BREAKING NEWS - Malaysian airliner crashes on Russian-Ukrainian border

[Admiral Yi]

I've seen plenty of masked Lucha heels ("rudos") myself.

K

[Razgovory]

So are these sanctions really going to hurt Russia?

Well, Vienna hotels and luxury shops are moaning that they have a big dent in their revenue because Russian rich folk stay home.

Oh, so it's a twofer!

Just saw a story where Russian soldiers keep uploading their pics to instagram which pinpoints their locations.  It just so happens they are in a country that they aren't suppose to be in.

[derspiess]

Just saw a story where Russian soldiers keep uploading their pics to instagram which pinpoints their locations.  It just so happens they are in a country that they aren't suppose to be in.

  That's awesome.

[DGuller]

  FAKE!

[Ed Anger]

DG's location: the produce section of the supermarket.

[DGuller]

DG's location: the produce section of the supermarket.

[Grey Fox]

That's where you'll find....Blueberries.

[Eddie Teach]

DG's blueberries fell off a truck.

[DGuller]

Just saw a story where Russian soldiers keep uploading their pics to instagram which pinpoints their locations.  It just so happens they are in a country that they aren't suppose to be in.

  That's awesome.

At the end of the day, that's not going to matter, except for some pointless laughs.  Russia at this point probably realizes that the jig is up, and I fear that their reaction would be to not pull back in embarrassment, but to just invade outright.  To keep peace, of course.

[Syt]

http://rt.com/news/178484-putin-russia-sanctions-agriculture/

Putin bans agricultural imports from sanctioning countries for 1 year

A one-year ban has been imposed on certain agricultural produce, foods and raw materials from countries that have sanctioned Russia. A law on economic measures to protect the country's security has been signed by President Putin.

The decree "on the use of specific economic measures" has been signed in response to sanctions imposed on Russia by a number of states over the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin said on its website.

While the law comes into force immediately, the government has been tasked to come up with a concrete list of imports to be banned.

The decree orders the Cabinet to take measures to provide a balance on product markets and prevent rapid price growth. The government has also to join efforts with manufacturers, businesses and retail store chains to increase the Russian goods supply.

Meanwhile, ministers are already drafting a list of products that could be affected by the ban and it can be ready already on Thursday, Natalia Timakova, a press-secretary for PM Dmitry Medvedev told Vedomosti newspaper. However, the agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said it needs two to three days to prepare the list.

Last week, the European Union approved a new (the harshest so far) round of sanctions against Russia in addition to steps taken earlier. The package targeted financial, energy and defense sectors of the Russian economy. The so-called sectorial sanctions hit five Russian banks, including the country's biggest, Sberbank. The banks were banned from raising capital on the EU's capital markets. Also, the EU introduced an embargo on the import and export of arms and related material to and from Russia.

Speaking on Tuesday, ahead of signing the decree, Putin stressed that Moscow's response should be "cautious."

"Obviously we need to do it cautiously in order to support domestic manufacturers, but not hurt consumers," he said.

Putin described the political tools of pressure being used against the Russian economy as unacceptable and added that they go against international rules and norms.

A day earlier, Medvedev said that Moscow would consider possible responses to EU sanctions against Russian airlines.

Vedomosti daily has been reporting Russia would limit European flights to Asia that cross Siberia, in response to EU sanctions that caused Aeroflot subsidiary, Dobrolet, to suspend flights on Monday. However, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday the report was a baseless rumor.

The Russian Retailers' Association gave an assurance that the ban on agricultural imports will only affect the premium market segment, and ordinary customers will not feel the impact. The group's executive director, Andrey Karpov told RIA Novosti that the association will now reconsider the pool of foreign suppliers and increase the number of Russian vendors.

At the same time, a European diplomatic source told RIA Novosti news agency that the EU considers the restrictive measures counterproductive and unjustified.

[crazy canuck]

Excellent - a self imposed embargo of goods they need that the West didnt have the political will to impose.  That will show us!

[Syt]

Yeah, as far as embargoes go, that's a bit of a weird one. Unless he expects to massively shift imports to other trading partners as part of a strategy to disconnect from the West, economically.

[Solmyr]

Russia does produce a lot of its own food. It's crap, but still.

[Syt]

Besides, a lot of those embargoes are meaningless. Ship the goods to a third country, slap new labels on them, and done.

[Syt]

http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/743807

Lavrov declines to comment on rumours of Russia's airspace closure

UST KAMENOGORSK, August 06. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday declined to comment on rumours that Moscow might close its airspace to foreign airlines.
"Responsible states must think about how such actions can affect consumers and their own companies," the minister said.

There's been rumors on this, as the EU banned a Russian budget airline from its airspace, because it connects with Crimea.


Also, U.S. media are controlled by the State Department: http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/743746

I guess that'll be news to FOX.