War in Ukraine - A modern example of how indispensable but expendable universal soldiers and ordinary people become victims and participants in the business (racket) of war.

War in Ukraine - A modern example of how indispensable but expendable universal soldiers and ordinary people become victims and participants in the business (racket) of war.

 

Greg Krasovsky
February 23, 2022
 
Today, I accidentally came across a music video of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier".
 
Then I listed to Buffy Sainte-Marie's "The War Racket"
 
What a coincidence! Or Divine Providence? As they say, "The Lord works in mysterious ways!"
 
Wow! Very relevant and enlightening.
         
Today, when all the news is about Invasion, War & Occupation of Ukraine!
      
Ukraine may not be Vietnam, the Former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria, but it is my ancestral home.
 
So after thinking of universal soldiers and the war racket, here's what came to my mind
 
Buffy Sainte-Marie's songs are a good reminder of why wars start, who makes them happen and how we all share the responsibility when our country
 
- goes to war,
 
- directs proxy wars,
 
- encourages, aids & abets, facilitates, or provide political, economic or military support, including material aid (weapons, logistics, intelligence & etc.),
 
- Rallies other countries to war, and
 
- Engages in propaganda, misinformation, or other psychological operations, including with mainstream and social media in preparation, justification or in execution of war.
      
In war there are generally three types of soldiers
 
1. Those who defend their families, people, land, country, faith, and G-d from invasion & occupation,

   - this is the easiest type of war to understand and justify, since all people and every country is entitled to self-defense.
 
2. Those who go to other people's lands under orders & justifications of
 
(a) Preemptive War
 
   - "If we don't attack them first, then they attack us," possibly with weapons of mass destruction,
 
   - "If we don't defeat them there, then they will come to us and bring war & death on our soil",

   - "If we let them (i) grow in strength (military, political or economic) and numbers or (ii) acquire certain resources, territories, or weapons, then they will be able to attack & hurt us, so in order to prevent it we need to hit them first!"
       
(b) War of conquest or liberation justified by morals, theology, or history
 
- We're going to war to protect freedom & democracy, to overthrow a brutal tyrant, to protect, liberate or save a particular ethnic, racial, or socioeconomic group,
 
   - We're going to war to defend a certain religious group, to fight people of a particular faith, or two fulfill some divine mission & precept (like holy war)
 
   - We're going to war to protect, liberate or recover some land, city, landmark or holy place with a mandate from our G-d or Past & present religious leaders,
 
   - We're going to war to protect, defend, liberate, or recover some territory because it historically belongs to our country, our people, our faith.
 
3. Those who fight in civil wars -- wars among their own people (ethnos, race, religious group) and/or within their own countries or lands (if a country's borders were established disregarding natural boundaries of various ethnic & religious groups) -- for various reasons:
 
   - Support of a particular political ideology, group or leader,
 
   - Support of a particular socio-economic group or order,
 
   - Support of a particular ethnicity, religious group or faith.
   
When it comes to war, no one is going to reinvent the wheel -- wars will take place for one of the above reasons, either actual or contrived!
 
With the above in mind for clarity, all I can say is:
 
If your country is about to get involved or is already involved in any way in a domestic (civil) or foreign war (far away or next door) which kills not just soldiers (who're someone's son, nephew, brother, father, uncle, husband or friend) but innocent civilians, including women, children and the elderly,
 
then you better make sure that there is 100% moral justification for this war.

Please remember, when it comes to making or supporting decisions on war (which involves killing human beings), ignorance of the truth or
 
"I was just (i) following orders, (ii) trusting my government, (iii) relying on our corporate or government-owned mass media, (iii) following the opinion of my family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, fellow citizens, politicians, religious leaders and etc.)"
 
is not going to be a valid excuse, during a trial for war crimes & crimes against humanity, especially in that heavenly court after death where we all will stand before our Maker!
 
So in order to make that judgment about why war is necessary, you better do all your homework and learn ALL the facts from reliable, competent and independent sources so you don't fall victim to the typical propaganda that precedes, accompanies and follows every war!    
   
Always ask yourself
 
- What are the motives and means for the pro-war media coverage (propaganda)?
 
- Who can I trust for truthful information about this conflict?

- Have I analyzed information and arguments from both sides of the conflict, including regular people who have the most to lose?
       
- Who will benefit from this war (aside from the Military-Industrial Complex)? Common people? Certain politicians & their parties? Certain financial-industrial groups? Certain religious leaders & their organizations?

- Are the people who're advocating for war willing to go fight themselves or send their children to fight and die?

- Is this war absolutely necessary? Can it be avoided? Remember, a bad peace is always better than good war!

Once you've done all that, only then start advocating either for or against war!
 
Sadly, being an insider and an inconvenient witness to the current conflict in Ukraine, all I can say is this -- most of the people that I talk to in Ukraine, Russia and America don't have an accurate picture of what's been happening in Ukraine either today or since the 19th century!
 
If most people understood what’s really going on the ground and in the halls of power, then this conflict would not have lasted for 8 years since 2014 – the people would have been able to force their politicians & governments to accept a mutually acceptable and fair compromise peace settlement that would have been in the best interest of ALL Ukrainians, especially those living in the war-ravaged areas of the Donetsk Coal Basin (Donbas) in Eastern Ukraine.
 
So please do your homework in order for all us of to do what's truly necessary to bring the current civil conflict in Ukraine to an end through political negotiations and prevent a devastating war that could drag half the world into it, including countries with enough nuclear weapons to end human life on earth or bring back into the stone age!
   
As always, please let me know your comments & suggestions and, regardless of your position, please don't forget to share for thought & discussion!
 
***

Buffy Sainte-Marie | Universal Soldier | CBC Music Festival
 
CBC Music
Jun 13, 2019
 
Buffy Sainte-Marie performs "Universal Soldier" at the 2019 CBC Music Festival.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOuZwpGHJ7E
 
***

Universal Soldier - Buffy Sainte-Marie (Lyrics)

Matt Spies
Dec 10, 2012
 
Song - Universal Soldier
Artist - Buffy Sainte-Marie
Album - Up Where We Belong
Writers - Buffy Sainte-Marie
 
He's five foot-two and he's six feet-four

He fights with missiles and with spears

He's all of 31 and he's only 17

Been a soldier for a thousand year

He's a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain

A Buddhist, and a Baptist, and a Jew

And he knows he shouldn't kill

And he knows he always will

Kill you for me, my friend, and me for you

And he's fighting for Canada

He's fighting for France

He's fighting for the U.S.A

And he's fighting for the Russians

And he's fighting for Japan

And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way

And he's fighting for Democracy

He's fighting for the Reds

He says it's for the peace of all

He's the one who must decide

Who's to live and who's to die

And he never sees the writing on the wall

But without him

How would Hitler have condemned them at Labau?

Without him Caesar would have stood alone

He's the one who gives his body as a weapon of the war

And without him all this killing can't go on

He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame

His orders come from far away no more

They come from here and there and you and me

And brothers, can't you see?

This is not the way we put the end to war

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=devgkHzK9c8

***

[Гугл-перевод]
 
Универсальный солдат - Баффи Сент-Мари (слова)
 
Он пять футов два и шесть футов четыре

Он сражается ракетами и копьями

Ему всего 31, а ему всего 17

Был солдатом тысячу лет

Он католик, индуист, атеист, джайн

Буддист, баптист и еврей

И он знает, что не должен убивать

И он знает, что всегда будет

Убить тебя за меня, мой друг, и меня за тебя

И он борется за Канаду

Он борется за Францию

Он борется за США

И он борется за русских

И он борется за Японию

И он думает, что так мы покончим с войной.

И он борется за демократию

Он сражается за красных

Он говорит, что это для мира всех

Он тот, кто должен решить

Кому жить, а кому умереть

И он никогда не видит надпись на стене

Но без него

Как Гитлер осудил бы их в Лабау?

Без него Цезарь остался бы один

Он тот, кто отдает свое тело как оружие войны

И без него все эти убийства не могут продолжаться.

Он универсальный солдат, и он действительно виноват

Его приказы больше не поступают издалека.

Они приходят отсюда и оттуда, и ты и я

И братья, разве вы не видите?

Это не так, как мы положили конец войне
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=devgkHzK9c8
 
***

Buffy Sainte-Marie - Universal Soldier
 

YouTube search results:

 
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Buffy+Sainte-Marie%22+%22Universal+Soldier%22

***
 
DONOVAN - The Universal Soldier

Beatnik Manfred
May 22, 2007
 
Universal soldier live
 
Song - Universal Soldier
Artist - Donovan
Writer - Buffy Sainte-Marie
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9pc4U40sI

***

Buffy Sainte-Marie - The War Racket

The Indie Folk Music Channel
Jan 19, 2018

The War Racket off Buffy Sainte-Marie's 2017 release "Medicine Songs"

Animation by Kurt Swinghammer

Buffy Sainte-Marie - The War Racket - YouTube

Ooh you're slick

You investors in hate

You Saddams and you Bushes

You Bin Ladens and snakes

You billionaire bullies

You're a globalized curse

You put war on the masses while you clean out the purse

And that's how it's done war after war

You old feudal parasites just sacrifice the poor

You've got the cutting edge weapons

But your scam's still the same as it's been since the Romans

It's the patriot game

It's the war racket

You twisters of language

You creeps of disguise

Your disinformation

Like worms in your eyes

You privileged bankers

You gambler thieves

You profit on war

There's less money in peace

That's how it's done time after time

Country after country, crime after crime

You pretend it's religion and there's no one to blame

For the dead and impoverished in your little patriot game

Honey, that's the war racket

Got the world's greatest power and you team up with thugs

Make a fortune on weapons, destruction and drugs

But your flags and boots and uniforms start to all look the same

When both sides are killing in the patriot game

It's the war racket

And that's how it's done, and you've got our sons

In the cross-hairs of horror at the end of a gun

And your national anthems start to all smell the same

When all sides are dying in the patriot game

It's the war racket

And war is never, ever holy

It's just a greedy men's dream

And you two-faced crusaders

Both sides are obscene

War's not made by God

War's made by men

Who misdirect our attention while you thieves do your thing

And that's how it's done

About every thirty years

The rich fill their coffers

The poor fill with tears

The young fill the coffins

The old hang a wreath

The politicians get photographed with their names underneath

It's the war racket

It's the patriot game

It's the war racket
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzG_4e8yGew
 
***

[Гугл перевод]
 
Баффи Сент-Мари - Военный рэкет

Канал инди-фолк-музыки
19 января 2018 г.

Военный рэкет из релиза Баффи Сент-Мари 2017 года "Medicine Songs"

Анимация Курта Свингхаммера

Buffy Sainte-Marie — The War Racket — YouTube

О, ты ловкий

Вы инвесторы в ненависти

Вы Саддамы и вы Буши

Вы бен Ладены и змеи

Вы, миллиардеры, хулиганы

Ты глобальное проклятие

Вы навязываете войну массам, пока вы чистите кошелек

И вот как это делается война после войны

Вы, старые феодальные паразиты, просто приносите в жертву бедных

У вас есть передовое оружие

Но ваша афера все та же, что и со времен римлян.

это патриотическая игра

Это военный рэкет

Вы оборотни языка

Вы ползучести маскировки

Ваша дезинформация

Как черви в твоих глазах

Вы привилегированные банкиры

Вы азартные воры

Вы получаете прибыль от войны

В мире меньше денег

Вот как это делается время от времени

Страна за страной, преступление за преступлением

Вы притворяетесь, что это религия, и никто не виноват

Для мертвых и бедных в вашей маленькой патриотической игре

Дорогая, это военный рэкет

Получил величайшую силу в мире, и ты объединился с головорезами

Разбогатеть на оружии, разрушениях и наркотиках

Но ваши флаги, ботинки и униформа начинают выглядеть одинаково.

Когда обе стороны убивают в патриотической игре

Это военный рэкет

И вот как это делается, и у вас есть наши сыновья

В перекрестье ужаса на конце пистолета

И ваши национальные гимны начинают пахнуть одинаково

Когда все стороны умирают в патриотической игре

Это военный рэкет

И война никогда, никогда не бывает святой

Это просто жадная мужская мечта

А вы, двуличные крестоносцы

Обе стороны непристойны

Война не создана Богом

Войну делают мужчины

Кто отвлекает наше внимание, пока вы, воры, делаете свое дело

И вот как это делается

Примерно каждые тридцать лет

Богатые наполняют свои сундуки

Бедные наполняются слезами

Молодые наполняют гробы

Старые вешают венок

Политики фотографируются с их именами внизу

Это военный рэкет

это патриотическая игра

Это военный рэкет

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzG_4e8yGew

***

   
Buffy Sainte-Marie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

Buffy Sainte-Marie, CC (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, c. February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, Oscar-winning composer, visual artist,[1] educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues facing Indigenous peoples of the Americas. 

 

Her singing and writing repertoire also includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism. She has won recognition, awards and honours for her music as well as her work in education and social activism. Among her most popular songs are "Universal Soldier", "Cod'ine", "Until It's Time for You to Go", "Now That the Buffalo's Gone", and her covers of Mickey Newbury's "Mister Can't You See" and Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game". 

 

Her music has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Cher, Donovan, Joe Cocker, Jennifer Warnes, Barbra Streisand, Shirley Bassey, Roberta Flack, Janis Joplin, and Glen Campbell.

In 1983, Sainte-Marie became the first Indigenous person to win an Oscar. Her song "Up Where We Belong", co-written for the film An Officer and a Gentleman, won both the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 55th Academy Awards[2] and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

In 1997, she founded the Cradleboard Teaching Project, an educational curriculum devoted to better understanding Native Americans.


Career

Sainte-Marie plays piano and guitar, self-taught in her childhood and teen years. In college some of her songs, "Ananias", the Indian lament, "Now That the Buffalo's Gone" and "Mayoo Sto Hoon" (a cover of a Hindi Bollywood song "Mayus To Hoon Waade Se Tere" sung by the Indian singer Mohammed Rafi from the 1960 movie Barsaat Ki Raat) were already in her repertoire.[8]
...

Also in 1963, she witnessed wounded soldiers returning from the Vietnam War at a time when the U.S. government was denying involvement[21] – which inspired her protest song "Universal Soldier",[22] released on her debut album It's My Way on Vanguard Records in 1964, and later became a hit for both Donovan and Glen Campbell.[23]

She was subsequently named Billboard magazine's Best New Artist. Some of her songs addressing the mistreatment of Native Americans, such as "Now That the Buffalo's Gone" (1964) and "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying" (1964, included on her 1966 album), created controversy at the time.[7]

Blacklisting

Sainte-Marie said in a 2008 interview at the National Museum of the American Indian[38] that she had been blacklisted by American radio stations and that she, along with Native Americans and other Indigenous people in the Red Power movements, were put out of business in the 1970s.[39]

In a 1999 interview at Diné College with a staff writer with Indian Country Today, Sainte-Marie said "I found out 10 years later, in the 1980s, that President Lyndon B. Johnson had been writing letters on White House stationery praising radio stations for suppressing my music" and "In the 1970s, not only was the protest movement put out of business, but the Native American movement was attacked."[40]

As a result of this blacklisting led by (among others) Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Nashville disc jockey Ralph Emery (following the release of I'm Gonna Be a Country Girl Again), Sainte-Marie said "I was put out of business in the United States".[41]
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_Sainte-Marie

***

Donovan - Universal Soldier

music in history
Jan 25, 2009

Written in the early 1960s by Canadian Buffy Sainte-Marie, Universal Soldier is commonly interpreted as being written in response to the war in Vietnam, it was actually penned before the first US combat troops arrived there.

It gained popularity after being released by Scottish folk artist Donovan in 1965.

It did well in Britain, where it was first released, reaching number five on the singles charts, though it fared less well in the United States.

The version here appears with a photo montage, with credit to YouTube user tolka.

The Universal Soldier is an unusual war-protest song because it blames war not on governments, leaders or corporations, but on the individuals who accept the notion that killing solves problems and one war can end future wars.

As implied by the title, Sainte-Marie makes no distinction between the soldiers of different nations, religions or ideologies: they fight for different causes but the same reasons.

The song prompted a hostile response from Jan Berry of the pop duo Jan and Dean, who released The Universal Coward and turned his songwriting attention on war protesters.

Some of the lyrics to Berry's song include:

He's a pacifist, an extremist, a Communist or just a Yank

A demonstrator, an agitator, or just a knave

A conscientious objector, a fanatic, a defector

And he doesn't know he's digging his own grave

He's the universal coward and he runs from anything

From a giant to a human to an elf

He runs from Uncle Sam and he runs from Vietnam

But most of all he's running from himself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A50lVLtSQik
 
***

 

The world-wide ramifications of war in Ukraine and what can be done to prevent it.

The world-wide ramifications of war in Ukraine and what can be done to prevent it.

February 20, 2022

   

Greg Krasovsky:

 

After reading some articles this Sunday evening on the current Ukrainian crisis, including on

 

1. Joe Biden’s predictions that Russian will invade Ukraine soon, based on unnamed intelligence sources and data, as well as the alleged numbers of Russian troops involved in military maneuvers/war games near Ukraine’s land and maritime borders with Russia and Belarus.

 

2. American, British, German and other EU-states’ warnings to Russia of certain imposition of the most severe economic sanctions in the event Russian invades Ukraine.

 

3. Donetsk & Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR & LNR, the separatist Pro-Russian regions in Eastern Ukraine who’ve been at war with the Ukrainian government since 2014) and Russian media reports of Ukrainian armed forces pre-offensive build-up

 

4. Recent arrival of up to 9,000 US troops in Eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border.

 

5. Relocation of US embassy and other Pro-US countries from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv (Kiev) to Lviv.

 

6. The Polish government’s recommendation to its citizens in Ukraine to leave regions likely to be occupied by Russia or Pro-Russian Ukrainian forces.

 

7. The DNR/LNR evacuation of all women, children and the elderly to Russia due to increased shelling by Ukrainian forces and likely “invasion” (attempt to retake DNR/LNR by force in the upcoming days/weeks) and the Russian government’s creation of a country-wide relocation program for these Donbas (Donetsk Coal Basin) refugees.

 

I felt that it was important to share my thoughts (without passing any judgment) on what could happen if war starts in Ukraine this month or even year:

 

Regardless of who provokes it (Ukrainians with US/NATO support/orders, or DNR/LNR with Russian support/orders) and the frontlines move west of the current armistice line in Eastern Ukraine's Donbass, then the Western Ukrainian city of L’viv (AKA Lvov, former Polish Lemberg until the Nazi-Soviet partition of Poland in 1939, only 50+ miles away from the current Polish-Ukrainian border), is likely to become the new capital of Pro-American free Ukraine.

 

And L’viv will be protected by Polish and American troops who'll have an immediate mandate to protect the American Embassy that has just been "relocated" (evacuated) to L’viv from Kyiv. 

 

A little later more NATO reinforcements will arrive from nearby countries with very strong anti-Russian sentiments, like Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as British and Canadian troops.

 

The Polish government has just advised its citizens to leave specific Ukrainian regions that it believes will be under Russian occupation ("liberation, comrades!"), so looks like the partition of Ukraine is being drawn up as we speak.

 

Here's the kicker:

 

If and when the Russians invade -- or help support a new "neutral" (i.e. pro-Russian) government in Kiev (just like America helped install a Pro-American Ukrainian government back in 2014) -- you're going to have three huge disasters:

 

1. Huge wave of Ukrainian asylum seekers in the EU, US, Canada and UK.

 

I'm talking about millions of Ukrainians who'll flee Ukraine for a better life under the justification of opposing the new Pro-Russian government and threat of persecution as pro-US/NATO/EU Ukrainian patriots.

 

The 2015 Syrian refugee influx will pale in comparison with this 2022 Ukrainian Tsunami which will wreck labor markets and put a strain on the government budgets of accepting states.

 

Local populations -- especially those affected/displaced/laid-off by cheap Ukrainian refugee labor and the chronically unemployed locals who'll be resentful of the generous government benefits that Ukrainian refugees will receive -- will protest both on the streets and in the voting booth.

 

Many will aim their anger at their domestic governments' support of US/NATO/EU policy toward Ukraine that precipitated the current crisis -- including the 2014 US-led regime change operation in Kiev that installed a Pro-American/NATO/EU government and has refused to comply with the Minsk Agreements (Protocol) and the Steinmeier formula for their implementation. 

   

2. A New Ukrainian "Eastern front" & subsequent armistice line between Pro-NATO Western Ukraine and the new Pro-Russian Central, South and Eastern Ukraine.

 

This will make the 2014-2022 Eastern Ukrainian conflict pale in comparison, as it will suck in NATO troops and provide NATO states with reasons for helping the current (2014-2022) Ukrainian government try to regain territories lost in 2022 (aside from DNR / LNR and Crimea lost in 2014).

 

Lots of military spending, buildup and eventual war with Pro-Russian Ukrainian forces and Russian troops supporting them with all ensuing military and geopolitical ramifications (including risk of unleashing tactical nuclear weapons or nuclear disasters/sabotage/terrorism at Ukrainian nuclear power-plants in former Chernobyl).

 

3. A worldwide-economic recession/depression triggered by

- the Ukrainian military conflict,

- geopolitical moves & consequences among the superpowers and their political, economic and military alliances (US/NATO, EU, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Russia & its CIS (former Soviet Republics) allies, BRICS countries, China, North Korea)

- anti-Russian sanctions, and their impact on oil & gas prices as well as major currencies (Russian ruble, US dollar, EURO, GB Pound Sterling and Chinese Yuan/Renminbi),

- impact of the above on financial markets, especially in light of

-- massive government debt incurred during the COVID-19 epidemic by the U.S. and other countries,

-- high oil, gas & electricity prices,

-- inflation, especially in consumer goods, namely food stuffs.

 

This could make the 2008 and 1998 global recessions look like child play during 

(a) the current COVID-19 pandemic (even if waning), including the increasing number of casualties from COVID-19 complications (vaccines and Long COVID), as well as 

(b) the likelihood of new pandemics in the near future (especially when these future pandemics are being “predicted” by very rich & powerful people who just happen to be big advocates of reducing the world’s human population ASAP – one way or the other?).

 

So, what’s the only way to avoid war in Ukraine and the economic & political tsunami that it will unleash world-wide?

 

For some of my answers & thoughts on this, please take a look at this Ukrainian-Russian-American Observer post (the discussion starts with “So what's the solution? My opinion is that Ukraine can only thrive and develop if it”):

 

       https://ura-observer.blogspot.com/2022/02/russias-invasion-of-ukraine.html

 

As always, please let me know your suggestions & comments and don't forget to share for consideration & discussion!

Russia's invasion of Ukraine - unidentified sources 'confirm' its expected start with air strikes at 3:00 AM on Wednesday, February 16, 2002...

February 16, 2022 

06:30 Kyiv time

 

So who's stayed up until this morning (Kyiv or Moscow time) to keep Ukraine safe from Russian invasion -- as predicted by unidentified but supposedly "credible" sources cited in the British Sun and Mirror newspapers?
    

When I read this stuff, I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Honestly!
 
But it makes me sad for Ukraine and my fellow Ukrainians!

So let me express some personal thoughts during this restless night brought on by a massive state and private media pre-war campaign.
 
In 2014 during the Euromaidan protests, many Ukrainians wanted a new, democratic, independent, corruption-free Ukraine where Ukrainians of all language, ethnicity and faith could live and prosper in peace, harmony, and mutual respect!

 

That's what I have always wanted for my Ukraine, too!

 
So, what did Ukrainians get from 2014 to 2022?
 

Pretty much the same old country, but with

- less democracy for the opposition, same control of politicians and political parties by local oligarchs and/or foreign powers (e.g. U.S.)

- independent of Russia, but completely under U.S. control will all ensuing consequences as an expendable pawn in the geopolitical battle between the U.S., Russia, and China.

-- this includes a massive infusion of billions of euros/dollars in military aid (training & weaponry), which any reasonable neighboring country could consider a threat, especially if it, like Russia, is in confrontation with Ukraine's primary foreign sponsors (U.S. and its NATO allies).
 
- same amounts of corruption on most levels of government,

- draconian undemocratic laws against the Russian language, which was the dominant language of Ukraine until 2014 (in its post 1922 and 1939 borders)

- draconian undemocratic laws and treatment of ethnic Russians (who now aren't even considered a native ethnicity of modern Soviet-created Ukraine)

- draconian undemocratic laws and state treatment against the Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (traditional mother-church in Ukraine until 2014)

- revival & glorification of WWII Ukrainian Nazi collaborators & war criminals who butchered thousands of Ukrainian Jews, Poles and Gypsies along with their Nazi masters,

- an 8-year-old long civil war because the post-Yanukovich Ukrainian governments (Poroshenko and Zelensky administrations) refused to even negotiate directly and reach a political settlement (e.g. with the framework of the Minsk agreements) with the Eastern Ukrainian (Donbass coal mining region) Pro-Russian separatists/insurgents who refused to recognize the unconstitutional overthrow (primarily with American assistance) of President Yanukovich in February of 2014,

-- FYI, after President Poroshenko was elected on May 24, 2014, local Donbass politicians and businessmen wrote to President Poroshenko and begged him to negotiate a political settlement with the local Pro-Russian insurgents (who did not want to live in a Ukraine ruled by Western Ukrainian nationalists supported by America and its allies).

Instead of negotiations, President Poroshenko ramped up the brutal military campaign that killed thousands of innocent civilians and eventually led to Russian military support of local insurgents from the end of August 2014 after Donetsk and Luhansk were about to be recaptured by the Ukrainian army and volunteer battalions composed of Ukrainian nationalists and even some open Neo-Nazis)

 
- Instead of pursuing a political solution (through negotiations) with the break-away pro-Russian Donbass People's republics (Donetsk & Luhansk, AKA DNR & LNR) and even Russia over Crimea (A Crimea that, to be honest and historically accurate,  was transferred "administratively" from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 by the Soviet Union's communist party without any say from its residents) where, the majority of citizens voted to join Russia in a referendum in the spring of 2014) , the Ukrainian government has

-- allowed the perpetration of war crimes & crimes against humanity, including by periodic shelling of civilian areas and infrastructure (schools, hospitals, electrical & water facilities, residential buildings)
 
-- cut off the water supplies to Crimea

-- refuses to pay pensions to senior citizens in Crimea, DNR and LNR

-- refuses to allow Ukrainians to travel to those areas without special permits

-- has enacted an economic blockade against these areas (leading to under-the table corruption-full trade of key products, including coal from DNR/LNR by pretending that its coal from other countries, even as far as South Africa).

- Instead of inter-faith, inter-ethnic and political tolerance of and mutual respect, we now have a Ukraine where

(a) any public expression of faith, language and political orientation (e.g. pro-Russian, anti-NATO and/or anti-US/EU political, economic and military control that resembles colonialism) that goes against the current government's policies,

is met with

-- brutal repression, including violence & death at the hands of nationalist street thugs and

-- anti-democratic measures against freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, including selective prosecution and arrest of opposition political leaders, closure of opposition newspapers, TV stations and political parties.  

and

(b) any public calls for negotiations with the Donetsk, Luhansk insurgents and their "People's Republics" are labeled as providing material support for terrorists and can lead to arrest, incarceration, beatings & torture, and lengthy prison terms in Ukraine's miserable prisons.

 
So what's the solution?

My opinion is that Ukraine can only thrive and develop if it
 

1. Reaches a political solution with the DNR/LNR and brings them back into Ukraine under reasonable terms (amnesty, decentralization, permitted local use of the Russian language as an official second state language) through the Minsk Protocol and former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's formula (road map),

See Minsk Protocol at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_Protocol  and 

What is the Steinmeier Formula? at https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/steinmeier-formula/2254244

2. Becomes independent of U.S. political, economic and military control;

  

3. Retains political, economic, and military independence from Russia;
 

4. Pledges a neutral non-aligned political & military status (like Sweden or Switzerland), abandons any aspirations to join NATO or permit the presence of foreign military bases and forces on its soil;

  

5. Abandons all anti-Russian (linguistic, ethnic, and religious) laws and government policies, prohibits all such discrimination & persecution
   

- adopts Russian as a second official state language equal to Ukrainian
 
- recognizes ethnic Russians as a native ethnicity of Ukraine
 
- stops illegal seizures of Russian-Orthodox churches in Ukraine and persecution of their priests and parishioners;

6. Abandons all glorification of WWII Nazi collaborators and war criminals and adopts anti-Nazi laws similar to those in Germany and Russia;

  
7. Reaches a political settlement with Russian over Crimea by recognizing the Crimean people's inalienable, democratic and basic human right to self-determination (to be an independent country or to be a part of Russia like before 1954) through a democratic referendum.

 
8. Refuses to participate in America's geopolitical battles against Russia and China, including by refusing to participate in any economic and political sanctions not explicitly approved by the United Nations, including its Security Council.
 
But here's the million-dollar question - in today's political climate, could Ukraine ever adopt the above measures and still have a chance at EU membership?
  
Regardless, if Ukraine, instead of adopting the above recommendations, continues on its present course by

 

(a) Remaining under U.S. control and exploitation in US attempts to control Russia,  

 

(b) Seeking NATO membership, dislocation of US/NATO troops, bases and weapons (especially dual purpose "anti-missile systems"),

 

(c) Maintaining a permanent civil war in Eastern Ukraine or attempt at a military victory with subsequent Russian military intervention,

 

(d) Keeping and/or expanding anti-Russian policies that violate human rights and U.S. & EU legal standards and norms,

 

(e) Reserving the right to take Crimea back by force or with the assistance of US/EU sanctions against Russia

 
then I am afraid that Ukraine will remain under a clear & present danger / threat of Russian military intervention.
 
Why?
 
Because Russia will reserve and may exercise its right to interfere militarily in Ukraine based on
 
- Russia's need for local military security against the perceived threat of NATO encroachment and future placement in Ukraine of weapons systems (missiles, aircraft capable of carrying nuclear payloads, etc.) that could neutralize Russia's nuclear weapons potential and permit (even if just in theory) a nuclear first strike against Russia without the fear of Russia's response and mutually assured destruction
 
and

- its perceived right to have the equivalent of America's Monroe Doctrine for military, political and economic reasons, especially if American foreign policy (political, economic, and military) refuses to allow Russia to

 

(a) remain an independent global power which could increase its influence in West Europe (thanks in part to natural gas deliveries through Nord Stream I and II) and
 

(b) remain China’s junior partner/ally (without any significant US/NATO control or leverage, e.g. through Ukraine), a status which could help make China unbeatable (with Russia as its junior ally), if not victorious, in its contest with the United States for our world's leading economic, military and political superpower.  

  
So what do you think?
 
Last, please don't forget to share this article for review and civilized discussion! 

 
  
***
 
[Google Translation]

Peskov advised Ukrainians to set an alarm clock so as not to oversleep the "invasion" -

Peskov advised Ukrainians to set alarms due to reports of "invasion" of Ukraine!
 
00:08 02/16/2022 (updated: 01:01 02/16/2022)
 
MOSCOW, February 16 - RIA Novosti. The Kremlin ironically commented on the reports of a number of Western media about the Russian "invasion" of Ukraine in the morning, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov suggested that the Ukrainians set an alarm clock for this.

The British tabloids on the eve appointed the time of the "invasion of Ukraine" - supposedly this will happen at three o'clock Wednesday night local time.

In particular, the Mirror wrote about this with reference to sources in the American intelligence services, who allegedly reported this to the publication's employees in Kiev.

     [ See https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ukraine-russia-war-invasion-live-26225775 ]
 
The Sun also listed 3:00 am as "the most likely time," citing US intelligence.

    [ See https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17655287/russia-set-invade-ukraine-tomorrow/ ]
 
“It’s better for them to set alarms for this time and see for themselves,” Peskov told RIA Novosti, answering the question of whether Ukrainians should worry or they can sleep peacefully today.

Earlier, the Politico newspaper, citing informed sources, reported that US President Joe Biden, at a video conference with leaders of Western countries, the European Union and NATO, called the date of Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine on February 16.

Peskov, commenting on these claims, said that it is difficult to take such publications seriously, and Russian President Vladimir Putin sometimes jokingly asks to know if the exact time of the start of the war is published anywhere.
 
https://ria.ru/20220216/budilnik-1773020626.html
 
***

DAWN RAID - Russia set to invade Ukraine at 1AM tomorrow with massive missile blitz and 200,000 troops, US intelligence claims

Nick Parker   Jerome Starkey
In Kyiv, Ukraine
10:12, 15 Feb 2022 Updated: 13:45, 15 Feb 2022     
 
RUSSIA is set to invade Ukraine at 1am tomorrow with a massive missile blitz and 200,000 troops, according to US intelligence.

Highly placed sources said preparations to defend the besieged nation would continue - despite reports Putin was withdrawing some troops from the border.
 
Sources said Russia is set to invade Ukraine tomorrow!
 
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17655287/russia-set-invade-ukraine-tomorrow/
 
***

Ukraine-Russia war fears LIVE: Invasion time 'confirmed' with air strikes expected

Fears of war continue to spiral with the presence of an estimated 130,000 Russian troops on the border of Ukraine, prompting warnings from the UK and Nato allies to citizens to flee the country

Johnson and Biden: 'Crucial window' for diplomacy with Russia

By Matthew Dresch News Reporter, Ryan Merrifield Reporter

Updated 22:54, 15 Feb 2022
 
US intelligence agencies believe the Kremlin will order the invasion of Ukraine at 3am local time.

Although some Russian forces were seen withdrawing from the border earlier today tensions remain high.

Russia said the withdrawal followed drills in the area and war in Europe could be imminent.

Last ditch diplomatic efforts continue in a desperate effort to avoid armed conflict.

Senior sources said a Moscow attack would be “almost certainly from multiple points” over Ukraine’s southern, eastern and northern flanks.

The Mirror’s senior American source warned our team in Kyiv with a simple one line message saying: “3am Wednesday.”

Russia has more than 126,000 troops massed near the eastern border of Ukraine.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ukraine-russia-war-invasion-live-26225775
 
 

*** 

Russian invasion of Ukraine set for '3am today' with missiles and tank attack

Intelligence sources state Russia's invasion of Ukraine will begin on Wednesday afternoon with Europe on the brink of war despite Vladimir Putin pulling back some of his country's forces.

By Chris Hughes in Ukraine

09:55, 15 Feb 2022
Update d00:01, 16 Feb 2022

Kremlin chiefs will order an attack on Ukraine at 3am local time today, American intelligence agencies believe.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-russian-invasion-ukraine-set-26232612

 

***

 

[Google Translation]

 
Military expert named two dates after which it will be possible to evaluate Russia's plans in Ukraine

Dmitry Elovsky, Polina Milushkova
February 14, 2022, 11:30
 
Over the weekend, February 13 and 14, there were many alarming reports from the line of contact with Ukraine, as well as from the sea, where a record grouping of Russian navy ships is concentrated. What development of events can be expected in the near future and how the escalation is treated in Ukraine was discussed with military observer Oleksandr Golts.
 
The military observer believes that from all the conflicting information “two intelligible dates can be distinguished - February 20, that is, the date of the end of the joint Russian-Belarusian exercises, and the completion of naval maneuvers in the Black Sea, this is February 19.”

Goltz recalls that at a meeting in Moscow, "Putin promised Macron to withdraw troops from Belarus after the completion of the exercises."

The expert says that only after February 20, one can “with varying degrees of probability assume further developments: either the forces of the fleet and troops will be slowly withdrawn, or they will remain, since it is impossible to keep them in suspense indefinitely.”

Goltz draws attention to the fact that at the moment there are not only talks about the likely beginning of the hot phase of the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, but also preparatory actions are taking place in this direction.

“Thousands of military personnel, dozens of ships are moving in the Mediterranean Sea, 3 missile cruisers appeared at once in the Mediterranean Sea, which, if the operation starts, should impede the operation of three NATO aircraft carrier groups,” Goltz explains.

He added that "Russia, denying the intention to attack through Belarus, is actively demonstrating its readiness to surround this country with military forces."

The evacuation from Ukraine of citizens of European countries, primarily employees of diplomatic missions, Golts connects with the fact that representatives of the West "consider the threat quite real."

He believes that this seems like a last resort, since "over the past 30 years in Europe, embassies nowhere, no one has ever evacuated."

The military observer thinks that by doing so, “the West wants to emphasize that the situation is absolutely unprecedented, and Russia is helping to create this feeling by concentrating troops on the borders of Ukraine.”

Goltz notes that it is difficult to say how seriously ordinary Ukrainians take the threat of a possible Russian attack. However, it is worth remembering that "Ukraine deployed in parallel the exercises of its armed forces, which is natural in a situation of confrontation between the two forces."

The expert explains that "exercises are an ideal way to mobilize troops for subsequent military operations." Given Russia's marked superiority over Ukraine in terms of aviation and air defense systems, Golts says, with the likely start of large-scale actions, Russia could begin to implement the Syrian scenario.

And this means, according to Goltz, "massive air attacks with the aim of demoralizing the enemy and destroying the main types of weapons."

The only way out that Ukraine can take in such a situation, according to a military observer, is to prepare for resistance, "for guerrilla warfare, which Ukraine is now demonstrating."
 
[ *This message (material) was created and (or) distributed by a foreign media outlet acting as a foreign agent and (or) a Russian legal entity acting as a foreign agent. ]
 
https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/utro_na_dozhde/voennyj_ekspert_nazval_dve_daty-547774/

***

 

A former African-American Philadelphia Police Officer's analysis & advice about George Floyd riots.

A former African-American Philadelphia Police Officer's analysis & advice about George Floyd riots.

URA Observer [YouTube Channel]

Recorded on June 1, 2020

 
Greg Krasovsky, an African-American & Russian attorney and former City of Philadelphia Police Officer (1989-1992) shares his personal views & analysis and makes an appeal to all sides regarding the wave of riots that has spread to multiple cities after George Floyd's tragic death in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Watch the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O1cQKAsvaI
 
***

FYI,

Before and after joining the City of Philadelphia Police Department, Greg Krasovsky obtained his education in the following fields

   - Political Science & Sociology
        - Columbia University, Columbia College (New York, NY)
   - Legal Education
        - University of Pennsylvania Law School (Philadelphia, PA)
        - Russian University for People's Friendship (Moscow, Russia)

Greg Krasovsky is also a former

   - Emergency Medical Technician & Fire-Rescue Technician (NY & PA),
   - laboratory technician in neuro-pharmacology (PA),
   - volunteer for the American Red Cross Disaster Services Division (NY),
   - volunteer & founder of international disaster relief organizations (PA, DC, VA, MD),
   - member & supporter of the ACLU, NAACP and Amnesty International,
   - member of the NRA,
   - member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
 
***

The Ukrainian-Russian-American Observer

Gregory Krasovsky's commentary on Russia, Ukraine, the United States of America, including politics, economics, culture, religion and human rights.

   Blog: http://ura-observer.blogspot.com

   Twitter: https://twitter.com/ura_observer

   YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtur9AQAUUu6PDlpG3taZxQ

***

The Law Offices of Gregory Krasovsky (Washington, DC)

   https://www.krasovskylaw.com

***