I'm trying that new swipe keyboard on my Nexus 5. Takes a little getting used too but best thing about it? No space bar necessary! The dumb thing is I have my laptop in my bag but on a crowded train it is too cumbersome.
So what to phlog about? Let's try something topical; Russia. Actually, I meant Ukraine, but I'll leave the error since it's part of my point.
First, the usual disclaimers: I have no idea what I'm talking about. The thing that has prompted me to write this is that I feel neither does anyone else...
The Western world usually lacks any real understanding of local conflicts until long after they're "resolved", if then. Yugoslavia, and to a lesser extent Cyprus (speaking of which:
WTF EU court? Greece is way too influential in the EU) are good examples of this, and that's within Europe. Don't really feel the need to point out our utter ignorance of Africa, South America, and Asia.
To some extent ignorance should be expected. People are selfish and by extension so are nations, since they are merely extensions of the individual people running them.However, there should be experts somewhere that can give a somewhat objective view of what is going on... and I haven't been able to find one yet.
The closest thing was this
Forbes article that got it completely wrong. I remember in the original article the author was mocking the idea of a Crimea referendum having any impact on the situation. That part of the article was removed... I remember when I first read it thinking "this guy doesn't really grasp what is going on".
Of course, nothing on TV or any major news outlets felt that enlightening either, but before I went on a rant on this, I did a quick Google search for scholarly commentary on Ukraine. I was happy to see at least one major newspaper give the
experts some voice.
However, my original complaint still stands. I feel the focus of most commentary is on Russia, ignoring what is in many ways a Ukrainian ethnic conflict. Even as I write this, I can't believe I'm trying to defend either Russia or Putin, and I promise never to do it again. In fact, Putin is making a terrible situation worse, but the EU and US are focusing on the wrong problem (Russia), so are coming up with the wrong solutions (sanctions). Yes, let's drag the world into a trade war with the world's eighth largest economy. I think Russia knows we're bluffing, even if we don't...
After the
Orange Revolution I did a report on Ukraine for a final paper. Remember my disclaimer: I know nothing. The reason I did the report, however, was because I was drawn to the issue of ethnic relations. I saw lots of similarities to what happened in Cyprus and what happened in Kosovo, and my conclusion was that Ukraine was ripe to become a divided nation... so my biggest pet peeve with the current situation is how easy it is for people to think Russia is behind everything.
Ironically, by not really addressing the current crisis from a Ukrainian perspective, we're already accepting Russian sovereignty. End result? Ukraine will probably be three provinces short this time next year. A lot of offended and outraged Western politicians will be back to business as usual with Russia, and a couple Russian billionaires will be multi millionaires after the sanctions wear off... not to mention all the middle class Russians who will get knocked down the socioeconomic ladder a couple rungs.
end commute. end phlog.
