Althouse: "Russia could detonate nuclear weapons over Yellowstone supervolcano and San Andreas fault to completely annihilate America..."

April 2, 2015

"Russia could detonate nuclear weapons over Yellowstone supervolcano and San Andreas fault to completely annihilate America..."

... says this Kremlin military analyst named Konstantin Sivkov, according to The Daily Mail.

BUT: Turn on the TV right now. I heard that Obama was solving the Iran problem.

52 comments:

rhhardin said...: Only you can prevent nuclear conflagrations.; 4/2/15, 1:29 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: So Tehran agrees to give up on development of nuclear weapons, and in exchange President Obama will nuke Israel.

President Obama calls it a win-win.; 4/2/15, 1:32 PM
YoungHegelian said...: The Russians, while no one was looking, have turned insane. As in North Korea level, high grade full bat shit insane.

If you read the Russian press, they are at war with NATO, no "ifs", "ands" or "buts" about it. At war. Right now. Multiple government officials will be happy to spiel out a bellicose scenario (e.g. invade Ukraine & just keep going West, nuking Warsaw, nuking Danish military assets) just by asking.

This will not end well.; 4/2/15, 1:33 PM
Michael said...: So Rush today asks the very relevant questions: have lefties always lied about Nukes? Have they never been afraid of them?; 4/2/15, 1:34 PM
Troubled Voter said...: The Soviet Union developed a huge stockpile of ICBMs 50 years ago. Thanks, Obama!; 4/2/15, 1:37 PM
Fernandinande said...: But it is not the San Andreas fault. Obama renamed it Bush's Fault; 4/2/15, 1:38 PM
Big Mike said...: Traveling 450 mph, the pyroclastic flow would engulf Madison about two and a half hours after the nuke went off over Yellowstone. You wouldn't get any warning because the EMP would knock out most electronic communications (you might be able to hear the warning if you could dig up an old vacuum tube TV or radio).; 4/2/15, 1:48 PM
Big Mike said...: @Ferdinande, you win the thread. I doff my hat to you.; 4/2/15, 1:49 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: I'd think a (nuke) deep earth penetrator would be a better choice for both targets, no?; 4/2/15, 1:53 PM
traditionalguy said...: This means we can at last set our clocks counting down until Iran delivers nukes to Israel (The Small Satan) and to the USA (The Big Satan.)

I hate uncertainty.; 4/2/15, 1:57 PM
jamescbennett said...: I'm pretty sure that's not how volcanoes and seismic faults work, unless you are Lex Luthor. Also, while detonating a nuke underwater would make big waves, you would lose energy as those waves travelled to shore. You would do more damage just detonating the nuke over a city like they were designed for. Seriously, who thinks you need supervillain schemes to make nukes seem dangerous?; 4/2/15, 2:02 PM
lemondog said...: Please, not the San Andreas Fault!!!

PAWS the wild animal rescue sanctuary I support is located in San Andreas!

Consider...LA maybe.; 4/2/15, 2:04 PM
richardsson said...: Comrade Sivkov is not a geologist. But he is a would be mass murderer.; 4/2/15, 2:13 PM
damikesc said...: Man, Romney was such a fool when he mentioned Russia as our chief geopolitical rival.; 4/2/15, 2:27 PM
gerry said...: Iran is not a problem for Obama. Israel is a problem for Obama, and he just solved it.; 4/2/15, 2:42 PM
Hagar said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/2/15, 2:43 PM
Hagar said...: Japan is building something like a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier for their Coast Guard's search & rescue team, Viet Nam bought 6 super-stealth Russian submarines for deep oceanic research purposes, and the other small-fry in the western Pacific are considering similar moves.
Pakistan is sending troops to Yemen in support for Saudi Arabia and Egypt against Iran.

I think we shortly will see hand-wringing articles about the unwieldingly expanded NATO having become a dead letter, and the members forming separate regional alliances around common concerns, such as the Russian Federation to their east or Turkey to their south, and who has got the wherewithal to produce nuclear weapons coverage independent of the Unites States.

ALl hail Obama!; 4/2/15, 2:47 PM
Jaq said...: Whatever we do though, a strategic missile defense system must never be deployed! That's just crazy talk.; 4/2/15, 2:50 PM
Robert Cook said...: "The Russians, while no one was looking, have turned insane. As in North Korea level, high grade full bat shit insane.

"If you read the Russian press, they are at war with NATO, no 'ifs,' 'ands' or 'buts' about it."

How does this perception of reality on their part make them "crazy?"; 4/2/15, 2:57 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @Robert,

Take a wild guess where CounterPunch sourced that from, Robert?

The Left never tires of eating Russian/Soviet shit & mistaking it for chocolate mousse, do they?

Because, every single fucking country that borders Russia on the west, plus Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, etc. have all just been duped, duped, you understand, by the CIA into believing that perfectly peaceful Putin, who only does peaceful things like harass Pussy Riot & kill his political opponents, is a warmongerer. I'm sorry, that ranks up there with gray aliens in Roswell as a conspiracy theory.

That's what happens to your brain when you read CounterPunch, Robert. Stop doing it.; 4/2/15, 3:12 PM
Simon said...: Yeah, they could, but why would they? It's not like we've taken a feckless, needlessly-provocative attitude toward Russia.

Oh.

Wait.; 4/2/15, 3:18 PM
David said...: I listened to Obama for a brief time. He looked and sounded downright angry. The part I listened to was focused on what was terribly wrong with his critics, not what was good about the deal.

His fundamental premise is that Iran can not be forced to abandon nuclear weapons without military action. This is true because they are convinced we will not take military action, or permit Israel to do so. At least while Obama is President. I think they are right in this.

Basically this "solution" is a product of his unwillingness to go to war now over this. He would rather let some other President go to war later, if Iran moves to make clear weapons.

But "later" will be a time when our military advantage is less. Iran will have developed a much better delivery capacity for these weapons "later."

Should he take us to war now over this now? Maybe not. But by making it so transparently obvious that he will not attack, he fulfilled his own prophecy that the Iranians can't be "forced."

Of course they can be forced. The question is whether it is worth the cost to do so now. The cost would be considerable. It may be much higher later.

Not an easy problem. Except for Obama perhaps. Easier to punt and see if the defense can hold them.; 4/2/15, 3:20 PM
David said...: Chocolate mousse, Hegelian? That's rich.

Check this lead sentence from the previous article in COUNTERPUNCH.

" Mike Whitney reports on the rapid metamorphosis of new Fed Chair Janet Yallin into a lackey for the bankers, bond traders and brokers."

At least we know where they are coming from.; 4/2/15, 3:23 PM
Robert Cook said...: YH...

No one says Putin is a pussycat or Russia a paragon of democratic virtues. However, this does not mean we are not the instigators of the turmoil in Ukraine (as we are the instigators of so much turmoil and violence in the world.); 4/2/15, 3:27 PM
Fen said...: Sorry Russia, wouldn't work - I already tried that.; 4/2/15, 3:40 PM
Fen said...: Cook: However, this does not mean we are not the instigators of the turmoil in Ukraine

Ha. I hope you're at least getting paid to disgrace yourself this way.

Do they just hand you the talking points or let you improv?; 4/2/15, 3:42 PM
Fen said...: And in a few years:

"We can't go to war to liberate the middle east from Iran because they have nukes"

Its like they think we're stupid or something.

ISIS. Coming soon to a gay wedding near you.; 4/2/15, 3:45 PM
damikesc said...: Cute, CounterPunch doesn't think Russia is neo-Fascist and blames sanctions for "making" Russia aggressive.

They can't get over their love affair, can they?; 4/2/15, 3:55 PM
damikesc said...: Basically this "solution" is a product of his unwillingness to go to war now over this.

I'd say the cause of this is him turning tail away from the red line he laid down in regards to Syria.; 4/2/15, 3:58 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I hope you're at least getting paid to disgrace yourself this way."

Nope! My comments are freely given.; 4/2/15, 4:06 PM
Hagar said...: The US are the instigators of Putin moving to recover the territories lost by the break-up of the Soviet Union?

This must be because of that terrible President Reagan causing said break-up?
Right?
It was all that folksy charm of his that deluded the satellites into fleeing in all directions as soon as they got the chance, right?; 4/2/15, 4:11 PM
The Godfather said...: Let's not forget that the Yellowstone super volcano and the San Andreas fault can do all that stuff on their own, without any help from the Russians.

Sleep tight.; 4/2/15, 4:26 PM
Fen said...: 1930s Counterpunch says "Heir Hitler just wants a little living space"; 4/2/15, 4:57 PM
Anonymous said...: You wouldn't get any warning because the EMP would knock out most electronic communications (you might be able to hear the warning if you could dig up an old vacuum tube TV or radio).

The first thing to go in an EMP attack after all power lines would be TV and radio stations?

Those big antenna's that broadcast? They receive just as well, and the EMP surge would literally explode the transmitters...

both the power lines and the TV would go within microseconds of each other.

e.g. the power failure won't save the radio/tv stations; 4/2/15, 5:51 PM
Dale said...: San Andreas Fault?; 4/2/15, 5:58 PM
averagejoe said...: Sikvov's statements are exactly the kind of bellicose rhetoric that warrant an immediate and definitive reply. In the past, we had presidents who were defenders of our country, and knew how to respond to bullying and provocations. Today we have a limp-wristed twit in the White House who has a Robert Cook-like attitude about his country, and he'll be there for almost two more years. Our enemies realize this and are taking advantage of it while they can. Being a weak, vacillating chickenshit only emboldens bullies and bad guys, and you can't appease them no matter what you give up or give them. Smrat Power!; 4/2/15, 6:45 PM
averagejoe said...: Robert Cook said...
No one says Putin is a pussycat or Russia a paragon of democratic virtues. However, this does not mean we are not the instigators of the turmoil in Ukraine (as we are the instigators of so much turmoil and violence in the world.)

4/2/15, 3:27 PM

Just a bitter taste of the "trenchant political critique" Robert Cook is so proud of himself for having.; 4/2/15, 6:48 PM
Gahrie said...: Nope! My comments are freely given.

..and worth what we paid for them....; 4/2/15, 7:19 PM
kzookitty said...: Russians just love them some crazy brag. They're gonna build a superhighway from Moscow to Alaska, too.

I hear Pooty-Poot was raised by bears in the Siberian taiga.

kzookitty; 4/2/15, 7:28 PM
Simon said...: Robert Cook said...
"No one says Putin is a pussycat or Russia a paragon of democratic virtues. However, this does not mean we are not the instigators of the turmoil in Ukraine (as we are the instigators of so much turmoil and violence in the world.)"

Depending on how one reads "we," I'm with Cook on this. If we means the west, yes. NATO has failed to grasp the huge significance of ethnic Russians displaced into the near-abroad, often across borders drawn arbitrarily by Soviet apparatchiks precisely in order to ensure that the USSR's internal political boundaries did not track national and ethnic boundaries, boundaries that took on a new and critical significance since 1992. NATO and the EU have failed to understand the scale of Russian anxiety engendered by their constant push toward Russian borders. And America failed to take the golden opportunity that we had after 9/11 for a strategic alignment with Russia against our common enemy, the Islamists on their southern porch. Our failure to grasp the nature of the world after the fall of communism has been disastrous, creating a topsy-turvy world where we are making bellicose noises toward Moscow over the sanctity of borders drawn by Nikita Krushchev to tamp down dissent in the Soviet Union instead of fighting ISIS shoulder to shoulder with a strong, allied Russia. It's nuts.; 4/2/15, 7:35 PM
Gahrie said...: Hey Simon...

Does Putin get to take back Poland Hungry and Czecholavikia too? How about Albania and East Germany?; 4/2/15, 7:45 PM
Simon said...: Gahrie said...
"Does Putin get to take back Poland Hungry and Czecholavikia too? How about Albania and East Germany?"

Do any of those countries have enormous ethnic-Russian populations? People forget that the first country the Leninists invaded was their own; Crimea is 60% Russian and was placed outside of Russia's border by the communist Soviet government.

"Gotta hand it to you commie symps"

That right there is part of the problem: An inability to grasp that we won the cold war, we defeated the enemy, communism. Communism =/= Russia; communists =/= Russians. The communists haven't had control in Russia for more than two decades but some people want to base our foreign policy on playing make-believe.; 4/2/15, 8:24 PM
DanTheMan said...: >>some people want to base our foreign policy on playing make-believe.

Your lack of self-awareness is staggering.; 4/2/15, 8:26 PM
Hagar said...: And on this evenings news: Nicaragua is buying MiG fighters from Russia. Say they need them to fight the drug smugglers.

All hail Obama, the peacemaker!; 4/2/15, 8:55 PM
Simon said...: DanTheMan said...
"Your lack of self-awareness is staggering."

You don't know me, so I'm going to let that go, but you're wrong.; 4/2/15, 9:28 PM
Todd Roberson said...: The tacit assumption that seems to underlie all of US foreign policy on both sides of the aisle is our military superiority: that is, yeah, we're taking is easy now, but if things get really ugly we can turn the switch and take care of business if necessary.

I'm really beginning to question that assumption given the poor state of our economy, of weak fiscal position and the sheer complexity of getting even simple things done in our communities and national affairs.

Our neighborhood HOA decided it would be nice to get a new sign installed at the entrance to the area. 6 years later we're still working on the permits from the city.; 4/2/15, 9:40 PM
ken in tx said...: You want to know where else is high percentage ethnic Russian? Boston, the Boston public library has one whole floor of Russian Language books.

When I got off the Silverline at the airport, I said "Dasvidaniya", and almost everyone looked up.; 4/2/15, 10:08 PM
DanTheMan said...: >>>"Your lack of self-awareness is staggering."

>>>You don't know me, so I'm going to let that go, but you're wrong.

You criticize others for inventing policy based on fantasy, just having spun one about Russia teaming up with the USA to fight Al-Queda.

Hence my comment.

PS: Your offer to "let it go" is equally preposterous.; 4/3/15, 8:26 AM
kcom said...: "Nope! My comments are freely given."

Well, I guess that settles the fool versus knave question.; 4/3/15, 9:07 AM
Anthony said...: @averagejoe: Sikvov's statements are exactly the kind of bellicose rhetoric that warrant an immediate and definitive reply.

Really, the best reply to this particular "provocation" would be for Obama to have the head of the USGS (or perhaps the most senior Republican in the USGS) respond to a reporter's question about the article and just start laughing.

Because this Sivkov guy is either an idiot, or he's putting forward preposterous stuff like this as propaganda to distract us from something else.; 4/3/15, 10:21 AM
Robert Cook said...: "'Nope! My comments are freely given.'

"..and worth what we paid for them...."

Well...when one casts one's pearls before swine....; 4/3/15, 1:12 PM
Drago said...: Hagar: "And on this evenings news: Nicaragua is buying MiG fighters from Russia. Say they need them to fight the drug smugglers."

Looks like the Sovie..er..Russians are one step closer to finally get what they've wanted for 40 years: airbases that will allow their tactical aircraft to traverse the Caribbean at will.

One of the key considerations in denying the Russi...er...Soviets their much desired triumverate of airbases along the cuba/Nicaragua/Grenada axes in the 80's.; 4/3/15, 2:12 PM