One Does Not Simply Walk Into Google Translate

HEH.

Quote of the Day: Returning Ghosts

Via Samizdata:

But when we look around in Europe today, we see that not only is Europe not whole and free, we see the ghosts from the painful 20th century returning to our midst. Ghosts that we thought we’d never see again, that we had buried deep in history’s trashbin.

Today, when we look around us, we see it all again. The annexation of territory, the violation of borders, religious conservativism pairing with political authoritarianism and imperialist bravado. 80% of Russians support annexation through military aggression in Crimea, where the Anschluss – and I use that term most seriously here – the Anschluss of territory was justified by the presence of co-ethnics. Moreover, there is widespread support for an anti-liberal attack against decadent Western “permissiveness,” be it in freedom of speech or choice of life-partners. Indeed, we see that liberal democracy has not only failed to win the battle of ideas against authoritarianism, it has failed even to prevent the resurrection of that once vanquished demon, fascism. The nationalist fervor east of us is expressed in arts in a way that makes Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will look like a liberal programme – I suggest you look at the video of the so-called “biker show” staged on August 8 this year in Sevastopol. It is on You Tube. It is a genuine Gesamtkunstwerk. Everything is there – music, art, ballet, motorcycle gangs, it’s all there.

- Estonian President Toomas Hendrik (link to speech transcript)

3 Definitions of the Obama Doctrine

Admittedly, this is a rather difficult endeavour because it's trying to do a definition by default given that the administration seems to have no coherent pro-active strategic vision.  "Leading from behind" does NOT count.  Anyway, what do you think of:

(1) Definition the First

The Obama Doctrine is to ignore problems until they metastasize into vast international crises, then react with an ineffective spasm of concern. In this, the President has been consistent, be it Libya, Egypt, Boko Haram or Ukraine. The truly serious situations get a Twitter hashtag.

(2) Definition the Second

Asked seven years ago if the need to stave off potential genocide might convince him to change his mind about a total and precipitous withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, then-candidate Obama replied that it would not. “Well, look, if that’s the criteria by which we are making decisions on the deployment of U.S. forces, then by that argument you would have 300,000 troops in the Congo right now — where millions have been slaughtered as a consequence of ethnic strife — which we haven’t done,” Obama said. 

This cynical avowal, I wrote at the time, was an indication of what might become the “Obama doctrine,” which I described thusly: “The United States will remain passive in the face of genocide.” Seven years later, I regret to say, my prediction stands up pretty well.

(3) Definition the Third (OK, not so much definition as observation)

US respnse 2 Syria,Russia,Iraq: 1)Huh? 2)We're watching this closely 3)With concern. 4)Hey, stop- 5)We won't tolerate that! 6)Mmm. Whatever.
— Rosa Brooks (@brooks_rosa) June 13, 2014

Ukrainian Airspace

The air is empty as pilots everywhere avoid flying over that troubled nation.

Awesome LOL: Global Stereotype Map

This is brilliant ... and a brilliant commentary on the absurdity of reductive stereotypes.  It is also delightfully insightful and incisive in places: note how it calls a chunk of Russia "Putingrad," Ukraine "Putin's Precious," and Crimea "Putinistan."  On a lighter note, Sweden is labeled "ABBA," "IKEA," and "Nobel Prizes."

Ouch.

Hey, Barack? The 1930s called. They want the UK's foreign policy back. http://t.co/4oUqVKMKxt
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) March 20, 2014

March Madness, Putin Style

Quote of the Day: Sanctions and Success

Oh, dear:

"Experts are divided into two groups: those who think sanctions usually fail and those who think they almost always fail."

Foreign Policy's School of Hard Knock ... -Knock Jokes

Blah Blah Blah: Useless White House Rhetoric on Ukraine

This is pretty much spot on. 

I add this reaction gif:

While we're at it, here's the Tweet of the Day by none other than Rob Lowe:

“@BBCBreaking: Obama:"Russia on wrong side of history" in #Ukraine http://t.co/B2LQAJHUtJ” Perfect. Guilt trips always work on Putin.
— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) March 3, 2014

Russian Troops Confirmed in Ukraine

This does not look good.  Krauthammer sounds pessimistic about revanchist Russia under Putin.

The Real News Is In Ukraine and Venezuela

Honestly, the media frenzy over Sochi is beginning to look pretty misguided next to horrific reports coming out of Ukraine and Venezuela.

UPDATE: See the story of the Ukrainian skier who left the Games to join protesters at home.

Imaging Mao's Famine

A historian wonders: Where is the photographic evidence of Mao's disaster?  In the Great Leap Forward (Into the Abyss), at least 45 million people died of starvation and oppression over some 4 years of absolute hell on earth, but visual documentation is largely lacking.  Honestly, how does it look that the some officials in the Soviet Union was more forthcoming about the murderous famine that Stalin created in Ukraine?

One wonders, though, whether if we ever saw the Chinese photos, we would be thoroughly sickened.  The end of the article details the only photo of the famine that the author ever saw, and the description is horrifying.  

UPDATE: No photos of the Great Famine, but you can still get an eyeful of the Communist propaganda posters from the same period.  Surreal.

Headline Hilarity: Ukraine's Naval Dolphins

Life imitates Austin Powers with this fabulous headline: "Report: Ukraine Trains Dolphins With Friggin’ Pistols on Their Heads."

Quirky Euro Files: Ghost Towns

For something different to do on your next trip across the pond!

More Cine-Sib Haiku for "The Book of Eli"

The haiku keep coming! Oh, and one poem clearly betrays the Cinema-Mad Sibling's fascination with a certain young Ukraine-born actress.

History: The Ukrainian Famine Under Stalin

Via Ninme comes this news link both to a reminder of the horrific misery caused by Stalin and to the courage of a British journalist who documented it. Journalist Gareth Jones' diaries went on display at the University of Cambridge on November 13. He had illegally sneaked into Ukraine from Russia in 1933. The estimated number of Ukrainians who died in the famine of the 1930s is 4 million.

Here is one scholar's assessment of the Jones diaries:

Rory Finnin, lecturer in Ukranian studies at Cambridge, said that Jones’s diaries finally give a voice to the peasants who died as a result of Stalin’s collectivisation policies. Grain was requisitioned for urban areas and for export to countries including Britain.

Historians continue to debate whether Stalin was deliberately punishing Ukranian nationalists, but it is clear that he allowed the famine to occur. He sealed the border between Russia and Ukraine and punished peasants accused of “hoarding grain”.

Mr Finnin said: “There were a smattering of stories here and there [but] but I don’t know if Western historians gave [the famine] the serious attention that it receives today.”

Alas, the Ukrainian famine is largely forgotten history here. On a related matter, you'll recall how many millions, largely peasants, starved in China because of Mao's policies.

Ranking the World's Heads of State By Hotness

OK, this is just darn funny, though I have to contest some of the rankings!

So who's ranked #1? Ukraine's Yulia Tymoshenko (she does have faaaaaabulous hair and skin).

Who's ranked last of all? North Korea's Kim Jong-Il.

Take a look at the list and find your favorite politicians.

Nerd/Geek News: Vassily Ivanchuk and the Great Chess Doping Scandal

Doping in chess?

Yushchenko: Georgia and Ukraine

The president of Ukraine has a piece in the WaPo about the stakes for his nation in the midst of the ongoing Georgia-Russia crisis.

Ukraine had been involved in a sense nearly from the beginning because of its proximity to Russian action. Oh, geography. You are the ultimate tyrant.