This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman
(I receive no compensation from any entry on this blog.)
So, if the USA and Europe thought the missile ships were a guaranteed advantage over the Russians or otherwise; I'd think again.
The guided-missile frigate USS Taylor departed
Naval Station Mayport, Fla., on Jan. 8, 2014, for a seven-month
Stars and Stripes Feb 26, 2014 by Steven Beardsley NAPLES, Italy -- The Navy (click here) relieved the commander of the USS
Taylor on Tuesday, about two weeks after the Florida-based frigate ran
aground in the Black Sea.
Cmdr. Dennis Volpe was relieved by Capt. Jim Aiken, commander of Task
Force 65, which controls surface ships in the Navy’s 6th Fleet waters
in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. A preliminary inquiry into the
grounding resulted in a “loss of confidence” in Volpe’s ability to
command, according to a 6th Fleet news release.
Volpe was temporarily reassigned to the staff of Destroyer Squadron
14 in Mayport, Fla., Taylor’s homeport. His duties as commander of the
Taylor are to be assumed by Cmdr. Chris Cigna until a permanent
replacement can be found, according to the release. A full investigation
into the grounding is underway. ment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility...
A clear and lasting legacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (click here)will be his
consistent and prophetic voice–as well as his leadership by example–on
environmental issues, particularly his concern about climate change and
its impacts on the planet and poor and vulnerable people. The Coalition
and it’s partners will be forever indebted to Pope Benedict XVI for his
witness....
Because he has competition as the worst climate scientist on the planet by Bill Karins at MSNBC. Not that either of them are qualified to understand it, but, they can predict weather.
February 26, 2014 The Weather Channel Current Temperature Map
I really don't care to go through a proof, but, it is really interesting for the laymen to realize the severe cold in the north of the USA coincides completely with the decent to lower latitudes of a polar air mass.
Do I have to actually post the satellite images from the past week? I would hope not. I didn't think there was a professional alive that was that dim.
Maybe the real dolt of Karins reality is the anchor that demanded the stupidity to be put on the air in the first place. Why discuss global warming to try to save a planet, the press only uses it to create a wedge issue for the Keystone pipeline. Idiots. Any way is allowed in the news business, huh? I think I make my case.
It is called ethics and evidently it has no place on cable news.
25 February 2014 – The Middle East peace process (click here) is nearing a
defining moment, the top United Nations political chief today told the
Security Council today urging Governments to back the peace agenda and
to raise awareness of the benefits of peace among their constituents.
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman told the
15-member Council that direct negotiations between the Israelis and the
Palestinians, which resumed in August of last year following efforts by
United States Secretary of State John Kerry, have opened “a credible
political horizon for achieving the two-state solution.”
He urged that they continue to be supported by regional stakeholders, underlining the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative....
The Israel Homeland interprets the purpose of the Middle East Peace Process differently than AIPAC and speaks to the lack of an agreement for decades.
Somehow a hostile process as viewed by Israel as if it is suppose to be dismissed because the Palestinians are not sincere.
By CAROLINE B. GLICK 02/24/2014 23:03
In its annual survey (click here) of American Jewry published last October, the American Jewish Committee
found that 75 percent of American Jews agree with the statement, “The
goal of the Arabs is not a peaceful two-state agreement with Israel, but
rather the destruction of Israel.” And yet, American Jews supported the establishment of a Palestinian state 50% to 47%. Next week over 10,000 predominantly Jewish American
supporters of Israel will gather in Washington at AIPAC’s annual policy
conference. Given their high commitment to Israel, probably most of
those gathered belong to the 47% of American Jews who opposed
Palestinian statehood. Yet at the conference they will embrace the two-state formula. And on March 4 they will go up to Capitol Hill and tell their representatives that they support it....
Those involved in achieving a Middle East Peace Agreement between Israel and Palestine are well invested in a two state approach. The peace process does not hold the goal "...the destruction of Israel." Why bother with a peace process to destroy Israel? If global interests wanted to destroy Israel it would not take peace processes to do it. That is nonsense. NONSENSE. I thought Israel could rise above dealing in double talk when it comes to the peace of their people.
It seemed like a good beginning, however, the 104 prisoners resulting in this deal were supposed to be release in 1999 with the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum along with the 350 agreed to.
Israel has managed to reverse most if not all of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum.
Israeli withdrawal from a further 11% of the West
Bank
The release of 350 Palestinian prisoners
Opening of safe
passages between the West Bank and Gaza
A seaport to be built in
Gaza - Israel feared Gaza would be importing weapons that would cause deaths in Israel.
By AFP and Times of Israel February 25, 2014, 7:30 pm
Hamas MP said Tuesday (click here)that a natural gas field may have been discovered
off the Gaza shore, prompting hopes for alternative fuel supplies for
the blockaded Palestinian territory.
What happened? Escalation of violence on the ground and every aspect of the agreement fell apart. Most of the Israeli Diaspora wants peace and recognizes the need for two states. Just because Israel has managed to renege on the outcome of previous agreements doesn't mean the rest of the world lost it's focus.
How much of Gaza's hope for an energy source is true is anyone's guess. But, the fact is the longer the oppression of the people of Gaza continues, the longer the hostilities will continue.
On the same evening that 26 Palestinian prisoners were released over the
objections of Israeli Jewish citizens, the Israeli Interior Ministry
announced that plans to construct 1,500 homes in the Ramat Shlomo settlement in East Jerusalem were moving forward. While
this project has long been in the pipeline–announcement of settlements
there caused a diplomatic crisis with the U.S. in 2010–the new
announcement means that “within several months, it will be possible to
start issuing building permits and marketing land to contractors,” Haaretz’s Barak Ravid reports.
Just because Israel states there will be new settlements doesn't mean they last, ie: Gaza. Why do it in the first place?
Israeli settlements have been a method to take land from Palestinians even after every color of the rainbow lines have been drawn. Israel never lived up to the limits in their agreement no matter how diligent their leaders have sought to end the hatred and violence. The Late Prime Minister Sharon was the only leader successful in ending the aggression of settlements while establishing a Palestinian territory in Gaza.
Israel makes it very easy for Palestinian negotiators to state, "Israel is not a legitimate partner in negotiations," and it is true. Israel believes they are so important to the region for The West there is nothing they can be denied, so negotiations are viewed as political capital for The West. It is somewhat a reliable point of view to state Israel plays with The West as if it's puppet. The political investment in Israel by politics in The West, primarily the USA, allows such infractions of any agreement. It is just a fact.
Israel's history in regard to the Palestinians has not been peaceful, even by Sharon.
January 21, 2014 Ali Jarbawi
...In 2000, (click here) he entered the contested religious complex known by some as the
Temple Mount, which triggered the second intifada. To crown this
career, in 2002 Mr. Sharon reoccupied Palestinian-controlled areas in
the West Bank and destroyed then-Palestinian President Yasir Arafat’s
compound in Ramallah. Mr. Sharon publicly expressed his regret that he
hadn’t killed Mr. Arafat himself.
Some say that Mr. Sharon changed after becoming prime minister in 2001,
and that his transformation became obvious in 2005, when he withdrew the
Israeli Army from Gaza and dismantled settlements there. But this is
naïve. Neither Mr. Sharon’s ideology nor his convictions changed; only
his tactics did.
...Mr. Sharon wanted an ethnically pure Jewish state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea....
I don't buy that. Israel in 2005 was well integrated with mixed marriage and those with Arabian ethnic roots in it's cities. Sharon wasn't that stupid. The politics may have been, but, he wasn't.
The politics in Israel is toxic to an outcome of any peace process. It demands more and more settlements regardless of it's final disposition. The reason the politics is toxic is because of the chronic recidivism of any Israel-Palestine Agreement. The reason the second term of any President is most successful in achieving a meaningless peace treaty is because the USA President (regardless of party) can shed the dependency on the Israeli diaspora in the USA. There is no third term in the USA.
The only steadfast member of any peace process with Israel and Palestine is the United Nations and they are always skeptical of any outcome. They simply try to prevent further human rights infractions where they can while Israel still ignores the lines in the sand that is suppose to be Palestinian territory. The real question is "When will The West stop ignoring the infractions by Israel to any peace process that is engaged?" When is an Israel - Palestine Peace Accord actually mean something to the global community as well as the Palestinians and Hebrews within their boundaries in the Middle East?
By
Haaretz Feb. 26, 2014
Convoy was carrying missiles (click here) from Syria into
Lebanon; destroyed weapons were more dangerous than almost all missiles
Hezbollah already has, Time says...
Then
add to that mess, the instability throughout the region. When Israel
acts to end KNOWN networks of violence, such as Hezbollah, from being
destructive to other peaceful attempts to stabilize the region does
anyone think Hamas will behave itself?
Hamas
will attack Israel with rockets to avenge the attack on Hezbollah and
then Israel has legitimacy to it's lack of enthusiasm for peace with
Palestine. It is ridiculous, but, yet the region's peace has to involve
an Israel-Palestine two state solution.
The process has to continue without any justification by any nation to back out and ultimately dissolve the agreement.
And I don't want to hear how The Arab Spring is the problem because this paradigm of power plays has gone on for decades. Hamas is not new, Hezbollah is not new and the imposition of violence in Lebanon by Syria is not new. The ONLY thing consistent in the Middle East is the ethnic hatred.
Joseph Gerth The Louisville Courier-Journal
4:01 p.m. EST February 25, 2014
LOUISVILLE — Former president Bill Clinton (click here) spoke Tuesday at a
Louisville fundraiser for Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democratic
secretary of state who is challenging GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell in one of
this year's most closely watched Senate races. During a 25-minute
speech, Clinton alternately praised Grimes, the daughter of his
longtime friend Jerry Lundergan, and took shots at McConnell. He
slammed the Senate minority leader's scorched-earth campaign tactics —
and told the crowd of Grimes supporters that they can't allow McConnell
to convince them that their votes in the race don't matter....
I have to agree with him, the politics of the Senate Majority Leader are sad.
After the Debt Ceiling passage the House Speaker stated the legislative session was closed, right? In response to that Senator McConnell has loaded the agenda with nonsense in the Senate and it is difficult to get anything else done. So, the politics of the right wing is very sad. They have nothing to offer the American people. They won't move on immigration reform, tax reform, jobs or infrastructure bills. They have no platform except obstruction.
David Corn of Mother Jones aptly points to the fact SSI reform involves entitlement reform WITH revenue increases. The GOP has and is rejecting the additional revenue, but, wants to eliminate Seniors from their enrollment. Cherry picking is not allowed when actual reform happens.
February 26, 2014 ...A few days ago, (click here) after Sink blasted
her Republican opponent, David Jolly, for being a lobbyist who has
worked for clients advocating the privatization of Social Security and
Medicare, the NRCC struck back. Katie Prill, a spokeswoman for the
group, assailed Sink, the state of Florida's former chief financial
officer, for supporting the Simpson-Bowles long-term budget plan
that was released in late 2010. This centrist blueprint called for
raising $1 trillion in revenues via taxes and proposed measures that
would squeeze money out of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security,
including a slow and gradual increase in the retirement age. Prill
noted, "Alex Sink supports a plan that raises the retirement age for
Social Security recipients, raises Social Security taxes and cuts
Medicare, all while making it harder for Pinellas seniors to keep their
doctors that they know and love. Sending Alex Sink to Washington
guarantees that seniors right here in Pinellas County are in jeopardy of
losing the Social Security and Medicare benefits that they have earned
and deserve."...
Arizona's struggle to end discrimination and hate is long standing.
The beautiful Cindy McCain was an election way from becoming First Lady and she hasn't been able to end the problems in Arizona.
By Mark A. Kellner
Deseret News National Edition
Published: Tuesday, Feb. 25 2014 10:25 a.m. MST
Updated: 21 hours ago
WASHINGTON — As Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (click here) weighs a decision whether to
sign a bill strengthening the state's religious liberty protections for
individuals and businesses, her state is one of several wrestling with a
balance between religious liberty and anti-discrimination laws.
The bill comes in the wake of a number of cases
across the country in which same-sex couples complained that business
owners refused service on the grounds of religious belief. In one
prominent example, a New Mexico court said last year that the refusal of
wedding photographer Elaine Huguenin to take pictures of a same-sex
wedding was not protected under that state's version of the 1993 federal
Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, since the state was not
acting to force an action....
In Michigan, the very definition of "Family" is at stake. I am sure Governor Snyder wants to have nothing to do with the discussion of this case. Far easier to allow the GOP to wallow in Arizona than Michigan.
DETROIT February 25, 2014 (AP)
By ED WHITE Associated Press
Children need good parents, (click here) no matter their gender or sexual
orientation, a psychologist testified Tuesday at a trial challenging
Michigan's ban on gay marriage.
David Brodzinsky, an expert in adoption and foster care and a former
Rutgers University professor, said there are no "discernible
differences" in children who are raised by same-sex couples and youth
raised by heterosexuals.
"It's not the gender of the parents that's the key. It's the quality of
the parenting," said Brodzinsky, based in Oakland, Calif.
Two Detroit-area nurses who together are raising three adopted children
are seeking to overturn a Michigan constitutional amendment that
recognizes marriage only between a man and a woman. Jayne Rowse, 49, and
April DeBoer, 42, also are targeting a state law that prevents them
from jointly adopting each other's kids because they're not married....
MOSCOW — The motive behind the 2006 murder (click here) of Anna Politkovskaya, a veteran reporter who was an unstinting critic of the Kremlin and its policies in Chechnya,
was to instill fear in the country’s journalists, a top criminal
investigator said in an interview published Friday. It was a bleak
assessment of a case that remains unsolved six years after Ms.
Politkovskaya was shot at point-blank range as she arrived home from
grocery shopping....
How much of the world can actually emulate democracy? Right now. Today. In 2014. What is possible and how much is hatred of authoritarian government breeding criminal elements?
But, more than that. How much of the hatred feeds the USA military industrial complex? What would the USA do, if Russia were to immediately become a USA state, with Chechnya? Would simply changing the flag change the reality on the ground? If all surveillance of these regions of the world immediately ended would the danger to civilization end as well?
Freedom of the press has over extended itself in their thirst for political controversy, ie: 2012 Olympic plane flights, endangering millions of people in the face of ambition.
There is a point in which the press imposes the demand for change by the people it serves whereby danger is more the outcome than benevolent change. Why isn't that realized? Why is it okay to push past the 'words' of peaceful change rather than radicalization?
Oh, I forgot, it isn't journalism's responsibility to discern inappropriate reporting. Really? Then why are whistleblowers necessary and acting on their own radicalized against their government? How much of Wall Street is published everyday to expand profits? How much of that is adhered to for political ambitions? Then how much actually causes wars, ie: Iraq?
When the people of Russia observe the USA, it sees wealth. It doesn't see the impoverishment of the Middle Class and the destruction of unions that impact the Middle Class. When the wealthy become bored they want power and turn to politics for their personal ambitions. One might note that isn't the reason for President Obama. He hadn't practiced long enough in his profession to be filthy rich and bored.
If a semi-democratic candidate won in Russia, what exactly would it look like, because the most recent challenger, after the election was over, stated, "He would never be able to naviagate the Russia bureaucracy." So, what exactly would a 'semi-democratic' Russia look like? Wall Street? Would that stop the violence? If the impoverished of Russia were exposed to Wall Street demands as exists in the USA today, does anyone actually believe there would be less violence in Chechnya? I seriously don't think so. So, what is the profession doing to push change without radicalizing the people that make headlines and end up dead within that paradigm?
I was impressed by the security of the Olympics. Russia did an incredible job in running an uninterrupted event. It ran like clockwork.
The political-geographic location of the Ukraine is precarious. It borders Russia and the Black Sea, but, it also borders many former Soviet states. It is also pro-democracy in many of it's values. The 2004 Constitution leans strongly into a democracy where by the safety of the citizen in all walks of life is upheld.
Volgograd is very close to the Russia-Ukraine border. If one recalls, it was in Volgograd the bombings that concerned the world occurred. To state that region of Russia is completely stable is inaccurate.
Dzhamaldin Mirzayev, 30, died along with another man after
opening fire on security forces surrounding the house, Russian security
sources say. A third man surrendered during the siege in the town of Izberbash. Two attackers killed 34 other people in the bomb attacks in Volgograd on consecutive days in late December. The bombers, both male, were officially identified last week
as Asker Samedov and Suleyman Magomedov, members of an Islamist militant
group based in the Dagestani town of Buynaksk.
Two men suspected of helping them were arrested in Dagestan.
According to one Russian news website, Life News, they are suspected of
having driven the bombers hidden in a cargo of hay, acting under duress....
President Putin is correct in deploying military in the region. Whether the Ukraine realizes it or not, the additional military forces in the region provides for their protections as well. I don't believe Russia wants an escalation of tensions in the region and the Ukraine needs to get on with it's own business to increase the opportunity of stabilizing their domestic peace.
Howard Amos in Sevastopol, Shaun Walker in Kiev and agencies theguardian.com
The Russian president, (click here) Vladimir Putin, has reportedly ordered an immediate test of combat readiness of troops in central and western Russia in a move that will dramatically elevate fears of a separatist threat to Ukraine, already ravaged by weeks of violent protest that led to the removal of its pro-Russian leader, Viktor Yanukovych. Russia's
state news agencies quoted the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, saying
Putin ordered the test at 2pm Moscow time on Wednesday. The Kremlin was
unable to confirm the order. The exercise was followed with a
statement from the Russian foreign ministry claiming that extremists are
"imposing their will" in the Ukraine and whipping up religious
tensions. Priests and property belonging to the Moscow-based Russian
Orthodox church had been threatened, the statement said, adding that
these tension could cause "an even bigger schism in Ukrainian society"....
I might point out the geographical location of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. There are small countries such as Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijani that lie in areas whereby stability could become an issue very quickly. I would expect the USA and Europe are having conversations with their allies in the region to insure there is no terrorist activity as well. To state this is a power keg is minimizing the threat for war in the region.
Americans live with an entire ocean and continent, namely Europe, as borders to this region. It is frequently understated in the USA media the very tenuous stability in the region. Russia does a heck of a job whether anyone wants to recognize it or not. In the USA media Russia's involvement is frequently stated to be aggressive and hostile. Well. Yeah. But, it doesn't mean Russia is trying to reconstitute the USSR. The USSR is history.
GOP Congresspersons can shake their fists all they want about Russia, but, they forget what country sought to help. Russia didn"t send the Tsarnaev Brothers to attack the USA as bin Laden did. Russia tried to stop it through appropriate channels.
When it comes to foreign relations with Russia the rhetoric has to stop by the USA. And it is more understandable when realizing how stable the region actually is why Russia objects to the USA and Europe parking missiles at it's borders. It tends to embolden extremists, heighten tensions and increases the instability of the region. So long as Russia is The Evil Empire it will continue to have issues of instability simply because criminal networks believe they are validated in their 'beliefs.'
I congratulate the Ukraine for establishing a democracy in the manner the people seek, but, they have work to do and they cannot deny Russia is a neighbor along a large border. The Ukraine has to find peace with Russia. I would think Europe would seek to have that happen, too.
The
Justice Department has notified a federal judge that it intends to seek
the death penalty if a jury convicts Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for last April’s
bomb attacks at the Boston Marathon. Tsarnaev is awaiting trial
on charges that he and his brother built and planted two pressure-cooker
bombs that killed three people and injured at least 260 others. He is
also charged with killing an MIT campus police officer....
The USA law enforcement system was impuned when it attempted to find a reason to intervene. If the FBI was actively working with local investigators and extending their capabilities the bombings may have been stopped and criminals imprisoned.
LEXINGTON, Va. POSTED: 10:22 AM EST Feb 25, 2014 UPDATED: 10:25 PM EST Feb 25, 2014
It's a story of survival. (click here) Virginia Military Institute graduate Richard "Dic" Donohue knew his
life would never be the same the day of the Boston Marathon bombings. Now, he is sharing how he learned to make the best out of a bad situation. The
2002 VMI grad has been in and out of physical therapy since the
bombings, but he made the trip from his home in Massachusetts to
Virginia to speak to cadets about strength and perseverance. He said
those are two things he learned at VMI. "I don’t think I was exactly ready for what happened in my case, but I had some tools that had me better prepared,” he said....
When it comes to extremists that are radicalized because of their lack of success as an American, the local investigative authorities can be an 'extender' of the FBI arm when evidence presents itself. I think of the local investigators as 'FBI Jr.' I am confident if the Boston investigators were empowered for further surveillance after the FBI carried out as much of their investigation as possible, the bombings would have been deterred.
When it comes to Russia, it is impressive to realize how broad their reach can be. Why would any nation in the world want that expertise to end?
I am curious. How much do Human Rights organizations recognize the reality of PREVENTION of criminal attacks against citizens when they make their ratings known to the world? It matters. There are nations that need to improve their justice system that end political domination and prisons that need to be closed and their residents set free to live their lives, but, there is something to be said about the prevention of death of citizens, that matters too.
Ukrainians want peace within their country. They want all Ukrainians to live within the new government. They want all Ukrainians to support their country without any threat of violence or separatism. Is that too much to want?
There can still be opposition parties in any election, but, to actively be part of a movement to divide the country geographically and set up reasons for tensions and fears of violence is not where the new leadership or the majority of the people want the country.
I don't believe in jailing former leaders as they did the former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on trumped up charges of embezzlement and abuse of power. But, this time there are people dead. Mykola Azarov may have ordered the riot police to use excessive force. The real focus needs to be on the police that carried out the killing and jail them and hold them for trial, but, if the people fell victim to orders from the leadership there are penalties to be paid.
I do believe the opposition in the Crimea comes from leadership being jailed and now missing. One other thing about Former President Viktor Yanukovich. With the opposition of the people he began charges of murder against the jailed Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Supporters of Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year sentence in a
separate case, say the accusations are just the latest in an attempt by
President Viktor Yanukovich to keep his rival behind bars.
Tymoshenko's political party said the latest allegations represented a
"shameful day in the history of the Ukrainian law enforcement system,"
The Associated Press reported....
Basically, while Tymoshenko sat in prison and was connected with the people, Yanukovich was seeking a way for her death.
Iconic figures behind bars is simply not a good idea. It galvanized populations within a country and creates tensions. The Ukraine has been in flux for so long it is always this tug of war that is engaged and those that are more Soviet than independent expect they will regain their ground.
A poster depicting the toppled Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych,
and the former prime minister, Mykola Azarov, behind bars attached to a
tent of opposition supporters. Photograph: ITAR-TASS/Barcroft Media
Howard Amos in Sevastopol, Shaun Walker in Kiev and agencies theguardian.com
Ukraine's new leadership (click here) disbanded the country's feared riot police on Wednesday
as they sought to win confidence from a splintered and economically
ravaged nation with the creation of a unity government. Protesters
filled Kiev's Maidan square – the seat of the Ukrainian revolution –
preparing to meet the replacement cabinet proposed by Oleksandr
Turchynov, Ukraine's acting president, on Wednesday evening. Turchynov
warned on Tuesday that the country faced a serious threat from
separatism amid fears the Kremlin may be stoking pro-Russian sentiment
in the Crimean peninsula. "We discussed the question of not
allowing any signs of separatism and threats to Ukraine's territorial
integrity and punishing people guilty of this," Turchynov said after
meeting key officials. A visiting Russian parliamentarian said
earlier on Tuesday that Moscow would act in the event of heightened
tension over the Crimean peninsula...
The issue at the heart of any WEDGE in the Ukraine are the gas contracts with Russia.
By Ksenia Galouchko Feb 25, 2014 5:04 AM ET
Russian stocks tumbled (click here) as the ruble
fell while oil and gas shares dropped with crude amid concern
that Ukraine will be unable to pay for energy imports. The Micex Index (INDEXCF) fell 0.8 percent to 1,477.35 at 12:50 p.m.
in Moscow, its biggest decline in six days. OAO Gazprom, which
sends more than half of its European gas exports via Ukraine,
dropped 1.8 percent to 146.44 rubles. OAO Bashneft, a regional
oil producer, dropped 2.2 percent to 2,105 rubles. Ukraine can’t pay about $1.6 billion it owes Russia for
natural gas because local utilities haven’t paid for supplies in
more than a year, Kommersant newspaper said today, citing
Ukrainian Energy Minister Eduard Stavytskyi. The one third
discount it receives on Russian gas will probably be extended to
the second quarter, he was reported to have said. Brent crude
slid 0.2 percent to $110.39 in London....
The Ukraine Legislators need to address their debt problems constructively. The interest by Russia in the Ukraine is less about reconstituting the USSR in an economic union, but, more about the stability of the Russian economy. No other country is showing interest in the debt interests of the Ukraine.
It is somewhat understandable that the EU has resistance in seeking the Ukraine as a member or otherwise. The EU has suffered their own bailouts and debt restructuring of it's members.
Along with having the 2004 Constitution returned and the Former Prime Minister freed, the Ukraine legislators and current leadership have to stop worrying about their presence in the government. The country needs stability and if the Ukraine became an independent country with leadership that handled the debt through the IMF rather than seeking favors from Russia, the instability will settle down. Those opposing the 2004 Constitution also have a reasonable argument that the country languishes in debt troubles. The national debt of the Ukraine has to be addressed constructively to provide confidence by all the people to their future.
There is also the idea of alternative energies that should be a priority for the Ukraine, however, it is difficult to invest in new infrastructure when it's current methods of energy are entrenching the country in profound debt.
MOSCOW February 22, 2014 (AP)
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov (click here)said Sunday that Ukraine should
seek a loan from the International Monetary Fund to avoid an imminent
default, but would have to meet demands for difficult structural
reforms.
Russia in December offered Ukraine a $15 billion bailout, but so far has
provided only $3 billion, freezing further disbursements pending the
outcome of the ongoing political crisis.
The loan was promised to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych after he
ditched an agreement with the European Union that Moscow opposed. But
Yanukovych left Ukraine's capital on Saturday after parliament voted for
his removal, and protesters calling for closer ties with the West now
have the upper hand in Kiev....
Brewer and Jindal have an issue with the size and variety of their policial platform. They are rightwingers and have to make the appearance they oppose everything that comes out of the White House. How stupid is that? What does the White House not touch in regard to the lives of Americans?
Jindal, "Highest income in Louisiana in 80 years."
How stupid is that statement? Seriously, how completely stupid and shameful is that statement. Make an educated guess.
Let's say Jindal is absolutely correct. Today the people of Louisiana are paid more then they have been paid in 80 years. Post Civil War. The median household income in Louisiana is $44,673. The median household income in the USA is $53,046. Best in 80 years, huh? What kind of leadership has Louisiana experiencing in relation to the nation?
The percentage of people in Louisiana below the poverty level is 18.7%. The percentage of people below the poverty level is 14.9%. What does Jindal NOTE as the 'real economy' of the USA?
The Keystone XL Pipeline, increasing on leasing activity on federal lands and removing regulations and eliminating the EPA. What industry is Jindal worried about and speaking for?
Jindal has ONE message, WE WANT TO DRILL, BABE, DRILL. Yes? Yes. According to Jindal the only industry in the USA that can provide jobs is the petroleum industry.
Is that a stupid platform or what? The man isn't even real anymore. He doesn't even represent some of the most impoverished in this country. He ONLY speaks for the petroleum industry whenever he opens his mouth. He mashes every subject the President brings up with a focus on the petroleum industry. That is a Governor? Could have fooled me.
The guided-missile frigate USS Taylor departed
Naval Station Mayport, Fla., on Jan. 8, 2014, for a seven-month 
