This is my 368th daily post, without a miss. But who’s counting?

I am sitting in my home office, looking out a window, seeing so many trees in transition, some green, some yellow, one red, some barren. But I know where this is all heading, and what I will see out of my window, say, two or three weeks from now. I am confident what will occur.

With the rest of the world, I have no such confidence and have, in fact, no idea where things are heading. Nor do you, nor anyone else. Sure, there’s a thrill to that – it keeps you interested. But – at times like this – there is fear.

Where am I going with this? No idea. So let’s veer off this subject, but just a bit.

Ukraine. As I understand it, there are many Russians who simply think that Ukraine should not exist as a separate country. Can this view be justified by history? I turn to Wikipedia, which informs me that:

1. From the 9th through the 13th century, there was a Slavic, proto-Russian empire, centered in Kiev and including much of what is now Ukraine and Russia.
2. In the 13th century, after this Kievan empire weakened, the Mongols took it over, and for the next 600 years, today’s Ukraine was ruled by outsiders – Mongols, Poles, Lithuanians, Austrians, Ottomans, and Russians.
3. In the 18th century, today’s Ukraine was divided between Russia, Poland, and Austro-Hungary. After the partition of Poland, it dropped out of the picture and today’s Ukraine was divided into Russian and Austro-Hungarian sectors.
4. In 1917, after the Bolsheviks defeated the Romanovs, a Ukrainian Republic was formed, but only lasted for five years.
5. In 1922, Ukraine was absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Crimea was a separate autonomous district, designated as part of the Russian, not the Ukrainian, SSR.
6. In 1954, Crimea was transferred by the Soviet Union to the Ukrainian SSR.
7. In 1991, Ukraine became independent.
8. In 2014, Russia occupied the Crimean Peninsula, and started a campaign that culminated in a full scale invasion and occupation of the eastern Donbas region in 2022.

Obviously, this is a simplistic outline. But what you can see is (discounting the period ending 800 or so years ago, when the large Slavic empire was Kiev, not Moscow, led), Russia itself has never ruled over or included all of Ukraine, and since the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, Ukraine has been separate from Russia, both SSRs in the USSR.

So, when the Russians invaded in 2022, they invaded a sovereign nation – and, in fact, one whose sovereignty they had specifically pledged to respect at various times, including in a binding treaty, signed after the breakup of the USSR, when the nuclear military weapons stored in Ukraine were moved to Russia.

So, my first rhetorical questions of the day. Why all those who are condemning Israel’s action in Gaza not condemning equally strongly Russia’s action in Ukraine? Why are all those demanding a ceasefire in Gaza not demanding a ceasefire in Ukraine?

On the other hand, when the Russians marched into Ukraine and began to destroy roads and towns and kill civilians, millions of Ukraine were granted temporary or permanent permission to relocate in neighboring countries – Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and more. When, however, Israel moved into Gaza, no other country (neighboring or not) has stated its willingness to accept, on even a temporary or transit basis, a single Gazan? My second rhetorical question is: why not?

Moving to still another hand, when Russia kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children and moved them to Russia, out of contact with their families, to “reeducate” and Russify them, the world (through the international criminal court) responded by naming Vladimir Putin as a was criminal and has continued to demand their release. When Hamas kidnapped about 250 Israelis and still holds them, there is no action at the international criminal court, and demands for their release seem to be limited to Israelis and their American supporters. My third rhetorical question is:

When Hamas invaded Israel, its goal was to begin the process of destroying the State of Israel – exactly what that would mean is unclear – but it could certainly lead to a “leave or die” order to Israeli Jews, while a Palestinian run government would control the land from the river to the sea. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it was not to wipe Ukraine off the map, but to make its government subservient to the Russian government, and to lop off parts of Ukraine and incorporate them into Russia. Other than the war casualties, there was no threat to the very lives of the Ukrainian people. So, the Hamas invasion potentially has more dire consequences than does the Russian invasion. Rhetorically, speaking: why doesn’t the world see this obvious difference and react accordingly?

That’s probably enough for today – but one more thought. And one more question (not rhetorical): is Hamas the government of Gaza? If so, why are they doing nothing to protect the citizens of Gaza – why don’t they simply return the hostages in return for some sort of ceasefire agreement and more? It’s because they are not a normal government. They are a pan-Muslim movement dedicated to ridding Muslim soil from the Zionist entity, and Gaza is a handy base. Gaza has no government. And until Hamas is neutralized (and structures are in place to keep them neutralized), Israel will have no rest.

That’s definitely enough for today.