Just like nobody would even talk about Nord Stream 1, or EU didn't want to cancel Swift, and EU leader is literally talking about a 'pretty lit up building' in 'support of Ukraine' - while Ukraine is begging for weapons ...
I'm wary that this is a little too late.
If you want to help, call your Senator and demand that they supply Ukraine with as many Javelins and Stingers as they can, unlimited small arms, equipment and medical supplies, naval defence missiles, mobile surface to air missiles with radars, drone and possibly some cruise missiles.
And then for the US to scuttle a few Russian ships and blockade all of their ports.
And then to sabotage their infra, their internet, their pipelines, railroads and electricity.
Because that would actually be useful.
The events unfolding right now are as big as 9/11 and we will witness similar tensions over Taiwan. After the loss of Hong Kong and 'cutting losses' in Afghanistan - and a global pandemic - it's vey bad for the world.
I'm wary that reading headlines on seems a whole lot less meaningful than it did a few days ago.
Folks, I remember the tail end of the Cold War as a kid and it was not a happy time.
I remember when the Berlin Wall came down and the USSR collapsed it was like a giant global fear lifted from everything. We used to make movies and TV shows all the time about global nuclear annihilation.
I believe that's why maybe GenX and Boomers are less afraid of 'Climate Change' - because it's something we can and will eventually conquor - we've been there before.
But living with an intransigent Russia who is hinting and 'things which have never been seen' (aka some kind of nukes) while invading a country - and having the West mostly twiddle their thumbs and watch, is ominous for what it means in the future.
We could see another few generations of really existential angst, where, once it sets into everyone's psyche's, we kind of 'forget' what normal peace feels like.
You need to evaluate the situation. Supplying weapons might feel good as a sign of defiance, but it will only prolong the conflict and lead to more dead. Nobody wins if you die a martyr in this conflict. The political capital is on the Ukrainians side, so any situation aside from a direct war is preferable. There are direct conflicts, but they are also involved in a proxy war.
And no, I would not enjoy suggesting surrender to any Ukrainian either and I understand that people want to fight. But a better future can only be build with acknowledging the present and taking options from there.
Of course there could be opportunities if Ukrainians hold out as long as they can, but either case of getting outside help or being able to repel the invaders currently seems almost impossible. You can make the war more expensive for the Russian, I guess, but that would cost more lives and might result in the same end.
One of the most sane comment imo. Ukraine simply can’t win this by continuing to fight. It will just end up getting more people killed and same end result. And there’s no appetite for sending US and other troops in to fight as that would create an even bigger war with far dangerous consequences.
I think the best solution would be for Ukraine to see the writing on the wall - declare itself neutral and not be part of NATO.
Great comment, particularly your summation of the 1980s Cold War zeitgeist. It was very real for our generation and nuclear war drills and fallout shelters were part of the life for school kids in many places, especially my South Texas town with its (then) five military bases.
I don’t agree with you on blockading Russia or escalating conflict over Ukraine but it will be a different situation if Russia makes a move on Estonia or Latvia or—God forbid—Poland.
For me, my response to increasing global instability is the same as it was during the riots of 2020: get the heck out of cities, especially coastal cities. It’s not going to get better any time soon. In a small town in a flyover state, I can at least grow my own food and raise my own family with minimal worry about the outside world, aside from diesel prices.
You cannot escape 'global instability' by moving to a flyover state. Everything is connected, a few extra miles means nothing other than for few things like less noise pollution and urban crime.
Every, little, thing you consume has a long supply chain of value add at each step, that's what makes it all work.
The reason that we have to care about Ukraine, is because otherwise, we are faced with a mother Cold War. That is very bad.
This war is a battle for the future of the world order, in which everyone is a part.
An easy victory for Putin almost guarantees the Chinese Generals will be pushing for Taiwan and Xi will listen.
A costly bloody failure an economic ruin and a political coup in Russia means Xi knows the price for failure in Taiwan will be his head, almost literally.
Aside from geopolitics, there is a moral issue in all of these situations - Ukranians deserve to not live behind another Iron Curtain. Just like Poles, Czech, E. Germans etc..
I'm wary that this is a little too late.
If you want to help, call your Senator and demand that they supply Ukraine with as many Javelins and Stingers as they can, unlimited small arms, equipment and medical supplies, naval defence missiles, mobile surface to air missiles with radars, drone and possibly some cruise missiles.
And then for the US to scuttle a few Russian ships and blockade all of their ports.
And then to sabotage their infra, their internet, their pipelines, railroads and electricity.
Because that would actually be useful.
The events unfolding right now are as big as 9/11 and we will witness similar tensions over Taiwan. After the loss of Hong Kong and 'cutting losses' in Afghanistan - and a global pandemic - it's vey bad for the world.
I'm wary that reading headlines on seems a whole lot less meaningful than it did a few days ago.
Folks, I remember the tail end of the Cold War as a kid and it was not a happy time.
I remember when the Berlin Wall came down and the USSR collapsed it was like a giant global fear lifted from everything. We used to make movies and TV shows all the time about global nuclear annihilation.
I believe that's why maybe GenX and Boomers are less afraid of 'Climate Change' - because it's something we can and will eventually conquor - we've been there before.
But living with an intransigent Russia who is hinting and 'things which have never been seen' (aka some kind of nukes) while invading a country - and having the West mostly twiddle their thumbs and watch, is ominous for what it means in the future.
We could see another few generations of really existential angst, where, once it sets into everyone's psyche's, we kind of 'forget' what normal peace feels like.
I don't think hacking is the thing at this point.