THE CHANGING FACE OF GLOBAL  

POLITICS

                                                                                                                                                                                   So the U.S. and the EU have imposed sanctions on russian officials and even a bank linked to Putin. Every once in a while, we see a leader who gives Western countries a hard time, but it's not very usual we see one who does it with so much tact, skill, wisdom and success. The bad news for the West is, this time there are two: Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China. The people of Crimea voted 96% in favour of re-joining Russia.   
                                                                                                         The West calls the Referendum illegal; but wasn't it the same referendum the West supported in Kosovo, Malvinas(The Falklands) and Sudan despite criticism? Why the double standards then? To make matters worst for the Ukraine and better for Russia, Donetsk now wants a referendum to join Russia. Trust me Putin is certainly doing something right. As for the sanctions imposed, they have been laughed at in Russia. Anyone who followed Vladimir Putin's address in Parliament would have noticed that he had(and still has) the overwhelming support of the Russian Duma, especially the women. Infact, some Russian officials came out and said they would love for their names to be included on the list of those sanctioned by the West, because it would be a sign of Patriotism.
                                                                                                         As for the effects of these sanctions, the russian rouble is down at record lows against the U.S dollar and the russian stock market plunged. Moreover, the top russian oligarchs lost close to $6 billion in the first week alone. That's just one part, now let's look at the other part: Vladimir Putin won the presidential elections by 65% of the votes, but since his sending of troops into Crimea, his approval ratings have soared to 72%. What this implies is that even those who were formally opposed to him now support his actions. This is good news for him. Now compare that to the approval ratings of these othe three leaders: Barack Obama 40%, David Cameron 39% and Francois Hollande 17%. Who's winning here?.                                                                                                                    But I did notice one striking thing during Barack Obama's press conferences defending the sanctions. That usual charisma, eloquence, bullishness and glow we have become used to, was totally lacking. It was almost like he was just imposing those sanctions under some form of obligation. Here's my interpretation: This is a guy who came to power under a number of ideals, but now he's tired of western double standards. He may well just be trying to please war-hungry Republicans like John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Sorry Barack, you're just 'another' U.S president. Another thing I realised is that the U.S-France-UK-Germany alliance works out mostly in America's favour. Look at these examples: NSA tapping Angela Merkel's phone, NSA spying on EU delegates, Victoria Nullan saying f*** the EU... Maybe the EU should consider whether it's people like that alliance. I also notice the misuse of the statement 'international community'. Nowadays, it's just used to mean the U.S and it's allies.                                                                                                                                                            The U.S has very little to loose from sanctioning trade with Russia, because U.S-Russia trade stands at $40 billion, but E.U-Russia trade stands at almost $500 billion. The E.U must realise that the sanctions would hurt both ways, but not very the U.S. The U.S has very little to loose. Take a look: 40% of French, Italian and Spanish; 55% of German; 95% of Hungarian and Polish gaz comes from Russia. What happens if Putin directs his pipes to China, India and Africa? Riots in Europe. Perhaps, Putin now realizes he needs China and Africa more; and perhaps, he now realizes he has the political and economic capital to cause political turmoil in Europe. Perhaps too, he now realizes that there are consequences to every action.