Ukraine

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/world/europe/us-urges-executives-to-skip-russian-forum.html?_r=0
The top executives of such giants as Alcoa, Goldman Sachs, PepsiCo, Morgan Stanley, ConocoPhillips and other multinational companies with business in Russia have either pulled out of the conference or plan to do so

Russian president asks pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine to postpone disputed referendums on independence from Kiev.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/05/putin-moves-defuse-ukraine-tensions-20145714413855928.html 08 May 2014
"We ask the representatives of the southeast to postpone the referendums planned for May 11 in order to create the conditions necessary for dialogue," Putin said after the meeting.

"We're always being told that our forces on the Ukrainian border are a concern. We have withdrawn them. Today they are not on the Ukrainian border, they are in places where they conduct their regular tasks on training grounds," Putin was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency.

"I would like to stress that the presidential elections planned in Kiev, while they are a move in the right direction, will not decide anything if all the citizens of Ukraine fail to understand how their rights are protected after the elections are held," Putin said.

The Russian president’s unexpected concessions on Ukraine reflect the fact that he has already got most of what he wanted there
http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21601899-russian-presidents-unexpected-concessions-ukraine-reflect-fact-he-has-already-got May 10th 2014

http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/hollande-says-putin-welcome-to-attend-d-day-ceremonies_292107.html
French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was welcome to attend ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day in June, despite the standoff over Ukraine.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/12/us-ukraine-crisis-union-idUSBREA4B0HW20140512  Mon May 12, 2014
Denis Pushilin, a leading member of the self-declared "Donetsk People's Republic", at a news conference ... appealed to Moscow on Monday to consider its absorption into the Russian Federation to "restore historic justice".
He said Belarus also belonged in a broader union of states that once formed the core of the Soviet Union.

"Based on the will of the people and on the restoration of an historic justice, we ask the Russian Federation to consider the absorption of the Donetsk People's Republic into the Russian Federation,"

"The people of Donetsk have always been part of the Russian world. For us, the history of Russia is our history."

;) http://www.theonion.com/articles/crimean-voters-excited-to-exercise-democracy-for-l,35548/
SIMFEROPOL, UKRAINE—Following yesterday’s referendum in which 97 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of seceding from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation, Crimean citizens expressed their excitement Monday at participating in the democratic process one final time. “It brought me such great personal joy to head to the polls and, for the last time ever, have my vote tallied and actually mean something,” said local businessman Sergei Petrov of his vote in support of annexation by Russia, echoing the enthusiasm of hundreds of thousands of his fellow Crimeans who proudly took part in their final opportunity to assert their collective will at the ballot box. “Yesterday was a historic day for Crimea. Our people had a say in their future, and our voices were heard loud and clear, which is extremely special given that it won’t happen again for who knows how long.” At press time, Crimeans were commemorating the vote to become Russian citizens by eagerly watching and reading coverage of the momentous event in the limited handful of sanctioned media sources they now have available to them.
WASHINGTON—According to a poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center, the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine has left Americans sharply and bitterly divided along ignorant and apathetic lines, with the nation’s citizenry evenly split between grossly misinformed and wholly indifferent factions.



“The very real threat of a Russia-Ukraine war has completely polarized the general public, pitting two deeply entrenched blocs against one another: those who have absolutely no clue what they’re talking about and those who couldn’t care less,” said Pew spokesman Andrew Collins, noting that the ouster of Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovych and Russia’s subsequent occupation of Crimea has inflamed tensions between the two sides to a level unseen since the height of the war in Syria. “This is not a distinctly regional or socioeconomic split, either. We’re seeing local workplaces, friends, even families ripped in two by their desire to either ignore the whole thing completely or spout an inane, half-witted opinion on it like they’re some geopolitical expert.”

“And as the situation develops and Western powers become more involved, these divisions will only appear more stark,” he added. “In the coming weeks, we can expect to hear a growing cacophony of uninformed and harebrained calls for action or restraint from one side, and absolutely nothing at all from the other.”
....
Additionally, nearly half the U.S. public has put forth numerous breathtakingly naive potential solutions to the crisis—which range from economic sanctions on Russia, to economic sanctions on Ukraine, to deploying the U.S. military to the “middle of Asia” to solve the standoff—while an equal number of Americans firmly and repeatedly stated their commitment to not giving a shit one way or the other.
....
“As startling as these two factions’ differences may seem at first, there’s still opportunity for the two sides to come together and reach a compromise on the Ukraine conflict,” said Collins. “When it comes to the situation, there’s a middle ground between ignorance and apathy on this issue that I think all Americans could happily live with.”

[much more at:]
;) http://www.theonion.com/articles/ukrainianrussian-tensions-dividing-us-citizens-alo,35428/

[@BigRat: Just to be clear, <wink> TheOnion </wink> site is all satire, on 'news', prior comment - political satire, I tried to clue with ;) for links  (supposed to a wink, like of tongue in cheek. but within the humor lies - well, that could be up to the beholder), reason I kept them as separate comments rather than combined this time. Hope that helps (me). Still, as Waterstreet may have noticed the quote: "between ignorance and apathy on this" seems to well apply to my prior political question, not to mention <blah><blah><blah>...

Sample :
<wink>
The Founding Fathers promised to return upon hearing the enchanted horn, but warned it should only be used in times of dire need. [etc]
[not to be taken as 'real' news like Fox]


</wink>]

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/0514/International-Space-Station-How-serious-are-Russia-s-threats By Pete Spotts, Staff writer / May 14, 2014

Responding to US and European sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine, Russia says it would consider ending its cooperation on the International Space Station.

On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin announced that the country would consider ending its participation in the space-station program in 2020; would prohibit the US military's use of a rocket motor that powers the Atlas V, one of two launch workhorses for defense and intelligence satellites [etc]

Rogozin indicated that Russia could operate the station without the US, but that the US couldn't operate without Russia

As for Russia's role in transporting crews, halting that in 2020 would represent a hollow threat, since NASA is working with three companies that aim to begin launching crews to the space station by 2017. [etc]

1. why the US gets itself into such a mess

Good question

2. space program

Thanks. Cost certainly more like that for Afghanistan than for Iraq. Many still prefer spend on poor instead of space. Computer mouse coming from space as a small example.

3. bla bla bla about a relatively minor change

Agree, simple politics of brunt force vs sitting and future candidates. [outcomes now in reverse gear]

How about something then for https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28428937/Results-are-in.html

> owing lots of money to those communist scum

Not so sure on overall bean counts, including US loans during "the Big One" (WWII)

4. end of an empire

US has strange twists for not wanting 'dynasty', whatever superstition. From Adams to Kennedy to Bush to Clinton. Many favor Clinton more thanwould seem appropriate. Majority seem to think the one available as far superior to predecessors.

Many yet prefer isolation from so much of world scene.

Dunno Cameron, per se, but it could go that there can be favor found for less 'smog' over London, managing global warming, less dependence on Putin, at expense of someone else. Reminded on Churchill 'praise' for Mussolini policy?! Noting the latter was well on the path to become lord of less of an Empire?

5. looking at a picture of Adam and Eve in Eden

:-)
Would love to see that in P&R

6. funny chemicals pumped into their ground on which live 80 million people.

Yeah. Hear here.
:-(
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/fears-grow-in-europe-that-russia-will-influence-bulgaria-a-968955.html

Bulgaria's close energy ties to Russia are causing concern among European officials -- they worry Moscow will use Sofia as a beachhead for its interests and drive a wedge between EU member states. [etc]

Relations are so close that Russia apparently even has direct influence on Bulgarian lawmaking. Last week, various media reported the contents of a secret letter from Russian energy giant Gazprom to the Economics Ministry in Sofia. [etc]

By Erich Follath and Matthias Schepp
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/yulia-tymoshenko-divides-ukraine-a-969645.html May 16, 2014
Few figures in Ukraine are more divisive than Yulia Tymoshenko. Some see her as a martyr while others consider her to be part of the corrupt system. Now she wants to become president, but can she succeed?

Fifty-three-year-old Tymoshenko is an extremely divisive figure, more deeply loved and hated than almost any other politician in Ukraine. Some see her as the "Ukrainian Joan of Arc," a martyr who suffered for her nation in prison. Others, however, call her the "gas princess," an unscrupulous oligarch who has amassed a fortune worth billions and, as prime minister, did serious damage to Ukraine.

In 2005, Forbes named her the "world's third-most powerful woman." In 2011, she was sent to prison for alleged abuse of office. And in late 2013, a planned EU association agreement with Ukraine failed in part because Brussels had made Tymoshenko's immediate release one of its conditions.

Now that the opposition has prevailed on Kiev's Maidan Square and pro-Russian separatists are occupying cities in eastern Ukraine, her tone has changed considerably. In a conversation about Putin in March, presumably recorded by Russian intelligence, she said: "I'm willing to take a Kalashnikov and shoot the bastard in the head!"

She studied economics and graduated with honors. In 1984, she began working as an engineer in a machine factory that manufactured radar devices for the military.

She borrowed money from friends and, with the help of her father-in-law, who was in charge of film distribution within the party, she obtained previously banned foreign films. She opened a video rental business, and although revenues were modest -- erotic films were the most popular -- the money began to add up.

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine-abroad/bbc-putin-orders-troops-back-from-border-348415.html  May 19, 2014
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops near Ukraine's border to withdraw, the Kremlin says. Units in the Rostov, Belgorod and Bryansk regions should return to their permanent bases

http://www.redthinkingllc.com/red-thinker-barak-obama/
He may now be the leader of the free world. But has always known how to relax. He understands the importance of just being, of enjoying his family and having hobbies. For example,

Cooking chili
Playing poker
[etc]

[While some wonder whether Putin is up front, or playing checkers or playing chess, some others think poker player must show hole cards, It appears POTUS remains true blue.]

Lyudmila Putina once called President Vladimir Putin a vampire, while he in turn has suggested that anyone who could put up with her for three weeks was heroic and deserved a monument.
.


An Orthodox Christian, Putin is open about his faith.

Lyumila had a fondness for astrology that did not rest well with her husband, who shushed her when she started talking about zodiac signs.

"This awful isolation. No more traveling wherever we want to go; no longer able to say whatever we want. I had only just begun to live," she said.

Lyudmila also complained about German men rousing their wives early every morning to prepare their husbands' breakfasts because her Volodya started making similar demands after visiting Germany...later that her husband "always goes to Finland when he has something important to say. He doesn't think there is anywhere in Russia where you can speak without being overheard."

As for Russian customs, Lyudmila advised: "You must always listen between the words and read between the lines."

In early June 2013, after nearly 30 years of marriage, Russia's first couple announced that they were getting a divorce.

http://rt.com/news/159840-lugansk-elects-head-constitution/  - May 19, 2014
The self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LNR) elected its head and passed its own constitution on Sunday. The council also elected its speaker, Aleksey Karyakin, and Prime Minister - Vasily Nikitin.

The newly elected prime minister already identified what his first steps in the office will be. “As the prime minister I will form a new government. I will announce the specific candidates later.

In Lugansk region 96.2 percent of voters supported the region’s self-rule, according to final figures announced by the local election commission. Almost 90 percent of voters in Donetsk region have endorsed political independence from Kiev.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-19/ukraines-government-gains-the-advantage-over-the-separatists  - By Joshua Yaffa May 19, 2014

Working against the separatists is the opposition of Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man and a longtime kingmaker in the Donetsk region, to the idea of eastern Ukraine becoming independent or joining Russia. “I strongly believe that the Donbass can be happy only in a unified Ukraine,” Akhmetov announced. His support may be enough to ensure that voting will be held in the many towns in the east that have factories and industrial plants under his control. And informal militias and neighborhood watch patrols made up of employees of Akhmetov’s companies are keeping an eye on cities such as Mariupol, on the Azov Sea.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/20/us-china-usa-espionage-idUSBREA4J03D20140520    Tue May 20, 2014
 China summoned the U.S. ambassador the United States accused five Chinese military officers of hacking into American companies to steal trade secrets, warning Washington it could take further action

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-putin-diplomatic-boost-23788933  May 20, 2014 (AP)

Putin and Xi attended the signing of 49 cooperation deals in fields including energy, transport and infrastructure,

Xi and Putin were scheduled to kick off a joint exercise between their two navies in the northern part of the East China Sea.

'Landlord of the Donbass', who owns factories across the troubled east, calls for rebels to rally for peace
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10843309/Ukraines-richest-man-accuses-separatists-of-genocide.html  - By Roland Oliphant, Moscow - 20 May 2014 [extracts]

"People are tired of living in fear and terror,” Rinat Akhmetov said. “People are tired of walking out into the street and falling under bullets.” Ukraine’s richest man has spoken out against the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine, in an unexpected intervention that could be a major setback to the rebels.

Speaking in a rare televised address on Monday night, Rinat Akhmetov accused the leaders of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk of jeopardising the region’s economy, terrorising the population, and committing a “genocide of the Donbass.”

“Today, representatives of the so-called DNR took over the railway. They didn’t just stop the trains, they stopped the heart of the Donbass. Because without the railways Donbass industry will die,” he said.

He went on to call for workers at all enterprises to down tools in order to protest for a Donbass “without weapons and without masks.”

“We are not intimidated by anyone, including those who call themselves the Donetsk People’s Republic,” he said.

The Donbass is the coal-producing region that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Mr Akhmetov, who employs some 300,000 people at enterprises including coal mines and steel works, is unofficially known as “the land lord of the Donbass.”

Mr Akhmetov spoke out  in Mariupol, after calling off a “march of peace” a coastal city dominated by steel factories he controls, after warnings of an attack on the crowd.

The comments are Mr Akhmetov’s strongest words on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine to date.

He has previously avoided publicly taking sides in the struggle between the Kiev government and pro-Russian rebels, confining himself to warnings about the economic impact of full independence or unification with Russia, and calling instead for devolving power from Kiev to the regions.

The latest intervention appears to have been prompted by growing threats to his business interests, especially crucial rail links, and the prospect of violence in the region spiralling out of control.

Several people died in fighting between rebels and Ukrainian forces at a police station in Mariupol, a steel town on Ukraine’s south coast, on May 9.

In the aftermath, management from the two steel mills that dominate the city’s economy negotiated a truce between the police and separatist activists that has seen steel workers patrolling the streets alongside police and dismantling barricades.

Last call ... it is getting near a week since last comment from the field.
In interim, Eastern Ukraine has had its own elections, the deaths and kidnappings increased, the identity of righteous soldiers remains hidden as they shoot down more aircraft in their preferred version of civility, it appears Putin is beginning a withdrawal as he claims 'unable to control', and the country's own election date is arriving.

Once there's some semblance of these results coming in, will attempt to close if no further comments to be found here, noting that Google's News no longer considers Ukraine as among its top ten topics for world news (along with Malaysia and South Korea and South Africa), although Vlad's found way to remain: "Vladimir Putin condemns Prince Charles's 'Nazi' remarks".

Consider that for likes of oil/gas of Iran that while she does not need that, her 'quote' allies do or Putin has a thumbscrew. In Ukraine, where east is on border, Soviets return to former cheap 'deals', to insurgents, who can then sell on to the west. Then west (Germany?) is already diverting resources back down pipeline to Kiev. No-tell but consider there be resources other than crude.

Welcoming thoughful disagreement, I no want any podium, no path to learning thataway. Believe or don't I've yet to catch up on the chocolate king issue, and think it be some days before figuring anything re:Putin on it, my overall take is closest to Waterstreet's acceptance regarding policy, but not only for the sanctions issue. More than the withholding of arms as well, lessons learned from Iraq and Syria etc.

Overall take is that Obama and Kiev has been on track with a winning streak, and that no player wants Ukraine joining EU or NATO, it will be too unstable for too long for much of short term guesswork.

There's two other major players, China and India, who have dice to through, China throwing economical support, India having mucho anti-US rhetoric - but also a new leader. The two together, what, over half population of world? Imagine, Putin path to influence 'Asian Policy. "The game's afoot, Watson."

Major 'surprise' yet to review: US actually sending troops towards conflict ... and it is in Africa! Previously US mainly hands off "no troops" from Obama policy, and primary Western troops were French (ignoring days of Mussolini and Suez and Fidel et al).

Closing, retorts in review

> Putin says ... painting ...into a corner
 - agree, "speaks with forked tongue"
> Syria's
 - dispute - methinks a red herring that, then again, lessons therin
> Putin would no longer have any "moral high ground"
 - methinks 'tis past tense, already lost it outside own border

> At the doctor's.
 - .... hope all such goes well
> have large economic problems
 - major problem from import of fuels - applicable to continent
> The West has no response for this
 - Rather: not all 'resposes' appear so in headline soundbites
 -       & Whole is more than sum of parts
> trouble is, nationalism makes people
 - hear here  :<((
>  to close it down and blamed
 - yup, re: "Look over there!" (not my fault)
> any middle?
 - "Only in America".
> lack of seeing a big picture.
 - yah, seek 'bigger'
> "end of an empire",
 - er, and begin or rebirth of empire
> build on renewable energy
 - working on it yet stymied by "do nothing" congress and sponsors

> US cannot get into another "battle" it
 - er, battle's been ongoing, despite apparent or not of shots
> Iran
 - ongoing, despite Obama naysayers
> it can't solve
 - OTOH there are diseases, afflictions, then again there are symptoms
> neighbours affaires
 - everything affects everything

> the moderate chocolate king and thoroughly rejected Timoshenko
 - ...
> let the east simmer as she is
 - ...


[still a lot of cards in play, and to be played]

Nice work, all  8<))

Opening [restart]
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28442553/Ukraine-too.html

[sidebar: had an 'oops' momentary panic, made incorrect selection for selecting best comment. 'Go back' made it almost all better, though ever difficult to split with any meaning, did make effort. Then recognized something from olden days, where a BigRat could come in a strong 1st for 50, WaterStreet a strong 2nd for 25, ["points for"] and for 3rd.... too much to think on, but would hope the spread had some semblance for any potential future reviewer. Onwards!
]