I have a comment on a small point. One part of your newsletter (not sure if it's Homans speaking?) states:
"He <Kagan> believes that the ethnic make-up of Crimea is irrelevant, that Crimea was part of Ukraine and was illegally invaded and occupied by Russia. If one applies the same standard to Canada, everyone would agree that Quebec should be independent."
Um, no. I'm a Canadian. Quebec was a French colony 1608-1761, despite the efforts of the local native population. After the French and Indian wars widened into the 7 years' war (which involved several European powers), it became a British colony until 1867, when it became part of Canada. It has had two referendums (1980 and 1995), in both of which the Quebecois voted against separation. In 2006, the Canadian parliament recognized that Quebecois "form a nation within a united Canada", and so it remains. There was no "illegal invasion". There was a war between two colonizing countries. One of the colonizers won territory in North America from the other. The country which later evolved from the winner formally recognized the unique nature of the people from the other colonizing country, who decided more than once not to separate when put to the question (Graham told me that the Crimean people voted to stay in Ukraine in their own referenda). The aboriginal peoples' presence and inherent rights started to be recognized by the Canadian constitution in 1982, although it's still a work in progress. Decidedly different.
I have a comment on a small point. One part of your newsletter (not sure if it's Homans speaking?) states:
"He <Kagan> believes that the ethnic make-up of Crimea is irrelevant, that Crimea was part of Ukraine and was illegally invaded and occupied by Russia. If one applies the same standard to Canada, everyone would agree that Quebec should be independent."
Um, no. I'm a Canadian. Quebec was a French colony 1608-1761, despite the efforts of the local native population. After the French and Indian wars widened into the 7 years' war (which involved several European powers), it became a British colony until 1867, when it became part of Canada. It has had two referendums (1980 and 1995), in both of which the Quebecois voted against separation. In 2006, the Canadian parliament recognized that Quebecois "form a nation within a united Canada", and so it remains. There was no "illegal invasion". There was a war between two colonizing countries. One of the colonizers won territory in North America from the other. The country which later evolved from the winner formally recognized the unique nature of the people from the other colonizing country, who decided more than once not to separate when put to the question (Graham told me that the Crimean people voted to stay in Ukraine in their own referenda). The aboriginal peoples' presence and inherent rights started to be recognized by the Canadian constitution in 1982, although it's still a work in progress. Decidedly different.