Category Archives: International news

Why is globalism evil?

Donald J. Trump and his moronic MAGA followers decided about a decade agp to declare war on that thing they refer to these days as “globalism.”

They have all said they intend to “put America first,” even if that philosophy destroys our most successful international alliances. They are on track to destroy those alliances built on international fears of tyrants seeking to conquer the world.

Donald Trump came along nearly a decade ago to declare his presidential candidacy. He vowed to “make America great again,” believing foolishly that American somehow had surrendered its greatness. It never did. The country has remained great even during its most difficult crises.

Much of America’s greatness rested in its wilingness to become the leading nation in the global community of nations. Presidents of the United States assumed the unspecified role as leader of the free world. They did so with pride in the nation’s standing internationally.

Globalism, it was long thought, was a good thing. The world has “shrunk” in a figurative way with nations depending on each other for commerce, military aid and cultural exchanges. Globalism, therefore, was not considered a four-letter word.

That is, until Trump came along.

These days we hear from the MAGA minions that globalism lies at the core of perceived difficulties. Many of those so-called difficulties were figmants of political strategists’ imagination. Trump inherited the strongest economy in generations, yet he managed to persuade enough voters in 2024 that their retirement accounts were going straight into the crapper.

Well, many retirees are feeling pain now … but it’s caused by Trump’s tariffs and the uncertainty they bring.

Globalism is not the bogeyman the MAGA gang has made it out to be. It has helped keep us safe, it has generated trade and it has helped Americans keep the jobs they now are losing.

World War III? Watch out!

All this brainless talk about the possibility of a World War III erupting, brings to mind a quote attributed to the great Albert Einstein, one of the men who developed the atomic bomb dropped on Japan near the end of World War II.

The brainlessness, of course, starts at the top, with Donald Trump warning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of that possibility during that hideous haranguing he and J.D. Vance delivered in the Oval Office.

Einstein put the potential of a third global conflict in graphic and ghastly perspective.

He said, “I have no idea how we’ll fight World War III, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

Most unforgivable of all …

Donald J. Trump has committed many politically unforgivable sins since riding down the Trump Tower escalator in July 2015 to announce his 2016 presidential campaign.

They are too numerous to mention here, but the last straw occurred just the other day and that’s the one on which I want to shed a bit of light.

It is the abject reversal of support for a wartime president and an allied nation that is fighting to preserve its democratic state against an invading army from Russia. Yes, it’s Ukraine.

Trump’s staged berating of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not come as a surprise. After all, Trump has been telegraphing his infatuation with Russian goon/thug/despot Vladimir Putin since he was elected to his first term as POTUS in 2016.

What was astounding, though, is doing so in the Oval Office, in front of the media and the public, berating Zelenskyy for not possesing a “winning hand” against the Russians. He hurled insults at a man who’s conducting a war against an illegal invader … at considerable risk of personal harm.

Stunning as it was to watch, we should remember that Trump is doing what he suggested he would do were he elected in 2024. He all but admitted his intention to turn the country’s back on Ukraine and sidle up to Putin.

The reasons escape me, given that Russia is now a third-rate conventional military power and a fourth- or fifth-rate economic power with an economy that is roughly the size of Italy’s.

The dipsh** in chief, though, loves dictators. He adheres to strongman tactics, even though in reality he is weak and cowardly.

Donald Trump has essentially thrown into the crapper this nation’s 80-year-old alliance with NATO, formed after World War II to serve as a hedge against Soviet aggression. The Soviet Union is gone, but Russia remains … and the Russians are now seeking to advance into a neighboring sovereign nation.

And all this is with Donald Trump’s blessing! Absolutely despicable — and unforgivable.

Trump-Vance bashing draws heat from right

Donald Trump and J.D. Vance decided to form a tag team in the Oval Office, taking turns bashing Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he came to D.C. ostensibly to sign a mineral-rights deal with the United States.

What the Ukrainian president received instead was a shameful and unconscionable hectoring from the U.S. president and vice president who stunningly decided to stand with the dictator who unleashed his army on Ukraine three years ago.

Trump and Vance made a bit of notoriety with their lecture of Zelenskyy, who has stood firm with his troops who have inflicted tremendous injury and death on the invaders. They became the first American president and VP to turn their backs on an ally while he is fighting quite literally a hostile force intending to do this nation harm.

The tag-team approach was particularly galling, it appears, even to congressional conservatives who have been talking up their displeasure over what they witnessed in the Oval Office.

The true measure of their displeasure will come when they have to cast votes on Trump policies. Newfound anger at Trump well could be just so much bluster and bravado. The validation could come when they propose tangible measures to strike back at what many of them have called a betrayal of an ally fighting for democracy.

Indeed, what we witnessed was a sickening display by the former leader of the Free World.

What could go wrong?

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to the White House today supposedly to cement a deal over some mineral rights with the United States.

It didn’t end with anything signed. It ended instead with Zelenskyy storming out a shouting match with Donald Trump, who along with Vice President J.D. Vance, managed to insult the beleaguered Zelenskyy to the point of immense frustration.

This man is our ally, or at least he was our ally when Russian forces attacked Ukraine three years ago while Joe Biden was president of the United States.

It’s all changed now that Biden has retired and Trump has returned to power. Trump has buddied up to Russian goon Vladimir Putin, taking up where he left off when he lost his re-election bid to Biden in 2020.

That a meeting with Zelenskyy would crater as it did today should have surprised no one, given Trump’s propensity for saying the wrong things at the wrong time.

Trump betrays our ally

Donald J. Trump has made history in a sickening sort of way by being the first American president to pivot away from an ally at war with an aggressor nation.

The United States, led by President Joe Biden, went all in to defend Ukraine against the Russian invaders. The former president rallied our NATO and EU allies and mustered considerable support in the United Nations. The result has been a stiffening of resistance by Ukraine against Russia.

Now we hear Trump parroting Vladimir Putin dogma, and then Trump blames Ukraine for starting a war that began when Russian troops and tanks crossed into Ukraine.

Putin is a war criminal. He has violated multiple provisions lined out in the Geneva Accords that dictate the conduct of a land war.

Trump and Putin are seeking to negotiate an end to the three-year war without any input from Volodymr Zelenskyy.

Sickening.

Trump blames Ukraine for war … seriously

Donald J. Trump put his depravity on full display with a bizarre social media message that blames Ukraine for starting the war that began when Russia invaded its sovereign neighbor.

According to The Independent: In a post on his Truth Social website, Trump accused Zelensky, who he called a “modestly successful comedian” in a reference to his previous career as a sitcom star and entertainer, of having “talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start.”

I am utterly speechless. This guy’s incessant enfatuation with a known killer and goon — Vladimir Putin — is simply beyond description.

Geez, Louise! This clown has turned his back on a dependable ally in Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy. He has stood up to Russia’s immoral and illegal invasion for three years. Ukraine has inflicted stunning casualties against an enemy force that sought to enter Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv, just days after crossing the border.

President Joe Biden pledged financial support. He mustered full-throated NATO and EU support for Ukraine’s defense of its territory.

Now we have Donald Trump siding with his pal Putin.

Absolutely disgraceful for the new president to forsake our national pledge to help an ally defend itself against a tinhorn dictator.

Trump to abandon Ukraine

Donald J. Trump is on the verge of abandoning a longheld U.S. foreign policy, which calls for this nation to stand firm against aggression from nations that seek to undermine democratic sovereignty.

He’s going to meet soon with Russian thug/goon Vladimir Putin to “negotiate” a deal to end the war in Ukraine. The two pals no doubt are going to stick in the ear of Ukraine President Volodymr Zellenskyy, who’s been fighting his heart out against the Russian aggressors for the past three years.

How was he able to keep the Russians at bay while inflicting grievous casualties on the aggressors? Because U.S. support provided by President Joe Biden in concert with our NATO allies.

Well, Trump is now sitting in Biden’s former office and he and his MAGA cultists appear set on flattening Zellenskyy’s efforts against the Russian invaders.

I have no clue the direction these “negotiations” will take. I’m not smart enough to figure that out. I sense, though, that NATO, the EU and much of the free world is going to feel betrayed by the new administration’s cozying up to Putin.

I also believe Putin will see this suck-up policy as giving him license to continue his aggression in eastern Europe.

Hope may lead to possibility in Gaza

While it is virtually impossible to expect any long-term gain from the ceasefire that has taken hold in the 15-month-long Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, there remains room for hope.

The fighting has stopped in Gaza as Israel and the terrorists in Hamas have agreed to the ceasefire. Three Israeli women held hostage since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023 have been released; more will follow them on the path to freedom.

Aid is flowing into Gaza. Rebuilding the shattered region has begun.

What does any of this portend for a permanent peace? Probably nothing … at least not at this point. However, my limitless font of optimism harbors the hope that could spring from the ashes. It might emerge as a peace framework that could bring some semblance of calm to a region that has known far more than its share of bloodshed, mayhem and heartache for centuries.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas when it sent the tanks and troops into Gaza after the horrific missile attack that killed an estimated 1,200 Israeli civilians. The gunfire, bombs, rockets and artillery shells fired into Gaza have killed tens of thousands of civilians in return … as well as thousands of Hamas fighters.

It’s not altogether clear whether Israel achieved its mission of destroying Hamas. The terrorist organization is gravely wounded, which well could explain why Hamas is willing to accept the ceasefire framework hammered out months ago by President Biden.

So … what happens now? The bloodshed has ceased for the time being. I cannot possibly predict anything good will come from this. However, I damn sure can hope it will.

That is what I will do. Hope for the best.

Is peace now possible?

In this season of never-ending negativity, we now might be able to rejoice in some seriously good news … from the Middle East of all places!

Israel and the terrorists known as Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire that begins Sunday. Furthermore, they have agreed to a significant swap of hostages, meaning that the families of Israelis and Americans held captive since the Oct. 7, 2023, rocket attacks can be set free.

I am going to hold out hope that the cease fire agreement holds up and that the violence that erupted with Hamas’s brazen and bloody attack will end. Let us not call it a peace agreement, because the cease fire only means the bitter enemies will stop killing each other for the time being.

Let’s be clear on a couple of key points. Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and said the only path to peace would require the destruction of the terrorist leadership; it appears that Israel has accomplished its stated aim. However, it has come at a horrific price for the Palestinians caught in the middle of the fight between Israel and Hamas. Thousands of innocent people have died since Hamas started this war.

Thus, the ceasefire — brokered in large part by President Biden’s team — requires an immediate rebuilding effort. It must commence fully, not on a piecemeal basis. It must include massive deliveries of food, water, construction equipment, medical supplies and personnel to help Gaza residents seek to restore their shattered lives.

To that end, Joe Biden and his team deserve the highest praise any of us can give for their tireless work in bringing an end to the bloodshed in Gaza.

Now, though, the hardest task of all awaits … finding a path to a permanent piece in a region that knows only heartache and despair.