Asia rallies behind Russia
While the U.S. and all of Europe react in horror to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the first, second, fourth, tenth and twelfth most-populated nations in Asia feel very different. It really doesn't matter whether you agree with these nations or not. The sheer size and proximity of these nations require respect.
The least surprising is China.
A Chinese government official Thursday sidestepped questions over whether it would condemn Russia's actions or consider it an "invasion."Instead, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying -- who repeated staid lines about seeking peace through dialogue and said the situation was "not what we would hope to see" -- was quick to point the finger at the US, implying that Washington was a "culprit" for "fanning up flames," referring to US warnings in recent weeks of an imminent invasion.
"China has taken a responsible attitude and persuaded all parties not to escalate tensions or incite war...Those who follow the US' lead in fanning up flames and then shifting the blame onto others are truly irresponsible," she said.
Since the U.S. has been banging the drums of war against China for years, it shouldn't surprise anyone that they blamed the U.S.
OTOH, America appears to have been caught completely off-guard by India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin underlined that Delhi will for now stick to a path of strategic ambivalence on the Ukraine crisis.
That sounds like a middle ground, but it isn't.
India has gone further than that.
(Reuters) - India is exploring ways to set up a rupee payment mechanism for trade with Russia to soften the blow on New Delhi of Western sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, government and banking sources said.
India alone accounts for about a quarter of all of Russia's arms sales and half of India's arms imports.
What's behind this is a new push to kick Russia off of the SWIFT banking system. The EU is being slowly pushed toward this so-called "nuclear option".
Other EU member states are reluctant to make such a move because, while it would hit Russian banks hard, it would make it tough for European creditors to get their money back and Russia has in any case been building up an alternative payment system.
Actually Russia has very little external debt, so this isn't the issue. The issue is that Europe is dependent on cheap Russian natgas.
While most people weren't paying attention, Pakistani Prime Minister Khan actually traveled this week to Moscow for a summit meeting with Putin. That should tell you everything you need to know about that.
Another pariah nation, Iran, is standing strongly besides Russia.
Iran, which for years has deepened diplomatic ties with Russia and cooperated with Moscow in the war in Syria, on Thursday blamed NATO for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"The #Ukraine crisis is rooted in NATO's provocations," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Twitter, without mentioning Russia by name.
The Myanmar military junta gave unqualified support to Moscow, as did North Korea. Which makes four nuclear powers backing Russia.
Syria also backs Russia.
Then there is the bulk of central Asia, the seventeenth, twenty-fourth, and thirtieth most-populated nations in Asia.
The Kremlin's press service said on February 25 that Putin held telephone talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev to discuss bilateral ties and the ongoing situation in Ukraine, where Russian military forces continue attacks on units of the Ukrainian armed forces that they started a day earlier.
...
Hours earlier, the Kazakh presidential press service said on February 25 that Toqaev and Mishustin discussed, among other issues, "joint efforts to prevent the decrease of trade volume between the two nations amid the escalation of the situation in Ukraine and the international sanctions being imposed on Russia."
...
Also on February 25, Matviyenko discussed trade and economic ties with top officials of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.
South-East Asia doesn't back Russia, but it doesn't condemn the invasion either.
Malaysia and Cambodia made wishy-washy statements. Vietnam almost backed Russia, but not quite. Most surprising of all was Philippines, who were completely silent on the issue.
Few, if any, are likely to impose economic sanctions and visa bans on Russian officials, or withdraw their ambassadors from Moscow. Indeed, an Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson has already ruled out sanctions, saying that Jakarta “will not blindly follow the steps taken by another country.”
I haven't seen any official statements by Iraq or Saudi Arabia yet.
If you look at a map of Asia, you'll notice that the only truly hostile nations pressing Russia are NATO nations. It has friendly, prosperous nations willing to continue trading with it no matter the sanctions that we impose on Russia.
The biggest takeaway here is that the U.S. appears to have lost all influence in the largest continent on Earth.
On the other side of the world, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua sided with Russia too.
Comments
Vote in the Security Council.
Members of the Security Council.
https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/current-members
The UN Security Council Vote for Ceasefire
Note the abstentions which are not shows of support for Russia. And the only vote against a ceasefire was peaceloving Russia.
A little history.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
It's only okay for russia to veto?
So it's only okay for Russia to veto?
I'm not defending the US's vetos.
In any case, I hope you are supportive of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Cheers.
@Wally why would anyone be
why would anyone be supportive on a ceasefire vs guys who lovingly erected statues of the 12th Panzer SS division?
If Russia wants to rid the world of Nazi's this red blooded patriotic American is all for it.
Fuck ceasefire Nazi appeasers.
warmongers are us
Fuck yea, nuke em! /s
Edit add: Or less drastically, just let the Chechen division occupying force maintain peace by ripping out Zelinskiy's entrails and make sausage of him. /s
edit: and added /s in case it wasn't clear
@#1.1.1.1 why would anyone be
Regarding China
Important insights gjohnsit and humphrey. Thanks for your informative efforts.
The NYT is reporting that the Biden admin went to China to try to get the Chinese to mediate against Russia's war of aggression against the democratically elected government of Ukraine (a gubmint, incidentally, that has proportionately fewer far right elected representatives than France).
What did China do when they were given US intelligence by the delegation? They shared it with Russia.
This investigative article vividly shows how utterly stoopid the Biden administration is panning out to be:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/us/politics/us-china-russia-ukraine.html
And given that it's coming from the NYT, it sure seems like a clear signal that the Democratic Party hegemon isn't exactly supportive of Biden. My guess is he's in deep doo-doo. Why else would the NYT publish an article that makes Biden and his administration look soo stoopid? Maybe I'm missing an angle here?
That article
seems to avoid the obvious point that Biden admin officials should have instead been spending their time in DC trying to persuade Biden to a) agree not to permit Ukraine to become part of Nato, and b) begin insisting that Ukraine implement the Minsk 2 agreement, or otherwise to get on the phone to Z to have his military and far-right militia forces stop the increasing shelling of the Donbas, the heavily ethnic Russian area where some 15k have been killed so far. Doing the first, and certainly both, would have prevented the Russian invasion.
As for far-right in the Ukraine parliament compared to France, I think that narrow view overlooks that Z -- who ran for president as a "peace" candidate -- and his predecessor have brought in far-right neo-Nazi elements into the admin and national security forces; the Z admin has failed to investigate and prosecute these neo-Nazi groups for previous mass murder crimes in Odessa and during the Maidan uprising; and generally these neo-Nazi factions have an oversized influence on state security, who controls the streets and what gets said in the streets.
Just some thoughts on a complicated area I am learning more about. I welcome responsible opposing points of view.
Remnants of Clinton State Department
Valid points, Wok.
Those dumbass Biden advisors are most likely remnants of the Clinton State Department including her favorite Victoria Nuland wife of Robert Kagan of the Kaganate warlord clan (yes, she's still around). I agree with you that there was a better way to peace in Ukraine as you outline in your first paragraph. But is the death total 1500 or 15,000 in the Donbas? Too much either way. but it's better to make sure one is underestimating or exaggerating,
As far as Zelinskiy's dalliances with far right assholes in Ukraine, unfortunately that's politics. The right wing parties ran against him, attacking him for being a Jew and soft on Russia being that he's Russian. I wish he didn't stain himself playing politrix that way. But that doesn't make him a nazi no matter what Putin claims. Neverthelss, let's not forget that Putin dances with nazbols and corrupt oligarchs, too. Sucks all around.
@Wally last I checked, Putin
last I checked, Putin didn't erect statues to an SS Panzer Division. Ukranian leaders did.
That's actual, real world Nazi shit.
Fuck Ukraine.
My other thoughts
on the piece you cite is that it was published actually to make Biden look good, even though some of us skeptics see it as a fools errand, in that it showed how he was going the extra mile to avert disaster in Ukraine. Biden the Peacemaker! And for Biden officials the effort would have also been helpful to gauge the extent of the Russia-China partnership and to see how China would react to US sanction threats against itself.
Re Donbas death toll, my figure is from a recent WaPo piece citing 14k dead. I figure the establishment media organ is likely undercounting, so I upped it but only by 1k.
Re Z and Ukrainian Nazis, I'm not sure Putin has called Z a Nazi, but he would be on firmer ground calling him a Nazi accommodationist. But yes, Putin too, like any leader of a major power, has to occasionally deal with despots and dictators when it's deemed to be in his country's interests. The Un fellow in NK, the Saudi leader-butcher, and the slightly less despotic Erdogan. All par for the course. Even Nixon drank tea with Chairman Mao and made deals. Of course, they were a more similar pair, the would-be dictator visiting with an actual one, and so Nixon probably felt at ease. I don't put Putin nearly in Nixon's category as he presides over a fairly democratic country by Russia standards, and I also think Vlad is smarter than Tricky. Certainly has a stronger moral compass.
eta: will continue to look for that WaPo piece, but this entry at wiki, citing Ukraine official figures from a YEAR AGO, says 13,000 dead in the Donbas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Russo-Ukrainian_War
So possible the actual number 12 months later, with intensified shelling, is probably well over 20k dead I would guess.
eta2: here it is WaPo from a few days ago, citing 14k dead. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/21/what-is-donbas-donetsk-l...
Yes, too many dead
I appreciate that you took the time to come up with validation of the numbers.
Seems lots and lots of countries have now signed on to denying Russian banks access to the SWIFT system. Not sure about Germany.
But Germany is now sending lots of arms to Ukraine which I didn't expect and somehow I don't think Putin anticipated it either:.
Selective outrage
I do not remember the pope expressing much papal anger at any of America’s military adventures that are currently happening or if he did the media didn’t see the need to cover it.
As for China not outright condemning Russia, gjohnsit you do know that they have made an alliance because they know that both are in America’s crosshairs? If Russia falls then China is left on its own to fight us.
If Russia hadn’t taken this action now and Ukraine actually did join NATO or gawd forbid get weaponized to the max then the war between us and Russia would have probably gone nuclear. And this could have easily been avoided if Biden had stopped his actions against Russia. They had been warned us for years that they would take this action unless we stopped what we were doing in Ukraine. After Russia sent their demands last year Biden has been flooding Ukraine with more and more weapons. That was kicking sand in Russia’s face. I may have missed it, but I don’t see your outrage about that. But as usual it’s going to be the little people of the world who suffer the most from this. The rich will be just fine.
It’s kinda weird that sanctions went into effect before Russia stepped in to Ukraine. Kinda like a goading action. Russia had decided to protect the Russians in the Donbass area that had been attacked by Ukraine nationalists for 8 years and Minsk was being ignored but Biden and his NATO bullies were anxious to push Russia more. Just more goading.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Okay, here
goes;
Raze every Biolab, blow up any military installation bigger than a four man guard post, take possession or destroy Any Nuclear material/facilities And, Most Importantly,
Kill Every Fucking Nazi you Find.
If the Ruskis do all that, as the ShitLibs say;
I’m OKay with it.
If they can bitchslap our govt in the process; BONUS!
Does That make me a Putin Puppet?
Fuck Off.
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
Sweden and Finland are applying to join NATO
Way to go, Putin! He's gonna make NATO more unified, stronger, and no doubt more belligerent. He's provided rationale for the continued existence and expansion of NATO. attacking Ukraine because it wasn't a member.
He should have contented himself with those two breakaway nazbol oblasts.
It doesn't look like he's found any takers with any sway in the Ukrainian Army to initiate a military coup (and it's not like there's a dearth of corrupt opportunist warpigs in service of oligarchy there) so he'll be saddled with the burden of Ukraine's declining economy and a guerilla war of sabotage that's going to last for many years (funded by the US and the west).
Putin may have now won the battle of Afghanistan Deja Vu (the US doesn't give a shit about Ukraine), but he got suckered into losing the larger war.
Sure let’s just provoke the bear more
Dumb idea.
Since the end of the Cold War people have been warning against expanding NATO because of how dangerous it would be since Russia was never going to accept it. Russia told us that they are fed up with our doing it and was very clear about what would happen if we didn’t listen. Today the people in Ukraine are paying the price for our arrogance. It’s not American citizens dying there, but there are many dying here from neglect from our government. Now we’ve got people cheering Ukraine fighting Russia and even calling for us to go there and help them.
America owns every death in Ukraine. Period. And it’s not just going to stop goading China. For gawd’s sake we still playing in China’s waters trying to get them to react.
Link
And Americans cheer that too. Meanwhile more of the country sinks into decay.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
LMAO
So is Russia part of the Chinese vector? He's certainly not getting support from any other Slavic countries or is he really so deluded? I'm really starting to wonder who's the bigger dumbass, Putin thinking he's gonna unite some mythical Slavdom or Biden thinking he could get China's support?
Congress needs to find $6 billion for Ukraine
And Biden is asking Blinken to find 600 million more for Ukraine whilst more Americans are going to fall deeper behind economically because gas is going up with everything else. Damn our government.
I think this comment is spot on:
Link
Highly recommend reading this guy’s perspective on Russia.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Just took the time to
read that comment and entire page.
Very helpful. The comment is as good as it gets.
NYCVG
and Argentina
is siding with Russia
NYCVG
Steven Cohen in 2:14 tells us exactly what the problem is
https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2022/02/debt-rattle-february-26-2022/
Remember america lives by a international rules based order, while the rest of the world lives under an international law based order. It's quite similar to the public/private BS of neoshitliberalism.
We are the bully of the world, not the police of the world. Do as we say not as we do isn't going to cut it any more, those days have now passed.
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Caitlyn mentions him
and lots of others who have been warning against expanding NATO. It’s one of her best which is hard to choose since she writes so many. I posted it up thread if you’re interested.
How’s things in Chi-town this fine Saturday? Give Otis, Otto a scritch. My mind went blank.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
It's funny that 2 Russian experts from back in the day
get it wrong, isn't it s/
Today's
pundits/expertsstenographers, lackey's just wantall of us to stfu and be obedient.
Luna's great, she just had her checkup and at the age of 6 1/2
keeps on keeping on. She said thanks for the neck scratch, maybe
one day her and Sam can roam the world together!
Give Sam one back from Luna
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Luna!
How da hell did I come up with Otis? Silly dawg. Oh it’d be great for them to meet up and play. She missed playing with her BFF today. The dad is golfing.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I "oppose" the decision by Russia to invade Ukraine
Who the fuck cares?
Who cares what I think and who cares about what goes on between Russia and Ukraine?
It is none of my business. Other people may feel like it should be my business, but they are all insane.
To suggest that all the people of the world "should" oppose this military operation, and join in the effort to "punish" Russia for it is absurd. People who push this line always, without exception, confuse the two issues -- if you do not "support" Putin, you must therefore join in the effort to punish him and his constituency.
Nobody ever asks the people of Argentina or Botswana or Cambodia whether they want to join in this fight against military aggression. Nor does anybody seriously care about what we think about it -- so long as we don't go to Vietnam Protest Mode.
Only in America do common people assume somehow, by virtue of being born in the USA, that they have any business telling Russia what to do -- or Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Serbia, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam or Mexico. Or anybody else.
Only in America do we fancy ourselves the moral arbiter of nation state behavior.
We have all just been drafted into the American Economic War against Russia. There will now be a reprise of the last two years of internet "debate" about the "science" of public health -- now it will be a "debate" about the nature of the souls of the Russian and Ukrainian Governments. Nazis? Hater of Democracy? White Supremacy? There's a niche for every power fetish.
My favorite line ever from a keyboard warrior, "I don't trust Putin." I would not shoot dice with him over the phone, either. But I don't want to pay 10 bucks for a gallon of gas to prove to him that he should not be such a threat to world peace. That is beyond stupid -- and leads to the stark reality of nuclear war when your cockamamy "economic" warfare does not produce any better result than vaccines.
If I were to think that way, I would be a hell of a lot more pissed off at Biden than Putin. But both can go fuck themselves, as far as I am concerned.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Amen!
People are approaching this conflict in very simplified ways.
I share a lot of your sentiments
I also believe Ukrainians (and all peoples) should have an electoral choice in who governs them (for better or for worse).
Bringing the bio lab discussion here
So Obama closed the labs here and opened in countless countries and let them deal with the dangers.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
So these labs were going to do what?
Creating or “combating highly dangerous pathogens"?
I'd like to see some more detailed information on this.
Check out this article from June, 20 2020
Veteran's Today
NEO: Bio-threat from the US on the Rise
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Google is your friend
Or you can try the Duck.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Jimmy and Aaron on Ukraine
Saagar and Krystal expose their true neocon colors. Well Saagar has exposed his numerous times before, but it’s Krystal's views that I find surprising. She could sub for Rachel if they’d let her back on MSDNC.
Next up we have corrupted Adam Schiff saying that we have to fight Russia over there so we don’t have to fight him here. George W. Schiff is an idiot. There’s never any discussion of Obama’s brutal coup in Ukraine nor that we’ve been funding neo Nazis. Guess who else has been sending them weapons? Israel! They can shove their Never Again and anti Semitic complaints. They’ve been very silent on the Nazis killing ethnic Russians.
One of their best reviews.
Sorry I still can’t figure out how to embed it. I’ve used all its embed codes in every way.
[video:https://rumble.com/embed/vtaqs6/?pub=wocmo]
https://rumble.com/vvwwtu-media-lies-about-ukrainerussia-debunked.html?m...
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I started watching this Jimmy Dore video
and he totally slandered Saagar and Krystal. He said Krystal was a Russiagater and that is laughably untrue.
Saagar and Krystal have literally spent years poking holes in Russiagate.
As for Saagar and Krystal being a neocons. Puuhhleeeze. They in no way have called for our troops to be deployed.
I used to love and $upport Jimmy Dore
He lost me about four months ago with his takes on the epidemic and his rants against just about everybody.
I've started regularly watching The Vanguard hosted by two young dudes (not the ones pictured although I still like Jordan Chariton), who impress me as being wise beyond their years:
[video:https://youtu.be/LlkzUW0xs2U]
They are safety valves
who work for the PTB.
They display the allowable amount of outrage. Just enough for even the Privileged classes that are sensing something is wrong.
I am skeptical about the motives of Krystal and Saagar
Same as so many other favorite posters who poke at the Owners and Donors while they are working for Them. not us.
Fifth columnists.
NYCVG
A couple of short thoughts
The anguish over Ukraine vs "nobody cares" about Yemen or Syria or anywhere in Africa Or central America is an example of what they call white privilege.
Ukraine has a long history of Nazi loving even before there *were* Nazis! My grandparents fled Ukraine in the early 1900s because of the persecution (and worse) of Jews. The relatives they left behind were murdered in WWII. There is a serious anti-Jew streak in the Ukrainian character despite Zelensky's position. A statue honoring Nazis is not surprising.
Well, sounds familiar
with my only Ukrainian friend, whom I got to know well first before learning later, but before the latest news, that a) she hates Russians, b) she hates Putin, and c) she hates Jews. Visceral, unprovoked, deep-seated hatred. I avoid discussing the current events with her except to wish her family well back in the old country.
Side note: at the other place I post, the much larger social media platform, a main page thread was just started from a Ukrainian immigrant here who is trying to whip up letter-writing support for Biden to declare a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine. Of the 50 or so responses so far, only one expresses mild skepticism about that very dangerous move.
I can agree with that
My FIL is from Ukraine - WW2 refugee.
My MIL is from Germany - also WW2 refugee.
Met in NYC and married. Hence my spouse.
Both are less than comfortable with the Jewish race.
And most every other non-white, non-protestant culture.
Funny that, living in NY. One might think they would have
become acclimatized to their adopted country's moralities?
Bigotry runs deep. Exclusivity is a norm many people have adopted.
I have trouble with that concept.
Ukraine isn't one nation
Like nations of Africa, Ukraine didn't draw their own borders. East and west Ukraine have different cultures.
West Ukraine identify with Poland and Hungary. That's where the Nazi units that served as guards in the death camps were from.
East Ukraine fought against the Nazis.
Kiev is in the middle, the site of one of worst Holocaust atrocities, and the origin of Russia.
For reference..
My grandparents were from what is now called Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine
Gjohnsit, could you do me a favor?
I seem to recall you writing one or more persuasive essays disputing the claim of a recent "crime spike" - but of course, there's been A LOT to talk about since then. Would you please link those again?
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Here you go
https://caucus99percent.com/content/regarding-san-franciscos-epic-crime-...