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All I can say is…February 25th, 2025 |
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President Reagan did not tend to curse – he had a mid West childhood with a leftist father (who was also an alcoholic and a New Deal WPA, Works Projects Administration, activist), and a religious conservative mother. Having to drag (literally) his drunk father home from bars (where the father spent the taxpayer money he was given) may have influenced the beliefs (for example, he choose to be a Protestant like his mother – not a Catholic like his father) and politics of Ronald Reagan – but he did vote for Franklin Roosevelt four times. He never used bad language about his father, indeed he hardly ever used bad language about anyone. Donald Trump’s brother was an alcoholic – he seems to have had a similar attitude towards him as Ronald Reagan had about his father, compassion but also a determination not-to-be-like-him (more extreme in the case of Donald Trump – he does not drink at all).
One horrible fact – Ronald Reagan watched both his mother and his elder brother die of alzheimers – so when he got this disease, he knew exactly what would eventually happen to him.
As for Ukraine – Ronald Reagan was born in 1911, the Ukraine at that time was part of the Russian Empire, as it had been for centuries (the Russians had defeated the Ottoman Empire – and the Poles and Swedes), indeed such cities as Odessa had been created by Russians and were, at-that-time, overwhelmingly Russian.
It is true that some Ukrainians (most likely a small minority in 1911) maintained that Ukraine should be an independent country. This idea had even been used as a legal defense when some Ukrainians had sided with the Swedes under Peter the Great in the early 1700s (“we are not traitors to Russia – because we are NOT Russian”) – the (Russian) courts rejected the defense and hanged (as traitors) those Ukrainians who had taken up arms with the Swedish King Charles.
The British government did a similar thing to William Joyce (“Lord Haw-Haw”) who was hanged for treason to the United Kingdom (he broadcast for the Germans during World War II) – in spite of his legal defense that was not British (that he was Irish) and, therefore, could not be guilty of treason to Britain. The, British, courts ruled that he was British – and, therefore, had committed treason, because he was born when Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.
President Zelensky was born when the Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union and is a native Russian speaker (Ukrainian is his second language) – I can well understand why he does not want to face “justice” (so called justice) in a Russian court.
But the world changes – what would have seemed bizarre in 1911 (or even in the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was President) and was NOT a war aim of the British government during the Crimean War (contrary to what is now claimed – there was no aim to “liberate Kiev from the Russians” in the 1850s – or later, as the British and French, at-that-time, considered Kiev, let alone Crimea – which had never been Ukrainian, to be part of Russia) is now a reality – and has to be accepted.
Perhaps because of the savage treatment Ukrainians received under the Marxist Soviet Union, when many MILLIONS of Ukrainians were slaughtered (and it was NOT just under Stalin – it started under Lenin), the idea of union with Russia is a non-starter now.
Mr Putin was born in 1952 – for the first 30 years of his life Ukraine was part of his country – different yes, but not more so than Wales is from England, he can not seem to find the mental flexibility to accept that Ukraine is no longer part of his country, and-never-will-be again.
If Mr Putin can not accept that Ukraine is now an independent country, real independence not nominal independence, then he will have to be replaced by a younger generation of leadership in Russia who can accept the world as it now is.
Kiev will NEVER be part of Russia again. And Mr Putin’s savage invasion, and three years of savage war, means that some areas of Ukraine that were pro union with Russia a few years ago – will NEVER be part of Russia again.
I remember listening to a man, a native Russian speaker – he could not even speak Ukrainian as a second language, saying he had always been confused as to whether he was Russian or Ukrainian – but then Mr Putin destroyed his home town, and that had decided him.
He, the man, decided that he was Ukrainian.
There are many men and women like him.
Destroy the towns and cities of people and they do NOT want to be part of your country – even if they were open to that idea before you acted like a savage criminal.
This Mr Putin needs to understand – or, if he refuses to understand, he needs to be replaced by a new Russian leadership who does understand.
A new leadership is needed in Russia who will deal with the real threat to Russia, to the Russian people – that threat is not, and had never been, Ukrainians. The real threat to the Russian people (now depleted of hundreds of thousands of young men – whose lives have been thrown away by Mr Putin in his pointless vanity project war) – the real threat to the Russian people are the forces that Mr Putin has allied with – and which are now increasingly seen in Russia.
Russians need to ask themselves – do you want Russian cities to end up like, for example, Birmingham in the United Kingdom? Do you want end up outnumbered in your cities and towns (towns as well – for it will not stop at the cities).
If the answer is “no” – then the real threat to the Russian people, the policies of Mr Putin – and Mr Putin himself, need to be terminated.
As for Ukraine – the Ukrainians are, rightly, concentrating on the threat from Mr Putin.
But that is not the only threat to Ukraine – to the Ukrainian people.
The policy of the European Union, and the rest of the “international community”, is not to destroy nation-states such as Ukraine by bullets and bombs (like Mr Putin), but their policy is still to destroy Ukraine and all other Western nation-states – but by other means (as has been been increasingly obvious since the 1960s).
Partly by promoting anti birth policies (and Mr Putin, and other Soviet types, have done the same thing – look at the abortion rate in Russia, and the policies that basically FORCE women to go out to work outside the home) – leading to demographic collapse, and (presented as the “answer” to demographic collapse) promoting mass migration from other parts of the world.
Mr Putin is the obvious threat – in that he is a vicious criminal, but the “international community” (the E.U. and so on) may prove to be a deadly long term threat. Hopefully Ukrainians will reject Mr Putin – AND will reject the E.U., U.N., and the rest of the “international community” with its agenda of destroying Western nation states. The policy of destroying Western peoples – including the Ukrainians.
Reagan would be looking in horror at some of the things said by the 47th POTUS, and in particular, the repeated smears against Zelensky. He’d have been unimpressed by all the rationalisations, the excuses, the BS about Trump playing “four-D chess”, and so on. Yes, he would have recognised that this war has to end, but he’d make the point that peace has to be attained by making everyone understand the costs of starting another war. And that emphatically means making it clear that the overwhelming moral blame for this lies in Moscow. For example, I can see Reagan agreeing with this New York Post editorial from Douglas Murray, who has been similarly robust in his views about Israel and Oct 7. https://nypost.com/2025/02/20/opinion/putin-is-the-dictator-and-10-ukraine-russia-war-truths-we-ignore-at-our-peril/
It may be that a deal is struck that makes it clear to Putin, and the criminals and thugs in his regime, that what happened three years ago cannot be repeated. Trump might yet surprise us all. A problem, however, is that Putin is caught in a trap of his own creation: to be seen to back down without a “win” means he’s a dead man. There are plenty of hardliners in Russia who are even nastier than he is. That is why I think we have to pursue a containment policy now against Russia, and that obviously means big spending hikes on defence. (For those of us in the UK, I would focus on things like building more submarines, frigates, and anti-missile systems and also work on areas such as drone counter-measures, expanding reserves for all branches, more infantry, etc.)
By the way, in talking to friends about this who have, alas, fallen for some Russian talking points, I was reminded of this important essay, out a few days ago, about the myths surrounding events in Ukraine a decade ago – specifically, the Maidan revolts and ouster of a president. It is a long(ish) read but worth it.
Johnathan Peace – President Trump has never said he is playing Four D chess.
And he is President of the United States – not President of the Ukraine. Nor did President Reagan (as far as I know) argue that Ukraine should be independent – although I believe that Ukraine should be independent.
People from New York City, unlike people born in 1911 small town Illinois, use bad language – and then make deals with the people they have used bad language about.
Indeed President Trump is willing to make a deal with President Zelensky – even though he, President Trump, admits that the rare earth deposits and so on may well be worthless (“who the Hell knows if this is really worth anything” were the words) – as they will not be developed for a long time, if it all.
“Venting” before making a deal is what President Trump, and other people from his New York City culture, do before making a deal. Trying to salvage something from the spending over many years – spending that did not start in 2022 – as President Trump himself spent a lot of money arming and training Ukrainian forces from 2017 to 2020. Although the “sunk cost fallacy” should be remembered – just because one has spent a lot of money on a project, does not necessarily mean one should spend more money on the project.
Do I prefer a small town like Dixon Illinois in 1911 to New York City? Of course I do – but the United States has a President from New York City.
Be thankful the language was not a lot worse.
Finally there is the vast number of people killed or maimed on both sides – sadly only President Trump seems to care about them. No one else really seems to regard the killed or maimed, on both sides, as an important matter.
It may NOT be possible to end the war – but at least President Trump is trying to end it, no one else is.
From a public relations point of view trying to end the war is a MISTAKE – as any serious effort to end the war is going to get a lot of hate poured down on you (as President Trump just found out) – and, most likely, will not achieve anything.
As for President Reagan – he made a deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran and their “Party of God” puppets in Lebanon – people who had killed hundreds of Americans (and vast numbers of other people) and had tortured people, such as the CIA chief in Lebanon, till they went insane – I am not using a figure of speech, the man was returned mutilated and out of his mind, a reminder of “do not let them take you alive”.
So the late President Reagan is no guide in these matters. Especially as the “Party of God” in Lebanon remains as vicious as ever – as does the Islamic Republic of Iran itself.
I repeat – trying to end the Russian/Ukrainian war is, most likely, a mistake that will not achieve anything (especially as Mr Putin can-not-be-trusted to keep an agreement he makes), but President Trump thinks otherwise. Let us hope he is correct and I am wrong.
As for the alternative of thermonuclear war with Russia over Ukraine (at least with Ukraine as the official justification) – it is true that it would deal with the demographic transformation in Western cities (as, although they are spreading into smaller towns, most of the newcomers and their descendants, are in the cities) – but I think that the deaths of millions of people, of whatever ethnic group, is NOT morally acceptable.
I do not regard thermonuclear war, in relation to Ukraine, as an acceptable policy alternative – and I remind people that NATO membership rests, in the end, on the threat of thermonuclear war if a NATO member is attacked by a nuclear power.
“Paul – Ukraine itself had nuclear weapons and gave them up in return for empty promises, this was a mistake”.
That may well be true.
Paul, Mr Trump’s defenders and explainers often say that he is playing clever mental games. Or that it’s all s bluff, doesn’t mean it, etc etc. like you, Paul, I prefer people to say what they mean and mean what they say.
The 4-D chess deflection doesn’t work, anyway. Mr Trump has been consistent on certain things, such as tariffs, since he started to be a kind of public person.
A time for choosing. A time for a line not to be crossed, although it has already been.
As for the United Kingdom – the United Kingdom is no longer a great power, not economically (what matters is production – NOT “GDP” which is a measure of spending), nor militarily.
People may not like me pointing that out – but it is the truth.
Some people are amused by the delusions of grandeur that come out of the British government – but they are actually deeply concerning, they are not amusing at all.
The United Kingdom is a relatively small country, and is very densely populated – especially in the south east, and has no real defenses against attack. Nor is its economic position such that a large increase in military spending is practical.
The United Kingdom could not survive a thermonuclear exchange, it is not a matter of the United Kingdom being harmed by such an exchange – the United Kingdom would be destroyed by such an exchange.
Unfortunately the British government appears to not understand this.
Johnathan Pearce – I apologise for misunderstanding your comment about 4D Chess.
@Paul: Finally there is the vast number of people killed or maimed on both sides – sadly only President Trump seems to care about them. No one else really seems to regard the killed or maimed, on both sides, as an important matter. It may NOT be possible to end the war – but at least President Trump is trying to end it, no one else is.
That’s an incredible series of statements (I use the word “incredible” not as a usual superlative, but to state that your statement isn’t credible). How on earth can you know, with certainty, that “only” Mr Trump “seems to care about them”? Again, how can you state that “no one else” is trying to stop the war? Surely, the issue is how the war is stopped: with Putin and his regime being defeated, and seen to be defeated; an unsteady armistice that gives him time to recover and launch another invasion, or his winning territory and gaining incentives to gather more.
Your points about nuclear war and the changed demography of Western towns are teetering on the brink of something very ugly, Paul.
I have never seen anything as utterly craven as what Trump has done over Ukraine. He has astonished me. The USA had er… Trumps over Putin’s bust flush (to mix card metaphors) and then folded a full house. WTF is Trump playing at? Chamberlain appeased a genuine Class-A power. For good or ill (and that is debateable) but that is understandable. But this? God help us all, Trump has thrown all his mates under the bus for a fistful of lithium and even that score is dubious.
Paul, this really isn’t or shouldn’t be about the use of foul language. I am a Geordie brought up on Shakespeare (my Mum taught English) and Viz and trust me I have cussed a much more colourful streak than “WTF” over this.
Unless Trump is playing a 623 dimensional Mersenne Twister – forget 4D chess – (and I don’t think he is) he has granted the upper hand to an evil dictator of a tin-pot shithole which is, to be charitable, a fading regional power.
Forget about Ronnie – it’s enough to make Sun Tzu or Sid Meier vomit shittlers of inchoate rage.
I did not rejoice in the collapse of the mighty Soviet Union to see this utterly dismal surrender to the USSR’s dismal follow-through of a dime-store gangster regime. The West I believe in does not roll-over for a tummy-tickle from a pathetic botoxified despot.
A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day!
An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day!
This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!
I never thought I would see this day and yet I have. The USA has tossed in it’s chips and it hasn’t done that against a fallen Maia of Satanic power but against a mere Gollum.
Question: Correct me if I’m wrong, but when Russia was the USSR, didn’t Ukraine have a vote as a member of the General Assembly (or was it the Security Council), in keeping with the idea that it was a sovereign republic?
It would seem that Russia regarded Ukraine as a sovereign state — when it was convenient for Russia to do so.
P.S. I grew on the North Side of Chicago, where the “Ukrainian Village” neighborhood is located. Back then it really was still Ukrainian (the beautiful Ukrainian churches are still there, attended by Ukrainian-Americans who drive in from suburbs to take part in the services). I used to spend time in Ukie Village, hanging with sons and daughters of Ukie immigrants/refugees. The guys tended to be big fellows, and a disproportionate number of the girls were blond and beautiful (think Erika Eleniak in the cake scene in “Under Siege”). Which is why I liked hanging out in the Village. Anyway, in conversations with residents of the Village — especially with the parents and grandparents — I was made to understand in no uncertain terms that Ukraine was separate from Russia, and that Ukrainians were NOT Russians. Not incidentally in this regard, the old folks spoke Ukrainian, not Russian, in their homes.
There was no 4D chess. It’s exactly what it was and as surprising as ice in the arctic. You see the same pattern in damn near every Trump negotiation. If he wants something or you’re agreeing to what he wants then you’ll be heaped with superlatives. If you are obstructing something he wants or not playing ball then Trumps going to insult you then insult your mother. This is what Zelenskyy found out. I don’t believe it has any bearing on the outcome of any talks regarding cessation of hostilities. Rubio said as much in an interview yesterday or the day before.
We don’t venerate RWR because he was so anti-Russia.
We venerate him because he was so pro-USA.
Just remember, he hasn’t done anything yet. I could still be right.
That post, and many of the comments, could have been written yesterday.
We venerate him because he was so pro-USA.
I also venerate Ronald Reagan because he had, in so many ways, advanced human freedom abroad and at home. There is simply no politician on earth today who comes close to him. None. And he had his faults.
I don’t mind admitting that I misted up when I read he had died.