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US Halts Military Aid to Ukraine Amid Push for Peace Talks
Russia doesn't regard Ukraine as a country. Its not about seizing land. Its about a nonsense idea; Novorossiya. Its not even about recreating the Soviet Union, but emulating Tsar Nicholas I. Putin wants Ukraine to be eliminated as a state, and expects whats left to to become Hungarian (mostly) and Polish. He wants bits of Poland. Its all nonsense, because Kalingrad wasn't Russian, but German, and he overlooks that. Europe has had basically 80 years of settled borders, but Russia wants to turn the clock back 175 years. Its in no ones interest for Europe to revert to that time. There is no such thing as Ethnic Russians. Russians and Ukrainians are the same; one group wants to speak Ukrainian. Russians regard Ukrainians as "Little Slavs". Americans know full well about the power of language in forging national identity. In the young United States, it was Samuel Webster who can claim part of then credit for creating the American character. He was well known for his dictionary, which standardised American English at a time when English used customary spelling. Johnson on the other side of the Atlantic was doing the same with British English. But Webster went further, in introducing a standardised school education that wasn't just there to educate, but also to re-educate. To get all these English, Scottish, Irish, Italian, French, German, Swedish kids to stop thinking of the lands of their parents, but only the lands of America. The relationship between Russia and Ukraine might be analogous to that between England and Ireland. 7 out of 10 English have some Irish heritage, so naturally, some people think "we're all the same", and might even delegitimise the idea of an Irish State (these are the people calling for things like a Council of the British Isles, to bring Ireland into the Commonwealth). Many Irish, understandably, take affront at this. Most English people are fairly ignorant of Ireland, and sometimes can't understand why some Londoners, Scouse support Ireland in the football. The Russian Federation is built upon a lie. Its all but whats left of the Russian Empire, the final Empire that needs to go as a result of World War One. Its consists of Russian people ruling vassel minorities. You will never see a Chechen as Russian President for instance. Russia hasn't developed like Western societies; Tsar Nicholas II still ran a feudal state which went to communism, without any development of ideas of individual rights and liberties. In the West, such things didn't come easily; we had to fight for them, starting with Magna Carta. The American history is part of that history of people winning freedom. And along the way, there were ugly things as the system pushed back. Putin knows none of that; he grew up in post war St Petersburg, hanging out with the street gangs, seething at the West. Ultimately, he wants to see an end to the West; not to take over us, but destroy our societies, as some sort of revenge for the fall of the USSR. He;s an adherant of Alexander Dugin, who during Soviet times was a dissident. Dugin believes in the Eurasian idea; that for too long the world has been ruled by the "Atlanticists"; those trading nations with access to the seas, which includes the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Dugin believes a lot of the troubles of the world would go if the Anglo-Saxons were liquidated. Its complete nonsense of course, and just yet another global conspiracy fruitcake idea. If it wasn't the Anglo-Saxons, it would be the Jews. These days, Putin uses the term "Collective West"; he believes the European peoples can be disengaged from the Anglo Saxons, but for now, we are all the enemy. With such ideas, there can be no rapprochement, no peace, just new continuous tension. I don't think such ideas will survive the man; no one is going to be erecting statues to Putin the Great. Obviously there is much conjecture about his health, likely inaccurate. But even so, he's Russian, and based on just demographics, he's on borrowed time. Its important for Russia's venture with Ukraine to fail, to ensure all of this nonsense dies with Putin. That includes not recognising the legalities of Russia's claims to the Donbass oblasts, because that's not how we now settle territorial disputes. In an ideal situation, the territories would be placed under a UN-like mandate, funded by Russia and Ukraine and allowed the Right of Self Determination under a genuinely free and open process, not the fakery propagated by Russia's referenda. And as a last act of WW1, the Russian Federation needs to go, allowing a modern Russian Republic to emerge, much smaller, but I think with a more view of itself among nations and its neighbours. The failure of Putin's escapade will hasten that. Its minorities of the Federation who have disproportionally suffered in the war, due to how recruitment has been carried out. Who knows, with a reduced Slavic Russia, maybe there is scope for a Slavic Union similar to the Nordic Council. The Scandanavians seem fairly comfortable with each other, with relationships that the nations of the British Isles can only hope to emulate. -
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Debt Dispute Turns Deadly as Lender Hacked to Death with Machete
What ever happened to the land of smiles? -
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THAILAND LIVE Thailand Live Monday 10 March 2025
Cruise Tourism Poised for Expansion with Koh Samui Terminal File photo for reference only In a major boost for Thailand's tourism industry, the government has announced plans to build a state-of-the-art cruise terminal on Koh Samui, aiming to bolster the island’s economy by catering to the rising influx of international cruise visitors. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1354098-cruise-tourism-poised-for-expansion-with-koh-samui-terminal/ -
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THAILAND LIVE Thailand Live Monday 10 March 2025
Head-On Collision: Driver Crosses Lane, Kills Woman on Trike A 23-year-old man suffered critical injuries after his car veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a trike, killing its 57-year-old female driver instantly. Full story:https://aseannow.com/topic/1354097-head-on-collision-driver-crosses-lane-kills-woman-on-trike/ -
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Hong Kong Firm to Sell Panama Canal Ports to U.S. Investment Group Amid Trump’s Pressure
Sleepy Joe Biden could not do anything because he spent everyday either at the beach watching the waves come in or asleep down in his cellar.
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