Ukraine, Crimea, and Russia

Ukraine's acting President, Oleksandr Turchynov, has said that they will not try and take back Crimea. Stating:



Adding:




Finally saying:




And that may be the case.

It's so interesting to see all these pictures coming out of these "maybe" Russian soldiers — who are not officially Russian soldiers.



Many see troops under Russian command aiming their weapons at just unarmed Ukrainian soldiers.



And then, finally, we have the leaders of the G7 Group of Nations warning Russia, and calling on them to stop all efforts to "annex" Ukraine's Crimea region.



And stating that if Russia took such a step, they would have to take further action, individually and collectively.



Conclusively, the principal point of this story is that everyone disagrees, and they all have weapons.

And really, that's where we are right now. There's a lot of talking. There's a lot of positioning. Both, reasons for Russia to enter, and reasons for Russia to stay out. Because no matter what happens, it won't just stop there. It's a domino effect situation. Nonetheless, the world will continue watching; and we'll see what happens next.

Update on Ukraine

After the allegations and dismissal I blogged about day before yesterday, Putin went on TV to talk.



In the speech he made some key points:

1. Affirming the Kremlin's right to use all options in Ukraine, but adding "there is no reason yet" to use military force.



He called Ukraine's current leadership illegitimate, and the ouster of the former Ukrainian President an "unconstitutional coup".



Russia also warned that they could reduce their dependency on the US dollar to zero. This in response to the possibility of sanctions against Russia, because of Ukraine. Adding that this would crash the financial system of the United States of America.



Putin also defended his threat to cut Ukraine's gas subsidy, because they did not pay their last bill.



He denied that Russian troops were surrounding Crimea, despite reports otherwise, and dismissed photos of troops with Russian insignia – alleging that those uniforms could be bought from any shop.



But, US President Obama has refuted those claims, saying he doesn't think that Putin is fooling anybody.



Then, just after that speech, US secretary of state, John Kerry did arrive in Ukraine.



This, of course, after the cold war-tastic White House offer of $1 billion in aid to the interim government in Ukraine.



Additionally, the White House pledged to support Ukraine in implementing economic reforms, holding fair elections, combating corruption, and withstanding politically motivated trade actions by Russia, including in the area of energy.



And then, in case you were wondering if the cold war was really back on or not: as part of Russia's military games, they tested intercontinental ballistic missiles.



Saying:



Or put the way it was intended, 'I just want to make sure our missiles work, in case anyone makes me want to use them'.

So, there we go, I guess, kind of a nice change of pace from a chaotic escalation, to a more passive aggressive escalation on both sides. And, we'll see what happens next, unless the US and Russia blow each other up. But who knows really?

An Update on Ukraine

I told you as the story develops, I would let you know what the hell's happening; and the update today is that no one knows what the hell's happening!

Parliament buildings, in Crimea, have been taken over by pro-Russia forces.





The protests are continuing in Ukraine.



They had America and Russia saying they would not do anything.



But then, all of a sudden, yesterday morning, BBC reported that Russian military gave Ukrainian forces until 3 AM, their time, on Tuesday, to surrender or face assault.





Another report saying that Russian troops had surrounded Ukrainian bases and manned roadblocks.







The EU foreign ministers have condemned Russian aggression.



Russian stock prices plummeted.



That resulted in the rouble hitting a new low against the dollar.



This all during Russia's war games really test their military readiness.



We have U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, flying to Ukraine.



And then, in the most recent bit of news, we have Russia saying that these reports that they gave an ultimatum, are total nonsense.



That said, Russia is still demanding that Ukraine reinstate a unity agreement made on February 21st. But, that would also mean that Ukraine would have to reinstate the now-ousted-former President. And so, I guess the main thing to take away from here is: there's a lot of information, and a lot of misinformation, and a lot of it looks the same.

Hopefully, soon, we'll see what actually happens; if that deadline is real, what happens when it passes. And, in another interesting takeaway from this, it'd be so interesting to see what happens with country relations, and even potential war!

Syria: The War of Perception and the Idea of Exceptionalism

President Bashar al-Assad has said that the reason Syria is giving over its chemical weapons has nothing to do with America.



Saying Syria is placing its chemical weapons under international control because of Russia; that U.S. threats do not influence the decision.



Assad adding that Syria would submit documents to the United Nations, for an agreement governing the hand-over of its chemical arsenal.



And (just really quick), before we go even further with this war of perception, Putin, who's obviously really good friends with the president of Syria, said two things that stood out to me.

The first was:



And, to that point, I agree. It's something I ask myself, and I think it's something many of the American people wonder. But, if one is to point out filth, he should wash his own hands. I've read two separate stories saying Syrian rebels received their guns from the United States; and then we have the Syrian government receiving aid from Iran and Russia. It's completely and horribly hypocritical. Nonetheless, it's still a very good question.

The second was:



Apparently, an editor removed "...unless you're gay". Ultimately, God may have created us equal, but we do live in different places. Some where, you know, there can be racism. And then, some, you can stone your 8-year-old wife to death because she probably looked at someone sexier than you by a long-shot. Proportionally, one of those situations is greater than the other.

Without a doubt, the idea of American exceptionalism is so hated by Mr. Putin, broadly because he thinks they claim to be the best in things they're not the best in. Personally, I do see America as exceptional in several ways: I think it's exceptional they don't jail political opponents, I think it's exceptional that they're not trying to arrest members of the Bloodhound Gang because they're expressing their distaste for the country by putting a flag down their pants.



Additionally, I think the USA is egregiously exceptional because they're slowly (as a big group) accepting their gay brothers and sisters; and that's what I think of when I see American exceptionalism, it's not that they're better. Admittedly, the U.S. is kinda fucked up, they don't have it all altogether (no country does, not even mine). They have some good things though, and they're striving to be better. In my honest humble opinion, the idea of exceptionalism is only bad if it's blind and without humility. Even Mr. Putin was deemed to be exceptional compared to his opponent (unless his elections are rigged).



All of that typed, Putin is just playing the liberal western media and everyone else following it. And he's doing it so, so well.