This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman (I receive no compensation from any entry on this blog.)
Tuesday, March 01, 2022
Russians are beginning to learn of the invasion and getting their legs under them.
Brilliant. The Russian people have to be provided the truth about their leadership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched (click here) a full-scale attack on Ukraine in the early morning hours of Feb. 24 that has left hundreds dead and many injured, and in response, music artists are protesting the violence by canceling their upcoming concerts in the country.
After months of military buildup along the Ukrainian border, Putin announced that he was deploying a “special military operation” into Ukraine that has since turned into an unprovoked attack on the country. Putin is demanding that Ukraine demilitarizes, and is aiming to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, a defensive alliance of 30 countries including the United States.
Green Day
Green Day had been scheduled to perform on May 29 at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 45,000.
“With heavy hearts, in light of current events we feel it is necessary to cancel our upcoming show in Moscow at Spartak Stadium,” the band explained via an Instagram Story. “We are aware that this moment is not about stadium rock shows, it’s much bigger than that. But we also know that rock and roll is forever and we feel confident there will be a time and a place for us to return in the future. Refunds available at the point of purchase. Stay safe.”
Louis Tomlinson
Tomlinson was scheduled to perform in Kyiv’s Stereo Plaza in Ukraine on July 4 before traveling to Moscow, Russia, to perform at Circus City Hall on July 6 as part of his 2022 World Tour, in support of his 2020 debut album Walls.
“Due to the recent events in Ukraine, I have to sadly announce that my tour shows in Moscow and Kyiv are cancelled until further notice,” he wrote in a short note to his fans on Twitter. “The safety of my fans is my priority and my thoughts go out to the people of Ukraine and all those suffering from this needless war.”...
Ukraine is beginning to look like Syria at the height of the Russian invasion of tanks.
Picture from the Wall Street Journal (click here). Those buildings are not safe to occupy. President Zelenskyy needs to remember he and his advisors have a diaspora to lead.
There is a huge difference between the Russian invasion in Syria than Ukraine. Syria was an ally before the invasion, this is a hostile invasion into Ukraine.
The West needs to maintain their sanctions even if Ukraine falls to Russian influence. To allow the sanctions to be removed only gives permission for more of this without end. Putin will put his own administration in the so called leadership of Ukraine. There will be no election. The election in Crimea was fraudulent.
This permission for Russia ends now and ends today. The world does not need Russian oil and gas. Quite frankly, Earth needs far less.
Americans need to buy electric cars and trucks. This is the result of Russian wealth. Americans cannot provide wealth to Russia to allow more of the same. Many of the vehicles noted in Ukraine are new and purchased with oil and gas sales.
Soldiers of Fortune need to find their resolve to assist Ukraine.
The "Trump-Russia Speak" in the USA states there would be no war if he was president. The invasion started in 2014 before Trump decided to run. Honestly. Communists.
Monday, February 28, 2022
The West is always treated as though it has no conscience.
President Biden has more of a conscience in his little finger than ever demonstrated by Vladimir Putin. This has gotten to be ridiculous.
This is what paranoia looks like.
The USA cannot even begin to remove it's nuclear tirad or reduce it's inventories because of Russia and it's willingness to use them.
Global Nuclear Inventories 2022 (click here)
Russia must immediately lock down it's nukes and end the occupation of Chernobyl.
Chernobyl must be returned to the custody of the IAEA. Immediately.
February 28, 2022
Russia (click here) also calls for 'the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian state'
Russia's President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday that the demilitarization of Ukraine and Western recognition of Russian sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula were prerequisites to ending fighting in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
"Vladimir Putin stressed that a settlement is possible only if Russia's legitimate security interests are unconditionally taken into account,” a Kremlin readout of the call said.
These interests include “the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea,” in addition to “the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian state and ensuring its neutral status," the Kremlin continued....
Putin is acting as though he has a legitmate grievance with the world in general. It is ridiculous. He is emboldened and that is a clear indication his estimation of the circumstances is completely wrong.
February 28, 2022By Jay Cannon,Celina Tebor, David Jackson, Caren Bohan, Katie Wadington, Matthew Brown, and Rick Rouan
Countries tightened the vise around Russia's economy on Monday, (click here) announcing new sanctions on its central bank and individuals, with even Switzerland breaking its neutral stance to join the EU in its actions.
The moves came as Ukrainian and Russian delegations met at the Belarusian border for their first direct talks since Russia's invasion began on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said it would demand an immediate cease-fire.
In response to Russia's invasion, the U.N. was meeting in two separate forums: The General Assembly gathered for only its 11th emergency meeting, and the 15-member Security Council came together again to discuss the crisis in Ukraine.
Also Monday, the U.S. announced it was expelling 12 Russian diplomats stationed at U. headquarters in New York. for engaging in “espionage activities” that undermine U.S. national security....
Chonhar Crossing, Ukraine — Oleg dragged his suitcase (click here) down a long cement road, crossing from a territory Russia invaded eight years ago to a territory Russia may be preparing to invade, to go visit his mother-in-law.
He had set off from his home in Crimea, passing a Russian military convoy along the way. Nearing the boundary, he walked past an abandoned hotel from the days before the hostilities, when Crimea's Black Sea resorts were a top vacation destination. Then he showed his papers to the armed Ukrainian guard on the other side, and waited for a lift next to little stray dogs and a row of dried fish dangling from the open trunk of a merchant's car....
One out of every two Russians (50%) says it would be right, while only a quarter (25%) say it would be wrong. The other quarter (25%) are unsure, according to the survey.
But the poll also found that more Russians think it would be wrong than right to use military force “to reunite Russia and Ukraine” – two countries with a long and complicated history of being intertwined....
Sunday, February 27, 2022
There is too much going on today.
I have the information lined up to put on the blog about the organized crime that is making a mess of our Seniors and their future, but, there is just too much today that occurred. The world needs to get caught up on events that have the ability to change the world in 30 minutes.
This is just crazy. A straight jacket comes to mind.
The EU shutdown their air space to Russian planes of any kind. I think all of NATO needs to do the same thing. Putin likes Russians at home, so they should go there.
I think a boycott on Russian vodka is in order, too.
The sanctions on the SWIFT financial network makes sense (click here). The SWIFT network is how wire transfers occur. It is conducted through major banks, like the Bank of Mellon in New York. There are SWIFT network banks all around the world. During war time it only makes sense to end the ability of the enemy to transfer money around Earth.
An alternative to SWIFT, albeit more expensive, is crytocurrency. It would be wise if the crytocurrency system was limited to free countries. Putin is known to favor crytocurrency. Right now the crypto networks charge as much as 15 percent or more per transaction. Civilized countries will want to limit the overseas ability of their domestic networks, including ATMs. The draw back to that is that it may be a vehicle for fleeing families and a bit of a lifeline, but, there needs to be some degree of inhibition to that network as it is favored by Russia instead of it's own currency.
Currently, Russian oligarches are told they may not abandon the Russian Central Bank. It is easy to have it operate within Russia so long as it's Russian Ruble (currently valued in exchange for USA dollar at $0.012) is used among the people. If foreign currency is perferred that may be a problem. That is why it is important crytocurrency is brought under sanctions as well.
Russian imports will become very expensive within Russia, so limiting imports might be a good idea. There needs to be an understanding, also, of the role China might be playing to bolster Russia's economy, including imports, expecially of raw materials with a military purpose. Wall Street will want to move away from companies doing business exclusively with Russia and/or China. Western citizens in Russia or China may want to plot a path home. There are lots of jobs here.
Good night for now.
If President Zelenskyy is going to participate directly in peace talks with Russia perhaps Geneva.
by Nicolas Camut and Benjamin Vuillemot
The city of Geneva (click here) has been the scene of numerous negotiations and agreements since the end of the Second World War. Its humanitarian tradition, strategic location in a neutral country and political stability make it an obvious choice to host a variety of diplomatic meetings. Ahead of the Biden-Putin summit on Wednesday, we look back at a timeline of historic top-level meetings held in Geneva....
US Senator Mitt Romney is a very moral and important man.
By Connor Perrett
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney (click here) on Sunday implied that members of his own party were "morons" after they attended a Florida event associated with white nationalists.
"Look, there's no place in either political party for this white nationalism or racism. It's simply wrong," the Republican lawmaker told CNN's Dana Bash during a Sunday appearance on "State of the Union."
GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona attended the third-annual America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, which was held Friday and organized by the far-right figure Nick Fuentes....
No country will remain neutral if they face a growing threat from Putin.
By Caren Bohan, David Jackson, Kevin Johnson, Joey Garrison, Michael Collins, Jordan Culver and Tom Vandenbrook
As Russia's assault on Ukraine (click here) reached into its second largest city, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was putting nuclear forces on high alert, the EU announced unprecedented new actions against Moscow.
Putin's order to make his nuclear weapons more ready for launch – made Sunday in response to “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers and economic sanctions by the West – represent an unnecessary and dangerous move, according to the Pentagon.
A senior Defense Deparment official said Russia is under no threat from the United States and its NATO allies. The Pentagon is confident it can protect the United States and its allies, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
Meanwhile, the European Union plans to close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund a weapons purchase to assist Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets in its latest response to Russia’s invasion, European Commission officials said Sunday. It marks the first time the block would finance military equipment for a country under attack....
The undeclared war with Russia started years ago.
You could say Germany has been buying peace with Russia for quite some time. France nearly ended it's nuclear weapons program. But, Russia's war against The West had begun with it's influence in elections and in the case of Trump it reaped plenty of rewards.
We may be at war with Russia, but, not necessarily the Russian people. The only Russians that endorse Putin's madness are those that profit from his ideology.
Americans should remember that. There are many, many Russians that may not know Putin invaded Ukraine. The families of the soldiers know they are deployed, but, may not know it is into war. Just another nuclear accident in Russia's north or a tragic accident in military games when the body bags arrive at their doorstep. But, many Russians when they learn of his barbarous antics will not approve and will demand he end them.
So, The West has friends in Russia, they simply are not in power.
CPAC is where you find the American communists.
Part of it was the lectern itself. Heavy enough to require handing by several workers and equipped with its own hardshell travel cover, the design of the stand Mr Trump has used during recent public appearances evokes – perhaps deliberately – the “Blue Goose” the famous lectern used by whoever the sitting president of the United States might be on any given day.
Whether use of the ersatz presidential speaking stand – devoid of the seal which now travels with the man who defeated Mr Trump in November 2020 – was Mr Trump’s deliberate choice meant to keep a presidential aura around him or a selection made by the security detail charged with keeping the ex-president alive because the lectern is (like its more famous doppelganger) bulletproof, Mr Trump’s representatives would not say in response to queries from The Independent (though one agent stationed in the CPAC press area said the agency “doesn't get involved in his lectern decisions, but we couldn’t tell you if we did anyway”)....
It looks like Turkey is still a NATO member.
Febraury 27, 2022
Istanbul - Turkey called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “war” on Sunday (click here) in a rhetorical shift that could pave the way for the NATO member nation to enact an international pact limiting Russian naval passage to the Black Sea.
Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey has control over the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits that connect the Mediterranean and Black seas and can limit the passage of warships during wartime or if threatened.
Balancing its Western commitments and close ties to Moscow, Ankara has said the Russian attack is unacceptable but until Sunday had not described the situation as a war....
Germany has refused delivery on USA LNG.
By Scott Disavino
In a year when China and other large economies in Europe and Asia scrambled to source enough supply for heating and power generation, the United States was sitting on a bevy of supply - one that will grow in coming years.
Global LNG demand has hit record highs each year since 2015, due mostly to surging demand in China and the rest of Asia. Much of that global appetite has been met by steadily rising U.S. LNG exports, which have reached new records every year since 2016 and is poised to continue in 2022....
Russia invaded Ukraine by land sea and air on Thursday after massing more than 150,000 troops around the country's borders including in Latvia's neighbour Belarus....
Ukraine has always been a country to contend with, even as a SU (Soviet Union) State
Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, writing by Anna Pruchnicka, editing by Andrew Cawthorne
Russian forces (click here) have lost about 4,300 servicemen during their invasion of Ukraine, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Sunday, adding however that the number was being clarified.
She also said on her Facebook page that Russian troops lost about 146 tanks, 27 aircraft and 26 helicopters....
No Rules
The ultimate war erases all the rules of engagement, including treaties.
The West is civilized and relies on civilized instruments to maintain life and peace. Civilized instruments like treaties and trade agreements.
If your enemy is dead at the end of the war, there are no more rules, so why not fight to kill the enemy beyond any return to power?
If the enemy is still alive and viable at the end of the war and civilized instruments have survived to bring about justice, then what difference does it make? The civilized people will leverage justice and death will come anyway.
Putin will be ruthless without being hemmed in by civilization.
Civlized soldiers will think differently than their ruthless leader which creates the question, why did the Russians primarily strike residential areas and buildings? They are in violation of international law. Or. Are they warning everyone as to what was supposed to be coming?
Saturday, February 26, 2022
My logical side is nagging at me so I really need to address this conflict a bit differently.
Vladimir Putin is 69 years old. He has been at Russian leadership for a ridiculously long time. That bothers me as does his departure from his decrees. The departure from decrees was planned and not an accident. The interior of Russia is getting very different message than the rest of the world. They are being fed the idea this is to protect "Russian people" in the two decree regions and not the more extended war to kill those Putin hates.
That said, under normal circumstances, a man at the age or 70 is looking at his life and measuring his success versus his failures as he would measure himself. I think the aging Putin has issues with the idea of being a failure with the fall of the Soviet Union. He was KGB and he probably has asked himself many times if he was good enough to protect the country versus the Soviet Union falling of it's own mass and lack of economy.
Taking that sort of measure, no matter how that might be playing out with Putin, applying it to a man that is basically in power for the rest of his life is a problem in that there is no end of his terms in office. In the USA, when there is a term limit there is an increase of influence by a president by eight years in a job where learning on the job has it's place. In the beginning of any new presidency in the USA there is somewhat of a stumble after about six months and then he (no she yet) gets his legs under him and the way forward begins to find a clear path. That so called six month stumble doesn't exist in Russia. It not only doesn't exist in Russia, but, Putin has a very long view of his power and vision of Russia.
I should preface this by stating I am very grateful for President Biden at this point in USA history.
Let's just say as granted Donald John Trump was backed by Russia and was instilled into the USA presidency for Putin's purpose in 2016. Donald John Trump gave Russia a great deal of classifed information from the USA, hence, NATO, etc. I am sure a portion of that was passed on to China. I don't really believe Putin cares about Trump and the fact that he is gone doesn't matter since he served Putin's purpose to the extent Putin wanted. Putin may want to put Trump back into power in a post apocalyptic USA, hence, Trump playing to that end by favoring Pro-Russian Orban (click here). I do believe that vision is real to some degree between the haters of democracy.
Initially, I didn't expect a full invasion into Ukraine although President Zelenskyy stated it was coming. I thought Putin would simply take land and the people on it and be satiated for awhile. The fact Putin invaded the entire country with the forces he put into place beginning well over a year ago somewhat tells his intentions for the future. I have stated this before and I believe it more and more, but, Putin is measuring the information he received from Trump and realizing it will all be changed under President Biden as soon as military contracts can be signed for new and better defenses. Include in all this China as an ally to Russia.
Vladimir Putin has hypersonic jets. Corretion, at least one. I believe those jets on occassion made it into the USA and viewed by the public as a UFO. I also believe that is part of his nuclear triad. Whether Europe and the USA can defend from those hypersonic jets and/or missiles is a good question. Considering Putin has a nuclear triad, some sites in reach of Europe from the land, and China assiting along with North Korea; that can cause enormous death and damage not even considering The West's exchange upon first strike.
Given the surprise by Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine in it's entirety I think he has a much larger goal, whether it is realistic or not. I believe the elite of Russia has goals to carry out a post apocalyptic world. It would make sense with Russia laughing at sanctions as a deterent to war and a much larger war. To those that bought into Putin's pain over the Soviet Union they would banter his accomplishments of hypersonic jets and the idea Putin has played a genius game in placing Trump into the presidency and it is now time to carry out the ultimate game and attack all those that cause Vladimir's pain, past and present.
It is a bit eccentric, but, possible. It is the possibility I address and not a known plan. I would expect the length to world war to be short considering that sanctions are such a bother to Russia's elite.
If his well being is threatened, President Zelenskyy should evacuate with his staff of advisors.
It is not cowardess (click here) to leave Kyiv and seek a shelter of safety. The people of Kyiv still need their leadership even though they are leaving the country. I realize he is loyal to his countrymen fighting and dying for their right to be free. But, if there is any chance harm can come to him, he needs to consider the people that have fled Ukraine and their need for leadership to be alive and free. It is important.
He and his wonderful corrption free administration that is in place with him still need to reconsider their stand on staying to the end of life. That is not profound leadership. The people trust him and his advisors. He should consider remaining safe no matter the place.
If this aggression by Putin continues and the ambitions are far beyond the borders of Ukraine, his intelligence will be needed in order to win the war against Russia.
President Zelenskyy has a very young administration and the people of Ukraine love him. He cannot sacrifice his life in the face of danger. He is important beyond this unjustified war by Russia.
The future is not set.
President Zelenskyy is correct.
There is evidence of random strikes by low flying aircraft of residential buildings. There is no formation, but, simply a jet firing a single missile. There is online evidence to those attacks. These are people that have no military capacity. If they did have shoulder held missile launchers they could take on the jet before firing. These jets are flying at tree top level. No formation, just a single jet taking target practice.
There was one and only one photo of legitimate military strike of what appears to be a missile hit of a munitions building (click here). The photo looks as though the land has been disturbed. If one looks closely in the before and after photo the only hit was one building. The smoke is dark and dense of which could be burning oil or perhaps munitions, but, more likely oil because the smoke sustains and the distrubance of the land is minimal. The loss of white color on the ground is simply due to lack of snow in the space of time of the two separate pictures.
But, any other pictures of bombing is primarily residential housing and some are rural without many people living in the buildings. These are not upscale housing. It is like the pilot decided he had to prove he used his bombs and chose a building that appears to be abandoned. People are living there and the strike caused the cameraperson to fall initally and then run into a basement
It could very well be that Putin's military is not as strongly loyal to their purpose as his bluster (click here). These people know each other and they could be carrying out battles that they do not believe in. There could be brother against brother feelings in Putin's ambitions. Russia practices consciption and are pressed into service. These soldiers may disagree with their orders. Soldiers may be more interested in a date than death.
I never believed the Russian military was a strong and well disciplined military. I think we are seeing some of that in this stupid attack on Ukraine. This is Putin's politics.
The multi-story building in Kyiv that was struck is not safe. I know there are workers, according to a CNN report, placing scaffording to stabilize the upper floors, but, that entire building received vibration and in time will prove to be unsafe. The people in that building should be evacuated and sent to shelters to re-establish their residence somewhere else in the city. There is a good chance the surrounding buildings were adversely vibrated as well. The entire area around that building needs to assessed for stability, especially other multi-story buildings.
My understanding is that many people are in the subway tunnels of Kyiv. It is reasonable to believe there were a few injuries with that missile strike as people heeded the early sirens and went underground.
If this disruption continues the people of Ukraine's cities will need food and medicine drops. Immediately they probably have supplies, but, a longer attack will result in shortages and suffering. There are reports of significant traffic heading west from Kyiv. So the city is being emptied to some extent.
The rebels in eastern Ukraine need to be contended with and Crimea returned to the governance of Ukraine.