Ok, so there is this little spat going on out east that is making some noise. Most recently I saw on this website (gCaptain) that the Russians are denying western food imports in response to some of its sanctions. Things are getting tricky. Some folks are getting tense. Most of us though, probably don’t give a fuck. Well I do. I’ve been following the breakup of the USSR since it happened, especially with how it affected the Ukraine. In the past 23 years, there has been a growing divide between those who favor the old ways living in the south and the east with those who look to the EU for the answers living in the west. In my simple mind, I keep thinking that if pro-Russian Crimea leaves the Ukraine, then the percentage of people left in the Ukraine who prefer western ways will increase, which will give a better chance of forming a pragmatic voting block, or in other words make the Ukraine more pro-Western. How is that a bad thing? Why am I the only one who sees this? Why do I feel like I am the only one who feels that these sanctions are just another motive to drum up support for our grossly over-budgeted military industrial complex? Enough with just accepting what the news man says in his op-ed. Let the shit heads go east like they want in hopes something good might come out of the Ukraine, a country that makes Mexico look both rich and efficient.
Crimea includes pretty much the only deep water port that is open year round for Russia (ice). This is significant if Russia wants to increase its crude oil and natural gas exports especially after opening some new drilling platforms.
One of the few English speaking channels where we are is “RT News” based out of Moscow with an obvious pro-Russian bias, of course . Although I do find their reporters to be very progressive, it is an interesting take on the news and I could think of quite a few folks who would roll around in their graves to read this, but WTF, Russia is only doing to the EU what they are doing to Russia. They have also focused the past week on the food aid that Russia is sending in there, even though Kiev would not allow. I do not know enoough about the politics of what is going on there to speculate but at least the Russians have a strong leader with a better policy than “Don’t do anything stupid.”
So are you guys for or against letting Crimea go to Russia? Like I said, I’m for it!
Despite all the recent events Russian culture thrives in Ukrain. I was amazed during my first visit to Kiev. It seemed that all the youngs collectively agreed to forget Uktrainian language and embrace Russian. It was the best language learning experience I’ve ever had. Heres the school Russian language course Kiev.
Sure. But no one needed to “forget” the Ukrainian language – Russian has been the everyday language in Kiev for centuries. Ukrainian was spoken more in the far West, and in the borderlands by the Cossacks. On the contrary since independence, Ukrainians are trying to learn Ukrainian, but a lot of Ukrainians, including a number of famous Ukrainian politicians, can speak only Russian.
The events there of the last few years are tragic for the Ukrainians, and we are at least 50% at fault for it. Let’s hope that the whole thing gets unwound somehow. They should not let themselves be used by us to poke the Russians in the eye. It can’t end well for them (or for the Russians, or for us – the whole thing is a clusterfumble of stupidity).