G7 flexing steroid-dependent muscles

Leaders of the "free" world!

Thomas Grove writing at Reuters:
...Leaders of the Group of Seven major economies agreed to impose more sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, where armed pro-Moscow separatists have detained a group of international observers they accuse of being NATO spies.

The pro-Western Kiev government said a Russian special forces operative was behind what it called a kidnapping in the eastern city of Slaviansk that is under the separatists' control, and said the detainees were being used as a "human shield".

Ukraine's state security service said the observers for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were being held "in inhuman conditions in the basement of the terrorists' headquarters," and that one needed medical help.

"Russian authorities never condemned these terrorists and this is the clear sign that the Russian regime supports these gangsters," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said.

Russia denies it is to blame for the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where armed pro-Russian separatists have taken control of about a dozen official buildings.

The Russian foreign ministry said it was working to resolve the observer crisis, which it blamed on Kiev for failing to ensure the mission's safety in "areas where the authorities do not control the situation and where a military operation against residents of their own country has been unleashed"....

Ukraine fiasco .... Update 2 ... March 2

On top of the news about the Naval Admiral throwing his lot with Russia, there's news/rumors that the entire Naval force of Ukraine has also sworn allegiance to Russia and their new passports, papers,etc. are/were given to them.
I find that totally unbelievable. Wartime means all sides will use more propaganda than bullets.

Too early in the game to make a prediction?  I will try anyway.  Putin will get Crimea and perhaps even the border regions of Ukraine that touch Russia. All in all, the powers-that-be must have expected this move, they can't be that dumb that they didn't .... or are they that dummy dumb?  Let's hope  Putin does not get greedy and decide to annex the whole of Ukraine..... then all bets are off and we will likely be at the start of a long and bloody  WW3.  

Anti-Putin demo


From BBC:
.....The newly appointed head of Ukraine's navy has sworn allegiance to the Crimea region, in the presence of its unrecognised pro-Russian leader.
Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky was only made head of the navy on Saturday, as the government in Kiev reacted to the threat of Russian invasion.
Russia's troops have been consolidating their hold on Crimea, which is home to its Black Sea Fleet.
The US has warned Moscow may be ejected from the G8 for its actions.......

From GlobalNews:
Canada is considering expelling Russia’s ambassador in Ottawa, reviewing the decision on an hour-to-hour basis following a stern conversation yesterday between senior officials at Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Georgiy Mamedov, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Sunday.

Baird said he had never, in his time as foreign affairs minister, conducted such a harsh dressing down of a foreign dignitary........

The people getting thrashed are supposedly Far-Right gang members.


Harry Alsop writing at TelegraphUK:
....Putin warns of "threat of violence from ultranationalists"
• Putin tells Merkel he is acting "appropriately"
• Head of Ukraine's navy defects from Kiev to Moscow
• Cameron says British government boycotting Sochi Paralympics
• Thousands on streets of Moscow and Kiev
• In London, demonstrations outside US and Russian embassy
• Nato warns that "Europe's peace is at risk"
• Ukraine calls up its military reservists
• What is Crimea, and why does it matter?
For all their indomitable bravery, the crowds in the Maidan have set in motion something that none of them would have wanted – namely, the de facto break-up of Ukraine.......

Armoured vehicles in town named Mykolaiv or Nikolaev.  Not sure these belong to  Russia or NATO.  There are rumors of people having seen Polish and German army vehicles making their way to Ukraine.


Here is the full text of the statement by the G7:  

We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission, join together today to condemn the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in contravention of Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter and its 1997 basing agreement with Ukraine. We call on Russia to address any ongoing security or human rights concerns that it has with Ukraine through direct negotiations, and/or via international observation or mediation under the auspices of the UN or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We stand ready to assist with these efforts.

We also call on all parties concerned to behave with the greatest extent of self-restraint and responsibility, and to decrease the tensions.We note that Russia’s actions in Ukraine also contravene the principles and values on which the G-7 and the G-8 operate. As such, we have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G-8 Summit in Sochi in June, until the environment comes back where the G-8 is able to have meaningful discussion.We are united in supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its right to choose its own future. We commit ourselves to support Ukraine in its efforts to restore unity, stability, and political and economic health to the country. To that end, we will support Ukraine’s work with the International Monetary Fund to negotiate a new program and to implement needed reforms. IMF support will be critical in unlocking additional assistance 

Ouch ! Irish eyes are not smiling

Clare Daly ....a truthful Socialist?  Will wonders never cease.   Socialists are now far-sighted and Right wing politicians have gone blind  and deaf?  What's happening to the world?
I am on the side of anyone, be they on the Right or not, that will keep back the  looming danger of World War 3.

G8

The G8-minus-Putin's suicide bombers in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and everywhere else

How can the leader of a country we have been brainwashed to shun  be so much more intelligent than the idiots we have elected to high places ... How ???

Sunni suicide bomber blows up another Sunni and his family members.

A suicide bomber blew himself up  as he embraced a Sunni Muslim political leader in northern Iraq Wednesday, killing the man and four of his family a day before elections in the area.

Al-Qaeda’s local wing has increased its attacks this year, often targeting moderate Sunni leaders in a bid to ignite sectarian upheaval and undermine Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government.
Pretending to be a guest at a family gathering, the attacker hugged Younis al-Rammah before detonating an explosive vest.

Rammah headed the moderate Sunni “United Iraq Gathering” movement, a minor political group, police and local officials said.
“Body parts and human flesh covered the garden of the house where the attack happened,” a police officer said.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Hadhar in Nineveh Province, 80 km south of Mosul.
But officials blame most recent attacks on Al-Qaeda’s local wing, Islamic State of Iraq.
Violence is at its worst level for five years, with more than 1,000 people killed in May......

Russia's Vladimir Putin makes perfect sense, unlike the others at the G8 ...

including our own honcho, PM Stephen Harper.  What happens when one loses respect for the person one voted for and rejoiced at his victory?  Does it mean that come the next election, I sit home and not go to the polls or should I go vote for Elizabeth May of the Green Party or one of the other two?  So many choices and none of them include Harper !!

What Vladimir Putin said:
....The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, rounded on Britain on Sunday, accusing David Cameron of betraying humanitarian values by supporting Syrian rebels with “blood on their hands”.

In harsh and undiplomatic language, Mr Putin accused the UK and other Western powers of attempting to arm rebels who “kill their enemies and eat their organs”. He insisted that Russia would continue to arm what he said was the recognised “legitimate government” in Syria and called on other countries to respect the same rules..........

What Stephen Harper said:
Prime Minister Stephen Harperhas ruled out Canada’s support for arming rebel forces in Syria and lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting the “thugs of the Assad regime.”

“We want to see the opposition in Syria become more representative, less sectarian,” Mr. Harper told reporters after meeting Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny in Dublin. “We do worry about extremist elements in the opposition, we’re very clear about that.”....

.....Mr. Harper took exception to Mr. Putin’s stance.
"I don’t think we should fool ourselves. This is G7, plus one. That's what this is, G7 plus one," he said.
He added that the West has a very different view than the Russian President.
“Mr. Putin and his government are supporting the thugs of the Assad regime for their own reasons that I do not think are justifiable and Mr. Putin knows my view on that.”.....

Cartoons inspired by G8/20 Summit

Happy Canada Day everyone.

Artist credits: John Fewings       Bado   and   Lisa Benson

G8 says they want to give Iran a chance.

There were two heads of government that said anything of substance at the G8. One was our PM when he said “My own thought is before there is thought of additional stimulus, I would urge all leaders to focus first on making sure the stimulus that's been announced actually gets delivered” Globe and Mail and the other was France's Sarkozy. Sarkozy is proving to be one tough honcho. Hope he keeps it up. His remark regarding Iran, that if the negotiations will lead nowhere "then that won't be without consequences" might be either sanctions (that will do piddly putt) or bombing the nuclear facilities to smithereens. Sarkozy said: "We want to give negotiation every chance. If that works, then great. If that leads nowhere, then that won't be without consequences," he said on Wednesday, warning Iran that the international community was determined to make progress." From Canberratimes,Australia: G8 wants to give Iran a chance