Vladimir Putin, Russia's human tank

[bemildred]

MOSCOW — There was no one to stop him.

That's why Russian President Vladimir Putin was able to seize the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine with barely a whisper of internal resistance.

Recovering the region that was part of Russia for centuries has boosted Putin's standing among countrymen nostalgic for Moscow's lost superpower status. Putin calculated — correctly — that Crimea wasn't so important to the U.S. and its European allies that they would back their harsh criticism with military muscle.

But he also made sure that the downsides — international isolation, new burdens on Russia's already strained budget and a continuing armed standoff with a sovereign neighbor — were never debated internally. The quashing of political opposition and independent media has left virtually no one to challenge his decisions.

http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-russia-no-dissent-20140326,0,4055235.story

[BeyondGeography]

1. He's a flying tank

[Purveyor]

2. kick. Thanks for posting. +1 eom

[Jefferson23]

3. Garry Kasparov had a website coined The Other Russia, he spends some time living in NYC too.

The website has been abandoned, as far as I know, and he now has Croatian citizenship.

Pussy Riot has an up hill battle, to say the least.


On edit: The Onion's satire on the situation is pretty damn accurate, lol:

Thanks For Being So Cool About Everything
Commentary • Opinion • ISSUE 50•11 • Mar 20, 2014
By Vladimir Putin

http://www.theonion.com/articles/thanks-for-being-so-cool-about-everything,35584/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Pic:1 efault

[bemildred]

5. Yeah, that nails it.

I could quibble, but the theatrical nature of most of the public speech on the subject has been annoying me since about the day after Putin made his move. I remember discussing with The Magistrate at that time and us both agreeing that no fucking way are we going to do squat about it. Actually Putin took less than I thought he would, and I give him credit for being smart enough not to over-reach. He just took the low-hanging fruit, he left a lot more hanging.

Do you realize that for the first time since the USSR imploded we are going to have two competing economic/political systems side-by-side there on the Ukraine/Russia border? IMF/Austerity/EU on one side and Holy Mother Russian authoritarian nationalism on the other. That should be interesting.

And today, President Obama saying: "Well! We at least tried to get the UN to go along! What about appearances?" (to paraphrase), like bringing up resolutions you know will fail indicates sincerity and good intentions.

[Jefferson23]

6. Oh I agree, it will be interesting alright. Not to upset people about Obama, but it is kind of

amazing to me how little he ended up doing..there could of been a smart concerted middle area to go after..like
the bigger banks, for one, and I'll leave it at that.

It is worrisome knowing that Ukraine is regretting they gave up their nukes, and they are right to feel
that way..our ineffective action is another reason we may lose in any quest for reducing nukes in the
future.

[bemildred]

7. Yes on the nukes. Esp. there in the Middle East.

Here we are negotiating with Iran over control of their nukes, and there we are in Ukraine showing our lack of good faith.

One wishes Ms. Nuland had considered such issues too, before deciding to get deeply involved in Ukrainian domestic politics. Such a clear and unambiguous way to demonstrate that our word doesn't mean much.

[Jefferson23]

8. Ms Nuland, a professional with integrity? Not a chance...she is in the wrong job, imo. n/t

Exactly right regarding Iran.

[Doctor_J]

4. He gives Sarah Failin a tingle down her leg

Headline if there were a liberal version of the Sludge Report

Mooselini Expresses Hots For Commie Dictator"