My, The World Has Become Interesting

Wow, I actually feel like writing today! NICE! =^)

Lots going on, and yes, I’ll backdate some updates because there’s a lot to unpack. (There’s updates in the first half of February for those who haven’t seen me around in awhile, that were written in the middle of last month.)

Firstly, to my Russian readers– Russia is invading Ukraine (why else would Putin kill all your independent news organizations? I mean, THINK about it!) Not a “small, military task” to get rid of supposed “Nazis” (their leader, Zelensky, is a JEW for Christ’s sake!) but a full-scale invasion to force an independent nation back under Putin’s iron fist. This is very well documented, and the economic sanctions imposed on Russia are not coming from just the U.S., but rather 180 countries around the world– pretty much everyone has joined in this collective reaction against Russia except the “pariah” nations like Iran and North Korea. China is the only neutral nation at this time. Even neutral Finland and Switzerland condemned the actions and joined sanctions and “freeze and seize” of the luxury assets of Russian oligarchs in their lands and ports. It’s the first invasion of it’s kind in Europe since World War Two, and understandably, the entire fucking planet is pretty much freaking out right now.

This is heart-breaking to me. I know several Russians in Russia, and I feel so awful that they have to suffer because of Putin’s desire to re-make the Soviet Union. And, given the chaos in our country recently from disinformation and propaganda (that Trump is a great guy, and that there are all these conspiracies against him, etc.) I know that many people simply can’t tell when they’re being lied to– especially when it is by design. So, I don’t blame Russians who are confused, or who believe Putin. But sadly, they’ll still suffer for one man’s actions, and that’s bullshit. Sanctions are pretty much the only thing the world can do, given that Russia has nuclear bombs.

That, and offer supplies to the Ukrainians, who turned out to have a lot of courage and are fighting on, despite being outgunned by 10 to 1 or more. It’s incredible that they didn’t fall in a few days (and it looks like Putin expected them to roll over and was totally unprepared for what’s happening instead.) My heart breaks for the Ukrainians as well, of course. They did NOT ask for this, except by kicking out a corrupt government beholden to Putin and building up a real democracy– which is anathema to Putin of course. Now, instead of Ukraine remaining on the sidelines, they are being offered fast-track admissions into both NATO and the EU. It’ll still take a few years, IF they survive this invasion, but all of Europe sides with them now and realizes that only these things will protect them in the future from this type of invasion again.

It’s been many decades (since my mother was a teenager, and she’s in her 90s now) since we’ve seen this kind of thing in Europe. I suppose after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the U.S. “winning” the Cold War, everyone became complacent and eventually forgot their fear, or were born into a world without that fear in the first place. Sadly, evil men routinely rise to the top, especially in corrupt political systems (and yes, I include Trump in that equation) and we should never forget that.

The worry of many is that the slightest misstep could mean a nuclear war. Everything could be destroyed quickly and totally by that horror. Only people over 50 remember enough about this kind of thing, because we grew up with the threat of it looming over us. When it seemed such fears were in the past, and that Russia and the U.S. could be at least be tolerant towards one another, it was a massive relief. We could have friendships back and forth, and share blogs…

I don’t know if the information crack-down in Russia will include LiveJournal, but if not– it may soon. Perhaps my Russian readers won’t have access to my blog for much longer. I hoped I could at least tell them (you) that I’m glad to have shared my paranormal experiences with them, which totally transcend mere human culture and politics. I treasure my conversations with them and I wish them all well. They are not responsible for what is happening. They did not elect Putin (he assured his own “elections” by cheating, and we all know that.) They don’t deserve to suffer, and I want better for them as well as for Ukraine. We face a future that has suddenly gone mad, far worse than anything the global pandemic delivered, but I won’t condemn the Russian people for what their leader forces their military to do. Russians are not the same faceless enemy to me that they were during the Cold War. They are human to me now and forever. Individuals with lives and stories and the right to a good life. So are the Ukrainians, which is what makes all of this so horrific.

In my last life, I died as a British soldier in World War One. In this life, hearing of war in Europe still freaks me out on a level that is difficult to describe. And they didn’t have nukes in WWI…

May we all make it to the other side of this insanity.

Please know if you are involved in this and we are cut off from one another that I will never forget you.