All these sanctions on Russia may be the last of such methods to tame the imperialist tendencies of countries. We need to be able to sit with all countries and talk. When we do not talk, bad feelings are allowed to fester and misunderstandings about the nature of associations are formed.
NATO in particular is misunderstood in its present context at least how I as a Canadian see NATO. NATO arose because the Soviet Union went on a revenge march through Eastern Europe following the end of the Second World War. Taking over great swaths of land and creating a buffer zone between itself and Europe and to punish for the huge costs that were inflicted on Russia during the Second World War. The Soviet Union suffered greatly during the Nazi invasion of their country and for that matter all of Europe, the British Isles, China and the Far East also felt the heel of the Nazi boot. The Soviet Union caused the nations who originally founded NATO to create such an organization. When the situation for the Soviet Union had been precarious in World War II we, the so-called west, supplied them with food and war materials to fight the Nazis. For this Stalin thanked them in 1943 and later during the 1950s thanks again was expressed. We did not want to see a Russia destroyed by the Nazis and it was not. But now we are seeing the leaders of Russia (namely Putin and his enablers) fighting an illegal war in the Ukraine (claiming to de-nazify the Ukraine where no nazis exist) just for greed and plunder and the only Nazis that we can see are the Russians - they are greedily gobbling up land, plundering, assaulting and killing innocent civilians.
Any idea of excluding Russia from meetings and discussions is not necessarily a good idea. It is good to talk. I agree that the Russians need to accept blame for what they have done in Ukraine. There should certainly be consequences but the better consequences are to take away their veto in the Security Council but let them keep their permanent seat. They earned it in the Second World War but their imperialistic conquest of the present takes away their right to a veto in the Security Council until they prove themselves to be worthy of it once again. A few other practical consequences would also be interesting - I love seeing the United Nations as a body stand up to Russia and tell them to get out of the Ukraine. Russian (or any countries) imperialism can not be accepted. Another consequence is never to buy anything from them that is manufactured in this stolen land; never to support any industrial venture that they plan to initiate in this stolen land.
We, Canada, need to start mining for our own precious minerals even if the government does provide the money to at least initiate it. There is so much money being thrown about these days that I would like to see it going to needed measures. Get the Trans Mountain pipeline completed so that we can get our oil to tidewater and sell it (oil is a precious commodity though and I would like to see electric cars become the norm). Get our military the equipment they need for modern times; encourage a gap year for students that could be spent in the military learning how to protect our country. The discipline of military life is good for young people.
As I looked at my family lines going back through the centuries I wondered what I would find. I am sure most people do wonder that. Mostly I found farmers/land workers and some store owners but surprisingly only one of my ancestors thus far ventured away from England even by the early 1800s and he was in the 23rd Regiment of Foot in Halifax in 1807 and then back to the Peninsular Wars in Europe including fighting at Waterloo. All the rest remained in England until my Routledge family came in 1818 to farm land here instead of in Bewcastle. The farmers predominated in all of my lines. I do not appear to have had any involvement with the West or the East Indies or with Africa except for my great grandfather who was a Medic in the First Boer War and came back injured to England in 1882. None of my direct ancestors went to the United States. Three of my grandparents and my father were born in England; my fourth grandparent's father was born in England and came as a 14 year old with his parents and my grandfather's mother was born in Canada but both of her parents came to Canada from England (his mother a Routledge at 14 years of age in 1818; his father as an adult circa 1832). Now that we have seen all the really dreadful things people can do we would like to see the world progress; become a better place to live for all the peoples of the world and not just the greedy of the world like Putin and his enablers.
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