Daily Lessons from Life 06 June 2014 - World leaders in D-Day diplomacy drive over Ukraine

June 6th, the beginning of the historical famous 'The Longest Day' when the allied landed in Normandy and started the 'liberation' of occupied Europe by the Nazis Germany. I was intrigued by the war epic movie by John Wayne, if anyone can still remembered him, named aptly: 'The Longest day'. Yes, victory was sweet. But I wondered why anyone even wanted to start a war. Let alone a World War!! May this NEVER happen again.

"World leaders in D-Day diplomacy drive over Ukraine - AFP 6 June 2014

CAEN, France: World leaders gather Friday to mark 70 years since the historic D-Day invasion of France that hastened the end of World War II, against a backdrop of intense diplomacy over the Ukraine crisis.

At ceremonies on the beaches of northern France, where the biggest amphibious assault in history was launched in 1944, heads of state, royalty and prime ministers will rub shoulders with hundreds of veterans, now in their 90s, who risked their lives to liberate Europe from Nazism.

Around 1,800 veterans from Britain, the United States, France, Canada but also Russia and Poland, will honour the sacrifice of thousands of their comrades who fell on D-Day, many of them marking the occasion for the last time given their advanced age.

The D-Day ceremonies will give world leaders feuding over the Ukraine crisis a rare common purpose but the diplomatic wrangling over the worst East-West confrontation since the Cold War started in earnest on Thursday and was set to continue throughout the anniversary.

Putin has been in the diplomatic deep-freeze since Russia's annexation of Crimea in March and held his first meeting with Western leaders since then -- a bilateral with Britain's David Cameron and a late-night meal with French President Francois Hollande.

"Russia needs to properly recognise and work with this new president. We need de-escalation. We need to stop arms and people crossing the border," Cameron said.

"The status quo, the situation today, is not acceptable and it needs to change."

However, the Kremlin strongman has issued a defiant and robust riposte to the West's accusations, rejecting claims of military intervention in Ukraine and accusing Washington of aggressively seeking to isolate Moscow on the world stage."

Having reflected on the D-Day above, I WONDER if HUMAN BEING is capable of learning from history!

Lessons for me are:

1. many RATIONAL people are probably like me, detest war as it is a senseless and stupid act when fellow earthlings are killing each other in the name of 'patriotism';

2. yet, many wars were started by SCHEMING people who will happily sacrifice many fellow human lives for very narrowed and selfish reasons. e.g. to protect the so-called interests of the nation when most conflicts were really about 'splitting of the loots' that earth can provide in different regions of its kingdom! e.g. if there were no oils in the Middle East, will the USA and its allied care? nobody really care when the Bosnia war was in full battle and with genocide being carried out until it became too blatant to ignore!;

3. the supposedly tense development in the East and South China Seas and the Russia/Ukraine incidents are just disasters waiting to happen if EACH related parties REFUSE to think about 'can we share the resources that Mother Earth has nurtured and saved for us' vs. 'Mother Earth wants me to have her precious resources to MYSELF alone!'. Of course, many of these people in authorities know what are the right things to do IF they can change their mind-set to an inclusive one. Alas, when they SIMPLY cannot, or DO NOT WANT TO, change this mind-set, it is very likely that 'lessons from history will be FORGOTTEN until destruction comes upon human race again.

Beware. Think deeply. Move slowly. Rushing will be dangerous!