Saber Rattling

The USS Ross, an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer enters the Black Sea.  Washington Times

This will be joined by the French Commandant Birot, the Canadian HMCS Toronto, and the Spanish Almirante Juan de Borbon.  RT

NATO plans to go ahead with the Rapid Trident exercise in western Ukraine as Russia plans to go ahead with a strategic nuclear exercise in Altai.

Meanwhile France suspends delivery of the Vladivostok, a Mistrel Class Helicopter Carrier.

Simon Ghesquiere/Marine Nationale

 

You Can't Fight In Here, This is the War Room!

Gandhi Would Be Proud

Troops at one of the last major Ukrainian bases in Crimea defiantly sang their national anthem on Saturday as Russian forces stormed their compound and demanded their surrender.  As the Russian force, bristling with heavy machine guns, over-ran the base, the Ukrainians realized it was pointless to try to fight back. Instead, they lined up on the parade ground and burst into song as the intruders held them at gunpoint.

American Thinker 

Meanwhile...

Ratcheting up the pressure on Russia, Chicago threatens to suspend sister-city agreement with Moscow.  Now at least four Chicago alderman — including Ald. Edward Burke (14^th) — have endorsed the resolution suspending the Sister Cities agreement with Moscow.  I'm sure Putin's reconsidering his actions as you read this.

Would We Honor Our Commitments?

The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Estonia

24.8% Russian, but Harju County is 36% Russian and Ida-Viru is 70% Russian.

Latvia

26.9% Russian, but Daugavpils is 54%, Rēzekne 46.5, and even Riga, Latvia's capital is 40% Russian.

Russification

Russification is a form of cultural assimilation process during which non-Russian communities, voluntarily or not, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian one.   One example of 19th century Russification was the replacement of the Ukrainian, Polish, Lithuanian, and Belarusian languages by Russian in those areas.  This was a common practice during the Soviet Era, with mass deportations, reeducation, and forced schooling in Russian. It also explains large Russian populations in places like Kazakhstan.

So the question is...

When Putin moves again to "protect" the next group of Russian speakers, and he will move again, what are we going to do?  Are we going to war for Estonia or Latvia?

Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war

Kremlin.ru

The dogs of war won't negotiate
The dogs of war don't capitulate,
They will take and you will give,
And you must die so that they may live

Russian Democracy Comes to the Ukraine

Reuters - Daily Mail

On the eve of the referendum vote in Crimea, Russian forces seized the town of Strilkove in Kherson outside of Crimea and its natural gas distribution facility.  Meanwhile Balaclava masked members of the Berkut are here to assist you in your vote:

1. Are you in favor of the reunification of Crimea with Russia as a part of the Russian Federation?

2. Are you in favor of restoring the 1992 Constitution and the status of Crimea as a part of Ukraine?

Reuters - Daily Mail

 GO ON... VOTE

Retaining Crimea’s current status,  is not an option. NYT

Here is a little light music to vote by:

“You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pre-text,”  John Kerry

Really? I'd like to ask John Kerry, who told you the rules had changed?   Where power, wealth, or land can be seized by force absent resistance it will be, and no amount of idyllic utopian dreaming is going to change that basic premise. 

The problems with pacifism aren't pacifists, it's everybody else.

Flash'd all their sabres bare

Richard Caton Woodville: Charge of the Light Brigade

The Crimea

The Crimea has had a long and convoluted history, a convoluted history that continues to this day. 

Yesterday's post was at the time it was written was intended to be a rather tongue in cheek warning about Russia and the Ukrainian situation.  It was, however, overcome by events prior to publishing, events that culminated in the Russian invasion of the Crimea.  An invasion that took place, at least according to the Russian foreign minister, on the pretext of an attack on the Crimean Interior Ministry.

"unidentified armed people who were sent from Kiev tried to take control of Crimea's Interior Ministry headquarters early Saturday in a treacherous provocation that induced casualties"

Now I call it a pretext simply because there is no corroborating evidence that such an attack ever took place.

Vladimir Krashevsky, a top official at the Simferopol-based division of the local berkut, or riot police, said there was no such attack by Kiev-allied gunmen on the Ministry of Internal Affairs building, where he gave an impromptu press conference Saturday afternoon. "There was no attack here and there won't be one," he said.

 Five people who live in the buildings next to the Interior Ministry in Simferopol that was allegedly attacked said everything was peaceful Friday night and they heard nothing.

There were no signs of struggle at the building complex—all the windows and gates remained intact—and pro-Russia activist militiamen stood outside with riot shields painted as a Russian flag. Alexander Shuvalov, the commander of the militia, which has been watching over the building complex, also said there had been no such attack. - WSJ 

In fact, nothing much was going on in Crimea at all that wasn't Russian or pro-Russian.

Impotence and Ineptitude

By all appearances, we've had another major intelligence failure as a Senate aide has reported that this past Friday's intelligence assessment was “Vladimir Putin’s military would not invade Ukraine”.

Obama's threats go unheeded and may have even backfired according to Yuri L. Vorobyov Deputy Speaker of Russia's Upper House, the Federation Council said Mr. Obama’s warning on Friday was a cause for Russia to act.

By saying that Russia would face “costs” for its policy with regard to Ukraine, U.S. President Barack Obama “crossed the red line and insulted the Russian people,”

Indeed, the best the administration can muster at this point is the  childish threat not to go to Putin's G8 party.

Russian Apologists

I've been amazed at the progressives, socialists, and liberals coming out in defense of Russian action in the Crimea.  It simply illustrates how out of touch they really are.  Who is Vladimir Putin? He certainly isn't a communist, nor is he a socialist.

Russia needs to develop a free market economy based on industry and middle size business as the growth potential of a resource based economy is exhausted.  Russia Today

But what is he? Nationalistic and authoritarian are two of the adjectives used to describe him.  The Russian propaganda line that the Euromaiden protestors are "neo-fascists"  is rather ironic, as Putin has been called that himself.  US economist Richard Rahn in the Brussels Journal called Putinism

“a Russian nationalistic authoritarian form of government that pretends to be a free market democracy”, which “owes more of its lineage to fascism than communism;”

Putin introduced a flat tax rate of 13%, reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 24%, and small businesses can choose between a 6% tax on gross revenue or a 15% tax on profits. 

He has also been accused of being both a cronyist and a corporatist.  In essence, Putin is everything the left has accused Republicans of being for years. 

The reality

Russia is in the Crimea and there is little we can do about it.  Putin has judged us perfectly, neither NATO, the EU, nor the United States will go to war for the Ukraine.  We have no leverage, globally we need Russia more than it needs us.  We may make a lot of noise but our bark is worse than our bite. 

Make no mistakes, Russia is in the Ukraine for Russia, not for the Ukrainians, the Crimeans, or the ethnic Russians.

As libertarians, we here at Western Hero, stand with both the Ukrainians and the Crimeans for their right to self-determination.  Without doubt, the Russian occupation of Crimea is conducive to neither.  

For our brothers in the Crimea

Meanwhile, back in the USSR...

 

Pussy Riot

"Putin Lights Up The Fires"

This state may be stronger than time in jail.
The more arrests, the happier it is.
Every arrest is carried out with love for the sexist
Who botoxed his cheeks and pumped his chest and abs.
But you can't nail us in the coffin.
Throw off the yoke of former KGB!
Putin is lighting the fires of revolution
He's bored and scared of sharing silence with the people
With every execution: the stench of rotten ash
With every long sentence: a wet dream
The country is going, the country is going into the streets boldly
The country is going, the country is going to bid farewell to the regime
The country is going, the country is going, like a feminist wedge
And Putin is going, Putin is going to say goodbye like a sheep
Arrest the whole city for May 6th
Seven years isn't enough, give us 18!
Forbid us to scream, walk and curse!
Go and marry Father Lukashenko

The Western Hero stands with freedom loving people everywhere