World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[Ack]

Russia has issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender by 5 AM tomorrow or they will face a "real assault."

How are things going for you guys in Turkey? Have you been put on alert?

[BoringSupreez]

Russia has issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender by 5 AM tomorrow or they will face a "real assault."

How are things going for you guys in Turkey? Have you been put on alert?

Nope, no one's even talking about it over here. That was the first thing that tipped me off to the fact that we have no intention of involving ourselves in this mess. When Syria was acting up we had all kinds of extra security measures.

[Luke]

Nope, no one's even talking about it over here.

This doesn't surprise me one bit.

The Ultimatum on the other hand is quite the chest pounding. I'm basing this on my limited knowledge of what everyday life is like in Ukraine, all of Ukraine, at the moment. All I know is from TV and websites and the only info they're giving me is that Putin says Surrender.

I've been following the conflict sine the end of the Olympics, and I still feel clueless of what exactly is happening.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Any chance the Ukraine would consider "selling" Crimea to the Russia? To me, it sounds like: (1) Ukraine needs cash to stave off a sovereign debt default; (2) the citizens of Crimea identify themselves as Russian; (3) Ukraine would be more united on most issues without Crimea; and (4) Russia would like to control Crimea.

Selling off that territory seems like a win-win to me...

[prfsnl_gmr]

The Russian economy is not so hot right now, and it relies on trade with the EU. If Russia does not play this right, it could end up facing sanctions, and I am not sure that would go over well with the Russian population (i.e., they might take a dimmer view of their leader if he sacrificed the nation's economic well-being in a ham-fisted attempt to acquire territory).

Also, I don't think the US needs to look tough, take action, or do anything. There do not appear to be any humanitarian concerns, and as far as I can tell, nothing about this threatens our interests. Accordingly, I think we can safely let the Ukrainians and Russians sort it out.

[Ack]

This is a people who were broken down, dismantled, no longer feared - and Mr. Putin has almost singlehandedly reversed this image to make them again a major player and this is absolutely far more important in their worldview than economic standing.

Yeah, don't forget, a large part of Putin's initial campaign for power was focused on the perception of Bill Clinton treating Russia and Boris Yeltsin like a child in the years following the Cold War. Putin has always been about returning the image of Soviet-style strength, without necessarily resurrecting the Soviet Union.

[RCBH928]

I hate double standards in politics. Russia can march into the Ukraine but no one is brave enough to stop them. In other parts of the world, countries would face consequences for putting a journalist in jail .

[Pulsar_t]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik

[Pulsar_t]

Yea, let me use airtime paid for by the Russian government to air my own views. Wtf

[RCBH928]

isn't Russia european?