Wednesday, February 22: Ukraine, One Year On
The beef between Ukraine and Russia could fuel a thousand suns
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its 364th day, let’s take a look at what’s unfolded over the last year. The loss of life has been devastating, the depravity of war has been evident, and there seems to be no end in sight.
The tens of thousands of lost lives on both sides of the conflict are just the start of the problem. According to the UN refugee agency, there have been 18.6 million border crossings out of Ukraine since the Russian invasion began last year.
You’d be forgiven for forgetting the reason behind all this blood and death. Ukraine has had a pretty rocky path towards democracy, including two modern revolutions, first in 2005 and then again in 2014. Both times, Ukrainian protesters rejected Russia’s supremacy and sought a path to join the European Union and NATO. Naturally the US played a major role in exacerbating tensions between the two nations.
This week, Ol Joey Biden thought it was a good idea to secretly visit Kyiv, demonstrating his ongoing commitment to supporting the Ukrainians and showing the big bad Russians that he’s not afraid. As usual, he left shortly after, leaving the Ukrainians to fend for themselves and handle the fallout of his surprise visit.
Side Items
Salt Life Lives On: Michael Hutto, the founder of Salt Life, the water sports company and obnoxious bumper sticker giant, was sentenced to 12 years in prison this week after pleading guilty to fatally shooting his teenage girlfriend and leaving her body to decompose in a Florida hotel room in 2020. Hutto was 54 years old (and married) when he chose to pursue a relationship with an 18 year old who worked at his local gym. Now an innocent young woman is dead and this aquatic buffoon is spending 12 years locked up
Cartel Influence in Politics: A former Mexican presidential cabinet member was convicted in the US yesterday of taking massive bribes to protect the violent drug cartels he was tasked with combating. To give you an idea of how far the reaches of the cartels extend, former Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna was the man in charge of Mexico’s federal police and was its top public safety official from 2006 to 2012. This “top cop” allegedly took payments from the cartels to avoid prosecuting and punishing them
Another Israeli Raid in Nablus: At least 10 Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded when apartheid Israel’s vindictive and sadistic army raided the occupied West Bank city of Nablus earlier today. At least 102 people were injured, with 82 Palestinians hit by live ammunition, according to the Palestinian health ministry. In response, young Palestinians threw rocks at the armored Israeli military transports, demonstrating the one-sidedness of this ongoing “conflict”