A CHARADE OVER CRIMEA
But no such luck would be available to Russian President Vladimir Putin after a referendum in Crimea gave him an opportunity to annex this province in revolt in Ukraine. Putin’s provocation was the turmoil in Ukraine and the manner in which its elected President, Viktor Yanukovych, was chased out of Kiev after he opted to cozy up to Russia rather than the European Union. Yanukovych’s decision to sidle up to Putin was violently resisted by the neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and the fifth-columnists who occupied Kiev’s Maidan. While the police were beating up protesters at the square, what really aggravated the crisis were the faceless snipers, who killed close to a hundred people, including security personnel.
Yanukovych denied he had a role to play, but who would listen to him, as he had been demonized as evil, corrupt and undemocratic for courting the Russian President. Later, it was revealed that policemen and protesters were killed by identical bullets. Nothing that Yanukovych did could find acceptance from the Western media and the think-tank constituency that was discovering newer adjectives to
trash Putin.
The manner in which the Russians hosted the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi was ridiculed. Sports writers expounded more on the toilets in the Games village, than, say, the magical figure skating. An atmosphere was created by media reports that Sochi could come within the arc of attack by Chechen militants, forcing the Russian government to mount extraordinary security measures. Later, some commentators wondered whether there was a design in making Putin paranoid about security.
putin has indeed been suspicious of Western powers even after former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered to “reset” the ties between the two countries. His misgivings have been exacerbated by the street protests against his government over corruption, which he feels are funded and manned by US-sponsored NGOs. In fact, keen watchers have seen how scandals are brought up, crowds mobilized and social media campaigns cranked up, with a single purpose to overthrow inconvenient governments. While Yanukovych and Putin may have lost their nerve and acted the way they did, imagine if the government of Manmohan Singh had lost its cool in 2011 against the India Against Corruption (IAC) protesters who had parked themselves at Ramlila Maidan, or on that one occasion when they had surrounded the Prime Minister’s residence. If the PM had responded to the advice of some trigger-happy security expert and fired at the demonstrators, the country would have been plunged into chaos. But so charged was the mood that the government would have been compelled to take some extreme steps. Emergency could have been declared as it was following the call given by the late Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974-75.
Unlike the government of Ukraine, Singh agreed to pay a high price to attempt reconciliation rather than use violent methods. Though lives were saved by this act, in trying to draw in those who were opposed to the parliamentary system of democracy, Singh may have deepened an impression that he was a weak PM who had to be voted out.
History will judge, though, as to whose methods were more effective: Putin’s or Singh’s. Though it can be stated categorically that if Putin had not taken a firm stand on Crimea, NATO ships would have been anchored in Sevastopol port, which would have tilted the crucial strategic balance against the Russians — hurting prospects of the emergence of a countervailing force to the West.
This story is from the print issue of Hardnews: APRIL 2014
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CUBA- YET ANOTHER OBAMA POWERFUL NET CONTROL- Global media spill and kill other countries... another kind of slithery war (ask Edward Snowden)...
bigstory.ap.org
› United States government
Associated
Press
by Jack Gillum - in
96 Google+ circles3 days ago - To hide the network from the Cuban
government, they would set up a byzantine ... signal for their smart phones
in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, April 1, 2014. ..... They talked about
how to make the website look like a real business. ..... his work — said
the Cubans were catching on and had tried to block the site.
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As Taylor says.... this is NOT war.... this is Europe and Russia and basic land grab from hijacked country called Ukraine (which is over 65% Russian heritage)..... YET ANOTHER WHITE MAN'S WAR... which the USA is using their horrible OBAMA'S NET MEDIA -GLOBAL MEDIA SPILL AND KILL
ON TARGET: Let’s not follow Harper’s tough talk on Crimea crisis
SCOTT TAYLOR | On Target
Published April 7, 2014 - 7:10am
Thankfully, it appears the international community’s initial brash brinkmanship following Russia’s annexation of the Crimea has subsided into more sober reflection on the possible consequences of meaningful sanctions or military intervention.
In the immediate wake of the Ukrainian government’s collapse and the increased Russian military presence in the Crimea, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird were the most strident of all world leaders in condemning Russia for its “interference” in Ukraine.
Denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin as another Hitler, Harper and Baird walked the streets of Kyiv to express their solidarity with the unelected interim government of Ukraine. For all the tough talk from Canada’s dynamic duo, any informed observer would be well aware that, outside of a Ukrainian-Canadian diaspora of some 1.2 million potential voters, Canada has no real stake whatsoever in the Crimea crisis.
While Harper and Baird shout for tougher sanctions and more military sabre rattling, none of the European NATO nations are echoing those sentiments.
Tough sanctions against Russia could result in a reciprocal stoppage of Russian oil and natural gas to Western Europe. At present, about 40 per cent of Western Europe’s oil and gas are provided by Russia through pipelines, which traverse Ukraine.
Termination of that export would have an immediate and crippling impact on all manufacturing, which would in turn impact the already fragile economies of Europe.
Since Canada no longer has any military presence in Europe, it is easy for us to beat the war drum loudly. However, for those NATO nations who would find themselves and their citizens on the frontline of any major conflagration with Russia, things are not so simple.
It would be pretty difficult to motivate French or German troops to fight and die for the singular cause of reuniting the Crimea with Ukraine. This would be especially difficult to justify since, to date, not a single Ukrainian soldier has fired a shot or martyred themselves in defence of that same territory.
At the beginning of the crisis, Ukraine had about 18,000 troops based in the Crimea peninsula. They were aboard navy ships, stationed at airbases and garrisoned in army bases.
Under the negotiated long-term lease agreement valid until 2042, the Russian navy Black Sea fleet was also stationed in the Crimea port of Sevastopol. Although Russia was entitled to maintain up to 25,000 personnel on the peninsula, prior to the crisis this number was only about 8,000 navy sailors and marines.
In other words, during the early days of the Russian annexation, the Ukrainian troops significantly outnumbered those Russians who secured the vital infrastructure and transport facilities. Not a shot was fired, even when Russian troops took control of Ukrainian military bases.
Following the March 16 referendum in which the ethnic Russian majority voted for Crimea to become part of Russia, Ukrainian soldiers were offered the choice of returning to the mainland or changing their uniforms to join a Russian military force in the Crimea.
Only 11 per cent chose to remain in the Ukrainian military while an astonishing 89 per cent chose to volunteer for the Russian military. Again, without a shot fired, Ukrainian navy vessels hauled down their yellow and blue flags and happily hoisted the red, white and blue Russian flag up their masts.
This is hardly the stuff that martial folklore is made of. This is not the outnumbered American defender of the Alamo fighting to their last breath and inspiring the subsequent Texan battle cry: “Remember the Alamo.”
Those Ukrainian soldiers who remained loyal to their original colours were allowed to pack their kit, including trainloads of older tanks and armoured vehicles, and were quietly repatriated back to the mainland.
Again, if it truly were the intention of a power-mad Putin to invade and conquer the remaining Ukrainian territory, as many a NATO chicken little is currently predicting, why would Russia so willingly hand back soldiers and weapons that they would soon be confronting?
One has to hope that as the dust starts to settle, cooler heads than those of Harper and Baird will prevail, and people will realize that despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, it is possible to redraw the map of Europe.
Hopefully, it will remain bloodless, as was the case with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, rather than a bloody fiasco such as the NATO-backed dismantling of Yugoslavia.
Scott Taylor is editor of Esprit de Corps magazine.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1198579-on-target-let-s-not-follow-harper-s-tough-talk-on-crimea-crisis
comment:
Well written article.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1198579-on-target-let-s-not-follow-harper-s-tough-talk-on-crimea-crisis
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April 3 2014
Ukraine’s Economy Would Have Collapsed Without Russian Aid – IMF Chief
Christine Lagarde
18:27 03/04/2014
MOSCOW, April 3 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's ailing economy would have collapsed without Russia's financial help, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that the Eastern European country's economy had hit a wall last year and was heading for disaster when Russian bailout money averted a catastrophe.
"Without the support that they were getting from this lifeline that Russia had extended a few months ago, they were heading nowhere," Lagarde said in an interview broadcast on the US PBS channel.
Russia made a crucial decision to invest a hefty $15 billion in Ukrainian eurobonds late last year, disbursing the first tranche of $3 billion in December. Moscow and Kiev also agreed to steeply cut gas prices for Ukraine in an effort to boost the country's ailing economy.
But the cash injections and discounts were frozen following a coup amid violent protests in February that led to far-right parties gaining key positions in the new government.
The IMF chief confessed that Ukraine had been cut off from international financial markets. She stressed that IMF money comes at a price, meaning Ukraine was expected to do what it had to do to reform its economy, including making some hard choices.
"It's an economy that needed reforms, that needed profound transformation of its fiscal policy, of its monetary policy, and of its policies on energy," Lagarde said.
The Washington-based fund said last week it had signed a binding accord with Ukraine, under which Kiev was to receive $14 to $18 billion in standby credit in exchange for painful economic reforms. Ukraine expects to get a total of $27 billion in the next two years.
http://en.ria.ru/world/20140403/189021258/Ukraines-Economy-Would-Have-Collapsed-Without-Russian-Aid--IMF.html
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MARCH 31ST... SHAME ON USA/CANADA/EU AND UNITED NATIONS 4 OVERBLOWN BEHAVIOUR WITH MEDIA AND SCARE TACTICS..... SHAME...ON UKRAINE... SAME POLITICIANS RUNNING????? R U KIDDING???? Billions of people globally are starving- USA has one of the worst Unemployment rates in the world... and half of EU youth have no jobs with their incredible education skills.... WTF???? imho
Millions of Muslims in the hard parts of the world have been murdered, displaced 4gotten ... with over ONE MILLION KILLED by Heretic Muslims...
Africas-Congo..... hundreds of thousands displaced, murdered and/or raped women and children starving...
EU wants 2 conquer more territory as does Russia as does China.... seriously???
NEWS UPDATE MARCH 23 2014
Politics and the NationForeign Affairs and Defence
Stephen Harper is doing the rhetorical heavy lifting for the West on Russia, Vladimir Putin and Crimea
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — It has been a while since a world leader used the phrase “the free world.”
Yet Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper accurately captured the moment when he resurrected that Cold War expression on Saturday in Kyiv to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s naked revanchism in redrawing the contours of Ukraine.
“I think it is important that we in the free world not accept the occupation of Crimea, that we continue to resist, and sanction the occupation of Crimea, and that there be no return to business as usual with the Putin regime until such time the occupation of Crimea ends,” Harper said during remarks Saturday that got wide play on Ukrainian television news shows that evening.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes part in a joint press conference with Ukrainian Prime Minister Areseniy Yatsenyuk at the Cabinet of Ministers in Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 22, 2014.
Because of the cowardice and/or impotence of other leaders (take your pick), Harper has been out on point, to use a military term, criticizing Putin and Russia on Ukraine and Crimea more sharply than any other leader of a major western country and calling for closely coordinated economic policies to hurt Russia.
An emergency G-7 summit is to convene in the Dutch capital on the margins of a global meeting on nuclear security on Monday. Because German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks Russian and Putin speaks German, and because Berlin has the most comprehensive, balanced trade relationship with Moscow, Merkel will remain the West’s primary conduit for trying to reason with the Russian leader.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the media at the end of an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)
But the G-7 will want to know what Harper learned in Kyiv. Moreover, they will continue to count on him to do the rhetorical heavy lifting about Russia’s land grab, saying that they might wish to, but don’t, lest they upset the marauding Russian Bear.
Plans are afoot to exclude Russia from the G-8 summit, which was to have been in Sochi, Russia, this June, and to instead hold a G-7 summit at exactly the same time in London. Yet Harper remains the only western leader who is certain to call on Monday for Russia’s expulsion from the G-8.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks on the situation in Ukraine on the South Lawn of the White House on March 20, 2014. (Mandel Ngan/AP Photo)
U.S. President Barack Obama acts as if he would rather walk on glass than speak plainly about Putin’s military adventurism and the dangers that lie ahead because of it. As for the feeble western Europeans, they have been shockingly subdued about Putin using his armed forces as bullies.
Other than the Poles and the Baltic mini-states, who know too well the Kremlin’s boot, but don’t have much of a voice in European debates, the continent’s leaders have been handcuffed in discussions over Russia’s annexation of Crimea. This is partly because with Britain greedily leading the way, Europe has welcomed tens of billions of dollars of dirty money from a Who’s Who of Russia’s most unsavoury “biznismen.” They do not yet have much stomach for turning off access to such dubious lucre even if that means submitting their peoples to Putin’s whims.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin addresses a joint session of Russian parliament on Crimea in the Kremlin in Moscow, on March 18, 2014. (ALEXEI NIKOLSKY/AFP/Getty Images)
The other reason is that the Europeans have not done much to wean themselves from Russian oil and especially Russian natural gas. While making a shambles of their high-minded green energy policies regarding wind and solar power, they have preferred to rant about Canada’s energy industry rather than work with their ally on assuring reliability of supply and reducing their dependence of Russian energy.
That Putin can get away with doing as he pleases with Crimea is not complicated to explain. After a few terrible years adjusting to the post-Soviet world, the Russians have greatly increased military spending and have seized two chunks of Georgia, and now one piece of Ukraine. Overmatched during the Cold War, the Russian army is now virtually unopposed in central Europe.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper lays a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial on Hrushevsky Street in Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 22, 2014.
Long before Obama’s much ballyhooed “pivot to Asia,” Washington was quietly stripping Europe of forces it reckoned it no longer needed there. The number of American troops in Europe has been reduced to about 70,000 from an early Cold War high of about 450,000, and about 210,000 soon after the Soviet Union collapsed. Over the past 24 months alone two more “heavy” U.S. infantry brigades purpose-built to stymie potential Russian military aggression have packed up and gone home.
Canada joined the exodus, too. More than 20 years ago it brought home its mechanized brigade from Lahr, Germany, and its fighter jets from Baden-Soellingen. As for the Europeans, they were as keen as Canada to grab “a peace dividend,” in the 1990′s and made deep cuts in military spending.
All this made sense at the time. Almost everyone, except perhaps Putin himself, thought the Cold War was over. The priority became to integrate Russia into the global economy, the idea being that whoever was in the Kremlin, would see how advantageous this was. Allowing Russia and its energy-skewed economy into the G-8, when it shared none of its partners’ democratic values or followed many of the their business practices, has turned out to have been a terribly misguided strategy.
Allowing Russia access to western capital and its most brazen crooks to buy up the best precincts in London, many of the finest beach properties in France and Spain and corner the world market on luxury yachts, has turned out to be a two-edged sword. The Europeans are far more worried now about damage to their own economies if Russia is hit with meaningful sanctions than the other way around.
""
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Rotterdam “the gateway to the world” and billions of dollars of Canadian trade when he met with Bas Verhoef, managing director of Uniport Terminals, at one the largest container ports in the world. Harper is in the Netherlands for meetings Monday and Tuesday on nuclear security and an emergency G-7 summit. Photo: Matthew Fisher/Postmedia News
Whether or not Harper points out these dramatic contradictions to his colleagues, he will give them some tough love on Monday. Maybe he can help Europe overcome its paralysis before the Bear decides to make another meal of eastern Ukraine.
Twitter: @mfisheroverseas
Read more Articles from Matthew Fisher
http://o.canada.com/news/politics-and-the-nation/foreign-affairs-and-defence/stephen-harper-is-doing-the-rhetorical-heavy-lifting-for-the-west-on-russia-vladimir-putin-and-crimea/
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PHOTO- HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA CRIMEA WAR MEMORIAL
The Crimean War, 1854-56, interrupted a half-century of peace between the European great powers.
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE- CANADA - MARCH 5 2014
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
TO EACH HIS OWN
It is interesting that when the U.S. took its naval base in Cuba, after the revolution, to protect its interests, Europe did not complain.
I think people are forgetting where the Sebastopol graveyard came from in Halifax: the Crimean War. Time to take a deep breath and remember history. Let Russia keep its port. Let Ukraine have its wheatfields.
Philip K. Thompson, Musquodoboit Harbour
SOCHI WINTER PARALYMPICS 2014 IN MOTHER RUSSIA- We love u... and 4 years of hard work... our Paralympian Global Athletes define the best in us.... and give our children and youth hope... disabilities are abilities in disguise... and the world needs 2 see this everyday...
Sochi Winter Paralympic games baby
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Sochi Paralympic games baby- F**K ALL THE HATE AND THREATS OF WAR- WE'RE WATCHING SOCHI PARALYMPICS 2014 IN MOTHER RUSSIA...
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Terry Fox gave us all something 2 aspire 2 and pray 4 and live 4.... our children and wounded around this world deserve 2 be inspired- and so does Canada and so does the world.... Sochi Winter Paralympics 2014 in Mother Russia - some joy, some dignity... some honour..... about time.
SOCHI! SOCHI! SOCHI! - F**k all the hate and talk of wars that nobody can afford and 7 billion people are sick of hearing with such environmental disasters and billions starving.... bring on the dream that we can do anything - SOCHI WINTERPARALYMPICS 2014 IN GLORIOUS MOTHER RUSSIA BABY! - Congrats Sonja - our Canada Flag Bearer.... this is the real Canada folks... real, raw, righteous... and we love u all so much.
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NOVA SCOTIA-BORN SNOWBOARDER SOCHI BOUND
SHINING MOMENT
Mosher competing in sport he helped place in Paralympics
MONTY MOSHER SPORTS REPORTER
mmosher@herald.ca @ch_montymosher
In some ways, seeing para-snowboard in the 2014 Paralympics will be like watching the birth of a child for Tyler Mosher.
The Nova Scotia native, in British Columbia for the past two decades, is one of the founders of para-snowboard in Canada and an advocate and ambassador for the sport internationally.Now Mosher, 41, will compete in Sochi starting next week in the sport he helped place in the Paralympic pantheon . “I’m excited," said Mosher, who has b een in Spain and Switzerland in the past few weeks preparing for Sochi.
Forty-five nations will be in Russia at the opening ceremonies this Friday. There will be 72 medal events in five sports, with snowboard being the prominent new addition .
Canada has four snowboarders on the team .Mosher was born in Wolfville and raised in Halifax. He graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Ar t and Design and headed to B.C., where he operates a landscape development business in Whistler.
He will race in Sochi on March 14 .
He competed in the Paralympics in Vancouver in 2010, but in cross-country skiing. He placed seventh.
“I’m doing it this time in a sport where I can win gold," he said.
He took up para-nordic skiing to make the Paralympics in that sport, setting goals in a way he could achieve them.
But he was a snowboarder first. He was the adaptive snowboarding world champion in 2009.
“And I want to continu e on and ideally be on the podium on March 14," he said.
“It’s always great to make something positive out of an accident that happened to me. I’m so excited . . . to have the opportunity to participate in a sport I
CONTINUED ON A6
Tyler Mosher trains at Lake Louise, Alta., in 2013. The snowboarder will be in Sochi, Russia, next week competing in the Paralympics.
MATTHEW MURNAGHAN • Canadian Paralympic Committee
helped develop.”
His accident may have changed the fate of Paralympic snowboarding in this country and b eyond.
He crashed at the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort while snowboarding on Dec. 30, 2000. He thought he was headed for a flat sp ot and ended up landing on his head in a nine-metre hole.
He broke his back in nine places, destroying his L-1 vertebrae, and required reconstructive surgery.
The prognosis had him sp ending the rest o f his life in a wheelchair. He left the rehab centre with two canes.
A rugby and football player in his younger days, it took him two years to walk again. He took to yoga and cross-country skiing to improve the overall quality of his life.
“Luckily, my injury was an incomplete paralysis and I was able to gain 60 per cent of my muscles back,” he said. “And in the process of learning to walk again over those two years, I learned snowb oarding for the disabled didn’t exist.”
He took up the challenge, working to develop the sport. By 2005, he was back on a snowboard.
“I walk on my heels. I can’t stand on my toes. I can’t jump. I can’t run. There are a couple hundred things I can’t do anymore, but there are several million things I can do.”
In 2007, Canada had a national para-snowboard team for the first time. He won the first Adaptive Snowboard World Cup race in 2 008.
“Essentially, everything is new. Ten years ago, there weren’t any organized groups, per se, to enable children with a disability to snowboard with their friends.”
He said with snowboard in the Paralympics, more funding will be available for the sport at a grassroots level in Canada. He is the founding director o f the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program.
He’ll compete in time trials in Sochi over a border-cross course with the best two of three runs counting .
“This is probably it for me,” he said. “I’m seeing my baby through to the Games, so to speak.
“I’m doing a big cross-country ski race next year, but it’s just too hard on my body to be at this level.”
There are political issues surrounding these Games with Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, but Mosher will not be fazed.
“(I have) no security concerns about competing in Sochi,” he said. “I am focused on my competition and doing my best on
March 14.”
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UKRAINE... SIGH...
The IMF is interesting to US policymakers for the wrong reason
The International Monetary Fund is an immensely useful organization, able to deliver substantial amounts of financial and technical assistance at short notice to almost any place in the world. It also has the great advantage of almost always being perceived as incredibly boring…
In the realm of international economics, being perceived as boring confers power to the extent that it allows major decisions to be made without a great deal of external scrutiny. From 1918 to 1939, international economic cooperation was hard to come by – in large part because all of the attempted deals were put together at high-profile international conferences. Following the creation of the IMF in 1944, many of the same decisions became routine, a lot less interesting, and much easier to implement…
The US does not dictate what happens at the IMF, but it does have a disproportionate influence. Given the Fund’s origins in helping to rebuild Europe after World War II, European countries are also very well represented on its executive board and in terms of ownership shares (and thus voting weight on important decisions).
One major goal in recent decades has been to shift representation at the IMF somewhat away from Europe and toward the world’s emerging markets. These countries’ global economic and financial significance has grown rapidly, yet they have relatively little representation at the Fund.
A package of reforms has been agreed. Like most products of international negotiations, the agreement is not perfect; but it does move the ball forward…These reforms need to be agreed, in legislative form, by the US Congress before they can take effect. For whatever reason, President Barack Obama’s administration did not push this item hard in 2013 and early 2014 – and the agenda of encouraging further IMF reform has therefore languished.
The Obama administration proposed to tie IMF reform to the presumably imminent approval by Congress of funding for Ukraine. This is sensible legislative tactics but not appealing as an economic strategy. In effect, the administration tried to make the IMF more interesting, particularly to encourage Republicans in the House of Representatives to support the reforms.
The latest indications are that the Republicans will not be so enticed. But the bigger problem is that Ukraine does not really need a massive loan from the IMF. What Ukraine needs is a sharp reduction in corruption, as well as real legitimacy (through the ballot box) for people who want to rein in the influence of oligarchs – a group that has sapped the economy through plunder and incompetence over the past two decades.
Mostly, what looks like happening is typical of Congress and Congressional Republicans. Money for war is always available – so, the White House and the Pentagon will make Ukraine aid sound like war is imminent.
The need to reform the IMF and why – will probably be swept under the rug.
The need to reform Ukraine will simply be ignored. Most of Congress has no interest in anything concerned with real reform vs. the phoney sort they talk about all the time. The kind that means screwing working people even more.
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The persecuted church
Loss of religious freedom hitting close to home
By: Brenda Suderman
Posted: 03/29/2014 1:00 AM |
Ste. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church has created a display to protest Russia's annexation of Crimea, which threatens the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church there.
KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image
Ste. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church has created a display to protest Russia's annexation of Crimea, which threatens the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church there. Photo Store
Pssst, buddy, wanna worship?
Sunday morning, parishioners on their way to worship at St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church can expect a secret guide or two to lead them past guards at their barricaded front entrance.
"In a lot of parts of the world right now, there are Christians fighting just to know God and to pray," explains Rev. Mark Gnutel of why the East Kildonan church, located at 35 Marcie St., is using their Sunday mass on March 30 to recognize persecuted churches.
"This is a chance to pray and to be in solidarity with those who don't have freedom right now."
The 10 a.m. service begins in the church basement with a simple spoken liturgy and singing without musical instruments, mimicking times when the Christian church was underground.
Although the barricades are temporary and the guards are members of the church playing a part, the scenario of persecution and loss of religious freedom feels a bit too close to home for many Ukrainian Catholics these days.
The recent annexation of Crimea by Russia means the members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church living in the region may no longer be able to worship in their own tradition because it is not recognized by the Russian government, says Most Rev. Lawrence Huculak, Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada.
"One day they're in Ukraine and they're legal and the next day they're in the Russian Federation and our church is not legal," he says of the parishes in Crimea.
"That has put that portion of our church in great uncertainty."
The ongoing situation in Crimea also brings back memories of the many decades after the Second World War when the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church operated clandestinely in Ukraine, says Gnutel.
"They gathered in cemeteries, in the woods, in people's homes, anywhere they could assemble safely and pray," says Gnutel of the 45 years when the Soviets confiscated church property and sent many bishops and priests to labour camps.
A broken spoon used by an imprisoned bishop to administer sacraments somehow found its way to Canada and is now on display at St. Volodymyr Museum at 232 Scotia St.
"It's a physical piece of evidence showing the tenacity and faith of people to continue that action, which could have been a death sentence if they had been discovered," curator Natalia Radawetz says.
That tenacity remains in the Ukraine, where Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv has called for his priests to minister to the spiritual needs of protesters in Ukraine, says Huculak, also archbishop of the Eparchy of Winnipeg.
Shevchuk visited Manitoba in September 2012 to preside over the annual synod of bishops and to tour Ukrainian Catholic parishes and institutions.
This Sunday, some Ukrainian Catholic parishes in Canada will mark the deaths of Ukrainians killed in anti-government protests in Kyiv -- dubbed the heavenly hundred -- with a special requiem.
Rev. Michael Kwiatkowski plans to lead the 10-minute remembrance service at 11:30 a.m. at Holy Eucharist Church, 505 Watt St., immediately after the 10:30 a.m. service.
"When we gather in our churches, the hearts of everybody are heavy," he says.
"Now we have this cloud handing over (us) and we wonder what the outcome will be."
Although concerned about the situation of church in the home country, Huculak acknowledges that hard times, and even persecution, are part of the long history of the Christian church.
"The church always has those times of growth, persecution and rebirth. I don't know if that is what's happening now, but we have to be prepared."
Huculak is encouraged by other Christian groups who have sent letters of support to his denomination, and asks for continued prayer for the situation in Ukraine.
"There aren't too many practical ways (to help) but certainly the spiritual support as expressed through prayer in their churches and letters of support which we can pass on to the Ukraine" are helpful, he says.
brenda@suderman.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 29, 2014 D15
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TAYLOR: Dumbing down of crisis in Crimea not helpful
SCOTT TAYLOR | ON TARGET
Last Updated March 31, 2014 - 7:20am
Ukrainian armored vehicles are prepared for loading onto a train at a railway station near Simferopol, Crimea, Saturday. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
As dramatic events continue to unfold in the Ukraine over the status of the Crimea, it is disturbing to see the western media donning their cheerleading costumes rather than attempting to present a balanced overview.
In the totally dumbed-down equation presented to Canadian audiences, freedom-loving Ukrainians took to the streets of Kyiv to force their despot ruler, President Viktor Yanukovych, from power.
We are told Yanukovych’s undoing was that he rejected a financial bailout package from the European Union in order to secure a similar bailout package from the Russians. The storyline then proceeds with a rebuffed Russia, under the direction of imperial-minded President Vladimir Putin and his oligarch henchmen, invading the Crimea.
Then, under the watchful eye of Russian soldiers, Putin holds a hasty referendum that produces an overwhelming majority of the votes cast wishing to amalgamate Crimea with Russia.
This simple notion of Russia invading neighbouring countries and gobbling up territory has been further dumbed-down by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who publicly opined that Putin’s actions mirror those of Adolf Hitler’s desired annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1938.
In other words, according to Harper, if we conclude a similar “peace in our time” appeasement deal such as the one brokered by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1938 with Hitler over Czechoslovakia, we will only have ourselves to blame when Putin invades all of Europe in the coming months.
Of course, while such a simple “good versus evil” scenario makes it easy to choose sides, the current crisis in Ukraine is far from simple. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has always been a deeply divided nation, torn between strengthening ties to the European Union and clinging to historical roots with Russia.
The rough dividing lines exists along the Dnieper River. On the west bank, the largely Catholic ethnic Ukrainian population seeks European bonds, while the predominantly Orthodox Christian ethnic Russians on the east bank lean toward Moscow.
Forgotten in all the violent protests to oust Yanukovych is the fact that he was the country’s legally elected president. Also overlooked in the media coverage of the Maiden Revolution in the streets of Kyiv is the fact that the hardcore nucleus of the demonstrators consists of neo-Nazi thugs.
One of the most notorious of these is Aleksandr Muzychko, a.k.a. Sashko Billy. His Right Sector party vowed not to rest until they had killed “every Communist, Russian and Jew” in Ukraine. It was some of these Right Sector extremists who were killed by security forces during the demonstrations and who were subsequently mourned by Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird when they visited Independence Square in Kyiv last week.
It was shortly after the official Canadian delegation visited Ukraine that Sashko Billy was executed while resisting arrest by a special unit of the Ministry of the Interior.
While having neo-Nazis in your midst is never a selling point when seeking bailout funding and support, the idea that the interim Ukrainian government could simply gun down former allies who have become an embarrassment is also not exactly a good example of projecting a civil society.
For the record, Sashko Billy’s loyal Right Sector followers have vowed to avenge their fallen martyr and have declared war on the Interior Ministry.
Another far-right Ukrainian nationalist movement, which currently holds 40 seats in the interim parliament, is the Svoboda or Freedom Party. In another bizarre incident largely unreported in the western media, three cabinet ministers from Svoboda filmed themselves storming into the head office of the state-run National Television Company. As seen in the video, they then proceed to beat and intimidate the company director into writing his own resignation.
The director’s offence was to broadcast Putin’s speech declaring the Crimea to be Russian territory. One of the assailants just happens to be Ukraine’s deputy head of the Freedom of Speech Committee.
Also missing from the simplistic Harper and Baird Ukraine equation is the fact that the interim parliament’s first act was to pass a bill banning the use of Russian as the second official language.
While President Oleksandr Turchynov has yet to approve this law, one can presume that it sends a seriously divisive message to those ethnic Russians east of the Dnieper and in Crimea.
Following Harper’s visit to Kyiv in advance of the March 24 G-7 summit meeting, the media in attendance reported to Canadians that “Canada was taking a leading role” in the Ukraine crisis.
What they failed to mention is that it is only a leading role if someone follows. No other European leader has yet to so closely embrace the current Kyiv leadership.
If one dives headfirst into an unfamiliar watering hole while the local residents carefully test the waters, it does not demonstrate leadership. It exemplifies reckless abandon.
Scott Taylor is editor of Esprit de Corps magazine
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BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS- AFGHANISTANS BRING PRIDE 2 NATO TROOPS AND AFGHAN TROOPS AND POLICING APRIL 5, 2014- they are rising up and defiant and proud showing the world how 2 be free at last- no taliban gonna take their world no more... no way- Whilst UN, EU,USA hijack our world and turn humanity in2 ashes.... Afghanistan rises us up
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NEWS UPDATE MARCH 23 2014
Politics and the NationForeign Affairs and Defence
Stephen Harper is doing the rhetorical heavy lifting for the West on Russia, Vladimir Putin and Crimea
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — It has been a while since a world leader used the phrase “the free world.”
Yet Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper accurately captured the moment when he resurrected that Cold War expression on Saturday in Kyiv to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s naked revanchism in redrawing the contours of Ukraine.
“I think it is important that we in the free world not accept the occupation of Crimea, that we continue to resist, and sanction the occupation of Crimea, and that there be no return to business as usual with the Putin regime until such time the occupation of Crimea ends,” Harper said during remarks Saturday that got wide play on Ukrainian television news shows that evening.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes part in a joint press conference with Ukrainian Prime Minister Areseniy Yatsenyuk at the Cabinet of Ministers in Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 22, 2014.
Because of the cowardice and/or impotence of other leaders (take your pick), Harper has been out on point, to use a military term, criticizing Putin and Russia on Ukraine and Crimea more sharply than any other leader of a major western country and calling for closely coordinated economic policies to hurt Russia.
An emergency G-7 summit is to convene in the Dutch capital on the margins of a global meeting on nuclear security on Monday. Because German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks Russian and Putin speaks German, and because Berlin has the most comprehensive, balanced trade relationship with Moscow, Merkel will remain the West’s primary conduit for trying to reason with the Russian leader.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the media at the end of an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)
But the G-7 will want to know what Harper learned in Kyiv. Moreover, they will continue to count on him to do the rhetorical heavy lifting about Russia’s land grab, saying that they might wish to, but don’t, lest they upset the marauding Russian Bear.
Plans are afoot to exclude Russia from the G-8 summit, which was to have been in Sochi, Russia, this June, and to instead hold a G-7 summit at exactly the same time in London. Yet Harper remains the only western leader who is certain to call on Monday for Russia’s expulsion from the G-8.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks on the situation in Ukraine on the South Lawn of the White House on March 20, 2014. (Mandel Ngan/AP Photo)
U.S. President Barack Obama acts as if he would rather walk on glass than speak plainly about Putin’s military adventurism and the dangers that lie ahead because of it. As for the feeble western Europeans, they have been shockingly subdued about Putin using his armed forces as bullies.
Other than the Poles and the Baltic mini-states, who know too well the Kremlin’s boot, but don’t have much of a voice in European debates, the continent’s leaders have been handcuffed in discussions over Russia’s annexation of Crimea. This is partly because with Britain greedily leading the way, Europe has welcomed tens of billions of dollars of dirty money from a Who’s Who of Russia’s most unsavoury “biznismen.” They do not yet have much stomach for turning off access to such dubious lucre even if that means submitting their peoples to Putin’s whims.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin addresses a joint session of Russian parliament on Crimea in the Kremlin in Moscow, on March 18, 2014. (ALEXEI NIKOLSKY/AFP/Getty Images)
The other reason is that the Europeans have not done much to wean themselves from Russian oil and especially Russian natural gas. While making a shambles of their high-minded green energy policies regarding wind and solar power, they have preferred to rant about Canada’s energy industry rather than work with their ally on assuring reliability of supply and reducing their dependence of Russian energy.
That Putin can get away with doing as he pleases with Crimea is not complicated to explain. After a few terrible years adjusting to the post-Soviet world, the Russians have greatly increased military spending and have seized two chunks of Georgia, and now one piece of Ukraine. Overmatched during the Cold War, the Russian army is now virtually unopposed in central Europe.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper lays a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial on Hrushevsky Street in Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 22, 2014.
Long before Obama’s much ballyhooed “pivot to Asia,” Washington was quietly stripping Europe of forces it reckoned it no longer needed there. The number of American troops in Europe has been reduced to about 70,000 from an early Cold War high of about 450,000, and about 210,000 soon after the Soviet Union collapsed. Over the past 24 months alone two more “heavy” U.S. infantry brigades purpose-built to stymie potential Russian military aggression have packed up and gone home.
Canada joined the exodus, too. More than 20 years ago it brought home its mechanized brigade from Lahr, Germany, and its fighter jets from Baden-Soellingen. As for the Europeans, they were as keen as Canada to grab “a peace dividend,” in the 1990′s and made deep cuts in military spending.
All this made sense at the time. Almost everyone, except perhaps Putin himself, thought the Cold War was over. The priority became to integrate Russia into the global economy, the idea being that whoever was in the Kremlin, would see how advantageous this was. Allowing Russia and its energy-skewed economy into the G-8, when it shared none of its partners’ democratic values or followed many of the their business practices, has turned out to have been a terribly misguided strategy.
Allowing Russia access to western capital and its most brazen crooks to buy up the best precincts in London, many of the finest beach properties in France and Spain and corner the world market on luxury yachts, has turned out to be a two-edged sword. The Europeans are far more worried now about damage to their own economies if Russia is hit with meaningful sanctions than the other way around.
""
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Rotterdam “the gateway to the world” and billions of dollars of Canadian trade when he met with Bas Verhoef, managing director of Uniport Terminals, at one the largest container ports in the world. Harper is in the Netherlands for meetings Monday and Tuesday on nuclear security and an emergency G-7 summit. Photo: Matthew Fisher/Postmedia News
Whether or not Harper points out these dramatic contradictions to his colleagues, he will give them some tough love on Monday. Maybe he can help Europe overcome its paralysis before the Bear decides to make another meal of eastern Ukraine.
Twitter: @mfisheroverseas
Read more Articles from Matthew Fisher
http://o.canada.com/news/politics-and-the-nation/foreign-affairs-and-defence/stephen-harper-is-doing-the-rhetorical-heavy-lifting-for-the-west-on-russia-vladimir-putin-and-crimea/
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PHOTO- HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA CRIMEA WAR MEMORIAL
http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/crimeamon.html
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA- CRIMEAN WAR MEMORIAL- ONLY ONE IN CANADA
NOVA SCOTIA - WILLIAM HALL- VICTORIA CROSS- BRAVERY- CRIMEAN WAR
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NOVEMBER 11 2014- UPDATES- The world is watching and the poor are angry with ur crap...common sense as these letters show - prevail
Just 2 make or day... or pass -LETTERS FROM CANADIANS- CLEANING UP THE BULLSHEET AND BEANS...ON RUSSIA- CRIMEA- AND THE WORLD OF FORMER THIEVES AND...NEW ONES... EU.. EH?
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE | MARCH 11, 2014
Published March 10, 2014 - 4:39pm
Last Updated March 10, 2014 - 4:50pm
Resist Russian menace
The events in Crimea are coming to a head. The population of that region must decide their future through a referendum. Russian troops have positioned themselves throughout Crimea, ready to intervene or to threaten retaliation if the referendum does not go in the Russian direction.
Sound familiar? It does to me. The weak, fearful British and French governments of the late 1930s gave way to Germany, and countries fell without any response. Poland was next on the German grand design. We all know the result: the Second World War.
There is only one way to defuse the situation. With or without Russian approval, a UN-backed contingency group must be sent to Crimea. Their one and only duty would be to ensure a fair and honest referendum takes place.
There can be only one reality for Russian President Vladimir Putin to understand: The population of Crimea must be able to decide their own fate without fear of reprisals. The Western powers must stand firm in their resolve not to let history repeat itself.
John de Moss, HRM
and..
Flawed analogy
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has a perverse view of history. He compares the Russian occupation of the Crimea with Hitler’s annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938. First of all, it was England and France who sold out Czechoslovakia in 1938. The Soviets, though not invited to the Munich Conference, offered to fight Nazi Germany for the territorial integrity of Czechoslovakia.
Second, the Soviet Union (Russia) lost 25 million people (combatants and civilians) defeating fascism. If not for Russian sacrifice, many more Canadian soldiers would have died in the Second World War. Maybe the Russian haters should think about that.
Paul Redgrave, Dartmouth
Halifax Chronicle Herald... one of the finest on the planet... they don't WALK THE TALK... THEY MAKE THE TALK... WITH FACTS BABY... FACTS!
PHOTOS:
1. putin
2. Britain's land rapes..oops land grabs
3. Without Russia - we would NOT have won WWII
4. Putin is being honest in Houses of Glass- seriously USA- u only got on board with gays in last 10 years.... CALL ME MAYBE... SERIOUSLY... AND EUROPE??..SERIOUSLY..
5 And there's always Canada- and what do Canadians get thrilled and excited about besides OUR TROOPS... .... THE WINTER PARALYMPIC DARLINS...SO TALENTED... SO SAVVY... SO PURE SPORTS... what's not 2 love about Winter Paralympics in Sochi Mother Russia baby!
6. Germany's rape and rape and rape... ooops land grabs
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FROM CHINA MARCH 12, 2014
Crimea votes independence as diplomacy breaks down
AFP
March 12, 2014, 12:06 am TWN
Ukraine's Crimea peninsula voted on Tuesday for full independence from Ukraine in preparation for a referendum to join Russia while France threatened sanctions against Moscow as early as this week.
Pro-Kremlin militants on the flashpoint peninsula also seized control of air traffic control at its main international airport and cancelled all flights except for those from Moscow.
The latest escalation of Europe's worst crisis in decades came moments after ousted pro-Kremlin leader Viktor Yanukovych defiantly vowed to return to Kiev from Russia and declared he was still the leader of the ex-Soviet state.
“As soon as the circumstances allow — and I am sure there is not long to wait — I will without doubt return to Kiev,” Yanukovych told reporters in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
Yanukovych still enjoys Moscow's recognition and remains a political wildcard who the Kremlin says is pushing for Russia's immediate invasion of Ukraine in the most explosive East-West standoff since the Cold War.
Crimea has been a tinderbox since Russian forces seized control of the rugged peninsula — home to Moscow's Black Sea Fleet since the 18th century — with help of Kremlin-backed militias days after Yanukovych fled Ukraine last month in response to waves of deadly unrest.
The strategic region's self-declared rulers are recruiting volunteers to fight Ukrainian soldiers while Russia's parliament on Tuesday prepared legislation that would simplify the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea after Sunday's vote.
But the pro-European leaders in Kiev have rejected the referendum and are appealing to Western powers for both diplomatic backing and pressure on Moscow to release its troops' stranglehold on the region of two million people.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responded to the threat of all-out war on Europe's eastern edge by announcing the planned deployment of AWAC reconnaissance planes in member countries Poland and Romania to monitor any Russian movements.
And French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned that sanctions against Russia could come as early as this week if Moscow failed to respond to Western proposals on the standoff.
Western officials are also expected to meet in London on Tuesday to finalise a list of Russian officials who may face asset freezes and travel restriction over their role in endangering the sovereignty of Europe's largest state.
Crimea Independence
The deep historic divide in the nation of 46 million between its pro-European west and more Russified southeast became ever more apparent as Ukraine's political crisis unfolded following Yanukovych's rejection in November of an historic EU pact.
Last month's rise to power in Kiev of nationalist leaders with cultural and political links to Europe prompted President Vladimir Putin to seek the right to use force against Ukraine in defense of the country's Russian speakers.
But the first region to take the radical step of breaking away from Ukraine was Crimea — a peninsula that had always enjoyed wide autonomy and was a part of Russia until being handed over as a symbolic “gift” to Kiev in 1954 when its was still a part of the Soviet empire.
Crimea's parliamentary assembly took another dramatic step on Tuesday by issuing a declaration proclaiming the region's full independence from Kiev rule.
The body had earlier voted to actually join Russia and the latest move appeared to be primarily aimed at creating a legal framework for becoming a part of Russia as a sovereign state.
A parliamentary statement referred to Kosovo's U.S.-backed separation from Serbia and said “the unilateral declaration of independence of part of a state does not violate any international laws.”
The sense of Crimea slipping out of Kiev's grasp intensified on Tuesday when gunmen took over air traffic control of the airport in the regional capital Simferopol and refused landing rights to a flight from the Ukrainian capital.
“Air traffic control has been taken over, as well as the runway,” a militia member named Ivan told AFP.
'EU offers Ukraine trade breaks worth 500 mil. euros a year'
The EU will offer Ukraine trade breaks worth 500 million euros (US$700 million) a year as an immediate gesture of support, European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday.
The Commission has “agreed a set of unilateral trade provisions ... equal to about 500 million euros per year,” Barroso said.
This was “a concrete, tangible” measure of support for Ukraine, he added.
The savings will be made through reductions in tariffs agreed in a free trade accord negotiated with Kiev alongside an EU association pact which now-ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych ditched in November.
And World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said the bank was prepared to offer US$3 billion in aid “to undertake the reforms badly needed to put the economy on a path to sustainability.”
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/europe/2014/03/12/402610/Crimea-votes.htm
and..
Crisis in Ukraine could be a harbinger of Taiwan's future
The China Post news staff
March 9, 2014, 12:01 am TWN
The crisis in Ukraine, just like those in Egypt or Syria, does not seem to have much bearing on Taiwan. But Russia's military intervention and Crimea's planned self-determination vote have set us to wonder about implications for Taiwan.
Some local commentators have already noted that Taiwan and Ukraine share some similarities in relation to the big powers: Ukraine is torn between the European Union and Russia, and Taiwan between the United States and China.
Russia's latest intervention shows its keenness to reassert control on what used to be a part of the Soviet Union — or at least to regain a major part of it in the shape of Crimea, the majority of the population being Russian.
Nationalism is definitely not the only reason behind Russia's ambition, but that nationalistic side of the crisis reminds us of our own difficult situation here in Taiwan.
China has always maintained its sovereignty over Taiwan, claims that are endorsed and recognized by most of the world, including the United States and the United Nations. China has vowed to resort to force to reclaim the island should Taiwan declare formal independence.
But Washington has always been playing a game of ambiguity toward Taiwan. The United States has been the major supplier of weapons for Taiwan to defend itself against China, but it has never made any explicit pledges that it will come to the rescue should cross-strait war ever break out.
Inside Taiwan, it has always been a guessing game as far as U.S. support is concerned: Pro-independence fundamentalists usually choose to believe that Washington will never give up one of its most important strategic allies along the Pacific Rim as a casualty of China's military expansion.
The strong concern that the United States has voiced over China's increased military spending demonstrates Washington's strategic priorities in the region. Adm. Samuel Locklear, a U.S. Pacific commander, has noted that Washington is most concerned by China's introduction of military capabilities apparently aimed at thwarting the U.S. ability to protect its allies in the Pacific region.
Do those allies include Taiwan? Will this U.S. strategic need in the region translate into real action — that is, full-blown war — if China starts some kind of military action against Taiwan, similar to the one that Russia is threatening to use in Ukraine?
We are watching the development in Ukraine as if watching our future. If Russia invades and annexes Crimea, will NATO intervene, risking a major war with its former Cold War enemy?
If NATO and the United States back off, what's the implication for Taiwan in the face of its giant neighbor?
In fact, Taiwan is in an even more diplomatically difficult situation than that of Ukraine: Ukraine is a sovereign country, while Taiwan is officially a part of China, as far as the international community is concerned.
Is it legitimate for foreign powers to interfere with the internal affairs of a country that acts to preserve its territorial integrity? Will it be a more likely scenario that the foreign powers will choose to sit idly for fear of a much bigger catastrophe than the sacking of Taiwan?
Taiwan has always maintained that its future must be determined by its people, in line with the principle of self-determination.
But look at the U.S. and EU reaction to Crimea's proposed self-determination vote: they will not recognize the outcome of the referendum. The message is clear and strong: an integral part of the country can't simply break away to join Russia by holding a referendum.
Scotland is allowed to hold the independence vote in September because the British government agrees; Crimea can't because the Ukrainian government forbids it.
Will China allow Taiwan to hold an independence referendum? The answer is clear. If Taiwan did hold such a vote, would the United States and other countries recognize the outcome?
Of course, international politics changes, and no two developments may be exactly the same. The U.S. might treat the Taiwan-China question differently than that of the Ukrainian crisis.
But the crisis in Ukraine in some ways provides clues as to what could happen to us.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/taiwan-issues/2014/03/09/402313/Crisis-in.htm
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MARCH 10, 2014
Europe
prepares sanctions against Russia
Lavrov blames
Kerry for stalemate
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What is now Ukraine 1905 - Shame on USA- Shame on EU and CANADA!- Shame on Russia - 2 billion people are education with no jobs- 5 billion people are starving, dying with no education.... get ur priorities straight... we're sick of the lot of ya.
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MARCH 10, 2014
And 2 think Russia signed the fishing moratorarium.... whilst many Icelantic countries refused!
Russian actions in Ukraine could cause Arctic problems: Iceland PM
EDMONTON - Russia's actions in Ukraine could cause problems for international cooperation in the Arctic, says Iceland's prime minister.
Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson said Russia's strongarm tactics in its former satellite could make it harder for the eight nations on the Arctic Council to reach agreements at a time when the region faces a series of critical issues.
"This has a ripple effect, even though the actual events are far from the Arctic," said Gunnlaugsson, in Edmonton on a trade mission.
"Clearly, it has made many players in the Arctic quite worried about developments and whether they might be a sign of what is to come."
In fact, former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton echoed his sentiments earlier this week while delivering a speech in Calgary.
Clinton said it is in the best interests of Russia, Canada, the United States and the five other Arctic Council members to find ways to reach agreements on how to handle resource development in the Arctic.
The insistence of many Ukrainians on turning their country toward the West has angered Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian soldiers have moved into Ukrainian territory in the Crimea and the crucial Black Sea port of Sevastopol. Russian and Ukrainian troops have faced off several times over control of military facilities in the Crimean region.
Meanwhile, northern nations are involved in discussions over which country will control which parts of the Arctic. Safe shipping and oil exploration rules for the North are being negotiated, as is an agreement to delay commercial Arctic fishing until more is known about the resource.
Gunnlaugsson, whose country sits on the Arctic Council, said Russia's actions are going to make agreement on those and other environmental and economic issues in the Arctic even harder.
"I don't think it will have an immediate effect," he said.
"It makes other governments more worried about what might happen in the future, so it creates a sense of insecurity and maybe lack of trust. If what we see in Ukraine turns out to be an exception and Russia goes back to friendly relations with its neighbours, then it shouldn't have an effect.
"But if it is a sign of what it to come, it is quite worrying."
Gunnlaugsson's country is banking a good part of its economic future on Arctic development.
It is planning to build a major seaport in northeast Iceland to service growing traffic through gradually opening Arctic sea lanes. It has signed offshore oil exploration deals with CNOOC, the Chinese company that also owns Canadian energy company Nexen.
The country has also been active diplomatically. It raised eyebrows when it formed the Arctic Circle, an international forum that included non-Arctic countries such as China before they were granted observer status at the Arctic Council.
But Iceland sometimes feels snubbed by some other Arctic countries, such as when Canada, the U.S., Russia, Norway and Denmark recently concluded an interim agreement on fisheries.
"We felt it was almost peculiar that the Arctic Five have decided to negotiate regarding the fish and leave Iceland out of it," Gunnlaugsson said. "Iceland has a lot to offer when it comes to fisheries policy."
Canada has a lot to gain from working with Iceland on opening the Arctic, said Gunnlaugsson. Canadian companies could use the country as a bridgehead to burgeoning resource plays in Greenland, for example.
"With the location of Iceland and the infrastructure we already have in place and additional know-how from Canadian companies, I think we could do a lot of good in Greenland."
Gunnlaugsson said his government has already opened discussions with provincial governments in Manitoba and Alberta on increasing business ties. He was in Edmonton to help inaugurate expanded air service between Edmonton and the Icelandic capital of Reyjavik.
The highlight of his trip, however, may have to do with another type of ice entirely.
Gunnlaugsson and his delegation attended a hockey game during his visit between the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders. Hockey legend and former Oiler Wayne Gretzky was in the crowd and invited the visiting leader to his box.
"It was pretty great, an unexpected pleasure," said Gunnlaugsson, 38.
"He chatted and was really friendly. We took pictures of us together and it was a great experience.
"He is the first thing I knew about Edmonton. Everybody knows Wayne Gretzky."
http://www.capebretonpost.com/Canada---World/Business/2014-03-09/article-3642699/Russian-actions-in-Ukraine-could-cause-Arctic-problems%3A-Iceland-PM/1
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Let's see... the American woman who would die 4 America's Military and the poor and unemployed.... the President of USA likes dancing with the stars.... and the Secretary of State 4 USA who is the Westboro Baptist Church, along with friend Jane Fonda, of Vietnam.... we remember.... Lord have Mercy and prayers 4 the US of A.... God bless American troops who are the absolute heart of our nations.
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MARCH 10, 2014- BILLION OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF THIS BALL OF LIES BY LEADERS ARE ARE QUICKLY BECOMING UNRESPECTED AND WORSE.... UNVOTE-ABLE... SERIOUSLY...this former liberal, ndp, liberal voted Federal Tory....because of Peter MacKay and his devotion 2 our troops when nobody gave a sheeet outside Rick Hillier, Walt and Romeo Dallaire..... sheeeeet... and Justin??? Mulcair??? Sweet Jesus, Mother Mary and Joseph... POOR CANADA IN THE NEXT FEDERAL ELECTION.... POOR CANADA... DISILLUSION.... SADNESS... ANGER... DETERMINATION... EMPOWERMENT....
Scott Taylor is Canada's must read..... love or hate Taylor... he's a mandatory read 4 all Canadians
And if what Putin is doing in Crimea is wrong, then NATO leaders who led the campaign against Yugoslavia should be indicted for committing the same crime of violating sovereign territory.
There are no statutes of limitations on war crimes — just hypocrisy in labelling them as such.
As events rapidly unfold in Ukraine, the hypocrisy of the United States and western powers would be hilarious if it was not for the sobering reality that their brinkmanship is pushing us toward a global conflict.
Canada has been the most strident and bellicose of all partic-ipants, with the exception of the self-appointed interim Ukrainian government. On his trip to the streets of Kyiv in the immediate wake of president Viktor Yanukovych’s ouster, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made it clear that Canada “is not a referee” in this crisis. We are firmly on the side of the anti-Yanukovych faction.
Such a knee-jerk, impulsive declaration immediately excludes Canada from playing any sort of peace-pursuing mediator role in this equation, and it bone-headedly over-simplifies what is a very complex situation.
Baird also championed the self-appointed interim government as being pro-freedom and pro-democracy. This somehow ignores the fact that Yanukovych was elected through a democratic process and that the interim leadership seized power through violent demonstrations and parliamentary procedure.
Baird’s simplistic proclamation of support also ignores the fact that the Svoboda Party now in power in Kyiv contains ultra right-wing nationalists and anti-Semites. There is also a clearly pro-Russian faction emerging — particularly in eastern Ukraine and Crimea — and they are making it abundantly clear they want nothing to do with the interim government in Kyiv.
They too must be democratic freedom lovers, by Baird’s calculation, because they are now using the same tactics used by protesters to oust Yanukovych. In eastern Ukrainian cities like Donetsk and Kharkov, angry crowds have stormed and seized government buildings while brandishing Russian flags.
In response to the Russian military exerting control of airfields and harbours in Crimea, Baird invoked the ultimate in rhetoric by comparing Putin’s move to that of Adolf Hitler’s annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1938. Nothing works better when demonizing someone than a comparison to Hitler.
Canada also yanked its ambassador out of Moscow immediately after Russian troops deployed in Crimea, yet another brilliant move on the part of Canada to cut off communication at the outset of a complex and extremely sensitive international situation.
Still not satisfied that Moscow was getting Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s message of discontent, Baird took the extreme step of expelling nine Russian officers who were in Canada on exchange programs and language training. In true Baird tough-guy style, he apparently gave the Russian soldiers 24 hours to pack their bags and get out of Dodge.
Baird also spent a lot of time beating his chest and sputtering on about levelling sanctions against Russia. This was probably why Canada was not invited to any of the big boy emergency discussions on the Ukraine crisis that were held last week by the U.S., Russia and major European nations.
The Europeans know that sanctions are not an option in this equation, as western Europe currently imports 40 per cent of its natural gas and oil from Russia through pipelines across Ukraine. So while it is easy for Baird to heave around the sanction hammer, the Europeans have no desire to be left freezing in the dark.
It would be unfair to paint Harper and Baird as the only two beating the war drum. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry actually rebuked Putin with the warning that he cannot invade a country “on a completely trumped up pretext.”
Many U.S. talk show hosts repeated Kerry’s words, pointed to a map of Iraq and pilloried the irony.
The other major hypocrisy in NATO’s current stance relates to the Crimea region’s right to self-determination. Last week, the Crimean governor declared he would hold a referendum next Sunday to decide whether or not residents wished to join Russia or remain part of Ukraine.
This has, of course, set off the western powers into fits of rage with declarations that such a move would be an illegal violation of Ukraine’s sovereign territory (about 60 per cent of the Crimean population are ethnic Russians). This is the same NATO that bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days in the spring of 1999 to ensure the right to self-determination for the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians, both Albanian and Serbian.
As much as Harper, Baird and Kerry want to smear Putin with a war crime label, it must be remembered that, to date, not a single Russian bullet has been fired in the crisis. And if what Putin is doing in Crimea is wrong, then NATO leaders who led the campaign against Yugoslavia should be indicted for committing the same crime of violating sovereign territory.
There are no statutes of limitations on war crimes — just hypocrisy in labelling them as such.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1192359-on-target-western-hypocrisy-could-lead-to-global-conflict
COMMENT:
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MARCH 9, 2014 UPDATES - RUSSIA HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS- pls don't 4get USA- like Cuba
7
Reasons Why America Will Never Go To War Over Ukraine
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MARCH 8 2014- PUTIN 2 drop nuke protection of Europe-Ukraine whilst OBAMA VACATIONS???
CAN U IMAGINE... after stirring up the crap in Ukraine.... with unelected parliament in Ukraine..... Russia is dressing down nuke protection of neighbours... AND OBAMA IS ON VACATION???? Please Share
Live•Defence official says Russia might stop honouring arms treaty commitments.
:
WHILST:
Obama , Biden take vacations despite Ukraine crisis; WH brushes off concerns
BizPac Review ?- 5 hours ago
President and Mrs. Obama will be vacationing after all, despite the escalating crisis in the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine. And for good measure ...
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/03/08/obama-biden-take-vacations-despite-ukraine-crisis-wh-brushes-off-concerns-105112
COMMENT: U MUST BE KIDDING... ALL THAT BULLSHIT AND BEANS.... U MUST BE KIDDING...... so USA WHO SEEMS 2 KEEP HALF THE WORLD ON IT'S KNEES WITH torture and torment RUSSIA- WHO IS NOW RETALIATING...Russia may end nuclear checks in response to Ukraine sanction - live blog
-----------------
UPDATE- MARCH 8 2014
Don't cha think USA u need 2 start fixing your own messes... and Lord knows EU is in disaster with Unemployment and refusing 2 get a new World Model and stop letting fascists destroy so much of your nations under the guise of peaceful protesters..... in Greece a pregnant woman among others barred in bank and set on fire... others got out.... she did not.... $$$3 trillion damage 2 beautiful Europe and historical and property of business etc.... we look on in horror as u let your beautiful historical nations be destroyed ... what happened 2 u? We need a new world model folks making humanity more important than greed. imho
---------------------
UPDATE: MARCH 7
comment: ; smart - using Spain in place of Ukraine QUOTE: Let's suppose that for months there have been violent protests on the streets of Madrid, with demonstrators demanding that the Spanish prime minister and his government should resign. Eventually the protests escalate and the security forces open fire using live ammunition and kill many people. Key members of the government flee the country for their own safety.
How would Britain and other fellow members of the European Union react to the turmoil?
Would they, as democratically elected governments support the prime minister, or hail the demonstrators for their bravery and encourage them to form a new government?
And then let's imagine that the newly installed but unelected government in Madrid starts passing legislation which half a million Britons who live in Spain feel is discriminatory. It orders them to speak only Spanish when dealing with state employees. How does Downing Street react to that?
This is an over-simplification of course, but it gives a sense of how the Russians feel about the new men and women in charge in their neighbouring country.
Does Putin have a point in Ukraine
http://news.sky.com/story/1221925/does-putin-have-a-point-on-ukraine
--------------------
UPDATE- MARCH 8 2014- FINNISH LAWYER
SEE... KNEW THIS... UNELECTED PARLIAMENT... VERSUS ELECTED CRIMEA PARLIAMENT... this has Shame on USA and even our Canada and EU written all over it... and the news media... shame on the lot of ya...
http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_03_08/Crimean-referendum-to-join-Russia-certainly-complies-with-international-law-expert-8718/
-------------------
AND..March 7 2014 evening
and...COMMON SENSE....
Nick Clegg hints at Crimea deal if Vladimir Putin 'drops KGB mentality'
Deputy prime minister says Crimea is in different category from rest of Ukraine, and Russia has 'pronounced imprint' there
Nicholas Watt, Patrick Wintour and Terry Macalister
The Guardian, Friday 7 March 2014 19.47 GMT
Britain believes Crimea is in a different category to the rest of Ukraine and could be afforded special treatment if Vladimir Putin abandons his "KGB mentality", according to Nick Clegg.
In an interview with the Guardian, the deputy prime minister acknowledged that Russia had a "very pronounced imprint" on the peninsula, a sign of how Britain and the rest of the EU acknowledge that Moscow will play a central role in determining the constitutional future of Crimea.
The Liberal Democrat leader called on Putin to embark on a "civilised discussion" with Kiev as he threw his weight behind the interim Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who said on Friday that the civilised world would not recognise a referendum on 16 March that is designed to return Crimea to Russia. The Black Sea peninsula has been part of Ukraine since Nikita Khrushchev gave it to Kiev in 1954, then a simple transfer within the Soviet Union.
Clegg argued that pressing ahead with a referendum condemned by Kiev as unconstitutional would simply inflame tensions. This suggests that continuing Russian support for the referendum would trigger the first set of EU sanctions due to be introduced if Moscow declines to open a dialogue with Ukraine.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/07/nick-clegg-crimea-deal-vladimir-putin-kgb-mentality
AND...
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/03/05/one-canadian-moscow-likes-jean-chretien-awarded-russias-order-of-friendship/
---------------
Here's the real bottom issue imho...USA cannot not keep 80% of the world on it's knees anymore... Russia and EU must stop moving in2 territories whilst screaming at each other.... same 4 our China ..imho
-------------------
NEWS UPDATES MARCH 6 2014- TOLD YA... ALL THIS MEDIA $$$ROADKILL$$$ creating a mess. Puting sitting on back quietly and patiently knowing this was nev-a going 2 be any different... seriously??? would u trust the new self-appointed leaders of Ukraine??? Seriously??? ..imho
------------------------------
CRIMEAN WAR
NOVEMBER 11 2014- UPDATES- The world is watching and the poor are angry with ur crap...common sense as these letters show - prevail
Just 2 make or day... or pass -LETTERS FROM CANADIANS- CLEANING UP THE BULLSHEET AND BEANS...ON RUSSIA- CRIMEA- AND THE WORLD OF FORMER THIEVES AND...NEW ONES... EU.. EH?
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE | MARCH 11, 2014
Published March 10, 2014 - 4:39pm
Last Updated March 10, 2014 - 4:50pm
Resist Russian menace
The events in Crimea are coming to a head. The population of that region must decide their future through a referendum. Russian troops have positioned themselves throughout Crimea, ready to intervene or to threaten retaliation if the referendum does not go in the Russian direction.
Sound familiar? It does to me. The weak, fearful British and French governments of the late 1930s gave way to Germany, and countries fell without any response. Poland was next on the German grand design. We all know the result: the Second World War.
There is only one way to defuse the situation. With or without Russian approval, a UN-backed contingency group must be sent to Crimea. Their one and only duty would be to ensure a fair and honest referendum takes place.
There can be only one reality for Russian President Vladimir Putin to understand: The population of Crimea must be able to decide their own fate without fear of reprisals. The Western powers must stand firm in their resolve not to let history repeat itself.
John de Moss, HRM
and..
Flawed analogy
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has a perverse view of history. He compares the Russian occupation of the Crimea with Hitler’s annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938. First of all, it was England and France who sold out Czechoslovakia in 1938. The Soviets, though not invited to the Munich Conference, offered to fight Nazi Germany for the territorial integrity of Czechoslovakia.
Second, the Soviet Union (Russia) lost 25 million people (combatants and civilians) defeating fascism. If not for Russian sacrifice, many more Canadian soldiers would have died in the Second World War. Maybe the Russian haters should think about that.
Paul Redgrave, Dartmouth
Halifax Chronicle Herald... one of the finest on the planet... they don't WALK THE TALK... THEY MAKE THE TALK... WITH FACTS BABY... FACTS!
PHOTOS:
1. putin
2. Britain's land rapes..oops land grabs
3. Without Russia - we would NOT have won WWII
4. Putin is being honest in Houses of Glass- seriously USA- u only got on board with gays in last 10 years.... CALL ME MAYBE... SERIOUSLY... AND EUROPE??..SERIOUSLY..
5 And there's always Canada- and what do Canadians get thrilled and excited about besides OUR TROOPS... .... THE WINTER PARALYMPIC DARLINS...SO TALENTED... SO SAVVY... SO PURE SPORTS... what's not 2 love about Winter Paralympics in Sochi Mother Russia baby!
6. Germany's rape and rape and rape... ooops land grabs
---------------------
FROM CHINA MARCH 12, 2014
Crimea votes independence as diplomacy breaks down
AFP
March 12, 2014, 12:06 am TWN
Ukraine's Crimea peninsula voted on Tuesday for full independence from Ukraine in preparation for a referendum to join Russia while France threatened sanctions against Moscow as early as this week.
Pro-Kremlin militants on the flashpoint peninsula also seized control of air traffic control at its main international airport and cancelled all flights except for those from Moscow.
The latest escalation of Europe's worst crisis in decades came moments after ousted pro-Kremlin leader Viktor Yanukovych defiantly vowed to return to Kiev from Russia and declared he was still the leader of the ex-Soviet state.
“As soon as the circumstances allow — and I am sure there is not long to wait — I will without doubt return to Kiev,” Yanukovych told reporters in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
Yanukovych still enjoys Moscow's recognition and remains a political wildcard who the Kremlin says is pushing for Russia's immediate invasion of Ukraine in the most explosive East-West standoff since the Cold War.
Crimea has been a tinderbox since Russian forces seized control of the rugged peninsula — home to Moscow's Black Sea Fleet since the 18th century — with help of Kremlin-backed militias days after Yanukovych fled Ukraine last month in response to waves of deadly unrest.
The strategic region's self-declared rulers are recruiting volunteers to fight Ukrainian soldiers while Russia's parliament on Tuesday prepared legislation that would simplify the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea after Sunday's vote.
But the pro-European leaders in Kiev have rejected the referendum and are appealing to Western powers for both diplomatic backing and pressure on Moscow to release its troops' stranglehold on the region of two million people.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responded to the threat of all-out war on Europe's eastern edge by announcing the planned deployment of AWAC reconnaissance planes in member countries Poland and Romania to monitor any Russian movements.
And French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned that sanctions against Russia could come as early as this week if Moscow failed to respond to Western proposals on the standoff.
Western officials are also expected to meet in London on Tuesday to finalise a list of Russian officials who may face asset freezes and travel restriction over their role in endangering the sovereignty of Europe's largest state.
Crimea Independence
The deep historic divide in the nation of 46 million between its pro-European west and more Russified southeast became ever more apparent as Ukraine's political crisis unfolded following Yanukovych's rejection in November of an historic EU pact.
Last month's rise to power in Kiev of nationalist leaders with cultural and political links to Europe prompted President Vladimir Putin to seek the right to use force against Ukraine in defense of the country's Russian speakers.
But the first region to take the radical step of breaking away from Ukraine was Crimea — a peninsula that had always enjoyed wide autonomy and was a part of Russia until being handed over as a symbolic “gift” to Kiev in 1954 when its was still a part of the Soviet empire.
Crimea's parliamentary assembly took another dramatic step on Tuesday by issuing a declaration proclaiming the region's full independence from Kiev rule.
The body had earlier voted to actually join Russia and the latest move appeared to be primarily aimed at creating a legal framework for becoming a part of Russia as a sovereign state.
A parliamentary statement referred to Kosovo's U.S.-backed separation from Serbia and said “the unilateral declaration of independence of part of a state does not violate any international laws.”
The sense of Crimea slipping out of Kiev's grasp intensified on Tuesday when gunmen took over air traffic control of the airport in the regional capital Simferopol and refused landing rights to a flight from the Ukrainian capital.
“Air traffic control has been taken over, as well as the runway,” a militia member named Ivan told AFP.
'EU offers Ukraine trade breaks worth 500 mil. euros a year'
The EU will offer Ukraine trade breaks worth 500 million euros (US$700 million) a year as an immediate gesture of support, European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday.
The Commission has “agreed a set of unilateral trade provisions ... equal to about 500 million euros per year,” Barroso said.
This was “a concrete, tangible” measure of support for Ukraine, he added.
The savings will be made through reductions in tariffs agreed in a free trade accord negotiated with Kiev alongside an EU association pact which now-ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych ditched in November.
And World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said the bank was prepared to offer US$3 billion in aid “to undertake the reforms badly needed to put the economy on a path to sustainability.”
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/europe/2014/03/12/402610/Crimea-votes.htm
and..
Crisis in Ukraine could be a harbinger of Taiwan's future
The China Post news staff
March 9, 2014, 12:01 am TWN
The crisis in Ukraine, just like those in Egypt or Syria, does not seem to have much bearing on Taiwan. But Russia's military intervention and Crimea's planned self-determination vote have set us to wonder about implications for Taiwan.
Some local commentators have already noted that Taiwan and Ukraine share some similarities in relation to the big powers: Ukraine is torn between the European Union and Russia, and Taiwan between the United States and China.
Russia's latest intervention shows its keenness to reassert control on what used to be a part of the Soviet Union — or at least to regain a major part of it in the shape of Crimea, the majority of the population being Russian.
Nationalism is definitely not the only reason behind Russia's ambition, but that nationalistic side of the crisis reminds us of our own difficult situation here in Taiwan.
China has always maintained its sovereignty over Taiwan, claims that are endorsed and recognized by most of the world, including the United States and the United Nations. China has vowed to resort to force to reclaim the island should Taiwan declare formal independence.
But Washington has always been playing a game of ambiguity toward Taiwan. The United States has been the major supplier of weapons for Taiwan to defend itself against China, but it has never made any explicit pledges that it will come to the rescue should cross-strait war ever break out.
Inside Taiwan, it has always been a guessing game as far as U.S. support is concerned: Pro-independence fundamentalists usually choose to believe that Washington will never give up one of its most important strategic allies along the Pacific Rim as a casualty of China's military expansion.
The strong concern that the United States has voiced over China's increased military spending demonstrates Washington's strategic priorities in the region. Adm. Samuel Locklear, a U.S. Pacific commander, has noted that Washington is most concerned by China's introduction of military capabilities apparently aimed at thwarting the U.S. ability to protect its allies in the Pacific region.
Do those allies include Taiwan? Will this U.S. strategic need in the region translate into real action — that is, full-blown war — if China starts some kind of military action against Taiwan, similar to the one that Russia is threatening to use in Ukraine?
We are watching the development in Ukraine as if watching our future. If Russia invades and annexes Crimea, will NATO intervene, risking a major war with its former Cold War enemy?
If NATO and the United States back off, what's the implication for Taiwan in the face of its giant neighbor?
In fact, Taiwan is in an even more diplomatically difficult situation than that of Ukraine: Ukraine is a sovereign country, while Taiwan is officially a part of China, as far as the international community is concerned.
Is it legitimate for foreign powers to interfere with the internal affairs of a country that acts to preserve its territorial integrity? Will it be a more likely scenario that the foreign powers will choose to sit idly for fear of a much bigger catastrophe than the sacking of Taiwan?
Taiwan has always maintained that its future must be determined by its people, in line with the principle of self-determination.
But look at the U.S. and EU reaction to Crimea's proposed self-determination vote: they will not recognize the outcome of the referendum. The message is clear and strong: an integral part of the country can't simply break away to join Russia by holding a referendum.
Scotland is allowed to hold the independence vote in September because the British government agrees; Crimea can't because the Ukrainian government forbids it.
Will China allow Taiwan to hold an independence referendum? The answer is clear. If Taiwan did hold such a vote, would the United States and other countries recognize the outcome?
Of course, international politics changes, and no two developments may be exactly the same. The U.S. might treat the Taiwan-China question differently than that of the Ukrainian crisis.
But the crisis in Ukraine in some ways provides clues as to what could happen to us.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/taiwan-issues/2014/03/09/402313/Crisis-in.htm
-----------------------------
MARCH 10, 2014
March 10, 2014 02:32 PM Germany's reliance on Russian natural gas poses
a threat to European sovereignty, Polish Prime Minister Doland Tusk warned
Monday amid rising East-West tensions over Ukraine.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International.ashx#ixzz2vXhjQKJc
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International.ashx#ixzz2vXhjQKJc
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
And..
March 10, 2014 12:31 PM (Last Updated:
10/03/2014 12:38 PM) Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Monday it was outraged
by lawlessness in eastern Ukraine, blaming the far-right paramilitary movement
Right Sector for "conniving" with the new government in Kiev.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International.ashx#ixzz2vXk8nHrM
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International.ashx#ixzz2vXk8nHrM
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
AND
Lebanon news
Putin
critic floats Scotland option for Crimea March 10, 2014 05:20 PM
Scottish-style devolution could be the best solution for the crisis in Crimea,
a former Russian oligarch and critic of President Vladimir Putin told an
audience in Ukraine on Monday.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International.ashx#ixzz2vXhbLPbG
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International.ashx#ixzz2vXhbLPbG
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
And..
India news
Europe
prepares sanctions against Russia
Lavrov blames
Kerry for stalemate
BLOGGED...
Crimean War-William Hall-Halifax has only
monument 2 honour/HISTORY/USA-EU-Canada playing dangerous game of hypocracy
--------------------------
What is now Ukraine 1905 - Shame on USA- Shame on EU and CANADA!- Shame on Russia - 2 billion people are education with no jobs- 5 billion people are starving, dying with no education.... get ur priorities straight... we're sick of the lot of ya.
--------------------
MARCH 10, 2014
And 2 think Russia signed the fishing moratorarium.... whilst many Icelantic countries refused!
Russian actions in Ukraine could cause Arctic problems: Iceland PM
EDMONTON - Russia's actions in Ukraine could cause problems for international cooperation in the Arctic, says Iceland's prime minister.
Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson said Russia's strongarm tactics in its former satellite could make it harder for the eight nations on the Arctic Council to reach agreements at a time when the region faces a series of critical issues.
"This has a ripple effect, even though the actual events are far from the Arctic," said Gunnlaugsson, in Edmonton on a trade mission.
"Clearly, it has made many players in the Arctic quite worried about developments and whether they might be a sign of what is to come."
In fact, former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton echoed his sentiments earlier this week while delivering a speech in Calgary.
Clinton said it is in the best interests of Russia, Canada, the United States and the five other Arctic Council members to find ways to reach agreements on how to handle resource development in the Arctic.
The insistence of many Ukrainians on turning their country toward the West has angered Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian soldiers have moved into Ukrainian territory in the Crimea and the crucial Black Sea port of Sevastopol. Russian and Ukrainian troops have faced off several times over control of military facilities in the Crimean region.
Meanwhile, northern nations are involved in discussions over which country will control which parts of the Arctic. Safe shipping and oil exploration rules for the North are being negotiated, as is an agreement to delay commercial Arctic fishing until more is known about the resource.
Gunnlaugsson, whose country sits on the Arctic Council, said Russia's actions are going to make agreement on those and other environmental and economic issues in the Arctic even harder.
"I don't think it will have an immediate effect," he said.
"It makes other governments more worried about what might happen in the future, so it creates a sense of insecurity and maybe lack of trust. If what we see in Ukraine turns out to be an exception and Russia goes back to friendly relations with its neighbours, then it shouldn't have an effect.
"But if it is a sign of what it to come, it is quite worrying."
Gunnlaugsson's country is banking a good part of its economic future on Arctic development.
It is planning to build a major seaport in northeast Iceland to service growing traffic through gradually opening Arctic sea lanes. It has signed offshore oil exploration deals with CNOOC, the Chinese company that also owns Canadian energy company Nexen.
The country has also been active diplomatically. It raised eyebrows when it formed the Arctic Circle, an international forum that included non-Arctic countries such as China before they were granted observer status at the Arctic Council.
But Iceland sometimes feels snubbed by some other Arctic countries, such as when Canada, the U.S., Russia, Norway and Denmark recently concluded an interim agreement on fisheries.
"We felt it was almost peculiar that the Arctic Five have decided to negotiate regarding the fish and leave Iceland out of it," Gunnlaugsson said. "Iceland has a lot to offer when it comes to fisheries policy."
Canada has a lot to gain from working with Iceland on opening the Arctic, said Gunnlaugsson. Canadian companies could use the country as a bridgehead to burgeoning resource plays in Greenland, for example.
"With the location of Iceland and the infrastructure we already have in place and additional know-how from Canadian companies, I think we could do a lot of good in Greenland."
Gunnlaugsson said his government has already opened discussions with provincial governments in Manitoba and Alberta on increasing business ties. He was in Edmonton to help inaugurate expanded air service between Edmonton and the Icelandic capital of Reyjavik.
The highlight of his trip, however, may have to do with another type of ice entirely.
Gunnlaugsson and his delegation attended a hockey game during his visit between the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders. Hockey legend and former Oiler Wayne Gretzky was in the crowd and invited the visiting leader to his box.
"It was pretty great, an unexpected pleasure," said Gunnlaugsson, 38.
"He chatted and was really friendly. We took pictures of us together and it was a great experience.
"He is the first thing I knew about Edmonton. Everybody knows Wayne Gretzky."
http://www.capebretonpost.com/Canada---World/Business/2014-03-09/article-3642699/Russian-actions-in-Ukraine-could-cause-Arctic-problems%3A-Iceland-PM/1
----------------
Let's see... the American woman who would die 4 America's Military and the poor and unemployed.... the President of USA likes dancing with the stars.... and the Secretary of State 4 USA who is the Westboro Baptist Church, along with friend Jane Fonda, of Vietnam.... we remember.... Lord have Mercy and prayers 4 the US of A.... God bless American troops who are the absolute heart of our nations.
SERIOUSLY AMERICA- CONDOLEEZZA RICE 4 PRESIDENT- brilliant, beautiful and brave
Condoleezza Rice 4 President of USA folks... u'd never see this Ukraine, Syria etc. seeeet going down on her watch... and America's Military- Condi Rise would die 4 her American Military.... just like former President Bush.....
Wow America what the hell happened 2 u...
all this mess created by President Obama (just cause he's pissed over Edward Snowden being allowed 2 stay by Russia whilst the world political hacks turned it's back)- AND OBAMA'S ON VACATION AND PUTIN HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS??? are u shi**ing us ? seriously.
How about our homeless globally, starving, mass murder of women and children and on an on ... no jobs in half the world... no education in the other half... come on... please.
Wow America what the hell happened 2 u...
all this mess created by President Obama (just cause he's pissed over Edward Snowden being allowed 2 stay by Russia whilst the world political hacks turned it's back)- AND OBAMA'S ON VACATION AND PUTIN HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS??? are u shi**ing us ? seriously.
How about our homeless globally, starving, mass murder of women and children and on an on ... no jobs in half the world... no education in the other half... come on... please.
------------------
MARCH 10, 2014- BILLION OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF THIS BALL OF LIES BY LEADERS ARE ARE QUICKLY BECOMING UNRESPECTED AND WORSE.... UNVOTE-ABLE... SERIOUSLY...this former liberal, ndp, liberal voted Federal Tory....because of Peter MacKay and his devotion 2 our troops when nobody gave a sheeet outside Rick Hillier, Walt and Romeo Dallaire..... sheeeeet... and Justin??? Mulcair??? Sweet Jesus, Mother Mary and Joseph... POOR CANADA IN THE NEXT FEDERAL ELECTION.... POOR CANADA... DISILLUSION.... SADNESS... ANGER... DETERMINATION... EMPOWERMENT....
Scott Taylor is Canada's must read..... love or hate Taylor... he's a mandatory read 4 all Canadians
And if what Putin is doing in Crimea is wrong, then NATO leaders who led the campaign against Yugoslavia should be indicted for committing the same crime of violating sovereign territory.
There are no statutes of limitations on war crimes — just hypocrisy in labelling them as such.
ON TARGET: Western hypocrisy could lead to global conflict
As events rapidly unfold in Ukraine, the hypocrisy of the United States and western powers would be hilarious if it was not for the sobering reality that their brinkmanship is pushing us toward a global conflict.
Canada has been the most strident and bellicose of all partic-ipants, with the exception of the self-appointed interim Ukrainian government. On his trip to the streets of Kyiv in the immediate wake of president Viktor Yanukovych’s ouster, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made it clear that Canada “is not a referee” in this crisis. We are firmly on the side of the anti-Yanukovych faction.
Such a knee-jerk, impulsive declaration immediately excludes Canada from playing any sort of peace-pursuing mediator role in this equation, and it bone-headedly over-simplifies what is a very complex situation.
Baird also championed the self-appointed interim government as being pro-freedom and pro-democracy. This somehow ignores the fact that Yanukovych was elected through a democratic process and that the interim leadership seized power through violent demonstrations and parliamentary procedure.
Baird’s simplistic proclamation of support also ignores the fact that the Svoboda Party now in power in Kyiv contains ultra right-wing nationalists and anti-Semites. There is also a clearly pro-Russian faction emerging — particularly in eastern Ukraine and Crimea — and they are making it abundantly clear they want nothing to do with the interim government in Kyiv.
They too must be democratic freedom lovers, by Baird’s calculation, because they are now using the same tactics used by protesters to oust Yanukovych. In eastern Ukrainian cities like Donetsk and Kharkov, angry crowds have stormed and seized government buildings while brandishing Russian flags.
In response to the Russian military exerting control of airfields and harbours in Crimea, Baird invoked the ultimate in rhetoric by comparing Putin’s move to that of Adolf Hitler’s annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1938. Nothing works better when demonizing someone than a comparison to Hitler.
Canada also yanked its ambassador out of Moscow immediately after Russian troops deployed in Crimea, yet another brilliant move on the part of Canada to cut off communication at the outset of a complex and extremely sensitive international situation.
Still not satisfied that Moscow was getting Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s message of discontent, Baird took the extreme step of expelling nine Russian officers who were in Canada on exchange programs and language training. In true Baird tough-guy style, he apparently gave the Russian soldiers 24 hours to pack their bags and get out of Dodge.
Baird also spent a lot of time beating his chest and sputtering on about levelling sanctions against Russia. This was probably why Canada was not invited to any of the big boy emergency discussions on the Ukraine crisis that were held last week by the U.S., Russia and major European nations.
The Europeans know that sanctions are not an option in this equation, as western Europe currently imports 40 per cent of its natural gas and oil from Russia through pipelines across Ukraine. So while it is easy for Baird to heave around the sanction hammer, the Europeans have no desire to be left freezing in the dark.
It would be unfair to paint Harper and Baird as the only two beating the war drum. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry actually rebuked Putin with the warning that he cannot invade a country “on a completely trumped up pretext.”
Many U.S. talk show hosts repeated Kerry’s words, pointed to a map of Iraq and pilloried the irony.
The other major hypocrisy in NATO’s current stance relates to the Crimea region’s right to self-determination. Last week, the Crimean governor declared he would hold a referendum next Sunday to decide whether or not residents wished to join Russia or remain part of Ukraine.
This has, of course, set off the western powers into fits of rage with declarations that such a move would be an illegal violation of Ukraine’s sovereign territory (about 60 per cent of the Crimean population are ethnic Russians). This is the same NATO that bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days in the spring of 1999 to ensure the right to self-determination for the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians, both Albanian and Serbian.
As much as Harper, Baird and Kerry want to smear Putin with a war crime label, it must be remembered that, to date, not a single Russian bullet has been fired in the crisis. And if what Putin is doing in Crimea is wrong, then NATO leaders who led the campaign against Yugoslavia should be indicted for committing the same crime of violating sovereign territory.
There are no statutes of limitations on war crimes — just hypocrisy in labelling them as such.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1192359-on-target-western-hypocrisy-could-lead-to-global-conflict
COMMENT:
--------------------
MARCH 9, 2014 UPDATES - RUSSIA HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS- pls don't 4get USA- like Cuba
UKRAINE- u have a huge big problem.... u have an
unelected government and u have be infiltrated by vicious fascists - Ukraine U
Have A Problem-
Highly
dangerous type of weaponry – man-portable air
defense systems (MANPADs) – have gone missing from two Ukrainian military units,
according to a high-ranking official in Kiev.
Several,
and maybe even several dozen 9K38 Igla (Needle) air defense systems (SA-18
Grousein NATO’s classification) have been stolen, a Ukrainian
military official, who wished to remain anonymous, told RIA Novosti.
The shortage was, according to him, registered in Ukraine’s 80th airmobile regiment,
which had 54 MANPADs, and the 27th airmobile brigade, stationed 45 km away from
Lvov, which possessed 90 Iglas.
The new leadership of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry is, according to the RIA source,
taking measures to “camouflage the grave situation” by adding old and
experimental items of the weapon to the stockpile.
The Igla MANPADs are designed to strike down low-flying targets.
Their distribution is regulated by a number of international agreements since
it’s highly undesirable that this type of weapon gets into the hands of
terrorists. Russia and the US have an agreement on MANPADs’ distribution.
A large number of such weaponry was reported stolen from a
military base in Benghazi, Libya in
2012, following the coup, which saw Muammar Gaddafi overthrown
and killed.
There later appeared reports that Libyan MANPADs could have been
obtained by insurgents, fighting against Assad in Syria.
7
Reasons Why America Will Never Go To War Over Ukraine
Michael
Peck – Forbes
America is the mightiest military power in the world. And that
fact means absolutely nothing for the Ukraine crisis. Regardless of whether Russia continues
to occupy the Crimea region of Ukraine, or decides to occupy all of Ukraine,
the U.S. is not going to get into a shooting war with Russia.
This has nothing to do with whether Obama is strong or weak.
Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan would
face the same constraints. The U.S. may threaten to impose economic sanctions,
but here is why America will never smack Russia with a big stick:
Russia is a nuclear superpower. Russia has an estimated 4,500
active nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Unlike North Korea or perhaps Iran, whose nuclear arsenals couldn’t inflict
substantial damage, Russia could totally devastate the U.S. as well as the rest
of the planet. U.S. missile defenses, assuming they even work, are not designed
to stop a massive Russian strike.
For the 46 years of the Cold
War, America and Russia were deadly rivals. But they never fought.
Their proxies fought: Koreans, Vietnamese, Central Americans, Israelis and
Arabs. The one time that U.S. and Soviet forces almost went to war was during
the Cuban Missile Crisis. Neither Obama nor Putin is crazy
enough to want to repeat that.
Russia has a powerful army. While the Russian military is
a shadow of its Soviet glory days, it is still a formidable force. The Russian
army has about 300,000 men and 2,500 tanks (with another 18,000 tanks in
storage), according to the “Military
Balance 2014″ from
theInternational Institute for
Strategic Studies. Its air force has almost 1,400 aircraft, and its
navy 171 ships, including 25 in the Black Sea Fleet off Ukraine’s coast.
U.S. forces are more capable than Russian forces, which did not
perform impressively during the 2008 Russo-Georgia War.
American troops would enjoy better training, communications, drones, sensors
and possibly better weapons (though the latest Russian fighter jets, such as
the T-50, could be trouble for U.S. pilots). However, better is not good
enough. The Russian military is not composed of lightly armed insurgents like
the Taliban, or a hapless army like the Iraqis in 2003. With advanced weapons
like T-80 tanks, supersonic AT-15 Springer anti-tank
missiles, BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launchers and S-400 Growler
anti-aircraft missiles, Russian forces pack enough firepower to inflict
significant American losses.
Ukraine is closer to Russia. The distance between Kiev and Moscow is 500
miles. The distance between Kiev and New York is 5,000 miles. It’s much easier
for Russia to send troops and supplies by land than for the U.S. to send them
by sea or air.
The U.S. military
is tired. After nearly 13 years of war, America’s armed forces need a
breather. Equipment is worn out from long service in Iraq and Afghanistan,
personnel are worn out from repeated deployments overseas, and there are still
about 40,000 troops still fighting in Afghanistan.
The U.S. doesn’t
have many troops to send. The U.S.
could easily dispatch air power to Ukraine if its NATO allies allow use of
their airbases, and the aircraft carrier George H.
W. Bush and
its hundred aircraft are patrolling the Mediterranean. But for a ground war to
liberate Crimea or defend Ukraine, there is just the 173rd Airborne Brigade in
Italy, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit sailing off Spain, the 2nd Stryker
Cavalry Regiment in Germany and the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
While the paratroopers could drop into the combat zone, the
Marines would have sail past Russian defenses in the Black Sea, and the Stryker
brigade would probably have to travel overland through Poland into Ukraine.
Otherwise, bringing in mechanized combat brigades from the U.S. would be
logistically difficult, and more important, could take months to organize.
The American people are tired. Pity the poor politician who tries to sell
the American public on yet another war, especially some complex conflict in a
distant Eastern Europe nation. Neville Chamberlain’s words during the 1938
Czechoslovakia crisis come to mind: “How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is
that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a
quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing.”
America‘s allies are tired. NATO sent troops to support the American
campaign in Afghanistan, and has little to show for it. Britain sent troops to
Iraq and Afghanistan, and has little to show for it. It is almost inconceivable
to imagine the Western European public marching in the streets to demand the
liberation of Crimea, especially considering the region’s sputtering economy,
which might be snuffed out should Russia stop exporting natural gas. As for
military capabilities, the Europeans couldn’t evict Libyan dictator Muammar
Gaddafi without American help. And Germans fighting Russians again? Let’s not
even go there.
This doesn’t mean that war is impossible. If Russia invades the
Baltic States to “protect” their ethnic Russian minorities, the guns could
indeed roar. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are NATO members. What would Ronald
Reagan have done if the Soviets had invaded West Germany? Barack Obama would
face more or less the same question in a Baltic crisis, or if a Ukraine
conflict spills over into fellow NATO member Poland.
However, talk of using military force against Russia over
Ukraine is just talk. It will stay that way.
------------
Henry
Kissinger — on the the Ukraine crisis
Public
discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But do we know where we are
going? In my life, I have seen four wars begun with great enthusiasm and public
support, all of which we did not know how to end and from three of which we
withdrew unilaterally. The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins.
Far too
often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the
East or the West. But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be
either side’s outpost against the other — it should function as a bridge
between them.
Russia must
accept that to try to force Ukraine into a satellite status, and thereby move
Russia’s borders again, would doom Moscow to repeat its history of
self-fulfilling cycles of reciprocal pressures with Europe and the United
States.
The West
must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country.
Russian history began in what was called Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion
spread from there. Ukraine has been part of Russia for centuries, and their
histories were intertwined before then. Some of the most important battles for
Russian freedom, starting with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 , were fought on
Ukrainian soil. The Black Sea Fleet — Russia’s means of projecting power in the
Mediterranean — is based by long-term lease in Sevastopol, in Crimea. Even such
famed dissidents as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that
Ukraine was an integral part of Russian history and, indeed, of Russia.
The European
Union must recognize that its bureaucratic dilatoriness and subordination of
the strategic element to domestic politics in negotiating Ukraine’s
relationship to Europe contributed to turning a negotiation into a crisis.
Foreign policy is the art of establishing priorities.
The
Ukrainians are the decisive element. They live in a country with a complex
history and a polyglot composition. The Western part was incorporated into the
Soviet Union in 1939 , when Stalin and Hitler divided up the spoils. Crimea, 60
percent of whose population is Russian , became part of Ukraine only in 1954 ,
when Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian by birth, awarded it as part of the
300th-year celebration of a Russian agreement with the Cossacks. The west is
largely Catholic; the east largely Russian Orthodox. The west speaks Ukrainian;
the east speaks mostly Russian. Any attempt by one wing of Ukraine to dominate
the other — as has been the pattern — would lead eventually to civil war or
break up. To treat Ukraine as part of an East-West confrontation would scuttle
for decades any prospect to bring Russia and the West — especially Russia and
Europe — into a cooperative international system…
A wise U.S.
policy toward Ukraine would seek a way for the two parts of the country to cooperate
with each other. We should seek reconciliation, not the domination of a
faction…Russia and the West, and least of all the various factions in Ukraine,
have not acted on this principle. Each has made the situation worse. Russia
would not be able to impose a military solution without isolating itself at a
time when many of its borders are already precarious. For the West, the
demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence
of one…
Leaders of
all sides should return to examining outcomes, not compete in posturing. The
test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction. If some
solution based on these or comparable elements is not achieved, the drift
toward confrontation will accelerate. The time for that will come soon enough.
Of course,
Kissinger may as well be describing Congress under the misleadership of what
passes for a Republican Party, today. He speaks from memories of days when
Republicans and Democrats had principled, educated, knowledgeable leaders. Days
long gone.
Kissinger
is not a diplomat I have a whole boatload of respect for. He rarely challenged
the Cold War status quo in his years of service. What positive results attended
his efforts resulted from a simple understanding that politics should trump
war, trade brings more long-lasting change than imperial bullying.
Frankly, I
doubt if anyone in the Confederate Club in Congress will even read his
suggested principles. However, they are worth reading at least as a base for
your understanding.
COMMENT:
I would not
blame ‘subjective memories’. I think we are simply talking about different
identities. I’m talking about national identity, while you are talking more
about ethnical and religious identities, which are very different. As an
example, Canadian is a national identity. At the same time Canadians can have
different ethnical and religious identity (e.g. there are a lot of Canadians of
French ethnicity in Quebec therefore in that part of Canada there are two
official languages: French and English).
People in
all parts of Ukraine have a very strong national identity. They consider
Ukraine as their homeland. They love Ukraine and are prepared to fight and die
for it if any third party would try to invade their homeland. They care about
the well-being of their native land. That strong national identity is the basis
of Ukraine as a country and we should be focusing on that instead of trying to
create ethnic, linguistic or other divides. There are ethnic, linguistic and
other variations within lots of countries, e.g. USA, New Zealand, Australia,
Germany etc.. However when we are talking about those countries, we see them as
a unified whole rather than a combination of opposing parts. Why do we talk
differently about Ukraine? That does not make much sense and brings more harm
than good to Ukraine as a country.
Crimea is a
different story and should not be confused with East Ukraine.
----------------
While the
Russian-speaking majority has for years been in favor of separating from
Ukraine – at least by obtaining a broader autonomy and returning to the 1992
constitution – the Tatars have been divided on the issue. Many Tatars strongly
reject the idea of Crimea joining Russia, as they have themselves been pushing
for the creation of a national autonomy within the Ukrainian state.
WORLD NEWS-
MARCH 9 2014
Crimea
hopeful of referendum, ready to join Russia ‘by end March’
--------------
Russia may
ban American START inspections – sources
Sources in
Russia’s Defense Ministry say officials are considering discontinuing US
inspections of national strategic nuclear missile forces, citing “lack of
trust” as reason for the move. 615 MORE WORDS
-----------
Why
referendum? Crimeans speak out on Ukraine
-------------
Edward
Snowden.... WHY OBAMA HATES PUTIN..... half the world gets on their knees 4 USA
and Obama- it's just ridiculous- AND
MANY FOLKS IN THE WORLD RESPECT PUTIN 4 HAVING THE GUTS 2 GIVE SNOWDEN PERSONAL
SAFETY..... Julian Assange
Prior to
the Edward Snowden leaks, the NSA’s public relations campaign was non-existent,
Assange told the large audience while speaking from the Ecuadorian embassy in
London. In fact, reporters used to joke that NSA stood for “no such agency.”
Snowden, a
former contractor for the agency, last year exposed mass global surveillance
programs led by the NSA and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), its
British counterpart. The leaks exposed the agencies’ practices of tapping the
internet networks, emails, and phone calls of millions of ordinary citizens and
political leaders.
WHY OBAMA
HATES PUTIN- Edward Snowden
Assange:
NSA, GCHQ’s ability to surveil everyone on planet ‘almost here’
---------------------
MARCH 8 2014- PUTIN 2 drop nuke protection of Europe-Ukraine whilst OBAMA VACATIONS???
CAN U IMAGINE... after stirring up the crap in Ukraine.... with unelected parliament in Ukraine..... Russia is dressing down nuke protection of neighbours... AND OBAMA IS ON VACATION???? Please Share
Live•Defence official says Russia might stop honouring arms treaty commitments.
:
WHILST:
Obama , Biden take vacations despite Ukraine crisis; WH brushes off concerns
BizPac Review ?- 5 hours ago
President and Mrs. Obama will be vacationing after all, despite the escalating crisis in the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine. And for good measure ...
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/03/08/obama-biden-take-vacations-despite-ukraine-crisis-wh-brushes-off-concerns-105112
COMMENT: U MUST BE KIDDING... ALL THAT BULLSHIT AND BEANS.... U MUST BE KIDDING...... so USA WHO SEEMS 2 KEEP HALF THE WORLD ON IT'S KNEES WITH torture and torment RUSSIA- WHO IS NOW RETALIATING...Russia may end nuclear checks in response to Ukraine sanction - live blog
-----------------
UPDATE- MARCH 8 2014
Don't cha think USA u need 2 start fixing your own messes... and Lord knows EU is in disaster with Unemployment and refusing 2 get a new World Model and stop letting fascists destroy so much of your nations under the guise of peaceful protesters..... in Greece a pregnant woman among others barred in bank and set on fire... others got out.... she did not.... $$$3 trillion damage 2 beautiful Europe and historical and property of business etc.... we look on in horror as u let your beautiful historical nations be destroyed ... what happened 2 u? We need a new world model folks making humanity more important than greed. imho
China continued to reject corn cargoes from the U.S. that contained an unapproved genetically modified variety and instead accepted the first bulk-carrier shipment of non-GMO corn from Ukraine...GOOD.
READ: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-06/china-rejecting-u-dot-s-dot-corn-as-first-shipment-from-ukraine-arrives
#China #USA #Ukraine #gmo #corn #gmocorn #MIR162 #gmofreecanada#gmofreeusa
READ: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-06/china-rejecting-u-dot-s-dot-corn-as-first-shipment-from-ukraine-arrives
#China #USA #Ukraine #gmo #corn #gmocorn #MIR162 #gmofreecanada#gmofreeusa
---------------------
During the military conflict between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, an American ship was also present in the Black Sea with reconnaissance and an officially proclaimed humanitarian mission. In September 2008, the US costal guard ship, Dallas, docked at Sevastopol harbor with a secret mission and had to leave in haste because of mass local protest.
Given the present conditions, an American battleship is highly unlikely to get anywhere near the Crimea shores, let alone Sevastopol, without a risk of repeating a hasty exit from the past.
US warship in Black Sea as Ukraine’s Crimea readies for referendum
US Navy destroyer, the USS Truxtun, has crossed Turkey’s Bosphorus and entered the Black Sea. With the Crimea Peninsula getting ready to hold a referendum on independence from Ukraine in a week, the US is ramping up its military presence in the region. 524 MORE WORDS
----------------------
UPDATE: MARCH 7
comment: ; smart - using Spain in place of Ukraine QUOTE: Let's suppose that for months there have been violent protests on the streets of Madrid, with demonstrators demanding that the Spanish prime minister and his government should resign. Eventually the protests escalate and the security forces open fire using live ammunition and kill many people. Key members of the government flee the country for their own safety.
How would Britain and other fellow members of the European Union react to the turmoil?
Would they, as democratically elected governments support the prime minister, or hail the demonstrators for their bravery and encourage them to form a new government?
And then let's imagine that the newly installed but unelected government in Madrid starts passing legislation which half a million Britons who live in Spain feel is discriminatory. It orders them to speak only Spanish when dealing with state employees. How does Downing Street react to that?
This is an over-simplification of course, but it gives a sense of how the Russians feel about the new men and women in charge in their neighbouring country.
Does Putin have a point in Ukraine
http://news.sky.com/story/1221925/does-putin-have-a-point-on-ukraine
--------------------
UPDATE- MARCH 8 2014- FINNISH LAWYER
SEE... KNEW THIS... UNELECTED PARLIAMENT... VERSUS ELECTED CRIMEA PARLIAMENT... this has Shame on USA and even our Canada and EU written all over it... and the news media... shame on the lot of ya...
Crimean referendum to join Russia certainly complies with international law - expert
Photo: RIA Novosti
"I am sure that Crimea will now legally through democratic referendum join Russia and it certainly complies with international law. Here we have to understand that in this situation there has been violent coup which has been sponsored by the USA and European Union and the countries of European Union. With this coup they have de facto the constitution of Ukraine that is not enforced anymore," Jon Hellevig, a Finnish lawyer, told The Voice of Russia.
The referendum in Crimea is scheduled for March 16th . Do you think that the separation of Crimea from Ukraine is possible and does it comply with the international norms of law?
Yes, I am sure that Crimea will now legally through democratic referendum join Russia and it certainly complies with international law. Here we have to understand that in this situation there has been violent coup which has been sponsored by the USA and European Union and the countries of European Union. With this coup they have de facto the constitution of Ukraine that is not enforced anymore. So, we cannot take into consideration any Ukrainian laws in this question. Also we have to take into consideration another factor. Another factor is that there are extremist forces, even neo-Nazis in power now and they are threatening the people of Crimea and people of Eastern Ukraine. Actually they are threatening all Ukrainian people. And in this situation it is of course abides with all the international laws that Crimean parliament and government is protecting their people.
The intention of Crimea to change its political status and to join Russia has caused a wave of indignation in Europe as Russia is considered to provoke the actions of Crimean people. Do you think that if any other European region decides to separate, their reaction would be the same?
Their reaction is totally hypocritical because they have initiated this all thing. What happened in Kiev was a coup d’etat or putsch organized by the western powers. And of course they are very unhappy that now everything is not going by the plan. They are very unhappy that Crimeans have no decided to protect themselves and they are very unhappy that Russia and Russia’s president Putin is protecting the human liberties in Crimea.
How can you comment on the accusations of the US State Department that the Russian authorities are planning to annex Crimea to the Russian Federation and the 10 points that it outlines in regards to Putin and him being ally of something?
The US is accusing Putin of annexing Crimea and Russia is not about to annex anybody. Russia is about to agree to the request of the Crimean people to join Russia and I think that in this situation when the western powers have created that chaos in Ukraine, it is a very right and human thing of Russia to do. What comes to the 10 point list, I think it is such a baseless list that it doesn’t make sense to discuss it at all, if you don’t have more detailed question there.
How do you see the developments in terms of forecasting?
My personal concern is with people of south-eastern Ukraine, predominantly Russian-speaking areas because they are now defenseless. They are being assaulted physically by the neo-Nazis in power in Kiev but also all their civil liberties have been destroyed. I think that it is a very dangerous situation and it is not excluded that there will be a civil war in mainland of Ukraine. And if that happens, then I think Russia has a duty to step in to protect the people. Let’s hope it won’t come to that stage.
-------------------
AND..March 7 2014 evening
| BBC News | - |
A stand-off involving pro-Russian soldiers at a Ukrainian military base outside the Crimean city of Sevastopol has reportedly ended without incident.
and...COMMON SENSE....
Nick Clegg hints at Crimea deal if Vladimir Putin 'drops KGB mentality'
Deputy prime minister says Crimea is in different category from rest of Ukraine, and Russia has 'pronounced imprint' there
Nicholas Watt, Patrick Wintour and Terry Macalister
The Guardian, Friday 7 March 2014 19.47 GMT
Britain believes Crimea is in a different category to the rest of Ukraine and could be afforded special treatment if Vladimir Putin abandons his "KGB mentality", according to Nick Clegg.
In an interview with the Guardian, the deputy prime minister acknowledged that Russia had a "very pronounced imprint" on the peninsula, a sign of how Britain and the rest of the EU acknowledge that Moscow will play a central role in determining the constitutional future of Crimea.
The Liberal Democrat leader called on Putin to embark on a "civilised discussion" with Kiev as he threw his weight behind the interim Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who said on Friday that the civilised world would not recognise a referendum on 16 March that is designed to return Crimea to Russia. The Black Sea peninsula has been part of Ukraine since Nikita Khrushchev gave it to Kiev in 1954, then a simple transfer within the Soviet Union.
Clegg argued that pressing ahead with a referendum condemned by Kiev as unconstitutional would simply inflame tensions. This suggests that continuing Russian support for the referendum would trigger the first set of EU sanctions due to be introduced if Moscow declines to open a dialogue with Ukraine.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/07/nick-clegg-crimea-deal-vladimir-putin-kgb-mentality
AND..
30 HOCKEY TEAMS IN NHL- How many great and loved Russian Players will be returned home by Canada and USA because of over-reaction in Ukraine and their UN-ELECTED PARLIAMENT and Crimea- ELECTED PARLIAMENT - LIKE PMHARPER HAS JUST OUSTED INNOCENT 9 RUSSIAN MILITARY HERE ON TRAINING AND TEACHING R TROOPS?... like we don't all have enough problems at home here in Canada and USA- how many Russian Specialists, Students, Visitors, Immigrants??? Shame on OBAMA Shame on Mr. Harper.... expected better from the both of u.
and why is USA butting in2 so many facets of so many nations globally... lives??? WTF??? that's so 20th century..... USA has sooo many problems and is weak at home and caused the Global financial disaster that ruined so many nations around the world ... causing more poverty... just don't get it anymore...imho
http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm
AND..
30 HOCKEY TEAMS IN NHL- How many great and loved Russian Players will be returned home by Canada and USA because of over-reaction in Ukraine and their UN-ELECTED PARLIAMENT and Crimea- ELECTED PARLIAMENT - LIKE PMHARPER HAS JUST OUSTED INNOCENT 9 RUSSIAN MILITARY HERE ON TRAINING AND TEACHING R TROOPS?... like we don't all have enough problems at home here in Canada and USA- how many Russian Specialists, Students, Visitors, Immigrants??? Shame on OBAMA Shame on Mr. Harper.... expected better from the both of u.
and why is USA butting in2 so many facets of so many nations globally... lives??? WTF??? that's so 20th century..... USA has sooo many problems and is weak at home and caused the Global financial disaster that ruined so many nations around the world ... causing more poverty... just don't get it anymore...imho
http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm
AND..
COMMENT: Billions are starving... Congo -100 women and children raped and murdered every day- climate disasters... Syria's mess ??? These brave Russian troops have supported and protected Canadians...and vice versa.... we Remember WWII (which we would NOT have won without)... SHAME! SHAME!
Six of the soldiers were in Saint-Jean, Que., where they were leaning English and French. Another two soldiers were participating in a training program at CFB Gagetown, and the ninth soldier was teaching Canadian soldiers Russian in Gatineau, Que
Russian soldiers training in Canada given 24 hours to leave country
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/russian-soldiers-training-in-canada-given-24-hours-to-leave-country-1.1717172#ixzz2vFZtmzUB
Six of the soldiers were in Saint-Jean, Que., where they were leaning English and French. Another two soldiers were participating in a training program at CFB Gagetown, and the ninth soldier was teaching Canadian soldiers Russian in Gatineau, Que
Russian soldiers training in Canada given 24 hours to leave country
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/russian-soldiers-training-in-canada-given-24-hours-to-leave-country-1.1717172#ixzz2vFZtmzUB
AND...
This was a lot of positive work... and Russia and Canada have worked 2gether on so many missions and issues... Congrats. PM Chretien... u deserved this honour. Ukraine has an unelected President and is in a mess... something like USA and Cuba and Guantanomo Bay mess
One Canadian Moscow likes: Jean Chretien awarded Russia’s Order of Friendship
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/03/05/one-canadian-moscow-likes-jean-chretien-awarded-russias-order-of-friendship/
---------------
Here's the real bottom issue imho...USA cannot not keep 80% of the world on it's knees anymore... Russia and EU must stop moving in2 territories whilst screaming at each other.... same 4 our China ..imho
RUN EDWARD RUN- YES WE SCAN- run Edward run... if u come 2 Nova Scotia Canada- we'll help u -
BASICALLY COVERT/OVERT ...is the same right???? When USA-Russia-China collide- they all steal our data, identities -everything and anything imho... proving everyday folks r being watched where ever we live in this ole world- thanks 2 internet - How can Europe, Brazil, China, Russia, Iran etc. proclaim horror.... when they do it 'secretly'- come on folks... it's the real world.
Snowdon, Off and Running
-------------------
NEWS UPDATES MARCH 6 2014- TOLD YA... ALL THIS MEDIA $$$ROADKILL$$$ creating a mess. Puting sitting on back quietly and patiently knowing this was nev-a going 2 be any different... seriously??? would u trust the new self-appointed leaders of Ukraine??? Seriously??? ..imho
U all
had 2 see this sheeet coming when countries over-reacted ...seriously?? The climate disasters of our nations, jobs,
billions starving... the hate on hate on hate and countries wanting wars....
people of the world... want our world fixed by people who care... NOT USELESS
UNITED NATIONS... or Politicans who can even protect their own nations (USA- u
owe $$trillions- climate disasters and nearly 100 million people in absolute
poverty- over 70 million illegals sucking the life out of u... don’t u think u
should fix urself...and all these nations- ur countries are in a mess... Lord
have mercy.imho
.. and And these Femen women are creepy.... all looking like movie stars prancing around- what about all the real women and girls trying 2 effect change...?
Ukraine
crisis: Crimea now part of Russia, local parliament declares
Referendum on union with Russia on 16 March will 'only ratify decision',
as Duma works on bill to make it easier for territories to join Russia
- Shaun
Walker in Simferopol and Ian Traynor in
Brussels
- theguardian.com, Thursday
6 March 2014 13.24 GMT
The de facto authorities in Crimea have announced that they consider the
territory to be part of Russia after a swift vote in the
local parliament.
The MPs said on Thursday morning that a referendum planned for 30 March
– which was due to ask voters if they wanted more autonomy from Kiev – would
now take place on 16 March, ask whether they wanted to join Russia, and only be
a ratification of a decision that had already been taken.
The parliament also appealed to Moscow to assist its decision to seek
union with Russia.
The bombshell announcement coincided with an emergency EU summit in Brussels devoted to Ukraine. Senior EU
officials denounced the idea as "completely illegal" while British
officials said they would take their cue from the interim Ukrainian government,
which deems the referendum anti-constitutional.
The acting Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatseniuk, roundly
dismissed the referendum idea.
A Femen protester against Vladimir Putin's policies concerning Ukraine is detained near the Crimean parliament in Simferopol. Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA
"This is an illegitimate decision. This so-called referendum has no
legal grounds at all. Crimea was, is and will be an integral part of Ukraine.
"In case of further escalation and military intervention into
Ukraininan territory by foreign forces, the Ukrainian government and military
will act in accordance with the constitution and laws."
In Moscow, Russian MP Sergei Mironov said the Duma, Russia's parliament,
could consider the appeal from Crimea as early as next week. The Duma has
already begun work on a bill that would make it easier for new territories to
join Russia, clearly penned with one eye on events in Crimea. On Tuesday, the
Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had said categorically that Russia was
"not considering" joining Crimea to Russia.
At a press conference in the Crimean capital Simferopol, the deputy
prime minister of the region, Rustam Temirgaliev, said the parliament voted by
78 votes to 0, with eight abstentions, to hold the referendum on 16 March. He
said the decision, which also gave the go-ahead to the territory to begin
preparations to join Russia, "comes into effect from the current
moment". The referendum would be held "only to confirm" the
decision.
Temirgaliev said that as of Thursday, the only legal troops on Crimean
soil were the Russian army.
"Any troops of a third country will be treated as illegal band
formations, with all the consequences that entails," he said.
Shortly after this decision was announced, the Organisation for Security
and Co-operation in Europe confirmed that an observer
mission of more than 30, dispatched to defuse the situation in the peninsula,
had been "prevented from entering Crimean territory".
Ukraine
has a number of military bases in Crimea that have come under siege from armed
local volunteers and the Russian army in recent days. Russia has denied its
troops are involved in the region despite widespread evidence to the contrary. Ukrainian soldiers in
the bases have come under pressure to defect to Russian or Crimean forces, but
have mainly not done so.
With events moving quickly on the ground, the big question is whether
the officer class starts to defect en masse, and whether Russia uses force if
they do not.
In Kiev, Ukraine's economy minister, Pavlo Sheremeta, said the
referendum would be illegitimate, but in Simferopol, politicians said the
referendum was now only a formality. Crimea has a large pro-Russian population,
though many want more autonomy rather than actual union with Russia.
The Kremlin's final goal in Crimea has been murky, with many analysts
suggesting that Putin would be satisfied with more autonomy or de facto
independence for the region, but Thursday's events appear to suggest that the
decision has been taken to annex the region.
"We have a group of Russian specialists here working on introducing
the Russian rouble to the region," said Temirgaliev. He added that all
Ukrainian state property in the region would be nationalised.
Outside the parliament building in Simferopol, a group of about 100
people waved Russian flags and chanted as the Russian national anthem was
played, as well as a new "Crimean anthem" that begins: "The
island of Crimea is fighting for freedom" and continues with scornful
words about "fascist bands" in Kiev and their western backers.
The proceedings were interrupted by two topless demonstrators from the
protest group Femen, who charged the stage with "Stop Putin's War"
written on their torsos. They were beaten and screamed at by a crowd of elderly
women before being dragged off by Cossack irregulars and taken away in a police
van. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/ukraine-crisis-crimea-part-of-russia-local-parliament-declares
Ukraine
crisis and Olympics boost Vladimir Putin's popularity in Russia
President enjoying highest approval rating in two years, finds survey
which also shows solid support for intervention in Crimea
- Alec Luhn
in Moscow
- The Guardian,
Thursday 6 March 2014 18.41 GMT
-
People rally in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, in support of ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
The slogans include: "No to fascism in Ukraine!", "We are
together with Ukraine!" and "We stand for Russian Crimea!"
Photograph: Andrey Kronberg/AFP/Getty Images
While Vladimir Putin has faced condemnation from the west for his
troops' takeover of Ukraine's
Crimean peninsula, at home the Russian president is enjoying his highest
approval ratings in the past two years. Research also appears to confirm solid
support for Russian intervention in Ukraine.
According to a survey conducted by the state-run pollster VTsIOM on 1-2
March, just as Russian forces were quietly taking control of key infrastructure
in Crimea, 67.8% of respondents approved of Putin's job performance.
Although the president regularly achieves approval ratings above 60%,
this was his highest rating since May 2012. Researchers attributed this latest
number to the political situation regarding Crimea and the Olympic and
Paralympic Games, which respondents said were the two biggest news events that
week.
In addition, 71% of respondents said Russia should more actively defend
the interests of Russians in Crimea, while only 17% thought it would be better
not to come into conflict with the Ukrainian authorities. These results were
similar to those for the same question five years ago.
Masha Lipman, an analyst at Carnegie Moscow Centre, said the majority of
Russians have viewed the change of regime in Kiev as a "rebellion by west
Ukrainian fascist nationalists" – an opinion reflecting state television's
negative coverage. "I haven't seen surveys about deploying troops but I
think there will be widespread support especially since this is Crimea, and
many Russians think it is Russia's by right," Lipman said.
State television – the main source of news for most Russians – has
portrayed anti-Yanukovich protesters as nationalists and neo-Nazis from western
Ukraine. It has played footage of protesters with swastika armbands and implied
that Kiev is still in the throes of violent chaos even though the capital is
relatively calm.
Coverage of the Crimean parliament's request to join the Russian
Federation on Channel One showed mostly elderly protesters in Simferopol
holding Russian flags and anti-EU and anti-American signs.
Originally a part of Russia, Crimea was given by the Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev to Ukraine in 1954, but ethnic Russians continue to make up
59% of Crimea's population of 2 million, according to 2001 census data.
Putin said in a televised press conference on Tuesday that Russia
reserved the right to deploy troops to Crimea but maintained that the unmarked
soldiers there were local self-defence forces.
International military experts, however, have said thousands of Russian
troops have already been deployed in addition to those normally stationed at
the Black Sea naval base Russia leases from Ukraine.
A Moscow entrepreneur, Yury Kazachkov, said he had watched the press
conference and "absolutely agreed" with what Putin said. "If the
Ukrainian nation appealed to us for help through their legally elected
president, then we should support them. We have a legitimate reason to deploy
troops," he said. , referring to a letter the ousted president Viktor
Yanukovych sent Putin this week asking for Russian troops to restore "law
and order" to Ukraine.
Kazachkov also said he also saw the need to protect Russians in Crimea
and stand up to anti-Russian policies by the new Kiev government.
But other Russians oppose intervention, including a Moscow engineer,
Artyom Ivanov, who said Putin "thinking he's a king" was a more
likely motive for deployment than the official line, repeated by state media,
that Russia needs to protect Russians in Crimea.
"The police and army of Ukraine should protect them. What are we
doing there?" he said. "Recently I've seen so much propaganda that it
kills my appetite."
------------------------------
CRIMEAN WAR
The Crimean War, 1854-56, interrupted a half-century of peace between the European great powers.
Crimean
War
The
Crimean War, 1854-56, interrupted a half-century of peace between the European
great powers. What began as a diplomatic tussle for influence between Britain,
France and Russia over the weakening Ottoman Empire soon turned into a bitter
and drawn-out war in the Near East focused on the Crimean peninsula. Canada
played no direct role in the Crimean War, but even this distant eruption of
battle had some notable results in the country. Canada was stripped of its
garrison of British troops to supply the needs of the Crimean Expeditionary
Force. This led in turn to the establishment of a permanent Canadian militia in
1855, including provisions for volunteer troops.
----------------------
March 5th just in -one of the finest articles on FACT- like CBC used 2 do when there was pride in 'just the facts' news... CHECK THE COMMENTS AND BBC
NO HOLDS BARRED- NEWS REPORTING JUST LIKE IT USED 2 BE- REAL, RAW, RIGHTEOUS- FACTUAL- facts and no media bulls**t and beans folks
Listening to U.S. President Barack Obama bang on this week about the importance of world opinion and obeying international law and respecting sovereignty and being on the right side of history, you had to wonder whether he didn't have a little voice in his head whispering: "Really? Seriously? I'm actually saying this stuff?"
This is the commander-in-chief of a military that operates a prison camp on Cuban soil, against the explicit wishes of the Cuban government, and which regularly fires drone missiles into other countries, often killing innocent bystanders.
He is a president who ordered that CIA torturers would go unprosecuted, and leads a nation that has invaded other countries whenever it wished, regardless of what the rest of the world might think.
Disclaimer here: Vladimir Putin's proclaimed justification for invading Ukraine — protecting Russian-speaking "compatriots" in that country from some imagined violence — stinks of tribalism.
His rationale is essentially ethnic nationalism, something responsible for so much of the evil done throughout human history.
Stated motivation aside, though, what Putin is doing is really no different from what other world powers do: protecting what they regard as national self-interest.
And so far, he's done it without bloodletting.
Imagine, for a moment, what Washington would do if, say, Bahrain's Shia population, covertly supported by Tehran, staged a successful uprising and began to push itself into Iran's orbit.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain, just as Russia's Black Sea Fleet is parked at its huge naval bases in the Crimea.
To pose the scenario is to answer the question of how America would react.
The same goes for all the other countries in America's political realm. The Philippines, South Korea, certain Persian Gulf nations. Imagine if Russia's military tried to return to Cuba.
The order of things
There is an order of things; it is disturbed at the world's peril.
And Ukraine, for better or worse — decidedly worse, those in the western portion of the country will tell you — has for centuries been in Russia's sphere.
UKRAINE-CRISIS/
Armed men, believed to be Russian soldiers, stand outside the civilian port in the Crimean town of Kerch on Monday. (Thomas Peter ?Reuters)
Crimea, the region of Ukraine now occupied by Russia, was part of the Soviet Union and was deeded to Ukraine in 1954 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of a treaty that bonded much of Ukraine to Tsarist Russia.
To suggest, as European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso did this week, that Ukrainians "have shown that they belong culturally, emotionally but also politically to Europe," is just wishful thinking, even if some Ukrainians wish it were true.
Furthermore, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was right when he pointed out that many of the countries denouncing Putin's intervention were actively involved in encouraging anti-Russia Ukrainians to overthrow an elected, if distasteful, president and government.
Victoria Nuland, a senior American diplomat, was caught in flagrante delicto a few weeks back, chatting with another American official about which Ukrainian opposition figures should and shouldn't be installed.
Washington's reply: It was unconscionable of Russia to intercept and leak that discussion.
More angry flailings
Incidentally, some of the Ukrainian opposition groups that have now ended up in power are thuggish, anti-Semitic, anti-Russian, extreme right-wingers.
Putin's description of them — ultranationalists — was mild. You just wouldn't know it listening to Western politicians.
In Obama's case, sitting beside him on Monday as he gave his lecture on international law from the Oval Office was close ally Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli prime minister, having just engaged in a protracted, robust handshake for the cameras, presides over a country that operates a military occupation in the West Bank, violating the "international law" Obama was demanding Putin obey.
The U.S. insists that Israel's occupation can only be solved by respectful negotiation between the parties themselves, and it vehemently opposes punishing Israel with the sort of moves currently being contemplated against Russia.
It's easy to go on and on in this vein — Britain's prime minister, who leads a nation that helped invade Iraq on a false pretext, denouncing Putin's pretext for going into Crimea. The NATO powers that helped bring about the independence of Albanian Kosovars complaining about the separatist aspirations of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, etc.
But that's diplomacy. Hypocritical declarations and acts are woven into its essence.
What's remarkable is the unspoken pact among the Western news media to report it all so uncritically.
When Obama spoke, the gaggle of reporters in attendance rushed to report his statements, mostly at face value.
Likewise, Western news reports seriously reported Russia's ridiculous threat to end the role of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, as though Russia's creditors will begin to accept rubles at whatever exchange rate Putin decrees.
On TV and in print, we hear serious talk about the possibility of economic sanctions against Russia — which would only trigger a devastating trade back-blast against European economies.
HUNGARY
Republican Senator John McCain says it is Barack Obama's "feckless foreign policy" that is to blame for Russia's invasion of Crimea. However, he added, a military response is not on the table. (Reuters)
Other media analysts agree with the angry flailings of U.S. foreign policy hawks, who seem to think Obama should be much more aggressive with Putin, although they have few concrete suggestions. (A frustrated Senator John McCain demanded that rich Russians be barred from Las Vegas.)
The unspoken media-government arrangement is understandable, I suppose.
We must at least pretend there's international law and fairness and basic rules, because it reassures us that we live in a world where raw power doesn't ultimately rule.
But it's all just gibberish; through the looking glass. We might as well be reporting that slithy toves gyre and gimble in the wabe.
Money and hard power count, and that's that. The big players have it, and the smaller players play along. If we need the anaesthetic liquor of self-delusion to deal with it, well, drink up.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/the-ukraine-crisis-through-the-whimsy-of-international-law-1.2559980
COMMENT:
Neil Macdonald writes perceptively. Defying Churchill's' advice to be magnanimous in victory, the West has rubbed Russia's nose in the ashes of its Cold War defeat for almost a generation. Russia has legitimate security interests in and deep historical ties to the Ukraine. Having seen NATO extend itself to Poland and the Baltic states, it has drawn a line at the Ukrainian border.
The elected president of Ukraine was overthrown. However incompetent and kleptocratic, the alternative as in any democracy was available in the next election.
Vladimir Putin is a tyrant. The unpunished Russian complicity in the Ukrainian famine of the 1930's is a stain on its history. But these considerations do not excuse us from the disciplines of self-examination and realpolitik
COMMENT:
Neil MacDonald has said it all, once again. Thank you Neil. I suspect there will be one of two outcomes with the Ukraine; an inner-Ukrainian border or a pro-Russia government. Either option would be best outcome for the Ukranians rather than put up with the banditry and corruption they are about to face as they starve in the dark because they have no money or economy.
COMMENT:
Thank you Neil MacDonald !! Lately I thought I'm not in Canada any more.CBC is like FOX news of the north!
COMMENT:
Tired Of Lies
Yes, nice piece...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957
----------------
March 5th just in -one of the finest articles on FACT- like CBC used 2 do when there was pride in 'just the facts' news... CHECK THE COMMENTS AND BBC
NO HOLDS BARRED- NEWS REPORTING JUST LIKE IT USED 2 BE- REAL, RAW, RIGHTEOUS- FACTUAL- facts and no media bulls**t and beans folks
Listening to U.S. President Barack Obama bang on this week about the importance of world opinion and obeying international law and respecting sovereignty and being on the right side of history, you had to wonder whether he didn't have a little voice in his head whispering: "Really? Seriously? I'm actually saying this stuff?"
This is the commander-in-chief of a military that operates a prison camp on Cuban soil, against the explicit wishes of the Cuban government, and which regularly fires drone missiles into other countries, often killing innocent bystanders.
He is a president who ordered that CIA torturers would go unprosecuted, and leads a nation that has invaded other countries whenever it wished, regardless of what the rest of the world might think.
Disclaimer here: Vladimir Putin's proclaimed justification for invading Ukraine — protecting Russian-speaking "compatriots" in that country from some imagined violence — stinks of tribalism.
His rationale is essentially ethnic nationalism, something responsible for so much of the evil done throughout human history.
Stated motivation aside, though, what Putin is doing is really no different from what other world powers do: protecting what they regard as national self-interest.
And so far, he's done it without bloodletting.
Imagine, for a moment, what Washington would do if, say, Bahrain's Shia population, covertly supported by Tehran, staged a successful uprising and began to push itself into Iran's orbit.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain, just as Russia's Black Sea Fleet is parked at its huge naval bases in the Crimea.
To pose the scenario is to answer the question of how America would react.
The same goes for all the other countries in America's political realm. The Philippines, South Korea, certain Persian Gulf nations. Imagine if Russia's military tried to return to Cuba.
The order of things
There is an order of things; it is disturbed at the world's peril.
And Ukraine, for better or worse — decidedly worse, those in the western portion of the country will tell you — has for centuries been in Russia's sphere.
UKRAINE-CRISIS/
Armed men, believed to be Russian soldiers, stand outside the civilian port in the Crimean town of Kerch on Monday. (Thomas Peter ?Reuters)
Crimea, the region of Ukraine now occupied by Russia, was part of the Soviet Union and was deeded to Ukraine in 1954 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of a treaty that bonded much of Ukraine to Tsarist Russia.
To suggest, as European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso did this week, that Ukrainians "have shown that they belong culturally, emotionally but also politically to Europe," is just wishful thinking, even if some Ukrainians wish it were true.
Furthermore, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was right when he pointed out that many of the countries denouncing Putin's intervention were actively involved in encouraging anti-Russia Ukrainians to overthrow an elected, if distasteful, president and government.
Victoria Nuland, a senior American diplomat, was caught in flagrante delicto a few weeks back, chatting with another American official about which Ukrainian opposition figures should and shouldn't be installed.
Washington's reply: It was unconscionable of Russia to intercept and leak that discussion.
More angry flailings
Incidentally, some of the Ukrainian opposition groups that have now ended up in power are thuggish, anti-Semitic, anti-Russian, extreme right-wingers.
Putin's description of them — ultranationalists — was mild. You just wouldn't know it listening to Western politicians.
In Obama's case, sitting beside him on Monday as he gave his lecture on international law from the Oval Office was close ally Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli prime minister, having just engaged in a protracted, robust handshake for the cameras, presides over a country that operates a military occupation in the West Bank, violating the "international law" Obama was demanding Putin obey.
The U.S. insists that Israel's occupation can only be solved by respectful negotiation between the parties themselves, and it vehemently opposes punishing Israel with the sort of moves currently being contemplated against Russia.
It's easy to go on and on in this vein — Britain's prime minister, who leads a nation that helped invade Iraq on a false pretext, denouncing Putin's pretext for going into Crimea. The NATO powers that helped bring about the independence of Albanian Kosovars complaining about the separatist aspirations of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, etc.
But that's diplomacy. Hypocritical declarations and acts are woven into its essence.
What's remarkable is the unspoken pact among the Western news media to report it all so uncritically.
When Obama spoke, the gaggle of reporters in attendance rushed to report his statements, mostly at face value.
Likewise, Western news reports seriously reported Russia's ridiculous threat to end the role of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, as though Russia's creditors will begin to accept rubles at whatever exchange rate Putin decrees.
On TV and in print, we hear serious talk about the possibility of economic sanctions against Russia — which would only trigger a devastating trade back-blast against European economies.
HUNGARY
Republican Senator John McCain says it is Barack Obama's "feckless foreign policy" that is to blame for Russia's invasion of Crimea. However, he added, a military response is not on the table. (Reuters)
Other media analysts agree with the angry flailings of U.S. foreign policy hawks, who seem to think Obama should be much more aggressive with Putin, although they have few concrete suggestions. (A frustrated Senator John McCain demanded that rich Russians be barred from Las Vegas.)
The unspoken media-government arrangement is understandable, I suppose.
We must at least pretend there's international law and fairness and basic rules, because it reassures us that we live in a world where raw power doesn't ultimately rule.
But it's all just gibberish; through the looking glass. We might as well be reporting that slithy toves gyre and gimble in the wabe.
Money and hard power count, and that's that. The big players have it, and the smaller players play along. If we need the anaesthetic liquor of self-delusion to deal with it, well, drink up.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/the-ukraine-crisis-through-the-whimsy-of-international-law-1.2559980
COMMENT:
Neil Macdonald writes perceptively. Defying Churchill's' advice to be magnanimous in victory, the West has rubbed Russia's nose in the ashes of its Cold War defeat for almost a generation. Russia has legitimate security interests in and deep historical ties to the Ukraine. Having seen NATO extend itself to Poland and the Baltic states, it has drawn a line at the Ukrainian border.
The elected president of Ukraine was overthrown. However incompetent and kleptocratic, the alternative as in any democracy was available in the next election.
Vladimir Putin is a tyrant. The unpunished Russian complicity in the Ukrainian famine of the 1930's is a stain on its history. But these considerations do not excuse us from the disciplines of self-examination and realpolitik
COMMENT:
Neil MacDonald has said it all, once again. Thank you Neil. I suspect there will be one of two outcomes with the Ukraine; an inner-Ukrainian border or a pro-Russia government. Either option would be best outcome for the Ukranians rather than put up with the banditry and corruption they are about to face as they starve in the dark because they have no money or economy.
COMMENT:
Thank you Neil MacDonald !! Lately I thought I'm not in Canada any more.CBC is like FOX news of the north!
COMMENT:
Tired Of Lies
Yes, nice piece...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957
----------------
IN THE REAL WORLD- NOT...
INTERNET WORLD OF PLAY AND WHATEVER... IN THE REAL WORLD
With recovery fragile, last thing economy needs is a
Ukrainian crisis: analysts
The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News Mar 03 03:28pm
The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News Mar 03 03:28pm
... AND IN CANADA... ISN'T
THIS MORE IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW???
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Nova
Scotia Domestic Violence Shelters/BULLYCIDE-BULLY HELP SITES/Homeless
Shelters/UK /Australia/Canada- u matter- MARCH 8- INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY....
One Billion rising- breaking the chains- no more excuses- Nova Scotia honours Warrior
Woman Rita MacNeil March 8th concert of remembrance
------------
nations of war condemm russia 2da??- r u serious....
let's take a lookee shall we EUROPEAN UNION.... SERIOUSLY??... USA..SERIOUSLY???... CANADA...come on... AND MOTHER RUSSIA... STOP BEING NAUGHTY... and Crimea... run baby run... fascists are now in control of Ukraine... and we know it.... ewwwwww
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE- CANADA - MARCH 5 2014
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
TO EACH HIS OWN
It is interesting that when the U.S. took its naval base in Cuba, after the revolution, to protect its interests, Europe did not complain.
I think people are forgetting where the Sebastopol graveyard came from in Halifax: the Crimean War. Time to take a deep breath and remember history. Let Russia keep its port. Let Ukraine have its wheatfields.
Philip K. Thompson, Musquodoboit Harbour
------------
CANADA
---------
The Crimean War
From
'A History of the British Nation' by AD Innes, 1912
Navigate
'A History of Britain'
<< The Early Victorian Period - The Crimean War - The Indian Mutiny 1857 >>
<< The Early Victorian Period - The Crimean War - The Indian Mutiny 1857 >>
Lord
Aberdeen's ministry
The term coalition is one which until the twentieth century had a perfectly clear meaning. It meant not a combination of parties in Parliament in support of a ministry whose members are drawn from the ranks of one party, but the combination in a single ministry of members drawn from the ranks of different parties. The Liberal Government formed by Lord John Russell in 1846 depended upon the support of the Peelites, as the Melbourne ministry before had virtually been established by a compact with O'Connell. Lord Aberdeen's ministry was what they were not, a coalition ministry in the correct sense of the term, because the ministers were drawn from the ranks of two parties, the Peelites and the Liberals.
The term coalition is one which until the twentieth century had a perfectly clear meaning. It meant not a combination of parties in Parliament in support of a ministry whose members are drawn from the ranks of one party, but the combination in a single ministry of members drawn from the ranks of different parties. The Liberal Government formed by Lord John Russell in 1846 depended upon the support of the Peelites, as the Melbourne ministry before had virtually been established by a compact with O'Connell. Lord Aberdeen's ministry was what they were not, a coalition ministry in the correct sense of the term, because the ministers were drawn from the ranks of two parties, the Peelites and the Liberals.
Its
chief, Lord Aberdeen, was a Peelite, so was its Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Gladstone. Palmerston was not allowed to return to the Foreign Office but had
to be contented with the post of Home Secretary; he was in fact distinctly
antagonistic to Aberdeen, who was strongly opposed to assuming anything like an
aggressive attitude in foreign affairs. By the not unfamiliar irony of politics
Aberdeen was the one minister under whose leadership the British Empire has
been involved in a European war since Waterloo. Palmerston's old place was
actually taken at first by Lord John Russell. The year 1853 was notable for the
first Gladstone budget, in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer advanced along
the lines of Free Trade.
The Sick Man of Europe
Duties upon some two hundred and seventy articles were either reduced or removed. But in a very short time it became evident that foreign not domestic affairs were to absorb public attention. Early in the year, Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia, expressed to the British ambassador his conviction that the Turkish Empire was "a very sick man," very near to dissolution. Russia and Britain ought to be agreed upon a policy when that contingency should arise; and if Britain wanted Egypt and Crete for her share he should not object. Britain did not receive the proposal with any favour; she had no desire to see Russia in possession of Constantinople, with an unlimited fleet in the Black Sea ready to pass through the Dardanelles into the Mediterranean whenever it might suit her. She adhered to the policy of maintaining the integrity of the Turkish Empire, a fact which Nicholas failed to grasp. It was evidently his intention to hasten the dissolution which he had persuaded himself to regard as inevitable, and he found his opportunity in the differences between the Greek and Latin Christian Churches in Palestine.
France had a traditional and purely sentimental theory that she was the protector of Latin Christianity in the East; Russia had a traditional and exceedingly practical theory that she was the protector of Christians in general, but particularly those of the Greek Church. Louis Napoleon had just made himself Emperor of the French, and it was necessary for him to justify his position in the eyes of France and of the world by an active assertion of French claims. When Greeks and Latins quarrelled over points of precedence, Nicholas on one side and Napoleon III on the other brought pressure to bear upon the Porte.
[Ed. The author uses the term 'Porte' to refer to the central government of the Ottoman Empire; more specifially the term applies to the foreign ministry of the Ottoman government in its dealings with European powers.]
The Porte tried to satisfy both, and succeeded in pleasing neither, with the result that the Tsar in effect put forward a claim to be formally recognised as the protector over all the Christian subjects of the Porte. The Porte refused the demand, which no sovereign state could possibly have tolerated, whereupon Russian troops crossed the river Pruth and occupied the trans-Danubian principalities. Hostilities were delayed by an attempt on the part of the Western powers to effect a pacification. They addressed a joint note to Russia and Turkey. Russia accepted it, but Turkey pointed out that it might be interpreted as confirming the Tsar's most extravagant demands. The Powers, who had no such intention, thereupon withdrew the note, Turkey demanded the evacuation of the Danubian provinces, Russia did not move, and at the end of October 1853 the two countries were technically at war.
Now after the episode of the "sick man" it was impossible for the British Government to doubt that Russia was bent on her programme of the partition of the Turkish Empire, according to the precedent of the partition of Poland. The Tsar, on the other hand, was comfortably convinced that Britain was wholly given over to commercial pursuits and would, at any rate, stop short of armed intervention, a view which he might not have taken had Palmerston been at the Foreign Office, where Russell's place had been taken by Lord Clarendon, Russell, himself being occupied at the conferences of the Powers. The French Emperor, however, was in hearty co-operation with the British Government, and perhaps rather eager for war than otherwise, since military glory almost a necessity to the imperial successor of the first Napoleon.
War is declared
In October the British and French fleets were ordered to the Bosphorus to protect their national interests; Turkey declared war upon Russia, and the Tsar announced that he was merely holding the trans-Danube principalities as a material guarantee, and would not take the offensive against Turkey. Almost immediately after wards the Russian Black Sea Fleet fell upon and annihilated a Turkish squadron lying in the Turkish harbour of Sinope. Popular indignation in England and France rose high, and Aberdeen was forced to consent to the occupation of the Black Sea by the joint fleets. It can hardly be doubted that the extremely pacific language adopted by the Prime Minister had encouraged the Tsar in the conviction that Great Britain might be relied upon not to declare war.
In the meantime the Turks had crossed the Danube and had achieved some definite successes. In February (1854) France and Britain, who had reason to expect support from Austria but did not wait for her joint action, sent to Russia a demand for the evacuation of the principalities; and the rejection of the demand was followed at the end of March by the declaration of war.
The position seemed to point clearly to an approaching, campaign on the Danube. In that expectation the forces of the allies were conveyed to Varna. The situation, however, was changed by the intervention of Austria, which, although she did not actually declare war, induced Russia to withdraw from the principalities. This was enough for Austria, but not for Britain and France. It was universally felt that the retirement of the Powers would still leave Russia free to choose her own opportunity for striking at Turkey. It was imperative to strike a blow which would enable the Powers to dictate terms giving the necessary security. The strength of the Russians in the Black Sea depended on their position at Sevastopol in the Crimea, and a campaign in the Crimea was resolved upon.
[Ed. Note that the author uses 'Sevastopol' rather than the currently accepted name 'Sebastopol']
Balaclava
Unfortunately it was not anticipated that there would be any necessity for a winter campaign. Had it been possible to carry out the plan at the moment when it was first mooted by Lord Palmerston, in June it is probable that Sevastopol would have fallen at once; but transport difficulties and cholera intervened, and it was not till the second week of September that the French and British forces landed in the Crimea at a point some thirty miles to the north of Sevastopol, in the Bay of Eupatoria. The British, commanded by Lord Raglan, numbered something less than twenty-five thousand men, the French force, under Marshal St. Arnaud, being slightly larger. The advance of the force was blocked by the Russians on the river Alma. After a hard fight, of which the British bore the brunt, the Russians were driven back in rout, but owing to the opposition of the French Marshal the pursuit was not pressed. When the army did advance Lord Raglan again yielded to St Arnaud, and instead of making an immediate attack on the north side of Sevastopol, the allies marched round and took up their position at Balaclava.
For the third time the British yielded to the French, who objected to an immediate attack, and the allies prepared themselves to lay siege to Sevastopol on the southern side, the British lying on the east of the French, and therefore being in the more dangerous position. For the Russian general, Menschikoff, had withdrawn into the interior to secure his communications, not into the fortress, and any attack from him would fall upon the British. His communications with Sevastopol were also open, the allied force not being sufficiently large to effect a complete investment. The delay in attack enabled the Russian, or rather German, engineer, Todleben, to strengthen the defences, a work accomplished with extraordinary skill and rapidity; while the harbour had been protected from the operations of the allied fleet by sinking Russian ships in the entrance. The actual garrison consisted mainly of the sailors from the Russian fleet.
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The general result was that a great bombardment was opened on October 17th and was maintained for a week, but only to prove that Sevastopol would not fall without a prolonged siege. On the 25th the Russians attempted to relieve the fortress by seizing the port of Balaclava, on which the British were dependent for their supplies. The attempt was foiled mainly by the magnificent charge of the Heavy Brigade, which shattered and rolled back an advancing column of Russians of five times their own numbers. But the splendid action of the Heavy Brigade, crowned as it was by triumphant success, has been eclipsed in the minds of men by the famous charge of the Light Brigade, as futile and purposeless as it was heroic. Under a misapprehension of orders received from the general, Lord Lucan, in command of the cavalry, entirely against his own judgment, ordered the Light Brigade of six hundred men to charge through a deadly storm of fire upon a distant Russian battery.
Inkermann
The order was obeyed. The six hundred charged to the guns, carried them, and then the survivors rode back again - "all that was left of them." Ten days later Menschikoff again attacked the British position at Inkermann. The attack was made in the early morning in a thick mist. As a consequence of the conditions the battle resolved itself into one in which groups of soldiers fought independently in detached parties not knowing what was going on in other parts of the field. It was a soldiers' battle, fought and won by the sheer obstinate valour of the men, unaided by tactical skill or science on the part of the officers, for which there was literally no opportunity. By downright valour and discipline the British won and drove off the hosts of the Russians.
Florence Nightingale
After Inkermann the army settled down to the long horrors of the winter siege which have become a proverb. The campaign had been entered upon with no expectation that it would be prolonged through the winter, and with no preparations for that contingency. The home organisation failed disastrously in providing supplies; even those which reached Balaclava in the first instance were destroyed in a gale before they could be disembarked. Those which arrived later could only with extreme difficulty be carried to the front. The criminality of contractors from whom the supplies were obtained made matters infinitely worse. The storm of public indignation which was aroused compelled Aberdeen to resign, and the nation demanded that Palmerston should be called to the position of Prime Minister. Fresh vigour was imparted to the administration; the system was reorganised, and the conditions improved rapidly with the advance of the spring. But perhaps the most notable feature in the improvements was due to the initiative of Miss Florence Nightingale and her heroic staff of nurses, to which has been due the whole new modern conception of the treatment of the sick and wounded in war.
Sebastopol Falls
A conference of the Powers was summoned in March; it came to nothing; but, when Sevastopol fell in September, peace negotiations were renewed, and in March 1856 the Powers signed the Treaty of Paris. Even then Britain would hardly have obtained by the treaty the security against Russian aggression for the sake of which she had entered upon the war but for the resolute attitude of Palmerston and Clarendon, who was' still Foreign Secretary. The Emperor of the French had won the military prestige which was more important to him than the curbing of Russia and he was anxious for peace. The Austrian Emperor had owed a good blockades, to be technically recognised, must be actually effective, and privateering was to be abolished.
Apart from the retirement of the Peelites, including Gladstone, when Palmerston's administration was formed, the only political event of domestic importance at this time was an unsuccessful attempt to revive the creation of Life Peerages. Had the attempt been successful, it would have become possible to modify very considerably the character of the House of Lords by introducing an increasing non-hereditary element. Baron Parke was to be raised to the peerage as Lord Wensleydale, but the form of the patent conveyed the peerage for his own life only. The Lords protested; the question was referred to a Committee of Privilege; and it was found that no such form had been used for four hundred years. The Government gave way and the ordinary form was adopted.
Afghanistan
Though the war in Europe was brought to an end, two other minor wars were soon engaging a degree of public attention. The Shah of Persia, misled, like other orientals, as to the character of the Crimean War, and by Russian successes which attended it in Asia Minor, imagined that the British power was collapsing and that the Russian star was in the ascendant. Therefore once more he attacked Afghanistan and captured Herat. Lord Auckland's blunder, however, was not repeated; the British came to the aid of Dost Mohammed, and an expedition to the Persian Gulf under the command of Sir James Outram very soon brought the Shah to reason. He retired from Afghanistan, promised not to interfere with it again, and accepted Britain as arbitrator in any dispute which might arise between himself and the Russians. The British action also had the valuable effect of securing the confidence and loyalty of the Amir at Kabul. But the necessity for the Persian expedition was unfortunate, because it withdrew white troops from India at the moment when a grave and unsuspected crisis was impending.
The Opium War
Almost at the same moment the country became involved in complications with China. A collision some years before, arising out of the opium traffic, had resulted in a small war terminated in 1842 by the Treaty of Nankin, under which Hong-Kong had been ceded to the British. In 1856, a Chinese vessel called the Arrow, commanded by an Englishman and flying the British flag, was seized by the Chinese authority at Canton, and her crew were carried off on a charge of piracy. On the doubtful assumption that the Arrow was a British vessel, the Chinese were bound by treaty to hand over the crews to the British authority at Hong-Kong for the investigation of the case. The Chinese refused to do so. Sir John Bowring at Hong-Kong summoned the British squadron to coerce the Chinese. Palmerston supported his action in Parliament, and the hostilities developed into open war.
The high-handed action of the Government was seized upon both by the formal Opposition and by. the advanced Liberals, who disliked Palmerston's aggressiveness, as providing a ground for attacking the ministry. Palmerston, however, appealed to the country, finding his actual position in parliament untenable, and the country returned him to power with a decisive majority. But the operations against China were delayed by the diversion of the expedition to the support of the British Government in India, which in the early summer of 1857 was plunged into the great catastrophe of the Sepoy Mutiny.
The Sick Man of Europe
Duties upon some two hundred and seventy articles were either reduced or removed. But in a very short time it became evident that foreign not domestic affairs were to absorb public attention. Early in the year, Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia, expressed to the British ambassador his conviction that the Turkish Empire was "a very sick man," very near to dissolution. Russia and Britain ought to be agreed upon a policy when that contingency should arise; and if Britain wanted Egypt and Crete for her share he should not object. Britain did not receive the proposal with any favour; she had no desire to see Russia in possession of Constantinople, with an unlimited fleet in the Black Sea ready to pass through the Dardanelles into the Mediterranean whenever it might suit her. She adhered to the policy of maintaining the integrity of the Turkish Empire, a fact which Nicholas failed to grasp. It was evidently his intention to hasten the dissolution which he had persuaded himself to regard as inevitable, and he found his opportunity in the differences between the Greek and Latin Christian Churches in Palestine.
France had a traditional and purely sentimental theory that she was the protector of Latin Christianity in the East; Russia had a traditional and exceedingly practical theory that she was the protector of Christians in general, but particularly those of the Greek Church. Louis Napoleon had just made himself Emperor of the French, and it was necessary for him to justify his position in the eyes of France and of the world by an active assertion of French claims. When Greeks and Latins quarrelled over points of precedence, Nicholas on one side and Napoleon III on the other brought pressure to bear upon the Porte.
[Ed. The author uses the term 'Porte' to refer to the central government of the Ottoman Empire; more specifially the term applies to the foreign ministry of the Ottoman government in its dealings with European powers.]
The Porte tried to satisfy both, and succeeded in pleasing neither, with the result that the Tsar in effect put forward a claim to be formally recognised as the protector over all the Christian subjects of the Porte. The Porte refused the demand, which no sovereign state could possibly have tolerated, whereupon Russian troops crossed the river Pruth and occupied the trans-Danubian principalities. Hostilities were delayed by an attempt on the part of the Western powers to effect a pacification. They addressed a joint note to Russia and Turkey. Russia accepted it, but Turkey pointed out that it might be interpreted as confirming the Tsar's most extravagant demands. The Powers, who had no such intention, thereupon withdrew the note, Turkey demanded the evacuation of the Danubian provinces, Russia did not move, and at the end of October 1853 the two countries were technically at war.
Now after the episode of the "sick man" it was impossible for the British Government to doubt that Russia was bent on her programme of the partition of the Turkish Empire, according to the precedent of the partition of Poland. The Tsar, on the other hand, was comfortably convinced that Britain was wholly given over to commercial pursuits and would, at any rate, stop short of armed intervention, a view which he might not have taken had Palmerston been at the Foreign Office, where Russell's place had been taken by Lord Clarendon, Russell, himself being occupied at the conferences of the Powers. The French Emperor, however, was in hearty co-operation with the British Government, and perhaps rather eager for war than otherwise, since military glory almost a necessity to the imperial successor of the first Napoleon.
War is declared
In October the British and French fleets were ordered to the Bosphorus to protect their national interests; Turkey declared war upon Russia, and the Tsar announced that he was merely holding the trans-Danube principalities as a material guarantee, and would not take the offensive against Turkey. Almost immediately after wards the Russian Black Sea Fleet fell upon and annihilated a Turkish squadron lying in the Turkish harbour of Sinope. Popular indignation in England and France rose high, and Aberdeen was forced to consent to the occupation of the Black Sea by the joint fleets. It can hardly be doubted that the extremely pacific language adopted by the Prime Minister had encouraged the Tsar in the conviction that Great Britain might be relied upon not to declare war.
In the meantime the Turks had crossed the Danube and had achieved some definite successes. In February (1854) France and Britain, who had reason to expect support from Austria but did not wait for her joint action, sent to Russia a demand for the evacuation of the principalities; and the rejection of the demand was followed at the end of March by the declaration of war.
The position seemed to point clearly to an approaching, campaign on the Danube. In that expectation the forces of the allies were conveyed to Varna. The situation, however, was changed by the intervention of Austria, which, although she did not actually declare war, induced Russia to withdraw from the principalities. This was enough for Austria, but not for Britain and France. It was universally felt that the retirement of the Powers would still leave Russia free to choose her own opportunity for striking at Turkey. It was imperative to strike a blow which would enable the Powers to dictate terms giving the necessary security. The strength of the Russians in the Black Sea depended on their position at Sevastopol in the Crimea, and a campaign in the Crimea was resolved upon.
[Ed. Note that the author uses 'Sevastopol' rather than the currently accepted name 'Sebastopol']
Balaclava
Unfortunately it was not anticipated that there would be any necessity for a winter campaign. Had it been possible to carry out the plan at the moment when it was first mooted by Lord Palmerston, in June it is probable that Sevastopol would have fallen at once; but transport difficulties and cholera intervened, and it was not till the second week of September that the French and British forces landed in the Crimea at a point some thirty miles to the north of Sevastopol, in the Bay of Eupatoria. The British, commanded by Lord Raglan, numbered something less than twenty-five thousand men, the French force, under Marshal St. Arnaud, being slightly larger. The advance of the force was blocked by the Russians on the river Alma. After a hard fight, of which the British bore the brunt, the Russians were driven back in rout, but owing to the opposition of the French Marshal the pursuit was not pressed. When the army did advance Lord Raglan again yielded to St Arnaud, and instead of making an immediate attack on the north side of Sevastopol, the allies marched round and took up their position at Balaclava.
For the third time the British yielded to the French, who objected to an immediate attack, and the allies prepared themselves to lay siege to Sevastopol on the southern side, the British lying on the east of the French, and therefore being in the more dangerous position. For the Russian general, Menschikoff, had withdrawn into the interior to secure his communications, not into the fortress, and any attack from him would fall upon the British. His communications with Sevastopol were also open, the allied force not being sufficiently large to effect a complete investment. The delay in attack enabled the Russian, or rather German, engineer, Todleben, to strengthen the defences, a work accomplished with extraordinary skill and rapidity; while the harbour had been protected from the operations of the allied fleet by sinking Russian ships in the entrance. The actual garrison consisted mainly of the sailors from the Russian fleet.
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The general result was that a great bombardment was opened on October 17th and was maintained for a week, but only to prove that Sevastopol would not fall without a prolonged siege. On the 25th the Russians attempted to relieve the fortress by seizing the port of Balaclava, on which the British were dependent for their supplies. The attempt was foiled mainly by the magnificent charge of the Heavy Brigade, which shattered and rolled back an advancing column of Russians of five times their own numbers. But the splendid action of the Heavy Brigade, crowned as it was by triumphant success, has been eclipsed in the minds of men by the famous charge of the Light Brigade, as futile and purposeless as it was heroic. Under a misapprehension of orders received from the general, Lord Lucan, in command of the cavalry, entirely against his own judgment, ordered the Light Brigade of six hundred men to charge through a deadly storm of fire upon a distant Russian battery.
Inkermann
The order was obeyed. The six hundred charged to the guns, carried them, and then the survivors rode back again - "all that was left of them." Ten days later Menschikoff again attacked the British position at Inkermann. The attack was made in the early morning in a thick mist. As a consequence of the conditions the battle resolved itself into one in which groups of soldiers fought independently in detached parties not knowing what was going on in other parts of the field. It was a soldiers' battle, fought and won by the sheer obstinate valour of the men, unaided by tactical skill or science on the part of the officers, for which there was literally no opportunity. By downright valour and discipline the British won and drove off the hosts of the Russians.
Florence Nightingale
After Inkermann the army settled down to the long horrors of the winter siege which have become a proverb. The campaign had been entered upon with no expectation that it would be prolonged through the winter, and with no preparations for that contingency. The home organisation failed disastrously in providing supplies; even those which reached Balaclava in the first instance were destroyed in a gale before they could be disembarked. Those which arrived later could only with extreme difficulty be carried to the front. The criminality of contractors from whom the supplies were obtained made matters infinitely worse. The storm of public indignation which was aroused compelled Aberdeen to resign, and the nation demanded that Palmerston should be called to the position of Prime Minister. Fresh vigour was imparted to the administration; the system was reorganised, and the conditions improved rapidly with the advance of the spring. But perhaps the most notable feature in the improvements was due to the initiative of Miss Florence Nightingale and her heroic staff of nurses, to which has been due the whole new modern conception of the treatment of the sick and wounded in war.
Sebastopol Falls
A conference of the Powers was summoned in March; it came to nothing; but, when Sevastopol fell in September, peace negotiations were renewed, and in March 1856 the Powers signed the Treaty of Paris. Even then Britain would hardly have obtained by the treaty the security against Russian aggression for the sake of which she had entered upon the war but for the resolute attitude of Palmerston and Clarendon, who was' still Foreign Secretary. The Emperor of the French had won the military prestige which was more important to him than the curbing of Russia and he was anxious for peace. The Austrian Emperor had owed a good blockades, to be technically recognised, must be actually effective, and privateering was to be abolished.
Apart from the retirement of the Peelites, including Gladstone, when Palmerston's administration was formed, the only political event of domestic importance at this time was an unsuccessful attempt to revive the creation of Life Peerages. Had the attempt been successful, it would have become possible to modify very considerably the character of the House of Lords by introducing an increasing non-hereditary element. Baron Parke was to be raised to the peerage as Lord Wensleydale, but the form of the patent conveyed the peerage for his own life only. The Lords protested; the question was referred to a Committee of Privilege; and it was found that no such form had been used for four hundred years. The Government gave way and the ordinary form was adopted.
Afghanistan
Though the war in Europe was brought to an end, two other minor wars were soon engaging a degree of public attention. The Shah of Persia, misled, like other orientals, as to the character of the Crimean War, and by Russian successes which attended it in Asia Minor, imagined that the British power was collapsing and that the Russian star was in the ascendant. Therefore once more he attacked Afghanistan and captured Herat. Lord Auckland's blunder, however, was not repeated; the British came to the aid of Dost Mohammed, and an expedition to the Persian Gulf under the command of Sir James Outram very soon brought the Shah to reason. He retired from Afghanistan, promised not to interfere with it again, and accepted Britain as arbitrator in any dispute which might arise between himself and the Russians. The British action also had the valuable effect of securing the confidence and loyalty of the Amir at Kabul. But the necessity for the Persian expedition was unfortunate, because it withdrew white troops from India at the moment when a grave and unsuspected crisis was impending.
The Opium War
Almost at the same moment the country became involved in complications with China. A collision some years before, arising out of the opium traffic, had resulted in a small war terminated in 1842 by the Treaty of Nankin, under which Hong-Kong had been ceded to the British. In 1856, a Chinese vessel called the Arrow, commanded by an Englishman and flying the British flag, was seized by the Chinese authority at Canton, and her crew were carried off on a charge of piracy. On the doubtful assumption that the Arrow was a British vessel, the Chinese were bound by treaty to hand over the crews to the British authority at Hong-Kong for the investigation of the case. The Chinese refused to do so. Sir John Bowring at Hong-Kong summoned the British squadron to coerce the Chinese. Palmerston supported his action in Parliament, and the hostilities developed into open war.
The high-handed action of the Government was seized upon both by the formal Opposition and by. the advanced Liberals, who disliked Palmerston's aggressiveness, as providing a ground for attacking the ministry. Palmerston, however, appealed to the country, finding his actual position in parliament untenable, and the country returned him to power with a decisive majority. But the operations against China were delayed by the diversion of the expedition to the support of the British Government in India, which in the early summer of 1857 was plunged into the great catastrophe of the Sepoy Mutiny.
-------------------
SOCHI WINTER PARALYMPICS 2014 IN MOTHER RUSSIA- We love u... and 4 years of hard work... our Paralympian Global Athletes define the best in us.... and give our children and youth hope... disabilities are abilities in disguise... and the world needs 2 see this everyday...
Sochi Winter Paralympic games baby
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Sochi Paralympic games baby- F**K ALL THE HATE AND THREATS OF WAR- WE'RE WATCHING SOCHI PARALYMPICS 2014 IN MOTHER RUSSIA...
--------------
Terry Fox gave us all something 2 aspire 2 and pray 4 and live 4.... our children and wounded around this world deserve 2 be inspired- and so does Canada and so does the world.... Sochi Winter Paralympics 2014 in Mother Russia - some joy, some dignity... some honour..... about time.
SOCHI! SOCHI! SOCHI! - F**k all the hate and talk of wars that nobody can afford and 7 billion people are sick of hearing with such environmental disasters and billions starving.... bring on the dream that we can do anything - SOCHI WINTERPARALYMPICS 2014 IN GLORIOUS MOTHER RUSSIA BABY! - Congrats Sonja - our Canada Flag Bearer.... this is the real Canada folks... real, raw, righteous... and we love u all so much.
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NOVA SCOTIA-BORN SNOWBOARDER SOCHI BOUND
SHINING MOMENT
Mosher competing in sport he helped place in Paralympics
MONTY MOSHER SPORTS REPORTER
mmosher@herald.ca @ch_montymosher
In some ways, seeing para-snowboard in the 2014 Paralympics will be like watching the birth of a child for Tyler Mosher.
The Nova Scotia native, in British Columbia for the past two decades, is one of the founders of para-snowboard in Canada and an advocate and ambassador for the sport internationally.Now Mosher, 41, will compete in Sochi starting next week in the sport he helped place in the Paralympic pantheon . “I’m excited," said Mosher, who has b een in Spain and Switzerland in the past few weeks preparing for Sochi.
Forty-five nations will be in Russia at the opening ceremonies this Friday. There will be 72 medal events in five sports, with snowboard being the prominent new addition .
Canada has four snowboarders on the team .Mosher was born in Wolfville and raised in Halifax. He graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Ar t and Design and headed to B.C., where he operates a landscape development business in Whistler.
He will race in Sochi on March 14 .
He competed in the Paralympics in Vancouver in 2010, but in cross-country skiing. He placed seventh.
“I’m doing it this time in a sport where I can win gold," he said.
He took up para-nordic skiing to make the Paralympics in that sport, setting goals in a way he could achieve them.
But he was a snowboarder first. He was the adaptive snowboarding world champion in 2009.
“And I want to continu e on and ideally be on the podium on March 14," he said.
“It’s always great to make something positive out of an accident that happened to me. I’m so excited . . . to have the opportunity to participate in a sport I
CONTINUED ON A6
Tyler Mosher trains at Lake Louise, Alta., in 2013. The snowboarder will be in Sochi, Russia, next week competing in the Paralympics.
MATTHEW MURNAGHAN • Canadian Paralympic Committee
Article Continued Below
helped develop.”
His accident may have changed the fate of Paralympic snowboarding in this country and b eyond.
He crashed at the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort while snowboarding on Dec. 30, 2000. He thought he was headed for a flat sp ot and ended up landing on his head in a nine-metre hole.
He broke his back in nine places, destroying his L-1 vertebrae, and required reconstructive surgery.
The prognosis had him sp ending the rest o f his life in a wheelchair. He left the rehab centre with two canes.
A rugby and football player in his younger days, it took him two years to walk again. He took to yoga and cross-country skiing to improve the overall quality of his life.
“Luckily, my injury was an incomplete paralysis and I was able to gain 60 per cent of my muscles back,” he said. “And in the process of learning to walk again over those two years, I learned snowb oarding for the disabled didn’t exist.”
He took up the challenge, working to develop the sport. By 2005, he was back on a snowboard.
“I walk on my heels. I can’t stand on my toes. I can’t jump. I can’t run. There are a couple hundred things I can’t do anymore, but there are several million things I can do.”
In 2007, Canada had a national para-snowboard team for the first time. He won the first Adaptive Snowboard World Cup race in 2 008.
“Essentially, everything is new. Ten years ago, there weren’t any organized groups, per se, to enable children with a disability to snowboard with their friends.”
He said with snowboard in the Paralympics, more funding will be available for the sport at a grassroots level in Canada. He is the founding director o f the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program.
He’ll compete in time trials in Sochi over a border-cross course with the best two of three runs counting .
“This is probably it for me,” he said. “I’m seeing my baby through to the Games, so to speak.
“I’m doing a big cross-country ski race next year, but it’s just too hard on my body to be at this level.”
There are political issues surrounding these Games with Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, but Mosher will not be fazed.
“(I have) no security concerns about competing in Sochi,” he said. “I am focused on my competition and doing my best on
March 14.”
Canadian Armed Forces –
Canadian Anthem – OH Canada
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CAMADOAM William Hall, V.C.:
The Naval Veteran (2:44 min.)
William Hall, V.C. was born
in Summerville and was the first member of the Navy from British North America
to receive the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious of military medals. William
received the medal for a heroic rescue that he participated in during the
Indian Uprising of 1758. The rescue mission captured the imagination of the
Victorian public: the mission was known to every school boy in the Empire.
While initially buried without military honours in an unmarked grave, William
was later buried beneath a stone cairn on the lawn of the Baptist Church in
Hantsport, Hants Co..
-------------------
CRIMERIAN WAR MEMORIAL- HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA
VICTORIA CROSS
William Nelson Edward Hall
Able-Seaman William Neilson
Edward Hall
William Neilson Edward Hall
was born in Horton’s Bluff, Nova Scotia, on April 28, 1827, the son of free
Black slaves, rescued from slavery by a British frigate during the War of 1812.
Hall attended the local school, then worked in the shipyards of Hantsport for
several years, involved in the construction of wooden ships for the merchant
marine. Before he was even eighteen years old, he had already been to some of
the most important ports in the world, having joined the crew of a trading
vessel.
In 1852, he left a promising
career in the American merchant navy to enlist in the British Royal Navy. He
served as Able Seaman on board HMS Rodney during the Crimean War, and was
awarded the Turkish Crimea medal, as well as the British Crimea medal with the
“Sevastopol” and “Inkerman” clasps. He was a member of the Naval Brigade, and
assisted the ground forces by manning heavy guns.
Before the Indian Mutiny of
1857-8, he was appointed to “Captain of the Foretop” on board HMS Shannon. As
the ship was on its way to China, in anticipation of a Chinese insurrection, it
received orders to turn around and head to Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. Hall
and a brigade of soldiers were to head for Lucknow, to relieve the British
garrison which was under siege.
“Lieutenant (now Commander)
Young, late Gunnery Officer of Her Majesty’s ship ‘Shannon,’ and William Hall,
‘Captain of the Foretop,’ of that Vessel, were recommended by the late Captain
Peel for the Victoria Cross, for their gallant conduct at a 24-Pounder Gun,
brought up to the angle of the Shah Nujjiff, at Lucknow, on the 16th of
November, 1857.”
- Victoria Cross citation,
The London Gazette, 1 February 1859.
Hall was a member of one of
four gun crews. He and his colleagues were attempting to breach the walls of
the Shah Najaf mosque as rebels shot at them. The enemy concentrated its fire
on the gun crews until Hall and an officer, Lieutenant James Young, were the
only ones left. They continued to load and fire the last gun until the wall was
breached, giving the soldiers of the British garrison enough room to scramble
through.
Hall was the first Nova
Scotian, and the first Black person, to receive the Victoria Cross. He retired
from the service in 1876 with the rank of Petty Officer, First Class. He moved
back to Nova Scotia and lived with his sisters on a farm in Avonport,
overlooking the Minas Basin.
Hall lived in relative
obscurity until 1901, when His Royal Highness, the Duke of Cornwall and York,
the future King George V, visited Nova Scotia to unveil a monument. A parade
was held in his honour, and Hall was in attendance, with his Victoria Cross and
other service medals pinned to his chest. The Duke noticed this and enquired
about the medals, opening a conversation between the two men.
William Neilson Edward Hall
died in Hantsport on August 25, 1904, of paralysis. He was buried in an
unmarked grave in Lockhart, without military honours. In 1937, a campaign was
launched to have William Hall recognized by the Royal Canadian Legion, and it
was not until 1954 that his remains were reinterred in the grounds of the Hantsport
Baptist Church. A cairn was erected in his honour two years later by the
Hantsport Branch of the Legion, which includes an enlarged bronze replica of
his Victoria Cross and a plaque describing his actions and devotion to duty.
In 1967, Hall’s medals were
returned to Canada from England to be shown at Expo ’67, in Montreal. For a
number of years, his Victoria Cross and other medals were lent to the Canadian
War Museum in Ottawa. Today, his medals are on display at the Nova Scotia
Museum in Halifax.
Hall’s Victoria Cross was
worn on a blue ribbon, to represent the Royal Navy, as it was awarded with such
a ribbon colour since its inception in 1856, whereas the Victoria Cross with
crimson ribbon was awarded to members of the armed forces. Since 1918, however,
all Victoria Crosses are worn on the crimson ribbon.
--------------
THIS BEAUTIFUL POEM WAS
WRITTEN BY THE SISTER OF ONE OF MY DEAREST FRIENDS:
The Black Battalion- Canada
Juanita Pleasant Wilbur of
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada
They came two hundred to
answer the call
But only to fall
Their way was not paved
For a country they wanted to
save
The battle cry went out
But these men were ousted
Their colour was wrong
Their courage strong
From battle line to battle
line they went
But no one wanted them
A checker-board army they
were called
Their courage strong they
still persisted
For the right to fight for a
country they loved
For the right to live as all
men
Free and strong
The march was on, their will
was strong
From place to place they
went
Rejected by all, their cry
was heard
Let us do our best
Don't let us be less
Give us a chance to build a
life for our children
Let us make our mark
Give us a chance to stand
proud and free
Rejected and tired of
waiting
They finally saw the light
You're on a flight
Over-seas you're bound
At last you found your place
A checker-board army has
been born
A remembrance to my
Grand-dad, Private Wallace James Pleasant and all the black men who fought and
became know as Canada's best kept secret.
We love you all so much....
to my Fannie (Clement) Brothers and to my Debbie Pleasant-Joseph ..... love you
all so much....
--------------------
BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Jan
2014- Commemorating 100th Anniversary of WWI – The Great War- Canada
BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Pg1 July7
Nova Scotia Black Battalion Honoured/REMEMERING our troops-our Canada/NOVA
SCOTIA- come visit, we’d love 2 have u- all ages and disabilities- kids matter
BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS-
Halifax Explosion- nobody helped the coloureds of NS/White Trash foster kids of
WWII/Nova Scotia our black history- Human Rights and Freedoms in Canada- Nelson
Mandela-South Africa Canada Dec 7 2013 http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2013/12/canada-military-news-halifax-explosion.htmlCANADA
and..
this is the blog I posted
showing appreciation 2 Boston and stories about the Halifax Explosion .... and
love 2 all of our Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotians of the day...simply 2 show
triumph over tragedy....in 1917
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Dec
5-6 2013-NOVA SCOTIA THANKS OUR BOSTON- Halifax Explosion Dec. 6 1917- Canada
thanks u- a beautiful journey of remembrance- of humanity
AND..
NOVA SCOTIA'S BLACK
LOYALISTS-Canada's Checkerboard Army- Segregated Schools Nova Scotia -telling
the truth-CANADA'S MILITARY- the honour, dignity, intelligence, duty- Boer, WWI
WWII , Korea, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, UN Peacekeepers- CANADA PURE
AND..
IDLE NO MORE CANADA- WAR
1812- it mattered- War of 1812 Bicentennial Highlights Unsung Aboriginal Heroes
in Canada’s Creation
AND..
BLOGGED
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: South
Pole Wounded Warriors Allied Challenge-Incredible story and victory of 4
counries of Wounded Warriors - Antartica 2 South Pole- Victory run/walk
success- in harshest climates- UK/Canada/Australia and USA- The Journey and
success proving 2 a billion folks proudly- disabilities are abilities in
disguise- did we make u proud- u surely did and do..Environmentalists could NOT
make it.... u ran and walked it.... the world rejoiced and Santa and NORAD
hugged u along the way.The Journey 2 Victory blogged daily- December 2013/O
CANADA TROOPS- we love u so- honour
AND
blogged
IDLE NO MORE CANADA- One
Billion Rising- Breaking the Chains- Global abuse of Aboriginals First Peoples-
Canada/USA/Australia/New Zealand/Latin America - UNITED NATIONS SHAME- all
politicans have betrayed Canadians 10,000 year peoples
AND...
BLOGGED
BLOG: CANADA MILITARY NEWS:
Why we are in Afghanistan- BUT ? have politicians and UN betrayed Nato troops-
REMEMBER 158/PTSD/SOS/WOUNDED WARRIORS -God bless Canada
and..
BLOGGED:
Hey world... what happens when ur VIDEO
GAMEBOY KILLERS- butchering innocents in Muslim on Muslim wars return home 2UR
'civilized' nations from Muslim on Muslim on let's just kill wars???/F**KING
PAEDOPHILES/INDIA RAPES THEIR DAUGHTERS FREES THEIR SONS
and
BLOGGED
CANADA MILITARY NEWS:
Remember United Nations was formed on the ashes of the Jewish
Holocaust/SYRIA-MIDDLE EAST cares so little 4 Muslim Women and children- Canada
must step away and fix ourselves and walk away from United Nations- they are
NOT saviours of the world’s women, children and poor – they just feed
$$$killing and terror it seems- why should one nation follow UN and heretic
muslims wipe their arses on the Geneva Convention… let’s fix our selves- our
Nato troops- our Canada/CANADA NEEDS 2 STEP AWAY FROM COUNTRIES DRAWING NEW
BOUNDARIES ie… EU –RUSSIA/NEWS
-------------
Have many blogs here on our
incredible Black people of Nova Scotia- especially Black Royalists.... along
with IDLE NO MORE THE FIRST PEOPLE OF THE AMERICAS 10,000 years.... and all our
cultures, Acadian, Scots, Irish, Asian, European, French, Africas, Russias and
Muslim Nations... because Canada is a land of immigrants.... especially our
forefathers who built this nation coming here with just their bare hands, a
Bible, raw courage and a dream.... hugs and love 2 all Canada.... and because
of Ukraine... we may have 2 fight the good fight once a bloody again....
because 4 Ukrain 2 go back 2 the slavery of Putin of Russia's USSR building...
is just wrong.... just wrong...
... this is the time of the
Christ child... celebration... our beautiful children... and the child in all
of us...and remembering our troops then, now, always
BLACK HISTORY NOVA
SCOTIA William Hall Nova Scotia-
Victoria Cross -4 Bravery-
Crimean War
1853 – 1856
Crimean war memorial
monument, general view
Crimean War Monument-
Halifax Nova Scotia- the oldest and only one in Canada- old Burial Grounds
A rare pre-Confederation war
memorial
Officially unveiled 17 July
1860
-----------------
Canada's Black-Negro
Soldiers
Introduction
Image: Black soldiers have
had a long history of defending Canada. The Volunteer Military Company from
Victoria, BC, active between 1860 and 1864, served during the American Civil
War (photograph by Charles Gentile, courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-022626).What
are the forgotten stories of African-Canadian history? There are several, and
their absence has led to many misconceptions about the role of Black people in
the development of Canada.
One fact is that the first
African arrival took place over 400 years ago with interpreter Mathieu da
Costa. Since that time, Black people have been constantly coming into Canada
helping to build it. Another is the idea that Black people have not "paid
their dues," have not served in any military defense of Canada, that Black
people are not pulling their weight or taking the level of responsibility that
they should as good citizens of Canada.
However, the reality is that
African-Canadians have volunteered in every case for active duty, and persisted
even when they were not wanted. In order to help defend Canada, separate Black
units were created, the first one, on the initiative of African-Canadian
Richard Pierpoint. Black people have consistently defended the interests of
Canada, or the British controlled territory of Canada from the time of the
American Revolutionary War through to the Mackenzie Rebellions and the present.
Whether they were born in
Canada, or newcomers supporting the direction that Canada was taking,
African-Canadians have been ongoing defenders of this nation, allowing us all
to experience the freedoms that we have today.
Rosemary Sadlier
Image: Black soldiers have
had a long history of defending Canada. The Volunteer Military Company from
Victoria, BC, active between 1860 and 1864, served during the American Civil
War (photograph by Charles Gentile, courtesy Library and Archives
Canada/C-022626).
--------------
ONE BILLION RISING- BREAK
THE CHAINS OF ABUSE- NO MORE EXCUSES- WOMEN AND CHILDREN MATTER CANADA..
BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Nov
15- Project Spade- Global Child Porn Ring Pervs BUSTED- check out news around
planet-BUT CANADA-2 busy FORDing it and PM Hopeful telling kids 2 smoke
dope?/PAEDOPHILE HUNTING/Rehtaeh- Bullying Statistics Canada- Global- Horrifying
scary/Breaking the Chains of Abuse- no more excuses… One Billion rising
----------------
CANADA: OUR TROOPS- CANADIAN LOVE- Standing Strong & True (For Tomorrow) Official Music Video (HD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuNeV0fMflw
WeSaluteOurHeroes1·3 videos
for more info: www.wesaluteoutheroes.ca
------------
CARTOON
GOD IS LAUGHING- Westboro Baptist hate on r troops- especially those KIA- they r the Jane Fonda and John Kerry of our Vietnam- Burn Baby Burn
They r before the devil with their signs: God hates fags! You're going to hell! Thank God 4 dead soldiers! and the devils laughs and says: "AS IT TURNS OUT, GOD ACTUALLY HATES SMALL MINDED BIGOTED, BLIND FANATICS....
AND..
GOD ROARS WITH LAUGHTER-so do we -Westboro Baptist Church neighbour paints house in gay pride-God bless our troops - and all the families who mourn those waiting on us
---------------
Pls. hug r vets, all serving r flags, troops, wounded, homeless and hurting- from.. home and away-yelling real, real, loud or signing- HELL YA...u all make us soooo proud.... thank u, thank u, thank u
2 families of Nato Nations from Nato troops- Do We Make U Proud:
Tribute to all the NATO and ISAF soldiers in Afghanistan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2CF1i31iXU
-----------
Canadian women in the services
Women, Peace and Security - Prevention
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVie_59Bdpw
Women have a significant role to play in NATO to help resolve and prevent conflicts.
War and conflict often affects women and children more than men.
Recognizing the important role women play in building peace, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on 31 October 2000.
The Resolution called for an end to the historic inequality of male and female participation in resolving conflicts.
This short film examines how NATO is working to protect women and children in its areas of operations, and to increase the participation of women at every level to prevent future conflicts.
----------------
THANK U GRANDPA
Canada
Dieppe Bell Commercial - thank u
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd1FNPx_YN4
----------------
The Trews - Highway of Heroes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrkgV5bl7kQ
"Highway of Heroes", was co-written and co-produced by The Trews and Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar) and was inspired by the 2006 death of Captain Nichola Goddard from The Trews' hometown of Antigonish, NS. Canada's Highway of Heroes, is the section of the MacDonald-Cartier freeway named to honour those who have sacrificed all in service of country.
You can purchase "Highway of Heroes" world-wide exclusively via iTunes. http://bit.ly/dbVi6d
ALSO
Remembering Canada's son's and daughters.... and all those beautiful Canadian children we have lost..... and to our 6,000 wounded.... we got your backs.... of that you can be sure.... no political games on this one... we will ensure it gets fixed... and fast..... God bles you all.- and all our Nato Coalition Sons and Daughters from 47 countries.... we are still here.... each and every day..
158 Canadian soldiers, two aid workers, one journalist and one diplomat have been killed since the Canadian military deployed to Afghanistan in early 2002.
------------------
CANADA'S TROOPS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
Portraits of Honour (Canadian Forces) 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJY2rWt29YQ
The hand painted Portraits of Honour 10' x 50' mural features the faces of the 157 Canadian Forces troops who have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan.
The Portraits of Honour National Tour will travel across Canada starting June 1, 2011.
For more information, visit www.portraitsofhonour.ca
or call 1-888-9-HONOUR
comment:'
Visited Dave at the studio, there are now 158 portraits on the canvas.
Amazing tribute.
------------------
Every Day is Women's Day folks- 64% of this planet's people 4 women and girls- Break the Chains of Abuse- no more excuses
FROM NOVA SCOTIA TO AFGHANISTAN- WOMEN MARCH- 1 BILLION RISING
The dancing demonstrators of One Billion Rising - EURONEWS- IN AFGHANISTAN- THEY MARCHED-
Breaking the chain of violence against girls and women-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IuIycEFgVQ
http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Billion-Rising-Canada/519388444743471
-----------------
IDLE NO MORE CANADA
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY IS EVERY DAY-CANADA'S FIRST NATIONS-
Vigil 4 Murdered women First Nations Canada
and..
One Billion Rising - 2013 - Curve Lake First Nation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMjOWsWcml8
-One Billion Rising 2013 at Curve Lake First Nation near Peterborough Ontario
-Started at the Whetungs store and went out to the highway, and back (8kms each way)
-----------------
for NEDAs AND MALALAs
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY IS EVERY DAY- FOR NEDA- IRAN 2009
Another Brick In The Wall (Hey Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone!)
CANADA'S BLURRED VISION- WITH PERMISSION FROM CANADA'S PINK FLOYD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIP38eq-ywc
Visit the official Blurred Vision website to connect with the band - http://www.blurredvisionmusic.com
Download the single on Itunes, proceeds donated to Amnesty International.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/anot...
Directed by Babak Payami
http://www.payamfilms.com
----------------------
Let's break the chains of abuse of women and children on this planet- when women legislated by UNITED NATIONS AND USA AS EQUAL- there will be no more wars- just education and empowerment imho
One Billion Rising-Break the Chains (Short Film)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl2AO-7Vlzk
-----------------------
EVERY DAY IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY- no more abuses- no more excuses
ONE IN THREE WOMEN WILL BE BEATEN, RAPED OR MURDERED ON THIS PLANET....Global Girl Power Rising... and this is NOT just valentine's day...it's every day..... ONE BILLION RISING
One Billion Rising Lunapads & AFRIpads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWSjCdMxsS0
---------------
CANADA
One Billion Rising - Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LinrSwJXcTM
Published on Jan 27, 2013
I'm Rising Because..."Over 50% of Canadian women by the age of 16 will have experienced at least one incident of sexual or physical violence. Why Would You Not Take Action? "
Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam is Rising with One Billion Rising Toronto on February 14, 2013.
Thank you to fb.com/onebillionrisingtoronto for posting this Canadian perspective. Danya Daccash, M.S.W.
~ http://www.telephonecounsellingforwom...
~ http://www.facebook.com/danyadaccash
-----------------
Martin Kruze - beautiful Canadian son... I WAS A PAEDOPHILE'S DREAM... suicide in his 20s... life smashed 2 pieces by paedophiles as a young boy with hockey dreams in Toronto...
CHILD ABUSE SURVIVOR ... AND THOSE WHO DID NOT MAKE IT... MONUMENT- Toronto, Canada- 4 the victors over childabuse- and those who did NOT make it...
... Millions come from around the world... 2 reflect, heal and pray and feel the billions of abused kids around the world... still... and pray 4 them... IT IS THE ONLY CHILD ABUSE HEALING MONUMENT ON THE PLANET- God Bless Canada
DR. IRVING IS A CHILD ABUSE SURVISOR- way 2 many were not
The Survivor Monument Project was active at its Birch Avenue studio from 1997 to 2003.
Survivor and supporter participation in creating the quilt squares of the Child Abuse Monument was completed in 2003. In May of 2005 The Survivor Monument Project finished its work at the Birch Studio. Dr. Irving has continued to be directly involved in the fine art bronze casting of the large Monument figures.
When funding permits, Dr. Irving will complete the bronze casting of the second "Reaching Out" figure.
http://www.irvingstudios.com/child_abuse_survivor_monument/index.html
-------------
GET THE POINT- IT'S LIKE CHER SAYS 2 question r u a feminist still??
Cher on the art of the comeback
A conversation with Cher on working with Lady Gaga and singing for Jackie O
by Elio Iannacci on Sunday, September 8, 2013 8:00pm
Q: So many young performers like Taylor Swift don’t want to identify as feminists. Why is that?
A: What is the bad connotation with feminism? When women have full control of their bodies, when women get paid exactly the same as men, when everything that happens for men happens for women, I can stop calling myself a feminist.
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/08/on-singing-for-jackie-kennedy-working-with-lady-gaga-and-the-art-of-the-comeback/
-------------------
CANADA: OUR TROOPS- CANADIAN LOVE- Standing Strong & True (For Tomorrow) Official Music Video (HD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuNeV0fMflw
WeSaluteOurHeroes1·3 videos
for more info: www.wesaluteoutheroes.ca
------------
CARTOON
GOD IS LAUGHING- Westboro Baptist hate on r troops- especially those KIA- they r the Jane Fonda and John Kerry of our Vietnam- Burn Baby Burn
They r before the devil with their signs: God hates fags! You're going to hell! Thank God 4 dead soldiers! and the devils laughs and says: "AS IT TURNS OUT, GOD ACTUALLY HATES SMALL MINDED BIGOTED, BLIND FANATICS....
AND..
GOD ROARS WITH LAUGHTER-so do we -Westboro Baptist Church neighbour paints house in gay pride-God bless our troops - and all the families who mourn those waiting on us
---------------
Pls. hug r vets, all serving r flags, troops, wounded, homeless and hurting- from.. home and away-yelling real, real, loud or signing- HELL YA...u all make us soooo proud.... thank u, thank u, thank u
2 families of Nato Nations from Nato troops- Do We Make U Proud:
Tribute to all the NATO and ISAF soldiers in Afghanistan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2CF1i31iXU
-----------
Canadian women in the services
Women, Peace and Security - Prevention
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVie_59Bdpw
Women have a significant role to play in NATO to help resolve and prevent conflicts.
War and conflict often affects women and children more than men.
Recognizing the important role women play in building peace, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on 31 October 2000.
The Resolution called for an end to the historic inequality of male and female participation in resolving conflicts.
This short film examines how NATO is working to protect women and children in its areas of operations, and to increase the participation of women at every level to prevent future conflicts.
----------------
THANK U GRANDPA
Canada
Dieppe Bell Commercial - thank u
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd1FNPx_YN4
----------------
The Trews - Highway of Heroes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrkgV5bl7kQ
"Highway of Heroes", was co-written and co-produced by The Trews and Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar) and was inspired by the 2006 death of Captain Nichola Goddard from The Trews' hometown of Antigonish, NS. Canada's Highway of Heroes, is the section of the MacDonald-Cartier freeway named to honour those who have sacrificed all in service of country.
You can purchase "Highway of Heroes" world-wide exclusively via iTunes. http://bit.ly/dbVi6d
ALSO
Remembering Canada's son's and daughters.... and all those beautiful Canadian children we have lost..... and to our 6,000 wounded.... we got your backs.... of that you can be sure.... no political games on this one... we will ensure it gets fixed... and fast..... God bles you all.- and all our Nato Coalition Sons and Daughters from 47 countries.... we are still here.... each and every day..
158 Canadian soldiers, two aid workers, one journalist and one diplomat have been killed since the Canadian military deployed to Afghanistan in early 2002.
------------------
CANADA'S TROOPS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
Portraits of Honour (Canadian Forces) 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJY2rWt29YQ
The hand painted Portraits of Honour 10' x 50' mural features the faces of the 157 Canadian Forces troops who have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan.
The Portraits of Honour National Tour will travel across Canada starting June 1, 2011.
For more information, visit www.portraitsofhonour.ca
or call 1-888-9-HONOUR
comment:'
Visited Dave at the studio, there are now 158 portraits on the canvas.
Amazing tribute.
------------------
Every Day is Women's Day folks- 64% of this planet's people 4 women and girls- Break the Chains of Abuse- no more excuses
FROM NOVA SCOTIA TO AFGHANISTAN- WOMEN MARCH- 1 BILLION RISING
The dancing demonstrators of One Billion Rising - EURONEWS- IN AFGHANISTAN- THEY MARCHED-
Breaking the chain of violence against girls and women-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IuIycEFgVQ
http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Billion-Rising-Canada/519388444743471
-----------------
IDLE NO MORE CANADA
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY IS EVERY DAY-CANADA'S FIRST NATIONS-
Vigil 4 Murdered women First Nations Canada
and..
One Billion Rising - 2013 - Curve Lake First Nation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMjOWsWcml8
-One Billion Rising 2013 at Curve Lake First Nation near Peterborough Ontario
-Started at the Whetungs store and went out to the highway, and back (8kms each way)
-----------------
for NEDAs AND MALALAs
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY IS EVERY DAY- FOR NEDA- IRAN 2009
Another Brick In The Wall (Hey Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone!)
CANADA'S BLURRED VISION- WITH PERMISSION FROM CANADA'S PINK FLOYD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIP38eq-ywc
Visit the official Blurred Vision website to connect with the band - http://www.blurredvisionmusic.com
Download the single on Itunes, proceeds donated to Amnesty International.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/anot...
Directed by Babak Payami
http://www.payamfilms.com
----------------------
Let's break the chains of abuse of women and children on this planet- when women legislated by UNITED NATIONS AND USA AS EQUAL- there will be no more wars- just education and empowerment imho
One Billion Rising-Break the Chains (Short Film)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl2AO-7Vlzk
-----------------------
EVERY DAY IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY- no more abuses- no more excuses
ONE IN THREE WOMEN WILL BE BEATEN, RAPED OR MURDERED ON THIS PLANET....Global Girl Power Rising... and this is NOT just valentine's day...it's every day..... ONE BILLION RISING
One Billion Rising Lunapads & AFRIpads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWSjCdMxsS0
---------------
CANADA
One Billion Rising - Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LinrSwJXcTM
Published on Jan 27, 2013
I'm Rising Because..."Over 50% of Canadian women by the age of 16 will have experienced at least one incident of sexual or physical violence. Why Would You Not Take Action? "
Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam is Rising with One Billion Rising Toronto on February 14, 2013.
Thank you to fb.com/onebillionrisingtoronto for posting this Canadian perspective. Danya Daccash, M.S.W.
~ http://www.telephonecounsellingforwom...
~ http://www.facebook.com/danyadaccash
-----------------
Martin Kruze - beautiful Canadian son... I WAS A PAEDOPHILE'S DREAM... suicide in his 20s... life smashed 2 pieces by paedophiles as a young boy with hockey dreams in Toronto...
CHILD ABUSE SURVIVOR ... AND THOSE WHO DID NOT MAKE IT... MONUMENT- Toronto, Canada- 4 the victors over childabuse- and those who did NOT make it...
... Millions come from around the world... 2 reflect, heal and pray and feel the billions of abused kids around the world... still... and pray 4 them... IT IS THE ONLY CHILD ABUSE HEALING MONUMENT ON THE PLANET- God Bless Canada
DR. IRVING IS A CHILD ABUSE SURVISOR- way 2 many were not
The Survivor Monument Project was active at its Birch Avenue studio from 1997 to 2003.
Survivor and supporter participation in creating the quilt squares of the Child Abuse Monument was completed in 2003. In May of 2005 The Survivor Monument Project finished its work at the Birch Studio. Dr. Irving has continued to be directly involved in the fine art bronze casting of the large Monument figures.
When funding permits, Dr. Irving will complete the bronze casting of the second "Reaching Out" figure.
http://www.irvingstudios.com/child_abuse_survivor_monument/index.html
-------------
GET THE POINT- IT'S LIKE CHER SAYS 2 question r u a feminist still??
Cher on the art of the comeback
A conversation with Cher on working with Lady Gaga and singing for Jackie O
by Elio Iannacci on Sunday, September 8, 2013 8:00pm
Q: So many young performers like Taylor Swift don’t want to identify as feminists. Why is that?
A: What is the bad connotation with feminism? When women have full control of their bodies, when women get paid exactly the same as men, when everything that happens for men happens for women, I can stop calling myself a feminist.
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/08/on-singing-for-jackie-kennedy-working-with-lady-gaga-and-the-art-of-the-comeback/
-------------------
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