Coming February 6, 2024 . . .
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
Coming February 6, 2024 . . . MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
Note that this opinion piece is on whether the secession of Crimea can be morally justified and does not address the question about what to actually do if the voters do vote to secede (or if fraudulent election results say that they do).
Comments
Good article. I've said before that people should have a right to secede, but not under external gunpoint & other extreme conditions. Having a hoodlum rule the state seems perfect. Who knows, maybe a few Russian-Ukrainians will come to their senses.
by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/07/2014 - 5:57pm
Listening to the news tonight, it seems that at least one other, and probably a number of other, pro-Russian sections of Ukraine may end trying to break off as well.
It might make sense for the western part of Ukraine to let these folks go and join Russia while they cozy up to the EU.
After a few years, the differential in living standards and political freedoms should make Crimea and the other Russia-centric provinces regret the move.
by Peter Schwartz on Fri, 03/07/2014 - 9:00pm
And what do you think those differences would be? Crimea won't be poor - they'll get the rich Russian tourists no matter what.
[I kinda ignore the ethnic/economic/demographic shift here - Russian-speaking Ukraine is dying at a fairly fast rate - mortality rate is huge across many parts of Ukraine, 3 Russian regions lost over 400,000 in population along with Donetsk that lost 850,000. Average life expectancy is a good 4 years less than west Ukraine. And the money's better in Russian areas (excluding Kiev's huge lead), but that can be traditional heavy industry that doesn't translate into individual wealth and of course factories & mines carry their health impact.
by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 03/08/2014 - 8:58am
From what I read, the Russian economy is not in good shape for the average person. Not for oligarchs or cronies who've always done well, even in the USSR.
EU isn't in the greatest of shape, either, but the living standard appears to be much higher. On top of which, they have political freedom and aren't living under a dictator trained in the ways and ethos of notorious secret service.
by Peter Schwartz on Sat, 03/08/2014 - 11:16am
Minority groups do not always benefit from secessions. It will be interesting to see how Tatars, a Sunni Muslim ethnic group are treated after Crimea breaks away. There is a history of the group being abused under Stalin and many want no part in returning to Russian control. If the Tatars are targeted, Russia's strained relationship with Turkey could worsen. In addition, Muslims in other parts of Russia could become energized.
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-crimea-tatars-20140306,0,83592...
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/03/who-will-protect-...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/03/06/ukraine-economy/6090...
by rmrd0000 on Sat, 03/08/2014 - 8:06am
I found that New Yorker link especially helpful in understanding the problem. It's not your garden variety "Muslim ethnicity vs. Christian ethnicity for centuries" situation. Because many of those in Crimea now are basically returnees from Stalin's brutal ethnic cleansing of them from Crimea. So now it's a little like if Jim Crow was re-enacted in the South after northern blacks had started returning to the South because it was no longer the Jim Crow South...how will the new Jim Crow be different from the old one?...would you be willing to give them a chance and work with them?....and would your neighbors regress to their old selves...?
by artappraiser on Sat, 03/08/2014 - 4:18pm
Similar issues addressed in this, though not along moral lines:
by artappraiser on Sat, 03/08/2014 - 4:30pm