Even though the people of Crimea have turned out in massive numbers and, reportedly, voted overwhelmingly to join Russia tomorrow, the US Mass Media reports in US rejects Crimea vote, says Russian actions 'dangerous':
Washington (AFP) - The United States strongly rejected Crimea's vote Sunday on breaking away from Ukraine, and called Russian actions in the crisis "dangerous and destabilizing."
Voter turnout in Crimea was 79% and 95% of the votes were favorable to joining Russia. AFP reports in: Crimea votes 95.5% to join Russia in referendum: preliminary results
Simferopol — Crimeans voted 95.5 percent in favour of joining Russia in a disputed referendum on Sunday, according to preliminary results with 50 percent of ballots counted, local authorities said. Referendum commission chairman Mykhaylo Malyshev said 3.5 percent had voted to remain in Ukraine with wider autonomous powers and 1.0 percent were "spoiled ballots".
Why is this funny and why is the US government remarks such hypocrisy?
Well, according to Wikipedia: Voter turnout in the United States presidential elections, did you know that a 79% turnout is higher than every voter turnout in the United States for US presidential elections in over 114 years? That's right. The turnout in the Crimea for this election surpasses the turnout for every US presidential election since 1900...
What's the excuse for the US government to say that they will not recognize a popular vote that far surpasses the percentage of the people who vote for the US president in presidential elections?
The US government says they will "not recognize the results" because of "intimidation by the Russian military"?
From AFP:
"This referendum is contrary to Ukraine's constitution, and the international community will not recognize the results of a poll administered under threats of violence and intimidation from a Russian military intervention that violates international law," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Ha! Ha! Ha! Right... And elections held in Iraq and Afghanistan while under the US military boot and with hundreds of thousands of US troops in their countries is different?
Oh, yeah. I forgot; people LIKE having US soldiers point guns at them. They DON'T like Russian soldiers doing the same.
The only thing the US government can say about this business of not recognizing the will of the people in a popular vote is that in the USA, it's the same: the will of the people be damned.
Stinking hypocrites.
PS: You'll never hear me telling anyone that they should, "Get out and vote!"
10 comments:
History sure does rhyme.
William McKinley was the last unitedstate president to get that high of a voter turnout.
Wiki says:
McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish–American War, raised protective tariffs
... amid a deep economic depression
... McKinley hoped to persuade Spain to grant independence to rebellious Cuba without conflict,
... The United States annexed the independent Republic of Hawaii in 1898 and it became a U.S. territory.
- Helot
Nobody seems to ask why there are so many Russians in eastern Ukraine.
For example, say if the US wanted Japanese land badly, they could simply have taken it, and imported a lot of Americans, until the Americans were a super-majority. Then they could have voted for independence from Japan.
It may technically be democratic, but is it just?
As the saying goes, wouldn't it be simpler, if the government simply dissolved the people, and elected another?
In a similar vein, what would your opinion be on having a similar vote regarding the the Kuril Islands?
If the residents voted to remain part of Russia, what do you think the Japanese government would do, and vice versa if the vote were reversed?
The previous letter: "Nobody seems to ask why there are so many Russians in eastern Ukraine."
Why don't they ask that question? Because today's Eastern Ukraine was Russia for centuries. That's why.
There are so many illeducated and ignorant Americans that is is simply mind-boggling.
PS: Russian government annexes Crimea.
Like the U.S. annexed: Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Diego Garcia, the Phillipines, Guam and many others.
But it's bad when Russia does it.... And the people (Russians for hundreds of years, by the way) vote for it.
The Ukrainians have lived under the yolk of the Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, and Germans for centuries. There have been so many dead Ukrainian civilians, that by most estimates, more Ukrainians have been murdered than Jews in the last century.
It has only been due to the mass murder that the Russians have formed a plurality in the eastern part of the country.
It appears that you are either unwilling or unable to answer any of the other points.
In your estimation, what should the Ukrainian government do?
This is painful, anonymous, but I give you one last chance. You wrote: "It appears that you are either unwilling or unable to answer any of the other points. In your estimation, what should the Ukrainian government do?"
Until now, Anonymous, I was unwilling to answer your question as it borders on the absurd (and has zero to do with my article) But, OK, I'm feeling gracious so I'll answer you first question first. 1) "Is it Just?" Who cares? Since when did this world operate on justice? Get real. 2) "As the saying goes, wouldn't it be simpler, if the government simply dissolved the people, and elected another?" Never heard such nonsense before. Are you on drugs or high? Totally illogical and meaningless question steeped in impossibility. No point in answering. 3) "If the residents voted to remain part of Russia, what do you think the Japanese government would do, and vice versa if the vote were reversed?" All, again, ridiculous questions and who gives a shit what I think the Japanese government would do? Conjecture is just that. The Japanese certainly haven't done anything about those 2 islands in nearly 70 years. I have no reason to think the near future will be different. For your information: There are 56 some islands in the Kurils. Only two are contested by the Japanese (they were inhabited by Ainu people) Japan and Russia have claimed control over some or some or all of these islands since the 1800s. There are no Japanese people living on these islands. If these few that do live there want to live with the Russians, then who are you or I to deny them what they want to do?
Finally, your last question - which is completely non-sequitur to my article or your first comment: "What should the Ukrainian government do?" Who cares what they do? I don't. I certainly don't see how Kuril Islands or Ukraine is the business of the USA at all (hint, hint: the original point of my article). You ask for my suggestion? I do have one suggestion (besides them going and trying out a completely anatomically impossible task with a blunt object) they had better watch their asses because when you make a fight with a bigger and much more economically and militarily powerful neighbor who could overrun your nation in a week, you'd better watch what you say and do. Go back and re read what I wrote: I am writing of US hypocrisy and duplicity. I am not interested in your nonsense about how Ukrainians have been under the boot of this country or that…
I'd like to see some video of this so called invasion of Ukraine and of the intimidation of voters. When the US government attacked Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, and so on, there was plenty of video evidence of an invasion. There were bombs dropping, people killed, and in most instances, soldiers pouring in over the border.
How come no video evidence of a Russian invasion of Crimea? If those people didn't want to be part of Russia and were being coerced, don't you think they'd take a lot of video of the "invasion" and "intimidation" and post it on youtube?
Russia didn't invade. The so called invasion is a propaganda lie invented by the US government and spread by its stooges in the media.
The reason the vote is unrecognized by the US (and any other nation-state) is because it is illegal under international law, Mike. It has nothing to do with comparative voter turn-out. I think you know that, and are just seeking an opportunity to throw a cheap shot at the United States (a country you seem obsessed with, even though you don't live there, don't pay taxes there, nor deal with on a regular basis except to provide fodder for your gold-standard ramblings).
Regions within a given country can vote for independence, but there is a process that has been established since 1945 under the UN, and these guys in the Ukraine are not following it. Thus, as a founding member nation-state and permanent seat on the UN security council, the United States has no choice but to disavow the vote.
C'mon Mike-- you're smarter than that.
Dave, one would hope you'd be smarter than this. "Violation of International law"??? You must be joking! http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/04/how-can-the-us-accuse-russia-of-violating-international-law/
Beat me to it: http://jurist.org/forum/2014/03/curtis-doebbler-ukraine-hypocrisy.php
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