Russians Send Aircraft Carrier Through English Channel. (The Red Menace in Perspective.)
You've heard the trope that the USA spends as much on defense as the next seven countries combined. So, it always amuses me when politicians wave the Russian Red Menace meme around, as an excuse to terrify everybody into doubling defense spending etc. Usually at the expense of everything else government does.
It's true that Russia has a habit of practicing military brinkmanship, and shoving their military in peoples' faces. It's a standard schoolyard bully technique of punching above your weight. You're not the biggest or the strongest boy on the playground, but if you can convince the other boys that you're a little bit nuts, they'll give you more respect.
So...this happened today. Russia made a big show of sailing their one and only aircraft carrier (we have 19) through the English Channel, on the way to Syria, in a show of 'terrifying' military force. Here's how some of the UK newspapers reported it. (Something you'll NEVER see on U.S. cable news.)
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/21/russian-carrier-plagued-by-technical-problems/
HEADLINE: Belching smoke through the Channel, Russian aircraft carrier so unreliable it sails with its own breakdown tug.
"The ageing Russian aircraft carrier that sailed through the English Channel escorted by the Royal Navy has been plagued by years of technical problems and is accompanied everywhere by a tug in case it breaks down.
The plumbing is so bad on the 55,000 ton Admiral Kuznetsov that many of its toilets cannot be used, while it has had repeated problems with its power and a string of accidents, naval experts said.
as the ship sailed through the Channel, it was mocked on social media by maritime enthusiasts, for its notoriously poor state of repair.
One Royal Navy source said: “All their ships look shiny on the outside, but are pretty horrid on the inside. You only have to look at the smoke she’s belching out to see not all is well.
Flaws in the water piping system mean it freezes during winter. To prevent pipes bursting, the water is turned off to most of the cabins and half the latrines do no work."
Yes, the Russians are a menace, but let's keep the threat in perspective.
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