Putin solely responsible for the death and destruction in Ukraine
By Lethbridge Herald on March 4, 2022.
Editor:
I do not have strong enough words to condemn Putin’s unprovoked, brutal act of war against Ukraine, a sovereign nation in contravention of UN charter and international law protecting a nation’s right to independence.
I do not believe that the Russian people support this invasion: Putin is solely to be held responsible for this horrendous action that will definitely lead to extreme violence, destruction and death of innocent humans.
It is highly unlikely that sanctions against Putin and his circle are going to be effective in reversing Putin’s mindless mind to stop this madness.
It is unfortunate that NATO can not help Ukraine by sending massive military support, troops on the ground or air force. Because Russia has a strong military power, troops, air missiles and tanks and air capability, any serious presence of Western troops will surely start a prolonged, endless Third World War with terrible consequences and devastation for the whole world.
There still may be one way out.
Putin has been demanding that Ukraine should not join NATO. Russia is surrounded by NATO nations that results in security issues for Russia as far as Putin and Russians are concerned.
The President of Ukraine could act pragmatic and use the bargaining chip by meeting with Putin and assure him that he would consider not joining NATO if he removed the Russian forces from Ukraine.
I doubt if it would be that simple to convince Putin to withdraw but may be worth trying.
We Canadians are behind Ukraine and stand by Ukrainian Canadians. Let us hope that the Western and European nations are able to help with military equipment at least.
I am praying for all the Ukrainians in Canada and in Ukraine. May God be with them.
Ramma Sawhney
Lethbridge
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[…] By Lethbridge Herald on March 4, 2022.Editor:I do not have strong enough words to condemn Putin’s unprovoked, brutal act of war against Ukraine, a sovereign nation in contravention of UN charter and international law protecting a nation’s right to independence. I do not believe that the Russian people support this invasion: Putin is solely to be held responsible for this horrendous action that will definitely lead to extreme violence, destruction and death of innocent humans.It is highly unlikely that sanctions against Putin and his circle are going to be effective in reversing Putin’s mindless mind to stop this madness.It is unfortunate that NATO can not help Ukraine by sending massive military support, troops on the ground or air force. Because Russia has a strong military power, troops, air missiles and tanks and air capability, any serious presence of Western troops will surely start a prolonged, endless Third World War with terrible consequences and devastation for the whole world. There still may be one way out.Putin has been demanding that Ukraine should not join NATO. Russia is surrounded by NATO nations that results in security issues for Russia as far as Putin and Russians are concerned.The President of Ukraine could act pragmatic and use the bargaining chip by meeting with Putin and assure him that he would consider not joining NATO if he removed the Russian forces from Ukraine.I doubt if it would be that simple to convince Putin to withdraw but may be worth trying.We Canadians are behind Ukraine and stand by Ukrainian Canadians. Let us hope that the Western and European nations are able to help with military equipment at least.I am praying for all the Ukrainians in Canada and in Ukraine. May God be with them. Ramma SawhneyLethbridge13 Source link […]
Not since Hitler has there been a conflict so clearly the result of ONE measly man. And it IS ALWAYS a man so the question before us remains, “will we survive the male of our species?
all men are waging war on the ukraine. all men are bad. let us all join tp in hating all men. we can do this because tp loves to lump individuals into one size fits all groups. the label maker ever at the ready, such that there is no difference between manson and jesus – they are just hater men.
btw – the assault on the ukraine is not just putin. the nazis were not just hitler. is it really possible that one could be so simple and naive?
what we need are the likes of margaret thatcher – such a warm and cuddly, loving lady; those mosr in need sure did well under her leadership. perhpas marie antionette? elizabeth 1? bloody mary? countess elizabeth báthory? saltychikha? and here are a few other beauties https://listverse.com/2012/10/30/10-female-concentration-camp-guards/ homolka was a real nice woman, too?
Yeah, as usual, ignore that most everyday heinous acts like mass shootings and serial killing are ALL carried out by men; jails are full of those caught.
And in all of world history, if you can name a handful of women leaders considered evil that is still just a handful in all of human history.
You think the assault on Ukraine is NOT JUST PUTIN? He’s a classic dictator, so by definition he makes all the decisions. And Hitler was absolutely the mastermind of Nazism. There is no comparable female figure to either of these monsters.
i could certainly expand on the list of notorious females. i accept your point that more men than women have committed atrocities. however, let us acknowledge that in either case, we are talking about an nth of each sex: the vast, vast majority of humans are not psychopaths. however, who am i to stand in the way of your desire to hate men. and, i certainly will not stand the way of your wish to label entire groups and compile them into simple, stereotypical boxes. it may make complex issues appear easier for you, but, that is hardly the reality. i further see your take on the likes of putin and hitler as also being just a tad too simple.
Do try and attack MY intelligence with your new cohort in tow. “All men are low-level superheroes in their own minds” Seinfeld says, except with believers who are low-level gods, but same difference; too many are utterly seducible when it comes to power. This deep desire to rule the world is currently fully manifesting in the States with Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg etc. thanks to end stage capitalism and the internet.
They may be a small percentage as you say, but their drive takes them to the top; CEO/psychopath correlations exist. It makes everything a game to win. Testosterone drives them, creating more aggression, women lack it. We now talk about (finally) “toxic masculinity” but there is no equivalent “toxic femininity.”
And Putin and Hitler were both short in stature, both psychopaths, and both utterly indefensible. Like that stupid truck convoy.
i do not attack your intelligence, but i do take issue with your approach and take on things from time to time. like each of us, i only know what i think i know. on some things we are quite apart.
however, i agree with the gist of your take here, save for your position on lumping all men as one. there are and have been powerful women that behave as wickedly as the worst men – psychopathy and power do go hand in hand. that is a more robust correlation than testosterone, at least as much as i can gather. hillary, condolleeza quickly come to mind, as do imelda marcos and aung san suu kyi. those that aspire to power and those that attain power tend to do so for reasons quite contrary to altruism.
as for the sickos you note above, they are part of a very powerful network that not only influences, but controls, the puppet clowns that we vote in and out of “power” every few years. those folks always are in power, but they are safely tucked away from public accountability. it is my feeling that every election we merely legitimise that control, and it is regardless of the party name that each so-called “democracy” elects.
You’ve heard of statistics….
And yeah, to my point….neoliberalism was a bunch of greedy, wealthy men in 1947 who were worried about losing their money/power to communism or even basic taxes…
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot.
Definitely not unprovoked. We do not know all that has been going on between Ukraine, USA, UK, and NATO that caused Russia to take this step.
Journalist, Vladimir Pozner, clearly addresses the history of American, Soviet and Russian relations leading up to the present conflict. See videos with Vladimir Pozner and Canadian Foreign Policy Institute posted below.
What is occurring in Ukraine is horrific. However, it is extremely naïve to suggest that Putin is solely responsible for this situation. There is significant previous political history confirming there is blood on many hands.
Vladimir Pozner: How the United States Created Vladimir Putin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X7Ng75e5gQ
Parsing the history of grievance at this point becomes a defence for what is, under the circumstances, overtly and viscerally indefensible. Fresh eyes of younger generations furthest removed from the two major world wars are instructive here. The UN representative from Kenya said it best: https://www.npr.org/2022/02/22/1082334172/kenya-security-council-russia
I would argue that understanding the relationship between the Soviet Union, Russia and the United States is extremely important. What is currently happening is taking place in the context of history. I would strongly disagree, however, that in doing so, it leads to a defense of Putin. As Pozner illustrates in his address at Yale, there are significant historic events between the Soviet Union, Russia and the United States playing into the current situation. Pozner assigns no blame, only significant political missteps. Moreover, Mr. Kimani’s appeal to the notion of empire has neglected to identify how American imperialism has contributed to the current situation. Perhaps he alluded to it when he stated,
“We further strongly condemn the trend in the last few decades of powerful states, including members of this Security Council, breaching international law with little regard.”
Mr. Kimani’s appeal to resolve this conflict by peaceful means is to be applauded.
a peaceful solution will not come soon enough.
I thought his main point was that there’s always endless blame to go around in history but at some point you have to stop working from that premise that is based on past resentment, justification and/or revenge and work with the people you have now and with what’s before you. Africa has been colonized repeatedly so he knows whereof he speaks.
I don’t think it can be successfully argued that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine arises from a notion of re-establishing Russian empire. In this regard, I urge you to re-watch Pozner’s presentation at Yale. I also would argue Kamini’s quoted statement, from my previous post vis a vis the breaching of International Law, aligns with Pozner’s evaluation. For a Canadian perspective, please see the following recent webinar entitled, Cutting Through the Spin: Russia’s invasion, NATO’s provocation and Canada’s complicity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D5GsIvK0ZA
I watched the link. Thanks. HIstorical context always very interesting and I would love to see a lot more of it in the media, but in the context of what’s happening right now it feels more dated all the time quite frankly; all the white men and their egos strutting their respective hours on the stage. With what’s happening in the right wing we can only hope it’s some sort of last gasp that we can all survive. Again. We desperately need a sea change in leadership. The woman who is president of Latvia was on the news tonight and described Putin quite succinctly because she’s also a clinical psychologist.
And I didn’t get his statement that the words liberal and conservative don’t mean what they once did either; I heard “bothsidesism” which makes no sense and is not accurate.
In response to your white men and egos accusation, in Canada, I would argue Chrystia Freeland is engaged in what you call “strutting [her] respective hour.”
https://www.thecanadafiles.com/articles/asclac
I’ve not heard the comments made about Putin made by the President of Latvia. Mr. Kamini’s condemnation of powerful nations, including members of the UN Security Council, who have breached international law over the past several decades is far more concerning to me. Could it be argued that these breaches may also represent a psychological pathology as well?
Perhaps Mr. Pozner’s assertion that the words liberal and conservative lack the meaning they once had may be understood in light of the decades of entrenchment of neoliberalism and neoconservatism.
Most definitely, the nations of the world are in need of bold new leadership motivated by a recommitment to a vision for achieving global peace, justice and equality.
Relatively speaking, women have been bit players in world history up to this point, including Chrystia. Hopefully she’ll become PM next and that may begin the shift so desperately needed at this point. Men wax eloquently, excitedly, and endlessly about the “strategy” involved, remaining steadfastly in the weeds, and expressing admiration for even highly destructive “moves” that put an opponent on their heels, as if it were all just a game. I’m thinking of this in the context of politics in particular, where the most damage is done.
It can hardly be stated truthfully that Chrystia Freeland has “been a bit player” in contemporary political history in Canada:
The link from my previous post opens with the following statement:
“In 2017, Freeland played a key role in the creation of the Lima Group, an alliance between Canada, right-wing governments in Latin America that came together to push ‘regime change’ in Venezuela. Incidentally, Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil in the world. It nationalized its natural gas resources in 1971 and nationalized its oil industry in 1976. That is a mortal sin to oligarchs and multinational petroleum corporations, and explains why even if the US is not officially a member of the Lima Group, “Freeland has ensured that the Lima Group will act in Washington’s interests and advance North American imperial power in the region”.”
Moreover, the opening statements in a linked article to the above state:
The US State Department boasted in a declassified memo in March 2017 that Canada had adopted an “America first” foreign policy.
The cable was authored just weeks after the centrist government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Chrystia Freeland as foreign minister. The former editor of the major international news agency Reuters, Freeland has pushed for aggressive policies against states targeted by Washington for regime change, including Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Syria, and Iran.
The State Department added that Trudeau had promoted Freeland “in large part because of her strong U.S. contacts,” and that her “number one priority” was working closely with Washington.
Does this represent the profile of a “bit player”?
I would argue that the “shift so desperately needed” is not continued reliance on neoliberalism but an adoption of practical and visionary alternatives to capitalism. Our future depends on it!
We are in agreement, but the shift that I’m talking about, the one that’s so desperately needed is the one where many MORE women like Chrystia are in power. I am certainly NOT saying that she is a bit player; I’m saying that women in general always have been and relatively speaking, still are. Again, statistics….
But here’s another good link on the “marginal revolution” that neoliberalism is:
https://evonomics.com/how-to-disguise-racism-and-oligarchy-use-the-language-of-economics/
more women like freeland?! haha! and more women like clinton. dear, warm and loving motherly types, eh? so, you are fine with the nastiness, just so long as it comes from females?
thank you, imo. the links you have provided are eye-bugging.
you are irrational at times…and this is one of those moments for you. did you not read the links that place freeland squarely in the loop of neo-liberalism, and a good step above little boy trudeau? and you would want her to become pm – why? – because she is a woman. and karla homolka for deputy pm (i am assuming she still is a female).
exactly
There always two sides to every story. Before we totally demonize Putin and deify Ukraine, it would be wise to remember that since 2014 Ukraine has killed thousands of ethnic Russians in the Donbas region of Ukraine instead of offering them the democratic right to rejoin Russia. Secondly, since 1996 NATO has added 14 nations to the alliance to further crowd Russia’s border with Europe. I am sure that if the positions were reversed, and it was the NATO nations being encircled, they too might feel a tad threatened.
It does not excuse the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it does provide some more perspective on the background to these events.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-michael-ignatieff-on-war-in-ukraine/
Putin is a monster.
How will Ignatieff’s support of the military industrial complex bring resolution to this conflict and many others around the word?
Fair enough. He does come across as classic armchair ivory tower type. I responded to “the howl of the woman in the graveyard.” Maybe he’s tempered his views in his dotage.
of course – the leopard that changed his spots. that makes sense.
so is ignatieff
The king of false equivalencies….
what?! you know nothing about ignatieff, do you. if you did, you would know when to quit.