RUSSIA-The Future 2015 & on

[Muzh]

WW2.  The Japs captured and almost killed his brother and my great Uncle dog fought Nap Zeroes.

No, no. How about 80 years prior to that?

[Faux Pas]

Yeah, I've seen Obama eliminate sanctions on Cuba and threaten to veto legislation if Congress votes to impose more sanctions on Iran should nuclear talks fail. I've seen our friends in the Middle East frustrated with Obama's lack of interest in pursuing ISIS hard. Obama is weak and the world knows it.

So what is it going to be, stand tall up to the world and sport his unimpressive hard-on or expect the mousey do nothing president that he is? What do you think is going to happen?

You're lost in a fantasy world. Obama isn't going to amass a war machine in Ukraine to fight Russia nor is he going to threaten that he is. All of your spouting off on blogs isn't going to change that one invariable factoid

[AC]

This is so funny. Just yesterday I was explaining to my little son that brawns are not always that powerful. I then told him of the old saw The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword and what it means.


Do you want me to explain it to you too?

Nah.  Send the story to V. Putin.  I'm sure he will be very impressed.   

[lordtiberius]

No, no. How about 80 years prior to that?

No one in my direct line fought for either side.  My great great grandfather Clinton. Was a cobbler in Leighton, Pennsylvania.  Other branches indirect fought for the South.  My mother's side lived in Cebu apart of the Spanish Empire.

[lordtiberius]

So what is it going to be, stand tall up to the world and sport his unimpressive hard-on or expect the mousey do nothing president that he is? What do you think is going to happen?

You're lost in a fantasy world. Obama isn't going to amass a war machine in Ukraine to fight Russia nor is he going to threaten that he is. All of your spouting off on blogs isn't going to change that one invariable factoid

Agree to a point.  A failure to defend Ukraine is a failure for Obama and his "diplomatic" team.  Billy's blogging here as yours shapes the information war.  We know how important that can be as evident in the Ruble exchange rate.

[JayH]

Some of you here( and the world in general) think that it is not appropriate to assist Ukraine-- to me that is a huge mistake.
Russian disinformation has been created to confuse and mask the Russian agenda-- but over time the issues become clear.
Ukrainians made huge sacrifices and too considerable risk to seek a better future for their country and lives-- and stood up to a totalitarian regime of Russian puppets to try and create that new direction.The world should be helping these people-- not ignoring them.
Russia wants it their way-Ukrainians have made it clear--they do not want it a Russian way and as a sovereign state-it is their right to decide--not have Russia impose it's will by invading and sending terrorists into Ukraine.

NOTE

Lavrov: Russia to Push Ukraine Agenda Until Bitter End

Russia is determined to play a leading role in the new multipolar world that the United States relentlessly opposes and will not give up on Ukraine until a desirable outcome is reached, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists during an annual news conference Wednesday.

Moscow wants to see Ukraine transformed into a federal state, offering autonomy to the restive regions in the country's east, said Lavrov, who has taken center stage in international diplomacy during the last year.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/lavrov-russia-to-push-ukraine-agenda-until-bitter-end/514730.html

[jone]

I think it is absolutely right to help Ukraine.  I just feel that the help should come from Europe.  The EU countries are both strong enough and have enough skin in the game that they should step forward as a group to 'get it done'.

[JayH]

I think it is absolutely right to help Ukraine.  I just feel that the help should come from Europe.  The EU countries are both strong enough and have enough skin in the game that they should step forward as a group to 'get it done'.

No doubt the  EU countries should get involved-- that includes Nato!   Either way-the US needs and is needed to assist. As the most powerful military - as an important leader of "free & democratic" countries -- and in it's own best interests!
Right now-- given the right assistance Ukraine can defend itself and spearhead the push back of Russia's threatening behaviour.
Do it now--or a much larger problem will arise later. Isis is a problem now-- Russia is already hooking up with Iran again and likely to do anything that can disrupt the civilised world- connect the dots and it is not a pretty picture.
Obama and his US administration chose to try and let sanctions bring Russia into line-- and to some extent they are working-the problem right now is they are not going to work fast enough to stop Putin.
To defeat Russia( ie-remove them from at least eastern Ukraine)  would be the catalyst to change in Russia--I did not say reform ! Obviously that is desirable--but too much to expect in the short term.
The key to any upping of the ante by the western nations is not doing it half heartedly--Putin is counting on that-- and all his bluster and bs about the US was designed to coral US politics on Ukraine--the west needs to go straight to maximum position.
The method-- say one thing and get on with doing--not talking and announcing intentions-- send this Russian scum back to Russia in body bags and send a clear message to Putin his bs is over.
The civilised world needs US help!

[AC]

I think it is absolutely right to help Ukraine.  I just feel that the help should come from Europe.  The EU countries are both strong enough and have enough skin in the game that they should step forward as a group to 'get it done'.

It won't get done and if you're as smart as I think you are, you already know this.  It requires US leadership and there is none right now.  By the time there is some real leadership emanating out of WA DC half of Ukraine will likely be under Putin's control (early 2017).
 
The EU cannot do it alone it requires NATO and NATO is powerless without US involvement.

[Gator]

Sounds like a long winded explanation to tell us that your wife does not cook very often.

WRONG!  Reads what you wish, but she cooks very well and frequently, never following a written recipe.

[calmissile]

No doubt the  EU countries should get involved-- that includes Nato!   Either way-the US needs and is needed to assist. As the most powerful military - as an important leader of "free & democratic" countries -- and in it's own best interests!
Right now-- given the right assistance Ukraine can defend itself and spearhead the push back of Russia's threatening behaviour.
Do it now--or a much larger problem will arise later. Isis is a problem now-- Russia is already hooking up with Iran again and likely to do anything that can disrupt the civilised world- connect the dots and it is not a pretty picture.
Obama and his US administration chose to try and let sanctions bring Russia into line-- and to some extent they are working-the problem right now is they are not going to work fast enough to stop Putin.
To defeat Russia( ie-remove them from at least eastern Ukraine)  would be the catalyst to change in Russia--I did not say reform ! Obviously that is desirable--but too much to expect in the short term.
The key to any upping of the ante by the western nations is not doing it half heartedly--Putin is counting on that-- and all his bluster and bs about the US was designed to coral US politics on Ukraine--the west needs to go straight to maximum position.
The method-- say one thing and get on with doing--not talking and announcing intentions-- send this Russian scum back to Russia in body bags and send a clear message to Putin his bs is over.
The civilised world needs US help!

Agree, however if Europe does not get their head out of their ass Ukraine is going to fall.  We have two more unfortunate years of a Democrat president and short of a revolution, Obama is not going to send the kind of military equipment necessary to push back Putin.  Obama does have ONE legitimate excuse..... It's on the European Continent.   If the Europeans are too gutless to assist Ukraine, then the US is not going to waste lives and tax money to save Europe from an expansionist Russia.

The only hope I see for Ukraine is if Europe wakes up and provides massive amounts of military hardware and training to Ukraine.  Only then, do I think Obama will join the party.

[AC]

WRONG!  Reads what you wish, but she cooks very well and frequently, never following a written recipe.

Happy hour again?   

[BillyB]

You're lost in a fantasy world. Obama isn't going to amass a war machine in Ukraine to fight Russia nor is he going to threaten that he is.

Faux Pas, you're lost in a fantasy world. Need to fine tune those reading comprehension skills. All I've been saying the last few weeks is that the West and Obama are weak, Ukraine will be lost to Russia, and Putin will have the last laugh since they don't have the balls to do more.

[JayH]

Samantha Power ‏@AmbassadorPower  6 hrs6 hours ago
It is time to pull the veil away from #Putin’s peace plan & call it for what it is: a Russian occupation plan. #Ukraine.

Russia's new peace proposal for Ukraine is 'occupation plan'-U.S.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's new peace proposal for Ukraine is little more than a blueprint for military occupation to secure territory seized by Moscow-backed rebels, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Wednesday.

"The plan would seek to legitimize territorial gains made by separatists in September as well as Russian personnel and equipment on the territory of Ukraine," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the U.N. Security Council.

"Let us pull the veil away from Putin's peace plan and call it for what it is - a Russian occupation plan," she said during a special meeting of the 15-member body on Ukraine.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-2920694/Russias-new-peace-proposal-Ukraine-occupation-plan-U-S.html

[JayH]

It seems to me that there are calls to help Ukraine.

The Post's View
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should cause much more than a hiccup in relations

EUROPEAN FOREIGN ministers met Monday to consider proposals for resuming diplomatic contacts and cooperation with Russia in a range of areas — a strategy pressed by several governments that wish to paper over the breach opened by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Unfortunately for the doves, the discussion came just as Russian forces, after several weeks of relative calm, launched a new offensive in eastern Ukraine.

By Tuesday, the Ukrainian government and the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine were reporting that fresh Russian army units were crossing the border and attacking Ukrainian positions north of the city of Luhansk and at the Donetsk airport. “The situation,” European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told us shortly after arriving in Washington, “is not going in the right direction.” Appropriately, the European ministers concluded there were no grounds for altering the existing sanctions on Russia, some of which will come up for renewal at a summit meeting in March — and the plan for detente came under heavy criticism.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/russias-new-invasion-of-ukraine-should-lead-the-west-to-reassess-its-strategy/2015/01/21/4c146368-a0de-11e4-903f-9f2faf7cd9fe_story.html

[Gator]

I'm pretty sure you frequent Ybor City.


BTW, bit of trivia. What Spanish possession was the first one occupied by the American army during the Spanish-American War?

I did not know the answer but assumed it was Puerto Rico.   In reading about the occupation, it seems that Puerto Rican leaders wanted the US to intervene, grant the island its independence and leave as we did in Cuba and eventually the Philippines.  That's another story for another day.

[lordtiberius]

Russians in the terminal and Motorola is alive:
Новый терминал донецкого аэропорта под контролем …:

[JayH]

Ukraine asks Russia via OSCE why 50,000 Russian troops are near its border

Ukraine on Monday asked the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to relay to Moscow a request for an explanation as to why more than 50,000 combat-ready Russian troops have been deployed near the Ukrainian-Russian border, a Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

According to the information of the competent authorities in Ukraine, Russia has deployed over 50,000 Russian troops in full combat readiness along the Ukrainian-Russian state border, as well as positioned arms and military equipment in close proximity to Ukrainian territory" Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yevgeniy Perebiynis said.




Read more on UNIAN: http://www.unian.info/society/1034535-ukraine-asks-russia-via-osce-why-50000-russian-troops-are-near-its-border.html

[lordtiberius]

And where are our peace makers?

[lordtiberius]

For FT and his portfolio:
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-22/russia-stocks-jump-to-2011-high-as-ecb-bets-boost-risk-appetite.html?hootPostID=66e30e4512ef69b2b1a248d0a95c3af7

Russia Stocks Jump Most in World as ECB Bets Boost Risk Appetite

[jone]

For FT and his portfolio:
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-22/russia-stocks-jump-to-2011-high-as-ecb-bets-boost-risk-appetite.html?hootPostID=66e30e4512ef69b2b1a248d0a95c3af7

Russia Stocks Jump Most in World as ECB Bets Boost Risk Appetite

If you read the article carefully, it does not, in any way, present a rosy picture.  The only good thing said is that the Ruble seems to have stabilized with only a 6.2% loss this month!    Talk about putting lipstick on a pig!

I should mention that the lipstick is probably beetroot.

[lordtiberius]

Is Putin winning or losing?

[Muzh]

I did not know the answer but assumed it was Puerto Rico.   In reading about the occupation, it seems that Puerto Rican leaders wanted the US to intervene, grant the island its independence and leave as we did in Cuba and eventually the Philippines.  That's another story for another day.

Actually, it was Ybor City.


Another factoid, the American Marines landed in land owned by my great-grandfather.

[Muzh]

If you read the article carefully, it does not, in any way, present a rosy picture.  The only good thing said is that the Ruble seems to have stabilized with only a 6.2% loss this month!    Talk about putting lipstick on a pig!

Funny, this morning I read that the investors reaction to the ECB was "Meh."

[Faux Pas]

Faux Pas, you're lost in a fantasy world. Need to fine tune those reading comprehension skills. All I've been saying the last few weeks is that the West and Obama are weak, Ukraine will be lost to Russia, and Putin will have the last laugh since they don't have the balls to do more.

No Billyb, I don't read all you've written on the endless call to war threads. In fact, I don't read most of them but the one your wrote here speaks for itself. If Ukraine hinges on the West and leadership from Obama, it's already over with and no amount of chest pounding by you on RWD is going to change that