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“A Skeptic”´s Substack:
“American journalist Seymour Hersh claims, citing anonymous US officials, that Russia and Ukraine are allegedly conducting secret peace negotiations along the Gerasimov-Zaluzhny line, despite the objections of Zelensky and the White House.
In an article on the Substack platform, Hersh wrote that the issue of possible fixation of borders along the current front line with the retention of Crimea and the liberated territories of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions for the Russian Federation is allegedly being discussed; in exchange, an option is being considered in which Kiev could join NATO, but with a commitment that the alliance will not station troops or offensive weapons there.
“The American official said that Zelensky was made to understand that it was not him, but “the military that would solve this problem, and negotiations would continue with or without you.” “If necessary, we will pay for your trip to the Caribbean,” the American official told me,” wrote Hersh.”
via Pavel Podvig´s Twitter:
from year 2020:
“Foundations of State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Area of Nuclear Deterrence”
Informal translation by the CNA Russia Studies Program
https://www.cna.org/reports/2020/06/state-policy-of-russia-toward-nuclear-deterrence
short summary + pdf with 12 page document
info on the past week & fun commentary by Alex Christoforou in his latest video on RU/UKR/US/EU
– Mrs. Zelensky apparently wants to go back into movie business with her husband who should leave politics in her view.
– Poroshenko wants to leave UKR but can’t
– 2,3 mio. RU army, with over 1 mio. standing planned
– on Hersh’s report about secret talks between US-UKR which I quoted above, which Christoforou doesn’t really buy (neither do I)between 0:00 – 25:00
via “A Sceptic” Substack:
“(…)
The Swedish subsidiary of the British defense concern BAE Systems has declined to establish its factories in UkraineBAE Systems Hagglund division will not manufacture CV9040 BMP in Ukraine, citing the high risks of bombing by Russia, as stated in the concern’s announcement.
This is a true support. Come for the promised armored vehicles when hostilities end, as they say.
(…)”From the Washington Post 2 days ago:
“(…)
During one visit to Wiesbaden, Milley spoke with Ukrainian special operations troops — who were working with American Green Berets — in the hope of inspiring them ahead of operations in enemy-controlled areas:“There should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night,” Milley said, according to an official with knowledge of the event. “You gotta get back there, and create a campaign behind the lines.”
(…)”.See WaPo complete article:
“Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by U.S., Ukraine”
by Washington Post Staff
Dec. 4th 2023Nicolai Petro with what may appear a dovish piece:
“Could Russia play a role in Ukraine’s reconstruction?
Reconciliation, not retribution, is key to a post-war Ukraine”https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-reconstruction/
However who has read his work, knows that Petro is well aware of the complex nature of the RU/US history and of the realities of power politics (he has seen and heard enough.)
But still, he is optimistic and unwilling it seems to give into the pessimistic views many of us are overwhelmed with.
I do find that remarkable. His personal experience must offer him cause to stick to that kind of optimism.Once asked by Anatol Lieven where that came from, Petro suggested looking at his children and his students, realizing that for younger generations the grievances of their parents and grand-parents are often just grey history and mean little for their own feelings and prospective thoughts. Which has undoubtedly something to it.
A little more Chomsky and Petro in all of us might be helpful.
part 1 of a conversation between Nicolai Petro and “Neutrality Studies”
“Neocons Still Can’t Believe Russia Defeated Them”
part 2 of the conversation between Nicolai Petro and “Neutrality Studies”
“How The War In Ukraine Will End”
Seems like Ukraine and west are getting a bit desperate:
Zelensky party MP tells Ukrainian women to go to the front lines
https://swentr.site/russia/588566-ukraine-women-frontline-zelensky/
Send Ukrainian men home to fight – German MP
https://swentr.site/news/588562-ukrainians-eu-back-fight-german/
German MP Kiesewetter has been parroting this sick hawkish line for 2 years now. He is an idiot. By law, so far, Ukrainians cannot simply be sent back.
* * *
Branko Marcetic sums up how peace negotiations were sabotaged by the West, which means that its actually accepted by the MSM now. One way or the other.
As I regard Marcetic as a link between established “legacy” media views and the more progressive altern. platforms.
This is his Responsible Statecraft piece from Monday:“Did the West deliberately prolong the Ukraine war? – Mounting evidence proves that we cannot believe anything our officials say about the futility of negotiations.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-russia-talks/
As usual with extensive source links.
Among others the NYT, where Biden privately conceded that the world has not been so near to WWIII in 60 years. (Tell us something we did not know, old man.) Here the archived version which is good for a sack of laughter, it´s so dumb and insulting.
“In Dealing With Putin Threat, Biden Turns to Lessons of Cuban Missile Crisis
President Biden has mused publicly on whether there might be an “off-ramp” for nuclear threats from the Russian leader that invoke Cold War rhetoric.”Oct. 7th 2022
https://archive.is/WIy5ge.g.:
Putin
“has plenty of steps remaining on the escalation ladder: He could conduct exercises with his nuclear-ready troops, he could step up cyberattacks outside Ukraine’s borders and he could make use of chemical weapons, as he has done in the past, against dissidents and other targets. Then, of course, there is the possibility of attacks on energy infrastructure — perhaps similar to what happened last week, mysteriously, to the Nord Stream I and II gas pipelines.”
But at least also admissions like:
“But as one senior European diplomat said earlier this week, when the history of this era is written, many will be shocked at how much work was underway to assess the risks of a nuclear detonation — and to think about how to deter it. It is a hard topic to talk about in public for most officials, for fear of inducing public panic or market sell-offs.”
So, I guess, the Russians simply had not much alternative than to play hardball with this kind of crooked people – at the expense of the Ukrainian people, who were idiotic enough to fall for the war propaganda trap of 5000 years and went to the front to defend their home – Why?
But even on these pages there were voices who found it sensible and the thing to do – taking up arms.
30 years ago the GREENs had a slogan: “Imagine there is war and nobody goes there.”
This would have been the chance to in fact prove that we have developed as a species.
Apparently we haven´t.An explosive trial in Kiev has produced evidence that the 2014 Maidan massacre was false flag event, calculated by nationalist forces to trigger regime change.
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/12/11/ukrainian-maidan-massacre-false-flag/
thx fonso (just saw it. Have to read it.)
It was unclear whether this would ever take place.
Katanovski always mused “no way”.German SoS Baerbock officially is against negotiations, Washington, officially in favour.
machine-transl.:“Perseverance slogans from Berlin
Baerbock rejects “freezing” the war in Ukraine and thus a ceasefire. US politicians are calling for an end to the fighting because of military failure and recruiting problems.”If any of this is real I don´t know. And whether any of this actually matters. Since I doubt RUs will do anything that would hurt their national interest, understandably so.
Moon of Alabama has more on the US side of this story:
“Zelenski’s Rose Tinted Media Strategy – New Orders From DC”
Bernard´s verdict:
“If the Ukraine does not start to negotiate with Russia within the next few weeks Zelenski will be replaced.”
Moon of Alabama recommending Gordon Hahn´s latest piece:
“Sad Clown with the Circus Closed Down*: Zelenskiy’s Demise”
https://gordonhahn.com/2023/12/11/sad-clown-with-the-circus-closed-down-zelenskiys-demise/
in this blog post:
“‘Zelenski’s Demise’ – Gordon Hahn Provides His Political Obit – Gordon Hahn has written a political obituary of Vladimir Zelenski and the Ukrainian state.”
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/12/zelenskis-demise.html#comments
Of course of course…, instead of admitting that the Ukraine policy failed, the german gov. will rather suffer “suicide” at home:
Germany may declare emergency over Ukraine – Scholz
The chancellor has called on parliament to bypass the national debt threshold for the sake of helping Kievhttps://swentr.site/news/589016-germany-declare-emergency-ukraine-scholz/
De-industralization, poverty, GDP decline, oh that is a great recipe for Germany as history have proved many times…..And then the same people wonder why the far-right are gaining votes.
JACK & TATYANA
and this “suicide” by the Germans, together with all of Europe, will go on.
One of you two last week, I think, worried about a German private statement demanding WMDs. I kind of dismissed that. But I change my view a bit (but still having no inside info on this).
Considering that the EU will bribe Hungary to accept Ukraine into EU – sooner or later – the stage is prepared for little brother EU to go “nuclear” concerning at least WMD capabilities & potential.
In the 1950s when this was a big issue the last time all parties were too afraid and frankly the US was way too powerful. So it was not necessary. The geopolitics have changed. And if Ukraine on its own won’t do as an offensive platform than the EU will take over that role (adopting Ukraine).
And for that it doesn´t matter who is called victorious in the UKR war. And it is of no matter how much territory will end up with UKR eventually.
In fact EU could very well send back Ukrainians to build up a shiny new Ukraine where only the HQs of companies are truly shiny. Once a so-called peace has been achieved.
So the US can take care of bigger issues.
The Gazan massacre has proven to the US that it can 100% rely on Europe now. Until EU governments might fail and are forced domestically to alter course. But that will take decades.
As always I am advocating for action and for optimism. But one shall never close eyes from the current realities.
This substack entry by “Karl Sanchez” on Arestovich I read differently than the poster:
https://karlof1.substack.com/p/arestovich-goes-offIt’s a Tweet put forward by Arestovich: Basically saying the war is over since the US is NOT increasing arms production.
And then he suggests that is bad for the West.Since Arestovich often is writing IMO in a clumsy abstract way, his tweet too is open to other interpretations. Such as that this war, on a certain deeper level, never seriously was about toppling RU. It was about pushing the EU to become an anti-RU bulwark. (Or does he actually MEAN that too? Without expressing it openly? And I didn´t get it? hmm…)
And that major goal has been achieved (as were the major US geopolitical goals achieved in Iraq and Afghanistan).
Noam Chomsky (yes him again) has held a notion on the Vietnam War which always made a lot of sense to me:
The bottom line of that war was always destroying popular movements. Independent democratic projects in order to prove to other countries that they would fall victim to the same kind of savagery if they were attempting the same.
Historically Vietnam was not a buddy of China. Originally they didn´t want ANY empire to interfere. The Communist-domino theory overlooked that but offered enough grounds for justifying the destruction, which had been the main purpose.
And in that sense, Vietnam was a victory. After all the country and its society were wrecked.
Ukraine as well has fulfilled its purpose. And if Vietnam taught the US one thing – never sacrifice your own people.
So the WMD demands last week and the discussion over admission of UKR to the EU this week may align with the same one strategy.
a German article about the EU-outlines on the near future regarding RU.
It´s like an indirect declaration of low intensity war in the long run:“What will be in the final declaration of the European Council today – you can find out here“
(Of course built on lies):
text excerpts:
“The European Council underlines the urgent need to accelerate the delivery of missiles and ammunition, in particular under the one million rounds of artillery ammunition initiative, and to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems. The European Council calls on the Council to intensify work on reforming the European Instrument for Peace and further increasing its funding, based on the High Representative’s proposal. The European Union and its Member States remain committed to providing security commitments to Ukraine over the long term and together with partners, which will help Ukraine defend itself, resist destabilizing efforts and deter future acts of aggression.”
“The European Council strongly condemns all hybrid attacks, including the instrumentalization of migrants by third countries for political purposes, and remains committed to ensuring effective control over the EU’s external borders.
The European Union is committed to countering the ongoing hybrid attacks on its external borders launched by the Russian Federation and Belarus.”“The aim is to advance the establishment of a tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine, which should enjoy broad cross-border support and legitimacy. This could also be a mechanism for compensation.”
“The European Council also reiterates “its support for the work of the International Criminal Court and condemns Russia’s continued attempts to undermine its international mandate and function.”
“The European Council supports “all efforts” to facilitate the export of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine to the countries most in need, primarily in Africa and the Middle East. They also see the importance of the EU’s so-called solidarity corridors and call on the Commission to accelerate cooperation with the member states. New measures could be taken to increase the capacity of the solidarity corridors. The so-called solidarity corridors are shipping routes through which Ukrainian grain is exported.”
This I believe is the original EU document from Oct. 27th, cited from above.
It is an assessment by the European Council of the RU sit. and conclusions thereof, 12 pages:
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-14-2023-INIT/en/pdfIn other words they are crazy as I said.
EU is angelic. What else could be expected.Still missing are of course serious budget figures.
Since 130-170 billion Euros are estimated to keep Ukraine in the EU.
Which is simply too much. see here:“Up to 190 billion: That’s how much Ukraine’s EU accession would cost“
The fools in the west keep talking nonsense:
Ukraine must copy 1944 Nazi Germany – retired US general
Ben Hodges has pointed to the Third Reich as an example to follow in the conflict with Russiahttps://swentr.site/news/589355-ukraine-nazi-germany-hodges/
US must protect Ukraine from ‘communist’ Russia – congressman
Republican Rich McCormick has insisted Washington must escalate the Ukraine conflict to ensure victoryhttps://swentr.site/news/589383-us-congressman-communist-russia/
This seems to be a common misperception in the west, that Russia is still a communist nation. The Soviet Union broke down like 30+ years ago, we have to respect that some are slow learners, obviously.
It’s unlikely that they are slow learners, but rather simply too old, who once grabbed onto some resource from which they could benefit, and have been exploiting it ever since. You just need to look at what that person was doing at the time when there was communism in Russia. It’s also interesting to know how he managed to sleep through the collapse of the USSR about thirty years ago.
re: HODGES
If Hodges` total misunderstanding of 1944 is the level of military expertise UKR enjoyed, the past 24 months´ incompetence is of little surprise.
Heinrich Himmler had his reasons that by 1944 he started to reach out to GB/US policy-makers to form some anti-USSR alliance. Now this you don´t do if you are on a road to success. By then German Luftwaffe had adopted tactics of extreme cruelty regarding losses in their own ranks to counter Allied air forces. As well Russian air and land power was mostly superior by then. German Luftwaffe had never in fact been able to claim air superiority against RUssia. So there are in fact similarities but not of the kind Hodges is hinting at of course.
p.s. I am still astonished how alive the exaggeration of German military might by the Allies some 80 years ago is today and how it confirms urban legends (the term “Wunderwaffe” brought back e.g. into a “civilzed” discourse, German “Leopards” blowing up Russian made war stuff. Its 1941 all over again.)
So much for caring for ukrainian lives: Estonia to hunt down and extradite ukrainan refugees to the war.
EU nation willing to hunt down Ukrainian draft dodgers
Estonia’s interior minister said the country’s authorities will have little trouble tracking potential conscripts for Kiev
https://swentr.site/russia/589567-estonia-ukraine-draft-extradition/
Not to mention that the ukrainian leaders do not even care for ukrainians.
Foreign nations should sanction Ukrainian draft dodgers – Zelensky aide
Men who fled abroad should have their residence permits revoked if they evade service at home, Mikhail Podoliak has saidhttps://swentr.site/russia/589536-foreign-nations-sanction-ukrainian-draft-dodgers/
JACK
haven´t we been discussing just that – expell UKRs from EU by whatever trick?
Now it is unclear yet how large EU countries will act. But as morally depived as these are – only a question of time.TATYANA – do you happen to have heard anything in the RU news that 300.000 Israelis fled Israel from conscription there?
Doctorow in his blog a month ago said that was much discussed in RU media.Which if it were true would be another media scheme, since it`s always Russians fleeing (400,000 they say). But not a single mention of the Israel case.
“The way is clear
Denmark-USA military pact”https://www-jungewelt-de.translate.goog/artikel/465641.freie-bahn.html
re: Scandinavia
“The fact that the governments there emphasized that they had not agreed to the stationing of US nuclear weapons shows that absolutely everything else is possible. If necessary, Scandinavia becomes a huge staging area. No, the trigger for this was not Russia’s attack on Ukraine: the United States signed the military agreement with Norway in April 2021; the negotiations began accordingly earlier. And: There are also similar agreements with the Baltic states. They were signed in 2017, when the extensive NATO troop deployment in the Baltics began.”
“As President Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov confirmed on Thursday, Russia will now set about re-forming the Leningrad and Moscow military districts, which were only merged into the Western Military District in 2010, separately and regroup troop formations in the Santa Petersburg region.”
Gordon Hahn takes a new (old) look at Bucha:
https://gordonhahn.com/2023/12/17/bucha-and-the-scuttling-of-the-russo-ukrainian-istanbul-process/#commentsI am aware some might call this pro Russian. But since we don´t have 100% assured casualty numbers (might have em in a couple of years only) I found this interesting as a short summary of the war and why it costs so many Ukrainians` lives
By James De Burghe
https://newcoldwar.org/ukraines-frontline-dilemma/Hi AG, in response to your question above – I don’t follow the news very closely, but some things seep into my area of attention. This is mostly social media, so the content rarely highlights statements by officials. Rather, it covers gossip about media personalities such as actors, singers and other stage denizens.
For example, Alla Pugacheva, popular here, and her young husband, comedian Maxim Galkin, relocated to Israel with the beginning of the war in Ukraine. There was a statement from them: “We don’t want to live in a country that is at war with its neighbor.” It was interesting to learn that they did not extend this creed of theirs to the situation with Israel and Palestine after October 7th.
In general, it is amazing to watch how people and destinies change with time. A video of a Christmas concert from ten years ago is popular on Russian social networks today. In it Maxim Galkin and Vladimir Zelensky are performing a show together on Russian TV, and Soloviev is applauding among the audience.
Who would have thought then, that Zelensky would become the president of Ukraine, Solovyov would be called a Putin propagandist, and Galkin would flee from the war to Israel just to meet another war there.TATAYANA
That´s a nice observation, thx.
p.s. getting a bit carried off, sry: What it so odd, people who are also part of our Western propaganda system are among the same consumers who want to see well-made narratives in their private lives, be it as literature, video game or movies. And many expect complexities in these narratives. They demand to find in the arts represented the complexities of life (complexities that you give a few examples for.) However when it comes down to operate in that very world politically (as journalists e.g.) they suddenly abandon all their intellectual emotional demands towards arts and treat the world as simplistic as a story for 3-year-olds.
One reason for the British pushing so much against RU via UKR is saving their WMD program per keeping up the specter of an enemy. (Imagine RU were no foe. The Chinese still won´t go for a first-strike doctrine)
Fom 2021 LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS:
“Nuclear Rearmament”
Tom Stevensonhttps://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2021/july/nuclear-rearmament
“The decision to expand the UK’s nuclear weapons stockpile by 40 per cent was slipped onto page 76 of the government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy in March. The only reason to announce a major strategic decision in such a quiet way is to avoid attention, which is exactly what happened. The UK is now committed to maintaining a larger stock of nuclear warheads than China (according to US estimates) and there has been too little scrutiny of the policy.”
another source confirming meaningful peace negotiations spring 2022:
“Amb. Oleksandr Chalyi is a veteran Ukrainian diplomat who took part in the talks. He says “we were very close… to finalize our war with some peaceful settlement.”
via Aaron Maté & Katchanovski:
https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1740238735290069405
and this “gem”:
Zelensky’s former assistant Arestovich proposes to unite Russia and Ukraine and file a class action lawsuit against the West:
https://twitter.com/vicktop55/status/1738902349328900264
“(…)
“Now we will kill each other by hundreds, tens of thousands, for Avdiivka, Yar Hours, and more. And why? What do we get from this — both Russia and Ukraine? What do we gain by losing 20 thousand people killed in two district centers on both sides? What have we achieved in the historical sense? Did the uncles from the regional committees of Washington and Brussels like us, who stand around us and applaud, watching two monkeys with knives jump on each other? And why do we need this?
But there is another conversation with Putin. Putin needs to come and say: “Dear friends, Vladimir Vladimirovich! Let’s make peace with you? But we will conclude it in a particularly tricky way: we will file a class action lawsuit against the West, Ukraine and Russia together. And let’s say a wonderful thing: Guys! Let’s go…”[Alexey, the West owes us nothing. To no one — neither one nor the other] The West owes us everything! Trust me.” There he goes on to say that “we need to tell the West that the European security system is not working and we need to build a new security system taking into account all sides.”Remember, I told you the same thing that a new security system will be built in Europe with the participation of Russia? This is an objective reality, there are no other options. The United States will withdraw to its continent, and NATO will cease to exist. And this is the only option for peaceful coexistence of countries in Eurasia.
(…)”.Stephen Bryen: NATO is a mess and the Russians are winning
Stephen Bryen, who served as staff director of the Near East Subcommittee of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, currently is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and the Yorktown Institute.
https://natyliesbaldwin.com/2023/12/stephen-bryen-nato-is-a-mess-and-the-russians-are-winning/
with a few figures on current conscription numbers in the West and the fragile state of arms equipment.
(especially French systems´ deliveries to UKR seemed to have underperformed)Moon of Alabama:
“Strikes On Ukrainian Weapon Production – Air Defense Lacking”
+ on the RU missile strikes: even THE ECONOMIST wrote that targets were military facilities
for more see:to make sure it won´t get lost:
2 links concerning Maidan snipers case –
Ivan Katchanovski´s study peer-reviewed but never published (a scandal of its own.)
“The “snipers’ massacre” on the Maidan in Ukraine”
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/23311886.2023.2269685?needAccess=true
And Grayzone on the Kiev Court decision from 18/10/2023:
“Ukrainian trial demonstrates 2014 Maidan massacre was false flag”
Kit Klarenberg
December 11, 2023https://thegrayzone.com/2023/12/11/ukrainian-maidan-massacre-false-flag/
important stuff & highly recommended:
Analysis and summary of the annual reports about the Russian Army by the MoD of Estonia and by the ISW in Washington D.C. (=Kagans)
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/breaking-down-thinktank-lands-latest
In essence: RU armed forces are much stronger and growing and superior to NATO on conventional level: e.g. shell production, quality of war gear, soldiers.
Conclusion: US dominance (which is god-given and the standard of human life) in danger.
God, how much disappointment I feel every time I read these analyzes of current conflicts. There is a lot of discussion about which side is right, which side is stronger, and the like.
Just imagine, one day a smart person says:
– Ladies and Gentlemen, I have an opinion, but at this moment I’ll shove it up where it should be, because today it’s more important to resolve the conflict than to express support for one of the parties.Just imagine that this could be said by representatives of countries at the UN, or presidents, or ministers of Defense (we have all Ministers of Defense, not Ministers of Offense).
Imagine if every person on the Internet said that, and governments would have no reason to claim that they are sending military aid because they rely on “public opinion.”Just seat the leaders of the conflicting parties at the negotiating table, and do not let them go until they find a mutually acceptable compromise.
We do this in schools to resolve conflicts between children. We do this in court when resolving disputes between adults. Why is it that when states and armies come into conflict, we rush to inspire our favorite and give them a gun and a bomb?TATYANA
you are outraged and rightly so.
As I see it these documents that are analyzed by Simplicius provide us with valuable material to prove the lies, dishonesty and propaganda. Just compare what they said one year ago and compare what the very same ideology told the world until 1989.
An incompetent Russian drunkard suddenly has become the threat to US super power???
An incompetent Russian drunkard suddenly stronger than the AFU which suddenly had 700,000 men???It´s up to us (not you though) to tell people in the West and point them at the apparent contradictions.
AG, I’m not outraged, but rather I’m in despair. People in times of despair tend to look to religion for answers, and so do I, but I’ll have to give a little context here.
I define myself as a humanist, and I put a certain meaning into this name – a person who defends the interests of humanity and the human mind as a unique phenomenon. Sscience fiction books and my education greatly contributed to my worldview, and my education included Philosophy and religion.
I am not religious in the sense of mysticism and rituals, but I’m close to the philosophical component of Christianity, as a humane teaching, as a guide to the peaceful coexistence of human beings. I perceive this as observations of human societies, and some guidelines on how we should all behave so that humanity does not perish.
I’m doing a mental experiment, I’m making the assumption that Christian texts are written allegorically, supposedly some kind of artistic technique used to illustrate the idea. I have my own personal naive theory that in ancient times the biological side of human beings manifested more often and with greater ease, and therefore religion served to support morality and appealed to the rational, intelligent side of man, calling it “soul” and giving it value of “God’s gift.”With this approach to religious philosophy, one can imagine that people in ancient times were aware of the destructive nature of lies and the catastrophic consequences that lies bring. Those who use lies are directly called “enemies of humanity” leading to destruction.
And I see that this is exactly what is happening now – people, due to lies and manipulations, are falling into an animal state.
Take a detached look at what has been happening in the world in recent years; we constantly hear veiled statements of “someone’s land”, “someone’s fellow tribesmen”, calls to “expel strangers”.Am I perhaps a globalist? I don’t know, I haven’t delved into this worldview. But I’m sure that I’m not a nationalist, I don’t like the picture of the world that looks like a patchwork quilt, where each patch is owned exclusively by people of a certain genetics.
I’m definitely not a radical; in my understanding, this contradicts the scientific approach to solving problems, where it is customary to do a trial period with the possibility of rolling back changes before making a final decision.So I sit and think in these difficult times – who am I? Where I am? What kind of world is this? Are these people without conscience using every chance for their own benefit, or is this a total devolution of humanity on the scale of all humankind?
“Vitali Klitschko: Kiev’s mayor takes over million-dollar property in Hamburg
While Kiev is again affected by Russian attacks, Mayor Klitschko can call himself the owner of a Hamburg villa. The report causes outrage.”AG
I was just about to post that too, so ex and current ukrainian leaders have millions worth of money to spend buying estate outside of Ukraine…. but Ukraine are so in need of money!?Germany tells rest of EU to do more for Ukraine
https://swentr.site/news/590285-germany-eu-do-more-ukraine/
Why buy estate outside of Ukraine to begin with? Does Klitschko & co. planning for the defeat/downfall of Ukraine?
JACK
I don´t know but Klitschko as you know was a pro boxer. And as such his career took him to Germany in the 90s (since RU/UKR and Germany used to have close relationships on this level because of East Germany) and Hamburg is Germany´s boxing centre with its biggest boxing promoter “Universum” who became Klitschko´s promoter. I mean the Klitschkos are basically half German judging by their social environment.
p.s. Klitschko family was Soviet Russian and had its own history of family killed by the Nazis.
I am not sure, but there is a reason why the younger one (who became World Champion, but I never found any of them really that good) is not really seen in public.I found this a good article offering a historic parallel to how fiction and writers of fiction bolster the elite ideology of their nations by personification and necessary reduction.
By turning to what we call psychological realism in the narrative arts to creating a compelling narrative the political truth and complexities are totally disregarded in fact turned onto their head for the sake of artistic creation.
In this particular case it´s exemplified by analysing British fiction literature responding to the Paris Commune uprising of 1871. Britsh authors became proponents of British bourgeois thinking and using the manipulative means of writing to offer a totally top to bottom interpretation of events in Paris that would affirm British elite thinking delivering a completely falsified picture of what was going on in Paris:
“The Paris Commune Struck Fear Into the Hearts of the British Elite
By Simon Rennie
In 1871, elite British writers were horrified by the threat to the bourgeois social order that the Paris Commune represented. But their working-class counterparts expressed profound sympathy for the Communards and their revolutionary aspirations.
https://jacobin.com/2024/01/paris-commune-literature-history-poetry-novel-review
“Owen Holland’s admirable volume Literature and Revolution unpacks one example of this resonance: the British literary response to the Paris Commune of 1871. Britain’s shock at the events in a neighboring nation
(…)
It is an important contention of this book that the choices made by such figures reveal something significant not only about the particularities of the cultural response to the Commune in Britain but also about the way in which these figures conceived of literature’s relationship to the prospect of social revolution (both past and future) and the way in which self-consciously literary endeavours might unconsciously work to mobilize or contain such possibilities.
(…)
Holland is impressively consistent in his own particular methodology, enabling fresh local readings of individual texts and a convincing overview that offers an integrated, politically revealing interpretation of a relatively discrete literary phenomenon. The sympathies and anxieties of individual writers are uncovered and unpacked, but this is also an opportunity for a broader examination the literary imaginary of late nineteenth-century Britain. The Paris Commune, or its fictionalized remembrance, brings into focus a range of tropes that reveal confused xenophobia, class prejudice, and a deep-seated fear of political instability spreading virally across the English Channel.”* * *
my conclusion at last:
This we find again in current essayism in Europe/US on Russia and alleged Russian pathological behaviour and culture.
Instead of giving facts and deliver fair and honest analyses and assessments writers dwelve into their own fiction but claim it to be a truthful account of reality. Replacing critical observation with fictious accounts often based on the story of a few or one individual. One person´s fate representative for the stories of millions. One person´s fate shaping the opinion about an entire war.However when fiction as such turns into policy controlling the lives of one nation or even several nations that´s fascism.
AG
Thanks AG, I did not know about the german-connection, still why are not Klitschko and the other rich ukrainians give all their money to the war effort instead of begging the whole world for money? There are also quite a lot of proven and rumours that Zelensky/family having wealthy houses outside of Ukraine and for Zelensky then to beg the west for more and more money…absurd!
In other news:
Poland covered up for Nord Stream attackers – WSJ
The newspaper claims that various European officials believe Warsaw fed “disinformation” to investigators and tried to blame the blasts on Russia
Polish officials have withheld evidence and attempted to stall an international probe into the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, making investigators “suspicious of Warsaw’s role and motives,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.https://swentr.site/news/590277-poland-nord-stream-investigation/
Of course the west know full well who did the sabotage: they themselves are the culprit.
