Ukraine's European Revolution?

[jimmy olsen]

Kerry's statement on this is significantly more harsh than Obama's been so far

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/03/222720.htm

John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 1, 2014

The United States condemns the Russian Federation's invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory, and its violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity in full contravention of Russia's obligations under the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, its 1997 military basing agreement with Ukraine, and the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. This action is a threat to the peace and security of Ukraine, and the wider region.

I spoke with President Turchynov this morning to assure him he had the strong support of the United States and commend the new government for showing the utmost restraint in the face of the clear and present danger to the integrity of their state, and the assaults on their sovereignty. We also urge that the Government of Ukraine continue to make clear, as it has from throughout this crisis, its commitment to protect the rights of all Ukrainians and uphold its international obligations.

As President Obama has said, we call for Russia to withdraw its forces back to bases, refrain from interference elsewhere in Ukraine, and support international mediation to address any legitimate issues regarding the protection of minority rights or security.

From day one, we've made clear that we recognize and respect Russia's ties to Ukraine and its concerns about treatment of ethnic Russians. But these concerns can and must be addressed in a way that does not violate Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, by directly engaging the Government of Ukraine.

Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken by Russia to deescalate tensions, the effect on U.S.-Russian relations and on Russia's international standing will be profound.

I convened a call this afternoon with my counterparts from around the world, to coordinate on next steps. We were unified in our assessment and will work closely together to support Ukraine and its people at this historic hour.

In the coming days, emergency consultations will commence in the UN Security Council, the North Atlantic Council, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in defense of the underlying principles critical to the maintenance of international peace and security. We continue to believe in the importance of an international presence from the UN or OSCE to gather facts, monitor for violations or abuses and help protect rights. As a leading member of both organizations, Russia can actively participate and make sure its interests are taken into account.

The people of Ukraine want nothing more than the right to define their own future – peacefully, politically and in stability. They must have the international community's full support at this vital moment. The United States stands with them, as we have for 22 years, in seeing their rights restored.

[Zanza]

Phasing out nuclear power had been decided before. They just  decided to do it faster...

And nuclear isn't replaced by gas anyway, so unlike Brain's claim there is no connection between one and the other.

[jimmy olsen]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26405082

10:03:

BBC Ukrainian editor Nina Kuryata in Kiev has received reports of Russian paratroopers threatening to storm Ukrainian army's marine battalion barracks in the village Perevalnoye, south of Simferopol. The battalion refused to hand in weapons and is preparing for assault.

11:20:

BBC Russian Service correspondent Oleg Boldyrev at the Crimean base in Feodosiya says the deadline has passed for Ukrainian marines to swear their allegiance to the new Crimean authorities. The base gates are blocked by a chain of Cossacks; two armoured personnel carriers are visible beyond that.


11:40:

Our Russian Service correspondent Oleg Boldyrev is near the gates of Ukraine's marines base in Feodosia, where a standoff is taking place after marines refused to pledge loyalty to the new Pro-Russian government in Crimea.

"Despite threats to attack the base, local Cossacks, who act as law and order here, continue to stand in a chain near the gates," he reports.

[Viking]

Phasing out nuclear power had been decided before. They just  decided to do it faster...

And nuclear isn't replaced by gas anyway, so unlike Brain's claim there is no connection between one and the other.

It's replaced by Brown Coal.

[Legbiter]

I have a feeling that Russia will do whatever it can to secure those pipelines. It will be "protecting the interests of Russia and - more importantly - those of their partners in the West."

But Ukraine is not a pipsqueak like Georgia and Russia isn't exactly the Soviet Union anymore, their elites stash their money in the West and send their kids to posh schools in the UK. Plus they don't have the manpower to defeat and fully occupy Ukraine.

The playbook could be; nab Crimea, hold a snap election at the end of the month to incorporate it into the Russian Federation and then offer to leave eastern Ukraine alone if certain "preconditions" are met by Ukraine. Laugh at feeble Obama boycotting the G8 summit.

[CountDeMoney]

Phasing out nuclear power had been decided before. They just  decided to do it faster...

And nuclear isn't replaced by gas anyway, so unlike Brain's claim there is no connection between one and the other.

Shuttering nuclear means relying on dirty power, and the costs to commercial and residential customers have increased accordingly;  so yeah, there is a connection when it comes to the energy commodities market.

Oh, and Germany's air pollution is going to see back-to-back year increases for the first time since the 1980's.  So suck on that, you dumbass fucking Krauts.

[Sheilbh]

Another impressive cleric. The Archbishop Klement of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church supporting Ukrainian marines:

[Viking]

I have a feeling that Russia will do whatever it can to secure those pipelines. It will be "protecting the interests of Russia and - more importantly - those of their partners in the West."

But Ukraine is not a pipsqueak like Georgia and Russia isn't exactly the Soviet Union anymore, their elites stash their money in the West and send their kids to posh schools in the UK. Plus they don't have the manpower to defeat and fully occupy Ukraine.

The playbook could be; nab Crimea, hold a snap election at the end of the month to incorporate it into the Russian Federation and then offer to leave eastern Ukraine alone if certain "preconditions" are met by Ukraine. Laugh at feeble Obama boycotting the G8 summit.

Well, I used to think that Georgia was safe because it wasn't some pipsqueak like Chechnia, it was a UN member nation with an organized army and international realtions.

[Queequeg]

Chechens are Fremen. Georgians aren't.

[Syt]

Shuttering nuclear means relying on dirty power, and the costs to commercial and residential customers have increased accordingly;  so yeah, there is a connection when it comes to the energy commodities market.

Big industry has its power consumption heavily subsidized.

[Zanza]

Shuttering nuclear means relying on dirty power, and the costs to commercial and residential customers have increased accordingly;  so yeah, there is a connection when it comes to the energy commodities market.

Not really.

[The Brain]

Phasing out nuclear power had been decided before. They just  decided to do it faster...

OK?

And nuclear isn't replaced by gas anyway, so unlike Brain's claim there is no connection between one and the other.

Germany won't use natural gas for power generation? Non-rhetorical.

[Zanza]

Germany won't use natural gas for power generation? Non-rhetorical.

Yes, it will. But not more than before. In fact, since the decision to phase out nuclear power earlier in 2011 the percentage of gas in electricity generation has dropped from 14% to 10.5% - a faster drop than nuclear by the way. Both drops were compensated roughly half by burning more coal and half by more renewable energy.
Meanwhile, we have bought less gas from Russia and more from Norway and the Netherlands.

OK?

I would have preferred if we had kept the nuclear power plants a while longer and phased out some coal plants first. But in the end, there was a broad consensus about phasing out nuclear power in Germany and the topic was toxic for our political system in that it gave way too much weight to the Greens. So overall it made sense to make that decision just to defuse the political situation. Otherwise we would have gotten the Greens much stronger, which would have led to even worse decisions on other topics.

[grumbler]

I'm a little tired of your dancing around Jacob.  Either make a point or cut bait.

Now THIS is irony! 

[Phillip V]

Will world oil prices rise due to this Ukraine crisis?