Crisis Oekraïne - Rusland #192 Putin openhartig over annexatie

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:39 schreef Smack10 het volgende:

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Hoho even, niet de aandacht verschuiven.. geef even antwoord op de vraag/stelling.

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:46 schreef ZOA het volgende:

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In ruim 10 jaar in Oekraine had ik niets met Amerika.. sinds een jaar schijnt dat toch behoorlijk verandert te zijn en niet geheel vrijwillig...

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:49 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:

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Nee, de Russen hebben ze als het ware in de armen van de Amerikanen gedreven.

Nogal contra-productief als je het mij vraagt.

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:37 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:
Ja, ik heb veel officials zien veroordeeld worden in de 25 EU landen die meededen met het extraordinary rendition programma...

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:49 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:

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Nee, de Russen hebben ze als het ware in de armen van de Amerikanen gedreven.

Nogal contra-productief als je het mij vraagt.

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:52 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:

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Niet gelezen dat de Britse en Poolse geheime diensten Euromaidan hadden georganiseerd?

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:52 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:

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Niet gelezen dat de Britse en Poolse geheime diensten Euromaidan hadden georganiseerd?

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:52 schreef waht het volgende:
Het Kremlin erkent de soevereiniteit van Oekraïne gewoon niet. Simpeler dan dit wordt het niet.

En inderdaad, Amerika erkende de soevereiniteit van Irak/Afghanistan niet. Hebben we dat ook maar gehad.

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 14:15 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

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We laten hier de legitimering door de VN veiligheidsraad achterwege. Een actie heeft alleen precedentwerking als een rechter (of de VN veiligheidsraad in internationaal conflicten) oordeelt dat de actie niet in strijd is met de wet. De aanvalsoorlog op Irak heeft geen precedent werking omdat de VN veiligheidsraad deze oorlog legitimeerde. Deze oorlog is door veel EU landen veroordeeld.

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 14:19 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:

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Niet waar, Irak moest z'n WMDs programma's stopzetten en inspecties toelaten. Dat hebben ze ook gedaan, de VS heeft valse bewijzen gebruikt om een oorlog te starten. "Omdat God het Bush had opgedragen."

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Malinka1102 twitterde op donderdag 12-03-2015 om 13:27:47 Another mysterious death in #UkraineThis time its ex-governor of #Zaporozhye oblAny concern from yhe West? http://t.co/SNFvs85jMS reageer retweet

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JamesGRickards twitterde op woensdag 11-03-2015 om 18:47:24 #IMF gives 12.4B SDR loan to #Ukraine http://t.co/TMQmNKLXDx. IMF is not supposed to lend to insolvent states. Ukraine is broke. Whatever. reageer retweet

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 15:09 schreef crystal_meth het volgende:

twitter:

Malinka1102 twitterde op donderdag 12-03-2015 om 13:27:47 Another mysterious death in #UkraineThis time its ex-governor of #Zaporozhye oblAny concern from yhe West? http://t.co/SNFvs85jMS reageer retweet

Begint routine te worden...

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 15:43 schreef waht het volgende:
Rusland nummer één.

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Russia’s top federal law enforcement agency has opened a criminal probe into the statement by a retired US Army general, who suggested that the Ukrainian crisis could be settled by “killing Russians.”

The criminal case was started against Robert H. Scales on charges of public calls for starting an aggressive war made in the media, the chief spokesman for the Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, told reporters Thursday. Under the Russian Criminal Code this crime can carry up to five years in prison.

According to the Investigative Committee, Scales’s statement also violated article 20 of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which bans any propaganda of war and instigation of discrimination, hatred or violence.

The statement was made on the US TV network Fox News on Wednesday. The channel aired a segment featuring Scales, a former United States Army major general who now works as a military analyst. Scales said that one solution to the Ukrainian crisis would be to kill the alleged Russian soldiers roaming around eastern Ukraine.

The analyst said that the only way the United States could have any effect in this region was to start killing Russians in large quantities to provoke protests in Russia itself after a great number of KIAs start to arrive from Ukraine. He added that in his view the Ukrainian military themselves simply did not possess the ability to counterattack.

The Russian Foreign Ministry harshly criticized Scale’s comments on Thursday. Washington is setting the tone for “shameless anti-Russian propaganda, reiterating each day aggressive statements,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich. He also urged the retired US Army general to take notice of the fact that a criminal investigation has been launched against him.

Earlier, Scales published an article in the Wall Street Journal in which he said that President Barack Obama’s administration should begin sending the “lethal defensive weapons” to Ukraine and provide the Kiev authorities with American-made Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) and train Ukrainian troops to operate them.

Earlier this week, the German ambassador to Washington, Peter Wittig, told the press that President Obama had agreed not to send lethal defensive aid to Ukraine after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the White House in February. The diplomat added that the two leaders agreed that it was important to give some space for the diplomatic and political efforts in settling the Ukrainian crisis.

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The British Foreign Secretary proved this week that he's unfit for the rigors of the role. By no stretch of the imagination is Russia the greatest security threat to the UK.

Philip Hammond is in line for the wooden spoon award as the shortest serving British Foreign Secretary for a quarter of a century, according to both the bookmakers and opinion polls. If so, the dreaded ligneous utensil will come in splinters. The multi-millionaire Oxford old boy has been hopelessly out of his depth in the position.

Hammond first indicated that he may be somewhat removed from reality back in 2012. In a, frankly barmy, speech in Germany he defended the role of the banks in creating the 2008 Great Financial Crisis. In terms of tact, this was akin to turning up at a far-right rally in the west Ukrainian city of Lvov, and suggesting Stalin wasn’t such a bad chap after all.

The following year Hammond’s calamitous tongue was at it again - comparing legislation supporting same-sex marriage to the sanctioning of incest. Whatever your views on the matter, to place what amounts to a civil rights campaign in the realm of the oedipal complex was grossly offensive.

The Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge has a habit of saying very silly things. This week he finally took the ‘McVities’ with a statement that not only made him look extremely stupid - it also debased his office. An utterance so imbecilic those illustrious predecessors from the Duke of Wellington to Harold Macmillan must have been spinning in their resting places.

Hammond versus reality
Hammond said: “It (Russia) has the potential to pose the single greatest threat to our security.” Some have suggested that the Foreign Secretary was waffling in an attempt to secure funding for the foreign intelligence services (Mi6) which he controls, but I doubt it. I think the ‘cold warrior’ really believes his nonsense. This suggests that either he’s lost touch with reality or is taking advice from unqualified sources.

London is home to a number of activists who masquerade as Russia experts, despite having little or no practical knowledge of the country. By my reckoning, someone who has never lived in Russia, nor has much of a grasp of the language, is not a competent source for information. Even as a tour guide. However, the UK media regularly use such people as pundits, based on some book they’ve written or the fact that Russia was somehow part of their liberal arts course at Cambridge/Oxford. Is it possible that a few of these chancers have somehow bluffed their way into advising government officials? It’s starting to sound like it.

So by what measure of even the most tortured imagination is Russia the “single greatest threat” to the safety of the UK? Russia is very very far from Britain. I know this because I once drove between the two and it took me 4 days. While Finland and Georgia, for instance, have legitimate reasons to fear an aggressive Russia, I can’t fathom for one moment where the UK comes into play here. In order for Russia to attack the British homeland its forces would have to cross Ukraine, Poland, Germany and France first.That's a very, very large buffer zone.

Natural British defenses
In reality, the only countries who could feasibly invade the UK are France and the USA (and even then only if their Irish friends let them land there first, which is rather unlikely). Indeed, Britain’s geographical position is a blessing. The moat around it, allied to its relative martial strength, makes it just about the least likely European country to be threatened by anyone.

Hammond also suggested that he might publicize the value of assets held by the Russian elite in England. This is an extremely good idea. Furthermore, he confirmed that the UK intelligence agencies are recruiting Russian speakers for the first time in decades. Again, this is actually quite welcome. A side-effect of the USSR’s collapse was to relegate the study of Russian to the Vauxhall Conference of language specialization in the UK. Given that Russia is the largest and most populous country in Europe this was a mistake.

The Foreign Secretary also mentioned the, very real, danger posed by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS/ISIL). While Russia is unlikely to radicalize young British citizens, IS has being doing it very successfully. Whatever about Jihadi John, I simply can’t envisage a Cossack Colin escaping to Siberia and attempting to join the Russian army. However, a significant amount of young British Muslims have been travelling to the Middle East to enlist in IS.

Removing the attraction of jihad to young Brits is an internal matter for Westminster to sort out, but eradicating the IS problem at source will require an international coalition. Given the precarious state of most European militaries and Russia’s sway over Iran, it’s transparently obvious that Moscow will have to be involved. The best way to get Russia onside is definitely not to compare it to a mutual concern that both Downing Street and the Kremlin are interested in extinguishing.

Hammond's future is uncertain
On the other hand, Hammond’s Conservative Party has a strangely bi-polar attitude to the military finance issue. Despite the Chancellor, George Osborne, leading an ideological crusade to reduce public spending, the Hammond wing of the party hopes for more money for the armed forces. The two aspirations can’t rhyme.

While Hammond’s comments have caused a stir this week, it’s worth bearing in mind that he’s almost certainly in his last weeks as Foreign Secretary. All indications suggest that Labour will lead the next London government and their putative replacement for Hammond, Douglas Alexander, is vastly more experienced in government than the incumbent. The Scot is also a much smarter operator. Should the Tories somehow retain power, it’s almost certain that Hammond will be moved aside in order to create cabinet space for incoming MP’s like Boris Johnson.

Philip Hammond said a thoroughly stupid thing this week. In doing so, he exposed both himself and the Conservative Party elite as being hopelessly misinformed on Russia. With relations between London and Moscow at an all-time low, the hope is that the next British government works to heal them. As two geographically peripheral countries on opposite edges of Europe, Russia and the UK are no threat to each other. Not in the slightest.

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Yanukovych ally Peklushenko in new Ukraine mystery death

Five other officials also died in mysterious circumstances this year.

All of them supposedly took their own lives in the past six weeks

Stanislav Melnyk, 53, an ex-MP was found shot dead in his bathroom on 9 March
Mykhaylo Chechetov, former party deputy chairman, died after apparently jumping from a window in his 17th-floor flat on 28 February; he had been accused of abuse of office and fraud
Serhiy Valter, a mayor in the south-eastern city of Melitopol, was found hanged on 25 February; he too had been accused of abuse of office
Oleksandr Bordyuh, a former police deputy chief in Melitopol linked to Mr Valter, was found dead at his home on 26 February
Oleksiy Kolesnyk, ex-head of Kharkiv's regional government was found hanged on 29 January

An interior ministry source told Interfax Ukraine news agency Mr Peklushenko, 60, had committed suicide in the village of Sonyachne, near Zaporizhzhya city.

However officials said other theories were being investigated including murder.

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Op donderdag 12 maart 2015 13:25 schreef waht het volgende:

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Dan heb je heel wat gemist.