Whatever they're doing is highly effective. There are Ukrainian flags hanging everywhere in my "educated" urban neighborhood. These people just do whatever they're told, and do so with religious fervor. It's psychotic.
You are right to put quotes around the term “educated.” The technical term is “mass formation.” Some call it mass psychosis, but it actually most closely resembles mass hypnosis. The current best popularizer of the psychology of mass formation is Professor Mattias Desmet. His recently published book is “The Psychology of Totalitarianism,” but there are plenty of excellent video interviews with him that will explain how mass formation works. While this is a recently coined academic term, the psychology of brainwashing was given plenty of attention after the Korean War by scientists like Joost Merloo, and also by the US intelligence agencies (of course). The psychology is well understood and forms the foundation for all psyops and propaganda. It is what is used by our rulers to divide us. It destroys friendships and family relationships. Desmet does provide some tips on how to wake these people up, but there is no magic method like snapping your fingers. It took years, decades to get your neighbors “educated”, and it will take time (or really dramatic events) to free their minds. What Caitlin is doing here is the very best method. Speak up when you can. Gently point out the inconsistencies (in small doses) wherever you can. The point is to do something now, because those who fly the Ukrainian flag in your neighborhood today may be the people who turn you in to the authorities in the very near future.
What can they do - for some strange reason there are no Yemeni or Palestinian flags and t-shirts sold on FB, otherwise these well-meaning, objective people would surely fly those too, right? /s
Agreed - The West sure loves to "pick" it's victims - The flag placing, whether on your car or on your Twitter account is purely symbolic & requires virtually zero effort - it's a real shame as they wind up re-enforcing their cult with these symbols that amount to nothing & do nothing for the plight of the Ukrainians. The Yemeni or Palestinians don't even get a cursory glance or any kind of signaling like we see about Ukraine.
Some are undoubtedly Ukrainian. Not sure about the USA, but there's over 1M here in Canada that claim Ukrainian descent. They're watching the same narrative on TV as the rest of us, plus they're also getting Ukrainian "news" whatever that's worth.
There is not any significant population of Ukrainians in my neighborhood. But there are a whole lot of MSNBC-watching shitlibs. I would estimate the Ukrainian flags in my city are 99% shitlibs and 1% Ukrainians.
Yep I've often wondered why we don't get more information on the personal riches of many of these 'movers and shakers', 'wheeler dealers', 'power brokers', 'presidents' etc...
I think Zelensky might simply be an out of his depth taking refuge in rhetoric puppet (even scared out of his wits by azov threats to top him if he doesn't obey) but he may be actually being bribed big time and we'd like to know, or he may be relatively penniless and puppet or not, or what, we'd feel a little kindlier towards him, we'd like to know.
It seems to be a difficult thing for investigative journalists to discover.
Though in the movies they dig it up in seconds on a laptop in the car when required. You don't mean the movies are not quite accurate do you?
You could just as easily argue that Kolomoskyi was/is paying protection money to Joe. The corruption certainly has the character of a protection racket. The subordinate gangsters and warlords of Ukraine provide a cut to the gangsters who front NATO. At the moment Kolomoskyi has legal troubles in the US, most likely a reminder from Washington to Zelenskyi who the ultimate boss is or at least a means to incentivise loyalty and prevent Kolomoskyi from switching sides.
Investigative journalists in Ukraine are guaranteed to attract the attention of the SBU (Ukrainian secret police). In the West they would simply get blacklisted from employment. To his credit, Zelenskyi is clearly less corrupt that Poroshenko and between the Americans, the oligarchs and the far right has good reason to fear for his life. If he strays from the script, he dies. In a war zone it would be easy to pass of an assassination as enemy fire. The Ukrainian secret police already killed a senior diplomat at the talks with Russia in Gomel, allegedly for being a traitor (expressing a desire for compromise). The Chinese have a saying: kill the chicken to frighten the monkey.
I hope I'm not just following propaganda but I do feel it is true that Yanukovych fled in fear of his life. So I'm inclined to believe Zelensky's in peril. I'll tell you what, he always looks frightened to me.
"Zelenskyi is clearly less corrupt that Poroshenko"
Or is he just a "beard" that allows the corruption to be handled without his interference. Then, "less corrupt" reminds me of Vote Blue No Matter Who -- look at how that turned out.
We watch too many cop movies where we are given the "less bad" crook and we start rooting for him. Better Call Saul comes to mind.
Yes, the Nazis have threatened to kill Zelensky many times. So? It isn't like anything Zelensky does is going to alter the path to WWIII. That decision is going to be made elsewhere, by a demented bicyclist. And he'll only do it because he's as much a puppet as Zelensky.
Good points. The fact that he is a hero to Washington, London and Brussels settles the issue of his ethics. If he were any good, he'd be in a Ukrainian prison or just dead.
****Switzerland has seized a luxury mountain home believed to belong to Russian billionaire Pyotr Aven, who’s said to be a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to multiple reports.****
I don't doubt that Zelensky and co. are corrupt (see the Panama Papers) but that article you link to is not quite transparent. I read German. The first two links for property registry are for the exact same property. The only difference is the owner at the bottom. County, plot number, plan nr, address etc. are IDENTICAL.
The only difference is the owner. And they did not buy it together, because the word "alleineigentum" means literally "single owner of the property." The sale date and reference are the same.
I agree Ukrainian oligarchs are as all oligarchs and are therefore greedy, malevolent, corrupt scumbags, but what Yuri provides doesn't cut it as proof.
More about the effects of that "grossly inadequate foster care system," from Jacob Siegel at The Scroll / Tablet Magazine:
"I’ve spoken with dozens of homeless people over the past four years, and most of them had two things in common: drug addiction and a childhood spent in the foster care system. These people were from a dozen different states and came from different social and ethnic backgrounds, but they had all started in the foster care system after their families couldn’t take care of them before finally winding up on the streets. . . .
"Some 33% of homeless youth spent time in the foster care system, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Foster advocacy groups put the number even higher, estimating that 50% of people who are currently homeless in the United States spent time in the system as youths."
Famous Soviet dissident, author of The Gulag Archipelago describing how Communism, authoritarianism took over Russia and became the horrific USSR under the noses of good, ordinary people not sensing what was happening around them.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn On The New Russia
(This interview was first published as "Zhirinovsky Is An Evil Caricature Of A Russian Patriot--An Interview With Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn," by Paul Klebnikov, in the May 9, 1994, issue of Forbes magazine.)
Forbes Prologue: "For Americans, many of whom still tend to regard Russia through a Cold War-distorting lens, Solzhenitsyn's passionate defense of Russia makes moving reading.
He ends the interview on a somewhat cryptic note, saying that one day the U.S. will have serious need of Russia as an ally against a threat he refused to name. What threat? On other occasions, Solzhenitsyn has warned of an expansionist China, about resurgent Islam and other dangers from the so-called Third World."
"PK: Former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski disagrees. He argues that the U.S. must defend the independence of Ukraine.
AS: In 1919, when he imposed his regime on Ukraine, Lenin gave her several Russian provinces to assuage her feelings. These provinces have never historically belonged to Ukraine. I am talking about the eastern and southern territories of today's Ukraine.
Then, in 1954, Khrushchev, with the arbitrary capriciousness of a satrap, made a "gift" of the Crimea to Ukraine. But even he did not manage to make Ukraine a "gift" of Sevastopol, which remained a separate city under the jurisdiction of the U.S.S.R. central government. This was accomplished by the American State Department, first verbally through Ambassador Popadiuk in Kiev and later in a more official manner.
Why does the State Department decide who should get Sevastopol? If one recalls the tactless declaration of President Bush about supporting Ukrainian sovereignty even before the referendum on that matter, one must conclude that all this stems from a common aim: to use all means possible, no matter what the consequences, to weaken Russia.
PK: Why does independence for Ukraine weaken Russia?
AS: As a result of the sudden and crude fragmentation of the intermingled Slavic peoples, the borders have torn apart millions of ties of family and friendship. Is this acceptable? The recent elections in Ukraine, for instance, clearly show the [Russian] sympathies of the Crimean and Donets populations. And a democracy must respect this.
I myself am nearly half Ukrainian. I grew up with the sounds of Ukrainian speech. I love her culture and genuinely wish all kinds of success for Ukraine--but only within her real ethnic boundaries, without grabbing Russian provinces. And not in the form of a "great power," the concept on which Ukrainian nationalists have placed their bets. They are acting out and trumpeting a cult of force, persistently inflating Russia into the image of an "enemy." Militant slogans are proclaimed. And the Ukrainian army is being indoctrinated with the propaganda that war with Russia is inevitable.
For every country, great power status deforms and harms the national character. I have never wished great power status for Russia, and do not wish it for the United States. I don't wish it for Ukraine. She would not be able to perform even the cultural task required to achieve great power status: In her current borders, 63% of the population consider Russian to be their native language, a number three times larger than the number of ethnic Russians. And all these people will have to be re-educated in the Ukrainian language, while the language itself will have to be raised to international standards and usage. This is a task that would require over 100 years.
PK: At the heart of all this is a central question: What about Russia and the U.S.? Are we historic rivals?
AS: Before the [Russian] revolution, they were natural allies. You know that during the American Civil War, Russia supported Lincoln and the North [in contrast to Britain and France, which supported the Confederacy]. Then, we were effectively allies in the First World War. But beginning with communism, Russia ceased to exist. What is there to talk about? The confrontation was not at all with Russia but with the communist U.S.S.R."
AS: ...The delirious, provocative and crazy declarations of Zhirinovsky do not have a foundation in the psychology of our wretched people, exhausted by 70 years of communism.
AS: If one looks far into the future, one can foresee in the 21st century such a time when the U.S. together with Europe will be in dire need of Russia as an ally.
PK: That is a puzzling assertion.
AS: It is puzzling only for those who don't look into the future and do not see what kind of new powers are arising in the world."
Perhaps Alexander Solzhenitsyn saw the rise of The New World Order that Pres. George HW Bush described in his speech just three years before this interview? AS saw the writing on the wall. And perhaps, just perhaps, he saw the Russians, chastened by their experience under such a repressive regime built on propaganda would one day be an ally to freedom and liberty loving Americans and Europeans resisting the authoritarian regimes we are seeing ascendant across the western world today? Perhaps this is why Russia has been portrayed with as much hostility as it has been portrayed in recent years, perhaps why Trump was walled off from Putin, another leader committed to protecting his nation from self-destructive global interference? Past proves future?
er, you do know that "The Gulag Archipelago" was a work of fiction, even continued to say so on the book covers printed after this neo-conservative racist arrived in his version of heaven, where slavery is still legal under the constitution.
I've read that narrative from communists who claim the USSR was a wonderful place to live in, closest system of governance to utopia, ever. Interesting narrative. Not one I give credibility to.
I've taken in communist publications since I was a child growing up in south Florida. I'd tune into Radio Moscow in the evenings as it was broadcast from Havana to Miami. When I've gone back and listened to some old broadcasts the chimes that began the show were familiar echos from the past. I watched TASS evening news broadcast on my local PBS station after the national news ended. I read Pravda when I'd go to the public library. Not because I was an aspiring communist. But because I wanted to know what my nation's adversary had to say about my nation. I learned to understand propaganda very early in life. From those I was taught to disagree with and those I was taught to agree with.
I still read Marxist/socialist/communist publications to this day, from the smaller internet sites targeted at true believers to the English-language Chinese official publications. I've been trained by the top propagandists in the US in school, the military and my work of many decades. In the history of and the current practice of. Not a writer or producer of, but a reader and analyst of.
And I know that the US has been transformed into a Fascist governing model away from its constitutional foundations for more than a century. I reject both models. I embrace the constitutional model my nation long ago strayed from. Individual freedom and liberty as that foundational document enshrined. Not as the many laws, regulations, edicts and rulings laid on top of it have made a mockery of.
Ahh, I see, you're a devoted communist lemming, lacking critical thinking skills. Which makes my comment directed at others than you; someone incapable of processing. Buh-bye.
Abortion rights in a country without free pre and neo-natal health care, maternity leave or adequate welfare for mothers and children gives the game away: choice for those who can afford it, not for those who need it.
If the pro-life movement were serious, the Red States would mandate maternity leave and ensure that no child was raised in poverty. If the feminist movement were serious, the Blue States would ensure that nannies and child-care workers got significantly higher wages.
Neither conservatives or progressives wish to discuss the central issue in reproductive health: stagnant wages, precarious employment and economic insecurity disrupt family formation, foster unreasonably postponed pregnancies and suppress fertility. The choreographed evasions and hypocrisies reveal Left and Right for what they truly are.
Obama could have legislated for abortion, just as Congress could have had universal health-care in the 70s when Nixon wanted it (Ted Kennedy undermined the proposals because he did not want the Republicans to get the credit). The one great skill of the system is keeping people divided.
Good point. I meant free at point of delivery. Everything has its cost. Healthcare is riddled with subsidies and cross-subsidies, mostly concealed from the public. These should be as transparent as possible and essential medical needs are met without exposing ordinary people to the risk of bankruptcy. This is achievable everywhere in the developed world outside the USA.
"Forced birthers in the US are like, "We'll adopt your baby! Okay actually we'll probably just let them fall through the cracks of a grossly inadequate foster care system leading to a childhood of trauma and neglect, but after that we've got a very well-funded prison system that can take care of them."
Forced Birthers: Pro-Life up until the baby is born.
I've likened the two parties as a cowboy duo of authoritarians teaming up to break the wild stallion of freedom to be domesticated and ridden into submission. The Democrats are the hard-riding bronco-buster, whipping and kicking the stallion, digging the spurs into its side, showing it who's boss. When the stallion of freedom rears up and throws the bronco-busting Democrat off the calm, assuring words of the Republican horse-whisperer takes over, telling the stallion it's all going to be okay, nobody is going to hurt it, the horse-whisperer is on its side, will have a talking to the bronco-buster so that bad Democrat cowboy never hurts it again, calming it down, putting the stallion of freedom at ease...who will then turn the stallion back over to the hard-riding, whipping, kicking, spur-digging of the Democrat. Over and over and over until they hope the wild stallion of freedom is forever tamed.
Will they succeed? Let's just say they've never been as close as they are now than in the history of mankind. Not even in the darkest days of WWII was freedom across the globe in so much peril. No outside nation or alliance will be coming to save the day. It will be humanity ourselves, those of us that are wild stallions of freedom rising to the challenge and tossing both the bronco-buster and the horse-whisperer into oblivion.
I agree healthcare and insurance pricing is a racket, yet the concept of the government providing “free” services is (generally) stealing from the productive and incentivizing the nonproductive, if government wasn’t both a participant and enforcer of that racket perhaps your concept could work - fair would eliminate the need for free.
Not sure how we got to Space Colonization from Ukrainian Trolls, but what the hell... I'll bite.
Talking about the limitations of space colonization almost entirely misses the point. The Earth is a finite resource that cannot be replaced. No argument there, in fact that's the very reason for going into space, and in particular establishing bases on Mars and the Moon. Note I said bases, not colonies.
Take a look at these photos. This is the amount of land that is disrupted just to extract copper.
You see the problem right? Similar declines in grade are occurring across all mined minerals. As for the more exotic minerals needed for modern electronics and so-called "green technology" those are in even shorter supply.
As an example of the potential benefits, consider Helium3:
Apart from mining, the potential benefits of scientific research are enormous, especially in the areas of microbiology and advanced materials. Manufacturing in space has many advantages, the most obvious being zero gravity and access to an almost perfect vacuum. Consider the advanced composite materials in use today, and extrapolate from there.
If space colonization is too much to dream about, try imagining a world where all the really nasty resource extraction and manufacturing takes place on Mars or the Moon, using automated equipment that will only require occasional visits to maintain. Further down the road, imagine taking a vacation on the Moon! At 1/6th gravity, it would be very popular with newlyweds!
The USA appears to have given up the dream to the point their only access to the ISS is on a Soyuz rocket, but that's not true of China, a resource poor nation with a very large population. Plans are already on the table, and chances are they'll be the first to establish mining operations on the Moon and later Mars.
Imagine a world without mining, logging or oil extraction and all the damage that causes. A green planet where everyone has a home, food on the table, and interesting work to fill their lives. The planet can heal itself if we take the pressure off, and we don't need a WEF population reduction program to do that, we just need to apply our imagination to what can be done in space that is currently done on Earth.
The promise of space exploration is not that we can leave the planet, but that we can restore the earth to its pristine beauty, and even extend our stay to the point where we can survive the next Ice Age.
Thank you, Caitlin; no one understands and writes about the U.S. Empire the way you do. Would that more people understood even half of this stuff as well as you do.
One other thought: you wrote, "The idea of space colonization appeals to the capitalist mentality because it means we can keep expanding our population . . . " I think this statement would have been accurate before the covid. It seems to me now that the "elites" are working hard to reduce the population, rather that expand it. At least that seems to be the net effect of the vaccination program they forced on us. Just a thought.
I'm on Twitter, and I'm blocking on sight anyone who displays "slava ukraini" slogan. I'm blocking those who wave the Ukrainian flag in my face too. I wonder what is the limit on blocking, or how long the blocked list can be on Twitter. If I reach my limit, I will open another account. Amazing how naïve Americans are, and how easily they buy propaganda by the metric ton.
Have pity on the average Americans. We are the most propagandized people maybe with the possible exception of the North Koreans. It took me years of living abroad before I could really see it, and it has gotten much worse over the decades. The propaganda starts at birth and is ubiquitous.
Someone did a comparison of Newsweek covers in the US and abroad, from the 90s to a few years ago. Used to be the news was a bit different, but now news is covered completely differently domestically in the US compared to internationally by the same company!
That pity is ONLY for average Americans. The oligarchs and national level politicians know the score and they suck.
I was born and raised in the Soviet sphere of influence. West of Ukraine. I thought that Soviet propaganda had no equal - until I saw American propaganda. Nothing on this planet compares to that. American propaganda made me move to America, the land of milk and honey, where there was no crime, no racism, and the Nazis were hated.
Right.
If I knew then what I know now, I'd be a New Zealander today.
My wife was born and raised in former Czechoslovakia. All her family still lives in Czechia. She grew up learning that the "Amis" were going to come over the border and kill them all. She at least was taught to shoot and throw grenades. We just learned to sing, "duck and cover." We laugh at how similar the propaganda was when we were kids, just opposite.
After she'd been to the states a few times and gotten to know America better she also understands that US propaganda has no equivalent.
I've been to New Zealand, although it was a long time ago now. Beautiful what I saw of the country. I was only on the north island.
Have you lived in NZ? I have, and hoo boy, is that place full of racists. Better than USA, or Canada and it's Ukranian Nazi love affair, but not by much.
I haven't. But they have health care, and we don't. So, I could isolate myself (I'm a born hermit) somewhere way out there, and not be terrified of medical bills if something happens.
The animosity between the elves and the dwarves has some history, no doubt, but it is certainly nothing compared to US. If you stick to the central west of Eriador (particularly around the Shire) you'll find it is pretty much a "live and let live" kind of atmosphere. ;-)
Not so sure I pity them because there are Americans who are immune to the propaganda, my husband is one of them (and I'm German). So independent thinking is possible, even for Americans. But, my husband is a musician and artist, and he's never been part of the herd.
I've found myself (and Caitlin has written about this multiple times) that recognizing a manipulative relationship (which is what propaganda is all about) in your private life helps massively in recognizing it in your public life. I know for myself and many others this was true. Maybe your husband had early life experiences with manipulative people that helped him early on see the US propaganda for what it is.
Also important (and something Caitlin has also written about often) is that people don't like to admit that they can be fooled. To the point that they will willfully ignore obvious manipulation rather than admit that they have been manipulated.
There are people who are naturally immune to many things. I tried smoking for about six months, found it stupid and quit. I pity the people who are highly addictive to nicotine and find it nearly impossible to quit. I even pity the people who won't admit to their addiction and make up silly reasons why smoking is not unhealthy.
Caitlin, many thanks for the post. I keep reading all of your posts and I am subscribed to them on Patreon. You are a sharp, witty, highly moral, honest and courageous person and top-quality journalist. And I admire your brilliant gift to write so powerfully.
Speaking of Uniparty: Here is an article about the Uniparty ensuring a very dangerous woman did not get elected in Colorado. They use the voting machines to do whatever they want; such as getting a no name Democrat elected during a Republican primary. Tina Peters is a hero who exposed the criminality of the voting machines so they have turned it against her.
Europe will soon regret to have been dragged into this proxy war by the US, and will realize that the future is Eurasian, says Graham Fuller, former Vice Chair of National Intelligence and former senior political scientist at RAND.
"China’s Belt and Road initiative is perhaps the most ambitious economic and geopolitical project in world history. It is already linking China with Europe by rail and sea. European exclusion from the Belt and Road project will cost it dearly. Note that the Belt and Road runs right through Russia. It is impossible for Europe to close its doors to Russia while maintaining access to this Eurasian mega project. Thus a Europe that perceives the US already in decline has little incentive to join the bandwagon against China. The end of the Ukraine war will bring serious reconsideration in Europe about the benefits of propping up Washington’s desperate bid to maintain its global hegemony."
Whatever they're doing is highly effective. There are Ukrainian flags hanging everywhere in my "educated" urban neighborhood. These people just do whatever they're told, and do so with religious fervor. It's psychotic.
You are right to put quotes around the term “educated.” The technical term is “mass formation.” Some call it mass psychosis, but it actually most closely resembles mass hypnosis. The current best popularizer of the psychology of mass formation is Professor Mattias Desmet. His recently published book is “The Psychology of Totalitarianism,” but there are plenty of excellent video interviews with him that will explain how mass formation works. While this is a recently coined academic term, the psychology of brainwashing was given plenty of attention after the Korean War by scientists like Joost Merloo, and also by the US intelligence agencies (of course). The psychology is well understood and forms the foundation for all psyops and propaganda. It is what is used by our rulers to divide us. It destroys friendships and family relationships. Desmet does provide some tips on how to wake these people up, but there is no magic method like snapping your fingers. It took years, decades to get your neighbors “educated”, and it will take time (or really dramatic events) to free their minds. What Caitlin is doing here is the very best method. Speak up when you can. Gently point out the inconsistencies (in small doses) wherever you can. The point is to do something now, because those who fly the Ukrainian flag in your neighborhood today may be the people who turn you in to the authorities in the very near future.
A brief review of the book
https://www.thepostemail.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Dr.-Mercola-psychology-of-totalitarianism-pdf.pdf
What can they do - for some strange reason there are no Yemeni or Palestinian flags and t-shirts sold on FB, otherwise these well-meaning, objective people would surely fly those too, right? /s
Agreed - The West sure loves to "pick" it's victims - The flag placing, whether on your car or on your Twitter account is purely symbolic & requires virtually zero effort - it's a real shame as they wind up re-enforcing their cult with these symbols that amount to nothing & do nothing for the plight of the Ukrainians. The Yemeni or Palestinians don't even get a cursory glance or any kind of signaling like we see about Ukraine.
Some are undoubtedly Ukrainian. Not sure about the USA, but there's over 1M here in Canada that claim Ukrainian descent. They're watching the same narrative on TV as the rest of us, plus they're also getting Ukrainian "news" whatever that's worth.
There is not any significant population of Ukrainians in my neighborhood. But there are a whole lot of MSNBC-watching shitlibs. I would estimate the Ukrainian flags in my city are 99% shitlibs and 1% Ukrainians.
You cut right to the heart of it, you are all watching the same TV narrative. It’s all a lie, turn it off.
I see the same thing in my neighborhood in Toronto Canada. Virtue Signaling by the hoodwinked masses.
Ukrainian officials are buying expensive real estate in Switzerland, 10% for them and the big guy. Such an utter farce.
Yep I've often wondered why we don't get more information on the personal riches of many of these 'movers and shakers', 'wheeler dealers', 'power brokers', 'presidents' etc...
I think Zelensky might simply be an out of his depth taking refuge in rhetoric puppet (even scared out of his wits by azov threats to top him if he doesn't obey) but he may be actually being bribed big time and we'd like to know, or he may be relatively penniless and puppet or not, or what, we'd feel a little kindlier towards him, we'd like to know.
It seems to be a difficult thing for investigative journalists to discover.
Though in the movies they dig it up in seconds on a laptop in the car when required. You don't mean the movies are not quite accurate do you?
He has never left the employ of Ilhor Kolomoskyi, who seed funded Azov, just as Joe and Hunter are on Kolomoskyi's payroll.
You could just as easily argue that Kolomoskyi was/is paying protection money to Joe. The corruption certainly has the character of a protection racket. The subordinate gangsters and warlords of Ukraine provide a cut to the gangsters who front NATO. At the moment Kolomoskyi has legal troubles in the US, most likely a reminder from Washington to Zelenskyi who the ultimate boss is or at least a means to incentivise loyalty and prevent Kolomoskyi from switching sides.
Actually Arthur, Zelensky is suppose to have a $35M mansion in Miami. But that's only the beginning.
Investigative journalists in Ukraine are guaranteed to attract the attention of the SBU (Ukrainian secret police). In the West they would simply get blacklisted from employment. To his credit, Zelenskyi is clearly less corrupt that Poroshenko and between the Americans, the oligarchs and the far right has good reason to fear for his life. If he strays from the script, he dies. In a war zone it would be easy to pass of an assassination as enemy fire. The Ukrainian secret police already killed a senior diplomat at the talks with Russia in Gomel, allegedly for being a traitor (expressing a desire for compromise). The Chinese have a saying: kill the chicken to frighten the monkey.
I hope I'm not just following propaganda but I do feel it is true that Yanukovych fled in fear of his life. So I'm inclined to believe Zelensky's in peril. I'll tell you what, he always looks frightened to me.
"Zelenskyi is clearly less corrupt that Poroshenko"
Or is he just a "beard" that allows the corruption to be handled without his interference. Then, "less corrupt" reminds me of Vote Blue No Matter Who -- look at how that turned out.
We watch too many cop movies where we are given the "less bad" crook and we start rooting for him. Better Call Saul comes to mind.
Yes, the Nazis have threatened to kill Zelensky many times. So? It isn't like anything Zelensky does is going to alter the path to WWIII. That decision is going to be made elsewhere, by a demented bicyclist. And he'll only do it because he's as much a puppet as Zelensky.
Good points. The fact that he is a hero to Washington, London and Brussels settles the issue of his ethics. If he were any good, he'd be in a Ukrainian prison or just dead.
Where is your proof for this? The Swiss have seized the mountaintop home of Pyotr Aven. Good for the Swiss. If only America would do the same.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/03/21/switzerland-seizes-luxury-home-allegedly-owned-by-russian-billionaire-pyotr-aven/?sh=620aeff172b0
****Switzerland has seized a luxury mountain home believed to belong to Russian billionaire Pyotr Aven, who’s said to be a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to multiple reports.****
Don't be naive: https://www.planet-today.com/2022/06/high-ranking-ukrainian-officials-caught.html
I don't doubt that Zelensky and co. are corrupt (see the Panama Papers) but that article you link to is not quite transparent. I read German. The first two links for property registry are for the exact same property. The only difference is the owner at the bottom. County, plot number, plan nr, address etc. are IDENTICAL.
The only difference is the owner. And they did not buy it together, because the word "alleineigentum" means literally "single owner of the property." The sale date and reference are the same.
Meaning this may be fake.
I agree Ukrainian oligarchs are as all oligarchs and are therefore greedy, malevolent, corrupt scumbags, but what Yuri provides doesn't cut it as proof.
If you step in scat, then it's because you feed trolling bears.
More about the effects of that "grossly inadequate foster care system," from Jacob Siegel at The Scroll / Tablet Magazine:
"I’ve spoken with dozens of homeless people over the past four years, and most of them had two things in common: drug addiction and a childhood spent in the foster care system. These people were from a dozen different states and came from different social and ethnic backgrounds, but they had all started in the foster care system after their families couldn’t take care of them before finally winding up on the streets. . . .
"Some 33% of homeless youth spent time in the foster care system, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Foster advocacy groups put the number even higher, estimating that 50% of people who are currently homeless in the United States spent time in the system as youths."
https://thedailyscroll.substack.com/i/61778968/the-harm-of-the-us-foster-care-system
_"Collective extinction is easier to imagine than collective ego death"_
This correlated in my mind with this other sentence:
“It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.”
Famous Soviet dissident, author of The Gulag Archipelago describing how Communism, authoritarianism took over Russia and became the horrific USSR under the noses of good, ordinary people not sensing what was happening around them.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn On The New Russia
(This interview was first published as "Zhirinovsky Is An Evil Caricature Of A Russian Patriot--An Interview With Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn," by Paul Klebnikov, in the May 9, 1994, issue of Forbes magazine.)
https://www.forbes.com/2008/08/05/solzhenitsyn-forbes-interview-oped-cx_pm_0804russia.html?sh=606d45575f53
Forbes Prologue: "For Americans, many of whom still tend to regard Russia through a Cold War-distorting lens, Solzhenitsyn's passionate defense of Russia makes moving reading.
He ends the interview on a somewhat cryptic note, saying that one day the U.S. will have serious need of Russia as an ally against a threat he refused to name. What threat? On other occasions, Solzhenitsyn has warned of an expansionist China, about resurgent Islam and other dangers from the so-called Third World."
"PK: Former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski disagrees. He argues that the U.S. must defend the independence of Ukraine.
AS: In 1919, when he imposed his regime on Ukraine, Lenin gave her several Russian provinces to assuage her feelings. These provinces have never historically belonged to Ukraine. I am talking about the eastern and southern territories of today's Ukraine.
Then, in 1954, Khrushchev, with the arbitrary capriciousness of a satrap, made a "gift" of the Crimea to Ukraine. But even he did not manage to make Ukraine a "gift" of Sevastopol, which remained a separate city under the jurisdiction of the U.S.S.R. central government. This was accomplished by the American State Department, first verbally through Ambassador Popadiuk in Kiev and later in a more official manner.
Why does the State Department decide who should get Sevastopol? If one recalls the tactless declaration of President Bush about supporting Ukrainian sovereignty even before the referendum on that matter, one must conclude that all this stems from a common aim: to use all means possible, no matter what the consequences, to weaken Russia.
PK: Why does independence for Ukraine weaken Russia?
AS: As a result of the sudden and crude fragmentation of the intermingled Slavic peoples, the borders have torn apart millions of ties of family and friendship. Is this acceptable? The recent elections in Ukraine, for instance, clearly show the [Russian] sympathies of the Crimean and Donets populations. And a democracy must respect this.
I myself am nearly half Ukrainian. I grew up with the sounds of Ukrainian speech. I love her culture and genuinely wish all kinds of success for Ukraine--but only within her real ethnic boundaries, without grabbing Russian provinces. And not in the form of a "great power," the concept on which Ukrainian nationalists have placed their bets. They are acting out and trumpeting a cult of force, persistently inflating Russia into the image of an "enemy." Militant slogans are proclaimed. And the Ukrainian army is being indoctrinated with the propaganda that war with Russia is inevitable.
For every country, great power status deforms and harms the national character. I have never wished great power status for Russia, and do not wish it for the United States. I don't wish it for Ukraine. She would not be able to perform even the cultural task required to achieve great power status: In her current borders, 63% of the population consider Russian to be their native language, a number three times larger than the number of ethnic Russians. And all these people will have to be re-educated in the Ukrainian language, while the language itself will have to be raised to international standards and usage. This is a task that would require over 100 years.
PK: At the heart of all this is a central question: What about Russia and the U.S.? Are we historic rivals?
AS: Before the [Russian] revolution, they were natural allies. You know that during the American Civil War, Russia supported Lincoln and the North [in contrast to Britain and France, which supported the Confederacy]. Then, we were effectively allies in the First World War. But beginning with communism, Russia ceased to exist. What is there to talk about? The confrontation was not at all with Russia but with the communist U.S.S.R."
AS: ...The delirious, provocative and crazy declarations of Zhirinovsky do not have a foundation in the psychology of our wretched people, exhausted by 70 years of communism.
AS: If one looks far into the future, one can foresee in the 21st century such a time when the U.S. together with Europe will be in dire need of Russia as an ally.
PK: That is a puzzling assertion.
AS: It is puzzling only for those who don't look into the future and do not see what kind of new powers are arising in the world."
Perhaps Alexander Solzhenitsyn saw the rise of The New World Order that Pres. George HW Bush described in his speech just three years before this interview? AS saw the writing on the wall. And perhaps, just perhaps, he saw the Russians, chastened by their experience under such a repressive regime built on propaganda would one day be an ally to freedom and liberty loving Americans and Europeans resisting the authoritarian regimes we are seeing ascendant across the western world today? Perhaps this is why Russia has been portrayed with as much hostility as it has been portrayed in recent years, perhaps why Trump was walled off from Putin, another leader committed to protecting his nation from self-destructive global interference? Past proves future?
er, you do know that "The Gulag Archipelago" was a work of fiction, even continued to say so on the book covers printed after this neo-conservative racist arrived in his version of heaven, where slavery is still legal under the constitution.
I've read that narrative from communists who claim the USSR was a wonderful place to live in, closest system of governance to utopia, ever. Interesting narrative. Not one I give credibility to.
I've taken in communist publications since I was a child growing up in south Florida. I'd tune into Radio Moscow in the evenings as it was broadcast from Havana to Miami. When I've gone back and listened to some old broadcasts the chimes that began the show were familiar echos from the past. I watched TASS evening news broadcast on my local PBS station after the national news ended. I read Pravda when I'd go to the public library. Not because I was an aspiring communist. But because I wanted to know what my nation's adversary had to say about my nation. I learned to understand propaganda very early in life. From those I was taught to disagree with and those I was taught to agree with.
I still read Marxist/socialist/communist publications to this day, from the smaller internet sites targeted at true believers to the English-language Chinese official publications. I've been trained by the top propagandists in the US in school, the military and my work of many decades. In the history of and the current practice of. Not a writer or producer of, but a reader and analyst of.
And I know that the US has been transformed into a Fascist governing model away from its constitutional foundations for more than a century. I reject both models. I embrace the constitutional model my nation long ago strayed from. Individual freedom and liberty as that foundational document enshrined. Not as the many laws, regulations, edicts and rulings laid on top of it have made a mockery of.
Strawman. If you can't do better, why should I?
Ahh, I see, you're a devoted communist lemming, lacking critical thinking skills. Which makes my comment directed at others than you; someone incapable of processing. Buh-bye.
Name calling. Go burn a cross in someone's yard, as is your want.
Is your way, not mine. Communists are Satanic.
Abortion rights in a country without free pre and neo-natal health care, maternity leave or adequate welfare for mothers and children gives the game away: choice for those who can afford it, not for those who need it.
If the pro-life movement were serious, the Red States would mandate maternity leave and ensure that no child was raised in poverty. If the feminist movement were serious, the Blue States would ensure that nannies and child-care workers got significantly higher wages.
Neither conservatives or progressives wish to discuss the central issue in reproductive health: stagnant wages, precarious employment and economic insecurity disrupt family formation, foster unreasonably postponed pregnancies and suppress fertility. The choreographed evasions and hypocrisies reveal Left and Right for what they truly are.
They only really fight over abortion, as the duopoly they both are in favor of mass murder ex-vivo.
Exactly!!! At last someone who gets it!!!!
Obama could have legislated for abortion, just as Congress could have had universal health-care in the 70s when Nixon wanted it (Ted Kennedy undermined the proposals because he did not want the Republicans to get the credit). The one great skill of the system is keeping people divided.
Where does free come from anyway?
Good point. I meant free at point of delivery. Everything has its cost. Healthcare is riddled with subsidies and cross-subsidies, mostly concealed from the public. These should be as transparent as possible and essential medical needs are met without exposing ordinary people to the risk of bankruptcy. This is achievable everywhere in the developed world outside the USA.
Excellent comment.
"Forced birthers in the US are like, "We'll adopt your baby! Okay actually we'll probably just let them fall through the cracks of a grossly inadequate foster care system leading to a childhood of trauma and neglect, but after that we've got a very well-funded prison system that can take care of them."
Forced Birthers: Pro-Life up until the baby is born.
Yes, people need to see we have one party. Evil is evil; what one sees as "lesser" might not be. That's the nature of evil.
Good boxing metaphors.
I've likened the two parties as a cowboy duo of authoritarians teaming up to break the wild stallion of freedom to be domesticated and ridden into submission. The Democrats are the hard-riding bronco-buster, whipping and kicking the stallion, digging the spurs into its side, showing it who's boss. When the stallion of freedom rears up and throws the bronco-busting Democrat off the calm, assuring words of the Republican horse-whisperer takes over, telling the stallion it's all going to be okay, nobody is going to hurt it, the horse-whisperer is on its side, will have a talking to the bronco-buster so that bad Democrat cowboy never hurts it again, calming it down, putting the stallion of freedom at ease...who will then turn the stallion back over to the hard-riding, whipping, kicking, spur-digging of the Democrat. Over and over and over until they hope the wild stallion of freedom is forever tamed.
Will they succeed? Let's just say they've never been as close as they are now than in the history of mankind. Not even in the darkest days of WWII was freedom across the globe in so much peril. No outside nation or alliance will be coming to save the day. It will be humanity ourselves, those of us that are wild stallions of freedom rising to the challenge and tossing both the bronco-buster and the horse-whisperer into oblivion.
I agree healthcare and insurance pricing is a racket, yet the concept of the government providing “free” services is (generally) stealing from the productive and incentivizing the nonproductive, if government wasn’t both a participant and enforcer of that racket perhaps your concept could work - fair would eliminate the need for free.
Not sure how we got to Space Colonization from Ukrainian Trolls, but what the hell... I'll bite.
Talking about the limitations of space colonization almost entirely misses the point. The Earth is a finite resource that cannot be replaced. No argument there, in fact that's the very reason for going into space, and in particular establishing bases on Mars and the Moon. Note I said bases, not colonies.
Take a look at these photos. This is the amount of land that is disrupted just to extract copper.
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-world-s-20-largest-copper-mines-2014-2339745
Now look at this chart:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Grade_of_US_Copper_Ore.png
You see the problem right? Similar declines in grade are occurring across all mined minerals. As for the more exotic minerals needed for modern electronics and so-called "green technology" those are in even shorter supply.
As an example of the potential benefits, consider Helium3:
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Space_for_Earth/Energy/Helium-3_mining_on_the_lunar_surface
Apart from mining, the potential benefits of scientific research are enormous, especially in the areas of microbiology and advanced materials. Manufacturing in space has many advantages, the most obvious being zero gravity and access to an almost perfect vacuum. Consider the advanced composite materials in use today, and extrapolate from there.
If space colonization is too much to dream about, try imagining a world where all the really nasty resource extraction and manufacturing takes place on Mars or the Moon, using automated equipment that will only require occasional visits to maintain. Further down the road, imagine taking a vacation on the Moon! At 1/6th gravity, it would be very popular with newlyweds!
The USA appears to have given up the dream to the point their only access to the ISS is on a Soyuz rocket, but that's not true of China, a resource poor nation with a very large population. Plans are already on the table, and chances are they'll be the first to establish mining operations on the Moon and later Mars.
Imagine a world without mining, logging or oil extraction and all the damage that causes. A green planet where everyone has a home, food on the table, and interesting work to fill their lives. The planet can heal itself if we take the pressure off, and we don't need a WEF population reduction program to do that, we just need to apply our imagination to what can be done in space that is currently done on Earth.
The promise of space exploration is not that we can leave the planet, but that we can restore the earth to its pristine beauty, and even extend our stay to the point where we can survive the next Ice Age.
Thank you, Caitlin; no one understands and writes about the U.S. Empire the way you do. Would that more people understood even half of this stuff as well as you do.
One other thought: you wrote, "The idea of space colonization appeals to the capitalist mentality because it means we can keep expanding our population . . . " I think this statement would have been accurate before the covid. It seems to me now that the "elites" are working hard to reduce the population, rather that expand it. At least that seems to be the net effect of the vaccination program they forced on us. Just a thought.
I'm on Twitter, and I'm blocking on sight anyone who displays "slava ukraini" slogan. I'm blocking those who wave the Ukrainian flag in my face too. I wonder what is the limit on blocking, or how long the blocked list can be on Twitter. If I reach my limit, I will open another account. Amazing how naïve Americans are, and how easily they buy propaganda by the metric ton.
Have pity on the average Americans. We are the most propagandized people maybe with the possible exception of the North Koreans. It took me years of living abroad before I could really see it, and it has gotten much worse over the decades. The propaganda starts at birth and is ubiquitous.
Someone did a comparison of Newsweek covers in the US and abroad, from the 90s to a few years ago. Used to be the news was a bit different, but now news is covered completely differently domestically in the US compared to internationally by the same company!
That pity is ONLY for average Americans. The oligarchs and national level politicians know the score and they suck.
I was born and raised in the Soviet sphere of influence. West of Ukraine. I thought that Soviet propaganda had no equal - until I saw American propaganda. Nothing on this planet compares to that. American propaganda made me move to America, the land of milk and honey, where there was no crime, no racism, and the Nazis were hated.
Right.
If I knew then what I know now, I'd be a New Zealander today.
The NZ covid tyranny propaganda spell has been even more effective there than the US. Not sure that's the best comparison.
My wife was born and raised in former Czechoslovakia. All her family still lives in Czechia. She grew up learning that the "Amis" were going to come over the border and kill them all. She at least was taught to shoot and throw grenades. We just learned to sing, "duck and cover." We laugh at how similar the propaganda was when we were kids, just opposite.
After she'd been to the states a few times and gotten to know America better she also understands that US propaganda has no equivalent.
I've been to New Zealand, although it was a long time ago now. Beautiful what I saw of the country. I was only on the north island.
Have you lived in NZ? I have, and hoo boy, is that place full of racists. Better than USA, or Canada and it's Ukranian Nazi love affair, but not by much.
I haven't. But they have health care, and we don't. So, I could isolate myself (I'm a born hermit) somewhere way out there, and not be terrified of medical bills if something happens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_New_Zealand It was being crapified when I lived there, and like all things under neo-liberal rule it's only gotten worse.
The animosity between the elves and the dwarves has some history, no doubt, but it is certainly nothing compared to US. If you stick to the central west of Eriador (particularly around the Shire) you'll find it is pretty much a "live and let live" kind of atmosphere. ;-)
Not so sure I pity them because there are Americans who are immune to the propaganda, my husband is one of them (and I'm German). So independent thinking is possible, even for Americans. But, my husband is a musician and artist, and he's never been part of the herd.
I've found myself (and Caitlin has written about this multiple times) that recognizing a manipulative relationship (which is what propaganda is all about) in your private life helps massively in recognizing it in your public life. I know for myself and many others this was true. Maybe your husband had early life experiences with manipulative people that helped him early on see the US propaganda for what it is.
Also important (and something Caitlin has also written about often) is that people don't like to admit that they can be fooled. To the point that they will willfully ignore obvious manipulation rather than admit that they have been manipulated.
There are people who are naturally immune to many things. I tried smoking for about six months, found it stupid and quit. I pity the people who are highly addictive to nicotine and find it nearly impossible to quit. I even pity the people who won't admit to their addiction and make up silly reasons why smoking is not unhealthy.
Caitlin, many thanks for the post. I keep reading all of your posts and I am subscribed to them on Patreon. You are a sharp, witty, highly moral, honest and courageous person and top-quality journalist. And I admire your brilliant gift to write so powerfully.
Speaking of Uniparty: Here is an article about the Uniparty ensuring a very dangerous woman did not get elected in Colorado. They use the voting machines to do whatever they want; such as getting a no name Democrat elected during a Republican primary. Tina Peters is a hero who exposed the criminality of the voting machines so they have turned it against her.
https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/how-did-a-zuckerberg-charity-stooge
Europe will soon regret to have been dragged into this proxy war by the US, and will realize that the future is Eurasian, says Graham Fuller, former Vice Chair of National Intelligence and former senior political scientist at RAND.
"China’s Belt and Road initiative is perhaps the most ambitious economic and geopolitical project in world history. It is already linking China with Europe by rail and sea. European exclusion from the Belt and Road project will cost it dearly. Note that the Belt and Road runs right through Russia. It is impossible for Europe to close its doors to Russia while maintaining access to this Eurasian mega project. Thus a Europe that perceives the US already in decline has little incentive to join the bandwagon against China. The end of the Ukraine war will bring serious reconsideration in Europe about the benefits of propping up Washington’s desperate bid to maintain its global hegemony."
https://grahamefuller.com/some-hard-thoughts-about-post-ukraine/