The recent carnage in Ukraine is indeed a stark reminder of man’s inhumanity to man. Of course, war and conflict is nothing new and some would argue it is the natural order but the recent senseless killing of men, women, and children in the name of political ideology are a stark reminder that though man may be the smartest species he or she can indeed be the most vicious and cruel. Nazi Germany tested out their military capabilities in the Spanish civil war of the 1930’s and Russia is doing the same in Ukraine right now.
My career in the United States Navy allowed me to hear of and witness unspeakable genocide in Rwanda and Somalia and see the results of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. Hopefully not to be repeated but as I type, they continue around the globe. Yes, Ukraine is in the spotlight for the moment, but let us not forget what is taking place in other spots of the globe where there are no reporters or television crews are present to record the anguish and suffering. Many suffer and die in silence out of our sight unfortunately out of our minds.
In For Whom the Bells Tolls Ernest Hemingway graphically describes the brutality of the Spanish Civil War. It is told primarily through the thoughts and experiences of the protagonist, Robert Jordan and his companion Maria a young Spanish woman whose life has been shattered by her parents’ execution and her rape at the hands of the Falangists (part of the fascist coalition). The novel draws heavily on Hemingway’s own experiences in the Spanish Civil War as a reporter for the North American Newspaper Alliance and is one of his best-selling novels.
As the novel closes, Jordan is maimed when a tank shoots his horse out from under him. Knowing that his wound is so severe that it is highly unlikely that he will survive and that he would slow the others down, he bids farewell to María and ensures her escape to safety with the surviving guerrillas. He assures her repeatedly that they are now one – where she goes, he will be too.
Yes, at the end of the day as Earnest Hemingway cautioned us that like it or not all of us are part of mankind and that the death of any man or women no matter where on the planet diminishes us all. He admonishes us to “never send one to know for whom the bell tolls; for it tolls for thee.” Words in this crazy and at times irrational world we should all strive to live by.
17 comments
Mr. Poplar. I have to respectfully dissent from your discussions on the topic of the Ukraine. There is much going on and have gone on in the Ukraine, to the point, with neocons being neocons in this area. Now… it is morally reprehensible for Putin to have engaged in such a destructive war as it was for Bush and Obama to engage in destroying countries.. the death toll of the neocons wars in the Mideast is likely close to a million along with millions of refugees and hell holes such as Libya having been created.
But as for Ukraine… The US has chosen to go to financial war there. Let’s put aside Freedom isn’t Free… but in the process, the people who control the stick up Biden’s ass, have engaged in what could be a disaster. They are willingly potentially ending the Petro dollar.
That means you can no longer finance guns AND butter to use the old way to think about gumment spending.
This is from Taki Mag… might want to check it out. Z Man:
This is the subtext to the war in Ukraine. Washington assumed they could destroy the Russian ruble and thus the Russian economy. The ruble took a dive, but the Russians were prepared, and it has fully recovered to its prewar levels. This is an enormous change as it reflects a new reality in the world. Washington can no longer control the global economy by having a monopoly on the currency of the world.
This is why the current inflation is neither transient nor manageable. The Western economic system is based on the dollar, and by extension the euro, operating as the reserve currency of the world. The massive debt loads of Western nations assume that they can create money from thin air, not create inflation and set the interest rates to near zero for government borrowing.
What this means as a practical matter is that the West is about to get much poorer and do so in a highly disorganized way. Not only will the standard of living decline due to inflation, but government spending will have to be radically reduced. The great welfare states and the American military machine were only possible when the cost of these things was subsidized by the world. The world is no longer willing to do that.
So… you had better consider what is going on here beyond the simplistic Putin is Hitler…
Joker, Roger all and i certainly respect your opinion and viewpoint. Time will tell …Best, James
Russia outsmarted the West again. Putin has been hording gold for the past 10 years. Russia stated that countries that want to buy Russian products (and very many do) can purchase their products using rubles or gold. Russia is using its gold to back the ruble. The reason the ruble made such a strong comeback after the West tried to destroy it is that the ruble is now a hard currently backed by gold. They are on the gold standard. The West thought it could kneecap Russia because the West is lost in make-believe currencies. Russia was 2-3 steps ahead (again!) and countered by making the ruble indestructible. The U.S. has now banned gold transfers to Russia. It doesn’t matter, Russia has $200B in reported gold stockpiles and likely much more in stockpiles they have never reported. Fortress Russia is well built.
Hemingway was the best American writer there ever was or will be.
This author has penned a few articles on this invasion/police action, since its start.
I wonder what entity put him up to this, and if he’s receiving a considerable stipend for his services.
He seems like a nice man, therefore, I hope he really doesn’t believe the fiction he posts.
^ Russian bot.
Johnny J, WOW — wish i was “receiving a considerable stipend for my services” as i write for free 🙂
As to “fiction” please show me the facts. Have a great weekend! James Poplar
You’re a great American patriot J. Ros Poplar.
John, thank you and you as well Sir !
James
I did reply to you about 15 hours ago.
I had declined to give you evidence and reasons of my positions, due to the time it would take.
However, I did post a couple of links, of the many I use of “real“ news sites. And, would have added more, if you wished.
Apparently, Jeanine Martin refused to post my totally legitimate, and professional links. It’s a shame; more than anyone on this site would benefit more from them than her.
Therefore, it’s time to bid farewell to TBE.
May the brainwashed remain comfortable in the self imposed prison they choose to stay in. Fox News, the RNC, and the RPV, their wardens, must laugh of how little it takes to keep them there.
Thank you for some reality on this situation. TBE has lost the way in representing a conservative option. TBE seems to be censoring anything other than mainstream trope.
Dianne, much easier to criticize that to do. RE “TBE has lost the way in representing a conservative option. TBE seems to be censoring anything other than mainstream trope.” I will be standing by to read your input soonest. — jump on into the fray! Best, Ros
Thanks Ros I do write quite a bit. But I am disappointed that TBE is censoring opinions especially in regard to the recent Shenandoah GOP Mass meeting. Additionally the following may be of interest to you, from an observer writer in Ukraine Gonzalo Lira:
The entire Russian economy is undervalued. [In terms of PPP, it is the size of Germany.] The Americans and Europeans think that Russia is stuck in 1994. That’s the problem. They don’t understand that the ‘90s were nearly 30 years ago. And we are with a dynamic leader who –it’s clear to me because I live in Ukraine, (and to my Ukrainian listeners, I don’t mean to offend you, but you know that what I am about to say is true) that Ukraine is a corrupt shithole and it is this because the westerners constantly favor the oligarchs to keep it corrupt so that the politicians, the western politicians, could indulge in their own corruption. You know, Hunter Biden, Pelosi’s kid, John Kerry’s kid, all these others who are feeding at the trough of the Ukraine. Ukraine has been kept corrupt deliberately by western moneyed interests, and that is why it is the poorest nation in Europe.
Whereas Russia, like it or not, Vladimir Putin was able to arm wrestle and eventually dispose of most of the oligarchs, and has been able to re-energize and make it more dynamic. Had it not been for Putin, Russia would be Ukraine and that is why people in the West are so pissed off, because Russia is not Ukraine, Russia is a massive world power, and they can’t stomach that.
https://theduran.com/gas-for-rubles-and-a-fair-world-order-live/ at 1:10:30.
Dianne, Thank you for your input. So …RE Gonzalo Lira defending Putin she has lost of the fact he is a war criminal. Yes, Mussolini made the trains run on time and Adolf Hitler restored German national pride, but …Let’s not let politics cloud rationale judgement. Best, Ros
A king or queen, prophet, politician, or peacemaker, mankind is always one human away from total destruction. With 7 billion people on the planet , playing wack a mole isn’t a very good strategy for defending against the smartest guys in a room full of malignant narcissists.
Your article serves to remind of how low this culture is in America now. There is no equivalent to Hemingway at this point in this polyglot boarding house of Tik Tok is there? Unless making videos of your big bottom twerking counts as great art. Maybe it does. As Grandpa Simpson said… I used to be with it. Then I lost it. Now “it” is weird and scary…
Joker, yes concur 100 % “how low this culture is in America now” sad but true …