Global price of wheat, percent increase over the last month:
The nominal price is in Euros/kg. What will hurt more, the price of wheat or the price of gas? I'm willing to pay both if that's what I'm asked to do to help win the Ukrainian War. I decided that after seeing this photograph.
15 comments:
You are rich by global standards. Ask how much a poor person in Egypt or Lebanon, two major importers of Ukrainian wheat, are able to pay.
Also think about all the conflicts in the world from which you don't get to see similar pictures. Some of them fought by your own country. At least 599 civilians were killed in Yemen in Januari, far beyond the interest of major media.
We need to stop supporting Russia. There is no point in "whataboutism".
I've heard it said that farming is the art of turning gasoline into food. High fuel prices may mean higher cost for all crops.
Layzej, what you call whataboutism, I call hypocricy. One group of war criminals punishing another for breaking international laws, as well as a lot of more or less open racism in how media cover different conflicts.
It's easy to sit in a rich country and say that higher cost of food is a price worth paying. You won't starve. Nor do I see USA accepting lots of refugees from Egypt or Lebanon.
Worst case, if sanctions are efficient enough, Russia collapses and turns into a failed state with 6000 nukes on the drift. Still worth it?
If I thought this might improve respect for international laws globally it's one thing, but I've seen no indication of that. Any such suggestion is shut down as "whataboutism". Russia is not only the villain, but the only villain.
Thomas, what would your response look like?
Layzej, I would have accepted that NATO-membership for Ukraine would be a red line for Russia, as security experts explained long ago. That US involvement in the Maidan protests of 2014 were toxic.
Would that have altered the course of history? In 2014, Putin was already annexing Crimea, and initiating a proxy conflict in Donbas.
Could Putin's vision for Russian control of Eurasia been tempered if the West hadn't considered supporting nations in Putin's sights?
I am interested in your thoughts on this, but would also be interested to know what response you would prefer now, given that we are where we are.
Layzej, Putin annexed Crimea as a response to the Maidan protests and replacement of the Russian friendly President. While mostly peaceful, there was violence from the far right nationalist Svoboda party, and John McCain chose to shake hand with their leader. Victoria Nuland being caught on tape discussing preferable replacements to Yanukovych didn't help. I don't know how far US involvement went, but it did stink of old US regime change tactics.
I don't think anyone can tell exactly what Putin has been thinking. I'm sure NATO-expansion was one factor, both because it the prospect was scary to Russian security and because it gave a deadline. If Putin were to take over Ukraine he had to do it before they joined NATO, otherwise he could have tried diplomacy and trying to get Russia friendly politicians elected indefiniety, or maybe he would have invaded at some point anyway. Impossible to tell from the outside.
Going back further, Clinton supporting Yeltsin when he shelled the Russian parliament was also a big mistake. It weakened democracy and set up for a more autocratic president. Seemed nice when Yeltsin was "our" man, not so nice when Putin took over.
Right now I think we are FUBAR. Once the shooting starts there is too much prestige involved for either side to back down until they are all out of manpower or weapons. Neither Putin or Zelensky seem willing to tell their people that they have sacrificed all those people achieving nothing. I hope I'm wrong.
Are you giving Putin a pass on regime change tactics wrt "get Russia friendly politicians elected" or annexation in response to protests of Russian friendly politicians?
"If Putin were to take over Ukraine he had to do it before they joined NATO"
Is Ukraine therefor culpable for the Russian attacks as a result of their efforts to build out their own defensive capabilities and find allies to help protect against Russian aggression?
Layzej, I'm assuming that everyone who is reading Western media has already heard everything bad that can be said about Putin so little need to repeat it.
"Is Ukraine therefor culpable for the Russian attacks..."
I was trying to guess how Putin is thinking. It was not any discussion of culpability.
It sucks to be neighbor to a superpower as many countries in Latin America as well as around Russia has found out. You play nice or you get invaded or suffer a coup.
As a thought experiment, what do you think would happen if Mexico decided to team up with China to to join a military alliance and started to invite Chinese troops for common excercises? USA is in a better position to use economic sanctions to enforce its will, but do you doubt there would be a firm response?
When Putin only hinted that he might put forces in Cuba or Venezuela the US response was quick: "If Russia were to move in that direction, we would deal with it decisively," So much for every country's right to choose.
Thomas, you're right, there is a lot of whataboutism to go around, and my country does more than its fair share of evil. I'm ashamed of that. But right now there is very little I can do, bordering on the infinitesimal. What I'm not going to do is, like many Americans, whine about gas prices. Yes, I know the rising price of fuel affects far more than rich Americans -- including poor Americans. Not sure what your solution is right now -- treat Russian oil and gas as if nothing has changed?
"As a thought experiment, what do you think would happen if Mexico decided to team up with China to to join a military alliance and started to invite Chinese troops for common excercises?"
As a Canadian, this is very pertinent, and a large part of why I am happy to see the world stand behind Ukraine.
David, I don't have a solution as I said a couple of posts above. Just pointing out previous errors that could possibly have avoided this war. Did you boycott American gas as punishment for the invasion of Iraq?
One thing you can do is lobby your government to join the ICC and abolish the shameful "American Service-Members' Protection Act". At the moment it's more symbolic anyway, ICC hasn't dared to try to prosecute people from powerful countries. Still, the world really needs to build up an international system of justice that in time get the power to prosecute anyone.
Layzej, and it doesn't bother you that one of the leaders for this "standing up" would act in a similar way as Russia, and has proven it too, in similar situations? In a conflict between USA and Canada, don't bet that the world wouldn't decide to throw Ukraine under the bus, because confronting USA is just too expensive, while Russia is a minor economic player. Next time the British won't burn Washington in your support.
"it doesn't bother you that one of the leaders for this "standing up" would act in a similar way as Russia, and has proven it too, in similar situations?"
No. All countries should stand up to tyranny. The fact that they may have behaved poorly doesn't excuse them from this responsibility.
"In a conflict between USA and Canada, don't bet that the world wouldn't decide to throw Ukraine under the bus, because confronting USA is just too expensive, while Russia is a minor economic player. Next time the British won't burn Washington in your support."
Maybe not, but it would be the right thing to do (confront USA, not burn Washington). It's good to see the world unite behind Ukraine in this case.
I see I mistyped last comment. Meant to write " In a conflict between USA and Canada, don't bet that the world wouldn't decide to throw Canada under the bus".
Post a Comment