Just end the war

Kritika Jain wrote, “Ukraine is a young and developing country situated at the center of Eastern Europe. It is widely popular for the scenic cityscapes, iconic traditions and beautiful horizons. This place comprises Cathedrals, mystic architectures, tropical mountains, amusement parks, and mesmerizing coastlines. Apart from the scenic beauty, it is also acknowledged for the amazing Ukraine nightlife. Kiev, the capital of Ukraine is a famous tourist attraction. It is a perfect combination of vibrant nightclubs and parks to stroll across in search of peace and calm. The wonderland promises a breathtaking evening to all the travelers.”

Jain wrote this three months ago on March 23 — a month after Ukraine celebrated its first anniversary of this war with Russia. I am sure Zelensky expects many, many more anniversaries. Why not? The war brought $100 billion to Ukraine from the United States alone. That works out to $2,500 for every Ukrainian.

Maybe even more when you subtract the dead and the millions who fled to Poland and other countries. Fewer Ukrainians means fewer people to share the wealth.

Putin began this war. NATO money keeps it going.

Reuters reported on April 12, “As many as 354,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the Ukraine war which is grinding towards a protracted conflict that may last well beyond 2023, according to a trove of purported U.S. intelligence documents posted online.

“If authentic, the documents, which look like secret U.S. assessments of the war as well as some U.S. espionage against allies, offer rare insight into Washington’s view of one of Europe’s deadliest conflicts since World War Two.”

Reuters based the story on the Battle for the Donbas Region Likely Heading for a Stalemate Throughout 2023 and other Pentagon papers.

Reuters said, “According to an assessment collated by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, Russia has suffered 189,500-223,000 total casualties, including 35,500-43,000 killed in action and 154,000-180,000 wounded.

“Ukraine has suffered 124,500-131,000 total casualties, including 15,500-17,500 killed in action and 109,000-113,500 wounded in action, according to the document entitled Russia/Ukraine — Assessed Combat Sustainability and Attrition.

“The figures are around 10 times bigger than any public casualty figures published by either Moscow or Kyiv.”

Which brings me to Black Sabbath, the British rock group whose second studio album, Paranoid, propelled them into fame in the USA. Its bass player Geezer Butler said the original title of the album was to be War Pigs, an anti-military tune. Paranoid was the better song, so the record company went with that as the album’s title.

He said of War Pigs, “The song was written as Walpurgis, which sounds a little like War Pigs. But Walpurgis is sort of like Christmas for Satanists. And to me, war was the big Satan. It wasn’t about politics or government or anything. It was evil. So I was saying ‘generals gathered in the masses/just like witches at black masses’ to make an analogy. But when we brought it to the record company, they thought Walpurgis sounded too Satanic. And that's when we turned it into War Pigs. But we didn't change the lyrics, because they were already finished.”

The song’s reference to a satanic holiday and the band’s name may seem satanic. But Walpurgis is on April 30 — the night before the canonization of Saint Walpurga in 870, the German who converted her countrymen from paganism to Christianity.

Daimonologia reported, “Saint Walpurga was hailed by the Christians of Germany for battling ‘pest, rabies and whooping cough, as well as against witchcraft.’ In Germanic folklore, Hexennacht, literally Witches’ Night, was believed to be the night of a witches’ meeting on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, a range of wooded hills in central Germany between the rivers Weser and Elbe.

“Christians prayed to God through the intercession of Saint Walpurga in order to protect themselves from witchcraft, as Saint Walpurga was successful in converting the local populace to Christianity. In parts of Christendom, people continue to light bonfires on Saint Walpurga's Eve in order to ward off evil spirits and witches. Others have historically made Christian pilgrimages to Saint Walburga's tomb in Eichstätt on the Feast of Saint Walburga, often obtaining vials of Saint Walburga's oil.”

Far from being atheist or Satanist, old Geezer Butler and the band were being quite Christian in their opposition to war as they attack generals and politicians (“Politicians hide themselves away/ They only started the war/ Why should they go out to fight?”)

The song invokes the Lord.

Day of judgment, God is calling
On their knees, the war pigs crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan laughing, spreads his wings
Oh Lord, yeah!

In Kyiv, they trip the light fantastic. They party hardy. Why should they care? The money is flowing in and the war is hundreds of miles away in Donbas. When some NATO head of state visits, they take him for a walk outside and sound the air raid sirens so he can get a great photo op.

The Guardian reported three months ago, “Kyiv’s wartime curfew will be reduced by an hour to boost business, the administration of the Ukrainian capital announced on Friday.”

In eastern Ukraine, people suffer. In the capital, they roll back war restrictions because those restrictions are bad for business.

The Babylon Bee in a fake news report said, “President Volodymyr Zelensky breathed a sigh of relief Monday after learning an attempted coup in Russia had failed, all but guaranteeing that war with Russia would continue, possibly forever.”

When Putin invaded Ukraine, we were told Zelensky was fighting for freedom. He quoted Churchill and Martin Luther King, which was a neat trick as King was a pacifist who opposed wars.

A few of us remembered that instead of investigating Biden as President Trump requested, Zelensky aided and abetted the impeachment of Trump. Biden and a corrupt Congress rewarded Zelensky with $100 billion.

Yes, this war is on Putin but as Rahm Emanuel said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.”

And no one in Washington or Kyiv wants to end this war. They party all night while soldiers and civilians die far, far away. Forever wars are profitable for the generals and other politicians. It’s pretty bad when a song sung by Ozzy Osbourne 50 years ago makes more sense than most of the commentary I read today.