What’s interesting in the news today?
Open thread, with a few from me to start off.
1. Why Russia no longer fears the US.
From Politico “The West is blinking in disbelief – Vladimir Putin just invaded Ukraine. German diplomats, French Eurocrats and American pundits are all stunned. Why has Russia chosen to gamble its trillion-dollar ties with the West?
Western leaders are stunned because they haven’t realized Russia’s owners no longer respect Europeans the way they once did after the Cold War. Russia thinks the West is no longer a crusading alliance. Russia thinks the West is now all about the money.
Putin’s henchmen know this personally. Russia’s rulers have been buying up Europe for years. They have mansions and luxury flats from London’s West End to France’s Cote d’Azure. Their children are safe at British boarding and Swiss finishing schools. And their money is squirrelled away in Austrian banks and British tax havens.
Putin’s inner circle no longer fear the European establishment. They once imagined them all in MI6. Now they know better. They have seen firsthand how obsequious Western aristocrats and corporate tycoons suddenly turn when their billions come into play. They now view them as hypocrites—the same European elites who help them hide their fortunes.”
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2. 8 steps Obama must take to punish Russia.
From Politico “Russia’s illegal military incursion in the Crimea region in Ukraine is a grave violation of a nation’s sovereignty and cannot go unpunished.
First, President Obama should speak unequivocally and call this what it is: a military invasion. The Obama administration must publicly acknowledge that its “reset” with Russia is dead. The president must now accept that the only way to deal with tyrants like Vladimir Putin is with a clear understanding that they can’t be trusted and that only decisive action will deter their provocative moves.
Second, President Obama should dispatch Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to Kiev to show U.S. support for Ukraine’s transitional government, and urge our allies in the European Union and NATO to send representatives there as well. The United States should convene an emergency meeting of NATO to develop a strong united response from the trans-Atlantic alliance. And we should send high-level delegations to our allies in Central and Eastern Europe to reinforce the fact that we are standing by them. As part of this work with our allies, we should develop a series of economic and security assurance measures to help the transitional government in Kiev remain stable and carry out a democratic transition.”
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3. The WaPo editorial board is pointing out the fact that President Obama’s foreign policy is based on fantasy.
From TheWashingtonPost “FOR FIVE YEARS, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality. It was a world in which “the tide of war is receding” and the United States could, without much risk, radically reduce the size of its armed forces. Other leaders, in this vision, would behave rationally and in the interest of their people and the world. Invasions, brute force, great-power games and shifting alliances — these were things of the past. Secretary of State John F. Kerry displayed this mindset on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday when he said, of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, “It’s a 19th century act in the 21st century.”
That’s a nice thought, and we all know what he means. A country’s standing is no longer measured in throw-weight or battalions. The world is too interconnected to break into blocs. A small country that plugs into cyberspace can deliver more prosperity to its people (think Singapore or Estonia) than a giant with natural resources and standing armies.
Unfortunately, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not received the memo on 21st-century behavior. Neither has China’s president, Xi Jinping, who is engaging in gunboat diplomacy against Japan and the weaker nations of Southeast Asia. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is waging a very 20th-century war against his own people, sending helicopters to drop exploding barrels full of screws, nails and other shrapnel onto apartment buildings where families cower in basements. These men will not be deterred by the disapproval of their peers, the weight of world opinion or even disinvestment by Silicon Valley companies. They are concerned primarily with maintaining their holds on power.”
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4. Next, some video reminders, and healthy dose of “I told you so.”
Apparently Putin didn’t get the memo.
From HotAir “Now seems like a reasonable moment to recall these zingers, which Democrats and the media thought were terribly clever in 2012. Mitt Romney’s clear-eyed assessment of Vladimir Putin’s Russia is looking more spot-on accurate than ever, yet it was greeted at the time with widespread ridicule.”
“Who’s laughing now?”
There’s also more video of the DNC propaganda network explaining how wrong Romney was. Except he wasn’t, they were.
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5. Finally……. About time someone points out the obvious. This is just another of the President’s foreign policy fantasies.
From TheJerusalemPost “Prime MinisterBinyamin Netanyahu met with US President Barack Obama in theOval Office on Monday, pushing back against pressure from the White House to swiftly cut a deal with the Palestinians as the president warned time was running out for peace.
“Israel has been doing its part, and I regret to say that the Palestinians haven’t,” Netanyahu said to Obama, in front of the press. “The people of Israel know that it’s the case.”
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6. Birds of a feather and all.
From TheDailyCaller “Progressive billionaire George Soros and the Obama administration help fund the Chicago nonprofit that set up Obamacare enrollment programs for prison inmates.
Chicago-based Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) helped establish Obamacare enrollment programs for prisoners at Chicago’s Cook County Jail. Cook County is one of at least six states and counties enrolling prisoners to help shift inmate medical costs to federal taxpayers.
“A lot of states will come to this, because state corrections budgets are huge and county jail budgets are huge,” said TASC spokesperson Maureen McDonnell.”
All this does is shift the burden from the local/state level to the federal level. But don’t hold your breathe looking for a tax rebate on the local level. They need the extra cash to fund their pension/legacy costs.
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7. Is yelling the new spanking?
From Today “You love them like crazy, but they can also drive you crazy, so no matter how well-behaved your children are, there comes a time when you need to get tough.
For lots of parents, that means yelling – something many feel awful about afterwards.”
“She’s also an opponent of spanking. In fact, some experts speculate that many families – apparently taking to heart research that indicates spanking can make kids more aggressive, angry and lead to problems later in life — are instead turning to yelling as a way to control their children.
“Yelling is the new spanking. It’s sort of the go-to strategy for parents… I think (this) definitely is a generation of yellers,” said Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and a TODAY Moms contributor. Many families tell her it’s the number one issue they want to change.“
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Wandering Views 
I’d say about 98% of my father’s generation were spanked or even whipped. At the majority of my generation was. Now it is rare. Why then has the world not gotten less violent?
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Kbells: I don’t spank. Hubby does, though not often and not in a long time as our youngest is nine now. I spanked L. twice: once for running away from me in a parking lot and once for continuously taking off her seatbelt. She was an easily correctable kid. Becca was spanked more as a young kid as she’s much more defiant (my strong-willed child). But, I hate it. I have yelled –which I also don’t like– but I must admit to sometimes losing my cool and resorting to yelling. I believe positive reinforcement is much more effective as a disciplinary tool.
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Parents in the US no longer spank their children. Instead, they drug them.
The Ukranian situation is complex. However, it is interesting to see Obama and Kerry lecture and nag the Russians even as they have lectured and nagged conservative Americans for years. I have to be a little envious of the Russians, who can simply ignore those two.
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I’m not advocating for or against spanking. I don’t do it often. I’m just questioning the research. Strong willed kids tend to be more aggressive and will get spanked more. This doesn’t mean that spanking is what made them aggressive.
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Someone please explain this Russian situation to me. I am just having a hard time wrapping my head around it. First we have insulted most of our Allies, now we need them/they need us? How are we able to offer them financial support when we can’t even pay our own bills. I am not one for seeing Russia gain great power. I am just not sure what to think.
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Backing off for now?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-04/putin-says-no-need-yet-for-russia-to-send-troops-to-ukraine.html
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Oh no! Putin doesn’t respect Obama!!! Oh…never mind we can send John Kerry!
I for one am embarrassed…
I saw a meme on FB today that showed Obama and said “Russia’s being mean…I’m confused”
“Here Barack…have a Snickers…your kind of a wimp when you’re hungry”
Then at the bottom he turns into GWB and takes a hard line with Putin.
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Interesting take on Ukraine. Russia has turned off the natural gas supply to Ukraine twice. Once in 2004 (5?) and again in 2009. The problem with this is that the pipelines to Western Europe run through Ukraine making it difficult to stop Ukraine gas only. Russia recently completed a northern pipeline north of Poland to Western Europe and are currently constructing another pipeline that also bypasses Ukraine. Recent discoveries of large shale gas deposits in Western Ukraine and also in eastern Ukraine would defeat the purpose of this new gas line, thereby causing Russian to act by moving into Ukraine instead of being able to finish both lines and then cutting off Ukraine and causing Ukraine to give in to Russian demands just so they can heat their homes. The shale gas deposits would also benefit Russia if they were to take over Ukraine.
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