For all his warmth and folksy appeal, President Joe Biden's leadership technique falls woefully short when it comes to military strategy. His disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan continues to have humanitarian reverberations. He was notoriously flip-floppy when it came to Iraq, voting against the first war in 1991 after dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait yet supporting the unnecessary 2003 invasion. Biden dissented when President Barack Obama launched the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Militarily, he seems to call it wrong more often than he calls it right. Biden declared on Feb. 10 that under no circumstances would he send U.S. troops to fight in Ukraine. "That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another," he told NBC News. No one wants to risk a U.S.-Russian confrontation that could result in a nuclear exchange but what possible strategic advantage did Biden see in broadcasting this, aside from reassuring his domestic audience? Shocking as Russia's invasion of Ukraine is, it should come as no surprise to anyone in the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin, with assurance from Biden of non-U.S. involvement, is clearly testing how far he can go, having witnessed U.S. fecklessness in Afghanistan and the tepid U.S. response when Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine and annexed it during the Obama/Biden administration. It was under a Democratic administration that Russia was able to invade Afghanistan in 1979 without challenge. And now the Democratic U.S. president has ruled out a U.S. military response …. Allowing Putin to set up a straw-horse justification for invading Ukraine and he is now acting on the basis of that lie. He used the same set of lies in 2014 to justify seizing and annexing Crimea and, in the same year, to arm separatist militants in two eastern regions of Ukraine, the set up for this invasion, which is key to Putin's fiction; the idea that Ukrainians oppressed by freedom and democracy are crying out to be united under his murderous dictatorship. Russia is now launching the process of swallowing enough territory, combined with Crimea, to constitute a tenth of Ukraine's territory. In his speech Monday, Putin dismissed Ukraine as an artificial creation of Soviet communism and asserted that it belongs to greater Russia. His remarks Monday appeared to open the door to future military adventurism in Baltic states that won independence after the Soviet Union's collapse. President Joe Biden saidTuesday NATO is boosting its forces in those states, raising the specter of a direct NATO-Russia confrontation should Russia continue advancing troops, tanks and missiles westward. Putin seems unfazed by threats of unprecedented Western sanctions, but he might soon change his mind. Germany has canceled certification of a new pipeline that Russia was counting on for natural gas export revenues. An international embargo on Russ-ian oil also could inflict more eco-nomic hardship. But the mother of all sanctions still awaits: the freez-ing of all Russian government bank accounts abroad and its ex-clusion from the global Swift banking system, which could se-verely limit Moscow's ability to pay bills and collect revenue from abroad. The Sun Bay Paper Page 8 February 25, 2022 - March 3, 2022 Letters To The Editor Guest Editorial To the Editor, I enjoyed your last issue article on Illusion of Truth and I recognize it in our mainstream misleadia’s handling of real truth, ie: “Hands up don’t shoot”, when those words were never spoken, reporting about ‘peaceful’ demonstrations as building fires burned behind the announcer, ........over and over they repeat lies until SHEEP believe! It is happening again... evident in new talking points blaming the high prices of gas, our ridiculously high inflation etc. on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. total BS!!! They haven’t even invaded yet and they’re already saying it. Biden taking our country from a net producer of Fossil Fuels to him begging for oil, is responsible for this! But as these next weeks proceed, you will see “Illusion of Truth” in action as ‘they’ regurgitate distributed talking points blaming Russia! Love the paper! Keep up the good work! Robert Li Ed. Note: Robert, as we go to press, Russia has invaded Ukraine but all week I have seen the blame for all that ails the U.S. being blamed on Russia... It’s not true, but predictable, as you noted, the Illusion of Truth hard at work. The real truth is that gas prices and inflation have been steadily going higher for some time now, with prices at the pump over $1.50 or more per gallon, almost doubling in price since Biden was sworn in, His policies are directly responsible! Misleadia.... well put! I like it and I’m going to steal it! Quote of the Week "We're so interdependent, and what one country does is such an important part of what happens in the global economy." -Alan Mulally To the Editor, Justin Trudeau froze bank accounts of bread-winners who had committed no crime, in order to stop a protest that had largely been ended. Everyone could see this was wanton partisan spite. But in a financial system built entirely on trust, Trudeau was sticking giant public pins in Banking Voodoo dolls. If banks are just tools of petty partisan administrators to use on political opponents, no one’s money is safe. Even when Canada reverses all the theft, people can’t un-see the Voodoo Doll. Now it has been announced that Donors accounts will be unfrozen, but not so the Truckers. They have been found guilty and sentenced without a trial to be un-citizens until such time as they prove their innocence. Johnson Perkins Ed. Note: The organizers of the Ottawa protest said in a statement posted on social media that the freezing of bank accounts and other financial assets has shocked Canadians. “The more severe implication, however, is that by using emergency powers as financial warfare, it will sow mistrust in both the banking system and the government and the repercussions will be felt for years to come.” This should make the whole world concerned about what a government can/will do to anyone they see as a threat! PHONE: (239) 267-4000 MAIL: 16970 San Carlos Blvd. #160, Ft Myers, Fl 33908 E-MAIL: production@sunbaypaper.com WEBSITE & DIGITAL VERSION: http://www.sunbaypaper.com The Sun Bay Paper Dear Editor, The Democrats have supermajorities in major U.S. population centers (the states with the highest numbers of U.S. representatives). Democrats control “the message” (the Greta Thunberg message), not just domestically but internationally. Democrats seek not to just dominate but to eliminate partisan competition. Democrats furthermore seek to eliminate oil, gas and coal. The most potent ammunition of the conservative wing of this great Republic has been the fact that common sense eventually wins the day, but in today’s culturally tattooed society, that weapon is not as reliable anymore. Recently, I heard on NPR that there are now more than 139 gender reassignment clinics in the United States alone. Bear in mind this requires multiple actual clinicians who went to actual medical schools for eight plus years. The former “commonsense” totems of society! hmmmf Odd how quickly it’s all happening, too. Especially the laissez-faire attitudes of the general population. On the other hand, we must channel our inner Churchill and never give up. Never never never! Rafaela Dickhaut To the Editor, Yours is a welcome voice in an otherwise sea of nonsense. I’ve been a SunBay reader for a long time now, saw my first copy on the lake. Somebody brought it along. “You guys ever see this paper?” I liked it, so I became a subscriber. Figured I’d send a line just to say thanks. Brook Berkstrum
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