I am somewhat conflicted about Putin's invasion of the Ukraine. I think it is wanton piracy, the stealing of another nation's sovereignty through armed conquest, and it is immoral and evil.
So what do we do about it?
The wisest answer: nothing. Well, except for denouncing Russia in the United Nations and in speeches and in print, all the usual political and diplomatic channels that accomplish nothing much. However, we should not commit troops, or invade the Ukraine, or fight Russia with arms.
Why? Because the Ukraine and Russia have a shared history, though not an honorable one, and the Ukraine is within the Russian sphere of influence. We have nothing to gain by intervening in the Russian-Ukrainian war. We have no strategic interest in doing so, and we should not do so.
Showing posts with label U.S. Foreign Policy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Foreign Policy. Show all posts
Sunday, March 02, 2014
Monday, October 22, 2012
Giants Going to World Series; Third Presidential Debate
I watched and listened to the third and final presidential debate on my laptop, through headphones, while watching the 7th game of the San Francisco Giants - St. Louis Cardinals semifinal match up. Both were fights that were important to me.
The presidential debate on foreign policy was pretty boring, with both candidates repeating a lot of the same talking points they made in the prior two debates. Obama did his best yet, in my opinion, speaking well off the cuff and looked polished and prepared. Substance-wise, he was still the same -- full of bovine excrement.
No doubt the media will proclaim Obama the winner, but it is highly doubtful that this debate will give him any bounce. Obama is all done.
****
The Giants - Cardinals game was quite a bit more exciting than the excruciatingly dull debate. A few days ago the Giants were down three games to one and all the Cardinals had to do was win one of the next three games. They lost all three, as the Giants thumped them in convincing fashion. Tonight, in the top of the 9th, the Cardinals were down 9 - 0 as the clouds burst and drenched the crowd and the field in a downpour. The Giants got the three final outs and are headed for "the show," the World Series, against the Detroit Tigers. First game is this Wednesday.
It is really special to me that the Giants are in the 2012 World Series. I saw them in the 1962 World Series against the New York Yankees and was hoping for a repeat of that contest fifty years later, with the Giants winning this time around -- but the Yankees were swept in their playoff round and it was not to be. That's okay, I'll accept a Giants victory over the Tigers instead.
The presidential debate on foreign policy was pretty boring, with both candidates repeating a lot of the same talking points they made in the prior two debates. Obama did his best yet, in my opinion, speaking well off the cuff and looked polished and prepared. Substance-wise, he was still the same -- full of bovine excrement.
No doubt the media will proclaim Obama the winner, but it is highly doubtful that this debate will give him any bounce. Obama is all done.
****
The Giants - Cardinals game was quite a bit more exciting than the excruciatingly dull debate. A few days ago the Giants were down three games to one and all the Cardinals had to do was win one of the next three games. They lost all three, as the Giants thumped them in convincing fashion. Tonight, in the top of the 9th, the Cardinals were down 9 - 0 as the clouds burst and drenched the crowd and the field in a downpour. The Giants got the three final outs and are headed for "the show," the World Series, against the Detroit Tigers. First game is this Wednesday.
It is really special to me that the Giants are in the 2012 World Series. I saw them in the 1962 World Series against the New York Yankees and was hoping for a repeat of that contest fifty years later, with the Giants winning this time around -- but the Yankees were swept in their playoff round and it was not to be. That's okay, I'll accept a Giants victory over the Tigers instead.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Of Cowboys and Cream Puffs: Obama's Effect on World's Tyrants
Rush Limbaugh likes to joke about the "testicle lock box" into which liberal feminists deposit men's gonads, locking them up so they can't be used. It's a funny joke.
However, the testicle lock box is an effective and accurate metaphor for the wasted years that a Democrat occupies the White House. Every few years America likes to lock its own gonads into a testicle lock box, and assume a weak, cowardly and utterly naive position before the world's tyrants and despots.
The wrong-headed assumption of Democrats is that despots are only reacting to our own militarism -- they feel threatened, or insulted, or marginalized. All we have to do to ensure world peace is raise their self esteem by talking to them, giving them free billions, and above all, showing them RESPECT. After all, what is a third world tyrant anyway? He's just a frustrated Democrat.
Yes, tyrants may feel marginalized, insulted and dissed, but mostly they just feel constrained, i.e. in their ambition to invade, undermine, sabotage and enslave the surrounding populations. However, with the election of our latest gonad self-lockboxing wimp, our defense budget will be slashed and our moral clarity muddied. Despots the world over are breathing easier and plotting new excursions into other people's territory.
Case in point. This past week North Korea said it was ditching a nonaggression pact and all other peace accords with South Korea. A North Korean newspaper said in a commentary that the tension may lead to "an unavoidable military conflict and a war."
Another case in point. President Ahmadinejad of Iran said that Obama's offer to talk proved that America was weak and that our policies have failed, and that we should apologize to Iran, presumably for standing in their way of Islamacizing the world and nuking Israel.
The huge cockroach posing as the President of Venezuela has been particularly brave and obnoxious lately, sending Israeli ambassadors home and kissing up to Ahmadinejad. Then there's the old Commie Revolutionary Fidel, who is demanding we give back Gitmo. Under a Republican Administration, he wouldn't have wasted his breath.
The world's despots know all about the Testicle Lock Box. They also know that it currently bears the official seal of the President of the United States.
However, the testicle lock box is an effective and accurate metaphor for the wasted years that a Democrat occupies the White House. Every few years America likes to lock its own gonads into a testicle lock box, and assume a weak, cowardly and utterly naive position before the world's tyrants and despots.
The wrong-headed assumption of Democrats is that despots are only reacting to our own militarism -- they feel threatened, or insulted, or marginalized. All we have to do to ensure world peace is raise their self esteem by talking to them, giving them free billions, and above all, showing them RESPECT. After all, what is a third world tyrant anyway? He's just a frustrated Democrat.
Yes, tyrants may feel marginalized, insulted and dissed, but mostly they just feel constrained, i.e. in their ambition to invade, undermine, sabotage and enslave the surrounding populations. However, with the election of our latest gonad self-lockboxing wimp, our defense budget will be slashed and our moral clarity muddied. Despots the world over are breathing easier and plotting new excursions into other people's territory.
Case in point. This past week North Korea said it was ditching a nonaggression pact and all other peace accords with South Korea. A North Korean newspaper said in a commentary that the tension may lead to "an unavoidable military conflict and a war."
Another case in point. President Ahmadinejad of Iran said that Obama's offer to talk proved that America was weak and that our policies have failed, and that we should apologize to Iran, presumably for standing in their way of Islamacizing the world and nuking Israel.
The huge cockroach posing as the President of Venezuela has been particularly brave and obnoxious lately, sending Israeli ambassadors home and kissing up to Ahmadinejad. Then there's the old Commie Revolutionary Fidel, who is demanding we give back Gitmo. Under a Republican Administration, he wouldn't have wasted his breath.
The world's despots know all about the Testicle Lock Box. They also know that it currently bears the official seal of the President of the United States.
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