The world is watching with a variety of interest in the decisions by Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
What will the president of Russia, who stood for election without an opponent, do with the Russian war machine in Ukraine? Earlier this week he had the temerity to declare independent several provinces in Ukraine, a country separate from Russia. The provinces in question contain predominately Russian-speaking individuals instead of speaking the Ukraine language. Those provinces are legally a part of Ukraine and Mr. Putin has no legal right to make any declaration on the provinces’ sovereignty.
That fact and effort to declare another area independent for which a leader has no legal right to declare, is all any uniformed person in the geopolitical landscape needs to understand.
Will it lead to war? Lead to death and destruction and complications? Mr. Putin, last year made the comment that the worst incident in the 20th Century was the break-up of the former Soviet Union in 1990 and 1991, which supersedes the tragic consequences of World War II. Anybody paying attention? Obviously it is a delusional and self-serving statement. The rest of the world will watch to see if Mr. Putin can offer several gestures, be the center of attention, and declare in some sense of victory without widespread death and destruction.
Ignoring the obvious efforts of a dictator led to deadly war in the 1930s and 1940s. Strong efforts to avoid land grabs this year would be in the interests of world order prior to deadly hostilities. The affect of giving sanctions now may avoid future scrimmages, or, certainly diminished hostilities.
•Ironically we are in the middle of a Season of Nonviolence, 64 calendar days between the memorial anniversary of the assassinations of Mahatma Ghandhi in India January 30, 1948 and Martiin Luther King, April 4, 1968 in the United States. Blessed are the peacemakers. They will provide for better days for all members of society world-wide.
• The Aurora Noon Lions Club will celebrate Fat Tuesday, March 1, one day prior to Lent. The Club will meet at Luigi’s Pizza and Fun Center in Aurora, 732 Prairie Street in Aurora for an all-you-can dinner 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. Proceeds are for the Marie Wilkinson and Aurora Interfaith Food Pantries.
• Clear and Concise, Week 8 Year 3: Words and terms to help fortify communication, understanding, and ease of dialogue, week four in this gathering on differences between nouns and verbs. Party is a noun, even though it is often used as a verb. Understanding the differences and using nouns correctly instead of as verbs leads to clarity in writing and better communications. Seemingly minor difference lead to simplicity in the larger picture of communication.