Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall Dedication Ceremony will take place at 10:00 AM at the National Infantry Museum on the Vietnam Memorial Plazalocated alongside Heritage Walk. The featuring guest speaker is COL. (Retired)) Jack Jacobs, Vietnam Medal of Honor recipient.
The Memorial features the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall, which is a 3/4-scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. For 23 years, the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall has traveled throughout our country to make the Wall experience real for those who had not had the opportunity to see the original Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C. And like the Wall in Washington, more than 58,000 names of patriots who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country are etched on it. Construction has begun at the museum to feature this Wall as part of the Vietnam Memorial Plaza. The plaza will be located alongside Heritage Walk, a walkway where thousands of pavers have been dedicated to honor Americas brave Veterans and patriots.
#1
There's Arlington, about which no superlative is sufficient.
There's the Benning School for Boys, aka Chattahoochee High.
Wandering around there, hearing the old names, "Sand Hill", "Harmony Church", Tower Field, "champagne Ninth", words you heard from guys long gone who saw the elephant in wars long forgotten except by those trying to forget....
Different from Arlington, but just as heavy.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
03/03/2014 19:37 Comments ||
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#2
Lots of changes RA. The White House and cables are gone. Thursday night is no longer beef burgundy night at the Club. The 'White Elephants' need a paint job. The 'I-Bar' is quiet. Bldg 4 is unrecognizable, and Olson Hall and the BOQ's will hand over their mission to a massive 800+ room hotel later this year. Progress I suppose, but something is missing. I can't put my finger on it, but something is missing.
#3
Besoeker.
Jan of 70, a buddy and I had what I thought was a nice little room in the student officer quarters while at Jump School. Good-sized room, refrigerator, full bath, desks. I presume it was air-conditioned. We hung out with a couple of guys from the Royal Thai army, who'd finished Ranger School. Neither had a profile, either, unlike some of their fellow Ranger grads.
Good times, making allowances that, in the military, such definitions are not always congruent with generally-accepted usage.
So what replaces beef and burgundy? Vegan quiche?
Went to the club when at Scott AFB medical holding, and found the B&B. Somebody sent the APs for us, who were very polite. Same thing happened the first night at Dix. MPs had a bus ready. Then the second night, my buddy's uniform had been inexplicably locked up and the ward master couldn't find the key.
Must say I wasn't there for a combat injury. Not like the rest of the guys. Felt about one inch tall.
How do you explain "good times" when, sometimes, you can't even speak?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
03/03/2014 20:15 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Two Libyan politicians on trial over a cartoon said to be offensive to Islam on Sunday had charges that could have led to the death penalty dismissed, their lawyer said.
"The court gave its verdict. It decided on a dismissal of the three main charges" which carried a possible death penalty in the case of a conviction, lawyer Abdelmajid al-Mayet said.
Ali Tekbali and Fathi Saguer of the Libyan National Party were instead fined for "inciting discord among Libyans", their lawyer said, adding that he would appeal the ruling.
The men were accused of the "promotion and possession of... drawings insulting to Islam and the prophet" after they used a cartoon published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on a party poster during the 2012 legislative election campaign.
The cartoon showed a group of men discussing the role of women in society, and Tekbali and Saguer said they had found the picture showing a bearded man without knowing that it depicted the Prophet Mohammed.
"The cartoon caused an uproar because, unintentionally, it featured the same character used to depict the Prophet Mohammed in an anti-Islamic comic published by... Charlie Hebdo. However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... the Libyan poster made no reference to Islam or the Prophet Mohammed," Amnesia Amnesty International said on Thursday.
Before the verdict, the London-based rights watchdog had called "for the charges against them to be dropped immediately."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Pix of Mo get the pious upset,
Be they tintypes or just silhouettes
I still use 'em, you bet,
But I never forget
To add "Ceci n'est pas un Prophète!"
#2
At Alhambra, the ingenious Escher
Was inspired by its artistic treasure,
So he drew you-know-who
In a circular queue,
With each taking the prior one's measure.
As the architects chased round and round,
They all held up their thumbs and they frowned.
As they circled, each drew
A cartoon of his view
On the rump of his prior, ungowned.
Though this vision's not strictly Islamic,
Still the portraits aren't physiognomic,
So let's bow to the genius
Who created this seamless
Allegorical tail-chasing comic!
[Dhaka Tribune] The government will take action against madrasas if they do not perform the national anthem and hoist the national flag.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday told parliament that the allegation that madrasas were not showing respect to the two symbols of nationality was partly true.
"If proved, necessary action will be taken against such madrasas," he said in response to a question raised by Awami League MP Kamal Ahmed Majumdar.
Kamal also alleged that many madrasas usually taught their students to stand against the Awami League and the spirit of the Liberation War.
"The Awami League is a party established by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and led the Liberation War of the county. If any madrasa teaches something against the Awami League, action will be taken, if proved," Nahid said.
Refuting allegations of question paper leak in public examinations, the minister claimed that a vested interest group was trying to spread rumour.
"No specific allegation of leak was found regarding SSC and HSC examinations. We will take action based on specific allegations," Nahid said answering Awami League MP Habibur Rahman Mollah.
In response to another question from AKM Jahangir Hossain, the minister said there were 1,519 Ebtedayee madrasas which get allowance from the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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Perhaps they should have held on to them: Hundreds of rusting tanks abandoned in secret Ukrainian depot unveiled as Russia's armoured vehicles line its streets.
There are more than 400 abandoned tanks at the plant in a secret, heavily guarded depot in the town of Kharkiv. The depot is in the Slobozhanshchyna region of eastern Ukraine - just 20 miles from the border with Russia
Photographer Pavel Itkin, 18, was able to sneak into the heavily monitored site without being spotted by guards. He spent two hours walking around the barely-used repair centre taking photographs of old tanks and engines Incredible pics at site
#1
And this is possibly how the shooting begins. At 0259, the ukranian navy should open up with everything it has aimed at the Russian warships, then abandon ship
#3
> Russian Officios are denying the ultimatum.
> Even iff true, many Ukrainian forces are warning that they will not surrender their arms per the ultimatum, + that they will militarily resist.
IMO, given the fragile state of the Russian economy, IMO its not in Putin's interest to formally annex the Crimea - He = Russia is better off converting the Crimea into Russia's version of Cuba's "GITMO" on the Black Sea, where Russia can stay indefinitely at its discretion in PCorrect treaty "leasehold" + Russia-n-only-Russia has sole authority over the region or enclave.
IMO again, the larger story here is really Obama's poten weakness as US POTUS, World + Western #1 Leader being displayed openly by Putin before the World.
#4
Please also keep in mind that Mama Russia = Putin has strategic interests in being able to deploy military forces rapidly to the various regions = sovereign nations surrounding the Black Sea.
> Ukraine's historical importance to Russia, Germany, + East Europe as an agricultural Breadbasket [read, FOOD].
> Rising Iran , + Iran-desired Pan-Iranian Union.
> NATO Ally + Russian trading partner Turkey under intense internal pressure from Radical Islam, + Turkey-desired Pan-Turkic Union.
> End run to the militant-troubled Caucasus agz Count Dooku's Hard/Bad Boyz.
> Eastern Europe.
> Mediterraean naval, trade access vee Dardanelles.
Lest we fergit, RISING IRAN = AKA GLOBALIST-DESIRED OWG GLOBAL CO-SUPERPOWER IRAN. DITTO AS PER RISING CHINA - Mama Russia is also well-aware of Rising China's nuclear security pact wid Ukraine - despite any rhetroici ot the contray, Russia does NOT want any potent Chinese presence or influence anywhere near its sphere or periphery.
* FYI CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [Daily Beast] US SPIES SAY RUSSIA WON'T INVADE UKRAINE.
Russia's forces in Crimea at this time lack the proper level of forces support e.g. not enough combat medics + field resupply.
While Russia flexes its military might at its Black Sea naval base in Crimea, Moscow has another weapon that it has wielded against Ukraine in the past: natural gas supplies.
Russia provides more than half of Ukraine's natural-gas needs and since 2006 has twice curtailed supplies in disputes over politics, price and late payments. Those supply cuts rattled countries across Europe that depend on the Russian pipelines that run through Ukraine.
But changes in the global trade in natural gas have blunted Moscow's weapon, forcing the Russian pipeline monopoly Gazprom to cut prices worldwide and giving Ukraine slightly more bargaining power.
The boom in U.S. shale gas has left gas-exporting countries shopping for other customers. Europe, as it adds terminals to handle liquefied natural gas, will be able to offset its own declining production with supplies from countries such as Qatar. And in 2012, Norway's Statoil sold more gas to other European nations than Russia's Gazprom.
"Since the Russian supply cuts in 2006 and 2009, the tables have totally turned," said Anders Aslund, a fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics who has advised Russia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.
As clunky Soviet-era factories and mines have become more efficient or gone out of business, Ukraine's domestic gas consumption has dropped nearly 40 percent over the past five years, cutting its imports from Russia in half, according to a report by Sberbank Investment Research. This may not be good news. A country's energy consumption is a yardstick of its economic health and this may explain how Ukraine is a basket case.
In past years, Russia tied its natural gas prices to crude oil prices, but as gas supplies grew more plentiful and crude oil prices soared, customers picked up their marbles and went elsewhere resisted. In 2012, many European industrial users and power plants switched to coal, and Russia agreed to renegotiate. The link between gas and oil prices has been severed for about half of Russia's gas sales. Gazprom also agreed to eliminate contract clauses that said a country such as Germany could reship Russian gas only with Gazprom's approval.
As a result, Ukraine ended up paying more than Gazprom's customers in Germany.
President Barack Obama needs to look "two or three moves out" as he weighs his response to Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula, which Moscow is unlikely to soon reverse, Obama's former defense secretary, Robert Gates, said on Sunday. Personally, I'd be shocked if he looked even one move out.
Gates, a Russia expert and former CIA chief, portrayed a difficult path for Obama in which European allies may "huff and puff" but fail to match rhetoric with strong action and where Russian President Vladimir Putin feels he has the upper hand.
"From Putin's standpoint, he's in the catbird seat. He's put himself in a position where we need him in terms of the Syrian chemical (weapons) deal. We need him in terms of the Iranian nuclear program," Gates, who served as defense secretary from 2006 to 2011, said in a telephone interview with Reuters.
"We need the Russians in terms of getting our (military) equipment out of Afghanistan."
Gates is known for his straight talk, including in a new memoir where he criticized Congress and accused Obama, at one point, of not believing in his own Afghan war strategy.
In his book, Gates described Putin as a man of Russia's past, "haunted by lost empire, lost glory and lost power."
Asked how he would advise Obama in the crisis in Ukraine, Gates pointed to lessons from Russia's war with Georgia in 2008, when he said Washington wanted to react with more forceful economic and political measures than EU allies did.
"We ran the risk of being the ones who would be isolated because we favored a much more aggressive response than any of our (European) allies did," said Gates, who was President George W. Bush's defense secretary at the time.
"So that's one of the things the president's got to look out for."
Indeed, the European Union is not expected to match the United States in threatening sanctions against Russia when its foreign ministers meet to discuss Ukraine on Monday, instead pushing for mediation between Moscow and Kiev, officials say.
Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically after Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbor.
Russia is the EU's most important trading partner after the United States and China, with 123 billion euros ($170 billion) of goods exported there in 2012. It is also the EU's most important single supplier of energy products, accounting for more than a quarter of all EU consumption of oil and gas.
Gates said Obama also needed to be mindful of his rhetoric in the days ahead, noting that "the stronger the rhetoric, the greater expectation of strong action - even if it's limited (to) the political and economic arena."
If Obama moves ahead with any punitive actions like sanctions, it is important to consider what it would take to reverse any of them down the road. Obama must consider whether Moscow would need to take some step or make some gesture first.
"The challenge is to look two or three moves out and see: If you do this, what will they do? ... And will you have any allies or supporters when you do this?" he said.
The standoff in Ukraine has created the greatest moment of tension between Russia and the West since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, an event Putin once called the worst geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.
Gates did not specifically prescribe any course of action. He said he did not see Putin backing down on Crimea and that the question was whether Moscow might look to eastern Ukraine.
"That's sort of the next shoe. And the question is whether Putin stops where he is with the Crimea or whether the Russians take the next step and 'liberate' eastern Ukraine," he said.
#1
"From Putin's standpoint, he's in the catbird seat. He's put himself in a position where we need him in terms of the Syrian chemical (weapons) deal. We need him in terms of the Iranian nuclear program," Gates, who served as defense secretary from 2006 to 2011, said in a telephone interview with Reuters.
"We need the Russians in terms of getting our (military) equipment out of Afghanistan."
Not to mention Euro natural gas. The Russian has no 'foreign aid' program per se. Everything comes with a price. Pay now, or pay later.
#3
My advice to Obama.... have someone on your staff do a little primer [1000 words or less, owing to your attention span] on what Russians actually think of swart people. No need to go into Russian KGB training frustrations of visiting African Nationalists in the 1970's and 80's, just keep it simple, very basic, and racially honest.
#6
Whoa big daddy. Betrayal is a bit of a strong word. I rather consider the President is embarassed at this turn of events. I would venture that a series of arrangements was made which encompassed a global idea of Ukraine's future linked with other outcomes. The details were simply left out.
#7
Spot on, reference the lack of "details!" [If you like your Ukraine, you can keep your Ukraine.] He's always been a... broad brush type, and embarrassment can easily follow betrayal. I suspect Vlad has him by the knaters over Benghazi and a few other incidents, but it's only my guess.
#8
BTY, which files from Snowden's laptops would the Champ rather not have Vlad leak to the NYT or Fox News? Forget Snowden, Vlad could always release the Tsarnaev Bros. cable traffic and warnings to US Intelligence, or a few salient facts regarding Benghazi. You pick the poison, he's compromised and he'll do nothing but bitch and moan.
#11
He cannot understand how a fellow communist would betray him.
He missed the footnotes - see rift Moscow-Beijing. 'Internationialism' is preached by those in power and their useful idiots to keep the gullible in step. However in the end 'nationalism' wills out in the socialists model in application. That's not usually covered in the syllabus in the 'victim studies' programs in academia.
#15
Two or three moves out? Putin's looking at least half dozen moves out but Champ is still trying to figure out checkers. I think this little event in history is all over. Honestly, I'm not all that worked up about it either. The Crimea has changed hands what...about a hundred times in the past few centuries? And really, what do we care? Wake me up when Vlad moves on Poland. I'm guessing he won't but Crimea is clearly a part of what most Russians would consider their sphere of influence. It's certainly not ours.
What's disturbing to me is Gates saying we "need" Putin for Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. How did such a state of affairs ever come to be? Somebody is attempting to play a game in which they are way in the heck out of their league. IMHO, Obama is the most dangerous man in the world simply because he doesn't have the first frickin' clue.
#16
The basis for this was set in motion over a year ago. The Obama administration was warned about this in 2009, proof is in the wiki leaks cables, look online to find them, can't post here because it's classified date (I did but it was deleted)
#22
I was thinking Millard Filmore, the 13th President of the United States, the last Whig President, and the last President not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. He is consistently included in the bottom 10 of historical rankings of Presidents of the United States.
#23
Crimea isn't the issue. It should never have been left with Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
The issue is what happens to Russian majority areas of Ukraine, and I don't see this ending until this issue is resolved, and everyone is setting it up to be resolved by force.
#25
"Crimea isn't the issue. It should never have been left with Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union."
I keep seeing this comment in various forms, and I keep wondering what on earth it has to do with one sovereign nation invading another. Are you trying to suggest that the Crimea was Russia's all along, so Putin is justified in taking it back by force? Do you really want to open that can of worms?
#29
The Crimea was historically Russian after it was taken from the Ottomans. It only became part of the Ukraine province after Stalin put it there and when the Soviet Union broke up it just followed the province.
So it can be argued the Russians are just taking it and their people back... but invading a sovereign nation isn't exactly how the west sees things as being done.
The Ukraine was pretty much destined for a partition anyway, but it could have been handled diplomatically. Or it would have been if Putin didn't see Obumbmle as the completely spineless whimp he is and knows he can get a better deal by taking what he wants by force.
..Sheesh - Lurch sounds like he thinks he is a representative to The United Federation of Planets..nice of David Gregory to put it on the tee for him however..
#3
I think the term Foreign Policy implies there is actually a policy in play. This seems more like "we'll figure it out as we go" - or as some lie to call it, Play time.
#4
Kerry needs to hit the Susan Rice Sunday talk shows with his message. Somehow, past administration policy decisions must be integrated and ultimately held responsible. We urgently need a new diversion. North Korea, China, someone.... DO SOMETHING !
"Those responsible will be hunted down and brought to justice." No, no, no, I don't care if it was pre-approved by the Russian SVR, delete it. We need something new.
#6
The folks in the clique currently ruling the USA are not nationalist or even internationalist. You see this in the NSA, CIA, IRS, Obamacare etc.. being used to support allied cliques and destroy all others. This is the behavior of TRIBALIST! So Obama and Kerry can't conceive of a national policy as they only live as members of a tribal leadership. All they relate to is tribe.
#7
There seems to be no strategic planning in Washington. In fact, there seems to be no planning with regards to anything. Anything that is done is reactionary. Washington is a disaster zone under this bunch of apparatchiks.
Yep all that matters to the democratics is remaining in power that is the extent of their vision. What happens in the Ukraine, Syria, Libya, or Iraq is of no consequence to them as long as they remain in power.
Kerry is making Neville Chamberlain look like Winston Churchill and Obama is making Jimmy Carter look like Eisenhower.
Speaking of Eisenhower, I kinda miss the days when the Russians were afraid of us...is there a way to clone John Foster Dulles?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/03/2014 13:15 Comments ||
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#10
I hope the people in St Lawrence Island are not run over by the Russians.....I worked in Gambell and Savoonga there in the late 90s. O admin challenged geography could be problematic.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/03/2014 15:19 Comments ||
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#11
It's not that complicated and despite what his ego thinks, Obama is not the deciding factor here. Russia has a strategic interest in the Crimea. (hint: naval bases, Black Sea => the Med) The Russians will respond to even a chance of a threat to their strategic interests.
As for world opinion:
The World: Your inappropriate actions invite the opprobrium of the world.
Putin: Your mamas.
#12
If I were a citizen of Saint Lawrence IslandSaint Pierre and Miquelon*, I might be getting a little nervous.. After all the Russian Navy has been looking for bases to use as a ports for defense.
The truth is our foreign policy is the weakest in the western world...see French, see Poland, even the freaking Italians are tougher than we are.
Saturday it was Crimea, next weekend Saint Pierre and Miquelon... Putin is on a roll...
*Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near Canada. It is the only remnant of the former colonial empire of New France that remains under French control, with a population of 6,080 at the January 2011 census.
#15
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by the Ukrainians ...
* IIRC FREEREPUBLIC > DISGRUNTLED/DISAPPOINTED SYRIANS WARN UKRAINIANS NOT TO SEEK US HELP.
SYRIANS = UKRAINIANS = JAPAN, PHIL, VIETNAM, ASEAN, INDIA ... ... VEE RISING CHINA???
As per the MSM-Net, the GOP-Right is saying that Putin's arrogance or belligerence in the Crimea stems from the Bammer's original failure to get rid of Baby Assad in Syria + to stop ChemWar attacks by Assad or Islamists agz ordinary Syrians.
Ditto more not-good-news for China-desired Guam-WESTPAC Region, + Hawaii?, moreso given ...
* DRUDGEREPORT > CHINA DEPLOYS NEW INTERMEDIATE -RANGE BALLISTIC MISSLE [IRBM = DF-26C]CAPABLE OF ATTACKING US FORCES ON GUAM \ [Washington Free Beacon] CINA DEPLOYS NEW INTERMEDIATE-RANGE NUCLEAR MISSLE.
#16
Admit I did not read the comments above mine. My take is that the Crimea/ Black Sea is to Russia as is the Panama Cannel/ Caribbean to the USA- Strategic Position takes all. We would never give up the cannel. Yeah I know our carriers cannot transit, but we will keep or take back control in a heartbeat.
[Dhaka Tribune] Ukraine mobilised for war yesterday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically, after President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... declared he had the right to invade his neighbour, creating Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War.
"This is not a threat: this is actually the declaration of war to my country," Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, head of a pro-Western government that took power when Russian ally Viktor Yanukovich fled last week, said.
Putin obtained permission from his parliament on Saturday to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine, spurning Western pleas not to intervene.
Russian forces have already bloodlessly seized Crimea - an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base. They surrounded several small Ukrainian military outposts there and demanded the Ukrainian troops disarm. Some refused, leading to standoffs, although no shots were fired.
Russia has staged war games with 150,000 troops along the land border, but so far they have not crossed. However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... pro-Russian demonstrators have marched in the east of the country and have raised Russian flags over government buildings in several cities, in what Kiev says is a move orchestrated by Moscow to justify a wider invasion.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Just a little different than Iraq in Kuwait, eh?
#2
Actually it is the exact same as Georgia, where Russia conducted mirroring exercises of over 8,000 prior to invading. Of course they did not have an active naval base in the the country proper. But it looks like the same play book on a larger scale.
[An Nahar] Russia launched an all-out propaganda campaign Sunday to whip up support for possible military action in Ukraine, as state media and ruling party officials claimed armed marauders were terrorizing the ex-Soviet nation.
This is actually phase II. The Russians launched phase I during Sochi.
Kremlin-controlled media launched a full-scale operation with footage aimed at discrediting the new Kiev authorities and rousing anger at alleged outrages perpetrated against the Russian-speaking population.
"Our propaganda on state channels is really running wild," commented former economy minister Andrei Nechayev on Twitter.
Fanning suspicions of international involvement in the Kiev protests, news channel Russia 24 aired an apparent confession from a young Russian who claimed he was paid to serve as a sniper with opposition forces.
"There are mercenaries there... they come from very different countries: the United States and Germany, they come wearing identical military uniforms," he alleged.
He said he feared violent reprisals for his revelations, alleging that the protest leaders in Kiev would "just put people in a cellar and kill them".
Named only as Vladislav, he was filmed being grilled by Sherlocks after being caught in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine.
A Russia 24 anchor added a warning that "mercenaries are now going to Crimea. Their aims are clear enough: to provoke a new wave of the crisis and rob people on the sly".
The same channel interviewed the governor of the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, Yevgeny Savchenko, who warned that "crowds of armed people" were on the move and on Saturday tried to block a highway to Crimea.
Russian news agencies also issued simultaneous reports that Ukrainian armed forces were deserting en masse and going over to the side of the breakaway Crimean authorities.
The reports were first attributed to correspondents, and then to the region's self-proclaimed prime minister.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
This is not only second phase, it is lopsided, hook line and sinker. Just one week ago Russian media was expressing surprise at the lack of uprising and demonstartions in the Crimea over the ousting of Yanukovich. Notice the protests came after military assets moved into Crimea. On FSN commentators are talking about "Crimean fears of persecution" by the new Ukranian goverment. Seriously, who would threaten a cub when the mama bear is nearby? Finally, the tone and overall language of most print media is heavily Russia biased. Sochi envy or something more menacing? You decied.
#5
This started over a year ago in the Russian media, demonizing western oriented people as "fascists", and "right wing extremists". If anyone was paying attention, it's all there, just like the pretexting Putin did in Georgia. And our lapdog press runs it, uncritically, direct from the authoritarian mouthpieces. And you, dear public, are once again "knowing" a great many things that simply are not so. Not misinformed, but deliberately mal-informed.
[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... bluntly warned Russia Sunday that it risked losing its seat among the prestigious Group of Eight nations, as well as economic turmoil and sanctions, over the Ukraine crisis.
The top U.S. diplomat hit the Sunday talk shows to ratchet up pressure on Moscow, after he convened a crisis conference call with European and Canadian foreign ministers and President Barack Obama My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it... held a 90-minute phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... Saturday.
Washington and its G8 allies were prepared to slap sanctions on Moscow, Kerry said Sunday, warning of damage to billions of dollars in trade and investment in Russia, as well as possible visa bans and moves by American businesses to quit the country.
Sending troops into Ukraine's southern Crimea region, which has historically had strong ties to Russia, was a "19th century act in the 21st century," Kerry told ABC's "This Week."
Kiev's interim leaders warned Sunday their country stood on the brink of disaster, and called up military reservists after the Russian parliament voted to allow Putin to send in troops to its western neighbor.
Putin "is not going have a Sochi G8, he may not even remain in the G8 if this continues. He may find himself with asset freezes on Russian business, American business may pull back, there may be a further tumble of the ruble," Kerry warned on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Britannia, and La Belle France have already pulled out of preparatory meetings for the G8, and, along with the U.S. and Canada, have threatened to boycott the June summit.
"Russia chose this brazen act of aggression and moved in its forces on a completely trumped up set of pretexts," Kerry told CBS's "Face the Nation."
"If Russia wants to be a G8 country, it needs to behave like a G8 country."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Be a shame when 6 of the G8 suddenly get their oil shut off.
#2
Threatened a boycott? ROFL. How's about we start to play like big kids and have the summit without Russia. I would also propose bringing Russia's UN seat on the SC into question, start talking about the Kuril's, move immeadiatly to offer the exisitng Ukranian Government as well as Georgia and Armenia official NATO pathways, propose a trans-Atlantic bailout (only 15 billion, please), start chugging some support ships toward the Black Sea, openly discourage Russia's new basing and port rights for Rights and sink the F@#$%$#@ ship sitting in Cuba right now! That's day one.
#3
Boot them out now. Let them know actions have consequences. And we have plenty of NatGas here, enough to export to Europe. if the government and enviros would just get the hell out of the way of production, this would knock the wheels off Putins money wagon.
#4
See also INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > [Hindustan Times] [US, Western Powers]WILL GO TO THE HILT TO ISOLATE [punish?] RUSSIA: JOHN KERRY.
and
* RELATED DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > WILL GO TO THE HILT AGZ RUSSIA OVER UKRAINE, US SAYS - TIMES OF INDIA.
VERSUS
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > THERE IS A COST TO PAY FOR THE INVASION OF UKRAINE, SAYS OBAMA, BUT THE BEAR [Russia = Putin] IGNORES IT | [Marc Alexander] PUTIN'S WAR, NOT OBAMA'S.
* FREEREPUBLIC > [BreitBart] FIVE REASONS PUTIN THINKS HE CAN OUTPLAY OBAMA.
FREEP Blogger says or argues ...
1. Because he [Putin] can.
2. Because he can.
3. Because he can.
4. Because he can.
5. Because he can.
* TOPIX > WHY DID RUSSIA INVADE UKRAINE? BECAUSE THE WEST [read, USA = Obama] IS WEAK.
Thus once again proving that the OWG Globies are playing or walking a very dangerous geopol tripwire that could poten threaten the very existence of the US-West as we know it, or as they the Globies hoped it would be.
To paraph an old adage, THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MAN + GOVTS-DIPLOMATS, WAR + POLITICS, MUST FIRST SURVIVE THE FIRST DEADLY BULLET(S) BEING FIRED AT SAME.
* SAME > [Christian Science Monitor] IS UKRAINE CRISIS PROOF THAT OBAMA'S "LEAD FROM BEHIND" POLICY HAS FAILED?
"Nyekulturni, that's what it is. Somebody ought to tell him so, too."
[BREITBART] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... complained on Sunday's edition of NBC News' Meet the Press that Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... was playing by "19th century" rules, not 21st century norms, in his invasion of the Ukranian region of Crimea.
Insisting that "President Putin is not operating from a place of strength here," Kerry lashed out:
You just don't in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pre-text, It is serious in terms of sort of the modern manner with which nations are going to resolve problems. There are all kinds of other options still available to Russia. There still are. President B.O. wants to emphasize to the Russians that there are a right set of choices that can still be made to address any concerns they have about Crimea, about their citizens, but you don't choose to invade a country in order to do that.
Meet the Press host David Gregory pressed Kerry about why the B.O. regime did not acknowledge that Russia had invaded the Ukraine on Friday. Kerry did not answer, seemingly incredulous that Russia had ignored contemporary norms.
The trouble is that a "19 century" invasion is still more potent than a 21st century debate. Kerry dodged questions about military options, noting that NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... had issued a "strong statement."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Personally, I think the choices fall along the lines of either:
#2
Hey Jaaaawhn - one side is playing 19th century chess and the other 21st century checkers. You're so flipping smart - you figure which is which.
"strong statement" = WTF do we do now?
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
03/03/2014 7:48 Comments ||
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#3
Well Billy, at least we know where the Klingon and NSA strategic Indications and Warnings [I&W] effort is NOT focused. Perhaps we should begin there.
#4
I think we've been basically blind in Russia/FSU since Ames/Hansen. Nobody is going risk working for us. We need HUMIT and doubt we have it. Tech stuff can only go so far and Russkies are good at TSCM and OPSEC. We're flat out being schooled by Vlad.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
03/03/2014 8:02 Comments ||
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#5
Champ sees USCITS as his threat, not the Russians. His collection efforts are focused internally. He could give a fok what goes on in the Israel, Syria, North Korea, Iran, Ukraine or Crimea. I doubt he could point to the Ukraine on a map with a 5 iron.
#10
At this site, discover the people who conduct diplomacy, the places where the Department of State engages in diplomacy, ... Diplomacy is Building Bridges.
Sums up J F Kerry in his role as Chief Diplomat... a bridge to nowhere
#11
Well considering the world has been playing by those rules since the stone age and we tried to pretend that they didn't apply anymore... little wonder we are now in the position of Putin having us by our short and curlies.
#12
Kerry Complains Putin Plays By '19th Century' Rules
Terrible it is that academia did away with (19th Century et al) history and replaced it with 'victim studies'. Otherwise, you might actually understand the 'Rules'.
#13
Since everyone knows this behavior is as old as the fellow who was tired of eating lizards and came across a weaker fellow with a garden.
So why throw out 19th century Jawn? Totally forget WWI and WWII? 21st Century is less than 15 years along and there are plenty of examples...like trying to put US Troops in Syria. Hell, Obama campaigned on taking the resources of others forcably and distributing the spoils among his allies.
Jawn, are you making a reference to the mid 19th century Allied Army vs. Russia on accident or on purpose?
Long article at Yahoo that I edited heavily to the key bits.
Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine warned Sunday it was on the brink of disaster and called up military reservists after Russia's threat to invade its Western-leaning neighbour risked sparking the worst crisis since the Cold War.
Ukraine's new Western-backed Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk -- in power for just a week following the overthrow of a pro-Russian regime -- also warned that any invasion "would mean war and the end of all relations between the two countries."
"We are on the brink of a disaster," Yatsenyuk told the nation of 46 million in a televised address.
Pro-Moscow gunmen who are widely believed to be acting under Kremlin orders intensified their control Sunday over large swathes of a strategic peninsula that has housed Russian navies since the 18th century. Witnesses said Russian soldiers had moved out of their bases and blocked about 400 Ukrainian marines in the eastern port city of Feodosiya. AFP reporters saw a similar presence of troops outside a Ukrainian military installation near the Crimean capital Simferopol and other locations.
But the biggest blow to the new Kiev leaders came when Ukrainian Navy Commander Denis Berezovsky announced a day after his appointment that he was switching allegiance to the pro-Russian authorities in Crimea after gunmen surrounded his building and cut off its electricity.
Crimea's pro-Kremlin government chief Sergiy Aksyonov -- installed in power Thursday after an armed raid on the region's government building and not recognised by Kiev -- immediately named Berezovsky as head of the peninsula's own independent navy.
Fears of Russia's first invasion of a neighbour since a brief 2008 confrontation with Georgia prompted the largely untested interim team in Kiev to put its military on full combat alert and announce the call-up of all reservists.
The vast country on the eastern edge of Europe would face a David-and-Goliath struggle should the conflict escalate. Russia's army of 845,000 soldiers could easily overwhelm Ukraine's force of 130,000 -- half of them conscripts.
Putin said it was his duty to protect ethnic Russians in Crimea and southeastern swathes of Ukraine that have ancient ties to Moscow and look on Kiev's new pro-EU leaders with disdain. Russian officials also argued they had no need to ask the UN Security Council for permission -- as Putin had demanded for any Western action in Syria -- because the wellbeing of their own citizens was at stake.
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Russia during urgent talks in Brussels that its movement of troops "threatens peace and security in Europe."
German Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke ominously of preventing "a new division of Europe" while France and Britain called for negotiations between Moscow and Kiev -- either directly or through the United Nations.
What's to negotiate: "What's mine is mine, now let's talk about what you get to keep"?
Pro-Kremlin sentiments in Crimea remained in evidence Sunday amid a sea of Russian flags.
"Crimea is Russia," one elderly lady told AFP in front of a statue of Soviet founder Lenin that dominates a square next to the occupied parliament building in the regional capital Simferopol.
The mood in Kiev was radically different as about 50,000 people massed on Independence Square -- the crucible of both the latest wave of demonstrations and the 2004 Orange Revolution that first nudged Kiev on a westward path -- in protest at Putin's latest threat.
"We will not surrender," the huge crowd chanted under grey skies.
Ukraine's prime minister had assured the nation Saturday he was "convinced" Russia would not launch an offensive because Moscow realised it would put an end to relations between two neighbours with centuries of shared history.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
There is a lot going on here that the average American is not going to understand. Historically, Crimea is not an ally of Ukraine, in fact, they were enemies for centuries. Catherine the Great built the first Russian port in Sebastopol in the 18th century. Sebastopol is as important to the Russian navy today as Pearl Harbor was to the US in the 1940's.
The current "government" of Ukraine, such as it is, is extremely anti-Russian and there have been noises from some sectors of wanting to join NATO. Russia is not going to allow Crimea to become part of NATO. Russia is not going to risk a repeat of the Crimean War situation of the middle 1800's.
As long as Kiev will respect the autonomy of Crimea, things will probably be ok, otherwise, if Kiev attempts to "Ukranian-ize" Crimea, there will be trouble and there isn't much Ukraine or anyone else is going to do about it. Crimea will always be in the Russian orbit.
#2
Ukraine is the game, Crimea is the excuse. Have a look at the map of pipeline routes that tranist Ukraine into Europe. The opening is set, soon the middle game will begin. Russia will not risk direct military conflict on an "inavsion" type scale. They need to seize what they can quickly then hold and wait for winter and remind European politicians who really controls the thermostat. Then Europe will turn a deaf ear to Ukranian cries, press will be excluded as in Georgia. It will be Russia freeing Ukraine from the Fascists or maybe a "stabilizing regime" to ensure warm bottoms in gay Paris. The spice must flow. He who controls the spice, controls the universe. Prophetic, almost.
#9
Croosppatch. There are no historical relationship between Crimea and Ukraine. Uhraine has not been an independent country since the Rus of Kiev that fell to the Mongol hordes. Later it was disputed between Poland, Russai and the Turks. About Crimea when it was invaded by Tsarist Russia it was ruled by the Tatars. I don't know who toiled in the fields, tatars or ukranian slaves but I can definitely tell you that there was nothing called Ukraine and the Ukranians didn't rule over Crimea. The only reason Crimea has been part of Ukraine was because the latter inherited the boundaries arbitrarily set by the Tsars and Stalin.
It is a myth that a group of baboons is called a "Congress." There was a political email chain that circulated a few years ago that made this claim. A "congress" can be a meeting or session of any group. However, according to most scientific-related sites, a group of baboons is actually called a Troop.
Russian Troops have been in Crimea going on 3 days now.
#12
It will ultimately depend on what Crimeans want. They aren't going to sit well with the edicts coming out from the thugs currently running Kiev such as trying to ban the Russian language in a majority ethnic Russian autonomous republic.
If Kiev respects Crimea's autonomy and allows the Crimeans to make their own choices, there will not likely be any major loss of life. If Kiev attempts to usurp Crimean autonomy and make it more directly subordinate to Kiev, there will likely be a war, Kiev will lose, and there isn't much anyone else is going to do about it.
It all comes down to whether or not Kiev respects Crimea's status as an autonomous republic or not. If they try to ignore that autonomy, all bets are off.
#13
This particular issue needs to be looked at in the historical context of Crimea and Russia and in context with the strategic importance of Sevastopol to Russia. This is less a "Ukraine" issue and more a "Crimea" issue and really needs to be kept in that context. My personal opinion is that Russia is protecting herself strategically and really has little interest beyond Crimea but would be prepared to go farther if Kiev challenges Russia strategic interests with regard to Sevastopol and the surrounding Crimean Republic.
#17
By the way "crosspatch", the real "thugs in Kiev" were the Russian authoritarian gangsters who looted the country and got chased out. Ah, but you knew that.
Your phasing is straight from Russian propaganda as is your ethnic justification of an invasion by an authoritarian nationalistic socialist Fuhrer Putin; As Aesop said an ass is always given away by his bray. Care to take off your mask, gospodin Donkey?
[An Nahar] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodogan called Sunday on Moslemholy man Fethullah Gulen, a onetime ally who has become a bitter foe, to stop meddling in the country's politics.
"I was naive. I used my best endeavors to support him," Erdogan told party loyalists at an election rally, referring to Gulen, who lives in exile in the United States.
Erdogan has blamed Gulen and his supporters in Turkey of launching a major corruption probe targeting key members of his inner circle that has shaken his government to the core ahead of key elections on March 30.
At the rally in the southwestern city of Isparta, Erdogan accused Gulen of interfering in Turkish politics and urged him to return to the country.
"Two years ago I asked him to return to Turkey. He did not. I ask him again. If you're honest and sincere, stop stirring up this country," he said.
The Gulen movement was a key backer of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) when it first came to power in 2002.
The two came together to tame the influence of Turkey's once-powerful military which staged three coups since 1960 as the self-declared guardians of the secular state.
But the alliance shattered after December police raids which saw which dozens of Erdogan's key business and political allies detained on allegations of bribery in construction projects, gold smuggling and illicit trade with Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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Mike Rogers responds to Chris Wallace at Fox News Sunday. Presented for entertainment and for clarity:
CHRIS WALLACE: Let's sort of talk big picture. How do you think President Obama has been handling relations with Russia versus how Vladimir Putin has been handling relations with the United States?
HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN MIKE ROGERS (R-MI): Well, I think Putin is playing chess, and I think we're playing marbles. And I don't think it's even close. If you look at the nuclear negotiations, we got our fannies handed to us. They took tactical nukes out of the equation. Huge mistake, especially for our allies in the Baltics. When you move down the list in Syria, the Russians got everything that they needed, they believe they needed in Syria. And so they've been running circles around us, and I think it's really the naive position on the National Security Council and the president's advisors that if we just keep giving things to Russia, they'll finally wake up and say, boy, the United States isn't all that bad. That is completely missing the motivations of why Russia does what Russia does. And, again, they have an interest in expanding their buffer zones by influence -- I don't think by Russian occupation -- but by influence in cases like the Crimea, I think Moldova next, and other places that it's in their interest to continue to push out that buffer zone. And, by the way, the big one that started this was the absolute retreat on our missile defense system in Poland and Czechoslovakia. It caused huge problems for our allies and emboldened the Russians, and it really has been a downhill slide.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Whatever game Obama is playing, is it really reasonable to presume that he is playing it on God Damn America's side?
#2
I think Obama's definition of what America will be differs from my definition of what America is. Perhaps we are seeing the exercise of "flexibility" he spoke of in Russia previously.
#3
Then there is that fraction of the US population, scarcely aware of what state Columbus, Ohio, is the capital of, whose notion of America hinges on an consistent and endlessly increasing supply of benefits.
The few thousand Americans not completely distracted by tweeting the content of their breakfasts or shooting naked selfies or texting behind the wheel yea, even the gallant minority not mentally colonized by the slave-masters of Silicon Valley must wonder what the heck happened in the streets of Kiev last week.
#10
One thing I always loved about America, even the people who hate her want to live here. Envy my man, envy is as green as the dollar. God bless America and God damn her enemies, foreign and domestic. These colors don't run baby.
#2
Japan will figure it out, and when they do it will push back the limits of the possible. This will advance the state of the art for the entire industry.
#1
This had been ongoing for a while. The Catholic Bishop of the missionaries (Capuchin priests) in New Guinea has seen this happen. The Muslims want to control the entire island, and are arming tribes and fomenting warfare there for years. Yet the west ignores it.
[An Nahar] Iran will not be able to keep up forever its ban on legal access to Internet hubs such as Facebook, which has four million Iranian users, Culture Minister Ali Janati said Sunday.
Such remarks by an Iranian official would have been unimaginable before President Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate, took office in August with a vow for more freedom.
"Four million Iranians are on Facebook, and we have restricted it," said Janati.
"We cannot restrict the advance of (such technology) under the pretext of protecting Islamic values," said the minister.
Access to the popular social networking site -- along with others which Iranian authorities regard as un-Islamic, immoral or undermining the Islamic establishment -- is obstructed by a massive filtering mechanism.
But tech-savvy Iranians have resorted to measures, known as anti-filters, to circumvent the restrictions.
Janati drew a parallel with a ban on fax machines and video tapes and players imposed the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"If we look back, we see many of the actions we took after the revolution were ridiculous."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
[BREITBART] Secretary of State 
[An Nahar] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodogan called Sunday on 
