US Empire propaganda talking point #1: Russia is a corrupt, tyrannical oligarchy so inefficient and stupid that brave democratic Ukraine can make it crumble with our help.
Who is the US to lay down the law to Mr. Putin? A bit grandiose. Plus I think your keyboard is stuck or something. That's a banal tricksy thing, trying to derail a conversation. Won't work here, methinks.
What has that got to do with anything? I'm not a Republican, but you are clearly a Democrat troll. I checked out your page. And anyone who posts over ten replies on a Substack thread of somebody with a whopping 300 followers is just trying to suppress that thread.
I can't have that here. Why am I talking to you, anyway? You have to be an AI of some sort. You are also banned forevermore.
Crimea and those former parts of Ukraine that are now, and will remain, part of the Russian Federation had many good reasons for wishing to be ruled from Moscow rather than Kiev. If you knew anything about the history of those people, you would know that Crimea was never predominantly Ukrainian, and neither was the Donbass. Both were sovereign Russian territory for centuries.
As far as Putin, and the large majority of the inhabitants of those regions, are concerned their resources are as Russian as they are.
Stubborn facts like these make it ironic indeed to see US Empire apologists accuse Putin of having no respect for sovereignty. Especially when it is illegally occupying a third of Syria in order to steal their oil, or after the destruction of Libya which led to a refugee migration crisis that is destabilizing Europe, to name just two examples of our long and bloody imperial history.
America was never threatened by either Romanovs or Soviets control of Ukraine. It is silly to think that America would be threatened by Putin's Russia controlling a fifth of it.
Frankly, I don't even know what a Ukrainian ethnicity is. It was a Republic in the Soviet Union before it was a new independent country, and before that it was a part of the Russian Empire.
You have a very valid point. It's more like Churchill's observation about Americans and British, a people divided by a common language in some ways, isn't it? You would know better than I.
My wife took an Ancestry DNA test, and they can tell a genetic difference between Russian and Ukrainian now, but it's similar to subgroups of different waves of settlers in America. For the record, her biological father's parents came from what's now Belarus in the 1920s, her mother's grandparents came from western Ukraine, now part of Poland, in 1913. The math's right: half Russian, a quarter Ukrainian.
Yah, Zelensky looks so drab! The least they can do is give him colorful corporate logo patches to brighten up that way too dull green outfit he's always in.
Sorry about the troll, folks. Something like 20 comments in a very short period of time, and all very canned. Must have been one of those remoras following Jonathan Katz around. Probably an AI remora of some sort, judging by the avatar.
I wonder... Could the war pigs be smoked and barbecued and then shredded into some decent pulled pork sandwiches? That's about the only thing they're good for!
Hook'em horns! (U.T. P. B. graduate here. It's part of the U.T. system but we were the "Falcons" for a non-existent sports team at the time I attended. I think they've grown larger since then)
I actually graduated from UTSA back before they had any sports teams called the Roadrunners, and I did go to grad school in Austin later. I used to go watch Earl Campbell and the 'Horns play, and then hang out at the Armadillo or some other random place on Sixth Street.
Great to hear about the Longhorns! Loved in Austin as a kid :-)
And thank you for dealing with the pointless spam so I didn't even have to read it!
Of course, Ukraine has mostly fallen out of the news, but a couple of new points. Ukraine is now going to start mobilizing women on an equal basis with men - at least that's the draft law. I've even seen a Ukrainian ad for husbands and wives to volunteer together. My wife would be subject to call-up if she were still in Ukraine. Her friends may be subject to this if accurate, and depending on timing.
There's also a shocking estimate from Andrei Martyanov of Armed Forces of Ukraine deaths of 1.5 MILLION based on burial reports. It's all estimates, and I doubt accurate information will be known for years.
My wife doesn't want to follow this, but I do and will sometimes tell her bigger news like this. She compared this to the US civil war and the word we came up with at the same time for Zelensky was "stupid." He's destroyed the country, although under Biden's orders.
We're looking forward to the end of the Ukrainian war - maybe we can go back soon and see what remains, well, depending on what country the flat ends up in and whether the US will permit us to visit.
Your wife's comparison is valid in some ways. Essentially, there had already been a civil war going on in eastern Ukraine for six years before Russia intervened, and the grinding bloody nature of this war is certainly comparable to the American Civil War.
She would appreciate, I think, what my great-great grandma added to her husband's diary at the end where he describes his surrender to a Captain Anderson from Ohio--"And at long last this horrible fratricidal war came to an end."
I see I missed the Christmas troll, but if I could create a dart board (and still had my darts set), I'd paste that group of ghouls photo across it. If there is any female war pig I cringe over more than Sillary, it's Victoria's not-so-secret!
Your wife and mine are probably related if we go back a few generations! She's eastern European, Baltic and Balkan, with Ukrainian, Russian, Belarus, Poland etc. in one eastern European subgroup, western Ukraine included in another, and Poland in a third.
It's hard to do genealogy from records - most were destroyed during WW II, so this helped her to know more of her family history.
But these records really show how much of a civil war this is between common ethnicities. Bandera would hate this truth.
My wife's got some Baltic as well, so it is very likely indeed. For that matter, if you go back to the Stone Age you'll find the ancestors of the Celts living in Ukraine, and I'm about 80% Scottish, Welsh, and Irish. Nearly EVERYBODY who became European was in Ukraine once upon a time.
Am compelled to mention the one footnote on Texas' seemingly unblemished 2023 college football record was their 34-30 loss to Oklahoma on September 9. Boomer Sooner!
Who is the US to lay down the law to Mr. Putin? A bit grandiose. Plus I think your keyboard is stuck or something. That's a banal tricksy thing, trying to derail a conversation. Won't work here, methinks.
"Why would you want to fix something when you can grandstand on it?"
That also nails the Democratic Party perfectly. ALL issues are merely divisive campaign fodder to them.
What has that got to do with anything? I'm not a Republican, but you are clearly a Democrat troll. I checked out your page. And anyone who posts over ten replies on a Substack thread of somebody with a whopping 300 followers is just trying to suppress that thread.
I can't have that here. Why am I talking to you, anyway? You have to be an AI of some sort. You are also banned forevermore.
Tell bald-faced lies much?
Crimea and those former parts of Ukraine that are now, and will remain, part of the Russian Federation had many good reasons for wishing to be ruled from Moscow rather than Kiev. If you knew anything about the history of those people, you would know that Crimea was never predominantly Ukrainian, and neither was the Donbass. Both were sovereign Russian territory for centuries.
As far as Putin, and the large majority of the inhabitants of those regions, are concerned their resources are as Russian as they are.
Stubborn facts like these make it ironic indeed to see US Empire apologists accuse Putin of having no respect for sovereignty. Especially when it is illegally occupying a third of Syria in order to steal their oil, or after the destruction of Libya which led to a refugee migration crisis that is destabilizing Europe, to name just two examples of our long and bloody imperial history.
America was never threatened by either Romanovs or Soviets control of Ukraine. It is silly to think that America would be threatened by Putin's Russia controlling a fifth of it.
Frankly, I don't even know what a Ukrainian ethnicity is. It was a Republic in the Soviet Union before it was a new independent country, and before that it was a part of the Russian Empire.
You have a very valid point. It's more like Churchill's observation about Americans and British, a people divided by a common language in some ways, isn't it? You would know better than I.
My wife took an Ancestry DNA test, and they can tell a genetic difference between Russian and Ukrainian now, but it's similar to subgroups of different waves of settlers in America. For the record, her biological father's parents came from what's now Belarus in the 1920s, her mother's grandparents came from western Ukraine, now part of Poland, in 1913. The math's right: half Russian, a quarter Ukrainian.
Great round-up of the banality of national evil.
A whole lot to unpack and relish. For now; Yes, Victoria Nuland is sow personified.
Never could have imagined a more hideous version of Hillary Clinton.
There was a group photo which included Victoria Nuland. Need I say any more?
Sewickley PA made my day.
Can someone PLEASE get this guy one of those NASCAR jackets so that we can see who is sponsoring him? 😂
Yah, Zelensky looks so drab! The least they can do is give him colorful corporate logo patches to brighten up that way too dull green outfit he's always in.
Sorry about the troll, folks. Something like 20 comments in a very short period of time, and all very canned. Must have been one of those remoras following Jonathan Katz around. Probably an AI remora of some sort, judging by the avatar.
It's banned.
I wonder... Could the war pigs be smoked and barbecued and then shredded into some decent pulled pork sandwiches? That's about the only thing they're good for!
Hook'em horns! (U.T. P. B. graduate here. It's part of the U.T. system but we were the "Falcons" for a non-existent sports team at the time I attended. I think they've grown larger since then)
I actually graduated from UTSA back before they had any sports teams called the Roadrunners, and I did go to grad school in Austin later. I used to go watch Earl Campbell and the 'Horns play, and then hang out at the Armadillo or some other random place on Sixth Street.
Now I wouldn't recognize either city.
Great to hear about the Longhorns! Loved in Austin as a kid :-)
And thank you for dealing with the pointless spam so I didn't even have to read it!
Of course, Ukraine has mostly fallen out of the news, but a couple of new points. Ukraine is now going to start mobilizing women on an equal basis with men - at least that's the draft law. I've even seen a Ukrainian ad for husbands and wives to volunteer together. My wife would be subject to call-up if she were still in Ukraine. Her friends may be subject to this if accurate, and depending on timing.
There's also a shocking estimate from Andrei Martyanov of Armed Forces of Ukraine deaths of 1.5 MILLION based on burial reports. It's all estimates, and I doubt accurate information will be known for years.
My wife doesn't want to follow this, but I do and will sometimes tell her bigger news like this. She compared this to the US civil war and the word we came up with at the same time for Zelensky was "stupid." He's destroyed the country, although under Biden's orders.
We're looking forward to the end of the Ukrainian war - maybe we can go back soon and see what remains, well, depending on what country the flat ends up in and whether the US will permit us to visit.
Make that "Lived in Austin" but loved it too. I remember my sister swimming in the pool on Christmas day!
Your wife's comparison is valid in some ways. Essentially, there had already been a civil war going on in eastern Ukraine for six years before Russia intervened, and the grinding bloody nature of this war is certainly comparable to the American Civil War.
She would appreciate, I think, what my great-great grandma added to her husband's diary at the end where he describes his surrender to a Captain Anderson from Ohio--"And at long last this horrible fratricidal war came to an end."
I see I missed the Christmas troll, but if I could create a dart board (and still had my darts set), I'd paste that group of ghouls photo across it. If there is any female war pig I cringe over more than Sillary, it's Victoria's not-so-secret!
Your wife and mine are probably related if we go back a few generations! She's eastern European, Baltic and Balkan, with Ukrainian, Russian, Belarus, Poland etc. in one eastern European subgroup, western Ukraine included in another, and Poland in a third.
It's hard to do genealogy from records - most were destroyed during WW II, so this helped her to know more of her family history.
But these records really show how much of a civil war this is between common ethnicities. Bandera would hate this truth.
My wife's got some Baltic as well, so it is very likely indeed. For that matter, if you go back to the Stone Age you'll find the ancestors of the Celts living in Ukraine, and I'm about 80% Scottish, Welsh, and Irish. Nearly EVERYBODY who became European was in Ukraine once upon a time.
Am compelled to mention the one footnote on Texas' seemingly unblemished 2023 college football record was their 34-30 loss to Oklahoma on September 9. Boomer Sooner!
Yup. That was the season-ending event for the Longhorns for me, and then I look up and they're #3 in the country.
What was Oklahoma again? Double-digits down in the rankings, I'm sure. Sports; bragging rights never last forever.
Thanks Barb, I appreciate the succinct yet pleasantly sardonic commentary. Btw, can I call you Barb?
Just don't call me Barbie.