A memory for Alexei Navalny, the main hope for democracy in Russia, a martyr killed today by Putin's barbarity.
He is now a political martyr, and we can hope that his legacy leads to change for the better down the road for Russia. Revolutions can spread quickly once they begin. With that said the hypocrisy of the current US government is unreal in calling out Putin. Imagine locking up political opponents. And giving them the Epstein treatment. Sound familiar to anyone? Putin is an amateur compared to the record of US politicians dating back to Vietnam to the current day.
I agree, in that we have always in some ways tried to hide it (although lately that is certainly not the case). Putin has never hid who he is or what his goals are. I can't stand the press covered outrage that we continue to see from all others. Putin has never said he is anything else than what he is. He has never hidden his agenda, beliefs or his methods of how he plans on obtaining said goals. The outrage is a day late, dollar short.
TD
Tom:
Great post.
In my view our elected officials (“leaders”) hide behind a closet anonymity while they vote based on how much they get from the lobbyists who keep them in power.
Putin stabs you in the chest at the scheduled knife fight of dictatorship while our leadership stabs you in the back at the supposed celebration of freedom.
-Jason
Regarding Navalny, don't confuse stupidity with courage even if we can't understand it...The USA is the main part of NATO, right? If Ukraine falls, the Baltics and Poland are at risk. Many Americans don't even know what the Baltic countries are, but if they were attacked and America didn't intervene, it would be the end of American influence in the world and a geopolitical defeat for the entire West. And it would be the beginning of an era of ever more extensive wars and it seems difficult to me that the United States will be able not to participate in them....The USA is by nature protectionist and not interventionist; Even in World War II they only went to war with Germany after Hitler declared war on America. But now there is NATO which commits its members to mutual aid in the event of an attack. And moreover, the only time that Article 5 of the treaty was invoked, it was the USA that invoked it on the occasion of the attack on the twin towers. Let's not forget history.
That's a rehash of Cold War fear mongering and the domino theory. If you are going to invoke history, then recall how that worked out for the US. Billions spent and millions killed in places like Vietnam for no purpose. If Russia can't even overrun a small region of Ukraine, they are no threat to other countries. And they have absolutely no desire to do so. The US has been tricked into paying for the defense of Europe for almost a hundred years. NATO countries don't even contribute their own share. They must fall on the ground laughing at the stupidity of the US politicians (many of whom want to foot the bill because it allows them to control an enormous source of funding to the military contractors who kick it back for their campaigns). There is no more offensive justification for a war than that the US is using the people of Ukraine as cannon fodder to exhaust Russia. A "good investment." Imagine how the people in Ukraine - who are dying and having their homes destroyed - feel about that investment.
Congratulations, you have learned Putin's propaganda perfectly. The same amplified by that type who is linked mafia-wise to his boss Putin...
The NATO nations don't laugh at all at the idea of an ignorant lunatic possibly becoming president of the US.
Some NATO countries such as Poland, the Baltic countries and others have exceeded the required spending quota and most have fallen in line; only a minority of which Italy has not yet reached the expected 2 percent of NATO spending.
Then, you must know that the American arms industry has grown by 17.5 percent since this war, from the purchases of American weapons in a grand part by the Europeans, but either you don't know it, or you are in bad faith...
As for the dead Ukrainians, if Putin occupies Ukraine there will be deaths, torture, concentration camps, looting,ethnic cleansing....But you cynically mix economic interests and hairy morality like your political representatives do in a confusing way...
PS:The people of Ukraine ask for only one thing: more weapons and ammunition
My God, you Trumpers are a bunch of morons!
"Some NATO countries...have fallen in line." Wow. They must be really worried about Putin. LOL. Here are the facts:
"According to NATO, 11 countries, including the U.S., are spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on their defense. Nineteen other countries do not meet that threshold."
In other words over half the NATO countries are not even paying their miniscule share. And Russia can't even overrun small regions of the Ukraine after two years and counting but they are suddenly the Cold War threat. Better send more billions to those military contractors since that worked out so well in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. Some people never learn.
My God, you Trumpers are a bunch of morons!
That's a silly, shallow assumption. I think folks here can think for the themselves and do not worship at the altar of any individual.
It never fails it's always Trumps fault, No matter what.My God, you Trumpers are a bunch of morons!