Ted Rall for October 14, 2022

“But,” say the Neo Cons and the Neo Libs (warmongers all). “But this is different…”

NATO was forcing the people of Ukraine to start trending Westward in their political leanings? Interesting perspective comrade Rall.

I have heard reports of Retreating Russian soldiers, when not raping and murdering, being amazed at the wealth and middle class lifestyles of the average Ukrainian. Turns out the soldiers had been told the Ukrainians were all impoverished and yearning to be under Russian control. And so the Soldiers are now stealing the things they can not get back home in mother Russia. Save for the Roombas. They have no idea what they are.

“The original plan designed by the CIA and the Eisenhower administration…” Kennedy tried to cover-up U.S. involvement but failed big time.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56808455

Eastern European countries joined NATO because Russia was frightening.

Us should given compensation like the German did for ww1 and 2 but that won’t do anything

Forgot George W Bush’s invasion of Iraq…thanks to Rumsfeld and Cheney, it lasted over 20+ yrs! …and he declared it was over….putz!

Yes, it is bad if Russia does it.

In the case of Irak and Cuba, we know how it ended for the US. And it will be the same for Russia vis-à-vis Ukraine.So yeah, come to think of it, I like your historical parallel, Ted…

Sorry, Mr. Rall, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is more equivalent to the Nazi takeovers of the Sudetenland, Czechoslavakia, Austria, Poland.

I have a question about this what-aboutism. Do past bad actions justify current bad ones?

Judge to me: You are charged with robbery and murder.

Me to judge: But what about others who have done this before me?

Judge: Sounds fine. You are free to go.

It appears you are on the wrong side of the fence on this one, Ted. There is no justification for Putin’s actions.

Yep, Ted, that’s what we’re doin’. You wanna know why? Cause, in the end, no one wants to be run by the Russians. And one day, hopefully, they’ll realize how much of a border they share with a China all too ready to take over them. Then, maybe, Russia will join NATO, too.

Easy to say from my perspective, but if I had to choose to live under US hegemony and the bi-polar threat of the cold war days I would choose the US dominance. Also, don’t recall Finland and Sweden joining NATO after a NATO military invasion but I might have missed that particular headline.

The history of US involvement in the Caribbean and Central America is not good. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort opposing US neocolonialism in its various forms. If I oppose US imperialism, it makes sense that I should oppose Russian imperialism as well. I particularly honor the peace movement in Russia.

For the entire Cold War I cannot think of ONE democratic/popular/progressive government the US supported. Instead we supported the most brutal despotic dictators we could find.A partial list: Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Greece, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, South Korea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Rhodesia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Vietnam… In Western Europe the CIA was actively involved in elections in countries like France/Italy that might have voted for socialist/communist.The rationale being a popular democratic government would not be able resist communist pressures.

Well, what Russia did on 2/24/22 was bad . . .

The late comedian Bill Hicks: I hope you know this, but ALL GOVERNMENTS are lying c@ck suckers. You do know this, right? Yeah, you do.

A Putin apologist? Doesn’t look good on you, Ted. Are you suggesting that American wrong-doing should give Putin cover for his own imperial designs?

And Mr. Rall’s campaign of false equivalence continues in defense of Putin’s insane savagery in Ukraine.

While not always successful, the U.S. purpose was to help people to Freedom. Russia’s purpose is to annex.

This is idiotic. We didn’t go into any of these countries and lob missiles onto schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, etc. the way Russia is doing in Ukraine, nor did we try to assimilate the territory of those nations.

Ted is trying to change the focus from what the people of Ukraine want, to what Putin wants.

…& then there’s Iraq 2003…

Hussien had already given up before H.W. ordered the invasion of Iraq

Mr. Rall, your understanding of history ended after the third panel.

Big difference: Russia invaded Ukraine to take it over. When has the US done that in the last 100 years? Oh, right. Never.

I disagreed with the US government on all three of those actions, but they’re not the same as what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Not even close.

It’s funny how he never puts it as “it’s okay if America does it!” when that is essentially the same argument. What’s more, it requires ignoring a considerable difference in scope and scale. But Rall has a habit of putting his head under the blankets; his preferred international policy is one of isolationism.

Whataboutism makes for fun trolling but it’s completely ineffective at making even a semi-decent argument, since the person using it avoids any hint of a moral position.

Let’s review. Rall approves of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and defends it by bringing up U.S. invasions that he disapproves of. So the U.S. invasions were bad, but the Russian invasion, being the same thing, is good. If this doesn’t make sense to you, you’re right.

We might expect Rall to say he’s trying to make a point about the hypocrisy of those opposing Russia, but it’s a big stretch to claim that they are the same people who approve of the U.S. invasions.

And it’s a distraction anyway. If I’m on trial for murder, I could try to point out that lots of people get murdered all the time. The prosecutor’s objection would be sustained, of course, since the actions of other people that aren’t related to my case have to bearing on whether I’m guilty. Russia’s invasion, and invasions in general, are good or bad on their own merits, not because there were other invasions in the past.

I believe that the Soviets had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba for a first strike capability and if you were trying to make a comparison to Putin you probably should have mentioned the Bushes wars in Iraq. Notice that 3 out of 5 of these are Republicans.

Twenty-one months into President Joe Biden’s tenure, the FCC is still hampered by a partisan 2-2 divide. The ongoing lack of a Democratic majority at the key regulatory agency has undermined White House-backed efforts to secure universal access to high-speed internet and restore Obama-era net neutrality rules gutted by the Trump administration.

Apparently Biden didn’t know that a 2-2 divide would not grow to be a 3-2 divide by itself. He’s evidently been waiting all this time thinking that eventually the D pair will naturally spawn a third D. The jerk.