The Russian Threat

I spent a military career opposing the Soviet Union and, at the end of my service, Russia. You know, the Cold War. This was a very clear cut binary relationship - the USSR opposed whatever we did, and we countered. I think most Americans today have lost sight of that conflict, and the ongoing struggle between our nations, which I have not observed to decrease at all. It took us to the brink of nuclear war, and has now brought us to the edge of democracy having its throat cut.

The Russian government under Vladimir Putin is doing every non-military thing it can to undermine democracy in the world - break up NATO, destabilize Europe (Brexit), generate turmoil in the Mideast, remove democratic leaders, and so much more. Now Putin appears to have a willing, eager acolyte acting as a cheerleader, apologist, and sledgehammer for him – acting more like a lovesick schoolboy than the world leader he should be.

If you want to know what kind of man Mr. Putin is, and the world he came from, I can highly recommend a terrifying book - KGB: The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents (1974). Go to the library and check out a copy. Look in your local used book store! Buy it on Amazon if you must. I went to find my copy but I think I loaned it to someone years ago and never got it back. I will get another.

I am certain only three things have substantially changed since this amazing book was published - the USSR is now Russia, the KGB is now the GRU (yep, you've heard of them in the news every day lately), and active cyber warfare – hacking, and the use of social media manipulation – has been added to their bag of tools. Russia has been the bad guy in the world my entire life, and I don't believe that has changed at all today.

Red Storm Rising is another amazing book that illustrates the Soviet/Russian mindset. When this came out it was the most horrifyingly realistic fiction I’d ever read, because the story from start to finish was so terribly plausible. They made a lot of movies from Tom Clancy’s books, but they never did this one – maybe it’s time to look again!  Again, check your library, local bookstore, or Amazon for a copy. 

Russia is the largest country on earth and dates back over 1500 years – they play a long, patient game. They hate us for their lost stature, our freedoms, our diversity, our weather, our resources and so much more. They will continue to do anything they can to destroy us, including continued manipulation of our elections to keep their orange faced pet clown in the U.S. presidency.

A little over half of the U.S. Congress has made it clear they have no interest in exercising the checks and balances required of them in the Constitution, so on November 6 we have the opportunity to vote for freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and the restoration of honor and integrity into our government, which has been stripped away by the current administration. 

We must be aware, vigilant, and aggressive in defending ourselves and our nation. Our "president" has made it clear he will not do so.

Russia's Cyber War

Russia is a relatively large nation with abundant natural resources, but nothing like they commanded as the heart of the old Soviet Union (empire would've been a better term). They lost the cold war, and much of their power, prestige, and commanding place in the world, but many of their leaders remember, and regret, what was lost.

Make no mistake, Russia is taking aggressive, active steps to recover their world influence. Not with tanks and planes, because they really cannot compete with us militarily, but with something massively less expensive but likely far more effective: cyber warfare. And not only by successfully influencing elections throughout Europe and the US, which has and is creating chaos and weakening nations and alliances (which is their goal) but against hard targets that make our society possible.

Recent news stories by real journalists tell us there are some dangerous things going on. In this clip from the Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel interviews a NYT reporter on Russian hacks against US infrastructure, and US intelligence agencies warning companies about these hacks. If you doubt that Russia would do such a thing, one part of this report refers to a cyber attack last year in Saudi Arabia, where this intent was not to disrupt or disable - the goal was to cause an explosion. Click here to read "A Cyberattack in Saudi Arabia Had a Deadly Goal. Experts Fear Another Try."

If all this doesn't terrify you, it should. Our power grid is ancient, crumbling, and it doesn't take much to push pieces of it into a failure mode. (Google "squirrel power failure.") Push enough small sectors into failure and soon you have a cascade failure across a wide area. Imagine all the things in your daily life that you couldn't do without electricity - and try to think beyond checking your email. Food. Water. Health needs. Air conditioning. Business records. Banking records. And so much more. Yes, you'd be fine for a day or two, but how about a week or two? Months?

A widespread, systemic power failure would be devastating to all aspects of our society, and we would start to crumble almost immediately. The Russians have actively targeted our power systems, among other major infrastructure systems. We can no longer live without these things - our society is built around them. If Russia triggers a major power outage at the right spot at the right time, they could take out our nation, and we would die by the millions before the damage could be repaired.

Want a terrifying preview of how this would look and what could happen? Read the book "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen, about an attack that destroys our electrical infrastructure. This fiction story is based on a real world threat that has been studied by the Pentagon for decades.

This is not a partisan issue. This is a genuine threat to our national security and survival, and our leaders must take immediate steps to defend us from this and protect us in the future, something our current administration has been totally unwilling to consider.

Driving the Yas Marina Circuit

I haven’t posted anything here since November 2017, and a lot has changed since then, so it’s time for an update and then something fun.

First the updates – I’m home and so glad to be here! Being home is terrific after living in hotels in the Mideast for the past 5 years. Yeah, it sounds glamorous and exciting to live and work in Abu Dhabi or Saudi Arabia, and at times it can be, but it gets tedious and very lonely after a short while. Skype is great, but nothing like the real thing!

My work was almost complete in the UAE, but I came home because Dana needed me here. In May 2016 while visiting me, she slipped and fell, and cracked her knees on the concrete floor of the parking garage below the hotel. Over the next year and a half they deteriorated to the point she could barely walk, and finally needed knee replacement, which happened for her left knee at the end of November.

I’m happy to say that after struggling with months of built-up inflammation, she has reached a point of walking with only her cane, in a driving rain, from the parking lot into Bud Walton Arena to see the Razorbacks play basketball, and back to the car! This is a major accomplishment, folks, and I am very proud of her perseverance and determination! The jury is still out on whether her right knee will also need replacement – at one point that was a near certainty, but it is holding up well so far. We’ll take good care of it and hope for the best.

While I was in Abu Dhabi I stayed in a hotel on a resort island that was also home to a Formula 1 race track – the Yas Marina Circuit. While there I often walked around it, and several times rode a bicycle around it (a wonderful family-friendly option 3 nights a week), but for a fee you can drive around it too!  In March 2017 I thought I was coming home for good, and wanted to try the driving option before I left.  I’ve always thought of myself as a good driver, so this felt like a good chance to test that supposition!

Yas Marina Circuit – the track literally wraps around the Marina and hotel!

There are several cars you can choose from for this driving experience – from a Jaguar to an Aston Martin race car, to a Ferrari racer (US$1500). I chose the Mercedes AMG GTS – just a simple, pretty little  500 HP 2-door sedan!  All these cars are track-ready with safety cages and roll bars, and the AMG was the one I was most likely to fit into. Plus, I just love the look of it!

AMG GTS

When you arrive you get a safety briefing, and a quick overview of track procedures and driving tips. Of course, you don’t get to drive these things solo – an instructor rides along with you. You get 20 minutes on the track to have fun, go fast, or slow, or whatever suits you. My goals were to finish safely, go faster each time around, and have fun!   

As luck would have it, I accomplished all three!  I saw all the other drivers spin out at some point (including the Ferrari right as I entered the track – you’ll see me point at it; I took the first curve slowly so the Ferrari could get straightened out and on his way), and one guy mowed down a long row of cones marking the driving lane. I passed and got passed, but there was absolutely no racing allowed. Just good clean motorway fun!

Thanks to a borrowed GoPro camera I was able to record my drive – which is cool. Sadly, the only available place to mount the thing was right next to my head, which limits the view, but you’ll get the idea. It took me months to get these ready, because I had to learn about video editing, but I’ve posted two videos to YouTube. One is an overview showing my only the first and seventh laps.

Click here to see the short overview video

This longer video shows the entire drive, start to finish, if anyone is interested in seeing me get through 10 laps.

Click here to see the complete drive video

This was a lot of work, but great fun! I wish I’d known the car better, and that I learned a couple of lessons faster, but all in all I’m very glad to have done this! If you find yourself in Abu Dhabi with an afternoon free, I highly recommend it!

For more info see Yas Marina Circuit website.

#YasMarinaCircuit  #DrivingExperience  #YasIsland  #AbuDhabi  #UAE