By taking Odessa, the Russians would then control part of the pathway into Transnistria, which is very important. Transnistria is that place without passports or any national control where all the things that shouldn't happen in Europe happen in Europe. The Great Conduit for spies, weapons, trafficking, terror etc from all sides make free use of Transnistria. To off-load the weapons pouring into Ukraine, you use Transnistria to get them out to Africa for sale.
John Fitzpatrick. About New China, the Koreas, Myanmar, Thailand, and also about Japanese and Chinese writers and poets. The main emphasis is on North Asia and the political tectonics of this very important, powerful, and many-peopled area.
Wednesday, 4 May 2022
Sunday, 24 April 2022
Since my last post in early March about The Ukraine, well, the war continues, as wars tend to do.
Most of the news reports we get here are more like advertising than anything else.
Define the bad guy, dehumanise him, and keep saying we are winning and he is losing, even when he is doing just fine.
That's the Free Media, that's what it does.
Wednesday, 2 March 2022
UKRAINE & RUSSIA
I think the big problem for Ukraine at the moment is that it probably won't exist soon. Many calls for EURO membership, as usual, and even NATO membership, as always expected.
Ukraine has tried to use its critical position, and it is certainly in a critical position, to draw funds from both Russia and Europe over the decades and sometimes, like now, everyone gets sick of it. Ukraine needs to restructure its economy so that most of the economy is not bled away in corruption. The 'system' must change.
There is corruption in all states, but Ukraine really has 'made a meal' of it for a long time, playing on Russia's fear of the West, and on the West's fear of Russia to get every bit of money possible to give away to important people through corruption, rather than to actually run a country. It can't pay its Gas Bill to Russia. Germany can. Everyone else can, and Ukraine gets the cheapest gas of anyone. But both Ukraine and Germany still get masses of Russian gas. The Russians haven't turned off the gas...but they do expect Ukraine to pay the debt, and the debt is huge.