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Thread: What Is Happening In Ukraine Is Far More Important Than Most People Realize

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  1. #21
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    Ukraine’s Sickness and Europe’s Cure: Neo-Liberalism and Neo-Fascism Join Hands

    Eric Draitser
    globalresearch.ca
    February 25, 2014

    The situation in Ukraine is evolving by the hour. Right wing ultranationalists and their “liberal” collaborators have taken control of the Rada (Ukrainian parliament) and deposed the democratically elected, though utterly corrupt and incompetent, President Yanukovich.
    Former Prime Minister, and convicted criminal, Yulia Tymoshenko has been freed, and is now making common cause with Noe-Nazi Right Sector, Svoboda, and other fascist elements, while the opposition’s nominal leaders such as Arseny Yatsenyuk and Vitali Klitschko begin to fade into the background.
    In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin undoubtedly watches with anxiousness. In Washington, Victoria Nuland and the Obama administration rejoice. However, perhaps the most critical development of all is soon to emerge in Europe, as the forces of Western finance capital prepare to welcome Ukraine into the fold. They will come bearing the usual neoliberal gifts: austerity and “economic liberalization.”
    With the overthrow of the Yanukovich government, the $15 billion of promised Russian financial assistance to Ukraine is in doubt. According to Moody’s rating agency, “Ukraine will require $24 billion to cover a budget deficit, debt repayments, natural gas bills and pension support just in 2014.” Without Moscow’s continued bond purchasing and other forms of financial aid, and with pro-EU forces taking control of the country’s economic and foreign policy, the outcome is not hard to predict: a rescue package from Europe and the IMF with all the usual austerity conditions attached.

    In exchange for European “aid”, Ukraine will be forced to accept the driving down of wages, significant cuts to the public sector and social services, in addition to a rise in taxes on the working class and slashing of pensions. Moreover, the country will be compelled to accede to a liberalization program that will allow Europe to dump goods into the Ukrainian market, deregulation and the further opening up the country’s financial sector to predatory speculation and privatization.
    It doesn’t take psychic powers to predict these developments. One merely has to look at the wave of austerity in European countries such as Greece and Cyprus. Furthermore, Eastern European countries with similar economic and historical conditions to Ukraine – Latvia and Slovenia specifically – provide a roadmap for what Ukraine should expect.
    The Model of “Success”
    As Ukraine’s pro-EU “leadership” under Tymoshenko & Co. (and the fascist Right) begins to eye the future, they will immediately look to Europe to address the most pressing economic concerns. The Ukrainian people however would do well to examine the precedent of Latvia to understand what lies in store for them. As renowned economists Michael Hudson and Jeffrey Sommers wrote in 2012:
    What enabled Latvia to survive the crisis were EU and IMF bailouts…Elites aside, many emigrated…Demographers estimate that 200,000 have departed the past decade – roughly 10 per cent of the population…Latvia experienced the full effects of austerity and neoliberalism. Birth rates fell during the crisis – as is the case almost everywhere austerity programs are imposed. It continues having among Europe’s highest rates of suicide and of road deaths caused by drunk driving. Violent crime is high, arguably, because of prolonged unemployment and police budget cuts. Moreover, a soaring brain drain moves in tandem with blue-collar emigration.
    The myth of prosperity to follow EU integration and bailouts is just that, a myth. The reality is pain and suffering on a scale far greater than the poverty and unemployment Ukraine, especially the western portion of the country, have already experienced. The most highly educated, those most equipped to take up the mantle of leadership, will flee en masse. Those leaders who remain will do so while lining their pockets and ingratiating themselves to the European and American financiers who will flock to Ukraine like vultures to carrion. In short, the corruption and mismanagement of the Yanukovich government will seem like a pleasant memory.
    The “liberalization” that Europe demands will create massive profits for speculators, but very few jobs for working people. The best land will be sold to foreign corporations and land-grabbers, while the resources, including the highly regarded agricultural sector, will be stripped and sold on the world market, leaving farmers and city dwellers alike in grinding poverty, their children going to bed hungry. This will be the “success” of Ukraine. One shudders to think what failure would look like.
    In Slovenia, another Eastern European country that has experienced the “success” Europe strives for, the economic dictates of Brussels have ravaged the country’s working people and its institutions. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued a 2013 report in which it recommended that, as a first step, Slovenia act to “help the banking sector stand on its feet again,” adding that, “additional and radical measures are necessary as soon as possible.”
    Furthermore, the OECD recommended the full privatization of Slovenia’s banks and other major firms, despite predicting a more than 2% contraction of the economy. In laymen’s terms, Europe recommends that Slovenia sacrifice itself and its people to the forces of international finance capital, nothing less. Such is the cost of European “integration.”
    Ukraine is undergoing a transformation of the worst kind. Its political institutions have been trampled upon by a motley collection of delusional liberals, slick politicians in fancy suits, and Nazi extremists. The social fabric is tearing apart at the seams, with each region searching for a local solution to the problems of what used to be their nation. And, in the midst of it all, the specter of profit-seeking financiers with dollar signs in their eyes is all the Ukrainian people can expect.

    Eric Draitser
    is the founder of StopImperialism.com. He is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City. You can reach him at ericdraitser@gmail.com.

    This article was posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 at 7:38 pm

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    http://www.infowars.com/ukraines-sic...sm-join-hands/


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    High Probability Of A Major Event With Syria -- Episode 299

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va9yUsWwvNo

    Published on Feb 25, 2014

    Get economic collapse news throughout the day visit http://x22report.com

    More news visit http://thepeoplesnewz.com

    Canada's housing boom is now on shaky ground, experts are expecting a housing crash.
    After the coup d'etat of the Ukraine the EU sees an improvement in the Eurozone. Housing is declining and the recovery is over. JP Morgan is now laying off thousands of people and IBM is laying off thousands. Russia has troops in the Ukraine and the opposition forces are struggling. The central bankers and US government are preparing a plan to attack Syria. One report is out that they will use a cyber attack against Syria to shut power systems and cut them off from the outside world. Military assets have been moved to Jordan and Israel just bombed more missile sites in Syria in preparation for an attack. Be prepared for a false flag event.
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  3. #23
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    Revolt Against Western Banker Takeover of Ukraine Grows

    Russian Mayor installed in Sevastopol as backlash intensifies

    Paul Joseph Watson
    Infowars.com
    February 25, 2014

    Russian-speaking Ukrainians in Crimea are resisting the western banker takeover of their country by installing a Russian Mayor in the town of Sevastopol as part of an emerging revolt against the US-backed coup d’état that saw the overthrow of democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovych.



    Pedrodon @stopnarcotics Follow

    Russian Navy armored vehicle in the main square of #Sevastopol #Ukraine

    9:59 AM - 25 Feb 2014

    “Sevastopol’s city council handed power to Aleksei Chaliy, a Russian citizen, during an extraordinary session on Monday evening while more than a thousand protesters gathered around city hall chanting “Russia, Russia, Russia,” and “A Russian mayor for a Russian city,” reports the Guardian. Former incumbent Vladimir Yatsuba resigned in order to allow Chaliy to take power.
    The Russian military has also moved to secure the city against opposition militants by positioning armored personnel carriers in the town’s main square. Yesterday, it was reported that the Russian landing ship Nikolai Filchenko was on its way to Sevastopol with a contingent of 200 armed Russian soldiers.
    “The day’s events marked the first stages in the establishment of an anti-Kiev administration amid tumultuous development that will cause headaches for the group of politicians that have replaced the administration of ousted fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych,” reports RIA Novosti.
    Meanwhile, in an effort to afford the coup some kind of legitimacy, the Ukrainian parliament voted in favor of trying Yanukovych before the International Criminal Court, a development that came shortly after it was revealed that secretive British investigators are combing central Kiev for evidence that government snipers were used to massacre demonstrators.
    While it’s admitted that both sides used firearms during the clashes, the clandestine nature of the investigation suggests that it is merely meant to be a rubber stamp for implicating Yanukovych as being responsible for a massacre.
    Indeed, before the investigation even properly began, one of its anonymous members, who spoke to the BBC with his face blurred, had already concluded that the government was responsible for a “bloodbath”.
    “The investigators – who do not wish to be identified – say they have already pinpointed four sniper positions,” states the report. “The Foreign Office declined to comment on whether the UK government was assisting in the investigation.”
    In other words, the British Foreign Office already has its agents in Kiev either manufacturing or planting evidence which will subsequently be used to demonize Yanukovych as a barbarian who ordered the massacre of protesters.
    The fact that innumerable images show “protesters” also carrying guns is likely to be overlooked because that doesn’t fit the narrative of an organic and righteous uprising which in fact more closely resembles an externally-backed violent coup.





    *********************
    Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.

    This article was posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 at 1:02 pm


    Tags: foreign affairs, war

    http://www.infowars.com/revolt-again...ukraine-grows/

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    Russian Lukoil Halts Oil Supplies To Ukraine Odessa Refinery

    Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/26/2014 10:41 -0500

    A few days ago we reported that the Ukraine decided to call Russia's "trump card" bluff - that would be everyone else's reliance on Russian gas supplies - when it drastically cut imports of Russian gas by 80% in February, seemingly to demonstrate its energy independence from Putin. Now Russia has decided to take the Ukraine to task, by announcing it has halted oil deliveries to the Ukraine Odessa refinery. Hopefully the Ukraine, whose foreign currency reserves tumbled from $17.9 billion on February 1 to $15 billion currently, has alternative means of supplying itself with energy from benevolent sources, particularly those who are willing to provide the country with oil in exchange for goodwill.



    From Itar-Tass:

    Russia’s oil company LUKOIL has stopped oil supplies to the Odessa refinery in Ukraine.

    “The last tanker was sent on December 29,” a company official said on Wednesday, February 26.

    Ukrainian media reports said earlier in the day that police had sealed oil tanks at the Kherson refinery. Oilnews quoted eye witnesses as saying that police had blocked all exits from the Odessa refinery in the morning of February 25.

    On February 24, the refinery’s Director Valery Chakheyev tendered resignation; executive Director Sergei Kuznetsov and other top managers also walked out of the enterprise’s offices.

    Media reports also said that the refinery would soon stop operation as it gets no more oil from the Sintez Oil transshipment centre that has stopped supplies to the enterprise because of its debts.

    The refinery has also been notified about the coming termination of power supplies from February 27 because of the unpaid debts.

    Telephones at the Odessa refinery do not answer. Sintez Oil officials told ITAR-TASS they “have no information."

    Ukraine may have gotten its indepdence from Russia. One wonders how much it likes being independent of heating and energy too.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...dessa-refinery
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    NATO Responds To Russian Military Drill, Backs "Inviolability" Of Ukraine Frontiers

    Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/26/2014 10:59 -0500

    Shortly after today's surprising announcement by Russia that it would conduct broad military drills in Central and Western Russia, which would include 150,000 troops, we posted a rhetorical question: How will NATO respond?

    zerohedge @zerohedge
    Follow

    Any NATO drills in central Europe yet?
    7:40 AM - 26 Feb 2014

    Moments ago NATO responded:


    • NATO: INDEPENDENT, STABLE UKRAINE KEY TO EURO-ATLANTIC SECURITY
    • NATO BACKS UKRAINIAN TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY, ALLIANCE SAYS
    • NATO ALLIES CONTINUE TO BACK UKRAINE SOVEREIGNTY, ALLIANCE SAYS
    • NATO BACKS `INVIOLABILITY OF FRONTIERS' ON UKRAINE: ALLIANCE
    • NATO COMMENDS ARMY FOR STAYING OUT OF UKRAINE POLITICAL CRISIS
    • NATO SAYS IMPERATIVE THAT UKRAINE ARMY DOESN'T INTERVENE


    Full NATO statement:

    We continue to follow developments in Ukraine very closely. We deplore the tragic loss of life. We welcome the fact that violence has been stopped through negotiations that paved the way for a peaceful outcome. We emphasise the importance of an inclusive political process based on democratic values, respect for human rights, minorities and the rule of law, which fulfils the democratic aspirations of the entire Ukrainian people.

    NATO and Ukraine have a distinctive partnership, embodied in the NATO-Ukraine Commission. Through that partnership framework, NATO stands ready to continue to engage with Ukraine and assist with the implementation of reforms. Defence reform and military cooperation remain key priorities. We commend the Ukrainian armed forces for not intervening in the political crisis. In a democracy, it is imperative that the armed forces do not intervene in the political process. We underscore the need to strengthen democratic control over the defence and security sector, with effective parliamentary oversight and the robust involvement of civil society. In the context of recent tragic events, transparent democratic and accountable institutions are essential to the future of Ukraine.

    A sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security. Consistent with the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between NATO and Ukraine, NATO Allies will continue to support Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, democratic development, and the principle of inviolability of frontiers, as key factors of stability and security in Central and Eastern Europe and on the continent as a whole.
    And as the military escalations - now on both sides - escalate some more, the algos are BTFATH. Let's sit back and watch which back off first.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...aine-frontiers
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  6. #26
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    On The Roads Into The Crimea, The Quiet Russian Mobilization Continues

    Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/26/2014 09:23 -0500

    Not a day passes without a YouTube clip being released showing some colonnade of Russian vehicles headed into the Ukraine, and specifically into the Crimea, where the Russian base of Sevastopol is located, and where the biggest pro-Russian support groups are to be found. Today, we show the following Youtube clip taken recently with a dashcam, several miles above the port of Novorossiysk near the village of Gaiduk, which shows Russian vehicles carrying assorted military equipment being carried toward the Crimean.



    The clip's author adds that "each day new transports head into the Ukraine." Of course, now that Russia officially declared a massive military drill, there is an explanation for such sitings: it is all practice



    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...tion-continues
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    Ukraine Currency Crashes To Record Low; Abandons Dollar Peg

    Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/26/2014 08:17 -0500

    Following yesterday's admission by the new head of Ukraine's central bank of the considerable bank runs in recent days and the rapid dwindling of central bank reserves, Sergiy Kruglik - the director of international affairs for the bank - announced this morning that Ukraine has adandoned the dollar peg and will adopt a flexible exchange rate. The Hyrvnia collapsed through 10.00 on the news and is now trading 10.40 at record lows against the USD.




    As The Economist notes, on February 7th the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU, the central bank) finally devalued the official rate of the hryvnya, to HRN8.7:US$1.
    The policy was then to set the peg to the dollar roughly in line with trading on the interbank exchange. At the same time, the authorities introduced more foreign-exchange controls.
    This has now changed and the currency is in free-fall. One cannot but think this is a desperate attempt to force the hands of a bailer-out to move before total chaos ensues (and of course, as the UAH plummets so import costs of energy will soar).

    Charts: Bloomberg

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...ons-dollar-peg
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    Putin Launches Military Drill In Western, Central Russia; Ruble Drops To Lowest Since 2009

    Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/26/2014 07:25 -0500

    Lest it be confused that Russia has somehow forgotten about the Ukraine coup, and that it no longer concerns the bread basket (and key gas pipeline hub) of Europe a core strategic resource, moments ago Russian wire services blasted the following diplomatic summary of Russian bullish grace in a china store:


    • PUTIN ORDERS URGENT COMPREHENSIVE CHECKS OF TROOPS' COMBAT READINESS IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL MILITARY DISTRICTS, AND OF AEROSPACE, AIRBORNE TROOPS, LONG-RANGE AND MILITARY TRANSPORT AVIATION - SHOIGU


    Bloomberg adds the following:

    • President Vladimir Putin issued orders to conduct immediate check of combat-readiness of central, western military districts, test of air defense, airborne troops, aviation, Interfax reports, citing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
    • Test began at 2pm local time today: IFX
    • Exercise to be conducted Feb. 26-March 3 in 2 stages
    • Commander-in-chief ordered test of military capability to react to “crisis situations, posing a danger to the country’s military security,” Shoigu is cited as saying
    • Second test phase will include tactical exercises involving Northern, Baltic Fleets



    Reuters adds:

    President Vladimir Putin ordered an urgent drill to test the combat readiness of the armed forces across western Russia on Wednesday, news agencies reported, flexing Moscow's military muscle amid tension with the West over Ukraine.

    "In accordance with an order from the president of the Russian Federation, forces of the Western Military District were put on alert at 1400 (0500 ET) today," Interfax quoted Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying.

    Putin has ordered several such surprise drills in various parts of Russia since he returned to the presidency in 2012, saying the military must be kept on its toes, but the geopolitical overtones could hardly have been clearer this time.

    The western district borders Ukraine, which lies between NATO nations and Russia. Shoigu said the drill would be conducted in two stages, ending on March 3, and also involved some forces in central Russia.

    Putin has made no public comment on Ukraine since President Viktor Yanukovich was driven from power over the weekend after months of political turmoil sparked by his decision to spurn deals with the European Union and improve ties with Russia.

    The United States and European nations have warned Russia against military intervention in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that Putin has called a "brother nation" and wants to be part of a Eurasian Union he is building in the region.

    Russian officials have said Moscow will not interfere in Ukraine, while accusing the West of doing so, and Interfax cited the speaker of the upper parliament house, Valentina Matviyenko, as saying on Wednesday it would not use force.

    But Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that Russia's interests and its citizens in Ukraine were under threat, language reminiscent of statements justifying Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008, when he was president.
    In short, not only has the Russian bear woken from hibernation but is rather angry. Incidentally, Russia's ever-louder war footing rumblings have not been lost on investors who sent the USD/RUB to the highest level since March 2009, just north of 36.



    As for the Ukraine Hryvnia, don't ask.

    And now back to watching your regularly scheduled S&P500 all time high melt up. Because there is nothing at all concerning in the world.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...ps-lowest-2009
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    Russia Responds To US Warning: Expands Military Presence Globally

    Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/26/2014 19:34 -0500

    Shortly after the US warned Russia over its "provocative actions" with regard Ukraine...


    • *KERRY: RUSSIA MILITARY MOVE ON UKRAINE WOULD BE GRAVE MISTAKE



    RiaNovosti reports defense minister Sergei Shoigu saying Russia plans "to expand permanent military presence outside its borders by placing military bases in a number of foreign countries," including Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Seychelles, and Singapore. "The talks are under way, and we are close to signing the relevant documents," Shoigu told reporters in Moscow.

    Via RiaNovosti,

    Russia is planning to expand its permanent military presence outside its borders by placing military bases in a number of foreign countries, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.

    Shoigu said the list includes Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Seychelles, Singapore and several other countries.

    The talks are under way, and we are close to signing the relevant documents,” Shoigu told reporters in Moscow.

    The minister added that the negotiations cover not only military bases but also visits to ports in such countries on favorable conditions as well as the opening of refueling sites for Russian strategic bombers on patrol.

    Moscow currently has only one naval base outside the former Soviet Union – in Tartus, Syria, but the fate of this naval facility is uncertain because of the ongoing civil war in that country.

    Post-Soviet Russia closed a large naval base in Vietnam and a radar base in Cuba in 2002 due to financial constraints.

    However, Russia has started reviving its navy and strategic aviation since mid-2000s, seeing them as a tool to project the Russian image abroad and to protect its national interests around the globe.

    Now, Moscow needs to place such military assets in strategically important regions of the world to make them work effectively toward the goal of expanding Russia’s global influence.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...sence-globally
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