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[Lagslayer]

posting to watch

[nenjin]

Yeah, I've started doing my reading too. Yesterday I was willing to say Russia was being prudent (if tactless) in staging military exercises across the border. A decent pre-text for bulking up the border against refugees or positioning for a quick response. I wasn't really ready to say it was the lead up to crossing the border without reason.

But today.....yeesh. Now it's starting to look like the build up to an invasion. Military personnel with no insignia blockading an airport? Communications going down between Crimea and the rest of the country, where armed men have already seized a municipal building and established their own interim government? Ethnic Russians in Ukraine saying they fear retaliation by other Ukrainians, or being unfairly legislated against by the new government?

I mean, it seems like the kind of setup that Russia would be all over exploiting. And I don't necessarily fault pro-Russian Ukrainians for being scared, or having a legitimate claim to wanting a Pro-Russian government. But it's leading to the situation where no one is wrong, everyone is wrong and Russia has a legitimate (if transparent) excuse to try to absorb the ethnically-Russian portion of Ukraine in the name of protecting them.

It's basically the last thing anyone needed in the latest cycle of populist uprisings. About the only thing I could imagine being more volatile is the same situation occurring over in China, either between China/Singapore or China/Japan over that island. When 1st world powers have a territorial interest in the outcomes of revolution is when shit starts getting seriously nasty. Syria might be bad, Venezuela might be bad, Egypt might be bad, but this has the potential to trump them all in terms of regional destabilization. I thought Obizie's statement today:

the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine.

Is about 1 step removed from committing to military action against Russia if they violate Ukranian sovereignty. And again, who is right? The US and Europe is right if they're backing the Ukrainian goverment in the West, Russia is right if it's backing the other Ukranians in the East. What other options are there besides secession, that avoid military conflict?

[alway]

Yeah, I've started doing my reading too. Yesterday I was willing to say Russia was being prudent (if tactless) in staging military exercises across the border. A decent pre-text for bulking up the border against refugees or positioning for a quick response. I wasn't really ready to say it was the lead up to crossing the border without reason.

But today.....yeesh. Now it's starting to look like the build up for an invasion. Military personnel with no insignia blockading an airport? Communications going down between Crimea and the rest of the country, where armed men have already seized a municipal building and established their own interim government? Ethnic Russians in Ukraine saying they fear retaliation by other Ukrainians, or being unfairly legislated against by the new government?

I mean, it seems like the kind of setup that Russia would be all over exploiting. And I don't necessarily fault pro-Russian Ukrainians for being scared. But it's leading to the situation where no one is wrong, everyone is wrong and Russia has a legitimate (if transparent) excuse to try to absorb the ethnically-Russian portion of Ukraine.

It's basically the last thing anyone needed in the latest cycle of populist uprisings. About the only thing I could imagine being more volatile is the same situation occurring over in China, either between China/Singapore or China/Japan over that island. When 1st world powers have a territorial interest in the outcomes of revolution is when shit starts getting seriously nasty. Syria might be bad, Venezuela might be bad, Egypt might be bad, but this has the potential to trump them all in terms of regional destabilization.

Don't forget this bit:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/28/world/europe/ukraine-politics/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers introduced two bills Friday to simplify annexing new territories into the Russian Federation and simplify access to Russian citizenship for Ukrainians, the state news agency Itar Tass said.

[nenjin]

Ah yes, I'd forgotten that bit. I mean, Russia is being as subtle as a thrown brick and they're giving every sign they're ready to fight on this one.

Although, would the US really act any different if Mexico suddenly looked like it was going to split in half and we could be the recipient of part of it? That'd be funny. I bet you'd see more "immigration reform" in 24 hours than you have in the last decade if that were the case.

[redwallzyl]

But we don't want half of Mexico no offense to Mexicans but its kind of shitty.

[Owlbread]

You know, the scary thing is that a lot of the comments on that video are what amounts to "Go Russia! Kill 'em all!", and you can see the number of likes under each one.

What goes in russian media honestly looks like WW1, to me, right now - a bunch of rabid imperialists crying for blood while the people who are supposed to actually spill said blood are desperately trying to tell them that no, gunning down people is not a very good thing to do.

If you think this is bad you don't want to read comments on videos about hardship in the Caucasus. It's not just Russians though, a lot of the 4chan/Reddit crowd are right into that stuff. I read comments from Americans on one video about Ingushetians suffering saying "Putin should deport the lot of them to Siberia", i.e. the equivalent of saying that Germany should go back to gassing Jews etc.

But we don't want half of Mexico no offense to Mexicans but its kind of shitty.

You already took all the best bits.

[alway]

But we don't want half of Mexico no offense to Mexicans but its kind of shitty.

Woo, nationalism.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Mexico is actually pretty nice when there aren't cartels going around having a bit of the old ultraviolence. Unfortunately, it's been that way for a while now.

[Owlbread]

Here's an example of the delightful comments on that Russian invasion video:

SERBIA SUPPORT !!! FUCK SASA WHITE AND OTHER UKRAINIAN PROISLAMIC CHECHEN BITCHES !!!

[Aqizzar]

UKRAINIAN PROISLAMIC CHECHEN BITCHES !!!

I'm not sure that guy knows what part of the world he's talking about, or even what part of the world he himself is in.

[Owlbread]

I don't think these guys really think this stuff through.

[misko27]

But we don't want half of Mexico no offense to Mexicans but its kind of shitty.

You already took all the best bits.

Both of you are wrong. Unfortunately for both your arguments, the north section of Mexico is bad only because it is in the state of Mexico and is a prime spot for smuggling into the US, not because it's geographically inherently bad. If the US had taken it over, it would likely be nicer (in the way that Texas is nicer then Mexico), and the smaller Mexico would be bad in what would then be it's north, for the exact same reasons as before, namely drugs and being a poor Latin American country. If Texas was Mexico, Texas would be controlled by cartels in the same way.

Here's an example of the delightful comments on that Russian invasion video:

SERBIA SUPPORT !!! FUCK SASA WHITE AND OTHER UKRAINIAN PROISLAMIC CHECHEN BITCHES !!!

Chetnik it looks like. Makes me sad it does.

[nenjin]

I wanted to make some cutting and vivid remark about perceptions of being a Mexican immediately south of the border among Americans, but it'll just give this all a nasty tone, so I won't. Suffice to say, yeah, it's a bit of backhanded racism. (Full disclosure, I'm 50% Mexican.)

[Owlbread]

Both of you are wrong. Unfortunately for both your arguments, the north section of Mexico is bad only because it is in the state of Mexico and is a prime spot for smuggling into the US, not because it's geographically inherently bad. If the US had taken it over, it would likely be nicer (in the way that Texas is nicer then Mexico), and the smaller Mexico would be bad in what would then be it's north, for the exact same reasons as before, namely drugs and being a poor Latin American country. If Texas was Mexico, Texas would be controlled by cartels in the same way.

Spoiler: I'm just saying... (click to show/hide)

But yeah isn't what Russia is doing in Ukraine right now exactly what the USA did in Hawaii and Texas?

[Max White]

Here's an example of the delightful comments on that Russian invasion video:

SERBIA SUPPORT !!! FUCK SASA WHITE AND OTHER UKRAINIAN PROISLAMIC CHECHEN BITCHES !!!

I'm pretty sure that video is making the rounds on 4chan and that is what bought on the obscene amount of... well obscenity. Don't worry, those comments are not an accurate reflection of any facet of humanity, just grumpy trolls. The helicopters, on the other hand, are somewhat worrisome.