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Tag: Russia

  • Crimea: Ukraine Withdraws Amid Sanctions

    Thousands of Ukrainian troops are preparing to withdraw from Crimea, as Western leaders begin sanctions against Russia for attempting to annex the region. “We are working out a plan of action so that we can transfer not just servicemen, but first of all, members of their family who are in Crimea, quickly and effectively to mainland Ukraine,” Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Andriy Parubiy said according to the Daily Mail. The withdraw could consist of 25,000 troops and may leave many more stranded on the peninsula. Many of these troops are rumored to have already defected to Russian forces.

    The Associated Press reported that Wednesday, only a day after Russia signed a treaty to move forward with annexation, that Crimean self defense force stormed the gate of the Sevastopol naval base. Russia then quickly arrived with its Black Sea Fleet.

    Later that day, Russian troops seized another base in Bakhchisaray. Ukrainian troops offered no resistance. As Ukrainian navy Major Eduard Kusnarenko told Reuters: “Russian troops came and asked us to leave the base, which we did,”

    In the West, German Chancelor Angela Merkel said the European Union was prepared to further raise sanctions against the Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, she said: “The European Council will make it clear today and tomorrow that with a further deterioration of the situation we are always prepared to take level 3 measures, and those will without a doubt include economic sanctions.”

    On Tuesday, Russia issued an executive order admitting the “Republic of Crimea” into the Russian Federation.

    The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, tweeted in response to Russia’s moves to annexation:

    In a statement, the European Commission said: “The sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine must be respected. The European Union does neither recognise the illegal and illegitimate referendum in Crimea nor its outcome. The European Union does not and will not recognise the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation.”

    Image via RT, Youtube

  • Mikhail Gorbachev: Crimea Annexation is ‘Happy Event’

    Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, has proclaimed Crimea’s vote to join Russia as a “happy event.”

    In comments published on Russian news website Slon.ru, Gorbachev supported the referendum vote that will lead to the annexation of Crimea, saying it was a just and accurate reflection of Crimean residents’ free will.

    Indeed, Gorbachev sees the vote and its repercussions as the righting of a Soviet-era wrong.

    “Earlier Crimea was merged with Ukraine under Soviet laws, to be more exact by the [Communist] party’s laws, without asking the people, and now the people have decided to correct that mistake. This should be welcomed instead of declaring sanctions,” he said on Monday.

    Gorbachev added that the Crimean referendum may set a precedent for Russian-speaking residents of eastern Ukraine.

    Crimea’s Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev has said the same thing: “I think the second step will be east Ukraine.”

    “I think that in the east of Ukraine approximately 70 percent, 75 percent want to join to Russia,” Temirgaliev added, referencing studies performed by unnamed sociologists.

    Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the so-called resolution to the Crimean crisis. Some world leaders, including many in the United States, see the vote as one that was carried out under intimidation and the threat of violence.

    On Tuesday, while speaking to a group of university students at the State Department, Secretary of State John Kerry said the situation has generated a “nationalist fervor which could, in fact, infect in ways that could be very, very dangerous. All you have to do is go back and read in history of the lead up to World War II, and the passions that were released with that kind of nationalistic fervor.”

    Kerry’s predecessor Hillary Clinton had equally strong words about the Crimean situation and Moscow’s actions:

    “What Putin did is illegal; it is against international law,” the former Secretary of State said in an address to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on Tuesday.

    “This is a clash of values, and it’s an effort by Putin to rewrite the boundaries of post-World War II Europe. And if he’s allowed to get away with that, then I think you’ll see a lot of other countries either directly facing Russian aggression or suborned with their political systems — so they’re so intimidated that, in effect, they are transformed into vassals, not sovereign democracies.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Hillary Clinton: Russia’s Move To Annex Crimea Is Illegal

    Presidential possibility and former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, made some strong comments about the Russian appropriation of Crimea on Tuesday. She described Russia’s actions as an affront to “our values” that will set a dangerous precedent if left unpunished.

    “What Putin did is illegal; it is against international law,” Clinton said during a speech in Montreal just after Putin signed treaties with Crimea’s Moscow-backed leaders.

    She additionally warned that Putin’s reasons for invading Crimea, could be extended to other parts of Ukraine, as well as Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

    “It’s not because we gave the poor little Baltic States NATO protection. And people need to say that, and they need to be very clear: This is a clash of values, and it’s an effort by Putin to rewrite the boundaries of post-World War II Europe. And if he’s allowed to get away with that, then I think you’ll see a lot of other countries either directly facing Russian aggression or suborned with their political systems — so they’re so intimidated that, in effect, they are transformed into vassals, not sovereign democracies.”

    She added, “I hope there’s not another Cold War,” when asked if that was how she saw the conflict playing out. “Obviously, nobody wants to see that. I think that’s primarily up to Putin.”

    The United States earlier this week announced strong sanctions targeting officials tied to the crisis on Monday.

    Clinton, who recently likened Putin’s moves in the Ukraine to those of Adolf Hitler’s in the 1930s, warned that allowing Russia to escape relatively unscathed from its actions in the Ukraine sends a problematic message.

    “What Putin did is illegal,” she said.

    “How far this aggressiveness goes, I think, is really up to us,” she said. “I would like to see us accelerating the development of pipelines from Azerbaijan up into Europe, I’d like to see us looking for ways to accelerate internal domestic production [in places like Poland] … and just really go at this in a self-interested, smart way. Russians can only intimidate you if you’re dependent upon them.”

    When asked about her political future Clinton has signaled she could make a decision about running for president this year, restating that she hasn’t made up her mind yet. But she said she will “continue to do everything I can to respond to these legitimate needs and concerns of people I have worked with and represented.”

    Image via YouTube

  • World War 3: Are We Really Talking About This Again?

    The notion of a third World War was of real concern during the Cold War between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. Both sides had nuclear weapons, and acronyms like M.A.D. (mutually-assured destruction – the idea that if either side started, both sides would be wiped out) and an “arms race” kept tensions high but real actions at bay.

    The World War 3 trope ran through out movies. The villains in films in America had Russian accents. The color red, bears, sickles, hammers, and big coats with furry hats were all anathema to Yanks until the late 1980’s when Sting convinced us that the Russians surely must love their children, too.

    We watched Ronald Reagan shake hands with Mikhail Gorbachev, felt sure that we had SDI (a “strategic defense initiative”, commonly called “star wars”), and relaxed a bit. Turns out we didn’t have SDI at all. We bluffed, and the Soviets bought it. Then the big, red giant developed some money problems. America was left to stand alone as the only superpower that mattered.

    Hell, we even went to Russia for the Olympics.

    For a while after 9/11, the notion of a World War 3 sparked by rogue nations or groups that had obtained nukes (always from someone in Russia) got traction. We still see movies with that plot. Sometimes they have Korean accents now, too, though most Americans snicker at the idea of North Korea ever getting within spitting distance of an American flag, much less our homeland.

    World War 3 has been firmly a Hollywood construct for some time. Until now.

    Now the idea is in real news again The U.S. has “warned” Russia about its interference in the recent events in Ukraine. Russia has warned back. Russia fired a dummy nuke in a show of force. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on some Russian officials it sees as responsible for the upheaval in Ukraine.

    The Inquisitr reports that former Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk stated:

    “Does Russia not understand that this is the beginning of World War 3?”

    And now Reuters reports that a news presenter with Russian state television has said:

    “Russia is the only country in the world that is realistically capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash.”

    Behind him was a green-screen backdrop of a nuclear mushroom cloud.

    In America, there is a saying: Them’s fighting words.

    Cooler heads tend to think that any kind of World War 3 scenario would end up badly for everyone involved. Maybe this is just big talk and headline-grabbing bluster.

    But hearing it with a Russian accent after all these years sure makes some people’s eyebrows raise.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • U.S. Warns Russia for Interference In Ukraine

    The Obama administration and its European allies have not succeeded in preventing Russia from overtaking Crimea, a region of Ukraine.

    Now, the administration’s challenge is to keep the Russians from overtaking other regions of Ukraine, as they expand their military forces into other areas.

    President Obama has spoken with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin at least once a week during this crisis, the latest call had the White House stating that a referendum “would never be recognized by the United States and the international community” and that “we are prepared to impose additional costs on Russia for its actions.”

    Today, President Obama issued an executive order in freezing the assets and banning visas for Russians who the U.S. deemed responsible for the seize of Crimea and for interfering with Ukrainian sovereignty.

    Many of the Russian officials targeted were top aides or allies of President Putin, and the White House threatened to go after more if Russia did not back down.

    Europe also placed their own sanctions on Russia on Monday, targeting 21 Russian officials. Their list partially overlapped with the American list, according to Obama administration officials; however, the names will not be released until Tuesday.

    “We’re making it clear there are consequences for these actions,” President Obama said in a televised statement in the White House briefing room on Monday morning. “The international community will continue to stand together to oppose any violations of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

    He repeated that Russia can still back down. “Going forward, we can calibrate our response based on whether Russia chooses to escalate or de-escalate the situation,” he said. “Now, I believe there is still a path to resolve this situation diplomatically.”

    The order has frozen any assets owned in the United States by the targeted Russians, disallowing them any access as well as cutting off any business dealings with the U.S. This action also influenced foreign banks and other institutions not to do business with them either, officials said.

    The sanctions are the second round approved by President Obama. The first round banned visas for nearly a dozen Russian and Ukrainian individuals but did not include financial measures.

    As Russian-backed military forces surrounded Ukrainian troops in the Crimea, Senator Christopher S. Murphy said the United States will hold Russia “personally responsible” for the well being of the Ukrainian marines and others.

    “I pray to God they don’t open fire,” Murphy said by phone. If Ukrainian troops are harmed, he said, “there’s going to be hell to pay for Russia from the West.”

    Senator John McCain said the U.S. needs a “fundamental reassessment” of its relationship with Putin.

    “No more reset buttons,” McCain said on CNN. “Treat him for what he is. That does not mean re-ignition of the Cold War, but it does mean treating him in the way that we understand an individual who believes in restoring the Old Russian Empire.”

    Even though President Obama’s target list was much more expansive than the first, he held off more severe sanctions in an effort to leave room for further action if necessary. “We have the ability to escalate our actions in response to Russian actions,” a senior administration official told reporters.

    These sanctions involving President Putin’s circle are sure to provoke a countermove by Russia, which has threatened to go after American officials and interests if Obama took such action.

    U.S. officials stated that they are “braced” for some kind of Russian retaliation, but said, “Russia stands a lot more to lose from political and economic isolation than the United States. The world is with us.”

    Image via YouTube

  • US Imposes Sanctions on Russia Due to Crimean Crisis

    Monday morning, the White House announced its second set of sanctions imposed against Russian and Crimean government officials and “cronies” due to the recent referendum passed in Crimea announcing the region’s intentions to separate from Ukraine and join with Russia.

    President Obama has signed an executive order which will block the financial assets and suspend any travel visas for certain Russian officials deemed to be supporting actions detrimental to Ukraine’s international sovereignty.

    In all, 11 Russian and Crimean officials were targeted by the sanctions:

    – Vladislav Surkov: Presidential Aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
    – Sergey Glazyev: Presidential Adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
    – Leonid Slutsky: State Duma deputy; Chairman of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration, and Relations with Compatriots
    – Andrei Klishas: Member of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Federation Council Committee of Constitutional Law, Judicial, and Legal Affairs, and the Development of Civil Society.
    – Valentina Matviyenko: Head of the Federation Council
    – Dmitry Rogozin: Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
    – Yelena Mizulina: State Duma Deputy.
    – Sergey Aksyonov: Interim Prime Minister of Crimea
    – Vladimir Konstantinov: Speaker of the newly-formed Crimean parliament
    – Viktor Medvedchuk: Leader of Ukrainian Choice, a pro-Russian Ukrainian civilian group.
    – Viktor Yanukovych: Former Ukrainian President

    “We have fashioned these sanctions to impose costs on named individuals who wield influence in the Russian government and those responsible for the deteriorating situation in Ukraine. We stand ready to use these authorities in a direct and targeted fashion as events warrant,” stated a release from the White House regarding the sanctions.

    The sanctions come on the heels of a referendum passed on Sunday in which 97 percent of Crimeans voted to separate from Ukraine and join Russia. The referendum also established an independent Crimean government separate from the interim government currently functioning in Ukraine.

    Following the passing of the referendum on Sunday, President Obama called Vladimir Putin to address the illegality of such a referendum being passed and supported by the Russian government. The reasons for the call were to remind Russia that its actions were in obvious violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and “that a diplomatic resolution cannot be achieved while Russian military forces continue their incursions into Ukrainian territory and that the large-scale Russian military exercises on Ukraine’s borders only exacerbate the tension.”

    The territorial dispute over Crimea is a fall-out from the tension between Ukraine and Russia following the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych, the former President of Ukraine and pro-Russian supporter, due to Yanukovych’s failure to sign an economic deal partnering with the EU and instead succumbing to Russian coercion.

    Following said ousting and the establishment of an interim Ukrainian government, Russia started sending troops to Crimea in order to “protect” ethnic Russians who were supposedly being persecuted by Ukrainian nationals. As it stands, no evidence has been given to support such a claim.

    Image via YouTube

  • Serene Superyacht Docks in Manhattan

    Serene, one of the largest superyachts in the world, has found safe harbor in Manhattan. The vessel is owned by Yuri Scheffler, the man behind vodka brand Stolichnaya. The yacht’s presence in the United States is speculated to be connected to the current unrest in Ukraine and Russia over the latter’s annexation of Crimea, and that the Russian oligarch may have decided to go to safer waters.

    The truth is that the vodka magnate is in New York on business. Scheffler’s company SPI Group was started in Russia, but is now based in Luxembourg. Scheffler himself hasn’t been to the motherland in 12 years and is now a British citizen. He has also been battling the Russian government for years.

    Scheffler has publicly expressed his discord with the Russian government, which had tried to seize his company and its assets. When he refused to give up the company in 2003, Scheffler was issued a warrant for his arrest. This goes to show that Scheffler certainly is no Putin crony.

    In an email, Scheffler wrote that if Russia were a democratic country with a proper legal system, things would be different. However, given the circumstances in Russia where “there is only one law, and it’s called ‘Putin’,” he can only feel sorry for the Crimean people. “This is terrible when a country captures a neighbor’s territory.”

    Serene was built by Italian shipyard Fincantieri Yachts and was designed by Espen Oeino. It was delivered to Scheffler in August 2011. The massive vessel measures 439.3 feet in length and has five levels. Onboard amenities include several pools and Jacuzzis, a playroom for children, an indoor climbing wall, and an underwater viewing room. There are cabins for 52 crew and 24 guests, and two helicopter landing platforms. It was designed and built according to the regulations of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, giving the yacht an edge in terms of overall safety.

    So big you can land a helicopter on it

    Serene Yacht In All Its Glory


    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Newt Gingrich Eyeing Sec. of State Position?

    In a Twitter rant last month, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich sounded-off against current Secretary of State John Kerry for comments he made in a speech to students in Jakarta, Indonesia, going as far as to ask John Kerry to resign from his position as Secretary of State. So what was the subject of the comments that got Gingrich in such a tissy? None other than the Republican Party’s greatest enemy: climate change.

    In speaking to Indonesian students, Secretary of State Kerry stated that climate change is “the greatest challenge of our generation” and that “climate change can now be considered another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction.”

    Gingrich took great exception to both comments, going to Twitter to speak his disapproval:

    One could debate the validity of Kerry’s or Gingrich’s statements all day and wind-up achieving zero progress. Thus, perhaps the more interesting question is, “Why in the world would Gingrich care so much about what Kerry has to say?”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfktxYF5x4Q

    While Gingrich was a presidential candidate in 2012, he has been irrelevant on the political scene for quite some time. He now spends his days hanging out as the lone out-spoken Republican at CNN.

    His position at CNN allows him the perfect opportunity, though, to have a national media outlet serve as his personal soap-box and campaign platform. Gingrich took full advantage of this situation yesterday by publishing an essay at CNN.com entitled “Beyond empty symbols, a serious strategy for dealing with Russia.”

    In his scathing critique, Gingrich states that the United States needs to do something more than spout “liberal symbolism” in order to deal with the threat of Russia: “What we have so far is symbolic liberalism offering words, symbolic liberalism flying around the world from capital to capital having meetings, and symbolic liberalism targeting narrowly a handful of people in a way that will have no impact on Putin. What we could have is serious, robust action that would have a genuine and immediate impact and would weaken Russia’s ability to act aggressively toward its neighbors.”

    What is Gingrich’s plan to for action, you ask? Well, it’s fairly simple, actually. All Gingrich wants to happen if for President Obama to create multiple executive orders which lead to the construction of the Keystone Pipeline and also opens up the exportation of natural gas to Eastern Europe. Through this plan, Gingrich hopes to lower the international price of natural gas so much that it will cripple Russia’s economic stranglehold on Eastern Europe and thus save the day…. Just like Gingrich’s good ol’ pal Reagan did in order to bring down the Soviet Union….

    One can only think that by lambasting John Kerry on Twitter and by releasing his plan of action to solve an international crisis that no one has been able to properly assess and address yet that Gingrich is prepping himself to become the next Secretary of State for whichever Republican presidential candidate wins the 2016 election.

    Or perhaps Newt is just being Newt. Who knows? It’s American politics, after all.

    Image via YouTube

  • USS Truxtun Deployed to Black Sea Amid Crimea Crisis

    Early Thursday morning, the USS Truxtun, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was deployed from Greece towards the Black Sea.

    The move comes as part of supposedly scheduled and routine drill procedures with the Romanian and Bulgarian naval forces in the Black Sea. Once the USS Truxtun reaches its destination, it will work with the other two navies in order to conduct joint maneuvers and to learn how to land aircraft on the carriers.

    The destroyer is part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, which was stationed originally in the Mediterranean and has plans to move its base of operations to the Middle East soon.

    The US Navy and federal government have made several statements assuring the world that this move has nothing to do with the mounting tensions in Crimea and Ukraine lately, with Navy spokesman Lt. Shawn Eklund stating, “Truxtun’s operations in the Black Sea were scheduled well in advance of her departure from the U.S.”

    However, the move does come at a time when the United States military has recommitted itself to defending democracy in Central and Eastern Europe; Not only has the US moved one of its destroyers closer in proximity to the situation unfolding in the Crimea, but the United States military has also committed six F-15s to Lithuania and 12 F-16s to Poland, along with 300 men: “We are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders,” stated President Obama from the White House Thursday. Obama would go on to add that the US is seeking “to reaffirm our commitment to the security and democracy of our allies in Eastern Europe.”

    Currently, the USS Truxtun is the only naval ship present in the Black Sea besides the USS Taylor, a guided-missile frigate which ran aground in Turkey earlier this year.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Rob Serry, UN Representative, Threatened In Crimea

    Tensions continue to rise in Ukraine. This time hostile pro-Russian’s threatened a UN representative.

    On Wednesday an envoy, United Nations Robert Serry, went to Ukraine’s Crimea on a diplomatic mission, but his mission ended before it could even really start when armed men stopped him.

    The unidentified armed men told Serry he needed to leave Crimea. Serry said the men also told him “they have received orders…. to bring me immediately to the airport.” The men never shared who gave them the orders.

    The UN representative added that the men also said, “it was in my own safety. I refused and a standoff ensued.” Serry also noted that his driver was pulled from the car at one point.

    Serry was trapped inside a cafe he sought shelter in when the hostile group began to crowd around him. After a two hour standoff and a conversation with the mission, Serry agreed to abandon his mission and was escorted to a car to take him to the airport by police. During all this the crowd was shouting, “Putin! Putin!”

    During a phone conversation from Kyiv, UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told New York reporters, “He was not kidnapped but he was seriously threatened…this action should be seriously condemned.”

    “I hope this serves as a reminder to all how dangerous the situation has become in the Crimea. There is a very urgent need to de-escalate this situation. All those who are responsible and can do that must have cool heads, lower their rhetoric and fix this situation. I am very worried for what would happen if there is bloodshed. There are people in the Crimea who actually behaved there with a lot of self-restraint,” said Serry.

    Serry is now in Instanbul and admits he was never worried for his own life.

    New pro-Russian prime minister of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov justified the threats made against Serry. Aksyonov is quoted as saying, “We did not send them an invitation.”

    UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement that Serry “will shortly return to Kiev to continue his mission, which was cut short by today’s incident.”

    Here’s hoping an incident like Wednesday’s, or worse, doesn’t happen again.

    One person on Twitter commended Serry for reacting calmly during the crisis.

    Many took to Twitter to voice their opinion on the incident in Crimea.

    Image via YouTube.

  • Ukraine: European Union To Offer Billions In Aid

    Ukraine has been in economic trouble for some time, and it’s only getting worse.

    Frustration over the country’s money troubles was what lit the fuse ahead of massive protests late last year. Citizens, particularly pro-European Ukrainians, longed for a stronger economic connection to the rest of Europe. They believed being part of the European Union was the right way forward.

    However, former president Viktor Yanukovych believed that it was in the interest of Ukraine to strengthen ties with Russia instead.

    His walking away from the EU and into lockstep with Russian President Vladmir Putin touched off a firestorm of protest.

    Since Yanukovych was forced to flee Kiev, a new government has formed in his absence. In addition to scrambling to assure its legitimacy, the government is seeking a way to move away from Russian influence and onto the path of independent economic stability.

    Despite Putin promising billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Russia continues to sit on most of it. This is largely as a result of the outcome of the recent protests, which saw the pro-Russian government toppled. Putin also made the decision to send troops into the Crimean peninsula. He has since claimed the act was an effort to protect ethnically Russian citizens. However, the location has long served as a strategic military position for the Russians, one they clearly do not intend to give up.

    The move to send in troops to surround military bases has been viewed Ukraine and much of the international community as nothing short of a military invasion and possibly an act of war.

    It’s clear that despite the disapproval of Russia’s actions, many want to avoid what could spiral into a “third world war” scenario. This has lead countries to look at a financial solution to the situation in Ukraine.

    The United States recently put together $1 billion in aid to help Ukraine. The New York Times has reported that the European Union is working on a possible $15 billion aid package for Ukraine over the next two years.

    It is hoped that between the United States and Europe, the aid will help the Ukrainians find their foothold.

    There remains talks of heavy sanctions against Russia should they continue to occupy Ukrainian territory.

    Image via YouTube

  • Ukraine Braces For War, Hopes For The Best

    Ukraine Braces For War, Hopes For The Best

    Ukraine is in the grips of a terrifying sense of deja vu brought on by an increasingly aggressive Russia.

    Following the successful ouster of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, the fledgling Ukranian government has attempted to steer its troubled nation in a direction towards joining the European Union. The move has been fought every step of the way by Russian President Vladmir Putin, who views parts of Ukraine as too valuable a strategic location to surrender to the West.

    Even so, Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula over the weekend can be viewed as unjust in that it’s not Russian territory and has not been for decades.

    Ukraine has been its own independent nation since 1991, when the parliament declared the country an independent democratic state and elections were first held. This includes the pro-Russia, but ultimately Ukrainian, territory of Crimea.

    Now, nearly twenty three years after the bloody separation that lead to its independence, Ukraine is on the threshold of war with neighboring Russia. Putin received permission from the Russian parliament to send troops to Crimea in a move he claims is meant to protect the ethnic Russians of the region.

    It had earlier been speculated that Yanukovych had been hiding in the region in a bid to escape arrest. It has now been confirmed that he is in Russia, hoping to use his connections in Moscow to make a return to power.

    The pro-Western citizens of Ukraine are expected to once again march of the capital city Kiev in a display of condemnation against Russia sending soldiers into the country and an affirmation of the desire of the new government to break ties with Moscow and embrace the rest of Europe.

    The response to the military aggression of Russia in Ukraine has by the international community has been overwhelmingly negative. President Obama was said to have engaged in a rather heated exchange with with Putin over the phone. The stance of the White House is that Putin’s sending thousands of troops into Crimea was a blatant violation of “Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

    Despite Ukraine making preparations for war with Russia, leaders are hoping for the best. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk remained optimistic that war would ultimately be avoided based on the fact that it would jeopardize forever the relationship between the two countries.

    Image via YouTube

  • Sarah Palin Owns Giant Future-Predicting Telescope?

    Many Americans still remember the joke made by Tina Fey in a return to SNL to play the role of Sarah Palin back in 2008.

    While introducing herself, Fey’s version of Palin stated in a folksy, matter-of-fact way that she could, “see Russia from [her] house.” As funny as it was at the time, this joke was actually borrowed from an interview with ABC News‘s Charlie Gibson:


    Palin: …We have got to keep our eyes on Russia…And, Charlie, you’re in Alaska. We have that very narrow maritime border between the United States, and the 49th state, Alaska, and Russia. They are our next door neighbors.We need to have a good relationship with them. They’re very, very important to us and they are our next door neighbor.

    Gibson: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

    Palin: They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

    Palin’s recent attempt to claim credit for having somehow predicted the troubles in Ukraine in 2008 seems to suggest that she spent a good portion of her time as governor on that Alaskan island, watching the Russians with a kind of giant telescope.

    A giant, future-predicting telescope that enabled Palin and Palin alone to know exactly who was doing what in Russia and Ukraine, and to then predict with absolute perfection the exact outcome of ongoing tensions in the region. All of this despite having no access to high levels of intelligent information of American or Russian origin.

    Mind-blowing.

    All joking aside, it is possible that Palin may have been right about Russia pushing its weight around in order to maintain strategic military positions in countries that border it.

    But then, that was never the criticism aimed at Palin back in 2008. The criticism is the idea that anyone who wants to know what Russia is planning can go to an island and stare across the water at Russian land. Proximity alone does not generate intelligence.

    That would be like me going to the outskirts of Washington D.C, standing there for a few minutes and saying aloud, “You know something? I think that members of Congress are working on passing a bill of some kind. I don’t know what kind, but I know they’re there. And I know there’s some kind of legislative process happening.”

    Also, let’s not forget the biggest holes in Palin’s “I told you so” argument:

    – Palin had no way of knowing that hundreds of thousands of people would flood the Ukranian capital in protest of Viktor Yanukovych’s pro-Russian agenda.

    – She had no way of knowing that protesters would continue their fight despite being exposed to freezing conditions and increasingly hostile Ukranian security forces.

    – She did not know that despite the bloodiest confrontation in the nation’s history, the protesters would ultimately take the capital.

    – She did not know that Yanukovych would successfully flee the country instead of being arrested or murdered.

    In actuality, despite her smug claims, the only thing she’s really attempting to take credit for is something that is obvious to anyone who knows anything about Russia’s military behaviors in relation to land bordering their country in strategic locations. The sort of things that are…well….predictable.

    Predictable in a way that does not require setting foot on an island in Alaska to draw such a conclusion. Predictable with or without the mystical future-predicting telescope.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Obama Warns Russia Not To Use Force in Ukraine

    President Obama, in a brief statement on Friday, said he was “deeply concerned” over reports that Russian troops are meddling in Ukraine as their men took up positions in Ukraine’s Crimean region.

    “We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside Ukraine,” Obama said at the White House. He added, “It would be a clear violation of Russia’s commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty and borders of Ukraine and of international laws.

    “Any violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilizing, which is not in the interest of Ukraine, Russia or Europe,” he said.

    Earlier on Friday, Ukraine’s interior ministry accused Russia of a “military invasion and occupation,” saying Russian troops have taken up positions around a coast guard base and two airports on its strategic Crimea peninsula.

    Reports indicate that it is unnerving to those in Ukraine, citizens and travelers alike, having multitudes of masked men with assault rifles who are blatantly ignoring warnings from Kiev of military meddling. And statements from the ousted Ukrainian president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, saying that the country had been taken over by fascists and “bandits.”

    The city’s only military presence is unmarked, unidentified gunmen who seized the Parliament building as well as a governmental office complex this week. And Simferopol International Airport was swirling with unconfirmed rumors that Russian troops had taken over Crimea’s main television station, a central post office and other strategic locations.

    Residents also exchanged information, apparently more grounded in reality, about sightings of Russian military transport planes landing at airports.

    “This is an open but unannounced aggression by the Russian Federation against the territory of Ukraine,” said Refat Chubarov, the leader of Crimea’s indigenous population of Tatars. He also said Russian military helicopters had violated Ukrainian sovereignty by flying into Crimea without permission.

    He added, “People of Crimea don’t want to submit and they will not submit to Bandera thugs.”

    The White House on Thursday urged Russia to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty amid the events unfolding on the Crimea peninsula.

    “We strongly support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” said spokesman Jay Carney. “We expect other nations to do the same. And so we are closely watching Russia’s military exercises along the Ukrainian border.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Ali Fedotowsky And Katherine Heigl Rescue Stray Dogs In Sochi

    For the past few months, Russia’s government has been working hard at getting rid of hundreds of stray dogs to prepare for the Olympics. Now, it seems as if more stray dogs in Sochi will find good homes in America. After the Olympic Games, some U.S. athletes took home stray dogs that they have gotten to love during their stay in Sochi.

    Ali Fedotowsky, former Bachelorette and E! News Correspondent for the Olympics, has also adopted two stray puppies from Sochi. Ali is working together with actress Katherine Heigl to find homes for the beloved pups that she has decided to rescue.

    Katherine, together with her mother Nancy, patiently waited at the Los Angeles International Airport for Ali to arrive with the two puppies in tow. Ali named one puppy Sochi, and the other, Adler, after a town in Russia located near Sochi. According to Ali, Sochi the dog was not so energetic during the flight and fell a bit sick. The puppy had been throwing up and had not had anything to eat for 15 hours.

    Sochi and Adler will be staying with Katherine and her mother until they have found a loving home for the pups. Katherine is an animal lover and has seven dogs. She is also the co-founder of a shelter called Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, named after her brother who died in 1986.

    Katherine says that this particular rescue was new for her, as it is the first time that they are rescuing a puppy from a different country.

    Both puppies have already had their first checkup. Adler was treated for coughing, while Sochi has been diagnosed with parvo or canine parvovirus, and will be receiving the appropriate treatment. Both puppies will be quarantined for about two weeks to a month before they can go up for adoption.

    Ali Fedotowsky And Katherine Heigl Play With Puppies

    Image via Ali Fedotowsky, Twitter

  • Carolina Kostner Wins Bronze, Atones for Vancouver

    Italy’s Carolina Kostner won the bronze medal in women’s figure skating in Sochi on Thursday.

    The 27-year-old native of Bolzano, Italy scored 74.12 points in the short program and 142.61 in the free skate for a total of 216.73. That put her in third place behind Russia’s surprise gold-medal winner Adelina Sotnikova (224.59 points) and South Korea’s Kim Yu-na (219.11 points.)

    On her personal website, Kostner called Wednesday’s short program performance “a very touching moment,” but it was Thursday’s free skate that gave her a personal best score.

    It was a redeeming accomplishment after a fairly disastrous free skate in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. She fell three times and managed only one clean triple jump, finishing in a disappointing 19th place.

    The Turin 2006 Winter Olympics were marginally better, but discouraging nonetheless, considering she was performing on her home turf. She placed ninth.

    Post by Carolina Kostner.

    At one point, Kostner considered quitting:

    “After Vancouver I thought that was it,” she said recently. “I thought I would stop skating. I thought that was my end.”

    But she realized that she enjoyed the sport too much to quit.

    “It was really hard times,” she said. “So I told myself, no results any more, just skating. And that’s what I started skating for, right? Not to be known or anything.”

    She went on to win the prestigious 2011 Grand Prix final. Then, in 2012, she won the world championships in Nice, France. She took second place in the same competition in 2013 in London. She also won the European championships in 2012 and 2013.

    Post by Carolina Kostner.

    “I wanted to skate because I love it,” she said of why she decided to continue after Vancouver. “The hard times make you understand what you really want and I’m really glad that I continued and honored to have experienced everything that I have in the past years.”

    Today’s Kostner has been praised for her poise and lyricism, called mature and aware.

    “So long we have been thinking of Carolina as the artist,” said 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski, “but her technique; she took everything down a grade and then built it back up these last four years. That was the whole package. ”

    Kostner’s competitor, American figure skater Ashley Wagner, also had words of praise:

    “Her lows are definitely low … We have all seen her have some really rough skates. It is impressive she doesn’t let that become entirely the skater she is. To come back so strong and put it together mentally and physically is impressive.”

    Kostner could easily have called it quits after winning the world championship, but instead decided to stay in the game.

    “When an artist becomes a master, it’s his best time,” Kostner said. “I love to do it. I’m not ready to give that up yet.”


    With an Olympic bronze medal to mitigate the pain of Turin and Vancouver, it looks like Kostner made the right decision.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Adelina Sotnikova Wins Women’s Figure Skating Gold

    Russian figure skater Adelina Sotnikova won the gold medal in women’s figure skating in Sochi on Thursday.

    The win was a minor upset for South Korea, and a record setter for Russia.

    Sotnikova scored an overall 224.59 points, with 149.95 of those coming from Thursday’s free skate win. Sotnikova came in a close second to South Korea’s Kim Yu-na in the women’s short program on Wednesday.

    However, Kim finished well behind Sotnikova in the free skate on Thursday, earning 144.19 points for a total of 219.11. Kim, who won the gold at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, won the silver in Sochi.

    Although Kim skated a flawless routine, she landed only six triple jumps for Sotnikova’s seven, and trailed in her technical component score.

    Italy’s Carolina Kostner won the bronze, scoring a personal best of 142.61 in the free skate. It was a sweet victory for Kostner, who failed most of her jumps in the free skate in Vancouver in 2010.

    “After Vancouver I thought that was it,” she said recently. “I thought I would stop skating. I thought that was my end.”

    Sotnikova’s win makes her the first Russian to win an Olympic gold medal in women’s singles figure skating.

    “This is the happiest day in my life,” Sotnikova said. “I simply stepped on the ice today and realized how much I like what I’m doing and skated really good.”

    Even within her own country, few expected Sotnikova to take home the gold medal. Instead, all hopes were focused on Yulia Lipnitskaya. Lipnitskaya won first place in both the team women’s short and free skate, contributing to Russia’s gold medal in the inaugural team figure skating event.

    She was expected to challenge Kim for the gold in the individual competition.

    But Lipnitskaya came in a disappointing fifth place in the individual short skate on Wednesday, after falling on her triple flip.

    “I wanted to skate my best today, but it didn’t work,” she said. “I’ve lost control over my jumps — tiredness and emotions.”

    Lipnitskaya ended up in fifth place overall in the individual competition.

    American figure skating favorite Gracie Gold took fourth place.

    Although she didn’t end up on the podium, American Ashley Wagner defied her detractors by winning a respectable seventh place overall.

    America’s Polina Edmunds came in ninth.

    Sotnikova’s was the host country’s third figure skating gold medal, following first place wins in pairs and team skating. The victories have served as a comeback from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, where Russia failed to win a single figure skating gold medal.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ashley Wagner Takes Sochi Olympics Internet Memes in Stride

    Ashley Wagner doesn’t seem to be bothered by the internet memes that are circulating about her.

    The American figure skater has become well-known during the Sochi Olympics for her entertaining facial expressions.

    The first Wagner meme surfaced following her February 8 team short skate. Wagner quickly went from all smiles to a shocked and disappointed expression upon seeing her score.

    The score earned her fourth place in the event, behind Russia’s Yulia Lipnitskaya, Italy’s Carolina Kostner, and Japan’s Mao Asada.

    Despite Wagner’s obvious disappointment, she scored the US figure skating team 7 points, which was enough for them to win the bronze medal in the inaugural team figure skating event.

    One meme included a superimposed photo of Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, who some credit with starting the Olympic meme trend during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Maroney was caught on camera looking less-than-thrilled to receive the silver medal in the women’s vault competition.

    Wagner posted one of the memes on her Instagram feed, calling it the best she’d seen so far:

    The 22-year-old world champion skater took sixth place in the women’s short skate on Wednesday. Judging from the look on her face upon seeing her scores, she once again expected them to be higher, but managed to recover her smile more quickly than she did on February 8.

    Other memes of the Sochi Olympics have poked fun at Russia for its lack of preparedness, and for its president’s dour expressions.

    No one was safe from the memes during this Olympics, from NBC sportscaster Bob Costas, who has suffered an eye infection throughout the games, to little old ladies making flawed attempts at photography:

    Image via Twitter

  • For Ashley Wagner, Sochi Performances Have Been Redemptive

    No one could blame American figure skater Ashley Wagner for wanting to prove her detractors wrong in Sochi.

    And Wagner is holding her own at the Winter Olympics. She finished sixth in the women’s short program on Wednesday. And she earned fourth place for her team short program on February 8, helping Team USA win the bronze medal in the inaugural Olympic Figure Skating Team Event on Sunday.

    Wagner was a controversial pick for the US Olympic team.

    The 22-year-old finished in fourth place at the US figure skating nationals competition in Boston in January. It was a disappointing experience for Wagner, who had taken first place the prior two years. She fell twice, and has admitted since that nervousness made her legs feel like “lead” in Boston.

    Many thought Mirai Nagasu, who finished third in Boston, should have been the Olympic team pick.

    But Wagner’s strong performance in the international arena earned her the spot instead. She has performed especially well at Grand Prix events and was in fact the 2012 and 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard champion.

    “It is tough to hear people try and take away my accomplishments,” Wagner said. “Those two nights at nationals didn’t reflect me overall as a skater, and I am glad that [U.S. Figure Skating] recognized that.”

    Has her performance in Sochi been redemptive?

    “To the people who doubted I belonged on this team, yes,” she said after her fourth place finish in the team short skate. “But really it was more about proving to myself that I could get beyond that competition and that I wasn’t a nervous wreck and that I was that strong, hard-headed competitor that I know that I am and that my mother has been dealing with for 22 years, so that was good for me.”

    She’s being called a wild card, but depending on how she performs in the free skate on Thursday, Wagner still has a chance to end up on the podium.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ashley Wagner Says “You Can’t Just Be A Zombie”

    Twenty-two-year-old U.S. figure skater Ashley Wagner is a world-reknown athlete who knows how to thrill and entice a crowd. The talented skater coins herself as “Figure skater. Two-time US National Champion. Ice cream enthusiast” on her Twitter account. Wagner recently explained the importance of maintaining a unique balance in order to become a champion capable of performing memorable ice-skating routines. In order to captivate an audience, a skater must adhere to technical knowledge and guidelines as well as showcasing an individual personality. Wagner understands this balance all too well.

    In a recent interview Wagner shared her thoughts on figure skating. “It is difficult because in a way to put on a performance you have to be emotional, you can’t just be a zombie out there or it will come across that way. It is about finding that happy medium of emoting enough so that the audience can really enjoy your performance and staying technical enough so that you can really just get the job done. The fighting spirit comes out in the pieces of music that I choose. I like to choose stronger pieces of music and honestly I like to become somewhat of a vicious character in my program. These characters that I take on fight for what they want and that’s really what I identify with,” she said.

    Though the Olympics can bring out the competitive nature in athletes, Wagner has learned that the true success of any athlete is achieved when challenging oneself. “In this crazy, crazy world of figure skating it is easy to focus on a name or a target, but when you are going after someone it really only holds you back from what you are capable of yourself. I am focusing on challenging myself and making myself better. I want to put out a program that will do the fighting for me.”

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ukraine: President Declares Truce Finally Reached

    If reports are to be believed, a truce has been declared between the Ukrainian government and anti-government protesters. This news comes just after a majorly violent clash, the worst seen in the country since Ukraine first broke away from the Soviet Union.

    The recent attempt by Ukrainian police forces to clear the main protester stronghold in Kiev resulted in at least 26 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

    Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych stated that the government and leaders of opposition forces are working together to find a common solution that will end the violence.

    While the details of the truce remain unknown, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko has said that the agreement means that security forces will not be marching on the protesters’ main encampment in the capital city.

    The protesters in have been camped out in Kiev for months, following a startling decision made by Yanukovych in late November of last year. The Ukrainian president chose to walk away from trade agreements with the European Union and instead embrace strengthening ties with neighboring Russia.

    The move has been lambasted by a number of Ukrainian citizens, mainly in Western Ukraine. These citizens view Yanukovych as a traitor to the interests of the nation and a puppet for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    The Ukrainian economy has been in trouble for some time, and the violent clashes with protesters has not done much to improve the nation’s standing in the world. Western nations are already preparing to sanction the troubled country. This may include a move by the EU to freeze the assets of the most powerful Ukrainian officials.

    The unrest has spread throughout much of Western Ukraine, as anti-government protesters have tried to find a way to force Yanukovych out of office.

    As for the current truce, there’s no telling how long it will last as Ukraine’s economic woes continue.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons