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Jen Hyatt's avatar

You are right and I am not sure it is an either/or. There is always money if it’s needed and the planet’s survival is treated as an optional extra. At the same time, women and minorities as well as values like accountability and honesty are being trashed. I campaigned for a peaceful world since the 1970s. Right now, if Europe doesn’t develop its own capacity to defend what most of us hold dear, if we don’t support Ukraine, what kind of humanity is there to preserve?

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Vel Santic's avatar

I love your last sentence because that is the point!! I can only hope Jeanette Winterson and all these commentators here who rushed to praise her vague opinion, are aware of that!!

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Joanna Cooke's avatar

The economist Mariana Mazzucato is very interesting on this, worth a listen to the interview she gave to Adam Buxton on his podcast about how there is always money available when you ‘need’ it

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Pippa Bondy's avatar

Thank you so much for your clarity and brilliant beautiful way of writing

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Mara K Loving's avatar

You are so right and thank you for stating what gets lost in the sauce. We have the ability to change! Plastics werent always ubiquitous. Plastics and nuclear weapons need to be stopped. We can change!

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Vel Santic's avatar

Preach that to the offenders - terrorists putin of russia and trump of usa and all other totalitarians such as saudia!! I hope you do preach that to the culprits instead of the only ones who indeed are trying to change the world for the better i.e. the EU, NATO, Ukraine, Canada, Mexico and all other countries the putin-trump-saudi axis of evil genocidally terrorize, hate and want to obliterate!!

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Jenny Thompson's avatar

I agree with everything you say about the 'serious nonsense' and completely share your frustration and anger at the bigger picture. But what of the here and now? What of Ukraine and Ukrainians today and tomorrow? Are you suggesting Europe abandons them to their fate because we have bigger issues?

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Wonder Verse's avatar

Their fate? Europe blocked every offer of peace and security negotiation for 3 yrs. Ukraine has run out of men and women for mince meat that US and Europe want them to fight with " to the last Ukrainian". I know the war mongering NATO narrative has successfully drenched us all in evil Putin juice horror but come on, how has Europe genuinely been helping the future and present Ukraine, by hogtying it to NATO's bullying, provoking the invasion in the first place?

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Syd Foster's avatar

Bullshit. Why would Ukrainians trust the lying asshole Russians who are betraying the previous peace deal ? You people always dismiss the Ukrainians in your fantasies, as if what they have experienced is irrelevant. You’re not real.

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Vel Santic's avatar

Exactly, Syd Foster!! Be on alert against the tRumputinist moles masquerading as "peacemakers"!!

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Vel Santic's avatar

@ wonder verse, your comment is like tRumputinist mtg-jdvance-jan6th2021 insurrectionists wrote it. disgusting.

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Gael MacLean's avatar

Thanks to a friend I have discovered you on SS. I have read almost all of your books, your memoir is next. It seems so obvious, doesn't it? Life before death? Apparently not. What a strange B Movie we are living in the US. And horrific conditions in many parts of the world. I see no positive outcomes in my lifetime.

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Jessica Edwards's avatar

The memoir is sooooo good

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Jel Cel's avatar

I have chosen in the last few years to not travel, for although as one of 300 so people on a plane it makes my use of fuel low, if we decreased our travel fewer planes would be needed and that would be of benefit- small but something.

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Vel Santic's avatar

I don't even own, much less drive a car. not to mention travelling. All the more reasons I can readily identify and decry the real culprits who have made this world a very dangerous world - terrorists putin of russia, saudia, trump-eVIlonmusk-jdvance reign of terror in USA.

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Ruth Watson's avatar

The thing is, the planet will survive. It’s the human race that won’t.

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Anthony S's avatar

You are right, but now, to deal with Trump and to help Ukraine, we need to find the money for both.

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Vel Santic's avatar

Exactly, Anthony S!!

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Victoria Gelberg's avatar

There is always money for guns and war.

Great piece JW. Thank you.

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Vel Santic's avatar

The victim i.e. Ukraine and Europe must have ways to self-defend and defeat the aggressors!! You can't equate victims with aggressors nor deny the victims their rights of self-defense and counteroffensive because that would be utterly selfish!!

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Heather Bacon's avatar

You're so clear on this, you're right, it's our wake-up call and the only thing that will change it is that we do wake up and act. Thank you Jeanette for your clarity. We are good people who care about the whole of humanity and the future of the planet and we all need to speak out. We can change this but only if we believe we can.

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Vel Santic's avatar

If only Jeannette cared to be clearer as to who is the aggressor (I say, terrorist putin's russia) and who is the victim (I say, Ukraine, entire Europe and entire good parts of humankind), I'd also applaud your comment and her opinion!! But, Jeannette's vagueness of making the point in this particular situation prevents me from ascertaining what is her real point.

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Charlie Beaumont's avatar

Your values are spot on as are your arguments. Why are our political leaders so ready to engage in military activities when the outcomes are frequently disastrous both in the short and the long term. Thank you for your humanity.

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erg art ink's avatar

A schism that ended a long friendship. 💔

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Jacquelyn P's avatar

Thank you for this

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Vel Santic's avatar

But why are you saying, quoting you "The biggest crisis facing human life on earth is not Trump or Putin. The biggest crisis facing human life on earth is climate breakdown." (unquote) - when you know/should know that the two things in your two sentences go together - not opposed to each other?? Why are you blaming Europe when the antihuman, anti-planet Earth, anti-decency culprits are the putin regime in Russia and trump regime in USA??

Europe i.e. European Union and NATO have been actually, unfortunately, much too lenient for much too long to the stalinist kgb terrorist putin-his-regime-system in Russia. the same applies re: the nazi-fascist trump regime in USA. The European Union and NATO, thankfully, have the founding principle of being resistant to and against nazism-fascism AND stalinism/any sort of totalitarianism, and Europe and NATO are now, unfortunately, directly attacked by these totalitarianism ideologies and practices. Of course that it is at long last and finally the time that EUROPE AND NATO START BEING SELF-DEFENSIVE AND UNITED IN THE COUNTEROFFENSIVE AGAINST THE TOTALITARIAN AGGRESSORS - IN ORDER TO PRESERVE AND IMPROVE ALL THE DECENT HUMAN THINGS YOU ENIGMATICALLY ALL OF A SUDDEN NOW (?) LAMENT OF LOSING!!

See, Jeanette Winterson, sometimes a time comes when - in order to have means to preserve and improve the education, arts, decent affordable housing, good food at fair prices, healthcare that will make it possible for humans to live better lives, fight against the global warming/climate change, ALL THE THINGS WE VALUE AND WANT - you need to fight and defeat the aggressors who conspired to destroy all of that, Jeanette Winterson!! I thought you knew that!!

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Wonder Verse's avatar

Exceptionalism, in all it's forms is fascism..... including the indulgent exceptionalism of anthropocentricism .

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Vel Santic's avatar

Preach that to the real indulgent exceptionalist fascist anthropocentrists i.e. terrorists putin of russia-trump-eVIlonmusk-jdvance of usa-saudi wahhabists-netanyahu-kahanists-khomeynists-kim jong un!! All it takes is knowing this world connecting the dots and/or having lived experience (direct or indirect) of persecution under totalitarian, authoritarian, autocratic regimes!!

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