i sometimes wonder if the empire is schizophrenic or the recipient of some other variety of mental maladies but this will help some of you choose a word for it;

In recent days Terry Cowan - a geopolitical commentator and Lecturer of History at University of Texas at Tyler - has compiled a new and very helpful timeline documenting the history of NATO's eastward expansion to Russia's doorstep. 

Below is professor Cowan's NATO Expansion: A Timeline.

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There is an official narrative to our war with Russia through Ukrainian proxies. To be sure, Russian troops did cross the Ukrainian border, and territorial integrity is important to us, except, of course, when it isn’t.  President Biden enunciated it on the day Russian troops poured over the Ukrainian border:

"This was never about genuine security concerns on their part. It was always about naked aggression, about Putin’s desire for empire  by any means necessary–by bullying Russia’s neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing  borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause."

Biden has reiterated that view, certainly less articulately, in recent days at the D-Day observances in Normandy, but the basic outline is still there, to-wit:

1. Our heavy involvement in Ukraine since 1991 did nothing to contribute to the conflict.

2. Russia’s security concerns about the advancement of NATO eastward are silly.

3. There are bullies in the world, but the bully is never us.

4. Although the 4th largest economy in the world (in purchasing power), Russia still longs to recreate the Soviet Union.

5. Russia is corrupt, although their current leader is elected, while Ukraine is not corrupt, although their current leader rules by martial law.

6. Changing borders is wrong, when Russia does it. When we do it (Kosovo), it is for humanitarian reasons.

7. No actions by the West or Ukraine over 8 years against Russian speakers in the Donbass that resulted in 14,000 deaths provide any justification for Russia’s actions.

8. Russia is bad, the West is good.........more..........