HARD TIMES AHEAD IN UKRAINE

• RT reports:

The self-proclaimed government in Kiev is reportedly planning to cut pensions by 50 percent as part of unprecedented austerity measures to save Ukraine from default. With an “empty treasury”, reduction of payments might take place in March. Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy reported on December 1, 2013, that an average pension in Ukraine is $160....The European Commission offered Ukraine an 11 billion euro loan if Kiev agrees a deal with the IMF, European Commission President Jose Barroso announced on Wednesday. As a rule, help from financial organizations such as the IMF or the World Bank normally includes drastic austerity measures. Accepting IMF money will mean many sacrifices for Ukraine’s economy, which are likely to include increased gas bills, frozen government salaries, and all around budget cuts. 

• Presumptive Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is calling Putin another Hitler for his "invasion of Crimea".  Here we have the US, with more than 800 military bases around the world, lecturing Russia on such matters.  The US spends more $$$ on weapons and war than all other nations on the planet combined.  The US invades countries willy-nilly to grab their resources.  It's a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.  

• Early tomorrow morning I head to Las Vegas to speak at the annual Pacific Life Community retreat.  This west coast gathering of Catholic Worker activists and their supporters will run March 7-10 and will include morning peace vigils at Creech AFB (major drone operations base), Nellis AFB, and the Nevada Test Site.

• Then on March 14-16 I will be in Santa Barbara, California for the Global Network's 22nd annual space organizing conference.  Things get started with a March 14 protest at Vandenberg AFB (major space launch center) and on March 15 we will hold an exciting public forum in Santa Barbara featuring some great speakers.  You can find the whole schedule of events here.