| | | Certain symbols get rejected by the SI link function. The @ sign must be one. I know the = sign for time-queued YouTube videos gets rejected by the YouTube embed widget. The = will still work in the link function though, since I've used it to make links for YouTube time-queued videos.
I remain skeptical about all "news" media because the whole industry has disgraced itself. I prefer individual observers who I can get to know personally by following their views. Funny how little I know about Putin from his own words. I'm glad to see his speeches get translated to English.
I am persuaded by the logic used by Gonzalo Lira and other informed observers like Scott Ritter that it serves no useful purpose to Russia to perpetrate the types of deliberate civilian mass casualty events that get so many in the West ready to commit to further intervention. Accidents and bad behavior happen, so I don't get too wrapped up in the logic of it. Not everything is strategic and logical. The truth does eventually tend to come out in the long run.
Since further intervention would likely lead to many more mass casualty events - intended or accidental - I can't see the logic in supporting that either. It's like arguing for more of the exact thing that you are arguing is so untenable. Scrambles my brain to follow, so I don't. We're not afraid of Russia, so let's get 'em? Because, if we don't, we'll live in fear that they'll get us? Because we're righteous and they're not? It'll never make sense to me. It'd be more of the same, but on a bigger scale, for no better reason.
As much as I hate to see it play out as "diplomacy by other means", what's less civilized than war as a means of diplomacy is the internal Ukrainian hatred that I've seen delivered by the hands of lawless bullies. That's a generational behavior that isn't going to stop when the war stops if the Ukrainian government keeps excusing it and supporting it by accepting these bullies into their armed forces. I'm only starting to notice it and would prefer to ignore it, but I can't unsee it. The State Department, DOD, and NATO does not have ignorance as an excuse, however. They know and have known. These people - technically "our public servants" - are disgraceful when they look the other way and strongarm media to slant and shade.
Through virtue-signalling rewarded by clicks and recs, the uninformed/malinformed/prejudiced calling for escalation and intervention make unintentional allies with these Ukrainian haters against everything and everybody Russian. This gets personified to make it easy and conveniently retractable at will to avoid charges of hypocrisy. Elon had it right when he said virtue signalling is an easy excuse for bullies and pacifist slogans like "Peace" are useless.
We support the People!
Well, maybe, just maybe, that's what President Putin concluded was necessary in Ukraine. Support the Russian people against NATO aggression and support oppressed people in Ukraine against their own oppressive government. Pretty much the argument the US and allies went with heading into Iraq. It's not a good way to go about it, wrecking the place to support the people, but it makes a point that next time - those in charge might want to live up to agreements they've already made. Always a next time. It'll all be better, we just need a reset. Progressives. Hope springs eternal if we'd just do it MY WAY.
I remember a great line you posted a while back:
"Your government hates you. Try running away from that."
Conservatives in America, Russian speaking Ukrainians in Ukraine.
Running from #PTSD and The Retrogrades™. |
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