weapons could be shifted to places — perhaps not far from the United States coastline — that would reduce warning times after a launch to as little as five minutes, potentially igniting a confrontation with echoes of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Dumest fuck evah, thinks voting is not an issue for those waiting on line for 6+ hours to cast a ballot.....sorry sport, I'd bet you would probably walk away from the polling site if you were presented that scenario......not denying the right....but making the person walk away which is even sadder!!!
The Mercury News Search Russia issuing subtle threats that go far beyond a Ukraine invasion The New York Times News Service Syndicate P If NATO fails to meet its security demands in Eastern Europe, Moscow could take measures like placing nuclear missiles close to the U.S. coastline, Russian officials have hinted. (Doug Mills/The New York Times) VIENNA — No one expected much progress from this past week’s diplomatic marathon to defuse the security crisis that Russia has ignited in Eastern Europe by surrounding Ukraine on three sides with 100,000 troops and then, by the White House’s accounting, sending in saboteurs to create a pretext for invasion.
But as the Biden administration and NATO conduct tabletop simulations about how the next few months could unfold, they are increasingly wary of another set of options for President Vladimir Putin, steps that are more far-reaching than simply rolling his troops and armor over Ukraine’s border.
Putin wants to extend Russia’s sphere of influence to Eastern Europe and secure written commitments that NATO will never again enlarge. If he is frustrated in reaching that goal, some of his aides suggested on the sidelines of the negotiations last week, then he would pursue Russia’s security interests with results that would be felt acutely in Europe and the United States.
There were hints, never quite spelled out, that nuclear weapons could be shifted to places — perhaps not far from the U.S. coastline — that would reduce warning times after a launch to as little as five minutes, potentially igniting a confrontation with echoes of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
“A hypothetical Russian invasion of Ukraine would not undermine the security of the United States,” said Dmitry Suslov, an analyst in Moscow who gave a closed-door presentation on the standoff to Russian lawmakers last month. “The overall logic of Russian actions is that it is the U.S. and NATO that must pay a high price.”
And as Ukrainians were reminded anew Friday as the websites of the country’s ministries were defaced in a somewhat amateurish attack, Russia’s army of hackers can wreak havoc in Ukraine and also in power grids from Munich to Michigan.
It could all be bluster, part of a Kremlin campaign of intimidation and a way of reminding President Joe Biden that while he wants to focus the U.S.’ attention on competing and dealing with China, Putin is still capable of causing enormous disruption.
The Russian leader telegraphed that approach himself by warning repeatedly in the past year that if the West crossed the ever-shifting “red line” that, in Putin’s mind, threatens Russia’s security, he would order an unexpected response.
“Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, fast and tough,” Putin said last April, referring to the kinds of unconventional military action that Russia could take if adversaries threatened “our fundamental security interests.”
The current crisis was touched off by the Kremlin’s release of a series of demands that, if the U.S. and its allies agreed, would effectively restore Russia’s sphere of influence close to Soviet-era lines, before NATO expanded into Eastern Europe. It has also demanded that all U.S. nuclear weapons be withdrawn from Europe, saying it felt threatened by their presence — though the types and locations of those weapons have not changed in years. And it wants a stop to all Western troop rotations through former Warsaw Pact states that have since joined NATO.
It has reinforced those demands, which the U.S. calls “nonstarters,” with a troop buildup near Ukraine and repeated warnings it was prepared to use unspecified “military-technical means” to defend what it considers its legitimate security interests.
In response, the Biden administration has issued warnings of financial and technological sanctions if the Kremlin should follow through with its threats, particularly in regard to Ukraine. American officials say that for all the talk about moving nuclear weapons or using asymmetrical attacks, so far the U.S. has seen little evidence.
At a White House briefing Thursday, Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, declined to be drawn into the question of what kind of Russian action would trigger a U.S. response — whether, for example, the U.S. would respond to a cyberattack the way it would an incursion into Ukrainian territory.
“The United States and our allies are prepared for any contingency, any eventuality,” he said. “We’re prepared to keep moving forward down the diplomatic path in good faith, and we’re prepared to respond to fresh acts. And beyond that, all we can do is get ready. And we are ready.”
Of course, the most obvious scenario, given the scale of troop movements on the ground, is a Russian invasion of Ukraine — maybe not to take over the entire country but to send troops into the breakaway regions around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, or to roll all the way to the Dnieper River. At the Pentagon, “five or six different options” for the extent of a Russian invasion are being examined, one senior official reported.
Researchers tracking social media footage have spotted numerous signs of additional Russian military equipment being shipped westward by train from Siberia. In Russia, state television has been filled with commentators’ warnings that Ukraine could soon attack Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine — fitting with Washington’s allegation Friday that Russian operatives, with specialties in explosives and urban warfare, have infiltrated Ukraine and might be planning to stage a provocation to justify an invasion. Russia denied the allegation. Yevgeny Buzhinsky, a retired lieutenant general and a regular Russian television commentator, predicted a looming “limited” war provoked by Ukraine that Russia would win in short order through devastating airstrikes.
“There will be no columns of tanks,” Buzhinsky said in a phone interview. “They will just destroy all the Ukrainian infrastructure from the air, just like you do it.”
In Geneva, Russian diplomats insisted there were no plans to invade Ukraine. But there were hints of other steps. In one little-noticed remark, a senior Russian diplomat said Moscow was prepared to place unspecified weapons systems in unspecified places. That merged with U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia could be considering new nuclear deployments, perhaps tactical nuclear weapons or a powerful emerging arsenal of hypersonic missiles.
In November, Putin himself suggested Russia could deploy submarine-based hypersonic missiles within close striking distance of Washington. He has said repeatedly that the prospect of Western military expansion in Ukraine poses an unacceptable risk because it could be used to launch a nuclear strike against Moscow with just a few minutes’ warning. Russia, he made clear, could do the same.
“From the beginning of the year, we will have in our arsenal a new sea-based missile, a hypersonic one,” Putin said, referring to a weapon that travels at more than five times the speed of sound and could likely evade existing missile defenses.
In an apparent reference to the U.S. capital, he added, “The flight time to reach those who give the orders will also be five minutes.”
Putin said he would deploy such missiles only in response to Western moves, and Biden told Putin in their last conversation that the United States has no plans to place offensive strike systems in Ukraine.
Russian officials hinted again in recent days about new missile deployments, and American officials repeated that they have seen no moves in that direction. But any effort to place weapons close to U.S. cities would create conditions similar to the 1962 crisis that was the closest the world ever came to a nuclear exchange. Asked about the nature of what Putin has termed a possible “military-technical” response, Sergei A. Ryabkov, a deputy foreign minister, said in Geneva on Monday, “Right now there is no reason to talk about what systems will be deployed, in what quantity, and where exactly.”
And when a Russian reporter asked Ryabkov in an interview broadcast Thursday whether Russia was considering deploying military infrastructure in Venezuela or Cuba, he responded, “I don’t want to confirm anything or rule anything out.”
Moving missiles, however, is obvious to the world. And that is why, if the conflict escalates further, American officials believe that Putin could be drawn to cyberattacks — easy to deny, superbly tailored for disruption and amenable to being ramped up or down, depending on the political temperature.
Putin does not need to do much to insert computer code, or malware, into U.S. infrastructure; the Department of Homeland Security has long warned that the Russians have already placed malware inside many U.S. power grids.
The Biden administration has sought to shore up U.S. systems and root out malware. The nation’s biggest utilities run an elaborate war game every two years, simulating such an attack. But much of corporate America remains far less protected.
The fear is that if sanctions were imposed on Moscow, Putin’s response could be to accelerate the kind of Russia-based ransomware attacks that hit Colonial Pipeline, a major beef producer, and cities and towns across the country last year.
The FSB, Russia’s powerful security service, on Friday announced the arrest of hackers tied to the REvil ransomware group — a gang connected to some of the most damaging attacks against U.S. targets, including Colonial Pipeline. The move was welcomed by the White House, but it was also a signal that Moscow could flip its cyberwarriors on or off at will. No one knows Putin’s next move, of course — not even his diplomats — and he likes it that way.
“There could be all sorts of possible responses,” Putin said when asked last month about the “military-technical” response he warned about.
“The Russian leadership is rather inventive,” said Andrey Kortunov, director-general of the Russian International Affairs Council, a research organization close to the Russian government. “It’s not necessarily only about Ukraine.”
Analysts in Moscow believe that beyond a more threatening Russian military posture, the United States would be particularly sensitive to closer military cooperation between Russia and China. Putin will travel to Beijing on Feb. 4 to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and hold a summit meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, Russia said Friday.
Julie Kelly https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1482415187957366784
I have reread the "seditious conspiracy" indictment numerous times. Each time it becomes more laughable and even more infuriating. Do not think for a minute this exonerates Rhodes as a govt asset, it does not. No weapons, one assault charge, no vandalism.
Trend this: #corruptDOJ
There are no weapons charges. Some brought legal firearms and LEFT THEM IN VIRGINIA.
Correction, average house hold is comprised of 3.17 people.
1.9 % heat with wood 330,000,000 Americans and we get nearly 20,000,000 million Americans heating with Clean, reliable, renewable and budget saving wood heat.
Jacek Posobiec https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1482494341520179204
The national capital just banned unvaccinated Americans and there are people who tell you Russia's border dispute with Ukraine is the biggest threat to your family
VIDEO (with more color): https://twitter.com/MichaelPSenger/status/1482032286426038272
DeSantis: “So if you’re unvaccinated, naturally immune, and uninfected, they fire you. But if you’re COVID positive and vaxxed…going back on the job…absolutely insane, especially given the ineffectiveness of these shots to actually stop transmission.”
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American heavy bomber under development for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Northrop Grumman. As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber program (LRS-B), it is to be an advanced, very long-range, large, heavy-payload stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the USAF, able to deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons.[1][2][3]
I would think strategic, heavyweight bomber is obsolete in this day age, still to this day the B52 is the class of the heavy bombers.
CDC | Data as of: January 15, 2022 4:53 PM ET. Posted: January 15, 2022 6:13 PM ET Skip Table State/Territory 7-Day Case Rate per 100,000 Rhode Island 3,134.3 New York City* 2,715.9 Delaware 2,393.2 New York (LoT) 2,236.5 Utah 2,130.4 California 2,130 Massachusetts 2,123.4 New Jersey 2,023.5 Colorado 1,985 Arkansas 1,966.7 South Carolina 1,934.6 Wisconsin 1,915.8 Florida 1,908.9 Louisiana 1,897.2
I think maybe we should all be quite concerned about the possibility that not only Russia but China and even North Korea may perhaps now have hypersonic missiles that can fly five times(?) the speed of sound and are able to avoid interceptive defensive missiles.
And how could they have developed these capabilities during the presidencies of Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump?
While we are viciously fighting each other politically, what are those opposing powers doing?
43 comments:
What a humorous way to start the day.......BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
ByGerry Smith
January 14, 2022, 6:44 PM EST
Listen to this article
2:19
DirecTV, one of the largest U.S. pay-TV providers, plans to drop One America News Network, dealing a major blow to the conservative channel that’s been criticized for spreading misinformation and had a loyal fan in former President Donald Trump.
The satellite-TV provider has notified OAN’s owner, Herring Networks Inc., that it plans to stop carrying the company’s two channels when their contract expires. Herring Networks also owns AWE, a lifestyle channel that stands for “A Wealth of Entertainment.”
“We informed Herring Networks that, following a routine internal review, we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement expires,” the company said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News.
DirecTV’s contract with Herring Networks expires in early April, according to a person familiar with the matter. Herring Networks didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
OAN depends heavily on DirecTV, its largest distributor, to reach its audience. The channel is still carried on Verizon FiOS and smaller pay-TV providers, according to its website. The broadcast can also be streamed via an online-TV service called KlowdTV. OAN has never been carried by Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc. or Dish Network Corp., three other major providers.
DirecTV, which is owned by AT&T Inc. and TPG via a joint venture, has offered OAN to customers since April 2017 after Herring Networks won a lawsuit that forced the satellite-TV provider to carry the channels.
Floriduh is #1....more covid cases than any other state!!!!! Great job Ronnie!!!!!!! BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
Denny on the subject of wood heat , why did you attack the poor and those in Vermont?
Montpelier temp today - 3°F.
Denney. January 15, 2022 at 5:01 PM
"Yes."
Natural gas price doubled sunce biden' build back broker started.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
I guess even the name denotes nothing to our Lil Schitty.......Health has nothing to do with mandating a vaccine for Covid!!!!! Thanx SCOTUS for thinking protecting citizens is a partisan problem!!!!!
Because goat fucker!!!!!
Tens of millions of Americans heat with wood.
According to MSN :
To reduce home heating costs
To Save the Planet with Clean, renewable wood
President Joe Biden
Quit watching Spiderman!
https://youtu.be/VuEu3YfxKhw
Natural gas prices double "because" Biden's Build Back Broker policies failed the American People, more so the poor then any other group.
Hi Roger, how are you.
Well I hope.
Given your stated life goals for 2022 , you can have a great year.
To reduce home heating costs
While more pollutants are released without regard!!!!!!
https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/co2_vol_mass.php
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2021/09/15/can-burning-wood-be-green
Once again goat fucking asshole....facts do not support you position!!!!! BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
10's of millions.....BWAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
Increase in wood as main source of household heating most ...
In total, about 2.5 million households (2.1%) across the country use wood as the main fuel for home heating, up from 1.9 million households (1.7%) in 2005.
2.5 million homes
X
Average Family consists of 4
Math eludes Denny again.
King Fauci according to Trump.
https://youtu.be/AgydkeyJunU
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American heavy bomber under development for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Northrop Grumman. As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber program (LRS-B), it is to be an advanced, very long-range, large, heavy-payload stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the USAF, able to deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons.[1][2][3]
The first prototype of the US B-21 stealth bomber has been completed
The first two prototypes of the B-21 stealth bomber for testing have just been completed by the US, but they have not been able to fly this year and have to be postponed to next year.
The United States continues to demonstrate its ability to lead in the field of military engineering. After the B-2 stealth bomber clearly demonstrated its power, it did not stop at this success, the US continued to develop a new generation of stealth bombers with the designation B-21.
https://defenceview.in/the-first-prototype-of-the-us-b-21-stealth-bomber-has-been-completed/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20B-21%20prototypes%20are%20in%20full%20production.,been%20completed.%20at%20Factory%2042%20in%20Palmdale%2C%20California.
My old employ moving technology forward to protect your sorry ass, goat fucker!!!!!!
FANTASTIC MORNING !!!
Looks like Trump has been looking at the data
Didn't push the "vaccine"
and is taking/keeping very popular positions.
Also has surrounded himself with minorities
He finally attacked Fauci
as well as the party of political "science"
and brown shirts
There is still hope for America and the World !!!
Math eludes Denny again.
BWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! You presumption is not supported by the fact....sorry sport.....but the number ain't 4.......BWAAAAAAAAAA!!!
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Far more important than ever since 1962.
Russia Issues Subtle Threats More Far-Reaching Than a Ukraine Invasion https://nyti.ms/3A0HuhH
Disclose.tv
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1482344708546482176
NEW - Germany: President of the State Protection and Counter-Terrorism Agency (Verfassungsschutz) sees "new scene of enemies of the state" at protests against Covid restrictions, which can "no longer be clearly assigned to right-wing or left-wing extremism" (Welt)
Germany has gone down this path before.
Next - Unvaccinated must wear yellow patches
Then live in isolated camps
bring a suitcase
the trains will run on time
Zeek Arkham
https://twitter.com/ZeekArkham/status/1482025560096350208
I’d love for any of these “Voting Rights” advocates to produce just one person that was denied the right to vote strictly on account of their race.
Just one.
This whole “sky is falling” continuous act from the left is getting very tired.
hopefully the leftist agenda is on its last gasps of desperation and will die
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
VIENNA — No one expected much progress from this past week’s diplomatic marathon to defuse the security crisis Russia has ignited in Eastern Europe by surrounding Ukraine on three sides with 100,000 troops and then, by the White House’s accounting, sending in saboteurs to create a pretext for invasion.
But as the Biden administration and NATO conduct tabletop simulations about how the next few months could unfold, they are increasingly wary of another set of options for President Vladimir V. Putin, steps that are more far-reaching than simply rolling his troops and armor over Ukraine’s border.
Mr. Putin wants to extend Russia’s sphere of influence to Eastern Europe and secure written commitments that NATO will never again enlarge. If he is frustrated in reaching that goal, some of his aides suggested on the sidelines of the negotiations last week, then he would pursue Russia’s security interests with results that would be felt acutely in Europe and the United States.
There were hints, never quite spelled out, that nuclear weapons could be shifted to places — perhaps not far from the United States coastline — that would reduce warning times after a launch to as little as five minutes, potentially igniting a confrontation with echoes of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Russia Issues Subtle Threats More Far-Reaching Than a Ukraine Invasion
VIENNA — No one expected much progress from this past week’s diplomatic marathon to defuse the security crisis Russia has ignited in Eastern Europe by surrounding Ukraine on three sides with 100,000 troops and then, by the White House’s accounting, sending in saboteurs to create a pretext for invasion.
But as the Biden administration and NATO conduct tabletop simulations about how the next few months could unfold, they are increasingly wary of another set of options for President Vladimir V. Putin, steps that are more far-reaching than simply rolling his troops and armor over Ukraine’s border.
Mr. Putin wants to extend Russia’s sphere of influence to Eastern Europe and secure written commitments that NATO will never again enlarge. If he is frustrated in reaching that goal, some of his aides suggested on the sidelines of the negotiations last week, then he would pursue Russia’s security interests with results that would be felt acutely in Europe and the United States.
There were hints, never quite spelled out, that nuclear weapons could be shifted to places — perhaps not far from the United States coastline — that would reduce warning times after a launch to as little as five minutes, potentially igniting a confrontation with echoes of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Far more important than ever since 1962.
https://nyti.ms/3A0HuhH
italien feeld
FLAG:
https://twitter.com/julianfeeld/status/1482427735402233859
somebody is flying an "fbi check in" flag at the trump rally in arizona
must have had quite a line
ROFLMFAO !!!
Dumest fuck evah, thinks voting is not an issue for those waiting on line for 6+ hours to cast a ballot.....sorry sport, I'd bet you would probably walk away from the polling site if you were presented that scenario......not denying the right....but making the person walk away which is even sadder!!!
THIS IS NOT FUNNY. THIS IS SERIOUS.
The Mercury News
Search
Russia issuing subtle threats that go far beyond a Ukraine invasion
The New York Times News Service Syndicate
P If NATO fails to meet its security demands in Eastern Europe, Moscow could take measures like placing nuclear missiles close to the U.S. coastline, Russian officials have hinted. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
VIENNA — No one expected much progress from this past week’s diplomatic marathon to defuse the security crisis that Russia has ignited in Eastern Europe by surrounding Ukraine on three sides with 100,000 troops and then, by the White House’s accounting, sending in saboteurs to create a pretext for invasion.
But as the Biden administration and NATO conduct tabletop simulations about how the next few months could unfold, they are increasingly wary of another set of options for President Vladimir Putin, steps that are more far-reaching than simply rolling his troops and armor over Ukraine’s border.
Putin wants to extend Russia’s sphere of influence to Eastern Europe and secure written commitments that NATO will never again enlarge. If he is frustrated in reaching that goal, some of his aides suggested on the sidelines of the negotiations last week, then he would pursue Russia’s security interests with results that would be felt acutely in Europe and the United States.
There were hints, never quite spelled out, that nuclear weapons could be shifted to places — perhaps not far from the U.S. coastline — that would reduce warning times after a launch to as little as five minutes, potentially igniting a confrontation with echoes of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
“A hypothetical Russian invasion of Ukraine would not undermine the security of the United States,” said Dmitry Suslov, an analyst in Moscow who gave a closed-door presentation on the standoff to Russian lawmakers last month. “The overall logic of Russian actions is that it is the U.S. and NATO that must pay a high price.”
And as Ukrainians were reminded anew Friday as the websites of the country’s ministries were defaced in a somewhat amateurish attack, Russia’s army of hackers can wreak havoc in Ukraine and also in power grids from Munich to Michigan.
It could all be bluster, part of a Kremlin campaign of intimidation and a way of reminding President Joe Biden that while he wants to focus the U.S.’ attention on competing and dealing with China, Putin is still capable of causing enormous disruption.
The Russian leader telegraphed that approach himself by warning repeatedly in the past year that if the West crossed the ever-shifting “red line” that, in Putin’s mind, threatens Russia’s security, he would order an unexpected response.
“Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, fast and tough,” Putin said last April, referring to the kinds of unconventional military action that Russia could take if adversaries threatened “our fundamental security interests.”
The current crisis was touched off by the Kremlin’s release of a series of demands that, if the U.S. and its allies agreed, would effectively restore Russia’s sphere of influence close to Soviet-era lines, before NATO expanded into Eastern Europe. It has also demanded that all U.S. nuclear weapons be withdrawn from Europe, saying it felt threatened by their presence — though the types and locations of those weapons have not changed in years. And it wants a stop to all Western troop rotations through former Warsaw Pact states that have since joined NATO.
It has reinforced those demands, which the U.S. calls “nonstarters,” with a troop buildup near Ukraine and repeated warnings it was prepared to use unspecified “military-technical means” to defend what it considers its legitimate security interests.
In response, the Biden administration has issued warnings of financial and technological sanctions if the Kremlin should follow through with its threats, particularly in regard to Ukraine. American officials say that for all the talk about moving nuclear weapons or using asymmetrical attacks, so far the U.S. has seen little evidence.
At a White House briefing Thursday, Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, declined to be drawn into the question of what kind of Russian action would trigger a U.S. response — whether, for example, the U.S. would respond to a cyberattack the way it would an incursion into Ukrainian territory.
“The United States and our allies are prepared for any contingency, any eventuality,” he said. “We’re prepared to keep moving forward down the diplomatic path in good faith, and we’re prepared to respond to fresh acts. And beyond that, all we can do is get ready. And we are ready.”
Of course, the most obvious scenario, given the scale of troop movements on the ground, is a Russian invasion of Ukraine — maybe not to take over the entire country but to send troops into the breakaway regions around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, or to roll all the way to the Dnieper River. At the Pentagon, “five or six different options” for the extent of a Russian invasion are being examined, one senior official reported.
Researchers tracking social media footage have spotted numerous signs of additional Russian military equipment being shipped westward by train from Siberia. In Russia, state television has been filled with commentators’ warnings that Ukraine could soon attack Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine — fitting with Washington’s allegation Friday that Russian operatives, with specialties in explosives and urban warfare, have infiltrated Ukraine and might be planning to stage a provocation to justify an invasion. Russia denied the allegation. Yevgeny Buzhinsky, a retired lieutenant general and a regular Russian television commentator, predicted a looming “limited” war provoked by Ukraine that Russia would win in short order through devastating airstrikes.
“There will be no columns of tanks,” Buzhinsky said in a phone interview. “They will just destroy all the Ukrainian infrastructure from the air, just like you do it.”
In Geneva, Russian diplomats insisted there were no plans to invade Ukraine. But there were hints of other steps. In one little-noticed remark, a senior Russian diplomat said Moscow was prepared to place unspecified weapons systems in unspecified places. That merged with U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia could be considering new nuclear deployments, perhaps tactical nuclear weapons or a powerful emerging arsenal of hypersonic missiles.
In November, Putin himself suggested Russia could deploy submarine-based hypersonic missiles within close striking distance of Washington. He has said repeatedly that the prospect of Western military expansion in Ukraine poses an unacceptable risk because it could be used to launch a nuclear strike against Moscow with just a few minutes’ warning. Russia, he made clear, could do the same.
“From the beginning of the year, we will have in our arsenal a new sea-based missile, a hypersonic one,” Putin said, referring to a weapon that travels at more than five times the speed of sound and could likely evade existing missile defenses.
In an apparent reference to the U.S. capital, he added, “The flight time to reach those who give the orders will also be five minutes.”
Putin said he would deploy such missiles only in response to Western moves, and Biden told Putin in their last conversation that the United States has no plans to place offensive strike systems in Ukraine.
Russian officials hinted again in recent days about new missile deployments, and American officials repeated that they have seen no moves in that direction. But any effort to place weapons close to U.S. cities would create conditions similar to the 1962 crisis that was the closest the world ever came to a nuclear exchange. Asked about the nature of what Putin has termed a possible “military-technical” response, Sergei A. Ryabkov, a deputy foreign minister, said in Geneva on Monday, “Right now there is no reason to talk about what systems will be deployed, in what quantity, and where exactly.”
And when a Russian reporter asked Ryabkov in an interview broadcast Thursday whether Russia was considering deploying military infrastructure in Venezuela or Cuba, he responded, “I don’t want to confirm anything or rule anything out.”
Moving missiles, however, is obvious to the world. And that is why, if the conflict escalates further, American officials believe that Putin could be drawn to cyberattacks — easy to deny, superbly tailored for disruption and amenable to being ramped up or down, depending on the political temperature.
Putin does not need to do much to insert computer code, or malware, into U.S. infrastructure; the Department of Homeland Security has long warned that the Russians have already placed malware inside many U.S. power grids.
The Biden administration has sought to shore up U.S. systems and root out malware. The nation’s biggest utilities run an elaborate war game every two years, simulating such an attack. But much of corporate America remains far less protected.
The fear is that if sanctions were imposed on Moscow, Putin’s response could be to accelerate the kind of Russia-based ransomware attacks that hit Colonial Pipeline, a major beef producer, and cities and towns across the country last year.
The FSB, Russia’s powerful security service, on Friday announced the arrest of hackers tied to the REvil ransomware group — a gang connected to some of the most damaging attacks against U.S. targets, including Colonial Pipeline. The move was welcomed by the White House, but it was also a signal that Moscow could flip its cyberwarriors on or off at will. No one knows Putin’s next move, of course — not even his diplomats — and he likes it that way.
“There could be all sorts of possible responses,” Putin said when asked last month about the “military-technical” response he warned about.
“The Russian leadership is rather inventive,” said Andrey Kortunov, director-general of the Russian International Affairs Council, a research organization close to the Russian government. “It’s not necessarily only about Ukraine.”
Analysts in Moscow believe that beyond a more threatening Russian military posture, the United States would be particularly sensitive to closer military cooperation between Russia and China. Putin will travel to Beijing on Feb. 4 to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and hold a summit meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, Russia said Friday.
Julie Kelly
https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1482415187957366784
I have reread the "seditious conspiracy" indictment numerous times. Each time it becomes more laughable and even more infuriating. Do not think for a minute this exonerates Rhodes as a govt asset, it does not. No weapons, one assault charge, no vandalism.
Trend this: #corruptDOJ
There are no weapons charges. Some brought legal firearms and LEFT THEM IN VIRGINIA.
Correction, average house hold is comprised of 3.17 people.
1.9 % heat with wood
330,000,000 Americans and we get nearly 20,000,000 million Americans heating with Clean, reliable, renewable and budget saving wood heat.
Denney attacked the poor.
So Biden's ELEVEN percenters have all descended on a wag the dog strategy
ROFLMFAO !!!
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Jacek Posobiec
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1482494341520179204
The national capital just banned unvaccinated Americans and there are people who tell you Russia's border dispute with Ukraine is the biggest threat to your family
Michael P Senger
VIDEO (with more color):
https://twitter.com/MichaelPSenger/status/1482032286426038272
DeSantis: “So if you’re unvaccinated, naturally immune, and uninfected, they fire you. But if you’re COVID positive and vaxxed…going back on the job…absolutely insane, especially given the ineffectiveness of these shots to actually stop transmission.”
Covid - good
unvaccinated bad
Animal Farm
Joe Biden's America
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Denny as I have established you as being against wood heat and against the poor.
How would you have 20 million Americans heat their homes affordably?
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American heavy bomber under development for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Northrop Grumman. As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber program (LRS-B), it is to be an advanced, very long-range, large, heavy-payload stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the USAF, able to deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons.[1][2][3]
I would think strategic, heavyweight bomber is obsolete in this day age, still to this day the B52 is the class of the heavy bombers.
I would think strategic, heavyweight bomber I
And think you are a delusional loser, cramps!!!!!!
Hey Denny! About Florida?
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fcases-updates%2Fcases-in-us.html#cases_casesper100klast7days
CDC | Data as of: January 15, 2022 4:53 PM ET. Posted: January 15, 2022 6:13 PM ET
Skip Table
State/Territory 7-Day Case Rate per 100,000
Rhode Island 3,134.3
New York City* 2,715.9
Delaware 2,393.2
New York (LoT) 2,236.5
Utah 2,130.4
California 2,130
Massachusetts 2,123.4
New Jersey 2,023.5
Colorado 1,985
Arkansas 1,966.7
South Carolina 1,934.6
Wisconsin 1,915.8
Florida 1,908.9
Louisiana 1,897.2
I would think strategic, heavyweight bomber is obsolete in this day age, still to this day the B52 is the class of the heavy bombers.
Where’s the graft in that
I think maybe we should all be quite concerned about the possibility that not only Russia but China and even North Korea may perhaps now have hypersonic missiles that can fly five times(?) the speed of sound and are able to avoid interceptive defensive missiles.
And how could they have developed these capabilities during the presidencies of Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump?
While we are viciously fighting each other politically, what are those opposing powers doing?
Maybe I should have said
...and how could they have developed these capabilities during the presidencies of Carter, Reagan, W. Bush, Clinton, G. Bush, Obama, and Trump?
While we are viciously fighting each other politically, what are those opposing powers doing?
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