Unfortunately a majority of Ukrainians continue to support zelensky (if their polls can be believed) and a substantial number want the war to continue. I read their press regularly, and the levels of self delusion are difficult for me to comprehend (yes, I know “the first casualty of war is truth”)
It is a natural human reaction to feel pity for people in such horrendous circumstances, however many eagerly enlisted when they thought they could win quickly and now it’s a slaughter. They, like all of us , have to bear the consequences of poor judgment and wilful blindness. Life judges harshly, very harshly in their case. History is littered with such cases. Having been willing slaves, they will get a slaves wages.
Those happen to be Ukrainian polls, and just like the Ukrainian media, are strangers to the truth.
Ask yourself, how many Ukrainians watching men being dragged off the streets and thrown into vans on a daily basis, across the Ukraine, only to be returned in body bags, would realistically support Zelensky.
Everyday on one Telegram Channel or other you can see people being forced into vans or even knocked off their bikes by TCC thugs. The polls I have seen over many months show poor support for Zelensky.
Thanks for that Hussein. I think 64% are in favour of negotiations - if polls can be believed. I don't agree with you about the people having to bear responsibility but I can see where you are coming from. There are some who bear more responsibility than others. I have no sympathy for the Azov people but many Russian speaking people have been forced into the conflict - I have sympathy for them and I think it is deserved. I also have sympathy for the children who will suffer in future. But I am feeling more a sense of injustice than pity. It seemed to me a gross injustice that the people of Ukraine, who have been duped and conned in a failed attempt by the West to undermine, fragment and control Russia should pay for the privilege of dying for the fading Empire. They have paid the blood price already.
As i was driving to work this morning BBC Scotland was profiling Ukrainian children that had moved here after 2022. I say Ukrainian but they all sounded Scottish. I suspect BBC Scotland chose them specifically for the piece but it does beg the question what will happen with these kids? They are now Scottish- will they be thrown to the wolves and forced to return by the Immigration office to a shattered, corrupt Ukraine, in due course.
We now have in Scotland a great reservoir of Scottish kids that are bi or tri lingual who use Scottish idioms but are fluent in English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Bulgarian, Persian, Arabic, Pashtun, Urdu, Hindi, Ghanaian etc but will the UK see the potential benefits?
When has the US ever acted any differently? They don't go into a country unless there is gold or other resources to be had. Their thieving of gold has occurred in Venezuela, Libya, Aleppo, and Iraq. Oil and minerals will be taken wherever they can, too.
The US trumpeted loudly under Biden, that the cost of the arms they were supplying Ukraine had to be paid back. Although I have not seen the documentation, I imagine there would be a signed agreement, or agreements, to that effect. So, in fact Trump is following up on a done deal.
The Independent published a map of the regions where Ukraine's 'critical minerals' - £12 Trillion worth - are located. Their source was Forbes Ukraine. The highest concentrations are in 3 areas already in the Russian Federation: Luhansk, Donetsk and (I think) Zaporezhyia. There are lower concentrations of minerals in regions just to the north of there, and in three other regions: northern and western regions, and in the region south of Zaporezhyia. If Trump is going to have US corporations access the best deposits, he will have to strike a deal with Putin, not anybody representing Ukraine. This is probably why Zelensky was sidelined, because the US usually tends to negotiate such deals with whoever is their puppet at the time, regardless of legitimacy.
The US- Russia 'peace' talks have always been about commerce as far as Trump is concerned, wanting the best financial deal for the US. American corporations are also going to re-invest in Russia.
It is abysmal what has happened to the Ukrainian people. Russia has already replaced thousands of apartments that were destroyed, especially in Mariupol, but this doesn't bring back the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians killed in this futile war.
I fervently hope that Zelensky, and the Right-wing shits around him, plus anyone else who stripped Ukraine of its wealth, have their ill-gotten gains taken from them. That should be the first action if the US believes loans need to be repaid.
Thanks for that Joy. I didn't realise that a deal was made under Biden - missed that. I think Doctorow said that the minerals in some areas held by Ukraine cannot be mined profitably.
I mentioned before that Zelensky had changed the land ownership law in Ukraine. Its all very treaty of Brest Litovsk. The Americans are just following up where the Kaiser's government left off in 1918.
This I believe is a smokescreen of many dimensions. There are no deposits worth talking about, only money. Trump has Macron and Starmer over this week, the minerals deal is a polite way of saying to Paris and London that any money that flows out of Kiev in the next few weeks will not be going anywhere but New York.
Wall Street first for the booty, the scraps left over are for the lapdogs to fight over.
I think i have said before with the language issues in Scotland. Ukraine had an easy way out by calling Putin's bluff. I said before that the English language and cultural narrative belongs as much to Scotland as it does to England. The same is applicable to Ukraine. They, the Ukrainians, are as much, if not more, with the history of the Rus, the modern custodians of Russian culture and identity and yet they chose to oppress that identity and lay the framework for Russian interference in their geographical integrity.
Here's my take: Trump is attempting to vindicate to his supporters the material benefits to funding Ukraine. In the absence of such he can walk away and do a materially beneficial deal, to the US, with the Russians. Same in Gaza. The Palestinians are being enticed to do a deal. He's already excluded the Israelis by saying the US will take it over. He wants a deal. Offer him a deal. Redevelopment of Gaza funded by the hashemites and agreed rights to offshore resources for US companies. Call his bluff. He's either America first or he's a Zionist stooge. More to the point what does the UK get out of courting war with Russia? There's nobody more proud of Scottish fighting heritage than me, and I will even acknowledge that the Welsh, Irish and English added a little bit, but the UK as a whole is a generation behind the fighting ability of the Ukrainians nevermind the Russians.
Rob, chill. You're premature. There are a lot of angles to the minerals thing. And no, I am not a blind Trumpista. I am in fly over country in the US. Besides being a former member of the county GOP executive committee I frequent the local American Legion Social Club (BAR). Point is I have at least some reading of the grass roots. Was the US responsible? Yes. Will you get anywhere beating that drum? No. Trump is manuvering for tommorrow. When Trump proposes something that seems way off, and is a challenge to accomplish, always remember: Show me the money.
Thanks George - I am making a basic point that Zelensky is not legitimate. I may be premature in the sense that the deal may not happen but I had to say something. I am not beating a drum, I'm not trying to get anywhere; I'm just making a point, Keep in touch.
It seems that Selenskij has slgned a treaty with the UK about the rare earth and other minerals of Ukraine within the 100 years treaty shortly before Trumps augurartion.
I would never consider any of Trumps wordings as serious remarks. Most is just throwing shit to the wall and checking If something sticks.
You should read about the Kenmore estate what has happened there but thats more related to a general trend. The farmers i deal with for the horses are up in arms but the big estates are now clawing back the land from the historic tenant farmers to avoid the tax. The basic take is that they, Starmer et al, want to break up the landed estates which is noble in itself, but only to let big business in, which isn't. The former Green MSP Andy Wightman has a few great books on land ownership in Scotland. Listened to Paul Robesons version of Shenandoah last night but i still prefer the Corrie's version. You do know that Robeson was apparently Mountbatten's wife's special friend.
Robeson was once lauded in the Welsh valleys - which he visited many times to support the miners. He was a friend of Aneurin Bevan who would put virtually all modern politicians to shame. Bevan believed that politicians should RE-Present the people and in order to do so they should be OF the people - which is rare nowadays. Interesting stuff about the land. BTW - Mountbatten's wife also had an affair with Nehru - which you probably know.
I didn't know that thanks. I didn't know about Nehru either. Divide and Conquer? Gandhi was celibate so no open door there. There seems to be no stone of sin they left unturned. I suppose when 95 percent of the population is trying to feed itself and the remaining 5 percent; the 5 percent can lead the way in hedonistic hobbies to fill their day! I was reading a book about Killing Thatcher recently and it comments on Mountbatten's death. I didn't realize it was the same day as Warrenpoint and that he drowned.
Thanks for that Michael - very interesting. I've heard that the ruling elites wish to take control of land so that they can control the food supply - and thereby control us. So initiatives such as this along with massive land purchases by billionaires in the US - and the inheritance tax for farmers here in the UK - all have the same objective.
I must say, I’m also extremely disappointed in Trump due to his continued entertaining of the Fucking Bullshit emanating vfrom the corrupt warmongering Green Ukrainian Goblin.
Trump should have dispensed with him a long time ago.
Same here. I jokingly suggested that they cut the Ukrainian flag in half to show an updated measure of the landmass. Bad mistake on my part. My better half is back in Germany at present. I tentatively suggested that the AFD is representative of how Germans want their Russo German relations to be. Again, bad mistake. Free thinking Germans who support detente with Russia are still convinced that the AFD is a right wing party anathema to their post war settlement. They disregard the real Nazi origins of the CDU etc. My household will be strife for awhile...
Regarding the issue of rare earth minerals, I think Trump probably needs to appease the neocons who strongly insist that the U.S. must continue supporting Ukraine.
Lindsey Graham has long argued that Americans should support Ukraine in order to secure rare metals.
Trump can't ignore the presence of these neocons because they are backed by Jewish investors and the military-industrial complex.
I agree with your opinion that ordinary Ukrainian people should not have to pay such a high price.
I believe Trump wants to end this war, but he also needs to be cautious about the risk of assassination.
So, I’d like to believe that Trump "intentionally" brought up Ukraine’s mineral resources as a way to appease both MAGA supporters and the neocons.
Thanks for that Kumi. I understand what you are saying. Trump has recently said that the agreement will need to be signed by Ukraine's RADA which means that he has more of a democratic impulse that I have given credit for in my article. But Zelensky will still go to Washington to sign it - yet he is not the legitimate President. I am no legal expert but I can't understand why Trump is allowing this. I don't think Putin would.
So the German elections can be broken down as follows: the part of Germany which was occupied by Russia and knows the Russians best votes for the party which is most pragmatic in respect of Russo German relations. The part that was occupied by the anti Russian forces votes for the most unpragmatic anti Russian parties.
Unfortunately a majority of Ukrainians continue to support zelensky (if their polls can be believed) and a substantial number want the war to continue. I read their press regularly, and the levels of self delusion are difficult for me to comprehend (yes, I know “the first casualty of war is truth”)
It is a natural human reaction to feel pity for people in such horrendous circumstances, however many eagerly enlisted when they thought they could win quickly and now it’s a slaughter. They, like all of us , have to bear the consequences of poor judgment and wilful blindness. Life judges harshly, very harshly in their case. History is littered with such cases. Having been willing slaves, they will get a slaves wages.
Those happen to be Ukrainian polls, and just like the Ukrainian media, are strangers to the truth.
Ask yourself, how many Ukrainians watching men being dragged off the streets and thrown into vans on a daily basis, across the Ukraine, only to be returned in body bags, would realistically support Zelensky.
Everyday on one Telegram Channel or other you can see people being forced into vans or even knocked off their bikes by TCC thugs. The polls I have seen over many months show poor support for Zelensky.
Come on now Ukrainians lie?…. I know for a fact the dead ones don’t. (there was a poll done).
Very true , the responsibility is not spread evenly and innocents can not be held responsible in any case and from that perspective you are correct
Thanks for that Hussein. I think 64% are in favour of negotiations - if polls can be believed. I don't agree with you about the people having to bear responsibility but I can see where you are coming from. There are some who bear more responsibility than others. I have no sympathy for the Azov people but many Russian speaking people have been forced into the conflict - I have sympathy for them and I think it is deserved. I also have sympathy for the children who will suffer in future. But I am feeling more a sense of injustice than pity. It seemed to me a gross injustice that the people of Ukraine, who have been duped and conned in a failed attempt by the West to undermine, fragment and control Russia should pay for the privilege of dying for the fading Empire. They have paid the blood price already.
As i was driving to work this morning BBC Scotland was profiling Ukrainian children that had moved here after 2022. I say Ukrainian but they all sounded Scottish. I suspect BBC Scotland chose them specifically for the piece but it does beg the question what will happen with these kids? They are now Scottish- will they be thrown to the wolves and forced to return by the Immigration office to a shattered, corrupt Ukraine, in due course.
There are some Ukrainian kids in my wife's school - we've even got a Ukrainian flag flying alongside the Saltire in our local village.
We now have in Scotland a great reservoir of Scottish kids that are bi or tri lingual who use Scottish idioms but are fluent in English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Bulgarian, Persian, Arabic, Pashtun, Urdu, Hindi, Ghanaian etc but will the UK see the potential benefits?
When has the US ever acted any differently? They don't go into a country unless there is gold or other resources to be had. Their thieving of gold has occurred in Venezuela, Libya, Aleppo, and Iraq. Oil and minerals will be taken wherever they can, too.
The US trumpeted loudly under Biden, that the cost of the arms they were supplying Ukraine had to be paid back. Although I have not seen the documentation, I imagine there would be a signed agreement, or agreements, to that effect. So, in fact Trump is following up on a done deal.
The Independent published a map of the regions where Ukraine's 'critical minerals' - £12 Trillion worth - are located. Their source was Forbes Ukraine. The highest concentrations are in 3 areas already in the Russian Federation: Luhansk, Donetsk and (I think) Zaporezhyia. There are lower concentrations of minerals in regions just to the north of there, and in three other regions: northern and western regions, and in the region south of Zaporezhyia. If Trump is going to have US corporations access the best deposits, he will have to strike a deal with Putin, not anybody representing Ukraine. This is probably why Zelensky was sidelined, because the US usually tends to negotiate such deals with whoever is their puppet at the time, regardless of legitimacy.
The US- Russia 'peace' talks have always been about commerce as far as Trump is concerned, wanting the best financial deal for the US. American corporations are also going to re-invest in Russia.
It is abysmal what has happened to the Ukrainian people. Russia has already replaced thousands of apartments that were destroyed, especially in Mariupol, but this doesn't bring back the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians killed in this futile war.
I fervently hope that Zelensky, and the Right-wing shits around him, plus anyone else who stripped Ukraine of its wealth, have their ill-gotten gains taken from them. That should be the first action if the US believes loans need to be repaid.
Thanks for that Joy. I didn't realise that a deal was made under Biden - missed that. I think Doctorow said that the minerals in some areas held by Ukraine cannot be mined profitably.
I mentioned before that Zelensky had changed the land ownership law in Ukraine. Its all very treaty of Brest Litovsk. The Americans are just following up where the Kaiser's government left off in 1918.
I'm not sure what you mean. I've forgotten what you said previously.
This I believe is a smokescreen of many dimensions. There are no deposits worth talking about, only money. Trump has Macron and Starmer over this week, the minerals deal is a polite way of saying to Paris and London that any money that flows out of Kiev in the next few weeks will not be going anywhere but New York.
Wall Street first for the booty, the scraps left over are for the lapdogs to fight over.
I think there is definitely more to this than meets the eye - thanks. But I am trying to analyse what I can see.
Cynical ploys by the imperialists with the corporate/state media delivering the message to the masses.
Thank you as you put things into words so well.
One wonders how many of the world's leaders are being pressured by time spent with Epstein's parties.
Can't wait for that to come out - sheers Bill.
I think i have said before with the language issues in Scotland. Ukraine had an easy way out by calling Putin's bluff. I said before that the English language and cultural narrative belongs as much to Scotland as it does to England. The same is applicable to Ukraine. They, the Ukrainians, are as much, if not more, with the history of the Rus, the modern custodians of Russian culture and identity and yet they chose to oppress that identity and lay the framework for Russian interference in their geographical integrity.
Here's my take: Trump is attempting to vindicate to his supporters the material benefits to funding Ukraine. In the absence of such he can walk away and do a materially beneficial deal, to the US, with the Russians. Same in Gaza. The Palestinians are being enticed to do a deal. He's already excluded the Israelis by saying the US will take it over. He wants a deal. Offer him a deal. Redevelopment of Gaza funded by the hashemites and agreed rights to offshore resources for US companies. Call his bluff. He's either America first or he's a Zionist stooge. More to the point what does the UK get out of courting war with Russia? There's nobody more proud of Scottish fighting heritage than me, and I will even acknowledge that the Welsh, Irish and English added a little bit, but the UK as a whole is a generation behind the fighting ability of the Ukrainians nevermind the Russians.
In the light of what you said compare the Canadian forces - https://t.me/two_majors/44130 or https://x.com/i/status/1893317415980642720 with the Russians - https://x.com/i/status/1893215443025838161
cheers
Interesting point about our willingness or fitness to fight. I think you are probably right.
Rob, chill. You're premature. There are a lot of angles to the minerals thing. And no, I am not a blind Trumpista. I am in fly over country in the US. Besides being a former member of the county GOP executive committee I frequent the local American Legion Social Club (BAR). Point is I have at least some reading of the grass roots. Was the US responsible? Yes. Will you get anywhere beating that drum? No. Trump is manuvering for tommorrow. When Trump proposes something that seems way off, and is a challenge to accomplish, always remember: Show me the money.
Thanks George - I am making a basic point that Zelensky is not legitimate. I may be premature in the sense that the deal may not happen but I had to say something. I am not beating a drum, I'm not trying to get anywhere; I'm just making a point, Keep in touch.
Orange man and JD you let yourselves down lack of class and decorum.
It seems that Selenskij has slgned a treaty with the UK about the rare earth and other minerals of Ukraine within the 100 years treaty shortly before Trumps augurartion.
I would never consider any of Trumps wordings as serious remarks. Most is just throwing shit to the wall and checking If something sticks.
Good phrase - sounds about right Johannes
You should read about the Kenmore estate what has happened there but thats more related to a general trend. The farmers i deal with for the horses are up in arms but the big estates are now clawing back the land from the historic tenant farmers to avoid the tax. The basic take is that they, Starmer et al, want to break up the landed estates which is noble in itself, but only to let big business in, which isn't. The former Green MSP Andy Wightman has a few great books on land ownership in Scotland. Listened to Paul Robesons version of Shenandoah last night but i still prefer the Corrie's version. You do know that Robeson was apparently Mountbatten's wife's special friend.
Robeson was once lauded in the Welsh valleys - which he visited many times to support the miners. He was a friend of Aneurin Bevan who would put virtually all modern politicians to shame. Bevan believed that politicians should RE-Present the people and in order to do so they should be OF the people - which is rare nowadays. Interesting stuff about the land. BTW - Mountbatten's wife also had an affair with Nehru - which you probably know.
I didn't know that thanks. I didn't know about Nehru either. Divide and Conquer? Gandhi was celibate so no open door there. There seems to be no stone of sin they left unturned. I suppose when 95 percent of the population is trying to feed itself and the remaining 5 percent; the 5 percent can lead the way in hedonistic hobbies to fill their day! I was reading a book about Killing Thatcher recently and it comments on Mountbatten's death. I didn't realize it was the same day as Warrenpoint and that he drowned.
Here is the link: https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/new-report-take-over-ukrainian-agricultural-land
and this: https://kyivindependent.com/land-reform-second-stage-of-ukraines-land-reform-underway-sparking-concerns-among-small-scale-farmers/
Thanks for that Michael - very interesting. I've heard that the ruling elites wish to take control of land so that they can control the food supply - and thereby control us. So initiatives such as this along with massive land purchases by billionaires in the US - and the inheritance tax for farmers here in the UK - all have the same objective.
I must say, I’m also extremely disappointed in Trump due to his continued entertaining of the Fucking Bullshit emanating vfrom the corrupt warmongering Green Ukrainian Goblin.
Trump should have dispensed with him a long time ago.
I'm surprised that the once great Z is still walking this earth.
Same here. I jokingly suggested that they cut the Ukrainian flag in half to show an updated measure of the landmass. Bad mistake on my part. My better half is back in Germany at present. I tentatively suggested that the AFD is representative of how Germans want their Russo German relations to be. Again, bad mistake. Free thinking Germans who support detente with Russia are still convinced that the AFD is a right wing party anathema to their post war settlement. They disregard the real Nazi origins of the CDU etc. My household will be strife for awhile...
Oh dear.
Regarding the issue of rare earth minerals, I think Trump probably needs to appease the neocons who strongly insist that the U.S. must continue supporting Ukraine.
Lindsey Graham has long argued that Americans should support Ukraine in order to secure rare metals.
Trump can't ignore the presence of these neocons because they are backed by Jewish investors and the military-industrial complex.
I agree with your opinion that ordinary Ukrainian people should not have to pay such a high price.
I believe Trump wants to end this war, but he also needs to be cautious about the risk of assassination.
So, I’d like to believe that Trump "intentionally" brought up Ukraine’s mineral resources as a way to appease both MAGA supporters and the neocons.
Thanks for that Kumi. I understand what you are saying. Trump has recently said that the agreement will need to be signed by Ukraine's RADA which means that he has more of a democratic impulse that I have given credit for in my article. But Zelensky will still go to Washington to sign it - yet he is not the legitimate President. I am no legal expert but I can't understand why Trump is allowing this. I don't think Putin would.
So the German elections can be broken down as follows: the part of Germany which was occupied by Russia and knows the Russians best votes for the party which is most pragmatic in respect of Russo German relations. The part that was occupied by the anti Russian forces votes for the most unpragmatic anti Russian parties.
Yes - It's a West/East Germany Split which I'll cover in the Update.