I am still here. It struck too close home - my family has ties to Crimea and Odessa, I also spent almost all summers of my childhood there. I couldn't sit and watch as another Yugoslavia unfolded, with one-sided ad-nauseum stories in the local media. You don't see me commenting (much) on the Middle-East conflicts - letting those who have ties to that region do the commenting. I only have that much free time. Translating takes time, getting into the situation takes time, other boards (especially the wall observer were sacrificed).

Besides, I hope my posts differ from a regular NATO-troll. I try to translate, inform, call to reason. It is my belief that conflicts such as in Ukraine, are born from ignorance and misunderstanding, leading to fear and murder, yet it does not spring up unaided - such hatred needs to be specifically fostered.

I am also painfully aware that a single commenter such as myself won't change anything. Those who can use their heads and analyse the situation can see what is really happening. Those who get swayed by my arguing, will as easily be swayed by someone else in a different direction, and those, blinded by genuine  hatred and bloodlust, or simply well-paid will continue their destructive work.

However, if you just give up and give in, people in Russia and Eastern-Europe would have been talking German by now, as an example...