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| Vladimir Putin - Caricature (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey) |
From Denny: Does anyone else find it peculiar that Putin keeps trying to bully other military troops into defecting and giving their allegiance to Russia? Putin has directed his military to force Ukraine's people and military to join Russia and fight for Russia during this Crimea crisis. They sure don't look enthused.
Putin's bullying young and older military age men in surrounding countries that were former Soviet satellite orbits. Putin even tried to bully a Ukraine base commander into joining the Russian military, holding him for five days and torturing him this past week.
Yet Putin did not succeed. The Ukraine colonel defied Putin and Russian bullying tactics. With the whole world watching it wasn't like Putin could kill him on the spot. Of course, that sure didn't stop Putin from sending assassins this week to kill a Russian oligarch, Putin's avowed enemy, in the UK. Guess Putin figured no one would notice. Are you kidding?
That military defection sure is an odd strategy, coming from a guy like Putin who claims he has the best and most numerous fighting force in the world. Could it be that the lack of population growth in Russia is contributing to his seeming bravado that's really just a bluff? Can it be Putin is desperate to make one last stand to absorb other countries' young fighting age men into his military before the world finds out that he just doesn't possess all that he claims?
And then there's this month's "annexation of other countries" new law in Russia. Along with that new law came a fast-track Russian citizenship, basically enabling a brain-drain in all the surrounding countries of Russian speakers who are "highly qualified specialists and successful entrepreneurs" moving to Russia. Clearly, Russia is hurting for highly educated and competent people to run their industries. Many of the best fled Russia a long time ago while they could, back in the 1990's.
Russia's Health Minister claims they have no population decline problems any more. He claims that's been handled since smoking has declined. Yeah, right. Why are their abortion rates so high? Why don't young women want to have children in Russia? Why is alcoholism still so high? When they say "it's not about the population decline" then, you guessed it, it's all about the population decline.
Easter Omelet: Carry this fashionable virtually scrambled omelet from colorful Easter eggs!
