'Toontime: Bare Your Chest and Carry a Big Fish

[credit: Margulies, Newsday]
BC Idonwanna sez: Foul Not, for Providence shines on Cotton-Batts!

Russia is sending a loud signal to Ukraine's interim government that it will not accept its alignment with the West*. Russian forces are massing at the country's eastern border as the occupied Crimea awaits a referendum on succession scheduled for Sunday. Germany's Chancellor Merkle rebuked Russia for the intervention in strong terms Thursday showing the East-West divide is widening over Ukraine's future and perhaps is even a harbinger of return to Cold War statis in relations with Russia. Merkle grew up in communist East Germany and has emerged as the leading European leader willing to talk tough economic sanctions against Russia. President Putin served as a German speaking KGB agent in East Germany. Europe does ten time more business with Russia than the US, mostly in the form of oil and gas imports. The Russian stock market hit a four year low on Thursday and CDS on Russian debt rose to their highest levels in two years. Putin appears unfazed by western threats of economic retaliation, perhaps assuming that western powers are unlikely to respond militarily to Crimea's annexation. Secretary of State Kerry is scheduled to meet his counterpart Sergey Lavrov today in London for talks to try to de-escalate the mounting crisis. The US administration has so far not granted a request from Ukraine to grant it military aid. The idea of Ukraine defeating a full-blown Russia invasion is far-fetched. So far, Russia has not made the necessary preparations for such an invasion.  However, units totaling tens of thousands of soldiers and their equipment is engaging in exercises in Kursk, Belgorod and Rostov bordering on Ukraine. Some of the units appear to be part of Russia's military elite.

[credit David Horsey, LA Times]

Wackydoodle sez: Wanna see the one where he holds his big fish?

*bailing out the indebted Ukrainian government is an expensive proposition. A $1bn aid package has stalled in the House primarily because the source of the funds will come from the Pentagon's budget and is linked to International Monetary Fund reforms. Ukraine's government told Washington it was close to default and asked for $35bn over two years. The EU has offered only $15bn.