Putin’s War – There is No Place for Violence in a Modern World
Yesterday, watching a special presentation of Mr. Zelinskyy’s comedy show Servant of the People (on Vision TV Tuesday to Thursday at 10:00 PM or streaming on VisionTV.ca and Netflix).
Lyn and I lamented at the stark differences in Kyiv then and now.
Though life imitates art in this case, Putin imitates atrocities of WW2. First, annexation of the Crimea (akin to the Austrian Anschluss), now the expansion into Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine (like the Sudetenland, German speaking parts of Czechoslovakia). Would Putin then seize the rest of Ukraine as Hitler did the rest of Czechoslovakia?
Why are we not learning from past errors and misjudgment?
Everyone must be careful when a nut has the nuclear codes. As with Trump threatening the destruction of North Korea, Putin is threatening anyone who interferes with his intentions. In the US, there is a mechanism for ousting someone like this, sadly not the case in Russia. So now, aside from the suffering of the Ukraine peoples, Russian peoples are also suffering. Though the oligarchs (and Ukraine has them too) still enjoy their caviar-topped canapes but the average people are paying the price.
China and India continue trade with Russia. Does economic self interest really trump [I hate that word] doing what is right? Would Putin’s foray embolden China to and its stated interests / intentions on Taiwan?
Exercised in the interest of peace, China, India and other less impactful states, could collectively exercise their economic power to dampen Russia’s aspirations. Lets hope that saner and less destructive sensibilities prevail, soon.
Put this conflict to an end. There is no need for violence and certainly no need for atrocities. Unfortunately, it is presently difficult to get this messaging to the Russian peoples. Had they opportunity for informed decision making, things would be different.
End the veto power of all Security Council members otherwise it is simply a way to license Russia and others with veto powers, e.g., China and, yes, the US too, to do mischief in their own self-interest, real or perceived.
Though one really has to look hard for the silver lining in these (war) clouds, at least a diminished reliance on fossil fuels in Europe, and perhaps worldwide, could have positive effects on climate change.