It's Not a Cold War, Mr. President, it's Russian Climate Change

By Elizabeth Nelson

Obama, do you know the problem with showing your hand, the players at the table don't care what you do from that point on. U.S. Sanctions meant to dissuade Putin from further Ukrainian invasions have obviously fallen on deaf ears.

Pro-Russian forces stormed a Ukrainian air force base in Crimea, firing shots and smashing through concrete walls with armored personnel carriers. At least one person was wounded, the base commander said.

An APC also smashed open the front gate of the Belbek base near the port city of Sevastopol, according to footage provided by the Ukrainian Defense ministry. Two ambulances arrived and then departed shortly after, and at least one of them was carrying what appeared to be a wounded person, an Associated Press journalist said.

The Ukrainian commander of the base, Yuliy Mamchur, said there was at least one injury. He called his men together, they sang the Ukrainian national anthem and then stood at ease. He said they are going to turn over their weapons.

Russian forces have been seizing Ukrainian military facilities for several days in the Black Sea peninsula, which voted a week ago to secede and join Russia.

Elsewhere, more than 5,000 pro-Russia residents of a major city in Ukraine's east demonstrated in favor of holding a referendum on whether to seek to split off and become part of Russia.

The rally in Donetsk came less than a week after the Ukrainian region of Crimea approved secession in a referendum regarded as illegitimate by Western countries. After the referendum, Russia formally annexed Crimea.

With Crimea now effectively under the control of Russian forces, which ring Ukrainian military bases on the strategic Black Sea peninsula, concern is rising that Ukraine's eastern regions will agitate for a similar move.

Russia has brought large military contingents to areas near the border with eastern Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there is no intention to move into eastern Ukraine, but the prospect of violence between pro- and anti-secession groups in the east could be used as a pretext for sending in troops.

Eastern Ukraine is the heartland of Ukraine's economically vital heavy industry and mining. It's also the support base for Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president who fled to Russia last month after three months of protests in the capital, Kiev, triggered by his decision not to sign an agreement with the European Union.

Russia and Yanukovych supporters contend Yanukovych's ouster was a coup and allege that the authorities who then came to power are nationalists who would oppress the east's large ethnic Russian population.

 A Ukrainian observer said it best, when he voiced his fears as he watched what was left of his freedoms being ripped away, "They're trying to tear us away from Russia," said demonstrator Igor Shapoval, a 59-year-old businessman. "But Donbass is ready to fight against this band which already lost Crimea and is losing in the east." Read more KBOI2

 Our "spineless" leader and government has said threatened that "stricter sanctions" are in order if Putin advances; however, Putin has already threatened that will not be tolerated.

Putin has made it blatantly clear that not only does he not care what we do to him, that he's mocked Obama by slapping "travel" sanctions on White House Aides and U.S. Lawmakers; sanctions as silly and supercilious as the ones Obama inflicted on him. He's continuing to make it clear that he has his sights on furthering his property power grab, as Palin and Romney predicted, as he thumbs his nose and tells Obama that our "sanctions on Russia, won't work." If that isn't bad enough, our Administration has no problem showing our hand.

Let's praise Putin's military prowess:

“The way some of this has been reported there is a suggestion that Russia’s actions have been clever, but this has not been a sign of strength,” Obama said.

By all means, let's also give them a "time line" to act:

Both Obama and Kerry called on Russia to wait for Ukrainian elections in 90 days and to let Ukrainians ratify their new government or not.

Now, listen to Putin's words and you tell me if he's planning on stopping here or continuing on, as prophesied would happen if Obama got elected:

President Putin addressed the world in a televised press conference Tuesday saying the tense situation in Crimea would not descend into all out war in Ukraine and that military force would only be used as a last resort.

"We will not go to war with the Ukrainian people. If we do take military action, it will only be for the protection of the Ukrainian people," said Putin, who described those living in the former Soviet block as Russia's "brothers and sisters."

I'm sure all the Countries Hitler took over was a "last resort" too, Luxembourg, France, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belorussia, Ukraine, Crimea; then we have the Countries allied to Germany, but still under his control, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Czechoslovakia and Austria; while America looked the other way as he collected country after country too.

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."George Santayana

The world has prove, by an act of its will and forgetfulness, that it is a perpetual caricature of itself. Don't worry, Mr. President, King of Denial,  it's not a Cold War it's just Russian climate change.