wantkitteh writes:
"The BBC is reporting that Russia has given Ukrainian military forces in Crimea a deadline of 3AM Tuesday morning to surrender or face assault. Moscow claims the position is to protect Russian civilians in Crimea following what it describes as the illegal coup in the past weeks. The Ukrainian Prime Minister has denounced Russia's actions as totally illegal and has called on it's allies to put pressure on Moscow. Russian military readiness in the area is very high with a blockade in place at Ukraine's naval headquarters and pre-positioned air and ground forces already in central locations around Crimea. Ukrainian forces are outnumbered and unprepared to face the threat. Demonstrations in the largely Russian-speaking area have supported Moscow's position while outside the area civilians are scared of what the future holds."
Russia's military has given Ukrainian forces in Crimea until dawn on Tuesday to surrender or face an assault, Ukrainian defence sources have said. The head of Russia's Black Sea Fleet Aleksander Vitko set the deadline and also threatened two warships, Ukrainian officials said. However, Interfax news agency later quoted a fleet spokesman who denied that any ultimatum had been issued. Moscow has said its troops are needed in Crimea to protect civilians. The Kremlin says people in Crimea have come under threat from "ultra-nationalists" since pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last month. Russia is now said to be in de facto control of the Crimea region.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday March 04 2014, @02:12AM
SN is mostly tech-related discussion. I cherish that. I also cherish the intelligent discussion on the momentous topics of the day. CNN and BBC do not offer that. Stratfor is the only other forum I've ever encountered that has a similar signal-to-noise ratio, but its readership's generally hawkish bent exhausts me. I prefer the baseline level-headedness of the engineers and scientists and geeks we are with assorted toppings of left, right, center, and Cthulhu.
Now, should articles about Oscar gowns and 3 surefire secrets to boosting your sex life or Awww! Cute kittens appear on the scroll, then it would be pretty clear that SN has gone permanently OT. But I do feel there is a little latitude for articles not strictly tech/science-related.
Washington DC delenda est.