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ebear's avatar

Sometimes it's useful to look at the original data:

http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/language/

"The part of those whose mother tongue is Ukrainian totals 67.5% of the population of Ukraine, this is by 2.8 percentage points more than in 1989. The percentage of those whose mother tongue is Russian totals 29.6% of the population. Comparatively with the data of previous census this index has decreased by 3.2 percentage points. The part of other languages, specified like mother tongue, during the period that have passed since previous census has increased by 0.4 percentage points and accounts for 2.9%."

So 29.6% of the population claimed Russian as their mother tongue. However, if you look at the results of the 2010 election, you'll see that in the runoff Viktor Yanukovych won 51.8% of the popular vote. Assuming that every eligible Russian speaker voted for him, and that the other minority language groups did likewise, that still leaves 19.3% of the Ukrainian speaking population that voted for him. The census numbers are from 2001, so the numbers may be slightly different in 2010, but not enough to make a big difference.

https://www.les-crises.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/723-presidentielle-2010.jpg

What this tells you is that it's not all about language, as the UK authorities would have you believe. 19.3% is not an insignificant number. Were they voting in line with a spouse? Possibly, given the high rate of intermarriage, but perhaps they'd just had enough of the Gas Princess and her corrupt entourage? That seems more likely to me.

A question I pose to Canadians whenever the topic comes up. If you lived in Quebec and your mother tongue was French, how would you feel if the govt. of Canada passed a law banning French in all parts of public life, including in Quebec itself? Would you still want to be part of Canada? The answer is as you'd expect, and the reaction when I tell them that's exactly what the Ukrainian govt. did is priceless. OMG! I didn't know that! Kind of puts a different spin on it, don't you think? Still feel like "standing with Ukraine?"

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Mark Wauck's avatar

Lord Bebo @MyLordBebo

1) Russian sources claim it was hit on the ground with an Islander, during refueling

2) Ukranian sources claim it crashed itself, likely into a drone

3) some claim the F16 fighter was shot down in an ambush by a Russian Su-57 at the limit of the range of air-to-air missiles

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Mark Wauck's avatar

MenchOsint @MenchOsint

Latest reports indicates that the US-made Patriot Air Defense System shot down the Ukrainian Air Forces US-made F-16.

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NFO's avatar

Perhaps the first time a Patriot took down something more expensive than itself. ;-)

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dissonant1's avatar

"It is highly likely that the CIA and Pentagon not only had foreknowledge of the operation, but even helped in the planning and execution, official White House statements to the contrary notwithstanding."

Yes. And if they did it just proves they are stupid and incompetent. If they didn't, it proves that the White House is stupid and incompetent.

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johnycomelately's avatar

“One wonders how self identification may have changed over the following 20 years.”

Speaking to a Ukrainian who has parents in the Ukraine, many Ukrainians self identified out of fear. A whole census program was instituted forcing locals to identify which church they belonged to as well as providing all personal and employment details.

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ebear's avatar

Here's a question. If I was born in Quebec, my mother is French and my father English, and we speak both languages equally at home, what am I? French Canadian, or English Canadian? I suspect this is not uncommon in Ukraine either.

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ebear's avatar

This reminds me of govt. surveys conducted in the Punjab, which asked the question: what is your mother tongue? People whose mother tongue is Punjabi sometimes claimed Hindi, reason being that if it appears there are more Hindus in the Punjab, then the Hindu majority govt. is less likely to discriminate against the region. I don't have any actual numbers, this is just what I was told by someone who lived there.

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Mark Hazard's avatar

Armies that invade Russia rarely, if ever, return. -Otto von Bismarck

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Eoin Clancy's avatar

Thanks for the links. We're entering the endgame phase now which to my mind was always going to be the most frightening aspect of the SMO. The US now has a dead president at the helm who has no power over what is done in his name, a scary prospect no one could have predicted.

Having witnessed the Democrat convention, it's very obvious that the US has reached a supreme level of batshit craziness while the likes of the UK and France try to keep up with their cousins.

I'd be very surprised if we live till November.

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SMH's avatar

EC: Not sure I’m that pessimistic at this time, but as Mark has pointed out on numerous occasions, there are lots and lots of moving parts in multiple areas and the wheels only have to come off in one section to start a cascade that could easily prove to be unstoppable. So while I don’t see us all dead before November, I certainly don’t have a warm fuzzy feeling about what lies ahead.

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Aug 30
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Mark Wauck's avatar

There''s a price to be paid for constant lying, and the media will be paying it. Their credibility has sunk drastically over the past decade and the current level of lying will bring it to whale shit level.

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