Puppet MastersS


Stock Down

Bank runs and dwindling reserves: Ukraine's central bank abandons dollar peg

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© Bloomberg
Following yesterday's admission by the new head of Ukraine's central bank of the considerable bank runs in recent days and the rapid dwindling of central bank reserves, Sergiy Kruglik - the director of international affairs for the bank - announced this morning that Ukraine has abandoned the dollar peg and will adopt a flexible exchange rate. The Hyrvnia collapsed through 10.00 on the news and is now trading 10.40 at record lows against the USD.

As The Economist notes, on February 7th the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU, the central bank) finally devalued the official rate of the hryvnya, to HRN8.7:US$1.

The policy was then to set the peg to the dollar roughly in line with trading on the interbank exchange. At the same time, the authorities introduced more foreign-exchange controls.

Calendar

Russia says it will not interfere with Ukrainian affairs

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© RIA Novosti/Maxim BlinovSergei Lavrov
Russia's top diplomat said Tuesday that Moscow will not interfere with affairs in Ukraine as the former Soviet nation scrambles to recover from the outcome of a street-based uprising that culminated in the overthrow of the president.

The Kremlin has reacted with barely disguised anger to the ascent to power by political forces that had until last week occupied the ranks of the opposition, but it has been at pains to convey a non-interventionist stance over developments in Ukraine.

"We have confirmed our principled position to not interfere in Ukraine's internal affairs and expect all [foreign powers] to follow a similar logic," said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Lavrov said it would be "dangerous and counterproductive" to give Ukraine an ultimatum of "either you're with us or against us."

Political unrest erupted in Ukraine in November when the government of then-President Viktor Yanukovych indefinitely postponed the signing of free trade and association deals with the European Union to instead focus on strengthening ties with Russia.

Stormtrooper

Poland as the 'Slavic Turkey' of NATO Destabilization

Poland, the eager American servant that it has been, has now officially taken on the role of the 'Slavic Turkey' in relation to Ukraine. Just as Turkey has been a geopolitically convenient conduit for arms, personnel, and material support for the Syrian terrorists, so too has Poland begun to officially fulfill this role for their Ukrainian counterparts.

Radek Sikorski
© unknownPolish minister of Foreign Affairs, Radek Sikorski, with the three main ukrainian opposition leaders, in Kiev.
Prime Minister Tusk stated on 20 February, 2014 that Poland is already treating the injured insurgents from Kiev, and has actually ordered the military and interior ministry to provide hospitals to help even more [1]. The deputy health minister has confirmed that Warsaw is in contact with the rebels in Kiev "in making plans to take in Ukrainian wounded".This means that Poland has formally extended its covert and diplomatic reach nearly 300 miles into the interior of Ukraine, and that its intelligence services are obviously doing more in Ukraine than just 'helping the wounded' (terrorists). It is even more likely that Polish influence is even stronger in Lviv and Volyn Oblasts, the regions bordering Poland, and coincidentally or not, Lviv has already attempted to declare independence. The same can be said of Turkish influence deep into Syria at the height of the crisis in that country, and one must be reminded of the fact that Turkey also helped the wounded fighters in that country recover on its territory.

Propaganda

Anti-Russian propaganda: Russia evokes World War II in media blitz on Ukraine

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© AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenk
"Which side were you on in World War Two?" is not a question that often arises on radio talk shows but a Russian caller named Alexander was asked precisely that at least three times on Tuesday when he expressed support for Ukraine's new rulers.

The judgment was quick. Two Russian presenters decided Alexander must have been on the side of the fascists who fought Soviet forces during the war because he refused to condemn the new Ukrainian leadership.

"Do you know how many Russians Bandera killed?" asked the outspoken host of the morning phone-in, Vladimir Solovyov - a reference to Stepan Bandera, leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement that was built in western Ukraine and is accused by Russians of siding with the Nazis.

On Russian television, weeks of footage of wounded policemen and burning tyres have given way to sober pictures of politicians and Ukrainians predicting Ukraine will split after opposition forces took control in Kiev and the president fled.

In a sign the Kremlin is shaken by losing a struggle for influence with the West in its neighbour, the language has been set against the us-or-them background of the Soviet victory against Adolf Hitler - a source of national pride.

Vader

The Ukraine: Neo-Nazi criminal state looming in the centre of Europe

"There are many who do not know they are fascists
but will find it out when the time comes
."

(Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls)
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© UnknownMaidan square in Kiev
On February 22, militants and terrorists of the Euromaidan Parliament executed a neo-Nazi coup using armed force, violating all norms of the Constitution, international law, and trampling European values. Washington and Brussels - who told the world that Euromaidan is a nonviolent action of the Ukrainian people - instigated a Nazi coup to serve the geopolitical interests of the West, facilitated de facto by the weak-kneed stance of the Yanukovych government.

Quenelle

As sun sets on Sochi, jealous West takes center stage

Tyahnybok McCain
© UnknownJohn McCain with Neo-Nazi Svoboda Party leader Oleh Tyahnibok, Kiev, December 15, 2013
First of all, lets dispense with the mince words. I suppose one could say this was not a fascist coup - as long as one ignores its coup-like violence and overt fascist nature. It should be clear for all to see, those Arab Spring type cheerleaders, liberals, third way aficionados and radicals who, to paraphrase a friend, tend to see any gathering of more than 100 people as a mass movement and an excuse to jump in, following whomever: "socialists, fascists, or long lines for restrooms."

But the Regime Change Roadshow is getting old, and some of us were not fooled. Let's be clear, to use one of the US President's more meaningless and worn out catch phrases: this is not about 'some fascists' or 'fringe elements' or 'unexpected' fascists 'within the ranks' of a 'peaceful protest movement.' Sorry, I'm running out of quotation marks. The plain fact is that fascists are now the power in Ukraine: Fascists maintain checkpoints across Kiev, fascists guard government buildings, fascists are taking control of military arsenals. Kiev City Hall has been decorated with an enormous banner of Svoboda's Nazi hero, Stepan Bandera.

Stock Down

Ukraine is bankrupt, hopes for $35 bln financial aid from EU, US

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© RIA Novosti
Ukraine's Finance Ministry and National Bank, along with parliamentary speaker Aleksandr Turchinov, have suggested to the country's international partners - particularly Poland and the United States - that a financial assistance credit of around $35 billion be extended in the next week or two.

"During the last two days we have had consultations and meetings with ambassadors from the EU, USA, other countries, and financial organization over Ukraine getting urgent macro-financial aid," acting Finance Minister Yuriy Kolobov said in a statement issued on Monday.

Comment: For anyone who still hasn't figured out what IMF "assistance" means for a country, check out (and the book):
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Documentary)


Bad Guys

'I dare you take my gun!' AK-47-toting Ukraine far-right leader tells officials

Aleksandr Muzychko
© RTA US supported and condoned fascist, Aleksandr Muzychko practising democracy with his AK 47.
Regional parliament members in a Ukrainian city held a session at gunpoint when one of the radical nationalist opposition leaders came to them, armed to the teeth, as the law of power seems to be prevailing in the tumultuous post-coup country.

A Kalashnikov appears to be the best argument in a debate for Aleksandr Muzychko, an activist of the nationalist "Pravy Sektor" (Right Sector) movement and one of the Maidan's most prominent and controversial leaders.

On Tuesday he came to the Rovno regional parliament, where he threatened the regional MPs with a machine-gun and a number of other weapons as he demanded a decision on granting apartments to the families of protesters who were killed during last week's violent clashes in central Kiev.

"Who wants to take away my machine-gun? Who wants to take away my gun? Who wants to take away my knives? I dare you!" Muzychko said.

His lobbying methods have apparently been imported from Chechnya, where the man, aka Sashko Bilyi, was fighting alongside separatist forces in the 1990s. He now boasts of having demolished Russian tanks and killed Russian soldiers.


Comment: A chaos that the EU and the US bears a large part of the responsibility for, by deliberately fueling the tensions and funding, endorsing and encouraging extremist groups.


War Whore

Baiting the Bear: US warns Russia it would be a 'grave mistake' to send its military into Ukraine‏

Putin
America has warned Russia it would be a 'grave mistake' to send military forces into Ukraine as its new leader said it wants to integrate with the European Union.

Susan Rice, President Barack Obama's national security adviser said it is not in the interests of Ukraine, Russia, Europe or the United States to see the country split.

Speaking on the NBC program 'Meet the Press', Ms Rice was asked about a possible scenario in which Russia would send forces into Ukraine to restore a government more friendly to Moscow.

She said: 'That would be a grave mistake. It is not in the interests of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or the United States to see the country split. It's in nobody's interest to see violence return and the situation escalate.'

Ms Rice's comments are the most extensive from the White House to date since the recent dramatic events unfolded in Ukraine.

Comment: After such a deliberate and intense effort to overthrow the Ukrainian government and engineer this crisis in the first place, that US officials can spout such nonsense is just laughable.


Bug

Obama's claim that 7 million got 'access to health care for the first time' because of his Medicaid expansion earns Four Pinocchios

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© Unknown
"We've got close to 7 million Americans who have access to health care for the first time because of Medicaid expansion."

The Fact Checker has written several times about the fuzziness of the Medicaid numbers issued by the Obama administration. But it is like playing whack-a-mole. Every time we rap someone for getting it wrong, the same problem pops up someplace else.

But here is the ultimate authority - the president of the United States - making the problematic claim that everyone counted under the administration's Medicaid math is getting "access to health care for the first time." Time for a refresher course!

The Facts

Medicaid is the health-care program for the poor, generally those at or below the federal poverty level. The Affordable Care Act expanded it to individuals with incomes of up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (about $15,850), though the Supreme Court gave states the option of whether to participate.

So far, 25 states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid, while four more are considering it. Under the ACA, the government will initially pay 100 percent of the cost of expansion, though it eventually drops to 90 percent. (Under the current formula, the cost is split at least 50-50 between the states and the federal government.)