Tuesday, March 04, 2014

President Putin put his name to a promise. He needs to live up to it.

The killing in Syria has to stop, the chemical weapons have to be secured and destroyed, but, now there is one more thing. He has to clarify Russia's relationship with the post Soviet nations. They are playing both ends against the middle in their politics and it is causing a lot of problems.

The post Soviet leaders are convincing their people Russia is their overseer and overlord that will protect them as a shepard of the sheep. 

That is a false face of peace. Because those that want to join with Europe and NATO use that same Soviet profile to instill fear to The West of Russia and the Russian people.

President Putin cannot have a Soviet profile to politics that he hopes will win him an economic union and then expect the rest of the world to see him in the light of peacemaker.

The monetary instability of 'hate speech' and sincere, palpable fear brought Russia a great deal of trouble. It is time President Putin spoke clearly to the post Soviet nations as to whom Russia actually is as a neighbor. It also has to stop protecting leaders such as Yanukovych when acting against their own people, exhibit inability to actually govern, reward themselves with wealth and bring The West and Russia to brinkmanship.

There is much to be done in the Ukraine and the safety of citizens are currently tenuous. Victor Yanukovych did that. He loaded the odds against his own people and now is rolling the dice to favor an outcome he can return to power regardless of the number of people dead along the way. Russia can no longer appear to be the nation that harbors these men, it is against Russia's best interest.

By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN
Published: September 11, 2013
...The United Nations’ founders (click here) understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America’s consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades.... 

...From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression....

...We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement....

Yanukovych served as the governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002


8:31PM GMT 04 Mar 2014

A pro-Russian separatist (click here) has proclaimed a "people's government" in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine's major city, that rejects Kiev's authority.
Pavel Gubarev spearheaded a takeover of the government headquarters by a mob that broke through security grilles and smashed down the doors on Monday. A day later supporters of the new regime filled the red leather seats in the provincial chamber to consider his agenda.
The advertising executive declared he would co-opt a planned local vote on autonomy from Kiev and tilt the city away from Ukraine in a new alignment with Russia... 

Yanukovych to Pavel: "Hey, Pavel, you know all those uniforms and guns I gave you. Now is the time, okay, buddy?"

...The advertising executive declared he would co-opt a planned local vote on autonomy from Kiev and tilt the city away from Ukraine in a new alignment with Russia....

If Russia is convinced they aren't involved in the Ukraine, they sure haven't made it clear to them.

There are Ukraine oligarchs. We have seen this before.

...Mr Taruta is worth an estimated £1.2 billion but his appointment has been condemned as a backward step in the fight against the heartily resented power of elite oligarchs in Ukrainian politics.
"We have had this man imposed on us," said Sergey Molchan, 28, unemployed. "It is an illegitimate move by an illegal authority that we reject. Where is our president?"
Beyond the immediate grounds of the council offices, the Russian-speaking residents of Donetsk, which is the centre of Ukraine's mining and metals industries, were ambivalent or critical of the takeover.... 

None of them have jet fighters, right?

...Hundreds of Donetsk residents sympathetic to Kiev's revolutionaries turned out on the streets of the city last night for a counter-demonstration against the self-appointed leadership. It passed off peacefully. 

The Ukraine is booby trapped against the citizens. It's about the control of wealth. Power is wealth. That is corruption. Yanukovych is responsible. He supplied a power base of intimidation throughout the country to oppress citizens. That is why those that died were so willing to be aggressive in the Maidan. They knew what they were up against. Someone please learn the language and start to figure out where all the booby traps are?

Members of a ''Maidan'' self-defense battalion sing the Ukrainian national anthem before remembering fallen comrades at the site of recent street battles near Independence Square in Kiev March 1, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Thomas Peter

If Putin wants to be believable in regard to the lack of interest by Russia, he needs to denouce the violence and refuse to support any idea that the violence guarantees the help or economic attachment to Russia.

The one person that knows exactly where all the militias are located, would be Yanukovych. This proves pre-meditation of violence against the people for his own purpose.

Free and fair elections can't occur with a guns to the citizen's heads. This is nonsense. The oligarchs have to be disarmed. The military allowed in a sovereign nation is it's national military. Right now the national military is disarmed in the Ukraine. They need to remain disarmed to insure their lives and safety. This is out of the realm of control of the national military. 

The danger is among the towns of the country. There could be citizen deaths. The Ukraine people simply need to go about their lives and ignore the idea they have to be asserting themselves to insure the well being of their country. This type of problem has to be defused and NATO can't simply look the other way. 

These free lancing militias know nothing about strategy or propriety. This is extremely dangerous for the citizens of the Ukraine. The people just need to go about their lives and avoid conflict and confrontation. 

Yanukovych disseminated the national military into power structures that served the wealth structure of the country. It could be said he is dissolving the very sovereignty of the Ukraine. He has his own personal nation.

What does McCain think? Time to invade Russia? 
These soldiers are bragging they are ready for war.

Believe me, they aren't.

They sort of remind me of Saddam's old military, except, they have boots instead of shoes.

Not that they can't do damage, the question is will they live to tell about it.

Anyone feel pressed into service yet? 

What, you thought I was joking? 

When Bush picked an illegal war he knew which one to choose. 

 


Three months, "Mission Accomplished." The script was written before the cameras got there. The only problem was the peasants didn't rejoice.

Karate didn't work on the fry pan either.

This is part of the Russian military training. I have no idea what that is suppose to accomplish. The Russians have a national policy for all young men to serve one year. Consequently, there are many draft dodgers and the actual numbers of soldiers are about half of Russia's goal of one million.

And this is the tough guy Russian military the USA has to fear, huh? It's the nukes. That is why North Korea, Pakistan and Iran all want their nuclear weapons because they believe it is the only thing that keeps the USA from invading.

It is the biggest and most bogus reality on a global basis.

The truth is this. The best militaries in the world are all allies. The largest number of dead occurring as an act of war occurs in Africa where rebel groups from failed states fight over natural resources with small arms.

Putin stated he would reserve killing Ukraines as an option.

About a dozen Russian soldiers (click here) at the base warned the Ukrainians not to approach. They fired several warning shots into the air and said they would shoot the Ukrainians if they continued to march toward them.

So, now his troops are warning unarmed Ukrainians of violence. Why does that sound like Yanukovych? There is some kind of profound difference between him and Putin? Why expect anything any differently from these murderous idiots?

 MOSCOW — Accusing the West (click here) of encouraging an “unconstitutional coup” in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow reserves the right to use its military to protect Russians there but voiced hope it won’t need to do so. The Russian leader’s first comments on Ukraine since its fugitive president fled to Russia came just as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kiev to meet with Ukraine’s new government....

I can't believe they would pull this stunt with Secretary Kerry on the ground. Do you realize what could have happened to endanger the lives of peaceful members of NATO and the USA? I am talkin' idiots, here!

The power hungry idiots involved here don't even have respect for their own lives at this point. They actually think they have security in their aggressions?

Mar. 4, 2014 - 09:28AM 
The Associated Press

BRUSSELS — The NATO alliance and Russia (click here) have agreed to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine at a special meeting on Wednesday.
The alliance announced that an extraordinary NATO-Russia council will convene at the suggestion of alliance secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Russia agreed to the meeting on Tuesday, when NATO ambassadors were further discussing the crisis among themselves....

Our Secretary of State and multiple NATO officials and USA advisers are on the ground in the Ukraine with a peaceful mission and these idiots actually believe they can act this way?

Do our leaders have to travel with a full contingent of military? Really?

By Jeff Schogol
Staff Writer

Mar. 4, 2014 - 12:06PM

The U.S. has condemned (click here) the Russian incursion into Ukraine and now the Pentagon has suspended its military-to-military relationship with Russia, including exercises and planning conferences, a Defense Department spokesman said....

...“Some media outlets are speculating on possible ship movements in the region,” Kirby said in the statement on Monday. “There has been no change to our military posture in Europe or the Mediterranean; our Navy units continue to conduct routine, previously planned operations and exercises with allies and partners in the region.”...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lights a candle and lays roses atop the Shrine of the Fallen in Kiev March 4, 2014
Credit: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko


... About 200 Marines and sailors are in Romania, where they are spending a yearlong rotation working with troops from the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucasus regions, said Navy Capt. Gregory Hicks, a spokesman for EUCOM.
The Black Sea Rotational Force 14 rotation began in September and includes live-fire exercises, such as small arms and dismount firing and moving, according to a news release from Marine Forces Europe and Africa.

Meanwhile, about 150 airmen and four F-15s from Royal Air Force Lakenheath are deployed to Lithuania to conduct the Baltic Air Policing mission, Hicks said. The mission involves protecting the airspace for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, according to the 48th Fighter Wing....

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with members of the Rada in Kiev March 4, 2014.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque


No different than the diaspora of other nations, Russian citizens in the USA can have very different views than that of their native land. I find her statement uncontrived, honest and brave.



Secretary of State Kerry's visit to Kiev is a symbolic and tangible illustration of American support as the White House tries to counteract Russian pressure on the new Ukrainian authorities. 
Credit Kevin Lamarque/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
...The United States (click here) will also send technical experts to help Ukraine’s national bank and finance ministry, provide advice on how to fight corruption and train election monitors to help establish the legitimacy of Ukraine’s coming election.

American officials are offering assistance in recovering “stolen assets,” an allusion to the billions of dollars that are alleged to have been spirited out of the country by former President Viktor F. Yanukovych and powerful businessmen.

The United States will also provide technical advice so that Ukraine might lodge complaints with the World Trade Organization should Russia try to use trade as a political weapon....

The Ukraine needs to learn skills in it's leadership that will empower them against any attack against their economy, not just Russia. How are these nations going to move out of the old world and into the new if they don't have the knowledge and power to do so? They are left to seek advice that can easily lead to corruption.

It is difficult for a country to reach it's potential if there are no allies that wish it for them. I can't state this enough, but, the Ukraine believed in peace and disarmed from very dangerous weapons. Is there any reason to believe they have the capacity to wish harm anyone, yet alone their own people in the Crimea?

There is every reason to believe the Ukraine will be a willing and honest trade broker with any country. Why the delay in providing stability and protections so they can begin their efforts?

They simply want to defend their country, is there something wrong with that? They don't want a civil war, they want unity and peace within that unity. 

"The Risk" the Ukraines face is not of their creation, it has been imposed on them because a treaty was broken. At no time did Russia consult with any of the other nations involved in this before it acted. It never sought a consensus. Russia wanted confrontation. It wanted to leverage power. It never wanted a peaceful resolve. There was no chance the Ukraine could ever stand up to a Russian staging of troops and Russia knew it and acted anyway. The Ukraine posses no threat to any other nation and in that reality lay it's vulnerability.

William Booth
Updated: Tuesday, March 4, 11:34 AM

 Col. Yuliy Mamchuk, center, commander of the Ukrainian military garrison at the Belbek airbase, and a colleague with the regimental flag confront troops under Russian command Tuesday. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
 
BELBEK, Ukraine — A tense and dangerous test of wills (click here) took place Tuesday on a rainy hilltop at a dilapidated Cold War era air field here, as Ukrainian soldiers confronted Russian troops and demanded to be allowed to return to their base
Just a few hours after the 5 a.m. deadline issued by the Russia’s Black Sea Fleet for Ukrainian troops in Crimea to switch their allegiance from the new government in Kiev to the pro-Russian leadership in Crimea, the first shots of the conflict were fired into the air here by a pro-Russia militiaman.

No one was injured in the continuing impasse, but there were tense moments as the two sides faced off, and Ukraine troops were forced to choose between their oath to Ukraine and their feelings of affinity with Russia.

At the Belbek air base, the Ukrainians chose duty....

Ukrainian riot police stand guard around a regional state administration building in the Black Sea city of Odessa to prevent pro-Russian activists from storming the building, on March 3, 2014 (AFP, Alexey Kravtsov)

Adding foreign troops would make matters worse. It would escalate tensions and vastly delay the economic opportunities the Ukraine needs.

It is amazing marriages survive politics.


“We could give a wonderful photo spread (click here) to People magazine of photos from the party coupled with old photos of their honeymoon and of special moments for them over the past 20 years,” Caputo wrote, adding that they could turn it into “a nice mail piece later on.”

Seeing ambitions of office equated to personal achievements in relationships is called depersonalization. I am glad to realize these lame ideas weren't that of the First Lady.

Peeks into the personal lives of our leaders are refreshing, fun and validates our Americanism. How many women didn't emulate Jackie's style and grace? But, to seek to use those wonderful events as political ads is not a good idea. I can see why Hillary had such a challenge in her personal life with Bill.

It’s hard to understand why so many calculations are needed to seem “real,” just as it’s hard to understand how Hillary veers from feminist positions to un-feminist ones.

I never thought it was difficult to understand why such issues existed. Hillary was chronically under attack because she was a very strong woman. Even in Arkansas. When Bill decided to run for the presidency, the opportunists came out of the woodwork and preyed on her.

Given Ms. Rodham's very public life I find it difficult to realize when she actually had any privacy. 

She was a career woman from the time of her youngest days growing up. She had her sights set on ambition during the years of our country when women were still ambiguous about what defined a mother, wife and career. It was a time when women had dual identities. Their time was split between housework, homework and paid work. They had to do everything in order to be defined as a woman worthy of a marriage.

Then as First Lady she was suppose to be able to identify with all that and still maintain the dignity of her marriage.

When she made the statement about cookies during the campaign, you'll excuse me but she had every right to say it as a strike for women's liberation and rights; yet she was attacked by those that believed a woman's place was in the home. We saw the same nonsense during the Romney campaign. Decades have gone by and Republican women can't get out of their own way. 

Will the oppressive will of Phyllis Schlafly ever die? 

The fact of the matter is that Ann Romney is a nice lady, but, she has difficult health problems and we all care about her. But, she has never had to endure the need for a two to three income household or the desire to have a career and be a strong role model to daughters.

Hillary Clinton has been and continues to be a remarkable women intent on 'finding a way' for women to achieve equality even if she has declared their issues as human rights.

Dowd needs to get over her inadequacies to embrace the real issues of women and girls and pick up where Republican oppression has left off.

This was not a good idea. The treatment in Gaza would have been worse.

 
Mar 4, 2014 7:22 AM ET

A co-founder of the U.S. peace groupCode Pink, (click here) Medea Benjamin, who was detained at Cairo airport en route to the Gaza Strip, has been deported.

Benjamin has been deported to Turkey, Code Pink said in a Twitter posting. The activist was on her way to Gaza as part of an International Women’s Day delegation.

“The police pulled my arm out the socket, my arm is dislocated,” Benjamin said by phone from Cairo airport jail earlier today...

A trip to Israel to protest the treatment of those in Gaza would have been a far better idea. It is nearly impossible for movement in Gaza and between Israel and Gaza. I am no one to complain if there are no deaths on either side of the border.

I am grateful she is okay. Her intentions were noble, but, the methods misguided. Gaza is a very dangerous place. One woman would not change that and more than likely would be a captive. I take it, Ms. Benjamin doesn't regularly wear a head scarf and would insist on being a model of a woman without oppression in her life. Right? That would not go over well in Gaza.

These are not people that value diversity. There is no indication that will change even in the next generation.  Children in Gaza are taught at an early age about violence. The Palestinians in Gaza are among the most extreme and have a long way to go. I don't believe those very same people should be punished; they need less punishment; but one American woman isn't going to change that. Those are huge policy issues that are completely dependent on international policy.

The reason Ms. Benjamin was deported was to insure she was safe and did not cause an international incident. 

Palestinians torch synagogues in former Gaza settlements (click here)  

By Amos Harel  
Haaretz Service and Aluf Benn 
Sep. 9, 2005 
12:00 AM

Palestinians moved into the evacuated Gaza Strip settlement of Morag before dawn Monday, after Israel Defense Forces troops pulled out of the area, and set the synagogue on fire. Huge flames leapt into the sky.
Palestinians also set fire to synagogues in the evacuated settlements of Netzarim and Kfar Darom.
In one of the synagogues, gunmen climbed on the roof and waved flags of militant groups, including Hamas, shouting "God is great".... 

Code Pink should not ever believe they are ineffective in their efforts on USA soil. They are noticed. I am sure there are places in DC they are discussed and their opinions are important. Their greatest influence is in DC, not Gaza. They don't need to be victims, they need to be voices of the voiceless.








...The Harvard School of Public Health researchers say, (click here) at a population level, the risk with a single outburst of anger is relatively low - one extra heart attack per 10,000 people per year could be expected among people with low cardiovascular risk who were angry only once a month, increasing to an extra four per 10,000 people with a high cardiovascular risk
.
But the risk is cumulative, meaning temper-prone individuals will be at higher risk still. 

Five episodes of anger a day would result in around 158 extra heart attacks per 10,000 people with a low cardiovascular risk per year, increasing to about 657 extra heart attacks per 10,000 among those with a high cardiovascular risk, Dr Elizabeth Mostofsky and colleagues calculate....

How's the heart holding up, Dick? 

Paul Costello 
February 25th, 2014

Dick Cheney on his heart transplant: “It’s the gift of life itself” (click here)

Do tell. I hum while working. Oddly enough, those around me actually enjoy it. Well, most do. Try that Dick. When nuclear warfare enters your obsessive mind, find a tune you like better. There must be a 12 step program for hatred and the wish for inflicting harm on others, right? "W" understood the importance of a 12 step program.

Do you believe even the birds in Snow White whistled a military tune? Give me a break.

Dick Cheney on his heart transplant: “It’s the gift of life itself” - See more at: http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2014/02/25/dick-cheney-on-his-heart-transplant-its-the-gift-of-life-itself/#sthash.4nC5jtkI.dpuf
on February 25th, 201

A neighbor knew her screams and Oscar didn't?

By Gerald Imray and Christopher torchia
Associated Press 
March 4, 2014 
Updated: March 4, 2014 8:52am

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The first witness (click here) in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial broke down in tears Tuesday, saying she still remembers the terrified screams of a woman on the night the double-amputee athlete killed his girlfriend by shooting four times through a toilet door.

Michelle Burger, who lives near Pistorius' home and who had been composed through two days of grueling cross-examination, wept as she finished her testimony by speaking about how she had reflected on the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.

"When I'm in the shower, I relive her shouts," Burger said of hearing the woman screaming before the sound of gunshots in the pre-dawn hours of that night. Burger lives about 177 meters (193 yards) from Pistorius' house.

Earlier, the trial was interrupted and the judge ordered an investigation into allegations that a South African television channel was broadcasting a photograph of Burger during her testimony — against a court order guaranteeing privacy to witnesses who request it.... 

That is a PTSD reaction. The trauma of what she heard is so great and a shock to her life she can't get rid of it. The trauma of Reeva's screams made an indelible impression on that Ms. Burger's survival centers and the court is expected to dismiss that?

This is not Schapelle's fault. If the family was responsible for her exposure then they should appear for questioning.







..."I am waiting for a complete report (click here) from the Bali Corrections Board, and in the meantime I'd like to announce that there's a possibility I will revoke Corby's parole," he told a small group of journalists.

The Indonesian government had warned the Corby family that Schapelle should not do a post-release interview, but the story on Seven's Sunday Night program used candid footage of Corby and an interview with her sister, Mercedes.

The program captured Schapelle's first moments out of jail after being convicted in 2005 of drug smuggling. 

Her release wasn't conducted well. Indonesia should have anticipated the intense interest in her release and allowed interviews with Ms. Corby before she was released. The government could have controlled the frenzy better.

If the interviews/press conference was conducted before she was released the Indonesian government would have her 'on the record' and would have blunted their fears of any venomous words regarding her incarceration. Did anyone sincerely expect Ms. Corby to actually like her incarceration?
Monday, March 03, 2014
Associated Press
Eyewitness News

NEW YORK -- Osama bin Laden's son-in-law (click here) was introduced to prospective jurors Monday at the start of his trial on charges that he conspired to kill Americans and support terrorists in his role as al-Qaida's spokesman after the Sept. 11 attacks. 

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan asked Sulaiman Abu Ghaith to turn and face the potential jurors before asking if any knew him. None did.

None did. Is that a surprise? Would anyone state they knew this man? I don't believe that was a smart thing to do. Were the jurors notified they would have to undergo a background check before being seated and did they have any reason to deny such a check?

The judge drew silence as well when he asked if there was anyone who had never heard of al-Qaida.

The questioning was part of a process designed to shrink a jury pool of dozens of prospective jurors to the 12 anonymous jurors and several alternates necessary before opening statements begin as early as Wednesday.

The trial, expected to last about three weeks, began a year after Abu Ghaith was brought to the United States following his capture in Jordan....

There was a jury process that was successful when Ramzi Yousef (click here) was tried. The processed used then would be best for the trial of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith. The Yousef trial is precedent to date in these cases.

The North Hemisphere is on ice and the Southern Hemisphere is on fire.

A water bomber works over a large fire burning throughout Victoria's Grampians region. Photo / AP

By Jamie Morton

Australia continues (click here) to be the "burning, drying" continent, with a new report showing temperatures across the country are on average 1C warmer than they were a century ago.
Most of the warming has happened within the last 60 years.

The worrying trend is laid out in a new report released today by Australia's national science agency, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and its Bureau of Meteorology.

Bureau chief executive Dr Rob Vertessy said temperatures across Australia were, on average, almost 1C warmer than they were a century ago, with most of the warming having occurred since 1950....


...Although volcanoes (click here) are active around the world, and continue to emit carbon dioxide as they did in the past, the amount of carbon dioxide they release is extremely small compared to human emissions. On average, volcanoes emit between 130 and 230 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. By burning fossil fuels, people release in excess of 100 times more, about 26 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere every year (as of 2005). As a result, human activity overshadows any contribution volcanoes may have made to recent global warming....


The Ukraine's population takes an uptick with 16,000 Russia troops.

The real concern is, do they have their papers in order?

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, walk upon arrival to watch military exercises. Photo / AP

Russian troops (click here) said to be 16,000 strong have tightened their stranglehold on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, openly defying the US and the European Union and rattling world capitals and stock markets....

Why was the Russian currency in free fall? It wasn't punitive, it was real, based in real reasons.



Before World War I Germany (click here) was a prosperous country, with a gold-backed currency, expanding industry, and world leadership in optics, chemicals, and machinery. The German Mark, the British shilling, the French franc, and the Italian lira all had about equal value, and all were exchanged four or five to the dollar. That was in 1914. In 1923, at the most fevered moment of the German hyperinflation, the exchange rate between the dollar and the Mark was one trillion Marks to one dollar, and a wheelbarrow full of money would not even buy a newspaper. Most Germans were taken by surprise by the financial tornado....

Is this what the Ukraine needs? A valueless currency? This is the legacy now of Yanukovych. His violent reaction against the people of the Ukraine has resulted in a fiscal insult to the nation. This is what ideology gets a nation. Ideology leaves a nation exactly where it belongs, in history.



The price of crude oil (click here) dropped Tuesday after a big jump a day earlier over jitters that Russia's military advance into Ukraine could result in economic sanctions against one of the world's major energy suppliers.

Benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery was down 47 cents to $104.45 a barrel at 0620 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.33 to close at $104.on Monda. Brent crude, used to set prices for international varieties of crude, was down 73 cents at $110.47 a barrel.
Oil prices spiked Monday over the prospect of violent upheaval in the heart of Europe.

Russian troops controlled all Ukrainian border posts on the strategic peninsula of Crimea. Fears grew that the Kremlin might carry out more land grabs in pro-Russian eastern Ukraine, adding urgency to Western efforts to defuse the crisis.

Still, the West appeared to have limited options. The clearest weapon at the disposal of the EU and U.S. appeared to be economic sanctions that would freeze Russian assets and scrap multi-billion dollar deals with Russia....

Pope Francis is becoming a centerfold.

Pope Francis has captured the attention of a global community that loves a popular god.

VATICAN CITY
March 4, 2014 (AP)

..."My Pope," at 50 cents ($0.70) a pop, (click here) hits newsstands Wednesday, and each week will include a free pull-out poster with one of Francis' more memorable quotes from the previous seven days....

A photocopied letter? Is this a joke? I mean Russia looks down at the UN diplomatic corp as if toys?

Where is Yanukovych? Where is Russia's boy toy? If he is so legitimate and so dedicated he would but his life on the line for the Ukraine then where was at the United Nations? Where were his pleadings? He is a spineless puppet to Russia and the world knows it.

The facts of decades of recent history in the Ukraine serve no purpose to Russia and that is why it has unilaterally decided to cause more danger to the Ukraine people. You'll excuse me, but, armed Russian soldiers on Ukraine territory is an invasion and posses a greater danger to the lives of Ukrainians. A nation that has done nothing but cooperated with the international community and sought peace for it's people are now occupied by Russia troops. WHAT!!!!!

The fact of the matter is that Russia is not a trustworthy partner in anything. If it is willing to occupy the Ukraine what is to prevent it from taking control of any power structure on Earth? Russia believes it can simply strong arm the world and everyone has to accept it. When is Russia going to learn that no matter it's insistence on being imposing on unarmed nations the outcome is always inevitable over time. Russia loses because it oppresses the free speech and free will of people. 

Dear God, Vladimir. The entire Soviet Union imploded because of it's oppressive government. Wake Up !!!!!!!!!!!!! 

There is no winning here. There is no losing here. The outcome is to be a stable nation that can be a partner to world economies. Stop isolating nations into economic hell and loss of quality of life.  

The world is too small to carry on with military force. The reason Bush and Cheney got away with an illegal invasion into Iraq was because of a terrorist attack by bin Laden. It gave opportunity for the rightwing of the USA to practice expansionism and greed for Iraq's oil. The strength of any nation is it's sovereign national security and peace.  

At the time of the attacks of September 11, 2001 the empathy for the USA was great. The political rightwing of the USA took advantage of it and played the global community for fools. If it weren't for the former Prime Minister Tony Blair in joining the USA as an ally, the American rightwing would have engaged nuclear war. I am convinced of it. Cheney was priming the nation of the USA for exactly that. He was diminishing the actual tragedy of a nuclear explosion as containable. A nuclear war as limited. The world 'handled it.' Amazingly, the world and the people of conscience within the USA handled it. What is to fear if the entire global community has a singular vision?

March 4, 2014 - 10:08PM

...Russian President Vladimir Putin (click here) has said Ukraine endured an unconstitutional coup after months of anti-government protests prompted leader Viktor Yanukovych to flee. While Mr Yanukovych had no chance of being re-elected, the Ukrainian opposition immediately violated a February 21 peace accord brokered by the European Union, Mr Putin told a news conference on Tuesday at his residence near Moscow.

In his first public remarks since Mr Yanukovych’s ouster last month, Mr Putin said he’d only send soldiers to the country in an extreme case. Mr Yanukovych had asked Russia to send troops to protect ethnic Russians in his country, Mr Putin told reporters. His comments signal that the crisis, the worst between Russia and the West since the Cold War ended, won’t immediately escalate....