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Follow real time news of events in the Crimea here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10666893/Ukraine-crisis-live-Russia-admits-its-troops-are-moving-in-Crimea.html Sample posts: "Russian foreign ministry admits to entering Crimea from its Black Sea Fleet base as the Ukraine's interior minister accuses country of 'armed invasion' " 17.06 Russia has just said it will give Russian passports to members of Ukraine's Berkut - the disbanded riot police. 16.42 Putin has called for a rapid return to normality in Ukraine and warned against any further escalation of unrest, in telephone calls with key EU leaders, the Kremlin said. Putin emphasised "the extreme importance of not allowing a further escalation of violence and the necessity of a rapid normalisation of the situation," the Kremlin said after Putin had separate phone calls with Cameron, Merkel and European Union president Herman van Rompuy. 16.40 Journalists in Crimea have spotted a convoy of nine Russian armored personnel carriers and a truck on a road between the port city of Sevastopol and the regional capital, Sinferopol. 10.10 Our foreign correspondent Harriet Alexander says worried politicians inside Ukraine’s parliament have pleaded with Britain and the US to come to their rescue. The two Western powers signed a memorandum with Ukraine in 1994, which Kiev’s parliament now wants enforcing. The Budapest Memorandum, signed by Bill Clinton, John Major, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma – the then-rulers of the USA, UK, Russia and Ukraine – promises to uphold the territorial integrity of Ukraine, in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons. Article One reads: “The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine ... to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.” ---- One should be aware that the Crimea is 80/90% ethnic Russian, people who speak Russian as their first language. Until the late 1950's the Crimea was politically a province of Russia. Khrushchev transfer the province to Ukraine for administrative reasons. Over the weekend an ethnic Russian nationalist mob took over the municipal mayor's office and installed a new mayor. ----- Latest: 17.35 All aircraft movements at Sevastopol's Belbek airfield are stopped after unidentified individuals seized the runway, a according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency

Fresh from Rio, Tomcal makes a beeline for Mezziniu The Cousins and a few close friends follow right behind

Here you can find the BBC live feed on the Ukraine. 20:57: The head of police in Sevastopol, Gen Vitaliy Malikov, has resigned according to the ATR television channel. 21:13: The assets of up to 20 Ukrainians, including those of President Yanukovich and his son, have been frozen by Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, Reuters reports. The former president on Friday said that talk of foreign bank accounts was "empty chatter". 20:34: Meanwhile, armed men are operating at checkpoints on the main roads connecting Crimea to mainland Ukraine. In this photo, masked men who say that they are members of Ukraine's disbanded Berkut riot police force man a barricade near the northern Crimean city of Armyansk. ==== PS I found lookin's link ("can't see...ending well") useful and insightful. Well worth reading. ==== Just my first guess, but Putin appears to be setting up for a slow roll annexation of the Crimea and possibly more. Whether he pulls the trigger on that probably depends on how much he can get through intimidation & negotiation. I doubt he himself knows (at least I hope not) but he has sure as hell made it crystal clear that ain't nothing going to happen without his consent. Remember when Georgia was making noises about joining the European Union and maybe eventually NATO? Naw, that didn't happen either, did it?

All this recent news got me interested in visiting Crimea, home of the Yalta Dacha (for the alta caca). Timing couldn't be worse, of course. Apparently, it's long been considered the crown jewel of the Russian (ex-) Empire. Can't see any of this this ending well. Russia's not just going to walk (or float) away.

Tom, as I have stated previously, you are one hell of a fortunate and lucky man to be traveling worldwide and Stateside to engage in many fun and memorable conquests! How long will you be on this particular jaunt to Brasil?

I remember when QEII had her coronation. The local newspapers made a big deal out of her saying, "you all". Yes, I am that old. They set up a small TV in the cafeteria and let us out of class for an hour or so to watch it. I don't think my family had a TV at home quite yet and, anyway, no one would have thought about keeping children out of school for almost any reason and certainly not for the coronation of a foreign queen. Maybe for the death of a close relative for half a day to attend the funereal. Best regards. RA1

I wish she would just retire and be quiet. She does NOT represent the "New South" that I live in, either in her cooking style or personal opinions. Best regards, RA1