ok what the fuck is happening in ukraine

A couple of U.S. import facilities have, since the shale gas revolution and collapse of the US market price, gone bankrupt, reorganized converted to LNG export. But throughput is only a tiny fraction of what Europe gets from Russia.

One bright side of this Ukraine kerfluffle is that Europe may take alternative energy megaprojects like Desertec more seriously, going forward.

^ U.S. LNG import facilites.

* kneels before the powers that be, begs for post editing, no matter how limited *

like that?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26729273

New Kyiv government looks to be moving against elements within Pravy Sektor that haven't accepted their authority. The Russian media is painting it as an assassination but the official government line looks fairly plausible.

give em hell, harry

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/harry-reid-gop-may-have-helped-russia-annex-crimea

Heh, "regional power", cold:

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-obama-russia-just-a-regional-power-20140325,0,5427785.story#axzz2wzsqrOky

accurate as well

Um, Syria. Moscow has intervened where the West fears to tread.

Russia has a smaller population than Bangladesh. Its still punching above its weight, globally speaking.

poor bangladesh :(

Russia is nearly twice as big as the second biggest country in the world. It's still punching below it's potential weight in the exploitation of natural resources. Part of the push behind Crimea, and in a way, part of the anxiety about the emergence of a mainstream gay culture, relates back to its diminishing population, though. There's a feeling on the right, real or imagined, that Russia is dying and needs a substantial population boost to keep heading in the right direction.

Punching below its weight in tech too.

yeah russian birth rates are pretty low, aren't they? what they really need is a good "fuck for your country" campaign

They had that and it didn't work!

"Mother Russia is watching you... fuck"

Um, Syria. Moscow has intervened where the West fears to tread.

what are you, john mccain? is iran a global power also? moscow has intervened where the west is too smart to tread. it represents no existential threat, short term or long term, to the united states. i still think there are ways to exploit its recent anxiety and bellicosity. encourage corruption in its economy and centrality of fossil fuels, foster a brain drain, depress the overall economy in a way that bolsters the oligarchy, make their source of power open to disruption, hollow them out from the inside. some combination of engagement and containment, combined w/ the base logic and focus of capitalism. bleed them.

Nah. I'm just familiar with the history of Sevastopol. 220,000 Russians died defending it in 1854-55 against the French and English, and around 20,000 Russians died defending it from the Germans in 1941–42. Crimea is as central to Russian history as Chickamauga or Chancellorsville are to American history. Plus, I think in an era with trade pacts and permanent supranational governance like the EU, multi-national states like the Austro-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Yugoslavia, Sudan or Ukraine are a bit of an atavism. Let the Crimeans decide which band of crooks they want to cozy up with, including "none of the above".

Gazprom Proposes Oil, Gas Development in Crimea (Of course they do)

encourage corruption in its economy and centrality of fossil fuels

lol tough ask

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/03/russias-revenge-why-west-will-never-understand-kremlin

That article is not really making the point the standfirst suggest btw, or at least it's not the main point.

i didn't read the article so it could be that this isn't as ridiculous as it appears (but i doubt it):

http://i58.tinypic.com/2hnni3l.png

i've read posner before, he's pretty awful.

Tymoshenko has officially entered the race to be President.

The big news is the IMF bailout, though: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/27/imf-agrees-bailout-ukraine-deal

The initial amount will be $18bn (roughly half of what was initially requested) but this might increase when governments chip in. This is contingent on austerity measures that will dramatically reduce the quality (and probably the length) of life of huge numbers of people. Domestic energy will go up by 50% overnight and it's expected that pensions will be cut in half. The figure of $80 a month has been mentioned in a few places.

I would expect most of the bailout money to go to Gazprom and to a handful of European banks that were daft enough to lend to Ukraine when Tymoshenko and Yanukovich were making the right free-market noises. I'm not sure it's nearly enough, though. The banking sector in Ukraine is a total shambles. Take the metro in Kyiv and you'll see hundreds of adverts for small banks offering interest rates of 15 / 20 percent p.a on accounts holding USD or gold - which is completely ludicrous. A run on those banks would bring down the whole system.

lol was just thinking what Ukraine needed was a sharp dose of austerity, they've had it 2 easy for 2 long good job every1

Austerity puts a smile on everyone's face. It's worked so well so far.

Pankaj Mishra is sensible as usual:

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-03-31/ukraine-isn-t-worth-another-cold-war

http://i57.tinypic.com/dmcp54.png

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/04/04/us/20140405_PAINTINGS-slide-YMR8/20140405_PAINTINGS-slide-YMR8-blog427.jpg

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bf85LONIcAAI_L7.png

Bush's portrait of Putin looks like one of Vic Reeves' paitings

Lots of strange things happening in wake of Muzychko killing.

Last week Pravy Sektor's HQ was raided by police and, in a separate incident on the same day, one of their members shot and wounded three people including a local Kyiv politician.

http://www.rferl.mobi/a/kyiv-shooting-/25316373.html

Today the body of journalist and Svoboda member Vasily Sergiyenko, who was kidnapped on Friday, was found buried in woodland.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/06/ukrainian-journalist-vasily-sergiyenko-body-found

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/04/06/ukraine_pro_russian_demonstrators_storm_government_buildings_in_donetsk.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26919928

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Nothing but civilians in those pictures, that's for sure, yessirreebob.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/04/07/protesters_seize_government_buildings_in_eastern_ukraine_is_this_a_prelude.html

Protesters in Ukraine’s East Call On Putin to Send Troops

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/04/07/the-less-americans-know-about-ukraines-location-the-more-they-want-u-s-to-intervene/

It sounds like the SBU has taken back most of the buildings the protesters had occupied, including the SBU's own headquarters in Donetsk, but the big occupations of local parliament buildings in Donetsk and Lugansk are continuing.

The Communist party leader in the Rada accused the government of playing into Russia's hands with the use of paramilitary tactics - which two members of Svoboda took exception to. They attacked him, leading to a mass brawl inside parliament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26933905

good luck ukraine

Viewing the Ukraine Crisis From Russia’s Perspective

i don't remember anyone in the US comparing arafat to hitler - any idea what the author is referring to?

Assistant Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee Richard Perle did.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/world/europe/satellites-show-russia-mobilizing-near-ukraine-nato-says.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/world/europe/satellites-show-russia-mobilizing-near-ukraine-nato-says.html
--Mordy <img src="/s.png">

is this situation in East Ukraine Anschluss by espionage/agent provocateur shit of does the population actually want to separate from Russia?

is this situation in East Ukraine Anschluss by espionage/agent provocateur shit of does the population actually want to separate from Russia?
--art

*or does

A proportion will want to unite with Russia, certainly enough to draw crowds in the tens of thousands in protests / demonstrations, but they aren't necessarily representative of the majority. Crimea was different, as it had a long history of being part of Russia and a recent history of autonomy from the rest of Ukraine. Eastern Ukraine is Ukraine, even if the majority is Russian-speaking. There are more ethnic Ukrainians than there are in Crimea. That said, Yanukovich was even more popular there than in Crimea so sympathy with the idea of close ties, if not unification, will be almost universal.

It's Ukraine's industrial base and most jobs are reliant on good relations / trade with Russia.

Ethnic Russians under forty or so do born in Ukraine tend to consider themselves to be Ukrainians generally, and that is a point that is often missed. My sarcastic comment after the picture posted above was intended to indicate that hell yeah I'm pretty sure there is ap action at work. Look at those guys -- they stink of swine.

well this sounds really familiar:

Armed Men Seize Police Station in Eastern Ukraine City

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/world/europe/ukraine.html?hp&_r=0

Ukraine Asks U.N. for Peacekeeping Troops as Militants Defy Deadline

Lots of interesting commentary from George Soros in this interview. A few highlights:

Soros: The oligarchs who control much of the Russian economy don’t have any confidence in the regime. They send their children and money abroad. That is what makes the economy so weak. Even with oil over $100 a barrel, which is the minimum Russia needs to balance its budget, it is not growing. Putin turned aggressive out of weakness. He is acting in self-defense. He has no scruples, he can be ruthless, but he is a judo expert, not a sadist—so the economic weakness and the aggressive behavior are entirely self-consistent...

Putin woefully misjudged the situation. Last autumn he had no difficulty in outmaneuvering the European Union, which was hamstrung by its internal political and financial problems. Under German leadership it offered too little and demanded too much. Putin could easily offer a better deal to Ukrainian President Yanukovych. But the Ukrainian people rebelled, upsetting the calculations of both sides.

The rebellion wounded Putin in his Achilles heel. The idea of a spontaneous rebellion simply did not enter into his calculations. In his view the world is ruled by power and those in power can easily manipulate public opinion. Failure to control the people is a sign of weakness...

Schmitz: What should the Western powers do?

Soros: They should focus on strengthening Ukraine rather than on punishing Russia. They cannot prevent or reverse the annexation of Crimea. They are bound to protest it of course because it violates the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 that guaranteed the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, but they are not in a position to oppose it by military means. Even sanctions ought to be used sparingly in order to preserve them as a deterrent against the real danger, namely of direct military or economic assault on Ukraine. Russian forces have already occupied a gas plant in Ukraine supplying Crimea and may take more territory unless they are stopped.

Fortunately economic sanctions would be a potent deterrent provided they are used judiciously. Freezing the foreign assets of Russian oligarchs is the opposite of smart sanctions. Oligarchs sending their profits and their children abroad weaken the Russian economy. Until now capital flight was more or less offset by foreign direct investment. Effective sanctions would discourage the inflow of funds, whether in the form of direct investments or bank loans. Moreover, the US could release oil from its strategic reserve and allow its sale abroad. That could put the Russian economy into deficit. The Russian economy is fragile enough to be vulnerable to smart sanctions.

The whole thing is here:
http://www.georgesoros.com/articles-essays/entry/the_future_of_europe_an_interview_with_george_soros/