WW3? Drudge loses it.

[dangus]

The Drudge Report always has its fun with misuse of images. But World War III is no laughing matter. In an attempt to paint Russia as hurtling us towards World War III, Drudge shows a picture of troops marching through the Ukraine, wearing Soviet-era uniforms. But the picture is out of context.

The picture is, in fact, from Odessa. Yes, there are significant numbers of Russophones. Yes, many of them may favor secession. Yes, some of the secessionists may have the same kind of romanticism for the Soviets that their Ukrainian neighbors have for the Nazi Banderites. But that's not what this picture shows.

This is a re-enactment of the liberation of Odessa from the Germans during WWII. Despite the popularity in some extremist corners of the Nazi-aligned Banderites, who exterminated a population of 80,000 Poles in one city alone, the Ukraine has always celebrated the day. Those are the uniforms worn by the people who fought off the Nazis during "the Great Patriotic War." The Soviet Union wasn't just Russia: From Trotsky to Brezhnev to Gorbachev, many Soviets were Ukrainians. And despite the horrors of communism, the Ukrainians have annually celebrated those who fought against the Nazis.

[cripplecreek]

Some seem to be hot for a war with Russia over what appears to be quickly becoming a Ukrainian civil war.

Personally I have to question the sanity of anyone who wants to get involved in that mess and wanting to get involved in that mess with our current government compounds it about one thousand fold.

[dangus]

That’s the comical part. The article it links to has nothing to do with the photo he used. (And yes, I read it. It was entirely ridiculous.)

[dangus]

Yes, but the photo had absolutely nothing to do with the photo used.

[dangus]

>> This could very well be how it all starts. <<

Yeah, the comparisons to WWII are ridiculous. OK, so Putin is creating a larger Russia for Russophones, like Germany created a larger Germany for Germanophones. But by 1933, when Hitler siezed the Sudetenland, Hitler was already calling for the extinction of Jews, building concentration camps, etc.

Even IF Putin wanted Kiev, or Poland, or Sweden, or whatever, he’s not foolish enough to think he could effectively govern them. He knows he’d weaken Russia, not strengthen it.

[Oliviaforever]

We should not defend a nation is unwilling to defend themselves.

[PieterCasparzen]

The West has already sent in their "forces", and they've been successful - without civil war. Here's a partial list:

• Abbott – Pharmaceuticals
• AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals GmbH – Global, Broad Based Health Care Company
• Adams and Reese LLP
• AGCO Corporation
• AgroGeneration – Agricultural Company
• Air Tractor, Inc.
• Aitken Berlin LLP/HSIA
• AMACO Ukraine – Agricultural Distributor
• American Councils for International Education (ACTR ACCELS)
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)

   

• Amity Technology, Inc. – Agricultural Technology
• Amway – Nutrition, Beauty and Home Products
• AnaCom, Inc. – Satellite Solutions
• ArcelorMittal – World's Largest Steel Company
• Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)
• Arlington Sister Cities Association (Virginia) – Ivano Frankivsk Committee (Associate Member)
• Arzinger – Law Firm
• ASTARTA Holding N.V. – Agri-Industrial Holding
• Asters – Law Firm
• Atlantic Group – Marketing Communications Solutions

   

• Avellum Partners – Law Firm
• B. C. Toms & Co – Law Offices
• Baker & McKenzie – Global Law Firm
• Behlen Mfg. Co. – Farm & Ranch Equipment, Buildings, Commercial Grain Systems
• Blufer & Associates – Corporate Consulting
• The Bleyzer Foundation
• The Boeing Company
• British-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (BUCC) (Associate Member)
• The British Ukrainian Society (BUS) – Strengthening Relations Between the United Kingdom and Ukraine (Associate Member)
• Bueling, Inc., Promoting, Selling & Distributing American Technology

   

• Bunge
• Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce (CUCC) (Associate Member)
• Cargill
• Carpatsky Petroleum Corporation
• CNH Industrial (CNHI) – New Group Created from the Merger of Fiat Industrial and CNH Global
• Center for International and Comparative Studies (CICS) (Associate Member)
• Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) (Associate Member)
• Chadbourne & Parke LLP – International Law Firm
• Chevron
• Chicago Sister Cities International (Associate Member)

   

• Chopivsky Family Foundation (Associate Member)
• CHS Ukraine, LLC – Originating & Exporting Grain
• Citi – Global Financial Services Company
• Clifford Chance LLC
• CMS Cameron McKenna LLC
• The Coca-Cola Company
• ContourGlobal Ukraine
• CRDF Global – Peace & Prosperity Through Science Cooperation
• Cub Energy, Inc. – Energy Development Company
• Culmen International, LLC – Technical & Management Services

   

• DAAR Charitable Foundation – Charitable Foundation
• Deere & Company
• Defense Technology Inc. (DTI)
• DHL
• Dentons - "Salans FMC SNR Denton Europe" – Global Legal Practice
• DLA Piper Ukraine – Law Firm
• Dominic – Poltavakonditer Confectionery Company
• DTEK – Largest Private Energy Company in Ukraine
• Dunwoodie Travel Bureau, Ltd
• DuPont

   

• Dupont Pioneer
• East Europe Foundation – Eurasia Foundation Network (Associate Member)
• Ecolab – Global Leader in Water, Hygiene, Energy Technologies and Services
• Eli Lilly & Company
• EPAM Systems – Software Engineering
• EPAM USA PLLC – International Law Firm
• EY LLC
• The EU Ukraine Business Council (EUUBC) (Associate Member)
• Eurasia Business Consultancy
• The Eurasia Foundation (Associate Member)

   

• ExxonMobil – Largest Publicly Traded International Oil and Gas Company
• First International Resources, LLC
• German Economic Club (DWK Deutscher Wirtschaftsklub) (Associate Member)
• Global Language Network (GLN) – Ukrainian Language Courses (Associate Member)
• GlobalLogic – R&D Services to Leading Technology-Enabled Organizations
• Global Restaurant Group – KFC franchiser in Ukraine – Petro Matiaszek, Senior Vice President, External, Legal & Administrative Affairs, Executive Director, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
• Global Trade Strategies LLC - International Trade Advisory Services
• Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc. – Agricultural Implements
• Halliburton Company – Energy Industry Products & Services
• Heller & Rosenblatt – Law Firm

   

• Holiday Inn Kyiv
• Holtec International
• Homans, Robert – Business Finance and Micro-Credit Expert
• Horizon Capital/Emerging Europe Growth Fund
• HPI, LLC – Gas & Steam Turbine Generator Services & Turnkey Power Plant Solutions
• Hussar & Co. – Investment Banking, Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Russia, CIS and Central Asian countries
• IBM Ukraine
• Imperial Agro, Ltd. – Agricultural Production, Distribution, Investments, Consulting
• Institute of International Education-Ukraine (IIE Ukraine) – Fulbright Programs Administrator
• Intel Ukraine Microelectronics Ltd – Creating and Extending Computer Technology

   

• InterContinental Kyiv
• International Management Institute (MIM-Kyiv) – Graduate Business School
• International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) (Associate Member)
• International Tax & Investment Center (ITIC) (Associate Member)
• Intersystems – Grain Handling Equipment and Storage Facilities
• Invenergy LLC – North America‘s Largest Independent Wind Power Generation Company
• IPR Group – Patent and Trademark Attorneys
• ISTIL Group/Kyiv Post
• Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
• Kinanis LLC – Business Law & Consulting Firm in Cyprus

   

• King & Spalding – International Law Firm
• KM Partners - Tax and Legal Advisors
• KONTRAKT BANK
• KOSMO – Drugstore Chain
• KPMG
• Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America (KMF)
• Kyiv Post – Ukraine’s Leading English-Language Newspaper
• Kyiv School of Economics/EERC
• Kyiv-Atlantic Group of Companies
• LCF Law Group – Litigation, Corporate, Finance

   

• Louis Dreyfus Commodities
• Mars Ukraine L.L.C.
• Mary Kay Inc. – Skin Care & Cosmetics Worldwide
• Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development, Division of International Investment & Trade (Associate Member)
• McLarty Associates – International Strategic Advisory Firm
• Microsoft
• Mondelēz International
• Monsanto Company – Sustainable Agriculture: Seeds and Crop Protection Supplies
• National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Associate Member)
• NCSJ – Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia

   

• New Energy Innovations (NEI) – Development Of Bio-Fuel Business Projects
• New Tours USA – Inbound Tours in USA
• Nibulon – Agricultural Company
• Noble Resources Ukraine LLC – Trading in Farm Products
• Open World Leadership Center, U.S. Library of Congress
• PBN Hill+Knowlton Strategies – International Strategic Communications
• Philip Morris International
• Polish–American Cooperation Foundation (PAUCI) (Associate Member)
• Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) LLC
• Project HOPE – Delivering Health Education, Medicines, Supplies and Volunteers Where Needed

   

• Prominvestbank – Commercial, Industrial & Investment Bank
• Proviant Group of Companies – Agroindustrial Dairy Company – Ukraine
• Public–Private Partnership Development Program (P3DP)/FHI 360
• R & J Trading International, Inc.
• Raelin / Cajo Inc. – Agricultural Seeds and Supplies
• Raven Industries, Inc. – Diversified Technology Company
• Raytheon Company
• RB International Financial (USA) LLC
• Reinke Manufacturing, Inc., Mechanized Irrigation Systems
• RULG – Ukrainian Legal Group, PA

   

• Samus Consulting – Legal and Agribusiness Consulting Services
• SC Johnson – One Of The World's Leading Manufacturers Of Household Cleaning Products
• Schneider Law Firm
• Science & Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU) (Associate Member)
• Seed Association of Ukraine – Agricultural Seed Industry
• Self Reliance (NY) Federal Credit Union
• Shell Oil Company
• SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group
• Siguler Guff & Company, LP – Private Equity Investment Fund
• Softengi/Softline/Intecracy Group – Global Software Engineering Service Provider

   

• SoftServe, Inc. – Software Development Company
• Squire Sanders SALKOM International Association – Law Firm
• Starokievskiy Bank (Old Kyiv Bank)
• The State Export – Import Bank of Ukraine (Associate Member)
• SUN InBev Ukraine – Leader on The Ukrainian Beer Market
• Sunrise Agro – Agricultural Machinery Manufactured In Ukraine
• Sweet, Patrick H. – Business Development & Executive Support, Alexandria, Virginia
• System Capital Management
• TASKO Corporation – Military Industrial Company
• TD International (TDI) – Global Strategic Consulting

   

• The Wicks Group, PLLC – Aviation & Transportation Legal & Consulting Services
• TNK-Ukraine - TNK-BP Group
• Toepfer International (Ukraine) – Trading Grain, Oilseeds, Feedstuffs
• Trans-VISMOS JSC – Horizontal Directional Drilling
• U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF)
• Ukragrocom / Hermes–Trading LLC – Kirovohrad Region Agribusiness Group
• Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Fund (Associate Member)
• Ukraine Business Insight (UBI) – Quarterly Investment and Trade Magazine (Associate Member)
• Ukraine Business Online – Business News Website (Associate Member)
• Ukraine International Airlines (UIA)

   

• Ukraine-Israel Business Council (Associate Member)
• Ukraine's Credit & Banking Union (Associate Member)
• Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC) (Associate Member)
• Ukrainian American Bar Association (UABA)
• Ukrainian American Coordinating Council (UACC)
• Ukrainian Association of International Economics (UAIE) (Associate Member)
• Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF)/Lviv Business School
• Ukrainian Centre of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum" (Associate Member)
• Ukrainian Development Company (UDC)
• Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA)

   

• Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) (Associate Member)
• Ukrainian Institute of America (UIA)
• Ukrainian Institute in London (Associate Member)
• Ukrainian League of Industrialists & Entrepreneurs (ULIE) (Associate Member)
• The Ukrainian Museum – New York, NY – Largest Museum in the U.S. Acquiring and Exhibiting the Rich Cultural Heritage of Ukrainians
• Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago (Associate Member)
• The Ukrainian Weekly – English Language Newspaper (Associate Member)
• Ukrainian-American Environmental Association (UAEA)
• Ukrainian-British City Club (UBCC) (Associate Member)
• Vanco Prykerchenska Ltd – Independent Oil & Gas Company

   

• Vasil Kisil & Partners – Law Firm
• VISA – Global Payments Technology Company
• Volia Software – U.S. IT services company
• VOLIA – Telecommunications Services Provider
• Volkov & Partners – Law Firm
• The Washington Group
• Westinghouse
• Willard – Communications, Public Relations, Governmental Relations, Advertising, Training
• Winner Imports Ukraine, Ltd – Ford, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche
• World Federation of Ukrainian Medical Associations (WFUMA)

   

• Xerox
• Zalucky, Paul – Business Development & Advisory
• Zeppelin Ukraine (GmbH) – Caterpillar Dealer
• Zuk, Orest John – Investment Banker

[Zhang Fei]

Even IF Putin wanted Kiev, or Poland, or Sweden, or whatever, he’s not foolish enough to think he could effectively govern them. He knows he’d weaken Russia, not strengthen it.

Chamberlain presumably had the same "knowledge" about Hitler's intentions as you do about Putin's.

[Starboard]

There is no way Obama will allow any U.S. involvement in any wars that would distract him from his golf time and vacations.

I just don’t see him supporting any foreign military action ever, under any circumstances, even if we are attacked in some fashion. And Putin knows this full well.

[Gunslingr3]

Either we allow Russia to expand without consequence, which potentially may include all of Europe because that is what the Communists wanted or, at some point, we are going to have to say, “No more”.

Call me when they get to New York.

[Siegfried X]

Drudge is right. Putin is putting together the old Soviet Union. Recently Russia announced it has the right to intervene militarily anywhere in the old USSR where there are Russian speakers:

Moscow ... has also announced its right to intervene militarily across the former Soviet Union to protect Russian speakers, a new doctrine that has overturned decades of post-Cold War diplomacy.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/russia-putin-ukraine-civil/2014/04/16/id/565985/

[jammer]

That is correct. Thanks.

[Siegfried X]

Barack Obama is a Marxist and the son of Marxists. Nothing would make him happier than to see the old Soviet Union put back together, reversing Ronald Reagan’s biggest accomplishment. So Obama sitting on his hands here is professional courtesy: one communist tyrant helping another.

[PieterCasparzen]

With their 1 aircraft carrier.

They’ve only got a few ships left in Sevastopol, and from what I’ve read, on some they keep the flags hoisted only so the men can get paid; some of the ships aren’t operational.

Of course out of national pride they’re talking about building up their military, but it’s really a senseless waste of effort.

If America was going to do some “first strike”, it could have been done any time for the last 20 years.

They have their warmongers and we have ours.

And it keeps the financial elites government spending and borrowing programs going nicely, and makes for a lot of fear in the news.

[Peter ODonnell]

Where we need to be worried is because elites in the so-called “free world” now see the world pretty much the same way as Putin and his inner circle, although they may view each other as competitors.

That world view includes the notion that said elites could easily sustain themselves in a post-nuclear world and even design the nuclear war so that most of the actual production of goods remained intact (in Asia). Our elites don’t necessarily need us for anything, except taxes, but they could move to a plan B where only they are left to run resource extraction with selected pools of slave labour (what choice would they have in a post-nuclear world but to follow orders?).

This worries me because if two sets of these predators reached the conclusion that they were no further ahead or behind to start a nuclear war, then most of us would have to resort to extreme survivalist tactics to stand any chance of surviving. Anyone planning this should study most likely radiation patterns carefully, just being “in the wilderness” or back country is no particular guarantee of avoiding radiation levels that would be at least unhealthy if not lethal. For example, anywhere in CA, NV, AZ and much of UT would probably be too close to vast radiation clouds to be a good choice of refuge. I would favour the inland Pacific Northwest or western Canada and there again with a careful choice of location relative to potential targets.

Do I think this is imminent? Not necessarily. The chances of this sort of disaster have probably always been higher than we consciously admit to ourselves, but are not now a great deal higher, just somewhat, and that because of the convergence of aggressive leadership in Moscow and timid, ineffectual leadership in western countries, especially yours.

[GeronL]

Obama and Putin have similar goals: a weak and rudderless US

[MNDude]

I love their picture of Hilary today!

[Drago]

Hey, it’s Drudge! A rather imprudent use of a “stock photo”, but he is trying to make a point...if someone wants the story they click thru to the Daily Mail story that has real photos from the scene. Plus Drudge avoids copyright issues this way! ;-)

[Joe Miner]

call me when you enlist, Russia taking over all Europe and kicking the Muslimes out would be a good thing.

[RedMDer]

Absolutely nailed it.

[dangus]

... this after NATO increased ITS troop presence in several former Soviet states, a clear violation of treaties. So much for post-Cold War diplomacy.