Some have asked for my thoughts on Ukraine. Since 2014, the Ukraine has been experiencing a quiet civil war, between the Ukrainian majority in the west, and a Russian minority concentrated in the east. The ethnic Ukrainian side in this conflict has been co-opted by the supranational global imperial monolith. This is the cadre of western elites that determines political, medical and cultural orthodoxy across the world. They control not only all major political parties in most western countries, but also global international consortia from the United Nations to the World Economic Forum to the European Union to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Their goal is to further squeeze Russia by turning Ukraine – including the Russian-speaking eastern regions – into another political constituent of American globalism.
What I find annoying and irritating is how the entire Western media-state machine has uniformly sided with Ukraine and painted them as some kind of freedom loving vanguards defending their homes and livelihoods against Russian aggression
The harsh reality is that Ukraine is a complicated place that is a big mess. They are supremely corrupt, and have significant armed elements that are actual, literal Nazis (hello, Azov battalion?), and the factional problems in the east/Crimea are not new. Everyone forgets that the Ukrainian army in the Crimea basically joined the Russian side. This has also happened to some extent in Donbas etc in the east
Putin cannot and will never be able to occupy and pacify western ukraine. But I don't think it was about that. The two nations have longstanding differences that date back to 1989.
Now, that doesn't make what Russia has done right. War is never the answer. But these sanctions are insane - they will not solve anything; name one sanctions regime that actually resulted in regime change or behavioral change; and the cost will be borne by common folk both in and outside of Russia. It is almost like the covid folk were told "Russia economic lockdown - go!" and proceeded to go to town. Meanwhile, social media and news is absolutely ablaze with every armchair warrior imaginable saying the Russians should be fought down to the last Ukrainian. Just give them Javelins and F-16s, that will do it!
My hope is that Putin & Zelensky come to an accord - let the Eastern regions be autonomous/Russian, declare Ukraine as neutral with a nonaggression pact from Russia, no more Nato expansion, and end the war. The world has enough to deal with.
Putin set out the terms for peace. Recognition of the separatists republics; recognition of Crimea as Russian, and that Ukraine should remain neutral.
Doesn't make it true, but he says with that agreement he would walk away. Ukraine is "thinking about it".
My guess is they're playing for time and hoping they get real military support from the West. Certainly they're winning the propaganda war. They'll have Europeans desperate for nuclear war if things go on as at present.
yes, I almost included this in the post, but I wanted to keep it as abstract and general as possible. Ukraine should obviously accept the terms and it's that they're not. i suspect their western backers urge (or order?) them not to.
That would include George Soros...he is backing the Ukraine, as is Biden Crime Fami;ly and of course the Clinton GRIFTERS through their foundation are now again open for "business"....I weep for my country.
The way they see the world is one where kindness is weakness.
As part of my bucket list that started soon after I realized the GFC was the beginning of the end ... I went on Safari in Africa.
On one excursion we watched a gazelle give birth -- immediately various predators arrived - they surrounded the mother and the baby -- none were big enough to take down the mother but they all tried to snatch (and eat) the baby.... the mother frantically charged at each of them in turn but eventually one of them grabbed the baby and the mother watched in distress as they tore it apart.
All the predators had the same goal - get that baby and eat it --- none of them thought to themselves -- poor mother - poor baby --- I think I'll just give this a pass and hope to find something else to eat.
It is in our nature to fight for more because we are competing with others for a limited and finite resource pool.
If we do not compete and instead allow kindness and sympathy to guide us (koombaya) ... others will snatch the baby and eat it.
They will become strong ... we will weaken... and eventually they will snatch us and we go from a global power ... to scraping along on the tiny handouts from the winners.
'Imagine' and 'Give Peace a Chance' are only songs... they can be dangerous songs if a country tries to live by the lyrics.
I hate that Mother Nature is red in tooth and claw...Am I being silly if I want to beleive that original sin was eating meat and the murder we have to do for it? I want so much to believe that in heaven, everyone eats grass...and it is as good for you and as tasty as meat.
For all their desired end purposes, I cannot see why the west/globalist system would.
Had Putin not foolishly attacked so much of the country and wreaked such havoc he could have probably gotten all the territory he wanted and use the threat of further attacks to get neutrality.
But by going 'large' and invading Ukraine from three directions, he has dramatically slowed his ability to take ground, also he has allowed the West to form powerful reprisals and allowed westerners imaginations to be stirred.
He has directly focused the Western mind / globalist system, who have tremendous attention and leverage that would allow them to shut down his economy and break him.
Since China allied with Russia I think they also see an opportunity to break China ( and nix any ideas China might have for a quick takeover of Taiwan) as well. IMHO I cannot see it in any of the West's/globalists interests in giving Putin anything that he wants as they will use this as an opportunity to take him out of office in a regime change and directly control Xie in China.
I feel the globalists are looking at China and Russia as a two-fer. A chance to tie them together and knock them both back and break their systems for their full control, fun and profit.
But the west's patchy reprisals will only make matters worse for them and bring them to the brink of catastrophic inflation and bankruptcy - Russia has other - better - sources of support.
Biden's team globe trotting trying to find a source of gas and oil from the likes of Iran, Venezuela and Saudi!
Russian markets re-opened did not crash. Ruble up from the lows. I can assure you Putin thought all this through. Contrary to the "narrative" - one thing he is not is an idiot or stupid
You are unfortunately incorrect - it's probably not your fault - I get it there is a massive amount of propaganda. Putin did NOT "wreak such havoc" - he is in fact avoiding that at all costs. It would be so simple for Putin to level Ukraine in a few days, but he is purposely not doing that. Just think about it. Russian army is 1m, plus 2m in reserve. Ukranian army is 200K with another 200K reserve. There is literally no chance there. The US or Nato or any western country is never getting involved all the way. So again Ukraine never stood a chance regardless of what they tell you on TV. I always suggest logic before just accepting the "narrative". Putin has not been slowed (again propaganda) - he is doing things at exactly the pace he wants to do it (he is in control here, no one else), in fact Putin has already won. And the west cannot "shut down" or "break" Putin. I suggest you simply look up what and how much of it Russia exports and where. I suggest you consider what happens if they stop. I suggest you consider what happens if Russia says (already happened) we don't want to accept dollars for our exports, just Rubles. Just think about it - sincerely.
The problem with your analysis is you assume the "West" wishes to continue with the status quo. In fact, a cabal of Western elites wants to restructure "capitalism", and replace it with a system best described as international fascism - The Great Reset.
To implement this system they need to impoverish their populations in a way that does not create internal conflict that is not controllable. You can see it beginning in some Western nations that are in truth no longer liberal democracies. Effectively most of the middle and working class in the West will have to give up owning their own homes and vehicles. Carefully escalating war with Russia might provide cover for such a change.
The original mantra of the Great Reset recorded in video was "You'll own nothing and be happy". The latest incarnation (search YouTube) of the video says "By 2050 will we own anything?".
The moral justification for this change is to reduce excessive consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. The reality is that it will concentrate all wealth in the elites.
If Putin doesn't get what he wants he may well escalate to nuclear. He has the advantage in tactical nuclear.
He has known for some time his military weakness and so targeted technologies that give him the advantage in battlefield warfare. If he wanted he could level Ukraine in an afternoon. But there are millions of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine and Putin is a nationalist. (Which is why you haven't see more devastation - not that what there is isn't enough).
In a nuclear war Putin may well have the advantage. And western elites are fully aware.
As for China, sadly you couldn't be more wrong. US elites are completely in bed with China. Everything you see happening makes China stronger.
Check out the investments in China by key Biden backers like Larry Fink and Mike Bloomberg. Not to mention key politicians links to China on both sides of the US Congress.
If war in Ukraine escalates expect an immediate invasion of Taiwan. In fact it could be just the excuse Xi needs. Google "the Theucydides Trap" if you don't believe me.
If there is anyone sane among Western politicians they should be encouraging that Ukraine accept the Russian offer and promise to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine with de facto (if not formal) inclusion of Ukraine in the EU economic area.
There is no advantage in a nuclear confrontation: only megadeath.
I do however suspect that a lot of Russian missiles are in mossy silos, with Cold War controls and aging rusty doors, and that many of them would either be duds, or blow up in their own silos.
I think that if China tries to invade Taiwan, they will be thumped, and very hard. Taiwan is an island state, and quite wealthy, with many friends, so unless China chooses to obliterate Taiwan in a pre-emptive nuclear strike, (and accept the logical response from the USA) they will have to put boots on the ground, and this means a contested amphibious invasion.
I don't think this would be very pretty: Taiwan is armed to the teeth with some state of the art defence technologies.
You would have to ask this: what sane person would even consider this risk?
Agree with you on China oh, the country and the economic Mercantile ztone,, respectfully disagree regarding chairman Xi. I think he wants to run his own system the way Putin does. And I'm not certain they're going to let him
Absolutely wrong. Russian army is 5 to 15 times the size of Ukraine's. Ukraine never had a chance. Putin doesn't need to go "nuclear" - he already won and doing it at his own pace with minimal damage (he could have leveled the place in days).
I wonder how long Putin might be around regardless. This is not playing out the way they thought it would and cannot help but think many people are less than impressed that are right behind him. Apparently Poland has now released their mig's to Nato for use.
In the US look at the mouthpieces for deep State and the globalists, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio, both have been openly talking about somebody stepping up as a Brutus. Could not be less surprised than if they were setting up something to help somebody take over with support from the West.
As the Chinese say, may you live in interesting times, but holy hell, enough already.
There won't be regime change, Zelensky can't be unseated. Putin would be wise to keep him - the West has hero worship for him, and his populace accepts his government. He has to stay.
It would be nice if someone could whistleblow on how much he is hiding offshore. He was one of the politicians named in the pandora papers. Some truth and transparency could knock the media's new darling down a few notches.
What are you talking about? He is just an extremely successful actor! Worth at least 10 times more than tom cruise, because he is at least 10 times better of an actor :)
Zelensky is a puppet and a talking head, not a real leader. (Hm, someone else comes to mind...) If his masters decide that he must stay he'll probably stay, otherwise he'll surely go.
I know it's basically like a SNL sketch but still - how can anyone vote for a clown with a bad coke habit? I'll never get it. Then again we had Senator Franken. And to think of it we have a clown / puppet as persident now, with a son with a coke habit - so close.
so what's the problem with Zelensky's leadership? That he's defied the common sterotypes of who should be leading a country? That he's inspired grassroots support in his country and many other places?
The problem is that he has $40 million in an offshore account from a criminal oligarch, as a good-faith payment for allowing this oligarch to resume criminal banking practices. The problem is that he jails the opposition and shuts down media criticism. The problem is that he resumed shelling the Donbass during this crisis as a pretext for war and NATO involvement. The problem is that he publicly announced he wants nuclear weapons at the Munich Security Conference on 2/22/22, like a lunatic. The list is much longer. Would you like some more Zelensky problems?
And Putin has no money "saved offshore" and he has never killed anyone who opposed him. He is a saint to be honored. I am surprised by the Putin worship on this thread. Zelensky is a piker in comparison. I am grateful that I don't live anywhere in that region.
Russians don’t care that Putin diverted the wealth of oligarchs to himself while he was exiling them to an island in the Sea of Okhotsk. They are far more gratified that he stopped them from looting the rest of Russian wealth along with the oligarch’s friends from the Harvard School of Economics. That Putin killed his enemies may be true only if comparable to the CIA’s assassins who have been pulling the trigger on America’s enemies since WWII and who are almost certainly making concrete boots for Russian rebels in the Donbass since 2014. Zelensky is a criminal clown working at the behest of oligarch criminals.
Ding ding DING! U got it. A great big money laundering place that Ukraine. The WEF shadow gov’t doesn’t want the apple cart disturbed, but too much focus on the Pfizer papers release is bad for business. Squirrel!!!
Seems pretty inclusive to me... whats your issue with that? In the UK we had a Jewish Prime Minister back in the 19th century: Benjamin Disraeli, though it got a bit sticky:
"In 1847 a small political crisis occurred which removed Bentinck from the leadership and highlighted Disraeli's differences with his own party. In that year's general election, Lionel de Rothschild had been returned for the City of London. As a practising Jew he could not take the oath of allegiance in the prescribed Christian form, and therefore could not take his seat. Lord John Russell, the Whig leader who had succeeded Peel as Prime Minister and like Rothschild was a member for the City of London, proposed in the Commons that the oath should be amended to permit Jews to enter Parliament."
Disraeli spoke in favour of the measure, arguing that Christianity was "completed Judaism", and asking the House of Commons "Where is your Christianity if you do not believe in their Judaism?"
Disraeli did not have several nazis organizations in his government. Disraeli did not shell his citizens and burn them alive in a building (Odessa 2014).
“…the West has hero worship for him, and his populace accepts his government. He has to stay.”
I do not share your view. The WEF, NATO and EU leaders and their servile media have mad him a hero. The reality is different when reading the alternative well balanced media. Zelensky is an artificial head of state. He is a Jewish puppet who allowes all the fascist movements Svoboda, Right Sector, UPA-OUN, etc…to “legitimize” their government.
The people in charge are Vitali Klitschko. Oleg Tyahnybok, Andriy Tarasenko, Dmytro Yarosh, Andriy Shkil, Andriy Parubiy, Leuko Lukkyanenko and still Fatherland’s Yula Tymoshenko.
Most of these politicians, former ultra-nationalists, are among the most corrupt, dedicated Pro-European after being manipulated by NATO and von der Leyen’s and Merkel’s promises to join the EU.
Zelensky can be unseated like Poroshenko, Yanukovych, Yushchenko many others since 1991.
We have to remember that the first President after the Fall of the Iron curtain was Leonid Kravchuk, who had to resign after George Bush pressured him to accept pro-western reforms while Kravchuk was claiming he was a nationalist for an indépendant Ukraine, did not want any nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil and no Peace Corps program.
I had understood that Zelensky’s approval rating was quite low prior to this conflict. While the global community has lauded him as Winston Churchill, I am curious if Ukrainians are as approving - seems like he has some responsibility for this mess. Thoughts?
I think whatever his approval was, it has likely skyrocketed now as a result of the invasion and the star power that he has attained. W had the same after 9/11 if I recall
Doubt it. He will be removed sooner or later. You don't come back from a loss like this. Putin won't even have to do it - the same oligarchs that put him in power, will remove him for the incompetence.
People are very unclear on what the endgame is. Even pro-Putin Russians I've been reading lately think that he did not have any good choices. The war was the least bad one.
That said, my take is that he decided that now is the best opportunity to mortally wound the Empire.
And, of course, there is a conspiracy theory that he is really in cahoots with the globalists and this is all part of the PLAN.
One wonders what is really going on in Ukraine - where are all the videos from mobile phones of the death and destruction? For the most part I am seeing photos of piles of garbage and women holding children in a queue....
An interesting report done ~ a month ago. Some suggest Kyiv is being somewhat spared because it's quite historic and bombing would make for bad news given that. Putin has been stalled in getting enough forces to use some longer range shells. OTOH, Russian bombers are still worried over Ukraine air defenses which are still functional. Those sat images from the Donbas show a lot of damage. For them the war is more than real.
Malenkly, the conspiracy theory that Putin is in cahoots with the globalists makes as much sense as the WEF PLAN you reference. I cannot get my head around this supposed WEF PLAN that many on Substack believe and accept. This may make me naive, unsophisticated, and gullible in the eyes of the True Believers, and I may be just that. But it appears to me, reading these discussions of the globalist plan, that you (generalized) believe the globalist have already won. What is left is the mopping up. So why argue, resist, fail to comply? Isn't it too late? This may be the root of Berenson labeling Eugyppius nihilistic.
> I cannot get my head around this supposed WEF PLAN that many on Substack believe and accept.
I do not believe it, either. It was sort of a tongue-in-cheek comment.
> you (generalized) believe the globalist have already won
What I personally believe is that the forces being unleashed in the world are so powerful that direct resistance is totally futile and counter-productive. The best we can do is to do our best to understand what is going on, what it is that we are trying to achieve, and "ride the wave", so to speak.
[Tangentially related: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." - Sun Tzu]
>This may be the root of Berenson labeling Eugyppius nihilistic.
Here is a good working definition of nihilism: "Nihilism holds that there is no meaning or value anywhere. Questions about purpose, ethics, and sacredness are unanswerable because they are meaningless. You might as well ask about the sleep habits of colorless green ideas as about the meaning of life." - https://meaningness.com/nihilism
Refusal to fight a losing battle for the sake of fighting, or to choose a side in a false dichotomy forced on you is not nihilism. (To be clear: I am not saying that fighting losing battles never makes sense, but it's a different conversation.)
What a wonderful comment. I am glad to find another non-believer. Your "ride the wave" and tangential insight of knowing yourself and your enemy perfectly describe where I want to be.
I was not disturbed by Alex's labeling of Eugyppius. I think it wildly incorrect. I will still read and follow both, as they provide much excellent information and food for thought.
Difficult to work out the game plan but we can see that Europe is struggling with very high LNG prices (this was happening before Ukraine came onto the radar).
Russia is a big supplier but has been unwilling or unable to increase their allocation to Europe because they are prioritizing the home market.
If NATO were to do to Russia what they did to Iraq - namely wreck the country and ring fence the energy installations -- leaving the people with just enough to survive --- then pump the increased surplus out to the EU markets... that solves the spiralling energy prices.
There are no good and bad actors - there are only interests. And these high energy prices are not sustainable so something needs to be done to kick the can.
Of course Putin has seen what happened to Saddam ... as have his generals and other key people running the country. Russia has a very long and proud history and one can imagine that be Iraqi-fied is not a palatable option.
When Putin's defence minister says a world without a sovereign Russia is unacceptable and that if faced with defeat... they will launch their missiles - including 500-sub based nukes... I do not think he is making an empty threat.
So Ukraine is supposed to give up some of his lands to get Putin to stop destroying their country? I sure wouldn't want that resolution in my country - appeasement never works.
The eastern & southern parts of Ukraine used to be part of Russia. Iirc they were given to Ukraine post WW2 without the consent of the local people. Imagine waking up on day & finding out you are now part of Mexico.
Since 2014, Z has allowed actual Nazis to persecute with torture & murder the Russian Ukrainians. The nazi training is our gift via Nuland.
Part of Putin's decision was because things got so bad he was facing an influx of refugees.
my son and his family live in Eastern Europe and are involved in the efforts to get refugees out of Ukraine. They are housing an ethnic Russian family from Kharkiv -these folks want no part of being Russia. and harbor deep animosity against what I'd call the Putin Russians. Sure, it's only one family but it does make one wonder if most of this people in these areas really want to join Putin's Russia - they can see what the West offers. It's also useful to remember how in Stalin's efforts to collectivize Ukrainian agriculture, millions of Ukrainians were starved and slaughtered. Any family with a recollection of that period could hardly think that being part of Putin's Russia today would be better than anything going on in a European facing Ukraine.
One out of three in Texas will tell you that they do not want anything to do with the United States and want to secede. Possibly many more in other states. Also, many were on record threatening to leave the US for Canada and New Zealand if Trump won the election in 2016.
Millions of Russians were also starved at that time, it was not along ethnic lines at all. And one of the most cruel perpetrators was actually Polish with most others Jewish, etc (Nuland's ancestors maybe?)
The western parts of Ukraine were not part of Russia, and don't want to be now. Very few people alive now anywhere in Ukraine were never part of Russia. If I lived in northern Florida and it had been given to Mexico after WWII, I would probably want to go back to being American. If I lived in the southern part I would be more likely to want to stay in Mexico. especially if I spoke Spanish and especially as I'd never been alive when my state was American -- and I'm 57, I'm not in my 20s or 30s. A LOT of countries were created after WWII -- are we now going to say they should all be dismantled?
The situation is very complicated and difficult for outsiders (of whom, I admit, I am one). I certainly have no idea how big or dangerous the Azov Battalion is, although I'm sure it's nowhere near as much of a threat as Putin says it is, and saying that the Jewish Zelensky has "allowed" them to kill people is incendiary. But yes, we've been part of this mess for a long time. And it is a mess. I don't know what the right thing to do is. But I know what a lot of wrong things to do are.
Putin wanted to join Nato back in 2000. He joined France & Germany in voting against some intervention or other, so the US said no & has made him cartoon evil enemy #1 ever since.
If the US had respected Putin's security concerns & honored its promise re:Nato, this could have been avoided. Instead we played chicken for years. Moved Nato nukes closer & closer. And fostered a coup next door with a puppet government in 2014, which was the beginning of a civil war there. And put biolabs right at Russia's border. All so Biden & company could launder their graft & poke the Russian bear.
Putin made very clear what he wanted last winter. Repeatedly . Our "leaders" essentially flipped him the bird.
If Z had negotiated with Putin early on, much of this could have been avoided. Instead, he has held out & tried to get Nato to intervene.
The Nazis atrocities have been on a par with ISIS. Videos exist that have been viewed by independent journalists. I haven't looked at them, the substacker warned not to, but read the description of two. One of a crucufixion/burning alive & a 2nd of a young pregnant woman & a young man with nooses around their necks tiesmd to a car & slowly strangled I can't find my link to it now, but here is another bunch that showed up this morning.
The Nazis have also been in preventing citizens from evacuating through the humanitarian corridors. Either Mark Wauck or Mark Crispin shared a video the other day of an American journalist describing what he witnessed re: evacs
Z let woman & children evacuate to Poland. But stopped men at the border, conscripted them & forced them to Kiev to fight.
I saw a reddit post earlier today by an American vet who joined the foreign volunteers. He quit his 2nd day there ehen he rralized tbis was a suicide mission. He described the conscripted civilians, handed crappy AKs with very little ammo & no training sent off to die in Kiev.
.I saw video last week of a woman who who tried to get her husband out in the trunk of her car. Mark Wauck linked to a couple weeks ago to an American in Kiev who wrote that they are conscripting all male citizens aged 18-65 & forcing them to fight. That they were sneaking into the countryside & hiding on farms, including his next door neighbor & friend.
As to Z being Jewish, so is Soros & that never stopped him from collaborating with the Nazis, both in WW2 & WW3 woth Schwab.
When it comes to buying souls, Satan is equal opportunity.
gee your description of the Zelensky Nazi atrocities, sounds very similar to how Hitler described the Jews! My guess is that those stories are fronts for considerable anti-Semitism. We do know from lots of media coverage that there is wholesale slaughter of civilians and destruction of major urban areas by the Putin Russians. You don't sound like you're too concerned about that at all. And even if the stories about Z were true, Putin's atrocities are exponentially larger. Also, I'm baffled about why Zelensky should have talked/negotiated with Putin? No one has done anything to Russia and Europe is totally dependent on Russian oil - Putin had nothing to complain about.
What was happening in Donbass was / is truly horrible and is nowhere close to anything Putin has ever did. I have seen some of the videos and talked to some people from there - yes, people cannot believe something like that can actually happen nowadays in what is part of Europe, but it did happen for long eight years. The atrocities are absolutely unthinkable, and worst part is that Ukrainian government fully condoned and encouraged it. Since I discovered that was happening, I cannot think of them other than a terrorist state (and I have absolutely nothing personal against Ukraine and Ukrainians and have some Ukrainian ancestry myself). I just could not understand how this could have happened and what triggered it (as usual, looks like CIA was involved).
They are not stories. They are on video & witnessed, including by American journalists & American volunteers +who quit after they saw what's going on . Putin also has rid the world of a bunch of bioweapon labs -- the ones that Welensky claimed don't exist the day before she expressed fear Putin might take something from them & release it.
Putin gave fair warning. Zelensky & the US chose to ignore his warnings. Then chose to escalate. These choices have been going on for 20 years. Now everybody paus the price for American hubris.
To me Z's nazi atrocities look more like how the Jews described their plight at Auschwitz. To belittle 14000 deaths just because the algorithm did not tell (train?) you to be outraged at them is like belittling the torture and murder of innocent jews in Hitler's Germany.
Russia has no interest in any Ukrainian land. Russia wants Ukrainians to be able to chose their own governments without dictatorial control from Nazis.
“Choose your non-Nazi government at gunpoint” was how the Allies governed occupied Germany. Went down pretty well from the standpoint of no further German wars.
My dad was on the British Control Commission, His main obective was to fill starving bellies and bring coal to the people so they didn't freeze to death. His secondary objective was to marry the rather delightful daughter of the house where he was billeted in Hannover. He achieved both aims. They had six kids: I'm number three.
beyond maybe some of the crazy internet neonazi battalions, I have a hard time imagining a lasting insurgency. but, maybe with enough covert American agitation and supplies, they make something happen there.
The Ukrainians in the the central areas seems to be doing well bogging down Russian armor almost as if they had effective leaders. In the East nominal Ukrainians are fighting as best they can slowing Russian advances and forcing Russians into killing civilians to break will to fight. The Azov battalion was small, remains small compared to ordinaries who became armed. There has been a willingness to fight.
The Americans were very aware of the likelihood of a Russian invasion, they worried about it when first introducing anti-tank missiles in 2018. For me, this is all about geo-strategy. The overwhelming trend of the century is the integration of Asia and Europe; and this would far outpace US economic power. Isolating Russia is key, and de-coupling it from Western Europe, and keeping Western Europe within the USA economic and security orbit. As a secondary issue, punish Russia for interference in Syria where we intended to topple Assad. Ukraine is not really about Ukraine, but about the global poles of influence; we are witnessing the end of the uni-polar moment; and the birth of the multi-polar order. The fracture lines between these poles will be revealed. It won't be nice...
Eugyppius is telling us there's more to the story than that. But you certainly speak for most people who support Urkaine--this is what the choice seems to come down to.
I was duped by WMD...but not for long...I thought if Colin Powell, who is really a democrat, believed it, then maybe I was wrong...but I read all the stuff put out by those who were sent to inspect...no WMD. After that it was when I realized that all of 9/11 was propoganda...and then I looked into 9/11...and I doubt everything for the past 50 years of my life. Probably a good thing.
I'd have to correct you on some of this. Ukraine is NOT complicated - it's simply very corrupt for anyone who wants to see it. In fact this is why it's such a useful pawn for the west. The biggest problem and the scariest part with all this though is that the "system-globalists" are very limited in their logic. They never go past step one. What if Russia decides to cut off all their exports? I know you were told, no big deal, but it will literally cause a worldwide famine. Or what if Putin says I want all my exports paid with Rubles (which he did yesterday) - what happens to the "petrodollar"? US's largest export is the dollar - what happens if it's not? The "system-globalists" don't think that far ahead it seems. They can't think past "how does my degenerate drug addicted son keep his payday job at a Ukranian energy company that gets a lof of US taxpayer aid"... I am now convinced that's the extent of their thinking
except as usual they haven't thought past step one. Instead what they will get is a rejection of globalism. It's already started thanks to Russia (strangely)
That's what some people contend - that our present leaders can't think of the second-order consequences. E.g. Robert Barnes ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Barnes_(attorney) ) is of that opinion. "I went to Yale with those people... The best way to model them is to take a very math-smart (not life-smart) individual, and them remove conscience and the ability to think beyond the immediate consequences..."
"Yes, they do realise it. Yes, they’ve thought it all through. I worked with these people for more than 50 years... They look at this and they say, How can America gain from all of this? There’s always a way of gaining what something looks to be bad. Well, one way they’ll gain is oil prices are going way up..."
Here is a speculation on my part: they are talking about different generations. Hudson "grew up" with the elites that were still rational and real-politik. He has very hard time imagining otherwise - that they are religious (in the woke and/or neocon way) hacks, who grew up during total American hegemony and just can't see things through any other lens. Barnes, on the other hand, went to school with that new generation of idiots.
Both are sort of true. It is a generation (or 3) of cuddled idiots, and they did think it through - for themselves - how to get rich in the next 10-20 years. But that's as far as they got. We all know these kinds of people - Robert Barnes went to Yale with them, but we all know people like this too.
What is hidden by the "fog of war" is more than just troop movements and supply lines, or even the (often pitch black) motives of the ward's cheerleaders. Masses of non-combatants hide their private sins and secret shames in that fog. They cheer it not because they're necessarily bloodthirsty, but because they desperately want to offload their insecurities onto a goat and send it into the desert. They want to feel like they are on the right side of some issue that they can pretend they've devoted a great deal of thought to, even though their minds were a pristine blank on the subject five minutes ago.
That's why we saw so many sudden lay "experts" in microbiology and public health policy suddenly emerge during the Covid scare. It's also why we see so many Ukrainian "experts" pop up now, who couldn't find it on an unlabeled map the night before. It's the human urge for moral clarity and collective truth. acted out in its most disastrous form.
The entire Western Legacy Media HAVE BEEN PAID TO DO THIS, in addition they are all leftists and would happily do it for free. Substack is the only place you can find real news now, and a balanced viewpoint.
"Nazi" is meaningless, Communism is meaningless. The only universal categorization of mankind is saved by the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus alone and not. Lenin and his Jewish Cheka tormentors and mass murderers and Stalin and his Jewish torturers and mass murderers are all dead and have a more agonizing eternity than mere man can imagine, but it is difficult not to persecute the children of those who came before. Problem is, that anger and wrath is misplaced. Properly focused, that anger should take the form of cutting off all "foreign aid" to Israel and divesting the Jews of all foreign holdings in mass media and banking. Let them choke on all the fiat currency, the can print, let they sodomize each other in Israel, the source of globo-homo corruption, restrict their pornography and gambling to Israel. In fact, the first step is to realize and make widely known that the collection of demons who call themselves "Israel" are a demonic counterfeit of the Israel of King David and Josiah. There is absolutely nothing holy or glorifying to God about the modern counterfeit, right down to their denial that Jesus is indeed the Christ, very God and very man. The ghettos were created to protect trusting loving Christians from scheming, hating Jews. 200 Years Together by Alexander Solzhenitsyn tells of the Russian experience with the unassimilable Jews. Muslims are another story, but insignificant compared to the demonic impact of the Jews upon everyone else in the world. Hitler did not gas any 6 million Jews. The only Jews who went into the crematoriums were the ones who died of typhus and starvation, just like the vast majority of those who died near the end of WWII of starvation and disease. But control of the narrative after WWII has resulted in "Hitler killed 6 million Jews: send your money to Israel!" Now the most demonic people in the world sit on some 200 nuclear bombs and the ability to deliver one to any city in the world inside a suitcase or trunk. Of all the people in the world, the Jews would be the first to nuke another people after they prepare a place to sit out a real holocaust.
I mostly agree with your comment, except for this. War is a human universal. As one dead Prussian famously wrote "war is politics by other means". As long as there is politics there will be war.
I think the example of sanctions against South Africa is helpful: but admittedly there was huge Western, Chinese and even Russian moral support towards the end against the Apartheid regime, and the numbers of Sth African whites was vastly outnumbered by the blacks, so they always looked likely to fall.
By my understanding, there was plenty of "moral support" from SA whites themselves. They weren't actually any kind of "archetypes of white evil" that were only brought to heel through the exogenous pressure of some "enlightened global community," or whatever. The effectiveness or importance of the sanctions as being "the key cause that brought about a (more?) just regime" (or however you want to frame it) is just one of those made up bits of "history" that have no basis in reality.
I concur completely with this comment and your hope. I'm inclined to believe, however, that our hope is not aligned with the ultimate plan of the Global Neo-Fascist Oligarchy that created the conditions for this war, which is our impoverishment and enslavement. But I've been wrong before...
I think you're missing a couple of important points. In the early 2000s France, Germany and Russia were great mates and Russia was feeling quite European. Putin even asked Clinton about joining Nato. However in 2003 France, Germany and Russia issued a joint declaration condemning the plan to invade Iraq. Together those 3 countries represented a huge power block which the US wanted to be dismantled. The US created the friction in Georgia and has been trying to destabilize Russia ever since. They want Putin gone and some corrupt President installed in his place who will make all of Russia natural resources available to Western exploitation. Don't forget Russia is the largest country in the world which also possesses the greatest amount of resources.
I think it's wise to point out that the worst foreign policy in the US is created by 2 factions- 1)defense contractors (the original industrial military complex ala Eisenhower) and 2)CIA involved coups (under the pretext of establishing "democracy".) Those 2 factions alone have accounted for hundreds of disasters large and small. Although many took a dislike to Trump, he was literally the first President in a very long time who wanted to take counsel from neither of those 2 groups. Which made him very unpopular with the existing political establishment (which has a reward system based on these war and globalist fundamentals, especially since George Bush Sr.).
Trump had his hands tied- the establishment tainted any competent people from being able to approach him. Look at the smear campaigns that were waged on many of the people who tried to. So he was stuck trying to repurpose globalists, which didn't work well. Didn't help that McConnell also blocked him from appointments at every turn. He openly fought with Bolton and used him only as a barking dog. He never attacked the 5 or so places Bolton urged him to. I can only hope that more brave people step forward out of the shadows to help him if he gets another chance. Mind you there are trillions of dollars at stake, it's literally a dangerous place to be.
I think Trump severely under-estimated what he was up against regarding the deep state. His instincts may have been good but his choices were poor. Too many Goldman Sachs people.
A Starbucks and Big Lots on every corner? That kind of freedom? Or the other kind, the freedom to decline a vaccine? Don't they have that already in Russia?
Yes, freedom in terms of free and fair elections. Agreed, but about those elections . . . .
"After they finish throwing their tantrum, they’ll go pick another proxy fight somewhere else, and ruin some other country."
And according to the insane words of Secretary of War Blinken on Sunday, they're now trying to use Poland as their next proxy sheep despite Poland's protestations.
There was a moment in recent history when Poland dared to resist the cultural assimilation into globohomo. Even though their government has been co-opted since then, they remain marked for cleansing.
"they're now trying to use Poland as their next proxy sheep despite Poland's protestations."
In the 1940's it took 100,000 troops to occupy France, a country similar in size to Ukraine. Can you imagine what it would take in todays internet connected world to suppress resistance in Ukraine? Probably twice that number.
And to occupy Poland would need another 200,000.
How would Putin create his "empire"? He can barely afford the military he has. The USA spends 11 times Russia's defence spending; China spends 5 times Russia's defence spending.
Russia has a GDP that is half of the UK's and spends about the same as the UK on defence. Putin can't financially afford to occupy any country larger than a small island, anymore than could the UK.
What he does have is 6,500 nuclear warheads; hypersonic missiles, the worlds largest thermobaric bomb; and tactical nuclear weapons. There are 70 nuclear submarines patrolling the worlds oceans. So he can blow us all off the face of the earth, and at the moment, would probably have the upper hand in a nuclear war. (If such a thing is possible).
I recommend you check what he says he wants. Just check tass.com. Of course it may all be propaganda. But then so may be Blinken's statements.
Someone wants war in Ukraine. The question is who and why. Eugyppius identifies the who, but perhaps not the why. By the way, while some of the globalist elites may be American, they're not nationalist. They despise their working class countrymen.
I'm actually thinking that the Biden Administration is so inept they want a war to distract from their abject failures in covid management, the excess mortality numbers with the vaccines and long lasting possible side effects, the spiraling inflation and way to usher in green policies (look at Kamala hawking EV cars right now- pathetic- like telling the homeless to buy a home right now). They want a war because they literally can't think of anything else. And God help us- Blinken is also an unmitigated disaster in the foreign policy arena.
The why has been niggling around in my brain. I have no definite answer except it really makes no sense to get a crisis in place unless you can become hero of the hour and sweep in with the solution. What that involves I have no idea. I do speculate that part of it will involve moving the players where those globalists want them. Easily controlled and loyal to a better world.
What if Team USA Globalism gets its way? What has the legacy of Globohomo brought to its subjects but perpetual debt slavery, homogenization, cultural decay, financialization, precipitous declines in standards of living, and atomization and demoralization of her children?
The heritage peoples in the wake of assimilation into Globalism own no shares of the booty extracted for Progress. Like the Covid lies, the glorious utopian technofuture of Globalism and its multi-culti ponzi of fiat debt and consumer-drone enslavement is a failure across any metric you choose, if one resides in obervable reality. Thats the big "If".
The economic war and its cultural front should not be ignored. The "American Empire" is not American. It is worth considering that if there are still plenty of people here who would gladly cast off the yoke of TPTB who are actually running things there are probably some nations full of people that are having second thoughts about joining Globohomo.
Putin very well may extend his sphere of influence and solidify through economic (energy & infrastructure) means but the question of who the actual belligerents in this war are - and to whom or what they serve is one that needs to be pondered.
This is a long shot and may sound silly today, but might the 'un-woke' workers of some regions which have recently been digested by the toothy beast of woke-globalism (WEF) be interested in a more heritage-friendly alternative? A clearly defined dividing line has opened in the US between the woke and the anti-woke (which I think roughly breaks down to putative globalists and anti-globalists), and while the push-back to wokism includes mostly center-right, the number on the horrified center left is fast increasing. Is there an analogous division in Europe? Is it conceivable that a trans-national political and cultural movement might arise? If so, would a regionally powerful entity such as anti-globalist Russia not be a potential beneficiary of such interest, particularly if the political winds begin to change direction within nearby countries?
What historical, political, or economic realities give you reason to believe this? The only "evidence" you're likely relying upon is what you hear in the MSM, which is a defacto arm of the US intelligence services. Russia is not the USSR; it's economy is about equal to the size of Texas' economy. How (and why) would Russia take such a thing on?? Their invasion of Ukraine is not about controlling wheat; it's about pushing the Americans back forcefully to get them out of their face. The US is involved in frivolous expansion, not Russia. For Russia, this is an existential defensive exercise.
Not likely in the shirt or even mid term. Russia has been very clear on Ukr - crystal clear and wrote about their plans that have always included Ukr and Belarus. Moldova wasn’t part of the calculus and likely isn’t. You have to realize this is a war brought on not by Russia but by the West. It was executed by Russia when the situation became strategically untenable by Russia. So Moldova could be on the table only and unless the US decides to push unacceptable terms.
But from what Russia and Putin have written it’s the Ukr/Belarus/Russia merge that makes sense politically, economically and culturally.
definitely worth asking. Consider what Ukraine has encountered since it became a nation, tho, and whether or not the inroads made by the global west thru bribery or seduction has long been an irritant to Russia, and something they might long have interpreted as a way to bring about an end to Russian sovereignty.
And if NATO gets its way in Ukraine, Russia will be its next target. They have clearly been on collision course for some time, with one being much more expansionist and aggressive recently with zero intention to stop, while the other was just rather reluctantly reacting. Sometimes I think Russia standing by during Yugoslavia bombing is what started this chain of events when NATO / US neocons realized there is no one to stop / deter them.
I'm not angered at all, instead, saddened because just like with covid, I have friends who rather see Putin as a crazy lunatic ravaging innocent Ukraine instead of doing just a little bit of research outside of CNN/CBC. In fact, one of my friends made the comment 'how can someone just decide one day to invade another country'. I forwarded her quite a few enlightening, non disputable articles & videos including the one of John Mearsheimer mentioned here. I haven't heard from her since.
For a longer analysis, here's a summary by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano which I haven't read all the way through yet.
In one thing only do you err, E.: in assuming we, your readers, would be among those so infected by the power of narrative as to be angered by such a dispassionate, reasoned and articulate analysis!
Why do you think you have angered people? Not many people who read this are in a media bubble, I presume. FWIW, I am ethnically Russian living in the US and married to an American
with a degree in poliscience who has been involved in certain things. My mother and friends and other family members still live in Russia. From our joint point of view (and we are a group of people with very different experiences and perspectives) what you wrote is essentially correct.
Well that's unfortunate that you have readers who think foreign policy isn't nuanced. I mean only a simpleton would think it's all Russia's fault. Yes, Putin is evil (he poisons opponents for sport), but hey when the US took a stick and kept poking the cobra, they should have better prepared for the sting of the bite.
The problem is that it is possible to justify any aggression against a sovereign country. When Hitler invaded the Sudetenland and even the rest of Czechoslovakia, some saw good reason for his action. Would you also say the blame was shared?
Absolutely blame is shared. But as we know, all of this is complicated and the opposite of what is being portrayed through the media. Ukraine politics are corrupt and they are also violent (they just executed a Ukrainian negotiator for purportedly being a Russian spy- no trial- just execution). But Ukrainian politicians don't always represent their people. Ukraine was not really united anyway.
If you think that the blame was also shared in the case of Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia, then your position is consistent. Few people would be brave enough to say such a thing.
Globalists are smarter than you think and Putin is probably in their cabal. I wouldn't be surprised if he was given assurances if he started this war now. There is no reason to trust the Russians, neither their history nor their lack of denunciation of the soviet era are reassuring.
The MSM drumming the beat of "Russia all evil and Ukraine all holy" reminds of the propaganda about the "Huns" in WWI before we entered that war. The MSM and their government handlers don't want us thinking anything through. They just want a blood lust for getting involved to save Ukraine by any means.
Brahms - you'd be surprised how triggered some readers get on these otherwise intellectually honest substacks. I think what we are witnessing here is like the early days of COVID, when people trusted the MSM too much and became emotionally susceptible to manipulation. Alas, some people are falling for the same trickery all over again.
it's really incredible, and terrifying, the levels of totally false and unsupported ethnic animosity that the mass media can develop in a matter of days.
What a refreshing read. Makes me realize how crazy the MSM tries to make me feel - gaslighting us from all sides. My soul knows when it is reading something that feels more measured.
Ukraine's application for NATO membership dates back to 2008 and was never approved. There was no indication recently that this could change. This is not the reason for the timing of this war. On the other hand, I can't help but notice that it comes at an ideal moment to avoid holding accountable those responsible for the disaster of the last two years.
NATO is only one of many means for the west to annex Ukraine; EU membership was a more recent plan that precipitated the 2014 coup, and since then the pro-western government installed in Ukraine has been a constant point of contention.
The 2014 uprising is old news, even though Putin made sure to create a state of conflict in the east of the country (Russian speakers live a normal life outside of areas held by militias). There have been several elections since then, and Zelensky is only head of state since 2019.
This is just becoming a question of why did Russians invade now and not in 2014? I don't know, the answer presumably exists somewhere within Russian intelligence services or the military establishment. The provocation is there all the same.
Because Russia is far stronger vis-à-vis the USA now than it was in 2014, especially given Russia's alliance with China. The ineptitude of the American ruling establishment (e.g., the withdrawal from Afghanistan and Biden's clear mental deficiencies) also undoubtedly played a role. An invasion was undoubtedly not what Putin wanted to do given the consequences for Russia, but the Ukrainian government's continuing refusal to realistically deal with Russia, while encouraging ever greater military assistance from the West, made it increasingly likely.
this makes it more dangerous, in my view: a figurehead president with no political future who is a mask for unaccountable hidden actors in the military and the executive. the kind of thing that, to my mind, makes escalation to wwiii a little bit more possible.
and with all the focus on gender ID and diversity, allowing criminal activities in the US to go unchecked through the culture and police demoralization campaigns Putin can feel pretty confident that a large number of Americans aren't interested in defending themselves, much less another country
Because in 2014, Germany had not yet implemented disastrous Net Zero policies that in effect make it dependent on Russian oil and gas.
I read somewhere that if oil and gas prices spike much higher, Russia will end up making a profit on this war! But eco-weasels responsible for this ludicrous situation will never say anything except to bleat for more wind and solar.
Russia has made significant investments in high tech weaponry. Hypersonic missiles traveling at Mach 10 may well be able to penetrate US defence systems.
In addition, since Trump was fooled into providing military aid in 2017 (?) some $2.5 billion in US military aid has been shipped to Ukraine. Prior to that only economic aid was provided.
And finally, Ukraine built up 100,000 troops on the borders of the Donbas in what appears to have been preparation to take the land back. It is claimed shelling of the Donbas had intensified in recent months.
It's possible Putin moved now because it was his last chance to do so before Ukraine became powerful enough to resist his attacks.
he invaded now because it's clear that the US has such weak leadership that they will do nothing - in fact, it's so "weak" that one has to wonder if some in the administration are at best Russian/Chinese ideologues and working for those interests or whether they are actually on some payrolls. I don't think the timing is a mystery at all.
Kamala heels up Harris was only in Munich three weeks ago celebrating the idea of Ukraine NATO membership alongside the Comic puppet stooge of Ukraine who also invited western Nukes in violation of the Budapest memorandum.
These are just words, only the facts matter. How has Ukraine's membership made progress recently and where are those bombs? It's a bit rich to talk about the Budapest memorandum, under which Russia and the United States guaranteed the inviolability of Ukraine's borders in exchange for nuclear disarmament.
Yes, and the President of Ukraine openly talked about violating the memorandum at the Munich security conference. And the Vice President the US openly talked about Ukraine NATO membership at the same conference after 8 years of post-US coup proxy war games in Ukraine against Russia. Those aren't just words. Those are "Go ahead and invade Ukraine Vlad" words. So he did. Poking the bear for twenty years has consequences.
This is indeed how Putin and his western proxies justify his war. In the 1930s, some people also found very good justifications for the annexation of Austria, the annexation of the Sudetenland and the whole of Czechoslovakia.
Hitler also occupied Austria, the Sudetenland and even Czechoslovakia with almost no casualties. This time, neither the invasion of Ukraine, nor that of Moldavia or the Baltic States will take place peacefully.
Before this mess happened the Americans should have reiterated the point that the Ukraine would not be a NATO member and there would be no nukes on its soil. Not sure why that message was never clearly conveyed. As world leader the US should try to suppress war not encourage it.
If the Warsaw pact had pushed into Canada and were installing missile launchers, importing huge amounts of arms, interfering politically and getting involved in all kinds of corruption would the US not react in the same manner?
If NATO was eager to encircle Russia, why was Ukraine's application not accepted in 2008? The United States did not need to pressure the Eastern European countries to join NATO. They applied for membership as soon as they could, because they were afraid of Russian imperialism. And Putin proved that they were absolutely right.
NATO was created in 1949 in the aftermath of the Communist coup d'état in Czechoslovakia and the first Soviet nuclear explosion. It was an unprecedented trans-Atlantic peacetime military alliance meant to deter the USSR from further expansion in Europe. With the ending of the USSR in 1991, NATO should have ceased to exist, having lost its raison d'être. But not only did it not cease to exist, it expanded eastward, contradicting promises made by Western leaders to Russian leaders in 1990-91, posing an ever-increasing threat to Russia. (Since many claim otherwise, here's perhaps the best evidence that such promises were in fact given: https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nato-s-eastward-expansion-did-the-west-break-its-promise-to-moscow-a-663315.html.) Russia is not an empire (unlike the USA) and has no imperial pretensions. The war in Ukraine is entirely the fault of the West who, for thirty years, have ignored Russia's concerns and warnings. Now the West is pouring weapons into Ukraine, while refusing to fight on its behalf, enriching Western arms manufacturers while devastating Ukraine.
Obviously, you do not know the history of Russia if you think that it is not an empire or that the imperial spirit does not drive its leaders (by the way, the actual name of the country is the Russian Federation). It is only natural that they try to justify their wars, that is what they have always done. Obviously, it's a success since the West is now responsible for their decision.
The hypothetical commitment on NATO expansion was not made to Russia, but to the Soviet Union, a state that has since disappeared. What is it worth compared to the treaty signed in 1994 in Budapest by the Russians and the Americans guaranteeing the inviolability of Ukraine's borders in exchange for its denuclearization?
For nuclear weapons on Ukraine soil? None, and I can’t believe anyone would seriously propose this. For membership in NATO; refer to the posts by Good Citizen. This could have been negotiated before this but the war hungry global empire wants to have their way. The Ukraine citizens are the ones to pay the price. When you have Lindsey Graham on your side you should be rethinking your position.
You justify an aggression against a sovereign nation by the lack of assurances given to the aggressor (as if Putin was going to be satisfied with simple promises). Lindsey Graham is simply capitalizing on Putin's mistake. But this time he is not the one responsible for the thousands of deaths.
Forgive me for doubting the same global empire that invaded Iraq with assurances that they had justification. The same empire that deposed Ghaddaffi in Libya and started regime changes in Syria and Egypt. Yet I am hearing from them and their legacy media lapdogs how evil Putin is when if they applied the same standard to themselves they would be deemed just as evil. I do agree that Russia is in the wrong. But I believe the current administration should have and could have done more to prevent the invasion. The Western elite see the Ukraine people as pawns. Negotiation is the only way forward. The big unknown to me is if this is part of a larger operation by Russia and China.
There's a more straightforward reason. Look at who's now in charge of the executive branch of the US federal government. (And recall the recent Afghan withdrawal.)
I really don't think all these guys are on the same page arranging a Truman Show for the rest of us. That's taking behind the scenes maneuvering a bit too far.
Who is in charge of the executive branch? Surely you don't think it's Joe Biden.
Truman Show. I wish it was that banal.
Afghan withdrawal. Not incompetence. Deliberate. Transfers power to China. Two weeks after the US left the Afghans a fully equipped military, Chinese planes arrived at Bagram air base. China has been negotiating with the Taliban since 2014. Biden is in the pockets of the Chinese.
What does it all mean?
Read what the World Economic Forum (WEF) plans for the world. Checkout Blackrock's President statements recently, and investigate Larry Fink. (WEF trustee) Investigate "Build Back Better". Who has used the slogan recently (loads of politicians) and where did it come from? (WEF).
Behind the scenes maneuvering isn't the half of it. It is hard to believe I'll freely admit. But if you were obsessed about Climate Change and wanted to distribute resource more equitably you'd have to persuade the populations of liberal democracies to accept a lower standard of living. How could you do that? The WEF knows how. (or thinks they do).
There's a conspiracy theory that Western banks are bankrupt, and that Covid-19 was cover for massive money printing leading to a reset of the economic system. Apparently the usual overnight central bank borrowing to banks has been extended in some cases almost indefinitely.
I was really hoping Ukraine would get a break and have a good life when they left the Soviet Union due to the democide that Stalin & Lysenko did, but 2 decades of corruption was all they got. Then they elected an ethnic Russian who cut a sweetheart deal with Russia for discounted gas, increased transit fees and a 4 billion dollar interest free loan. The US didn't like that and staged the Maidan Coup.
The US then promptly lost Crimea without a shot being fired and two provinces in the east. Now they lose at least up to the river and probably the Odessa region. Land locked rump of Galacia might be all that is left. Keep fighting and you'll lose that too.
There was an old saying about the British Empire that applies to Empire USA: "The only thing worse than being their enemy is being their ally".
The USA has 2 choices in this situation. Go nuclear or go home and nobody is going nuclear over Ukraine. Anyone who thought they would is just plain wrong.
The insane controversy is that USA is supporting the closest government can get these days to WHITE SUPPREMACY and NEONAZISM (aka Zelenski's Azov government)
Brilliantly correct. At least I know that when Putin says something, he does something consistent with what he has said, and it is relevant and useful, at least to his ideals. If I have to listen much longer to Trudeau and Freeland mention democracy, equality and rights, as they create legislation to freeze the bank accounts of everyone who disagrees with their group think, I shall have to move to Russia where at least I know there is some logic and purpose to the things I dislike.
eugyppius - Recently you wrote that you don't expect the Bundestag to pass the vaccine mandate. Is that still your opinion, or do you think the Bundestag will approve the vaccine mandate? There was an article on TheLocal.de yesterday that said the measure will be voted on the first part of April and more MPs are backing it.
It just feels like the political momentum behind this is gone, also within the EU more broadly. Maybe they pass some toothless thing that they can call a mandate but practically it amounts to nothing? I'll do a bit more reading and throw together a post for you guys sometime soon.
How old is "system", as you've constructed it above?
People make reference to the mercantile empires of the great East and West Indies Companies (English, Dutch, etc.) of centuries ago - they seem like a version of this.
To what extent was the Roman empire a mercantile-economic "system" as much as it was a political-military state?
That's all the time I have today, folks, for pondering the deeper questions of history.
This is one the most objective analysis I've read, so far. Kinda what we used to read👏👏👏
Real news. That’s why I love sub stack.
I couldn't agree more, thanks for insight.
What I find annoying and irritating is how the entire Western media-state machine has uniformly sided with Ukraine and painted them as some kind of freedom loving vanguards defending their homes and livelihoods against Russian aggression
The harsh reality is that Ukraine is a complicated place that is a big mess. They are supremely corrupt, and have significant armed elements that are actual, literal Nazis (hello, Azov battalion?), and the factional problems in the east/Crimea are not new. Everyone forgets that the Ukrainian army in the Crimea basically joined the Russian side. This has also happened to some extent in Donbas etc in the east
Putin cannot and will never be able to occupy and pacify western ukraine. But I don't think it was about that. The two nations have longstanding differences that date back to 1989.
Now, that doesn't make what Russia has done right. War is never the answer. But these sanctions are insane - they will not solve anything; name one sanctions regime that actually resulted in regime change or behavioral change; and the cost will be borne by common folk both in and outside of Russia. It is almost like the covid folk were told "Russia economic lockdown - go!" and proceeded to go to town. Meanwhile, social media and news is absolutely ablaze with every armchair warrior imaginable saying the Russians should be fought down to the last Ukrainian. Just give them Javelins and F-16s, that will do it!
My hope is that Putin & Zelensky come to an accord - let the Eastern regions be autonomous/Russian, declare Ukraine as neutral with a nonaggression pact from Russia, no more Nato expansion, and end the war. The world has enough to deal with.
I assume the plan is partition, with regime change for the Ukrainian-speaking west and then assimilation into Russia for Donbas etc.
Putin set out the terms for peace. Recognition of the separatists republics; recognition of Crimea as Russian, and that Ukraine should remain neutral.
Doesn't make it true, but he says with that agreement he would walk away. Ukraine is "thinking about it".
My guess is they're playing for time and hoping they get real military support from the West. Certainly they're winning the propaganda war. They'll have Europeans desperate for nuclear war if things go on as at present.
yes, I almost included this in the post, but I wanted to keep it as abstract and general as possible. Ukraine should obviously accept the terms and it's that they're not. i suspect their western backers urge (or order?) them not to.
That would include George Soros...he is backing the Ukraine, as is Biden Crime Fami;ly and of course the Clinton GRIFTERS through their foundation are now again open for "business"....I weep for my country.
The way they see the world is one where kindness is weakness.
As part of my bucket list that started soon after I realized the GFC was the beginning of the end ... I went on Safari in Africa.
On one excursion we watched a gazelle give birth -- immediately various predators arrived - they surrounded the mother and the baby -- none were big enough to take down the mother but they all tried to snatch (and eat) the baby.... the mother frantically charged at each of them in turn but eventually one of them grabbed the baby and the mother watched in distress as they tore it apart.
All the predators had the same goal - get that baby and eat it --- none of them thought to themselves -- poor mother - poor baby --- I think I'll just give this a pass and hope to find something else to eat.
It is in our nature to fight for more because we are competing with others for a limited and finite resource pool.
If we do not compete and instead allow kindness and sympathy to guide us (koombaya) ... others will snatch the baby and eat it.
They will become strong ... we will weaken... and eventually they will snatch us and we go from a global power ... to scraping along on the tiny handouts from the winners.
'Imagine' and 'Give Peace a Chance' are only songs... they can be dangerous songs if a country tries to live by the lyrics.
I hate that Mother Nature is red in tooth and claw...Am I being silly if I want to beleive that original sin was eating meat and the murder we have to do for it? I want so much to believe that in heaven, everyone eats grass...and it is as good for you and as tasty as meat.
For all their desired end purposes, I cannot see why the west/globalist system would.
Had Putin not foolishly attacked so much of the country and wreaked such havoc he could have probably gotten all the territory he wanted and use the threat of further attacks to get neutrality.
But by going 'large' and invading Ukraine from three directions, he has dramatically slowed his ability to take ground, also he has allowed the West to form powerful reprisals and allowed westerners imaginations to be stirred.
He has directly focused the Western mind / globalist system, who have tremendous attention and leverage that would allow them to shut down his economy and break him.
Since China allied with Russia I think they also see an opportunity to break China ( and nix any ideas China might have for a quick takeover of Taiwan) as well. IMHO I cannot see it in any of the West's/globalists interests in giving Putin anything that he wants as they will use this as an opportunity to take him out of office in a regime change and directly control Xie in China.
I feel the globalists are looking at China and Russia as a two-fer. A chance to tie them together and knock them both back and break their systems for their full control, fun and profit.
It seems to be their hobby!
But the west's patchy reprisals will only make matters worse for them and bring them to the brink of catastrophic inflation and bankruptcy - Russia has other - better - sources of support.
Biden's team globe trotting trying to find a source of gas and oil from the likes of Iran, Venezuela and Saudi!
Russian markets re-opened did not crash. Ruble up from the lows. I can assure you Putin thought all this through. Contrary to the "narrative" - one thing he is not is an idiot or stupid
You are unfortunately incorrect - it's probably not your fault - I get it there is a massive amount of propaganda. Putin did NOT "wreak such havoc" - he is in fact avoiding that at all costs. It would be so simple for Putin to level Ukraine in a few days, but he is purposely not doing that. Just think about it. Russian army is 1m, plus 2m in reserve. Ukranian army is 200K with another 200K reserve. There is literally no chance there. The US or Nato or any western country is never getting involved all the way. So again Ukraine never stood a chance regardless of what they tell you on TV. I always suggest logic before just accepting the "narrative". Putin has not been slowed (again propaganda) - he is doing things at exactly the pace he wants to do it (he is in control here, no one else), in fact Putin has already won. And the west cannot "shut down" or "break" Putin. I suggest you simply look up what and how much of it Russia exports and where. I suggest you consider what happens if they stop. I suggest you consider what happens if Russia says (already happened) we don't want to accept dollars for our exports, just Rubles. Just think about it - sincerely.
The problem with your analysis is you assume the "West" wishes to continue with the status quo. In fact, a cabal of Western elites wants to restructure "capitalism", and replace it with a system best described as international fascism - The Great Reset.
To implement this system they need to impoverish their populations in a way that does not create internal conflict that is not controllable. You can see it beginning in some Western nations that are in truth no longer liberal democracies. Effectively most of the middle and working class in the West will have to give up owning their own homes and vehicles. Carefully escalating war with Russia might provide cover for such a change.
The original mantra of the Great Reset recorded in video was "You'll own nothing and be happy". The latest incarnation (search YouTube) of the video says "By 2050 will we own anything?".
The moral justification for this change is to reduce excessive consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. The reality is that it will concentrate all wealth in the elites.
If Putin doesn't get what he wants he may well escalate to nuclear. He has the advantage in tactical nuclear.
He has known for some time his military weakness and so targeted technologies that give him the advantage in battlefield warfare. If he wanted he could level Ukraine in an afternoon. But there are millions of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine and Putin is a nationalist. (Which is why you haven't see more devastation - not that what there is isn't enough).
In a nuclear war Putin may well have the advantage. And western elites are fully aware.
As for China, sadly you couldn't be more wrong. US elites are completely in bed with China. Everything you see happening makes China stronger.
Check out the investments in China by key Biden backers like Larry Fink and Mike Bloomberg. Not to mention key politicians links to China on both sides of the US Congress.
If war in Ukraine escalates expect an immediate invasion of Taiwan. In fact it could be just the excuse Xi needs. Google "the Theucydides Trap" if you don't believe me.
If there is anyone sane among Western politicians they should be encouraging that Ukraine accept the Russian offer and promise to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine with de facto (if not formal) inclusion of Ukraine in the EU economic area.
There is no advantage in a nuclear confrontation: only megadeath.
I do however suspect that a lot of Russian missiles are in mossy silos, with Cold War controls and aging rusty doors, and that many of them would either be duds, or blow up in their own silos.
I think that if China tries to invade Taiwan, they will be thumped, and very hard. Taiwan is an island state, and quite wealthy, with many friends, so unless China chooses to obliterate Taiwan in a pre-emptive nuclear strike, (and accept the logical response from the USA) they will have to put boots on the ground, and this means a contested amphibious invasion.
I don't think this would be very pretty: Taiwan is armed to the teeth with some state of the art defence technologies.
You would have to ask this: what sane person would even consider this risk?
Agree with you on China oh, the country and the economic Mercantile ztone,, respectfully disagree regarding chairman Xi. I think he wants to run his own system the way Putin does. And I'm not certain they're going to let him
Absolutely wrong. Russian army is 5 to 15 times the size of Ukraine's. Ukraine never had a chance. Putin doesn't need to go "nuclear" - he already won and doing it at his own pace with minimal damage (he could have leveled the place in days).
I wonder how long Putin might be around regardless. This is not playing out the way they thought it would and cannot help but think many people are less than impressed that are right behind him. Apparently Poland has now released their mig's to Nato for use.
In the US look at the mouthpieces for deep State and the globalists, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio, both have been openly talking about somebody stepping up as a Brutus. Could not be less surprised than if they were setting up something to help somebody take over with support from the West.
As the Chinese say, may you live in interesting times, but holy hell, enough already.
It's misleading to refer to the Zelensky regime as Ukraine.
Seen this :) https://www.onenewspage.com/video/20220302/14438627/Ukrainian-President-Volodymyr-Zelensky-in-gay-show.htm
Russia also wants to remove the Nazis from Ukraine.
It would be nice if he could remove the Nazis from Russia first.
He could also help out in Canada and here in the US with the Demofascists
Lol I told the hubby the same thing… open invite to Putin to come take our fascist government OUT! He just has to go home afterwards… 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
The Nazis in Russia don't use heavy artillery on civilians.
??
The penguins in the Antarctic rarely use machine guns on Polar Bears either: but what is your point exactly?
He did say that in his speech to Russians, but according to TASS that wasn't part of the terms.
There won't be regime change, Zelensky can't be unseated. Putin would be wise to keep him - the West has hero worship for him, and his populace accepts his government. He has to stay.
It would be nice if someone could whistleblow on how much he is hiding offshore. He was one of the politicians named in the pandora papers. Some truth and transparency could knock the media's new darling down a few notches.
What are you talking about? He is just an extremely successful actor! Worth at least 10 times more than tom cruise, because he is at least 10 times better of an actor :)
Zelensky is a puppet and a talking head, not a real leader. (Hm, someone else comes to mind...) If his masters decide that he must stay he'll probably stay, otherwise he'll surely go.
I wonder if he's done any porn movies? He clearly has a serious cocaine habit - he's is sniffling and anxious in many interviews - then there is this https://www.onenewspage.com/video/20220302/14438627/Ukrainian-President-Volodymyr-Zelensky-in-gay-show.htm
I know it's basically like a SNL sketch but still - how can anyone vote for a clown with a bad coke habit? I'll never get it. Then again we had Senator Franken. And to think of it we have a clown / puppet as persident now, with a son with a coke habit - so close.
so what's the problem with Zelensky's leadership? That he's defied the common sterotypes of who should be leading a country? That he's inspired grassroots support in his country and many other places?
The problem is that he has $40 million in an offshore account from a criminal oligarch, as a good-faith payment for allowing this oligarch to resume criminal banking practices. The problem is that he jails the opposition and shuts down media criticism. The problem is that he resumed shelling the Donbass during this crisis as a pretext for war and NATO involvement. The problem is that he publicly announced he wants nuclear weapons at the Munich Security Conference on 2/22/22, like a lunatic. The list is much longer. Would you like some more Zelensky problems?
And Putin has no money "saved offshore" and he has never killed anyone who opposed him. He is a saint to be honored. I am surprised by the Putin worship on this thread. Zelensky is a piker in comparison. I am grateful that I don't live anywhere in that region.
Russians don’t care that Putin diverted the wealth of oligarchs to himself while he was exiling them to an island in the Sea of Okhotsk. They are far more gratified that he stopped them from looting the rest of Russian wealth along with the oligarch’s friends from the Harvard School of Economics. That Putin killed his enemies may be true only if comparable to the CIA’s assassins who have been pulling the trigger on America’s enemies since WWII and who are almost certainly making concrete boots for Russian rebels in the Donbass since 2014. Zelensky is a criminal clown working at the behest of oligarch criminals.
Installed by the US Govt and supported by Soros. WEF young leader.
Ding ding DING! U got it. A great big money laundering place that Ukraine. The WEF shadow gov’t doesn’t want the apple cart disturbed, but too much focus on the Pfizer papers release is bad for business. Squirrel!!!
Perfect. Love your comment. Keeping. please? ( look - squirell!!!)
I believe he hero worships Trudeau
Bingo
Nothing is wrong. I like him actually. That's why I hope he stays
He is a Jewish leader of a Christian nation. Not cool.
Seems pretty inclusive to me... whats your issue with that? In the UK we had a Jewish Prime Minister back in the 19th century: Benjamin Disraeli, though it got a bit sticky:
"In 1847 a small political crisis occurred which removed Bentinck from the leadership and highlighted Disraeli's differences with his own party. In that year's general election, Lionel de Rothschild had been returned for the City of London. As a practising Jew he could not take the oath of allegiance in the prescribed Christian form, and therefore could not take his seat. Lord John Russell, the Whig leader who had succeeded Peel as Prime Minister and like Rothschild was a member for the City of London, proposed in the Commons that the oath should be amended to permit Jews to enter Parliament."
Disraeli spoke in favour of the measure, arguing that Christianity was "completed Judaism", and asking the House of Commons "Where is your Christianity if you do not believe in their Judaism?"
Disraeli did not have several nazis organizations in his government. Disraeli did not shell his citizens and burn them alive in a building (Odessa 2014).
“…the West has hero worship for him, and his populace accepts his government. He has to stay.”
I do not share your view. The WEF, NATO and EU leaders and their servile media have mad him a hero. The reality is different when reading the alternative well balanced media. Zelensky is an artificial head of state. He is a Jewish puppet who allowes all the fascist movements Svoboda, Right Sector, UPA-OUN, etc…to “legitimize” their government.
The people in charge are Vitali Klitschko. Oleg Tyahnybok, Andriy Tarasenko, Dmytro Yarosh, Andriy Shkil, Andriy Parubiy, Leuko Lukkyanenko and still Fatherland’s Yula Tymoshenko.
Most of these politicians, former ultra-nationalists, are among the most corrupt, dedicated Pro-European after being manipulated by NATO and von der Leyen’s and Merkel’s promises to join the EU.
Zelensky can be unseated like Poroshenko, Yanukovych, Yushchenko many others since 1991.
We have to remember that the first President after the Fall of the Iron curtain was Leonid Kravchuk, who had to resign after George Bush pressured him to accept pro-western reforms while Kravchuk was claiming he was a nationalist for an indépendant Ukraine, did not want any nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil and no Peace Corps program.
Also consider why Ukraine was never allowed to join the EU. Exactly because of all this.
I had understood that Zelensky’s approval rating was quite low prior to this conflict. While the global community has lauded him as Winston Churchill, I am curious if Ukrainians are as approving - seems like he has some responsibility for this mess. Thoughts?
I think whatever his approval was, it has likely skyrocketed now as a result of the invasion and the star power that he has attained. W had the same after 9/11 if I recall
Could be… I’ve seen some interviews with Ukranian refuges and they’re pretty upset with Zelensky. I guess we will have to wait and see.
On the other hand Putin has a 70-80% approval in Russia. Hmmm. Maybe they are lying to us. Again.
Doubt it. He will be removed sooner or later. You don't come back from a loss like this. Putin won't even have to do it - the same oligarchs that put him in power, will remove him for the incompetence.
>regime change for the Ukrainian-speaking west
People are very unclear on what the endgame is. Even pro-Putin Russians I've been reading lately think that he did not have any good choices. The war was the least bad one.
That said, my take is that he decided that now is the best opportunity to mortally wound the Empire.
And, of course, there is a conspiracy theory that he is really in cahoots with the globalists and this is all part of the PLAN.
One wonders what is really going on in Ukraine - where are all the videos from mobile phones of the death and destruction? For the most part I am seeing photos of piles of garbage and women holding children in a queue....
Have a look at this
https://twitter.com/LezLuthor/status/1500175827161554946
another way to look at it without using Twitter https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1500175827161554946.html
An interesting report done ~ a month ago. Some suggest Kyiv is being somewhat spared because it's quite historic and bombing would make for bad news given that. Putin has been stalled in getting enough forces to use some longer range shells. OTOH, Russian bombers are still worried over Ukraine air defenses which are still functional. Those sat images from the Donbas show a lot of damage. For them the war is more than real.
Use telegram.
I am all over Telegram... seeing next to nothing ...
On https://t.me/UkraineWarReport/891? I haven't looked for a while, no time.
Malenkly, the conspiracy theory that Putin is in cahoots with the globalists makes as much sense as the WEF PLAN you reference. I cannot get my head around this supposed WEF PLAN that many on Substack believe and accept. This may make me naive, unsophisticated, and gullible in the eyes of the True Believers, and I may be just that. But it appears to me, reading these discussions of the globalist plan, that you (generalized) believe the globalist have already won. What is left is the mopping up. So why argue, resist, fail to comply? Isn't it too late? This may be the root of Berenson labeling Eugyppius nihilistic.
> I cannot get my head around this supposed WEF PLAN that many on Substack believe and accept.
I do not believe it, either. It was sort of a tongue-in-cheek comment.
> you (generalized) believe the globalist have already won
What I personally believe is that the forces being unleashed in the world are so powerful that direct resistance is totally futile and counter-productive. The best we can do is to do our best to understand what is going on, what it is that we are trying to achieve, and "ride the wave", so to speak.
[Tangentially related: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." - Sun Tzu]
>This may be the root of Berenson labeling Eugyppius nihilistic.
Here is a good working definition of nihilism: "Nihilism holds that there is no meaning or value anywhere. Questions about purpose, ethics, and sacredness are unanswerable because they are meaningless. You might as well ask about the sleep habits of colorless green ideas as about the meaning of life." - https://meaningness.com/nihilism
Refusal to fight a losing battle for the sake of fighting, or to choose a side in a false dichotomy forced on you is not nihilism. (To be clear: I am not saying that fighting losing battles never makes sense, but it's a different conversation.)
What a wonderful comment. I am glad to find another non-believer. Your "ride the wave" and tangential insight of knowing yourself and your enemy perfectly describe where I want to be.
I was not disturbed by Alex's labeling of Eugyppius. I think it wildly incorrect. I will still read and follow both, as they provide much excellent information and food for thought.
Difficult to work out the game plan but we can see that Europe is struggling with very high LNG prices (this was happening before Ukraine came onto the radar).
Russia is a big supplier but has been unwilling or unable to increase their allocation to Europe because they are prioritizing the home market.
If NATO were to do to Russia what they did to Iraq - namely wreck the country and ring fence the energy installations -- leaving the people with just enough to survive --- then pump the increased surplus out to the EU markets... that solves the spiralling energy prices.
There are no good and bad actors - there are only interests. And these high energy prices are not sustainable so something needs to be done to kick the can.
Of course Putin has seen what happened to Saddam ... as have his generals and other key people running the country. Russia has a very long and proud history and one can imagine that be Iraqi-fied is not a palatable option.
When Putin's defence minister says a world without a sovereign Russia is unacceptable and that if faced with defeat... they will launch their missiles - including 500-sub based nukes... I do not think he is making an empty threat.
Be Burn - You Burn... seems to be the policy.
We are in very dangerous waters.
So Ukraine is supposed to give up some of his lands to get Putin to stop destroying their country? I sure wouldn't want that resolution in my country - appeasement never works.
The eastern & southern parts of Ukraine used to be part of Russia. Iirc they were given to Ukraine post WW2 without the consent of the local people. Imagine waking up on day & finding out you are now part of Mexico.
Since 2014, Z has allowed actual Nazis to persecute with torture & murder the Russian Ukrainians. The nazi training is our gift via Nuland.
Part of Putin's decision was because things got so bad he was facing an influx of refugees.
my son and his family live in Eastern Europe and are involved in the efforts to get refugees out of Ukraine. They are housing an ethnic Russian family from Kharkiv -these folks want no part of being Russia. and harbor deep animosity against what I'd call the Putin Russians. Sure, it's only one family but it does make one wonder if most of this people in these areas really want to join Putin's Russia - they can see what the West offers. It's also useful to remember how in Stalin's efforts to collectivize Ukrainian agriculture, millions of Ukrainians were starved and slaughtered. Any family with a recollection of that period could hardly think that being part of Putin's Russia today would be better than anything going on in a European facing Ukraine.
One out of three in Texas will tell you that they do not want anything to do with the United States and want to secede. Possibly many more in other states. Also, many were on record threatening to leave the US for Canada and New Zealand if Trump won the election in 2016.
Surely you know that Stalin wasn't Russian, right?
Millions of Russians were also starved at that time, it was not along ethnic lines at all. And one of the most cruel perpetrators was actually Polish with most others Jewish, etc (Nuland's ancestors maybe?)
The western parts of Ukraine were not part of Russia, and don't want to be now. Very few people alive now anywhere in Ukraine were never part of Russia. If I lived in northern Florida and it had been given to Mexico after WWII, I would probably want to go back to being American. If I lived in the southern part I would be more likely to want to stay in Mexico. especially if I spoke Spanish and especially as I'd never been alive when my state was American -- and I'm 57, I'm not in my 20s or 30s. A LOT of countries were created after WWII -- are we now going to say they should all be dismantled?
The situation is very complicated and difficult for outsiders (of whom, I admit, I am one). I certainly have no idea how big or dangerous the Azov Battalion is, although I'm sure it's nowhere near as much of a threat as Putin says it is, and saying that the Jewish Zelensky has "allowed" them to kill people is incendiary. But yes, we've been part of this mess for a long time. And it is a mess. I don't know what the right thing to do is. But I know what a lot of wrong things to do are.
Putin wanted to join Nato back in 2000. He joined France & Germany in voting against some intervention or other, so the US said no & has made him cartoon evil enemy #1 ever since.
If the US had respected Putin's security concerns & honored its promise re:Nato, this could have been avoided. Instead we played chicken for years. Moved Nato nukes closer & closer. And fostered a coup next door with a puppet government in 2014, which was the beginning of a civil war there. And put biolabs right at Russia's border. All so Biden & company could launder their graft & poke the Russian bear.
Putin made very clear what he wanted last winter. Repeatedly . Our "leaders" essentially flipped him the bird.
If Z had negotiated with Putin early on, much of this could have been avoided. Instead, he has held out & tried to get Nato to intervene.
The Nazis atrocities have been on a par with ISIS. Videos exist that have been viewed by independent journalists. I haven't looked at them, the substacker warned not to, but read the description of two. One of a crucufixion/burning alive & a 2nd of a young pregnant woman & a young man with nooses around their necks tiesmd to a car & slowly strangled I can't find my link to it now, but here is another bunch that showed up this morning.
https://markcrispinmiller.substack.com/p/on-israel-and-the-nazis-in-ukraine/comments
The Nazis have also been in preventing citizens from evacuating through the humanitarian corridors. Either Mark Wauck or Mark Crispin shared a video the other day of an American journalist describing what he witnessed re: evacs
Z let woman & children evacuate to Poland. But stopped men at the border, conscripted them & forced them to Kiev to fight.
I saw a reddit post earlier today by an American vet who joined the foreign volunteers. He quit his 2nd day there ehen he rralized tbis was a suicide mission. He described the conscripted civilians, handed crappy AKs with very little ammo & no training sent off to die in Kiev.
.I saw video last week of a woman who who tried to get her husband out in the trunk of her car. Mark Wauck linked to a couple weeks ago to an American in Kiev who wrote that they are conscripting all male citizens aged 18-65 & forcing them to fight. That they were sneaking into the countryside & hiding on farms, including his next door neighbor & friend.
As to Z being Jewish, so is Soros & that never stopped him from collaborating with the Nazis, both in WW2 & WW3 woth Schwab.
When it comes to buying souls, Satan is equal opportunity.
gee your description of the Zelensky Nazi atrocities, sounds very similar to how Hitler described the Jews! My guess is that those stories are fronts for considerable anti-Semitism. We do know from lots of media coverage that there is wholesale slaughter of civilians and destruction of major urban areas by the Putin Russians. You don't sound like you're too concerned about that at all. And even if the stories about Z were true, Putin's atrocities are exponentially larger. Also, I'm baffled about why Zelensky should have talked/negotiated with Putin? No one has done anything to Russia and Europe is totally dependent on Russian oil - Putin had nothing to complain about.
What was happening in Donbass was / is truly horrible and is nowhere close to anything Putin has ever did. I have seen some of the videos and talked to some people from there - yes, people cannot believe something like that can actually happen nowadays in what is part of Europe, but it did happen for long eight years. The atrocities are absolutely unthinkable, and worst part is that Ukrainian government fully condoned and encouraged it. Since I discovered that was happening, I cannot think of them other than a terrorist state (and I have absolutely nothing personal against Ukraine and Ukrainians and have some Ukrainian ancestry myself). I just could not understand how this could have happened and what triggered it (as usual, looks like CIA was involved).
You may find the videos at this link interesting.
They are not stories. They are on video & witnessed, including by American journalists & American volunteers +who quit after they saw what's going on . Putin also has rid the world of a bunch of bioweapon labs -- the ones that Welensky claimed don't exist the day before she expressed fear Putin might take something from them & release it.
Putin gave fair warning. Zelensky & the US chose to ignore his warnings. Then chose to escalate. These choices have been going on for 20 years. Now everybody paus the price for American hubris.
To me Z's nazi atrocities look more like how the Jews described their plight at Auschwitz. To belittle 14000 deaths just because the algorithm did not tell (train?) you to be outraged at them is like belittling the torture and murder of innocent jews in Hitler's Germany.
Russia has no interest in any Ukrainian land. Russia wants Ukrainians to be able to chose their own governments without dictatorial control from Nazis.
Really? At the end of a gun? That will go down well (irony warning).
“Choose your non-Nazi government at gunpoint” was how the Allies governed occupied Germany. Went down pretty well from the standpoint of no further German wars.
My dad was on the British Control Commission, His main obective was to fill starving bellies and bring coal to the people so they didn't freeze to death. His secondary objective was to marry the rather delightful daughter of the house where he was billeted in Hannover. He achieved both aims. They had six kids: I'm number three.
Riiiiiiiiight.
The ukrainians can resort to a ruinous insurgency which will sap the Russians over time, and impose a blood price to the occupation
And will likely cost the lives of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Ukrainians
beyond maybe some of the crazy internet neonazi battalions, I have a hard time imagining a lasting insurgency. but, maybe with enough covert American agitation and supplies, they make something happen there.
The Ukrainians in the the central areas seems to be doing well bogging down Russian armor almost as if they had effective leaders. In the East nominal Ukrainians are fighting as best they can slowing Russian advances and forcing Russians into killing civilians to break will to fight. The Azov battalion was small, remains small compared to ordinaries who became armed. There has been a willingness to fight.
The Americans were very aware of the likelihood of a Russian invasion, they worried about it when first introducing anti-tank missiles in 2018. For me, this is all about geo-strategy. The overwhelming trend of the century is the integration of Asia and Europe; and this would far outpace US economic power. Isolating Russia is key, and de-coupling it from Western Europe, and keeping Western Europe within the USA economic and security orbit. As a secondary issue, punish Russia for interference in Syria where we intended to topple Assad. Ukraine is not really about Ukraine, but about the global poles of influence; we are witnessing the end of the uni-polar moment; and the birth of the multi-polar order. The fracture lines between these poles will be revealed. It won't be nice...
Putin has repeatably said that Russia has no intention of occupying Ukraine.
Eugyppius is telling us there's more to the story than that. But you certainly speak for most people who support Urkaine--this is what the choice seems to come down to.
"the entire Western media-state machine has uniformly sided with Ukraine"
And Ukraine is the closest today's government can get to white supremacy and neofascism
What I find amazing is that people who were duped by the WMD story many years ago ... are so easily being duped again.
I was duped by WMD...but not for long...I thought if Colin Powell, who is really a democrat, believed it, then maybe I was wrong...but I read all the stuff put out by those who were sent to inspect...no WMD. After that it was when I realized that all of 9/11 was propoganda...and then I looked into 9/11...and I doubt everything for the past 50 years of my life. Probably a good thing.
I'd have to correct you on some of this. Ukraine is NOT complicated - it's simply very corrupt for anyone who wants to see it. In fact this is why it's such a useful pawn for the west. The biggest problem and the scariest part with all this though is that the "system-globalists" are very limited in their logic. They never go past step one. What if Russia decides to cut off all their exports? I know you were told, no big deal, but it will literally cause a worldwide famine. Or what if Putin says I want all my exports paid with Rubles (which he did yesterday) - what happens to the "petrodollar"? US's largest export is the dollar - what happens if it's not? The "system-globalists" don't think that far ahead it seems. They can't think past "how does my degenerate drug addicted son keep his payday job at a Ukranian energy company that gets a lof of US taxpayer aid"... I am now convinced that's the extent of their thinking
I think global famine and dollar collapse is exactly what they want to usher in their great reset and digital currency.
except as usual they haven't thought past step one. Instead what they will get is a rejection of globalism. It's already started thanks to Russia (strangely)
>They can't think past...
That's what some people contend - that our present leaders can't think of the second-order consequences. E.g. Robert Barnes ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Barnes_(attorney) ) is of that opinion. "I went to Yale with those people... The best way to model them is to take a very math-smart (not life-smart) individual, and them remove conscience and the ability to think beyond the immediate consequences..."
On the other hand, here is Michael Hudson - https://michael-hudson.com/2022/03/sanctions-energy-and-independence/ :
"Yes, they do realise it. Yes, they’ve thought it all through. I worked with these people for more than 50 years... They look at this and they say, How can America gain from all of this? There’s always a way of gaining what something looks to be bad. Well, one way they’ll gain is oil prices are going way up..."
Here is a speculation on my part: they are talking about different generations. Hudson "grew up" with the elites that were still rational and real-politik. He has very hard time imagining otherwise - that they are religious (in the woke and/or neocon way) hacks, who grew up during total American hegemony and just can't see things through any other lens. Barnes, on the other hand, went to school with that new generation of idiots.
Both are sort of true. It is a generation (or 3) of cuddled idiots, and they did think it through - for themselves - how to get rich in the next 10-20 years. But that's as far as they got. We all know these kinds of people - Robert Barnes went to Yale with them, but we all know people like this too.
What is hidden by the "fog of war" is more than just troop movements and supply lines, or even the (often pitch black) motives of the ward's cheerleaders. Masses of non-combatants hide their private sins and secret shames in that fog. They cheer it not because they're necessarily bloodthirsty, but because they desperately want to offload their insecurities onto a goat and send it into the desert. They want to feel like they are on the right side of some issue that they can pretend they've devoted a great deal of thought to, even though their minds were a pristine blank on the subject five minutes ago.
That's why we saw so many sudden lay "experts" in microbiology and public health policy suddenly emerge during the Covid scare. It's also why we see so many Ukrainian "experts" pop up now, who couldn't find it on an unlabeled map the night before. It's the human urge for moral clarity and collective truth. acted out in its most disastrous form.
The entire Western Legacy Media HAVE BEEN PAID TO DO THIS, in addition they are all leftists and would happily do it for free. Substack is the only place you can find real news now, and a balanced viewpoint.
"Nazi" is meaningless, Communism is meaningless. The only universal categorization of mankind is saved by the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus alone and not. Lenin and his Jewish Cheka tormentors and mass murderers and Stalin and his Jewish torturers and mass murderers are all dead and have a more agonizing eternity than mere man can imagine, but it is difficult not to persecute the children of those who came before. Problem is, that anger and wrath is misplaced. Properly focused, that anger should take the form of cutting off all "foreign aid" to Israel and divesting the Jews of all foreign holdings in mass media and banking. Let them choke on all the fiat currency, the can print, let they sodomize each other in Israel, the source of globo-homo corruption, restrict their pornography and gambling to Israel. In fact, the first step is to realize and make widely known that the collection of demons who call themselves "Israel" are a demonic counterfeit of the Israel of King David and Josiah. There is absolutely nothing holy or glorifying to God about the modern counterfeit, right down to their denial that Jesus is indeed the Christ, very God and very man. The ghettos were created to protect trusting loving Christians from scheming, hating Jews. 200 Years Together by Alexander Solzhenitsyn tells of the Russian experience with the unassimilable Jews. Muslims are another story, but insignificant compared to the demonic impact of the Jews upon everyone else in the world. Hitler did not gas any 6 million Jews. The only Jews who went into the crematoriums were the ones who died of typhus and starvation, just like the vast majority of those who died near the end of WWII of starvation and disease. But control of the narrative after WWII has resulted in "Hitler killed 6 million Jews: send your money to Israel!" Now the most demonic people in the world sit on some 200 nuclear bombs and the ability to deliver one to any city in the world inside a suitcase or trunk. Of all the people in the world, the Jews would be the first to nuke another people after they prepare a place to sit out a real holocaust.
>War is never the answer
I mostly agree with your comment, except for this. War is a human universal. As one dead Prussian famously wrote "war is politics by other means". As long as there is politics there will be war.
I hope they hear you
I think the example of sanctions against South Africa is helpful: but admittedly there was huge Western, Chinese and even Russian moral support towards the end against the Apartheid regime, and the numbers of Sth African whites was vastly outnumbered by the blacks, so they always looked likely to fall.
By my understanding, there was plenty of "moral support" from SA whites themselves. They weren't actually any kind of "archetypes of white evil" that were only brought to heel through the exogenous pressure of some "enlightened global community," or whatever. The effectiveness or importance of the sanctions as being "the key cause that brought about a (more?) just regime" (or however you want to frame it) is just one of those made up bits of "history" that have no basis in reality.
I concur completely with this comment and your hope. I'm inclined to believe, however, that our hope is not aligned with the ultimate plan of the Global Neo-Fascist Oligarchy that created the conditions for this war, which is our impoverishment and enslavement. But I've been wrong before...
Though it needs the Nazi elements in Western Ukraine to be silenced forever, if partitioning is to succeed without a war every 10 minutes.
I think you're missing a couple of important points. In the early 2000s France, Germany and Russia were great mates and Russia was feeling quite European. Putin even asked Clinton about joining Nato. However in 2003 France, Germany and Russia issued a joint declaration condemning the plan to invade Iraq. Together those 3 countries represented a huge power block which the US wanted to be dismantled. The US created the friction in Georgia and has been trying to destabilize Russia ever since. They want Putin gone and some corrupt President installed in his place who will make all of Russia natural resources available to Western exploitation. Don't forget Russia is the largest country in the world which also possesses the greatest amount of resources.
I think it's wise to point out that the worst foreign policy in the US is created by 2 factions- 1)defense contractors (the original industrial military complex ala Eisenhower) and 2)CIA involved coups (under the pretext of establishing "democracy".) Those 2 factions alone have accounted for hundreds of disasters large and small. Although many took a dislike to Trump, he was literally the first President in a very long time who wanted to take counsel from neither of those 2 groups. Which made him very unpopular with the existing political establishment (which has a reward system based on these war and globalist fundamentals, especially since George Bush Sr.).
Trump seemed to be confused about foreign policy. He wanted to withdraw the US from foreign conflicts but then he hired Neocons like Bolton etc?
Trump had his hands tied- the establishment tainted any competent people from being able to approach him. Look at the smear campaigns that were waged on many of the people who tried to. So he was stuck trying to repurpose globalists, which didn't work well. Didn't help that McConnell also blocked him from appointments at every turn. He openly fought with Bolton and used him only as a barking dog. He never attacked the 5 or so places Bolton urged him to. I can only hope that more brave people step forward out of the shadows to help him if he gets another chance. Mind you there are trillions of dollars at stake, it's literally a dangerous place to be.
I think Trump severely under-estimated what he was up against regarding the deep state. His instincts may have been good but his choices were poor. Too many Goldman Sachs people.
I agree- he's more of a big picture guy. He needs more detail orientated people around him and definitely less Ivy League and investment bank types.
He fired Bolton quickly.
Don't forget the third faction, the Pharmaceutical Industrial complex that has raised its ugly head in the past two (probably more) years.
Operation whitecoat comes to mind.
gee wouldn't it be good for Russians to live with the many freedoms we have? I think we've left a few things out of your analysis.
Many freedoms we have...
Were you around in the last two years?
Thats what I was wondering!
A Starbucks and Big Lots on every corner? That kind of freedom? Or the other kind, the freedom to decline a vaccine? Don't they have that already in Russia?
Yes, freedom in terms of free and fair elections. Agreed, but about those elections . . . .
Then why is Russia so poor???
You should research that question.
The Global American Empire does not want any nations to become too friendly.
It's bad for business.
If peace happened to break out all over the world, globalists would start a fight amongst themselves just to keep in shape.
"After they finish throwing their tantrum, they’ll go pick another proxy fight somewhere else, and ruin some other country."
And according to the insane words of Secretary of War Blinken on Sunday, they're now trying to use Poland as their next proxy sheep despite Poland's protestations.
https://thegoodcitizen.substack.com/p/does-tucker-carlson-read-the-good?s=w
There was a moment in recent history when Poland dared to resist the cultural assimilation into globohomo. Even though their government has been co-opted since then, they remain marked for cleansing.
I can't speak for Poland but Hungarian government's annoyance is just a smoke and mirrors. They 'annoy' Brussel but finally do everything the same.
"they're now trying to use Poland as their next proxy sheep despite Poland's protestations."
In the 1940's it took 100,000 troops to occupy France, a country similar in size to Ukraine. Can you imagine what it would take in todays internet connected world to suppress resistance in Ukraine? Probably twice that number.
And to occupy Poland would need another 200,000.
How would Putin create his "empire"? He can barely afford the military he has. The USA spends 11 times Russia's defence spending; China spends 5 times Russia's defence spending.
Russia has a GDP that is half of the UK's and spends about the same as the UK on defence. Putin can't financially afford to occupy any country larger than a small island, anymore than could the UK.
What he does have is 6,500 nuclear warheads; hypersonic missiles, the worlds largest thermobaric bomb; and tactical nuclear weapons. There are 70 nuclear submarines patrolling the worlds oceans. So he can blow us all off the face of the earth, and at the moment, would probably have the upper hand in a nuclear war. (If such a thing is possible).
I recommend you check what he says he wants. Just check tass.com. Of course it may all be propaganda. But then so may be Blinken's statements.
Someone wants war in Ukraine. The question is who and why. Eugyppius identifies the who, but perhaps not the why. By the way, while some of the globalist elites may be American, they're not nationalist. They despise their working class countrymen.
I'm actually thinking that the Biden Administration is so inept they want a war to distract from their abject failures in covid management, the excess mortality numbers with the vaccines and long lasting possible side effects, the spiraling inflation and way to usher in green policies (look at Kamala hawking EV cars right now- pathetic- like telling the homeless to buy a home right now). They want a war because they literally can't think of anything else. And God help us- Blinken is also an unmitigated disaster in the foreign policy arena.
I think that's a big part of it. Remember the Falkland Islands?
The why has been niggling around in my brain. I have no definite answer except it really makes no sense to get a crisis in place unless you can become hero of the hour and sweep in with the solution. What that involves I have no idea. I do speculate that part of it will involve moving the players where those globalists want them. Easily controlled and loyal to a better world.
If Russia gets its way in Ukraine, Moldova and the Baltic states will be its next targets.
it's not always Munich 1938
It's always 1938, but never 1914. Funny how that works.
In my darkest moments, I’m thinkin’ October 1962.
What if Team USA Globalism gets its way? What has the legacy of Globohomo brought to its subjects but perpetual debt slavery, homogenization, cultural decay, financialization, precipitous declines in standards of living, and atomization and demoralization of her children?
The heritage peoples in the wake of assimilation into Globalism own no shares of the booty extracted for Progress. Like the Covid lies, the glorious utopian technofuture of Globalism and its multi-culti ponzi of fiat debt and consumer-drone enslavement is a failure across any metric you choose, if one resides in obervable reality. Thats the big "If".
The economic war and its cultural front should not be ignored. The "American Empire" is not American. It is worth considering that if there are still plenty of people here who would gladly cast off the yoke of TPTB who are actually running things there are probably some nations full of people that are having second thoughts about joining Globohomo.
Putin very well may extend his sphere of influence and solidify through economic (energy & infrastructure) means but the question of who the actual belligerents in this war are - and to whom or what they serve is one that needs to be pondered.
Damn, that's good!
This is a long shot and may sound silly today, but might the 'un-woke' workers of some regions which have recently been digested by the toothy beast of woke-globalism (WEF) be interested in a more heritage-friendly alternative? A clearly defined dividing line has opened in the US between the woke and the anti-woke (which I think roughly breaks down to putative globalists and anti-globalists), and while the push-back to wokism includes mostly center-right, the number on the horrified center left is fast increasing. Is there an analogous division in Europe? Is it conceivable that a trans-national political and cultural movement might arise? If so, would a regionally powerful entity such as anti-globalist Russia not be a potential beneficiary of such interest, particularly if the political winds begin to change direction within nearby countries?
What historical, political, or economic realities give you reason to believe this? The only "evidence" you're likely relying upon is what you hear in the MSM, which is a defacto arm of the US intelligence services. Russia is not the USSR; it's economy is about equal to the size of Texas' economy. How (and why) would Russia take such a thing on?? Their invasion of Ukraine is not about controlling wheat; it's about pushing the Americans back forcefully to get them out of their face. The US is involved in frivolous expansion, not Russia. For Russia, this is an existential defensive exercise.
Not likely in the shirt or even mid term. Russia has been very clear on Ukr - crystal clear and wrote about their plans that have always included Ukr and Belarus. Moldova wasn’t part of the calculus and likely isn’t. You have to realize this is a war brought on not by Russia but by the West. It was executed by Russia when the situation became strategically untenable by Russia. So Moldova could be on the table only and unless the US decides to push unacceptable terms.
But from what Russia and Putin have written it’s the Ukr/Belarus/Russia merge that makes sense politically, economically and culturally.
definitely worth asking. Consider what Ukraine has encountered since it became a nation, tho, and whether or not the inroads made by the global west thru bribery or seduction has long been an irritant to Russia, and something they might long have interpreted as a way to bring about an end to Russian sovereignty.
so far it's only been Munich 1938
Go ahead and read this: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1498491107902062592.html
Then watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4&t=120s
And if NATO gets its way in Ukraine, Russia will be its next target. They have clearly been on collision course for some time, with one being much more expansionist and aggressive recently with zero intention to stop, while the other was just rather reluctantly reacting. Sometimes I think Russia standing by during Yugoslavia bombing is what started this chain of events when NATO / US neocons realized there is no one to stop / deter them.
The Polish government has already said they won't be giving any of their jets to Ukraine.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/poland-will-not-send-fighter-jets-to-ukraine-amid-russia-conflict-official_4321415.html
You didn't anger me. This is all sombre, sane, analysis.
I'm not angered at all, instead, saddened because just like with covid, I have friends who rather see Putin as a crazy lunatic ravaging innocent Ukraine instead of doing just a little bit of research outside of CNN/CBC. In fact, one of my friends made the comment 'how can someone just decide one day to invade another country'. I forwarded her quite a few enlightening, non disputable articles & videos including the one of John Mearsheimer mentioned here. I haven't heard from her since.
For a longer analysis, here's a summary by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano which I haven't read all the way through yet.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/abp-vigano-globalists-have-fomented-war-in-ukraine-to-establish-the-tyranny-of-the-new-world-order/
A great piece by Vigano. 👏
Vigano would make a great Pope, which is why he will never be elected one.
Yes and carefully footnoted as well.
It is a read that takes some time as he makes so many salient points.
Excellent analysis from Vigano. May God preserve him.
In one thing only do you err, E.: in assuming we, your readers, would be among those so infected by the power of narrative as to be angered by such a dispassionate, reasoned and articulate analysis!
Why do you think you have angered people? Not many people who read this are in a media bubble, I presume. FWIW, I am ethnically Russian living in the US and married to an American
with a degree in poliscience who has been involved in certain things. My mother and friends and other family members still live in Russia. From our joint point of view (and we are a group of people with very different experiences and perspectives) what you wrote is essentially correct.
I'm already getting the angry unsubscribe messages, i have a sense for this.
Gell-Mann amnesia in action
Well that's unfortunate that you have readers who think foreign policy isn't nuanced. I mean only a simpleton would think it's all Russia's fault. Yes, Putin is evil (he poisons opponents for sport), but hey when the US took a stick and kept poking the cobra, they should have better prepared for the sting of the bite.
The problem is that it is possible to justify any aggression against a sovereign country. When Hitler invaded the Sudetenland and even the rest of Czechoslovakia, some saw good reason for his action. Would you also say the blame was shared?
Absolutely blame is shared. But as we know, all of this is complicated and the opposite of what is being portrayed through the media. Ukraine politics are corrupt and they are also violent (they just executed a Ukrainian negotiator for purportedly being a Russian spy- no trial- just execution). But Ukrainian politicians don't always represent their people. Ukraine was not really united anyway.
If you think that the blame was also shared in the case of Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia, then your position is consistent. Few people would be brave enough to say such a thing.
That’s a shame I bet those people can see through the Covid lies, But are blinded by the anti-Russia campaign.
Globalists are smarter than you think and Putin is probably in their cabal. I wouldn't be surprised if he was given assurances if he started this war now. There is no reason to trust the Russians, neither their history nor their lack of denunciation of the soviet era are reassuring.
The MSM drumming the beat of "Russia all evil and Ukraine all holy" reminds of the propaganda about the "Huns" in WWI before we entered that war. The MSM and their government handlers don't want us thinking anything through. They just want a blood lust for getting involved to save Ukraine by any means.
Brahms - you'd be surprised how triggered some readers get on these otherwise intellectually honest substacks. I think what we are witnessing here is like the early days of COVID, when people trusted the MSM too much and became emotionally susceptible to manipulation. Alas, some people are falling for the same trickery all over again.
"The USA has serious social and societal ills that have been made worse the last 2 yrs." I fear a great deal of this was not by accident.
Despite years of being told not to blame Asians for covid. I am becoming more and more pessimistic about humanity.
it's really incredible, and terrifying, the levels of totally false and unsupported ethnic animosity that the mass media can develop in a matter of days.
What a refreshing read. Makes me realize how crazy the MSM tries to make me feel - gaslighting us from all sides. My soul knows when it is reading something that feels more measured.
Ukraine's application for NATO membership dates back to 2008 and was never approved. There was no indication recently that this could change. This is not the reason for the timing of this war. On the other hand, I can't help but notice that it comes at an ideal moment to avoid holding accountable those responsible for the disaster of the last two years.
NATO is only one of many means for the west to annex Ukraine; EU membership was a more recent plan that precipitated the 2014 coup, and since then the pro-western government installed in Ukraine has been a constant point of contention.
The 2014 uprising is old news, even though Putin made sure to create a state of conflict in the east of the country (Russian speakers live a normal life outside of areas held by militias). There have been several elections since then, and Zelensky is only head of state since 2019.
This is just becoming a question of why did Russians invade now and not in 2014? I don't know, the answer presumably exists somewhere within Russian intelligence services or the military establishment. The provocation is there all the same.
Because Russia is far stronger vis-à-vis the USA now than it was in 2014, especially given Russia's alliance with China. The ineptitude of the American ruling establishment (e.g., the withdrawal from Afghanistan and Biden's clear mental deficiencies) also undoubtedly played a role. An invasion was undoubtedly not what Putin wanted to do given the consequences for Russia, but the Ukrainian government's continuing refusal to realistically deal with Russia, while encouraging ever greater military assistance from the West, made it increasingly likely.
Isn’t it obvious? The leader of the “free world” is in cognitive decline and no doubt compromised through his corrupt business dealings.
this makes it more dangerous, in my view: a figurehead president with no political future who is a mask for unaccountable hidden actors in the military and the executive. the kind of thing that, to my mind, makes escalation to wwiii a little bit more possible.
and with all the focus on gender ID and diversity, allowing criminal activities in the US to go unchecked through the culture and police demoralization campaigns Putin can feel pretty confident that a large number of Americans aren't interested in defending themselves, much less another country
exactly.
Because in 2014, Germany had not yet implemented disastrous Net Zero policies that in effect make it dependent on Russian oil and gas.
I read somewhere that if oil and gas prices spike much higher, Russia will end up making a profit on this war! But eco-weasels responsible for this ludicrous situation will never say anything except to bleat for more wind and solar.
Most of supplied gas prices are agreed ahead in long term contracts and are not changeable, so hopefully Russia will not make a profit.
Russia has made significant investments in high tech weaponry. Hypersonic missiles traveling at Mach 10 may well be able to penetrate US defence systems.
In addition, since Trump was fooled into providing military aid in 2017 (?) some $2.5 billion in US military aid has been shipped to Ukraine. Prior to that only economic aid was provided.
And finally, Ukraine built up 100,000 troops on the borders of the Donbas in what appears to have been preparation to take the land back. It is claimed shelling of the Donbas had intensified in recent months.
It's possible Putin moved now because it was his last chance to do so before Ukraine became powerful enough to resist his attacks.
he invaded now because it's clear that the US has such weak leadership that they will do nothing - in fact, it's so "weak" that one has to wonder if some in the administration are at best Russian/Chinese ideologues and working for those interests or whether they are actually on some payrolls. I don't think the timing is a mystery at all.
A senile leader does not make the USA weaker, on the contrary: it gives even more power to the powers behind the throne.
This is exactly the question that troubles me.
yes, vast majorities in the major cities of the western / central Ukraine want EU membership.
Poor fools, they!
Kamala heels up Harris was only in Munich three weeks ago celebrating the idea of Ukraine NATO membership alongside the Comic puppet stooge of Ukraine who also invited western Nukes in violation of the Budapest memorandum.
These are just words, only the facts matter. How has Ukraine's membership made progress recently and where are those bombs? It's a bit rich to talk about the Budapest memorandum, under which Russia and the United States guaranteed the inviolability of Ukraine's borders in exchange for nuclear disarmament.
Yes, and the President of Ukraine openly talked about violating the memorandum at the Munich security conference. And the Vice President the US openly talked about Ukraine NATO membership at the same conference after 8 years of post-US coup proxy war games in Ukraine against Russia. Those aren't just words. Those are "Go ahead and invade Ukraine Vlad" words. So he did. Poking the bear for twenty years has consequences.
This is indeed how Putin and his western proxies justify his war. In the 1930s, some people also found very good justifications for the annexation of Austria, the annexation of the Sudetenland and the whole of Czechoslovakia.
Don't forget that the Soviet Union was dismantled peacefully. The Cuban missile crisis was diffused peacefully.
Hitler also occupied Austria, the Sudetenland and even Czechoslovakia with almost no casualties. This time, neither the invasion of Ukraine, nor that of Moldavia or the Baltic States will take place peacefully.
Before this mess happened the Americans should have reiterated the point that the Ukraine would not be a NATO member and there would be no nukes on its soil. Not sure why that message was never clearly conveyed. As world leader the US should try to suppress war not encourage it.
What are the commitments that Russia would have made as a counterpart?
If the Warsaw pact had pushed into Canada and were installing missile launchers, importing huge amounts of arms, interfering politically and getting involved in all kinds of corruption would the US not react in the same manner?
If NATO was eager to encircle Russia, why was Ukraine's application not accepted in 2008? The United States did not need to pressure the Eastern European countries to join NATO. They applied for membership as soon as they could, because they were afraid of Russian imperialism. And Putin proved that they were absolutely right.
NATO was created in 1949 in the aftermath of the Communist coup d'état in Czechoslovakia and the first Soviet nuclear explosion. It was an unprecedented trans-Atlantic peacetime military alliance meant to deter the USSR from further expansion in Europe. With the ending of the USSR in 1991, NATO should have ceased to exist, having lost its raison d'être. But not only did it not cease to exist, it expanded eastward, contradicting promises made by Western leaders to Russian leaders in 1990-91, posing an ever-increasing threat to Russia. (Since many claim otherwise, here's perhaps the best evidence that such promises were in fact given: https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nato-s-eastward-expansion-did-the-west-break-its-promise-to-moscow-a-663315.html.) Russia is not an empire (unlike the USA) and has no imperial pretensions. The war in Ukraine is entirely the fault of the West who, for thirty years, have ignored Russia's concerns and warnings. Now the West is pouring weapons into Ukraine, while refusing to fight on its behalf, enriching Western arms manufacturers while devastating Ukraine.
Obviously, you do not know the history of Russia if you think that it is not an empire or that the imperial spirit does not drive its leaders (by the way, the actual name of the country is the Russian Federation). It is only natural that they try to justify their wars, that is what they have always done. Obviously, it's a success since the West is now responsible for their decision.
The hypothetical commitment on NATO expansion was not made to Russia, but to the Soviet Union, a state that has since disappeared. What is it worth compared to the treaty signed in 1994 in Budapest by the Russians and the Americans guaranteeing the inviolability of Ukraine's borders in exchange for its denuclearization?
Great comment.
For nuclear weapons on Ukraine soil? None, and I can’t believe anyone would seriously propose this. For membership in NATO; refer to the posts by Good Citizen. This could have been negotiated before this but the war hungry global empire wants to have their way. The Ukraine citizens are the ones to pay the price. When you have Lindsey Graham on your side you should be rethinking your position.
like button not working. like like
I'm also having trouble on some of the comments. But not on others. Weird.
Aaah, it's weirder than that. The button actually only appears not to work. Click on it and nothing happens, but refresh the page and voilà.
Lol keep trying
You justify an aggression against a sovereign nation by the lack of assurances given to the aggressor (as if Putin was going to be satisfied with simple promises). Lindsey Graham is simply capitalizing on Putin's mistake. But this time he is not the one responsible for the thousands of deaths.
Forgive me for doubting the same global empire that invaded Iraq with assurances that they had justification. The same empire that deposed Ghaddaffi in Libya and started regime changes in Syria and Egypt. Yet I am hearing from them and their legacy media lapdogs how evil Putin is when if they applied the same standard to themselves they would be deemed just as evil. I do agree that Russia is in the wrong. But I believe the current administration should have and could have done more to prevent the invasion. The Western elite see the Ukraine people as pawns. Negotiation is the only way forward. The big unknown to me is if this is part of a larger operation by Russia and China.
You're the one who wrote that Western assurances would have stopped Putin, not me. Now you recognize that he had no reason to believe in them.
Wasn't going to happen with Trump in office. Crimea happened under Obama.
There's a more straightforward reason. Look at who's now in charge of the executive branch of the US federal government. (And recall the recent Afghan withdrawal.)
I really don't think all these guys are on the same page arranging a Truman Show for the rest of us. That's taking behind the scenes maneuvering a bit too far.
Who is in charge of the executive branch? Surely you don't think it's Joe Biden.
Truman Show. I wish it was that banal.
Afghan withdrawal. Not incompetence. Deliberate. Transfers power to China. Two weeks after the US left the Afghans a fully equipped military, Chinese planes arrived at Bagram air base. China has been negotiating with the Taliban since 2014. Biden is in the pockets of the Chinese.
What does it all mean?
Read what the World Economic Forum (WEF) plans for the world. Checkout Blackrock's President statements recently, and investigate Larry Fink. (WEF trustee) Investigate "Build Back Better". Who has used the slogan recently (loads of politicians) and where did it come from? (WEF).
Behind the scenes maneuvering isn't the half of it. It is hard to believe I'll freely admit. But if you were obsessed about Climate Change and wanted to distribute resource more equitably you'd have to persuade the populations of liberal democracies to accept a lower standard of living. How could you do that? The WEF knows how. (or thinks they do).
There's a conspiracy theory that Western banks are bankrupt, and that Covid-19 was cover for massive money printing leading to a reset of the economic system. Apparently the usual overnight central bank borrowing to banks has been extended in some cases almost indefinitely.
Are you sure that's conspiracy?
Great article. I really appreciate your thinking and skillful writing.
I was really hoping Ukraine would get a break and have a good life when they left the Soviet Union due to the democide that Stalin & Lysenko did, but 2 decades of corruption was all they got. Then they elected an ethnic Russian who cut a sweetheart deal with Russia for discounted gas, increased transit fees and a 4 billion dollar interest free loan. The US didn't like that and staged the Maidan Coup.
The US then promptly lost Crimea without a shot being fired and two provinces in the east. Now they lose at least up to the river and probably the Odessa region. Land locked rump of Galacia might be all that is left. Keep fighting and you'll lose that too.
There was an old saying about the British Empire that applies to Empire USA: "The only thing worse than being their enemy is being their ally".
The USA has 2 choices in this situation. Go nuclear or go home and nobody is going nuclear over Ukraine. Anyone who thought they would is just plain wrong.
The insane controversy is that USA is supporting the closest government can get these days to WHITE SUPPREMACY and NEONAZISM (aka Zelenski's Azov government)
Brilliantly correct. At least I know that when Putin says something, he does something consistent with what he has said, and it is relevant and useful, at least to his ideals. If I have to listen much longer to Trudeau and Freeland mention democracy, equality and rights, as they create legislation to freeze the bank accounts of everyone who disagrees with their group think, I shall have to move to Russia where at least I know there is some logic and purpose to the things I dislike.
eugyppius - Recently you wrote that you don't expect the Bundestag to pass the vaccine mandate. Is that still your opinion, or do you think the Bundestag will approve the vaccine mandate? There was an article on TheLocal.de yesterday that said the measure will be voted on the first part of April and more MPs are backing it.
It just feels like the political momentum behind this is gone, also within the EU more broadly. Maybe they pass some toothless thing that they can call a mandate but practically it amounts to nothing? I'll do a bit more reading and throw together a post for you guys sometime soon.
Thank you! I value your insight and perspectives.
How old is "system", as you've constructed it above?
People make reference to the mercantile empires of the great East and West Indies Companies (English, Dutch, etc.) of centuries ago - they seem like a version of this.
To what extent was the Roman empire a mercantile-economic "system" as much as it was a political-military state?
That's all the time I have today, folks, for pondering the deeper questions of history.
ancient empires, like Rome, were almost like economic pacts. national peoples within them retained their character.
colonialism: much the same
You nailed it!
Are you surprised by the lack of reader outrage?