Ukraine Crisis

[Walker]

* So strong is the Leftist victimhood premise, they even manage to rationalize that folks are victims of God that they say doesn't exist.

I just want to be happy. If happiness appears impossible for me, then I just want to be able to voice my frustration and dissatisfaction. That's all. I have not said that it's in any way your fault that I have mental illness. So why does it concern you if I point the finger at the one who allegedly created this world and me in it? Leave the mentally ill alone. If you have nothing to complain about or choose not to do so, then good for you. Enjoy the chance to feel good. However, if feeling good can only be achieved by controlling the reactions of others around you, then you'll be likely to join us if you're not careful. Save yourself some frustration and just let us be.

To say the way things are is not a criticism, nor is it controlling. It is simply philosophical grist for objective contemplation, and that is happiness.

To say the way things are does not imply they are wrong. They are just the way they are, and the way things are has implications expecially when one has lived long enough to see things weren’t always the way they are now.

These days folks find specialness in a victim self-concept, in the identity of victim. In the past, men did not consider themselves victims. In the past men had a self-concept that was more philosophically aligned with the view found in Kipling’s poem, If.

We all have challenges of various sorts but challenges don't make a victim.

[Gary Childress]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/mu ... 4cd4efe43d

If the above is true and correct, then Victoria Nuland needs to be fired.

[Gary Childress]

We all have challenges of various sorts but challenges don't make a victim.

Then either there must not be a God or God is not responsible for what has happened in my life. If the former, then I am a victim of fate. If the latter then who did create the conditions under which I need to take anti-psychotics? I didn't tell myself, I want to take anti-psychotics, therefore I'll do x, y, or z. And if you say I deserve what has happened to me and therefore God is not to blame, then you're blaming someone for the misfortunes that befall them. Of course, the last option is very Christian. That's probably why someone invented the idea of "original sin" to give God an out for all the muck he's otherwise preemptively thrown at us for no fair reason.

[iambiguous]

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Russia's former president and an ally of President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Monday that the West's continued supply of arms to Kyiv risked a global nuclear catastrophe, reiterating his threat of nuclear war over Ukraine.

Dmitry Medvedev's apocalyptic rhetoric has been seen as an attempt to deter the U.S-led NATO military alliance and Kyiv's Western allies from getting even more involved in the year-old war that has dealt Moscow setbacks on the battlefield.

A bluff?

Well, there's one way to find out. Biden and Nato can continue to up the ante and provide Ukraine with whatever it finally takes to thump -- humiliate -- Putin.

Place your bets.

[Gary Childress]

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Russia's former president and an ally of President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Monday that the West's continued supply of arms to Kyiv risked a global nuclear catastrophe, reiterating his threat of nuclear war over Ukraine.

Dmitry Medvedev's apocalyptic rhetoric has been seen as an attempt to deter the U.S-led NATO military alliance and Kyiv's Western allies from getting even more involved in the year-old war that has dealt Moscow setbacks on the battlefield.

A bluff?

Well, there's one way to find out. Biden and Nato can continue to up the ante and provide Ukraine with whatever it finally takes to thump -- humiliate -- Putin.

Place your bets.

It seems like it would be much better to just let Putin desist with as much dignity and composure as he reasonably can come away with and stop using this as an attempt to humiliate him. God knows, the US has behaved no differently over the past 20 years with respect to Iraq and Afghanistan. Just let Putin off the hot seat. Maybe he'll come to his senses and we can all become friends, or if that's not possible, at least acquaintances (for a change).

[Dubious]

Just let Putin off the hot seat.

How do you let somebody off the hot seat when he keeps putting himself back on the hot seat?

[Gary Childress]

Just let Putin off the hot seat.

How do you let somebody off the hot seat when he keeps putting himself back on the hot seat?

Well, I suppose that could be a fair assessment of Putin's behavior. However, if there's an opportunity or breakthrough in negotiations, then it seems to me like the Biden administration ought to jump on it for everyone's sake. Popeye is right, the US has been pretty deplorable over the past 20 years with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our coming out and chastizing Putin as though we're all high and mighty is probably making a lot of people in the middle east grab their vomit bags. No. If we as a country are going to walk away with dignity from Afghanistan and Iraq. Then allow Russia as a country to walk away with dignity from Ukraine. Let the people of Russia deal with Putin at this point.

I still think we need to hold some kind of trial to bring George Bush Jr. and his administration to justice for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Maybe it'll set an example for the Russian people.

[Dubious]

However, if there's an opportunity or breakthrough in negotiations, then it seems to me like the Biden administration ought to jump on it for everyone's sake.

I would say 'no, not so fast'! Just to jump on it is a big mistake; the preconditions for negotiation must first be thoroughly examined before acceptance. Just to 'jump on it' implies weakness which murderous dictators like Putin are ready to take immediate advantage of.

From what I recall, negotiations were agreed to by Putin but for it to take place, the Ukrainians had to agree to near unconditional surrender to begin the process. If these are so stringent to start with, what's the point of any negotiation? Of course, the Ukrainians in response offered Putin the middle finger...as expected.

Popeye is right, the US has been pretty deplorable over the past 20 years with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Again I disagree, Popeye is not right! A one track mind is not capable of judging anything objectively. He agrees with Putin's version that the West, headed by the US and NATO, is responsible for the invasion of Ukraine...that Putin, in effect, is now merely reacting against the long-held ambitions of the West to dismember Russia! What a load of BS, so contrary to the actual historical record!

It's true that much of American history is deplorable but nothing which happened in Iraq or Afghanistan equals what Russia is doing to Ukraine. Also, another thing which requires clarity: I wonder how many people in Afghanistan - especially the girls and women - would consider it a blessing to have the Americans back again releasing them from the straight-jacket they're in.

If we as a country are going to walk away with dignity from Afghanistan and Iraq. Then allow Russia as a country to walk away with dignity from Ukraine.

As mentioned, there's no comparison between the two. It was never the intention of the U.S. to eradicate either Afghanistan or Iraq as Putin made manifest when he claimed Ukraine doesn't have a right to exist. I recall Hitler having the same view about Russia! Nor did the Americans abduct and deport children by the thousands relocated to an enemy country. It's far too late to allow Russia to simply walk away with dignity.

I still think we need to hold some kind of trial to bring George Bush Jr. and his administration to justice for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars

If true, then how much more imperative that Russia be judged for its war crimes which are so very reminiscent of the last major war in Europe.

[Gary Childress]

I still think we need to hold some kind of trial to bring George Bush Jr. and his administration to justice for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars

If true, then how much more imperative that Russia be judged for its war crimes which are so very reminiscent of the last major war in Europe.

Well, unless we do it for the Bush administration, how is that going to play out? The Middle East turned into a major clusterfuck as a result of the wars initiated by the Bush administration. Those were wars of aggression, make no mistake about it. Iraq and Afghanistan didn't declare war on us and, though Afghanistan maybe should have been more forthcoming with holding ABL accountable for the WTC attack, Iraq certainly had no serious role in it. Iraq had no WMDs. The CIA either lied or made a grievous error. Either way, the CIA ended up getting us into a war that cost the lives of a lot of people, most of them Iraqis and Afghanis. Iraqis and Afghanis are people also BTW. Their deaths count.

If we look the other way with Bush, then Russia could just look the other way with Putin and there's not much we can say about it.

[Dubious]

If we look the other way with Bush, then Russia could just look the other way with Putin and there's not much we can say about it.

Oh, don't worry! They're going to 'look the other way' alright whether Putin is alive or not; no question! We don't need to say anything about it; the sanctions and whatever its future additions speaks for itself! The way it looks, China may be next.

[Gary Childress]

If we look the other way with Bush, then Russia could just look the other way with Putin and there's not much we can say about it.

Oh, don't worry! They're going to 'look the other way' alright whether Putin is alive or not; no question! We don't need to say anything about it; the sanctions and whatever its future additions speaks for itself! The way it looks, China may be next.

Well, then let's hope everyone will learn something from the past 20 years and things will simmer down.

[iambiguous]

The plot thickens...

With talk of China providing weapons [artillery and ammunition] to Putin in Ukraine, a new wrinkle:

Ross Babbage in the New York Times

A major war in the Indo-Pacific is probably more likely now than at any other time since World War II.

The most probable spark is a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. President Xi Jinping of China has said unifying Taiwan with mainland China “must be achieved.” His Communist Party regime has become sufficiently strong — militarily, economically and industrially — to take Taiwan and directly challenge the United States for regional supremacy.

The United States has vital strategic interests at stake. A successful Chinese invasion of Taiwan would punch a hole in the U.S. and allied chain of defenses in the region, seriously undermining America’s strategic position in the Western Pacific, and would probably cut off U.S. access to world-leading semiconductors and other critical components manufactured in Taiwan. As president, Joe Biden has stated repeatedly that he would defend Taiwan.

But leaders in Washington also need to avoid stumbling carelessly into a war with China because it would be unlike anything ever faced by Americans. U.S. citizens have grown accustomed to sending their military off to fight far from home. But China is a different kind of foe — a military, economic and technological power capable of making a war felt in the American homeland.

What could go wrong there?

[Dubious]

It's only a matter of time before Taiwan gets invaded and especially so if NATO and the US gradually sign-off on Ukraine. If the other main powers are always ready to show their fangs let the West do likewise. Weakness is more likely to cause a war than prevent one.

[Gary Childress]

It's only a matter of time before Taiwan gets invaded and especially so if NATO and the US gradually sign-off on Ukraine. If the other main powers are always ready to show their fangs let the West do likewise. Weakness is more likely to cause a war than prevent one.

Perhaps you are right. It would be nice if there were a possibility of all nations on Earth uniting behind a mutual need or desire to flourish on Earth. Unfortunately, however, that's appearing less and less possible given the ambitions of the current Chinese regime. Again, however, we have no one else to turn to than to look at the G.W. Bush administration and what they've done to the world. How coincidental that the administration was an expression of the political will of many evangelical Christians across America. Anti-globalism strikes again. "America-first" strikes again. "Yahweh or the highway", strikes again.

[Dubious]

It's only a matter of time before Taiwan gets invaded and especially so if NATO and the US gradually sign-off on Ukraine. If the other main powers are always ready to show their fangs let the West do likewise. Weakness is more likely to cause a war than prevent one.

Perhaps you are right. It would be nice if there were a possibility of all nations on Earth uniting behind a mutual need or desire to flourish on Earth. Unfortunately, however, that's appearing less and less possible given the ambitions of the current Chinese regime. Again, however, we have no one else to turn to than to look at the G.W. Bush administration and what they've done to the world. How coincidental that the administration was an expression of the political will of many evangelical Christians across America. Anti-globalism strikes again. "America-first" strikes again. "Yahweh or the highway", strikes again.

Things don't look good, that's for sure. It would be incredibly ironic if we, instead of having to deal with a hotter planet, it turns out to be in surviving a nuclear winter.

The most dangerous governments are the ones who believe god is always on their side.