Good one
Posted on 03/08/2014 11:45:09 AM PST by John Semmens
In rebuttal to President Obama’s assertion that having voters in the Crimea decide whether to be immediately absorbed into Russia or to first declare independence from Ukraine before being absorbed is illegal and “on the wrong side of history,” Russian President Vladimir Putin cited a 20th century precedent in justification.
“A plebiscite in which the people of a region decide their own fate is the most democrat way of resolving sovereignty issues,” Putin said. “We are not inventing this method. In 1938 it was used to allow the people of Austria to unite with their fellow ethnic Germans. Why should we not use it to permit the majority of ethnic Russians in the Crimea to reunite with their mother country?”
The presence of Russian troops in the Crimea, according to Putin, “will ensure that the fascist Ukrainian minority does not intimidate the Russian majority from freely expressing its wishes.” The Russian President intimated that he has similar concerns that ethnic Russians are being mistreated in other nations bordering his country and “would not rule out forceful intervention to secure their liberty from their oppressors.”
Perhaps the most tragic consequence of the Crimean crisis is that it may force President Obama to cut short his Florida vacation. The trip, his third vacation since January 1st of this year, is considered “vital to the nation,” according to First Lady Michelle. “How can Barack be expected to retain his image as the world’s most important and powerful man if a minor skirmish in a far off part of the world is permitted to disrupt his plans? Rather than allowing himself to be diminished by events he should rise above them by doing as he pleases.”
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news/semi-satire posts you can find them at...
http://azconservative.org/2014/03/08/seriously-ill-hurt-by-obamacare-a-tiny-minority/
The Anschlusski continues unimpeded...
Good job. It wasn’t until the next to last paragraph about Madame Michelle that I realized it was satire.
Good one
Just because it was intended to be satire doesn’t mean it is satire.
Another good one. Just getting better and better.
For some fun pop ‘Hawaii plebiscite’ in a search engine...
Notice that the option of Crimea becoming a independent state is not on the ballot. The Russians are going to count the votes.
there is no possibility of Crimea becoming an independent state. It is 60 to 77% (numbers vary on where you look) Russian. In any plebiscite it would become Russian, just as Srbska Republik in Bosnia Herzegovina would join Servia if it could..
Not when the option is not even on the ballot. To hear people tell it the Crimean choice is slavery as an Autonomous Republic of the Ukraine or be part of Putinstan.
There are areas of the Baltic states that have high numbers of Russians; Annex them too? Should we legitimize Stalin's Russification Program?
The Baltic and Finnic language of the baltic state are not slavic and the people are not either
If you want to nullify Stalin's move in the Ukraine then you need to create a separate Crimean Tatarstan, not give it to Ukraine.
Doesn’t seem that Putin needs much of an excuse.
your question was — should we let him take Crimea and comparing it to the Baltic states. Putin will do what he wants to do, but in the case of Crimea it’s not as black and white as the Baltic states.
I see, it is a better thing to occupy under force some sovereign states (which your nation vouchsafed) than other states. Based on what self serving logic?
If what Russia is doing in Ukraine is OK then why do they have guns?
A year ago only 23% of Crimeans wanted to join Russia.
you sad " it is a better thing to occupy under force some sovereign states (which your nation vouchsafed) than other states. Based on what self serving logic?" -- I said Putin will do what he wants to do --> using force to occupy any state's land is wrong
In the case of Crimea, Russia makes the case that this is Russian land given by Khrushchev
you said "If it is a better thing to occupy under force some sovereign states (which your nation vouchsafed) than other states. Based on what self serving logic?" --> i didn't say it was ok, just that it's not as black and white simple as Russia occupying Lithuania.
Russia signed an agreement (not the Soviet Union of Khrushchev) guaranteeing the sovereignty of the Ukraine including Crimea. That Russia went back on their word without seeking mediation from the UN seems pretty black and white to me.
and for hard-nosed reasons, it is the best place out for Russia -- Murmansk is too much tothe north while the Baltic sea can be shut off --> I'd suggest also reading Orlando Figes' book on the Crimean war for a deeper understanding
All of this doesn't negate the fact that Putin is legally wrong and we need to give him a shouting so that he doesn't get ideas about the Baltic states, -- I just point out how deep rooted Crimea is to the Russian psyche (well to be fair even Kiev)
Make no mistake Kiev (Kievan Rus’) is the Russian birthplace.
The tragedy is that the Moscowites have gotten away with calling themselves the only Russians while the others are to be assimilated.
The reality is reflected in the erstwhile Tsar's title of "Tsar of all the Russias" -- the various Rus principalities
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