I don't doubt that you sincerely and passionately believe that Alun and that your motives for doing so are admirable. That doesn't however make it in any way objective or accurate. War is a political construct. Loss of innocent lives, on all sides, is all too often the deeply tragic human consequence of that.
Everyone should read this - Biden as the 21st century's urbane bull moose, has replaced talking softly with mumbling incoherently and replaced the big stick with the latest state of the art military technology - if this doesn't cause people to stop & think about why they are being coerced so strongly to support an allegedly neo-nazi regime in Kiev, then nothing will.
I'd drop the analogy after the stick metaphor. Teddy Roosevelt actually did a few good things domestically that had positive reverberations, like vigours anti-trust. Biden does everything half assed and wouldn't know where to begin on influencing public opinion. Luckily for him our famously free press has taken it upon themselves to cheerlead whatever fumbles he makes.
I really enjoy reading your alternative takes on the financial system, but take odds with your statements in this post that "The immediate cause was the country’s attempts at sovereign autonomy, as it shaped its foreign policy of non-alignment on the Ukraine war" and "Amidst the Ukraine crisis, the US and the Western countries have disregarded international norms", on two grounds.
1. Russia is the invading country here. Non-alignment (not taking sides) is alignment with the aggressor. Meeting with Putin and (not yet denied) supplying arms to Russia is not non-alignment.
2. In the context of Russia's invasion of a sovereign country, and extensive bombing and execution of civilian targets, there is no moral dilemma with excluding Russia and it's allies from participating in the global financial system, as their participation will allow them to continue to fund an invasion that is patently unjust. We should be encouraging all governments, companies and regulators to do everything in their power to cut of the flow of cash and weapons to Russia.
And yes of course we can point the finger at historic inconsistencies on the part of the US and the West in applying these principles, but that does not make it wrong to do so now.
There is only a wrong side or a right side in this atrocity. There is no middle ground. Ramaphosa and other "neutral" leaders should be 100% clear on this.
I take issue with your blind subservience to propaganda Alun - Russia is not the invading country. The invading country is USA which was lining up apocalyptic military capability on Russia's borders. This is Biden's War. America is the aggressor, Russia has acted with commendable restraint until that was no longer possible. If you fail to realise that you are an unwitting enabler of geo-political aggression and a de facto sympathiser of the neo nazi channels through which that aggression runs. I would love to see Ramaphosa on the right side of this atrocity but the geopolitical, military and economic power that the US / NATO / G7 hold make it almost suicidal for RSA to do that. Neutrality was an act of pragamatic opposition to the combined power of the MIC + global reserve currency but even that is unacceptable to the DC War Pigs.
Paul, I'm basing my opinion not on propaganda or ideology, but on the independently verified millions of Ukrainian civilians who have been killed, injured, and had their homes and lives destroyed by a Russian army that invaded Ukrainian territory. Civilians, Paul. Not political constructs.
Thank you for this comment. My point is this: countries like South Africa take issue with western countries that choose to defy UN norms to bomb a country like Iraq - when there was no evidence of nuclear weapons or collusion with Osama bin Laden - and then condemn Russia for bombing Ukraine. There are also rules and norms around private property etc...that the west has just flipped - without consultation. I have no truck with the corrupt Russian regime, and you are absolutely right about it being the aggressor. My point is that democratic, sovereign nations have the right to their own foreign policy. I am not defending South Africa's foreign policy, which I regard as reckless, both politically and as has been proved, economically. I am condemning the US using its power over poorer countries (including 40 other African countries) to dictate foreign policy. The US and other western countries - are no angels in the eyes of many Africans suffering the diktats of the IMF which in turn is subject to the diktat of the US Treasury. They have also effectively dictated (and are now reversing) economic policies that I regard as harmful to the interests of SA's millions of poor ...My real criticism is of the ANC for following the dominant economic model...and getting into this real economic mess....
I don't doubt that you sincerely and passionately believe that Alun and that your motives for doing so are admirable. That doesn't however make it in any way objective or accurate. War is a political construct. Loss of innocent lives, on all sides, is all too often the deeply tragic human consequence of that.
Everyone should read this - Biden as the 21st century's urbane bull moose, has replaced talking softly with mumbling incoherently and replaced the big stick with the latest state of the art military technology - if this doesn't cause people to stop & think about why they are being coerced so strongly to support an allegedly neo-nazi regime in Kiev, then nothing will.
I'd drop the analogy after the stick metaphor. Teddy Roosevelt actually did a few good things domestically that had positive reverberations, like vigours anti-trust. Biden does everything half assed and wouldn't know where to begin on influencing public opinion. Luckily for him our famously free press has taken it upon themselves to cheerlead whatever fumbles he makes.
Sadly, there's some truth in that....
not sure why 1 more rand to the dollar is a disaster - please enlighten me - it seems like a 'tempest in a tea pot' from my prospective in canada
Most illuminating. May those with ears hearten to what you say!
Hi Ann.
I really enjoy reading your alternative takes on the financial system, but take odds with your statements in this post that "The immediate cause was the country’s attempts at sovereign autonomy, as it shaped its foreign policy of non-alignment on the Ukraine war" and "Amidst the Ukraine crisis, the US and the Western countries have disregarded international norms", on two grounds.
1. Russia is the invading country here. Non-alignment (not taking sides) is alignment with the aggressor. Meeting with Putin and (not yet denied) supplying arms to Russia is not non-alignment.
2. In the context of Russia's invasion of a sovereign country, and extensive bombing and execution of civilian targets, there is no moral dilemma with excluding Russia and it's allies from participating in the global financial system, as their participation will allow them to continue to fund an invasion that is patently unjust. We should be encouraging all governments, companies and regulators to do everything in their power to cut of the flow of cash and weapons to Russia.
And yes of course we can point the finger at historic inconsistencies on the part of the US and the West in applying these principles, but that does not make it wrong to do so now.
There is only a wrong side or a right side in this atrocity. There is no middle ground. Ramaphosa and other "neutral" leaders should be 100% clear on this.
I take issue with your blind subservience to propaganda Alun - Russia is not the invading country. The invading country is USA which was lining up apocalyptic military capability on Russia's borders. This is Biden's War. America is the aggressor, Russia has acted with commendable restraint until that was no longer possible. If you fail to realise that you are an unwitting enabler of geo-political aggression and a de facto sympathiser of the neo nazi channels through which that aggression runs. I would love to see Ramaphosa on the right side of this atrocity but the geopolitical, military and economic power that the US / NATO / G7 hold make it almost suicidal for RSA to do that. Neutrality was an act of pragamatic opposition to the combined power of the MIC + global reserve currency but even that is unacceptable to the DC War Pigs.
Paul, I'm basing my opinion not on propaganda or ideology, but on the independently verified millions of Ukrainian civilians who have been killed, injured, and had their homes and lives destroyed by a Russian army that invaded Ukrainian territory. Civilians, Paul. Not political constructs.
Alun,
Thank you for this comment. My point is this: countries like South Africa take issue with western countries that choose to defy UN norms to bomb a country like Iraq - when there was no evidence of nuclear weapons or collusion with Osama bin Laden - and then condemn Russia for bombing Ukraine. There are also rules and norms around private property etc...that the west has just flipped - without consultation. I have no truck with the corrupt Russian regime, and you are absolutely right about it being the aggressor. My point is that democratic, sovereign nations have the right to their own foreign policy. I am not defending South Africa's foreign policy, which I regard as reckless, both politically and as has been proved, economically. I am condemning the US using its power over poorer countries (including 40 other African countries) to dictate foreign policy. The US and other western countries - are no angels in the eyes of many Africans suffering the diktats of the IMF which in turn is subject to the diktat of the US Treasury. They have also effectively dictated (and are now reversing) economic policies that I regard as harmful to the interests of SA's millions of poor ...My real criticism is of the ANC for following the dominant economic model...and getting into this real economic mess....