Posted on 03/01/2014 12:36:02 AM PST by nickcarraway
The Russian leader wants to create a trade bloc to rival China, the EU and the US – others think the idea is a load of old pants
The good news is that it has more than trebled trade flows between its three current members. The bad news is that it may lead to a severe shortage of lacy bras in Russia and its neighbours – and possibly to a new cold war.
That's a rather flippant introduction to a weighty subject. Vladimir Putin's dream of a Eurasian Union, a vast trade and political bloc stretching from China to the edge of the EU, began taking shape in 2010 with the ECU, a free-trade customs union binding Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
A carelessly worded ECU regulation on the absorbency of non-natural materials has sparked colourful protests from wearers of lace underwear in the Khazakh city of Almaty. Experts warn that unless the law is changed by July 1, 90% of lingerie stocks in the union may have to be destroyed.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
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This is interesting - a Leftist Western newspaper poking fun at Putin. Is it just possible that Putin is out-of-synch with the goals of the American/European Left? And, if so, what does it mean?
First, Putin pranked 0bama into downing the President of Bolivia’s jet in a failed attempt to catch Snowden.
Second, Putin has turned 0bama’s Kiev protests against 0bama by seizing the Crimea.
One wonders if Putin’s third trick will be baiting 0bama into acting recklessly enough about the Crimea to cause Merkel to publicly condemn him...or even break up NATO.
After all, Putin doesn’t really *need* a free trade zone.
Putin has the gas. What will Europe and the Ukraine do without the gas?!
The world is turned upside down when I find myself more sympathetic to the Russian president than the American president. But don’t get me wrong - I remain very suspicious of Putin. I have just ordered a book on the resurgence of Orthodoxy in Russia, and how that relates to Putin. I am trying to put this all together. (I repeat: I am suspicious of Putin.)
I would be interested in knowing the name of the book you ordered.
I am reading a book about Putin. He is an unlikely leader, IMHO, but seems more than capable, unlike Obama. I, too, am suspicious but not nearly as suspicious of him as Obama. Time will tell.
The way US Foriegn Policy is going demonstrates that Obama is playing checkers while Putin is playing chess.
The book is “Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent: Faith and Power in the New Russia”, by John Garrard.
Thanks.
Putin is no Communist, he’s a nationalist. Leftists hate nationalists.
Time will tell on the communist thing, he definitely is not interested in liberty
Russians don’t do “Liberty”, it isn’t in their blood.
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