Friends, the Western media's celebration of Ukraine's struggle against the Russian invaders has been emphatic, uncritical, and relentless. Thus, stories like this one, which show the powers-that-be in Ukraine in an unflattering and ever-so-slightly fascistic light, aren't ones that you're likely to hear about. It's interesting, therefore, that the remarks referenced below have become such a scandal in Germany... Draw your own conclusions, but it seems to me that we need to choose our friends carefully, especially when tens of billions of dollars are being spent to underwrite their cause.
https://pjmedia.com/spengler/2022/07/03/auto-draft-4-n1610144
Dr.Waddy from Jack: Wow, what an eyeopener for me. I heard of Bandera 40 years ago from friends who were second generation Ukrainian emigres. They described him as a patriot .How can he be gainsaid? Ukraine had experienced the very worst of Stalinist madness: some very tens of millions artificially starved for their productiveness. That many Ukrainians thought even cooperation with the Nazis
ReplyDeleteto be preferable is understandable. Of course Russian loathing for Nazis is not to be doubted. But has independent Ukraine ever threatened offense to Russia, a new Nazi onslaught? No! Present official Russian use of this justification for their blitzkrieg is disingenuous.
Dr.Waddy from Jack: I do not, commenting so, mean doubt for Russia's central goal: prevention of Ukrainian membership in Nato.
ReplyDeleteRay Here. With regard to The Ukraine, there is a professor who specializes in the reasons Russia (re)wants this area, to include of course, The Crimea. This would be Dr. Scott Reynolds Nelson whose recent book is titled "Oceans of Grain: How American Wheat Remade the World" (Feb.2022, 368 pages).
ReplyDeleteDr. Nelson claims that until the U.S. Civil War, The Ukraine was the breadbasket of wheat for most of the world, thanks to Catherine the Great who basically annexed it for Russia in the 18th Century.
Dr. Nelson also elaborates on this thesis more in "Wheat and Deep Ports: The Long History of Putin's Invasion of Ukraine" (History News Network).
Perhaps the damn fools who are currently running our country should read what Dr. Nelson has to say, although I doubt they ever will.
Nick, Joe Biden is not going anywhere unless Joe Biden wants to go somewhere. He saw where critics engaged in a chorus that Obama was toast after the 2010 midterms, and Obama won a second term.
ReplyDeleteYep, B.O. did win a second term, and did a better job at destroying the country than he did in his first term. Bravo for B.O.! Kudos to B.O.! He is one hell of a guy.
DeleteDestroy the country? President Obama oversaw a 2.3% growth in GDP is his last three years versus Trump's overseeing a 2.4% growth rate in his first three years. Obama's economy averaged 220,000 more jobs per month during those three years. Trump averaged 185,000. That's hardly destroying the country.
DeleteDr.Waddy et al from Jack: Biden has nothing approaching Obama's political correctness nor his ease in public. What good would the effort for a second term do him? If he fancies himself the heroic Trump II antidote, let him consider: his administration is already proven to be thoroughly bigoted by surrender to the far left ideological junta which surrounds him and interrupts his dreamy Kumbayaa 1965 reveries only to secure his reflexively approved rubber stamp!
ReplyDeleteExactly how is Biden's administration bigoted? It is one thing to throw out labels. Your argument could be considered to have merit if you provided evidence.
ReplyDeleteI see from your blogger file that you live in Maryland. Let me suggest that you move to Delaware, so you can be closer to your hero Joe Biden.
DeleteJack, I agree with you that very, very few present-day Ukrainian nationalists are "Nazis", and to call them so is plain silly. Having said that, I also feel that Russian fears that ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers could be, and sometimes are, subject to discrimination in modern Ukraine are perfectly reasonable. To dismiss these concerns as the ravings of a madman is wrong. Ukraine is clearly engaged in a process of cultural self-purification. It's the sort of process that, say, if white Christians attempted it in America or Western Europe, the Left would find it "fascistic" and repulsive in the extreme. When pursued by Ukrainians, though, such chauvinism is apparently endearing. Mighty odd, if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteRay, are you saying that what Putin wants in Ukraine is primarily agricultural land? Maybe. If so, though, I would think an awful lot of that land isn't in the Donbas.
Rod, I don't recall ANYONE in the Democratic Party calling on Obama not to run for reelection after the 2010 drubbing. Plenty of Republicans may have pegged him as a loser (falsely), but the Dems were always head over heels for Obama, as far as I could tell. Their devotion to Sleepy Joe has always been tepid, by comparison, as you well know. That makes Biden vulnerable.
How is the Biden Administration bigoted? Oh, let me count the ways... How about announcing that only black women would be considered for an opening on the Supreme Court? I mean, even if you don't believe that white males deserve the rights of personhood (and I assume you don't, Rod), that declaration had the effect of removing all Asian females, Hispanic females, and black men and black non-women (which isn't the same thing these days) from consideration. Sounds like bigotry to me!
Nick, who on the Democratic side is calling for Biden not to run for re-election? Yes, support for Biden is tepid compared to Obama. People voted FOR Obama. Most Dems and Independents who voted for Biden were really voting AGAINST Trump. But they're also not going to vote FOR Trump now.
DeleteWhen Sandra Day O'Connor was picked, it was because Ronald Reagan said he was picking a woman, thus excluding all men. When Marshall retired, Bush told his advisors he was nominating either Thomas or Garza, thus excluding all whites (and women). So, if you believe Reagan and Bush were bigots, then I guess the argument Biden was acting in a bigoted way would also hold.
BTW, when did I ever say that I don't believe white males deserve the rights of personhood? If I haven't said it, you are quite wrong to say I believe it.
Nick From Ray
ReplyDeletePutin wants the entire Ukraine, in my opinion. It's prime real estate in many ways, and the Euro-Weenies (now ably assisted by the U.S.) have always wanted it. Germany made a grab for it in both World Wars, and of course failed. Fact is, the place was part of the Russian Empire long before the Bolsheviks came to power, and the Russian mindset (regardless of Putin) is that it belongs to them.
I doubt the Russians will go for the Baltic states, which used to be part of the Russian Empire, but the Ukraine occupies a special place in the Russian psyche, period. I think Russia will get it back completely in the not too distant future. Just an opinion.
In any event, this Ukraine thing is a European issue, and the U.S. should have stayed out of it. However, NATO was in its' death throes, so our current administration revived it using Ukraine as an excuse, and so it could start selling weapons through various companies and making huge profits for a lot of well heeled Americans.
There's no way Ukraine gives up. The Russians thought they would take over in 3 days. Perhaps the Russians will get a bit more eastern territory, but who wants it -- it's rubble. But, even if Russia gets some rubble, it won't be without reparations.
ReplyDeleteIf Russia took over Ukraine, that had security implications for us, so there was no way for the U.S. to stay out. It would also have given Putin a green light to go after Finland. Now Finland and Sweden are part of NATO, so the U.S. would automatically be involved under Rule 5.
I see your are a professor. Are you a history professor? If so, you missed the entire point. In any event, you are so sucked in with whatever the BidenISTAS do, that no matter what they do you will believe it is correct.
DeleteNATO has been around for many decades now. It failed to impress Russia since it was founded, and I suspect it will continue to fail.
The real test will be if NATO (including the U.S.) really wants to fight Russia in a ground war over Ukraine.
Also, another question, how much military service to you have? I am retired with 23 years (much of it in Europe during the Cold War), and I now teach history. Next time, READ what the hell is being said from an historical perspective, BEFORE you open your pie hole.
This is as civil as I can get with you, since I detest Leftists such as yourself. With your attitude and ideology you could have been a great communist during the Cold War, living behind the Iron Curtain as a party member.
Fine. I suggest we just not deal with each other. I don't need your insults.
DeleteAs far as military service, I would have served. I took ROTC. My father, who was blinded serving in the Navy, urged me not to serve, saying he had given enough for the country. I honored my father's wishes.
Your 23 years of service does not give you any better insights on history than my insights do. After all, you were immersed in 23 years of governmental propaganda while you were in the service, so your perspective could very well be skewed.
Hey Rod
DeleteYour are correct that we should just not deal with each other. You have my word as of now that we will not. All this goes to show is that those of my ilk on the Right will ALWAYS hate those of your ilk on the Left.
You could have served in the military, and your excuse for not doing so is lame. I have a feeling you are simply a damn coward!
Dr.Waddy et al fromJack: Bigotry: the salient feature of its definition is that it demonstrates unreasonable unwillingness to consider anything which counters one's belief(s). The "american" left's forceful advancement of cancel culture and political correctness confirms its determination to suppress all opposition, including expression, to its stated convictions.History proves that, when in power, the left always employs all manner of force: public derision, administrative "difficulty", destruction of careers and reputations, incipient legal hazarding and of course, gross corporal sanctions! This is done to ensure freedom for only the left's positions. The "american" left has decisively taken the Biden administration's decision making process, in ways often discussed on this forum.It fully manifests fundamental bigotry!
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy et al from Jack: The "american" left has presumed to preempt the term bigot into its lexicon of terms it says are self evident according to its irrefutable lights. Examples include "discrimination", "oppression", and the cornucopia of "isms" summarily defined by the left as automatic condemnation, which the left blithely and effectively uses for intimidation. Just as they have promoted a widely accepted definition of "discrimination" as being without further qualification BAD and nothing else: too, they would have the term "bigot" mean only one perversely resistant to their wisdom. The real America, by that definition, is thereby held heretic and deserving of unlimited excoriation!
ReplyDeleteRod, I'm glad to hear that you think white men are people too, and not demons escaped from hell. There's hope for you!
ReplyDeleteIt isn't true that Reagan considered only women when he nominated Sandra Day O'Connor. It may be true, though, that he didn't genuinely consider any men, even if they were more qualified. Anyway, I'm against racial and gender preferences in all their various guises, and I don't care for it any better when it's a Republican do the preferring.
Oh, sure, the vast majority of Dems who voted for Biden once would do so again. As you know, however, all you need to do is adjust the vote totals VERY SLIGHTLY in a handfull of states, and you get a totally different outcome. I kinda think an approval rating in the high 30s makes that feasible!
Ray, there's no question that certain people will make boatloads of money based on our sponsorship of Ukraine...although that isn't the main reason it's happening. I agree: Russia wants to control all of Ukraine, even if it doesn't annex it formally. What Russia wants and is willing to settle for, however, may be two different things. I see just today Putin threatened once again to attack Kiev. I continue to believe that Russia, if it mobilizes all or most of its strength, can make quick work of Ukraine. So far, Russia hasn't done that, however. Possibly Putin, like Hitler, fears his own people. Hitler didn't opt for total war until 1943, when it was too late to make a difference. How long will Putin wait? And will he settle for a partial conquest in lieu of total commitment? I dunno.
Rod, there's no reason to suppose that a Russian takeover in Ukraine will/would lead inexorably to an attack on...Finland? A Russian attack on Finland is a pretty far-fetched notion. The domino theory? Really?
Ray, I disagree in one sense: I think Russia IS impressed by NATO. Impressed enough to be afraid. I don't think the Russians would have bothered Ukraine had we kept our noses out of it. Alas, we didn't have the good sense to do so.
Ray, I wasn't aware that you had such a long record of military service! Kudos. I've never been convinced that veteran status necessarily makes one any wiser or more patriotic, but it certainly is a feather in your cap and a sign that your love of America goes way beyond mere bloviating, which is all I've ever offered my country...
Jack, that's an excellent point: a dismissive attitude to all forms of dissent is the essence of bigotry. Bigotry=small-mindedness. And it is, lest we forget, the Left, not the right, that wants to shut down honest public debate -- with the notable exception of Rod, I hasten to add. He crosses swords with us on a regular basis, which is to his credit.