This story is of interest for a couple of reasons. The first is the incongruity of Russia being blamed for conditions that Ukraine has created. This is comparable to Ukrainian propaganda that blamed Russia for bombing civilians in Mariupol, when in fact Ukrainian fighters were using civilians as human shields. A second point of interest involves predicting how this narrative setup may be used in the future.
Imagine the NYT and PBS blaming Russia for starving babies next fall, or using the food crisis to justify a NATO boots-on-the-ground invasion of Ukraine to procure granary stores. On the other hand, this narrative setup may be merely preemptive, a shot across the bow to warn Russia it mustn’t sell wheat to the world for rubles. Either way, it is the spurious “Putin price hikes on gasoline” redux.
We’ll have to wait to see how this narrative plays out. Just remember when you hear it again later that no one but Ukraine is currently preventing the shipment of grain from Black Sea ports.
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
Ridiculous as usual.
Ukraine is a major grain producer.
War seriously disrupts the production and flow of grain.
Russia started the war.
Any global food problems will be the fault of Russia.
Period.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gee, just think, if we hadn’t artificially kept this hopeless war going through the spring wheat harvest, maybe this wouldn’t be a problem.
Wars always upset markets and cause secondary hardship. That’s why it’s a bad idea to support them when there is no possible good outcome.
LikeLike
“Hopeless war”
“No possible good outcome”
You Putin/Trump people have been saying that for months. And even after one massive Russian failure after another you keep repeating the Russian propaganda version of events. One must wonder, why such an emotional investment in a fascist tyrant’s success?
Russia started this war and Russia is blockading Ukraine’s seaports but here you people are trying to blame Ukraine for food disruptions. Good grief. What is wrong with you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Prolonging the war certainly succeeded in getting a lot of Russians and Ukrainians killed, but Russia is still going to achieve its objectives.
And instead of an ally, we will have an enemy for generations.
Chest thumping and cheerleading have real consequences.
LikeLike
“Chest thumping and cheerleading have real consequences.”
That is a great description of Putin, abroad and domestically. His speeches about Ukraine and its historical role in Russia. His threats to use nuclear weapons. His cheerleading at home while lying to his own citizens.
He would never be an ally.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Stalin was an ally in WW2.
We have a common enemy in Islamic Fascism.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stalin was our sworn enemy after WW2. Remember the Cold War? Stalin played us for fools…useful idiots anyone?
Ally against Islamic terrorists? Not much. They killed about 8% of Chechnya for empire building. Those “terrorists” were trying to get Russia off there backs. Twice. They have zip in common with Russia and it’s autocrat supporting Russian Orthodox Church.
Syria. Russia needs a port, so they wiped our a city to keep Assad in power.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“And instead of an ally, we will have an enemy for generations.”
Yeah, we should have cemented our “friendship” with Russia by looking the other way while they launched the first invasion of another country in Europe since 1945.
I think you prediction of generational emnity is overblown. By accelerating the departure of Putin we will bring the day when Russia can be a respected member of the community of nations closer. He will get the blame for the debacle and your worst nightmare will unfold – another country moving towards real democracy. That is my prediction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/jqadams.htm
LikeLike
“We have a common enemy in Islamic Fascism.”
Let’s deal with Christian Nationalist Fascism here at home first. It is orders of magnitude more dangerous to America than anybody in the Islamic world. They have already tried one violent coup. No Islamist has ever even considered anything like that.
Besides, once we have transitioned to renewable non-fossil energy, we will no longer have any reason to keep meddling in the affairs of Islamic countries. Or do you buy that “They hate us for our freedom bullshit?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No, they hate us because we aren’t Muslims yet.
It is a religion bent on worldwide theocracy.
LikeLike
“It is a religion bent on worldwide theocracy.”
I am far more concerned about Theocracy in this country. It is happening NOW. And I do not know of any Islamist shithead organizations out playing army man in our woods, but that is how plenty of Christian Nationalists spend their weekends. And January 6th was not an Islamist attempt at a coup.
Which Islamic country has invaded a neighbor to spread Islam? Which poses a military threat where we need the assistance of a second-rate power like Russia? Your whole we have alienated an ally schtick in a looming religious war is stuff and nonsense. The far greater danger that we all face is the breakdown of the world order that would follow if aggressor nations go unhindered and unpunished.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Chest thumping and cheerleading have real consequences.”
Yet you and Mr. Smith continue to do so in favor of Putin.
Causes one to wonder many things about those who accuse others of a love of Commmunism.
LikeLiked by 1 person
RE: “Russia started this war and Russia is blockading Ukraine’s seaports…”
There is no blockade.
LikeLike
“There is no blockade.”
Of course there is. In a war, Russia would be derelict not to seal off Ukraine’s import of weapons and export of cash crops. Further, I will take the word of our government, NATO governments, and of the free press over the propaganda bullshit of some Putin dickhead. You should too.
https://www.ft.com/content/8151ba97-5c07-4cef-9ad9-234c532b2481
https://www.reuters.com/world/exclusive-us-aims-arm-ukraine-with-advanced-anti-ship-missiles-fight-russian-2022-05-19/
https://warsawinstitute.org/russian-invasion-ukraine-sea-blockade-now-fact/
LikeLiked by 1 person
RE: “Of course there is.”
I can’t access your first link. Neither of the other two makes a compelling case. Why don’t you research the links in the article I posted, including this one:
https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/MaritimeSecurityandSafetyintheBlackSeaandSeaofAzov.aspx
It makes the point that outside of Ukrainian territorial waters in the Black Sea, Russia actively supports a
“humanitarian corridor” for shipping. IF, as you say, Ukraine has the cosmic virtue of sovereignty, it could permit foreign ships to disembark territorial waters and resume international transit.
LikeLike
What about “inside Ukrainian territorial waters? That is where the rubber hits the road in a blockade. Can an American ship just pull up to the dock, unload some tanks and fill up with grain and leave? Oh wait, there are no docks, cranes, warehouses – Russia has obliterated them.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Continuing to blame us and Ukraine for defending itself from an immoral, unjustified invasion.
Right. Putin has done nothing wrong. Laughable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice when you can indulge in moral superiority from a safe distance.
LikeLike
Got it. You defend Putin from your high white tower in Chesapeake and accuse ME of having “moral superiority”?
And tell me, oh high and mighty Dentist, what is moral about the invasion of a peaceful neighbor who was absolutely no threat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not saying Putin is a good guy, I’m saying he is going to get what he wants anyway, so getting a lot of people killed delaying the inevitable is callous and cowardly. If we aren’t going to put our people in harms way, cheerleading a losing cause just gets more people killed.
LikeLike
Right, Just give him a pass for invading a peaceful neighbor.
Dr. Chamberlain, you’re table in the Hypocrisy Room is ready.
LikeLiked by 1 person
yeah, you’re so offended you’re ready to fight to the last Ukrainian
LikeLike
And you are just OK with the immoral invasion of a peaceful country.
LikeLike
First. Ukraine is not a peaceful country, it has been making war on the Donbas separatists since 2014.
But no, I don’t think Putin was fully justified, that doesn’t change the reality of him getting what he wants. So, minimizing the deaths is what reality dictates.
LikeLike
“I’m saying he is going to get what he wants anyway”
A more unified and determined NATO. Check.
The rest is a loss for Putin.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“so getting a lot of people killed delaying the inevitable is callous and cowardly.”
Right out of the Ministry of Truth – those who are risking their lives to fight the fascist invasion are “callous and cowardly” because YOU say Putin will get what he wants in the end. Never mind that Putin has already had to trim what he wants way back from the regime change and the quick and easy assimilation of Ukraine that he started with.
Or are you referring to the House, the Senate, the President and all of NATO except the fascist dictator of Hungary? All “callous and cowardly” because they have provided the help the victims were begging for?
Russia has already lost this war and you people just can’t stand it. Or even admit it. I suppose it is a case of birds of a feather sticking together.
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/05/putin-has-failed-russia-has-truly-lost-the-war-in-ukraine/
LikeLiked by 1 person
“yeah, you’re so offended you’re ready to fight to the last Ukrainian”
You always turn to these kind of personal insults when you are defending the indefensible. So predictable and so pathetic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, is that not the case?
Not Mr Green in particular, but the whole warmongering chorus on both sides of the political spectrum.
Continuing to fight a war that can’t be won is callous and heartless.
The Media would have you believe Ukraine is winning but remember that at the beginning Putin said Russia’s goal was the independence of the Donbas, keeping Ukraine out of NATO, and wiping out the Neo-Nazis.
We may have made that more costly, but he is achieving those aims.
He never said Russia wanted to annex Ukraine.
LikeLike
Kyiv is nowhere near the Donbas.
You are lying to yourself if you think Putin’s ONLY goal was Donbas. His forces are inept and he has had to scale back his plans to JUST the land bridge between Russia and Crimea.
Why don’t YOU call President Zelensky and tell him to give up. I believe the answer you receive would be one big Ukrainian middle finger.
LikeLiked by 1 person
In what war have belligerents not attacked the supply lines to the front?
LikeLike
“Well, is that not the case?”
“Not Mr. Green in particular? ”
And yet your insults are direct and personal.
You see the world through very odd lenses. There is no “whole warmongering chorus.” There is general agreement that IF Ukraine wants to fight the actual fascist “warmonger” then the NATO democracies should help them in any way that we can without triggering Armageddon.
Anyone who disagrees with your cut of Ukraine and let-Putin-win mantra, you label as a warmonger and a coward. Kind of like how everyone who does not believe as you do on matters of public policy is “corrupt.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
“First. Ukraine is not a peaceful country, it has been making war on the Donbas separatists since 2014.”
Uh, you have that backwards. Russia has been making war on Ukraine in Donbas since 2014. Many hundreds of Russian soldiers and Russian mercenaries who were never there, have been killed there. Go figure. Putin took this out of Hitler’s Czechoslovakia play book.
LikeLike
“In what war have belligerents not attacked the supply lines to the front?”
Is being honest that hard? Really?
Russia initially attacked from every direction with the obvious goal of quickly intimidating Ukraine and installing a puppet government. Now you want to claim that the 50-mile-long line of soldiers on the road to Kyiv and packing their parade uniforms was just an attack on supply lines and not a ginormous strategic failure? All part of the “genius” Putin master plan?
LikeLike
“Nice when you can indulge in moral superiority from a safe distance.”
Calling Putin’s invasion immoral is “indulging in moral superiority?” That is one of your sillier accusations.
It is you people who are constantly saying what Ukraine SHOULD do. None of we “leftists” have done that.
But since THEY have chosen to fight this illegal and immoral invasion, we “leftists” – along with strong majorities of the House and Senate – believe that our country and our NATO allies should provide the material and economic help they need to be successful in resisting fascist aggression. A close analogy was our stand against fascism in the form of Lend-Lease in 1941.
LikeLiked by 2 people
RE: “War seriously disrupts the production and flow of grain.”
The production at issue is the tens of millions of tons of grain already in storage in Ukraine. Some of it can be carted out to world markets by rail, but not nearly enough. That leaves transport by ship. Except for Ukrainian mines in the Black Sea, and the maritime safety shutdown Ukraine itself has ordered, the flow of grain could be restored.
Your logic is pitiful.
LikeLike
Putin withdraws and the grain will flow. Not hard to grasp. He had absolutely no right to invade a sovereign country that was not threatening Russia.
As far as mines go:
“Given that NATO and the US constantly monitor the Black Sea with Global Hawks and AWACS as well as intelligence satellites, the mine-laying activity must be carried out covertly. At the moment, the only vehicle capable of secretly releasing mines in the Black Sea is a submarine.
Russia’s upgraded Kilo-class submarines are capable of deploying up to 24 sea mines, and Russia currently has four or five submarines patrolling the Black Sea. Ukraine, however, does not have that capability. Although no conclusion can be made in the face of enormous propaganda and misinformation, if Russia does not present more credible evidence proving that the drifting mines were laid by Ukraine, then Russian submarines can be considered the most likely suspects at the moment.”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2022/03/31/lysis-who-is-responsible-for-the-threat-of-floating-mines-in-the-black-sea/
When Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, they took possession of Ukrainian mines and are possibly using those to blame Ukraine.
LikeLiked by 2 people
RE: “As far as mines go…”
Why don’t you read the source I provided? The mines in question were put in place by Ukraine and have deteriorated to the point that some are becoming detached from their anchors. BTW, free-floating sea mines arguably violate international law.
LikeLike
Why don’t you read the source I provided?
LikeLiked by 2 people
RE: “Why don’t you read the source I provided?”
Fair enough; I read it. I take it that the only free-floating sea mines in the Black Sea are of Ukrainian origin. It is unknown whether Ukraine or Russia released them.
Where does this leave us? I can’t prove that the flow of Ukrainian grain to world markets is disrupted by Ukrainian sea mines, and you can’t prove that the flow of Ukrainian grain is disrupted by Russian seeding of Ukrainian sea mines.
Either way, it is irrational to blame Russia for the disruption of grain supplies to global markets.
LikeLike
Well, if you think the war has helped the global food problems, let’s bomb a few more granaries. Seriously, this is telling me, somewhere in the depths of your unconscious mind, you know Trump is a Russian asset and you have to defend everything Russia does because, if the Russians are the bad guys, so is Trump. I’d suggest psychiatric help but there isn’t very much they can do to help members of a cult.
LikeLiked by 2 people
People are about to go to jail for the Trump/Russia hoax, and you are still clinging to it?
Before psychoanalyzing others, you might want to check your own cult status.
LikeLike
What part of “Russia, if you are listening….” did you not understand? What part of “We get all of the money we need from Russia” did you miss? What part of “NATO is obsolete” went over your head? What part of invading a country that has not attacked you do you approve of?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow, Lois. Just wow.
LikeLike
Isn’t it amazing when someone tells the TRUTH?
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Russia, if you are listening” was a joke. Hillary’s private server was so insecure that it was likely Russia could supply us with the emails she said were lost.
NATO is obsolete, The Soviet Union is dead, Europe can well afford to defend itself from Russia. Russia could have been a much needed ally against radical Islam, which is a real threat but for partisan advantage that chance has been thrown away.
Everything Hillary did, in and out of office, made this world a more dangerous place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have an interesting sense of humor. I suppose you also got a giggle out of Trump saying he could “shoot someone on 5th Avenue” and get away with it. And that bit when he mocked a disabled man, that was a real crackup. That had the cult rolling in the aisles.
Yes, the Soviet Union is dead. Putin’s mission is to bring it back to life. That’s what the current war is all about.
NATO is not obsolete. NATO forces stood beside our troops after 911 and, when China rattles its swords, it should be a comfort to you to know the US does not stand alone in the world.
The only thing Hillary endangered was the Republican Party. That’s why Russia took such great efforts to see she didn’t get elected.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“ ‘Russia, if you are listening’ was a joke”
How many times have you dragged out that dodge? Quite a few.
Hillary’s private server was not hacked. You have ZERO information about how secure or not it was. But not knowing shit never seems to slow you down.
No emails were “lost.” She did not say they were. That is a LIE. Her personal correspondence was removed from the server by her lawyers. Millions of dollars of public money spent tracking down the other side of the “lost” emails never produced anything but personal correspondence.
You made a big deal about Clinton supposed mishandling emails that belong to the National Archives. Not a peep when Trump hauls away boxes full of classified documents to play with at Mar-a-Lago.
What partisan advantage are you talking about? Aid for Ukraine passed both houses of Congress with STRONG support from both parties. 86-11 in the Senate. 368-57 in the House. You, once again, are full of shit with your fact-free ravings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
““Russia, if you are listening” was a joke.”
Just another justification for not blaming TFG for ANYTHING.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you actually listened to the speech, it is obvious it was a joke.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The previous administration was a “joke”. And not a funny one.
Misspeak, joke, not serious are all the kinds of phrases you have used for over 5 years to absolve TFG from everything he did or said that was wrong, bad for the country, or potentially criminal. His words and actions resulted in two indictments (impeachments) only to be saved by a spineless group of Senators who feared being smeared by his jokes, misspeaks, and unserious attacks.
You called Lois a cultist; maybe you should look in the mirror before casting aspersions such as that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“If you actually listened to the speech, it is obvious it was a joke.”
I have listened to it. Several times. It is not obvious that it was a joke. And if it was, then an extremely stupid joke given the level of involvement with Russia that his campaign was already being called on.
And, it wasn’t part of a speech.
It was in front of a small group of reporters. It was not at a campaign rally or in front of a large crowd as he later LIED to defend it.
https://www.vox.com/2020/9/29/21493319/trump-russia-if-youre-listening-comments-rewrite-history
Personally, I think it was serious and more in line with. . . “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” making known to his mentor in Russia what should be done while maintaining deniability.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“People are about to go to jail for the Trump/Russia hoax”
It was no hoax. You are either a liar or a fool. No third possibility.
A very large number of Trump campaign interactions with Russian agents have been thoroughly documented. Read the Mueller Report for a partial list. The full extent of Trump’s treason was hidden by witness stonewalling (e.g., Manafort and Stone) in return for a Presidential pardon. An ILLEGAL quid pro quo.
Before suggesting people check their cult status, you should check yours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Odd that Mueller and the DOJ could not find it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The DOJ at the time was Trump’s stooge, Bill Barr. I wouldn’t discount the Mueller Report just yet. All of the investigations are far from over.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Odd that Mueller and the DOJ could not find it.”
Utter nonsense. A significant part of the Mueller report is a catalog of the interactions between the Trump campaign and Russia actors. Maybe you have your own special definition for “Trump/Russia collusion?”
The fact is that you people are absolutely cult-like in your blindness. An excellent example is your failure to admit the gross criminality of Trump’s attempt to extort campaign help from Zelensky. The evidence was overwhelming and compelling. You are also blind to the obvious criminality of his calling election officials and pressuring them to change the vote totals. I could go on and on. Trump is a criminal ten times over. It is beyond obvious, but in your cult he is always the victim of “fake news.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
It was Biden, not Trump, who extorted Ukrainian to protect his son’s oligarch partners while he was Vice President.
LikeLike
“It was Biden, not Trump, who extorted Ukrainian to protect his son’s oligarch partners while he was Vice President.”
That is a bald-faced LIE. That makes you a LIAR. Or maybe you are just a senile old fool who babbles the last thing he saw or heard in that bubble of nonsense you inhabit.
Here in the real world, your LIE has been debunked to a fare-the-well and the truth of the matter has been shared with you many times.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Biden’s threat to withhold aid to Ukraine is a fact. That has never been debunked.
Fact checkers have speculated that Biden was motivated by a desire to rid Ukraine of corruption, but fact checkers are dedicated to protecting the Democratic party.
LikeLike
“ …fact checkers are dedicated to protecting the Democratic party.”
So the corollary is that liars are dedicated to protecting the Republican Party?
That is a very interesting and telling statement. Kellyanne Conway and her alternative facts was and still is the position of the right wing today.
Conspiracies are the platform of the GOP and conspiracies have never met a fact they like. Politics of fear and anger thrive at the expense of problem solving.
In my opinion, of course.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Biden’s threat to withhold aid to Ukraine is a fact”
It was also the position of the administration and NUMEROUS other countries.
All of the facts are so much more inconvenient for the Biden haters when the cherry picked, incomplete stories make their arguments for them.
And actual fact checkers don’t speculate; opinion writers do. Fact checkers dig in and find the facts and provide people with the actual truth, not some made up fairy tale of Biden trying to benefit his son for doing the work on the administration and a majority of the Western world.
Desperation is strong in this one, Obi-Wan
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Biden’s threat to withhold aid to Ukraine is a fact. ”
Your statement is still a bald-faced LIE. You don’t get to cite the true part of a LIE to redeem the whole fucking LIE. Duh!
Vice-President Biden was the messenger of the Obama administration and the World Bank. Replacing the non-active AG with one who would fight corruption was not going to do any good for any corrupt oligarchs. That is the opposite of what you claim in your LIES.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Who is going to prison?
LikeLiked by 1 person
“People are about to go to jail for the Trump/Russia hoax”…
ONE lawyer does not equal people.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You think Durham is finished?
LikeLike
Durham is done. After years all he has to show are two possible folks. One may have lied to the FBI during a non-recorded, non-sworn interview. The evidence is shaky, if not non-existent. The other changed a few words in an email that may or may not have affected a warrant.
Really.
Perhaps we can use Durham to go after the remnants of The Trump Crime Family when all the indictments start flowing from 1/6. And Georgia. And Michigan. And…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Probably. Because anything else he finds will be tied to TFG and he won’t go there.
LikeLiked by 2 people
RE: “Well, if you think the war has helped the global food problems…”
I don’t think that. I merely point out that blaming Russia for global food problems is dumb, once you know the facts..
LikeLike
Serious question: Do you think Russia was justified in attacking Ukraine?
LikeLiked by 3 people
RE: “Do you think Russia was justified in attacking Ukraine?”
Serious answer: I don’t know.
The breakaway republics had declared independence and Ukraine had intensified its attacks on them. You could make a fair argument that Russia had a right to invade under international law, but I’d like to see more facts before I form an opinion.
I will say this: It is idiotic to reduce this whole conflict down to the assertion that Russia had no right to invade Ukraine.
LikeLike
Russia had no right to invade a sovereign nation. Not hard to grasp.
Ukraine is not a Nazi state.
Russia killed civilians and the bodies were not staged by Ukraine.
Russia could give a crap about Donbas except as a path to Crimea along the coast. Crimea was stolen.
NATO was no threat to Russia, but Russia has implied a threat to NATO.
Putin lies to his own people and those who listen to him to spread them for him in the West.
LikeLiked by 2 people
RE: “Russia had no right to invade a sovereign nation. Not hard to grasp.”
That is an idiotic thing to say. Perhaps you’d like to argue that the U.S. had no right to invade any number of sovereign nations in your own lifetime.
Tell us why Russia had no right to invade Ukraine.
LikeLike
Why don’t YOU tell us why the invasion is moral and right?
LikeLike
“Tell us why Russia had no right to invade Ukraine.”
Leaving aside the entire body of International Law including the Geneva Conventions and the U.N Charter, you could start with the formal agreement wherein Ukraine gave up a massive number of nuclear weapons in exchange for the Russian promise to NEVER threaten or attack Ukraine militarily.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“The breakaway republics”…
You mean the ones that were supported by the Kremlin and installed stooges to govern them?
“It is idiotic to reduce this whole conflict down to the assertion that Russia had no right to invade Ukraine.”
What is idiotic is the continuing tacit support you and Don continue to give to a tyrant who wants to resurect the old Soviet empire.
He got his ass kicked trying to take Kyiv and has to focus on smaller objectives just so he can tell the people (that his media has been lying to from the jump) that he has a victory.
LikeLiked by 1 person