Putin On Ukraine: What He Said, What He Meant (Decoding Putin Alert)

CS Monitor ^ | 3/04/2014 | Fred Weir

[goldstategop]

Russia will only recognize a new Ukrainian government after nationwide elections have been held. But they must not take place in the same "atmosphere of terror" that was created by the abrupt overthrow of Yanukovych in Kiev ten days ago. Putin added the intriguing suggestion that Ukrainians might escape from their present impasse by rewriting their national charter. "Frankly, they should adopt a new constitution through a referendum so that all citizens of Ukraine feel engagement in that process, have an input on the formation of the new principles of how their nation should function."

A new constitution for Ukraine, prepared under Russian pressure, might enshrine the country's non-aligned status – thereby blocking NATO membership forever – or even "federalize" the country by spinning off powers to the regions and permanently weakening the central government, a situation that would suit Moscow just fine.

● As for the threat of Western sanctions against Russia, Putin says 'bring it on.' Alluding to Europe's dependence on Russian gas supplies, he noted, “Of course we can tarnish each other to some degree but this tarnishing will be reciprocal and this is something they should think about."

The message: Ukraine is more important to Russia than the threat of Western boycotts and sanctions. Period.

[goldstategop]

Vladimir Putin is all business. The man never smiles. But he is dead serious about putting Ukraine in its place.

Any one who missed the real import of his interview with a pro-Putin press audience doesn't know the real Putin. Period.

[PieterCasparzen]

The real Putin, as in trading partner of the United States ?

For the record, the trade statistics between the United States and Russia, for those keeping score:

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c4621.html

2013

TOTAL 2013

Exports from US to Russia: $11,164,000,000

Imports to US from Russia: $26,961,500,000

Net Trade Balance: $-15,797,500,000

Boeing (a key US defense contractor) by their own admission:

“The Boeing Company has maintained a cooperative relationship with Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) since the era of the former Soviet Union. In the 1970s, Boeing as a part of the historic U.S.-Soviet space mission, Apollo-Soyuz, when spacecraft from both countries docked in orbit.”

To find the complete PDF online on Boeing’s website, just google:

boeing russia backgrounder

Why would a key defense contractor engage in such high-tech trade with a supposed “enemy” nation ? Obviously to the people making the real decisions, Russia is a trading partner, not an enemy.

IMHO, it makes no sense at all to bang war drums, given that it looks like globalist bankers/traders are running pretty much everything as they please while keeping the fact well-hidden (in plain sight) from the public.

[McGruff]

I think Daryl would say “that's one tough sombitch”

[goldstategop]

And the goodie:

Moscow is "not likely" to annex Crimea. "Russia is not considering the option to adjoin Crimea. Only the citizens may and should decide on their future in the conditions of free expression of will and security," Putin said.

Takeaway: Crimean independence, similar to that enjoyed by the Georgian breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is very much on the table.

Take it however you like it - Crimea is ours and no one else's business. How we run Crimea is none of your concern. Period.

[Pecos]

Russia has been paranoid for several hundred years. That’s why they have always surrounded themselves with buffer states. The Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact arangement was not new. Kerry was stupid to have threatened Putin, given that the U.S. had nothing to back up his statements and the EU has made itself dependent upon Russia for natural gas. No military leverage. No economic leverage. No moral leverage.

[PieterCasparzen]

IBM has been doing business in Russia since

1972

According to IBM's website:

"Russia is in northern Eurasia and is the largest country in the world, covering more than a ninth of the Earth's land area. Russia also is the ninth most populous nation with 143 million people. IBM has been in Russia since 1972. It has offices in several cities, including Moscow, which is the capital and largest city. CSC deployed in Russia in 2010. Locations have included Kazan, Sochi and Rostov. Projects have included working with the University of Kazan on a long-term strategy for developing a social and educational network of the university."

http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/wwa_russia.html

The "Cold War" was a fake.

US and other Western international companies happily did business with the "evil empire" all during the "Cold War".

The press in both Russia and the US, of course, dutifully did its part to hide the fact from the public of both countries so they could continually be frightened and angered into supporting the "Cold War" mentality that enabled massive government spending on both militaries.

We're still at it. Russia is still portrayed by conservative operatives and the unwitting rank-and-file as some boogie man that is out to make war on the US.

People don't understand basic accounting and the tax implications of being a vendor to the government. If the tax system has tax credits (like GE and other companies routinely use to reduce their tax due to little to nothing), then large government vendors, whose net after-tax profits come largely from high-margin sales to the government, can reach a point where the net after-tax profits from the government sales alone is more than what they pay in tax to the government.

Once that point is reached, they are, in effect, taxing the people to pay for their operations, using the government as an intermediary for collection services.

NGOs, of course, are definitely in that category, as they are tax-exempt so they pay nothing in. Social services and healthcare payments are generally also in the same position as well. Much of our tax dollar goes to private sector business operations which receive more tax money from the government than they pay to the government.

Sheeple just don't get it. They can't do the math, and/or don't want to think about it.

[elhombrelibre]

He’s been President-for-Life for 14 years and clearly intends to never leave the actual head of power in Russia. He’s been helping Iran acquire nuclear weapons; he’s been helping Assad stay in power. He’s been doing his best to shutdown US access to support our forces in Afghanistan through the “stans.” He’s done as much as he can to harm Israel. All that says more about his seriousness than his smiling or not smiling.

[istandwithsarah]

Assad staying in power is a good thing, since he’s protecting Christians in Syria from being slaughtered by the Muzzie Brotherhood... even though the Democrats and the GOPe wants the Muzzie Brotherhood in power instead.

[elhombrelibre]

That’s not true. Assad’s friendship with Christians is purely situational and not a true conviction or principle. You can believe it. You can make it your religion. But it’s still nonsense to believe that Assad is protecting Christians. He’s an opportunist and nothing more.

[little jeremiah]

So elhombre, you like the jihadis torturing and slaughtering the Christians better? Those are the two alternatives.

[elhombrelibre]

I know English isn’t your first language. So I’ll be clear for you to fit your foreign language skills and cognitive skills. No. I no think a the slaughtering any Christians is better. NO support Assad as pro-Christian. No support the false alternative of al Qaeda either (big a word).

[little jeremiah]

So, genius, what’s your solution so Syria?

[elhombrelibre]

It’s not al Qaeda and/or Assad that’s the answer. Right now, order and security trump ideology as a basic human need. I am not a genius, though, I can see why you’d think so and I appreciate the complement. I’m a regular guy. And I truly want that the war in Syria to end and the good people to be safe. Assad and al Qaeda are not the good people. I think people who champion Assad are as naive as those who champion Putin or, for that matter, Obama.

[lentulusgracchus]

Kerry was stupid to have threatened Putin, given that the U.S. had nothing to back up his statements ....

Nah, that was a smokescreen. Obama's playing to lose. Remember "more flexibility"? He/Kerry have no intention of crossing Putin, not for real. Everything they do is dumbshow for the liberal "realists" still dreaming of an engaged and managerial Obama.

[lentulusgracchus]

The "Cold War" was a fake. US and other Western international companies happily did business with the "evil empire" all during the "Cold War".

By analogy, World War II was a fake, because American companies were doing business on December 7th, 1941, with the Nazi Germans.

In fact, at the moment bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, a German tanker was lying alongside an American-flagged tanker owned by The Texas Company [Texaco] in a Swedish seaport (Malmo), taking on Gulf Coast crude.

This n/w/s that the chairman and chief executive of Texaco at the time was a Norwegian former tanker captain who'd risen through the company's tankering ranks to leadership of the company.

[lentulusgracchus]

Knucklehead. Know who you're talking to, before you put up ignert babble like that.

[PieterCasparzen]

WWII was planned once the United States rejected joining the League of Nations.

Immediately at the close of WWII the United Nations was created in San Francisco.

While the horror of world war and nuclear bombs was fresh in everyone’s mind.

Former Stanford Professor Antony Sutton is a good place to start researching “anomalies” regarding international bankings’ WWII. There is a youtube video of an interview with him entitled “the best enemies money can buy”.

[Paladin2]

[little jeremiah]

Some people just have too much bile in the system.

;-)

[little jeremiah]

Dumbshow. That is a good word I haven’t read it a while.