Ukraine Crisis

[retromike22]

A lot of sh**t.

This is getting to be very dangerous. If Russians come in, it will be awful.

Are we back to this?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60

[retromike22]

2010 Ukraine presidential election: (Without Crimea)
Tymochenko: 50.2%
Ianoukovitch: 49.8%

Timochenko would have won. I tend to believe that Russians are "bluffing". If they annex Crimea, they will massively lose their influence in the rest of Ukraine. And I don't think it's what they want. Remember Stalin who wanted the Federal Republic of Germany and East Germany to merge and to be a "neutral" zone, a kind of "nomansland' between the two superpowers (and Adenauer refused this plan). Russia has always wanted to have a "buffer strip". And if they annex Crimea right now, Ukraine won't be a buffer strip anymore. That's why I believe they are bluffing.

I think the Russians want Crimea more than they want (or need) a buffer state. Finland, Estonia, and Latvia are NATO and EU states and they border Russia, with no buffer states between them.

[retromike22]

Just read this line: "What's Happening In Crimea Would Be Like France Sending Troops To Quebec."

I think that's a tough analogy, since France doesn't border Quebec.

The analogy ppl keep coming to is Germany with Czechoslovakia in 1938.

[retromike22]

Russia just test fired an intercontinental ballistic missile: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/04/russia-test-fires-intercontinental-balli-idUKL6N0M14IW20140304

[retromike22]

Russia just test fired an intercontinental ballistic missile: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/04/russia-test-fires-intercontinental-balli-idUKL6N0M14IW20140304

Well, that's...

Does that mean we have to start practicing Duck and Cover again?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60

[retromike22]

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/441662520831393792
Michael McFaul (former Ambassador to Russia) tweets:

"If Russian govt. endorses Crimean referendum, will they also allow/endorse similar votes in republics in Russian Federation?"

[retromike22]

Two Ukrainian solders married each other right before their base was taken over by Russian soldiers.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/03/ukrainian-soldiers-tie-the-knot-just-before-crimean-airbase-stormed/

[retromike22]

At first I thought this was an Onion article, but it isn't:

Russia has successfully annexed the Ukrainian Crimea and stormed its neighbor's naval bases there, but it may have seized its biggest prize this week -- an elite combat unit of trained dolphins.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/russia-ukraine-combat-dolphins

My only question is: Were the dolphins seized, or did the dolphins consciously defect to Russia?