[RawAlex]

For the most part, while Russia is much stronger today than it was, they still have little intention of getting into it directly with the US, the west, or even with China. They are picking their spots very carefully, pushing a bit right now because the US is dramtically over committed in Iraq and other places and really couldn't even put up a half hearted feint in Georgia. The US quite simply doesn't have 50,000 or 100,000 pairs of boots to put on the ground anywhere right now, so the Russians are expanding.

Putin has been laying the groundwork for years, getting the gas and oil production going and taking a dominant market position in gas going into many western countries in Europe. It's the same strategy that Iran and other countries have used against the US, basically sucking all the money out of the target and using that money to build a stronger force to beat them up later. IMHO, this entire financial crisis has been built up and created intially by the run up in oil prices, which the muslim / arab producer countries, Venezuela, and Russia have been more than happy to watch happen, knowing it would cause incredible pain the US. I don't think any of them realized just how much pain it would cause. It's almost like the tossed a financial fire cracker that set of a nuclear bomb.

Palin is so far out of her league, that it is pretty much game over if she gets into a position of power. We may actually be seeing the true decline of the western empire.