memeorandum: De Blasio Picks More Liberal Activists Than Managers for City Posts (Nikita Stewart/New York Times)

5:45 PM ET, March 1, 2014

Top Items:

Kremlin Clears Way for Force in Ukraine; Separatist Split Feared — SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — As Russian armed forces effectively seized control of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula on Saturday, the Russian Parliament granted President Vladimir V. Putin the authority he sought to use military force …

Discussion: Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Hugh Hewitt Show, RedState, The Moderate Voice, The Week, kyivpost.com, Althouse, Yahoo! News and New York Times

Julia Ioffe / The New Republic:

Putin's War in Crimea Could Soon Spread to Eastern Ukraine — And nobody—not the U.S., not NATO—can stop him — Vladimir Putin has asked the Federation Council—the upper chamber of Russia's dummy parliament—to authorize the use of force not just in Crimea, but “on Ukraine's territory until …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Guardian, BuzzFeed, Hullabaloo, The PJ Tatler, The Monkey Cage, The Agonist and The Week

Politico:

Putin's reckless Ukraine gambit — Vladimir Putin's surprise decision to ask for a Russian-style War Powers resolution from his parliament dramatically ups the ante in the Ukraine crisis and positions Russia for full-scale military action. It also signals Putin's commitment to use all necessary means …

Discussion: Associated Press, No More Mister Nice Blog and CNN

Conal Urquhart / Guardian:

Ukraine places forces on combat alert and threatens war as UN security council meets - live updates — Ukrainian PM tells Russian forces to return to base in Crimea and warns of war in case of further escalation — Sort by: — 8.05pm GMT — NATO meeting — NATO will now meet at the behest of Latvia and Lithuania.

Discussion: The Week and New York Times

Laura Smith-Spark / CNN:

Russian upper house approves use of force in Ukraine — Troops stand guard in Balaklava, Crimea, on Saturday, March 1. Ukraine suspects Russia of sending new troops into Crimea and provoking separatist tensions in the region. Crimea is an autonomous republic of Ukraine with an ethnic Russian majority.

Discussion: The Federalist, Hot Air, Mashable, The Monkey Cage, Gawker, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, National Review and Politico

Washington Post:

Condemnation isn't enough for Russian actions in Crimea — PRESIDENT OBAMA made an unscheduled appearance before the press at the White House Friday to warn Russia against a military intervention in Ukraine, which he said would be a “clear violation” of Russia's commitments …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Associated Press, Post Politics and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Marco Rubio / Politico:

8 Steps Obama Must Take to Punish Russia — Russia's illegal military incursion in the Crimea region in Ukraine is a grave violation of a nation's sovereignty and cannot go unpunished. — First, President Obama should speak unequivocally and call this what it is: a military invasion.

Discussion: RIA Novosti, The PJ Tatler and PJ Media

Reuters:

Russia wresting control of Crimea from Ukraine — (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin wrested control of the Ukrainian Black Sea region of Crimea from Kiev on Saturday citing a threat to Russian citizens and servicemen of the Russian Black Sea fleet based there.

Matthew Kaminski / Wall Street Journal: Mikheil Saakashvili: Lessons From the Putin Wars

Ron Synovitz / Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
Explainer: The Budapest Memorandum And Its Relevance To Crimea

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Mail, The PJ Tatler, Right Wing News, US Department of State, TIME and Balloon Juice

USA Today:
Last Slide — SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine — Russian parliament's …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Heritage Foundation and The Agonist

Kathy Lally / Washington Post:
Russian parliament approves use of troops in Ukraine

Discussion: Daily Kos and The PJ Tatler

BBC:
Russian parliament approves troop deployment in Ukraine

Discussion: The Week and National Review

Tony Lee / BREITBART.COM:
PALIN MOCKED IN 2008 FOR WARNING PUTIN MAY INVADE UKRAINE IF OBAMA ELECTED

Discussion: Israel Matzav, Vox Popoli, The Daily Caller and Israpundit

Guardian:
Russian ‘invasion’ of Crimea fuels fear of Ukraine conflict

Discussion: BBC and kyivpost.com

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Heckler: Obama wants ‘nuclear war with Russia’

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Politico, The Mahablog, CANNONFIRE and Liberaland

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:
Exclusive: Russian ‘Blackwater’ Takes Over Ukraine Airport

Discussion: New Jersey Online, Gizmodo, Israpundit, Hot Air, Guardian, Ed Driscoll, Gawker and The Dish

Nikita Stewart / New York Times:

De Blasio Picks More Liberal Activists Than Managers for City Posts — In Bill de Blasio's City Hall, it seems more and more, there is only a left wing. — The mayor, who advanced in politics by grass-roots organizing, has built a team filled with former activists …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Right Wing News and The Lonely Conservative

Holman W. Jenkins, Jr / Wall Street Journal:

Jenkins: Personal Score-Settling Is the New Climate Agenda — The cause of global carbon regulation may be lost, but enemies still can be punished. — Surely, some kind of ending is upon us. Last week climate protesters demanded the silencing of Charles Krauthammer for a Washington Post column …

Discussion: National Review

Oren Dorell / USA Today:

Iran advancing its nuclear program despite pact with West — Iran's economy has begun to recover, but experts disagree on whether that will help lead to a comprehensive deal or not. — Iran is moving ahead with a nuclear program that U.S. officials said would be frozen …

Discussion: Algemeiner.com, Independent Journal Review and The Gateway Pundit

Alec Torres / National Review:

Krauthammer's Take: Obama Tells the World We Aren't Going to Do Anything About Invasion of Ukraine — As reports are coming in that Russia has placed 2,000 troops in Crimea, within the borders of Ukraine, President Obama said that “the United States will stand with the international community …

Discussion: NewsBusters, The Moderate Voice and Independent Journal Review