RUSH: A big supposed nuclear reduction arms treaty signed today with Barack Obama. Putin didn’t even go. He sent his puppet, Dmitry Medvedev. They had this joint gleeful signing ceremony after which Putin recorded a message for the people of the United States. 
(playing of Putin spoof)
RUSH: Vladimir Putin with a message to the American people. President for life Obama, he may dislike America more than we ever did. (laughing) Just fax it over, whatever the new agreement he wants, next one, just fax it over. We’ll sign it without reading it. All right, welcome back. Speaking of this deal, there’s some fireworks happening in the little country of Kyrgyzstan.
‘Opposition leaders declared they had seized power in Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, taking control of security headquarters, a state TV channel and other government buildings after clashes between police and protesters left dozens dead in this Central Asian nation that houses a key U.S. air base. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who came to power in a similar popular uprising five years ago, was said to have fled to the southern city of Osh, and it was difficult to gauge how much of the impoverished, mountainous country the opposition controlled. ‘The security service and the Interior Ministry … all of them are already under the management of new people,’ Rosa Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister who the opposition leaders said would head the interim government, told the Russian-language Mir TV channel. The opposition has called for the closure of the U.S. air base in Manas outside the capital of Bishkek that serves as a key transit point for supplies essential to the war in nearby Afghanistan.’
By the way, they’re blaming the uprising on civil unrest. ‘The anti-government forces were in disarray until recent widespread anger over the 200% increase in electric and heating bills unified them and galvanized support.’ Two-hundred percent increases in electric and heating bills. ‘Many of Wednesday’s protesters were men from poor villages, including some who had come to the capital to live and work on construction sites.’ I think what’s really going on here is the hand of Putin, because the air base in Bishkek is key to our being able to supply our troops in Afghanistan and the Russians have wanted that base closed and shut down, and the old guy who was ousted didn’t do it. So now we have a popular uprising here supposedly brought about by 200% price increases in utilities and heating bills. They were asked, by the way, Medvedev and Obama, if they would put out a statement about Kyrgyzstan, but according to Fox News they were told that now is not the time to put out a public statement about Kyrgyzstan. They’re still all over Saakashvili in Georgia. Putin is out there calling him mentally insane and unstable, editorial cartoons, it’s kind of funny. But this seems to be happening a lot.
‘Thailand’s beleaguered prime minister declared a state of emergency Wednesday to quell weeks of paralyzing protests costing businesses tens of millions of dollars. But the demonstrators championing the rights of the rural poor remained unbowed, and it was unclear if the showdown can end without violence. The move by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came after mostly peaceful protests turned chaotic when demonstrators burst into parliament and forced lawmakers to flee on ladders over a back wall, with senior officials hastily evacuated by helicopter.’ Can you envision that? Angry protesters stormed parliament and the elites inside ran for their lives, evacuated with helicopters, climbed over walls, and ran for the hills.
‘The demonstrators, called the Red Shirts for the attire they wear, benefited from Thaksin’s populist policies such as cheap health care and village loans. Wednesday’s chaos was a continuation of the long-running battle between partisans of the country’s former leader — Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup — and those who oppose him. Thaksin was accused of corruption and showing disrespect to the country’s revered monarch.’ Just compare and contrast, my friends, how Bush treated Russia during their attempt to take over Georgia and how Obama is bowing and scraping and giving away our national security while they’re doing the same thing in Kyrgyzstan. ‘No, no, no, no, now is not the time for a public statement, no, wouldn’t be wise, public statement right now.’