Go to Mother JONES for full article on UKRAINE
From "Russian-born US citizen author"
I don't like to say this, but I think that this will not be a good thing for Ukraine, and I also think the rest of the world can't do a damned thing about it.
Let me explain a little something about Russia. You may've caught onto this already, or you may have known it, especially if you've been born there or if you lived through the Cold War: Russia does not give up power easily, and it never forgets. Putin is ex-KGB; he's of my parents' generation and he knows exactly what holding power meant in the ye olde days. Do you think that he, or anyone old enough to remember the old days, has forgotten all the countries that had comprised the Soviet bloc? Of course not.
The anti-gay sentiment is also not new. They had done the exact same thing to the Jews. My own family has more than enough stories to the effect. The similarities to the way things are conducted had cost me enough sleep already.
It's history all over again. Just with different faces, slightly different targets, but the same concepts.
But there is one beacon of hope in this entire matter, and that is the fact that Ukraine and Russia are both connected to the rest of the world via the Internet, and not for nothing, Eastern-Europeans are some awesome technicians. But reallly, think on it. These are two countries who both have a horrible, ugly history to them as part of the Soviet bloc. The children have grown up hearing their parents' stories, generation after generation. There's no way in hell that the Ukrainians will stand for this abuse of power, and if the Russians know their history and know the way their country is headed, then hopefully this thing will come to an end quickly and with as minimal bloodshed as possible.
Though truthfully...if I know my history and I know my parents' history.....I may be hoping fruitlessly. I will not be surprised if other countries that had comprised the Soviet bloc are next on the menu.
And that is why I'm glad to 1. be a US citizen and 2. live in NYC. Because after two generations of having this sort of thing on lather-rinse-repeat in the old country, in one way or another, complete with "patriotic brainwashing" -- really, there's no other way to put it - enough is enough. Railing against the Republican party is enough for me.
Let me explain a little something about Russia. You may've caught onto this already, or you may have known it, especially if you've been born there or if you lived through the Cold War: Russia does not give up power easily, and it never forgets. Putin is ex-KGB; he's of my parents' generation and he knows exactly what holding power meant in the ye olde days. Do you think that he, or anyone old enough to remember the old days, has forgotten all the countries that had comprised the Soviet bloc? Of course not.
The anti-gay sentiment is also not new. They had done the exact same thing to the Jews. My own family has more than enough stories to the effect. The similarities to the way things are conducted had cost me enough sleep already.
It's history all over again. Just with different faces, slightly different targets, but the same concepts.
But there is one beacon of hope in this entire matter, and that is the fact that Ukraine and Russia are both connected to the rest of the world via the Internet, and not for nothing, Eastern-Europeans are some awesome technicians. But reallly, think on it. These are two countries who both have a horrible, ugly history to them as part of the Soviet bloc. The children have grown up hearing their parents' stories, generation after generation. There's no way in hell that the Ukrainians will stand for this abuse of power, and if the Russians know their history and know the way their country is headed, then hopefully this thing will come to an end quickly and with as minimal bloodshed as possible.
Though truthfully...if I know my history and I know my parents' history.....I may be hoping fruitlessly. I will not be surprised if other countries that had comprised the Soviet bloc are next on the menu.
And that is why I'm glad to 1. be a US citizen and 2. live in NYC. Because after two generations of having this sort of thing on lather-rinse-repeat in the old country, in one way or another, complete with "patriotic brainwashing" -- really, there's no other way to put it - enough is enough. Railing against the Republican party is enough for me.
Here's What Is Going To Happen With Ukraine
| Sat Mar. 1, 2014 3:59 PM GMT
A trade union building being seized in Simferopol, Ukraine.
Following up on the previous post, if you do want to fret about Ukraine, I have just the thing for you. I'm going to tell you how this will all unfold:
- Vladimir Putin will do something belligerent. (Already done.)
- Republicans will demand that we show strength in the face of Putin's provocation. Whatever it is that we're doing, we should do more.
- President Obama will denounce whatever it is that Putin does. But regardless of how unequivocal his condemnation is, Bill Kristol will insist that he's failing to support the democratic aspirations of the Ukrainian people.
- Journalists will write a variety of thumbsuckers pointing out that our options are extremely limited, what with Ukraine being 5,000 miles away and all.
- John McCain will appear on a bunch of Sunday chat shows to bemoan the fact that Obama is weak and no one fears America anymore.
- Having written all the "options are limited" thumbsuckers, journalists and columnists will follow McCain's lead and start declaring that the crisis
in Ukraine is the greatest foreign policy test of Obama's presidency. It will thus supplant Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iran, and North Korea for this honor.