Crisis in Ukraine

[habsheaven]

Out of 7 pages there are a small spatter of credible posts the rest are just bickering school children seeing who can scream the loudest. If I were any of you I would kind of be embarrassed.

Thanks for contributing with such a credible post yourself. It really adds to the discussion immensely. For the record, three or four of my posts in this thread were asking for legitimate discussion and were ignored every time. lol

[shrewsbury]

I am always amazed at the comments made to try and belittle other posters.
If you can't handle another persons opinion why would you post here?
do you guys never bicker with your family, spouse, or friends?

I can honestly say there are a few people on here I rarely agree with but would argue with all day long and enjoy it.
one example;

habs pokes at me all the time, but (don't tell him) I don't mind one bit and find it kind of fun, he seems like a good guy and I would miss him if he left. It doesn't bother me when he says I am wrong, mislead, or even dumb, that is his opinion. but with all that said, habs has never "attacked" me.

This is not an educational forum, we are here to express our opinions and if we learn something new, that is an added bonus.

If you are looking for something purely educational, go back to school and take a class, they offer online ones.

[Wickabee]

Really? Vague accusations are "poking fun"

I'm all for poking fun, you know that. That was an angry post that ultimately brought nothing to the discussion except "This discussion sucks"

Personally I believe he has every right to say it and we have every right to respond as we see fit. It's what happens to me, and anyone else, when we do that same thing, and we do, lots.

So relax, bossman. Jeez.

[sanfran22]

Arrogant? because I don't believe Palin and Romney are as intelligent as Obama? Since you question my arrogance, I will question your ignorance. Are you that ignorant in real life? You can quote what Obama has said all day. It will make no difference. You interpret every word out of his mouth as BAD. I know it. You know it. Everyone that has read a post by you knows it. BTW, why have you not accepted my challenge to name ANYTHING you agreed with Obama on? You deftly ignored that.

Not a lot, he's here to fundamentally change the concept of this country. would you agree with the devil? I did agree with his lack of closing guantanamo, his reup of tax cuts. But why would one agree with someone who is fundamentally on the opposite side of most everything? Someone who at every turn shoes weakness and that he's unqualified? Should I ask you what you agreed with or Reagan? Bush? Who cares?

[habsheaven]

Sanity speaks:

By Fareed Zakaria
Inevitably, the crisis in Ukraine is being discussed in Washington largely through the lens of political polarization. It seems like any and every topic is fodder for partisan dispute these days, even the weather – actually, especially the weather.
Many Republicans are arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin intervened in the Crimea region of Ukraine because of President Barack Obama's weakness. Putin saw that Obama didn't want to go to war in Syria, for example, and this emboldened Putin.
Well, who knows right? It's tough to know what would have happened in an alternative universe. Imagine that we still had Putin around in charge of Russia, but imagine he faced a different president, one who was tough, aggressive, who had no compunctions about invading countries.
Oh wait, we ran that very experiment in 2008! Putin faced George W. Bush, a president who had invaded Afghanistan and Iraq for good measure (and, in the latter case, defying massive international pressure and opposition). And yet, Putin invaded Georgia. And not, as he did this time, in a stealthy way with soldiers who were already there who simply switched their uniforms. He sent in Russian tanks roaring into Georgia and – without any referendums – simply annexed two pieces of that country.
Does this prove that Bush was a wimp after all? No it doesn’t. You see, there has been some very good and careful scholarship – by Daryl Press and Jonathan Mercer among others – that looks at historical cases to figure out whether having a reputation for "toughness" actually deters your opponents from doing bad things – like invading countries.
In general, the answer is, no.
Countries make these decisions based on many factors. But the most important ones seem to be a careful analysis of the power dynamics of the specific case. So in Ukraine, Russia would ask, is this a vital interest of the United States? And what is Washington's capacity to act in this particular situation?
More from CNN: 5 lessons for a new Cold War
In other words, Putin would look at his cards, look at Washington's cards, and the specifics of the situation in Ukraine rather than assuming that because Bush invaded Iraq, he would defend Georgia, or that because Obama didn't invade Syria, he would do nothing about Ukraine.
Politicians in Washington are convinced that Putin was encouraged by Western weakness. But it's actually quite possible that Putin felt he was acting to stop the West's growing strength. After all, just look at the situation from Russian eyes.
In 1991, Moscow gave up its 75-year-old Soviet empire. It also gave up large parts of its 300-year-old Russian empire including Ukraine. Since then, its historic rival, NATO, has expanded closer and closer to Moscow's borders. And then, the West encouraged Ukrainians to take to the streets and depose their president, who had close ties to Moscow.
Now none of this excuses aggression or justifies Putin's thuggish response. But if we are going to find a political solution in Ukraine that will stick, we need to recognize that the issues at stake are not personal – and that they are much larger than Obama's alleged weakness and Putin's paranoia.

[Wickabee]

Not a lot, he's here to fundamentally change the concept of this country.

Here's your first mistake: Letting FOX do your thinking for you.

[sanfran22]

Here's your first mistake: Letting FOX do your thinking for you.

Don't need Fox, Just need to hear him speak and look at his influences. Something apparently you don't do?

[Wickabee]

Don't need Fox, Just need to hear him speak and look at his influences. Something apparently you don't do?

I don't. Apparently you do.

[pwaldo]

http://news.yahoo.com/russia-says-in...180430584.html

Report: Russia downs US drone in Crimea

[centrehice]

John McCain picks Sarah Palin for a running mate, and now expects the US people to listen to him regarding Russia? Lol. Somebody get a Social Services order, and get this guy into an asylum where he belongs.