Russian Troops to Lebannon, but not under UN?

LOL you guys are so funny. 10% of crap equals crap and .05% of something amounts to something. The fact Russia's economy is growing as fast as reported has more due to the fact that it has nowhere to go but up! Think about it...if the Russian economy is outpacing the US growth by a percent ot two, then what does it matter when the US is a 10 Trillion dollar economy and Russia's is still measured in the Billions???????

Why would Russia helping Lebanon threaten Israel in some way? Is Europe threatening Lebanon by partisipating heavily in the UN force?

Russia is doing what they do best, they are playing politics in a place where the US has recently been politically weak. This isn't exactly a bad thing for Russia or the US, because while some have implied Russia is a 3rd rate power, that implication is mildly ignorant of current realities.

Russia still have a major role in the world, and brings to the table not only a massive industrial military complex, but a highly educated workforce, expanding economic market, and stability factor that is largely built on its cold war era military stock and reputation of power dating back to WWII.

I think the tendency of some to compare any countrydiscussed with the US as if there is a pissing contest taking place misses the point. No country compares to the US, what is gained by comparing superpowers with non superpowers?

That doesn't mean the rest of the world is 3rd rate or second fiddle, it means they have a different role than the US, particularly in the Middle East. Many countries enjoy their role without the burden of responsibility on being the broker for stability, which is the role the world assigns to the US in the Middle East (worthy or not).

Originally posted by princeofpeace
LOL you guys are so funny. 10% of crap equals crap and .05% of something amounts to something. The fact Russia's economy is growing as fast as reported has more due to the fact that it has nowhere to go but up! Think about it...if the Russian economy is outpacing the US growth by a percent ot two, then what does it matter when the US is a 10 Trillion dollar economy and Russia's is still measured in the Billions???????

The Russian economy is roughly 1.5 trillion GDP in 2005, and has reduced debt from 90% to 31% over the last 5 years. With a growth rate of 6.5%, a large educated workforce with a stable infrastructure. Russia is looking straight in the face of long term growth potential as long as there are no major unforseen disruptions.

I have no idea why some have compared it to the US economy. Comparing superpowers with non superpowers doesn't prove anything.

If you measure a country's economy solely on GDP, then yes Russia is #14 in the world at 800 Billion dollars, but a far cry from what was being argued earlier. (This response only applies to the guy who said the US economy was going down the tubes and the Russian one was doing better than the US) Thats all. Just making a point.

Originally posted by princeofpeace
If you measure a country's economy solely on GDP, then yes Russia is #14 in the world at 800 Billion dollars, but a far cry from what was being argued earlier. (This response only applies to the guy who said the US economy was going down the tubes and the Russian one was doing better than the US) Thats all. Just making a point.

The Russian economy is actually performing better in case you didn't notice. One difference between Russian and China on one side and the Western economies on the other side, is that they are developing very fast, while 'our' countries have had that peek already.

Western countries (in general, since I sometimes wonder how rich we actually are) know greater wealth, many Chinese are slowely going to experience it, and in Russia there a very small percentage of very rich people and a majority living under the poverty line.

I never compared the size of Russian economy vs. that of the US economy. I simply stated that if one was to invest in a country BASED ON GROWTH POTENTIAL (major factir in investments), Russia is a better playing field than the US right now. Investors seek an opportunity to gain the maximum return on investment in a short time. Now does investing in Russia involve risk- certainly. But its a trade-off. That, in no way means that Russian economy is comparable to that of the US or China. If one was to compare it- Germany or Great Britain would be a better match right now.

Most people still look at Russia for what it was in the 90's- a total mess. In the 1998, due to major devaluation of the Ruble, the entire economy practically collapsed, and had to start from zero. If one was to invest in a portfolio of Russian companies (especially energy) at that time, returns would have been very great. And now its reaching the level of most European economies.

Russia needed something to jump start its economy. And Putin found that something in the form of energy and resources. Now with tens of billions of dollars in form of revenues from that- are circulating through the economy fueling other development. In the last 8 years (from zero to what it is today), economic growth in Russia was practically unmatched. What remains to be seen is how long this will continue.

btw i think the US government ususally carries a 2 trillion dollar budget... that should make the whole economy about 5tril, right?