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Violence in Ukraine: Can Russia or the West Make it Stop
Time ^ | Simon Shuster

Posted on 01/25/2014 7:29:37 PM PST by cunning_fish

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former leader of the Soviet Union, piped up on Thursday with a wake-up call for the Western world: Ukraine is now everybody’s problem. The turmoil in its capital, where pitched battles have raged all week between protestors and police, “threatens not only Ukraine and her neighbors, but Europe and the entire world,” he wrote in an open letter to the U.S. and Russian Presidents. He was certainly right about Europe, which now has a real dilemma on its hands. The only question is whether Ukraine’s neighbors can do much to resolve it. For the West, there are few good options. Much of the influence the E.U. had over Ukraine was lost in November, when the country’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, refused to sign a trade and association deal with the E.U. That is what sparked the protests against him, while also bringing a flood of recriminations down on him from the West. Since then, he has practically become an outcast in Europe, so any further Western pressure “would have little impact,” says Alex Brideau, a Ukraine expert at the Eurasia Group, a consulting firm based in New York City. “His preference is the hardline approach rather than compromise.”

Russia, by contrast, holds a much stronger hand. After

(Excerpt) Read more at world.time.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Russia
KEYWORDS: alexbrideau; europeanunion; eussr; kerry; mikhailgorbachev; obama; revolt; revolution; russia; ukraine; unrest; viktoryanukovych
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1 posted on 01/25/2014 7:29:37 PM PST by cunning_fish
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To: cunning_fish

If Putin were really a public servant, he’d give the Ukraine back to the Ukrainians and kick the statist DickTaters out.


2 posted on 01/25/2014 7:32:32 PM PST by Paladin2
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To: cunning_fish
Getting really ugly over there. Lots of pics here:

http://zyalt.livejournal.com/984735.html

3 posted on 01/25/2014 7:34:17 PM PST by lightman (O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, giving to Thy Church vict'ry o'er Her enemies.)
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To: Paladin2

From the article it is that he does.


4 posted on 01/25/2014 7:35:33 PM PST by cunning_fish
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To: cunning_fish
Can Russia or the West Make it Stop

Sure.

Western Ukraine back to Poland. Eastern Ukraine back to Russia. 1 trillion new DM to Russia. East Prussia back to Germany.

What's the problem?

5 posted on 01/25/2014 7:36:19 PM PST by Jim Noble (When strong, avoid them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.)
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To: cunning_fish

No we can’t.


6 posted on 01/25/2014 7:38:25 PM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: cunning_fish

Its interesting that we didn’t see this level of handwringing in the western media when Prime Minister Erdogan cracked down on protesters in Istanbul, or subsequently when he dismissed large numbers of judiciary and police who were involved in an investigation of corruption in his administration.

But then Turkey has already kissed the ring of its EU paymasters.


7 posted on 01/25/2014 7:59:38 PM PST by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
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To: lightman

From the link at #3 It appears that the general population has come together to address is grievances with an over-reaching authoritive government. at the same time it also appears that that government is exercising restraint in that it using fairly normal riot control instead of brute force. Meanwhile basic services are not interrupted, the lights are still on, the water is working, food and supplies are getting to the protesters. It reminds me of Egypt when millions raised up to overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood.


8 posted on 01/25/2014 8:02:55 PM PST by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: Paladin2

Ukraine has very large natural gas reserves locked up in shale that if/when developed will cut deeply into Russia’s gas strangle hold on Europe. Follow the money!


9 posted on 01/25/2014 8:34:24 PM PST by WellyP (question!)
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To: cunning_fish

Violence in Ukraine: Can Russia or the West Make it Stop

Why should we do anything?


10 posted on 01/25/2014 8:48:02 PM PST by GraceG
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To: mac_truck

Its interesting that we didn’t see this level of handwringing in the western media when Prime Minister Erdogan cracked down on protesters in Istanbul, or subsequently when he dismissed large numbers of judiciary and police who were involved in an investigation of corruption in his administration.

Or what about the green revolution in Iran that we did nothing at all with because Obama din’t want to get involved, but then we got involved in Lybia...


11 posted on 01/25/2014 8:50:47 PM PST by GraceG
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To: mac_truck

Help me out here: because one, the other nothing? (Just trying to get into the Kremlin mindset).


12 posted on 01/25/2014 8:57:05 PM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: Jim Noble

Yeah 40 million Ukrainians will go for that.
How about we give Poland back to Germany. Then maybe the Ukrainians will think about it.


13 posted on 01/25/2014 9:00:01 PM PST by Kozak ("Send them back your fierce defiance! Stamp upon the cursed alliance! To arms, to arms in Dixie!)
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To: GraceG

Nice to see the support a European Christian nation, that suffered terribly under Communism gets around here.


14 posted on 01/25/2014 9:02:43 PM PST by Kozak ("Send them back your fierce defiance! Stamp upon the cursed alliance! To arms, to arms in Dixie!)
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To: WellyP

The money leads to Eurocrats trying to subvert officials in the Ukrainian government into joining the EU so that the EU can just take the fossil fuels, and on the other side we have the populace who desires to remain sovereign and develop those resources for the national benefit.

There are no twists and turns here.

This is pretty straightforward.


15 posted on 01/25/2014 9:03:57 PM PST by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: Kozak

[ Nice to see the support a European Christian nation, that suffered terribly under Communism gets around here. ]

ANY help that the US does would be in favor of the faction that wants to join the EU.....

The anti-EU faction has a far better chance if we don’t (as a nation) get involved in this.


16 posted on 01/25/2014 9:06:21 PM PST by GraceG
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To: GraceG
Dear Grace,

Thank you for all of your support.

Vladimir Putin

17 posted on 01/25/2014 9:10:03 PM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

[ Dear Grace,

Thank you for all of your support.

Vladimir Putin ]

So you want the Ukraine to be in the EU?


18 posted on 01/25/2014 9:11:51 PM PST by GraceG
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To: GraceG

Not gonna play that game with you, sorry. Unless—do you want Ukraine to be in the CIS (or whatever Vladi calls it nowadays)?


19 posted on 01/25/2014 9:14:31 PM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

Not gonna play that game with you, sorry. Unless—do you want Ukraine to be in the CIS (or whatever Vladi calls it nowadays)?

If the US “helps” it will be the Obama Admin “Helping’ and that doesn’t bode too well at all...

Libya, Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, etc etc....

Need I go on.....

We as individual should help, of course, but not the USA with the current POS in chief.


20 posted on 01/25/2014 9:17:04 PM PST by GraceG
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