Posts Tagged ‘War’
Letter to the Editor
I am writing in response to Peter Molenaar's May op-ed, "Peace Be With You." In this piece, Mr. Molenaar repeats a number of Russian talking points about Ukraine, all of which are refutable by listening to Ukrainian both here at home in Minneapolis or on the ground in Ukraine. But more importantly, as someone with a long academic background studying fascism and the far right, I want to speak to his accusations of Ukrainian "fascistic gangs." Put simply: to believe that, prior to February 24th, there were roving bands of fascists roaming the streets of Kharkiv or Mariupol is false. Fascist groups in Ukraine were and are tiny. They had no meaningful representation in the parliament, nor did the Azov Battalion--about which so much has been said--ever grow beyond about 1000 members. Putin's brutal leveling of their home city of Mariupol has likely killed most of them. Good riddance, but let us also keep their size in perspective. Russian (and Soviet) uses of the word 'fascist' [...]
Peace Be With You
By PETER MOLENAAR Should you notice an anguished look in the eyes of our Somali neighbors, bear in mind that some 350,000 Somali-African children are presently at severe risk of starvation due to climate-change-induced-drought. Actually, in that part of the world, several million cling to life in a state of malnourishment. We might then agree that the perpetrators of global warming are guilty of mass murder of unprecedented scale. Moreover, I suggest the ominous trajectory will intensify, lest we put an end to war… and an end to the imperial capitalism which perpetuates war. Let us consider that one root of the Ukrainian crisis stems from the Wolfowitz Doctrine, the essence of which (in Kissinger’s words) intends to “break Russia''. Then, enter Victoria Nuland, Obama’s “point person” in the 2014 Washington engineered coup which toppled Ukraine’s elected government. (Regarding the mobilization of “ultra-nationalist” thugs, nobody should doubt the role of the [...]
