Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Blackout!
The power was out for about an hour and it really sucked...LOL
Some philosopher, I think it was Aristotle, once said you should go one winter day without a coat so you appreciate it. I went without an hour with electricity and you suddenly realize, especially at night, how much you need it. Fortunately it was only for an hour but Michelle and I got to see a lot of stars that you usually don't see because of the city street lights.
The cats did not seem to mind.....
I am glad the Internet is back!
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Russian takeover of Crimea
The whole thing started with the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Ukraine. Granted it was unpopular and corrupt (sound familiar?), but it was democratically elected. It was overthrown by a mob with a lot of border-line Nazi fanatics in it. The Russians reacted by rolling into the Crimea where their Black Sea fleet is headquartered. There is also a lot of bad blood between Ukrainians and Russian-speakers in the eastern Ukraine and Crimea. The Russians saw a threat and reacted, like any other country would do when its interests are threatened.
Like the United States for instance.
In 1962, the Soviet Union placed nuclear weapons in Cuba, ninety miles from Miami. The US imposed a blockade, called a quarantine, and threatened an invasion unless the Russians pulled the missiles out. Now in 2014, the Russians see a threat on their doorstep. And they reacted.
This is not to excuse anything but as Lord Palmerston once said, "Nations do not have friends, they have interests."
There is also the practical angle.
Do not screw around with a nuclear armed superpower on its front doorstep. Remember 1962?
The Western press has also pointed out the 1994 agreement where the US, Russia, and Britain pledged to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity. What they seem to forget is the US promise to the Soviet Union that when Germany war reunited in 1990, NATO would not expand past Germany. The membership of Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia in 1999 violated that and the inclusion of the Baltic States in 2004 breached the old Soviet frontier, something Russia regards as her sphere of influence. And we know what happened in 2008 in the CaucasusMountains with Georgia. Now that I think about it, the situation reminds me of the justified US response to threats against Americans in Panama back in 1989.
Conclusion #1: Spheres of influence lead to stability
Conclusion #2: Look at issues from the other side.
With that in mind, I present the following article:
http://news.yahoo.com/russia-west-were-good-guys-crimea-195700381.html?vp=1
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