Russia aims to assert control over Arctic

The first Russian oil rig in Canadian jurisdiction or territory, and I'll blow the dam thing up..

Anyone with me here??

The Russian stock market collapsed by 16% today alone. Their market in general has taken an over 40% hit since New Years. Their dopey adventure to squash a few bothersome bugs in Georgia wasted billions of dollars that they couldn't afford to lose. They still have a population suffering from severe poverty, lack of government maintainence of critical infrastructure, and a pandemic of despair-rooted alcoholism and drug abuse. Russia is by all standards still nothing less than a total demographic disaster

All in all, Putin's so-called economic "turn around" of the past decade is looking more and more like something Boris Yeltsin might have thought up when he was drunk. As such I wouldn't worry too much about the Russians taking over the Arctic, or any other part of the world for that matter, any time soon.

Ever play poker? Are you familiar with the idea of 'all in'? I think Russia, much to their own chagrin, has committed themselves. I think they would LOVE to have a third option here but it looks clear that they are either to be humiliated and emasculated or they scale up the war talk and get real concessions. They are being pained in a corner, one that has Iran in close quarter and the EU and China as proxy allies. They certainly have taken a hit economically but the US is no great shakes itself and although Russia's over inflated from gas and oil GDP may be $2 trillion the combined economy of the west is $30 trillion. Economically they will be swallowed whole if the west stays united and speaks with one voice but that is a resolve I find hard to swallow. I do not see a hardline western response to Russia with German, France, Spain, Italy, and the US standing shoulder to shoulder. So in the game of bluffing they may be calling ours.

I say we attack first....oh yes, if we attack they will never know what hit them...