My previous press stated that Russia’s action could be good for Obama…….I doubt it but let us take another tack on this……
There are those that think the sanctions thingy could be an impotent move……read and tell me what you think……
Why US sanctions could play into Putin’s hand – CSMonitor.com.
The situation in Ukraine is deteriorating daily……and each time a new story breaks I think back to the actions taken by Germany with the Saar, Rhineland, etc…….it is all too eerie……
Back the answer that the world has, at least and this time in the situation, is sanctions…..but the real question should be….just how effective will sanctions be against Russia?
There are times when the news hands you a story that is just too good to pass up…..and early this morning I got just one of those ………
First there is this piece which I think is an excellent idea……
Pope Francis has created a commission to advise him on priest sex abuse, but it’s unclear whether the group will wield any power against abusers and bishops who cover up for them, report the Daily Beast and the AP. The commission consists of four men, three of whom are priests, and four women, all laity, one of whom was sexually abused by a priest and advocates for child safety in the Catholic Church. Another woman, French psychologist Catherine Bonnet, has written at length about child sex abuse. But it’s not clear exactly what the commission will do—Pope Francis preferred to let its members work out the details, the Boston Globe reports. Broadly speaking, the commission will advise on policies that safeguard children, keep abusers from becoming priests, and train members of the church. Francis created the commission after remarks he made defending the church’s record on abuse led to a political firestorm, with one group accusing him of stonewalling on five alleged abuse cases as archbishop in Buenos Aires. And critics are still skeptical: “They do not need yet another ‘Study Commission,'” said a victim advocacy group. “The pope must take strong steps right now to protect kids, expose predators, discipline enablers, and uncover cover-ups.” (For more, see why Francis called some priests “little monsters.”)
A good idea……but that is not the freebie of which I spoke……this is the one I could resist…….a smile and a chuckle are always nice on Mondays…………..report in UK’s Guardian newspaper…..
German customs officials have intercepted a package addressed to the Vatican containing 14 condoms filled with cocaine.
A government spokesman said a box packed with 340 grammes of the drug, valued at €40,000 (£33,470), was seized in January at the international airport in the eastern city of Leipzig.
The cocaine, posted from an unnamed South American country, was in liquid form. It had been poured into the condoms and placed in the package addressed to the main postal centre at the Vatican.
Authorities handed the parcel to a Vatican police officer with the aim of laying a trap.
But the box was not claimed. German investigators believe the intended recipient, who remains unknown, was tipped off about the interception.
The Vatican office of Interpol is working on the investigation with the Leipzig prosecutor’s office, which could not be reached for comment.
A bit ironic……if anyone knows anything about coke…..a condom is the last thing you would be using…..it lays unclaimed……it had better or there is more explanations that need to be said…………this brings up so many questions that it boggles the mind…….I am sure that there is a logic explanation….but I am still searching for it…….
Any thoughts?
Inkwell Institute
Eurasian Desk
I am a fortunate person……I have the time to keep up with my interests…..politics, international affairs and economics….I can thank that bitch Katrina for this good fortune…..you see she crushed my leg that forced me into retirement which in turn gave me all the time I want to keep track of the world and its insanities……
Now that the Crimean thing is all but settled and the Russians are pushing into Eastern Ukraine……..now with the loss of Crimea Ukraine will be needing to bring its economics into balance….but how will they do that? One term…..the IMF!
This situation is just what the IMF is looking for so they can step in and demand changes in the economy and society……………The IMF will offer financial assistance to Ukraine…..but that will mean a whole lot of restructuring…..and that could be a disaster in the making…..How you may ask?
Remember the old USSR, that evil empire that Reagan brought down single handedly, kinda like the work of Underdog, and with the failure and the collapse the IMF stepped in to help……help with the transition to a free market economy…….
Since the USSR’s collapse, Russia faced many problems that free markets proponents in 1992 did not expect. Among other things, 25% of the population lived below the poverty line, life expectancy had fallen, birthrates were low, and the GDP was halved. And this gave rise to the true “free markets”…..the Black Market and an increase of criminal activity that is still massive to this day……..
The IMF has been licking its chips to get their hands on the another country to boss around….they were not satisfied with the economic collapse of the PIGS…..now they have Ukraine to work on……….
IMF aid programs typically are accompanied by stringent conditions to ensure that a country will be able to fix its economy and make it grow. Canada, the European Union, the United States and other countries have promised to support Ukraine if an IMF program is put into place.
When developing countries get into financial trouble—usually because of reckless government spending—IMF procedures require that any loans made to these countries be accompanied by fulfillment of strict “conditions” that must be met before IMF funds can be disbursed.
Interesting, right? But what are these conditions?
Program approval or reviews are based on various policy commitments agreed with the country authorities. These can take different forms:
These are nothing more than a rape of the working class and a boom for business to take whatever they can out of the country before it implodes…….it lead to the depression in Russia after the collapse and it is killing the PIGS…..the people of each of these countries suffer at the hands of the IMF………and Ukraine will be NO different.
The IMF is the front man of trans-national corporations and their plundering of a nation in trouble……..I see political unrest in the Ukrainian situation which could lead to even more economic problems…….