BruceVC

Yes and this is one of the fundamental points that is conveniently ignored by Russian apologists. Most East European countries dont want to part of Putins " recreation of the Soviet empire " And the fact that this is their Democratic right doesnt seem to matter South Africa is part of BRICS, the Commonwealth, SADC and the AU and all these decisions to join these unions were made because we are a sovereign country and no one dictates to us who we can join and who we cannot join

I have one simple question to ask you Gorthfuscious Do you not believe a sovereign country has the right to join the EU or NATO if it wants? Or do you believe another country gets to decide? And if you believe Russia gets to decide would you support and justify a Russian invasion of lets says Finland if it joins NATO because then the West can also move Nukes close to Russia?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/02/united-nations-russia-ukraine-vote 141 countries out of 193 UN nations voted with the US and Ukraine in condemning this unprovoked invasion by Russia Only 5 countries voted against and those include the worst dictatorships in the world and I mean real dictatorships like NK, Belarus and Syria So I would say Russia needs to expand that list to include most of the world because condemning the Russian invasion should be considered an "unfriendly action "

You must be one of the few people in this world that honestly would suggest that life in the EU is not obviously better than life in Russia or life under Putin What next, is China a free society

When given a choice the majority of former Soviet states have joined the EU and many want to join NATO In fact is their any example of a former Soviet state that is a Democracy not wanting to join the EU? And countries like Belarus dont count because its an autocratic state

But Putin doesnt get to decide for the people of Eastern Europe, Ukraine had a Democratic election in 2019 and Zelensky won overwhelmingly and he ran on a pro-EU ticket. People like you seem to think the majority of peoples political wishes dont count and you just repeating the standard anti-Western and Russian apologist rhetoric

Another reason to be outraged towards Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, the list just keeps getting bigger Gorthfuscious

Yes extensively and the Russian army is still way below the US army around training and resources. And they use conscripts for example, never a great idea

I find these types of events and their outcome fascinating because you can recognize certain terrible events that were globally condemned but later on you can see how they benefitted the world and mankind in a very important way And nukes also helped prevent WW3 with mutually assured destruction as I have previously mentioned. So the actual invention of the nuclear bomb helped prevent WW3

Absolutely, I have always maintained it was the poor and or inconsistent response to Covid that was the greatest factor in Trumps defeat. It influenced the large percent of undecided voters who can really swing an election either way

The West didnt leave Ukraine out to dry? What are you talking about, the West is doing almost everything possible to support Ukraine but we not going to do anything that leads to war with Russia Sorry Sarex, Im sorry you disappointed that we dont want to risk nuclear holocaust. But the sanctions will work, they work more slowly but its not as quick as WW3

Malc now you can see why I use to say Trump said funny things at times, this is one of them ...at least he is not president anymore. But you must admit this is hilarious

I have always believed it came from Wuhan and animals, that is where most of the other viruses came from so why not this one ?

Kanie this invasion and what it means and how societies reflect on it is interesting to me and I wanted to get your opinion on something. And my post is just your personal opinion as an educator and is what I am saying something I should be concerned about especially when it comes to the reality of Communism and the USSR and how its portrayed in schools in the US but my post is about SA schools and may not be the same in US schools One of nieces who is 15 has decided she wants to take history in grade 10-12 and out of interest I asked my brother to send me what is the current SA curriculum history. I have often heard in the last 20 years how " our kids need to learn the history of events that is not just "Western " Also this is my only brother who is one of those white people who believes " white people must admit we all racist to defeat racism in our society " and also " Colonialism\Capitalism is the cause of inequality ", Im exaggerating to make the point but he kind of believes that in well meaning way So he sent the grade 10-12 curriculum to me on WhatsApp and all I can say is I wish he hadnt It seemed to be about 60-70 % all about topics like "imperialism and Capitalism in Africa " and " the USSR was a viable form of ideology to the evil West " and " what liberty really existed after the French Revolution " and they do have a section of the Cold War that seemed to cover "Vietnam and the role of China " so Im not sure how they frame the dark reality of the USSR and programs like Stalins insane Collectivization programs And what my concern is my niece learns a soft version of Communism and the USSR and then when the reality becomes real like this invasion of Ukraine and Putins attempt to " recreate the borders of the Soviet empire " she will be confused and think " but thats not so bad because its an alternative to the West which is equally as bad " or something similar So the point of this post in summary is does it matter if their is indeed a watering down of the Cold War and Communism that is taught at our SA schools or any school? I dont think it really matters because the reality of SA is we have no agency in the new Cold War and if students learn something inaccurate that will quickly end in RL But I am still worry about how history is framed in schools and does it make a difference ?

Are you guys doing a "discuss the event " with your students so they understand this invasion, I would love to hear what the kids think and it aligns to the Cold War with the reality of Russia and this Ukraine crisis? So the US involvement is history in the making. And when I say event I am not suggesting you should change the curriculum of the current history subjects, dont worry I am talking about that " discuss the event " you arranged where you discussed how the US had killed those Afghans in an accidental drone strike or something similar (I dont remember the exact details )

This has been a very informative post and I wish you had explained this earlier when I asked. I realized I didnt know part of your history with him because I do read your posts and I do remember most of them because I have a semi-photographic memory and its helpful most of the time. But sometimes its a little frustrating because I see some patterns in your posts when we having random chats and these patterns aren't necessarily intentional so I realize its because I dont know your history and now I understand. I dont have these types of connections to Putin and Im interested And you also right about other comments like " its easier to negotiate and understand Russia than China " and thats absolutely right This invasion doesn't change that And Gorth I hold you in high regard and I would be shocked to hear you use Comrade words like " champion of Democracy " ....

The likelihood of Putin ever using nukes is 1% or so but the reality is you will feel anxiety because its something that is real and then what doesnt help in the media coverage is headlines like " Nuclear plant: How dangerous was the attack and what is the risk in Ukraine " https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60609633

If you guys are looking for any advice or coping mechanism around how the nuclear holocaust threat is causing anxiety let me know. I have had PTSD twice and I know thats not what you experiencing but its symptoms can be similar And something else, I have never known the 3 of you to share the same reasonable concerns and anxiety. Its normal and the fact you mentioned it is a good step, you must accept it because it is something real and dont think its silly

@Gorth Putin has now passed this law to persecute anyone in the media for negative or false news ....I think its time we both acknowledged that Putin doesn't believe in any Democrat principles and is a tyrant

Dark can you quickly explain something, are all the Slavs in the East European countries from the same Slavic group ? And are the Slavs in Russian the same as the Ukrainian ?

NATO is definitely out the question but do feel the pressure on Western countries to do more, I have stopped watching on DSTV for while because its a little depressing I have wondered for any years how you can remove Putin because he is not good for Russia and the right thing to do is let the Russian people have a better leader. I couldn't think of anything reasonable but he has created his own problems

I have learnt a lot about Trump now and what motivates him and how he can be used to push through certain agendas but the thought of him for another 4 years its not something I want to experience again. The Trump presidency had some good policies like the trade war with China to confirm how China can be challenged and the tax cuts had some good outcomes But I dont think Biden should stand for another term, I would support Hilary Clinton? I think she was treated very badly last time and she deserves it after everything she has done for the US Would you support her?

Its just raises the reality of how most of the world thinks and even though Putin may not care its never nice to see how many countries dont you support you and they dont agree with the Russian facts. I feel sorry for normal Russian citizens and Ukrainians who really have friendships Sarex would you accept EU membership without any prerequisites?

I can understand how all Ukrainians must be feeling but their are several things NATO cant do and this keeps getting asked in the media and its makes NATO uncomfortable They cant enforce a no fly zone because this may lead to direct confrontation with Russia. What about the Ukrainians surrendering to avoid further bloodshed ? Let the sanctions do their job I realize it sound like a cowardly choice but you can get the country back later, the West is behind Ukraine and they will be supported ?

Gorthfuscious I had a feeling you were going to call me out on that...I was really expecting it But what I mean is I dont support politicians who lie around corruption or self-interest at the expense of the country but this was a harmless lie about people in Downing Street who all had to work together the whole time of the pandemic while the rest of us sat safely at home. Many people in his team got sick and Im sure some died because this was before vaccines in 2020 So let them have a party together, why do other people care unless you were also forced to work and can you tell me that no one from that group ever broke the rules ? The UK media is always very harsh and critical of their politicians if things go even slightly wrong and you presented with an opportunity to attack the current PM. Its the same as most of the media support around UK sports teams, if they lose 1-2 games in a cricket, rugby or football match the targeted team suddenly comes vilified and criticized from all sides