Is this the end of the fighting, or is it the end of the beginning?
This past weekend there have been two very significant elections. Four elections in Ukraine and a national election in Italy could change the ongoing battles in Ukraine.
Which Way Ukraine?
The elections in four regions of Ukraine resulted in overwhelming support for shifting their allegiance from Ukraine to Russia. The election results were as follows:
Here is what they were voting on:
Are you in favor of (name of region) becoming part of the Russian Federation as a federal entity? Yes; No; Invalid votes
Donetsk People’s Republics. Yes: 99.23%; Turnout: 97.51.
Lugansk People’s Republic. Yes: 98.42%; Turnout: 92.6%.
Zaporozhye Region. Yes: 93.11%; Turnout: 85.4%.
Kherson Region. Yes: 87.05%; Turnout: 76.86%.
The results indicate that all four regions are in favor of becoming part of the Federal Republic of Russia. Both Donetsk and Lugansk had previously voted in overwhelming numbers, in 2014, for union with Russia.
If the request of these four regions to become part of Russia is accepted by the Russian Duma, of which there is no doubt, then the Ukrainian military will be attacking Russia, not just a separatist region of Ukraine. The stakes have been raised for Ukraine, as well as NATO. Is it time for peace talks or more war? The ball is in Zelensky and Biden’s hands. Which way will they turn?
Whether or not the West accepts the election results in Ukraine, they are now a fact, as they would have been had Russia simply annexed them without an election. The US history on rearranging countries has been detrimental to the people of those nations. Yugoslavia was chopped up by ethnic and religious divisions after years of working as a united country. Even the pieces were chopped up. Bloody wars ensued. During The Clintons’ Balkan war, Kosovo was ripped away from Serbia, and ultimately declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
In addition, the West remains quiet as Israel constantly encroaches on Palestinian territory. Since 1948, Israel has incorporated 4,244,776 acres that formerly belonged to Palestine. Neither the US, nor any government of the West has taken any significant action in opposition to Israel’s land grabbing.
The Brothers of Italy let a Woman do the talking
The second election was the victory of three populous parties in Italy. The largest vote went to the party of the Brothers of Italy, ironically led by a woman, Georgia Meloni. The second largest vote on the right was for the Lega party, and the third largest vote was for the Forza Italia party led by Silvio Berlusconi, the wily former prime minister.
The Italian center-right coalition won 237 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 115 seats in the smaller Senate. The center-left coalition won only 85 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and only 44 seats in the Senate. In the US, that margin would have been regarded as a landslide. With broad backing, the new prime minister, Meloni, will have nothing to fear except the European Union, whose leaders don’t like national heads that they can’t control. Meloni has been compared to Trump, the Uncontrollable.
Italy’s election, along with the right-wing sweep in Sweden, seems to show the beginnings of a trend, or perhaps a backlash from the imposition by the EU of sanctions against Russia, which are having their largest impact on Europe.
How will NATO react?
Will Ukraine or NATO mercenaries, with US agreement, attack what is now part of Russia? An attack on Russia would escalate the fighting and might impel other countries which are now sending weapons to also send troops into the maelstrom.
Now would be the perfect time for Turkey and Saudi Arabia to redouble their mediation efforts. An end to this war would likely be greeted by cheers around the world. It would seem that only a shrinking number of Europeans want cold winters, without heaters, and the loss of goods they usually receive in trade from Russia.
But could Ukraine President Zelensky settle the war while giving up regions, even though it’s mostly Russians who live in those areas? Probably not. First, the US and NATO seem determined to fight to the last Ukrainian. Secondly, he would probably have to resign and go into exile in Miami Beach, or endure the wrath of angry Nazis.
What’s behind the sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines
The latest event in the Ukraine war took place hundreds of miles north of that country and at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. That’s where both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines resided on their way from Russia to Germany. Both countries previously had agreed to the start of the transfer of gas through Nord Stream 2, and was already receiving gas from the older Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
However, the addition to Germany’s gas supply was not to be. It had been agreed to by Chancellor Angela Merkel on behalf of the German Federal Republic. Then Merkel retired and Olaf Scholz assumed power. He put the activation of Nord Stream 2 on a permanent hold just days before Russia went into Ukraine.
Sometime during the night of Sept. 26, or the morning of Sept. 27, explosions started big leaks in the pipelines. Who could have been responsible? Both Russia and Germany had little reason for such an act of terrorism. Could it have been NATO? Would that esteemed organization do such a thing?
I think we know who sabotaged the pipelines. It was President Loose Lips Biden who confessed at a press conference to planning the attack before it ever happened. We can also surmise that the US military units with the wherewithal to do the deed are the Navy Seals, who were on military maneuvers a few miles away.
The Seals in their zeal at frolicking in the Baltic Sea started poking around the pipelines and accidentally, of course, triggered two explosions which caused an international uproar? Who’s going to suffer? The Germans, of course.
No matter that our Dying Empire wants to fight on until Europe freezes over, We, the People, must demand an end to this war, and all wars. Where is our Peace Movement now that we need it?