Nearly a thousand years ago, the Catholic Church ripped in half over interpreting Doctrine. The Catholic Church remained intact to the West, the Orthodox Church formed in the East.
You want peace, today, in 2024? Repair the Great Schism.
It's not that simple?
Actually it would be.
Step #1
Pope Francis, current leader of the Catholic Church, and Patriarch Bartholomew, current leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, would craft a joint statement challenging NATO to admit Russia.
Something like "we are all Christians here, let's set aside our weapons and embrace our neighbors politically."
The core philosophy of NATO is not attacking any other members. If you make your enemy your friend, it's already in the charter that you wouldn't invade each other.
In the horrible Tucker Carlson interview, which--
Let's digress a minute. Tucker Carlson had the right to interview Vladimir Putin, but here's the problem. Back when Dan Rather interviewed Saddam Hussein, it was understood that he would lob the dictator softballs. If you hold a dictator's feet to the fire, that dictator throws you in the oven. What happened is that Putin monologued nearly his entire interview. Even Putin was surprised by the little, to no, push back by Carlson.
But anyhow, in that interview, Putin claimed that former President Bill Clinton DID broach the subject of Russia joining NATO. The concept is not some abstract thought concocted by Beacon of Speech. Putin claimed that Clinton did a bait and switch, which is actually feasible.
Step #2
Ukraine has to accept today's war borders. Again, it pains me to say it, I've said it over and over and over, Ukraine has no path to victory. None.
Victory for Ukraine has to be re-defined as existing. Also in the Tucker Carlson video, Putin repeatedly claimed Ukraine is Russia. At some point, Ukraine has to concede land lost in the invasion. Listen, I know it's not fair, but soon the Ukrainian Army is going to have to face the fact that they're going to run out of soldiers. Or weapons. Or funding. Or all three.
Step #3
We are still living in the remnants of a Post-World War II landscape. Don't look 100 years in the past, look 100 years in the future. A century out, all of the largest countries in the world will be in Africa and Asia. If we team up with Russia in the near future, we are protecting the core of Christianity.
You don't have to do it right now. You can give Russia a conditional membership for a decade, contingent on them not attacking any other NATO members, and by the time Russia would earn a full membership, Putin would be 81. You can move to a brighter future with Putin's successor.
The only country in the world that could invade either Russia or America and swallow up large parcels of land is China. That's who Jens Stoltenberg, and his successors, should be worried about moving forward, General Secretary Xi---
I was very saddened by the death of Alexai Navalny.
He exposed Putin's exploitation of Russian resources at every turn. After being poisoned with Novichok, Navalny could have stayed in Germany in exile, but he returned to Russia to fight Putin through the people.
Navalny was arrested on trumped up charges, jailed, and then transferred and tortured to death in a Siberian Gulag. Not just tortured, but ultimately meeting his end in a gruesome fashion.
How do I know the charges were trumped up? Vladimir Putin, a life-long government employee, is worth $200 billion. Let's pretend that Navalny was guilty of embezzlement. Why would any of Putin or his billionaire cronies care about that? Where do you think their money is coming from?
Alexai Navalny was not just a crusading citizen. He was a candidate for the office of the President of Russia before he was barred from the race in 2018. His political party, Russia of the future was dissolved in 2021.
Alexei Navalny, at worst, was a Russian Folk Hero. At best he was Russian Jesus, without the resurrection.
The poor guy suffered, A LOT, before his death. There is something fundamentally wrong with the story of Alexei Navalny. In Russia, the bad guys won and the good guy is dead---
Donald Trump is comparing his suffering to Navalny's?
I am morally offended.
This would be Trump's story if he was the equivalent of Navalny.
Back in the year 2015, Hillary Clinton and the Democrats had Donald Trump poisoned by the CIA. While seeking treatment in Canada, the Clintons and the Obamas had the Republican Party disintegrated. When Trump triumphantly returned to America, he was arrested on tax charges and sent to the SuperMax prison in Colorado. While in SuperMax, he "disappeared" from supervision for weeks and when he was returned to his cell, he was found tortured to death.
That is not what happened to Trump in America.
Not.
Even.
Close.
As Putin tries to spin away Navalny's death, I wish I had a magic wand where those responsible for Navalny's death would be held responsible and Donald Trump was able to see that most of his political wounds are self-inflicted.
But I'll tell you how Russia and America are similar. America is run by two billion-dollar corporations, the Republican Party and the Democrat Party. Russia is run by one billion-dollar corporation, Putin Inc.
Christians across the spectrum should be insulted by both.
If Ukraine doesn't accept today's war borders soon, they may not exist in the future.
Like Alexei Navalny.