COUP IN KYIV?

What exactly are you mocking?

If they wished, they could turn off the gas or sabotage that pipeline anywhere along its entire length, if Russia were to get nasty.

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Russian energy companies signed a slew of deals with China on Tuesday, seeking to lock in sales to fund costly production and pipeline projects that will direct exports away from Europe to Asia.

The agreements, announced during a visit by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Beijing, brought Igor Sechin, CEO of state oil major Rosneft, closer to his goal of exporting more than 1 million barrels per day of oil to China.

Gas independent Novatek secured a long-term contract to supply liquefied natural gas, ahead of the lifting of state-controlled Gazprom's export monopoly on LNG exports expected next year.

Gazprom, the world's largest gas company, made modest progress towards supplying pipeline gas to China but - after years of talks - will fail to seal a deal before its Russian rivals can compete for exports.

Medvedev hailed Rosneft's outline agreement to pump 200,000 barrels per day of crude oil over 10 years to China's Sinopec Group, in a pre-paid deal valued at $85 billion.

"That is a large sum of money for any country - even China," the prime minister said. "It testifies to the fact that we have reached a higher and completely new level of cooperation."

Speaking after the deals were signed, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said: "Commercial cooperation is ... extremely important and must not be put off."

The pivot to Asia by the world's largest energy-producing nation has been hastened by Europe's economic slump, while the shale energy revolution threatens to close off the export route to North America.

Fer sure, Hawk. Diplomacy ain't the USA! Get those missiles primed and ready to go! Yee hah!!

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians are getting an unfiltered look at the opulent lifestyle and alleged machinations of fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych and his top officials from thousands of documents being posted online by journalists who say it's more important to record their country's history — and document possible crimes — than hold them back for their own scoops.





Visitors to the YanukovychLeaks.org website can browse what appear to be the expense payments for running the sprawling compound just outside Kiev that reportedly was Yanukovych's home. The website had 1,581 documents online by Friday afternoon after attracting more than 300,000 visitors a day for several days this week.

"The recovered documents are being published on this website to make them available to journalists and citizens around the world," the site said. "The investigations based on these documents will also be published here and in Ukrainian media."

The documents include a payment of over $115,000 for a shooting range with a moving wild boar and $2.3 million for a tea room. Many other payments seem routine, such as money for roads and gardening, and $150 for tennis balls. There were payments to six cooks and three waiters.

New Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk has said the country is almost broke and that billions had been taken out of the country. Three Alpine nations moved Friday to block assets that Yanukovych and some of his associates might have stashed away there, and Swiss authorities opened a money-laundering investigation into Yanukovych and his son. Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein all have banking systems that have in the past been favored by investors as a place to hide funds. All are at pains to prevent their banks being used to hide and launder ill-gotten funds.

Yanukovych's residence in Mezhyhirya Park, about 140 hectares (345 acres) of forested hills along the Dnipro River, has become for many Ukrainians a symbol of a corrupt administration. The president said Friday that he had bought a 620-square-meter (6,675-square-foot) house for $3.2 million at the site and rented some other land and facilities nearby.

The only thing the US has done is tell the aggressors to leave Ukrainians alone. Hardly a reason to tell someone to eff off.

Well, this is one time I hope we and the west don't give in to Putin brutal tactics and let the chips fall where they may.

Fer sure, Hawk. Diplomacy ain't the USA! Get those missiles primed and ready to go! Yee hah!!
Everyone, kiss your ass goodbye!!

I don't know I must have missed any news stories where Obama is at the bottom of all this.

Sure it is not exactly legal for Putin to send soldiers into Ukraine.