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Merged Ukraine erupts in riots and general strike.

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He sees support where there is none. (Just like you saw punishment where there was none and Cleon saw "dropping flies" where there where none).

My free market fundi phase was more in the german mold which emphasizes free competition over free enterprise. (I also think that the austrian school would more accurately be named habsburg school, since it was basically an attempt by Otto Habsburg to find a way to get his property back (aka Austria))

The situation in the Ukraine at this point is hard to judge. A lot of information comes via Kiev and we have seen what they think about national television reporting on the fact that putin said words. (And that they think that that would be a good thing to put online)

But there are some things that are pretty clear:
As far as peaceful protests go the kiev protests where pretty bloody.
As far as invasions go the Crimea invasion was pretty unbloody.
The ukrainian military seems not very motivated. (I read a story about an incident in which the Ukrainian navy was unable to defend themselves against the russians because they where attacked with searchlights)
Liz Wahl resigning was yet again trolling by kirchick, and Abby Martin stole their thunder, which makes me smile.
 
crescent said:
This article seems to encapsulate the attitude of some on the far left:



This strikes me as very, very patronizing.

Poland and the Baltic republics have a history of being repeatedly invaded and occupied by Russia. They have chosen themselves to become members of NATO, because they felt that was their best bet to prevent a repeat. They are democratic, they chose this. It not a process of colonization or imperialism, it is the self interest of the Poles and the Baltic states.
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That whole article shows an astonishing lack of self-awareness about the things it's saying. Like this, for instance, handewaving away the images of soldiers and tanks on the streets of Crimea's capital, then turning right around and admiringly quoting Putin's speech about how "Our Western partners, led by the United States of America, prefer not to be guided by international law in their practical policies, but by the rule of the gun."

Or saying (and I can almost see the article writer rolling his eyes), near the top of the article

You are reading of the “defiant” Putin — this mess gets more ad hominem by the day — of a disrupted post-Cold War stability and “a new, more dangerous era,” of Russian anger and ressentiment (Secretary of State Kerry), of “this dark period” that may or may not last as long as the Cold War itself (Michael McFaul, a former ambassador to Moscow), and “nothing more than a land grab” (the inimitable Joe Biden, who “swept into Poland and the Baltics Tuesday.” Can you beat this phrasing?).
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and then, near the end of the article, saying

[Putin] also declared that he has no interest in going further into Ukraine. I take this to be so, at least for now;
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Or mocking the impotence of NATO by saying that Poland and the Baltic nations aren't going to get any help from their NATO allies in one paragraph, right after another paragraph accusing the US of being provocative towards Putin by flying military jet patrols along the borders between Russia and the US' NATO ally nations and planning Black Sea naval maneuvers and military exercises in Ukraine itself!

And, despite his unconvincing denials, the article's author does some serious fawning over Putin, writing (with a completely straight face!) "[Putin] gives a good accounting of his own view of the relevant history, whether one takes it or leaves it, and an interesting take on the demonstrators in Kiev, with whom he was not out of sympathy until the complexion of the movement changed."

Wow, just wow.
 
crescent said:
This article seems to encapsulate the attitude of some on the far left:



This strikes me as very, very patronizing.

Poland and the Baltic republics have a history of being repeatedly invaded and occupied by Russia. They have chosen themselves to become members of NATO, because they felt that was their best bet to prevent a repeat. They are democratic, they chose this. It not a process of colonization or imperialism, it is the self interest of the Poles and the Baltic states.
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After reading that article, I think that Stephan Cohen has some competition as being Putin's biggest mouthpiece from academicia.
 
A'isha said:
Or mocking the impotence of NATO by saying that Poland and the Baltic nations aren't going to get any help from their NATO allies in one paragraph, right after another paragraph accusing the US of being provocative towards Putin by flying military jet patrols along the borders between Russia and the US' NATO ally nations
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He even mentions American/NATO jets patrolling the border between Romania and Russia.

Hint: There is no Russia/Romania border. At its closest, Romania and Russia are about 200 km apart, and that is only if you count Crimea as part of Russia. Without Crimea, the closest border is some 500 or 600 km away. Bit of a geography fail there.
 
crescent said:
He even mentions American/NATO jets patrolling the border between Romania and Russia.

Hint: There is no Russia/Romania border. At its closest, Romania and Russia are about 200 km apart, and that is only if you count Crimea as part of Russia. Without Crimea, the closest border is some 500 or 600 km away. Bit of a geography fail there.
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Hah, I missed that. I also see he mentioned "the Polish and Romanian borders with Russia" that the jets are patrolling. Poland doesn't have any borders with Russia, either...its Eastern borders are with Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine!
 
A'isha said:
...its Eastern borders are with Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine!
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Also known as Western Russia.

A'isha, it's really simple - you just need to search your heart and mind for truth and justice. If you do that then you will know that those peoples hate living under the yoke of Western Imperialism, and long for the days of living in a Tsardom.
 
A'isha said:
Hah, I missed that. I also see he mentioned "the Polish and Romanian borders with Russia" that the jets are patrolling. Poland doesn't have any borders with Russia, either...its Eastern borders are with Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine!
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Poland actually does have a border with Russia - the Kaliningrad enclave is surrounded by Poland on three sides. However, Poland has no land border with mainland Russia.
 
crescent said:
Poland and the Baltic republics have a history of being repeatedly invaded and occupied by Russia. They have chosen themselves to become members of NATO, because they felt that was their best bet to prevent a repeat. They are democratic, they chose this. It not a process of colonization or imperialism, it is the self interest of the Poles and the Baltic states.
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Isn't that just PERFECT for those Western Imperialists with their MICs?
 
crescent said:
Poland actually does have a border with Russia - the Kaliningrad enclave is surrounded by Poland on three sides. However, Poland has no land border with mainland Russia.
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I'm pretty sure the article's author wasn't trying to say that the US military was flying surveillance jets along Poland's border with the Kaliningrad exclave!
 
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/03/1...-to-leave.html

Ukraine orders its troops to leave Crimea, Russia offers better pay for them to change sides

By Matthew Schofield


The arrival of the generals was the latest example of that, the captain said, and on a base where 60 percent of troops are native Crimean, and often of Russian heritage, their offer was viewed favorably by many.
“I cannot even bring myself to think of them as traitors for doing this,” he said, speaking on the condition that his name not be disclosed for security reasons. He said he does not intend to take the Russian offer but understands why many, many others will.
“We have been given two options by the Russians, and no offers of help from Kiev,” he said. “The choice is to stand with Ukraine, and commit suicide, or to join the Russian force and live a better life.”
What that means: Come Friday he is the enemy of most of those he’s served with, a service which includes time fighting in Iraq.
He said that many of the officers he’s served with already had turned in or at least prepared letters to resign their commissions. The captain said he would not hide his disillusionment with the reaction from Kiev.
“But I know the Russians planned this well, they attacked when we were weakest,” he said. “Our government is in no position to react to this crisis. The result is that the Russians have known what they intend every day of this past month, while Kiev still has not been able to come up with a counter-strategy.”
How well thought out is the Russian plan: He said that for many, only personal honor had been holding them to their posts. The Russian offer takes that into account. They will not be asked to pledge allegiance to Russia if they think that would besmirch their honor, because to Russia, it is important their honor remain intact. Instead, they will pledge their loyalty to Crimea, their home.
The captain said the offers were set up to test any loyalty. For instance, 37-year-old officers were offered three-year contracts at $1,000 a month (in Crimea, $200 a month is a good wage) and told that at 40, they could receive $1,000-a-month pensions (again, Ukrainian pensions are less than $200 a month) and retire. In Ukraine, they could retire from the military at 40, but the pensions would start paying out at 60, he said.
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There doesnt seem to be much of a problem for those in the Ukraine. It seems to me the EU and the Obama administration are causing the problems.
 
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I've been following John R. Schindler blog for a while now, and he's been really really interesting about Ukraine since it all began. Got pretty much everything right so far. Warning: he can be a bit of an ass when answering comments. YMMV.

http://20committee.com/

Tom Nichols is also super interesting (and sounds like a great guy from the webcast I saw with him)

http://tomnichols.net/blog/
 
TheRealnz said:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/03/1...-to-leave.html

Ukraine orders its troops to leave Crimea, Russia offers better pay for them to change sides

By Matthew Schofield




There doesnt seem to be much of a problem for those in the Ukraine. It seems to me the EU and the Obama administration are causing the problems.
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Fascinating how some of these "edgy,anti Establishment, Rebel" types end up supporting authoritarian dictators.
 
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TheRealnz said:
Non-interventionism
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Again, 1930's.

And anti-imperialism it most certainly isn't, as you allow imperialism from Russia. If you were truly anti-imperialist, you would speak out firmly against what Russia is doing and urge action.
 
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