who has the right to judge anyone, since many of us are probably reading this with a cup of hot coffee by our side while never heard the whine of artillery shell and explosion or seen real FEAR on people faces
I get that the history of the region is....... complicated. After all, the Russian empire began in Kyiv. But that so many Americans seem disinterested in this conflict is disturbing. If not Ukraine, then what is your line in the sand? When does it become 'your fight?' Moldavia? Taiwan, maybe?
This narrative isn't new, of course, as American's fought WWII involvement and ignored the Nazi march through Europe until it was too late to avoid the conflict.
"We are in our third generation of historically illiterate Americans."
Excellent link on the Russian neo-Nazis who despise Putin and chose to fight for Ukraine, with the Azov Batallion, in 2014.
Critical thinking that is sceptical about the simple-minded pieces that make up today's American journalism can understand the subtleties going on. This is Putin launching a war of conquest against the corrupt, deeply-flawed state of Ukraine, not against a sparkling democracy. Remembering Kissinger's words about the Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988) "It's a pity they can't both lose".
Note that on July 18, 2019, President Zelensky granted Ukrainian citizenship by decree to 9 foreigners who fought for Ukraine, including at least one Russian neo-Nazi.
Am I supposed to be inspired by this piece? A foreign invader comes in and you … bail? And you’re disappointed all your friends don’t have your American passport so they can also bail? People line up at police stations to arm themselves and fight, as you run past them on your way to Hungary or Poland. Amazing.
To read deeply into the 300+ comments this essay has received would lead Desmond Tutu to despair for humanity. It's too bad, really. For those determined to excoriate Katchalov rather than, say, Putin: I recommend that you widen your circle of compassion and do your best, whenever possible, to make the world a better place.
Virtue signal much? Putin is widely deplored and despised in these comments. Nobody excoriated Katchalov. We questioned whether he was a good exemplar of the Ukrainian people and the grit and spirit they've shown.
All this MSM narrative about how Putin has gone "mad" is just such bullshit. A ruthless dictator, yes--stupid, no. This is just him reminding the world, particularly Western european leaders, that he's no one to take lightly. This is the most light-handed invasion in modern times, almost perfunctory from a military standpoint. Regardless of what the MSM CIA propaganda machine screeches about, the parties concerned are ALREADY at the negotiation table, and from which they will manage to create an endlessly complicated "negotiation" that will allow all parties to save face, and take so long that no one will even remember how it started. Have you noticed how Wall Street is already moving on to the next scam?
Is anyone going to "take out" Putin, like the MSM breathlessly suggests? No.
If you sign up for the app, Telegram, and follow Ukrainian Freedom News, you can get live updates and news reports. Bari et all should reach out to Joe Lindsley, an American journalist living in Ukraine (he got stuck there due to pandemic). He and a team of reporters are releasing updates and videos on the situation in Ukraine via Telegram. And, please, pray for Joe and his team, the people of Russia and Ukraine, and for peace. God bless.
I thought Hungary is an authoritarian hell hole run by a dictatorial thug. I thought Hungary hated immigrants and was only about themselves. I thought Orban was Putin-Jr. That's what my press has told me for years. You mean my press lied to me? Perhaps the Hungarian embrace of their fellow slavic refugees will help open the eyes of some of the liberals in America.
Great account, and I'm glad you made it out. Faulting this guy for running isn't fair; most of us would do the same if we had the means.
I agree with others here, Bruce. If there were bombs falling on my house, I would take my wife and 3 girls and get the hell out of Dodge if I had the means to do so. Once my wife and kids were safe, I hope I would have the character to go back, get my guns, make Molotov cocktails, and kick some ass. But I, for one, will not condemn anyone who lacks such fortitude, since whether I possess it myself is unknown.
What I hope you and I agree on is that Volodomyr ("I need bullets, not a ride") Zelenskyy does kick ass. Most people (incl Putin) wrote him off as a spineless former comedian who would fold like a cheap suit (like Gani did in Afghanistan). Turns out he has serious cajones.
Is anyone else here laughing hysterically about our woke brethren (and sisteren) now swooning over Ukrainian patriotism when they professed to be "horrified" by the sight of people flying the American flag? And deriding American patriotism as "white nationalism?" Not criticizing Ukrainian patriotism and heroism. But the hypocrisy is stunning.
Brucey, Brucy, Brucie, your intense passion for the woke has gone beyond being borderline, straight into irrational delusions; you need to get a grip on reality, Brucie. Did a woke wife or girlfriend dump you? I can think of no other reason why you have such intense hatred for the supposedly woke!
Brucie, Merriam-Webster defines woke: (chiefly US slang); as being aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice). You seem to be woke about social issues like; lockdowns, face mask mandates, vaccination mandates, and critical race theory that’s calling white people racist and how terrible the culture war is, especially with the media bias that silences conservatives by canceling them and let us not forget about that border wall Mexico was supposed to pay for and last but not least the Second Amendment. I think it’s safe to say conservatives are the party of woke folk with all kinds of grievances, or let us say the woke grievance party!
Fascinating and frightening ‘road’ to freedom. While a semi heroic personal story Ukraine has a 100 year tradition of the worst Jew hatred imaginable or unimaginable now followed by a decade plus of seemingly embracing Jews, at least politically. I’d suggest we pull out the diamonds and gold coins we’ve been saving for our salvation journey and send them along to one of the rescue organizations helping Jews, their spouses, children and the relocation to Israel or abroad.
A very important post, please keep it up. As a young American soldier serving in Germany in the late 80's I came across many fleeing East Germany with similar stories(not under immediate fire). Then the Wall came down - all because the People finally took a stand with the help of an American President and Pope John II.
This 'war' is based upon the same misinformation and lies of the 'experts' and those who have failed upwards in western governments, starting with malcontents in the U.S. government.
From Today's Wall Street Journal - "Ukrainians Return Home to Fight - I have to go."
KORCZOWA, Poland—A Ukrainian tattoo artist blasting heavy metal in a black Opel pulled up to Poland’s border with Ukraine on Sunday, informing the immigration officers on duty that he was headed back to his home country to fight.
“Good,” a Polish officer told Nikita Azarkhin, 32, who stepped out and loaded a camouflage-print duffle bag full of first-aid kits onto a bus headed into Ukraine.
“I would love not to fight, and be alive, but this is the time where if I want to be able to look myself in the mirror, I have to, have to go,” said Mr. Azarkhin, who has been living in Berlin and had never fired a gun outside a firing range. “Otherwise, I will live in my own personal hell in my head.”
Bruce Miller, if you don't find this story interesting then don't read it. I found it well written and interesting and I am glad Bari posted it. At the end of the article the author made it clear that he thought those who stay and fight are the brave ones. I think leaving a country rather than living under a tyrant is a very reasonable choice.
who has the right to judge anyone, since many of us are probably reading this with a cup of hot coffee by our side while never heard the whine of artillery shell and explosion or seen real FEAR on people faces
I get that the history of the region is....... complicated. After all, the Russian empire began in Kyiv. But that so many Americans seem disinterested in this conflict is disturbing. If not Ukraine, then what is your line in the sand? When does it become 'your fight?' Moldavia? Taiwan, maybe?
This narrative isn't new, of course, as American's fought WWII involvement and ignored the Nazi march through Europe until it was too late to avoid the conflict.
"We are in our third generation of historically illiterate Americans."
- David McCullough, Historian
Excellent link on the Russian neo-Nazis who despise Putin and chose to fight for Ukraine, with the Azov Batallion, in 2014.
Critical thinking that is sceptical about the simple-minded pieces that make up today's American journalism can understand the subtleties going on. This is Putin launching a war of conquest against the corrupt, deeply-flawed state of Ukraine, not against a sparkling democracy. Remembering Kissinger's words about the Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988) "It's a pity they can't both lose".
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2019/09/04/the-hardcore-russian-neo-nazi-group-that-calls-ukraine-home/
Note that on July 18, 2019, President Zelensky granted Ukrainian citizenship by decree to 9 foreigners who fought for Ukraine, including at least one Russian neo-Nazi.
Am I supposed to be inspired by this piece? A foreign invader comes in and you … bail? And you’re disappointed all your friends don’t have your American passport so they can also bail? People line up at police stations to arm themselves and fight, as you run past them on your way to Hungary or Poland. Amazing.
To read deeply into the 300+ comments this essay has received would lead Desmond Tutu to despair for humanity. It's too bad, really. For those determined to excoriate Katchalov rather than, say, Putin: I recommend that you widen your circle of compassion and do your best, whenever possible, to make the world a better place.
Virtue signal much? Putin is widely deplored and despised in these comments. Nobody excoriated Katchalov. We questioned whether he was a good exemplar of the Ukrainian people and the grit and spirit they've shown.
Love you, brother. Be well.
So not interested in a crypto currency, poker tournament man child fleeing Ukraine. It’s his choice to stay or leave, but worth a post? No thanks.
All this MSM narrative about how Putin has gone "mad" is just such bullshit. A ruthless dictator, yes--stupid, no. This is just him reminding the world, particularly Western european leaders, that he's no one to take lightly. This is the most light-handed invasion in modern times, almost perfunctory from a military standpoint. Regardless of what the MSM CIA propaganda machine screeches about, the parties concerned are ALREADY at the negotiation table, and from which they will manage to create an endlessly complicated "negotiation" that will allow all parties to save face, and take so long that no one will even remember how it started. Have you noticed how Wall Street is already moving on to the next scam?
Is anyone going to "take out" Putin, like the MSM breathlessly suggests? No.
If you sign up for the app, Telegram, and follow Ukrainian Freedom News, you can get live updates and news reports. Bari et all should reach out to Joe Lindsley, an American journalist living in Ukraine (he got stuck there due to pandemic). He and a team of reporters are releasing updates and videos on the situation in Ukraine via Telegram. And, please, pray for Joe and his team, the people of Russia and Ukraine, and for peace. God bless.
Are you under 60 years old? What are you doing writing this shit instead of grabbing rifle and fighting for you "beloved" country?
I thought Hungary is an authoritarian hell hole run by a dictatorial thug. I thought Hungary hated immigrants and was only about themselves. I thought Orban was Putin-Jr. That's what my press has told me for years. You mean my press lied to me? Perhaps the Hungarian embrace of their fellow slavic refugees will help open the eyes of some of the liberals in America.
Great account, and I'm glad you made it out. Faulting this guy for running isn't fair; most of us would do the same if we had the means.
Good point about Hungary
I get your compassion but when do people stop running?
I agree with others here, Bruce. If there were bombs falling on my house, I would take my wife and 3 girls and get the hell out of Dodge if I had the means to do so. Once my wife and kids were safe, I hope I would have the character to go back, get my guns, make Molotov cocktails, and kick some ass. But I, for one, will not condemn anyone who lacks such fortitude, since whether I possess it myself is unknown.
What I hope you and I agree on is that Volodomyr ("I need bullets, not a ride") Zelenskyy does kick ass. Most people (incl Putin) wrote him off as a spineless former comedian who would fold like a cheap suit (like Gani did in Afghanistan). Turns out he has serious cajones.
We mostly agree. And I'm glad you mentioned "the character to go back." Because that was the point of my original comment.
Is anyone else here laughing hysterically about our woke brethren (and sisteren) now swooning over Ukrainian patriotism when they professed to be "horrified" by the sight of people flying the American flag? And deriding American patriotism as "white nationalism?" Not criticizing Ukrainian patriotism and heroism. But the hypocrisy is stunning.
Brucey, Brucy, Brucie, your intense passion for the woke has gone beyond being borderline, straight into irrational delusions; you need to get a grip on reality, Brucie. Did a woke wife or girlfriend dump you? I can think of no other reason why you have such intense hatred for the supposedly woke!
Writes our resident troll from Media Matters...
You are one reason. Are there others? I'm sure
Brucie, Merriam-Webster defines woke: (chiefly US slang); as being aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice). You seem to be woke about social issues like; lockdowns, face mask mandates, vaccination mandates, and critical race theory that’s calling white people racist and how terrible the culture war is, especially with the media bias that silences conservatives by canceling them and let us not forget about that border wall Mexico was supposed to pay for and last but not least the Second Amendment. I think it’s safe to say conservatives are the party of woke folk with all kinds of grievances, or let us say the woke grievance party!
Fascinating and frightening ‘road’ to freedom. While a semi heroic personal story Ukraine has a 100 year tradition of the worst Jew hatred imaginable or unimaginable now followed by a decade plus of seemingly embracing Jews, at least politically. I’d suggest we pull out the diamonds and gold coins we’ve been saving for our salvation journey and send them along to one of the rescue organizations helping Jews, their spouses, children and the relocation to Israel or abroad.
A very important post, please keep it up. As a young American soldier serving in Germany in the late 80's I came across many fleeing East Germany with similar stories(not under immediate fire). Then the Wall came down - all because the People finally took a stand with the help of an American President and Pope John II.
This 'war' is based upon the same misinformation and lies of the 'experts' and those who have failed upwards in western governments, starting with malcontents in the U.S. government.
From Today's Wall Street Journal - "Ukrainians Return Home to Fight - I have to go."
KORCZOWA, Poland—A Ukrainian tattoo artist blasting heavy metal in a black Opel pulled up to Poland’s border with Ukraine on Sunday, informing the immigration officers on duty that he was headed back to his home country to fight.
“Good,” a Polish officer told Nikita Azarkhin, 32, who stepped out and loaded a camouflage-print duffle bag full of first-aid kits onto a bus headed into Ukraine.
“I would love not to fight, and be alive, but this is the time where if I want to be able to look myself in the mirror, I have to, have to go,” said Mr. Azarkhin, who has been living in Berlin and had never fired a gun outside a firing range. “Otherwise, I will live in my own personal hell in my head.”
Scan the Zohar, but on and scan. You don’t have to know what anything means.
Bruce Miller, if you don't find this story interesting then don't read it. I found it well written and interesting and I am glad Bari posted it. At the end of the article the author made it clear that he thought those who stay and fight are the brave ones. I think leaving a country rather than living under a tyrant is a very reasonable choice.
Of course you do.