Dutch voters, by an almost 2-1 margin, voted not to approve a relationship between the European Union and Ukraine. Only 32% of the electorate participated in the referendum, just barely above the 30% required to consider the outcome valid. But the vote will certainly delay any economic relationship for the hard-pressed Ukraine. The vote seemed to be primarily motivated by a dislike of Ukranian President Poroshenko rather than a repudiation of Ukraine as a whole. The Dutch government seems to favor the relationship, so we should expect some negotiations between the Netherlands and the EU to try to make the arrangement more palatable to Dutch voters.
There are times when it is very difficult to determine how citizens make political decisions. But there is extensive evidence that most people are capable of believing some rather extraordinary things. For example, 4% of the American people (12.5 million people) believe that lizard people control American politics. And 13% of voters think that President Obama is the Anti-Christ.
| Conspiracy | Percent believing | Number of Americans believing |
| JFK was killed by conspiracy | 51 percent | 160,096,160 |
| Bush intentionally misled on Iraq WMDs | 44 percent | 138,122,178 |
| Global warming is a hoax | 37 percent | 116,148,195 |
| Aliens exist | 29 percent | 91,035,072 |
| New World Order | 28 percent | 87,895,931 |
| Hussein was involved in 9/11 | 28 percent | 87,895,931 |
| A UFO crashed at Roswell | 21 percent | 65,921,948 |
| Vaccines are linked to autism | 20 percent | 62,782,808 |
| The government controls minds with TV | 15 percent | 47,087,106 |
| Medical industry invents diseases | 15 percent | 47,087,106 |
| CIA developed crack | 14 percent | 43,947,966 |
| Bigfoot exists | 14 percent | 43,947,966 |
| Obama is the Antichrist | 13 percent | 40,808,825 |
| The government allowed 9/11 | 11 percent | 34,530,544 |
| Fluoride is dangerous | 9 percent | 28,252,264 |
| The moon landing was faked | 7 percent | 21,973,983 |
| Bin Laden is alive | 6 percent | 18,834,842 |
| Airplane contrails are sinister chemicals | 5 percent | 15,695,702 |
| McCartney died in 1966 | 5 percent | 15,695,702 |
| Lizard people control politics | 4 percent | 12,556,562 |
They are controlling your lives!!
The Washington Post has a heart-breaking article on the devastation of the city of Homs in Syria. There are photographs and a video that illustrate the destruction of a once vibrant and vital city. Whenever we discuss matters of war and peace, it is imperative that we do not allow the abstractions of theory or strategy to divert us from the central reality of war: the innocents invariably pay the highest price of any conflict.
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