The Demise of NATO

The following conversation appeared in a Comments section of a newspaper this morning and, as I was one of the antagonists (loosely speaking), I feel that it is acceptable to publish a slightly edited version here to permit, and extend, an anonymous Internet conversation.

Anonym A:  ”...over the past few decades, NATO’s primary focus was on peacekeeping operations in distant places, rather than on its core function of territorial defence...But this attitude changed in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and launched secretive military incursions into Eastern Ukraine."

Excuse me? What's changed? Annexation of Crimea was a local, albeit unexpected move by Russia - ask the Crimean population how they feel about finally being a part of Russia and it will be a 87% approval rate. Yes, a crime is a crime, but weren't Kyev's actions towards the Crimean population since Ukraine's independence totally unacceptable? So, this "reason" may be dismissed.

Eastern Ukraine had been suffering the same attitude from the Ukrainian state as Crimea, including the constantly diminishing status of the Russian language in this practically Russian part of Ukraine.And then Maidan (in 2014) declared a total ban on use of the Russian language as the second official language in the country. That was way too much!

Again, this conflict has nothing [to do] with the safety of other European states.

So, as it appears, all this drum beat is about money. Russia's actions are just a convenient excuse!

          Anonym B:  It goes without saying that the slow, measured, and deliberate invasion by the USSR into the region of Slav, Turkic, Greek Crimea, makes the 87% vote by the Russian population unsurprising.

Anonym C:  NATO is functionally dead. The U.S. is detaching itself from Europe, so Europe needs to learn to defend itself. As a start, it must (a) learn more about how Russian troll farms have infected European political discourse so that this menace can be effectively fought; (b) wean itself as quickly as possible from all Russian energy sources, so as to deprive Russia of valuable foreign exchange; and (c) separate itself from unhelpful U.S. influence as much as possible. The U.S. has become an enemy, not a friend.

          Anonym B:  (a) Goes without saying. (b) To "wean" is ungrammatical, but to reduce the influence of Russian energy sources is a sound idea, not withstanding the possibility that Russia could discover an alternate solution. (c) To describe the U.S. as an "enemy" based on the policies of the present President is another Liberalization ... simply put.

          Anonym C:  If by “functionally dead” you mean no longer dependable, you are spot on. Your 3-part plan, moving forward, I think is good, assuming that as Europe distances itself from the US, they likewise re-arm to fill that void. This is all unfortunately true. Putin has somehow (through illegal political funding - at a minimum) decapitated the GOP president and congressional leadership. Will the truth ever come out

          Anonym B:  It would be lacking foresight to "re-arm [sic] to fill that void". Russia's obvious tenacity regarding its desire to regain previous territory will make it quite possible to eventually cherry-pick the smaller nations regardless of their weaponization. The increasing Communism of Europe thus becomes a future threat to North America and ... the wheel turns once more.

Anonym B:  The Plan (if you have not realized it) is for our great-grandchildren to experience a North America with a brutal Red Bear on the Atlantic side, and an inhumane Red Dragon on the Pacific side.

Mr. Putin Takes A Question

I am always conscious of my inclination to discuss politics.  But what else is there?  Could we pause for some humour?  Let us try.

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Vladimir Putin, wanting to get on the good side of voters, goes to visit a university in Moscow to have a chat with the students.  He talks to them about how powerful a nation Russia is, and how he wants the best for all the people.

 

At the end of the talk there is a section for questions.  Sasha puts her hand up and says:

"I have two questions;  Why did the Russians take Crimea?  And why are we sending troops to the Ukraine?” 

 

Putin says: "Good questions”. 

But just as he is about to answer, the bell goes, and the students go to lunch.

 

When they come back, they sit back down and there is room for some more questions, another girl, Misha, puts her hand up and says: 

"I have four questions”

"My Questions are - 

Why did the Russians invade Crimea? 

Why are we sending troops to the Ukraine? 

Why did the lunch bell go 20 minutes early? 

And ... Where is Sasha?"

10,000 Views

My not-so-popular ‘Blazon’ has finally moved into five viewing figures and it is time to evaluate the situation.

Starting from the beginning of time, politics seems to dominate, although not deliberately, and the most popular Post dealt with using a percentage to develop fair salaries (Percentage Formula - August, 2013).  I have temporarily removed this article in an attempt to allow other articles to surface into view.  This places Travel 5 - South East Asia (Bangladesh) of August, 2012, into a more suitable position.

Statistics

Google Chrome has been, by far, the most popular Browser at 40% overall the whole period and, today, increasing to 81% for the month.

Microsoft Windows OS, originally, had a slight lead over Apple Macintosh OS by 47% and 36% respectively, but this lead has been definitely eroded over the years to 22% (Windows) and 67% (Macintosh).

Naturally, Canada and the USA have produced predominant viewers with Russia following closely (My personal letter to Mr. Putin may have had an affect.  Ha!).  Interestingly, many other countries have shown interest, notably;  China (of course). Australia, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Brazil, and Sweden (Surprisingly, countries in the Middle East were not represented).  

It is hard to imagine six viewing figures, therefore a change of direction may be required (To quote Lao-tse) but that is probably in another life.

Politics 18 - Syria

The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov continue a laborious series of discussions regarding Syria but, here, it is worth considering the game of 'chess' being played by Russia.  The Kurds and Turkey are well established on the game board although not in the forefront.  The future of Turkey in Europe is very weak (One could suggest, humorously, that the future of all countries in Europe is quite weak) but Russia's desire for a strong arm extending down to the Mediterranean, requires tokens of friendship towards Turkey and thus, temporarily, Syria, while ignoring the Kurds.  The EU should never imagine Turkey as a part of Europe.  For such an extended influence it would be wise to remember the over-extended Roman Empire ... advice, obviously, equally applicable to Russia.

A complicated scenario, but who are the chess masters?

World Domination - An Essay

It’s the month of June already ... and I’ve got the classic writer’s ‘block’.

How do I avoid the quintessential rants about politics or religion when they loom darkly over our very existence.  Greece, Iraq, Ukraine, Islam, and the South China Sea (and Canadian politics continues its’ attempt to dumbfound us).  The Solar Impulse 2 is grounded in Japan after an exhausting, but record-breaking, 40-hour flight from China, where it had been resting for a lazy month of “commercial reasons” after a 7-hour flight from Chongqing to Nanjing.  Will it take more than the balloon-inspired 80-days for it to circumnavigate the Earth?

The hard drive on my computer has developed signs of Alzheimer’s disease, and my symptoms of acid indigestion, probably due to the half-chicken that I ate yesterday, would only interest my doctor during his 5-minute annual checkup next week.

Which leaves me to come to grips with my monstrously thought-provoking subject of World Domination.  Ideally, one should obtain a large globe of the Earth (No, Google isn’t good enough) ... I’ll wait.

Since the amazing breakup of the USSR, and the coming into power of the Putin dictatorship, the great Russian bear has demonstrated its’ determination to regain control of those ex-Soviet states by any means it considers necessary.  Thus, although the annexation of Georgia and Crimea will not cause sleepless nights in the ‘West’ as it should, perhaps drawing attention to the alarming increase in military activity on the borders (including international sea and airspace) will. Certainly, ex-soviet states that are not members of NATO, are increasing their defense spending.  It is just a matter of time for acknowledgement that eastern Ukraine has been annexed.  What could they do?  One defensive shot and Russia could take over in a matter of weeks, resulting in feeble diplomatic protests at the UN.  How many people noticed the visits recently by the prime minister of Greece to Moscow regarding financial assistance.  What could Mr. Putin ask for in return, probably, air and naval bases in Greece.  After all, Russians are already the largest tourist groups in Greece.  Thus, that could influence Russia’s southwards strength into the Mediterranean.

Now, spin the globe to bring the Chinese dragon into view.  Inner Mongolia has been taken, perhaps Mongolia itself could be taken in association with Russia.  With Islamic problems as an excuse, the province of Xinjiang would be next, and Tibet is already taken, as is Hong Kong and Macau.  Taiwan will, initially, become another Hong Kong.  There are continuing border disputes with Pakistan and Tajikistan (and India), thus, all the so-called ‘istans could be shared with Russia also.  It is said that Mr. Xi is returning to the strong-arm policies of Chairman Mao and this is quite evident in the so-called South China Sea annexation of the Spratly Islands just 200 km off the coast of the Philippines (but more than 1,000 km from the nearest Chinese land mass) including similar disputes with Viet Nam and other Asian countries.  Soon, China’s strength in the area will be such that the US will be unable to defend a further annexation of Korea.

If we take a large red paint brush and highlight the countries that I have described, the future of our Earth looks quite uncomfortable, and if we imagine the red paint spreading in all directions, then, I‘ll definitely want to get off.

Your comment would be appreciated by clicking below.

Politics 15 - Annexation

A recent media article described a meeting of Russia’s Duma (Parliament) where a senior minister lectured those present (Not too many) that the West’s accusation of Crimea being described as ‘annexation’, could be compared to the annexation of East Germany by West Germany.  He went on to explain that 97% of the Crimean people were permitted to vote on becoming a satellite state of Russia ... something not awarded to East Germany.

Please bear in mind that I am just a bystander of this story.

This made me study the word ‘annexation’ together with the word ‘colonization’.  Basically, to annex, means to add to one’s own territory by appropriation, but comprises brutal words such as;  seizure, occupation, invasion, conquest, and takeover.  Whereas, to colonize, means to send a group of settlers and establish political control over an area.

Thus, this becomes, literally, an interesting debate.  I would argue that the Crimean scenario is truly an annexation based on the use of various sections of the Russian military, and the absence of an agreement of the vote by the Ukraine government.  One could also say (Perhaps tongue-in-cheek) that most of the pro-Russian Crimeans were, originally, Soviet (Russian) colonizers.  Having said that, sadly, it is a fait accompli.

It is too early to describe the situation in eastern Ukraine but, certainly, there is an attempt at annexation taking place, by Russia.  I feel that, in fact, Mr. Putin was testing the strength of Ukraine’s national will and, in that, failed miserably.  The king is alone with his bishop and pawns while, although the opposite side may have lost a castle, they still have their king, queen, and a few additional knights.

Perhaps, in summary, regarding word definitions;  it seems that annexation describes a brutal action of seizure and conquest, whereas, colonization (although unpleasant) describes necessary occupation and control.

Finally, this asks if Tibet and Mongolia have been annexed or colonized by China, and is is it too extreme to describe Guantanamo (Cuba) as an annexation.  

I am sure that there are a few other examples.  Please click Comments below if you agree ... or not.

Politics 12 - Vladimir Putin, A Question

Ukraine, An Answer

If I could ask Vladimir Putin a question, it would be, why is it important to invade Ukraine, when Russia has so much more land in the East to develop.  Of course, you know that’s a rhetorical question (He is terrible at returning my calls).

While Crimea has been annexed by Russia with, apparently, little opposition by the Crimean people, most of the world still considers it part of Ukraine.  But the country, as a whole, has little wish to rejoin Russia and become part of Putin’s obvious desire to reconstruct the union of socialist republics, in a way that Napoleon Buonaparte would admire.  Nevertheless, we must be cautious about his egotistical czarist ambitions.

It is worth mentioning here that Ukraine is made up of 78% ethnic Ukrainians, and 17% of ethnic Russian immigrants.  According to the Constitution the Ukrainian language is the official language, although the Russian language is spoken by most people, due, in my opinion, to the past dominance of the USSR.  In February 2014, the Ukrainian Parliament voted to repeal the law on regional languages, making Ukrainian the sole state language at all levels; however, this was vetoed (for the moment) by the acting President in March.

In my view, the weak standoff between the government in Kiev and a few Eastern provinces has only one answer, with many parts, the main two are:  1.  Repeal the language law, after all, it was fine for Nikita Khrushchev (Russian President) to speak Ukrainian for most of his life.  2.  Remove dual citizenship.  Those who choose not to be Ukrainian shall be given short-term (but renewal) resident visas and, if possible, encouraged to return to their country of origin (This should include those born in [the] Ukraine who refuse to take Ukraine citizenship).  The country will not develop, in my opinion, as a harmonious entity while there is a destructive ‘underground’ ethnic opposition.

By the way, I have studied the complicated history, and you may too.

I am sure (and hope) that this subject is controversial, and welcome your views.

Click 'Comments'

Politics 6 - Israel/Canada

When I initially began this Blog site, it was not my intention to write about any one subject, e.g., Politics, more than once each month.  But reading the Canadian media this morning has annoyed me so much that my patience has disappeared.

I am referring to the behaviour of Mr. Baird, Canada’s Foreign Minister, at a committee meeting of the U.N.’s General Assembly yesterday, where he voted, No, together with only six other countries;  Israel, the United States and four small South Pacific island nations – Palau, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Nauru, for resolutions against Israel.

I doubt if anyone reading this could point to these islands on a map and, thus, we can be excused for any suspicious thoughts we may have for their behaviour.

It is especially annoying as we know that Canada’s, so-called, majority government only received one-third of the popular vote at the last election, and it seems to me, as I read the newspapers today, that many who did vote for this government are also expressing great disappointment today.

It amazed me that Mr. Baird could state, “This series of resolutions against Israel is generally one-sided, and unbalanced ...”  Does he not realize that the resolutions are “one-sided and unbalanced” because the rest of the world does not accept Israel’s terrorism.  Additionally, if both Russia and China would not abstain or veto against these resolutions, we should see a very different Middle East.

Mr. Bell, a former Canadian ambassador to Israel, Egypt and Jordan, said that it will affect the role Canada can play in the Middle East.  In the past, Israel asked Canada to intervene with Arab governments to moderate criticism. “I don’t think that would be possible today,” he said.  I agree.

Aerospace 3 - Fighter Confrontation

I always find the aerospace industry interesting, and military aerospace more so.  By definition, everything related to the military is political and I am, very much, a political individual.

Therefore, I should like to comment on two ongoing global stories relating to fighter aircraft.

Firstly, the Lockheed Martin F-16 (Flying Falcon) fighter aircraft that is flown by pilots of 26 different countries and, although first flown in 1978, remains a formidable aircraft today ... albeit with some modifications.

One country that has enjoyed being equipped with this aircraft is Taiwan, assisted by the U.S. by virtue of the Taiwan Relations act.  But the earlier purchase F-16 A/B aircraft are in urgent need of refurbishment or a new purchase upgrade to the latest F-16 C/D version.  Of course, that appears to be a problem for the Obama administration who, it seems, do not wish to enrage the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing who will, again, display their sabre rattling posture.  Nevertheless, the U.S. has, now, agreed to a refurbishment contract for the older aircraft, which is interesting because it seems that refurbishment will take longer to facilitate compared to buying the new F-16 C/D version.  Perhaps, that is expected, but unlikely, to appease Beijing.

Thus, there we have it, politics.  Although I am sure that the U.S. is also wary about espionage, considering the improving relationship between Taiwan and the mainland, and Russia's recent display of anger at China’s recent copying of Russian aircraft.

Personally, I would approve the immediate sale of the F-16 C/D to Taiwan (the order was placed 6 years ago) ... and let the arms of the CCP tire as they rattle their sabres.

Secondly, the Lockheed Martin F-35 (Lightning) stealth fighter is also coveted by Taiwan, but it seems an unlikely purchase at the present time.  Personally, I would be happy if Canada transferred its order of F-35s to Taiwan ... and I do not mean to appear flippant.

The F-35 remains in an extraordinarily problematical pre-production/testing phase, even though some examples have been delivered to the USAF as training aircraft.  The delivery dates to various countries have been extraordinarily delayed and costs have risen to a unit cost of $133 million.

Early models missed performance requirements because they weighed too much, and extensive redesign was required to reduce the weight;  Recently, it was reported that only 50% of the aircraft’s software had been written and would take another six years and 110 additional software engineers to complete the software;  There has been a long list of design failures;  Many pilots have commented on the comparatively short range, and studies have shown that it could cost as much as 40% more to maintain than previous aircraft.

Australia has reduced some of its original options to purchase and, instead, has ordered the new Boeing F-18F (Super Hornet) aircraft to supplement its existing F-18A squadrons, and replace the GE F-111.

Canada, which is increasing its presence in the Arctic territories, continues to argue, unintelligently, that the single engine, shorter range, F-35 is the ideal aircraft to replace the twin engine CF-18 A/B, even though an engine failure over Arctic territories is not conducive to enthusiastic pilots.

Once again ... politics.

I have been deliberately brief with these comments (really) in the hope that it may encourage continuing participation in the discussion — F-16 C/Ds for Taiwan and a cancellation of F-35s for Canada.