President Biden enlightens and cheers Western World with speech in Vilnius

July 15, 2023

People wave American and Lithuanian flags from a window as President Joe Biden delivers remarks at Vilnius University in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, July, 12, 2023. Biden’s speech seemed to be preparing Americans and his NATO allies for a confrontation that could go on for years, putting it the context of conflicts in Europe’s wartorn past. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Helluva speech. Dramatic difference between Biden’s triumphant reception in Vilnius and Trump’s trip and actions with NATO, and remarks in Vilnius, a few years earlier.

This is why Biden should be re-elected, among many other things. 38 minutes that should lift your spirits.



Before the speech, Deutsche Welle said:

“US President Joe Biden is expected to deliver a public speech at Vilnius University following the annual NATO summit in Lithuania. During the summit, there was a significant emphasis on Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. President Biden and other NATO leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the newly established NATO-Ukraine Council. This permanent body serves as a platform for the 31 NATO allies and Ukraine to engage in consultations and request emergency meetings. This comes after Ukraine was neither granted immediate membership in NATO, nor a clear timeline for accession.”

DW provides a transcript at their YouTube site, if you’re looking for one.

See also:

  • “With an eye on 2024, Biden touts successful NATO summit,” Justin Sink and Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg, JapanTimes, July 13, 2023.

Leave a Comment » | foreign affairs, History, NATO, President Joe Biden, Ukraine | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Photography as an instrument of history: Ukraine’s Independence Square

February 21, 2014

Tweet from the Wall Street Journal shows, in very dramatic form, how photographs can be used to record history and current events, telling a story that words just cannot.

WSJ Wall Street Journal - #Ukraine's Independence Square: then and now http://on.wsj.com/1d9q7IL pic.twitter.com/vzqPKj79Cb

WSJ Wall Street Journal – #Ukraine’s Independence Square: then and now http://on.wsj.com/1d9q7IL pic.twitter.com/vzqPKj79Cb

In Ukraine, there’s an enormous difference between 2009 and 2014.  In five years, Kiev is a different city.

Do we attribute the differences to corrupt government, to the assault on democratic institutions, or to the movement to end the corruption and boost democracy?

It’s more impressive that I can show in a link here; at the WSJ site, the two photos are interactive — you can grab the middle line with your mouse and move it to see the damage in 2014.  Check it out.

Are there similar photographic comparisons for Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Venezuela, Brazil, China, Britain, the United States?  If you know of some, or if you have created some, will you share?

1 Comment | Current History, History, photography | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell