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POPSCaution likely at EU summit on Russia BRUSSELS, Belgium: When it comes to action over Georgia, Russia has the European Union over a barrel. In fact, 1.2 million barrels. That's the how much Russian crude is pumped westward everyday down the Druzhba pipeline to fuel Europe's economies. This hard economic reality explains why Monday's emergency EU summit will struggle to produce much more than a slap on the wrist for Russia, despite Europe's exasperation over Moscow's invasion of Georgia and backing for its two separatist regions to break away. The EU gets roughly a third of its oil and about 40 percent of its natural gas imports from Russia.
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POPSEastern Europe gets jittery over Russia "Slowly, the Iron Curtain is being rebuilt," said Jacek Palasinski, veteran foreign affairs commentator for the Polish television network TVN24. "Europe will be divided again -- the lines are different, pushed farther east, but the division is the same. And dangerous." Ukraine and Moldova are worried that they could be Russia's next targets. The Czech Republic, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of a Soviet invasion that crushed the Prague Spring reform movement, is fretting about history repeating itself. Many Eastern European nations, Poland chief among them, are eager to find safe haven, and have turned to Washington for guidance and reassurance and partnerships.
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POPSEx-Soviet States, Poland Rally for Georgia Joining NATO Like Georgia, Ukraine and the Baltic states were Soviet republics, gaining their independence around the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Poland spent more than 40 years as a Soviet satellite after World War II, overthrowing the communist regime in 1989 and joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 10 years later. All the countries involved have sought NATO membership as a bulwark against Russia, with which they have a common border. According to Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich, the current conflict is ample proof that the alliance must admit Georgia and Ukraine quickly. ``No country neighboring Georgia would have taken such a confrontational stance had it been threatened with a joint operation from the entire Atlantic alliance,'' Klich told daily Rzeczpospolita in an interview published today. ``The moral is simple: NATO should offer Georgia and Ukraine plans to gain membership as soon as possible.''
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POPSLiberal Russian candidate slams Putin "corruption" http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL1725990520071217 Nemtsov's Union of Right Forces (SPS) party, which advocates free-market economics and political liberalism, did not win any seats in parliamentary elections this month, scoring less than one percent of votes.
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POPSCzechs say want no Russian soldiers Can't blame the Czechs, I do blame Putin for trying to kick-start the coldwar, seems Russians can't remember how bad they had it a few years back. Putin is a relic of that era and should simply go away.
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