Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy--or of a collective death-wish for the world. - JFK https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/american-university-19630610
I saw the Pearl Harbor museum the first year they opened it. I would love to be in Hawaii, live in George Harrison's old house on Maui. My parents got hooked on Mi Ty's when they they were there. We're all heretics, blaspheming someone's beliefs. Obama was a "heretic", just today. Barry's my age, even though he's been pissing me off, I was proud of him for speaking his mind, which lawyers rarely do. afraid of mistakes they are. I wonder if he finally got gonads following Tulsi's lead. All one has to do is POP THIS ZIT, and move along.....
My wife and I supported Tulsi for president from her campaign inception. She was in the Democratic debates and after she took Kamala Harris out via debate (Kamala dropped out of the democratic race a week or so later) she was no longer allowed in the debates. The DNC kept moving the goal posts to prevent her from debating.
Electronic voting in the United States involves several types of machines: touch screens for voters to mark choices, scanners to read paper ballots, scanners to verify signatures on envelopes of absentee ballots, and web servers to display tallies to the public. Aside from voting, there are also computer systems to maintain voter registrations and display these electoral rolls to polling place staff.
_________________
All these computing systems used in voting must be open source programs. Like Bit Coin (completely open source) they are secure. Programmers can examine the code and look for back doors. There are many ways this type of code provides greater security than propitiatory code. No back doors and if someone gets into the cookie jar they leave a trail.
Manipulated districts means manipulated elections which means the manipulation of government policies. This is why we need MoveToAmend.org #MoveToAmend #EndCorporateRule #MoneyIsNotSpeech Get money out of politics! Stop the purchase of seats in government.
and should headcount for districting include (1) only citizens, or (2) illegal immigrants ... important question as states like CA and NY have extra congressional seats due to counting of illegal immigrants in the census -- without the designation of "are you a citizen?"
The constitution says nothing about not counting non-citizens. It did specify that slaves would count only 5/8, I believe. An accurate count is more important than asking citizenship questions.
aaaand, what "really happened" to Joseph P Kennedy? Remote aircraft testing? Peenemünde? I am at a loss, mob, bootleg booze, its all VICE. Saturn rockets.....space program, going to the moon. Wernher von Braun. Mystery is a mild word for it all.
I am not sure what you mean by rational thought? This is what I mean...
In the field of rational thinking, aka rational emotive therapy, aka cognitive behavior therapy, there is a particular homework assignment that can be helpful in building skill in rational thinking. Rational thinking is a higher brain function and it’s typically not taught in public or private schools. The closest you have come to rational thinking has been in science and math classes where evidence and proof are principle guidelines. https://openmindcounseling.com/rational-thinking/
Rational thinking is based on evidence and proof. The very opposite of what we see today. For me this has been in short supply since the assassination of JFK, MLK, RFK and many more who are merely road kill but still were working rationally for the benefit of the Earth and all of life.
When rationality returns we will see those running for public office who are not rich or connected to wealth. They will be of the people, and who understand the need for life (which can only be had via health in body mind and environment) liberty and pursuit of happiness. A world not controlled by the oligarchs.
I feeling a sense of hope in the midst of this ocean of negativity. Why? Because Tulsi Gabbard has stepped out of the shadows and is making her voice heard.
Periodically I’ve heard her thoughtful comments and ideas on Joe Rogan. And now I’m getting her intelligent, thought provoking e-mails and I’ve subscribed to her Substack.
Please don’t quit Tulsi. You know how nasty the MSM can be. Especially when new ideas don’t agree with their narrative. So steel yourself for battle. Because there are millions of us who want you to succeed.
What applicable words spoken 59 years ago by a President who had faced such a near catastrophe less than a year before! These words need to be posted and re-posted until our elected officials get it...
But the current crop of politicians will never "get it". They are 100% captured by their donors. 100% of Democrats voted to escalate the war. The only solution vote them out. You know, Democracy.
Carefully consider the following. In the last presidential election we had a choice. It was Biden and Trump. The question IS THIS THE BEST WE THE PEOPLE OF THE USA CAN DO? These two are the very best people for the job of president of the USA? I seriously doubt that.
Mr. President, we and you ought not now to pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the tighter that knot will be tied. And a moment may come when that knot will be tied so tight that even he who tied it will not have the strength to untie it, and then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and what that would mean is not for me to explain to you, because you yourself understand perfectly of what terrible forces our countries dispose.
Consequently, if there is no intention to tighten that knot and thereby to doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war, then let us not only relax the forces pulling on the ends of the rope, let us take measures to untie that knot. We are ready for this.
— Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy, October 26, 1962
That could not be more appropriate for this moment in history.
Here’s another prescient condemnation of the censorship that is turning our republic into a totalitarian thought police state:
“In 1946 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution reading in part, ‘freedom of information is a fundamental human right, and the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.’ This is our touchstone as well. This is the code of the Voice of America. We welcome the view of others. We seek a free flow of information across national boundaries and oceans, across iron curtains and stone walls. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
—President John F. Kennedy, Address on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America, February 26, 1962
I used that as the epigraph to the following piece, which people can send to their legislators and anyone else in their efforts to combat censorship and raise awareness about its dangers:
From a time when even Democrats had sensibilities. Unfortunately, today's administration is a clear example of the very "evidence of the bankruptcy of our policy."
JFK stood for all of us. He brought us together and instilled hope in us. He was not provided the opportunity to extend his stay beyond his two short years as President. He was an unafraid leader who faced down Russian nuclear threats, envisioned a man on the moon and preached equality. After his death, and through the years his leadership might of made an impact, civil unrest heightened to a frenzy. I often wonder what our nation would be like if John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy had survived assassination attempts unscathed. I imagine our country might be in a different place where the economic benefits of equality extended to all the children of that era. Not just the privileged few.
Joe Biden never showed great intelligence. He was painfully mediocre in his Senate Carreer. Now he is demonstrably senile. He is teleprompted by Ron Klain and Susan Rice. None of them admit to US pressure in Ukraine antagonizing Russia since 2014 or understand the consequences of backing Putin , with his Tsarist historical view, into a corner. Its terrifying to have these folks making decisions, existential to humanity.
JFK's words are as relevant today as they were when he first spoke them. His speech at American University is a timeless classic. Every American should hear his words. It is said that they aired it unedited in the USSR because it was such a powerful message of hope and peace.
I remember those 13 days in October. Too young to really comprehend the consequences of nuclear war. President K. stood tall. Thanks and gratitude to him. 🚢🇺🇸
Sad commentary that we no longer have anyone in the White House or Congress who thinks two steps ahead, even when our survival depends on it. "Collective death wish", indeed - or terminal stupidity.
Well, Tulsi, you certainly make the case for the continued incoherence of U.S. foreign policy. You were polite enough to not even mention Biden's desire to renew a faux-nuclear deal with Iran. And having a cognitively impaired President at a time like this makes the chances of a miscalculation that much greater. We all wonder who is really behind his policies.
But I don't think it's that simple. Putin doesn't talk much about a NATO buffer. He talks more about Greater Russia, about Peter the Great, about Catherine, about reinvigorating Russia's (geographic) greatness. He bombs his own people to instigate an invasion of Chechnya, then invades Georgia. Something like 6 oligarchs have mysteriously committed suicide in the last year. People are poisoned. Shot. Disappear. It's a one man show. For all the U.S. sins, Russia under Putin really is an evil regime. And history tells us not to be so afraid of war that it becomes inevitable. I don't like just rolling over.
My second point is a concern for countries like the Baltic Nations, Ukraine, Moldova even Poland. Don't they have a right to govern themselves, however imperfectly? To join the EU if they wish? Like we're in a position to criticize Ukrainian corruption - we have plenty of our own. I was just over there(Baltics and Finland) - Ukrainian flags everywhere. They are terrified of the Russians. To treat the aspirations of all these peoples who have the bad luck to be near Russia as unimportant because Russia needs a "buffer" strikes me as the height of imperialism.
I think your strongest case is for the lack of an off-ramp. Macron tried and he was ridiculed. To me the obvious solution is to let Russia keep Crimea, which was part of Russia until 1956, give the rest back to Ukraine, and allow the litoral regions - up to a point that Ukraine agrees to, to vote to join Russia or Ukraine, and adjust the borders modestly accordingly.
We have many many problems in our own hemisphere and country. The days of playing cop to the world are long over to any learning person. By the way, weren't similar arguments used to go into Iraq and get that evil dictator Saddam who was killing his own people. How'd that work out for us. And he didn't have nukes not even WMDs as it turned out.
I only wish that my Iowa Senators candidates would read this quote. Senator Chuck Grassley voted to fund Ukraine until in his words, "forever" and is only concern about American taxpayers cost of not being in a state of war. His challenger, Admiral Michael Franken actually wants to send unarmed American troops into Ukraine to support the war effort. It's crazy.
Kennedy had the best speechwriters of any modern President, but that resulted in his success in getting his point across. Contrast this with the jingoistic remarks of many politicians today, on both sides, no doubt kowtowing to their political supporters and showing how tough they are. And how foolish. Weakening the military while simultaneously feeding the military-industrial complex is a unique and possibly disastrous feat in the face of China's buildup. At the same time the Biden administration turns the armed forces into a social enterprise while saber-rattling on Russia's border. Has no one ever heard of quiet strength? One can only imagine how this looks to our adversaries. Almost without question they recognize the utility of nuclear weapons as a strategic playing card, but with our present leadership they know they'll not require their use in order to overwhelm us.
Thank you. All these tough-guy keyboard warriors with their cavalier attitude towards possible nuclear war need to get their heads out of their asses, or just get out of the way and let the adults lead.
or a senile driver, behind the wheel, in both countries. People that learned from history, are doomed to watch those that did not, repeat the same mistakes. A sign in my Army unit said. "War is old men, sending young men, to die for them."
In November he became a victim of the Military Industrial Complex that has led us into numerous unjust, unnecessary wars. There never was a war the weapons manufacturers didn't like.
Joe Biden... To cover-up the reprehensible vileness of his avarice, greed and soullessness (sins he has passed on to his child and immediate family) is willing to engage in nuclear brinkmanship, economic suicide and moral bankruptcy. I plead with any liberal who has a shred of decency left to abandon the democrat party and shatter the Evil of their Death Cult at the ballot box in 21 days. Suffer ye the future of your own children.
After observing that we must have a strong military to deter aggression, President Dwight Eisenhower, in his Farewell Address to the Nation, wrote “we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.”
But that’s not all.
Right after that, in observing that science and technology are now developed in large institutions, with large sums of money being expended, he wrote:
“The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present—and is gravely to be regarded.
“Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”
Today, in three life-altering areas, we find ourselves captive to scientific-technological elites that themselves have merged with Federal domination, money, and power:
1) In government’s experts’ mandates on dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 virus,
2) In government’s experts extensive regulation of the economy and its endless manipulation of interest rates and the money supply (the Fed), and
3) In government’s experts’ mandates on dealing with climate change.
Regarding these points:
1) In my Substack "The Menelaus Gambit (Seeing Beneath the Illusions)", you will find extensive explanations of how the government went wrong dealing with Covid-19 illnesses.
Even more important, my pinned post, "A Fuller View of Natural Anti-Infectives," gives you many ways to ward off infections in the first place.
3) Regarding climate change, I count eight or nine factors affecting climate, yet all the warming effects from those factors are lumped together and attributed to carbon dioxide alone, greatly exaggerating its effects. Meanwhile, the cooling effects are ignored. Look for a coming post on that. By subscribing, which is free, you will be sure to get it.
Back in the late 40s, when there was strong public sentiment to establish international governing structures to prevent world war, the following resolution-
Concurrent Resolution 56 provides a window into U.S. government foreign policy of the time. It was sponsored by U.S.Senator Charles W. Tobey of New Hampshire, and co-sponsored by dozens of legislators on both sides of the aisle including Senator Humphrey and a young congressman John F. Kennedy. Also during this period, 22 states adopted similar resolutions.
Concurrent Resolution 56
"Resolved by the Senate (with House concurring) that it is the sense of the Congress that it should be the fundamental objective of the foreign policy of or the U.S. to support and strengthen the U.N. and to seek its development into a world federation open to all nations with defined and limited powers adequate to preserve peace and prevent aggression through the enactment ,interpretation and enforcement of world law"
Agreed. You hit on a really key point that is central to the discussion. We just can no longer afford to be an “imperial power” even if we want to be. Still, I think about how this plays out. Japan and South Korea would have to dramatically beef up their militaries, probably including nukes. Iran will go nuclear, so expect the Saudis, Qataris and Turks to do likewise. Europe’s economy is the same size as ours, and they should provide for their own defense, no question. But pretty soon you’re back to large militaries in Germany, France and Russia. In this environment, WWIII is only a matter of time. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pull back. We have to. But that’s what I see emerging in 2-3 decades.
JFK spoke of secret societies and Bi BI's boys stole centrifuges for israel. JFK knew, they blew his head off. I think Jackie was chasing her revolver off the trunk, but that's just me. She was the closest person to him to have a lethal shot. Don't hate me, it just a theory.
Yup, the political bankruptcy of our foreign and domestic policies, our morality, our intelligence, our education, our health and our fiat currency. However sovereign individuals have the capacity to create, support and act with morality, intelligence, education, health and exchange with others with integrity, compassion and gracefulness.
It is ironic that it was JFK who last brought ourselves to the brink of a nuclear war, considering this quote. When dealing with a power like Putin, it does change how we should act. Should we back off and reduce the risk of a nuclear confrontation, or should we hold our ground? The risks are devastatingly high if we hold our ground. But if we back off, who is to say that this new Hitler won't continue to invade other countries?
But the war has already begun. And Putin started it. He is doing exactly what Hitler did when he started World War II. I am not saying that we should fight him, as the nuclear threat is a real one. Frankly, I don't know that either option is safe.
There have been at least 17 invasions of countries by other countries during just past 20 years. Not including civil wars. Look it up online. Using your own words, they all did "exactly what Hitler did". But you'll use the 'Hitler' trope when applied to this one.
There have been a lot of horrible wars all throughout history. And I don't support the US being the "police chief" and getting involved in every war and skirmish that comes along. And I am not sure that I support this one, either. But of all of the "Hitlers" out there, none have been in such a powerful position as Putin, and none have threatened nuclear war and could effectively carry it out like he could. What is your answer? Should we just bail and let the Ukrainians handle it on their own?
I actually lived through that. It seems we have forgotten a bit of history. Russia was installing missiles in Cuba. JFK said NO! We have been for decades moving NATO Closer and closer to Russia's door step. Putin talked with us many times telling us we needed to stop.
We kept going. Putin stated Ukraine (like Cuba for the US) was a no go. The US and Nato sponsored the coup in Ukraine installing Zelensky. The republics of Crimea, Luhansk people's republic, Donetsk people's republic seceded from Ukraine as a result of the US/Nato coup.
The US/Nato began supplying arms to Zelensky who began shelling the Donetsk region shortly after his installation as leader in Ukraine. As a result Russia invaded the Donetsk region as requested by Luhansk and Donetsk republics in Feb 2022.
There is no doubt in my mind that Cuba is in the US sphere of influence Just as Ukraine is in the Russian sphere of influence. This is how I see it (with very small overview of history) having lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I appreciate your thoughts, wilnav. It is having discussions like this and sharing information with each other that will help provide understanding. I am not convinced, though, that the regions you mention requested to be invaded. If you have links to share to support that I would be interested in reading them.
So, Russia was trying to plant nukes in Cuba, hence why JFK made a stand. Has the US and/or NATO tried to do that in the Ukraine? I could possibly understand Putin's invasion if that were true.
I stumbled on this info on Gas found in the Ukraine controlled black sea. I then compiled a time line of sorts at that time which was a while ago. What follows is a beginning to answer your questions.
July 2013 Ukraine Black Sea Gas, Euromaidan November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014,
Feb 24, 2022 special military operation declared by Russia in Ukraine Donbas
Good day all,
A time line for the current Ukraine and SMO of Russia.
1) Gas some oil found off the Black Sea coast of Ukraine, Jul 19, 2013
2) Euromaidan November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014
So the coup starts 6 months after finding Gas. The coup puts Zelensky etal in power. Zelensky starts borrowing money, and the West starts building up Ukraine's military so it can take back the republics of Lugansk Donetsk and Crimea.
Since the Russian SMO what collateral does the Ukraine have to borrow so much from the IMF? Why did the IMF loan any money to the already deeply in debt Ukraine? Why is the US so heavily invested in support of the Ukraine? Why is the EU shooting itself in the foot regarding energy? None of this made any sense to me.
Unless the EU was told by US and Ukraine that all the gas they would ever need is in the gas field off the Ukraine coast. Then it makes some kind of sense what is happening. Support Ukraine and make it an EU member after defeating Russia and the gas is the EUs. Also helps explain why the US is all dug in and NATO/EU too as well as UK in defeating Russia. Without the pipe dream of Ukrainian Gas none of this makes any sense to me. Links follow.
The first well drilled by Chornomornaftogaz and Shelton Canada in the Black Sea near Odessa discovered gas, according to reports from the area.
KIEV, Ukraine -- The first well drilled by Chornomornaftogaz and Shelton Canada in the Black Sea near Odessa discovered gas, according to reports from the area.
The Biryuchya Zakhidnyy 1, 50 km offshore on the northwest shelf of the Sea of Azov, encountered an estimated 350 Bcf of gas. The drilling objective was Cretaceous sandstones, with a planned TD of 1,700 m.
Bottom Line: We see a flurry of activity in Ukraine, with a $735 million Black Sea commitment by Exxon, an unexpected 100 million barrel oil find in the Poltava region and new estimates that the country could achieve annual gas production of 45 billion cubic meters by 2020.
Analysis: First, Ukraine’s state-run oil and gas company Naftogaz on 11 July announced the discovery of an oil field in the eastern/central Poltava region that reportedly contains some 13 million tons of oil, or 100 million barrels of oil. This is the biggest oil find in Ukraine in a decade and a half. The Budishchansko-Chutovskoye oil field is fully owned by Naftogaz, and is the only field fully owned by the state-run company.
The news for Ukraine gets even better this week, though. Exxon Mobil Corp is ready to invest $735 million to drill two deep-water wells offshore Ukraine in the Black Sea ($335 million in a signing bonus for the government and a $400 million commitment for seismic surveys and drilling). This is an amazing show of confidence by Exxon in Ukraine’s Black Sea.
Finally, ExxonMobil has given Ukraine another public boost with a new estimate that the country’s onshore and offshore gas reserves could help it reach production of 45 billion cubic meters by 2020.
Recommendation: We suggest very closely monitoring Exxon’s progress as it prepares to explore in Ukraine’s Black Sea, in the deep marine Skifiske gas field. (Right…
Brief time line of Ukraine and Russian engagement and a possible why it happened at all
1) Gas some oil found of the Black Sea coast of Ukraine, Jul 19, 2013
2) Euromaidan November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014
So the coup starts 6 months after finding Gas. The coup puts Zelensky etal in power. Zelensky starts barowing money, and the West starts building up Ukraine's military so it can take back the republics of Lugansk Donetsk and Crimea.
My question since the SMO is why and what collateral the Ukraine had to borrow so much from the IMF? Why did the IMF loan any money to the already deeply in debt Ukraine. Why is the US (as you mention, an unreasonable hatred for Russia) so heavily invested in support of the Ukraine? Why is the EU shooting itself in the foot regarding energy? None of this made any sense to me.
Unless the EU was told by US and Ukraine that all the gas they would ever need is in the gas field off the Ukraine coast. Then it makes some kind of sense what is happening. Support the Ukraine and make an EU member after deafting Russia and the gas is the EUs. Also helps explain why the US is all dug in and NATO/EU too as well as UK in defeating Russia. Without the pipe dream of Ukraineian Gas none of this makes any sense to me.
You are welcome. Did you read the second post. It overlaps a bit in the beginning the completes the time line. Substack said the first attempt and posting was to long so I broke into two.
Ukraine ‘discovers’ vast gas deposit…already found in the 1980s
A Ukrainian exploration vessel has 'discovered' a huge gas field in the Black Sea. However, it turns out the field was already found by the Soviet Union 30 years ago.
"The fact that Ukraine once again began to search for oil and gas on the shelf of the Black Sea indicates a titanic shift in exploration work by the country. According to our estimates, gas reserves amounting to at least 40 billion cubic meters in an area of 7,000 square meters," said Ukrainian Minister for Mineral Resources Nikolay Boyarkin.
According to Boyarkin, Ukraine has enough resources to satisfy its gas needs and can produce it on its own.
However, it turns out the deposits near Snake Island in the Black Sea were discovered in the 1980s by Soviet explorers. Moreover, the rights for these resources have been disputed by Ukraine and Romania, and in 2009 the International Court of Justice ruled for Romania, leaving Kiev with only 12 miles around the island.
The background and implications of the 2014 far-right coup in Kiev, which overthrew the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, is critical for understanding the current Ukraine-Russia war. This coup was openly supported by US and European imperialism and implemented primarily by far-right shock troops such as the Right Sector and the neo-Nazi Svoboda Party.
It represented the temporary culmination of long-standing efforts by US imperialism to install a puppet regime on the borders of Russia and brought the world a major step closer to a war between the largest nuclear powers, the US and Russia. Ukraine has since been systematically built up as a launching pad for a NATO war against Russia.
Euromaidan, or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv. The protests were sparked by the Ukrainian government's sudden decision not to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.Wikipedia
Date:November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014 (year, 3month, week and day)
After the 2014 coup in Kyiv, the people of the peninsula voted in a referendum to re-join Russia, a decision that most NATO members have not recognised.
The demonstrations which began in Kyiv in November 2013 – called "Maidan", or "Euromaidan" – were a result of the Ukrainian people's frustration with former President Yanukovych. The protesters' demands included constitutional reform, a stronger role for parliament, the formation of a government of national unity, an end to corruption, early presidential elections and an end to violence.
Ukraine's government changed its relations toward Russia after the latter illegally annexed Crimea, which is part of Ukraine, through a non-recognised referendum, announced on 27 February 2014, and held on gunpoint on 16 March 2014. The UN described it as not valid and stated that it could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. In its turn, the EU continues to strongly condemn this violation of international law and has responded by imposing restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.
How and why the U.S. Government Perpetrated the 2014 Coup in Ukraine
June 4, 2018 by Eric Zuesse
This will document that the ‘new Cold War’ between the U.S. and Russia did not start, as the Western myth has it, with Russia’s involvement in the breakaway of Crimea and Donbass from Ukraine, after Ukraine — next door to Russia — had suddenly turned rabidly hostile toward Russia in February 2014. Ukraine’s replacing its democratically elected neutralist Government in February 2014, by a rabidly anti-Russian Government, was a violent event, which produced many corpses. It’s presented in The West as having been a ‘revolution’ instead of a coup; but whatever it was, it certainly generated the ‘new Cold War’ (the economic sanctions and NATO buildup on Russia’s borders); and, to know whether it was a coup, or instead a revolution, is to know what actually started the ‘new Cold War’, and why. So, this is historically very important.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbass region to “defend people” there against government forces, stressing that Moscow has “no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory.”
...
In 2014, Ukraine’s two regions of Donetsk and Lugansk – collectively known as the Donbass – were turned into self-proclaimed republics by ethnic Russians, leading to a bloody conflict between the government forces and the armed separatists.
The conflict worsened following a wave of protests in Ukraine that led to the overthrow of a democratically-elected pro-Russia government, which was later replaced with a Western-backed administration. The majority in those areas refused to endorse the new administration.
More than 14,000 people have been killed so far.
Ukraine, as well as the European Union (EU) and the United States, claims that Russia has a hand in the conflict in the Donbass. Moscow denies the allegation.
On Monday, Putin signed a decree recognizing the breakaway Lugansk and Donetsk regions as independent republics. The recognition followed an address in which he referred to eastern Ukraine as “ancient Russian lands” being “managed by foreign powers.”
Then there is Gonzo Lira, one of the best observers of the Ukrain/SMO to be found and he is funny. He is also Pro Russian. Mostly this post if from the Russian side as it is easy to get the Wests point of view.
he Macro Picture: Gonzalo Lira on the Ukraine conflict’s broader contours and implications for all sides
The controversial commentator dissects the depths of the West's mistakes in its malign strategy toward Russia, but their arrogance is blinding them to the inevitable consequences.
I think the general consensus here is avoiding nuclear war is a bit more important than Biden's approval rating before the midterms. But for some reason, corporate media disagrees.
If by sycophant you mean reaffirming the value and necessity of diplomacy, then yes, I'm a sycophant for diplomatic solutions as opposed to MIC warmongering and a possible nuclear catastrophe
A question can be added to the Jim Nixon's. What kind of safety are they being offered that the average citizen is not. You only support the possibility to engage in nuclear war when you believe you will survive in good health.
In the 1950s and 1960s it was called MADD. But that was when we and the politicians believe we would all be destroyed. What has changed for our politicians???
Unfortunately, after listening to the rhetoric from Biden and his administration, it appears they’ve cast themselves as leads in a Charles Bronson movie.
Let’s trade bad bankers and apocalyptic decision makers for good bankers and eugenicists because we can trust the blockchain panopticon to keep us safe. Maybe I can earn enough tokens to eat if I follow the pathways they determine are best based on my genetic markers and all the data their pet AI has collected from social media about my personality type. Nudge me please, I want to be your faithful participation sensor.
My statement is in response to the structural changes Tulsi is ushering in that you’re completely unaware of. Dip beneath the surface, they’re world building without your consent, because you’re uniformed.
From the executive summary-
In Blockchain Revolution, we called for nothing less than a new social contract, which we called a “Declaration of Interdependence”—a phrase aptly coined during the Great Depression—because of the need for new multistakeholder approaches, whereby governments, the private sector, civil society, and individuals could forge and agree on new understandings and new action plans.
To recognize, realize, and enforce these rights, we need profound changes to our industrial institutions and infrastructures
including education, healthcare, labor unions, food supply chains, transportation and energy systems and, above all, governments. Networks enable citizens to participate fully in their own governance, and we can now move to a second era of democracy based on a culture of public deliberation and active citizenship. Mandatory voting encourages active, engaged, and responsible citizens.
Sounds good right? Sounds like you should trust them, only you and 99 percent of the people on this thread have no idea what your passively consenting to. You can cheer lead the sloganeers, or do your homework and move to a place of actually being informed by listening past the shiny sales pitch to see what the panopticon of surveillance capitalism really entails.
“To save civilization, I would show its collapse. But, how do you think this vision was received? How do you think people responded to the prospect of imminent doom? They gobbled it up like a chocolate eclair! They didn't fear their demise, they re-packaged it. It could be enjoyed as video-games, as TV shows, books, movies, the entire world wholeheartedly embraced the apocalypse and sprinted towards it with gleeful abandon.”
I hope Tulsi can make it to run for president in 2024. She is one of the few voices of sanity, morality and sound fiscal policies. I believe Tulsi along with the libertarians are not owned by corporations and could save this country internationally and domestically.!!!!
JFK would be roundly run out of today's two parties. He wouldn't fit in. He'd be called a heretic if not a traitor.
You mean he'd be assassinated.
Moot point. The DNC would kill him figuratively. Corp media would call him 'crazy'.
Yeah. That’s it.
Like Tulsi, right?
referring to what? Tulsi is a "girl" I'm old enough to be her dad, but what exactly? seriously.
Just saying that, like Tulsi, JFK would be smeared as a heretic by today's dems.
"Crackerbox Palace" we are living in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ac34Khe-fc
That's what's the deal we're dealin' in.....
I saw the Pearl Harbor museum the first year they opened it. I would love to be in Hawaii, live in George Harrison's old house on Maui. My parents got hooked on Mi Ty's when they they were there. We're all heretics, blaspheming someone's beliefs. Obama was a "heretic", just today. Barry's my age, even though he's been pissing me off, I was proud of him for speaking his mind, which lawyers rarely do. afraid of mistakes they are. I wonder if he finally got gonads following Tulsi's lead. All one has to do is POP THIS ZIT, and move along.....
Hi Tom,
My wife and I supported Tulsi for president from her campaign inception. She was in the Democratic debates and after she took Kamala Harris out via debate (Kamala dropped out of the democratic race a week or so later) she was no longer allowed in the debates. The DNC kept moving the goal posts to prevent her from debating.
This is what I believe Alohalan means.
I think I gave $50 to Tulsi's campaign, because she seemed like the only SANE person at the debate.
I agree.
as if the people currently seated in Congress were not traitors! We need to Break the duopoly. Work for openprimaries.org, fairvote.org, www.rankthevote.us & endgerrymandering.com
a quote from wikipedia:
Electronic voting in the United States involves several types of machines: touch screens for voters to mark choices, scanners to read paper ballots, scanners to verify signatures on envelopes of absentee ballots, and web servers to display tallies to the public. Aside from voting, there are also computer systems to maintain voter registrations and display these electoral rolls to polling place staff.
_________________
All these computing systems used in voting must be open source programs. Like Bit Coin (completely open source) they are secure. Programmers can examine the code and look for back doors. There are many ways this type of code provides greater security than propitiatory code. No back doors and if someone gets into the cookie jar they leave a trail.
It should be open to public inspection.
well said. gerrymandering. great word!
Manipulated districts means manipulated elections which means the manipulation of government policies. This is why we need MoveToAmend.org #MoveToAmend #EndCorporateRule #MoneyIsNotSpeech Get money out of politics! Stop the purchase of seats in government.
and should headcount for districting include (1) only citizens, or (2) illegal immigrants ... important question as states like CA and NY have extra congressional seats due to counting of illegal immigrants in the census -- without the designation of "are you a citizen?"
The constitution says nothing about not counting non-citizens. It did specify that slaves would count only 5/8, I believe. An accurate count is more important than asking citizenship questions.
No matter how many times I press the Like 👍 button, nothing happens.
profound.
aaaand, what "really happened" to Joseph P Kennedy? Remote aircraft testing? Peenemünde? I am at a loss, mob, bootleg booze, its all VICE. Saturn rockets.....space program, going to the moon. Wernher von Braun. Mystery is a mild word for it all.
Why is that a problem?
Riiiiiiiight. Time to cancel all roads named after JFK. Rational thought must be exterminated for the sake of The Party.
Hi Truth-monger,
I am not sure what you mean by rational thought? This is what I mean...
In the field of rational thinking, aka rational emotive therapy, aka cognitive behavior therapy, there is a particular homework assignment that can be helpful in building skill in rational thinking. Rational thinking is a higher brain function and it’s typically not taught in public or private schools. The closest you have come to rational thinking has been in science and math classes where evidence and proof are principle guidelines. https://openmindcounseling.com/rational-thinking/
Rational thinking is based on evidence and proof. The very opposite of what we see today. For me this has been in short supply since the assassination of JFK, MLK, RFK and many more who are merely road kill but still were working rationally for the benefit of the Earth and all of life.
When rationality returns we will see those running for public office who are not rich or connected to wealth. They will be of the people, and who understand the need for life (which can only be had via health in body mind and environment) liberty and pursuit of happiness. A world not controlled by the oligarchs.
I feeling a sense of hope in the midst of this ocean of negativity. Why? Because Tulsi Gabbard has stepped out of the shadows and is making her voice heard.
Periodically I’ve heard her thoughtful comments and ideas on Joe Rogan. And now I’m getting her intelligent, thought provoking e-mails and I’ve subscribed to her Substack.
Please don’t quit Tulsi. You know how nasty the MSM can be. Especially when new ideas don’t agree with their narrative. So steel yourself for battle. Because there are millions of us who want you to succeed.
Thank you for standing up for us, Tulsi!
About strange nude man attack on Pelosi: Paul Pelosi was most likely attacked by a male prostitute
An unavoidable conclusion about Paul Pelosi
1. Assailant in his underpants
2. Paul Pelosi knows his name and tells police he’s a “friend.”
3. Assailant asks “where’s Nancy?” to make sure she’s not home.
4. Pelosi takes bathroom break from spat and makes 911 call
Conclusion: This guy was a sex partner or male prostitute!
What applicable words spoken 59 years ago by a President who had faced such a near catastrophe less than a year before! These words need to be posted and re-posted until our elected officials get it...
But the current crop of politicians will never "get it". They are 100% captured by their donors. 100% of Democrats voted to escalate the war. The only solution vote them out. You know, Democracy.
Our current leaders are quislings. Who are their bosses?
- "Follow the money.
Good day Truth_monger,
Carefully consider the following. In the last presidential election we had a choice. It was Biden and Trump. The question IS THIS THE BEST WE THE PEOPLE OF THE USA CAN DO? These two are the very best people for the job of president of the USA? I seriously doubt that.
Letter to President John F Kennedy:
Mr. President, we and you ought not now to pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the tighter that knot will be tied. And a moment may come when that knot will be tied so tight that even he who tied it will not have the strength to untie it, and then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and what that would mean is not for me to explain to you, because you yourself understand perfectly of what terrible forces our countries dispose.
Consequently, if there is no intention to tighten that knot and thereby to doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war, then let us not only relax the forces pulling on the ends of the rope, let us take measures to untie that knot. We are ready for this.
— Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy, October 26, 1962
Keep the light shining Tulsi ! God Bless your insight and voice !
That could not be more appropriate for this moment in history.
Here’s another prescient condemnation of the censorship that is turning our republic into a totalitarian thought police state:
“In 1946 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution reading in part, ‘freedom of information is a fundamental human right, and the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.’ This is our touchstone as well. This is the code of the Voice of America. We welcome the view of others. We seek a free flow of information across national boundaries and oceans, across iron curtains and stone walls. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
—President John F. Kennedy, Address on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America, February 26, 1962
(https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkvoiceofamerica.htm)
I used that as the epigraph to the following piece, which people can send to their legislators and anyone else in their efforts to combat censorship and raise awareness about its dangers:
• “Letter to US Legislators: #DefundTheThoughtPolice” (https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/letter-to-us-legislators-defundthethoughtpolice)
Great quote - great moment in the video today when JFK's speech was mentioned. Thank you!
JFK had other great quotes that if said today would cancel him immediately.
You are a light emerging from the black hole that is the modern progressive Democratic Party. Thank you for your courage.
From a time when even Democrats had sensibilities. Unfortunately, today's administration is a clear example of the very "evidence of the bankruptcy of our policy."
JFK stood for all of us. He brought us together and instilled hope in us. He was not provided the opportunity to extend his stay beyond his two short years as President. He was an unafraid leader who faced down Russian nuclear threats, envisioned a man on the moon and preached equality. After his death, and through the years his leadership might of made an impact, civil unrest heightened to a frenzy. I often wonder what our nation would be like if John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy had survived assassination attempts unscathed. I imagine our country might be in a different place where the economic benefits of equality extended to all the children of that era. Not just the privileged few.
Great quote .
Spot on.
Joe Biden never showed great intelligence. He was painfully mediocre in his Senate Carreer. Now he is demonstrably senile. He is teleprompted by Ron Klain and Susan Rice. None of them admit to US pressure in Ukraine antagonizing Russia since 2014 or understand the consequences of backing Putin , with his Tsarist historical view, into a corner. Its terrifying to have these folks making decisions, existential to humanity.
You are too well informed, I call you a traitor or a bad person.
Russia was never defeated.
JFK's words are as relevant today as they were when he first spoke them. His speech at American University is a timeless classic. Every American should hear his words. It is said that they aired it unedited in the USSR because it was such a powerful message of hope and peace.
I remember those 13 days in October. Too young to really comprehend the consequences of nuclear war. President K. stood tall. Thanks and gratitude to him. 🚢🇺🇸
same
AMEN!!!!! Keep it up Tulsi. Millions of people are with you. Aloha!
Sad commentary that we no longer have anyone in the White House or Congress who thinks two steps ahead, even when our survival depends on it. "Collective death wish", indeed - or terminal stupidity.
Well, Tulsi, you certainly make the case for the continued incoherence of U.S. foreign policy. You were polite enough to not even mention Biden's desire to renew a faux-nuclear deal with Iran. And having a cognitively impaired President at a time like this makes the chances of a miscalculation that much greater. We all wonder who is really behind his policies.
But I don't think it's that simple. Putin doesn't talk much about a NATO buffer. He talks more about Greater Russia, about Peter the Great, about Catherine, about reinvigorating Russia's (geographic) greatness. He bombs his own people to instigate an invasion of Chechnya, then invades Georgia. Something like 6 oligarchs have mysteriously committed suicide in the last year. People are poisoned. Shot. Disappear. It's a one man show. For all the U.S. sins, Russia under Putin really is an evil regime. And history tells us not to be so afraid of war that it becomes inevitable. I don't like just rolling over.
My second point is a concern for countries like the Baltic Nations, Ukraine, Moldova even Poland. Don't they have a right to govern themselves, however imperfectly? To join the EU if they wish? Like we're in a position to criticize Ukrainian corruption - we have plenty of our own. I was just over there(Baltics and Finland) - Ukrainian flags everywhere. They are terrified of the Russians. To treat the aspirations of all these peoples who have the bad luck to be near Russia as unimportant because Russia needs a "buffer" strikes me as the height of imperialism.
I think your strongest case is for the lack of an off-ramp. Macron tried and he was ridiculed. To me the obvious solution is to let Russia keep Crimea, which was part of Russia until 1956, give the rest back to Ukraine, and allow the litoral regions - up to a point that Ukraine agrees to, to vote to join Russia or Ukraine, and adjust the borders modestly accordingly.
We have many many problems in our own hemisphere and country. The days of playing cop to the world are long over to any learning person. By the way, weren't similar arguments used to go into Iraq and get that evil dictator Saddam who was killing his own people. How'd that work out for us. And he didn't have nukes not even WMDs as it turned out.
Au contraire. Profiting from war IS their business.
I only wish that my Iowa Senators candidates would read this quote. Senator Chuck Grassley voted to fund Ukraine until in his words, "forever" and is only concern about American taxpayers cost of not being in a state of war. His challenger, Admiral Michael Franken actually wants to send unarmed American troops into Ukraine to support the war effort. It's crazy.
Thank you for that link. Good speech. Well worth the read
Kennedy had the best speechwriters of any modern President, but that resulted in his success in getting his point across. Contrast this with the jingoistic remarks of many politicians today, on both sides, no doubt kowtowing to their political supporters and showing how tough they are. And how foolish. Weakening the military while simultaneously feeding the military-industrial complex is a unique and possibly disastrous feat in the face of China's buildup. At the same time the Biden administration turns the armed forces into a social enterprise while saber-rattling on Russia's border. Has no one ever heard of quiet strength? One can only imagine how this looks to our adversaries. Almost without question they recognize the utility of nuclear weapons as a strategic playing card, but with our present leadership they know they'll not require their use in order to overwhelm us.
Thank you. All these tough-guy keyboard warriors with their cavalier attitude towards possible nuclear war need to get their heads out of their asses, or just get out of the way and let the adults lead.
His best: "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
Today, our leaders ask not what they can do for our country, but what can they do for Ukraine.
Sadly so very true. Billions to Ukraine, destroy EU and hot air for US citizens.
Tulsi- See Bob Dylan's "Murder most foul" video. The deep state killed JFK.
or a senile driver, behind the wheel, in both countries. People that learned from history, are doomed to watch those that did not, repeat the same mistakes. A sign in my Army unit said. "War is old men, sending young men, to die for them."
President John F Kennedy - Secret Society Speech. The secret society is the shadow goverment.
5:24 min https://youtu.be/xhZk8ronces
In November he became a victim of the Military Industrial Complex that has led us into numerous unjust, unnecessary wars. There never was a war the weapons manufacturers didn't like.
Joe Biden... To cover-up the reprehensible vileness of his avarice, greed and soullessness (sins he has passed on to his child and immediate family) is willing to engage in nuclear brinkmanship, economic suicide and moral bankruptcy. I plead with any liberal who has a shred of decency left to abandon the democrat party and shatter the Evil of their Death Cult at the ballot box in 21 days. Suffer ye the future of your own children.
Dear Tulsi,
Some people want to benefit financially from the war and they claim to be "progressives"
But you have the guts to tell the truth against the mad and rotten crowd.!
You are brave, sincere, strong and a beautiful soul!
You are not alone!
God Bless You
Very true. There always needs to be a stated exit plan for both sides. Humiliation isn't a win for anyone.
One good Presidential quote deserves another.
After observing that we must have a strong military to deter aggression, President Dwight Eisenhower, in his Farewell Address to the Nation, wrote “we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.”
But that’s not all.
Right after that, in observing that science and technology are now developed in large institutions, with large sums of money being expended, he wrote:
“The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present—and is gravely to be regarded.
“Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”
Today, in three life-altering areas, we find ourselves captive to scientific-technological elites that themselves have merged with Federal domination, money, and power:
1) In government’s experts’ mandates on dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 virus,
2) In government’s experts extensive regulation of the economy and its endless manipulation of interest rates and the money supply (the Fed), and
3) In government’s experts’ mandates on dealing with climate change.
Regarding these points:
1) In my Substack "The Menelaus Gambit (Seeing Beneath the Illusions)", you will find extensive explanations of how the government went wrong dealing with Covid-19 illnesses.
Even more important, my pinned post, "A Fuller View of Natural Anti-Infectives," gives you many ways to ward off infections in the first place.
https://ernestdlieberman.substack.com/p/a-fuller-picture-of-natural-anti
My approach is Complementary Health, not Allopathic Medicine. Here’s the post on that too:
https://ernestdlieberman.substack.com/p/health-first-principles-allopathic
2) Regarding how government failures are wrecking our lives, here are my posts
"Capitalism Makes Life Better, Big-Government Socialisms Make Life Worse"
https://ernestdlieberman.substack.com/p/political-economy-capitalism-makes
And
"Big-Government Socialisms, NOT Capitalism, Caused Economic Disasters in the 1930s, 2000-2002, 2008, and the 2020s"
https://ernestdlieberman.substack.com/p/big-government-socialisms-not-capitalism
3) Regarding climate change, I count eight or nine factors affecting climate, yet all the warming effects from those factors are lumped together and attributed to carbon dioxide alone, greatly exaggerating its effects. Meanwhile, the cooling effects are ignored. Look for a coming post on that. By subscribing, which is free, you will be sure to get it.
Good Health to You!
Back in the late 40s, when there was strong public sentiment to establish international governing structures to prevent world war, the following resolution-
Concurrent Resolution 56 provides a window into U.S. government foreign policy of the time. It was sponsored by U.S.Senator Charles W. Tobey of New Hampshire, and co-sponsored by dozens of legislators on both sides of the aisle including Senator Humphrey and a young congressman John F. Kennedy. Also during this period, 22 states adopted similar resolutions.
Concurrent Resolution 56
"Resolved by the Senate (with House concurring) that it is the sense of the Congress that it should be the fundamental objective of the foreign policy of or the U.S. to support and strengthen the U.N. and to seek its development into a world federation open to all nations with defined and limited powers adequate to preserve peace and prevent aggression through the enactment ,interpretation and enforcement of world law"
Agreed. You hit on a really key point that is central to the discussion. We just can no longer afford to be an “imperial power” even if we want to be. Still, I think about how this plays out. Japan and South Korea would have to dramatically beef up their militaries, probably including nukes. Iran will go nuclear, so expect the Saudis, Qataris and Turks to do likewise. Europe’s economy is the same size as ours, and they should provide for their own defense, no question. But pretty soon you’re back to large militaries in Germany, France and Russia. In this environment, WWIII is only a matter of time. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pull back. We have to. But that’s what I see emerging in 2-3 decades.
JFK today, if he believed and espoused the same positions, would be considered a Reagan Republican.
JFK spoke of secret societies and Bi BI's boys stole centrifuges for israel. JFK knew, they blew his head off. I think Jackie was chasing her revolver off the trunk, but that's just me. She was the closest person to him to have a lethal shot. Don't hate me, it just a theory.
That’s a novel one.
when yer an engineer, yer mind can go to inventive places.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQGbsMHIOI0
to infinity, and beyond!!!!
Prophetic
when the bus driver is senile one has to get off the bus.
No, you kick that bus driver off, and get a better one in the seat!
Well worth pondering that.
JFK was challenged by the USSR in the first place because he was young and untested, they thought they'd have the upper hand and he'd back down.
Actually the Cuban Missile Crisis began when we put missiles in Turkey aimed at the USSR before. Putting missiles in Cuba was a response to our moves.
Yup, the political bankruptcy of our foreign and domestic policies, our morality, our intelligence, our education, our health and our fiat currency. However sovereign individuals have the capacity to create, support and act with morality, intelligence, education, health and exchange with others with integrity, compassion and gracefulness.
It is ironic that it was JFK who last brought ourselves to the brink of a nuclear war, considering this quote. When dealing with a power like Putin, it does change how we should act. Should we back off and reduce the risk of a nuclear confrontation, or should we hold our ground? The risks are devastatingly high if we hold our ground. But if we back off, who is to say that this new Hitler won't continue to invade other countries?
It would be refreshing to have an adult convo where the name 'Hitler' is not invoked to shut down the convo. This is a recent phenomenon.
I am open to hearing different thoughts.
If you compare a world leader or dictator to 'Hitler' then you are leaning into war, not away from war. It corrupts the discussion before it begins.
But the war has already begun. And Putin started it. He is doing exactly what Hitler did when he started World War II. I am not saying that we should fight him, as the nuclear threat is a real one. Frankly, I don't know that either option is safe.
There have been at least 17 invasions of countries by other countries during just past 20 years. Not including civil wars. Look it up online. Using your own words, they all did "exactly what Hitler did". But you'll use the 'Hitler' trope when applied to this one.
There have been a lot of horrible wars all throughout history. And I don't support the US being the "police chief" and getting involved in every war and skirmish that comes along. And I am not sure that I support this one, either. But of all of the "Hitlers" out there, none have been in such a powerful position as Putin, and none have threatened nuclear war and could effectively carry it out like he could. What is your answer? Should we just bail and let the Ukrainians handle it on their own?
Hi Craig,
I actually lived through that. It seems we have forgotten a bit of history. Russia was installing missiles in Cuba. JFK said NO! We have been for decades moving NATO Closer and closer to Russia's door step. Putin talked with us many times telling us we needed to stop.
We kept going. Putin stated Ukraine (like Cuba for the US) was a no go. The US and Nato sponsored the coup in Ukraine installing Zelensky. The republics of Crimea, Luhansk people's republic, Donetsk people's republic seceded from Ukraine as a result of the US/Nato coup.
The US/Nato began supplying arms to Zelensky who began shelling the Donetsk region shortly after his installation as leader in Ukraine. As a result Russia invaded the Donetsk region as requested by Luhansk and Donetsk republics in Feb 2022.
There is no doubt in my mind that Cuba is in the US sphere of influence Just as Ukraine is in the Russian sphere of influence. This is how I see it (with very small overview of history) having lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I appreciate your thoughts, wilnav. It is having discussions like this and sharing information with each other that will help provide understanding. I am not convinced, though, that the regions you mention requested to be invaded. If you have links to share to support that I would be interested in reading them.
So, Russia was trying to plant nukes in Cuba, hence why JFK made a stand. Has the US and/or NATO tried to do that in the Ukraine? I could possibly understand Putin's invasion if that were true.
I stumbled on this info on Gas found in the Ukraine controlled black sea. I then compiled a time line of sorts at that time which was a while ago. What follows is a beginning to answer your questions.
July 2013 Ukraine Black Sea Gas, Euromaidan November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014,
Feb 24, 2022 special military operation declared by Russia in Ukraine Donbas
Good day all,
A time line for the current Ukraine and SMO of Russia.
1) Gas some oil found off the Black Sea coast of Ukraine, Jul 19, 2013
2) Euromaidan November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014
So the coup starts 6 months after finding Gas. The coup puts Zelensky etal in power. Zelensky starts borrowing money, and the West starts building up Ukraine's military so it can take back the republics of Lugansk Donetsk and Crimea.
Since the Russian SMO what collateral does the Ukraine have to borrow so much from the IMF? Why did the IMF loan any money to the already deeply in debt Ukraine? Why is the US so heavily invested in support of the Ukraine? Why is the EU shooting itself in the foot regarding energy? None of this made any sense to me.
Unless the EU was told by US and Ukraine that all the gas they would ever need is in the gas field off the Ukraine coast. Then it makes some kind of sense what is happening. Support Ukraine and make it an EU member after defeating Russia and the gas is the EUs. Also helps explain why the US is all dug in and NATO/EU too as well as UK in defeating Russia. Without the pipe dream of Ukrainian Gas none of this makes any sense to me. Links follow.
July 2013 https://www.offshore-mag.com/drilling-completion/article/16791765/ukraine-black-sea-gas-discovery-reported
Ukraine Black Sea gas discovery reported
Nov. 6, 2006
The first well drilled by Chornomornaftogaz and Shelton Canada in the Black Sea near Odessa discovered gas, according to reports from the area.
KIEV, Ukraine -- The first well drilled by Chornomornaftogaz and Shelton Canada in the Black Sea near Odessa discovered gas, according to reports from the area.
The Biryuchya Zakhidnyy 1, 50 km offshore on the northwest shelf of the Sea of Azov, encountered an estimated 350 Bcf of gas. The drilling objective was Cretaceous sandstones, with a planned TD of 1,700 m.
***
Ukraine: Unexpected Oil Find, Major Gas Interest
By Editorial Dept - Jul 19, 2013, 10:44 PM CDT
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Ukraine-Unexpected-Oil-Find-Major-Gas-Interest.html
Bottom Line: We see a flurry of activity in Ukraine, with a $735 million Black Sea commitment by Exxon, an unexpected 100 million barrel oil find in the Poltava region and new estimates that the country could achieve annual gas production of 45 billion cubic meters by 2020.
Analysis: First, Ukraine’s state-run oil and gas company Naftogaz on 11 July announced the discovery of an oil field in the eastern/central Poltava region that reportedly contains some 13 million tons of oil, or 100 million barrels of oil. This is the biggest oil find in Ukraine in a decade and a half. The Budishchansko-Chutovskoye oil field is fully owned by Naftogaz, and is the only field fully owned by the state-run company.
The news for Ukraine gets even better this week, though. Exxon Mobil Corp is ready to invest $735 million to drill two deep-water wells offshore Ukraine in the Black Sea ($335 million in a signing bonus for the government and a $400 million commitment for seismic surveys and drilling). This is an amazing show of confidence by Exxon in Ukraine’s Black Sea.
Finally, ExxonMobil has given Ukraine another public boost with a new estimate that the country’s onshore and offshore gas reserves could help it reach production of 45 billion cubic meters by 2020.
Recommendation: We suggest very closely monitoring Exxon’s progress as it prepares to explore in Ukraine’s Black Sea, in the deep marine Skifiske gas field. (Right…
Brief time line of Ukraine and Russian engagement and a possible why it happened at all
1) Gas some oil found of the Black Sea coast of Ukraine, Jul 19, 2013
2) Euromaidan November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014
So the coup starts 6 months after finding Gas. The coup puts Zelensky etal in power. Zelensky starts barowing money, and the West starts building up Ukraine's military so it can take back the republics of Lugansk Donetsk and Crimea.
My question since the SMO is why and what collateral the Ukraine had to borrow so much from the IMF? Why did the IMF loan any money to the already deeply in debt Ukraine. Why is the US (as you mention, an unreasonable hatred for Russia) so heavily invested in support of the Ukraine? Why is the EU shooting itself in the foot regarding energy? None of this made any sense to me.
Unless the EU was told by US and Ukraine that all the gas they would ever need is in the gas field off the Ukraine coast. Then it makes some kind of sense what is happening. Support the Ukraine and make an EU member after deafting Russia and the gas is the EUs. Also helps explain why the US is all dug in and NATO/EU too as well as UK in defeating Russia. Without the pipe dream of Ukraineian Gas none of this makes any sense to me.
***
Thanks for your detailed and in-depth response, wilnav. It is appreciated.
You are welcome. Did you read the second post. It overlaps a bit in the beginning the completes the time line. Substack said the first attempt and posting was to long so I broke into two.
again you are very welcome.
Yes, I did. The first two links were restricted, but enough info nonetheless. The third link from the rt site was very interesting.
https://www.rt.com/business/370226-ukraine-gas-black-sea/
Ukraine ‘discovers’ vast gas deposit…already found in the 1980s
A Ukrainian exploration vessel has 'discovered' a huge gas field in the Black Sea. However, it turns out the field was already found by the Soviet Union 30 years ago.
"The fact that Ukraine once again began to search for oil and gas on the shelf of the Black Sea indicates a titanic shift in exploration work by the country. According to our estimates, gas reserves amounting to at least 40 billion cubic meters in an area of 7,000 square meters," said Ukrainian Minister for Mineral Resources Nikolay Boyarkin.
According to Boyarkin, Ukraine has enough resources to satisfy its gas needs and can produce it on its own.
However, it turns out the deposits near Snake Island in the Black Sea were discovered in the 1980s by Soviet explorers. Moreover, the rights for these resources have been disputed by Ukraine and Romania, and in 2009 the International Court of Justice ruled for Romania, leaving Kiev with only 12 miles around the island.
https://www.rt.com/russia/532759-ukraine-merkel-gas-fleet/
22 Aug, 2021
‘Ukraine must be ready’: Merkel tells Kiev EU won’t be using Russian gas by 2046 – Zelensky wants weapons & help to build up navy
_____________________________________________________________
Euromaidan November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014
https://www.wsws.org/en/topics/event/2014-coup-ukraine
The 2014 coup in Ukraine
The background and implications of the 2014 far-right coup in Kiev, which overthrew the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, is critical for understanding the current Ukraine-Russia war. This coup was openly supported by US and European imperialism and implemented primarily by far-right shock troops such as the Right Sector and the neo-Nazi Svoboda Party.
It represented the temporary culmination of long-standing efforts by US imperialism to install a puppet regime on the borders of Russia and brought the world a major step closer to a war between the largest nuclear powers, the US and Russia. Ukraine has since been systematically built up as a launching pad for a NATO war against Russia.
***
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=2014+Euromaidan+coup&ia=web
Euromaidan
Euromaidan, or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv. The protests were sparked by the Ukrainian government's sudden decision not to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.Wikipedia
Date:November 21, 2013 – 23 February 2014 (year, 3month, week and day)
***
https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/coup-in-ukraine-in-2014
After the 2014 coup in Kyiv, the people of the peninsula voted in a referendum to re-join Russia, a decision that most NATO members have not recognised.
The demonstrations which began in Kyiv in November 2013 – called "Maidan", or "Euromaidan" – were a result of the Ukrainian people's frustration with former President Yanukovych. The protesters' demands included constitutional reform, a stronger role for parliament, the formation of a government of national unity, an end to corruption, early presidential elections and an end to violence.
Ukraine's government changed its relations toward Russia after the latter illegally annexed Crimea, which is part of Ukraine, through a non-recognised referendum, announced on 27 February 2014, and held on gunpoint on 16 March 2014. The UN described it as not valid and stated that it could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. In its turn, the EU continues to strongly condemn this violation of international law and has responded by imposing restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.
***
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/06/04/how-and-why-the-u-s-government-perpetrated-the-2014-coup-in-ukraine/
How and why the U.S. Government Perpetrated the 2014 Coup in Ukraine
June 4, 2018 by Eric Zuesse
This will document that the ‘new Cold War’ between the U.S. and Russia did not start, as the Western myth has it, with Russia’s involvement in the breakaway of Crimea and Donbass from Ukraine, after Ukraine — next door to Russia — had suddenly turned rabidly hostile toward Russia in February 2014. Ukraine’s replacing its democratically elected neutralist Government in February 2014, by a rabidly anti-Russian Government, was a violent event, which produced many corpses. It’s presented in The West as having been a ‘revolution’ instead of a coup; but whatever it was, it certainly generated the ‘new Cold War’ (the economic sanctions and NATO buildup on Russia’s borders); and, to know whether it was a coup, or instead a revolution, is to know what actually started the ‘new Cold War’, and why. So, this is historically very important.
***
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/02/24/677439/Russia-Putin-Ukraine-Donbass-US-NATO
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbass region to “defend people” there against government forces, stressing that Moscow has “no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory.”
...
In 2014, Ukraine’s two regions of Donetsk and Lugansk – collectively known as the Donbass – were turned into self-proclaimed republics by ethnic Russians, leading to a bloody conflict between the government forces and the armed separatists.
The conflict worsened following a wave of protests in Ukraine that led to the overthrow of a democratically-elected pro-Russia government, which was later replaced with a Western-backed administration. The majority in those areas refused to endorse the new administration.
More than 14,000 people have been killed so far.
Ukraine, as well as the European Union (EU) and the United States, claims that Russia has a hand in the conflict in the Donbass. Moscow denies the allegation.
On Monday, Putin signed a decree recognizing the breakaway Lugansk and Donetsk regions as independent republics. The recognition followed an address in which he referred to eastern Ukraine as “ancient Russian lands” being “managed by foreign powers.”
https://www.conservapedia.com/2022_Special_Military_Operation_in_Ukraine_-_Donbas_cauldron
https://natyliesbaldwin.com/2022/09/gilbert-doctorow-from-special-military-operation-to-open-war-significance-of-the-referendums-in-donbas-kherson-and-zaporozhie/
Then there is Gonzo Lira, one of the best observers of the Ukrain/SMO to be found and he is funny. He is also Pro Russian. Mostly this post if from the Russian side as it is easy to get the Wests point of view.
https://www.greanvillepost.com/2022/09/06/the-macro-picture-gonzalo-lira-on-the-ukraine-conflicts-broader-contours-and-implications-for-all-sides/
he Macro Picture: Gonzalo Lira on the Ukraine conflict’s broader contours and implications for all sides
The controversial commentator dissects the depths of the West's mistakes in its malign strategy toward Russia, but their arrogance is blinding them to the inevitable consequences.
The new Hitler can be found in the White House.
That’s an insult to Julius.
Tulsi 2024!
Is everyone who comments here a sycophant or is there some good discussion at least?
asking for a friend
I think the general consensus here is avoiding nuclear war is a bit more important than Biden's approval rating before the midterms. But for some reason, corporate media disagrees.
If by sycophant you mean reaffirming the value and necessity of diplomacy, then yes, I'm a sycophant for diplomatic solutions as opposed to MIC warmongering and a possible nuclear catastrophe
How do we get this in front of our leaders? It seems none of them know the risk of a nuclear war. It won't stop with one "deterrent" missile.
A question can be added to the Jim Nixon's. What kind of safety are they being offered that the average citizen is not. You only support the possibility to engage in nuclear war when you believe you will survive in good health.
In the 1950s and 1960s it was called MADD. But that was when we and the politicians believe we would all be destroyed. What has changed for our politicians???
Unfortunately, after listening to the rhetoric from Biden and his administration, it appears they’ve cast themselves as leads in a Charles Bronson movie.
Bullseye.
Let’s trade bad bankers and apocalyptic decision makers for good bankers and eugenicists because we can trust the blockchain panopticon to keep us safe. Maybe I can earn enough tokens to eat if I follow the pathways they determine are best based on my genetic markers and all the data their pet AI has collected from social media about my personality type. Nudge me please, I want to be your faithful participation sensor.
WHAT??
That was some prime word salad, wasn’t it?
https://wrenchinthegears.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Tapscott_DeclarationofInterdependence_NewSocialContract_BlockchainResearchInstitute1.pdf
My statement is in response to the structural changes Tulsi is ushering in that you’re completely unaware of. Dip beneath the surface, they’re world building without your consent, because you’re uniformed.
From the executive summary-
In Blockchain Revolution, we called for nothing less than a new social contract, which we called a “Declaration of Interdependence”—a phrase aptly coined during the Great Depression—because of the need for new multistakeholder approaches, whereby governments, the private sector, civil society, and individuals could forge and agree on new understandings and new action plans.
To recognize, realize, and enforce these rights, we need profound changes to our industrial institutions and infrastructures
including education, healthcare, labor unions, food supply chains, transportation and energy systems and, above all, governments. Networks enable citizens to participate fully in their own governance, and we can now move to a second era of democracy based on a culture of public deliberation and active citizenship. Mandatory voting encourages active, engaged, and responsible citizens.
Sounds good right? Sounds like you should trust them, only you and 99 percent of the people on this thread have no idea what your passively consenting to. You can cheer lead the sloganeers, or do your homework and move to a place of actually being informed by listening past the shiny sales pitch to see what the panopticon of surveillance capitalism really entails.
www.weforum.org
Who’s your daddy?
“To save civilization, I would show its collapse. But, how do you think this vision was received? How do you think people responded to the prospect of imminent doom? They gobbled it up like a chocolate eclair! They didn't fear their demise, they re-packaged it. It could be enjoyed as video-games, as TV shows, books, movies, the entire world wholeheartedly embraced the apocalypse and sprinted towards it with gleeful abandon.”
HUGH LAURIE - Nix
Tomorrowland
I hope Tulsi can make it to run for president in 2024. She is one of the few voices of sanity, morality and sound fiscal policies. I believe Tulsi along with the libertarians are not owned by corporations and could save this country internationally and domestically.!!!!
We must do more than containment. We must have channels to engage in civil foundations.