Both Sides Now: Gaza and Israel

What a demonic thing  to do - tell a million people to flee for their lives to a safe place - and then bomb the safe place.  And then there was that satanic hospital bombing that each side blames on the other.

This 20-minute news report from Britain's Channel 4 gives a wide view of the nightmare carnage now happening in what used to be called the Holy Land.  What an unholy horror it is now - and so often has been in my lifetime - I remember the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, and the great peace agreement that President Jimmy Carter negotiated at Camp David between Israel and Egypt.  But the volcano of violence keeps erupting, no matter what.

Both sides are to blame; both sides are suffering.  I have no favorites over there and no answers; I can only pray for peace.

If you have the time, do watch this for a balanced point of view.

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Russia Invades Ukraine

From Wikipedia:  Map of the first day's attacks on Ukraine - click for larger map.

What Biden has prophesied for weeks - and Putin has steadily denied - came to pass last night when Putin launched the Russian military on a multi-pronged attack against Ukraine.  This blow came while the United Nations Security Council was formulating an urgent plea for Putin not to make war on his neighbor - which goes to show Putin's contempt for the United Nations and all democracies.

There is no longer any doubt about it:  Putin is the new Hitler.  And sadly, Ukraine is shaping up to be the new Czechoslovakia, though its people and president have shown plenty of balls, defiantly insisting that they are not afraid and will defeat the overwhelming Russian forces bearing down upon them.

I hope they will - but I believe they hope in vain if they think any Western nations are going to put boots on the ground in Ukraine.  For one thing, Ukraine is not a member of NATO, and thus not entitled to that kind of aid.  For another, to put American troops on the front line against Russians would probably mean the start of World War III.  Putin threatened as much, in a veiled way, in his broadcast overnight.

God forbid.

And I very much doubt that economic sanctions will have any effect on Putin's plans, any more than they had on Hitler's.  The Bear is hungry, and will gobble up all he wants, regardless of consequences.  His recent statements suggest he will not be satisfied with devouring Ukraine only.  And he is sitting on some nasty weapons of his own - at least Hitler didn't have nukes or ICBM's.  But President Biden has said we will defend "every inch" of NATO territory, no matter what.  The what might come at any time.

So if careful steps are not taken, we could soon be facing the nightmare that has haunted the world for seventy years.  Nobody has said this out loud yet on TV, but I'm saying it.  As many commentators have noted.

I see no easy way out of this crisis.  As a truckbuddy said to me, after many subtle moves here and there, the scheming grandmaster Putin has put us in check, if not checkmate.  He has been playing to win, while we have been playing with ourselves, it seems like.  We should all be praying for our president and for all those working for the common good, that they may see clearly and act wisely.

I won't rehash here all the details of the Ukrainian struggle, but for whatever help it may be to my truckbuddies, here are some useful links to related information that you might want to bookmark.

News sources:

American TV network news websites are clogged with stupid advertisements that make it hard to get to the videos of what you want to see.   Here are three European broadcasters with 24/7 live coverage in English always available on YouTube - sometimes they provide a perspective on issues different from what is provided on American news shows.

Sky News (United Kingdom)

France24 (France)

DW News (Germany)

And the Guardian, which favors the views of the Labour Party, is one of the few British newspapers not hidden behind a paywall; in times of crisis, the website usually carries a live blog of events and commentary.

Wikipedia:

Wikipedia is to a large extent a leisure site for lonely, nerdy guys to write on, and get into bitch fights over political correctness, so what you read there should always be taken with a grain of salt unless supported by other, more reliable sources.  Nevertheless, it is usually a good source for quick facts about countries and notable people.  Here are a few topics you might want to refresh your memory of.

NATO and the European Union - they are not the same thing.

Ukraine - did you know it's nearly as big as Texas?

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine - yes, there's already a wikiarticle on it.

Russia - nearly twice as big as the United States, but less than half the population.

Other reading:

Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration - "Eight Sobering Realities about Putin's Invasion of Ukraine," 2/24/22

Editorial in The Guardian (U.K.) - "Putin's War in Ukraine:  A Bleak New Beginning." 2/24/22

The past is never dead - it's not even past.

--William Faulkner

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Rumors of War

Map of Ukraine.
Click to enlarge.

Yesterday, Putin sent troops into the breakaway territories of eastern Ukraine and proclaimed them independent states.   The Secretary-General of the United Nations says Putin has violated international law.  President Biden and other Western leaders have announced stiff financial sanctions against Russian money and elites.  And suddenly, this faraway pot on the back burner of the world seems to be boiling over, and may set the whole place on fire.

The parallels with the Nazi threat to the peace of Europe in 1938-39 are striking, though not exact.  If you care to read up on the period, I recommend Churchill's The Gathering Storm, the first volume of his World War II memoirs, as an excellent, incisive introduction.

Your Head Trucker is not a pacifist per se, but neither is he a warmonger.  To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose . . . .  But what time is it now?  And whose turn is it to die?  The obvious answer is not always the best answer.  I offer these few newsbites as food for thought, and leave you to draw your own conclusions.

1.  A voice from the grave:  the late Senator John McCain interviewed in 2014, after Russia annexed parts of Ukraine.

 

2. Ukrainian foreign minister Kuleba, quoted on the BBC News website today: 

Click to enlarge.

 3. Political analyst Fareed Zakaria on the Russian-Chinese bruderbund:

 

4. Guess who thinks Putin is the greatest?

 

 5. President Biden announces sanctions against Russia:

 

Give us peace in our time, O Lord.

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The Drums of War in the Middle East - Again

President Obama's speech tonight on the American response to the threat posed by the Islamic State:




Full text here.

Andrew Bacevich: It's Not about Syria, Mr. President

I never heard of Bacevich before now, but I like very much what he says.  Do make time today to listen to the whole lucid, plain-spoken interview, which covers much important ground besides Syria. Or read the transcript.



Okay, your Head Trucker is now officially opposed to this Syrian strike. But where are the marchers, the demonstrators, the protesters against the war? Does anybody care? 

Honk to Wounded Bird.


Update, 6:20 p.m.:  A lot has happened today - Kerry, speaking to reporters in London, made an offhand, strictly hypothetical remark that if Syria surrendered all its chemical weapons to international control, the strike would be called off. Well, in no time at all, Syria and Russia and the Secretary-General of the UN and even Hillary Clinton had all signed on to that idea, which seems a miraculous solution to the impasse.

Later in the day, the President gave interviews to six American news anchors and seemed to like the idea too - if it can be done, and verified.  He also said he's already been talking to Putin about it.  Here is the President speaking with Gwen Ifill of PBS Newshour:



The President will address the nation tomorrow at 9 p.m., EDT. 

Meanwhile, as the Senate and House take up debate on the issue this week, a CBS/New York Times poll shows that 6 out of 10 Americans oppose a military strike on Syria; and a CNN poll shows 7 out of 10 would oppose a military strike if Congress votes against it, with the same number believing that such a strike is not in the national interest of the United States.

United Nations inspectors who went to Syria in the wake of the gas attack are expected to present their report later this week.


What I Say: Your Head Trucker understands the President's reasons for striking Syria, as he states them in the interview, and his sincerity is evident. But as history has shown times without number, it is quite possible to be nobly motivated and perfectly sincere - and still be dead wrong.

From all I have seen and heard and read this past week, I cannot believe that this supposedly "unbelievably small" strike, as Kerry foolishly put it earlier today, earning deserved mockery from John McCain, will accomplish what the President's military advisors tell him it will. It is the wrong thing to do, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and in the face of all the world's opposition, very nearly.

Let's all pray that Kerry's other gaffe this morning bears fruit, and quickly; and as you see, all the diplomatic possibilities have not been exhausted, as the White House has been saying hitherto, so this golden opportunity should be seized. Otherwise, I can forsee nothing but evil consequences from the President's strike plan, however well-intentioned it may be.

And I just know that somewhere in Dallas, W is rocking back, laughing his ass off, and so are Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rove.

Veterans Day

War is a horrible, ugly, brutal, nasty thing:  a license to kill, maim, destroy.  There is nothing glamorous or glorious about it whatsoever.  Nevertheless, as long as there are wicked men in the world who will stop at nothing to get their way, without respect for innocence, peace, or justice, war is, at times, a necessary evil.

Your Head Trucker makes a distinction between the political decision to go to war, which may be culpably stupid, shortsighted, or actually evil, and the individuals who willingly decide to serve, and serve honorably to the best of their abilities for what they hope is the greater good of all - just as our police and firefighters do.  While military service is not the be-all and end-all of life, it can be a very worthwhile career, and a defining experience, for those who are suited to that particular task. 

It takes courage to go to war, just as it sometimes takes courage to stay home. I submit that it is also an act of devout patriotism to work for justice and peace, and to help ensure that no soldier is ever sent to die, nor any parent, widow, or orphan left to weep, for impure, unjust reasons that betray the very essence of what America is meant to be.

Hence my small tribute to those who, like my late father, have worn the nation's uniform and served with honor:

Your hair will catch on fire . . .

. . . when you hear the official U. S. Government translation of the Iraqi president's explanation of his negotiations with the Bush Administration for a withdrawal date: not until 2011 "for domestic political considerations" in the United States, is what he was told. When questioned, the White House blathered on about long-term goals, peace and stability, yada yada yada; but they do not deny the accuracy of the Iraqi remarks.

Jeezus. Keeping the war going to benefit the Republican party here at home; it doesn't get any plainer than this, folks.

Please--send this to the people you love who think the war in Iraq is all about "protecting our freedoms," as I have heard endlessly repeated here in small-town Texas. If this doesn't wake them up, nothing at all will.

Kudos to acclaimed queer journalist Rachel Maddow for this trenchant piece of reporting.