zaldaus comments

Uhh, you must be counting wrong.

The Indian death rate is 7.3 or so, that means 7.3 people out of 1000 die each year.

Now, the population of India is close to 1.4 billion, so a simple calculation should give you 28,000 deaths daily, on a normal year. Not 7000 as someone here claimed. Death rate does not translate directly like that.

Assuming all 4000 really died of Covid, that is a significant increase, but not catastrophic.

Moreover, official Indian statistics give a number of around 250,000 covid deaths to date. How truthful the number is I cannot say, but please keep in mind that those numbers are all we have to work with. Anything else has no basis of proof and is just speculation. So, on the basis of the above numbers, the death rate in India has risen by 2% (of total yearly deaths pre-covid), which while regrettable, is far from catastrophic.

Turkey has been at the crossroads for human commerce for millennia

Turkey hasn't been around for millennia. Thrace, on the other hand, has. The Turks are newcomers to the region.

Colombia on Tuesday rejected a Russian warning against foreign military intervention in Venezuela and said it supported a peaceful transition to democracy in the neighboring South American country.

versus

Russia, which has supplied fighter jets, tanks, and air defense systems to Venezuela, has dismissed U.S. criticism of its military cooperation with Caracas saying it is not interfering in the Latin American country's internal affairs and poses no threat to regional stability.

Russia, which is supplying weapons and soldier/advisors to Venezuela, is warning other countries from intervening in Russia's intervention.

Yes, except that Russia is acting in support of a legally democratically elected government at the behest of said government, while Colombia is supporting a self-proclaimed "interim president" with no mandate.

There is a difference, even if you fail to see it.

The article's heading is misleading. A confidantE is always female. I was quite surprised thinking they chose a woman in a country like Myanmar. As it is a man in question, please drop the e at the end.

So many indignant brainwashed westerners filling in the comment boxes these days. Defending the righteous and holy Ukrainian "democracy". You know, the one that genocides its own people by artillery shelling and bravely bombing residential areas from above, far out of reach of AA guns. The one that burns synagogues. The one that tortures and murders its own citizens for dissent. Or for being Jewish or Russian. So serendipitous! The one true democracy that glorifies and strives to emulate Adolf Hitler, Nazism and the SS in all their democratic glory. I swear, it's like they walked right out of a democratic wet dream. I've a message for all you indignant folk. How about you put your money and other valuables where your mouth is and go fight for "freedom" and "democracy" in blessed Ukraine. There are already many of your American and European brethren there, from private military thugs to Nazi sympathisers to the French foreign legion and the like. A few more of your kind might just turn the tide, eh? You know, instead of consuming cola drinks and chips in your cushy armchairs. And after you've restored universal graveyard peace and prosperity of the few, you could come and tell us first hand accounts of the situation with Nazism in Ukraine. How there are only 500 of them, and they are not really Nazi and not even there.. But instead are KGB double (or was it triple?) agents working for Darth Putin and his Evil Empire. That is, if you make it out. But there's no risk too high for the sake of democracy now, is there? So run along now.

May I ask some of the Russian supporters here: How is Putin reporting on the fact that Russia will not allow the east areas to join Russia?

The West's major downfall has always been greed and impatience. Russians, on the other hand, are a patient people. Ukraine will, in time, itself want to rejoin mother Russia, not a doubt about it. What a neo-Nazi minority thinks or wants is quite irrelevant in the larger scale of things.

Hence, Russians have no rush in annexing Ukraine, it will happen sooner or later and Ukraine will rejoin in full, not just the eastern areas.

@ Jay Wilson

Why should Russia be offering anything at all? You shout a lot about something being stolen. Truth is, the USSR entry into war with Japan was a condition imposed by your allies U.S. and U.K. If you have a problem with that, perhaps it would be good to ask them why they imposed such conditions.

Besides, Japan is still technically at war with Russia. There has not been any peace treaty. If your country surrendered, how come there is still no peace treaty between the two countries? It is because Japan does not want to sign any. Hence, Japan did not surrender to USSR/Russia, hence the war is still going on. And thereby, nothing has been stolen.

@ramesh Russia - a failed state? Hahahahahaha! You've made my day with that joke there my Indian friend. I think India is a great country, but your education system needs major improvement!

Sure, the Vietnamese fishermen, while being fished out of the water, had the time and the presence of mind to count the Chinese ships. It wasn't 20, not 30, not 41 or 45, but exactly 40 ships! Anyone here care to think how much space such a flotilla takes up? All that for one fishing boat?

It's alright to doubt and suspect the Chinese. Just don't believe the Vietnamese propaganda either. Take a moment and think.

Snowden and NSA count for nothing I suppose? Good for China. U.S. made the rules, where anything is permissible to them and nothing to anyone else. Well, good luck getting strong nations to play by them.

A worthy descendant of Neville Chamberlain and his ilk.

@Jimizo

Give me hypocrisy over fanaticism any day.

Fanaticism as a concept is also open to interpretation. When you believe in God Almighty, you also believe that he is the supreme authority. And His word is above any worldly being's concern.

but if Christians and Jews followed their texts as closely

The problem is that you equate the Bible and the Koran, which is a false premise. They are not equal in any way. The Bible is not a violent book, and the religious practices of the Jews and especially Christians are peaceful.

The Torah has certain rules that have applied long ago, applied only to Jews that lived then, and apply no longer to the Jews that live today. So it is pointless to start quoting some lines from the times of thousands of years ago. That applied then, something else applies now. The spirit of the Torah is peaceful.

The focus of Christianity itself is the New Testament, that preaches about love and brotherhood in God, nothing about violence in there.

The Koran is a totally different production, with direct incitement to violence against anyone who believes differently.

How can you compare?

@papigiulio

"Now, one question though. Why didn't the woman just lie and say she would become a Muslim and then take the first chance to get out of the country?"

She is a Christian. She cannot betray her God. As Christ Himself said (Luke 12:9):

9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.

Besides, to lie as a sin to a Christian.

@driftnet

"I wish the woman would just lie and repent and save herself and her baby. It worked for Galileo, and not, it was not Muslims itching to burn him."

See my answer a few lines above. And by the way, Galileo was not urged to renounce Christ. He was only urged to change his views on the composition of the Solar system, which are two completely different things.

@itsonlyrocknroll

Practically it was for independence. After the actions of the Ukrainian self-proclaimed government over the past few weeks, I do not think that any rational inhabitant of eastern Ukraine has any wish to live in the same state with people that open gunfire on women, children and the elderly.

As for legality, that legality was undermined by the actions of U.S. regarding the armed insurgents in Kiev. The ousting of the democratically elected president was done with U.S. backing, from which follows that the U.S. being signatory to agreements regarding Ukraine is worth than the paper those agreements were written on. To Russia's and Putin's credit, not even when a pro-US president (Yuschenko) was elected and started to follow an anti-Russian policy within Ukraine, not even then did Russia try to change things by force. Now the whole game is totally different.

@Laguna

"You might notice this when your neighbors' family votes on who the lawn mower they often borrow actually belongs to."

Except that in this case it's an argument exclusively between members of the same family, and the lawnmower was bought using common funds.

Ukrainian constitution no longer applies in this case, because the Nazi junta that took power have violated it numerous times. Hence, the regions have full right to decide for themselves. There is no way you could argue that an illegitimate government in Kiev could have any authority over the will of the people in eastern Ukraine.

Of course it would be "disputed" by the West (read: NATO).

After all, as all the world knows, a referendum is the earmark of totalitarianism, terrorism and the Axis of Evil.

Overthrowing a democratically elected president, now that's the thing to do to earn a pat on the back.

The time is near when the "world police" will have to turn inward to sort out their own issues. Enough is enough.

A Muslim country with nukes is a dangerous combination. It is definitely a good thing Musharraf survived. He is tractable and not likely to do anything stupid.

People seem to focus on PTSD so much, to the exclusion of other possible factors.

There is a possibilty the shooter might have been victim of sexual assault. It's quite common in the U.S. army, according to their official statistics.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_assault_in_the_United_States_military#Sexual_Assault_Against_Men

The interesting part being that 1-2% out of 1.2M personnel is significant indeed.

Personally, if I would experience something like that, the perpetrators would be as good as dead the next time I'd get my hands on a gun with live ammo.

@LFRAgain

Wrong. Those "kind of protests" are not spontaneous at all, they are orchestrated by U.S. of A. Same with the previous protests in Turkey last year. Erdogan is trying hard to keep his grip on power, and he's by far not the worst leader for the Turks. He's pragmatic, and that's a good thing. But some actions can't really be followed through without a much harsher regime, so in present-day Turkey it won't be possible to block everything he'd like. It'd be healthy for the nation, I'd wager. If all those who fool around on the streets protesting actually went and did some work for a change, Turkey would be much better off.

The 747 should never be retired. Just give it better engines and revamp the structure, but the style is so iconic.. And I'll take a 747 over an 787 any day of the week.

Why did I expect Abe to say that...

@oldman_13

"Rapid blinking eye movements during speaking signals unease. She's nothing but Putin's mouthpiece."

She is simply uneasy about speaking in public. Make no mistake, she has a sizeable experience as a prosecutor.

@gcbel

"Any Russian folks care to share if there are any other territories that you were "robbed" of ?"

The boundaries of the republics in the USSR were drawn by communist party officials without any regard to ethnic makeup of the areas. Yes, there are quite a few other territories that have always been Russian and that are now under foreign occupational regimes. You seem to be too lazy to read up on the subject, so sit back and enjoy the show. You'll see what these areas are in time.

As for your bad attempt at scorn and sarcasm, I simply wish that one day YOUR country will be wrecked and divided up, perhaps then we shall see you write your own opinions on how you'd like it glued back again. And then you'll hear my advice on how it should stay broken.

@MarkG

It was not over oil, as such. It was over the petro-dollar.

@SuperLib

Except Yanukovich, the lawfully democratically elected president, was violently overthrown in a coup long before any of these "elections" took place.

Likewise, the parliament has no authority to appoint ministers.

Illegitimate.

The "new prime minister" is illegitimate, an impostor. There have been no elections. He has declared himself a "prime minister" without having any right to do so. Hence, this "deal" is just as illegitimate and Ukraine is not bound by it.

@Elbuda Mexicano

It could be you. Why not you, indeed. Your blind hate of Russia had closed your eyes on your true enemies, who sit in your own government and rob you of the fruits of your labour. Keep fighting for and supporting the cause of men who laugh at you behind your back while they count your money.

@Serrano

And what is your personal concern in this? Make you sleep better at night?

All the ones in blind support of U.S. hegemony, here is your reward. Keep supporting. Maybe one day you'll wake up. Dirt poor and immensely happy.

@dcog9065

I would suggest you look very closely at the map of the world, and note which countries are in close proximity to Russia. Also note what these countries produce and which resources they import and export. Also I recommend you read up on what all riches are buried in Russian soil. After all this, look also at the population numbers of Russia.

I'm sure you'll realise that self-sufficiency in today's world IS possible - for one country only. And that country is Russia. It would be stupid indeed for Putin to NOT use that great asset to his benefit.

@CH3CHO

I think there's also the point of who is the attacker. Nobody wants to make the first shots, but in the case of U.S. entering Ukraine, for example, there would be no need for Americans to start shooting first. The new so-called government could simply invite them there, and that would be the end of the story as far as U.S. is concerned. Russians wouldn't start attacking Americans even on Ukrainian soil if they were there "legally" and would not behave aggressively. The risk of -starting- the nuclear war is too scary. For both. That's why nobody wants to harm the other first.

As for the money question, U.S. is so deeply in debt that a few billion here and there are totally meaningless at this stage. It is only a matter of time until the U.S. monetary system is insolvent, and U.S. military projection can and does delay the end to some extent. If the U.S. could set up a base in Ukraine, that would be a direct mechanism of influence in case Russia decided to leave the "oil-for-dollars" trading system, which is what Americans fear the most and try to delay at any cost. Remember, dollars are printed in the U.S. No money donations are needed, really.