the Ides of March
We all know that Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated by members of the Roman Senate on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. Those Senators feared their ruler was becoming a dictator and thus they thought they were acting out of patriotism. Ah, the things we do in the name of preserving one's country and one's way of life! There were three conspirators: Brutus, Cassius, and Decimus. Decimus was known to be most trusted by Caesar and is considered to have been the leader of the murder conspiracy.
They thought they would be heralded and credited with saving the Roman Republic. Instead they were viewed as "insurrectionists" and their deed actually lead to the end of the era of the Republic and the beginnings of Imperial Rome. Such are the stakes that comes with removing a seemingly vulnerable leader/dictator.
Right now Vladimir Putin has placed himself in such a position. Right now Russian forces are bogged down in a stalemate in the Ukraine. Russian oligarchs are feeling the pinch of sanctions, whether we think they are tough enough or not. The Russian people are beginning to hear the truth and soon the toll of Russian casualties will be keenly felt. There are rumors that elite Russian forces based in Moscow are being sent to the Ukraine. That would make Vladimir Putin very vulnerable.
This war was launched for the purpose of regime change - in Ukraine.
Would it not be the greatest of ironies that the regime change actually takes place in Russia?
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Putin may want to be careful of what he eats and drinks and no standing by 6 story windows.
Putin may want to stop playing poker with scratch and sniff cards.
Well whatever game he's playing, he's obviously not playing with a full deck!
(Ditto his most ardent supporters
)
He simply got called & raised by a well trained Ukrainian Army.
It would be great to hear Putin say, "Et tu Shoigu?"
et Tu trump would be better. buy him a one way ticket to moscow and then give him a commemorative oval office letter opener. if he's successful, he's a lock for '24. something to consider...
Ok, I considered it.
You expected differently?
There's a danger in trying to apply western history to Russia. We should have learned that by now.
Did you know that Moscow is a European city? Did you know that the geographic center of Europe is located in Belarus or Lithuania or Estonia or Poland? Ukraine even lays claim to being the geographic center of Europe. Of course, this was determined by western Europeans. Russia didn't get a vote.
European's manifest destiny means that Europe can only expand to the east. Europe treats Russians the same way Americans treated American Indians. Russians are backward barbaric heathens who must be civilized according to European standards; that's Europe's manifest destiny. Europe has been attempting to fulfill its manifest destiny since the 18th century. The French have invaded Russia. The British have invaded Russia. The Germans have invaded Russia. Russia has not allowed Europe to fulfill its manifest destiny.
If Volodymyr Zelensky became President of the Russian Federation would anything change?
Who is your candidate to invade Russia next? Montenegro?
NATO. Which is rather odd since NATO is not a territory, country, or government. NATO is a stateless military institution.
NATO has been operating in Ukraine. The United States military has been operating in Ukraine. The Yavoriv Training Center north of Lviv operates to train 'peacekeepers' under the auspices of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
NATO pursues a doctrine of peace through war. NATO doesn't train peacekeepers to kill with kindness.
First of all, Russia was always a part of Europe and was treated no differently than any other country when they had the Zsar. In fact, England's and Russia's royal families were married together, just as they were with the German Royals. So no, there was no manifest destiny like there was to Indians.
Second about NATO, they only provide support and barely that, in the years since WWII. They are not aggressors in this case. Russia is, if we want to call it Russia and not the USSR since it is behaving like the USSR.
I vote for Ibiza!
(Everyone who agrees with this astute comment, please vote this comment up!)
Nah, that might get Spain involved. How about Monaco - it could be a mouse that will roar.
What are you smoking. I want some...
What would change if Volodymyr Zelensky replaced Vladimir Putin as President of the Russian Federation?
Why would he be?
Are you trying to say the two countries are already one and the same?
Why couldn't Volodymyr Zelensky become the President of the Russian Federation? Ukraine is supposed to defeat Russia, isn't it? What would change if Volodymyr Zelensky did become President of the Russian Federation? How is Ukraine different from Russia?
Where do you come up with this?
He is the President of his own country that is being attacked. Why would he even want to be president of Russia?
Who in the world said Ukraine was suppose to defeat Russia? They are defending their homeland.
Something you don't seem to be able to grasp.
“How is Ukraine different from Russia?”
How is Canada different from the U.S?
Shared language, similar heritage, yet two separate and distinct histories.
The more you expound, the less sense you make in trying to make an inexplicable point.
How is Zelensky different than Putin?
So, a question for you: Why are you so apologetic for Putin's current manifestation of hegemony?
Well, for one, he is not invading Russia, is he?
He is the head of a democratically elected government. You can't say that for Putin.
“How is Zelensky different than Putin?”
Do we really need to count the ways?
“How is Zelensky different than Putin?”
"Do we really need to count the ways?"
I cannot believe that question was even posed.
The support for putin is mind boggling here.
Not me.
Don't pass that shit to the left hand side
Well like Trevor said - how dare they re-elect putin with 107% of the vote.
What would change if President Bolsinaro replaced Vladimir Putin as President of the Russian federation?
And while we're talking total nonsense-- What would change if Prime Minister Xavier Espot replaced Vladimir Putin as President of the Russian Federation?
What if?
If, if, if!!!
There's an olde saying:
If my grandmother has a wheel and two handles, she'd be a wheelbarrow!
Do you really not know?
(Curious minds want to know..)
Pointing out that Ukraine is no better than Russia isn't being apologetic for Putin. From the stand point of the United States, there are no good guys in the Ukrainian war. And trying to shoehorn Ukraine into US propaganda is dangerous.
Zelensky is trying to start World War III. That's how Soviet politics worked. Ukraine's government is structured the same as the Russian government. Ukraine's elections are run the same as Russian elections. The Ukrainian government is as corrupt as the Russian government.
Ukraine was the second power in the Soviet Union. Ukraine shares more history with Russia than with western Europe. Zelensky is the same type of national leader as is Putin. Ukraine and Russia are guided by the Soviet era and are pursuing national interests the same way the Soviet Union pursued its interests. Ukraine will be as much a European democracy as is Turkey.
Ukraine is only interested in NATO because of the military umbrella. NATO is only a military institution. NATO is not an institution that establishes democracy. NATO doesn't engage in diplomacy. NATO doesn't foster peace. NATO only serves as a military threat. Military threat was the Soviet Union's tool of choice in international affairs. Ukraine is trying to use NATO as an offensive military threat. Ukraine wants to use NATO to start World War III and fight Russians in Russia.
False equivalencies are false on their faces...
Ukraine isn't equally culpable for Putin's war!
Interesting question...
I really don't know.
But consider another possibility...perhaps he's not using any drugs...and that is in fact his normal state of mind???
(In other words, he's being serious and we should respect his opinion?)
Ukraine's government is structured the same as Russia's government. Ukraine runs elections the same way Russia runs elections. The Ukrainian government is just as corrupt as the Russian government. There are Ukrainian oligarchs just as there are Russian oligarchs.
The Ukrainian government has been conducting its own version of the Chechen War on Russia's border for the past eight years.
Ukraine and Russia have much more in common than people are willing to admit. What is the United States supporting? What are we fighting for in this war?
How so?
I may be wrong...and this is just my opinion...but it seems to me that the majority of people in this discussion are not supporting Putin. In fact only one or two people here...heck, it might be only one person here supporting Putin.
There were elections, but many of his opponents ran into tough luck:
Navalny went to jail. Gabyshev required psychiatric treatment. Khangoshvili was gunned down in Berlin. The killers have yet to be found. Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was the journalist who was vocally critical of Putin and wrote several books that denounced the corruption and human rights abuses enabled and promoted by Putin and his administration, such as "Putin's Russia." On October 7, 2006, Politkovskaya was found dead in the elevator of her Moscow apartment building. She'd been shot five times. Foul play is suspected.
You gave me a good laugh when you said:
LOL, You think?
A lot more than that.
14 of the biggest differences between Canada and the US
(LINK) ->
And it's not just that, as the article says, English and French are two MAJOR languages, they are both equally Canada's two OFFICIAL languages.
Riiiigghhhtt. And tell us again how no one heckled Biden at the SOTU speech, lol.
Yep, only Democrats are allowed to do that.
Funny that was after the speech after donald refused to acknowledge her.
Yes.
Well, given their conduct in Ukraine, for many that's correct.
BTW some of the people who most strongly feel that way are the Chinese. They share a border with Russia, and so Chinese and Russian soldiers have had many interactions over the years.
While officially allies, the Chinese generally consider Russian soldiers to be primitive drunken louts-- and the Chinese are proud of their historic cvilization and its many advances.
(This has nothing to do with politics, Communism, Capitalism etc-- rather its some of the amazing advances of Chinese civlization going back for generations.). Compared to the Chinese, Russia's history is hardly evolved....)
Why do you think the Chinese Wall was constructed?
Probably most people had no idea that Moscow is in Europe!
/sarc
It would be great if Putin were removed from power by his own people, but the author of this piece gets an F in Roman history.
Not sure what the significance of posting this today is supposed to be, since the Ides of March fall on the 15th. Today is the 21st, which is often the spring equinox, but this year that was yesterday, on the 20th.
The leaders of the plot were Brutus and Cassius, not Decimus, and there were far more than those three, something like sixty or more.
They weren't viewed as insurrectionists. They were hated by Caesar's supporters, and a power struggle and civil war followed, but if anyone was attacking the norms of state as an insurrectionist it was Caesar himself, who led troops on Rome and was essentially making himself a king, something Rome hadn't had for almost 500 years.
And the quote at the top of the page kind of makes it sound like Lupercalia is also the Ides of March, but it's not. Lupercalia was on February 15th, and would later become Valentine's Day. That quote looks like something lifted out of context from somewhere else, though.
But yeah, the regime change thing flipping around on Putin would be fantastic.