UKRAINE PARLIAMENT VOTES TO STIFF CREDITORS AND DEFAULT ON THEIR BOND OBLIGATIONS!

Today, Yahoo reported on the Ukrainian's parliament decree to stiff their creditors by $3.8 billion, defaulting on that debt. By propaganda, the report calls this default, "a restructuring agreement...[to keep Ukraine]...from falling into an unmanaged default." Elsewhere in the story, the writer refers to the default as a "20-percent debt write-down". Even the headline is pure propaganda — "Ukraine parliament backs crucial debt write-off deal."



The action by the Ukrainian Parliament is typical of lawgivers. They have no respect for property — the right of ownership — in this case the property collecting debt in full over time, or that, which we all call credit.

And people wonder why economies go bad and they live through hard times. Most live by superstition, believing in a slew of myths as to why economies go bad. Almost always, they accept stories by politicians who blame businessmen. In reality, it's lawgivers who devise the rules and who change the rules by which people trade their property while in pursuit of profit.

If you owed Mary $100 and paid only $80 back, you stiffed Mary of $20, or 20%. You defaulted on the deal made with Mary for $100.

In your mind, you might believe Mary is lucky to get even $80. However, Mary banked on getting $100 from you. Now, her life changes to the worse because she trusted you and you stiffed her.

If you owned Sally and Suzy $100, owing Sally $80 and Suzy $20, and you paid Sally 100% and Suzy 0%, you still defaulted, but only to Suzy. The net effect is the same as if you only owed Mary.

Paying Sally in full keeps you in good standing with Sally. However, as in the Mary example, you have harmed Suzy. Sally should be wary of you for her own sake going forward. So too should anyone else you approach to enter into credit relationships.

Can you imagine if it were this easy for you, that every time you borrowed on credit cards, home equity lines of credit and the like and if you were to find yourself with weaker cash flow, you could force your creditors into bargining what you would call a "write down" but which is in fact, you defaulting on your deal?

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THERE IS NOTHING IN THE STREET LOOKS ANY DIFFERENT TO ME. OCCUPY MAIDAN PROTESTERS AWAKEN TO THE NEW DICTATORSHIP OF UKRAINE

Ukrainians no longer are allowed to protest in Maidan square. While the democratically-elected former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, let Ukrainians hold protests in Maidan, the new mayor of Kiev, former pro boxer Vitali Klitschko has decided to lay down the law.





Blathering standard politician rhetoric to justify strong-arm tactics, Klitschko blames supposed criminals. "The majority of people in Kiev want order and security in the city centre, but what has been happening here recently is just criminality," said Klitschko.

And now Ukrainians are 40% poorer today than they were before the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovich in February. On Aug. 12, Ukrainian National Bank central bankers set the official exchange rate of hryvnya to the U.S. Dollar at an all-time low of 13.14 hryvnya per dollar.

Wow, that Ukrainian revolution sure seems worth it, right? If only the Ukrainians had been listening to The Who.

Ukrainians, meet the new boss, same as your old boss.

For more on the mess created by EU and US politicians that is Ukraine, read the Bizarro Theater coverage on Ukrainians.






We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again

Change it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fall that's all
But the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no! 

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?

There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

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EUROPEANS HAVEN'T LEARNED A THING IN 100 YEARS

So the doubling-down on political stupidity begins. European parliamentarians laid down sanctions against the Russians over Ukraine. The Russians took their time, but have decreed counter-sanctions against European-sourced produce. Now, European parliamentarians plan on doling welfare, with borrowed bank credits, of course, to those EU citizens hurt commercially by the Russians.



If European political leaders hate the Russians so much and truly want to cripple the Russian economy to bring Russians to their knees so they turn on their leader Putin, then why don't they stop buying natural gas from the Russians today, right now?

Why not cut off the Russians from Euros or dollars or however those natural gas contracts get settled?

If European leaders truly want to scold the Russians, and if European leaders had courage, this is what they would do. It's simply hypocritical to pick and choose as if from a menu, which products can be bought and which products become banned.

Europeans should have embraced the secession of Luhansk and the secession of Donetsk. As well, Europeans ought to have embraced the secession of Crimea. Yet, if Europeans political fools were smart, which they are not, without doubt so, rather than placing sanctions on Russians, they ought to place sanctions on Ukrainians to pressure Ukrainians to accept these changes.

In WE WANT TO BE FREE. UKRAINIANS WANT WHAT IS RIGHT. FREEDOM.  I wrote,

It's not so much about territory. It's about people. The political establishment hates losing people because they hate losing the ability to control property of others and thus the ability to scoop up taxes, which are an unearned share of profits taken by force if necessary.

Yet, why should some Ukrainians' freedom count more than others? Ukrainians are killing other Ukrainians to decide which group of oligarchs shall lord over themselves. How stupid are Ukrainians? When shall they awaken?

And if the Europeans were really smart, they would have sought to bring the Russians into the fold of the EU right after the fall of the Berlin wall. Further, Europeans should have brought the Russians into NATO while having the USA exit NATO.

After all, EU exists today precisely because of a trade union for coal established between the French and the Germans in the aftermath of World War 2 as the means to keep French and Germans from ever fighting each other again. Can you imagine what a Eurasian Economic Union would have done for the 649.7 million living from the Bay of Biscay to the Sea of Okhotsk?

Europeans ought to be embarrassed for their political posturing and behavior. Rather than trying to poach the Ukraine from Russians, never which should have been the goal, Europeans should have worked hard to enter in union with the Russians. One would think Europeans could look back at their own 100-year history contrasting the horrors of wars and the benefits of trade unions.

On the 100th anniversary of World War 1, it is clear that Europeans have learned nothing.

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PUTIN. IT'S OVER, AT LEAST UNTIL WINTER.

Putin. It's over.

The shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and the spin that ethnic Rus separatists in east Ukraine are the culprits has given political leaders of European countries and the United States the persuasion in propaganda fodder needed to sway public opinion worldwide against the separatists and Putin in favor of the European Union.

Those living in eastern Ukraine better learn to speak Ukrainian. Otherwise, they ought to emigrate to Russia.

As for Putin, he has a few cards in his hand. The first one he must play is ending any covert support for separatists. For the remaining cards, Putin shall need to wait until winter. Then, Putin can cut off all nat gas sales piped through Ukrainian pipes.

It could be a bitter cold and rather pricey winter in Europe upcoming. Good luck Czechs, Slovenes, Austrians, and Italians. As well, good luck to Latvians and Estonians and all those who had harsh rhetoric for Putin and his band of Ruskies.

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OBAMA GIVES THE OK FOR MORE TERRORISM AGAINST RUSSIANS

President Urkel Obama has OK'd another round of sanction against Russians. This time Obama has approved of attacks against those Russians who earn their living through the firms Rosneft and Novatek.

Rosneft is the largest oil producer in Russia. Novatek is a  natural gas producer, primarily.

Let no one in America lose the significance of Obama's action undertaken from advice of his brain trust.

When someone or a group attacks individuals in effort to get those suffering from attacks to pressure their politicians for changes to political policy, all English speakers have a word for such attacks. All English speakers call those attacks by the word TERRORISM. Such is the picture-perfect definition of terrorism. Terrorism means living by striking terror into individuals to get them to pressure their politicians for change in political policy.

One would think in light of 9/11, no politician in the United States of America would be so stupid as to stoop as low as those who attacked and slaughtered 2,752 Americans through something as cowardly as terrorism.

Sanctions amount to terrorism. There is no getting around it. Harming individuals in hopes they turn on their own politicians is the exact purpose of every terrorist alive and of every terrorist who has ever lived.

Presidents ought to act and act decisively in the best interests for all Americans and not merely those profiting from oil or those profiting from banking through a unified Europe and so on.

Obama has the authority to send troops to Ukraine. Obama has the authority to order air strikes against so-called Russian-leaning "separatists" in Eastern Ukraine. So why does Obama act so cowardly, so gutless, so unmanly, so anything but presidential?

Why does Obama act like a terrorist? 

Why are untold and unwarranted taxes blown for military if presidents fail to use the weapons of war when negotiation fails?

Yet, what everyone should truly ask himself or herself is this:

Why should Americans care if five million or even 20 million Ukrainians become ex-Ukrainians and join up with the Russians? 

Americans are not affected by such a change at all. American politicians care because their financial bankers who have a vested interest in expanding the European Union or who have a vested interest in seeing Russians become weaker make them care.

What does anything about the Ukraine have to do with you? Nothing.

The more competition American firms face, the more efficient those firms must become and the lower the prices you shall see over time.

You should hope that many Russians rises to challenge American firms in commerce. You should hope that Germans do as well. You should hope that Indians do, that Brazilians do, that firms from people the earth over do.

The more firms competing for your wages, the more firms competing to hire you, the better your living shall become. The more firms that rise up and push aside government protected firms, such as the USA-based Fortune 500 firms, the better your living shall become.

Capitalism rocks. Crony politics sucks.

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THE MAD RUSSIAN SPEAKS. PUTIN SHARES THE RUSSIAN VIEW ON ACCEPTING UKRAINE SOVEREIGNTY.

Today, Bloomberg editors published another hyped piece about Ukraine. When speaking with reporters in Brussels, Obama said, “The G-7 nations are ready to impose additional costs on Russia. If Putin doesn’t take concrete steps to help end the rebellion in Ukraine. We will have a chance to see what Mr. Putin does over the next two, three, four weeks.”

Five years into the job and Obama still comes across as a rattled school teacher. Obama fails to cast an image of strength. Instead, Obama comes across as shaky and insecure.

Only two days ago, Putin said this to Radio Europe 1 interviewer Jean-Pierre Elkabbach and TF1 TV interviewer Gilles Bouleau on June 3 in Sochi.



Here are the key points Putin said:

• I’ve already told you and will say it again: we will respect the choice of the Ukrainian people and we will cooperate with Ukrainian authorities.
• Yes, we recognise its (Ukraine’s) sovereignty. Moreover, we’d like Ukraine to act as a sovereign state. 
• Joining any military bloc or any other rigid integration alliance amounts to a partial loss of sovereignty. But if a country opts for this and wants to cede part of its sovereignty, it’s free to do so.

Here are highlights of what Putin said on Ukraine:

• After the anti-constitutional coup in Kiev last February, the first thing the new authorities tried to do was deprive the ethnic minorities of the right to use their native language. This caused great concern among the people living in eastern Ukraine.
• I hope we are not on the verge of any war. 
• Second, I insist that people – wherever they live – have their rights and they must be able to fight for them. 
• Instead of continuing the debates by legitimate and diplomatic means, our European friends and our friends from the United States supported the anti-constitutional armed coup. 
• We were against this course of events but after the anti-constitutional coup...
• Well, we must always talk about peace but we should understand the causes and nature of the crisis. The point is no one should be brought to power through an armed anti-constitutional coup, and this is especially true of the post-Soviet space where government institutions are not fully mature. 
• When it happened some people accepted this regime and were happy about it while other people, say, in eastern and southern Ukraine just won’t accept it. And it is vital to talk with those people who didn’t accept this change of power instead of sending tanks there, as you said yourself, instead of firing missiles at civilians from the air and bombing non-military targets.
• There are no armed forces, no Russian ‘instructors’ in southeastern Ukraine. And there never were any.
• The Ukrainian government must now sit down and talk with their own people instead of using weapons, tanks, planes and helicopters. They must start the negotiating process.
• I didn’t say that he (Poroshenko) shouldn’t yield to US influence. He is free to accept any influence he wants. Ukrainians voted for him, and he is free to develop a policy. If he chooses to accept anyone’s strong influence, let him.
• Regarding Ukraine and military blocs, this is what worries us, because if Ukraine joins, say, NATO, NATO’s infrastructure will move directly towards the Russian border, which cannot leave us indifferent.
• It’s a delusion that Russian troops annexed Crimea. Russian troops did nothing of the kind.
• Russian troops were in Crimea under the international treaty on the deployment of the Russian military base. It’s true that Russian troops helped Crimeans hold a referendum on their (a) independence and (b) desire to join the Russian Federation. No one can prevent these people from exercising a right that is stipulated in Article 1 of the UN Charter, the right of nations to self-determination. 
• In accordance with the expression of the will of people who live there, Crimea is part of the Russian Federation and its constituent entity.
• We conducted an exclusively diplomatic and peaceful dialogue – I want to stress this – with our partners in Europe and the United States.
• In response to our attempts to hold such a dialogue and to negotiate an acceptable solution, they supported the anti-constitutional state coup in Ukraine, and following that we could not be sure that Ukraine would not become part of the North Atlantic military bloc. 
• There is a punitive operation launched by Kiev’s government against the country’s own citizens. 
• I think Mr Poroshenko, who has no blood on his hands so far, has a unique chance to halt this punitive operation now and start a dialogue with people in southeastern Ukraine.

Here is what Putin said on Russia:

• Well, a policy of expansionism and conquest has no future in the modern world.
• We will not promote Russian nationalism, and we do not intend to revive the Russian Empire. 
• We want to develop our country within our own borders, of course. But – and this is very important – like other countries in other parts of the world, we want to use modern policies to improve our competitive advantage, including economic integration. 
• Russia’s policy is based solely on its national interests. Of course, we take the opinions of our partners into account but we are guided by the interests of the Russian people.
• As for our [defence] budget, it has hardly grown in terms of percent of GDP, barely by one-tenth of a percent. But we want to rearm our army and navy based on modern, advanced technology, by reducing quantity and improving quality.
• The current regime is not connected to any particular person, including the incumbent President. We have common democratic state institutions, although they reflect Russia’s needs. 
• What are they? The overwhelming majority of Russian citizens tend to rely on their traditions, their history and, if I may say so, their traditional values. I see this as the foundation and a factor of stability in the Russian state, but none of this is associated with the President as an individual.
• We have many opposition parties, and we have recently liberalised the procedure for registering political parties. We have dozens of parties that participate in municipal and regional elections.
• Are there any restrictions in Russia? I don’t believe so. Some of our opponents say there are unacceptable restrictions. What kind of restrictions do we have? For example, we have banned the promotion of suicide, drugs and pedophilia. These are our restrictions. What’s wrong with that?
• That’s not true, we did not ban homosexuality. We banned the promotion of homosexuality among minors. You see, these are two different things.
• We banned only promoting homosexuality among minors. It is our right to protect our children and we will do it.
• I have great love and respect for Russian history and culture. But the world is changing and Russia is too. Russia is part of the modern world, not the world of the past but the modern world. And I believe it has an even greater future than some other countries that can’t take care of their young people, of the new generations, of their children, and believe that they can just let things slide.
• I believe that in terms of defence, Russia is without any doubt one of the leaders because we are a nuclear power and our nuclear weapons are perhaps the best in the world.
• As for the economy, we are aware that we still have a lot to do before we reach the top. Although lately, we have made major strides forward and are now the fifth largest economy in the world. It is a success but we can do more.

Here is what Putin said on the USA:

• As for my relations with Barack Obama, I have no reason whatsoever to believe he is not willing to talk to the President of Russia. But ultimately, it is his choice. 
• I’m always willing to talk to any of my partners, including President Obama.
• Of course, we can see attempts by the United States to pressure their allies by employing their obvious leadership in the Western community, in order to influence Russia’s policy.
• Speaking of US policy, it’s clear that the United States is pursuing the most aggressive and toughest policy to defend their own interests – at least, this is how the American leaders see it – and they do it persistently.
• There are basically no Russian troops abroad while US troops are everywhere. There are US military bases everywhere around the world and they are always involved in the fates of other countries even though they are thousands of kilometres away from US borders. 
• So it is ironic that our US partners accuse us of breaching some of these rules.
• I’d like to say, for reference’ sake, because only the analysts know this, that the defence budget of the United States, which we talked about only yesterday, is larger than the combined military budgets of every country in the world – every country – combined. So who’s pursuing an aggressive policy?

Here is what Putin said of himself:

• I have the trust of my voters. Over 63% of Russian citizens voted for me. 
• I believe I hold a national mandate to carry out domestic and foreign policy, and I will fulfil my obligations under this mandate.
• You know, I’m an adult and I know what power means in the modern world. In the modern world, power is mainly defined by such factors as the economy, defence and cultural influence.
• I would like to be remembered as a person who did his best for the happiness and prosperity of his country and his people.

Here is the full interview:


JPE / GB: Good afternoon Mr President. Good afternoon, President Putin. Thank you very much for agreeing to give this exclusive interview to Radio Europe 1 and the TF1 TV channel at your Sochi residence. On Thursday evening you will meet with President Francois Hollande in the Elysee Palace, and the next day you will attend the D-Day 70th Anniversary Commemoration. This will be your first trip to the beaches of Normandy, and you will be the first Russian President to attend the ceremony. What do you as a Russian citizen think about being invited to this exceptional ceremony?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: This will be an important event for Europe and the rest of the world. We will pay tribute to those who prevented Nazism from enslaving Europe, and I believe that Russia’s attendance is a momentous event. The thing is that Russia and the anti-Hitler coalition countries, including France, were allies in that struggle for freedom, and my country played a vital and maybe even the decisive role in defeating Nazism. But we’ll never forget the French Resistance fighters and the French soldiers who fought side by side with us on the Soviet-German front, which is also called the Eastern front. I believe that this should not only remind us about our history, but also help to promote our relations now and in the future.

JPE / GB: Of course, you and Russia will take your rightful place on the beaches of Normandy. You lived in the Soviet Union until you were 40, you saw its collapse, and now you are actively contributing to Russia’s revival. What would you like to see happen now? What are your goals? Is Russia’s strategy a path of dialogue or expansion and conquest?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Well, a policy of expansionism and conquest has no future in the modern world. We’re confident that Russia can and should be a partner with its traditional allies, in the broad sense, now and also in the future.

This is what we want, and this is what we will keep working towards. We see no other way to develop relations with our neighbours and all other countries.

JPE / GB: Do you want to defend the Russian nation or to become the symbol of Russian nationalism and the Russian Empire? We remember what you said about the Soviet Union’s dissolution. You said that it was the worst geopolitical disaster of the 20th century. You also said that those who do not regret the collapse of the Soviet Union have no heart, and those who want to restore it have no brains. You have brains. What do you propose: Russian nationalism, or the restoration of the Russian Empire to its previous borders?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We will not promote Russian nationalism, and we do not intend to revive the Russian Empire. What did I mean when I said that the Soviet Union’s collapse was one of the largest humanitarian – above all humanitarian – disasters of the 20th century? I meant that all the citizens of the Soviet Union lived in a union state irrespective of their ethnicity, and after its collapse 25 million Russians suddenly became foreign citizens. It was a huge humanitarian disaster. Not a political or ideological disaster, but a purely humanitarian upheaval. Families were divided; people lost their jobs and means of subsistence, and had no means to communicate with each other normally. This was the problem.

JPE / GB: And what about the future?

Do you want to restore the empire within the former borders or do you want to continue developing your country within your own borders?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We want to develop our country within our own borders, of course. But – and this is very important – like other countries in other parts of the world, we want to use modern policies to improve our competitive advantage, including economic integration. This is what we are doing in the post-Soviet space within the Customs Union and now also within the Eurasian Union.

JPE / GB: Mr Putin, we are now talking about why a neighbouring country, Ukraine, is being torn apart by war. There is no other word for it. Now pro-Russian forces want to breach Ukraine’s borders. Who can stop them and what is your policy?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I wouldn’t call them either pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian. They are people who have certain rights, political, humanitarian rights, and they must have a chance to exercise those rights.

For example, in Ukraine governors are still appointed by Kiev. After the anti-constitutional coup in Kiev last February, the first thing the new authorities tried to do was deprive the ethnic minorities of the right to use their native language. This caused great concern among the people living in eastern Ukraine.

JPE / GB: You did not let this happen but are you saying that we are on the verge of another Cold War?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I hope we are not on the verge of any war. Second, I insist that people – wherever they live – have their rights and they must be able to fight for them. That’s the point.

JPE / GB: Is there any risk of a war? Now, as we see tanks on their way from Kiev, many people in France are asking this question. Were you tempted to send troops to eastern Ukraine?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: This is an interview, which implies short questions and short answers. But if you have patience and give me a minute, I will tell you how we see it. Here’s our position. What actually happened there? There was a conflict and that conflict arose because the former Ukrainian president refused to sign an association agreement with the EU. Russia had a certain stance on this issue. We believed it was indeed unreasonable to sign that agreement because it would have a grave impact on the economy, including the Russian economy. We have 390 economic agreements with Ukraine and Ukraine is a member of the free trade zone within the CIS. And we wouldn’t be able to continue this economic relationship with Ukraine as a member of the free trade zone. We discussed this with our European partners. Instead of continuing the debates by legitimate and diplomatic means, our European friends and our friends from the United States supported the anti-constitutional armed coup. This is what happened. We did not cause this crisis to happen. We were against this course of events but after the anti-constitutional coup – let’s face it, after all…

JPE / GB: But now we see so much tension in politics. Yet despite this, you will be in Normandy speaking about peace while Barack Obama keeps urging Europe to arm itself.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Well, we must always talk about peace but we should understand the causes and nature of the crisis. The point is no one should be brought to power through an armed anti-constitutional coup, and this is especially true of the post-Soviet space where government institutions are not fully mature. When it happened some people accepted this regime and were happy about it while other people, say, in eastern and southern Ukraine just won’t accept it. And it is vital to talk with those people who didn’t accept this change of power instead of sending tanks there, as you said yourself, instead of firing missiles at civilians from the air and bombing non-military targets.

JPE / GB: But, Mr President, the United States and the White House claim they have evidence that Russia intervened in the conflict, sent its troops and supplied weapons. They claim they have proof. Do you believe that?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Proof? Why don’t they show it? The entire world remembers the US Secretary of State demonstrating the evidence of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, waving around some test tube with washing powder in the UN Security Council. Eventually, the US troops invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein was hanged and later it turned out there had never been any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. You know, it’s one thing to say things and another to actually have evidence. I will tell you again:  no Russian troops…

JPE / GB: Are you saying the US is lying?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: There are no armed forces, no Russian ‘instructors’ in southeastern Ukraine. And there never were any.

JPE / GB: So you do not want to annex Ukraine and you never tried to destabilise the situation there?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We never did that. The Ukrainian government must now sit down and talk with their own people instead of using weapons, tanks, planes and helicopters. They must start the negotiating process.

JPE / GB: The new Ukrainian president was elected on May 25 through a democratic vote. Do you recognise Mr Poroshenko as a legitimate president?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I’ve already told you and will say it again: we will respect the choice of the Ukrainian people and we will cooperate with Ukrainian authorities.

JPE / GB: In other words, if you meet him on 6 June on the beaches of Normandy, and if President Hollande helps to make this meeting possible, will you shake hands with him? Will you talk with him?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: You know, I don’t plan to evade anyone. President Hollande kindly invited me as the representative of Russia to attend this commemoration, even though the event it will commemorate was tragic. I was pleased to accept his invitation, and I’m grateful to the President for inviting me. There will be other guests, and I’m not going to avoid any of them. I will talk with all of them.

JPE / GB: But will you meet with Poroshenko? You said you would only work with him on the condition that he would not totally yield to US influence.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I didn’t say that he shouldn’t yield to US influence. He is free to accept any influence he wants. Ukrainians voted for him, and he is free to develop a policy. If he chooses to accept anyone’s strong influence, let him. But I wouldn’t…

JPE / GB: Do you recognise Ukraine’s sovereignty and its neutral stance with respect to relations between Russia and the West?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Yes, we recognise its sovereignty. Moreover, we’d like Ukraine to act as a sovereign state. Joining any military bloc or any other rigid integration alliance amounts to a partial loss of sovereignty. But if a country opts for this and wants to cede part of its sovereignty, it’s free to do so. Regarding Ukraine and military blocs, this is what worries us, because if Ukraine joins, say, NATO, NATO’s infrastructure will move directly towards the Russian border, which cannot leave us indifferent.

JPE / GB: Mr President, Russian troops annexed Crimea recently. Will you ever give it back?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: It’s a delusion that Russian troops annexed Crimea. Russian troops did nothing of the kind. Frankly...

JPE / GB:  But Crimea has been included on the map of Russia, the kind of maps we used in school. It’s part of Russia now. What was it, annexation or reunification? Which word should we use?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: If you’ll let me finish, I think you’ll see what I mean.

Russian troops were in Crimea under the international treaty on the deployment of the Russian military base. It’s true that Russian troops helped Crimeans hold a referendum on their (a) independence and (b) desire to join the Russian Federation. No one can prevent these people from exercising a right that is stipulated in Article 1 of the UN Charter, the right of nations to self-determination. 

JPE / GB: In other words, you will not return Crimea [to Ukraine]? Crimea is Russia, is that it?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: In accordance with the expression of the will of people who live there, Crimea is part of the Russian Federation and its constituent entity.

I want everyone to understand this clearly. We conducted an exclusively diplomatic and peaceful dialogue – I want to stress this – with our partners in Europe and the United States. In response to our attempts to hold such a dialogue and to negotiate an acceptable solution, they supported the anti-constitutional state coup in Ukraine, and following that we could not be sure that Ukraine would not become part of the North Atlantic military bloc. In that situation, we could not allow a historical part of the Russian territory with a predominantly ethnic Russian population to be incorporated into an international military alliance, especially because Crimeans wanted to be part of Russia. I am sorry, but we couldn’t act differently.

JPE / GB: So, Francois Hollande has invited you to France, to Paris and Normandy. You know him very well. Can you move further forward, and can you describe your relations as confidential?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Yes, I think so.

JPE / GB: Do you think so, or are you sure?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I’ve always thought so. I see no reasons to think otherwise. We have very good interstate relations, but we have much to do yet to promote our economic ties.

But our personal relations have always been trust-based, which helps in work as well. I hope it will stay this way.

JPE / GB: You are talking about trust-based relations – both in defence and the economy. You have paid over a billion euros for two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, and Russian naval officials are to visit Saint-Nazaire in a few days. Have you given them special permission to go to France?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I believe we are living in a civilised world and we will all continue to fulfil our obligations and contractual commitments. I’ve heard a lot of talk about these ships going to Russia and some people believe that Russia shouldn’t get them. You know, here in Russia we had a lot of opposition to this contract. France is entitled to decide against selling the ships, but in that case we should get out money back. This would mean that out countries won’t have an opportunity to develop ties in the defence sector – but overall we are ready to expand our cooperation and even to place new orders, if our French partners are interested.    

JPE / GB: Despite external pressure, you have asked France to supply these assault ships – and if France does it you may place other orders as well, right?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We expect our French partners to fulfil their contractual obligations, and if everything goes as we agreed, we will not rule out the possibility of further orders – and not necessarily in naval shipbuilding; they may concern other sectors as well. Overall, our relations in this area are developing well, and we would like to continue strengthening them – in aviation, shipbuilding, and other sectors. We have successful cooperation experience in space exploration, at the Guiana Space Centre near Kourou.     

JPE / GB: Do you think France is a sovereign and independent state whose opinion is respected? What do you think of Germany? You speak with Angela Merkel in both Russian and German, while François Hollande doesn’t speak Russian and you don’t speak French. Do you have a common language of communication?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: The fact that I don’t speak French and Mr Hollande doesn’t speak Russian is not a barrier for us. It does not prevent us from speaking a common language, and we understand each other well even via an interpreter.

Speaking of the level of sovereignty, I will say it again – any country that becomes a member of a military alliance gives away some of its sovereignty to a supranational body. For Russia, this would be unacceptable. As for other countries, it has nothing to do with us. They have to decide such matters for themselves. In this regard, I think of the Gaullist tradition and General Charles de Gaulle, who protected France’s sovereignty. I think this deserves respect. And there’s another example: François Mitterrand, who spoke of European confederation, with Russia as its member. I think this opportunity still exists and we will have it in the future.

JPE / GB My next question concerns the United States. You will meet with Barack Obama in a few days, you will sit a few metres away from him. But he doesn’t seem to be willing to speak to you. What will this meeting be like and how will relations develop between the world’s richest country and its largest country? How can you avoid speaking to each other when there’s a real need for this since the war is not too far off?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Well, you’re exaggerating about the war being not far off. You seem to be feeling aggressive. Whatever gave you this idea, and why are you determined to frighten us all? As for... 

JPE / GB: Because Ukraine is near Russia.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: So what?

JPE / GB: And this is where the war is going on. When he mentioned the war, he said it is not far off.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: There is a punitive operation launched by Kiev’s government against the country’s own citizens. It is not a war between states, it is something entirely different. As for...

JPE / GB: Do you think it should be stopped immediately?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I think Mr Poroshenko, who has no blood on his hands so far, has a unique chance to halt this punitive operation now and start a dialogue with people in southeastern Ukraine.   

As for my relations with Barack Obama, I have no reason whatsoever to believe he is not willing to talk to the President of Russia. But ultimately, it is his choice. I am always ready for dialogue, and I think that dialogue is the best way to bridge any gaps. We have been in contact until now, we have talked on the telephone regularly.

JPE / GB: Russia and the United States are experiencing some problems. Are these problems between two powers or between two people, Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Problems between countries always exist, especially between such big countries as Russia and the United States. There have always been some issues, but I don’t think we should go to extremes. At any rate, it wouldn’t be our choice. I’m always willing to talk to any of my partners, including President Obama.

JPE / GB: So you are willing to talk and you regret what is happening? But don’t you think the United States is trying to surround Russia, to make you weaker as a leader and perhaps isolate you from the world? You are being very diplomatic now but you know the facts.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Facts? You’ve said it yourself: Russia is the biggest country in the world. It would be very difficult to surround it, and the world is changing so fast that it would basically be impossible, even in theory.

Of course, we can see attempts by the United States to pressure their allies by employing their obvious leadership in the Western community, in order to influence Russia’s policy.

Russia’s policy is based solely on its national interests. Of course, we take the opinions of our partners into account but we are guided by the interests of the Russian people.

JPE / GB: Mr President, it is very convenient that you are meeting with Mr Obama on June 6. Perhaps, it would be worse if you were meeting with Hillary Clinton. Only a few days ago, she said that what Russia is doing in Eastern Europe resembles what Hitler was doing in the 1930s.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: It’s better not to argue with women. But Ms Clinton has never been too graceful in her statements. Still, we always met afterwards and had cordial conversations at various international events. I think even in this case we could reach an agreement. When people push boundaries too far, it’s not because they are strong but because they are weak. But maybe weakness is not the worst quality for a woman.

JPE / GB: Women must be respected, of course, and I’m sure you respect them. Do you think she went too far? There is a lot of mockery and cartoons in the media – including those showing you. What was your first reaction? Were you angry? Did you want to get back at her or laugh? We have never seen you laugh.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Someday I will indulge myself and we will laugh together at some good joke. But when I hear such extreme statements, to me it only means that they don’t have any valid arguments. Speaking of US policy, it’s clear that the United States is pursuing the most aggressive and toughest policy to defend their own interests – at least, this is how the American leaders see it – and they do it persistently.

There are basically no Russian troops abroad while US troops are everywhere. There are US military bases everywhere around the world and they are always involved in the fates of other countries even though they are thousands of kilometres away from US borders. So it is ironic that our US partners accuse us of breaching some of these rules.

JPE / GB: But you have taken some decisions regarding your defence budget. Are you as President taking any special decisions on security and defence now, because the general environment is more risky?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Regarding the defence budget. I’d like to say, for reference’ sake, because only the analysts know this, that the defence budget of the United States, which we talked about only yesterday, is larger than the combined military budgets of every country in the world – every country – combined. So who’s pursuing an aggressive policy?

As for our [defence] budget, it has hardly grown in terms of percent of GDP, barely by one-tenth of a percent. But we want to rearm our army and navy based on modern, advanced technology, by reducing quantity and improving quality. We have a relevant rearmament programme, and it was not adopted yesterday or in response to the Ukrainian crisis. It has been our policy, which we will continue to implement.

JPE / GB: Mr President, Syrian leader Bashar Assad has been re-elected president without much effort. Can you influence him? Can you ask him to order his army to stop its atrocities, to stop fighting their own people?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: All sides are guilty of atrocities there, but primarily the extremist organisations that are thriving in Syria. We are mostly worried about…

JPE / GB: Religious, Islamic [organisations]…

VLADIMIR PUTIN: …those organisations that are directly connected with Al Qaeda. There are many of them there, which no one tries to deny any longer. It’s a general fact. But we are mostly worried that the wrong action could turn Syria into another Afghanistan, a completely uncontrollable spawning ground for the terrorist threat, including for European countries. All the terrorists who are operating there now would eventually move to other countries, including in Europe.

JPE / GB: We don’t quite understand why you, Vladimir Putin, the man who wants to modernise Russia, support a person who is killing his own people, who is covered in their blood. How can this be?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I’ll explain very simply and clearly, and I hope that the majority of the French people who are watching and listening to this interview will understand me. We very much fear that Syria will fall apart like Sudan. We very much fear that Syria will follow in the footsteps of Iraq or Afghanistan. This is why we would like the legal authority to remain in power in Syria, so that Russia can cooperate with Syria and with ours partners in Europe and the United States to consider possible methods to change Syrian society, to modernise the regime and make it more viable and humane.

JPE / GB: I’d like to ask you about your country, Russia. How would you describe its current political regime? Some describe it as a democracy, while others argue that Russia is so huge that it needs an iron hand. How does Vladimir Putin define the Putin regime?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: The current regime is not connected to any particular person, including the incumbent President. We have common democratic state institutions, although they reflect Russia’s needs. What are they? The overwhelming majority of Russian citizens tend to rely on their traditions, their history and, if I may say so, their traditional values. I see this as the foundation and a factor of stability in the Russian state, but none of this is associated with the President as an individual. Moreover, it should be remembered that we only started introducing standard democratic institutions recently. They are still in the process of evolving.

JPE / GB: Can a person stand in opposition to the authorities in Russia without fear of losing his ties and reputation, without being punished?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We have many opposition parties, and we have recently liberalised the procedure for registering political parties. We have dozens of parties that participate in municipal and regional elections.

JPE / GB But is it possible to be a personal opponent of Vladimir Putin without exposing oneself to risks?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: If you listen to some of our radio stations and watch some TV shows, I assure you, you are unlikely to find anything similar to this kind of opposition in France.

JPE / GB: There have always been periods of strict order and authoritarian power in Russia. But in the age of the Internet, can a country develop by restricting freedoms?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: It is impossible and we are not restricting the Internet. We have certain… You know, whatever we do, someone tries to find something that goes against democratic principles, including the Internet. Are there any restrictions in Russia? I don’t believe so. Some of our opponents say there are unacceptable restrictions. What kind of restrictions do we have? For example, we have banned the promotion of suicide, drugs and pedophilia. These are our restrictions. What’s wrong with that?

JPE / GB: And homosexuality. It is not pedophilia, it’s a different story.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: That’s not true, we did not ban homosexuality. We banned the promotion of homosexuality among minors. You see, these are two different things. In the United States, since we talked about it, homosexuality is illegal in some states. We impose no criminal liability whatsoever. We banned only promoting homosexuality among minors. It is our right to protect our children and we will do it.

JPE / GB: We would like to talk about the end of your term in 2018. We would like to talk about labour camps. We find such things surprising in the West. For example, Pussy Riot were sentenced to a term in labour camps, and it wasn’t just an ordinary prison. Will you close those camps by the end of your term?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: These are not camps. These are places where the inmates’ freedom is limited but they can live a more or less normal life. These are not prisons where people are not allowed to work.

Prisons where people can’t even work is the worst punishment you can think of. And I don’t think we should put all convicts in such facilities where people are deprived of their freedom. I think it is much worse than what you are describing.

JPE / GB: Who convinced you that you are carrying out a special mission for Russia?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Why do you think that I believe I’m carrying out a special mission? I have the trust of my voters. Over 63% of Russian citizens voted for me. I believe I hold a national mandate to carry out domestic and foreign policy, and I will fulfil my obligations under this mandate.

JPE / GB: Do you have a role model in the Russian history? Are you guided by Soviet or Russian politics?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I have great love and respect for Russian history and culture. But the world is changing and Russia is too. Russia is part of the modern world, not the world of the past but the modern world. And I believe it has an even greater future than some other countries that can’t take care of their young people, of the new generations, of their children, and believe that they can just let things slide.

JPE / GB: And the last question, Mr President. In 2013, Forbes rated you as the most powerful person in the world. Were you flattered by this title?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: You know, I’m an adult and I know what power means in the modern world. In the modern world, power is mainly defined by such factors as the economy, defence and cultural influence. I believe that in terms of defence, Russia is without any doubt one of the leaders because we are a nuclear power and our nuclear weapons are perhaps the best in the world.

With regard to cultural influence, we are proud of the Russian culture – literature, the arts and so on.

As for the economy, we are aware that we still have a lot to do before we reach the top. Although lately, we have made major strides forward and are now the fifth largest economy in the world. It is a success but we can do more.

JPE / GB: We don’t know yet how Vladimir Putin’s era will go down in history. What would you like to be remembered for? And would you like to be seen as a democrat or an authoritarian leader?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I would like to be remembered as a person who did his best for the happiness and prosperity of his country and his people.

JPE / GB: Thank you very much. Have a good trip to France, Mr President. Good-bye.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Thank you.

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REFERENDUMS ARE THE UKRAINIAN WAY! MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR REFERENDUMS FOR THOSE IN THE FAR WEST OF UKRAINE TO RETURN TO POLAND.

Hey, referendums are popular these days. Ukrainians of western Ukraine living in 
the oblasts of Volyn, Rivne, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi ought to consider their own referendums and separatist movements.

Considering how Ukrainians can't pay their nat gas bill to the Russians, maybe it is time to throw in the towel and let others better provide government for those Ukrainians living north and west of the Dnieper River.

• On March 5, 2004, the Economist asked, "Why is Ukraine’s economy in such a mess?"
• On May 1, 2014, BBC News asked, "Ukraine economy: How bad is the mess and can it be fixed?"
• On February 19, 2014, the IBTimes reported, "10 Things You Need To Know About Ukraine's Economy"

Ukrainians have made a mess of their country since becoming an independent country on December 1, 1991, by way of yes, you guessed it, referendum, which they held after the collapse of the former commie Soviet Union.

For almost the entire history of Europeans since the fall of Ancient Rome, Ukraine did not exist as a country. 

Ukraine did not emerge as a country until the Ukrainian War of Independence. That version of Ukraine lasted about as long as California lasted as part of Mexico. 

The geniuses in charge in the aftermath of World War II let Soviet Russians bully them into swiping away a good chunk of Poland, incorporating those chunks into Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania.

From 1466 to 1772, a good chunk of what constitutes the oblasts of the disintegrating Ukraine were part of Poland.

Basically, the Ukraine is a conjured up country by the former communists of the Soviet Union.

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☑CRIMEA. ☑ LUGANSK. ☑ DONETSK.

A barrage of foolery from many have labeled the people of Donetsk and Lugansk as insurgents. Insurgents?

The people of the former Ukraine living in the east aren't in rebellion. They're doing what is right, morally, for any and all the earth over. They are deciding upon by what rules they are willing to live together in peaceful society.

Right now, the only insurgents are those pretending to rule the former Ukraine, the so-called Euromaidan protesters, a junta who usurped power in a coup d'etat and who now are running a dictatorship without teeth. Right now, there isn't a legit government in the former Ukraine, a government elected by the people.

The people of Lugansk and Donetsk have held referendums to see if they would join the newly formed dictatorship in Kiev, the former capital of the former Ukraine. It appears the people of Lugansk and Donetsk have rejected doing so and have decided they shall have their own countries for now.

Of course, none of this would have happened if the geniuses of the EU and US political establishments had shown support for the legit government Ukrainians had Yanukovych as head of state. So why didn't the geniuses of the U.S. and the E.U. support Yanukovych? 

U.S. foreign policy ushered under Bush the First and carried on by Clinton, Bush the Second and Obama, has been abject failure. Americans have not been made safer from not toppling Saddam in the first Gulf War to toppling Saddam in the second, to failures in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. 

The policy of seeing enemies in Asia and trying to encircle Russia and China has been a huge mistake. 

Had the U.S. embraced Russia and the former communist bloc countries, plowing the same spending as they pissed away on the Gulf wars and Afghanistan, Eurasia would be stable all together and hundreds of millions would have been lifted from poverty in Russia, eastern Europe, in the rest of Europe and even in the USA.

Yet, that would have created competition in marketplaces for goods and services, likely pushing down prices and increasing what is on offer. Though that would have lifted the living standard for working people everywhere, that would have decreased the living standard of those who would lose in games of free-market competition.

Many want to live fantasy island, but reality shows changing borders in eastern Europe. Self-determination is beautiful. War-mongering indoctrinated ones and mouthpieces of propaganda might not embrace it, but all should must face it.

Secession by Crimeans and secession by Russian-speakers in Donetsk and Lugansk emboldens Basque secessionists, Brittney secessionists, Scottish secessionists, Flemish secessionists, South Tyrolian secessionists and so on. 

This is the biggest fear of politicians. Politicians hate losing people. Smaller population means fewer people to tax.

The world would be far safer with a 1,000 countries than 193 or so.  When there are more countries, each with its own cash system and banking, banking focuses on funding local commerce and commerce leads to peaceful trade and rising living standards.

The EU with its NATO muscle is the biggest threat to freedom-seeking people of Europe. The EU needs to break up. The Eurozone needs to break up. A failure by the EU in the former Ukraine is a victory for peace-loving people the earth over.

On a side note, Viktor Yanukovych appears to be a hero to humanity in hindsight for his immense restraint by not subjugating under jackboots, the Euromaidan protesters and those who engaged in the coup d'etat and this in spite of Yanukovych being a despicable looter of Ukrainian taxpayers. Yet, Yanukovych seems to be on par with Obama who has forced Americans to pay millions for his luxury golf outings since 2009.

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