By Jingo - Its A RusBurger

Do you remember 'Freedom Fries' or 'American Fries'?

Freedom Fries - Jingoism At Its Finest

It was that bit of US jingoism which erupted in 2003 when the then Republican Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, Bob Ney, renamed the menu item in three Congressional cafeterias in response to France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq ... an act followed by several other national restaurant chains. My how clever that looks now!! Boy who was right, and who was wrong .... needless to say that the bit of the Anglo-Saxon hubris that 'Freedom Fries' represented was very quietly dropped later, and now its "French Fries" again.

So you would think that the Russians would have learnt something from this episode .... but apparently not, if the antics in the Crimea are anything to go by. In April McDonald's closed its three fast-food outlets in the Crimea, citing 'problems with sourcing ingredients' ... yeah right! Anyway, the abandoned franchise stood empty and then rumours circulated that Burger King would take over the restaurant in Sevastopol (after the CEO of the chain's Russian operation suggested that they could step in), but this didn't happen after the US Parent stepped in.

So, the shop was taken over by a local concern, probably at war-time prices aka a steal. Now at the moment, Russian nationalism is at full tide ... so no chance the venue would retain any American feel in the name. They got their heads together and no doubt many names went through their minds 'Putin Pullets'? ..... No, too political. 'Rah Rah Raspullets'? What to serve, maybe 'Veal Orloff', Chicken Kiev? ..... or maybe Sturgeon fillets with Tartar Sauce? 

The list seemed endless but back came the Russian PR companies advice .... and up went the signs.

Paid A Pretty Rouble For This Name

RusBurger says it only uses Russian produce, such as veal, vegetables and cheese, and so won't have the ingredient problems its US rival faced .... err OK.

In the rest of Russia, Putin's supporters in the consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, have turned on the remaining McDonalds chain with the decision to temporarily shut McDonald's four restaurants in Moscow along with Russian MPs also calling for checks on other US fast-food brands, including Burger King and KFC. The actions come amid continuing rising tensions and sanctions between Russia and the West, over the crisis in Ukraine.

What's the betting that in a few years, the name RusBurger will have been dropped for something like 'Tex Burger' .... its all a storm in a McFlurry.

Two Sided Arguments

Self-determination seems to be a funny old thing .... in the Falklands and Gibraltar, Britain respects it .... while Argentina and Spain don't. However, in Georgia and Ukraine, some Russians have wanted 'mistakes of history' corrected and have returned to mother Russia (without a vote in one case, but with an overwhelming one in another) and the GB government doesn't respect the changes.

It’s this lack of coherent and logical policy thinking which has allowed the USA (with the GB government in tow), to invade and ignore the boundaries and integrity of a number of sovereign nations, while at the same time screaming 'foul' when the Russians or others (remember Iraq's invasion of Kuwait? ... seems so long ago), do exactly the same thing.

At least the Chinese foreign policy of 'not interfering in the internal affairs of others', no matter what the regimes internal politics are like (especially those who have natural resources), has some consistency ..... except of course, that they have interfered in Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well a war with Vietnam, and defended North Korea. Oh, and you also have to ignore those territorial claims on an entire sea, that they have lodged. So in a fact, they are all as hypocritical as each other and none have any fig leaves to hide their shames behind.

In the meant time, the 'self-determination' as the driver of boundary change, has spread far and wide, to such an extent, that an environmentally challenged old mining town in the Russian part of the Ukraine, the city of Donetsk, has launched a spoof campaign on the 'Novosti Donbassa' web site, to re-join the UK 'Cups of tea and God Save the Queen' and all that.

Donetsk Wants To Be British Like Its Founder.

The claim is based upon the fact, that its a dirt poor town, which is not able to re-join 'Mother Russia' but which crucially, and its this that they claim is the driving force of their claim to be part of blighty, the town was founded by a Welshman. Apparently, the 'Hughes the Town Founder' in this case was, John Hughes, a native of Wales whom the locals called 'John Yuz' (phonetic, gettit!), so the town was initially named 'Yuzovka' ... he was the founder of foundry.

John James Hughes (Yuz) - Founder Of Donetsk

But before the GB government decides to back this 'self-determination' as way of getting a foot hold inside Russia ... they may wish to consider that:

• Although Donetsk is the Ukraine's fifth-largest city, it is also a hotbed of pro-Moscow sentiment inside the Ukraine and the home of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
• It has also seen violent clashes over Ukraine's loosening of the ties with Russia, in which at least one person has died.
• The new Government in Kiev claims that the pro-Moscow rallies in eastern Ukraine involve "provocateurs" from Russia, and even members of Russian secret services.

So maybe not an ideal candidate for our 'new garden city in the East' ......

Reaping What We Sow

History has a way of unravelling historical mistakes. once the dead hand of authority is taken away .... 

Domino Effect Crisis After Crisis

.... and as we have seen in the Balkans and in Africa, artificial unions of borders and peoples, are often fated to unravel unless a greater force intervenes.