July 28, 2014
By: Kelly Diamond, Publisher
Admittedly, I have felt rather lost when it comes to understanding what has been happening in the Ukraine. It seems there are those who have been able to follow it closely from the very beginning, but I, for the life of me, have not been able to get a handle on it. I have pieces. Pieces, which by themselves have different implications than if placed in the context of a larger picture.
Here’s what I’ve managed to gather so far:
The EU is playing a bit of a tug of war match with Russia for the Ukraine. It seems there is a similar rift between East and West Ukraine as there might’ve been in East and West Germany. If there is one country who can attest to the costs of forced unification, it’s Germany. They are still paying it off to this day. Then there are the separatists who oppose all of this.
Meanwhile, a considerable amount of money is being dumped into trying to manage all this. From what is being reported, something in the neighborhood of $130 million per month just to keep it at the levels they are at now. Like I said, I’m not terribly well versed on all that is happening in Ukraine, but I know one thing: fighting these types of civil and moral wars is where economies ultimately go to die. The countless billions the United States pours into its War on Terror, War on Drugs, and War on the Border combined is lost in a black hole forever. There is no return on investment in wars like this.
Despite the fact that the EU is offering a sizable sum of money to help the Ukraine out (not for any real humanitarian ends, mind you), Russia is also poised to offer some help. Russia was rejected because they were outbid. $17 Billion from the IMF alone, plus another billion from the US! So Russia was sent home with its $15 Billion offer. Ukraine, to put it lightly – and quite frankly to understate their situation entirely – is unstable. So unstable, in fact, that before the first check is even cut on this bailout, another bailout is already being discussed! The bailout was based on certain conditions and assumptions that are no longer true, as Ukraine has yet to demonstrate that it can gain control of their situation well enough, or in time, for the first bailout. Quick estimations have resulted in serious discussions about a second bailout as the current trends are not indicative of solvency.
Then I found this from Zbigniev Brzezinski’s “Grand Chessboard”:
“Ukraine, a new and important space on the Eurasian chessboard, is a geopolitical pivot because its very existence as an independent country helps to transform Russia. Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be a Eurasian empire.”
“However, if Moscow regains control over Ukraine, with its 52 million people and major resources as well as access to the Black Sea, Russia automatically again regains the wherewithal to become a powerful imperial state, spanning Europe and Asia.”
Here’s a shocker: some Podunk country in Eastern Europe that at one point was relatively unknown to most of the West is all of a sudden on the map with its riots. While individuals are calling for its freedom and sovereignty, governments are calling for its annexation because why? Natural resources and/or access to natural resources.
Russia needs the Ukraine to access the Black Sea, as well as for its industry and natural resources. It also would like a portal out of the growing and expanding NATO net that is encircling Russia now. The EU doesn’t want Russia to have that kind of access because they see Russia as a threat. Neither side pulling the rope gives a rat’s ass about Ukraine or its people.
Perhaps I’m naïve, or maybe not seeing the whole picture, but what I see here is both countries in campaign mode. Right now, the promises and the money are flowing from both sides. I hate to see what awaits that country after all is said and done.
This discussion of a second bailout is disheartening as well when you consider who’s holding this whole EU thing together in the first place. The EU is running on fumes and imagination, with Germany being the only country even in a position to use the word “prosperity”. Is Germany really expected to shoulder this ordeal or another huge bailout?
Austerity measures can only go so far, since that only has to do with government spending, not government revenue. The same goes for onerous taxation and manipulations by the central banks. Make the taxes too high and you will see an exodus of businesses expatriating at faster rates than they are from the US! And let’s say the central banks keep their interests rates low? That doesn’t equate to jobs. That only eases the burden of debt a little.
In terms of solutions for the EU, the options are rather slim. And the options that will actually solve anything are rather painful. Then again, those are the same options available to all the unsustainable economies comprising the EU now. Cyprus, Spain, Italy, France, Ireland, Portugal, and if things persist and the Ukraine gets on board, they too will eventually be faced with some tough choices, to say the very least.
I don’t know what’s in store for any of these states. But this is realpolitik at play or geopolitics.
People aren’t the primary concern. They are just in the way of the real objectives which is concentration of control and power. “European bank depositors should be very concerned, and indeed everyone else for that matter,” says Erico Tavares of Sinclair and Co.
8 Responses
We’ve piddled away five billion dollars in suborning an admittedly corrupt but democratically elected government. It has been replaced by a corrupt group of Neo-Nazis who would kill all the Jews and all the Russian speakers. And they seem to delight in shelling civilian targets, never caring about the reasons for the Nurnberg trials.
We want NATO bases there, just as the Soviet Union wanted its bases in Cuba. The USSR was bad, but we are morally pure?
My father went ashore on D-Day, to fight the Nazis. Now our government is supporting Neo-Nazis.
So my father played on the beaches of Normandy, I played on the beach at Inchon and my son played on the beaches of the Persian Gulf. I’m fed up with this garbage that’s foisted off on us by the Neo-Con War hawks. Helluva note, but I’m glad I don’t have any grand-child. I’d like to see those nasty creatures spend a few weeks in the field in a pup-tent, eating K-Rations.
You make a lot of assumptions maybe as you said due to lack of knowledge. There is no separatists in east of Ukraine or any type of similar movement since locals want to stay Ukrainian’s local. The fight is being promoted by Kremlin and Putin Bin Laden II via the worst terrorists and Russian troops they could find. As for Nazi inside Ukraine, the only ones are those that Russia sent to it. This is Russia propaganda to mislead weak mind like some of you who believe that.
For the alleged democratic government you speaking here, the pitiful president fled the country not because he was threatened the euromaidan revolution but due to the USD Billions he stole from the government. So, you see, this democratic president you are all defending here steal and spies for Russia against its own people and pays a wage of USD 200 for workers. Everything I am saying here is documented based on facts. So before you all judge and make assumptions behind a desk search for the truth. Ukrainian people is fighting for partnership instead of accepting slavery and you should respect that. US might have interest in geopolitics but they have limited influence in the current government. Russia is a terrorist state and you should be prepared for what is coming.
I don’t think anyone has good intentions for the Ukraine. I stand by my original assessment that Russia and the EU are in a tug of war for Ukrainian resources. That being said, there are documented separatist groups in Ukraine who want Crimea to be it’s own sovereign entity. As there were and are in Serbia. That much is not really a matter of opinion. Their influence and participation in the unrest is up for debate, but their existence isn’t.
I don’t remember hailing the democratic process in this or any other blog I’ve written, nor do I think that I took a position on who was right or wrong in this matter. In fact my position was rather cynical of both sides. I’m not defending anyone in this piece.
All governments are terrorists, in my view. So I don’t favor one government over another. I favor the respect of individuals who don’t care to be ensnared in the politicking of overlords.
You are mistaken about Ukrainian separatism. There is no Ukrainian separatist wishing to be separated from Ukraine. What you have fighting is only Russian troops and mercenaries paid by Russia. This is a completely disinformation.
We all know what US, EU and Russia have specific interests in this part of Europe but it is not an excuse to disrespect someone’s fight for freedom. American tend to complain a lot about its government but when it is time to vote they follow the same old pattern. You assessment about Ukraine is nothing but false assumption. And if you care about self-preservation and want to continue to talk about quality of life you should reassess your knowledge about Russia too.
I’m not disrespecting anyone’s right to freedom. This is the second post where you allege I’m doing something that I’m clearly not. I will restate: I am not taking sides in this as I do not believe that the EU has any better intentions for the Ukraine than Russia does. I think they should be left alone by both sides, but they are so economically destroyed, they will take someone’s money and will be indentured to them for generations thereafter.
My assessment of Ukraine isn’t false. Your assessment of what I’ve written, however is mostly imaginary. Below are a list of separatist groups on Ukraine. Some of them are loyal to Russia, some are not. Some are looking to break away from everyone and be their own country altogether. I understand that you think Russia is the demon in this, and I largely agree with you. But I also think that the EU is up to no good. I also think that the Ukraine has made some mistakes which has lead to furthering their problems. Ultimately, the average citizen of Ukraine is just getting caught in a political web being spun around them. They are collateral, and really not all that important to Russia OR the EU.
As I’ve said, I do not defend democracies in general. I don’t vote. I don’t support the US or any other government for that matter. I don’t espouse democracy or that it should be spread. I find it to be a terrible practice. So please save all of that rubbish for someone who actually participates in the system. We do talk a lot about the quality of life, but our methods don’t include trying to fix a broken system. Our methods involve working around them and living free of them as much as possible.
Perhaps you can educate me as to the list below and who they are:
Novorossiya
Ethnic group: Russian
De facto state: Federal States of New Russia
Political parties: Donetsk Republic, Russian Block, Russian Unity, New Russia Party
Militant organization: Donbass People’s Militia
Purposed autonomous regions:
Crimea
Ethnic group: Crimean Tartars
Proposed autonomous area: Crimea
Political organisation: Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People
Carpathian Ruthenia
Ethnic group: Hungarian, Rusyn [54]
Proposed autonomous area: Transcarpathian Regional Confederation of the Hungarian and Rusyn People[55]
Political parties: People’s Parliament Carpathian Rusyns, who demands autonomy of Ruthenia
Occupied territories:
Republic of Crimea
Ethnic group: Russian
De-facto state: Russian Federation
Militant organization: Russian Armed Forces
City of Sevastopol
Ethnic group: Russian
De-facto state: Russian Federation
Militant organization: Russian Armed Forces
I’m not defending Poroshenko, beyond noting that he had won an election. But the Right Force gang is led by oligarchs, itself, and the leaders are not in power in accord with the procedures of the constitution of Ukraine.
I figure that the odds are that Separatists probably shot down the Malaysian airliner with the thought that it was a military aircraft. Stupid. Much like a Hellfire drone from a Predator, blasting a wedding party in Pakistan.
But it is fact that the US spent some $5 billion in stirring up the mess in Ukraine. The Nuland phone conversation is not a made-up false flag thing.
And, face it: Getting Ukraine into the Eurozone and thus enable NATO missile sites is no different from Soviet missiles in Cuba–which is the intent of the US effort.
Hi, thanks Kelly, I understand this a little better now after your article. I believe we are going to see some interesting times throughout the world, not only because of “fiat” currency(in which value is only a concept in the mind), but karma has come full circle. The deeds of wars for profit throughout the world, are coming back to haunt us. To have peace on earth, we must become self disciplined in respect for our higher power, all peoples (throughout the universe), and mother earth. It has to be a spiritual revolution of each individual for the species to survive, and advance……at this time, the question mark rules.
So long as we have nation states run by elitist and criminal politicians, we are stuck. So, force will be met with force wherever there is some form of land grab. ohbutthead the magnificent failed or refused to pinch of the Crimea land grab and lost the first round and that paved the way for MH17 criminal shoot down by the Russians or their proxy, the seperatists. It is just a matter of time before another atrocity is committed in the Ukrraine or thereabouts. Sounds like a “Fail-Safe” deal is in the makings but could escalate. Political leader are the source of slaughters; we don’t need them. Bring on the neo-French Revolution and let the criminals be disposed.