RFS Pyotr Vlikiy (Peter the Great) fires a SAM

Defense Tech: Russian Force to the Caribbean

The Russian government is sending one of the world’s largest warships into the Caribbean for a joint naval exercise with Venezuela. This will mark the first time since the end of the Cold War in December 1991 that a Russian naval force will sail that “American sea.” The ships will operate in the Caribbean during November, showing support for Venezuela’s government, which is strongly anti-United States.

Leading the Russian force will be the Petr Velikiy, a 26,000-ton, nuclear-propelled “battle cruiser.” The ship, completed in 1998, is the world’s largest warship other than aircraft carriers, and displaces more than twice as much as the largest U.S. surface combatants, the Aegis missile cruisers of the Ticonderoga (CG 47) class.

The Petr (or Pyotr) Velikiy, a Kirov-calss ship, was laid down in 1986 as the Yuri Andropov. Completion was delayed for years following the collapse of the Soviet Empire, and the ship has had a number of reliability issues since joining the fleet. Like most Russian ships.

In 2004, the chief of the Russian Navy said that Pyotr Velikiy could “explode at any moment.” Again, this is like most Russian ships.

Check this out for more background on the Velikiy. Image from here.

The Caribbean/South American area is going to be getting much more interesting in the coming years if Russia is really serious about re-establishing itself as a major player.

U.S. to Hand Over Security Duties in Anbar to Iraqi Forces
If this isn’t under control already, it’s close. We’ll see if things hold as US troops pull back.

11 headless bodies found near Mexico graveyard
Why we’re not more concerned about the escalating drug war in Mexico, I don’t know.

War a US election plot, claims Putin
Remarks made right after Russia test-fired a Topol RS-12M missile.

Putin chokes chicken supplies from U.S.
That, my friends, is a terrible headline.

Secret Space Shots’ Hidden Emblems
Secret patch for STS-38.

Pentagon Reports U.S. Airstrike Killed 5 Afghan Civilians, Not 90
I find it hard to believe that someone would inflate collateral damage numbers.

LPD 17 underway after mechanical problems
Only two days late for her first deployment. What a bust so far.

Progress on India’s Thorium Nuclear Reactor and South Africa’s Pebble Bed
Bring it on.

Calculate Your Obama Tax Cut
Includes the WaPo graph from a while back which I meant to post on but didn’t because I still can’t figure out how someone making less than $19,000 could get a $567 tax cut.

MADD – a modern Temperance Movement
Like many causes, this is a tough one because critics of MADD are portrayed as pro-dunk driving. That’s not (usually) the case.

New Climate Record Shows Century-long Droughts In Eastern North America
Who would have guessed that the sun influenced earth’s climate?

First Flight of Sikorsky X2 Demonstrator
I continue to believe that this route, and others, are better than the V-22 Osprey route. Too late.

Tanker Bid Moves Toward Endgame
Endgame. Yah. Right.

As Geothermal Energy Heats Up, 5 Next-Gen Projects Take Shape
Though I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it before, I’ve wondered about geothermal on a larger scale. My in-laws heat and cool their house with geothermal and have been pretty happy with it. This would be a way to bring energy generation closer to the energy consumer, cutting out transmission infrastructure woes and losses over long distances.

The Palin call
My guess is that McCain gets a big boost from this choice and the fact that his convention is after Obama’s.

More Palin links and commentary
At Instapundit.

McCain Myths
Some true. Some not so much.

CIA Curtails Contract With U.S. Security Firm in Iraq
MVM, Inc. apparently didn’t provide enough security personnel to meet the Agency’s needs.

Virtually everyone believes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili foolishly provoked a Russian invasion on August 7, 2008, when he sent troops into the breakaway district of South Ossetia. “The warfare began Aug. 7 when Georgia launched a barrage targeting South Ossetia,” the Associated Press reported over the weekend in typical fashion.

Virtually everyone is wrong.

What I’ve had trouble understanding is why so many people seem to be finding it so difficult to believe that Russia could be anything other than the peacemaker they claim to be.

If the US sent troops into, say, Iranian Kurdistan to “keep the peace” after a group of Kurdish separatists started shooting, how many would perceive the Americans as peace keepers striving for the status quo? No one would, regardless of the truth. And they’d have a pretty good reason not to. Yet the Russians sure seem to be getting the benefit of the doubt in a lot of circles.

It must be because Russia lacks the empire-building history of the United States. That’s the ticket.

Iraq Poised to Revive Oil Contract With China
So when are we, like, going to start stealing their oil and stuff?

Hangin’ Up The Flight Suit
Pinch is retiring from the reserves after 24 years in the service. Apparently, he finally gave up hope that the Tomcat would be back…

The Death of 1989
The vast, frightening fallout of Russia’s invasion of Georgia

Spy Sat Sharpshooter Apparently Now On The Front Lines
Leak? Or intentional leak?

New film by “Spirited Away” director wows Japan
“Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” appears to be a Little Mermaid-type story. I am a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s work, particularly Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away. And Howl’s Moving Castle.

Boeing Wins Contract for Truck-Mounted Defense Laser
Boeing will complete the design for the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD), then build and test it on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck.

Indians’ Hands Tied in U.S. Wargame
To protect the secrets of their top-of-the-line Russian-designed Su-30MKI fighters

French Vow to Keep Fighting in ‘Besieged’ Afghanistan
No word yet whether Sarkozy still plans to add 700 more troops to his country’s 2,500-strong contingent.

Grabbing guns in Georgia
By the truckload.

U.S. Warships Run the Gauntlet with Georgia Aid
Three American ships plus some friends via the Black Sea to deliver more aid to Georgia.

Sea unearths secret Nazi bunkers that lay hidden for more than 50 years
Abandoned after the surrender and then buried by sand until now.

Battle over oil-rich city threatens to derail Iraqi elections
Ongoing issue is, well, ongoing nowhere.

Vampire bats kill 38 Warao tribespeople in Venezuela
Rabies.

Zombie Playground
Pic: 4 [5] kids making a last stand.

Poor Planning Doomed Russian Warplanes
Apparently, the Rooskies didn’t target Georgian AA at the start.

Turning roads into solar collectors
They started with the assumption that asphalt gets frakking hot when the sun shines on it. I’ve actually wondered about this before. I wish I had blogged it so I could prove it.

A beacon of hope for unwanted lighthouses
Murdoc’s guess is that the romance of living in a lighthouse would fade by day three or four.

Top 5 Olympic Opening Ceremony Moments China Wants You To Forget
Plus I’ve been told they put something in the swimming pool water to make people swim faster.

Carnival of Homeschooling
There’s More to School Than Textbooks!

Everything You Need to Know About USB 3.0, Plus First Spliced Cable Photos
4.8Gbps

Gunzookery
More links at GunPundit.com.

IGOETI, Georgia – Russian forces appeared to begin fulfilling a promise Friday to pull back from positions deep inside Georgia.

No Russian forces could be seen Friday afternoon in and around Igoeti, which had been their closest position to Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. A Russian armored column also was seen moving away from a base in western Georgia and a Georgian official said that forces were leaving the key central city of Gori.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other officials have said Russian forces would pull back to Moscow-backed separatist regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as surrounding security zones, by day’s end Friday.

Russian troops appeared to be continuing to dig in near the port city of Poti.

Those Humvees were in Georgia for recent joint military exercises, and were packed up and on the docks in Georgia for return to the US. The Russian soldiers have stolen United States Army weapons and are now being held deep in Russian-held territory.

Last time I checked, that sort of thing is an act of war. On the grand scale of things, it’s a minor act of war, but nonetheless it demonstrates Russia’s attitude towards the US — “we’ll do what we want, and you won’t do anything about it.” That even includes seizing our weapons — which were NOT being used, but merely happened to be present at a dock.

It could be, of course, that the troops didn’t realize what they were doing. But I guess the Russians owe us replacement cost for those vehicles.

I’m guessing the Bushmaster carbines belonged to the Georgian military, though. Does anyone know for sure?

Meanwhile:

Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, said his country was “very disappointed” that Russia had not withdrawn its troops from Georgia, as agreed in the cease-fire he helped negotiate.

Shocking.

Then we have:

Russia rejects UN call to pull out of Georgia and also US says Russia is beginning pullout from Georgia.

We’ll see.