A No to Nato rally at Conway Hall on 25 February, at which I was due to speak, has been cancelled after the venue received threats and abuse online that made them concerned both for staff safety and for funding.
This is just another symptom of the serious threat to free speech in modern society. In fact we are now at the stage where we might say free speech has already been lost.
Neither state nor corporate media would give any space to the views likely to have been expressed at Conway Hall. The war raging in Europe is not allowed to be discussed in any terms, other than as a straightforward conflict between good and evil, with the West as the good guy and Russia as the evil.
Social media posts saying anything else are rigorously suppressed. Because of the successful creation of corporate gatekeeper sites like Facebook and Twitter, the readership of this article will be at a quarter the level of a year ago, due to rigorous suppression of my posts linking here.
Now my position on the Ukraine war is a great deal more nuanced than most of the speakers at the No to NATO debate. I oppose NATO because it is an agent of neo-imperialism and a mechanism for the diversion of huge amounts of resources to the super rich, via the arms and military industries.
But I am plain that while provoked, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia was nonetheless illegal in international law. I view those who regard Putin as a defender of democracy or of workers’ rights as seriously deluded.
Putin is a very bad man, and the West is only just achieving the levels of wealth inequality that Russia has experienced (with a push from the West) these last three decades. The oligarchs and military industrial complex rip off the ordinary man in Russia, just as in the West.
This is a disaster for the people of Ukraine, for the people of Russia and for the people of the World. It is going to end with Crimea absorbed into Russia and some kind of autonomous status inside Ukraine for the Donbass regions.
That outcome could have been agreed without war, before thousands had to die and millions be impoverished. It could be agreed today. All the death and destruction and weapons systems will achieve nothing – except massive profits for the wealthy.
Responsible politicians would stop the fighting now. But no politician sees a personal interest in doing anything other than escalating and pouring in more and more weapons systems to mince human flesh.
I worry hugely about the abysmal quality of public debate. I am not sure whether bad education, social media or a race to the bottom in broadcast and print media – which are mostly about commentators not about news – are most to blame.
But quality of thought and depth of understanding are abandoned almost entirely in what passes for public debate in favour of risible extremist positions.
Ukraine is one example, where we have an establishment view that NATO and Ukraine are perfect, that there was no constant pre-invasion shelling of Russian speaking civilians or banning of Russian oriented political parties or the Russian language and publications, and definitely no Nazi influence in the Ukrainian armed forces.
Then you have those brave enough to suggest a counter view, but who claim that Putin is perfect and Russia a workers’ paradise, that all Ukrainians are Nazis, that there are no Ukrainians in the Donbass, and that Russia is only prevented by self-restraint from total military victory.
These are both ideological positions which are self-evidently ludicrous, but the first is in fact adopted by Western governments and the entire mainstream media.
I find I receive continual abuse from both sides for not adopting one crazed narrative or the other.
The market for reason has become very small.
On three current major controversies – Ukraine, covid and trans rights, debate is extraordinarily polarised, and the slightest deviation from the official narrative is heresy. Those who see themselves as heretics despise all but their own, equally extreme, interpretation.
On Covid, the official narrative is that it was a uniquely devastating virus and that humankind was only saved from a serious disaster by a combination of ruthless lockdown and revolutionary vaccines.
On the other side we have those who believe Covid was an engineered virus designed to make a fortune for big pharma and to justify government measures to reduce civil liberties, and that the vaccines are themselves deadly.
Personally, I believe neither of these opposing narratives.
My own view is that covid-19 is a respiratory disease which, in its initial outbreak, was similarly lethal, or possibly a little worse, than one of the major flu pandemics. The “Hong Kong flu” of 1968/9 I vividly remember. I knew a healthy child who died of Hong Kong flu, and my whole family caught it.
The Hong Kong flu killed an estimated 1 to 4 million people worldwide. The famous Spanish flu pandemic from 1919 killed an estimated 25 million.
To say covid-19 was similar to a flu pandemic is not to downplay it: they are terrible things.
The Covid-19 pandemic killed, according to Wikipedia which is curated very close to the official line on these matters, about 6.7 million people – about a quarter of the number killed by the Spanish flu. According to the same source, without vaccines it would have killed about 17 million more, which would be about the same as the Spanish flu.
Although of course the Spanish flu still killed a much larger proportion than Covid-19 of the world’s then much smaller population. Indeed as a percentage of population killed, covid-19 is not out of the same league as the Hong Kong flu of 1968/9.
So Covid-19 is a very nasty virus, which also may have more debilitating long term effects than generally associated with a flu pandemic, but not dissimilar in its mortality rate.
There are difficulties in collating the statistics. The figures for historic flus are not very reliable. The practice of treating as covid-19 deaths anybody who died with the disease, when they actually died of something else, is also perplexing.
If you look at excess deaths (above the 5 year rolling average), it is undoubtedly true that at the minute excess deaths are as high in the UK as at the height of the covid-19 outbreak before the vaccine programme, even though only 5% of current deaths involve covid.
It is also true that they were this high in January 2015 and, in both cases, a severe winter flu paid a role. The official narrative to explain the current death toll features heavily health problems caused by lack of access to medical treatment during lockdown.
Some of my own views on covid-19 are these. The pandemic was comparable to a nasty flu pandemic. The panic caused went beyond the rational, and governments were involved in pumping that up. There was little danger to the young and to healthy mature adults, but real danger to the elderly and unwell.
Accordingly I believe lockdown was too severe and should better have focused on shielding the easily identified vulnerable, rather than placing harsh and unnecessary restrictions on the large majority in society.
There could have been massive infrastructure, physical, moral and psychological support offered by the state to those who needed to shield. Rather than lock down everybody else. Closing universities for example was completely unnecessary.
Just like all pandemics before it, the covid-19 virus is busily following its own self-interest by mutating into a less vicious form that can co-exist more comfortably with its host.
I welcome vaccines as long as they are voluntary. Medical science of course makes mistakes but in general has been a massive force for good. The argument that covid-19 vaccines are a fundamental threat to the world’s health seems to have as little evidence behind it as the argument that covid-19 was such a threat that economies had to be fundamentally harmed.
Vaccines should be voluntary and no sanctions imposed for not taking them. But I regard taking the vaccine, and sharing in any associated risk as well as any associated benefit from herd immunity, as the correct moral position.
I do not claim that I am uniquely right or particularly expect you to agree with me. But I am not in either of the two binary camps.
I am not in the camp that supported every authoritarian crackdown and wanted to put anyone in jail who did not wear a mask, nor in the camp that thinks it was all a sinister government plot.
As with Ukraine I urge you not to switch off your brain and join one “camp” or the other “camp”. Do not sign up to a pre-ordained set of opinions.
Forge your own opinions.
The other issue I want to explore today, on which what passes for “thinking” appears ridiculously polarised, is that of trans rights.
On the one side we have people who argue that it is an inalienable human right to live in the gender of your choice, and that all societal institutions and infrastructure must be organised around that individual choice, which may never be questioned or subjected to scrutiny.
On the other side we have people who argue that sex is immutable and determined at birth, that safe spaces and positive discrimination provisions for women are dependent on strict application of biological sex, and that much of the trans movement is motivated by sexual perversion.
A lack of any willingness to try and synthesise rights and obligations, and take account of the desires and motives of others, seems the defining characteristic of almost everybody actively engaged in this debate.
My own starting point is a libertarian one. I believe people should behave as they wish to behave and be treated as they wish to be treated, wherever possible, and that people should be kind to one another.
Therefore, if somebody presents themselves to me as male or female, I shall treat them as such in society. That seems to me polite. It is not for me to check their genitals, much less to make a judgment on their aesthetic appearance.
I am frequently challenged over this and asked, do I believe that a man can actually become a woman? The answer to which is, that I neither know nor care. It is a matter of human interaction. Life is not a science exam.
The debate is currently focused on Adam Graham aka Isla Bryson, a convicted double rapist who is currently held in a female prison in Scotland, having declared himself a trans woman.
It is worth noting that this has happened not under Scotland’s new Gender Recognition Reform legislation, which is not in force, but under existing UK wide legislation, as interpreted by the Scottish Prisons Service under Justice Minister Keith Brown.
I have to confess, this seems to me self-evidently ludicrous.
There are no absolute rights in our society, beyond the right to breathe. The state can incarcerate you and effectively remove all your rights, for criminal acts or if you are dangerously insane.
That rights are not immutable meets with general acceptance.
I see no reason why trans rights should be different. Anybody who chooses to rape women will lose a lot of rights. They will be incarcerated. Subsequently they will be on a register and unable to live in certain locations, and barred from certain employments.
It seems to me entirely sensible that a rapist or sexual assaulter of women should lose the right to transition in law to another gender. It should be amongst those societal rights they forfeit by their heinous act.
The problem is, this kind of practical approach is unacceptable to both extreme ideologies.
On the one hand, you have those that believe that some people have a right, that may never be gainsaid, to an inner gender identity only they can identify, and that their sincerity may never be questioned.
On the other hand, you have those who believe that everybody should be forced to live a gender role determined by their physical characteristics, whether they want to or not, and no matter if they never hurt anybody in trying to do the opposite.
I am very conscious that it is wrong always to discuss this matter in terms of sexual offence, and the very large majority of trans people are entirely peaceful and innocent.
But that itself is why banning rapists and other serious sexual offenders from changing gender does not affect the principle: a few serious criminals are nothing to do with genuine trans people.
I find some of the “debate” simply baffling. I am sorry I cannot find it now, but I saw one tweet from a lady who had used a unisex toilet and was horrified to have to walk behind the back of somebody using a urinal.
Has she never left the UK? What is offensive about a man’s back? The extraordinary thing is, there were scores upon scores of replies about how disgusting it was to walk past a urinal.
I find myself genuinely baffled by this and by what has become an entire sub-genre about potential behaviour by trans women in changing rooms and toilets, where all of the projected behaviours would remain criminal with or without a gender recognition certificate.
I don’t claim any expertise or genius on the subject. I reject the strange absolutism of both extremist positions.
I do not accept either that we are forced to live in a role according to our physical make-up, nor that a professed personal gender identity may never be queried for sincerity in a criminal.
In comments two articles ago I was called both a transphobe and a pro-trans hater of women, by gender extremists on either side over the same article.
Now on none of these three issues did I set out by looking at varying positions of different camps and trying to find a middle ground. I simply considered the arguments on Ukraine, on Covid and on trans rights on their merits, and came to my views as the best policies for achieving maximum human happiness in difficult situations.
In doing so I find myself at odds with public discourse on both subjects which revolves around clearly defined camps, holding sets of received opinions and arguments to which they stick, and intolerant of anybody who does not subscribe to the same set.
This is a sorry state of public discussion, made much worse by the fact that in each case the government, media and ruling establishment is entirely signed up to one of the binary camps, and itself refuses to entertain any debate or nuance.
Indeed, those who query the Establishment line on any of these issues are subjected to ridicule, ostracism and even legal threat. That may be one reason why opposition is itself so unsubtle in its response.
It is also the case that on all these arguments people become angry, exasperated or impatient that anybody should hold a different view to their own.
The idea that reasonable, well-motivated people need not agree on everything and may agree to disagree on certain issues, is a fundamental basis of a tolerant society. It is an increasingly rare value.
I find that the market for nuance is small, and diminishing.
I want to stress again I am not claiming I have everything right. But I am claiming I have thought through the facts and arguments for myself, as best I can.
I hope this is of some assistance to you in doing the same.
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If you are arguing for secularism in government, if I can “tease out a coherent logical thought” (not sure why you couldn’t understand my comment in the relevant article) then fine. This means that supernatural or religious beliefs should not form the basis of law. For example, we should reject any idea that some people are born evil (damned) and others born good (saved), and all such Soullist beliefs. The trans activist gender identity belief that people are born with some kind of Soullist property, equally unamenable to testing, is one such supernatural belief. Perhaps it is a new religion, or an old one. But in a system of secular government, it has no place as the basis of law, particularly as it can in some cases constitute a form of identity theft.
A simple point about Covid accine: a vaccine, by definition, is to prevent infection by the organism the vaccine is meant for. Covid vaccine DOES NOT actually prevent infection by the virus it is aimed at. Whether it is generally beneficial or not is not something I challenge. All I want to point out is that it is NOT a vaccine: it is a medicine.
Yes. And another point is that Vaccines and Medicines have to be licenced before they can be made available to the public. I believe the current status is that the Covid jab has been ‘approved’ for emergency use, but it has not been licenced and cannot, under current rules, until full testing has been completed.
I do not think this is entirely correct. There is only one set of vaccines that prevent infection which are those used against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). These prevent warts etc developing that could be cancerous. All other vaccines work to prevent the development of an infection following exposure to the virus, thereby preventing serious illness, possible hospitalisation and death. With viruses that result in respiratory illnesses like SARS CoV-2 by being inhaled or ingested it is self-evidently impossible for the vaccine to prevent exposure and therefore potential infection; it only gets to work after that.
In view of this, calling a vaccine a medicine is an interesting point and that is a matter of definition or terminology. For example, Paxlovid, a medicine given as an anti-viral to an infected person, is sometimes referred to as a “passive vaccine”. I guess that the difference between the two terms is that a “vaccine” is given on a “what if” basis before the onset of symptoms or even the risk of symptoms, whereas most medicines are given to treat symptoms.
“With viruses that result in respiratory illnesses like SARS CoV-2 by being inhaled or ingested it is self-evidently impossible for the vaccine to prevent exposure and therefore potential infection”
It is not infection that a vaccine is supposed to prevent, but infectiousness. You might be infected, but the disease does not progress to the point where you become infectious, so it prevents you infecting others. However, if the general public had been asked to have themselves inoculated with an experimental, not fully tested, palliative, which was what the COVID “vaccine” actually is, I think most of them would have refused. “Vaccine”, especially when accompanied by lies about it preventing the disease and therefore transmission, is much more reassuring.
“Infectiousness” is a side product of a vaccine, not the purpose. In a trial, “efficacy” is determined by how much the vaccine appears (in terms of the data) to prevent serious illness, hospitalisation and death. 50 % efficacy could be considered enough to warrant approval with some vaccines. All the vaccines against Covid-19 (the illness that results from a SARS-COV-2 infection) showed much higher efficacy than that and therefore received official approval at least for emergency use).
Ah, sorry, I hadn’t realised that the meaning of the word had been altered to suit the drug companies. I was going on the old meaning. That doesn’t alter the fact that, when the COVID vaccine was introduced, it was claimed that it would prevent the contraction of the disease and hence its transmission. If those claims had not been made, I for one would not have had the vaccine.
Since pandemic I was following IMHO one of the most honest man meticulously analyzing AVAILABLE data at that moment and I had a vaccines!
Dr John Campbell.
After having 2 jabs and then having a Covid I did not take a 3rd booster.
In the last 3 years loads of data/leaks/studies/entrapment have emerged and Dr Campbell keeps following new evidence.
Suddenly he has to mind his own words to not break pro-vaccine guidelines on YT, even though he has pro-vaccines history.
.
When I said prevent infection, I didn’t mean prevent exposure. With a respiratory virus infection happens after exposure and vaccines are supposed to enhance the immune system and prevent illness. This “vaccine” most certainly doesn’t do that.
A real vaccine like smallpox vaccine prevented infection and eradicated the disease.
Excellent article. It seems the arts of diplomacy and compromise have been lost, whether we’re talking about resoilving industrial disputes, international conlicts or domestic politics. We haven’t yet sunk to the extreme depths of the USA (eg polarised debates about gun control, religion in school, and now even gas cookers ffs!), but are heading that way.
There is endless compromise in US politics between bought off ideological neoliberals on both sides. It applies in both domestic and foreign policy and is known colloquially in Washington as “Bidenism”.
That USA-Joe Biden model of politics is also the one desired by British politicians and journalists and is being realised once again by Sir Keir Starmer. Whether it be disastrous privatisations at home or disastrous warmongering abroad the “art” of compromise is alive and kicking on both sides of the Atlantic.
The art of international diplomacy though is another matter. That requires trust and the admissions by Merkel, Poroshenko and co that the Minsk accords were negotiated in bad faith will have destroyed all trust in western diplomacy for the foreseeable future. The strange thing is they seemed very proud to broadcast in the heat of a war that their diplomatic offers are worthless.
I felt much respect for Frau Merkel, before. Now I only call her Frau Verräter
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/12/22/ffci-d22.html
François Hollande, monsieur Traître
https://www.voltairenet.org/article218584.html
Poroshenko doezn’t deserve Пан Зрадник, because he was and is a pig, as well as Zelensky
waiting for confessions of Frank Valter Steinmeier
Hi Tatyana.
Why and to whom/what State or person are Merkel and Hollande traitors?
And I suppose what is your reason for referring to Poroshenko and Zelenskii as pigs?
Though the latter is merely a value judgement while the former is an accusation.
All the best,
John
Over the years most of your questions were answered!! But either you do not read them or comprehend the answers or just ignore the answers. You never counterargue the answers.
I agree with you that those people should not be called pigs but what they are Dickheeds, Cants, Arshols etc. Pigs are smart clean animals and they taste good
Ms Merkel´s PR machine was highly efficient. During her long reign she managed to change the so-called civil society considerably by strongly favouring neo-liberalism, minimizing the trade unions´ influence e.g., and by frequently making decisive decisions circumventing parliament. She´s still working in a grand taxpayer – funded office in Berlin, close to the Reichstag; staff of about 10 people, private drivers etc. Rumour has it she would have liked the current foreign secretary, a.-l baerbock (” wea are at war with Russia”) to be her successor. Her CV is somewhat sketchy; certain issues were / are not allowed to be questioned, MSM journalists happily complied.
Tatyana
if I may say just this: Don´t let yourself be fooled by Angela Merkel´s no-nonsense image.
(i know many decent non-Germans do, alas.)
But really no need, imho, to respect her at all.
She was dishonest and harmful to not just the people living in Germany as any chancellor before and since.
But others too, of course. Just ask Mr. Varoufakis.
(You don´t become leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, one of the most powerful industries on the globe, if you´re nice and respectable.)
Interesting observation AG, I also had a great deal of respect for Angela Merkel. Have nothing but disappointment and disgust for both her and Francois Holland. I do remember reading somewhere that Francois Holland’s wife made a very negative comment concerning Ukraine after the SMO began. Must have interesting conversations over the breakfast cereal. I am also very, very disappointed with Europe’s behaviour. Had a very curt reply to my letter to PMO Trudeau yesterday, but at least I got a reply! Canada’s behaviour is sickening especially because there is a fairly large Ukrainian diaspora here dating from WW2. Not all of them by any means are in favour of the Zelensky government/behaviour and worrying about their relatives in Ukraine.
@Rosemary MacKenzie
“Must have interesting conversations over the breakfast cereal.”
LOL!
yeah. Well he DID have enough of his croissants.
Actually his ex-wife is the real thing politically.
Good to hear what you say about the diaspora.
I figure this must be true for millions of Ukrainians. But this is non-existent in media reports here.
So instead: They all just love going to war and hate fascist Russians.
p.s. it´s interesting, in Germany until recently Ukraine was known for oligarchs, prostitutes, corruption, soccer.
I always found this demeaning and racist. As much as Eastern Europe being a realm of adventures for rich travellers as portrayed in the European novel of the 19th century.
Now overnight they have turned into perfect democrats and the avantgarde of liberty and freedom.
My wife and I are very confused why did Merkel said such a thing. and then you
conclude that …”were negotiated in bad faith will have destroyed all trust in western diplomacy for the foreseeable future.”
We truly are in Orwellian times. War is Peace etc. I am sorry but did Merkel want to escalate the conflict by telling Russia to not trust us.? This is so crazy but I want to hear from anyone why would she make such a statement/admission/admission of guilt/ after leaving politics with favorable opinions around the world( I give/gave her 7/10). Allegedly Hollande confirmed that is true.
This is totally crazy option but with psychopaths in charge I would not be surprised that they want to claim hero status and
ignore that the war happened because of them ! Of course txs to their ingenuity Ukraine is able to defend it’s self.
Sarcasm alert! If those Idiots signed Minsk 3 we could have ………………………………………………………
PE
This is nonsense.
Incoherent nonsense.
Again.
Why and to whom/what State or person are Merkel and Hollande traitors?
PS my wife thinks that tankies are loons. She may be right.
You should try to concentrate (i know not easy) to whom I reply.
This comment was reaction to Greg Park and nothing to do with TRAITORS!
You just proved me right on my comment on Tatyana comment!
sleep well
Pigeon English, a few words isolated from interviews Angela Merkel did with Der Spiegel and Die Zeit were interpreted out of context by Scott Ritter and other anti-Western commentators to suggest a highly implausible counter narrative that she was admitting duplicity in negotiating the Minsk agreements, which allegedly implied that the allied countries were planning for a war with Russia all along. However, her other descriptions of what she was trying to do at the time render a more straightforward and innocuous reading of those same short quotes.
A mature and considered interpretation of her utterances can be found at Moon of Alabama:
‘Minsk II Was Agreed On To Arm Ukraine’ – Did Merkel Really Say That? (09/12/22)
Which is not to say it’s all a fuss over nothing. Poroshenko is still left dangling on the hook.
TXS
but I did not find a satisfying answer on MoA when it was posted ,even after reading many and many comment (not all 300 or more).
I might go back and see if I missed something. What is your interpretation and why after being out of politics and not needing to” save her ass”?
What did she say according to your interpretation?
FCKU the Anti westerners ! What did she say?
” The Ukraine of 2014-15 is not the Ukraine of today. As you saw in the battle for Debaltsevo in early 2015, Putin could easily have overrun them at the time. And I very much doubt that the NATO countries could have done as much then as they do now to help Ukraine.
– ANGELA MERKEL, DIE ZIET ”
Merkel implied, correctly, that Ukraine had used the 6-7 years since the signing of Minsk II to re-organise and improve it’s defences; not that that was the intention all along. As MoA points out the Munich Agreement gave the UK a similar opportunity in the run up to WW2.
Accusation that Merkel’s intention was war with Russia doesn’t tally with her failure to prepare Germany. She signed off Nordstream II and increased Germany’s reliance on imports of Russian energy. Ritter and others have been predicting economic and social collapse in Germany as a result of this war, now it seems they were instrumental in planning it all along!
@Pears Morgaine
thx for pointing out this detail from the interview.
Gotta go back to it.
re: Debaltsevo – Poroshenko for this reason urged Merkel, he would need an agreement asap. So the Russians would stop advancing.
(You could argue Putin could have wrapped the case then. End of issue.)
PE/Tatyana
Why and to whom/what State or person are Merkel and Hollande traitors?
Thanks.
John
Why and to whom/what State or person are Merkel and Hollande traitors?
So called World Peace. They were leaders with Obama of the free World protecting the peace and bla bla
Thanks PE.
But the word traitor generally means betrayal of duty to friends or country.
That’s why I asked ” State or person”.
You slip slide away a bit PE.
“So-called World Peace”??
You suggest that Merkel and Holland betrayed “So-called World Peace”??
But not a named person and not their country?
So what treason is Tatyana alleging that they have committed?
And you don’t speak for her I think?
All the best,
John
What do you think of Lada?
What do you think of number of Russia’s nuclear plant build abroad?
What about Dozens of people putting/giving answers and links to your pointless/same ad nauseam questions?
Merkel and Hollande are traitors to NATO (Peace loving defence organization) cos by lying and deceiving USSR they put us all at danger. That is how Fascist operate
“Why and to whom/what State or person are Merkel and Hollande traitors?”
I would have thought that was obvious: to NATO/the EU. By saying what they did, they rather let the cat out of the bag about the true purpose of the Minsk treaties. Even though they didn’t say that, at the time, they were stringing the Russians along, as so many seem to claim that they did, they did admit that they have come to realise that the process was simply playing for time, the implications being that they were duped as much as the Russians. Just because they didn’t admit to acting in bad faith doesn’t mean to say they didn’t imply, indeed confirm, that others were.
Maybe allow Tatyana reply?
All the best,
John
Oh, sorry, I thought you were seeking information, not just trying to score points.
Bayard
you are cheating and interfering! JK had a “gotcha ya ” question for Tatyana and you spoiled JK’s game by looking for information on www and applying reasoning!
Not sure Hollande or Merkel or any national leaders ever swore allegiance to NATO or the EU. If so Teresa May could be up for being hung drawn and quartered for taking us out of the latter.
As I’ve said above if Merkel knew Minsk II was just to buy time for Ukraine to prepare for war why didn’t she use the time to prepare Germany? Instead she made her country ever more dependent on imports of Russian energy, signing off on Nordstream II and in 2015 allowing Gazprom to take control of Germany’s largest gas storage facility.
You don’t need to swear allegiance to be a traitor, you just need to betray something.
“As I’ve said above if Merkel knew Minsk II was just to buy time for Ukraine to prepare for war why didn’t she use the time to prepare Germany?”
As I said above she never said she knew. It wasn’t that cat that was let out of the bag.
No-one really believes the official narrative over covid anymore. It is a case of ‘we made the best decisions we could at the time’.
This just appeared in NEWSWEEK
It’s Time for the Scientific Community to Admit We Were Wrong About COVID and It Cost Lives | Opinion
https://www.newsweek.com/its-time-scientific-community-admit-we-were-wrong-about-coivd-it-cost-lives-opinion-1776630
Isn’t it wonderful that the Earth is spinning?
Isn’t it nice in the morning in Russia to see that someone from another part of our planet was bothered by questions while I slept sweetly?
Isn’t it cool that people ask questions politely, using “hello”, “thank you” and “all the best”?
I hope that you are also in a good mood at your time of day, and perhaps you are full of optimistic hopes for the future?
Where was Gondor when Rohan took Cieszyn Silesia from the Dwarves?
Oh, sorry, I think I got too carried away with the game of questions 🙂
Well, on such a gorgeous morning, why not having a little cross-cultural communication?
A traitor is a person who openly or secretly refused to comply with an agreement / norms / values.
Synonyms: deceiver, treacherous, oath-breaker, Judas, perfidious, deceitful, perfidious, scheming, false
Hyponyms: traitor, renegade
Hypernyms: criminal, talker
In my culture, people who break agreements are viewed negatively. What about your culture?
Mr. Everaskin 🙂 I’m puzzled by your persistence, please tell me what caused it?
Have your brains already painted a picture of Frau Verräter poisoned by novichok?
If not, then you owe me for the idea.
All the best to you too!
(but keep in mind that I might say “all the best” while sticking needles into your voodoo doll)
Hello Tatyana.
To accuse Merkel and Hollande of being traitors is to accuse them of betrayal of …. something.
An agreement that they individually or jointly made with … someone?
If they were not party to this mysterious agreement then calling them traitors is untrue.
(I care nothing for M or H but do care a lot for clarity and for truth.)
I was impressed by the flurry of rhetoric but please believe me when I say that I ask questions because I am imterested in the answer.
Enjoy the good weather.
John
Perhaps, betrayal of Ukrainians? Maybe they were hoping to end the conflict in some peaceful way? I recall Zelensky won presidential elections by promising to end the war in the East of Ukraine.
Or, betrayal of Donbassians? After all, the Minsk agreement was about giving them autonomy inside Ukraine, what do you think?
Or, maybe betrayal of taxpayers who paid for all those luxury events in palaces, aka Normandy meetings?
Or, betrayal of those who were killed?
I’m delighted to see you’re impressed by my rhetoric. You know, I spend my days in a basement, and my only entertainment is to chat with people on the Internet 😉
You say ‘mysterious agreement’, that’s a … let’s put it mildly, that’s not true. Mr. Murray wrote about the agreement, you may like to read what we are talking about
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2022/02/cry-havoc-and-let-slip-the-dogs-of-war
Hello Tatyana.
Today is Lá Fhéile Bríde, the Day of Bríd, Symbol of Light and Rebirth. Based on a Celtic Goddess of Spring.
So I am in a positive frame of mind.
Putin will die, either of disease or old age or violence. Soon I hope. Maybe with help?
And the world will be a far better place without that malignant old KGB man.
And s41ts like Yevgeny Prigozhin.
As to betrayals by Merkel and Hollande?
I don’t see anything in
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_agreements
to suggest that either of them betrayed anyone.
Putin?
Unelected Donbass separatists?
How did M & K betray them?
Putin, on the other hand, betrayed his own repeated promises in January and February of 2022 that he wouldn’t invade Ukraine, despite massing 100,000 troops on the border.
He made a liar of himself.
Have a great day.
John
It’s always nice to see a person asking questions while being uhm… how did you put it? interested in an answer?
I, in turn, am impressed that it took you only half an hour to read Mr. Murray’s article that I linked, understand what was happening and even consult the English version of the Wiki to come back with your informed opinion.
Perhaps the people who have been dying there in the war since 2014 would appreciate it if you put in a little more effort. What do you think?
Well, at least the agreements are no longer mysterious 🙂
Beautiful day, isn’t it?
“Putin, on the other hand, betrayed his own repeated promises in January and February of 2022 that he wouldn’t invade Ukraine, despite massing 100,000 troops on the border.”
Your insistence that one head of state only out of the 170 odd in the world is uniquely evil because they don’t have a strict adherence to the truth does you no credit excpet in the eyes of those who are similarly unconstrained by the trammels of logic or reality.
Tatyana,
If I may be permitted to offer you a little advice: Don’t feed the Sealion. I didn’t realise they were native to the Emerald Isle but apparently they are.
“Sealioning is a type of trolling or harassment that consists of pursuing people with relentless requests for evidence, often tangential or previously addressed, while maintaining a pretense of civility and sincerity, and feigning ignorance of the subject matter.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning
John Kinsella a textbook example. Do not feed it.
I don’t know, sometimes it’s fun to watch them jumping out of the water, barking and clapping their flippers together.
Hello Tatyana.
You said “It’s always nice to see a person asking questions while being uhm… how did you put it? interested in an answer?”
Unfortunately you still haven’t justified your attribution of treason to Merkel & Hollande.
Their duty was to the peoples of their respective countries, not to Putin or the (unelected) leaders of the Donbass.
Ironically, some Western leaders (Schröder or Orbán for example) did commit treason by betraying their countries to Russia for bribes.
All the very best on this early Spring day,
John
John Kinsella
Merkel and Hollande (and Ukraine for that matter) recently admitted that the they were not serious about fulfilling the Minsk agreement.
Schroeder and Orbán have both called for peace, why do you work against peace efforts?
Hello Jack.
If only the USA had listened to calls for peace after FDR insolently called for war against Imperial Japan after Pearl Harbour.
And the militarists in the US compounded their aggression by calling for armed action against peace loving National Socialist Germany on the pretext that the latter regime had declared war on the USA following the attack on Pearl Harbour by Imperial Japan.
Dammit if the peace faction in the USA had only been heard, we would have far higher levels of language skills (German and Japanese) and those pesky Jews, Gypsies, Commies etc wouldn’t be causing so much trouble.
Enjoy the rest of Lá Fhéile Bríde….
John
John Kinsella
Well that is what I am saying, you chose war before peace, my question is – why? Why do you enjoy sitting in the UK when ukrainians are killed, because that is what pronlonged war mean, that is what rejecting peace leads to, so why do you seek prolonged suffering for ukrainians? Sadism? Are you a useful idiot perhaps?
And why are you not fighting for ukrainians, in Ukraine? You enjoy war, you love the ukrainians, why are the old geezer still in the UK?
Hello Jack.
I am Irish and live in Ireland. Of course Ireland is not (except for the NE corner) in the UK.
Not sure what you mean by “why are the old geezer still in the UK?”.
Perhaps English isn’t your first language? ?
You didn’t respond to my sarcastic example of Imperial Japan’s attack on the US at Pearl Harbour and National Socialist Germany’s subsequent declaration of war.
Certainly a prompt US surrender would have saved the lives of millions of Japanese and German troops.
Should the US have surrendered?
All the best,
John
John Kinsella
The old geezer is you, why are you not in Ukraine? Fighting against russians? Why do you want to prolong the war? Is it sadism?
Japan? Well that what I am saying, I am pro-peace, you are not – if I lived back then I would back the peace efforts that were going on before Japan/US war you would be the one that would call for a nuclear strike. Do you call for a nuclear strike on Russia or does your flawed analogy end right before that perhaps?
How U.S. Economic Warfare Provoked Japan’s Attack on Pearl Harbor
https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=1930
Southern irish, well then you should know what Donbas people go through or crimeans.
No questions this time.
A frank discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the Ukrainian and Russkiy/Orcish (sic) forces.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/27/the-big-battle-is-coming-ukrainian-forces-prepare-for-the-wars-most-intense-phase
Julian Borger predicts that the Putin regime – with a mixture of raw conscripts and experienced marines and Arctic troops – will soon launch a massive attack on the Eastern front.
John
I’m curious, Frau and Monsieur Traitors, did they warn OSCE that the peace agreement is fake? Would be nice to know Antje Grawe’s confessions on how she monitored the conflict.
I see she’s been employed in Kyrgyzstan now, maybe people better know what to expect?
Hello Jack.
You said:
“The old geezer is you, why are you not in Ukraine? Fighting against russians? Why do you want to prolong the war? Is it sadism?
Japan? Well that what I am saying, I am pro-peace, you are not – if I lived back then I would back the peace efforts that were going on before Japan/US war you would be the one that would call for a nuclear strike. Do you call for a nuclear strike on Russia or does your flawed analogy end right before that perhaps?”.
The phrase “old geezer” is unkind and not entirely accurate.
Many posters here are not young, including our host.
Have you been researching my biography?
I won’t ask your age but please do tell us if you wish?
More seriously; you are evading my question, now asked twice.
Let’s give it another go:
“Certainly a prompt US surrender to Germany and Japan after Pearl Harbour would have saved the lives of millions of Japanese and German troops.
Should the US have surrendered?”
I really would appreciate your reply.
Good night.
John
John Kinsella
That is what so telling about you hardcore pro-Ukrainians, you do not care for ukrainians or peace and you apparently seek genocidal nuclear strikes against Russia like Hiroshima/Nagasaki.
Considering your views on russians ( or Russkiy/Orcish as you slur them) I believe you would have quite alot in common with the typical 30s german soldier so that argument by yourself do not really fly.
Goodbye now.
Hello Jack.
Three times asked and three times evaded.
Good night.
John
I detect a misunderstanding. The Asia-Pacific War didn’t start with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, it began in 1937 with the Japanese invasion of China. If you’ve never read about the rape and slaughter that happened I suggest you do. Some 25 million people died in the Asia Pacific War. About six million were combatants, mostly Chinese and Japanese with 19 million noncombatant deaths, Japanese noncombatant deaths may have been one to 1.2 million. The worst atrocities committed by the Japanese: Singapore, Hong Kong, Nanking etc, happened after surrender so no, surrendering to Japan would not have been a good idea and probably wouldn’t have saved any lives; quite the opposite.
There has to be a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine sometime but forcing Ukraine into surrender by starving the country of weapons is not the way to achieve it. To get a fair deal Ukraine needs to be able to negotiate from a position of strength. Anybody trained or experienced in negotiation will confirm that.
You do realise that if Russia does militarily occupy Ukraine that it faces a prolonged partisan campaign which will eventually grind it down like they got ground down in Afghanistan? Ukraine began preparing for such an eventuality last spring and of course would be covertly supplied with weapons, funding and training by NATO; in the same way that Russia supported separatists in the Donbas.
In the proposed negotiated settlement, there is another side. The part of Ukraine that does not want the power of Kiev. Those people about whom the Minsk agreements were discussed.
Minsk1
3. Implement decentralization of power, including by enacting the Law of
Ukraine on the interim status of local self-government in certain areas of the
Donetsk and Luhansk regions (Law on Special Status).
https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/UA_140905_MinskCeasfire_en.pdf
Minsk2
11. Carrying out constitutional reform in Ukraine with a new Constitution entering into force by
the end of 2015, providing for decentralization as a key element (including a reference to the
specificities of certain areas in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, agreed with the
representatives of these areas), as well as adopting permanent legislation on the special status
of certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in line with measures as set out in the
footnote until the end of 2015
12. Based on the Law of Ukraine “On interim local self-government order in certain areas of the
Donetsk and Lugansk regions”, questions related to local elections will be discussed and
agreed upon with representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the
framework of the Trilateral Contact Group. Elections will be held in accordance with relevant
OSCE standards and monitored by OSCE/ODIHR.
https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/UA_150212_MinskAgreement_en.pdf
At the beginning of the armed intra-Ukrainian conflict, there were about 2.2 million people in the Lugansk region and about 4.3 million people in the Donetsk region. They were denied the right to elect local authorities. They did not vote for Zelensky. By bombing they were forced to submit to the Kyiv regime – the power that arose due to a spontaneous armed coup and which does not have a legitimate mandate from the Donbass.
Those people who, after so many years of armed conflict, no longer see any possibility of dialogue with Kiev.
This is not a bunch of separatists. The population of these territories exceeds the population of Wales, or Northern Ireland, or, perhaps, Scotland. But you draw them as some small detachment of troublemakers. In all your comments, you carefully cross them out of all dialogues. Because you have chosen a side. You are not speaking for the sake of peace, but for the advantage of your favored side.
What about negotiations from a position of strength for the Donbass?
Well they didn’t vote for Putin either but that’s who they’ve got. Instead of the independence, self-determination, they wanted they’ve been absorbed into Russia via a series of obviously fixed plebiscites. I wonder if they really feel that their situation has improved.
Russia we know supported and armed separatists in the region. Why didn’t they adopt the strategy now being suggested for Ukraine and tell them to surrender to save lives?
“via a series of obviously fixed plebiscites.”
Why do you say that the votes were “obviously fixed”? Because they gave a result of which you disapprove?
It’s funny how one side in the Ukranian civil war is always described as being “Russian-backed”, but the other is never described as being “NATO-backed”.
Why are you manipulating?
They wanted autonomy within Ukraine. Kiev denied them the right for elections and started bombing them. The people being bombed actually want safety first, they want not to be destroyed. Obviously, when the diplomatic path with the Minsk agreements turned out to be false, they had no choice.
Imagine, they used the right to self-determination and declared independence. You may like it or not, you may consider it illegal, I’m afraid they don’t care about your opinion.
It’s clear that with Western support for Kyiv, these new republics wouldn’t stand long against a massive attack, relying only on a military defense treaty with Russia. Incorporated into the Federation, they can now count on Russia to protect them by any means.
Why do you think that they don’t want to go back to Russia? I find this argument laughable. Only 30 years ago it was one country and everything suited everyone. For many, except for the very young, such a change of citizenship is just a return to what they are already familiar with.
Why are you talking about surrendering to save lives, when there was a civilized way to resolve the conflict through Minsk and the Normandy format? What is the fault of Donbassians? That the Minsk agreements turned out to be fake? That they were deceived? That they were waiting for a ceasefire and changes in Ukrainian legislation, and instead Kiev continued to kill them while building up military for the final crushing blow?
You can hate Putin, but apart from him, everyone else has betrayed the Donbass. Including your favorite “democracy champions” in Kiev and “peace advocates” in Berlin and Paris.
Traitors. Greedy racist traitors.
re: Minsk 2
as I finally got the pdf of Nicolai Petros´s study “The Tragedy of Ukraine” it´s possible to operate on c&p basis.
I will quote longer passages to make the intricacies transparent.
Even with pdf it taks time to sort out the most important from what I read two months ago. out of 300 pages.
(of course not everyone can get this study I know):
Before I get into Minsk 2 in detail here most importantly, the conclusion Petro draws in the end:
page 229-230:
“(…) Why Minsk-2 Failed
From the outset, Ukraine’s strategy was to prevent the implementation of Minsk-
2. In an interview with Radio Liberty, retired Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo
Klimkin acknowledged that Ukraine’s sole objective in signing Minsk-2 was to rebuild
the Ukrainian army and strengthen the international coalition against Russia.
“Read literally,” he says “the Minsk Accords are impossible to implement.
That was understood from the very first day.”¹⁷ Past and present Ukrainian negotiators
have all made the same point, as did President Zelensky’s Chief of
Staff, Andrei Yermak, in February 2021. As the Secretary of the National Security
and Defense Council (NSDC), Oleksiy Danilov put it, Ukraine cannot negotiate
with Donbass because “there is no such thing as Donbass … it is a definition imposed
on us by the Russian Federation.”
It was believed that this strategy of non-negotiation, which was supported by
the United States and its European allies, would eventually force Russia to leave
Donbass.²⁰ Isolated from its main supporter, the rebels would then have no
choice but to capitulate on Kiev’s terms. If this strategy had worked in Donbass,
then it could presumably have been used to gain back Crimea as well. But, instead
of surrendering in the face of Western sanctions, Russia increased its aid
to the region and raised the stakes by offering Donbass residents Russian passports.
By May 2021, more than a third of Donbass residents had acquired Russian
passports.
before that, the diplomatic attempts, for instance:
page 226-227:
“(…)Minsk-2 committed both the government in Kiev and the rebels in Donbass to direct
negotiations aimed at institutionalizing cultural pluralism in Ukraine.When
the deadlines established in Minsk-2 expired, Ukraine extended the agreement.
To gain enough support in parliament to do so, however, the Rada simultaneously
adopted a law on the restoration of state sovereignty (Law 7163). It laid out a
strategy substantially at odds with the Minsk Accords. Under this law, Ukrainian
military actions in eastern Ukraine were no longer merely an anti-terrorist operation,
but were now a “military operation with the aim of counteracting Russian
aggression.”¹⁰ Martial law was imposed throughout the region, and the regional
military commander tasked with supervising governmental, commercial, as well
as military activity.
Law 7163 never mentions the Minsk Accords. This is not an oversight. The
new law enshrined Kiev’s new demand that control of the border be transferred
to Ukraine before local elections, rather than after them, as stipulated in Point 9
of Minsk-2. This made the implementation of Minsk-2 impossible under Ukrainian
law. Moreover, since the government was committed to total Ukrainianization,
the provisions in Minsk-2 that required for constitutional changes to ensure
local cultural autonomy could also never be implemented.¹¹
None of this, however, deterred France and Germany from providing various
“roadmaps” for implementing the Second Minsk Accords. In chronological order,
they are the Morel Plan, the Sajdik Initiative, the Steinmeier Formula, and the
Clusters Approach.
(…) The Morel Plan. Named after French diplomat Pierre Morel (…) Germany, Russia, and France
agreed to the Morel Plan; Ukraine did not.
(…) The Sajdik Initiative. Named after Austrian diplomat Martin Sajdik (…) Germany, Russia, and France
agreed to the Morel Plan; Ukraine did not.
(…) The Steinmeier Formula. Named after former German foreign minister and
later president Frank-Walter Steinmeier (…) Again, Germany, Russia, and France agreed to the Steinmeier Formula; Ukraine
did not.
(…) The Clusters Approach. This last effort to revive the Minsk process was proposed
jointly by the heads of the French and German working groups in the Trilateral
Contact Group (TCG) (…) French and German negotiators provided the framework of
what should be discussed within each cluster. These would then be reviewed
by Ukrainian and Russian negotiators (since Ukraine refused any direct negotiations
with Donbass representatives), until they reached agreement. The Clusters
Approach got as far as initial drafts in early 2021. Ukraine’s draft does not mention
any special status for the regions, or any “legislation for Donbass as functioning on a permanent basis” – the euphemism Kiev uses to refer to constitutional changes. Instead, the Ukrainian draft listed legislation that the Rada
might be willing to consider. These included laws on local self-government in
the rebel territories, “the peculiarities of local elections,” amnesty, the creation
of a Special Economic Zone in the rebel regions, and certain amendments to
the Ukrainian Constitution to enhance decentralization. At the group’s last meeting
in March 2021, Russia let it be known that the Donbass representatives were
awaiting further details about how such legislation would take the specifics of
the Donbass region into account. (…)”
I know the formatting is a bit messy. And the info too detailed.
But I just got the document. You get the feeling though.
Similiar absolute lack of cooperation from Kiev´s side can be found in terms of Crimea, in terms of handling Donbas people (the Anti-Terror-Operation by Poroshenko), and in pretty shocking ways during the covid crisis where e.g. Russian vaccines were refused – after backchannel-talking to the US Embassy – on the grounds that they were “Russian” products and could possibly be manipulated.
Eventually they had NO vaccines at all because they simply fucked up everything out of sick nationalistic ideology.
the grade of fanaticism of this government cannot be stressed enough now regarding that we are slouching towards WWIII for a bunch of racist lunatics and self-righteous Nazis who are strangling their population and have silenced all criticism and wanna cleanse their country of everything Russian even though a third of its own people considers itself ALSO Russian. They never wished to leave Ukraine. A federal solution would have been perfect. But not for the rightwing ladies and gentlemen in Kiev´s halls of power.
I can only hope and assume that our own political representatives in the Berlin Bundestag act in such foolish and criminal ways out of lacking proper education in these matters. Because if they do know all this shit that was going on and they still dare to risk all our lives for this quagmire they better keep away from my door-step.
AG
Thank you for bringing information that is not available to me at the moment.
The question you ask at the end – they don’t know, or they know but are deliberately hiding info – is something I’ve been thinking about lately. On the one hand, they cannot but know, because there are too many testimonies. There were many reports in the Western media, there was even some legislation in US forbidding aid for Ukrainian nazis.
My thoughts are: there was a series of events that I interpret as evidence of purposeful preparations for war. Brexit. The “poisoning” of the Skripals. Malaysia MH17. Syrian ‘gas attack’. The transfer of the White Helmets from Syria to Europe. The “medical treatment” of Navalny in Berlin, from where he returned with a new anti-Putin narrative. The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. The appointment of people, who look like outright fools, to key positions in EU, it looks like placing expendable political material for in case of failure.
The most severe censorship of information from Russia, the closure of diplomatic, scientific, trade, cultural channels of communication.
All of that looks like a deliberate policy to create a ghetto for Russians. Now, apparently, something like a provocation is being planned to justify a nuclear strike.
@Tatyana
any safe method to relay reading material to you digitally?
(sry if this is a naive question)
as of nuclear strike –
(of course I am a layman) but what worries me more is the fact that here virtually no one brings up the issue of the US/ NATO to actually do such a thing.
It evidently can only be Russian aggression. NATO has no nukes. We still use bow and arrow. In case you didn´t know.
The Russians would resort to such an act in the very absolute exception of all possibilites if the state integrity is in danger.
Anything below that limit would be immoral by Russian standards. Would be suicide geopolitically, the Chinese would let them drop dead as would all BRICS allies. And – after all – it´s Ukraine. You don´t just destroy Ukraine with a nuclear bomb as Russian state.
That is the true perversion of the discussion in Europe and the US – and it in fact reveals the true feelings or lack of such the West has for Ukraine. Ukraine is merely a means to an end for our side. That´s why it´s so easy to suggest them being nuked.
It´s sick.
So eventually rather would the Russians save Ukraine than the West – unless of course Russia itself is seriously under existential threat.
(I am not sure whether those Nazi fans in Ukraine are aware of this. Be careful what allies you pick.)
More acute in terms of nuclear use – may be I am wrong – is a deliberate low yield attack on Russian positions deep inside.
The question then of course from where.
submarine? sabotage? In any case: so that an immediate response by Russian High Command would not be possible since the aggressor is not to be identified.
The US for sure has mapped out all major weaknesses of the Russian defense system to find the softest spot of all.
May be I am loosing my mind.
But in any case. Luckily we got RAND. And their latest piece of poetry suggested that US rather not escalate into eternity. Not least of course because of China. Which is not a cool alternative. But well, better than nothing for this very moment.
and than there is that mysterious Brazilian peace corps with Lula and boys fixing it all that I am waiting for.
AG
Don’t worry, it’s OK. I googled for Nikolai Petros book, it’s available on Google books and on Amazon. There’s also a personal website and the author speaks Russian. Two things only stop me from reading. First, it’s 520 printed pages. Cannot spend so much time on it, I prefer audio versions to listen while I work. The second reason, I’m afraid he will describe what I know already, so I found a video review on the book, I’ll be watching today
https://youtu.be/xVwtFUnzO8g
Tatyana
yep.
May be from time to time I post an item, but it would make sense only if it were dense. People dont have time.
But the core info is extremely important. I figured that much of if would be known to you.
Except, may be, the multiple sources for each political issue. Then the detailed accounts and the diplomatic minutes. All of which for a Western audience make it so important because even more believeable.
(The reviews don´t really catch the quality of the book though.)
Petro´s approach with the Ancient theatre, which you will read everywhere, however I personally found unconvincing. (about the first 40 pages)
It´s more of a smart selling and reviewing hook. And for Petro himself undoubtedly an important emotional access to the material. But as is with art, the artist´s reasons seldomly make for good art. To quote Goethe´s drama “Torquato Tasso” “You recognize the intention and are thus displeased”.
People don´t stop being imperialistic (re: Athens) just because they cry in the theatre. In fact there is no relation at all between peaceful politics and a humanistic education. Or being moved by art. Or being an artist for that matter, Reinhard Heydrich (allegedly a pro pianist and violinist) as one example.
have to check out the video. thx.
Some of us still deeply appreciate you specifically for not falling into the polarization. It’s why I’ve got you bookmarked and hopefully might be able to send support in the future! You’re apparently a very reasonable and decent fella and I’m grateful to see someone else out there publicly avoiding dogmatism and focusing on kindness and care for the general-good.
May you be blessed in your writing and other endeavors.
What strikes me is the acceptance in the west of pure racism against russians. And it is often done by people that usually speak out against racism.
It is one thing to dislike russian soldiers but when you slur, ban, insult the russian ethnic group: that is racism.
In some ways russians have become the “jews” of today.
The other day Facebook became even more supportive of the Azov neo-nazis:
“Facebook Welcomes Ukraine’s Neo-Nazi Azov Regiment Back on Platform”
https://www.allsides.com/news/2023-01-23-1428/media-industry-what-zuck-facebook-welcomes-ukraine-s-neo-nazi-azov-regiment
Ethnic russians in Ukraine will have a hard time and might face genocidal acts against them by groups like Azov if Russia were to retreat without a peace agreement.
Hello again Jack.
You said “It is one thing to dislike russian soldiers but when you slur, ban, insult the russian ethnic group: that is racism. In some ways russians have become the “jews” of today.”
Who has slurred, banned or insulted the Russian ethnic group?
Thanks,
John
John,
can YOU make sense of. this? ” it´s easier to fool the people than convince them they´ve been fooled” (Mark Twain)
The ‘Guardian, Der Spiegel are known to have published pure phantasy or even lies … both receive “gratuities” from Bill Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation and the like.
TATYANA: thankfully comments based on facts (quotes), see above
Hello Svea.
Indeed it´s easier to fool the people than convince them they´ve been fooled.
I was fooled in February 2022.
I believed the assurances from the Putin regime that they had no intention of invading Ukraine.
Remember the amusing cartoon of the skeleton of the man who has died of old age waiting for the invasion.
Imagine my surprise when the sick old dictator made a liar of himself.
Another old proverb “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
I won’t make the mistake of believing Putin’s lies again.
Or those of his tankie fan boys in the West.
All the best,
John
JAck, ISTM that the current climate of Russophobia is simply the age-old process of preparing a population to fight by the “othering” of their designated enemies. It is much simpler to lump the entire population together under some kind of derogatory nickname than single out their military as being somehow evil when the population from which they are recruited is not. If the authorities can at the same time imply that the enemies are of a lower order of life and therefore not quite human, then the process becomes easier.
Not that this is anything new: it seems pretty obvious from history that the alliance of the USA and Britain with Russia in the two world wars was very much one of dire necessity, not of choice.
“A No to NATO rally at Conway Hall on 25 February, at which I was due to speak, has been cancelled after the venue received threats and abuse online that made them concerned both for staff safety and for funding.”
What did the police say about this?
My opinion is that the ‘No 2 Nato’ event name is needlessly provocative.
It allows opponents to misrepresent the event as some ‘tankie’ pro-Russia rally. This despite the fact it isn’t, and some of the guests, like Craig, have denounced the invasion as wrong and illegal on numerous occasions. With the backdrop of daily news reports showing the horrendous destruction in Ukraine, it’s not surprising these places can easily be intimidated into cancelling.
No 2 War, would’ve sufficed as a less contentious event name. And that would’ve been more difficult to misrepresent. Speakers could’ve expressed their long held opinions about the futility of war, Nato and Nato expansionism, regardless.
Few days ago (Daily politics I believe). I saw Anna Soubry being in support of Starmer.
Today I watched interview on “Not Andrew Marr Show” with Peter Oborne supporting Starmer.
If “ex conservatives” find him a “safe pair of hands” credit to them for that but my alarm bell ring.
Later on, on the same show I watched heartbreaking Interview with Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos.
In this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZDP0uziyCw
“He was asked if he would speak on an online event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and he accepted the invitation. A few days before the event, Labour sent him an email warning him that (he might) he would be expelled if he spoke as it was run by a proscribed group, Socialist Labour Network.
He has decided to resign from the Labour Party!
Did we really sleepwalk into totalitarianism/ fascism/ Orwellian times/ Anti-racist declared racist and the Jews being antisemitic and etc.
And Labour party does not support Unions and strikes.
Heil Starmfuhrer!
Hello PE.
You said “And Labour party does not support Unions and strikes.”
Nor, I expect that you will find, does the Putin regime.
(There is a noticeable absence of definite articles in your post. Cén fáth?)
Good night.
John
JK
“Nor, I expect that you will find, does “Ukraine.
JK
“There is a noticeable absence of definite articles in your post”
I explained to you on numerous occasions , why I have problems especially with articles .
PIGEON ENGLISH would give a/the clue to most sensible people.
Are you Autistic or (“a ” or “the” ) “Sea lion” explained by Reza?
“A pidgin[1][2][3] /ˈpɪdʒɪn/, or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from several languages”.
Oh shit. It is not Pigeon but Pidgin English (Fawlty towers pigs and pigeons and Emanuel’s pidgin English).
I will try not to “feed “you anymore!
Did you check Reza’s comment on “Sealions”
JK
honestly I was thinking of having a name ” a or the ” or ( “a”or “the”).
Pigeon English
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, there was an article that Anthony Blinken’s father was Samuel Pisar, a Jew of Polish origin, a Holocaust survivor who passed through Majdanek, Auschwitz, Dachau, Oranienburg, Sachsenhausen. Samuel Pisar later worked for US administration and tried to build ties between the West and the East.
Knowing Mr. Blinken’s role in Ukraine, I was puzzled because I expected that family memory had something to do with Mr. Blinken’s attitude towards Nazism, and towars Russia.
Later I knew that Blinken’s mother married Mr. Pisar when Antony was about 8. It may explain that perhaps Mr. Blinken didn’t think he had any relation to his stepfather’s life story.
There will be no slippery slopes. I will not support anti-Semitism, nor other forms of racism, chauvinism or discrimination. If my comments look like this, then please point me to it. I learned from Mrs. DiAngelo one clever thing – avoiding the topic doesn’t help to overcome the problem. We are not able to get rid of ugly phenomena in society, when we are silent on them.
I’d also like to thank Svea for complimenting my commenting style.
More about commenting, Pidgin English 🙂 Your nickname reads like a linguistic term, and its spelling adds a second layer of meaning and also says something about you 🙂 From the very first time, it was clear you’re a person who speak more than one language.
That commentator should have thought about his own contribution to the discussion, instead of arrogant remarks about your language skills.
So far, I see the same type of meaningless texts “what did you say, what did you mean…”
Have you seen the popular Tony and Ezekiel meme?
https://youtu.be/0XSXaR4ngfM
This style of discussion. You decide if you want to continue.
In my opinion, I believe he was being honest when he said he wanted answers. The answers give him a reason to keep going. If ignored, then his comments will look like a manifestation of Tourette’s syndrome.
“You said “And Labour party does not support Unions and strikes.”
Nor, I expect that you will find, does the Putin regime.”
The “Putin regime” has no party organisation in the UK, fields no candidates for members of parliament and has never formed any part of the British government. Any more irrelevant facts you might like to bring forward?
“Oh shit. It is not Pigeon but Pidgin English (Fawlty towers pigs and pigeons and Emanuel’s pidgin English).”
Never mind. “Pidgin English” is merely factual. “Pigeon English” is faintly witty, even if unintentionally so, and very much in the tradition of nicknames on here.
Ha, hold my beer, Pigeon English
I recently read that Antony Blinken’s father is a Holocaust surviver. I couldn’t believe! Blinken and Nuland support Kiev regime and know pretty well Nazis role in it.
I must confess I recalled some ugly stereotypes saying Jews are greedy to the extent they may sell mother for good profit.
Actually, it turned out that Blinken was adopted, so well, at least stereotypes are proved wrong.
Sorry Tatyana
but I do not get your point 100% and furthermore I am not going on “slippery slope”
Tatyana,
google voltaire.net (Thierry Meysan) – L´UE mise à genoux par les Straussiens. (various translation there)
revealing info concerning Leo Strauss, Ms Nuland, Mr Blinken and other public figures of influence..
Tatyana:
got it wrong, it´s http://www.voltairenet.org
Blinken was not adopted and it’s his step-mother, Vera, who is the Holocaust survivor. She wrote about her experiences escaping Soviet Hungary for the US in 1950 in her autobiography, ‘Vera and the Ambassador’.
Strange. My version of Anthony John Blinken’s biography says that his father Donald Blinken was the US Ambassador to Hungary. His mother, Judith Blinken, was the manager of Merce Cunningham’s dance group. His parents divorced and his mother married Samuel Pisar. The step-mother Vera isn’t mentioned anywhere at all.
Tatyana, Vera was Antony Blinken’s step mother. His real mother was Jewish, but not a Holocaust survivor, as far as I can make out, so he’s definitely Jewish.
I don’t think that Nazism is inherently anti-semitic, it is just an ideology that needs an out-group to hate, blame and to consider sub-human. In 1930s Germany, the Jews fitted the bill. Today in Ukraine, it’s the Russians. (It was the Russians before as well, but they only got second billing, then.)
I can not remember the “inconvenient event ” but same bomb threat tactic was used to cancel it (something to do with Labour or Labour “fringe”)
For those still trying to figure what in hell’s name (quite literally) is going on in Ukraine a number of headline reporters between them over the last few days have a given a very good review of where we are.
Speaking to Judge Napolitano Colonel Douglas MacGregor gives an overall review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmIKBEiaRyA
Brian Berletic, speaking to Galloway, gives a good military and political breakdown. Ignore the technical problems and see from 1:10:40 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlKJapU_QFw
And finally, in fine fettle, Jimmy Dore, speaking to Russell Brand, gives a searing evisceration of the US Neo-con regime. See from 48:50 :
https://rumble.com/v27uf42-pfizer-sting-is-this-why-the-media-arent-talking-about-it-070-stay-free-wit.html
All of whom have been singing (or in Galloway’s case shouting) from the pro-Russian songbook since day one. MacGregor’s been predicting that Ukraine and NATO are on the point of collapsing since the war began and Berletic can’t decide if Ukraine is on the verge of defeat or facing a long war.
Russell Brand. Really?
Russell Brand. Really?
Yes he is big surprise to many.
This is quite good video Talking about “opportunities” to invest and “reconstruct” and privatize Ukraine (plunder IMHO).
Russell Brand: Oh SH*T, Zelensky Really Just Said That?! – YouTube (20m 20s)
Can’t verify many of the quotes he uses and besides, what plans do you think Russia has for Ukraine post-victory?
You do not need to verify those Quotes.
That is how modern neo-liberalism works.
Example
Agricultural land sale to foreigners
“The land market opened on July 1, more than a year after Ukrainian lawmakers passed a law lifting the ban on sales, as required to *receive a loan from the International Monetary Fund.”
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-agriculture-farmland-economy-/31336984.html
Agricultural land sale was very unpopular in Ukraine, widely opposed. Ukrainians are wise people, they know what is reasonable and what is wrong. In case today they forgot their ancestors wisdoms, I can remind, it’s still preserved here in Russia.
Folklore, my granny’s favorite song
Продай милий сивi бички
https://youtu.be/AuyGAjtBsfw
—
A woman persuades her man to sell cattle to buy her shoes, dress, wine… She says: ‘you know I’m of noble origin and I’m used to a certain lifestyle’. Soon, the family finds out they have run out of firewood. Husband harnesses his wife to the cart and voila, soon she realises that going in a cart is some worse lifestyle.
PM
“what plans do you think Russia has for Ukraine post-victory?
I wish I knew if Russia plans occupation/liberation of the whole of
Ukraine(not possible IMO) or just liberation/occupation of the 4 “oblast/region”
Yes a lot of destruction happened in “Donbas” but not that much to need
Western Institution and Banks and Hedge Funds etc. to get involved.
Right now I wanted to post something but could not find quickly trustworthy source but
I stumbled upon this article that explains better Agri-land then my other link.
https://global.ilmanifesto.it/the-truth-about-corporations-taking-over-ukrainian-agricultural-lands/
BTW big chunk 15-20% of Ukraine is still under separatist/terrorist/ and Russia’s control. I strongly suggest you read that RAND corporation repport. Everything is so far going according to suggestion by Rand.
PM
I did not read the book but I saw a couple of interviews by John Perkins
“Economic Hit man” where he explains how to target the country with loans.
“”According to Perkins, his job at the firm was to convince leaders of underdeveloped countries to accept substantial development loans for large construction and engineering projects. Ensuring that these projects were contracted to U.S. companies, such loans provided political influence for the US and access to natural resources for American companies,[
” I wish I knew if Russia plans occupation/liberation of the whole of
Ukraine(not possible IMO) or just liberation/occupation of the 4 “oblast/region” ”
Putin made it clear before the invasion that he doesn’t regard Ukraine as being separate from Russia, his intention is to annex the whole country as he already has Crimea and Donbas. Documents captured after the Russians retreated from Kyiv showed that they planned to have completed the military conquest within 5 days and have had a puppet government of Ukrainian Quislings in place by August. What their plans were after that nobody but they know but they weren’t banking on having so much of their own damage to repair.
“Yes a lot of destruction happened in “Donbas” but not that much to need
Western Institution and Banks and Hedge Funds etc. ”
Really? I thought Ukraine was committing genocide in the area and subjecting it to continual heavy bombardment. Was that not true after all? What about the destruction across the rest of Ukraine? Who’s going to pay for that?
“Really? I thought Ukraine was committing genocide in the area and subjecting it to continual heavy bombardment. Was that not true after all? What about the destruction across the rest of Ukraine? Who’s going to pay for that?”
Unless you are party to some medical techniques unknown to the rest of the world, you will know that no amount of money is going to bring a single dead Ukranian back to life. The “continual heavy bombardment.” is far more destructive to life than is it to property, as seems to be the intention. Russia has announced its intention of rebuilding the war-torn areas of the Donbass and as for the rest of Ukraine, the damage is very light, the Russians not having employed the US tactic of carpet-bombing.
PM
likewise . Russians are deserting in the millions and run out of “ammunition many many months ago
and yet they are shelling ! I guess they found some rockets and missiles or whatever on/in the back of a sofa .
Unlike the Russians trowing /dispensing of human lives in Bahmut civilized and brave Ukrainians are holding on
but might retreat in the same time. Do you get the illogical /contradictory war propaganda.
According to war propaganda Soledar and Bahmut are irrelevant towns but according to some estimates there is
between 30 000 – 60 000 personal + equipment..allegedly well trained to attack and retake Donbas.
IMO we will know soon.
Are you Bernd on MoA
From the other side Ukraine has no tanks left, precious little artillery, most of the weapons supplied by NATO have been sold to the Mafia, they’re dying in vastly greater numbers than Russians so what’s left of their army is made up of boys and old men; not counting the Polish divisions who are really there to take over the western part of the country when the time is right, they’re welding tank crews into their vehicles to stop them surrendering, the army is being ravaged by drug resistant TB and the wounded are being sold to European hospitals to have their organs ‘harvested’ for transplant.
You might notice a few contradictions there.
“All of whom have been singing (or in Galloway’s case shouting) from the pro-Russian songbook”
Yes, because there could be no other reason for me pointing out that you are lying except that I myself wish to lie about the subject about which you are talking.
Russia applied for UN security council meeting on Ukraine on February 8. Presidency in UN SC for February is by Malta. I hope they schedule the event.
Russia will preside in April and I hope we will be able to facilitate some discussions, like the latest one “Arria format”, semi-formal meeting. I felt much hope listening to Arab Emirates representative.
Hello Tatyana.
You said ” I felt much hope listening to Arab Emirates representative.”
Hope for what?
A Ukrainian surrender?
A coronary embolism for Vlad the Bad?
We need to know.
What did you think of Putin’s Volgograd performance?
Good night.
John
re: international law and traitors.
There’s an organization called United Nations.
There’s a body in it called United Nations Security Council (UN SC).
https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/
from the page:
“The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.”
On 17 February 2015 the UN SC unanimously adopted Resolution #2202
https://press.un.org/en/2015/sc11785.doc.htm
“… to fully implement the “Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements”, adopted on 12 February 2015 in Minsk, Belarus …
… an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions…
… withdrawal of all heavy weapons by both sides by equal distances in order to create a security zone …
… withdrawal of all foreign armed formations, military equipment and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine …
… disarmament of all illegal groups …
… carrying out reform in Ukraine with a new constitution entering into force by the end of 2015 …
… decentralization, as well as adopting permanent legislation on the special status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in line with eight measures until the end of 2015 …
the representative of France said it was the Council’s collective responsibility to “silence the guns”. The representative of Germany said the resolution was of utmost importance, conveying a stern message to those who violated the ceasefire.
Agreeing, the representative of Ukraine called on the Security Council’s permanent members to prevent violations. He also emphasized that the Russian Federation needed to secure its borders with his country and urge militants to honour the Agreements.
The representative of the Russian Federation said his country had continually done its utmost to ensure that open dialogue be established between the parties to the conflict.”
Any ideas, why that conflict was then described as ‘tragic events and violence in eastern regions of Ukraine’, and now turned out into a Russian-Ukrainian war?
UN SC permanent members are: Russia, China, US, UK, France
10 UN SC non-permanent member states in 2015, the states which unanimously voted for peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine: Chad, Nigeria, Angola, Jordan, Malaysia, Chile, New Zealand, Spain, Venezuela, Lithuania.
Actually, I don’t expect Chad or Jordan do something about it. I’d like to know what is the contribution to the peaceful settlement from neighbouring countries, like Lithuania, or Spain.
The Bundestag have apparently confirmed after announcing the 14 panzers that a total of 88 will be supplied.
Will the U.K. and other of our Anglo Saxon , white supremacist ‘leaders’ and House Slaves also follow up their initial 14 whatever’s with a total of 88?
If you still think that the Nazis and their backers of a hundred years ago disappeared when the Red Army smashed them back to Berlin and that Adolf also disappeared in ashes and none of the Nazi babies made it through to this century and ended up in the various Nazi governments- then you are being delusional and ignoring the fact they are screaming with the ‘14 88’ symbolism.
Or maybe you are happy to be seen as saluting back and screaming the slogan back as some modern day Nuremberg Rally in the lates Hugo Boss outfits!
I picked my side 18 months ago – I always hated Nazis more than Commies, but I was taught that Nazis had been annihilated- like a disease. It turns out they were incubated in various biolabs such as Canada. And were left intact to rise again. Through the WH/IMF/BIS and politics of entitlement from Ayn Rand to the Turd Way of liberalism’ and WEF Gardeners and their other faced conservative hawks.
The US House just voted against ‘socialism’ not ‘National Socialism’ which they alone and Ukraine voted against in a UN resolution!
If you don’t fight Nazism in your own country and government then you are a sieg heiling Nazi and I am your IMPLACABLE enemy.
Yesterday I celebrated the anniversary of WW2 being lost by the poxy proxies at Stalingrad by the great suffering of the citizens and sacrifices of the Russians. The point that the Masters of the proxies decided to retreat once again and hope to stop the Russians from coming ALL the way across Europe by lying with treaties- that were always going to be broken! Here we are again as the duplicitous Bargaining begins again – with a ‘leak’ that the CIA have delivered a offer to the Kremlin that they can keep 20% of Ukraine while the US and their fellow Nazis and Blackrocks Fink get to keep the rest!
What a bunch of hand wringing , murderous , fraudsters still playing their endless Game.
I am now thinking that the Eternal Army should move all the way to western edge of EurAsia and finally get rid of the Aryan mythologists forever and bring peace to our countries that has been constantly riven for centuries for the benefit of the few who have long long ago laid claim to us as their slaves and our wealth as their own God Given right.
Come friendly bombs , come hearty Russians and EurAsias Multipolar Eternal Armies.
URA.
The germans have totally lost it
“Unbelievable, but true – we are once again threatened with German Leopard tanks, with crosses on their hull. And once again seeking to battle Russia in Ukraine with the help of Hitler’s followers, the Banderites,” Putin said.
https://swentr.site/russia/570872-putin-response-to-threats/
The other day a diplomat from ukraine called on Germany to send fighter jets and submarine next.
Maybe these Leopards, vis-à-vis Liz Truss’s 'it's done' to Blinken, pointing to a Nato ally having terrorised another, cutting its economic prospects perse, should be delivered without barrels.
Who blew up NS2? Mrs Truss.
DunGroanin
I don’t intend to spoil the emotions expressed in your comment. Just sharing my own feelings about it.
When I see something like ‘go Russia, get rid of xxx ..’ I cannot help thinking like ‘so, you wanna say you yourself going to sit there, voting for your f*cked up politicians, watching dirty ideology nests appearing here and there, and you gonna encourage me to send my boys to die? My husband? My brother? My son? F*ck you. Go and fight yourself’.
Tatyana, I agree totally with you. I am sorry that yet again Russians have had to fight and die against the same old forces. I am only grateful that their casualties are as minimal as can be and they, you, are not invaded by the murderous mercenaries of Old Europe. I hope too that this time will the last such attempt, forever. The sooner we peoples of EurAsia behave in a mutually secure energy , food , health and economic security the better.
I personally gave up mainstream media some 5 years ago – having been an ‘expert’ of sorts in it.
Working indeed for the largest companies , pr industry and govt departments. I say that to show that I am largely immune to that daily propaganda. Most of my nearest and dearest unfortunately are still besotted. I am appalled by the exponential ratcheting up of racism against Russia and all things Russian. It is much worse than the Islamophobia bred for the War on Terror. Or the anti EU and migrant narratives.
I do daily speak the alternative view backed by independent journalists on Indy media. I have now got the rep for it , with some even sending me mindless social media propaganda. I knock it down as best as I can. I will say most have stopped paying attention to Ukraine and believe that their austerity is now Putins fault as it used to be the EU’s fault. Hence BrexShit.
Fight? Who and how ? I am an unarmed aging civilian who is probably a pacifist and would not be able to achieve anything if trying such violence against the Violent State that is prepared for such protest. There are an awful lot of new laws smuggled in upon our ‘rights’ in the last few years.
I will however fight any Nazi in my midst. With my bare hands. Bring it on!
Electorally we in Britain have no choice. We are a fascist state now. We have been subjected to a coup. By vote fixing. Several times. Our last hope was to get the Corbynites in power. The whole of the elite Collective Wastes propaganda and vote fixing machinery was put to play to stop that happening. Pompeo’s Gauntlet. And postal vote stuffing. Even then over 10 million of us voted for sanity.
But the Old Forces, were insistent that ‘All their plans would be threatened’ if JC became PM.
So the vote fix was pushed to its limits. Their Plans are revealed, tragically being actioned now in the Ukraine, as they have been all across the world for decades.
I can’t stop it, 10 million couldn’t, but 100 million across Europe on the streets protesting Would have a chance. The time is coming when we start marching with Russian flags as well as Palestinian! The Nazis being promoted in our midst will see that. Unfortunately some will be our erstwhile friends and neighbours. It will be horrible but I will stand in the street stopping them passing.
I wish I could do more.
I’m sure that the above is not much comfort to your plea. I’ m sorry for Russians. But I know they of all will win again and I am grateful and thankful to Russians for that hope.
Tatyana, I don’t know about the other European countries (I think the Poles are the same), but here in the UK, there is a strong reluctance to get involved in sorting anything out. Sorting out is always the responsibility of a mysterious “they”, as in “They ought to do something about…..” During the run-up to Brexit I was even offered, as a reason for staying in the EU, that the EU acted as a brake on some of the worst excesses of our own government. The suggestion that it would be simpler, easier and more effective for us not to elect crappy Tory governments in the first place fell on deaf ears.
That’s the feeling of being the only adult in the playroom where the kids got too involved. And now my task is to roll up my sleeves and remove all this dirt?
I honestly really appreciate your impulse. But no less honestly, let’s compare our respective investments? You will march through your clean European-style streets, and your action will attract less attention than a colorful showy day of freaks.
And from me you expect a sacrifice comparable to that of the Madonna?
I’d be happy to exaggerate, but I really have only one son and I don’t see a worthy justification for making such a sacrifice.
Also I’m very angry at the Ukrainians. Do they have an excess of Madonnas there?
Tobias Elwood, head of UK Parliament defence committee, says Britain needs to move to martial law and engage directly in war against Russia.
What a time to be alive! (Perhaps not for much longer)
This guy is apparently also a brigadier of the Army’s online psyop 77th Brigade. We are being led to oblivion by one of the internet’s cartoon dog men. Almost certainly one of the clowns involved in getting Craig’s talk cancelled.
You have a link for that? It was claimed he was pressing for martial law over the Covid pandemic which turned out not to be true.
Haha, leaping to the defence of establishment war psychos as ever. Why don’t you find it yourself, he said it on Sky News.
Searches don’t turn up any reference to Tobias Elwood mentioning “martial law”, fonso. Did you see it written down anywhere?
I note he said this recently in the House of Commons:
“The first duty would be to organise a major Marshall plan conference in the spring and begin post-conflict assistance planning.”
– Hansard, 19 January 2023
You can watch him say it here @1:51
Be wary of automatic subtitling, which is prone to errors with homophones.
Are you as comfortable as Tobias with Britain going directly to war with a nuclear behemoth?
> Are you as comfortable as him with Britain going to war with a nuclear behemoth?
I’m not comfortable with threats from any nuclear behemoth, as it happens.
But this isn’t about me. Did you find any reference to Tobias Elwood MP urging the British government to declare martial law?
I take that as a yes then.
You can see Tobias quoted below calling for this country to move to a war footing and directly confront Russia. Click the Twitter link and you will see his lips moving saying it on Sky News. Do you reckon if Tobias got his way he would be any more eager than you to actually go over there and take them on?
I take that as a no then.
Do you favour submitting to any bully who threatens you with a big stick? Would you be prepared to stand up for a friend who’s getting pushed around and beaten up?
Maybe you could marshal a few friends to persuade the bully to back off?
So you’re reaffirming you’re support for Tobias the mad man.
And I’ll take that as wimping out from answering the key question.
> So you’re reaffirming you’re support for Tobias the mad man.
No, actually. (It sounds like you’re the mad one in this debate.) On the contrary, I affirm my deep distrust of Tobias and any member of the slimy, secretive 77th Brigade. Thankfully middle-ranking officers, like Lt Cols, aren’t responsible for taking the big decisions.
I wasn’t referring to his online antics. I mean do you support his call, as head of the defence committee, for Britain to go directly to war with Russia?
And what is it I’ve said that you consider to be mad?
> I wasn’t referring to his online antics. I mean do you support his call, as head of the defence committee, for Britain to go directly to war with Russia?
No, I don’t; thanks for asking. I really hope Britain doesn’t get dragged further into this mess, beyond supplying arms, machinery, intelligence and training. Tobias is a loose cannon, and his proposed strategy far too risky. All politicians are aware of the huge risks of the UK or any other NATO country engaging their troops directly in the conflict, and so far (thankfully) they’re resolutely against it. That imminent danger also looms over Russia, it must be said, so they should also be wary of escalating military tensions beyond Ukrainian borders.
> And what is it I’ve said that you consider to be mad?
You seem remarkably prone to jump to conclusions. Responding to PM’s direct request for evidence with a laughing taunt like “Haha, leaping to the defence of establishment war psychos as ever.” sounds pretty unhinged, to be honest. You followed it by continually making assumptions about my opinions. It’s a strange way for a discussion to proceed, and I prefer if you didn’t debate that way.
You still didn’t give your response to the bullying scenario. I think it’s a useful analogy to add into the mix as it puts a different perspective on the situation. I note that you ducked the question, but I won’t go so far as to assume I know how you would answer.
I’m glad to hear that. I did assume from your response that you were a Tobias supporter. My desire is for de-escalation, peace talks and negotiations. I do not see our leaders as people driven to punish bullies. They are for all the world to see the most craven sidekicks of the omnipotent bully. So no that is not their motivation in escalating the war. However someone needs to remind Tobias and co that they are not going up against the sandal men of Iraq and Afghanistan (who they found too hot to handle). Attacking Russia has far more frightening consequences for ordinary people living here. Is there anyone in British public life who will remind him? I don’t see anybody.
He told Sky News: “We are now at war in Europe. We need to move to a war footing… We need to face Russia directly, rather than leaving Ukraine to do all the work.”
https://twitter.com/ArthurM40330824/status/1620687953994584066?s=20&t=nKWVt1Z8DMllWDMYo330uw
https://www.teletrader.com/british-mp-says-uk-must-face-russia-directly-in-ukraine/news/details/59361150
It’s par for the course for him. Virtually as soon as it began he was demanding that Britain support a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2022/02/tobias-ellwood-the-uk-must-support-a-no-fly-zone-over-ukraine
He may be the most dangerous chickenhawk in all Europe, committed to incinerating us all.
Lets hope that any further interventions in Ukraine by the UK go better for us, fonso, than when Ellwood tried to intervene to stop a teenager playing football in the street in leafy Bournemouth a few years ago, which didn’t work out too well for him. Don’t they teach basic self-defence in the army these days?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-11111168
By the way, unless he’s recently been promoted, he’s still a lieutenant colonel in the Sunset Strippers.
Many are still with him in wanting to take on the red army and its nukes. Even some contributors to a site like this!
Thanks for your reply, fonso. There’ll always be people like that, I’m afraid. I see that even with the benefit of hindsight, rather than advising people who aren’t trained killers to report any anti-social behaviour they see to the police so they can do the job taxpayers pay them to, Ellwood was instead suggesting that they do exactly what he did:
“I encourage more people to challenge more people like this otherwise they think they can get away with it.”
Isn’t there enough pressure on the NHS these days?
Enjoy the weekend.
It’s the likes of this Mr Ellwood who propose to entertain Joe Biden’s and Nuland’s wish to take out NS2.
He is part of a slobbering war hungry minority of paper-pushing psychos that believe they can win a thermonuclear conflict.
Tatyana is so right, no war is worth a young person’s life. Look at who is proposing it: rich people and countries who use war to profit from death.
If all these party politicians and gung-ho leaders want war, they should send their boys and girls to fight for this obstinate fascist-worshipping entity.
I apologise to all those tourists visiting Norwich; you will not see Norwich’s/Norfolk’s flag flying on City Hall, but that of a state that has rejected peace when it had the chance.
Norwich City council might have applied to join Ukraine’s Federation of not-so-autonomous regions.
Not one young person should have to die for dirty greed and a country whose economy can not work without generating and manufacturing wars.
Nevermind
If no war is worth a young man’s life, why is Putin sending 100’s of thousands of his young men to fight and die in Ukraine?
Interested to hear your view.
(I’m not sure if Tatyana expressed the same opinion as you suggest?)
All the best,
John
Came across this YouTube vid on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/MX52710569/status/1620862272326475777?t=UdTXXBYv2e6Z5aF_Z1Opug&s=19
Maybe one of the Russian speakers here can advise whether it is genuine?
It seems to me that it captures the bullying nature of the Russian attitude to Ukraine.
After all, the propagandists on Russkiy TV often deny the reality of Ukrainian nationhood.
But as someone once said, a plan (e.g. invade your neighbour’s country) works fine till you get a punch in the mouth.
Good night,
John
sry to intervene:
but allow me to make one comment:
The breaking-up of Russia and thus threatening Russian state integrity.
That´s what eventually is at stake and all the “fuss” and the “dead” are about.
And I would assume, at least from my Russian colleagues and from what little I hear or read coming out of Russia – that a critical mass of people does still concur with this fear.
(That I am in favour of antiwar protest in Russia does not contradict this geopolitical analysis.)
Russia is being threatened in its statehood existence. It´s very clear and simple. And with every new month this war is dragging on it becomes more and more obvious. By now US officials are quite honest about it.
This regardless of in how far the Russian system is more akin to US style capitalism than the Russian state itself would be willing to openly concede.
The situation is complex. But undoubtedly there is this very concrete danger which after all is not new.
You could argue: it´s now the rematch for the lost Russian Civil War from 1919 on, when armies from Europe and US mercenaries invaded Russia to rid it of the Bolsheviks.
This failed.
The idea to ally along German military might for this end in 1941 also didn´t work out well for any side.
I have pointed out here before US and British plans to wipe out Russia and China in the early post-war years.
This attitude of achieving total global dominance is confirmed by the various top secret documents from the US National Security Council since the late 1940s. Those are fact not fiction.
As of the present:
Prof. Roberts from Cork University wrote a piece on the current discussion about “decolonizing Russia” – which is just a euphemism for destroying Russian statehood.
“Prof. Geoffrey Roberts: Comment on Periodization as Decolonization”
https://natyliesbaldwin.com/2023/01/prof-geoffrey-roberts-comment-on-periodization-as-decolonization/
It is also part of this longread thread by a couple of English historians who are having this public argument about the case of “decolonizing”
here:
“Periodization as Decolonization”:
https://networks.h-net.org/node/10000/blog/decolonizing-russian-studies/12148542/periodization-decolonization#replies
Roberts´ piece would be the newest and last in the thread.
and this text was one cause for the quarrel:
Opinion – The Rationale of Russia’s ‘Special Military Operation’ in Ukraine
David R. Marples
https://natyliesbaldwin.com/2023/01/prof-geoffrey-roberts-comment-on-periodization-as-decolonization/
Roberts commented on the issue already this summer in the Irish Times here:
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2022/07/13/ukraine-must-grasp-peace-from-jaws-of-unwinnable-war/
Another hint: The US Helsinki commission openly seeks for the dismemberment of Russia.
Which frankly is in theory, given international law and the foundation of the existing legal framework, a declaration of war.
These issues don´t come up in reference of the USA. Simply, because they are lucky geographically.
And second: they already have committed their genocide to gain control of the land.
So no open questions any more. (The dire fate of native Americans is the only reminder of what has happened.)
To prohibit anew a course of events as in 1919 and 1941 is the main cause for the Russian government to send their men into battle. To answer a question here.
Besides: What the hell is the US doing in Ukraine? A country 10.000 miles off its coast, with no connection to its own culture, lingustic or historic heritage.
But: no one is asking this evident question any more.
“What the hell is the US doing in Ukraine? A country 10.000 miles off its coast, with no connection to its own culture, lingustic or historic heritage””
We were told back in 2014 the fateful US intervention there was about promoting freedom. That is still the official line.
AG
Russian plans for the dismemberment of Ukraine are ok with you?
Plans that are actually in progress.
But hypothetical decolonization of Russia, the last major colonial power, gets you all sweaty?
All the best,
John
hi John,
the issue of “hypothetical decolonization of Russia” doesn´t get me sweaty. It´s getting sweaty well established Western historians of Russia. Which I find interesting. Since why get sweaty if there is no reason.
And to stick to your terminology, decolonizing Russia gets Americans all”wet”.
As to Ukraine. It is true we cannot tell how Ukraine as a nation will look like after this war.
But this possibly tragic outcome was not prescribed.
From Russian side there was no such ominous thing as a commission or secret planning group to destroy the Ukrainian nationhood.
The only remark people could find was Putin´s 1st speech in February which was a provocation, yes.
I guess he was sort of pissed by then because he feared he would have to order an attack it he stuck to his plan and view of geopolitics.
But this speech did not stipulate any concrete demand neither did it lay out any such plan re: destruction Ukraine.
Just 6 months before, when the Russians might have still hoped that Washington would take their NATO related demands seriously, in a widely read article which was meant as a political statement Putin said, verbatim I hope for the Ukrainians to be a content nation and sovereign.
The fact that the Russians wanna wipe out Ukraine is a fairy-tale. And no, this war is no proof for the opposite.
We know there were several peace deals attempted. The first one just 72 hours or so after the invasion started.
We also know that the Russians did not start carpet bombing and shooting at everthing and everybody like crazy (like US forces did in Iraq – “Shock and Awe” and stuff.)
In fact Washington Post and NYT wondered why the Russian conduct of war was so restrained for several months.
Because that was not considered the proper way to destroy an enemy force.
Not me saying this (or sweating it out) but some military experts.
US / UK military would have done it differently – e.g. starting with the civilian infrastructure and the electricity, and carpet-bombing etc. from day 1 on as could be observed in Iraq, or Kosovo or Lybia.
As to negotiations – you don´t repeatedly go back to the option of ending hostilities peacefully if you seriously seek your foe´s destruction.
As 2 examples show opposite outcomes:
In the case of Afghanistan 2001 after the US called for war, the Kabul government offered to find and deliver to them Bin Laden.
Thus Kabul offered a peaceful solution.
Bush declined. This made the Afghan war illegal because according to UN SC rules the US first had to prove that Kabul, the government they wanted to wage a war againt, was truly responsible for 9/11. But Washington never produced this proof. Because it didn´t exist.
But that didn´t matter because the US was not interested in a peacefule resolution anyway.
Similar with Iraq where the Hussein government was offering peace terms which were ignored by Washington. Again because the US had long singled out Iraq as the next target. No avoiding war. No peace.
So in latter 2 examples you see how a major power will play it without remorse and without willingness to negotiate after they have set their minds onto war.
The Russian example is different since their decision to attack Ukraine was reluctant. We can assume this as it was most likely a very short-term decision.
If you want to wipe out a country double the size of Germany with a population of 40 mio. people you don´t decide to go to war 7 days earlier. With a force that is obviously too small to engage in such a manner as to make sure that country will definitely end up a complete ruin.
So, no hard facts are to be found that prove Russian plans to destroy Ukraine statehood. Nor does it make much sense.
Afghanistan for the US was like the moon. A cartoon. They knew whatever mess they woul leave back would not concern them.
Whatever goes wrong with Ukraine is an issue for Russia.
In the case of Ukraine there were millions of families with ties on both sides of the border.
You dont go to war lightly here.
I won´t get into Ukraine fighting NATO´s war againt Russia, because this post is already too long. (sry but by now you know me…)
But this NATO role too has been affirmed by the Ukrainian themselves by now. Even though it was rebuffed back in Febr. as “PP” (putin propaganda)
(Apparently everthing people like me who are critical of the US/EU position say is proven correct with a time delay of several month. Lets hope this won´t hold up for the even more destructive action.)
Hello AG.
Putin and his lieutenants have frequently denied the legitimacy of Ukrainian statehood, the canonical example being Putin’s ‘essay’ on the subject in 2021. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181
This narrative has been repeated ad nauseam on Russkiy State TV – see https://www.youtube.com/@russianmediamonitor
As to his decision to invade being “reluctant”, why then did he mass over 100,000 troops on the border (though of course he did repeatedly lie about his intentions, claiming they were there for exercises)?
His initial attack was on Kyiv, presumably an attempted decapitation.
Perhaps you believe that the infamous 30 mile long column of tanks heading (verry slowly) towards Kyiv was heroic forbearance by Putin, rather than military incompetence, broken down equipment & ill-trained and ill-equipped troops?
Aye right.
All the best,
John
Russia began to build up forces on the Ukrainian border in March 2021 which means that planning must’ve started in late or mid 2020. It’s just not possible to mount a successful invasion at short notice without detailed planning. Look what happened at Gallipoli and Dieppe.
Capturing Kyiv was the main objective, the Donbas assault was intended to be the feint. To the north of the city the Russians had a 12 to 1 advantage but they’d planned for a short military campaign expecting to encounter little to no resistance. The failure to capture Hostomel airport intact also restricted their ability to re-supply.
https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/special-resources/preliminary-lessons-conventional-warfighting-russias-invasion-ukraine-february-july-2022
“Capturing Kyiv was the main objective, the Donbas assault was intended to be the feint. ”
That is classic “they would say that, wouldn’t they?”. The RUSI is hardly an unbiased source. Of course where our side was successful was the enemy’s main objective and where our side was not so successful was merely a sideshow, exactly in the same way that every town, defended to the last, that our side is driven out of is “unimportant” and every town abandoned by the enemy and then occupied by our side is “important”, or the way the our side “retreats and regroups” and the enemy “flees in disorder”. It’s slightly less laughable than “victorious retreat”, but not much.
The RUSI report is probably the most unbiased you’ll find. They have access to copies of the Russian battle plans captured after the retreat from Kyiv.
Quite possibly, but that doesn’t make it unbiased.
“this report seeks to outline key lessons, based on the operational data accumulated by the Ukrainian General Staff,”
You claim”They have access to copies of the Russian battle plans captured after the retreat from Kyiv.”
I don’t how to say it politely but instead I will ask a simple Q.
When and where & how did they capture those documents as you say “after the retreat from Kyiv”.
I might have missed the capture of those Generals carrying those plans!
The plans were left behind when the Russians fled. Further evidence that it wasn’t a planned withdrawal. Kyiv posted them onto Facebook.
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-revealed-secret-battle-plans-left-behind-by-russian-troops-2022-3?r=US&IR=T
Says 15 days but that was from 20th Feb. Russian invaders didn’t cross the border until the 24th.
PM at 7.57 and 8.07
“The seized documents were posted on Facebook by the ministry and showed the war plans of one of the units of the battalion tactical group of the 810th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet”,
Not to be pedantic but it does not sound as Kiev. so called battle field
“The documents did not appear to give any information about Russian forces taking any Ukrainian city.”
So these documents prove that Russia will occupy the whole of Ukraine without taking Cities.
According to the article non is verified or could be verified.
City mentioned is “Melitopol ” close to Black Sea and Black Sea Fleet.
Question still remains where those documents were “captured”. Where did Russians run away leaving all those document? Snake Island????
“But hypothetical decolonization of Russia, the last major colonial power,”
Except of, course, the USA. Where is “Russia proper” and where are “Russian colonies” is very much political, lines on a map. Kiev was, after all, for centuries, considered a Russian city. The USA, OTOH, is quite sharply defined by its coastline. Even so, if far eastern Russia could be said to be a Russian colony, could not the same be said about Texas and New Mexico? What about Alaska? If Alaska was a Russian colony before it was sold to the USA, why is it not now a US one? However, there are quite a few parts of the US that are not part of America (the continent). These as are as much colonies as any part of Russia.
Maybe Russia could withdraw the Wagner group from Africa.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/31/world/africa/wagner-group-africa.html
Or maybe just maybe all of the neocolonialist should withdraw from Africa?
I know that Africa belongs to British and French and a few others.
You talk of free speech, Craig but seem happy to condone the trans and their incessant attempts to drown out any pushback against their globalist-sponsored madness.
Can you answer this simple question, please
If blackface is unacceptable, why is womenface?
Dear Craig
Thank you for all you do. I appreciate that your article was written some time ago, so I do not know whether your views on COVID19 and the vaccines have changed. This article was top of the list when I searched.
In any event, as regards COVID 19 this is in essence the ‘flu rebranded. This is what big pharma do when sales are flagging so they can boost sales of their toxic products and create more customers.
I used to think vaccines were of some use but not for the ‘flu as people fell ill anyway. Even my wife says she has a shot in 1989 (before I knew her) and was promptly ill for 3 days. In 2020 when I had the opportunity to research properly I realised we had been deceived for a very long time and that vaccines were utterly pointless at best.
I therefore completed a summary in 2020 of what has been going on and in due course expanded this into this link attached if you or anyone else is interested.
https://alphaandomegacloud.wordpress.com/2022/08/17/what-is-the-flu-a-k-a-covid-19-and-why-vaccines-are-pointless-at-best/
My approach on my site may seem unusual but as the world went stark raving mad in 2020 I considered it necessary to set out my site in the way I have.
Kind regards