All the ducks are lining up...ducks in a row- militarized ducksCue the peaceful protests that were not peaceful Up the violence Make demands that can never be metUp the violenceMake more insane irrational demands And always continue escalatingIn a no holds barred/no win situtationFirst up- Klitschko- Situation could get out of controlI am going to highlight the interesting bits in three articles. Ready?
DW: How can further violence be stopped?Vitali Klitschko: I will do everything I can to stop the bloodshed. (Not) But the people are not happy with the results of negotiations that we opposition leaders had with President Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday (23.01.2014). They expected more. Unfortunately, Yanukovych is showing no desire to compromise with the people. A month ago the resignation of Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko might have been enough. A few weeks ago the resignation of the government might have been enough. Now the people want Yanukovych to step down.
Yanukokych is showing no desire to compromise with the people?The people are not happy and want Yanukovych to step down.Excuse me? Who is showing no desire to compromise? Who is making extreme violent demands on a fairly elected leader? (And believe me the US kept a watchful eye on that one) And would that not be equal to the US definition of terrorism?
VK continues: On Hrushevsky Street, one of the most dangerous centers of the conflict, I appealed to people for a period of calm. They listened to me and I am thankful to them for that. It was a gesture of goodwill and readiness to cooperate. But when we returned from the negotiation and I explained the results to them, I heard whistles of discontent. They were not directed at me but at the authorities and their refusal to engage in finding a solution to the conflict.
But the resolution demanded is for Yanukovych to step down... How is this a realistic resolution?Obviously, It isn’t. This is regime change.
DW: How can Europe help?VK: Europe has major leverage over Yanukovych and the people around him who keep their money in the European Union. ( sanctions, deny access to funds etc., Sanction of course always hurt the people, so the protestors are demanding that the EU harm the Ukranian people even more) We very much hope that our combined efforts will solve the growing conflict. It's already getting out of control, but there is still an opportunity to solve it peacefully without using the security forces. We have to take advantage of every opportunity. I told Yanukovych during the negotiations that this is his personal responsibility. His suggestions are not enough to get people to leave the streets and go home. He did not respond and we can see how the situation is escalating.
"Our combined efforts" clearly means the violent protestors and heavy sanctioning from the West- can it get more obvious that these protests have been staged, planned and worse from the get go. They weren't peaceful and there is nothing organic about them.
DW: For weeks you have called on the West to enact sanctions against the Ukrainian leadership. So far the EU has refused. Are you disappointed?VK: I have made appeals to many politicians and will continue to do so. I talk to statesmen from other countries. We need help, pressure, contacts: anything to convince Yanukovych that the solution to this conflict is in his hands. At the same time, I fear that the situation will keep escalating until one day, it spins completely out of control
The opposition, that came out of nowhere. Off the streets, people power and all that nonsense ask for the West to sanction the Ukraine and lo and behold..
# 2- America says It’s time to move on sanctions.
Now notice it was not the EU that took the lead. Not until the US gave it’s blessing. Looks as if that is about th happenFrom a WSJ article that is so absurd it would, it could, be a humour piece.. If it wasn’t so dam seriousSo, I am only going to post the most important info.
On Thursday, Joe Biden finally called the Ukrainian president "to urge an immediate de-escalation in the standoff . . . and to meaningfully address the legitimate concerns of peaceful protesters." That's good, but what took so long? The Veep should have called last week when the Ukrainian parliament passed the inflammatory laws.
After the first deaths of protestors in Ukraine's modern history this week, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev on Wednesday revoked the visas of officials linked to the violence. No names were specified. Washington has promised to "consider" other sanctions, and State and Treasury have debated the names of Ukraine officials and business oligarchs who could be put on a list for a visa ban and U.S. asset freeze.
Now's the time to act. Targeted travel and financial sanctions can be imposed by executive order, and the Administration can urge the EU and its member states to do the same. Little scares Ukrainian elites as much as losing access to their London flats or Cypriot bank accounts.
The Obama Administration has largely ignored Europe during its tenure, (ABSURD) but the strategic reality is that only Washington can lead an effort to pull Ukraine out of Moscow's orbit. The EU is divided and irresolute. Worrying parallels to Europe's mishandling of the Balkans in the early 1990s aren't far-fetched. Now as then the EU doesn't seem to realize what's at stake in preventing a violent crisis in its neighborhood. The bulk of Europe's energy supplies come through Ukraine, and pipelines crisscross the western regions with local governments that on Thursday fell to anti-Yanukovych demonstrators.
REGIONS WITH PIPELINES THAT CRISSCROSS THEM, TRANSPORTING ENERGY TO EUROPE FELL TO THE OPPOSITION FORCES... does that feel like war to you? Doesn't sound like peaceful protesting. Cause, it isn't. It's warCan that be a coincidence? Not a way in hell! Unless you are a complete coincidence theorist?! I am not.Now let's talk about those peaceful protests and how heavily armed these pro-west mercs, likely special forces, paid provocateurs and other assorted riff raff in amongst gullible persons.Ukrainian Policeman Shot Dead as Foreign Mediation UrgedThe cop killed was a head shot, clearly targeted to up the ante.A Ukrainian policeman was shot dead in the capital as violence resumed after the premier and the opposition called for foreign mediation to stem the unrest.
A 27-year-old police officer was found shortly before midnight in Kiev with a gunshot would to the head, the Interior Ministry said on its website. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said yesterday that he’s speaking to Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, while opposition leader Vitali Klitschko urged an international presence at talks that have so far failed to quell the anti-government protests.
The head shot is a clear provocation.
Opposition politicians have been frustrated in their demands for snap elections.
An obvious coup plot
“The situation in Ukraine is very explosive,” billionaire ex-Economy Minister Petro Poroshenko, who backs the protest movement, said yesterday from Davos, Switzerland. “If the government behaves as if nothing is happening in the country, it will considerably complicate the search for a way out.”
Clashes resumed shortly after 10 p.m. near parliament as protesters threw Molotov cocktails and rocks and police responded with rubber bullets and stun grenades. The Interior Ministry said witnesses heard shots and saw two people running away before the policeman’s body was discovered.
Building Seizures
While this week’s escalation in the protest movement occurred in Kiev, the focus has now switched to the regions as buildings of governors picked by Yanukovych were taken over by activists in the western cities of Lviv, Ternopil, Rivne, Lutsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi.
Pipelines, pipelines, pipelines...
Activists also targeted administrative offices in at least five more of the nation’s 24 regions, smashing their way in when police offered resistance, Ukrainian 5 TV reported. Police detained 58 protesters in the Cherkasy region for attempting a takeover, the Interior Ministry said.
European Union justice chief Viviane Reding warned of the risk of civil war, CNBC reported.
Yanukovych Exit
Even so, the president ceded some ground, promising a cabinet shuffle and changes to the anti-rally bill at an emergency parliament session called for Jan. 28. Klitschko told reporters later that protesters won’t be satisfied until the president resigns.
Parliament will also consider a no-confidence motion against the government next week, Svoboda party head Oleh Tyahnybok said Jan. 23 after hours of talks with Yanukovych. Crowds on Independence Square raged at the lack of concessions won by opposition politicians, whistling as Tyahnybok spoke.As part of a deal struck two days ago, three of the 103 activists who’ve been detained were freed yesterday morning. It’s unclear when crisis negotiations will resume, Natalia Lysova, spokeswoman for jailed ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko’s party, said yesterday by phone.“I don’t see talks leading to anything -- it’s been tried so many times,” said Ivan, a 20-year-old in an army helmet who’s been at Independence Square for a month and who declined to give his last name. “We’ll achieve something once the president resigns.”
Ministry Occupied
Demonstrators seized the Agriculture Ministry building near their tent camp yesterday to shelter from temperatures of minus 18 degrees Celsius (zero Fahrenheit) and set up a first-aid point, Interfax reported.
Flashback- Ukraine: Cargill acquires stake in UkrLand Farming/food control = people control