Easy solution? How about both sides agree as follows;
1. Ukraine agrees to not join NATO or have any foreign military on their soil for 99 years
2. Russia agrees to lease Crimea from Ukraine for 99 years at some annual rent
3. Ukraine agrees that the Russian provinces have some semi-autonomy, like, say, Quebec where they remain in the federation but have different language laws, some legal differences, and a veto on some issues relating to their province.
There you go - done. Could take about a week to implement.
"The United States is a crooked corporate and imperial plutocracy with fading bourgeois democratic institutions captured by an unelected dictatorship of capital and heading down its own distinctive path of Christian white nationalist neofascism."
The most succinct and accurate summation of what the US has become that I have seen.
Wait....(a) I think you may be joking and if so LOL; (b) it seems like a bizarre question when neither side is picked. Clearly I see it as having quickly become a lethally dangerous inter-imperialist war (which BTW doe NOT mean I do not know that Ukrainians have their own legitimate reasons to resist Russian invasion) and am against the war.
Thank you for the food for thought. One thing that calls my attention as really interesting is that there is only one item that you consider a Russian mistake, against 8 US/NATO mistakes. Actually I find it a fair accounting of blame.
But regarding Zelensky and the nazis, I'd like to point out the tragic history of Jewish Kapos (collaborators in concentration camps). I read somewhere that "Kapo" is the worst smear a Jew can throw at another Jew.
An accurate summary of the situation and the spectrum of political responses. The US media has underreported China's peace proposal and Western leaders have dismissed it out of hand, but a review of the European media gives details and this morning reported that Zelensky found some merit in the Chinese 12 point plan.
I wrote this on so-called social media to a friend who liked this essay and has righteous anger at US/NATO imperialism but seemingly no anger at the butcher Putin and his criminal invasion: "your challenge on this to me at least is to balance your critique of US/NATO imperialism with proper socialist and humanist hatred of the fascistic imperialist war criminal and all around butcher Putin and his hideoous authoritarian regime, which sends tens of thousands of mostly working and lower-class conscripts to early deaths and maimings as cannon fodder.....and which has committed horrific atrocities in Ukraine. No, sorry, those unconscionable atrocities are are not 'fake news.' No, Putin did not 'have' to invade and kill ordinary Ukrainians, including many child civilians. If you don't denounce Putin as a criminal, which he is, your critique of US/NATO ends up sounding hollow. So please don't interpret this essay as meaning that I have gone over to the RT and Grayzone and CN and young Mate and Blumenthal and all that creepy neo-campist 'geopolitical' Putin-Assad-left BS. Ick. Not at all. I am writing here as a dedicated anti-imperialist revolutionary Marxist who is cognizant of the fact that there is more than one vicious and criminal national capitalism-imperialism in this world capitalist system. And don't read my essay as an endorsement of the 2-19 DC 'peace rally' that was run by and for lunatic white-supremacist right-wingers. I would never stand with such lethal racist and sexist revanchists! Anyway, if you deny or provide cover for Putin and Russia's crimes, your critique of US-NATO-imperialism ends up with a foul odor indeed and feels empty and soulless."
One thing missing in my piece is that I don't say anything explicitly about US disinterest in real life peace negotations to date. I believe NC talks about this in the interview I linked here in this comments section this morning.
Sorry to add more fuel to the fire, but I'd like to remind that there are more than 40 monuments to Stepan Bandera in Ukraine, not to mention streets etc. The guy was a certified nazi. Just imagine if Germany had even one statue of Hitler, Himmler or Heidrich.
I'm not here to defend Russia, just to show that those who claim that the Ukrainian regime is at least sympathetic to nazism have a point.
I believe I observed the presence of Nazis in Ukraine and the collaboration of many Ukrainians with the Third Reich and participation in the Holocaust. Horrific history.
The point I was trying to make is that even though there are nazis in many other countries (and they're being alarmingly "normalized"), only in Ukraine - as far as I know - a nazi is openly celebrated with statues etc. This is very uncomfortable to say the least.
Essential reading: https://truthout.org/articles/chomsky-a-stronger-nato-is-the-last-thing-we-need-as-russia-ukraine-war-turns-1/?
Easy solution? How about both sides agree as follows;
1. Ukraine agrees to not join NATO or have any foreign military on their soil for 99 years
2. Russia agrees to lease Crimea from Ukraine for 99 years at some annual rent
3. Ukraine agrees that the Russian provinces have some semi-autonomy, like, say, Quebec where they remain in the federation but have different language laws, some legal differences, and a veto on some issues relating to their province.
There you go - done. Could take about a week to implement.
"The United States is a crooked corporate and imperial plutocracy with fading bourgeois democratic institutions captured by an unelected dictatorship of capital and heading down its own distinctive path of Christian white nationalist neofascism."
The most succinct and accurate summation of what the US has become that I have seen.
Great essay.
Good piece. Posting on Facebook
So you for or against this war Paul.
Wait....(a) I think you may be joking and if so LOL; (b) it seems like a bizarre question when neither side is picked. Clearly I see it as having quickly become a lethally dangerous inter-imperialist war (which BTW doe NOT mean I do not know that Ukrainians have their own legitimate reasons to resist Russian invasion) and am against the war.
Thank you for the food for thought. One thing that calls my attention as really interesting is that there is only one item that you consider a Russian mistake, against 8 US/NATO mistakes. Actually I find it a fair accounting of blame.
But regarding Zelensky and the nazis, I'd like to point out the tragic history of Jewish Kapos (collaborators in concentration camps). I read somewhere that "Kapo" is the worst smear a Jew can throw at another Jew.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/kapos
https://sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/news/kapos/
An accurate summary of the situation and the spectrum of political responses. The US media has underreported China's peace proposal and Western leaders have dismissed it out of hand, but a review of the European media gives details and this morning reported that Zelensky found some merit in the Chinese 12 point plan.
I wrote this on so-called social media to a friend who liked this essay and has righteous anger at US/NATO imperialism but seemingly no anger at the butcher Putin and his criminal invasion: "your challenge on this to me at least is to balance your critique of US/NATO imperialism with proper socialist and humanist hatred of the fascistic imperialist war criminal and all around butcher Putin and his hideoous authoritarian regime, which sends tens of thousands of mostly working and lower-class conscripts to early deaths and maimings as cannon fodder.....and which has committed horrific atrocities in Ukraine. No, sorry, those unconscionable atrocities are are not 'fake news.' No, Putin did not 'have' to invade and kill ordinary Ukrainians, including many child civilians. If you don't denounce Putin as a criminal, which he is, your critique of US/NATO ends up sounding hollow. So please don't interpret this essay as meaning that I have gone over to the RT and Grayzone and CN and young Mate and Blumenthal and all that creepy neo-campist 'geopolitical' Putin-Assad-left BS. Ick. Not at all. I am writing here as a dedicated anti-imperialist revolutionary Marxist who is cognizant of the fact that there is more than one vicious and criminal national capitalism-imperialism in this world capitalist system. And don't read my essay as an endorsement of the 2-19 DC 'peace rally' that was run by and for lunatic white-supremacist right-wingers. I would never stand with such lethal racist and sexist revanchists! Anyway, if you deny or provide cover for Putin and Russia's crimes, your critique of US-NATO-imperialism ends up with a foul odor indeed and feels empty and soulless."
One thing missing in my piece is that I don't say anything explicitly about US disinterest in real life peace negotations to date. I believe NC talks about this in the interview I linked here in this comments section this morning.
Sorry to add more fuel to the fire, but I'd like to remind that there are more than 40 monuments to Stepan Bandera in Ukraine, not to mention streets etc. The guy was a certified nazi. Just imagine if Germany had even one statue of Hitler, Himmler or Heidrich.
I'm not here to defend Russia, just to show that those who claim that the Ukrainian regime is at least sympathetic to nazism have a point.
I believe I observed the presence of Nazis in Ukraine and the collaboration of many Ukrainians with the Third Reich and participation in the Holocaust. Horrific history.
Say something more on all this below I will.
The point I was trying to make is that even though there are nazis in many other countries (and they're being alarmingly "normalized"), only in Ukraine - as far as I know - a nazi is openly celebrated with statues etc. This is very uncomfortable to say the least.
Regarding my previous comment, there's also this (assuming it's accurate):
https://mobile.twitter.com/PeImeniPusha/status/1620499389616885760