GUEST BLOG: Pat O’Dea – Stand Up! Fight Back!

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No good will come of appeasing the Russian invader.

The only one forcing us to join in the carnage is the Russian Federation.

If the Russian leadership don’t get their way in Ukraine they have threatened the use of nuclear weapons.

Russian military leaders have their sights set on Moldova and possibly even further afield.

If Russia is not turned back from its invasion of Ukraine World War III is inevitable.

The world knows from bitter experience the cost of appeasing an aggressive invader. If the Russian Federation is not driven back to its legally recognised international borders, the conflict in Ukraine will become global. I repeat, it is the actions of the Russian Federation aggressor that is drawing us into this carnage.

Whether we like it or not, if the Russian aggressor is not stopped, we will, all be drawn into this carnage.

The carnage, the thousands murdered by Russian missile and artillery strikes across Ukraine, lies squarely at the feet of the Russian invaders.

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

If NATO had invaded the Russian Federation, I would be just as opposed to that. And would fully support Russia’s right to defend themselves and throw the invader out, and ask for the support of others to do so.

 

Pat O’Dea is a trade unionist and human rights activist.

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38 COMMENTS

  1. Spot on Pat. I think you have articulated the way most ordinary working-class New Zealanders feel about this war. The ‘chattering classes’ of Chardonnay socialists will no doubt wring their hands and warble on about nasty NATO and poor Mr Putin being ‘goaded’ into attacking a neighboring country. That’s their prerogative of course – because we still have freedom of speech in Godzone, and it’s also their privilege because it’s not their apartments being blown to pieces by Russian shells. My only problem with our government’s support for Ukrainians is that it does not go far enough. By only providing “non-lethal” support, they seem to think they can take sides in a war without getting their hands dirty. It might work at a superficial PR level, but it seems somehow dishonest to me.

  2. Cool Pat…

    In the mean time

    – NZ will pay huge amounts at the petrol pump – due to less supply, caused by the conflict…crushing the poor
    – Food inflation will skyrocket due to increase fuel costs, caused by the conflict…crushing the poor more
    – NATO, will fund more uprising in nations they do not like

    Have I miss out anything Pat?

    • So the argument is ‘petrol/diesel is too expensive let Putin have Ukraine’

      The longer this drags on the more US oil production increases. I would not assume that global supply situation ( and let’s face it price gouging) is solely based on the duration of this war.

    • I don’t support Putin’s bloody invasion and war KiwiAntz, but you obviously do. Since you are so committed to supporting Putin’s war, why don’t you go and help Putin take over Ukraine?
      If you survive that fascist blood fest, KiwAntz, you could then move on to help Putin’s forces attack Moldova and Poland.

      April 17, 2022
      How Putin’s Russia embraced fascism while preaching anti-fascism
      By Taras Kuzio

      ….from being ashamed of their Soviet past, Russians were now told that they could be proud of belonging to a “victor nation.” Instead of dwelling on the millions of innocent victims murdered during the Stalin era, they should honor the righteous heroics of the Soviet war effort.

      This veneration of the Soviet WWII experience proved hugely popular with the Russian public. Over the past two decades, it has evolved into a quasi-religious cult complete with its own lexicon, rituals, monuments, and holy days. In 2020, it even received its very own cathedral…

      ….The kleptocratic Putin regime has used this victory cult to establish the illusion of an ideological commitment to fighting fascism. In line with this anti-fascist posturing, opponents of the current Russian authorities are routinely branded as fascists and Nazis. These vague but emotive labels have been attached to a dizzying array of adversaries ranging from domestic dissidents to recalcitrant neighbors.

      Nowhere is modern Russia’s fixation with “phantom fascists” more immediately apparent than in Kremlin policy toward Ukraine…

      …..Defining whether a regime qualifies as fascist is no easy matter. Indeed, as far back as 1944, George Orwell was complaining that the word “fascism” had become “almost entirely meaningless” and was simply used as a synonym for “bully.” Nevertheless, most definitions of fascism would indicate a dictatorial system of government marked by nationalism, militarism, xenophobia, revisionism and expansionism. Putin’s Russia unquestionably ticks all of these boxes.

      https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/how-putins-russia-embraced-fascism-while-preaching-anti-fascism/

      I feel my greatest contribution to fighting Russian imperialism can be made right here.

      KiwiAntz, As to your hysterical demand that I should go to Ukraine to help defend it.
      As I said in my post; I would be pretty useless as a soldier. But as an experienced activist, I have always taken the Greenpeace dictum to heart, “Think global, act local”.

      To this end I am committed to supporting the local Kiwi Ukrainian ex-pat community calling for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador from this country. In y my opinion, the best peaceful way to embarrass the Russian Federation on the world stage, as part of New Zealand’s contribution to fighting Russian imperialism and war.
      Achieving this goal will not be easy to achieve.
      It is my considered opinion that the Ardern administration is reluctant to take this step. Not wanting to cut our ties with the Russian Federation for fear of missing out on post war business opportunities.

      GUEST BLOG: Pat O’Dea – Deport Georgii Zuev
      https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/06/29/guest-blog-pat-odea-deport-georgii-zuev/

      • At what point Pat do you reconcile supporting real fascists backed by neocon capitalists against a paranoid nationalist authoritarian state?

        If you were true to your professed communist leftism you would be saying stay out, leave well alone. Hows the chardonnay?

  6. If New Zealand was run by a dictator imposed by a coup committed by the United States, who praised the bombing of 67 innocent children to death in Gaza last year, you better bet I wouldn’t take up arms to defend his (not ‘my’) government.

  7. My I understanding is Pat would fight to defend NZ. I don’t think he is suggesting send your kids to Ukraine. He is saying we should be supporting the Ukrainians in their fight. Some posters here seem to be critical of the Ukrainians for defending their own country which I think is rather odd.

    • RT?

      I watch RT, (admittedly, not as much as I used to). The best thing about RT was Abby Martin. Martin’s biting and impassioned documentaries exposing the crimes of US and Western imperialism were a much watch in our family.

      For those following this debate, Abby Martin officially quit RT in protest at the original Russian Federation invasion of the Donbas and Crimea, in 2014.

      RT Host Who Criticized Russia’s Ukraine Invasion Is Leaving The Network
      Abby Martin says “Breaking the Set” is coming to an end.

      By Rosie Gray – BuzzFeed News Reporter

      February 20, 2015 at 7:56 am

      Abby Martin, the RT America host who made headlines last year for publicly criticizing Russia’s takeover of Crimea, is leaving the network, she said in a blog post.

      Martin wrote that her show “Breaking the Set” on the Russian government-funded channel will end in two weeks in a post on her site MediaRoots….

      ….Last March, Martin condemned the Russian invasion of Crimea live on air, bucking RT’s editorial line on the issue. The network has fiercely defended Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Martin later refused RT’s offer to send her on a tour of Crimea, saying she didn’t want a “vetted PR experience.”…

      ….Martin stayed with the network after criticizing the invasion. Another host, Liz Wahl, resigned live on air last year in protest of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

      https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/rt-host-who-criticized-russias-ukraine-invasion-is-leaving-t

      PS. Talking about vetted PR experiences. I watched the RT video in the link you supplied, David. @14:06 minutes – graphic video footage of the dead and dying in the aftermath of a missile attack, (allegedly carried out by Ukraine). Quite clearly visible, lying amongst the rubble, covered in shrapnel and dust from the blast, is the flag of Ukraine.

      Maybe you would like to have a go at explaining away that one to us David.

      • why is that a smoking gun for you .In 2014 the Donbas was still part of Ukraine .In fact the preference was to be an autonomous region within Ukraine.Thats what the Minsk accords first signed in 2015 were all about.
        Did you imagine there would suddenly be no Ukrainian flags in the Donbas?
        And also notice how the fragments of missiles were being collected in the Ukrainian flag?
        Sheeting it home who was responsible for the shelling of civilians
        Your smoking gun is a fizzer

        • Abby Martin disagrees with you.

          Wed 5 Mar 2014 08.07 GMT
          Russia Today presenter hits out at Moscow over Ukraine
          This article is more than 8 years old

          Abby Martin, American anchor on Russian state TV channel, to be sent to Crimea after criticising military intervention
          Martin, a Washington-based journalist with the English-language channel, wrapped up her show on Tuesday by saying “what Russia did is wrong” and that military intervention was never the answer.
          “I can’t say enough how strongly I am against any state intervention in a sovereign nation’s affairs,” she said at the end of the show, Breaking the Set.
          “What Russia did is wrong,” she said. “Military intervention is never the answer, and I will not sit here and apologise or defend military aggression.
          “Furthermore, the coverage I have seen of Ukraine has been truly disappointing from all sides of the media spectrum and rife with disinformation,” Martin said, before saying goodbye and marching off the set.

          https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/russia-today-abby-martin-crimea-ukraine

          Personally speaking, Francesca. I would rater take the word of globally respected journalist Abby Martin, who sacrificed her job and career on principal, over the words of an anonymous unprincipled liar like yourself.

          For anyone who doubts Francesca is a pro-war liar, Francesca has repeatedly claimed (without providing any proof), that in 2014, Ukraine bombed civilians in the East of Ukraine the way that Russia is bombing civilians in Ukraine now.

          See here:

          https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/06/04/guest-blog-pat-odea-imperialism-the-highest-form-of-capitalism/#comment-648167

          • You’ve wasted your time with the Abby Martin stuff.None of my quotes come from RT.But deflect if thats all you’ve got.
            Astounding your denial that ‘Ukrainian forces have bombed and are still bombing The people of Donetsk city for one example.
            Check out the OSCE reports and Amnesty International
            Are you saying the DPR bombed their own city ?
            https://mronline.org/2022/06/06/ukrainian-army-terror-bombings/
            And here’s your pal Poroshenko with his views towards the civilians of the Donbas
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHWHqj8g7Bk
            You’re the pro war liar with your selective quotes, all from imperialist western media

            • “You’re the pro war liar with your selective quotes, all from imperialist western media” Francesca.

              I don’t mind being called a liar by an anonymous right wing troll with no history of anti-war activism. Francesca you may call me a liar all you like, but you can provide zero proof of your claim that I am a liar. You however are a ‘proven’ liar.

              And I can easily prove this. Your earlier claim that Ukraine killed 14,000 ethnic Russians in the Donbas between 2014 and today is totally false.

              And when I challenged you on it, and asked you to provide proof of this claim you couldn’t.

              Francesca the link you supplied, above, contained zero video or photographic evidence, no forensic reports. Not even witness testimony to these so called targeting of civilians by Ukraine. Unlike the trove of evidence of civilian apartment buildings deliberately targeted and destroyed by Russian rocket attacks and shelling. Alongside irrefutable mute testimony of destroyed apartment buildings are the many witness testimonies, and diret to camera video accounts from the victims of these attacks.

              Screeds of text by a pro-war writer Laurent Brayard repeating Russian propaganda, is not evidence.

              The only actual named civilian killed that was mentioned Laurent Brayard, in your so called evidence that Ukraine is killing civilians, is that of
              a French journalist who your writer claimed was killed by Ukraine, because Ukraine, (and France), sent him to his death against Russian soldiers, (who killed him).

              “A French journalist sent to his death without any military equipment or valid protection…..
              …. “war reporters” like BFMTV are sent in to be killed, without any essential military equipment. Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff died today, on the Ukrainian side, wearing a bullet-proof jacket, which politicians usually wear under their suits. His lower abdomen was not protected, nor was his neck, he was not wearing a helmet on his head (he died from it), and there was no PRESS inscription on his torso or back. This 32 year old man, criminally sent by his editors to his death, without any equipment and without military footwear (he was wearing hiking boots), was sent to the scrap heap by irresponsible people.”
              Laurent Brayard

              This sort of claim is beyond sick. It is like blaming the Palestinians for the death of Shireen Akleh for sending her to report on Israeli soldiers.

            • “The Ukrainian army, is murdering the children of the Donbas with the help and approval of the West. And Pat May I add.” Francesca

              More nasty pro-war bullshit from Francesca.

              I keep asking Francesca for any evidence of her repeated claim that the people of Ukraine and the Ukraine state have been targeting civilians as Russian Federation forces provenly do.
              So far Francesca has come up empty.
              The link supplied by Francesca, contained in the Headline above, which is her latest attempt at providing evidence of her claim, is in French, a language I don’t know, can’t read, or make head nor tail of.
              There is no attached photos, or video that could be evidence to justify the Headline. Again just screeds and screeds of type.
              I can imagine what it says.
              But I would rather not.
              If there is anyone out there who can provide an accurate translation of Francesca’s evidence that Ukraine is murdering children. (with my help), I would appreciate it.

  9. “If New Zealand was on the border of Russia and was brutally invaded, Yes, even at 63 and with no military training or experience, I would take up arms to defend my country. Wouldn’t you?”

    I also would Pat and I imagine most New Zealanders would join you as well.

    Not sure we can rely on the Putin Apologists here though – I can’t imagine if it came down to it they would have the courage to fight for anything (most of them can’t even comment without hiding behind a pseudonym).

  10. Pat, the Russians have put on paper what will stop the wat. Mutual recognition of their security interests. Oh, and stop ethnic cleansing Russians in Ukraine, but too late for that, they’re stoppin that problem themselves.
    All Nato has to do is sign a piece of paper and abide by it.
    France, Germany, and Italy know that.
    The US and its chickenhawk proxies want to double down.
    That is what will see Russian missiles fly West of Lvov. If they are forced to make Nato see reason (well expose and destroy it, more likely). Where people are confused is they think Russia has to use nukes to beat Nato. They’ve lready destroyed the second strongest force in Europe/Nato, and Turkey and Russia will not go to war. Unbelieveably, those two leaders are too sensible compared to the rest.
    This ends exactly when Nato wants it to. Probably by ending Nato. There’s the rub.

    • Cow tow rollover I give up bully wins wimp coward peace in our time you win magician. Nah. Fuck You. I am a sovereign state. I can choose what I do with my territory, and you do you. Putler senile old twat.

  11. NATO, meaning the US, is flirting with the dangerous possibility of nuclear war. Meanwhile US war corporations , including Lockheed and Raytheon are making obscenely huge profits. Meanwhile there are fears of famine in the global south.
    Meanwhile the destruction by the world’s militaries, of the environment on which all human life depends, continues.
    The writers I turn to include Diana Johnstone, Chris Hedges, Bruce Gagnon, Noam Chomsky, Medea Benjamin, Jeremy Corbyn. They have all along called for diplomacy not escalation.
    Acknowledgement needs to be made of the role of NATO in goading Putin by moving right up to Russia’s border after assuring Gorbachev that if Russia agreed to the unification of Germany, then NATO would not move “one inch” closer to Russia. Jeremy Corbyn and others have called for NATO to be disbanded.

  12. Interesting how when you post western figures of the maimed and killed civilians in the Donbas pre SMO it magically doesn’t appear. Remind me about freedom of speech

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