Russian icebreaker heading to U.S. Antarctic researchers' aid

[bin.dare]

MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) - The icebreaker Krasin of the Far Eastern Sea Shipping Company on Saturday covered the first part of its journey across the Ross Sea, clearing the way for a caravan of ships heading towards the U.S. McMurdo polar station, the main research base of the U.S. National Science Foundation's Antarctic program.

The Far Eastern Sea Shipping Company said in a release, citing the Krasin's captain Viktor Kovalchuk, that "the icebreaker is to cover the most difficult, 18 miles long stretch of the way. The passage is blocked by icebergs, separated by narrow corridors, and the ice is 6 meters thick. The weather and visibility are normal, and the ship is working excellently.
The Krasin is carrying fuel, food and medicines for McMurdo's personnel.

The operation was launched by the Russian government at the request of the U.S., the company said in a press release.
"The United States' decision to turn to Russia for help is not accidental. Russia has the world's most powerful fleet of icebreakers, staffed by the most experienced crews," said the Far Eastern Sea Shipping Company's general director Yevgeny Ambrosov

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html#65074

[Spazito]

1. Hmmmmm, freepers heads explode!

Their belief that the US is the most powerful nation in the world and doesn't need help from any country no how, no way just got shot to hell. Good for Russia to look beyond the war-mongering crap from bush and actually help out. One could almost say "how Christian of them".

[radric]

2. Nice US bashing...

[Spazito]

3. LOL!

Not US bashing, freeper and bush bashing. Gosh, there is a difference but there are some who aren't able to recognize criticism of the bush administration is not criticism of the people of the US or is it that it works better to paint all criticism as US bashing?

[eg101]

4. America could use a little bashing

maybe knock some sense into some brainwashed heads....

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

5. You seem to use that phrase a lot. How in the world was the post

construed as US bashing?

[Tinoire]

7. Where's the bash?

Their belief that the US is the most powerful nation in the world :shrug: They do believe that- stupid isn't it?

and doesn't need help from any country no how, no way :shrug: Yep, that's true... "We're gonna smoke 'em out all by ourselves. USA! USA! USA!"

just got shot to hell. :shrug: That it did considering the Russians are coming to bail our asses out

Good for Russia to look beyond the war-mongering crap from bush :shrug: Very difficult to do but they're being big about it

and actually help out :shrug: Sure seems that way

One could almost say "how Christian of them". :shrug: Is the bash in the sting that Godless heathen Communists are coming to our aid?

[leesa]

10. I agree, it is...whenever other people help us out after the cruel things

we have said and done to them...like France rescuing us with all those flu vaccines after Bush fucked up, it fills me with awe. It also fills me with shame at America and its petty, crude attitudes.

[Nothing Without Hope]

6. A good story, thanks for the link.

It's sad the way the blivet** has isolated this country from the rest of the world so much, the aid given by the Russian icebreakers seems like such an unusual event.

[bin.dare]

11. the icebreaker left the northern hemisphere on dec 21 ...

... to go to the southern hemisphere. That is quite a journey. more details here:

http://www.cdi.org/russia/337-7.cfm

"Traditionally, ships providing McMurdo Station with all necessities are conducted by US Coast Guard icebreakers the Polar Sea and the Polar Star, whose power is several times less that that of the Krasin. But due to the fact that one of the American icebreakers is under repairs, and due to the deterioration of the ice situation and the threat of the station's blockade, the decision was made to urgently dispatch the Russian icebreaker to Antarctica, reads the statement.

The Krasin icebreaker left the port of Vladivostok on December 21. The meeting of the Russian and American icebreakers is expected to take place January 20."

[burrowowl]

8. Has the iceberg

hit the glacier yet?

[Igel]

9. It's not US bashing to accept that the a country can be

powerful in some ways, and not others. It's only a blow to one's pride if one's pride is ill-founded. Icebreakers ... we don't have the need the Russians have.

Russia's had great physicists and mathematicians for most of the post-WWII period (they got a significant boost from espionage, but that doesn't undermine their expertise). It's been widely noted that physics and math are apolitical sciences (unlike computer science and biology, it seems).

On the other hand, people miss Russian chauvinism, which is every bit as virulent as American jingoism, and even a bit more so--it's helped along with Russian humiliation at losing their empire and no longer being the challenge to the US. Either it's an extremely slow news day, or this kind of article is intended to make a Russian's chest swell with pride--they know they're superior to the US and Europe (and China and India), and here's evidence of it.

At the official level, there's been this kind of cooperation with few interruptions. We help them (and seldom take notice), they help us. Plus, in this case, they're being paid.

[jayctravis]

12. Instead of bashing, we should be grateful

to the brave people driving the boat.