Protesters in Ukraine remind us of the priceless benefits of being EU members

[lordtiberius]

Sadly, many of his forecasts have been right on the money.
 
Which shows you that the relics are still in power.

Friedman has been whack bird wrong on many of his forecasts. . . .

[Muzh]

I resent this insinuation.  You should apologize.  This is offensive, provocative and inflammatory speech that serves no purpose on this forum.  The forum owners expect we regulate ourselves (ie. using good judgment).  Apologize, rephrase and explain if you wish to engage me further

Dude. When you stop and think a bit you'll see that your comments, like the one preceding this response to me, are totally:
 
a) out in left field, or
b) fascist in nature.
 
You decide.
 
Edited to add "or" Not an omision but a typo.

[Anotherkiwi]

I resent this insinuation.  You should apologize.  This is offensive, provocative and inflammatory speech that serves no purpose on this forum.  The forum owners expect we regulate ourselves (ie. using good judgment).  Apologize, rephrase and explain if you wish to engage me further.

How does this differ from the vitriolic bile that you continually spew about your President?

[JayH]

http://euromaidanpr.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/revolution-of-helmets/

Follow the Ukrainian protests
Euromaidan in English – Site of the Official English-language Public Relations Secretariat for the Headquarters of the National Resistance in Kyiv, Ukraine
 Mortalities of Euromaidan
Revolution of helmets
Posted on January 26, 2014 by chornajuravka

Photo by Bohdan Utseha
http://euromaidanpr.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/revolution-of-helmets/
Let’s get real about the situation in Ukraine, it is in fact a war. It’s a war that has been waged by the Victor Yanukovych “mafia” against the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people since the Orange Revolution in 2004. It is only in the past few weeks that this war has escalated from political, economic and individual attacks, to violence against the people who have been peacefully demonstrating against the Yanukovych regime for the past two months.


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In 2004 Yanukovych attempted to steal the presidential elections, only to have massive demonstrations, and the Ukrainian Supreme Court, under pressure from the international community, foil his plans. However, rather then being prosecuted or at least fading into historical obscurity, ironically he was brought back into the political arena and appointed Prime Minister in 2006, by none other then his Orange Revolution opponent, President Victor Yushchenko.

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Since that time Yanukovych has been able to successfully consolidate power in Ukraine, becoming President in 2010, and changing the Ukrainian constitution several times to make the system of government less democratic, most notably changing it from a Parliamentary- Presidential model to a republic where the President retains maximum authority. He changes laws and the constitution to suit his immediate needs.The Ukrainian people tolerated the situation, as the opposition was divided and many citizens had become frustrated with the political process. However, Yanukovych’s sudden exit this past November from the EU Trade Agreement ignited fresh protests, as people saw their hopes and dreams for a just and democratic future suddenly fall away. When those protests were met with barbaric violence, the people concluded it was no longer acceptable for them to passively live in a state that showed no concern for their rights as citizens, but sought to subordinate them using physical force.

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That type of approach has inevitably led to the current chaos and spilling of blood on the streets of Kyiv today. When the government was unable to physically remove the protestors from the Maidan Square, it resorted to its usual tactics of intimidation, targeting activist journalists and deputies who were individually assaulted and severely injured by unknown assailants. When this failed to quell the protests, the Yanukovych regime passed new laws to make it more convenient to use physical force. When they had tried force previously, there had been some US and EU representatives who had cried that people had the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. So, much like Stalin had done, Yanukovych changed some wording around so he could say that the police crushing the demonstrators were upholding the law. This essentially was a declaration of war.

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These new “laws” strip away basic rights of freedom of speech and assembly; wearing a helmet is now punishable by a jail term, caravans of more then five cars require a police escort, writing on the internet about any public official or police officer in a negative light will now be slander and punishable by a jail sentence, (Since the state failed to investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of violent assaults, many citizens took it upon themselves to publicize the identities of the perpetrators online) Purchasing a SIM card for a cell phone now requires a passport so all suspicious internet activity can be tracked. These and many more Orwellian statutes were packaged with one goal only, to crush the Euro-Maidan movement. And they were passed unconstitutionally. Here’s why: The new “laws” were brought to a vote without any prior notice, were never debated on, and were voted on by a show of hands rather than the standard electronic vote tabulation system. The hands were raised for about 3 seconds, and never accurately counted, as they did not have the required number of votes needed to pass the laws. Now these “laws” have been signed into effect by Yanukovych and are being used to justify aggressive police actions taking place now. The intention is to sow fear among the populace so they get off the streets and go home. This is not democracy, but the way a dictatorship operates.

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The Berkut riot police are the Yanukovych governments well paid foot soldiers, and act in the manner of combating an enemy, rather then preserving the peace of the city. They provoke the demonstrators with disgusting acts of violence and torture. The war tactics being used to subjugate the people include; multiple Berkut will hit a person who is being carried away or are lying unconscious on the ground, often in the face with their metal shields, they lob Molotov cocktails and shoot rubber bullets indiscriminately at demonstrators, including snipers shooting live ammo causing several fatalities, they are kidnapping people out of hospitals, (as the Nazis once did) and throwing them in jail for “inciting mass riots” which under the new “law” has a 10 year prison term. Seized protestors are harshly beaten, and then ridiculed by being forced to strip and often left naked in a field or forest. Recently, a student was beaten, stripped, forced to sing the National Anthem on his knees in the snow, and then sodomized with a knife. Their terror tactics also include attacking medical workers and journalists, who even in traditional warfare have some type of immunity. The goal is to instill fear and therefore submission. Organizers and leaders of Maidan are now being hunted, and many have started to go into hiding. The Ukrainian people now realize that they are fighting against slavery to a dictator named Victor Yanukovych, that living under his rule is not an option.

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The USA and EU have made statement after statement “showing support for the Euro-Maidan demonstrators” and “threatening sanctions if the violence continues”… but these verbal pronouncements have not put any tangible pressure on Yanukvoych. The West seems to still believe that Yanukovych is some sort of a “diplomatic” person that has a sense of consciousness beyond his personal ambitions. The Ukrainian people know that this has never been true, he is a bandit who rose to power through the criminal clans of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. This was a very primitive environment, a “only the strong survive” type of existence where it was eat or be eaten. That is what Yanukovych knows. Do not be fooled by his well paid spin doctors, he knows no other way to think. The words “democracy” and “compromise”, these are not traits that would have ever come into play in the world he came from. He has no understanding of what they mean or why they are important to society. All he understands, and respects, is power and force. The EU and US do have power over him, but they are reacting passively. What they should be doing and what the Ukrainian people have been asking them to do, is freeze Yanukovych’s assets and the assets of his business partners. This will show them that what they value most, money, is subject to some sort of international rules in the civilized world, that there are basic social tenets of modern human principles, and if you violate those, if you kill people, your wealth is not entitled to the protection of the international democratic community. Essentially these oligarchs and corrupt businessmen in power have stolen money from the Ukrainian nation and keep it safe in western banks, while they continue to feed and leech off the Ukrainian republic. The recent outrage of this situation by the Ukrainian people was a direct threat to this scheme, and needed to be eliminated, hence the declaration of war. This war is happening at Europe’s doorstep and is being enabled by the EU, who persists on giving the regime access to their funding. The events will continue to escalate unless steps are taken now to support the people fighting on Maidan by putting direct pressure on Yanukovych and his illegal assets that are safeguarded in the European Union of democracies.

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Having a democracy in Ukraine is in the geopolitical interest of the free world. If a third dictatorship is established in a country of 46 million people on Europe’s doorstep that will support the dictatorship style of rule and corruption, it will surely become a threat to the civilized world, as Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus will become fascist states where truth and justice will not exist and corruption and human rights will be continually violated. It will become a defacto Soviet Union that lies to its people and fosters hostility and fear about the West to retain power and control. On the other hand, a democratic Ukraine integrated with the EU community would set an example of hope that will surely have an affect on the nascent democratic movements in Belarus and Russia.

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The USA has made it a mission statement to support democracy around the world, but there has been no action or even a statement from President Obama. As a Democrat who supported Obama’s campaign by going door to door, I am left embarrassed. There are some individual EU member states willing to act, but if Germany is saying sanctions are not on the table, we must have an answer why? Did they not learn about the dangers of fascism? Is fear of Putin and his gas too much of an influence to act? Is everyone simply afraid to step up to the bully of Eurasia? If yes, then please formulate a statement of declaration to that affect, so the Ukrainian people do not have false hope and can focus their strategy on fighting for their individual liberties and the democratic future of their state.

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Let’s reiterate once again, this is a war by a regime who has repeatedly demonstrated criminal tendencies and is doing all it can to crush and enslave the citizens of Ukraine to perpetuate its criminal activities. Its torture of captured protestors is inhumane, the attacks on medics and the abduction of journalists violates Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention relating to Non-International Armed Conflict. The issue really shouldn’t even be about sanctions but about whether to send UN peacekeepers to Ukraine. This is not a diplomatic situation, but one where “brass tactics” are needed. Statements of concern only serve to make those stating them absolve themselves of accountability. Yanukovych will only respond to physical pressure, that is all he understands. Freezing of bank accounts can change the trajectory of this war, and save the country from becoming a totalitarian regime that would raise the spectre of a fascist trifecta that threatens the security of the western world. Is that clear???

If not, perhaps seeing the incidents firsthand will help personalize the situation, how many more civilians have to suffer before the west becomes motivated to act? These people have no choice, they either resist or become slaves. Look at their faces, see who they are.

Damian Kolodу

Man is stripped and ridiculed by Berkut



 

Berkut attacks (watch from 3:30-5:00)


Tortured:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25858875

People pulled from hospital: http://tvi.ua/new/2014/01/23/yak_berkut_namahavsya_zabraty_poranenykh_iz_likarni_shvydkoyi_dopomohy_video_tvi

This man, a 20 year old Ukrainian born Armenian was one of the first fatalites, shot by a sniper by 4 hunting (not rubber) bullets, like an animal.



Read more>>> 

This man was taken by force from a hospital, interrogated, beaten severely and found dead the next morning.



Read more>>>

Auto Maidan is attacked by police


Bogdana Babych

[whynotme]

they also fought for "íåçàëåæí³ñòü Óêðà¿íè".

http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/1232216.html

This link is in Russian, but photo documents are not for too sensitive persons.
Posted it cuz just theoretical knowledge that opposition idols were animals doesn't work.

[jone]

NOTE:  The above link is EXTREMELY graphic in nature.  If such pictures offend you, please do not open the link!

[tfcrew]

How does this differ from the vitriolic bile that you continually spew about your President?

You mean the guy who used a poor wounded soldier as a political prop when he made the SOTU speech last Tuesday night?
It was disgraceful !

[jone]

Yeah, but so was the idiot Republican who brought in the guy from Duck Dynasty.   

[Muzh]

Yeah, but so was the idiot Republican who brought in the guy from Duck Dynasty.   

How about the testosterone-laden macho man from our beloved state of NY?
 

[jone]

That guy has serious problems.  Frankly, there are good Congressmen and bad Congressmen.  He was one of the latter.  But Republicans don't have the monopoly on the those either.

[tfcrew]

Yeah, but so was the idiot Republican who brought in the guy from Duck Dynasty.   

Why was that disgraceful?

I only found this link...

Now if the Dynasty guy had brought his goat....................

[tfcrew]

Meanwhile....

Ex-president warns Ukraine 'on brink of civil war'  29 January 2014 Last updated at 15:37 ET
Ukraine's first post-independence president has warned the country is on the "brink of civil war".
Leonid Kravchuk, president from 1991 to 1994, urged parliament to "act with the greatest responsibility" as it debates an amnesty for detained protesters.
President Viktor Yanukovych wants any amnesty to be conditional on protesters leaving official buildings and dismantling barricades.
Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk's dramatic warning that the country stood on the "brink of civil war" and is gripped by "revolution" did not reveal any secrets.
But it was a timely reminder of what could lie at the end of Ukraine's bitter political standoff if a peaceful resolution isn't found soon.

MORE...........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25939737

[Anotherkiwi]

You mean the guy who used a poor wounded soldier as a political prop when he made the SOTU speech last Tuesday night?
It was disgraceful !

The difference is that most of the rabid die-hard Republicans on this site confine themselves, in general terms, to declaring that Obama is an idiot who doesn't know what he's doing and is the worst President in US history.

[jone]

The difference is that most of the rabid die-hard Republicans on this site confine themselves, in general terms, to declaring that Obama is an idiot who doesn't know what he's doing and is the worst President in US history.

It is funny, that I tend to vote with the Republicans more often than with with the Democrats.  However, I fail to see why those that espouse Republicanism cannot acknowledge that approximately 52% of the country votes Democratic  when they vote.  The upshot of that is that many of the Democrats don't vote.  Thus the Republicans win elections.

I cannot, for the life of me, understand people who believe over half of our country don't know what they are doing as they cast their ballots.  Perhaps they think that the Republican candidate is the worse of the two choices and they are not voting for one guy, but voting against the other. 

Just a thought.

[cc3]

The difference is that most of the rabid die-hard Republicans on this site confine themselves, in general terms, to declaring that Obama is an idiot who doesn't know what he's doing and is the worst President in US history.

He is, and I am not a Republican. I voted for the big 'O' in 2008, to my utter chagrin.

[lordtiberius]

The difference is that most of the rabid die-hard Republicans on this site confine themselves, in general terms, to declaring that Obama is an idiot who doesn't know what he's doing and is the worst President in US history.

 

I love obama, he (deleted insult) registers more republicans than the 2nd Amendment. 

Meanwhile back in Ukraine . . . .

[mendeleyev]

I have begun to address this issue of outside influence on this edition of the Mendeleyev Journal: http://wp.me/peVMt-3b2

[lordtiberius]

I have begun to address this issue of outside influence on this edition of the Mendeleyev Journal: http://wp.me/peVMt-3b2

Reader, if you have not read Mendeleyev's article, I recommend doing so.  It brings you up to date and gathers the facts in a balanced perspective while giving an insight into the Russian mind.  I watched the video he attached - very medieval the type of fighting that may ensue.

A couple of questions for the author, sir, you wrote:

The two countries have a very complicated relationship: Kyiv is the historical birthplace of modern Russia and the bloodlines of these primarily Slavic peoples are nearly the same and often intermingled. The easy way to make a Ukrainian mad however is to tell him that he is the “little brother” to the guy next door.

Couldn't the same be said for Poland, the Czechs, the Slovaks, the Bulgars, the Baltic Slavs, the Moldovians, the Balkan peoples and even the Romanians for all of those nations are Slavs who presumably share an ancient bloodline to the Russia?

What evidence is there of Western influence in the Euromadian protests?  Assuming it exists and it is effective how does it compare to Russian influence?  Assuming that the West is driving the horse that his pulling the Ukrainian cart Westward, why hasn't the West mounted a competent diplomatic response to Yankuvych's schizophrenic governance?

I noticed that you linked a cartoon of Oleg Tiananbok's Svobody party to the Nazi movement.  Is such a characterization of Oleg Tiananbok or Svobody fair?  If so why?  Worst case scenario if Svobody prevails and  Oleg Tiananbok or someone like him gains THE seat of power in a post Yanukovych Ukraine, what is the absolute worst that can happen?

What implications does a successful revolution to oust Yanukoyvch have in Russia?

Lastly,  Yanukoyvch has few supporters amongst the Ukrainian diaspora.  Their own perspectives are no doubt influenced through the lens of their current residences.  Yet this unanimous confluence of opinion remains.  Is that consensus fair and accurate?

Thank you

[Shadow]

Couldn't the same be said for Poland, the Czechs, the Slovaks, the Bulgars, the Baltic Slavs, the Moldovians, the Balkan peoples and even the Romanians for all of those nations are Slavs who presumably share an ancient bloodline to the Russia?

No, it is more complicated as that. Kiev was once the capital of the Russian Empire, and could have been today if it were not for a self-centered attitude that caused a breakaway. This sentiment is still noticeable in the relations, Ukrainians secretly consider themselves to be an influential area and wish to regain the power and wealth they once had before Stalin ruined everything. Russians consider Ukraine to be self-centered and ungrateful.
I am exagerating my comparisons on purpose, individual people will have very different individual opinions.

[lordtiberius]

No, it is more complicated as that. Kiev was once the capital of the Russian Empire, and could have been today if it were not for a self-centered attitude that caused a breakaway. This sentiment is still noticeable in the relations, Ukrainians secretly consider themselves to be an influential area and wish to regain the power and wealth they once had before Stalin ruined everything. Russians consider Ukraine to be self-centered and ungrateful.
I am exagerating my comparisons on purpose, individual people will have very different individual opinions.

Makes sense

[Misha]

No, it is more complicated as that. Kiev was once the capital of the Russian Empire

Well, that is how it is presented by Russian historians. Kiev was the capital of the Kievan Principality or Rus if you prefer. This is not to be confused with the Russian Empire that came a few centuries later. Russia "claims" Kyiv as its "mother" city, but it would be comparable to the Americans claiming London or Romania claiming Rome 

[SANDRO43]

Couldn't the same be said ... even the Romanians... for all of those nations are Slavs

You're woefully ignorant of ancient and modern history , present Romanians once were Dacians - known as Geta (plural Getae) in Ancient Greek writings - related to the Thracians to their south and with a possible connection to the Anatolyan Phrygians:

Trajan's final conquest in 106 AD was immortalised on his column still standing today in Rome's Forum...

...after that, they became the only people speaking a Latin-derived language west of Rome to this very day. They were NEVER Slavs .

[Shadow]

Well, that is how it is presented by Russian historians. Kiev was the capital of the Kievan Principality or Rus if you prefer. This is not to be confused with the Russian Empire that came a few centuries later. Russia "claims" Kyiv as its "mother" city, but it would be comparable to the Americans claiming London or Romania claiming Rome 

Americans do claim whatever country in Europe they came from as 'motherland' 

[Anotherkiwi]

...after that, they became the only people speaking a Latin-derived language west east of Rome to this very day. They were NEVER Slavs .

Fixed it for you, Sandro!

[SANDRO43]

Fixed it for you, Sandro!

Thankee kindly, guv.