Ukraine

I've been writing some variation of this or another at various sites on the internet all week. I need to say it here, but unless others pick it up and run with it, it's going nowhere against the hurricane of pro-Putin propaganda.

 

 Clearly there are people with money, power and influence who are selling the opposite message. There are misinformed "conservatives" who have been fooled into believing that Russia Today is a non-biased news source and "libertarians" including Ron Paul who are eating up the Russian -state issued talking point and regurgitating them everywhere.

 

Nationalists did not overthrow Yanukovych. There were some nationalists in the mix; how could anyone keep them out of a popular uprising? The Maidan (pronounced My'-dahn) demonstrators and those murdered there by the Russian-backed snipers were mostly everyday citizens. They became engaged when the Yanukovych government used brutality, and later murder, against those who were peacefully demonstrating for redress of grievances.

 

Even then they didn't overthrow the president- he chose to leave as did others of his party. Those who remained of the 'duly elected' government sought a legal solution to the whole mess. Those members of the Rada (Parliament) who remained, waited for a legal quorum of MP's to gather and then legally impeached Yanukovych. They created an interim government from officials who were still serving elected terms, and set elections to happen May 25th.

 

The law is on their side, to the contrary of what Ron Paul has claimed. In stark contrast, the Russian Federation Council, called by Putin to rubber-stamp his move to send Russian troops onto foreign soil, did not wait for a quorum. Their authorization of Russian troops is invalid and illegal. The law is not on Putin’s side. Ron Paul is wrong again.

 

Putin is pushing the narrative that the Maidan and, by extension, the interim government of Ukraine are "fascists" 

That is reverting to the old Soviet playbook; they would label anyone who opposed them as "fascist" It is as meaningless as when the left in the USA call all conservatives,"racist." How can anyone fall for this? Yet fall they do, and encourage others to buy into the propaganda as well.

 

Ukrainians voted for Yanukovych based on his promises to move westward. They had every right to protest his betrayal of their vote and their nation.

 

What if the "American Spring" people are shot when they go to demonstrate in May? What if people rise up in greater demonstrations as a result? What if Obama and many Democrats were to then take their money and run? What if those who remain were able to cobble together a legal quorum in the Senate and House of Representatives and impeach Obama? Would that make everyone “fascists?” Would that give Russia the right to invade us to "protect" the Russian speaking populations scattered around the USA and to annex Alaska because it was once Russian territory?  Do you see this conflict in a different light now?

 

 It is only our Cold War worldview which discounts Ukraine as if it were a de facto Russian property. This keeps us from seeing the crimes which Putin is committing. If it were anywhere else in the world we would be enraged and would be demanding that Putin be stopped. Shame on us for believing the lies and being so ready and willing to give into a power hungry madman.