Putin Readies for a Further Ukrainian Invasion

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Yahoo! News: People walk by a poster reading “Fascism won’t succeed. Everybody to the referendum!” in Sevastopol, Thursday, March 13, 2014. Crimea plans to hold a referendum this Sunday that will ask residents if they want the territory to become part of Russia. Ukraine’s government and Western nations have denounced the referendum as illegitimate and warned Russia against trying to annex Crimea. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov)

What you don’t hear about is the violence taking place – the murder and persecution going down. It doesn’t make for good headlines, so the press doesn’t bother. But the Conservative blogosphere will. One of the very best out there is Weasel Zippers who shows us this: Pro-Ukraine Group Surrounded And Attacked By Pro-Russians In Donetsk; Three Reportedly Killed:

Conform or die – it’s the Communist way. Donetsk is not in the Crimea, it is in East Ukraine, where Putin is getting ready to dance. It’s all foreplay for the invasion to come:

This video was shot after competing demonstrations from the opposing sides. A small group of pro-Ukranians was surrounded by the “pro-Russians” and attacked. The police had to come to their rescue to protect them. But the pro-Russians continued to pelt the pro-Ukrainians as well the police with everything from bats to chairs as they chanted “Russia!”.

At around 17:00. the “pro-Russians” break the police barricade and manage to stab and kill at least one man. There are reports of two others dead during the attack, but these reports have not as yet been confirmed.

Pro-Russian protesters are now killing their opposition in Ukraine. This is not a peaceful occupation. (Photo Reuters)

Sovereignty, human rights, freedom… these are just words to Putin and mean nothing to him. He views the Ukraine as part of the Soviet Union. His storm troopers are still occupying the Crimean Peninsula. Now, an illegitimate referendum will be held Sunday, falsely touting the free choice of the people of Crimea to vote for joining the Russian Federation. No doubt, the vote will be rigged by Putin. It’s no choice at all really. Crimea has been annexed. It doesn’t matter that over 90% of the Ukraine voted for independence in 1991. It doesn’t matter that the invasion and the forced vote are illegal. What matters is Russian expansionism.

There are things we can and should do in protest. We should try and give aid to the Ukraine, but without Obama’s shenanigans of handing over unspent funds for the military to the IMF. We also don’t need the likes of Lindsey Graham helping Obama sway Boehner on the IMF. Funds should only be allotted after we take a hard look at whether the funds are actually there to give — which given our debt and our penchant for over spending, is doubtful. The $3 billion just approved for the Ukraine on the global stage, went straight to – wait for it – Russia. This should not be allowed to happen. All the Western powers are doing is giving lip service to supporting the Ukraine’s independence. It’s monstrous hypocrisy. We should impose strict sanctions on Russia and withdraw from the disastrous New START Treaty. We should beef up our allies with missile defenses as well. What we should not do, is send troops, not unless we want a new hot war on our hands. You can be sure that whatever Obama and Kerry are threatening, it has no bite and little of it will materialize, while none of it will truly hurt Russia.

Kerry is an ineffectual fool. He’s out there threatening Putin that he has until Monday to back off. I’m sure the ex-KGB taskmaster is shaking in his stylish jackboots over Lurch’s threats. Kerry is blustering that Russia doesn’t have the troops to go into East Ukraine. Hold your laughter… let’s have a look at what is really going on, shall we? From Zero Hedge:

As you can see, Mother Russia is more than capable of taking East Ukraine – it won’t even strain her forces. Lurch needs to concentrate on making ketchup and leave geopolitics and war to the experts.

With the referendum vote this Sunday, Russia has amassed thousands and thousands of troops and heavy artillery along the Ukraine’s eastern border in at least three regions as of yesterday. Things are really heating up, while the world seems to be powerless, more or less, and is just watching the Russian bear getting ready to forcefully bring East Ukraine back into the Soviet fold.

While Germany’s Merkel stridently insists this will hurt Russia economically and politically, I contend they don’t care. It is also likely that this will hurt the EU, as Russia controls most of the oil and gas lines. It is one of the reasons they must keep the Ukraine. Russia has little to fear in regards to real retribution for their actions. No one did much when they took Georgia and no one will do much now. Russia has assessed that most countries and especially the US are weak – not only militarily, but economically. They just don’t have the means or the stomach to stop Russia from doing whatever the hell she wants right now.

Estonia has issued a warning that Russia is getting ready to invade East Ukraine. Russia warned that Ukraine’s government has lost control of the country, fueling concern the Kremlin may extend a military intervention. The Cold War is heating up.

A number of other interesting details are occurring while all this is going on. For some reason, there are a number of people in the US who are falling head over heels for Putin’s propaganda. This is something Obama uses as well… saying one thing, while the opposite is true. The invasion is to ‘protect’ the people and the entire opposition is fascist. This is pure propaganda and the Russian Communists have done this before, many times.

Russia is now banning websites that are critical of their government. Think it can’t happen here? Think again. This type of action is common in the run up to war and/or in a clamp down on the masses:

Russia on Thursday banned several websites notable for their criticism of the government and a blog run by prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny as the Kremlin intensified its crackdown on independent media amid tensions over Ukraine.

The government communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said Grani.ru, Kasparov.ru and Yezhednevny Zhurnal (Daily Journal) have carried incitements to unlawful behavior and participation in unauthorized mass gatherings. It said the ban was requested by the Prosecutor General’s Office and Internet providers are now under instructions to implement the block.

Kasparov.ru was run by opposition figure and former chess champion Garry Kasparov. Along with two other websites, it carried scathing criticism of President Vladimir Putin’s government, including its action in Ukraine, where Russian troops have taken control of the Crimean peninsula. On Sunday, Crimea is set to hold a referendum on joining Russia, which has been rejected by Ukraine and the West as illegitimate.

Navalny’s blog also was banned Thursday over the alleged violation of the terms of the two-month house arrest that he is currently serving.

The action against independent websites came a day after the owner of Lenta.ru, a leading online news outlet, fired its editor over coverage of Ukraine.

Next up, the Kremlin website has reportedly been hit with a powerful cyber attack. Hackers knocked out the Russian presidency’s website several times on Friday and brought down the central bank website. Whether this is true or not is anyone’s guess. No one is taking credit, so I guess we will see.

Which brings us to banking. According to Zero Hedge, for the week ended March 12, Treasurys held in custody by the Fed dropped to $2.855 trillion: a drop of $104.5 billion. This was the biggest drop of Treasurys held by the Fed on record, i.e., foreigners were really busy selling. It is thought that China and/or Russia are dumping US Treasuries and the markets are very, very jittery. I wonder if this is the beginning of the big US currency dump? The next few weeks should be a wild ride. In Crimea, there has been a run on the banks. A bad situation there, is about to get a whole lot worse. It would also seem that Putin is cleansing his borders of troublesome foreigners, under the flimsiest of pretenses. He’s spring cleaning, before he expands.

As Putin readies for a further Ukrainian invasion, watch closely. We hear platitudes from the Obama Administration, but very little in the way of real repercussions. With the last super power on the planet taking all military options off the table, whose to stop the Russian bear as she rolls further into the Ukraine? We are watching the USSR get the old gang back together and that’s just the beginning for the Communists who intend to keep their comrades safe, warm and controlled. They’ve taken their cue from Obama’s Responsibility to Protect Doctrine.