It was all a coup!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

So Yanukovych gets democratically elected in 2010, and in the next four years he does nothing that would warrant mass protests from the Ukrainian people. Because corruption happens everywhere, so just deal with it, okay?

Then a bunch of neo-nazi ultra-nationalists go into Kiev and throw rocks and sticks and bottles and shit, probably because the US or EU or somebody paid them to do so. Because if you want to enact regime change to get your guy into power, paying lots and lots of people money to protest is the most efficient and effective way to do so.

Then the all-powerful failed US Presidential candidate and chronic mumbler John McCain comes in on McCain Force One and stands on a stage, looking slightly constipated. And Victoria Nuland passes out sandwiches, or maybe donuts (pampushky as they are known locally).

Then the neo-Nazi ultra-nationalists go back to throwing rocks and sticks and bottles and shit.

Then some of the neo-Nazi ultranationalists get shot by snipers, but really, they were probably just shooting themselves, so whateves.

Then someone waves a magic wand, God comes out of the machine, and Yanukoyvch is no longer the Ukrainian president and Svoboda is now in charge. Pretty much permanently, because it's not like they've scheduled elections in the upcoming months.

And clearly it's Svoboda who the US/UK/EU/CIA/IMF/NATO wants in charge, because when you think people who outside foreign powers think are the easiest to have their bidding done on their behalf, it's domestic ultranationalists.

Oh, and did I mention that it's the ultranationalist neo-nazis who are now in charge of Ukraine, and not an interim government lead by moderate centrists? Because that's what it is.

Oh, and Russia invades Crimea with its very special force of Not Russian Russian Troops, but that's okay. Not that we like Putin or anything, but back in the day Russia controlled Crimea for its very special Russification/Expelling the Tatars project, so really it's not like it's foreign soil for them. Plus, Ukraine outlawed the speaking of Russian in Ukraine, so there's that, too.

Plus we as Americans are morally prohibited from criticizing Russia's actions because our last idiot of a President also invaded a foreign country on pretextual purposes. And once that is done, there is no way for us to reflect on our past errors and take a different approach from that point forward.

Obviously. Duh.

[Scuba]

1. "... probably because the US or EU or somebody paid them to do so." Or BP, Exxon, Shell, etc.

Or is that the same thing?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Sure, why not. nt

[treestar]

3. McCain Force One

He's always out there when there's a chance to warmonger!

[n2doc]

4. Pop-eyes the crazy man

[Scootaloo]

10. He can be VERY subtle at times, though!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. The great and powerful!

[bemildred]

6. +1. Good summary. nt

[philly_bob]

7. Is this irony? Funny, but doesn't shed much light. /nt

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. Irony. Parody. Satire.

Call it what you will (lame, even), but, no I'm not being serious.

[philly_bob]

21. Thanks. Definitely not lame.

But there's so many different stories going around, it's not like there's a DU-consensus that you can riff off.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

22. You're very welcome. nt

[The Magistrate]

8. Not Bad, Sir

It's the truth, I know it's so, 'cause Russia Times tells me so!

[Cha]

23. Oh, I thought that RT stood for

Russian Truth?

[HappyMe]

12. Well done.

[Whisp]

13. Ukraine: The Haze of Propaganda -- must read

Ukraine: The Haze of Propaganda
Timothy Snyder

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/mar/01/ukraine-haze-propaganda/

From Moscow to London to New York, the Ukrainian revolution has been seen through a haze of propaganda. Russian leaders and the Russian press have insisted that Ukrainian protesters were right-wing extremists and then that their victory was a coup. Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, used the same clichés after a visit with the Russian president at Sochi. After his regime was overturned, he maintained he had been ousted by “right-wing thugs,” a claim echoed by the armed men who seized control of airports and government buildings in the southern Ukrainian district of Crimea on Friday.

Interestingly, the message from authoritarian regimes in Moscow and Kiev was not so different from some of what was written during the uprising in the English-speaking world, especially in publications of the far left and the far right. From Lyndon LaRouche’s Executive Intelligence Review through Ron Paul’s newsletter through The Nation and The Guardian, the story was essentially the same: little of the factual history of the protests, but instead a play on the idea of a nationalist, fascist, or even Nazi coup d’état.

In fact, it was a classic popular revolution. It began with an unmistakably reactionary regime. A leader sought to gather all power, political as well as financial, in his own hands. This leader came to power in democratic elections, to be sure, but then altered the system from within. For example, the leader had been a common criminal: a rapist and a thief. He found a judge who was willing to misplace documents related to his case. That judge then became the chief justice of the Supreme Court. There were no constitutional objections, subsequently, when the leader asserted ever more power for his presidency. ... much more at link

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. Excellent article. nt

[Cha]

24. Thanks Whisp.. I was just thinking about that article that I had

"favorites" but haven't had a chance to read yet.

[GeorgeGist]

14. Gitmo!

[okaawhatever]

15. Well done. nt

[grahamhgreen]

16. Ummm, you forgot about the oil and gas pipelines that are being usurped by big oil over Russian oil.

[geek tragedy]

17. ????

What pipelines are being usurped, and what is their relationship to Russian oil?

[grahamhgreen]

18. maps ->

[jeff47]

20. Thank you for your post, Mr. Putin. (nt)

[Cha]

25. "Looky looky over here!.. "

"Gitmo"

[Tommy_Carcetti]

26. ?

[Cha]

29. ..

#14.

[another_liberal]

27. I disagree that we wanted Svoboda in charge . . .

We wanted the same geeky-looking, Harvard educated and easily manipulated "technocrat" in charge who is now the so-called "interim President" of Ukraine. He is our figurehead (ours and the IMF's, that is). Surely I don't need to post that youtube video of Victoria Nuland's "Fuck the EU" comments again, do I?

Oh, alright. Here it is:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

28. Yeah, it's not like they have elections scheduled for May.

Doesn't matter though. Whoever wins that, the tinfoil crowd will likewise accuse of being a stooge.

[cthulu2016]

30. Your parody doesn't begin to rival the real thing

The OP is far more rational than most of the genre. For instance, you left out the well known "fact" that there are no Russian troops in Crimea, which is currently over-run by American mercenaries.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

31. Primetime for creative speculation. nt