Meanwhile, back in Kiev....

[Svartalf]

Let's say that the story between Little and Greater Russias is longer and even more complicated that that between Ireland and Britain.

[Warren Dew]

Democracy doesn't work in any country where people in it have little in common. You have two peoples in Ukraine that don't consider themselves to be citizens of the same country.

As far as I can tell, both Ukrainian speakers and Russian speakers in the Ukraine consider themselves to be Ukrainian, with the exception of the Russian speakers in the Crimea.

[MrJonno]

Democracy doesn't work in any country where people in it have little in common. You have two peoples in Ukraine that don't consider themselves to be citizens of the same country.

As far as I can tell, both Ukrainian speakers and Russian speakers in the Ukraine consider themselves to be Ukrainian, with the exception of the Russian speakers in the Crimea.

Well Crimea is where the trouble spot is at the moment , but how are Ukrainian speakers going to trust Russian speakers anywhere in the Ukraine after this?

Wonders of nationalism never does anything other than breed hate

[Warren Dew]

Democracy doesn't work in any country where people in it have little in common. You have two peoples in Ukraine that don't consider themselves to be citizens of the same country.

As far as I can tell, both Ukrainian speakers and Russian speakers in the Ukraine consider themselves to be Ukrainian, with the exception of the Russian speakers in the Crimea.

Well Crimea is where the trouble spot is at the moment , but how are Ukrainian speakers going to trust Russian speakers anywhere in the Ukraine after this?

Wonders of nationalism never does anything other than breed hate

Language is not the same as nation. If the Canadians stabbed the U.S. in the back, we wouldn't quit trusting the Aussies. I mean, assuming we even noticed.

[mistermack]

Today there was some trouble in the East. When people wanted to take down the Ukrainian flag from a town hall, a huge crowd of bully boys turned up from Kiev.
I think, over the coming days, we might see a nasty side of the ''popular revolution''.

Putin must be licking his lips.

[Seth]

Today there was some trouble in the East. When people wanted to take down the Ukrainian flag from a town hall, a huge crowd of bully boys turned up from Kiev.
I think, over the coming days, we might see a nasty side of the ''popular revolution''.

Putin must be licking his lips.

Yeah, I'm sure he is. In fact he probably dispatched the "bully boys" you refer to as provocateurs to trigger ethnic violence precisely to give him political cover for invading eastern Ukraine under the guise of "protecting Russian speakers." Of course, the fact that they speak Russian has nothing to do with their citizenship. They aren't Russians, they are Ukrainians.

[laklak]

Can't wait for Kerry to get back to D.C. and say Mr. Putin is someone we can work with and we'll have peace in our time.

[MrJonno]

Language is not the same as nation. If the Canadians stabbed the U.S. in the back, we wouldn't quit trusting the Aussies. I mean, assuming we even noticed.

Not always but it can be. The old USSR used to migrate people by force

By the way can an American tell the difference in accent between Canadian and Australians. I can't tell the difference between US and Canadian or between Australian/New Zealand?

[Jason]

Russian intelligence operations beat the good ol' USA. Hah! Commence name calling on the world stage - 'Putin is a poopy head bully!'

[laklak]

By the way can an American tell the difference in accent between Canadian and Australians. I can't tell the difference between US and Canadian or between Australian/New Zealand?

Easily, Oz and Canuck are entirely different. New Zealand is like Aussie but with a touch of South Africa. I can tell Yorkshire from Essex from Kent from Cornwall from Geordie from Brummy. I can differentiate Halifax from Huddersfield from Hebdon Bridge, but not Sowerby from Sowerby Bridge. The last are only about 3 miles from each other but the locals can tell the difference. I'm sure you can tell the difference in Southern U.S. from Northern or Western, but probably can't tell if a cracker is from Alabama or Mississippi, or North Carolina from Georgia.

[MiM]

Democracy doesn't work in any country where people in it have little in common. You have two peoples in Ukraine that don't consider themselves to be citizens of the same country.

As far as I can tell, both Ukrainian speakers and Russian speakers in the Ukraine consider themselves to be Ukrainian, with the exception of the Russian speakers in the Crimea.

Well Crimea is where the trouble spot is at the moment , but how are Ukrainian speakers going to trust Russian speakers anywhere in the Ukraine after this?

Wonders of nationalism never does anything other than breed hate

Language is not the same as nation. If the Canadians stabbed the U.S. in the back, we wouldn't quit trusting the Aussies. I mean, assuming we even noticed.

Just wonder how happy the Canadian francophones would be, if France started invading Quebec, to "liberate" them

And I am definitely no Swede, even though my mother tongue is Swedish.

[Seth]

Can't wait for Kerry to get back to D.C. and say Mr. Putin is someone we can work with and we'll have peace in our time.

That's exactly what all sorts of idiot American journalists (and diplomats) said about Stalin et al., which more or less directly resulted in FDR going to....wait for it....Crimea (Yalta to be precise) to sign documents officially recognizing the Soviet Union.

Dumb motherfucker, FDR.

[Warren Dew]

By the way can an American tell the difference in accent between Canadian and Australians. I can't tell the difference between US and Canadian or between Australian/New Zealand?

I can tell the difference between Canadian and Australian, yes. Between Canadian and U.S., not so much.

[MrJonno]

Can't wait for Kerry to get back to D.C. and say Mr. Putin is someone we can work with and we'll have peace in our time.

That's exactly what all sorts of idiot American journalists (and diplomats) said about Stalin et al., which more or less directly resulted in FDR going to....wait for it....Crimea (Yalta to be precise) to sign documents officially recognizing the Soviet Union.

Dumb motherfucker, FDR.

Impression I get from Obama and the British government is they are saying to Russia we aren't getting involved.

It's appeasement but so what appeasement has its place, you choose when to fight and when not to. Starting nuclear war over Russia backyard for a non NATO country isnt brave it moronic.

The countries to the West of the Ukraine are NATO member and Putin and NATO both know it

[Seth]

Can't wait for Kerry to get back to D.C. and say Mr. Putin is someone we can work with and we'll have peace in our time.

That's exactly what all sorts of idiot American journalists (and diplomats) said about Stalin et al., which more or less directly resulted in FDR going to....wait for it....Crimea (Yalta to be precise) to sign documents officially recognizing the Soviet Union.

Dumb motherfucker, FDR.

Impression I get from Obama and the British government is they are saying to Russia we aren't getting involved.

It's appeasement but so what appeasement has its place, you choose when to fight and when not to. Starting nuclear war over Russia backyard for a non NATO country isnt brave it moronic.

The countries to the West of the Ukraine are NATO member and Putin and NATO both know it

I'm all for the EU taking this one on, and it seems to be doing so because now Putin is denying that Russian troops are in Crimea and he's pulling back from the border. The unmarked Russians still there aren't going to start shooting any more than the Ukrainians will, at least until the economic disaster Putin's making for Russia has had a chance to force him to withdraw.

I'm good with the US contributing to the aid package from the EU to Ukraine at the moment.

Putin overstepped and is getting his ass spanked by the rest of the world, he just has to bluster and whine for a little longer to try to save face before he'll have to retreat.