Is Russia Really The Baddie?

[Peter Lemkin]

Once upon a time, I steadfastly believed that at some point, desperate people in the west would unite to fend off a common foe. The deep state of course. Now, unfortunately, I no longer harbor such pipe dreams. Not that this is any kind of sudden revelation no, it's been years in the making, all really I'm making mention of is that even though for some time I've realized this was one of the delusions that I've been forced to release to the four winds as the journey continued.

And since that time of release, real world evidence only continues to mount in favor of that life altering, moment in time decision. You know once I had gotten a good long look at what Zionism really is post October 7 and how that sickness permeates our culture, I was (yet again) mistaken in assuming I was beholding our lowest of lows.

But no, almost like witnessing the opening of Pandora's Box, the hits just keep on coming. Now I'm seeing large swats of my home culture recoil in horror over an attempt to end a horrible war in Ukraine. It's like we just can't get enough of seeing other people's children die on the altar of us feeling better about ourselves. It truly sickens me all over again, the old one two punch.

Was a time when the (so called) left in this country protested against war, now its protesting for it. There's a quote by the self educated former slave Fredrick Douglas that I like:

"I would unite with anybody to do right and nobody to do wrong"

Look I don't harbor any illusions that Trump is somehow being altruistic in trying to wind this thing down, in fact I feel fairly certain that the only real reason is the leadership of this new faction in charge has made the final assessment that this attempt to weaken a rival great power has failed, that continuing on will only make matters worse, and they're cutting their losses. It's a business decision. Obviously this faction has an even bigger hate boner for China than the preceding faction had, and they're looking to truly pivot there, but Russia still stands in the way, and I fully expect them to re-address this loose end at the earliest opportunity. Just not now, as their figurehead states "they don't have the cards". 

But for now, whether for the wrong reasons or not, and coming from an administration I despise just as much as the last one, a broken clock is still right twice a day and I'll fully support an end to the carnage if we can get there. 



So coming back full circle on how this post began. If we can never even agree to basic facts about a terrible war, much less never agree that it needs to end like 5 minutes ago, then I see no hope for us. We have the MAGA cult on one side cheering on anything dear leader does even when it's not in their own interest, and a resistance cult on the other side so full of blind rage that they'd just assume see a terrible war kept going, just because their enemy wants it to end.

Never the two shall meet, and between them that makes up just about all of us. And I believe that's by design, but knowing about it does nothing to change it. Just like watching a slow motion train wreck.

What a sickening and disingenuous thread and post - misleading and anti-peace, anti-justice, anti-international law, anti-logic. The 'quote' function on this newly reopened Forum is not working. My reply should be above and your post below - but I can't get that to function, so my reply is here below. Everyone wants the War in Ukraine to end (except Putin who only wants it to perhaps pause only until they can regroup and complete their assimilation of a sovereign country). To mislead and hint incorrectly that Democrats or other non-fascist elements of our polity in the US 'don't want the War to end' is a knowing deceptive lie. They desperately want it to end, they ONLY don't want it on Trump's terms, which are the same a Putin's terms - and would not bring peace nor an end to the War - and likely leave Ukraine with 20% of its territory occupied, with the rest of the occupation to be completed soon after Russia recovers from its losses and military break down. No one but the writer or such bull as this is fooled. The idea here that Democrats or 'Democrats-adjacent' don't want an end to the War in Ukraine because they perceive that Trump's Coup Cabal do not is not born out by any evidence. They simply don't want Putin's version of a 'Peace agreement', which seems to be indistinguishable from Trump's Coup Cabal's version of a 'Peace agreement' - as it gives the People of Ukraine and Ukraine nothing and likely tries to make the illegal Russian incursion permanent and Trump moving in to get valuable natural assets in exchange for nothing.
Is Russia the 'Baddie' - hell, yes! To his own people who don't get to vote (for real), are denied democratic freedoms and privileges; where no one can protest in written, spoken, organized or protest form - or they get beaten, arrested, gulaged, poisoned or fall out of windows. Stating that Russia (really Putin and his Oligarchs) are bad actors does NOT make the USA a perfect actor, who has not done its own bad deeds. Most of my own posts on this Forum are critical of US actions or cover-up, covet operations or wars. That said, here at least there is [or at least until Trump 2.0 was] capable of reform within the system or with public protest - even if it is suppressed and has not been much taken advantage of, sadly. We mostly have crap for House and Senate and certainly now, more than even is usual crap for the Executive and Supreme Court, as a whole. No Duma member can bring up a proposal that Putin will not like. Russia illegally [by international law and signed agreements with Ukraine] invaded and is occupying 20% and wanting to occupy 100%. Did the US Intelligence and State Dept. help with the Maidan Protests? I think yes. That was wrong; however, the desire to overthrow one way or another the then pro-Russian President was widely shared in Ukraine, except some Ukrainians in the region that borders Russia. I always thought that internationally monitored plebiscites by small regions of Ukraine bordering Russia, might have been a viable idea - no longer viable. And any nation has the right to maintain its integrity and it could have paid for the moving of those who wanted to be part of Russia, rather than be in a Democratic Ukraine. Perfect Democracy in Ukraine? No! But an almost immeasurably better and reformable one than in Russia at the moment. Putin is a dictator. I live in Prague though am from the US and here have met many Russians who got out recently. Putin kills his opponents and suppresses free expression of political and social views. He back the ultra-conservative Russian Orthodox Church which in turn backs him, so it is also a theocracy of sorts. He wants to re-create a 'greater Russian' something along the lines of the USSR - which is fine if other nations want to and choose to join; but not OK if they are forced by military means or propaganda ops to join against their will. The premise of this thread is, to me, totally off the mark.
Also in this post [the author of which told me in a PM was a critique from the 'Left' [which I see no evidence of - in fact the opposite] there is also some mention of how 'Zionism' has permeates or culture. What is meant is not clear, but I can find no benign or non-sinister way to untangle that paragraph. I happen to be Jewish and am anti-Zionist and Pro-Palestinian, but while the Zionist Colonial Project is widely accepted by both main political party's elites, sadly, most American Jews and I think most Americans are not in favor of 'Zionism' - which is confused and conflated with Israel and Jews in misleading and/or uninformed ways. I'm not going to go into it further here, now. Does the pro-Isreal lobby have undue influence on Congress? Hell, yes! Sadly. Jews both in Israel and especially in the US and elsewhere are primarily anti-'Zionist' in the form you, I think, are using the term [only for Jews - not for Palestinians]. The term used to mean only the right of Jews to return, but was turned into something ugly by the Stern Gang and others, which pushed out the occupants and stole their homes and land - and do so a little more each day (much like Russia is doing in Ukraine now).