Do you remember when you were young and you used to drive your car at an oncoming car in a game of chicken to see who would serve out of the way first? Did you like that game?
Also none of them are as geopolitically important as Ukraine is now at this very moment. This is not like Georgia where he took a chunk of the country. This is Putin taking all of Ukraine. The bread basket of Europe. Where do you think where most of the wheat in Europe comes from? Does Putin stop at just Ukraine? All of these are more important geopolitical wise then all of those other conflicts I am afraid. Not to say those people dying doesn’t deserve attention. They do . The stakes are higher this time
I never played that game. We will need to take him on sooner or later - and right now with all these people dying, seems appropriate. DD
UN is not supposed to be a war machine, but rather a peace broker. If the UN is full of teeth, then the immediate question is who's going to control it? The security council? With Russia and China in it, too risky. Simple majority? No way with a lot more developing countries than developed countries. US alone or West alone? You can't pull that off. When we shout democracy, do we really want it? Was there ever democracy in UN? US has used the veto power the most. Was there ever a pure democracy country? Coz democracy means the majority rules, and unchecked democracy leads to autocracy automatically. 51% can take everything from 49%, that's why most countries are republic with some democratic elements, so that the majority can decide the direction but the minority are protected. I see tons of posts here and from "free press", stating how Putin is a war criminal for attacking democracy. To me, he's a war criminal for launching a war against a sovereign country. Why are posters and "journalists" deliberately avoiding the clear term of sovereign but sticking to the vague name of democracy? Coz "this is different, it's not Syria nor Iraq." I am sure it will be completely fine and even exciting for Russia to attack Iran or China. We throw terms like "value" or "rule based" around a lot. I wonder what exact rule is that? International law? I don't think so, otherwise, we wouldn't be avoiding that. For example, US is the only country not signed on the treaty of not using chemical weapons. US and Ukraine were the only two countries opposed the "combating glorification of Nazism, racism etc etc" agreement. So the rule Blinken loves to mention probably means, we make the rule, and you do as I say but not as I do. On top of that, even if you do as I say, when situation changes I can still change rules on the fly. We seize super yachts from Russian oligarchs, and seize funds from the poorest country in Afghanistan (and we deeply care about their people), based on what rule? I thought we pride ourselves in protecting personal properties. Here you see again the fine choice of words, oligarchs vs wealthy individuals in the West. Did those Russian oligarchs violate any law when they purchased condos in Manhattan, or yachts or cars from Italy or UK? Did they personally bombed Ukraine people, or have they violated any laws in the past week? Now we simply decide to seize their assets in the name of democracy, and "find" their wrongdoings afterwards? Imposing sanctions on Russia government and state-owned banks are rightful measures, but against Russian individuals or cancel Tchaikovsky in Italy universities? I am sure Saudi princes will have second thoughts of mainly investing in the States, coz they have to consider scenarios 20 years from now, when the world is moving to clean energy, Saudi princes are no longer as valuable as they are now, they will be examples of non-democracy bad actors. Putin is such a dictator, and shutting down a TV station confirms this conclusion. But Zelensky is the new hero of democracy, so shutting down 4 opposition TV stations is just his way of stopping pro-Russia propaganda. When Putin is committing crime against international law and humanity, problems of racism and neo-Nazi inside Ukraine and crimes in Donbass are not allowed to be mentioned. "I may disagree with you but I defend your right to speak" is just posture after all. Russia is bad, so shutting them up on "free speech platforms" is the best way to promote democracy. There is a little dictator inside everyone - if I have unchecked power, I might want to eject every player fouls Yao Ming. But will there still be a game? Is this the democracy we are proud of?
Nice try but no. Putin attempted to elect a Russian puppet as President in closely monitored democratic election and he lost. He responded by invading the Ukraine and pulled back and now years later has attacked again and largely is facing difficulty because the people of Ukraine do not want him there. Neo-nazism in the Ukraine has no relevance at all. There are neo-nazi’s all over Russia as well. The only reason Putin brings it up is because he grasps at anything to justify his invasion and land grab. The President of the Ukraine is a Jew. This justification of any action by pointing to a false equivalence is something Russia and China love doing because it sows just enough thought to allow the stupid and jingoistic nationalists in both states to support their countries actions. Also no… China and Russia going to war isn’t something “we” would cheer…. Nor would we cheer Russia attacking Iran. You can pretzel twist your logic all you want, but “what aboutism” and false equivalency isn’t going to work. Take your CCP talking points back to Weibo.
LOL. How typical. He’s a Jew, so there will be no Nazis in Ukraine. There are neo-nazis in Russia so we can’t talk about that in Ukraine. Never mind that Ukraines welcomed Nazis in open arms in 1941. Never mind neo-Nazis are far stronger forces in East European countries despite the fact that they suffered more than the Westens during WWII. Labeling me with CCP to shut me up. How effective Thank you for proving my point - many of you don’t really prefer democracy and you don’t really oppose war.
You are a facade and look for anything to justify your position, but this is nothing new. You consistently do that on here, regurgitating CCP talking points on the margins. First no one said there are no neo-nazi’s in the Ukraine, in fact I have said the opposite. The reality is neo-nazism in the Ukraine is irrelevant and it is a Russian/CCP talking point to justify/distract Russian/CCP sheep from what is really happening - that Putin is taking by force a sovereign democracy and has no real justification to do so. There are neo-nazi’s in Russian and Poland and all over Europe to a certain extent and it has NOTHING to do with the Ukrainian war - zero. It’s nothing but an attempt to smear to justify the unjustifiable. Who cares if Ukrainians welcomed Nazi’s in 1941? China supported Nazi Germany up until 1941 with German - Sino Agreement. What happened 81 years ago means little… not to mention the Ukrainian support or welcome of Nazi Germany is loaded and you know it. The Ukrainian people were being freed from an incredibly oppressive communist dictatorship that murdered many Ukrainians. The government of the Ukraine isn’t ran by neo-Nazi’s either. Their President is a Jew. Russia and communists have a long history of murdering and oppressing Jews. There are synagogues in the Ukraine. How are Jews treated in CCP land? How are the Kaifeng Jews doing in China. However again NONE of it is relevant because the invasion of the Ukraine has NOTHING to do with neo-Nazi’s… Stop just regurgitating CCP and Putin talking points that really have nothing to do with what’s happening. There is no justification for the Russian invasion into a democracy, a sovereign nation.
It was canceled because of the end of the cold war it was thought an air superiority fighter with no air to ground ability was pointless. Arguments were used like the F-22 has seen no action in Iraq. Iraq was an air to ground war.
First it’s not a surprise the EU has done so much, they have the most dealings with Russia, they are the ones with Russia on their doorstep and the ones being literally threatened by Russia. Having said that, the USA needs to do more. This graph, especially the UK shows why these sanctions will not work, countries will “forget” and lift sanctions over time when their citizens get angry at economic downturns and rising fuel costs. Russia is counting on the world not having a stomach for it.
Putin isn't a war criminal for attacking democracy nor is he one for attacking a sovereign state. He is a war criminal for shelling and targeting residential neighborhoods INTENTIONALLY. The TARGETING of civilians IS a warcrime. Putin is a war criminal for the murder and cleansing he did in Georgia as well, but no one cares to mention that do they? Russian Oligarchs aren't just some innocent rich Russians, they are instruments of Putin himself and part of the power structure of Russia which is run like a mafia more than a bureaucracy.
Israel is in a tougher situation given Russia controls Syria's air space and allows Israel to fly missions to hit Iranian activity.
It seems that you are the one who kept ponding on the points have nothing to do with what’s happening, and trying hard to link me to CCP. Justify what position? What exactly were my positions, instead of your straw-man argument? Let me list it out for you. 1. I said from my first post in this thread that I oppose the invasion launched by Putin into a sovereign country, democracy or not. And Putin is a war criminal. Do you have a problem with that? Any CCP of that for you? 2. I support sanctions imposed on Russian government but I am against NATO military action against a nuclear power. Is that CCP identifiable for you? 3. I question the legal base to seize personal assets from Russian individuals in the name of democracy or based on the Russian invasion. Does that confirm your bias of my CCP affiliation? 4. I question the action of shutting down Russian voice in the name of protecting free speech. Does that qualify me as Russian apologist in your open mind? As a matter of fact, if you have to dismiss my points by labeling that as Russian and CCP talking points instead of arguing on the merit of them, it says a lot of how you really feel about democracy and free speech. I’ve worked with many Jewish people from Ukraine and South Africa. They were not treated nicely in their born places, that’s why they migrated to Canada and US. Oh, that combating glorification of Nazism thing I mentioned, Isreal supported that. That’s what I call principle, no but and when and if, no matter who raised it. Focusing on the message instead of the messenger. Please feel free to ignore me, and I strongly support your freedom.
Good point. Targeting civilians does make him a war criminal. But I do believe invading sovereign countries need to be held accountable as well. I asked for legal base of seizing those assets now. They were not innocent when they made those purchases, and the West didn’t have any issue with that. Those profits are still safe when the war broke out, but the goods purchased are guilty overnight.
