Politically Relevant News Links
http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-separatists-vote-controversial-election-103409964.html
No mainstream international election monitors were present for the vote, and no minimum turnout was set by the organisers, reflecting uncertainty over how many voters could take part.
"These elections are important because they will give legitimacy," said Roman Lyagin, election commission chief of the Donetsk People's Republic.
- International tensions -
Aside from raising tensions on the ground, the elections have become a new bone of contention between Russia and Western powers backing Ukraine.
The conflict began when pro-Western demonstrators in Kiev ousted Ukraine's Moscow-backed government in February. It then spiralled rapidly, with Russia annexing the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, and separatists seizing towns in the east.
By then, the crisis was turning into the biggest diplomatic dispute between the Kremlin and the West since the Soviet collapse.
Russia, which supports the rebels but denies actually sending them troops or weapons, says it will recognise the results of the elections.
That angered the United States and European capitals, which have imposed heavy economic sanctions on Russia, and back Kiev in condemning the polls as illegal.
In a four-way telephone call on Friday, the leaders of Ukraine, Germany and France urged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to recognise the polls. The White House also said Friday that it considered the vote "illegitimate"
http://news.yahoo.com/kiev-claims-intensive-movements-troops-crossing-russia-133212378.html
Video footage that appeared on YouTube and was rebroadcast on Ukraine's Channel 5 -- but which could not be independently authenticated -- showed a huge column of green trucks snaking slowly through an unidentified city.
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations from Kiev, Western governments and the NATO alliance that it is fighting on the side of pro-Russian separatists who have taken over a swathe of Ukraine's industrial south-east.
However, Moscow openly supports the two self-declared rebel statelets politically and said it would recognise the validity of elections being held there Sunday.
The rebels, who also deny receiving help from Russia, have large amounts of sophisticated, heavy weaponry and no apparent problem in procuring ammunition. They have told journalists that some of their weapons are captured from Ukrainian forces.
A ceasefire was declared on September 5 in Ukraine but is violated daily in the conflict zone which runs along the Russian border. Rebel leaders say they intend to expand their territory as far as the Azoz Sea port of Mariupol.
Apparently Mr. Putin took notice of our general mid term election pause and decided to further engage in the continuing low ebb Cold War in Ukraine. Every time Russia disagrees with the West in a particularly obnoxious way Putin gets all sorts of pats on the back from his conservative domestic allies who still despise the break up of the Soviet Union.
It will be fascinating to see how Russia continues to deal with the skyrocketing inflation of the ruble which is a real effect of the obnoxious movements in Ukraine.
Domestically
The midterms. I may update this later on today or earlier monday but the bottom line is the midterms will be fascinating because polling has been growing more inconsistent recently and mid term turnout is notoriously hard to predict . The GOP is absurdly confident for a variety of real and superficial reasons. Here's some preliminary links and I'll post a more complete prediction and commentary before Tuesday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/222554-elections-to-dominate-sunday-shows
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/222583-nate-silver-gop-probably-wins-the-senate
Statistician and political analyst Nate Silver said Sunday that Republicans have a roughly 75 percent chance of winning control of the Senate in Tuesday's election.
"It's still a close election," said Silver, founder of ESPN's FiveThirtyEight blog. "You have six or seven or eight races that could either way … [But] the polls are clear enough that the GOP will probably win the Senate."
Silver added later that "signs look fairly poor for Democrats" less than two days out.
The assessment echoed a consensus across the Sunday shows that Republicans will have a good night on Tuesday. The GOP needs to gain six seats to take a majority in the upper chamber.
Silver said Democrats "could carve out a path" to retaining control by winning in Alaska, Georgia and Kansas, but he said the party's candidates are "underdogs" in swing states like Colorado and Iowa.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/222574-romney-im-not-running-for-president
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnn-presses-rand-paul-on-his-claim-gop-brand-sucks-isnt-this-about-you-in-2016/
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