Huge pro-EU rally grips Ukraine

[Oberon]

Indeed, one less fascist in the world is generally a good thing, but given how unstable the situation is on the ground, any form of drastic change could make things spiral out of control.

Meanwhile in Transdneister:

Russia's military staged training exercises on Tuesday in Transdniestria, a breakaway sliver of Moldova that is a focus of tension following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

[Skybird]

That rightwing extremist shot is no concern, but should be a starting signal for the Ukrainians to go after the gangster hwo have hijkacked the Maidan events and try to secure power for criminal clans. If the Wwestukraine really wants freedom, its people cannot avoid to seriously confront and fight down this scum, whether they want another battle now or not - if they are serious about their freedom, they have no other choice than to fight. That means: fight away the Svoboda as well as the criminal gangs around the oligarchs to which the current interim "government" is closely linked.

On the recession in Russia, I thought time and again to what degree Putin uses the Crimea to distract from the recession, but I time and again come to the same conclusion, that the costs he must have calculkated to be so high that a distracitonba lone does noit justify it. The Ukraine signals towards EU membership and in the aftermath of that: NATO memebership and NATO on the Crimea to me is still the most reasonable explanation for the Russian reaction. When Yanukovich started to indicate he might accept EU association agreements being signed in last winter - thjat was when the planning and preparation on the Russian side began, for there the Ukraine was stepping across the Kremlin's red line.

The current Ukraine gang being in command in Kiew has the situation not under control, and I wonder wether it even wants it to bring under control. Svodobda and gangsters in governmental power positions, ongoing fascist provocations in the East and Kiew not being seriuous about trying to clam down the situation there - I think that this Kiew gang even considers civil war a valid option to secure power for themselves. And the West is wondering and protesting that the Russians amass troops close to (but not directly at) the border? If Kiew moves on like this, its just a question of time before the overstep another red line - and then the Russians WILL invade at least the Estaenr proivbince for sure. The scenario is real, and over the past days I think the probability has constantly risen.

I refuse to hold the Kremlin responsible for this. I am quite certain that they do not like the way things are going down in the Eastern Ukraine, but that they will act with determination and not caring at all for naive Western demands. My God, it is the same west that has invited Islamic extremism to power, that calls the Muslim brotherhood a valid alternative for turning Egypt free and tolerant, and that needed two years to realise that the Georgian leader lied and cheated in order to trigger a war by which he wanted to bring NATO into the war and on behalf of his personal power interests - how could one seriously expect the Russians to take these naive and reality-disconnected idiots in the West serious...? If you look at it, in the past twenty years it was not Russia moving on by tghe rules of the cold war, but the West. It was the West enci8rcling Russia, it was the EU and NATO expanding beyond any reaoisnable scale and dimension and pushing military positions right to the border of Russia itself.

It seems the time has come when the Russians do not allow that to happen anymore without setting up a fight. And when I see things from their side and realise their vital interest - like any nation has vital, non-negotiable essential interests - then I cannot criticise them for it. I only hope that the West does not endlessly stick to its stupid demands and does not support the current Ukraine "government", for if Kiew gets so encouraged by that so that to not give up its policy, this necessarily will lead and must lead to civil war and another, much bigger Russian intervention - for which Western naivety and cluelessness and arrogance would need to accept a big part of the responsibility.

We really have FUBARed the chance we had with the Russians after 1989. We just could not leave it to having "won" the cold war, but we wanted to transform and change Russia on its genetic level and minimise it even further. Not just the then-saved West but all world had to be ours, even the Russian sphere. It all had to become like we are, for we were so fantastic and wonderful.

And since then, oh so many foreign political things and issues exploded us right into our faces. One would imagine politicians to finally learn something. But obviously imagination and reality are two different things.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Indeed, one less fascist in the world is generally a good thing, but given how unstable the situation is on the ground, any form of drastic change could make things spiral out of control.

Meanwhile in Transdneister:

Looking at the map, one could see what an idiotic line-drawing had been done when creating the Ukraine and Moldavia.

In these forms and with these borders, I tell you, there will never come stability and lasting peace to that region. Better bet on that you can balance a needle on the tip of another needle.

[Dread Knot]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Looking at the map, one could see what an idiotic line-drawing had been done when creating the Ukraine and Moldavia.

In these forms and with these borders, I tell you, there will never come stability and lasting peace to that region. Better bet on that you can balance a needle on the tip of another needle.

Can't be any worse than the lines drawn by Sykes-Picot which have brought such lasting harmony and peace to the Middle East and Africa.

Probably the only border that any nationality is ever on even terms with are those drawn by the seas and oceans. And then only because they have no choice. ( with the possible exception of the Dutch, of course)

[Skybird]

Oh look, just after I typed the postings above, I read this, in German:

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/auslan...-a-960461.html

The prime minister is failing. Completely. And he seems to do so intentionally, playing his own highly dubious game. Meanwhile, it is Ukrainians protesting against him, and the vaguely indicated federalist design of a united future Ukraine is impossible to be had with the fascist Svoboda - on whose participation the prime minister insists.

It seems not only the ethnic Russians are not trusting him and do not believe him. Good! They really should dispose this man, and the gang around him. All of them.

[Skybird]

The German government has started to move away from Tymochenko. After her hate-filled tirades on telephone, where she said she would like to shoot Putin right in his head and would like to see the 8 million Russians living in the Ukraine being shot with atomic weapons, Berlin has voiced messages of alarm that a government led by her probably would work for trying to escalate the situation further in a bid to still win it all. Tymochenko, a corrupt oligarch herself who made a fortune by catching the cream on gas deals with Russia and whose reputation at best should be rated as "shady", confirmed the telephone call, but tried to save herself by claiming the critical passage had been manipulated - a claim for which so far no hint was found. That German officials openly comment on it also indicate that they do not believe her claim of it being a trick.

Former chancellor Helmut Schmidt said in the newspaper Die Zeit, which he publishes, that he has understanding for Putin and the situation he is in, and that sanctions now would do more harm than good and are a stupid idea for they would damage the West as much as Russia, also he said that in times of such a crisis it is stupid to break off communication links (ban at the G7), but that the G20 is more important than the G7/8 anyway. Finally he said that the West currently is high on emotions, and that this is dangerous because the irrational attitude of the West would confirm and bolster Russian hawks in their perception that the West only tries to push and minimize them anyway. The chance for a Russian intervention in the Eastern Ukraine he described as being real, but not being an already certainty.

Schmidt was the guy who pressed the Americans to send Pershing-IIs and Cruise Missiles to Germany in the 80s in order to boost the credibility of NATO'S deterring strategy, which originally Washington did not like to do at all - not many people recall correctly that it was Schmidt, not Washington, who was the driving motor behind that rearmament decision. - worth to keep in mind before thinking he is just a biased, naive lefty when defending Russia's actions.

[BossMark]

I see the Kremlin ordered a fireworks display to celebrate Crimea joining Russia.

Either that or one of Putin's rivals tried to start his car.

[Susexx]

New name Alaska - Ice Crimea

[Dread Knot]

Originally Posted by Susexx

New name Alaska - Ice Crimea

It's all yours, lock, stock and oil barrel provided you take Sarah Palin with you.

[Mr Quatro]

Originally Posted by Dread Knot

It's all yours, lock, stock and oil barrel provided you take Sarah Palin with you.

speaking of Sarah Palin and Alaska did you see the article about Alaska being annexed by Russia: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...165159170.html

The formal request created on WhiteHouse.gov for Alaska to secede from the U.S. has received 30,000 signatures

[Dread Knot]

Originally Posted by Mr Quatro

speaking of Sarah Palin and Alaska did you see the article about Alaska being annexed by Russia: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...165159170.html

Like Texas, Alaska has been vying for succession or reversion to a territory for decades.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Independence_Party

Doesn't mean it's likely going to happen.

[Aktungbby]

As per my previous post above: Russian troops are gathering in growing numbers to the east of the Ukrainian border, with the Journal reporting Friday that some 50,000 Russian forces are concealing equipment and bringing in additional food and spare parts. In other words, they're behaving like a military preparing to invade.
The 25,000 Russian troops in Crimea, who include elite special forces brought in the past month, are also setting up a southern military beachhead after disarming the Ukrainian military. And to the southwest, in Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, the 1,500 members of Russia's 179th Motor Rifle Regiment have been supplemented in recent weeks with arms and some 800 additional commandos, according to Ukrainian officials.
Altogether Russia has massed 100,000 troops around Ukraine's borders, Andriy Parubiy, chairman of the National Security and Defense Council in Kiev, said in a conference call Thursday organized by the Atlantic Council.
Ukraine's densely populated eastern industrial heartland is the biggest prize for Vlad the Good. The buildup of Russian forces isn't necessarily a prelude to an invasion. The saber rattling by itself is a way to undermine Ukraine's new transitional government formed after last month's pro-Europe revolution and seek leverage over political decisions in Kiev.
Mr. Putin must also take into account that any incursion won't be painless. Ukraine's government, which gave up Crimea with little resistance, promises to fight for the east. Unlike in Crimea, the local population will resist an occupation. But for now Mr. Putin has an overwhelming military advantage if he does choose to move.
Mr. Putin may also be contemplating another front in the south and southwest. Transnistria is an appendix-shaped enclave of half a million mostly ethnic Russians. The region declared its independence from Moldova in 1990, before the Soviet breakup. Russian "peacekeepers" came in after a brief war with Moldova in 1992 and stayed on. Like Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions, Transnistria has become a so-called frozen conflict that has given Moscow an ideal pressure point to use against the small, poor formerly Soviet state.
Like Ukraine, Moldova wants to get politically and economically closer to the EU and shuns Russia's alternative Eurasian Union. Last year Mr. Putin blocked imports of Moldovan wine to pressure it not to sign an association deal with the EU, but the government in Chisinau went ahead with it in November. The Moldovans fear the price now may be a territorial carve-up à la Ukraine.
Transnistria voted in 2006 to ask to join Russia and this month its leaders repeated the request. Russia hasn't taken up that appeal, but it did hold military exercises in the region last weekend. Another minority enclave in Moldova populated by the Turkic Gagauz people, who are pro-Russian, held its own Crimea-style referendum on Feb. 2 that called for independence if the Moldovans seek EU membership. In both cases, Russia could use force to cleave off these regions from Moldova.
Ukrainians are worried about another scenario. Transnistria's capital Tiraspol is near Odessa, the Ukrainian port city founded by Catherine the Great, and only about 300 miles from Crimea. The southern Ukrainian regions along the Black Sea are full of Russian speakers. After his Crimean conquest, Mr. Putin now could move on to claim his "corridor"—another historically pregnant phrase—to link Crimea and Transnistria. He has the forces in the peninsula to do it.
These latest Russian escalations follow President Obama's pleas in Europe for the Kremlin to "de-escalate" and try diplomacy or run the risk of further sanctions and "isolation" if he takes more territory. Mr. Obama offered no new sanctions on Russia, no plans to reinforce NATO, and no arms for the Ukrainians or Moldovans.
The White House said Friday that Mr. Putin called Mr. Obama on Friday to discuss a possible diplomatic resolution, but it isn't clear if the Russian is offering concessions or ultimatums. If Mr. Putin does invade further, there won't be much else to stop him or his troops. As with WWI, precipitated by the pan-Slavic Serbian 'Black Hand' of which Gavrilo Princeps was a member and Russia allowed it's ethnic sensibilities to drag itself into the Austral-Serbian conflict in 1914; so too one hundred years later, the same sensibilities are at work. This time, fueled by the collapse of the Soviet Union, regarded by Putin as the great disaster of the 20th century, along with the defeat in Afghanistan, Cold War and an even greater pan-Slavic Russian speaking movement to 'legitimize' his reassembly and restoration of the old Soviet buffer states. The post Waterloo century of peace lasted 100 years or so with minor colonial affairs perhaps our half-century since WWI/WWII " the Wars of 'German Containment' is due to end also...the fuse to the powder keg appears lit! Sarajevo or Sebastopol it's the same match. "Relit in our time" and Obama and the EU are the next Neville Chamberlains...all lit matches look alike to me

[Oberon]

Darth Vader to run for presidency on behalf of the 'Internet Party'



To quote Skybird "Story is in German"

http://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/...n-2100091.html

And to be radical, here's one in English:
http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/198371.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Party_of_Ukraine

[Jimbuna]

Putin has what he wanted so now the talking can begin with him in a position of strength.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are holding crisis talks on Ukraine.

The meeting in Paris was hastily arranged after President Vladimir Putin phoned President Barack Obama on Friday and began around 19:00 (17:00 GMT).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26809625

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by BBC

Mr Lavrov told Russian state TV that Ukraine should come up with a new constitution "providing for a federal structure" and neutrality.

The Russian foreign minister said Moscow, the US and European Union should act as a support group for Kiev to begin a nationwide dialogue that did not involve the "armed radicals". Moscow claims that fascists have taken power in Ukraine, jeopardising the safety of Russian speakers.


In an interview on Saturday, he said Russia had been deceived after being promised "there would be no movement of Nato military infrastructure closer to our borders".

A certain influence in inner politics, to guard ethnic Russians' interest (which is reasonable consideirng the hate and threats spit out by the radical rightwingers and fascist who currently hold several seats in this joke of a government, as well as Tymoshenko's recent telephone comment that she would "like to shoot all Russians with nuclear weapons" and would "like to shoot Putin a bullet into the head"), a Ukraine being neutral instead of being a NATO member (keep in mind that Kiev in past months indicated that it wanted to join EU, NATO - which would have meant that sooner or later US warships would be stationed in Sevastopol and fighters and radar on the Crimea), and a remove of the right radicals from power.

Well, Washington and Brussel will learn this sooner or later. The Crimea they already have given up anyway.