Russian news report: Putin approved Ukraine invasion before Kiev government collapsed

[Blue_Tires]

BERLIN — A Russian newspaper claims to have an official government strategy document outlining the invasion of Ukraine that was prepared weeks before the Ukrainian government collapsed last year.

The editor of Novaya Gazeta, Dmitri Muratov, reported the document during an interview with Echo of Moscow, a radio station. In the interview, which was reported by news outlets Saturday, he did not reveal how the newspaper came into possession of the document in the media unfriendly Russian world, but said he had confidence it was authentic.

Novaya Gazeta is considered a rarity in Russia these days, an independent investigative newspaper that’s known to anger the Kremlin on a regular basis. The editor said the paper’s plan is to publish the full details of the strategy document next week.

Muratov said the document characterized then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych as “a person without morals and willpower whose downfall must be expected at any moment.” Yanukovych fled Ukraine for Russia on Feb. 22, 2014.

Muratov said the Russian document appears to have been drafted between Feb. 4 and Feb. 15 last year. He said the overall strategy included plans on how to break Ukraine into automonmous sectors, immediately attaching now war-torn southeastern Ukraine to Moscow’s tax union, with a longer term plan for annexation.

The plan suggested “the main thrust should be Crimea and the Kharkhiv region, with the aim of initiating the annexation of the eastern regions.”

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2015/02/21/257386/russian-news-report-ukraine-invasion.html#storylink=cpy

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. No kidding.

Yanukovych flew out of Kiev in the early morning of February 22, 2014.

By February 26, 2014 there were already reports of armed military units at government buildings in Crimea.

What exigent circumstance could have possibly arisen in those four days that Putin saw no choice but to move his troops into the Crimean peninsula?

It was a carpe diem moment for Putin--he knew Ukraine was in no position to fight back, and he knew he'd never have a better chance than this to take Crimea for Russia.

So maybe it was a carpe Crimea moment.

[NuclearDem]

2. Ouch, that's got to sting.

[newthinking]

31. "said he had confidence it was authentic." "*Appears* to have been drafted"

True to the tabloid media: Speculation and opinion. Even *if* it is a real document and not forged, all the claims are hypothesized.

They say:

"he (Muratov) could not definitively show who prepared the document, he could with some confidence speculate that the authors included Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofayev"

Then they turn that speculation into "fact"

"Muratov said the document was passed from Malofayev to aids of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who then approved of the plan."

[snooper2]

3. our resident pro putin fascists are hurriedly scouring the intertubes as I type this LOL

Dmitri Muratov-

Who is this guy....

CIA CIA NSA!!! search googles damn it search...oh why do I still have fucking AOL

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. Dude, Victoria Nuland handed out cookies! Cookies!

Plus John McCain and neo-Nazis! And Robert Parry is a national treasure!

So there.

[NuclearDem]

6. If the situation had been reversed and this had been a US document

how many would be screaming and howling "PNAC PNAC!"?

[newthinking]

33. PNAC docs were substantiated. Even the article mentions speculation is involved

PNAC had a site on the web that self identified the plans and the people involved.

Most of the crap thrown together these days is speculation and hyperbole to keep ratings up.

[snooper2]

64. it's not working anymore

LOL-

You get a C- for effort though!

[BainsBane]

7. MSM, MSM!!!!!!

Anything critical of The Great and Glorious Putin is a fabrication of the MSM. He represents pure perfection and must not be criticized. His empire isn't really an empire, it's a human rights expedition for the good of the poor, ethnic Russians forced to live under the racially inferior Ukrainians. Putin knows best. Look how he keeps the gays in line!

[Agnosticsherbet]

4. So even the Russian times admits Putin is a Warmongering Imperialist.

[BainsBane]

9. No, Novaya Gazeta

The editor,

"Muratov said the document characterized then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych as “a person without morals and willpower whose downfall must be expected at any moment.” Yanukovych fled Ukraine for Russia on Feb. 22, 2014. . . .
The plan suggested “the main thrust should be Crimea and the Kharkhiv region, with the aim of initiating the annexation of the eastern regions.”

The strategy document also calls for a public relations campaign to justify Russia’s intervention. The newspaper did not release further details of the strategy at this point.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2015/02/21/257386/russian-news-report-ukraine-invasion.html#storylink=cpy

That part in bold is where our friends come in.

Yet nothing about a US coup. Go figure.

[LittleBlue]

8. Those leaked documents look outdated and not very strategically sound

Crimea is turning out to be very expensive for the Russians. From the most recent strategic analyses, Russia no longer plans on annexing any more of Ukraine. Russia's economy is in tatters, its budget will be under heavy pressure. The cost of bringing these outdated regions up to speed economically, not to mention social services, pensions, etc., is viewed as prohibitive.

Also, Putin needs those regions to remain as part of Ukraine in a federal system. It's the only way to prevent them from joining NATO long-term. Whichever bureaucracy advised Putin to annex east Ukraine, if anyone actually did, their strategy has been discarded for months.

[BainsBane]

10. Crimea is loaded with natural gas reserves

and off coast oil wells in the Black Sea. Putin is many things, but stupid is not among them. He knows that Crimea is important economically and strategically. Oil prices won't always be low.

[LittleBlue]

16. Natural gas isn't very profitable any more

http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/natural-gas.aspx?timeframe=10y

The price of natural gas fell of a cliff years ago and it never recovered. There is a glut of both oil and natural gas. In fact many manufacturers had been venting off natural gas as it became more expensive to capture and send to market than it was worth.

None of that offsets the cost of conquering what is, to the Russians, a ghetto. Ukraine's GDP is a fraction of Russia's. It will cost them many times whatever they'd get in natural gas and oil to pay to fix a broken mess of a state. We really need to get past the idea that every conflict is about oil. It isn't. This is about NATO. Even if you think Russia would somehow make a profit by doing this, you can't argue that it would even come close to the GDP contraction they experienced from sanctions and oil prices. Russia really doesn't want to pay the bill to fix a broken mess like east Ukraine.

[Major Hogwash]

48. Exactly.

And he who controls the flow of natural gas controls the price of natural gas.
Simple economics.

[Cayenne]

78. 'Important' is an understatement

It is vital to their security to maintain their Black Sea fleet there. Why is this glossed over all the time?

[Karmadillo]

37. Stop thinking, please. It kills the buzz of the two minute hate.

[rhett o rick]

11. I get soo confused. Some here alert on everything from Russian news outlets

and here we are accepting this story from a Russian newspaper.

I guess we are to believe those stories that don't step on our American Exceptionalism and lock/hide those that dare to challenge our Exceptionalism.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

12. There is independent Russian media not controlled by the government.

For example, Moscow Times.

The questionable reporting usually comes into play as it relates to the state run media agencies (such as RT).

[ND-Dem]

52. ...finnish publisher...

The paper's circulation in 2008 stood at 35,000 copies [1] and the newspaper is typically given out for free at places English-language "expats" attend, including hotels, cafés and restaurants

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moscow_Times

[Tommy_Carcetti]

67. Well that explains why it hasn't been subjected to Putin's crackdowns.....

....like locally owned Russian private media has been.

[snooper2]

13. Oh don't worry, I'm sure your buddy will have it shut down, or "merged" with RT soon enough

In Soviet Russia newspaper reads you!

[BainsBane]

15. How long until that editor's body is found floating in the Moskva river

and goes the way of other journalists who have criticized Putin?

[snooper2]

19. not sure but in current day Russia they are pretty brave to publish that

I would be willing to bet the newspaper is charged with some "crimes against the state" soon

[ND-Dem]

53. the owners are a finnish corporation; i'm sure they'll be fine.

[BainsBane]

56. This wasn't from the Moscow Times.

Novaya Gazeta is the paper.

[ND-Dem]

57. my error then. i saw the person talking about the mt and assumed. the major owner

of NG is a former oligarch and KGB man who now owns several British papers, most notably the Independent. He & Gorbachev (10% owner) will probably be OK too. They have important friends.

[BainsBane]

60. Well that's good

but remember Khordorkovskiy.

[ND-Dem]

61. He lives in switzerland and is worth $500 million. He didn't get off too badly.

[BainsBane]

68. Do you read Russian?

Would you be able to go to the site of that newspaper and see if you can find the document? I took Russian a million years ago in college but never used it so I have no functional use of the language.

[ND-Dem]

72. you don't need russian. he was pardoned by putin and his location is general knowledge.

Upon being pardoned by Vladimir Putin and released from prison at the end of 2013, he immediately left Russia and has since lived in Switzerland where he was granted residency.[11] At the end of 2013, his personal estate was believed to be worth, as a rough estimate, $100–250 million.[12] At the end of 2014, he was said to be worth about $500 million, with him insisting on $100 million.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Khodorkovsky


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/30/mikhail-khodorkovsky-residency-switzerland

http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/real-money-with-alivelshi/Mikhail-Khodorkovsky.html

[BainsBane]

73. I know that

I'm talking about the document referenced in the article in the OP. Aren't you interested in that?

[Adrahil]

28. More likely he'll be charged with "corruption" soon

No doubt, a couple million rubles will have found its way into illicit bank accounts in his name, that he didn't even know about.

[rhett o rick]

21. "My buddy" ? Really? If you think you can insult me with that, sorry.

Seems the idea is that if one can't provide a good argument, try mocking and insults.

Not that you really care, but I have no love for Putin or Russia. I am a very strong supporter of free and un-censored discussions.
I don't agree with those that choose to lock/hide/ban those that they don't agree with.

[BainsBane]

59. "Seems the idea is that if one can't provide a good argument, try mocking and insults."

I know what you mean. This is a particularly ugly example: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6213988
You do that sort of thing quite often and then turn around and pass judgment about far more mild remarks.

No one here but you is a host. If you have a problem with locked threads, that is a discussion for other hosts and the site owners.
Yet you have highjacked this thread on a very important issue that has to do with the lives of Ukrainians dying in a war, a war that far too many members of this site have worked hard to justify. This document could prove the facts of the situation, that Putin planned this months before the collapse of the government in Kiev. All of that is far more important that what you think about which threads are locked.

If you truly dislike censorship, you should think more carefully before high fiving people citing Russian state news as a great source. Putin not only censors the press, but many journalists have been imprisoned or killed for criticizing the government. Think about that for a minute. RT is a state run news agency produced in that climate, where criticism of Putin is not only censored but those seeking to tell the truth risk their lives. RT journalists don't have to worry about that, however, since they do not criticize Putin or the Russian government. And if the document referenced in the OP is genuine. they are the foremost outlet in the propaganda campaign justifying annexation of the Ukraine and the war leading to the loss of many lives.

[rhett o rick]

69. You think that example you provided is "ugly"? I didn't call anyone names nor suggest

that anyone was the buddy of Putin. The only reason I can see for those that support Wall Street/Goldman-Sachs is that they hope that the wealthy will let them have some "cake". You know, "trickle-down".

By the way, I am not a host. The lock/hide/ban squad took me down. They didn't like that I wanted to leave OPs that they wanted censored. You know, if you can't out argue, censor. If RT has a story that is wrong, then make the point in the thread don't look to censor. The New York Times has been known to be heavily biased, esp during the Bush admin. I like to hear both sides of an issue, while some only want to hear their side echoed back to them.

[BainsBane]

71. Yes, it was ugly

You told a gay man that he stands with the elite of this country, a man who has been discriminated against and subject to hate speech and worse his entire life. And you have no shame of treating with contempt him and his concerns for equality. Now you again insult him and other Democrats by claiming they side with Goldman Sachs, and don't even bother to provide any evidence whatsoever.


That is the sort of thing you say with some frequency, and it is precisely because you have no argument, In fact, I have yet to see you discuss substance on a single issue. So you finally paid the cost for your use of insults. Perhaps you should try discussing an issue on the merits instead of smearing the integrity of those who disagree with your assessment of particular individuals?

As far as I'm aware, the only place RT isn't allowed is in LBN, and that is by Skinner's instructions. I remember not too long ago you were lecturing everyone about having the audacity to criticize the almighty host, who under no circumstances should be questioned. Now you are angry that some people use the alert system. Too bad. It's yet another excuse for you to avoid discussing subject matter and repeat insults, and you have done again in your post above. The thing is, because you don't bother to read up on issues, you are wrong on many basic points, like when you entered a thread of mine on Marxist theory to accuse me and the Marxists I cited of being "Third Way." Who could even imagine anyone would dream of such a thing?

And yet again you avoid the subject matter and return to the other thing you seem to care about, insulting people who fail to understand that the only thing that matters is your emotional reaction to particular members of the US political elite. Politics isn't about life and death, social justice, human equality, or anything most of the left cares about. For two years you have talked about little but your antipathy toward one woman and your attacks on the character of anyone who doesn't share that position, which you never bother to substantiate with evidence of any kind. Who cares if people are dying in the Ukraine?

As for criticizing RT and the rest of Putin's propaganda machine, that is precisely what this OP amounts to because it exposes the whole thing as a lie, a lie perpetrated by people working to convince the uninformed that the colonized Ukrainians are really oppressors and their supposed ethnic inferiority means they aren't fit to rule themselves, all to promote Putin's renewal of the mighty Russian empire. It's war mongering, and it's unconscionable. Yet you can't bother to reflect on any of that.

[William769]

81. "The lock/hide/ban squad took me down"?

It was your posts that took you down not the "boogiemen".

[rhett o rick]

82. Right! Seems some rationalize their behavior because they are on the side of righteousness.

The ends justify the means, right?

[William769]

83. "Our Community Standards

It is the responsibility of all DU members to participate on our discussion forums in a manner that promotes a positive atmosphere and encourages good discussions among a diverse community of people holding a broad range of center-to-left viewpoints. Members should refrain from posting messages on DU that are disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. These broad community standards of behavior are maintained through the combined efforts of members posting and serving on citizen juries, using their own best judgment to decide what behavior is appropriate and what is not.

Members who cannot hold themselves to a high standard risk having their posts hidden by a jury of their peers, and being blocked out of discussion threads they disrupt. Those who exhibit a pattern of willful disregard for the Community Standards risk being in violation of our Terms of Service, and could have their posting privileges revoked."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus

[rhett o rick]

84. I fully understand the rules and accept them. Those that feel they have righteousness behind

them are tireless in attempts at "cleaning house" of those that they disagree with.

[newthinking]

34. Yes, Russian sources are only "not evil" if they follow the western narrative

but then they are hunky dory.

[NuclearDem]

38. I'd settle for Russian news sources that aren't owned by Putin/Gazprom/UAC.

[sabbat hunter]

42. are there any left

that aren't owned by Putin/Gaz/UAC?

[BainsBane]

55. There are many private news sources in Russia

but so many journalists have been imprisoned or killed that criticizing Putin has become very risky.

[rhett o rick]

40. Someone tried to clear up my confusion by telling me that it's the government sponsored

media that we shouldn't trust. Like the New York Times.

I know there are people that don't like to hear anything but wonderfulness about Obama, all Democrats and our Country. But what bothers me is that these same people will try to tell you they are open-minded liberals.

[newthinking]

41. There are other good sources besides RT,

but really, trying to compare the current state of western media against something like RT is like having a discussion about Heroin and Crack and arguing which is cleaner.

While the mechanisms are different;People are slow to realize that the western media is not simply "biased" but are heavily manipulated and censored. You don't see stories or information that is not in the interest of large corporations or the government. Even worse, the mechanisms is much more difficult to recognize and understand, which actually makes it more effective (as demonstrated here).

RT, in fact, could be said to be more straightforward, as it has a fair number of liberal shows that are given more freedom in what they can cover than shows on the msm. I KNOW that Tom Hartmann is a man of principle and would not be there if he was being pressured. And there are more alternative and progressive voices on such shows that can be found on the MSM (which claims to be "free", but yet is not the fact that liberals outside of mainstream institutions pretty much rarely get time.

It sucks that in this age we can't have a truly neutral based media or the fairness in media laws back, but in the current environment I would much rather have media that I have to choose which broadcaster is trustworthy then media like the msm where they are all pretty much controlled in one way or the other.

[rhett o rick]

44. "People are slow to realize that the western media is not simply "biased" but are heavily

manipulated and censored." For some people it's willful ignorance. Can you spell Judith Miller?

[BainsBane]

54. Were you manipulated by Judith Miller?

Last edited Tue Feb 24, 2015, 03:44 AM - Edit history (1)

Because I wasn't. I didn't buy any of the shit about Iraq, but you and your friends swallowed whole the entire propaganda initiative justifying Putin's conquest of the Ukraine. You have evidence here citing a Russian newspaper and radio show, but you ignore it entirely. And you accuse others of willful ignorance? This whole effort to justify Russia's empire building is about as egregious example of willful ignorance as I've seen.

[rhett o rick]

70. No but I was against the War from the very beginning and will not forgive those responsible includin

Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell and H. Clinton. Judith Miller/New York Times pushed government propaganda. We didn't censor all their stories.

"but you and your friends swallowed whole the entire propaganda initiative justifying Putin's conquest of the Ukraine. " Show me evidence of this accusation? I personally believe the story of the OP. My point has always been that I am against the whole-sale censoring of RT stories because it has Russia in it's title.

I am strongly against Russian empire building, but I am also against the Empire building of the USofA.

[BainsBane]

74. I agree the Iraq war was a disaster and has left us with a whole mess that will plague us for some

time to come. What did you do in 2004 then? You must not have voted for Kerry. He was my last choice among the candidates, Howard Dean being the first, but I voted for him anyway.

[BainsBane]

51. This is a report from a Russian Newspaper, on Russian radio

Last edited Tue Feb 24, 2015, 03:43 AM - Edit history (1)

The jig is up. Either you've been played or are willfully complicit. Your constant tirades about American media do nothing to address the information from a RUSSIAN newspaper. The invasion was planed months before the fall of the govt in Kiev. The only question now is do you actually care? Does truth and reality matter to you at all?

[NuclearDem]

43. The US government doesn't own the NYT.

The Kremlin owns RT.

If you had said RFE/RL, fine.

[Cali_Democrat]

14. "The editor said the paper’s plan is to publish the full details of the strategy document next week.

Don't be surprised if the editor suddenly disappears and his office burns down due to a 'mysterious' fire.

[zappaman]

17. I know of another liberal who will say this is bullshit.

But this liberal as says...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

18. There was no invasion of Crimea . . .

No amount of arguing can change that fact.

[snooper2]

20. none at all

.2,000 Russian Troops Takeover Crimea - State TV Shutdown -Troops have Armoured Personal Carriers .

[newthinking]

36. The order of events is important.

First came large assemblies.
Then the legislature declared a constitutional crisis
Then the local militia placed roadblocks.
Then the legislature voted to have a poll
Then the legislature requested assistance from Russia
Russian troops then secured the region along with the local militia

Sure, Russia was ready (for one they had troops already there) just as the US would have been right on there to help if the situation would have been the other way around. But regardless this was an action of the Crimean government with the support of the people there.

This documentary is footage in the order it happened.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

65. Let me Occam that for you.

Your argument only works if you assume that the Crimean "local militia" acted without the aid and assistance of the Russian military. And even then, even if you actually accept the results of the March 16th referendum as legitimate, any mobilizations by Russian military within civilian Crimean territory would still constitute an invasion of Ukrainian territory by Russia. So we're looking at a window of time between February 22, 2014 and March 16, 2014 if we were to go by your own argument that Crimea legally seceded from Ukraine on March 16, 2014.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2014_Crimean_crisis

What we know is that from February 22nd-February 25th there were both demonstrations and counter-demonstrations regarding the events that had just transpired in Kiev. The Ukrainian government stated that it wanted to avoid provocations by either side. Supposedly there were reports of Russian military convoys roaming Crimea as early as February 23rd. But the first major reports of military mobilization occurred on February 26th, when armed checkpoints containing military vehicles were set up under a Russian flag.

On February 27th, a group of 60 well armed men seized the Crimean parliament building, raising Russian flags. The "emergency session" was held while the parliament building itself was occupied by the gunmen. Phone lines to the building were cut off and media was not allowed in. During this proceeding, the Crimean government was terminated, and the current Crimean prime minister was replaced by a Russian National Unity member named Sergey Aksyonov (who was rumored to be involved in organized criminal activities). The disbanded former special police unit Berkut (infamous for their actions during Maidan) was brought in to patrol the entrance to the Crimean peninsula.

Organized military units seized the airports in Simferopol and Sevastapol on February 28th. Russian ships then began to block the Balaklava Harbor, denying access of the Ukrainian sea fleet to their own ports. There were reports of additional warplanes and personnel being flow into the Russian bases at that point.

On March 1st, the Ukrainian Navy and Sea Guard was forced to leave its bases at Sevastapol. Non-Russian journalists were prohibited from entering Crimea. The Ukrainian Naval building was attacked on March 2nd, and there was a standoff between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Perevalne. On March 3rd, a ferry terminal in Kerch was seized, and private television was forced off the air.

On March 4th, there was a standoff between Russian forces who had seized the Belbek airbase and the Ukrainian forces who were unarmed.

On March 6th, the Crimean parliament voted to set March 16th as the referendum date, with the referendum being whether Crimea would join the Russian federation. OSCE officials reported being denied access to Crimea by armed men.

On March 8th, the Russian military blocked the entrance to Crimea at Chonhar, and the border guard headquarters were taken over by Russian forces.

On March 10th, Russian forces seized a military hospital in Simferopol. On March 11, OSCE was formally barred from monitoring the March 16th referendum, and they were again denied access to Crimea by armed groups on March 12th.

Now, let's go back to your "local militia" argument. I'm not denying there were some pro-Russian demonstrations from February 23rd-February 25th, and that there was some token presence from "local militia" in the run-up to the March 16th vote. But to claim that the "local militia" was able to mobilize within the course of three days to the extent it became a professionally equipped army with personnel carriers and heavy weaponry capable of seizing government buildings, airports, harbors, border entrances, etc. is absolutely 100% insanity.

Of course there was a Russian invasion of Crimea.

[Duckhunter935]

77. Thanks, I bookmarked this

for the many times that these poeple try and pass off the bull that they try to pass of as facts.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

79. Here's an excellent excerpt from The Guardian dated February 27, 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/ukraine-pro-russian-gunmen-seize-crimea-parliament-live-updates?view=desktop#block-530efb46e4b0ddf5cbe7ba63

Maxim, a pro-Russian activist who refused to give his last name, told the Associated Press that he and other activists had been camping out overnight outside the local parliament in Crimea’s regional capital, Simferopol, when heavily armed men wearing flak jackets, and holding rocket-propelled grenade launchers and sniper rifles took over the building. He said:


"Our activists were sitting there all night calmly, building the barricades. At 5 o’clock unknown men turned up and went to the building. They got into the courtyard and put everyone on the ground.

They were asking who we were. When we said we stand for the Russian language and Russia, they said: ‘Don’t be afraid, we’re with you.’ Then they began to storm the building bringing down the doors.

They didn’t look like volunteers or amateurs, they were professionals. This was clearly a well-organised operation. They did not allow anyone to come near. They seized the building, drove out the police, there were about six police officers inside.

Who are they? Nobody knows. It’s about 50-60 people, fully armed."

Clearly this was not the work of "local militia", despite what some people may claim.

[zappaman]

22. So you're saying you support the bombing of women and children.

And you like blue Gatorade!
I've talked to many Russians and they aren't fooled by American propaganda.
And I like Russian dressing.
50 million US citizens get their news from RT so you are on the wrong side of history.
Nice to know where DUers stand.
Plus...potato chips.

[Adrahil]

25. Da! We must all acknowledge superior strongman Putin!

Wrong side of history my ass. The Russian shills on this board are a disgrace.

[KamaAina]

23. Dmitri Muratov better not fly in any small planes.

[Cha]

24. KICK

[DeSwiss]

26. Right.....

...it's Russia's imperial intentions that we should worry about.



[center]

[/center]

[Duckhunter935]

63. what NATO base is in

Kazakhstan and what is the NATO base in Japan? Nice picture but it is not true.

[NuclearDem]

66. That picture conflates US and NATO military bases.

Kazakhstan allowed the use of one of their airbases for the US and ISAF to use for Afghanistan.

However, neither South Korea (Osan) nor Japan (Kadena) are members of NATO.

[Duckhunter935]

76. I see some of them keep using it like it was true

they never respond when called out and retract it. Shows how they think.

[MADem]

27. That editor had better watch his back.

If he doesn't go missing, the "authori-tehs" will march into his office and "nationalize" his paper.

[freshwest]

30. But the last refuge of 'Journalists' is in Russia. You should be ashamed of yourself!

Thank goodness I caught myself and changed the word 'refuse' to 'refuge' to escape being labeled as an authori-teh-e-an Nazi fascist.

Wait, that's redundant!

Besides, they're into privatizing things, not nationalizing stuff there.

[MADem]

45. It's astonishing how many people shop that meme, too--without any irony whatsoever! nt

[newthinking]

39. Actually, if the press reported the state of the Ukrainian media: "Law against Propaganda",

Journalists that don't report the way they want are jailed or sent out of the country.

That is across **all* media in Ukraine now. There is no equivalent of Novaya Gazetta or the Moscow or St. Petersburg times in Ukraine. It is all completely under control.

Where do we get most of our news of the region? Passed on by Ukraine.....

But how often is that mentioned in our "free press"?

Project Censored: http://www.projectcensored.org/censorship/

WHAT IS MODERN CENSORSHIP?

At Project Censored, we examine the coverage of news and information important to the maintenance of a healthy and functioning democracy. We define Modern Censorship as the subtle yet constant and sophisticated manipulation of reality in our mass media outlets. On a daily basis, censorship refers to the intentional non-inclusion of a news story – or piece of a news story – based on anything other than a desire to tell the truth. Such manipulation can take the form of political pressure (from government officials and powerful individuals), economic pressure (from advertisers and funders), and legal pressure (the threat of lawsuits from deep-pocket individuals, corporations, and institutions).

[Cha]

62. No Shite!

[ColesCountyDem]

29. I am shocked!

[uhnope]

32. K&R

[William769]

35. Kick & recommended.

Just so I can watch the foaming at the mouth.

[freshwest]

58. Waiting for the inevitable cookie reference. But not those yummy things:

[Major Hogwash]

46. Where is Viktor Yanukovych now?

Maybe Snowden can tell us.

[freshwest]

49. Living in luxury in Russia, at last report... Who says crime doesn't pay?

Ousted Ukraine Officials Enjoy Life of Luxury in Moscow

One year ago, when Ukraine's beleaguered fourth President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev, he had limited options in terms of where he could seek refuge.

His exit from the capital on Feb. 21 was preceded by three dark days in which 77 protesters and 18 police officers died in street clashes in circumstances that are still not entirely clear, many of them shot by snipers. The deaths were the tragic climax of mass-scale street protests sparked three months earlier over Yanukovych's decision to postpone the signing of an Association Agreement with the European Union...

All three men, together with another trio of disgraced former officials, are now included on the EU sanctions list because they are wanted in Ukraine in connection with the embezzlement of state funds and their illegal transfer outside Ukraine. They are also all reportedly now living in Moscow...

In Moscow, Yanukovych moved to Barvikha, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Moscow's suburbs, the RBC news website reported. Novo-Ogaryovo, one of Putin's official residences, is nearby...

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/disgraced-ukraine-officials-toppled-by-maidan-enjoy-life-of-luxury-in-moscow-one-year-on/516264.html

to Tommy_Carcetti:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141020473

[Tommy_Carcetti]

80. Thanks. nt

[Jenoch]

47. What I find amazing is that most of the

countries in the wkrld seem not to care that Russia is invading and occupying the land of another country. (It appears to be 1980 all over again, without the same response.)

[ND-Dem]

50. i thought putin controlled all the russian media. how did this ever get by him?

[YoungDemCA]

75. This is the country that the courageous Edward Snowden fled to

nt