Today's Headlines and Commentary

Russia has officially thrown its weight behind the secession of Crimea. The New York Times reports that the Russian parliament announced that Russia would support Crimea if it were to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia. The Ukrainian and United States governments both have blasted the secession-by-referendum move as a violation of Ukrainian and international law. President Obama reiterated some of these claims in a phone call with Russian President Putin yesterday, reports the LA Times. As Ritika and Yishai mentioned yesterday, the European community has overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s actions in Crimea---the EU voted to froze the assets of former President Yanukovich---and now more countries are voicing their disappointment with the Russian Federation. Yesterday, as Reuters reports, Japan released a joint statement with the United States agreeing that Russia’s actions are a “threat to international peace and security." Sheila Smith over at Forbes outlines why Japan has been put in a particularly tricky diplomatic position, due to its reliance on Russian energy. Unrest in Ukraine is spreading beyond the Crimean peninsula. The Daily Beast reports that Odessa, East Ukraine’s major city, is “now torn in two” by pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia factions. Finally, the LA Times explains how the current crisis has shown global leaders the “depth of [President Putin’s] personal antagonism to the West,” something that the international community perhaps had not fully grasped until now. The Economist also has some pointed arguments about Putin’s government’s “belligerence." The former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has written an opinion piece for the Washington Post. In it, he reminds us of the turmoil his country suffered during its own Russian invasion and warns that Russia’s recent actions in Ukraine point to a “destruction of post-Cold War Europe." He urges the West to strengthen its response. Politico takes a look at how GOP members potentially vying for the next spot as Commander in Chief would respond to a similar global crisis. The United States has apologized for a recent drone strike that accidentally killed five Afghan soldiers. The Associated Press reports that the Tunisian government has lifted the state emergency that has been in place since a popular revolution broke out three years ago. Government officials say that this is a positive sign, and hope that the move will bring tourism back to the country. The State Department has restricted the travel of the Syrian ambassador to the U.N. Public Radio International explains that the move was taken to prevent the ambassador from “misleading” the American population about the current situation in Syria. A bill, spearheaded by Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY),that would have removed commanders from making decisions on whether to prosecute sexual assault cases, was derailed in the Senate yesterday afternoon. Politico reports that Gillibrand came five votes short of avoiding a filibuster in the Senate on her controversial bill: 60 votes are needed in the Senate to advance a bill to a floor vote; Gillibrand’s proposal only got 55. Other legislation addressing sexual assault in the military, sponsored by Claire McCaskill (D-MO), advanced to a floor vote on a 100-0 procedural vote. The vote on that bill, which calls for a civilian review if there is disagreement within the military chain of command to prosecute a case, will take place next week. In other news: from Politico, we learn that a judge has invalidated a fine levied by the Federal Aviation Administration against a drone operator, saying that there is no legal restriction on commercial drone use. The ruling gives freedom to small businesses---for now---to use drones for things like low-altitude photography, beer delivery, or even clearing smog. We couldn’t finish up the week without some mention of Edward Snowden. The National Journal covers recent comments made by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey; he suggested that the damage done by Snowden’s leaks could cost the U.S. “billions of dollars." The recently instated civil liberties officer at the NSA, Rebecca Richards, said yesterday that protecting citizens’ privacy is “in the blood” of NSA officials. Richards has been working to bring transparency to the agency and incorporating more privacy protections when collecting information. The Hill has the story. The birth of Bitcoin remains as elusive as ever after the man outed by Newsweek as the creator of the digital currency has denied any involvement with .... creating the currency. Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto told the Associated Press yesterday that he had never heard of Bitcoin until a few weeks ago.