If I’m Vladimir Putin and my conventional military is being well matched by tens of thousands of courageous Ukrainians armed with increasingly sophisticated and heavy Western weapons, I do what I’m mostly doing — bombard Ukraine from long range until I’ve forced most of the population to flee, having left nothing standing to encourage their return.
Hi Lee, I think Putin will march straight to Paris if permitted. If he's going to use nukes, he has enough excuses already. As for putting children at risk, I hear you. But all of our children are at risk every day from this monster. best, Larry
Mr. Kotlikoff, with all due respect to your financial and economic qualities, you are professing an outright war with Russia. Thise were three requests that the Russians have been asking the Ukrainians since 2014:
1. Don't join NATO.
2. Stop harassing the Russian population if Eastern Ukraine.
3. Do not discriminate against Russian language and culture.
In fact, Russia is not an aggressor in this case. They have been patient with ukraino-nazis for 8 long years.
I haven't give full credit to our Demo-socialist administration fir not dragging our country into the outright war.
Please, study facts and a bit of Russian-Ukrainian history.
Respectfully, Uri Norwich
PS. You can Google my name to get a better understanding where I come from before you nay dismiss me. Thank you
Hi Uri, I don't disagree with what you are saying. Indeed, I'm saying Russia should be allowed to retain the territory it now occupies -- but at the price of Ukraine joining NATO -- so they won't be terrorized again. best, Larry
Hello Larry, appreciate your reply, and your attempt to understand another side. To Russia, Ukraine joining NATO is not negotiable. I hope that our government continue understanding that, otherwise it will be war. Europeans clearly understand that they alone cannot win any war against Russia. Also Russia controls energy sources for Europe. Germany gave in to socialists of all stripes and dismantled their nuclear stations creating full dependability on Russian oil and gas. Germany will never vote for Ukraine in NATO.
Let me turn this topic towards another angle that concerns Ukranians and other people. I wrote this in March, 2022
The ukrainians is the only European people who had NEVER admitted, repented or apologized for killing the Jews.
The most vicious guards of Auschwitz were the ukrainians.
They also eagerly rounded up, transported and killed innocents in Babin Yar.
All of these facts are widely documented by the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, in Nuremberg trials papers, Auschwitz memorial museum, and many other Holocaust museums in the US and Europe.
Given a chance, they would do it today again.
About Israel.
Never in their miserable history they expressed support for tiny Israel.
In all their votes through their voting history at UN did they ever support Israel?
Meanwhile, that clown they call president had guts to blame Israel for not doing much in their support.
Or another fact comes to mind. Remember the gas chambers of the concentration camps the germans used so efficiently. They field-tried them in ukraine first when they used trucks with exhaust pipes rigged inside the box. Guess who herded the poor victims inside, and washed the trucks after for the next load of innocents...
What was the Jewish life worth through all ukranian miserable history?
Are ukranians going to give back our land? our personal belongings? How many of them are living in stolen homes? How many of them having stolen property in their homes? What was a Jewish life worth?
Are they going to pay for that too? Nope? They are not forgiven, at least not by me.
STUDY HISTORY, PLEASE.
(lower case letters are used intentionally)
Thank you, and I hope that you Larry relay these facts to your audience.
Hi Uri, Your comments should be available for all to read. I take your point. I'm Jewish. My grandfather was born in Kyiv. This is not 1942. Zelensky is Jewish. We need a solution that works for both sides. What I laid out works for both sides unless Putin wants to eviscerate Ukraine. In the end, the U.S. won't let that happen. So we are heading to a very bad place. That's why we need to think out of the box to a solution that initially seems crazy, but isn't and would work. Over time, Russia should be added to NATO, but that can only happen after Putin is out of power. best, Larry
I don't like the nationalist side of things and apparently there is a nazi element (Azov brigade and a far right political party that got 5% of the vote). But the language law only requires a Ukrainian translation of articles written in Russian, and Ukraine's president is a Russian speaking Jew. It's very clearly not in need of denazification by its neighbour.
Ukraine is a sovereign country, Nato is a defensive alliance, they should be allowed to join Nato if they choose to. But they were refused by Nato because of Russia's concerns, and Russia has been repeatedly appeased when it does things - invade Georgias, invade Chechnia, annex Crimea. The EU still built pipelines making the EU reliant on Russian gas..... All of the above are not the actions of people trying to get Russia. People in the west like Russian people and want Russia to be a normal democracy that they don't have to worry about....
Russia is clearly the aggressor. They have invaded Ukraine and killed a lot of people.
These have been some of the worst takes I've seen of all time from a boomer who still thinks this is the Soviet Union versus the west and we're in the Cold War. It totally ignores the real-time situation on the ground and assumes many things that are not true
Hi Hugh, I make a habit of not presuming I know what someone else knows without asking them. If you have specific objections, pls share. But ad hominem comments isn’t going to help me learn from you. Best, Larry
I agree with most of what you said, However, you missed one detail. The Mariupol Plan as outlined in the Mueller report, aside from its successful attempt to destroy American politics and keep Ukraine out of NATO it wanted to claim the Donbas region and land connecting Russia to Crimea. The early attacks on Kyiv were a distraction to allow a gain by his forces in the east. I cannot agree that giving Putin what he has wanted since 2014 is appropriate. He should retreat and pay reparations. If he doesn't agree to that take back Crimea. He would not have it in the first place had NATO accepted Ukraine's application in 2008.
Ukraine brought this on themselves. There is no way Russia wants Ukraine in NATO. Way too close to their border and ports. Ukraine should have sought neutral status as other European countries did. That likely would have satisfied Putin or at least got a dialogue started. But Zelensky is a hothead and was hell bent on joining NATO. He doesn't give a damn if his conflict leads to WWIII.
Ukraine applied for NATO in 2008. Zelenskyy has been stymied since he took office. NATO has played Ukraine under threat by Putin. You make it sound like Ukraine is the cause of this war and attacked Russia. I'm happy for you that you want to satisfy Putin, but that is not one of my fantasies. Ukraine should not be fighting our proxy war with Russia. We will soon enter this but our delays cause the deaths of innocents.
Gee, Geoffrey, I'm not saying anything of the kind. Ukraine didn't cause this war. This is Putin's war 100 percent. Pls reread what I wrote. best, Larry
Sorry for the sarcasm Larry. It is truly 100% Russia that caused this over the past 14 years at every step. I find it tragic that we use Ukraine not being members of NATO as an excuse to allow Putin to decimate civilians. It is upsetting that our media in its entirety fails to address why Ukraine and NATO haven't wed.
Hi Lee, I think Putin will march straight to Paris if permitted. If he's going to use nukes, he has enough excuses already. As for putting children at risk, I hear you. But all of our children are at risk every day from this monster. best, Larry
Mr. Kotlikoff, with all due respect to your financial and economic qualities, you are professing an outright war with Russia. Thise were three requests that the Russians have been asking the Ukrainians since 2014:
1. Don't join NATO.
2. Stop harassing the Russian population if Eastern Ukraine.
3. Do not discriminate against Russian language and culture.
In fact, Russia is not an aggressor in this case. They have been patient with ukraino-nazis for 8 long years.
I haven't give full credit to our Demo-socialist administration fir not dragging our country into the outright war.
Please, study facts and a bit of Russian-Ukrainian history.
Respectfully, Uri Norwich
PS. You can Google my name to get a better understanding where I come from before you nay dismiss me. Thank you
Hi Uri, I don't disagree with what you are saying. Indeed, I'm saying Russia should be allowed to retain the territory it now occupies -- but at the price of Ukraine joining NATO -- so they won't be terrorized again. best, Larry
Hello Larry, appreciate your reply, and your attempt to understand another side. To Russia, Ukraine joining NATO is not negotiable. I hope that our government continue understanding that, otherwise it will be war. Europeans clearly understand that they alone cannot win any war against Russia. Also Russia controls energy sources for Europe. Germany gave in to socialists of all stripes and dismantled their nuclear stations creating full dependability on Russian oil and gas. Germany will never vote for Ukraine in NATO.
Let me turn this topic towards another angle that concerns Ukranians and other people. I wrote this in March, 2022
The ukrainians is the only European people who had NEVER admitted, repented or apologized for killing the Jews.
The most vicious guards of Auschwitz were the ukrainians.
They also eagerly rounded up, transported and killed innocents in Babin Yar.
All of these facts are widely documented by the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, in Nuremberg trials papers, Auschwitz memorial museum, and many other Holocaust museums in the US and Europe.
Given a chance, they would do it today again.
About Israel.
Never in their miserable history they expressed support for tiny Israel.
In all their votes through their voting history at UN did they ever support Israel?
Meanwhile, that clown they call president had guts to blame Israel for not doing much in their support.
Or another fact comes to mind. Remember the gas chambers of the concentration camps the germans used so efficiently. They field-tried them in ukraine first when they used trucks with exhaust pipes rigged inside the box. Guess who herded the poor victims inside, and washed the trucks after for the next load of innocents...
What was the Jewish life worth through all ukranian miserable history?
Are ukranians going to give back our land? our personal belongings? How many of them are living in stolen homes? How many of them having stolen property in their homes? What was a Jewish life worth?
Are they going to pay for that too? Nope? They are not forgiven, at least not by me.
STUDY HISTORY, PLEASE.
(lower case letters are used intentionally)
Thank you, and I hope that you Larry relay these facts to your audience.
Respectfully Uri Norwich.
Hi Uri, Your comments should be available for all to read. I take your point. I'm Jewish. My grandfather was born in Kyiv. This is not 1942. Zelensky is Jewish. We need a solution that works for both sides. What I laid out works for both sides unless Putin wants to eviscerate Ukraine. In the end, the U.S. won't let that happen. So we are heading to a very bad place. That's why we need to think out of the box to a solution that initially seems crazy, but isn't and would work. Over time, Russia should be added to NATO, but that can only happen after Putin is out of power. best, Larry
I don't like the nationalist side of things and apparently there is a nazi element (Azov brigade and a far right political party that got 5% of the vote). But the language law only requires a Ukrainian translation of articles written in Russian, and Ukraine's president is a Russian speaking Jew. It's very clearly not in need of denazification by its neighbour.
Ukraine is a sovereign country, Nato is a defensive alliance, they should be allowed to join Nato if they choose to. But they were refused by Nato because of Russia's concerns, and Russia has been repeatedly appeased when it does things - invade Georgias, invade Chechnia, annex Crimea. The EU still built pipelines making the EU reliant on Russian gas..... All of the above are not the actions of people trying to get Russia. People in the west like Russian people and want Russia to be a normal democracy that they don't have to worry about....
Russia is clearly the aggressor. They have invaded Ukraine and killed a lot of people.
These have been some of the worst takes I've seen of all time from a boomer who still thinks this is the Soviet Union versus the west and we're in the Cold War. It totally ignores the real-time situation on the ground and assumes many things that are not true
Hi Hugh, I make a habit of not presuming I know what someone else knows without asking them. If you have specific objections, pls share. But ad hominem comments isn’t going to help me learn from you. Best, Larry
I agree with most of what you said, However, you missed one detail. The Mariupol Plan as outlined in the Mueller report, aside from its successful attempt to destroy American politics and keep Ukraine out of NATO it wanted to claim the Donbas region and land connecting Russia to Crimea. The early attacks on Kyiv were a distraction to allow a gain by his forces in the east. I cannot agree that giving Putin what he has wanted since 2014 is appropriate. He should retreat and pay reparations. If he doesn't agree to that take back Crimea. He would not have it in the first place had NATO accepted Ukraine's application in 2008.
Ukraine brought this on themselves. There is no way Russia wants Ukraine in NATO. Way too close to their border and ports. Ukraine should have sought neutral status as other European countries did. That likely would have satisfied Putin or at least got a dialogue started. But Zelensky is a hothead and was hell bent on joining NATO. He doesn't give a damn if his conflict leads to WWIII.
Ukraine applied for NATO in 2008. Zelenskyy has been stymied since he took office. NATO has played Ukraine under threat by Putin. You make it sound like Ukraine is the cause of this war and attacked Russia. I'm happy for you that you want to satisfy Putin, but that is not one of my fantasies. Ukraine should not be fighting our proxy war with Russia. We will soon enter this but our delays cause the deaths of innocents.
Gee, Geoffrey, I'm not saying anything of the kind. Ukraine didn't cause this war. This is Putin's war 100 percent. Pls reread what I wrote. best, Larry
Sorry for the sarcasm Larry. It is truly 100% Russia that caused this over the past 14 years at every step. I find it tragic that we use Ukraine not being members of NATO as an excuse to allow Putin to decimate civilians. It is upsetting that our media in its entirety fails to address why Ukraine and NATO haven't wed.
I like this Larry, sounds reasonable with the unreasonable situation the entire world is in👍🏽Putin must be stopped!!