Meanwhile, back in Kiev....

[mistermack]

International law is a joke.
Is there an international court?

Yes.

God, it's like talking to children.

I mean an international court for COUNTRIES !!


Fuck it, I shouldn't have to explain the bleedin obvious

[Strontium Dog]

How would you go about putting countries on trial?

"Australia, I sentence you to be hung from the neck until you are dead"

Doesn't really work.

[mistermack]

How would you go about putting countries on trial?

"Australia, I sentence you to be hung from the neck until you are dead"

Doesn't really work.

My point, exactly.

[pErvinalia]

The US hasn't signed up to the ICC, and Interpol doesn't have supra-national powers in any great respect.

[Audley Strange]

International law is a joke.
Is there an international court?

Yes.

God, it's like talking to children.

I mean an international court for COUNTRIES !!


Fuck it, I shouldn't have to explain the bleedin obvious

Perhaps you should have stated that, since it was clearly not obvious. Still if you are going to ask stupid questions like a child, you can't really get upset at simplistic answers to stupid questions.

[mistermack]

International law is a joke.
Is there an international court?

Yes.

God, it's like talking to children.

I mean an international court for COUNTRIES !!


Fuck it, I shouldn't have to explain the bleedin obvious

Perhaps you should have stated that, since it was clearly not obvious. Still if you are going to ask stupid questions like a child, you can't really get upset at simplistic answers to stupid questions.

It WAS obvious, if you read the post I was replying to.
Anyway, I was joking.

[Warren Dew]

(although I don't know what their grounds for claiming the Crimean government is illegitimate since nothing has changed in the Crimean parliament)

The Kiev parliament is likewise unchanged, yet you seem to somehow consider it suddenly illegitimate.

[Seth]

The US hasn't signed up to the ICC, and Interpol doesn't have supra-national powers in any great respect.

He didn't ask how well it worked....

[JimC]

A comment from William Hague, in the Age: http://www.theage.com.au/world/protests ... hvgsk.html

"Foreign Secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that if Russian troops moved beyond Crimea into Western Ukraine it would cause ''far-reaching trade, economic and financial consequences'' and ''bring the great danger of a real shooting conflict''.

Does anybody else read acquiescence of a Russian takeover of Crimea into that?

[Warren Dew]

A comment from William Hague, in the Age: http://www.theage.com.au/world/protests ... hvgsk.html

"Foreign Secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that if Russian troops moved beyond Crimea into Western Ukraine it would cause ''far-reaching trade, economic and financial consequences'' and ''bring the great danger of a real shooting conflict''.

Does anybody else read acquiescence of a Russian takeover of Crimea into that?

"We've given up on getting the Crimea back from the Russians, and if they were to take over all of Ukraine, we wouldn't be able to do anything more than we're doing about the Crimea".

Edit: also note how he limits his comment to "Western" Ukraine.

[JimC]

A comment from William Hague, in the Age: http://www.theage.com.au/world/protests ... hvgsk.html

"Foreign Secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that if Russian troops moved beyond Crimea into Western Ukraine it would cause ''far-reaching trade, economic and financial consequences'' and ''bring the great danger of a real shooting conflict''.

Does anybody else read acquiescence of a Russian takeover of Crimea into that?

"We've given up on getting the Crimea back from the Russians, and if they were to take over all of Ukraine, we wouldn't be able to do anything more than we're doing about the Crimea".

Edit: also note how he limits his comment to "Western" Ukraine.

Well, at least he is making some attempt to draw a line in the sand...

This whole thing will be something that develops over time; it is probably in Putin's interest to keep the process slow, so western media will quickly get bored and move on to something else...

[Hermit]

A comment from William Hague, in the Age: http://www.theage.com.au/world/protests ... hvgsk.html

"Foreign Secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that if Russian troops moved beyond Crimea into Western Ukraine it would cause ''far-reaching trade, economic and financial consequences'' and ''bring the great danger of a real shooting conflict''.

Does anybody else read acquiescence of a Russian takeover of Crimea into that?

"We've given up on getting the Crimea back from the Russians, and if they were to take over all of Ukraine, we wouldn't be able to do anything more than we're doing about the Crimea".

Edit: also note how he limits his comment to "Western" Ukraine.

Well, at least he is making some attempt to draw a line in the sand...

This whole thing will be something that develops over time; it is probably in Putin's interest to keep the process slow, so western media will quickly get bored and move on to something else...

Salami slicing tactics.

[mistermack]

I must say that the referendum question is incredibly stupid, and might well come back to bite the Crimeans.
''Do you want to join Russia now, or some time in the future?'' What moron decided on that?
It just shows how the stupid bigmouths rise to prominence, in times of trouble.

[Svartalf]

I bet the UKrainian gummint will be asking Iran or NK about help to develop their own nuke arsenal...

[MiM]

I bet the UKrainian gummint will be asking Iran or NK about help to develop their own nuke arsenal...

This is something that I find extremely disturbing (professionally tinted as I am). The complete disregard by Putin of promises given when Ukraine abstained from their nukes, and the inability of the west to do anything about it. This does not encourage anyone to abstain from nukes, and could become the most far reaching effect of this conflict in times to come.