Well the escalation in the Ukraine is worrisome

[nadinbrzezinski]

one soldier dead, general mobilization (it looks like) and war of words continues to escalate (the only good thing, as long as they stick to words, we prevent lead flying)

Note of order. Hays did NOT start with the missing plane mystery.

Now if you are a fan of Dr. Strangelove I s'pose people are celebrating.

[Brother Buzz]

1. It must be the fluoridated water

[FarCenter]

2. "Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!"

[Brother Buzz]

3. Mein Führer... I CAN WALK !!

[Igel]

4. The Crimeans were told something fascinating today, though.

http://www.unian.ua/politics/898033-krimchani-vje-z-vesni-budut-slujiti-v-chechni-i-dagestani-aksonov.html

By spring they'll be completely under Russian law--which includes having their young men be called up for military service, with no (current) provisions for their service being restricted just to the peninsula. That includes service in Dagestan, Chechnya, and other N. Caucasus places.

That should be interesting, having Crimeans who proudly insisted on their right to secede serving in areas in order to proudly crush *their* right to secede.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. It is always... complicated, isn't it?

the Romanovs used to do that.

[geek tragedy]

8. And they will wind up in prison if they

so much as post on Facebook that Crimea should be independent.

Suckers.

[Duckhunter935]

6. Yep

there is an eery silence from some here. Nothing like storming a base and killing an officer and beating others with metal pipes. I assume some around here think they deserved it. I for one will condemn it.

The Ukrainian government said a junior officer who was on duty in a park inside the base had been killed and another officer injured. A third serviceman had leg and head injuries after being beaten with iron bars, it said.

The government said the commander of the unit was captured by men wearing Russian uniforms.


Defence ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov told Reuters the attack was by "unknown forces, fully equipped and their faces covered".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26637296

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Special forces but they are still

Playing coy. Mind goes to oh a radio station on the border on August 31, 1939 and a few other events preceding other major conflagrations.

[SCUBANOW]

9. I predict Russia will take all of Ukraine.

And we will do nothing. Which is just fine with me. Ukraine should have fought much louder and stronger to be included in NATO. Ukraine will become Russia and that is that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. I am not so sure

and the reasoning for that is that we gave guarantees.

Not that we are going to respect the treaties. We are having escalations and incidents, and this is following the pattern of what led to WW I, not WW II, WW I.

[FarCenter]

11. Very unlikely. Russia would not want the problems of having the western Ukraine.

It is the south and east that matter. The Don Basin was the industrialized "Ruhr Valley" of Russia. The western part was formerly part of Poland and/or Austria Hungary and is quite different.

[rickford66]

12. We should make the remaining part of the Ukraine the 51st state.

I apologize if someone already suggested this. It'd be a great chess move.