Yesterday an RT anchor was removed from the air for criticizing President Vladimir Putin, she was dispatched to Crimea for “additional education“.

Today, a second RT anchor quit over her inability to sell the BS any longer.

…..”And that is why personally, I cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian  government that whitewashes the actions of Putin.    I’m proud to be an American and believe in disseminating  the truth, and that is why, after this newscast, I’m resigning.”…

(New York Daily News)  A Russia Today anchor broke through the Iron Curtain.  Liz Wahl, a (former) Washington, D.C. correspondent for the state-owned  television station, quit live on-air Wednesday because she does not agree with  the network’s backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military  intervention in Ukraine’s Crimea region. (more…)

From what can be determined this event took place in the city of Kharkov close to the border with Russia. The crowd was generally pro-Russia and the Red ribbons and armbands signify a pro-putin, pro-communist, pro-Russia sensibility.

The young men coming from the building were Ukrainian Nationalists, or of the same ideological sympathy as the revolutionary crowds.  The ethnic divisions seem to exacerbate the issues being faced.

The video, while brutal, reflects how stark the ideological differences are within the Ukrainian people. (more…)

(Via UK Telegraph) A TV presenter working for a Kremlin-funded channel who spoke out against Russia’s military invasion in Ukraine live on air has been sent by the broadcaster to Crimea to “better her knowledge” of the situation.

In an off-message tirade, Abby Martin, a Washington-based American news anchor for Russia Today, shocked mostly pro-Russian viewers by announcing she “cannot stress enough” how strongly she felt about presence of its troops in Crimea, saying “Russia was wrong”.

(more…)

The Weekly Standard has some excellent analysis of a VERY insightful interview given by President Obama to  Jeff Goldberg of Bloomberg Media. 

The Full Obama foreign policy interview is HERE.  (A must read for those who tackle understanding of what motivates the current administration at the core.)  

Weekly Standard – On the eve of the Netanyahu visit to Washington, President Obama gave a lengthy interview to Jeffrey Goldberg that shows a chief executive who has learned next to nothing about the world in his five years in office.

First, kudos to Goldberg: he pressed Obama repeatedly, challenging vague formulations and seeking clarity. Goldberg pushed Obama hard, especially on Iran and Syria.

Obama isn’t good off the cuff, especially when challenged; he is far better with a prepared speech. And what emerged is an awful portrait of the president and his conception of the world.

Take Syria. Here’s what Obama said: (more…)

“It’s ironic that for all the talk about how tough Chicago politics are, and what hardball they train into their politicians, Obama is absurdly soft in the face of menace. Sure, he’s tough on certain things – House Republicans, debt ceiling limits, Bibi Netanyahu – but give him someone who doesn’t have to kowtow and he shrivels.”

We knew the Obama Administration was serious because they sent their most steely-eyed national security heavy to lay down the law on the Sunday talk shows….or maybe it was just a line of ketchup drawn in the sand.  Anyway, John Kerry dropped the hammer:

“I think there are, you know, they are inviting the possibility of very serious repercussions on trade, on investment, on assets, asset freeze, visa bonds. The potential of actions by the global community against this unilateral step.”

(more…)

WH Deputy Natl Security Adviser Tony Blinken re Putin’s intentions: “I honestly don’t know what his end goal is.” @npratc

— melissa block (@NPRmelissablock) March 3, 2014

(more…)

The truly Great Communicator, Ronald Reagan knew that summits with Gorbachev were the one way he could directly telegraph a message to the walled-off Soviet public. After all, even Soviet TV was obliged to cover these events.

The partners’ first handshake took place outside a 120-year-old Geneva chateau. Reagan arrived first and burst out the door, bounding down the steps without his coat on a cold day, as Gorbachev’s limo pulled up. Gorbachev, bundled in a gray overcoat, looking very much like the guest, was greeted by a dapper Reagan, 20 years his senior.

To top it off, Reagan put his arm under Gorbachev’s, as if he were aiding him up the stairs. All this was captured live on Soviet TV, and it was the first step in reshaping the view of Reagan in the eyes of the Soviet public.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan smiles as he talks to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev outside the villa Fleur D’Eau at Versoix near Geneva, Switzerland, November 19, 1985

In the U.S., Reagan’s talk of the sinister nature of Communism was often dismissed as the rhetoric of a right-wing ideologue. In Moscow, policymakers believed he meant business. The Communist Party newspapers (of course, back then all of them were party newspapers) whipped themselves into a frenzy with invective about the 40th U.S. President.

He was portrayed as a wild “cowboy,” a “shameless liar,” and “a rabid militarist” who employed the “slogans and methods of Hitler.” Cartoons depicted him waving a Stetson as he gleefully sat atop a ballistic missile. He may have called them the Evil Empire, but in the Soviet view, Reagan was evil incarnate. (more…)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says the United States has decided not to send a presidential delegation to the Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia. The move is in retaliation for Russia’s military advances in Ukraine.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden says President Barack Obama still supports the U.S. athletes participating and wishes them success.

The U.S. and its allies are weighing sanctions and other potential consequences to persuade Russia to reverse course in Ukraine. Britain has also decided not to send ministers to the Paralympic Games, which start Friday. (more…)

Important notes:  •The deadline for force surrender is 10:00pm tonight.  •Secretary Kerry arrives in Ukraine tomorrow.  •Russia has declared  a new state: “The Autonomous Republic of Crimea“.

(Via NBC)  The Russian military has given Ukrainian forces in Crimea until 5 a.m. Tuesday (10 p.m. ET Monday) to surrender or face a “storm,” Interfax news agency reported.

“If they do not surrender by 5 a.m. tomorrow, we will start a real storm in Ukrainian bases in Crimea,” according to the statement sent by the Russians to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, a ministry source told Interfax. NBC News could not immediately confirm the report.

The ultimatum was attributed to Alexandr Vitko, chief commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. (more…)

The New York times deposits a story today titled “Pressure Rising as Obama Works to Rein In Russia“.   The generally sympathetic article toward Obama is being cited by numerous politicos while the left-leaning media are circling an almost bizarre wagon to prop up the perception of Obama as strong.

MSNBC’s Mark Halperin is winning so far in the over-the-top water carrying category by stating that Ronald Reagan never faced a Russian adversary as strong as Russia’s President Putin:

The political analyst and author also cited a New York Times report published Sunday that said in her call with President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised doubts about Putin being in touch with reality, saying he is “in another world.”  Halperin called it “the scariest thing I’ve seen in the last 24 hours.”

“President [Ronald] Reagan never faced a Soviet leader like this. This guy is ruthless,” Halperin added.  (link)

{ Slobber – DRINK – Slobber }

However, what Mark Halperin, and the rest of the media, fail to see in the Times article is the evidence it holds for the ineptitude of the White House.  (more…)