The news out of Ukraine is particularly horrible, with reports out of the town of Bucha pointing to a genuinely genocidal campaign. I'll spare my readers any of the graphic pictures, but this particular fact hints at an extensive catalog of horrors:
Regarding Bucha - we heard rumors.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) April 4, 2022
When the city was still under Russian occupation, it was hard to get anyone on the phone. But some people from Bucha said Russian officers were coming to every apartment, checking documents, looking for adult males.
There were rumors.
The worst thing about it this report is that it gets worse. Not to get too upsetting, but if this is the treatment that adult males received... yeah, no need to dot an 'I' that big.
Even just a month in, it is evident that, even if the country is victorious, it will take generations for Ukraine to recover from this shocking, unprovoked violence. The crazy thing is that, even if they are victorious, Russia will be reeling from this war for generations... I don't recall a time when the world was as united as it is now, and Russia has already become a pariah state. I can foresee sanctions against Russia for the rest of my lifetime, and rightfully so.
The strangest thing about the revelations of Bucha is the effect that it has had on the American Right. The nadir of this Putin worship came when Tucker Carlson gushed: Putin has never called me a racist. The disgusting thing about the American Right's love affair with Putin is almost entirely based on his campaign against LGBTQ persons. Tulsi Gabbard, a virulent anti-LGBTQ crusader, who still rants about 'sexually woke' policies, was forced to post a tepid show of disapproval, though some cynical Bastard had some doubts about her sincerity:
It’s because the ruble had some value back then.
— Big Bad Bald Bastard (@Big_Bad_Bald) April 3, 2022
I honestly don't know how the West should ramp up its response- the proxy war continues, but actual 'boots on the ground' support might escalate the conflict into World War 3, albeit one in which Russia and a couple of puppet regimes square off against the rest of the world. Given Russia's nuclear arsenal, that's not an ideal situation.
I've seen calls for the UN to expel Russia, or at the very least, boot them from the Security Council and Human Rights Council. That would be a major re-ordering of the post-WW2 global order. Maybe that's exactly what we need, especially since the horrors of that not-so-far-off period have come back to haunt us.
Tulsi Putin's Present is back on posting videos about how the Don't Say Gay Florida Bill doesn't go far enough. Her tepid criticism of Vladimir amounts to worrying that too many Russians are getting killed along with her FSB bank account.
ReplyDeleteThe United States has spent the 21st century bombing and killing people in the mideast and Africa. Our bipartisan warmongers have lied to us year after bloody year while turning its back on the American people.
ReplyDeleteAnd now the nuclear armed US and the nuclear armed Russia are in a proxy war in Ukraine that could very well escalated into a nuclear exchange. So when you look outside and you see a mushroom cloud in the distance, are you going to yell "Fuck Putin this is Russia's fault." or are you going to say "I wish I would have loved my enemy enough to have stopped the killing." Is Ukraine really worth this nightmare?
If you Love Russia so much, Al, why don't you go live there?
ReplyDeleteIf the UN is to take any role at all, Russia will have to be nixed from the Security Council, or they'll just veto every item that applies to them.
ReplyDeleteIs Ukraine really worth risking a nuclear war between the US and Russia? Well is it?
ReplyDeleteSo when you look outside and you see a mushroom cloud in the distance, are you going to yell "Fuck Putin this is Russia's fault." or are you going to say "I wish I would have loved my enemy enough to have stopped the killing." Is Ukraine really worth this nightmare?
ReplyDeleteI always thought you were a tankie asshole, but if you can look at the carnage of Bucha and think 'if only we'd loved them enough', you're a full-blown monster.
Is Ukraine really worth risking a nuclear war between the US and Russia? Well is it?
If Putin's capable of launching a first strike nuclear attack on Kyiv or Odessa, he's capable of launching a first strike nuclear attack on Des Moines or, yes, my beloved Yonkers. If there's a possibility that nukes would be involved, then yes, Ukraine is worth fighting for, because a Putin that would nuke them would nuke us.
I don't block/ban commenters or delete non-spambot comments. I prefer to leave your bullshit up so actual thinkers can read your 'tankie at best/Putin apologist at worst' garbage and draw their own conclusions about you.
And, no, Biden is not worse than Trump, never was, you moron.
Al, we were happy and fine with Ukraine. We like the wheat, and the sunflower oil is the best in the world. We enjoy and respect them. Also we love them. They have beautiful music and they carry their culture for everyone. I like them.
ReplyDeleteWe will do what we can for them to survive. Please don't come here and try to "both sides this".
I didn't know that you are a tankie asshole. Are you?
Nothing is worth risking a nuclear war, but if you are going to tell us that this Putin is ok, you might want to reconsider your position. Who are you?
What strikes me is the Al's of the internet all post this query "Is Ukraine really worth risking a nuclear war between the US and Russia? Well is it?" in exactly the same structure. Cut-n-paste Putin apologia.
ReplyDeleteAlso this ignores the years from 1950-1994(ish) when I guess nothing happened in the world which might have triggered a nuclear exchange. But, hey when you gonna lie for the KGB Colonel you're gonna lie gudnov!
Still waiting for Al to say something, to explain himself.
ReplyDeleteWell, yes he can. This is not enough. We are still picking up bodies. I want to understand why they do this?
ReplyDeleteHere we all are, happy in our our homes, with our sunflowers and children and little dogs. We speak our language, for a stranger it sounds like Russian.
What? Did we not pay enough taxes and respect? Did we not recognize Putin as supreme leader?
Fuck no we do not recognize Putin.
For this, Putin will kill us.
I want to understand why this is ok in Russia. I want to understand why they are doing this.