Ukraine: New Run-off

[lemon boy]

dunno if any of ya'll are following the situation in Ukraine but WHOA:

Run-off Annuled: looks like it'll just be a run-off between Yushenko and Yanukovych

crazy stuff.

A little blast at Putin for you:

What happens in Ukraine matters a great deal to Moscow, not least because this could result in another foreign policy blunder for President Vladimir Putin.
.....At the heart of President Putin's foreign policy is a desire to formally maintain Russia's sphere of influence in the Commonwealth of Independent States - the countries that made up most of the Soviet Union.


None of my russian news sources are yet carrying the story. Pravda in particular must be having a hell of a time deciding what say.

I was also musing that there are a lot of similarities between Mr. Putin and Mr. Bush: Accreting power, abusing civil liberties, alientating friends and neighbors, inept foreign policy and on and on and on.

One major difference though is that while Mr. Bush is busily protecting American oligarchs, Mr. Putin is busily knocking Russian ones down. Hmmmmm food for thought.

[irul&ublo]

Pretty interesting, what with Ukraine possibly asking for admittance into NATO. No doubt Putin fears being margainilized, both militarily and economically.

But pretty cool that the changes are happening w/o major bloodshed.

[PlayHarder]

But pretty cool that the changes are happening w/o major bloodshed.

Been pretty amazing to watch, it would be incredible if they can continue and solve this peacefully.

[A-wreck]

I heard that high ranking members of the Ukraine government are not even allowed to set foot into most european countries because it is widely known that they are thieves/criminals.

[lemon boy]

A-wreck:

Not to be picky but they aren't allowed in b/c they are members of a govt. that is not particularily friendly to Yurp, who happen to be theives and criminals. It is a politically easy way for them to apply pressure. It wouldn't matter a bit if they weren't quite so hostile to the EU.

One of the things I find really fascinating is how the EU and Europe in general are getting their diplomatic/geopolitical poop in a group. The first rumblings have already begun regarding valuing most things in EUROs, not dollars.

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Another interesting tidbit: Opposition forces were preparing for more than a month to stage these demonstrations.

PPPPPP

[Lurch]

"You know what the Ukraine is? It's a sitting duck. A road apple, Newman. The Ukraine is weak. It's feeble. I think it's time to put the hurt on the Ukraine."
- Kramer, close to victory in Risk, in "The Label Maker"

[A-wreck]

LB

Yeah..like I said ...It was just something I heard. Didn't know how true it was. Your view seems a bit more realistic.