 |
| Silverfiddle Rant! |
Why are Democrats (and neocon GOP) hell bent on war with Russia?
What aspects of the Russian government and Russian nation make Russia a threat to the US and our interests?
Back in the old Soviet Union days, it was pretty simple: democracy v. communism, freedom v. totalitarianism, Judeo-Christianity v. atheism, etc.
Now, Russia is a democracy, Orthodox Christian, and people can come and go freely.
So, what makes Democrats have blood in their eyes for Putin and Russia?
Has Russia and Putin become a totem used by the left and right to troll each other?
Related questions:
What soured post-cold war US-Russia relations?
Should Georgia and Ukraine join Nato? Why or why not?
Did we bring in nations to Nato that we should not have?
Is Russia's beef with Nato's eastern encroachment legitimate? Why or why not?
Are we in a new cold war with Russia? Should we be?
How could we deescalate?
Please listen to the last 20 minutes of this podcast. Marshall and Saager of The Realignment talk to a Hollywood screenwriter and former CIA agent specializing in the Soviet Union. They discuss possible roots of this potential new cold war, and how we could deescalate.
Can an intelligent discussion be had with anyone that actually believes Russia is a democracy?
ReplyDeleteFood for though. Democratic is a broad term, and that has never been a standard of good/back for western nations to judge whether other nations are worthy of cooperation and trade.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/14/more-than-half-of-countries-are-democratic/
There probably aren't many faster ways to get jailed or assassinated in Russia than to either lead an opposition political party or try to start a church. The framing of this topic here bears little connection to reality.
DeleteImportant caveat: lead a real opposition party. Putin's people tolerate (fund, even) a circus opposition for appearances' sake.
DeleteTrue enough.
DeleteAnother thing important to this topic is that when the Soviet Union collapsed and became the Russian Federation, they themselves recognized Ukrainian political and territory sovereignty which included Crimea. Even Russia tried to join NATO. This is reality.
What's not reality is the idea that NATO has any obligation to subscribe to Putin's delusions that there exists any Russian deciding vote on who can become a member of the NATO alliance.
If our leaders had any balls, they would tell Putin how farcically insulting it is to regard his little kleptocracy as relevant, and that if the wind shifts and anyone in Ukraine catches a whiff of their nasty dill-and-vodka breath crossing the border we will incinerate every god-damned one of them.
@(((Thought Criminal))) There are many churches now in Russia. Many are Greek Orthodox; Putin is a church goer. Isn't that a laugh!
DeleteVladimir Putin in Church Every Christmas
sorry did something wrong ...
Deletehere: https://gorthodox.com/en/news-item/president-vladimir-putin-in-church-every-christmas
TC said:
Delete"Look closer into religious freedoms in Russia."
Let's look a little closer into that.
@ Elizabeth, They aren't "Greek Orthodox", they are "Russian Orthodox" with their own Patriarch -Catholics, think of/as mini-Pope-.
IMO, It might be wiser to remember Henry XIII and the Church of England with Putin taking the place of Henry XIII, -abet behind the scenes- and the Patriarch taking the role of a corrupt Archbishop of Canterbury.
Putin has given them back their churches and elevated their status and I doubt that there is anything the "Church" would not do if Putin wills it so. I think of them as another Russian criminal enterprise.
After all, we're taking about Russia were subterfuge, paranoia and intrigue, are a way of life and the iron fist rules. --It would be a shame if your church burnt down. I offer fire insurance at a very reasonable cost. You do me a favor and I'll do one for you.--
Uuuuh, that should be VIII, as in 8th (not XIII)
DeleteExactly, Warren. Of all the places in the world that don't quite measure up to the gold standard of freedoms of religion enjoyed by Americans, Russia is barely more tolerant than the Taliban.
DeleteI'd say they meet the copper plated red brick standard.
DeleteI stand corrected Warren. You are correct. My point was only to show that Putin goes to church but will invade Ukraine eventually and kill God knows how many innocence, but hahahaha he goes to church. He must secretly belong to the Mafia too as they would kill and then go to church. It's a joke how sick that is.
DeleteTC is correct to point out that Russia's democracy is an illusion. Not only do they fail to count ballots fairly (I mean, really not fairly), Putin's opponents are frequently murdered.
ReplyDeleteInternationally, Russia is beligerent. She threatend to invade her immediate neighbours often, she performs pointedly clumsy assassinations on foreign soil, and she exerts influence all around the world, interfering with elections and referenda (at least digitally). I actually believe she hosted bot farms attacking both candidates in your recent elections - she may have favoured Trump, but only marginally. The aim is not to install her preferred President but to demonstrate the weakness of your democratic system.
I think Georgia and Ukraine should be able to join Nato if they want to, and I don't think Russia has a legitimate say in the matter.
We (I'm thinking of Europe) could deescalate by letting Russia run another gas pipeline into Germany, but I don't know if that's a good idea. Russia is not above leveraging fuel supply to political ends. I think there's a strong argument that Europe should not deescalate, but I'll listen to the podcast. (I recently listened to doomsday watch with Arthur Snell -- if that link doesn't work, it's the edition called "What Putin Wants").
I do think Putin thinks in cold-war terms: he's so thoroughly KGB, it's almost like he was cryogenically frozen in the 80s and recently revived. The world has changed, but it suits Putin to return to the old dynamic; we should be mindful of that.
No adversary wags the dog better than Russia.
ReplyDeleteThere was no compromise promised and no alteration of the tactics the Communists have adopted from the first of reserving the right of the tail to wag the dog.
Delete— P. J. Philip, The New York Times, 7 Dec. 1936
It's hard to maintain your global corporatist empire when the Russians can prevent you from getting your gas supplies from a cheaper and more "competitive" source than the Russians themselves. Besides, it might give the Chinese the bad idea that they could shut down their global market competitors, too.
DeleteTrillions to Boeing/Lockheed Martin, but not another penny for Russians!
DeleteShow Raytheon some love too.
DeleteNever send soldiers to do the job of a Tomahawk missile tipped with a nuclear warhead.
Buy American... or ELSE, Europe!
DeleteExactly. We can make up deficiencies in firepower caused by the lack of large European militaries with nuclear bombs. It's their fault, really.
DeleteMercantilism works so well. Just ask the British whether or not China still buys all their surplus Opium at the point of an HMS warship's muzzle.
Deletebtw - Funny how China manages to smuggle all that Fentanyl into the US now, huh? Pretty soon it'll be arriving as official cargo loaded off Chinese visiting warships. All it will take is Hunter's signature on a new contract.
btw - The legal authority of treaty's supercede the Constitution.
DeleteChina to US... "Buy our Fentanyl or ELSE!"
DeleteRussia to Ukraine..."Sell US your gas, or ELSE!"
DeleteWhich dog, do you think, has the bigger tail?
DeleteI say we make Raytheon and other corporations maintain their OWN armies again. Otherwise, the US Navy is just so much "corporate welfare".
Deletebtw - Funny how China manages to smuggle all that Fentanyl into the US now, huh?
DeleteYou spelled Mexico incorrectly.
I know, I know... but where are the aggregate efficiencies in THAT?
DeleteMexico produces Fentanyl? Who knew... the smuggling pirate b*stards!
Delete:P
Deletebtw - Anybody here have any clue as to what the US gets from Ukraine worth dying for?
DeleteI mean, if the US REALLY wants to pursue a policy of mercantilism... the least we should do is make a few bucks from it.
Delete...after all, everyone ELSE is.
Deletebtw - Anybody here have any clue as to what the US gets from Ukraine worth dying for?
DeleteBesides the ancillary perks of glorious mounds of Russian dead we can enjoy viewing over and over with popcorn, if anyone is to be sheriff it should be us.
The sheriff shouldn't work for free. I say we lend Ukraine the 82nd Airborne in return for a 20% royalty on all European gas sales.
Delete...in perpetuity.
DeleteSeems kinda steep. I mean, we'd be killing Russians, not people that matter.
DeleteThe real question to be asked is does Ukraine have the right to take back Crimea and crush the Donbas insurgency?
DeleteYes, and give them a border with Kazakhstan too.
Joe has nailed it. Western nations do business with horrible tyrants worldwide. Putin's great crime is not letting the global power elites in on his kleptocracy.
ReplyDelete++++^
DeleteOh poor widdle Putin. Did his Rrumpy Wimpy fall down to boom? Awwww.
ReplyDelete*Trumpy Wumpy
ReplyDelete:P
Deletehttps://youtu.be/i9qv8RSreIM
DeleteSomebody keep me safe from the scary man...!
Delete...and please don't talk about Brandon... :P
Delete