Stop the Idiocracy: March 2022

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Vladimir Putin’s hubris and tragic miscalculations bring Russia to its knees, and cements Ukrainian resistance to Russian influence and aggression for decades to come

Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin

Putin has only succeeded in hardening anti-Russian sentiment in Ukraine. He saw there was a small number of anti-Russian extremist elements - ‘Nazis,’ whatever we call them; every country has their extremists, including Russia and the U.S., as we’re all too aware – and used that as an excuse to butcher the Ukrainian people. He is a snake who will take advantage of any situation to put his venomous fangs into his prey, in this case by grossly exaggerating the threat these extremist elements posed in order to achieve his actual goals of conquering and plundering. Vladimir Putin does not even bother hiding his ambitions of restoring the Russian Empire, and in his Machiavellian mind he may really have convinced himself that he is saving Ukraine by forcing it back into Russia’s orbit.

Pray tell, why should Russia’s various neuroticisms and its never-ending inferiority/superiority complex – all of this embodied in Putin – be the rest of the world’s problem? Ukraine suffered long enough under Russian domination and decided, upon the fall of the Soviet Union, to move into the future. While still honoring their traditions and national character, they chose to go their own way in the world and strive for a better life. Putin makes no bones about wanting to stop the future, and restore a glorious past that never was quite so glorious for the hundreds of millions who suffered for it for so long, continuing today.

In the future, elected lawmakers in Ukraine are only going to be more stridently pro-Western and anti-Moscow, all across the political spectrum. Those small militias and such that Putin has scapegoated all of Ukraine for are now going to grow much larger, and more dangerous to Russia. Government-sanctioned or working in rogue capacity, vengeance-minded Ukrainian militias will conduct attacks on Russian cities for several years to come. And that’s all on top of the crippling sanctions placed upon Russia by most of the world. Russia is now isolated, its military is decimated and has been exposed as a paper tiger, its people will grow increasingly restless, and the prospect of revolution and civil war grows in likelihood with each day Putin continues this ‘special operation.’ Even most ethnic Russian speakers in Ukraine are enraged, and will increasingly identify as purely Ukrainian in the years to come. Vladimir Putin, in his quest to restore Russian greatness, has destroyed Russia. And glory is now Ukraine’s to be had. The Russian people will be divided as Ukraine's people, beaten and bloodied as they are, stand united. But, just as with a wounded snake, Putin is going to cause more terror and grow more desperate in the days ahead, so stay on guard. Слава Україні

Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

(VIDEO) Putin’s ‘yes men’ misled him on Ukraine invasion prospects - Anytime a leader creates such an overwhelming atmosphere of fear and conformity, critical thinking is going to go out the window and only what the leader wants to hear will be permissible. And what always results are tragic incompetence and worse, never success. (France 24 3/31)

'Residents of Mariupol, Ukraine, described how Russian forces use hunger as a weapon of war in a monthlong siege of the southern port. “No roof, no food and no water,” survivors texted relatives who escaped.' (New York Times 3/29)

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Sen. Mitt Romney: NATO would be likely to reconsider U.S. membership if Trump is returned to the presidency in 2024 - The stakes have never been higher. If America goes all-out Fascist, which is the goal of Trump and nationalist populists, none of you want to know what is going to happen to us. The Russian people have no one to protect them from their tyrant, and if America does not have friends in the world, nobody will be coming to our aid when the ongoing coup attempt is complete. America foolishly disregarded Sen. Romney’s warning about Putin in 2012, including being mocked by the sitting president at that moment (‘the 80s called and we didn’t answer.’) The past three administrations did not take Vladimir Putin seriously, and other world leaders were complicit in that regard (looking at you, Gerhard Schröder.) We’re paying the price now - and Ukraine most of all. So, heed what Sen. Romney has to say. (Yahoo! News 3/29)

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Not as important as whether Will Smith should have hit Chris Rock at the Oscars to #Murica, but the sane world is seeing seven-and-a-half hours of missing call logs on January 6, and Russia escalating its war of aggression on Ukraine after announcing they were going to start limiting attacks

Do you want to save this constitutional republic, however much of a lost cause it often appears to be, no matter that the majority of Americans are hellbent on destroying it? Work to counter Russian propaganda at all turns. We should have learned this back in 2016, and some of us did. Not enough! And now Ukraine is being raped, and millions of Americans are shrugging their shoulders, with some even praising Putin. The invasion of Ukraine, in part, is happening because ‘Murica wanted Trump and overlooked every breach of decency and honor, enabling Putin to such an extent that he feels invincible even now that we have a real leader - the kind that this rotten country does not deserve - back in the White House for the first time in a long time. As far as I'm concerned, those who have supported Trump all these years may as well rename themselves 'Neville Chamberlain.'

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine severely endangers global food supplies - Thankfully for Ukraine, they stored more than enough food for themselves for, apparently, a couple of years. Since the annexation of the Crimea in 2014, the Ukrainians knew this invasion was coming and prepared. Which explains why their military is destroying the Russian troops. But, given that Ukraine must take care of itself before supplying other nations with their grain, food shortages are already becoming a reality in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Indonesia that depend heavily upon Ukraine, as well as a Russia crippled by sanctions, for their sustenance. But, silly me, I know none of this is as pressing a matter as whether Will Smith should have hit Chris Rock at the Oscar Awards. (AP 3/29)

Russia bombards Chernihiv hours after pledging to halt shelling - Anybody who believes anything Putin promises is signing their own death warrant. Ukraine must not only repel this invasion, but so soundly defeat Russia that the enemy is set back another two centuries longer than Putin has already set them back. (The Guardian 3/30)

‘Thousands of miles from a home consumed by conflict, a group of Ukrainians in China have found themselves on the frontlines of an information war, battling pro-Russia bias, trolls and censorship.’ (AFP 3/30)

James Bourg/Reuters

A seven-and-a-half hour gap in Trump White House call logs on the morning of January 6, 2021 - I do not even want to spend much time on this clown anymore, I just want him and his lemmings’ garbage out of my life and out of the public sphere (and in prison.) (BBC News 3/29)

Wednesday morning: Self-proclaimed ‘people’s’ convoy runs out of gas, President Biden signs historic legislation that would have been the news of the day back in more normal times, the real COVID-19 fraud, and more. Nothing about Will Smith and Chris Rock

Leah Millis/Reuters

D.C. ‘people’s’ convoy calls it quits after three weeks of largely being ignored - Of two minds here: Why would anybody show up for them now, when everyone has caved to the Covidiots and few mandates or lockdowns are in place anywhere outside China? That said, I am surprised the D.C. convoy wasn’t more successful, given how these types never miss an opportunity to cause a scene and wave their Trump and ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ flags. Or Confederate flags, or Russian flags. The convoys in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada were very successful and galvanized the base, but this fell flat. Trump apparently had a rally this past weekend that drew only a few thousand in Georgia. I’m not really sure how to explain the low attendance at these events, given that public opinion appears to be moving the GOP’s way and away from President Biden and the Democrats. (Daily Beast 3/27)

AP/Evan Vucci

‘President Biden on Tuesday signed a bill to make lynching a federal hate crime, which came after Congress failed more than 200 times to pass anti-lynching legislation.’ - Over 200 times, and the United States Congress could not agree that lynching is a hate crime? What does anybody think lynching is, an act of love? Another big achievement for President Biden. (CBS News 3/29)

Breathless MSNBC reports President Biden’s approval rating at new low - Screw you and your phony poll, MSNBC. Which is to say, I do believe the majority of Americans have gone cold on President Biden, and even in its better days Americans have always tended to petulantly believe public opinion is the be-all/end-all of everything. In the age of social media and hyper-tension, that tendency has been sacred, unwritten law. Says to me President Biden is doing what I voted for him to do if he is violating such absurdity. Says to me Americans do not want a leader, they want a cheerleader and enabler. 44 f**king years on this planet, I well remember the final years of the Cold War, and then the halcyon days of the '90s. Nothing was ever perfect, but the collective psyche of America was in a much better place. It was the peak of post-war prosperity and global power. Everything has changed because people have changed. For the worst. I don't see that in Joe Biden, though; he served 36 years in the Senate, and certainly wasn't ready for the presidency, or the man he is today, in 1988. He grew as a man, while too many of us regressed in our humanity. Maybe that is the real, subconscious reason why so many are so determined to hate him. He is a relic of a past we venerate for its entertainment, but are collectively ashamed of politically, socially, and culturally. That, and the media is leading them on, resentful he won in 2020 and took their cash cow/blood rival out of the direct spotlight, hurting MSM profits. Yeah, I stand with President Biden, full stop with the garbage. (Do not actually click on the above link as MSNBC so desperately wants, only there for reference.)

Adobe Stock

Nebraska lawmaker backtracks after spreading an unproven allegation that schools were putting litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as cats - The Republican Party, at all levels, is not putting its best and brightest out there. The dumbing down and the gullibility, is deliberate, and exactly what their base demands. Vladimir Putin and this country’s enemies are delighted. (Washington Post 3/29)

‘(T)he largest fraud in American history.’ The looting of the COVID relief plan, PPP, by individuals and businesses for anything and everything but COVID relief - Remember when we used to talk about things like fiscal responsibility? (NBC News 3/28)

Enrollment in skilled-trades programs up, enrollment at community colleges down - More Americans learning real skills is an absolute positive. Ideally, enrollment at colleges and trade schools alike would be thriving. (NPR 3/28)

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

‘(T)he worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.’ President Biden versus an American public that has lost faith in its own country, its institutions, and in truth, common sense, and empathy for oppressed peoples

John Farallo/Deviant Art

No reason to wonder why many Americans hate Joe Biden, and no need to identify who those Americans are, we all know. Obviously, there is the matter of Mr. Biden having served as second-in-command to the black guy for eight years (never have been a fan of the latter myself.) More to the point, Joe Biden is committed to a liberal democratic global order that these people feel has oppressed and failed them (not that any of them know what life would be under the alternative, having forgotten the words of Churchill - ‘democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.’) Joe Biden will not kiss Vladimir Putin’s ass as his predecessors did, and nationalist populists see Putin as a symbol of lost manhood and Christian virtue (I see neither in the s.o.b., but behold the power of propaganda and gaslighting.) The radical left merely sees Putin as a bulwark against American imperialism and predatory capitalism, and turn a blind eye to the corruption, the human rights abuses, and so forth (what a sad lot they are, the flip side of the same coin as the nationalist populists.) And Joe Biden removed the precious orange god from power – which is why the mainstream media has so viciously turned-on Joe Biden; they want Trump back because he is better for their bottom line, and the welfare of the country be damned.

And Trump’s fans simply cannot comprehend that millions of fellow Americans were (and remain) disgusted by Donald Trump’s words, actions, and overall lack of integrity and humanity. It really is kind of baffling how devoted they are to this guy, until one considers that they see him as their protection against the rest of us. After all that has been said and done, there really is no point any longer in any other explanation for popular discontent. We are being reminded that human beings are tribal creatures, and will reject the evidence of their own eyes and ears. Instead, they stand with those offering (false) comfort and reassurance of their natural instincts when they feel threatened by the world around them. The very essence of populism, and an example of why I hate populism. The German people rallied behind Hitler in the ‘30s, and tribalism is why Russians are rallying behind Putin now and are not questioning his motives for invading Ukraine. Reason and evidence are never going to penetrate this wall. There is no point in trying to convince anyone to change their minds, and any pretense I ever had of being able to change minds - about anything at all – disappeared a long time ago. Many years. Nothing I post is with the intention of reaching the unreachable, but rather to help those invested in truth, reality, and sanity (or relative sanity; hey, we all lose our s**t sometimes, lol.) One can ‘lead a horse to water, but one cannot make him drink.’ As long as the earth turns and as long as human beings live on it, these maladies will remain. And as long as I’m cursed to be here, I will stand in opposition to all forces – far-left, far-right, anywhere in between – who believe they will achieve their given ideas of paradise on earth by bringing Hell upon the earth. President Joe Biden is a relic of a better time and place, an unlikely leader for this strange era in American life, and I am grateful we have him, for however long we have him. Once he is gone, well, let’s not even contemplate any further right at this moment.

‘Russia’s deputy defense minister says Moscow has decided to “fundamentally… cut back” operations near the capital and another major city to “increase mutual trust” at talks aimed at ending the fighting.’ Translation: They got their asses kicked. (AP 3/29)

At least 5,000 dead in Mariupol, including over 200 children. (Ukrinform 3/28)

Monday, March 28, 2022

Federal judge declares Trump likely committed crimes following the 2020 election, Ukrainian refugees face more danger outside of their country, while America is busy arguing about celebrities

‘A federal judge on Monday ordered Trump attorney John Eastman to turn emails over to the Jan. 6 Committee. The judge also said that the former president likely committed crimes while trying to stay in power.’ Lock them up already. Trump, Eastman, and the entire cabal. Perhaps we send Trump to the island of Saint Helena, and he can die there as Napoleon did two-hundred years ago. I’d like to see that. (Raw Story 3/28)

AP/Michael Probst

Not condemning or judging any single individual, but literally every post on my feeds, FB and Twitter both, right now is about the incident at the Oscars. I wish people got this riled up and angry about what Putin is doing to the Ukrainian people, or the January 6 insurrection, or those spreading disinformation and refusing to follow protocol in the middle of a pandemic. #JustSaying

Ukrainian refugees are prime targets for human traffickers, and there doesn’t appear to be any shortage of these predators. Some of them posing as relief workers at border crossings, others are contacting women online and making grand promises of a new life elsewhere in order to lure them into their trap. Pray for the safety of all Ukrainians in this horrific struggle. (BBC 3/27)

Ukrainian Holocaust survivors forced to flee to Germany - Unspeakably horrible. Obviously a bit of irony that they’re going to Germany, but how proud I am of my blood brothers and sisters in Deutschland. No nation in history ever took greater responsibility for their sins, no nation has ever redeemed itself as they have, and no nation has ever rebuilt so successfully from the ruins of war than my ancestral homeland. And Ukraine shall rebuild, as well. #NeverAgain means never again, and Putin is the Hitler of our time. (AP 3/28)

An extremely important PSA from Rep. Adam Kinzinger. All Americans should be aware. Most are not, and don't want to be. This deep fake stuff scares the daylights out of me. Anybody can be framed for anything.

Слава Україні - Ukraine: Defending humanity when the rest of the world will not

Olha Solodenko/Shutterstock

I have never been more in awe and appreciation of any group of people – and, in particular, their military who are the kicking the Russians’ asses hardcore - than I am of the Ukrainian people right now. We Americans are field mice compared to their lions.So as it turns out, are the Russians field mice as well. Let the Chinese, Indians, and Iranians try, none of the nations that constitute the modern Axis of Evil will succeed – and we in America are very much on the fence as to which side we will eventually settle on. Should we re-elect Donald Trump, or another GOP Fascist, in 2024, we then prove ourselves firmly in said Axis of Evil. Millions of Americans are begging to be part of such. So, we’re not counted out of that Axis in spite of having a great and humane leader in Joe Biden. But he is embattled, and much of the American people hates Ukraine – yes, a majority; a slim majority, but a majority - sympathizes with Putin, and hates humanity. I am now convinced the majority of Americans have embraced hate and there is going to be major reckonings due to such. The Democrats are not going to win the mid-term elections, and Joe Biden – should he run again – will not be re-elected. But no matter how much #Murcia hates him, he has proven for all time that he is the man for this moment, and one of America’s greatest presidents in our history. It is not his fault his country has grown cold and has embraced madness. #Ukraine, defenders of all humanity. They are fighting to protect Europe, and should Europe fall then the rest of the world will fall with it. Either be part of the solution, or keep on playing victim to imaginary enemies and grossly exaggerated grievances. American life is difficult, far from the paradise some in foreign lands may imagine, but keep your heads about you and learn some perspective. We have been blessed, but the country is determined to give up that blessing in place of pure hate. God help us, and I really mean that. Слава Україні ...

Getty Images

‘Mila Kunis left Ukraine for the US as a child. Now she’s helping Ukrainian refugees’ - I've long thought this woman is gorgeous, and she remains so. Young Ukrainian women, in general, are just beautiful. They age in a strange way, but then they earned that right, or privilege, or burden, or whatever that is. They're stronger than us. I care nothing about the '70s Show or the talking teddy bear movie, but bless Mila Kunis. (The Independent 3/27)

Poll: Nuclear fears in US amid Russia-Ukraine war - Not that I put any stock whatsoever in any poll, but it is fair to say that nuclear anxiety is probably running higher now than it has for a good while. As a kid in the ‘80s, of course, it was just a part of life - the nuclear threat from the East - and apparently that has now once again become the case. None of us realize how good we all had it during that period of grace in the ‘90s. I want to go back. (AP 3/28)

Finally - after 30 long years - America has a president who stands for American values and promotes peace across the universe, and he is met with nothing but universal hatred and unwarranted distrust from the American people. I am ashamed to even be living here. We were sold a bill of goods - LIES - that we were somehow better than the rest of the world. And the malevolent among us - which is 90% or more - took that to heart, and have decided to be bullies and tyrants upon the earth. Donald Trump gave them explicit permission to do so in 2016, and it’s been all downhill since then. When Trump retakes the office on January 20, 2025, it’s all over for us; we will officially have earned our place as the single most evil, tyrannical, genocidal nation in all of world history. Yeah, congratulations, motherf**kers on making that happen. Good grief ...

Barack Obama would have been nothing and would never have been elected without our current leader, Joe Biden. John McCain deserved to win that election and deserved to have served us, and I will never forgive that other guy for that. But that is not Joe Biden’s doing - Joe Biden stood beside that imbecile for eight years for the sake of his country, yet was always John McCain’s friend to the end.

Even though I like and even admire George W. Bush as a man, he failed as a president. And the other bastards, post-Reagan and not including Mr. Carter, all failed - most of all, Donald J. Trump. Joe Biden is restoring our honor, and nearly all of us are too blind to see it. His predecessors must admit their guilt in degrading America and blinding us to true leadership. We were once the greatest country on earth, now are blatant and deliberate s**t. No better than the world's biggest s**thole and the world's worst human beings, Russia and the Russians. I am so deeply ashamed, and so sad for President Biden, who is doing his best. We have a president who is trying to restore us, and 80% or more of this country hates him for it. I hate this country, that is until I love it again. Make me love it again.

Saturday, March 26, 2022

President Biden has made his most important statement of his tenure: Russian people, overthrow Putin

AP/Evan Vucci

Without any hyperbole whatsoever, I have never felt more proud of an American president as I am with President Biden today. Putin will not be tamed by any method other than putting the fear of God into him. Regime change must happen, only the Russian people can end this carnage. I’m grateful the president recognizes this fact and is calling for regime change in Moscow. His immediate predecessors wouldn’t have the guts, courage, or even desire to be so bold. Thank you, President Biden, for your firm and unwavering stance against the tyrant's genocide upon the Ukrainian people. On the same level of greatness as 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.' President Biden has made the most important statement of his tenure. This is what a real leader does. And ‘Murica will never be grateful for it. But the people of Ukraine, Poland, dissidents in Belarus and Russia, and more, they do appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. President, for mincing no words, and calling for Putin's ouster. Russian people, you must overthrow Putin! Русский народ, вы должны свергнуть Путина (AP 3/26)

Typical Putin, the bloody monster: Not long after the reports came out implying that Putin and the Kremlin were now going to limit their ‘special operation’ to the Donbas region, the city of Lviv in the far west of Ukraine – very close to Poland - is attacked, again. He is a liar, he has no intention of laying off Ukraine, and he is willing to risk World War III in service of his eternal grievance over Mother Russia’s fallen empire following the Cold War. (Reuters 3/26)

After seeing his forces get their asses thoroughly kicked by Ukrainian fighters, Putin is now pivoting to a strategy of ‘liberating’ the Donbas region in the far east of Ukraine

Reuters

Make no mistake, this is a great victory for Ukraine, but Putin can never be taken on his word. By no means do I think he is done inflicting terror upon all of Ukraine and its people. He is buying time, knowing he has been seriously embarrassed on the world stage. Exposed as a ‘paper tiger.’ More to the point, however, the horrific damage has been done, and Putin is a war criminal who must be brought to justice. Entire generations of Ukrainians - those who are not dead - are scarred for life. An entire generation of Ukrainian children will never know innocence again. There is no going back for Vladimir Putin, and there is no forgiveness: He is defined forever as a murderer and a monster. Via the BBC -

Is the Russian military having to change its plans? Perhaps even reduce the scale of Moscow's ambitions in Ukraine?
It's probably too early to tell, but there's definitely a shift in emphasis.
A top Russian general - Sergey Rudskoy - says the "first stage" of what President Vladimir Putin calls Russia's "special military operation" has been mostly accomplished and that Russian forces will now concentrate on "the complete liberation of the Donbas".
This is likely to mean a more concerted effort to push beyond the "line of contact" that separates Ukrainian government-held territory in the east of the country from the Russian-backed separatist "people's republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The pace of Russia's advance in other areas of Ukraine remains glacial. Its forces have been pushed back from positions around the capital, Kyiv, and are said to have started digging defensive positions to avoid losing more or prepare for some kind of pause.
It's probably way too early to conclude that Russia has given up on capturing Kyiv, but Western officials say that Russia continues to experience setback after setback.
On Friday, they said Russia had lost another general - the seventh - and that morale was at rock bottom in some units. (Read more)

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

As he visits Poland and meets with Ukrainian refugees, I am going to submit that - along with President Ronald Reagan - Joe Biden is showing us right now that he is one of our two greatest post-WWII leaders. Those who oppose him will never give ground or admit error – even if their very lives depended upon it - but no matter. The fate of the world is in the balance, and thus far humanity is surviving, and even thriving, against Mr. Putin’s aggression. As to you Republicans, your hero would have just handed Ukraine over to Putin on a silver platter. Would any of you Trump fans *really* feel good about that, knowing it means the destruction of the entire free world? Yes, that will mean all of us, don’t be a fool. Check yourselves! President Biden is delivering, nobody could possibly do more, so give him credit. (CBS News 3/26)

Putin cites author J.K. Rowling as an example of Western ‘cancel culture.’ - Harry Potter is the least of your worries right now, motherf**ker. Let there be no doubt where most of these nationalist populist talking points in America are coming from. (Sky News 3/25)

As for the Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson - I truly don't care about this nonsense. She appears to be qualified enough, the only job of the Senate is to confirm her. The GOP is going to undergo a reckoning sooner or later, they can't afford to fall on their swords over this. It is only the job for a Justice to interpret the law, not to validate anyone's ideology or work on the behalf of a political party. Vladimir Putin is seeking to kill us all, get serious, GOP. (New York Times 3/25)

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dies at 50 - Shocking. Not really much of a fan of this group, but no matter. The guy was well-loved and respected, may he rest in peace. (AP 3/26)

Friday, March 25, 2022

In Brussels, President Biden announced an energy deal with the European Union to increase American natural gas exports to Europe, thus decreasing the continent’s reliance on Russia for their energy needs

Olivier Hoslet/EPA-EFE

VIDEO VIA FRANCE 24 - Biden announces deal to cut Europe's reliance on Russian gas

A massive achievement, and is going to go a long way toward mitigating the economic fallout of having to cut Russia out of global markets. President Biden deserves a lot of credit from the American people, the media, members of Congress, etc., but of course he will not receive it and this news is going to pass by largely unnoticed on these shores. As soon as gas prices fall, people are not thankful, they just merely move on to raging against the next big story of the day. The Ukrainian people, and the people of Europe – who have more skin in the game – by and large know better. Believe it, Vladimir Putin is not a happy man upon learning this news. More from UPI -

March 25 (UPI) -- The United States and the European Union announced a new agreement Friday aimed at reducing Europe's dependency on Russian fossil fuels over the war in Ukraine.
The deal was announced amid U.S President Joe Biden's trip to Europe that is aimed at fortifying an allied response to aid Ukraine and punish Russia for its invasion of its neighbor.
Biden and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen produced a joint statement Thursday following their meeting that expressed their unity in condemning Russia's "unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine."
It also mentioned that they will work to establish a joint task for to address the immediate security needs of the EU.
"The Task Force will be chaired by a representative from the White House and a representative of the president of the European Commission," the United States and European Commission said in a joint statement. (Read more)

(VIDEO) A look at Mariupol, from approximately a year ago - Heartbreaking to compare then with the horror on the ground now.

Prominent Russian actress effectively forced into exile in Latvia after signing petition against Putin’s ‘special operation’ to ‘denazify’ Ukraine (Radio Free Europe 3/21)

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Kyiv woman who had her home burned down by Russian shelling says a relative in Moscow believes the Ukrainians are destroying their own properties on purpose

We are now seeing - in earnest, for the first time since Nazi Germany - the full effects and results of years of gaslighting - how it warps hearts and minds, and ultimately leads to bloodshed and horrific destruction. As for America, the January 6 insurrection, the continuing belligerence shown toward COVID-19 protocol, and the fact everybody wants to tear their neighbors' throats out all merely portend the hell these hate-filled fools are going to unleash upon the earth. It is the biggest nations on said earth – China, India, Russia, and the United States – that are backsliding toward a new level of despotism and are poised to form a new Axis of Evil to rule the planet. Once the domestic Fascist Cabal – agents of Putin, all - get President Biden and his administration out of the way, and once they start liquidating all the ‘undesirables,’ America will have completed its turn from an imperfect bastion of liberty to hellish despot and predator upon humanity. Europe will be eaten alive without any reasonably viable allies in the world (the likes of Australia, Japan, or maybe Canada being able to do much in this scenario are slim.) Is this what we all want for our near-future and for the long-term? Because people sure are acting as if that is what they want. All due to being fed a diet of never-ending grievance, and the innate desire of man that his ignorance must never be questioned but championed instead. Yours truly has plenty of grievances of his own and does not proclaim to know everything, but at least I know better than to hide behind demagogues, or to work to destroy the global order and replace it with something that would ultimately be far worse - a dystopia than these fools cannot conceive of in their little minds.

Over half of Ukrainian children have been displaced by war, Biden lays down the law to Xi, Pope Francis essentially declares Ukrainians should not fight back against the invaders, and what are America’s Putin fans going to do when America is left with no choice but to declare war on Putin?

Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters

NPR: One month of war has displaced more than half of Ukrainian children.

A quick google search reveals there are approximately 73 million kids under 18 in the United States. Just try to imagine between 35 and 40 million American kids being forced to trek into Canada (or Mexico) for any given reason. Almost impossible to imagine the horror. But when Americans see Latino children coming across our southern border (and being locked in cages), they either turn away or demand they be sent back. When they see Ukrainian children escaping Putin’s bombs, they either shrug their shoulders or declare ‘fake news.’ Even just ten years ago, this United States of ours was still a humane country overall - in spite of the many warts of history - and its people were by and large good. I do not feel or see that anymore, and it is simply evident that a spirit of darkness has taken hold in our land and around the world. Especially since this time two years ago, when the pandemic began. We are in a time very similar to the 1930s, and we all know what resulted from that. Millions upon millions dead, a genocide of historic proportions that nearly wiped out an entire race of people, nations destroyed and carved to pieces, 45 years of Communist terror in Eastern Europe, and the ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation. World War III may have already started, and when America’s hand is forced and troops must be sent into Eastern Europe, are all these Putin-saluting, ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ saying, tin-foil hat wearing, white supremacist, nationalist populist people going to rally behind their country and the free world? Or will they revolt, finally beginning the long-simmering civil war here at home and preventing the United States from fulfilling its obligations to NATO and to global order? I’m betting on the latter. I’v never been this disgusted with this country and all too many Americans. And if I’m nobody special - and I am not - then I at least see what is happening here and have not sacrificed my humanity.

Getty Images

(VIDEO) President Biden delivers a press conference in Brussels during an emergency NATO summit - He made it clear America is going to #StandWithUkraine, and that the impatient and hateful American public will not dissuade him from doing the right thing, 2024 be damned. Nor will Russia’s good friend, Xi Jinping. Thank you, Mr. President, for standing with the free world even as our country’s people are turning their back on it. Слава Україні. (Washington Post 3/24)

(VIDEO) An amazing, up-close look at the challenges - evading Russian fire - two Ukrainian volunteer medics are facing as they rush to save the lives of innocent civilians in Irpin (France24 3/23)

Pope Francis says more weaponry is not the solution for ending the war in Ukraine, refuses to specifically name Russia as the aggressor and culprit - How does ‘his holiness’ expect the Ukrainians are going to fight off the Russians? By praying for them? With roses and kind words? With sticks and stones (but those would, technically, be weapons, so can’t use them)? Anybody can express vague platitudes about the horrors of war. The Ukrainians didn’t start this war, but they damn sure are going to finish it, regardless of whether any peacenik or prelate approves. (Reuters 3/23)

‘An official from the US embassy in Moscow found US basketball player Brittney Griner to be "in good condition," after they were recently granted consular access to the American athlete who is being detained in Russia.’ - #FreeBrittney (CNN 3/23)

‘One of the senior Manhattan prosecutors who investigated Donald J. Trump believed that the former president was “guilty of numerous felony violations” and that it was “a grave failure of justice” not to hold him accountable, according to a copy of his resignation letter.’ - Not even in the slightest bit interested in anything Trump-related right now, but it remains fact that he is either stopped during this period of grace we are in, or we will become the new Russia. We’re already about 95% of the way there, and millions are chomping at the bit to start killing fellow citizens en masse. Hyperbole? No, this level of division we have in America is such that there is no stopping it from boiling over into mass violence and bloodshed. January 6 was our red flag warning, and most Americans either supported the insurrectionists, or just couldn’t be arsed to care. Putin is delighted that so many are making fools of our country. (New York Times 3/23)

‘Participants in the so-called "People's Convoy" have come down with symptoms resembling COVID-19 while taking part in a demonstration that started out as a protest against public health mandates aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus’ - Who would have thought it. (Salon 3/23)

The Fifth Column of America: Sedition gone more absurd than ever before, as nationalist populist media celebrities and GOP lawmakers come out in favor of Putin’s war of aggression on Ukraine

Dot Records/Matthew Ruffin/Getty Images via Loudwire

Oh, isn’t this cute? The former lead singer of a dreadful ‘nu metal’ band from twenty-some years back who has now gone ‘country’ (he’s from Massachusetts) says Vladimir Putin is fighting ‘for freedom’ from the ‘deep state.’ It’s the rest of us – anyone who doesn’t share their far-right, neo-Fascist worldview - who are the oppressors. Is this really the route the American far-right wants to go, claiming that Putin is a freedom fighter, as many Americans in the 1930s lined up behind Hitler? Well, yes, it is: They’re in a cult (#Cult45) and they’re gradually being brainwashed into wanting to kill anyone and everyone in ‘Murica who isn’t in favor of their nationalist populist, grievance-based, conspiracy-laden agenda. I read ‘1984’ and ‘Animal Farm’ way back in my teenage years, so I always knew Fascism could take hold anywhere, including America. I just never knew it would be quite this absurd. The lead singer of Staind, for crying out loud, to say nothing of Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, Scott Baio, Kristie Alley, James Woods, Kanye West, and the gaggle of celebrity idiots goes on. And now we have members of Congress who fancy themselves entertainers of sort, such as Marjorie Traitor Greene. When this is all over, the rest of us are not going to forget who stood with the free world, and who the coalition of zealots, fools, and psychopaths were that stood for murder, oppression, and lies. Via Rolling Stone -

Vladimir Putin is ramping up his brutal assault on Ukraine, shelling civilians from Odessa to Kharkiv, and leveling the port city of Mariupol — leading President Joe Biden to denounce the Russian dictator as a “war criminal.” But if the initial days of the war were marked by some conservatives muting their admiration for the Russian state, a spate of notorious right-wing figures are now dropping the mask to defend Putin, and even claim his fight as their own.
Over the weekend, former Trump adviser Roger Stone, MAGA media maven Cassandra MacDonald (née Fairbanks), and former Staind rocker Aaron Lewis all spoke out to praise Putin, denounce Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky — or both. This week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joined the parade, blaming Ukraine for getting itself invaded, while insisting that the war is a lost cause and that Putin is “being very successful” in Ukraine. Then Lara Logan, the former “60 Minutes” correspondent who has her own show on the streaming service Fox Nation, trumped them all, touting Putin as a heroic global actor, declaring: “He’s the man who is standing between us and this New World Order.” (Read more)

Getty Images via BBC

One of the finest diplomats America has had over the past 50 years or so. Rest in Peace, Madeleine Albright (Reuters 3/23)

Visibly furious’ Russian TV pundit rages at actor and former California Gov. Schwarzenegger for speaking out against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. The ad hominem-laden line of attack these Russian propagandists are using against Arnold Schwarzenegger is identical in style to how hosts on Fox News, Newsmax, and so forth go after their targets. Big shock, I know (The Wrap 3/22)

Twenty days in Mariupol, documented by the last two journalists to escape the city. An account that is unsettling to read, accompanied by very disturbing imagery. But a story that must be told and never forgotten

(AP 3/22)

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

America’s president shows steady leadership as Russia’s president wages genocide against the Ukrainian people and unimaginable horror plays out; meanwhile, the American people cry about gas prices and play the blame game. Insights and headlines from another week of war in Ukraine

Working to prevent World War III is a delicate operation, and President Biden is displaying proper leadership during this crisis. Not that very many Americans seem to appreciate it, but thankfully we have a leader who is not going to put fickle public opinion ahead of the lives of the Ukrainian people and global security. Sadly, I’m afraid Ukraine and other vulnerable nations will not be able to count upon America’s help in the future, and Americans are going the way of the Russians. Decaying, mean-spirited, heartless, soulless nationalists and Fascists. I support President Biden because he is essentially the only one standing between us and tyranny, even as most of our fellow Americans and their political idols embrace it. Once he is gone, America is going full-on Nazi, and the world will be an even more dangerous and unpleasant place than we already endure.

I am sensing that most Americans are starting to become annoyed with having to pay attention to the situation in Ukraine, and only want to bitch about gas prices, illegal aliens, and made-up controversies such as Critical Race Theory or the 2020 presidential election being rigged. We can't even be bothered to any longer take precautions against a deadly virus, and shrug our soldiers at nearly one million dead from said virus. We are not a good country, Americans are not good people anymore, by and large, and can no longer be counted upon by anybody.

It is not Americans who fight for freedom anymore - indeed, too many Americans no longer really know what ‘freedom’ actually means. Instead, they embrace mindless populism. Populism is a disease. It is at once a narcissistic belief in one’s superiority, and a persecution complex of never measuring up to others around them. Populism is one desperately screaming, ‘you will respect my willful ignorance, or else.’ Desperate to never be anything other than an idiot, and willing to commit genocide to protect their stupidity. That is where we are at, as is Putin’s Russia. In both cases, it is not going to end well. Russians and Americans really no longer matter, aside from the damage they can and do inflict upon the world: It is the Ukrainian people who are either going to save their nation, Europe, and the world from its most nefarious menace, or they will perish trying. This is their 1776. Слава Україні. Via the New York Times -

WASHINGTON — President Biden will announce sanctions this week on hundreds of members of Russia’s lower house of Parliament, according to a White House official familiar with the announcement, as the United States and its allies reach for even stronger measures to punish President Vladimir V. Putin for his monthlong invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement is scheduled to be made during a series of global summits in Europe on Thursday, when Mr. Biden will press Western leaders for even more aggressive economic actions against Russia as its forces continue to rain destruction on cities in Ukraine.
In Brussels on Thursday, Mr. Biden and other leaders will announce a “next phase” of military assistance to Ukraine, new plans to expand and enforce economic sanctions, and an effort to further bolster NATO defenses along the border with Russia, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said on Tuesday. (Read more)

Maximilian Clarke/Story Picture Agency

Mariupol reduced to ‘ashes of a dead land.’ The scary thing is, up until now this has been a very pro-Russian city. The vast majority of residents are (or were) Russian speakers. Yet, Putin chose to punish the city the hardest of all. Pure evil (The Guardian 3/22)

‘Ukrainian forces fought off continuing Russian efforts to occupy Mariupol and claimed to have retaken a strategic suburb of Kyiv on Tuesday, mounting a defense so dogged that it is stoking fears Russia’s Vladimir Putin will escalate the war to new heights’ (AP 3/22)

Putin has used Belarus to attack Ukraine from its north, and he sought to use Belarusian soldiers as ‘cannon fodder,’ with the Belarusian dictator’s total compliance. Belarusian railway workers have put a major dent into these nefarious plans, destroying vital rail lines from Belarus into Ukraine (EuroMaidan Press 3/21)

Russian troops fire grenades and bullets at peaceful demonstrators against occupation in the city of Kherson (Sky News 3/21)

‘This is what they call the “operation of denazification.”’ One of the saddest stories yet from this unjust war: 96-year-old Holocaust survivor killed in Russian strike on the city of Kharkiv (CNN 3/21)

This man is a true hero, in a world that persecutes heroes and they are few in number: Opposition leader Alexei Navalny found guilty of ‘fraud,’ sentenced to nine additional years in prison (NPR 3/22)

‘The U.S. and Ukraine have knocked back Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to falsely frame the narrative of his brutal war, but they are struggling to get a more accurate view of the Kremlin’s invasion in front of the Russian people’ (AP 3/22)

China crash is ‘unprecedented’ given Boeing 737′s stellar safety record, says aviation analyst (CNBC 3/22)

Sunday, March 20, 2022

The week that Vladimir Putin lost the plot. Or, at least we damn well better pray so

Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

To all the conspiracy theorists and Trumpists out there: I believe one can separate one's hate for the 'new world order' (or 'the left,' what f**king ever) and still recognize Putin is evil and nobody's friend. And that innocent people are victims of genocide. More and more, I'm thinking it's going to take a unified coalition of groups who are not amiable to each other to defeat this monster. Forget all the other non-sense for now, just work to stop Putin. He will destroy humanity, he is serious. Not hyperbole or panic, but reality.

Destroying ‘the world’s post-World War II intellectual and moral foundation.’ Insight into Vladimir Putin’s thinking from expert Ivan Krastev – essentially, never-ending grievance over Russia’s place in the world, and a superiority complex that reason cannot penetrate. Literally, insane (Der Spiegel 3/17)

'Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that Russia’s military bombed an art school sheltering some 400 people in the embattled port city of Mariupol, where Ukraine’s president said an unrelenting Russian siege would be remembered for centuries to come.' (AP 3/20)

Ten times the speed of sound: ‘Russia says it has launched a hypersonic missile attack on Ukraine for the second consecutive day, amid claims that thousands of people trapped in a besieged city have been "forcibly deported" to Russian territory’ (Sky News 3/20)

The German war machine is back. Only this time, it is on the right side of history: Germany set to build Europe’s biggest military force (BBC 3/18)

Price-gouging by the oil companies is happening, but we must remind ourselves to be realistic about immediate oil production capacities and various other factors affecting the price of gas (NPR 3/19)

Taiwan’s military tests new capabilities to deter China threat (Deutsche Welle 3/15)

Lead exposure may have lowered the IQ of half of Americans since 1940 (Science Alert 3/10)

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Yuri Gagarin, Tchaikovsky, and vodka: Opposing Putin’s war of aggression on Ukraine without losing perspective, common sense, and humanity

Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. Getty Images

Am about as anti-Russia as it gets, and I would be in favor of removing Russian nationals - those without U.S. citizenship and have not sworn loyalty to America - from our borders while this war on aggression on Ukraine continues. Certainly, few are in the mood to celebrate much about Russia or its history, but can we focus our anger on Putin and his enablers and not on historical figures with no connection to the modern slaughter, please? I’ve seen blurbs about the music of Tchaikovsky being removed (or at least the idea discussed) from the programs of certain orchestras. Russian vodka has been from store shelves all over the place. Believe it or not, some Russians in history have made great art and achieved major milestones, just as multitudes of Germans did long before and long after the Nazi period. Remember, prior to said era, the United States went through a shameless period of anti-German hysteria in World War I, where absurdities like effectively forcing Americans to change their German surnames and renaming sauerkraut as 'liberty cabbage' occurred. Judging by the harrowing state of American society today, that populist idiocy and mass ignorance which are documented daily, I am not certain we have learned very much from those days. It should be possible to the fight the Russians and shame them without losing all perspective and reason, but it will never be possible: Precisely because base human nature is so tribal, so ignorant, and so self-defeating.

(VIDEO) Putin’s aggression against Ukraine severely divides the Orthodox Church – the majority religion for Russians and Ukrainians alike, Kyiv being the ‘Jerusalem’ of sorts of the faith – with Moscow Patriarch Kirill backing Putin and the slaughter of millions of Ukrainians

Not just the far-right shilling for Putin: The far-left is falling for Russian propaganda on Ukraine. Amazing how much alike the two extremes are in their zealotry, their brainwashing techniques, and never-ending conspiracism. Enemies of humanity always pose as liberators, whichever direction they come from

Kremlin spokesman moans that it’s ‘unacceptable’ and ‘unforgivable’ that President Biden accurately described Vladimir Putin as an obvious war criminal, as the entire world can see for themselves. It’s not so much they think we’re ‘stupid,’ rather naked bullying and gaslighting

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Skies ‘turn red’ at Ukrainian military base near Polish border, and Putin grows ever more defiant

BBC

Like many, I’ve been torn on the prospect of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, knowing that will provoke Russia further. After the attack on Yavoriv in the far west of Ukraine, it must be done. Putin wants war with NATO, and I have a sinking feeling we’re not going to be able to avoid it. Via the BBC -

Witnesses to a deadly Russian attack on a Ukrainian military base have told how "the sky turned red" as missiles struck the site near the Polish border.
At least 35 people died in the strike on the Yavoriv training base, near a major crossing point into Poland used by refugees from the conflict.
Russia fired around 30 cruise missiles at the base, outside the city of Lviv, early Sunday, the local governor said.
Hours after the attack, ambulances were still rushing to the scene.
Roads leading to the facility were blocked with checkpoints and authorities were conducting search-and-rescue operations.
Russian jets fired around 30 cruise missiles at the site, also known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, authorities in Lviv said. Most, though, were intercepted by the air defence system. (Read more)

Russia seeks military aid from China

‘A captured Russian pilot admitted to targeting Ukrainian civilians and urged Russia to call off the assault on Ukraine’

Transmitting their intentions? Head of Russia‘s space agency – an eager Putin stooge - warns sanctions could cause the International Space Station to crash

Thousands of Russians scramble to leave Thailand as sanctions hit

Senator Mitt Romney calls out former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for spreading pro-Putin propaganda, including the lie that the U.S. is operating bio-labs in Ukraine

Comparing the bravery of the Ukrainians with the long-term cowardice and indifference of the Afghanis is startling

The 9/11 attacks had to be answered and made it necessary to occupy that s**thole for maybe two or three years; but obviously it amounted to far more than a few years, and it is completely shameful America actually spent 20 years trying to help these worthless dirtbags. We should have spent the bulk of that time preventing Russia from ever rising again. More absurd that the American people threw a hissy-fit at President Biden when he did exactly what all prior indications said the American people wanted him to do by pulling out of Afghanistan. And now the entitled pieces of shit give him no credit as he tries to pivot our way out of World War III. Nation of a**holes we are, and I’m getting so sick of it. Still, we couldn’t possibly be any more ungrateful and hateful than the likes of the Afghanis and Russians. At least, I hope not. But I do guarantee, once victory is assured, the Ukrainians will express far more gratitude to the international community and display far more humanity than the Afghan losers could want or to be capable of doing. Seriously, I hate you Afghans and care nothing for what you are going through – you brought it upon yourselves. Ukrainians did no such thing, but since a Democrat is in office, the nationalist populists of America are going to take sides accordingly. They’ll change their tune once one of their own is in high office again. Sometimes I really hate America, and I do not make apologies for it. Do better. Слава Україні, مرګ دې وي پر افغانستان خاینانو او وحشیانو. #Ukraine #Afghanistan #Russia