August1991

There is a huge misunderstanding about people like Putin and Gates. Gates pays for things. Trudeau Jnr and Putin command things. ==== How rich is Putin? Well, how rich is Joe Biden?

How will this end? Has the US federal government become a Ponzi scheme? ==== Harper wisely said that Americans will figure out a way. But at over 150% of GDP, I wonder how. Huh? Japan's government debt is well over 200% of GDP. (Because of Harper, Trudeau Jnr's spending means we're still below 100%.) ===== In macroeconomic theory, if the growth of government debt is greater than real GDP growth, it's a Ponzi scheme. -The government is borrowing faster than the economy can generate tax revenues. -But wait. The government never dies. For you on the right or left, think: the State never dies. ==== As I always say, whether in Japan, Russia or Canada, it is not how the government/State pays - whether my credit card, debit card, my name on a loan - what's the difference? No difference. It is what the government bureaucrat politician buys.

Bingo. I gotta love Pierre Trudeau. ====== On an entirely topic, why did this war start? IMHO, this is a disaster caused by western diplomacy. Our Western diplomats - the MSM - made this war possible. It could have been avoided. Heck, these idiots could start a nuclear war.

You Americans can send young guys to die abroad. You proved that in Vietnam. You won the Cold War and the Soviet Union is no more. ===== But now, Trump is correct. There is no reason for any American soldier to die abroad.

As a foreigner, I have been thinking about this. Bush, Clinton: they're wrong. Trump is right. You won the Cold War - back off. ===== America is a wonderful country.

Define "Ukraine" - U Krainia - at the border. ===== Lvov? It was once Lemberg - like Montreal and Calcutta today - cities where unilingual people of different languages live together in peace. To my knowledge, Putin has no desire to make Lemberg part of Russia.

Where is Biafra? ==== I prefer our previous federal PM. While I disagreed, he had a clear idea of a federal State. And I've always liked his quote : "He would make the West Island the Danzig of the New World." Who was the "he"? Duplessis? Laurier? Lévesque? Dunno. But Trudeau`s quote makes plain why I love America.

Define "ukraine". ===== In Canada, I can define Acadian - sort of. In Europe, it is more problematic to define "ukrainia" - let alone galicia or pomerania.

At best, Putin is a wily, modern Catherine. Compare this to the Chinese or worse, the Arabians. ===== JFK and Reagan defeated the Communists. Now, we have to bring these people into the modern world.

Because of Woodrow Wilson, we speak of "Ukrainians" and "Poles" nowadays. As a progressive, Woodrow Wilson believed at the time in nationalism. But nowadays, we have a different - more accurate, more forward thinking view.

Huh? Eastern Prussia are the only good parts of modern Poland - except for the cities once in Austria. Malbork, despite various wars, is still a beautiful city. ===== The Russian parts of Poland are simply ugly - still today. Like Belarus.

Several years ago, I was in Crimea. Everyone that I met spoke Russian - except for a few Tatars. ==== Crimea and the Donetsk are Russian in the same sense that the West Island is English. Ukraine? It is like Cochrane or Moncton.

Advice for tourists, all the good places/cities to visit are on the left/West. They were part of Austria-Hungary - for example, Lviv, or rather Lemberg. Beautiful city. Donetsk? That's Russian.

I understood this war in the south. But this war among Slavs, the so-called Special Operation, I think Putin is wrong. He could have achieved the same without bloodshed. We in the West would have agreed - as we did when Russia took Crimea. ===== I reckon that this is a mistaken signal between Putin and the US -Trump or Biden, whatever. Maybe the US deep state. Obama, to his credit, let Putin take Crimea without provoking a nuclear war.

Remarkable map. It is a creation of the Soviet Union. ==== Here's a suggestion to Putin: You get Crimea. Germany gets Kaliningrad.