alanjjohnstone
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WSPUS have also published the statement on their website.
I have also submitted it to a couple of websites that usually publish articles by myself, and I await their approval.
It is at times as these requiring a speedy response that the blog serves a key purpose.
It would, however, be far better rather than just myself as the blogger penning a statement that it would be more appropriate if a more authoritative source was used.
How much better an impression if it cannot be the EC, that it is the Editorial Committee of the Socialist Standard signing off on a statement.
The nuclear option still remains a very remote option.
Aren’t we all glad now that Ukraine got rid of their nukes when it became independent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_and_Ukraine
I have not heard mention of the Budapest Memorandum guaranteeing Ukraine’s sovereignty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances
But treaties are made to be broken
A broader war-front is a possibility.
So is a cease-fire and a surrender
Now that invasion has begun, trying to involve neighbouring nations allied to NATO is to Ukraine’s advantage and it may engineer certain incidents to spread the war.
I have seen the footage of civilians fleeing the cities. But so far it has not resulted in refugees seeking sanctuary abroad.
Start worrying when it does
ALB, my mistake was to try and second-guess an experienced veteran KGB operative, trained in misinformation and misdirection.
I ain’t no George Smiley
The question now is how far will it go?
Will the Ukrainians make a fight of it?
If the Russian ground forces occupy the Ukrainian-held Donbas to enlarge the separatist republics it creates the battlefield conditions for a protracted war.
Can neighbouring NATO nations avoid entanglement? So many have announced they will supply Ukraine with weaponry but they have to be delivered and will Russia permit it in a drawn-out war?
Putin called the sanctions bluff…how many more will now be imposed and how long before they begin to economically bite both sides. After Covid can the economy persevere the effects of a trade embargo?
But we aren’t military strategists, privy to secrets.
All we can do is guess and hope that workers raise their hands and announce we surrender and hope collective punishment upon civilians for the acts of the nationalists or invaders doesn’t occur.
abiezer_coppe’s pessimism sadly had turned out to be the reality.
Hopefully, this will be a limited military engagement of short duration.
Hopefully, AC’s dark forboding worry that it may become a wider war leading to a nuclear one does not materialise.
Our blog has posted this statement, mostly copied from posts on this forum, that may serve in lieu of an official party statement.
https://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2022/02/another-war.html
A further escalation by Vlad the Mad?
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-moscow-kyiv-626a8c5ec22217bacb24ece60fac4fe1
SNP’s Sturgeon adds her voice for the banning of RT
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-60495467
What aboutism?
The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that emissions of planet-warming methane from oil, gas and coal production are significantly higher than governments claim… its analysis shows emissions are 70% higher than the official figure provided by governments worldwide.
That ended with the shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland and the SAS summary execution of IRA at Gibraltar.
Who remembers the Stalker Inquiry these days?
And perhaps nuclear power will also be questioned.
Even If Nuclear War Is Averted, Ukraine’s Reactors Could Be in Line of Fire
“No matter the genesis, the cause, or who started what, the reality remains that there are 15 operating nuclear reactors in Ukraine that, if conflict breaks out there, could be in peril,” said Gunter. “If the reactors find themselves amidst a conflict or war, they cannot simply be abandoned by the workforce. This makes the prospects of a war in Ukraine all the more alarming, and the imperative to avoid this all the more urgent.”
“The reactors present a daunting specter. If struck, the installations could effectively become radiological mines. And Russia itself would be a victim of the ensuing wind-borne radioactive debris,” Ramberg observed. “Were a reactor core to melt, explosive gases or belching radioactive debris would exit the containment structure. Once in the atmosphere, the effluents would settle over thousands of miles, dumping light to very toxic radioactive elements on urban and rural landscapes. And spent nuclear fuel could cause further devastation if storage pools were set afire.”
The good news is that the possible energy crisis will hasten the dumping of fossil fuels and the speed the move to renewables.
A silver lining…
As we now see, the sanctions are minimal and will have little effect other than inconvenience upon Russia’s banking.
International commerce is based upon SWIFT payments. If Russia is banned from it, Gazprom’s natural gas bill will not get paid and half EU’s supply would cease.
6 weeks of reserves
Any real effective sanctions are unsustainable in the long term as they would be just as damaging to the EU economy.
In the end, Ukraine’s ensuring sovereignty isn’t worth the cost to the EU.
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-faces-sanctions-nightmare-of-paying-for-putins-war/
(the FT and NYT are also carrying articles on the problems of sanctions but are behind paywalls)
Any attempt by the US to impose Cuban, Iran or Venezuela level embargoes will be strongly opposed.
Russia is a key global trader in vital products. Russia would simply sell to middlemen who would in turn re-sell the commodities at higher prices.
Global inflation and cost of living squeezes are already serious issues. There will be little enthusiasm in exacerbating them.
There is a big difference between stopping Russian oligarchs from buying luxury-cars and super-yachts and cutting off your nose to spite your face. Harrods and the high-end property market might face a drop in demand from the billionaire Russians but ordinary Europeans won’t be happy to pay higher prices for utilities.
