There is not much good one can attach to the war in Ukraine but it does expose me to people with views that try to validate some of what Putin is doing. I did not know who Lee Smith was until I saw him on Laura Ingraham’s FOX TV show. Subsequently I read many of his writings to see what he was all about. Some subjects I did not know much about but others I do know a lot about. For the latter all I can say is that this guy is deeply misinformed and prone to misinterpret history to an astounding degree. I would like to say that he is just naïve and got such views because of that, but it did not take long to see he was coming from a conspiracy agenda that enables him to see evil intentions under every bed as long as they are American or Democrats. I can safely say that he is a wacko. Meanwhile watching useful idiot Tucker Carlson yesterday also on FOX, I heard Tulsi Gabbard express views that I can’t help but think she means well but does not really know anything about history or the realities of world politics. I am reminded of the old saying “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Though she talked for a while the only message that she seemed to be saying is that 1. a politician should be thinking of what is “best for his people” as if that was some great revelation. 2. that of course we should be upset at Putin’s invasion of Russia BUT it is not our problem and not in our interest to respond to it. And 3. All the Ukrainian bloodshed could have been avoided IF we and NATO had listened to “legitimate Russian security fears” and agreed that Ukraine would never join NATO. Of course useful idiot Tucker Carlson agreed because as he has said “why should I care about Ukraine?”. Well, some facts need to be understood. First it was not NATO that pushed to include Poland, the Baltic States, etc into NATO, it was those countries themselves that were desperate to join. Why? Because they feared Russia. They had experienced Russia and wanted protection from it. Second, NATO was set up for defense and NOT for offence so Russian “security concerns” are a false flag. Does anyone really believe that Germany, France, England, the USA and all the other NATO countries were plotting to attack Russia? It is a preposterous notion. If they were plotting so hard why did they become so dependent on Russian oil? Second, as we have clearly seen the Ukrainians had no intention to attack Russia. They gave up their nuclear arsenal with guarantees from the US AND Russia. What’s more, it is Ukraine that is pushing to join NATO and not the other way around. In fact NATO has resisted. Third, Why are we to believe that if we had granted Putin’s demand that Ukraine never join NATO he would not have attacked Ukraine anyway? We need to look back at a very similar period of history to understand what was likely to happen. In 1938 Hitler’s Germany demanded to take over the Sudetenland, the heavily German speaking part of western Czechoslovakia. In Western capitols we heard views that this was simply redressing the unfair way Germany was treated after World War I. “Legitimate” in other worlds. Nevil Chamberlain, having experienced the horrors of the First World War wanted peace and to avoid another world war. He ended up believing Hitler when he was told this was the last bit of land Germany wanted. He agreed to let Hitler take that land and came back to the UK as a hero with a piece of paper saying we have “peace in our time”. He went on to expound the view that it was Winston Churchill who was the war monger NOT Mr. Hitler. Well, he was right – he did deliver “peace in our time” – the problem was that “our time” turned out to be very short. Less than a year later Hitler invaded Poland. The word “appeasement” became part of our no no doctrine. When Hitler took not only the agreed Sudetenland but the whole of Czechoslovakia the penny dropped as to what Hitler was really all about. BUT still there were those who said “why should we care about Czechoslovakia”? Peace was seen as a more important goal. Lets not forget that President Roosevelt promised America would not go to war in Europe. In the end we learned the lesson that “appeasement” is NOT the answer to secure peace. It may be a short term answer but history has shown over and over again it is NOT the long term answer. If anything, the short term benefits appeasement may bring only make the long term disaster all the more severe. Like Hitler before him, the invasion of Ukraine has exposed Putin’s real intentions. Most of the world (even Switzerland and Sweden!) have united against him because we know all the bullshit about “legitimate security concerns” is just that; bullshit. We had to finally wake up to Hitler, now we have to wake up to Putin. Time to open our eyes and see what is right in front of us.