Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: NakedWeasel

He shot them both? Do you have a source for that?

quote:

ORIGINAL: jtoatoktoe

Gotta say Putin is a smart man.....evilly smart. Angela Merkel of Germany has a fear of dogs.....this once so happen to happen during one of their meetings. Check out the grin on Putin. He knows what's up.
He seems like the kinda guy who would sell out his own children to get what he wants for Russia.
To be fair Putin has had the dog many years and goes with him everywhere.

quote:


quote:

ORIGINAL: NakedWeasel

He shot them both? Do you have a source for that?


No source, that's why I said "alleged". The detainee comes from the Lviv region, could be a conflation of two episodes or simply propaganda. The 13th photogrammetric center in Simferopol was stormed yesterday. The shooting took place on Kubans'ka vulitsya, around N44.97421 E34.14967.

quote:

2 . Provocation by Ukrainian nationalists. They practically are not controlled.

quote:

ORIGINAL: B52

Nationalists can't situated in Crimea, because all entrance to peninsula is closed and peninsula flooded by "Crimea's self-defenders" also and from Russia, from krasnodar region mainly.
Provoke fire between Ukrainian and Russian solders makes no sense for the nationalists, but for russian it makes sense. Russian specnaz could do a provocation with snipers. For russians profitable provoke ukrainian soldiers to open fire first and making himself a victim of ukrainian aggression than will justify their intentions for UN & other countries.

quote:

ORIGINAL: B52

quote:

2 . Provocation by Ukrainian nationalists. They practically are not controlled.

Nationalists can't situated in Crimea, because all entrance to peninsula is closed and peninsula flooded by "Crimea's self-defenders" also and from Russia, from krasnodar region mainly.
Provoke fire between Ukrainian and Russian solders makes no sense for the nationalists, but for russian it makes sense. Russian specnaz could do a provocation with snipers. For russians profitable provoke ukrainian soldiers to open fire first and making himself a victim of ukrainian aggression than will justify their intentions for UN & other countries.

quote:

This is not so

quote:

BRUSSELS — The European Union and Ukraine signed a landmark political cooperation accord on Friday, committing to the same deal former president Viktor Yanukovich rejected last November, a decision that led to his overthrow.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, EU presidents Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso, and the leaders of the bloc's 28 nations signed the core chapters of the Association Agreement during an EU summit in Brussels.

Soon afterwards, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation completing the process of absorbing Crimea into Russia, defying Western leaders who say the Black Sea peninsula remains part of Ukraine.

The deal commits Ukraine and the EU to closer political and economic cooperation, although its more substantial parts concerning free trade will be signed only after Ukraine has held a presidential election on May 25.

Van Rompuy, the European Council president, said the agreement would bring Ukraine and its 46 million people closer to the heart of Europe and a "European way of life".

"(This) recognizes the aspirations of the people of Ukraine to live in a country governed by values, by democracy and the rule of law, where all citizens have a stake in national prosperity," he said.

Two sets of the documents were passed around the table for the EU's leaders and Yatseniuk to sign in a solemn atmosphere. Van Rompuy and Yatseniuk then shook hands and exchanged the documents to applause, witnesses said.

Yanukovich turned his back on signing the EU agreement last November in favor of closer ties with Moscow, triggering months of street protests that eventually led to his flight from the country. Soon afterwards, Russian forces occupied Crimea, a Russian-majority region in the far southeast of the country, drawing outrage and sanctions from the United States and EU.

CRISIS INTENSIFYING

Yatseniuk urged European leaders to move decisively to contain Putin with economic pressure or risk the conflict - the most bitter East-West confrontation since the Cold war - spilling elsewhere into Europe.

"The best way to contain Russia is to impose real economic leverage on them," he told reporters after the signing ceremony.

"I strongly believe ... the EU will speak in one single strong voice, defending the territorial integrity of Ukraine and protecting the EU itself because God knows what is the final destination, is it Ukraine or is it EU?"

On Thursday, EU leaders began preparations for economic sanctions if Russia expands its footprint in Ukraine, but failed to detail what measures the bloc could take.

Underscoring divisions in Europe, which have hampered its response to the crisis in Ukraine, French President Francois Hollande said late on Thursday that Kiev could count on tightening relations with the EU but not on membership.

"I have always considered that Ukraine should be associated with the EU. It couldn't aspire to be a member of the EU," he told reporters. Ukraine was part of the Moscow-dominated Soviet Union until 1991 and analysts say Putin considers Ukraine to be within Russia's historical sphere of influence.

Some European policymakers have pushed the EU to open its doors to countries in the east as an incentive to reform and resist Russian pressure on those states to shun Europe.

But many EU governments, wary of goading Russia with which they have had major commercial ties, are loath to so much as suggest Ukraine could one day join the bloc.

As well as the closer political ties, the European Commission has agreed to extend nearly 500 million euros ($689 million) worth of trade benefits to Ukraine, removing duties on a wide range of farm goods, textiles and other imports.

Once Ukraine has a new administration and signs a free-trade agreement with the European Union, it will have unfettered access to the EU's market of 500 million consumers.

That has the potential to strengthen Ukraine's shattered economy, but also runs the risk of provoking retaliatory steps from Russia, which has already imposed stricter customs checks on trade with Ukraine.

The other burden for Kiev is meeting the obligations that come with EU political association. These include instituting changes to the rule of law and justice in a country long plagued by corruption and repressive governance, and adopting business and environmental standards that will require hard work and long-term investment to meet.

quote:

Russia has finalized the legal process of taking Crimea under its sovereignty, as President Putin signed a law amending the Russian constitution to reflect the transition.

Earlier Russian lawmakers ratified both the amendment and an international treaty with Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which was legally required for the incorporation.

Following the signing of the law, Putin thanked lawmakers and everyone involved in the historic change of European borders for their efforts to make it happen.

“I ask lawmakers of both chambers to work actively and do everything we can, to make the transition process not only painless, but also beneficial for all Russia and the people of Crimea,” Putin said.

The treaty and the bill were submitted for the approval of Russian lawmakers on Tuesday by Putin, following last week’s referendum in Crimea, which showed the overwhelming support of the peninsula’s residents for joining Russia.

RIA Novosti / Mikhail KlimentyevRIA Novosti / Mikhail Klimentyev

The actual transition of Crimea to existing under Russian laws and regulations may take until next year. Local rules in the new Russian region will be changed to adopt the ruble, social benefits, tax requirements and other Russian legislation.

As was promised by the Crimean authorities, the treaty includes preferences for the region’s ethnic minorities, particularly Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians. Their languages would be official in Crimea, on par with Russian.

Russia pledged to make the process as smooth as possible by offering funding and recognizing various Ukrainian documents, which were in force in Crimea before it declared its independence last week.

Moscow will retain military ranks and academic levels for Ukrainian troops who choose to serve Russia, give preference to Ukrainian officials who want to keep their positions in Crimea, and expedite the issuance of Russian citizenship to all residents of Crimea who want it. Citizenship would be given automatically to all except those who explicitly opt out of it no later than one month’s time.

The current interim authorities of Crimea will be replaced with new ones after elections, which will be held in September 2015.

Crimea’s rejoining Russia was triggered by an armed coup in Kiev, which ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovich from power. The new authorities took some alarming steps, including parliament passing a law revoking the regional status of the Russian language, which caused the predominantly Russian region to defy Kiev.

The public uprising in Crimea culminated in a referendum, in which an overwhelming majority of over 96 percent voted in favor of asking for reunification with Russia. Moscow agreed, citing the will of the people and the historic justice of the move as its motives.

Kiev and Western countries deemed Crimea’s secession and Russia’s acceptance of the peninsula illegal, a notion that Moscow denies. The US and the EU issued sanctions against some Russian officials and businessmen in a bid to put pressure on Russia over its stance on the Ukrainian crisis. Russian authorities mostly mocked the sanctions.

quote:

ORIGINAL: jdkbph

I'm not sure this is an "Obama" thing... not directly anyway. I think this is Congress throwing a temper tantrum... an extended, going on 2 years, holding their breath til they turn blue while rolling on the floor type temper tantrum. Because the powers that be can't get what they want, nobody gets nothing. It's a real old fashioned Mexican standoff.

Obama's failure, in a very general sense, has to do with an inability to lead and foster bipartisanship.

JD