When the World Won’t Let You Look Away

I’d love my blogs to be about innocent things like house renovations, the beach, wildlife, gardens. But sometimes what’s happening in the world grabs me and shakes me and makes me very, very angry – as well as worried about the future we’re leaving for the next generations. That’s particularly so with regard to the war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s assurances he’ll negotiate a settlement. Without (and this is important) Ukraine!

The man’s statements about Zelensky and Ukraine simply displays his ignorance. Just a few points:

• Yes, Zelensky was a moderately successful actor. So was Ronald Reagan who became one of the USA’s most highly regarded presidents. And Trump was the twice-bankrupt anchor for a reality TV show.
• Zelensky is not a dictator (Putin is). Ukraine is in the middle of a war. It would be silly to have an election now. Britain did not have an election during WW2 (the US did, but mainland USA was not under direct threat).
• At home, Zelensky is more popular than Trump is in the US. Here’s a report from Euronews.
• Ukraine didn’t start this war. The Russians took over Crimea in 2014 amidst much hand-wringing and not much else in Europe.
• The Russians involved the world in this conflict when they shot down MH17 in 2014, killing 298 civilians, most of them Dutch but including 38 Australians. Although it was proved the Russians shot the plane down, and four men were charged, Putin poo-pooed the whole thing.
• Since nobody was bringing him to account, Putin thought he could simply walk into Ukraine in 2022 when he sent troops to attack Kyiv. To his surprise, Zelensky fought back.
• “In 1994, Ukraine agreed to transfer [its nuclear] weapons to Russia and became a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in exchange for assurances from Russia, the United States and United Kingdom to respect the Ukrainian independence and sovereignty in the existing borders.” (1) So much for treaties. Putin regards them in much the same way Hitler did.
• Anyone who thinks Putin will stop his territorial ambitions if he’s handed Ukraine is living in fairyland.
• This is a European war. Frankly, America has no place in it – let alone to negotiate a settlement without Ukraine being present. If the Europeans do not want another USSR they had better get off their complacent arses and help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion. Without America.

Right, rant over.

Despite antisemitism, war in the Middle East, war in Ukraine, Chinese sabre-rattling, and social uproar in America, the world can still be a beautiful place. Just a small selection of Australian scenes (all photos taken by me).