My Position on Ukraine

As I’ll explain below, I basically support Ukraine. I don’t see a Nazi problem there any more serious than what most white countries have, I don’t see why it’s so important for Russia to intervene in support of the the Russia population in Ukraine, I find Putin offensive for various reasons, etc. However I am also concerned about a war starting between the US and Russia.

About 40% of my info for this is from CNN, about 40% is from NPR, and the rest is miscellaneous stuff including Dave Anderson’s column.

1. I have heard almost nothing about a current problem with Nazis in Ukraine. According to Dave Anderson in the Boulder Weekly, the Nazis are no longer politically significant. I DID read on CNN.com about a battalion of the Ukrainian military that is more right-wing than most military units. But I got the impression it was also not very significant. I have read that the President of Ukraine is Jewish, probably less than 100%. And although it’s not a good sign for him that I feel a need to say this, I get the impression he is okay with people of color (he recently addressed some body of the African Union and met with his counterpart from Indonesia). I have read of Putin making vague references to Nazism in Ukraine, but they’re incredibly vague. I have heard some stuff making me think that RUSSIA is the one with the Nazi problem.
2. I have heard almost nothing about Russian-speaking people being oppressed in Ukraine. I’m not sure what to think of what happened with Viktor Yanukovych. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but everything else I have read indicates that Ukraine is a healthy democracy and aside from the thing about Yanukovych I have not heard of anything about the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine being oppressed.
3. I don’t believe that NATO expansion explains what Putin is doing to Ukraine and I’m certain it doesn’t justify it. Putin has been acting like an imperialist- taking little bits here and there into his State or at least his spheres of influence- parts of Georgia, then a part of Ukraine and now more of Ukraine.
4. I cannot understand why anyone would blame the Ukrainian people for fighting back. At least some part of that population is going to be under the rule of a foreign nation, a foreign nation that has shown zero respect for the Ukrainian people (what Putin said shortly before the invasion, and what his forces have been doing as part of the invasion). I can only imagine how horrible that is.
5. I don’t like Putin. Last I heard, about 15-20 years ago, he made governors in Russia appointed instead of elected. He’s friendly with Trump. He’s incredibly homophobic. In general he seems pretty repulsive to me. My hope is that if the Ukraine invasion is too costly (in economic and military terms) it might weaken Putin.

6. Practically every European country that is not Russia is in NATO. And some of the exceptions are in the EU which is also supporting Ukraine. Critics of Biden’s Ukraine policy have been out-voted by almost all of Europe that is not Russia. They are worried about Russian aggression.

I realize what I just wrote might not change many minds. I’ve only been reading about 1,000 words a day about the conflict and related issues and in earlier years I am sure I missed a lot of relevant stuff. But I do support Ukraine.

I AM worried about the US getting into a war with Russia. In fact, in 2016 I told 1-3 people that Russia was the only issue where I preferred Trump over Clinton (I voted for Clinton (there were enough serious problems with Trump (i.e. he accepted support from David Duke) that I ignored the fact CO is not a swing state and failed to vote for a good 3rd party)). I can’t believe that Zelensky repeatedly asked for a no-fly zone and I’m really glad that Biden answered with a firm NO. I think the US can help Ukraine defend itself and at the same time avoid a conflict with Russia (Vietnam didn't become WWIII and neither did Afghanistan in the 1980s). Although I ended up looking a little stupid with that book review about nuclear war, the tension between the US and Russia is one of the reasons I am trying to promote the book and discussion about nuclear war.

Tom

Brexit, A Hard Border, and Irish Unity

You should read this. It's about the Northern Ireland aspect of Brexit, the departure from the EU of the UK. While reading my thoughts below, you should also read this. It's about how a "hard border" between the two parts of Ireland might violate the letter and certainly violates the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement. It doesn't mention that much of the business community, probably the vast majority, in both parts of Ireland oppose a hard border

I might be over-reacting, but there might be a new push for Irish unity soon. Besides Sinn Fein's success in the South, and the growth of Nationalist political strength in the North, there's also Brexit, and since a majority of N. Ireland voters voted to remain in the EU, there were definitely some Unionists who voted to remain (of 11 unionst MPs at the time, one opposed Brexit). Although the SF Deputy First Minister did at one point express opposition to a border between GB and NI, I think that might be because it was difficult for her to avoid since the First Minister and a large chunk, probably a majority of NI's business community oppose a border in the Irish sea (I've read that SF opposes it for different reasons than the DUP have for opposing it, but I just found something on the SF web-site indicating they might be sort of in favor of it) but SF definitely opposes a hard border in Ireland and and I think they probably realize that the EU will not accept a soft border in Ireland without a border in the Irish Sea. SF and the Social Democratic and Labour Party opposed Brexit. And the EU seems pissed about what London might be intending to do, and might strongly suggest that the situation be resolved by uniting Ireland (I believe it should be a 30 year process, but it should start ASAP).

UPDATE 3/5/20 I could swear I read somewhere that a senior DUP politician, perhaps Arlene Foster (leader of the DUP) said that a border in the Irish Sea would be the end of the Good Friday Agreement. I just found an article where a senior DUP politician says that the spirit of the GFA would be threatened by such a border. And I also just found an article where Foster said that there is so much opposition to such a border in the unionist community that there could be violence from that community, and although she didn't specify this, she's probably talking about loyalist paramilitaries. IF the DUP do walk away from the GFA because of a border in the Irish Sea, that could easily see a resumption of republican violence. There is a chance that a "hard border" in Ireland would see a small increase in republican violence, which would probably result in loyalist violence and/or repressive activity by the security forces. Hopefully the EU and America can put enough pressure on the British to resolve this by uniting Ireland. Unfortunately, as I write here, it's possible that Trump won't give a shit what SF wants (UPDATE 3/7/20 also, it was just reported that he made his now former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney his envoy to N. Ireland, and as far as I can tell, he doesn't like Mulvaney, and that makes me think that as flawed as his approach to the conflict would probably be, he also just doesn't care).

UPDATE 3/5/20 I stumbled across an Irish Times article about a December 2019 opinion poll of people in N. Ireland by the University of Liverpool, . The first relevant paragraph is:

In the 2016 Brexit vote Northern Ireland voted by 56 per cent to stay in the European Union. Excluding don’t knows, those who refused to say and those who would not vote, the survey found that now 63 per cent would vote to stay in the EU compared with 37 per cent who would vote to leave.

The second relevant paragraph is:

On checks on goods travelling between Britain and Northern Ireland, and between the North and the Republic, 68.5 per cent of those who stated an opinion believed they would be unacceptable.