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Diplomacy Fails In Ukraine: Putin Slams Kerry Plan, Kiev Issues Ultimatum, Crimea Suspends All Non-Moscow Flights
While it may have been pushed back from the front pages to keep confidence high, things in the Crimea, and in Ukraine in general (which may or may not waved goodbye to its gold reserves) are going from bad to worse with every passing day, with the near term catalyst of course being this Sunday Crimean referendum vote, which seems like a done deal, and which will give Russia a carte blanche to annex the territory over the howls of protest from Ukraine's coup government, and the west of course.
Making this outcome one step clower, overnight the parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea adopted an independence declaration from Ukraine which is necessary for holding a March 16 referendum.
“We, the members of the parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council, with regard to the charter of the United Nations and a whole range of other international documents and taking into consideration the confirmation of the status of Kosovo by the United Nations International Court of Justice on July, 22, 2010, which says that unilateral declaration of independence by a part of the country doesn’t violate any international norms, make this decision,” says the text of the declaration, which was published by the Crimean media.
As RT reports, the document was adopted during an extraordinary session of parliament. 78 of 100 members of the parliament voted in favor of the declaration.
The Crimean parliament’s vote to become an independent sovereign state paves the way for the March 16 referendum for the Crimean Autonomous Republic and the city of Sevastopol to join Russia. If the referendum is in favor, the Crimean authorities will request for their country to become a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. The declaration was signed by the speaker of the Supreme Council of Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov, and the head of the Sevastopol City Council, Yury Doynikov.
“We adopted the declaration of independence to make the upcoming referendum legitimate and transparent,” Konstantinov said. “Now we declare ourselves the Republic of Crimea, we don’t add ‘autonomous."
After Tuesday’s declaration of independence, Crimea will never rejoin Ukraine, Konstantinov added. He said that Crimea will adopt the Russian ruble as its currency soon after the referendum.
Not unexpectedly, the west, and Ukraine specifically, continue to make loud noises over the referendum, with the latest development is Kiev sending an ultimatum to Crimea. Guardian reports that "Ukraine's parliament has warned the regional assembly in Crimea that it faces dissolution unless it cancels a referendum it has called to join the region to Russia."
A resolution, supported by a parliamentary vote, gave the Crimean parliament until Wednesday to call off the referendum, due to take place on Sunday. The Crimean parliament on Tuesday passed a motion stating that it would become independent in the event of a yes vote and then seek to join the Russian Federation, arguing that "the unilateral declaration of independence of part of a state does not violate any international laws".
There is the minor matter of enforcing this ultimatum in a territory largely controlled by Russian forces:
Also on Tuesday, the acting Ukrainian president, Oleksander Turchinov, announced that a new national guard would be formed in response to Russian attempts to annex Crimea.
Turchinov said mismanagement of the armed forces under former president Viktor Yanukovych meant that the Ukrainian military had to be rebuilt "effectively from scratch". The acting defence minister said the country had only 6,000 combat-ready infantry compared with more than 200,000 Russian troops on its eastern borders.
Good luck with that.
But aside from the actual area of physical confrontation, the real conflict continues behind the scenes. It is here that we find Russia president Putin has apparently rejected a U.S. proposal to resolve the dispute over Ukraine that had been put forward by Secretary of State John Kerry over the past week, according to senior Russian and U.S. officials. WSJ reported that "Mr. Putin's decision led Mr. Kerry to put off a Russian invitation to meet Mr. Putin in Russia, as early as the beginning of this week in Sochi, to discuss the Ukraine crisis, according to these officials."
Moscow and Washington on Monday each blamed the other for the diplomatic stumble and for failing to defuse the most serious U.S.-Russian standoff since the end of the Cold War.
Residents of the Crimean region of Ukraine are scheduled to vote Sunday on whether to secede from their country and join the Russian federation.
Despite the setback, U.S. and Russian officials stressed Monday that discussions on the former Soviet state were ongoing. The State Department didn't rule out Mr. Kerry visiting Moscow to meet Mr. Putin.
"The United States needs to see concrete evidence that Russia is prepared to engage on the diplomatic proposals we have made to facilitate direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia," State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said.
Send in the Kerry again perhaps? Speaking of political cadavers, ousted Ukraine president Yanukovich, whose political future even Putin said is over, appeared on TV earlier today and reminded everyone he was still the legitimate leader:
Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said in a televised press conference that he is still the legitimate leader of the country. It was his second statement made from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don where he fled to when he was removed from power by the Ukrainian Parliament.
“I want to remind you that I am not only still the legitimate president of Ukraine but also the supreme commander of the army and I haven’t stopped my duties as president early – I am still alive.”
He took no questions from the press after his speech.
Yanukovych claimed that he was still the legitimate leader of Ukraine and that he fled Ukraine because of a direct threat to his and his family’s lives.
He added he would return to Ukraine soon.
He called the upcoming May 25 presidential election “illegal” and said that any government voted in would also be unconstitutional
He said the US and West should not be backing or funding the new “bandit” government which had carried out an illegal coup d’etat.
And then there is everything else. Reading Reuters:
A pro-Russian force opened fire in seizing a Ukrainian military base in Crimea on Monday and NATO announced reconnaissance flights along its eastern frontiers as confrontation around the Black Sea peninsula showed no sign of easing. Ukrainian activists trying to cross into Crimea to show solidarity with opponents of last week's Russian military takeover there said they were halted by men in uniforms of the now outlawed riot police. One of these fired at close range, hitting a man in the chest, apparently with rubber bullets.
With diplomacy at a standstill, Russia said the United States had spurned an invitation to hold new talks on resolving the crisis, the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War - although Washington said later a meeting of foreign ministers was possible this week, if Moscow shows it is ready to "engage".
The U.S.-led NATO defense alliance said AWACS early warning aircraft, once designed to counter feared Soviet nuclear missile strikes, would start reconnaissance flights on Tuesday over Poland and Romania to monitor the situation in Ukraine, flying from bases in Germany and Britain.
The United States on Tuesday will also begin previously planned military training exercises in the region, the first since the Russian intervention in Crimea. A U.S. Navy destroyer will participate in maneuvers with Romanian and Bulgarian warships in the Black Sea, across from Crimea. In Poland, U.S. fighter jets will take part in joint exercises.
* * *
On Monday, a Ukrainian defense official said a Russian-led military force of about a dozen men fired in the air as they took control of a Ukrainian naval base near the town of Bakhchisaray, though no one was hurt.
The force was accompanied by the base's Ukrainian commander. He persuaded a number of his men to join the Russian forces while allowing others who refused to leave, the Ukrainian official, Vladislav Seleznyov wrote on Facebook. The Russian force later drove off with nine Ukrainian vehicles.
Yarik Alexandrov, one of the Ukrainian naval personnel who refused to pledge allegiance to Moscow, told Reuters near the base that he and his comrades at first refused to surrender. "Then they started shooting round our feet and we surrendered," he said. "What could we do? We had no weapons."
Similar small confrontations have taken place at other Ukrainian bases around Crimea, although shooting has been rare and there has so far been no bloodshed. Russia denies its troops are involved - a stance ridiculed in Kiev and the West.
In a sign of the peninsula's growing isolation from the Ukrainian mainland, armed men prevented a convoy of cars from a Ukrainian activist group crossing into Crimea.
The group was part of the Maidan movement behind the protests that forced Yanukovich to flee to Russia. Ukrainian television showed men in the uniform of the Berkut riot police, banned by the new authorities for its role in shooting dozens of demonstrators in Kiev last month, blocking the road south.
One was shown firing twice, hitting a man in the chest. His injuries appeared minor, suggesting the use of rubber bullets.
In other armed action, Russian forces took over a military hospital and a missile unit. Reuters correspondents also saw a big Russian convoy on the move just outside the port city of Sevastopol near a Ukrainian air defense base.
It comprised more than 100 vehicles, including around 20 armored personnel carriers, plus mobile artillery.
In conclusion, just so there is no confusion about who is in charge of Crimea...
#BREAKING All flights to Crimea airport suspended except from Moscow @AFP
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 11, 2014
At Crimea's Simferopol airport, where all flights to destinations other than Moscow have been cancelled pic.twitter.com/do5llyU2fT
— Katherine Haddon (@khaddon) March 11, 2014
»
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stop the press... warning .... stop the press, stop everything, halt the markets
"using rubber bullets"
i wonder if our overlords would bejust as kind to use rubber bullets
Look Barry, if you catch the next flight to Moscow and start bowing in front of Putin, that should make peace.
But if it doesn't work Barry, you can start sucking Putin's cock - that's something you should be good at.
u mean rubber cock
Cheap shot -Old News. Rahm left the White house a long time ago. The new Barry is a family man- I think. But then again, what the hell do i know?
nope overlords are not interested in puchasing rubber bullets, just rubber toys
Alinsky...Rule # 5...“Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”
Putin has crimea...
Time to move on to SA and Turkey.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/saudi-arabia-threatens...
I wonder how long it would take for Kerry to starve if he had to get a real job and actually create a useful product.
remember he married a deceased man's money through sperm receptical teresa heinz - let them eat ketchup
The US is making this situation sound the same as when Sadaam invited Kuwait. It's not like the current Ukranian government is somehow legitimate with western powers behind the coup. Russia will in no way play ball with letting the USA or anyone else dictate to them a key strategic interest in Crimea. What you will see is a lot of posturing, accusations and back and forth but in the end Russia will own Crimea and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
Don't disagree. But was and is the Kuwait 'government' legitimate?
Puppy dead.
Kerry belongs in a glue factory. Glad it's not going well for these ass hatters.
Putin IRON FIST
Obama LIMP WRIST
kerry..... ballerina confronts bear
if we only had gas to export, we could check the midget tough guy.... now we are left with "sanctions" and financial maneuvers managed by the Fed.... ahshit, oh yeah and nuslim terrorists
The vote is being held on Sunday because Putin knows Barry will be out on the links ALL day....
Well - markets are closed too.... it's just respect you know...
Blowing alanzo Mourning.
Turchinov said mismanagement of the armed forces under former president Viktor Yanukovych meant that the Ukrainian military had to be rebuilt "effectively from scratch".
Translated they won't fire on their own citizens so he needs to purge ranks.
This is about to get ugly....
This is not the type of power interm governments should be able to exercise. There will be no democratic vote later on, this is just consolidation of power going on along with Lustration Committee purging former Yanukovych allies from government positions.
Pray for the Ukrainian people they are about to be put through the meat grinder if this asshole is allowed to stay in power.
The US/EU should have kicked this up to the UN right away over Article 111 and respected international and sovereign constitutional instead of letting these Neo-Nazi NATO assets take control of the show and act like a bunch of spoiled brats who think the rules apply to everyone but them...
Reminds me of our own Civil War, with the professional soldiers choosing sides and "recrystalizing" into two armies. Coming next: the anti-fascist and pro-Russian military from throughout Ukraine gathering in territory not controlled by the putchists and forming a new army.
In the US hundreds of pitched battles were fought throughout the southern and border states between local militias, from before Ft.Sumpter and continuing through 1862, over control of towns, counties, parts of states. It gradually crystalized into a continental battle between two great armies.
The US Civil War was a great tragedy, that left a million dead and huge parts of our country in ruins. The South didn't fully recover from it for a century. But it could have been much, much worse if England and France had intervened directly.
History shows it was the people of England and France who stopped that. A lesson we should take to heart.
Well - been thinking about this this morning. I hope Crimea is able to peacefully split and instead of becoming part of Russian simply goes it's own way. This would set a wonderful precedent for my little corner of North America to leave confederation and start anew. First thing we will do is throw out the banking scum and their political lackies. Then we'll all head down to the pub for a drink and start the whole process of human/societal decay all over again.....
The Russians loaded the place up with ethnic Russians years ago to assure that if it came to this the vote would be pretty much guaranteeed. Kinda of like loading a workplace with people who listen to rock while the office manager likes to listen to easy listening music and they decide to ask them what they want to hear. It is pretty much guaranteed how the vote is going to turn out.
People define borders, borders don't define people. Now you know why they try to water down countries with immigration policies that all people to pour into countries faster than they can integrate them into the culture of the area. If you wanted to undermine sovereignty and values of a people to impose your will from a distance.
Cultural cohesiveness would not be a big issue where I live as the population is largely the same from one end to the other so long as you define the borders accordingly. The problem would be the short term impact financially and otherwise for almost everyone. It would likely be catastrophic for all. Thinking things through to their logical conclusions is uncomfortable at best.... although the thought of a new autonomous republic in the middle of NA is comforting it would likely fail immediately if not carried out properly.... things are never simple eh?
No it never it simple but there is plenty of history involved with Crimea also plus most importantly Crimea has the only Russian naval port in the east that doesn't freeze over in the winter. Unlike the West the Russians are past their Marxist control freak stage as long as the Crimeans don't mess with the naval port the Russians will pretty much let them do whatever the fuck they want otherwise and protect their sovereignty if they want to be autonomous.
Gee! Ya think Putin can save us all from slavery?
Russia is strangling Ukrainian tourism just before spring bitchez
so you're saying whore prices are down? BONUS!
Geo-political risk keeps the oil price high. Higher oil price combined with a weaker RUB/USD benefits Russia, vis a vis ability to run a fiscal surplus. That Putin is not stupid.
I'm confused.
I read somewhere that some 1997 treaty of some sort allowed Russia to have up to 20k troops in Crimea, then last night I caught the tail end of a conversation Mark Levin was having on his program citing some other arrangement/treaty/whatever (I didn't catch the details as I had just turned on the radio) that said what Russia did was wrong.
Could Zero Hedge do a post, or could someone point me to a post, which explains both of these apparent conflicting resolutions/treaties/whatever?
Mark Levin is a controlled opposition P.O.S. who masquerades as a Conservative. It should be apparent after listening to him about nullification. The whole Ukraine and cold war fear mongering is causing the masks to come off and we see just how amoral and weak supposed leadership is and just how quick they will suck the Neo-con cock instead of doing the right things. We shouldn't be backing Neo-Nazis period and respecting sovereign constitutional law aka article 111 of the Ukrainian Constitution and internation law aka UN to mediate problems like this. There is no leadership on weak blowhards trying desperately to keep status quo.
Do you know what resolution/treaty/agreement Mark was talking about that apparently give him reason to say Putin is wrong? I missed the whole segment where he may have mentioned it.
I'd like to know:
1. The exact treaty authorizing Putin to send in up to 20k troops
2. The exact treaty that apparently overrides #1.
Thanks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_Treaty_on_the_Status_and_Conditi...
he Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet is a treaty signed between Russia and Ukraine in 1997 whereby the two nations established two independent national fleets, and divided armaments and bases between them.[1][2] Under the treaty, the Black Sea Fleet that was located in the Crimean peninsula at the time, was partitioned between Russia (81.7%) and Ukraine (18.3%), with Russia maintaining the right to use the Port of Sevastopol in Ukraine for 20 years until 2017.[3] The treaty also allowed Russia to maintain up to 25,000 troops, 24 artillery systems, 132 armored vehicles, and 22 military planes on the Crimean peninsula.
The treaty would come into question 7 years later by Russia and other nations amidst the 2014 Crimean crisis and the signing of its continuation, the 2010 Kharkiv Pact.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Kharkiv_Pact
In 2008
http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/18/more-russian-passports-in-ukr...
The Russians knew this day was coming years ago and prepared ahead of time.
The Russians unlike the US/EU don't violate the law directly only the spirit of it to game the system. The US/EU act like a bunch of pigeons shitting all over everything when they don't get their way and just violate everything when it suites their whims and then try to shout everyone down who questions them afterwards.
The Russians play chess the US/EU plays checkers like a paranoid hubristic pigeon knocking over pieces and shitting all over the board.
That thoroughly answers my #1, but I'm still not sure what Mark is referencing. I'll have to listen to the archive audio to find out. Thanks.
Update: Listened to Mark's rerun. He references a 1994 "signed document" or "non perliferation treaty" between 4 world leaders "reaffirming their commitment" to Ukraine to respect the existing borders of Ukraine. And Refrain from the use of force and not of their weapons will be used against Ukraine." etc, etc.
So, the only question that remains is does this apparent document supercede the other treaty? On first thought, I view this agreement as something similar to what an American president would do like signing some international treaty saying America will do something that clearly isn't constitutional.
If so, I think Mark is clearly wrong here and letting his emotions get the better of his logic.
He may have been referring to this: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ukraine._Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances
The US is keen to accuse Russia of violating #2, although no-one can yet prove that it actually has (unmarked troops and local Crimean troops that speak Russian as a first language).
Yet, the US clearly violated #3, with the EU and Russia also perhaps guilty.
While you're at it, have a read of this: http://www.globalresearch.ca/nato-s-eastward-expansion-did-the-west-brea...
Russia argues that the US broke its agreement to constrain the spread of NATO. The US argues that it never made such a promise.
Yeah, as I mentioned, such a document probably doesn't hold as much weight as the previous treaty, or the constitution. Besides that, us intervening over there when we're 17 trillion in debt isn't the most logical stance in my mind.
"The US is keen to accuse Russia of violating #2, although no-one can yet prove that it actually..."
---
Russia does not violate international agreements on safeguards the integrity and security of Ukraine.
Think about what I say, from the standpoint of international law.
1. In Kiev, was a coup d'etat. So-called "new authorities in Kiev", seized power undemocratic, unconstitutional way, by force of arms, through mass murder and deception. These people are illegitimate. Moreover, they are criminals. It does not depend on the opinions of Washington and Brussels. It depends only on the rule of law. For all the norms of law, these people are criminals .
2. Via actions of these criminals in Kiev, Ukraine as State, actually was split into two parts. One part of this is part of the captured coup, including Kiev. And the second part - this is the part where the population and local authorities have remained faithful to the Constitution of Ukraine and the legitimate, democratically elected President of Ukraine.
And now think please: which of these two parts of the country, today has the right to represent Ukraine as a legal entity?
I mean: What today is the "Ukraine", in terms of the Act:
- It's the rebels who had committed an armed coup in Kiev?
- Or is the region to remain faithful to the Constitution and laws of the state government?
Well, go further.
Russia, according to an international treaty is obliged to observe the integrity of Ukraine and its safety. State - is primarily population. In this situation, Russia not only has the right to impose its troop, but must do it.
Because the deployment of troops to maintain the integrity of Ukraine and at the request of the legitimate President and the people of Ukraine - for Russia is a duty arising out of an international treaty. Furthermore, in the current situation coup sending troops is the only way for Russia to conscientiously fulfill their obligations under the international treaty for protection Ukraine as a state and legal entity.
What is rich is the same Western Neo-Con cock sucking assholes who will claim the Khakiv Pact is unconstitutional according to the Ukrainian Constitution and claim we need to respect constitutional law. Cherry pick and like to conveniently ignore this and won't talk about it.
According to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko the agreement violates part of the Ukrainian Constitution, which forbids the country from hosting foreign military bases after 2017.[14] The Chairman of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court said on 23 April that only the President and the Cabinet of Ministers can request a court ruling on constitutionality.[24] Our Ukraine called for the impeachment of President Yanukovych for violating the Ukrainian Constitution.
Even if it is unconstitutional the orginal agreement wasn't and that is still in effect until 2017 which includes the 25,000 troops part
Now the cherry picking part they ignore.
Keep in mind this radio free europe not Russia that is making the point.
http://www.rferl.org/content/was-yanukovychs-ouster-constitutional/25274...
Dueling Constitutions
But a legal gap remains. According to the terms of an EU-brokered peace deal finalized on February 21, Yanukovych was due to sign a measure returning Ukraine to its 2004 constitution. (In 2010, Yanukovych restored the country's 1996 constitution, which hands greater power to the presidency.)
Yanukovych, however, failed to sign the measure. The omission appears to leave Kyiv in the kind of legal limbo that may prove fodder for future arguments against the current government transition.The 1996 and the 2004 constitutions are uniform when it comes to the reasons for removing a president, with Article 111 stating the parliament has the right to initiate a procedure of impeachment "if he commits treason or other crime."
However, it is not clear that the hasty February 22 vote upholds constitutional guidelines, which call for a review of the case by Ukraine's Constitutional Court and a three-fourths majority vote by the Verkhovna Rada -- i.e., 338 lawmakers. Pro-Yanukovych lawmakers may also argue that under the 1996 constitution, it should have been the current acting prime minister, Serhiy Arbuzov, who assumed power after Yanukovych's removal. ... But they will ignore that and keep justifying a Neo Nazi goverment that shouldn't be running the country in the first place according to Ukrainian Constitutional Law and situation that should have been dealt with since it was overthrow, coup whatever you want to call it within the constructs of the UN and international law by all parties here to sort out the sovereign internal Constitutional issues first instead of propping up an interm government with full autonomy that is only interested in consolidating power and being a stooge to Western interests only. That is also why Putin having the Swiss monitor the referendum in Crimea is such a slap in the face at the same time. The US/EU brought on themselves instead of doing the right thing from the beginning.The biggest problem for the USA is that they have lost trust. After we learned of the NSA, and several political strong arm scandals involving Obama, the abandonment of constitutional principles, manipulation of interest rates...you get the point....I think there is no real trust left in the government. Sure there is political loyalty but that does not run deep. I do not think a false flag would fly in today's weather.
Rather than being the bearer of morality and democratic principles, the USA has become just another Machiavelian player on the world stage. We citizens watch somewhat detached as our government does confusing things. They have not chosen to share their thoughts (top secret) so we have come to assume they are up to no good.
Crimea to become the Switzerland of the east , but with much prettier ladies ....
I fucking love the past few days while talk radio was harping that Putin only to stabilize the crimea and not take it over while there were photos of land mines being laid. You cannot make this shit up. And thank God our demotard leadership had an all night pajama party about the effect of Global Warming. err i mean climate change. I can just see Oclueless break dancing with joy with the loss of the Malaysian airliner and it's news coverage. What a pathetic mess. Pass the popcorn
Useless talkings.
That was locals planted potatoes.
Putin and China know the US is in hock, pushing a gay lifestyle and smoking dope. Plus it's decreasing it's military and science (NASA).
The US Not what you would consider world leader. More of a dying country.
After stupidly clicking on this link the other day (don't do it!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7sLYNwevDQ (you did, didn't you?), I can agree that America is in decline.
You are the worst. Don't do it, people! Seriously! You won't last 3 seconds without hitting the 'back' button!
Naw this guy is a copycat of El Duce and the group he fronted The Mentors.
Shock rock at it's best or worst depending if you get it.
I think I sort of get it (if that's really possible), but I don't think that lead singer gets much of anything at all, he just seems a few beers short of a six-pack.
All the important questions are settled at sword-point.
That's a lesson from history, that is.
The Kiev government has been sending it's right wing hit squads into East Ukraine. They have been arresting pro Russian leaders appointed by pro Russian demonstrators. A sort of reversal of roles for the revoultion in Kiev. There is now a counter revoultion in East and South Ukraine seeking status like Crimea. This forces Kiev to send in what forces it has, and most are the right wing west Ukrainan hit squads. This will not sit well with the Russian Ukrainians. Once Crimea is liberated by it's majority Russian populations, the Karkov area and others will seek similar treatment. Kiev will then have to start killing Russian Ukrainians with full western backing. That is when Putin will consider his option to send 200,000 combat ready troops, supported by a huge array of ultra modern anti aircraft defense missiles, into Karkov and other Pro Russia areas, under America's favorite "Invasion Doctrine" "The Right to Protect".
On the day, the ball will fall back into the NATO court. Do they want to fight for control of Russian Ukraine? How well will the "No Fly Zone" work under the umbrella of S-400, S-300, TOR M1, TOR M2, and a large array of first class shoulder fired anti aircraft missiles carried by each infantry regiment?? In short, doee NATO want to lose a few hundred aircraft?
The USA planned, and funded, to the tune of 5 billion dollars of our tax money, the Kiev revolution. This precident, I think, open the door to China and Russia doing the same to America's dubious allies in the coming decades. Be careful who you fuck, they might come back to settle the score.
This precident, I think, open the door to China and Russia doing the same to America's dubious allies in the coming decades. Be careful who you fuck, they might come back to settle the score.
I doubt it has even crossed their minds that this could ever be a possibility. They really seem to believe they are the masters of the universe, destined to roll Russia back to the Duchy of Moscow and rule the earth for eternity. Presumably all the previous empires thought the same way until it was too late to stop the decline.
They made up shit to convince themselves and each other that they are masters of universe...
In real world not everyone agree.
"The USA planned, and funded, to the tune of 5 billion dollars of our tax money, the Kiev revolution"
Yes, but, sadly, this has proven profitable since it created an opportunity to steal $33billion in Ukrainian State gold:
'Ukrainian gold reserves loaded on an unidentified transport aircraft in Kiev’s Borispol airport and flown to Uncle Sam’s vault'
By Marcus Brooks on March 7, 2014
http://newswire-24.com/2014/03/07/4827/
That would be a contender for "most avoidable war in history caused by idiots". I never really thought about it because I just assume cooler heads will prevail, but now that I do think about it as an exercise, well....shit. Humor us JB, what happens next once insurmountable AA on both sides drags it down to a ground war? (Comparison of supply lines, terrain mastery, contagion to neighbors, nukes?).
On a tangent, I've always wondered how much of Wall Street's bottom line actually rests on the shoulders of elite Russian software engineers tinkering in the guts of the black-boxes that automatically bring in the $Large every day. (Russian devs dominate every software engineering contest, they're widely known to be the best).
Black boxes that only the Russians understand. I'm a monkey's uncle if US organisations have sufficient defense against professional internal cyberattacks.
President 0: "today we declared war on Russia"
Russian Coder: 'sudo mv ./black.box /dev/null'
Jamie Dimon: "and that's why I'm poorer than you"
In the long run, the NATO force should win hands down, on paper. But wars are not fought on paper. So, the wild card is troop motivation and ability to slog it out. NATO troops have never fought a war, so they are a question mark. The Russian army is also a big question mark. The tiny Georgian war showed some glaring problems with the entire structure of the Russian defense forces.
Escalation of the air and missile war would decide who can fight with air support, nobody can win without air support. Russia has decided to concentrate on it's missile systems instead of manned aircraft. Iskander is their ace in the hole.
Honestly, I don't see how the west could be so insane as to fight this type of war for an East/South Ukraine full of Russians. I mean, what the fuck, are they going to fight to try and keep Russians inside the Ukraine? That is madness. Russia want no new territory past Crimea, but if forced to protect, I think they will. The west Ukraine is not going to be invaded and absorbed, Russia doesn't need or want it. All Russia wants is protection of ethnic Russians, and a East/Sout Ukraine free of NATO missle and air bases.
Who wins, boy, calling a war winner is not in my abilites!
No way do Europeans or Russians want this, it's senseless slaughter with Russians fighting on their own turf. it's the goddamned Brzezinski Doctrine that takes us there. I think Lepic makes a good call at the end here: http://www.voltairenet.org/article30038.html
Hawks are deliberately trying to provoke an actual act of aggression from Russia (only a fool swallows the lie from the MSM that what Russia has already done constitutes aggression).
Putin re-animated the hawks from cold storage when he started assembling the Eurasian Economic Union
I think you said the other day that these hawks are the greatest current threat to world peace. If that was you then I sure am in agreement. They need to back, the fuck, down, NOW! These guys are truly mad.
"and funded, to the tune of 5 billion dollars of our tax money"
They will never collect the tax to cover that money before the whole ball of crap goes up in smoke.
Saying the Kiev neo-NAZIs are being "forced" to send hit squads east may not be quite an accurate description.
It would be one thing if you or I made jingoist threats. It is quite another for a nation's president and presidential candidates to do so.
I, for one, will not be defending the Obama-Kerry-Hillary-McCain leaders by promoting a false excuse that they are fools, ignorant of what they do.
Volatile and servile underlings will hear what they want, and believe they have been given a "green light" for provocative actions.
Surely US leaders and their advisors know that.
Surely they know the reasoning behind the use of diplomatic language.
Surely they know they ARE by their belligerent words giving a de facto "green light" under a false cover and false "probable deniability".
Idiots? No.
Scoundrels? Yes.
We have seen what may happen when a "green light" is perceived (Saddam invading Kuwait,
Saakashvili attacking Ossetia).
I doubt if even the US leadership wants to have a nuclear exchange, but they have shown little reluctance to conduct so-called "covert actions", assassinations, drones, special forces hit squads, bombings, sabotage false flag attacks, etc.
Forced? No.
Encouraged and supported? Yes.
Meanwhile, back on Planet Bizarro, a Yahoo! news headline says that Senator "Feinstein accuses CIA of improperly searching Senate computers".
....if you are not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about....or something like that.....
duplicate
Put it back up....what you stated needs to be repeated for those limited comprehension...
This is the direction any Ukrainian government in Kiev should be going to keep the country together:
Crimean parliament guarantees broader rights to Tatar minority
Ukrainian population is not only the two main Ukrainian and Russian ethnic groups and Russian and Ukrainian as the two main languages. There are also Rusyn, Hungarian, Moldovan, Polish, Tatar and some other minorities with their own cultures and languages. Creation of Ukrainian Federation or even better, Swiss-style Confederation would ensure Ukrainian territorial integrity. Unfotunately, the current usurpers in Kiev have chosen completely the opposite and suicidial direction.
Unconfirmed news, yet:
Two US drones shot down in Crimea – Report
As Voice of Russia reported, citing Novosti Kryma (News of Crimea) , US unmanned reconnaissance aircraft has allegedly been shot down over Crimea.
The drone was allegedly surveilling Crimean troop positions over the Turetsky Val block-post, the newspaper quotes a Cossack source as saying. The unsanctioned aircraft had been spotted by Crimean self-defense forces and Berkut policemen.
Another, heavier, two-engine drone, has been allegedly shot down and fell outside the block-post’s area.
another source: Two US Drones Allegedly Shot Down in Crimea
So I've been reading Zerohedge for a long time and I dip into the comments section from time to time for additional personal perspective. I've notice there's quite a bit of folks that are concerned with a Zionist control regime as part of their overall worldview and I've always found it someone troubling. Initially it was for the racial undertones but after a while that gave way to something more pragmatic.
Does the religion of your oppressor matter? Does their race matter? I think the fixation on Jews owning this or doing this takes away from the real issue, namely, that there are people that are attempting to control you, control your wealth, and make you compliant and docile. How does the religions/nationalistic origin of that person matter when the outcome is the same? Surely not all of our attempted oppressors and controllers (regardless of where they are in our country or the world) are all Jews. Unfortunately evil people come from all sorts of backgrounds.
Their evil and attempt to stifle the personal freedoms of others is the ONLY thing that matters. Any other distinction towards race is merely a distraction and further fodder for them to deflect your objections to their behavior.
Not all Zionists are Jewish.
The fact is, these guys belong to the same clubs.
Whether that club is 'The Club of Rome', the Bilderberger Group, Freemasons, the Billionaire's Club (this is just an informal name I have assigned to all the world's billionaires), the Council on Foreign Relations...
Any old reason to get locked up in a room together, with no outsiders, basically. So knowing what these guys have in common is a first step, in identifying allies/enemies going forward. Say a new politician emerges on the scenes. At least you have something to go on, in terms of checking his/her background, associations, past history.
KC
reason has no place in the minds of those already convinced...you might as well tell these things to your dog...certain ZH folks have watched the Youtube video and that forms the central hanger upon which all other thoughts are hung...
There are probably more Christian zionists in the US than Jews in the entire world. Even Herzl was an atheist, so I don't see it as tied to race or religion, just a useful tool for empire. People seem to like to claim that everything is planned in advance by someone or every war is about one asset (hydrocarbons currently) when history says otherwise.
Imperialism and totalitarianism existed before Zionism, and before hydrocarbons were the primary fuel source for humanity. They will still exist afterwards too.
KCMLO: I will assume your comments are genuine and not a wind up.
The explanation in my personal opinion is that many people here identify Jews because Jews represent a disproportionate high number of those who you say are "trying to control our wealth and our lives". The Bush era neo-cons were heavily populated with Jews and seemingly their disasterous policies are still being played out, Wall Street and the banksters are overwhelming Jews or Jewish firms and of course MSM is too. Did I mention Hollywood?
Given all that and the influence that AIPAC has in Washington, it would be quite amazing if people did not associate Jews with much of the political/financial corruption and fraud that's going on. It's simply because the facts speak for themselves.
I have been reading ZH for many years now and have noticed, (in the last year or so), a decline in the "quality" and insight fulness in the articles and comments.
When reading the comment section is seems that many of the bloggers come here to "yell down a empty well"... all they hear are echos of their own voices.
edit... there are certain bloggers that I look for, always thought provoking and insightful.
When you stop learning you start dieing.
So Kerry refuses to talk to Putin, and this morning also refuses to talk to the Soviet, er, Russian Secretary of State, or whatever the title would be. So just what does Kerry think his job is, again? Just sit on his perch and squawk? Dispense his wisdom like ketchup on pierogi?
Soviet is defunct.
Get over it.
Another glorius day in the markets. Unless your preferred meal is cafe mocha with a side of lean hog all prices are stable. The big exchanges prepare for tomorrows huge ramp into, again, all time highs while even gold 'holds it's own' (in preparation of further 'stabilization in favor of the dollar'). Pay no attention citizens. All is under control. Back to work (both of you with jobs). The rest of you do whatever it is you do with your dreary lives, watch Youtube or get a massage. Janet has the con.
And the position of the UN is.... (crickets chirping)
another indication of the seriousness of Putin is he doesn't bother with bringing in the United Nfraudocracy, until he is good and ready to seal-the-deal.
After reading here for almost four years, I have to say that Tyler seems to be increasingly coming across as a crypto-flag-waver who's been sipping the kool aid. Many of his headlines are obliquely incendiary in favor of the Western governmental view. As a bracing antidote, I would recommend one and all to read the transcript for Putin's March 4 press conference:
Look, No Teleprompter
Vladimir Putin Talks To Reporters About Ukraine
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37889.htm
We watched John Kerry, having said nothing when America invaded Iraq on fabricated evidence, stand up and say how bad it is that Russia is invading the Ukraine on fabricated evidence. Then as a follow up act Hillary, having said nothing while America helped Nazis take over the Ukraine, accused Putin of behaving like a Nazi. If it were not so serious all this would make a great black comedy. The sheer stupidity is really amusing. However if these guys want to be taken seriously they need at least to be consistent in what they say and do and it scares me to think I have to trust these self proven clowns to steer the world past a thermo nuclear war.
another foundation. http://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.ca/2014/03/arseniy-yatsenyuk-found...
It occurs to me that the US's Ukraine fiasco probably shoots The Ketchup King in the foot as regards any 2016 ambitions.
This is good.
It probably makes the ascension of Hitlery more likely.
This is bad.