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Eva Seifert's avatar

I was 5 when Soviet tanks appeared in the city of Gyor, Hungary, in 1956. Seeing them in a town square as I walked with my mother makes an impression. That sight led my parents to walk with a 5-yr-old and a 1.5yr-old (who had started crying) across a no man's land literally between 2 unmanned (Thank God!) watchtowers into Austria. I'm having flashbacks to the memory of hearing dogs barking and what had to be machine gun fire miles away from us as I see Ukrainians doing the same thing running from the very same invaders. The reaction of Trump and his "PETS" makes me want to puke. They would be the first ones to greet the invaders with cheers. God help the Ukraine. And US!

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Lost Tourist's avatar

I have a bad feeling about Zelenskyy meeting with the Russians on the Belarus border, when Pal Maleter agreed with the 1956 Soviet offer to talk/allow him safe passage they arrested & hauled him away— then secretly executed him.

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Eva Seifert's avatar

The Polish government in exile in London was guaranteed freedom when they went back to Poland after the Soviets took Poland in 1945. They disappeared into gulags or were killed. The Americans (and the Brits to some extent) were naive enough to believe the Soviets. Even FDR saw the writing on the wall after that happened; he died shortly afterwards. Truman knew enough not to trust Stalin after they met at Potsdam. Nobody should ever trust a Soviet/Russian head of state.

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Lost Tourist's avatar

So I just read Zelenskyy is sending a delegation, he’s staying in Kyiv, so that’s good

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suzc's avatar

Eva, I am sorry for those memories. We are not a civilized planet, I think. I am glad you are among us! I agree with you about Republican response. What such an antiAmerican antidemocratic myopic response fails to see is that Putin, China, Iran, would line up all those Trumpists first for killing, as murderous dictators do understand that you can never trust any person who betrays his own country! I have marveled at the level of blindness among half our populace. How I wish the USA was made up of men and women of the courage, honor and integrity of Ukraine! God help us all! There is certainly no answer in politics.

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JF's avatar

Ukraine is punching far above its weight, which is providing needed inspiration against creeping authoritarianism across the globe, and certainly here in the U.S.

This is a Shakespearean moment, when a tiny country is rattling the highest levels of global governance, with nothing more than old fashioned grit and loyalty to a worthy cause.

“I need ammunition, not a ride!”.

“Russian Warship; Go F—- Yourself!”

I will never forget.

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Lost Tourist's avatar

The wife and I donated $1000 to the Ukrainian embassy today, I would humbly ask anyone who can afford to help to do so

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suzc's avatar

Do you have a link? I've been looking for a legit way to donate.

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Lost Tourist's avatar

I don’t know if it helps, but I am expat in Prague, We donated to this humanitarian organization initially

www.clovekvtisni.cz

-and then received an email direct from the Ukrainian embassy asking for money for weapons, which we then wired to them.

There was an article about it in the Wall Street Journal:

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-02-26/card/ukraine-embassy-launches-crowdfunding-campaign-to-buy-weapons-z2pYHq0An48cBLirkCyM

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suzc's avatar

Thank you!

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Lost Tourist's avatar

Perhaps you could contact the Ukrainian embassy in the US, but this is a platform to use here, maybe it will work if you translate the page:

https://www.darujme.cz/projekty/1200004/highestCollectedMoney

Sorry I was unable to supply a simple straightforward answer!

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suzc's avatar

Their worthy cause is their own existence, their lives and futures. The people of Europe -- unlike in the USA -- have not completely forgotten the horrors of the first half of the last century. And they have no intention, most of them, of repeating it!

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Eva Seifert's avatar

Most of the US is soft, very soft, especially the "Trump Pets". 9/11 was horrible, really horrible. But for 99.99999% of Americans it was the first time anything remotely like it happened to them personally. Europeans have faced far, far worse for decades, even to bombings in Paris, etc. over the past few decades. They know what it means to live with the terror of invasion. The US doesn't.

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suzc's avatar

I agree with you. North America has been truly blessed in the last century. Comfort makes one slothful, I fear. Europe's past is also what makes it needful for us on this side of the Atlantic to let them take the lead at least in some ways and I believe Biden may be doing that. (PS: "Trump Pets" is the best nomer I've seen.)

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