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

[krimster2]

Reporting live from 210 Polonium Street and Litvinenko Ulitsa

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a conciliatory act of diplomacy has sent Russian anti-terror squads from the Russian city of Ryazan to Sevastopol and Simpheropol for “training exercises”.
“We don’t want to put out our brethern in Crimea”, the President announced as he slowly removed his shirt before an admiring crowd of journalists, “so they will bring their own hexagen”  In other news, Anna Politkovskaya director of Consol Ltd, a major Crimean building services company projected that 2014 would be a record breaking year for her firm.

[lordtiberius]

We (the USA) should keep out...

Fathertime!

With respect, I disagree.  If we keep out, we have essentially abandoned our allies to the mercy of our enemies.  I am a man who stands by my friends.  I suspect you are too.  IMHO, we should see this through.

War is coming to Ukraine.  The West must have a strategy to counter Putin's moves.  Do we have one?  My guess is no we do not.  The eyes of the world are on Ukraine.  Does the Nobel Peace prize committee call "take backs"?

[krimster2]

Fresh Prince of Sevastopol (Yalky Palky)

Oh Pooty Poot
Please don’t shoot
maya babooska got sick
so I need 1,000 hryvnia quick
the Amerikansky say
that if you come out today
that you’ll get some cash
if you stay for the clash
So just like before
way back in 2004
I took some orange narcotic
and became really patriotic
Tick Tak!, Tick Tak! the time has come
for Ukraine to get rid of Gazprom scum

[lordtiberius]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/author/paul-craig-roberts/

koo koo

[Faux Pas]

Fresh Prince of Sevastopol (Yalky Palky)

Oh Pooty Poot
Please don’t shoot
maya babooska got sick
so I need 1,000 hryvnia quick
the Amerikansky say
that if you come out today
that you’ll get some cash
if you stay for the clash
So just like before
way back in 2004
I took some orange narcotic
and became really patriotic
Tick Tak!, Tick Tak! the time has come
for Ukraine to get rid of Gazprom scum

Welcome back Krim. Good to see you posting, again

[JayH]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/government-buildings-seized-ukraines-crimea-22693264

Both airgates to Crimea, Simferopol international airport and Sevastopol military airport Belbec were blocked by RF several hours ago.Moscow never sleeps:)

If the side issues were not so potentially serious here  it would be such a farce . Wow-what a tough target to control - what are they there for> To arrest  an errant UIA flight?
Chances are these misguided souls are being influenced by the extremest Berkut responsible for the murders in Kiev last week-- now their intention is to avoid answering for it-so what better way-- start a piece of nonsense!!
The facts are that a corrupt government was removed legally and by the course of government--now the interim government has a huge job to manage the country until the election.
So what does Putin do to help? The answer is ramp up the pressure of the people of Ukraine-after this is over Putin and Russia will never be forgiven for showing apparent support for the murderous,corrupt Yanukovych and cronies. The more material that becomes available--the worse all  will look and be shown to be.


ADDED LATER
Confirmed that it is Russian soldiers  who have surrounded Belbek( Sevastopol) Airport  and unloadiing large aircraft.
They are preventing anyone getting close to the airport.

"Airport "Belbek" controlled by Russian soldiers in helmets and flak jackets. This was reported by one of the competent military sources in Sevastopol. According to him, they came in order "to prevent the arrival of some fighters." It is known that the soldiers were placed around the perimeter of the airfield, armored personnel carriers deployed staff with communication and is currently waiting for a certain team. Overall, at the airport is more than 10 trucks and several armored personnel carriers"

Today at 6:45 pm
Avakov reported the situation in Crimea and accused Russia in armed invasion Interior Minister Arsen Avakov reported on the situation in Crimea and considered what is happening "as an armed invasion and occupation in violation of all international treaties and norms," ​​Interior Minister Arsen Avakov reported on the situation in Crimea. "Belbek Airport. Blocked military units Fleet. Inside the airport are military and border guards of Ukraine. Outside - military camouflage with a gun and unmarked, but do not hide their affiliation. airport does not work. On the outer perimeter positions MIA. armed clashes until no "- he wrote on his Facebook page. He also reported on the situation at the airport Siferopol. "About 12 nights in a civil group, about 100 people, calling Cossack squadrons, breaking the fence at the airport, went to the airfield. internal forces troops and police these people were pushed first into the airport and then did for territory. Weapons are not used. Airport area was deserted "Cossacks" about an hour a night - embarked on KAMAZ and tilts left, "- said Avakov. According to him, about 1.30 am in the airport building arrived in several trucks, 119 military with automatic weapons in camouflage unmarked. entered the airport building, housed in the restaurant. "Do not hide their affiliation to the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Questions Ukrainian MVD "military and you have no right to be here" - short answer - do not have instructions to negotiate with you. Static situation, weapons from both sides was not applied. Russian military static oversee the work of the airport is not directly interfering, "- said the Minister of Interior. Avakov As noted, the internal forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine intensified outfits in the airport area. voltage narastaet.Protivostoyat regular military forces of law enforcement agencies can not. Interior Minister considers happening "as an armed invasion and occupation in violation of all international treaties and norms." "This is a direct provocation armed bloodshed in the territory of a sovereign competence gosudarstva.Eto longer MIA. It is the competence of the NSDC. There are no direct armed conflict, diplomats need to talk, "- concluded

[JayH]

Meanwhile, Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of the Republic of Georgia, has revealed that Yanukovych made a habit of bragging to other heads of state about the extent of his government's corruption while in office.

"He would talk very loudly about how he had corrupted senior officials, in the supreme court and the constitutional court ... He didn't care who he was talking to; the guy did not have any idea about morality," Saakashvili revealed in an interview with The Guardian. "The other [post-Soviet rulers] might be cynical but not to the extent of denouncing themselves. I wasn't that surprised he would do these things, but I was surprised how open he was about it."

Saakashvili has also revealed the extent of Yanukovych's fixation on former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was released from prison shortly after Yanukovych's impeachment Saturday and has vowed to stand in presidential elections set for May 25.

"He had a strange obsession with her," Saakashvili said. "He felt she could never get out of prison or he would be in trouble. European politicians used to come to me and say they had achieved agreement that she would be released, and I was amazed. It was clear he was never going to release her."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[JayH]

Sustaining Ukraine's breakthrough: EU expertise and markets are essential
The EBRD should get involved like it did in central Europe, while endemic corruption and weak rule of law must be addressed

George Soros
theguardian.com, Thursday 27 February 2014 21.12 AEST

An Ukrainian flag flutters over Independence Square in Kiev . Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images
Following a crescendo of terrifying violence, the Ukrainian uprising has had a surprisingly positive outcome. Contrary to all rational expectations, a group of citizens armed with not much more than sticks and shields made of cardboard boxes and metal garbage-can lids overwhelmed a police force firing live ammunition. There were many casualties, but the citizens prevailed. This was one of those historic moments that leave a lasting imprint on a society's collective memory.

How could such a thing happen? Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics offers a fitting metaphor. According to Heisenberg, subatomic phenomena can manifest themselves as particles or waves; similarly, human beings may alternate between behaving as individual particles or as components of a larger wave. In other words, the unpredictability of historical events like those in Ukraine has to do with an element of uncertainty in human identity.

People's identity is made up of individual elements and elements of larger units to which they belong, and peoples' impact on reality depends on which elements dominate their behaviour. When civilians launched a suicidal attack on an armed force in Kiev on 20 February, their sense of representing "the nation" far outweighed their concern with their individual mortality. The result was to swing a deeply divided society from the verge of civil war to an unprecedented sense of unity.

Whether that unity endures will depend on how Europe responds. Ukrainians have demonstrated their allegiance to a European Union that is itself hopelessly divided, with the euro crisis pitting creditor and debtor countries against one another. That is why the EU was hopelessly outmanoeuvered by Russia in the negotiations with Ukraine over an Association Agreement.

True to form, the EU under German leadership offered far too little and demanded far too much from Ukraine. Now, after the Ukrainian people's commitment to closer ties with Europe fuelled a successful popular insurrection, the EU, along with the International Monetary Fund, is putting together a multibillion-dollar rescue package to save the country from financial collapse. But that will not be sufficient to sustain the national unity that Ukraine will need in the coming years.

I established the Renaissance Foundation in Ukraine in 1990 – before the country achieved independence. The foundation did not participate in the recent uprising, but it did serve as a defender of those targeted by official repression. The foundation is now ready to support Ukrainians' strongly felt desire to establish resilient democratic institutions (above all, an independent and professional judiciary). But Ukraine will need outside assistance that only the EU can provide: management expertise and access to markets.

In the remarkable transformation of Central Europe's economies in the 1990s, management expertise and market access resulted from massive investments by German and other EU-based companies, which integrated local producers into their global value chains. Ukraine, with its high-quality human capital and diversified economy, is a potentially attractive investment destination. But realizing this potential requires improving the business climate across the economy as a whole and within individual sectors – particularly by addressing the endemic corruption and weak rule of law that are deterring foreign and domestic investors alike.

In addition to encouraging foreign direct investment, the EU could provide support to train local companies' managers and help them develop their business strategies, with service providers remunerated by equity stakes or profit-sharing. An effective way to roll out such support to a large number of companies would be to combine it with credit lines provided by commercial banks. To encourage participation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could invest in companies alongside foreign and local investors, as it did in Central Europe.

Ukraine would thus open its domestic market to goods manufactured or assembled by European companies' wholly- or partly-owned subsidiaries, while the EU would increase market access for Ukrainian companies and help them integrate into global markets.

I hope and trust that Europe under German leadership will rise to the occasion. I have been arguing for several years that Germany should accept the responsibilities and liabilities of its dominant position in Europe. Today, Ukraine needs a modern-day equivalent of the Marshall Plan, by which the United States helped to reconstruct Europe after the second world war. Germany ought to play the same role today as the US did then.

I must, however, end with a word of caution. The Marshall Plan did not include the Soviet bloc, thereby reinforcing the Cold War division of Europe. A replay of the Cold War would cause immense damage to both Russia and Europe, and most of all to Ukraine, which is situated between them. Ukraine depends on Russian gas, and it needs access to European markets for its products; it must have good relations with both sides.

Here, too, Germany should take the lead. Chancellor Angela Merkel must reach out to President Vladimir Putin to ensure that Russia is a partner, not an opponent, in the Ukrainian renaissance.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2014.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2014/feb/27/ukraine-eu-expertise-markets-george-soros

[The Natural]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/author/paul-craig-roberts/

koo koo

"Reality is simply too much for mentally and emotionally weak people who are capable of holding on to their delusions in the face of all evidence to the contrary. The masses of deluded people and the total inability of Washington, wallowing it its hubris, to admit a mistake, mean that Washington’s destabilization of Ukraine is a problem for us all."

- Paul Craig Roberts

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following.

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/

Radio interview on February 25, 2014:

Paul Craig Roberts Connects the Dots on the Ukrainian Revolution:

http://www.corbettreport.com/interview-829-paul-craig-roberts-connects-the-dots-on-the-ukrainian-revolution/

[Noch1]

Paul Roberts is also consider by many a first class nut case, most of this appointments were several years ago.
I have read a bit of his stuff, I would want a lot more than his words, before i believed it all.

[justme100]

Interior Minister considers happening "as an armed invasion and occupation in violation of all international treaties and norms.

aha, exactly the same they did in Kiev several days ago.So, why such a surprised face now?)Or they hold sole property rights on the methods like this?

[Brillynt]

aha, exactly the same they did in Kiev several days ago.So, why such a surprised face now?)Or they hold sole property rights on the methods like this?

Exactly right. 

[justme100]

Polite helicopters of polite defence from murderers of new "goverment".

[JayH]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MR0B-ay4PzI

[JayH]

Agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the parameters of the Black Sea Fleet division: Article 2 1. The main base of Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol is located. 2. On the main base of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia placed its headquarters and other controls, as well as military units, enterprises, organizations and institutions of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Article 3 1. Russian Black Sea Fleet also uses the following items and locations of deployment: 31 test center with appropriate facilities maintenance, airfield Guards with real security; military sanatorium "Yalta" - in Yalta, 830 th post called ' Communication and retransmission in Yalta and 1001 point-and high-frequency communications in the village of Sudak coastal area, the order is determined by the use of a separate agreement between the defense ministries of the Parties; 2436-composition and propellant station Mamut. In me, can byt Problems Co Vision? Where there Ukromnoe ili Simferopol? Agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the status and conditions of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine: Article 6 1. The military units operating in areas of deployment in accordance with the law, respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, observe its laws and shall not intervene in the internal affairs of Ukraine. ARTICLE 12 1. Tools Vehicles Russian Black Sea Fleet must have a registration number and a clear sign. Use for service vehicles number plates Ukraine is not allowed. 3. Moving and lifting heavy machinery Russian Black Sea Fleet, including tracked vehicles, beyond the agreed routes carried by rail or on trailers. proanalyzyrovala And Me Only one news, posmotryte site of Crimea SOS Excellent For example: - the entrance to the Crimea from Ukraine blocked the soldiers Sevastopol "Berkut" is same way with Rada of the ARC and the airport. questions there?

LATER\

Espreso.TV broadcast Yanukovych's press conference in Rostov-on-Don.
It will begin at 15:00 http://espreso.tv/new/2014/02/28/​espresotv_tra.. #Янукович #Євромайдан #Евромайдан #Україна #Украина

[justme100]

This moment in Sevastopol-Vladimir Jirinovskiy"They have Maydan and Russia have Magadan"(c)lol

[justme100]

the entrance to the Crimea from Ukraine blocked the soldiers Sevastopol "Berkut" is same way with Rada of the ARC and the airport. questions there?

you upgrade very slowly. Forgot to mention border guard service is also blocked up to this moment by RF. They will translate a little bit later I believe:)

[justme100]

questions there?

Vova has no questions at all. He already said "Who?nooooo, it was not me [size=78%]"[/size]

[fathertime]

With respect, I disagree.  If we keep out, we have essentially abandoned our allies to the mercy of our enemies.  I am a man who stands by my friends.  I suspect you are too.  IMHO, we should see this through.

War is coming to Ukraine.  The West must have a strategy to counter Putin's moves.  Do we have one?  My guess is no we do not.  The eyes of the world are on Ukraine.  Does the Nobel Peace prize committee call "take backs"?

Hey LT, it's cool...I'd like to hear the argument that we (the US) need to intervene.  I don't see Russia as an enemy. , .. It seems to me that the govt was elected and they could have been unelected next election cycle.   I'd like to hear your points.


Thanks,
Fathertime! 

[ghost of moon goddess]

"Who?nooooo, it was not me ]

''It was me!'', put in Vlad.

[Muzh]

Ultimately, the Russian fleet is moving.  But it will keep portions of the fleet in place with the deal signed in Kharkov until 2042.   (I even spelled it Kharkov - instead of Kharkiv, just for you, justme!)

My assessment of Krim remains the same. 

I do mark this moment in time, though, to say what folly the current Russian stance is.  The cities of Donetsk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, have not made any moves to secede.  There is a standing Ukrainian army of 182,000. 

To come out in support of Yanukovych when the whole remaining country seems to be against him is not a smooth move.  I think Russia should take a little Ex Lax and not be so quick to give a platform for Yanukonvict to speak.  I dislike Tymoshenko and Yanukovyct equally.  But I also believe that the entire country is up in arms against the latter and Russia would score hugely by not supporting him. 

If there is one thing that can polarize Ukraine, it is support of a man who repeatedly has raped the country of its resources.

Excellent analysis.
 
Keep in mind that there is the Budapest Memorandum still hanging over Putin's head. Oh, BTW. He finally said something, like, Ukraine needs some money, blah, blah, blah.
 
Back to Hungary, The US, Russia, England and France agreed to forever respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and to abstain from the use or threat of force against Ukraine, to support Ukraine where an attempt is made to place pressure on it by economic coercion, and to bring any incident of aggression by a nuclear power before the UN Security Council. Wiki
 
With that said, Russia is VIOLATING the terms of the agreement which puts it periliously close to being 'persuaded' to desist, per their OWN agreement.
 
THIS, Fathertime, is why we do NOT STFU. That is, unless you are the type of person who welches on your word.
 
What say you?
 
Personally, I hate the idea of the US sending troops there. The US should work laboriously with the Ukrainian authorities to find a non-violent resolution. In addition, ignore the ignorant rants from provocateurs and secure their territorial integrity by proposing an all-inclusive government.
 
Finally, any Russian who incites sedition should be deported. No questions asked.

[Muzh]

You'll have to forgive Roy here as he is not familiar with our homemade propaganda.

[Muzh]

Уважаемый Президент Российской Федерации Владимир Владимирович Путин. : Мы - этнические русские и русскоязычные Украины - не нуждаемся в защите
 
 Почему это важно Мы - этнические русские и русскоязычные граждане Украины - не нуждаемся в защите наших интересов другими государствами. Мы благодарим вас за поддержку, однако, хотим донести до вас информацию о том, что нас никто и никогда не ущемлял на территории Украины. Мы всегда жили свободно и счастливо, разговаривая на привычном нам языке. В школах мы также изучали и государственный язык Украины и владеем им настолько хорошо, что чувствуем себя комфортно в украиноязычной среде. Потому, при всем уважении к вашей заботе, мы просим вас не поднимать на государственном уровне Российской Федерации внутренний вопрос нашей страны, который не является для нас острым. Тем более вводить войска для урегулирования возможно видимого вами, но не видимого нами, конфликта. Благодарим вас за понимание. С УВАЖЕНИЕМ, РУССКИЕ И РУССКОЯЗЫЧНЫЕ ГРАЖДАНЕ УКРАИНЫ.
 
AVAAZ.org

[Chelseaboy]

justme100 & Brillynt,

                                  You claim the Russians are doing exactly as the protestors did in Kiev.

Did I miss something ?

Have Kiev protestors invaded part of Russia and blocked entrance to one of the Russian regions ?

[Noch1]

justme100 & Brillynt,

                                  You claim the Russians are doing exactly as the protestors did in Kiev.

Did I miss something ?

Have Kiev protestors invaded part of Russia and blocked entrance to one of the Russian regions ?

Correct and not doing what they did in Kiev, Ukrainians stayed in their own country to do it.