Stop the Idiocracy: ICC

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

The most common variety of Russian war crimes, North Korea takes being a hermit kingdom to another level, and Elon Musk buys Twitter

Omar Marques/Getty Images

Rape: The war crime that goes mostly unpunished - Russian men are nearly all brutes, rarely to be trusted. Make no mistake, rape is a deliberate tactic and is sanctioned by the Kremlin itself. It is hardly the first time in history Russians have used rape as a weapon, nor are they the only nation that has done so to its enemies. Obviously, for the women of Ukraine. Quote: ‘What’s happening in Ukraine is one of the worst large-scale campaigns of sexual violence in war since Islamic State’s attacks on the Yezidi minority in Iraq in 2014.’ (Ruth Pollard, Bloomberg 4/19)

North Korea remains one of only two countries on earth not to have administered COVID-19 vaccines - The hermit kingdom was offered millions of doses by the UN and China, and turned them down. Information concerning current conditions there is spotty, but none of what is known or highly suspected is good. The small African nation of Eritrea is the only other country not to have administered vaccines to citizens. (Washington Post 4/24)

Getty Images/BBC

Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion - As of right now, I’m not terribly concerned about this and am not leaving Twitter, but I’ll be among the many watching this guy like a hawk. ‘Free speech’ is fine, but he’d be well-advised not to give any more openings to liars, disinfo agents, and those engaging in hate speech. Yes, ‘hate speech,’ just as with ‘free speech,’ can be wrongly defined in a lot of ways; but blatant and open racism is really not at all hard to detect. Same goes for sedition. (BBC 4/26)

Andriy Khlyvnyuk/Pink Floyd

Hey Hey Rise Up - Dozed off sometime around 9 p.m. on Monday night, and woke up just before 11 p.m. out of a nightmare - that my neighborhood just outside of Boston was bombed. I do not have vivid, lifelike dreams too often, but they do happen and this one was a bit too much. I woke up sweating, and my head is still pounding as I write this (just after Midnight on Tuesday morning.) I have had visions of calamity come upon me in the past, and they are always physically and mentally exhausting. And, at those moments, I have to remind myself that it’s nothing next to the destruction we are seeing overseas. For the people of Ukraine, the nightmare is their daily reality. Please pray for the Ukrainian people. And continue to stream and download ‘Hey Hey Rise Up,’ as all proceeds go to relief efforts. Every click is meaningful, and may even save a life or two. Слава Україні

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Putin and Lukashenko brazenly accuse British intelligence of the massacre in Bucha, and more thoughts on Putin apparently sticking with Trump to neuter the United States

Valeria Ferraro/ZUMA Press Wire/ТАСС

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, with Putin standing right beside him and fully approving, declares that British operatives were responsible for the massacre in Bucha - An obviously absurd allegation that is beyond the pale, but I suppose no less absurd than anything else their propagandists have already devised. Putin has a rabid audience of fans in the West who willingly spread every lie and distortion the troll farms in St. Petersburg and Moscow put out - and during this crisis are especially eager to engage in victim-blaming - why wouldn’t they lie about Bucha, and why wouldn’t they scapegoat the British? Tell any conspiracy theorist the British are responsible for any given crime or atrocity, and they immediately buy into it. A central, long-held tenet of most corners of the conspiracy industry is essentially that the British Empire never really went away, and British banks and interests control the planet. In league with the Jews, or something like that. Putin and Lukashenko are blatantly gaslighting everyone into believing an obvious lie, and they do it because it works. The most evil form of bullying there is, and Putin is getting away with it, just as he did with his lies about Syria, Georgia, Venezuela, the situation in his own country, Belarus, and everywhere else he has gotten his bloody hands on. (CNBC 4/12)

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor visits Bucha and declares ‘Ukraine is a crime scene’ (AFP 4/13)

Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images

Interesting that the Russians have certainly vetted any and all potential GOP candidates in 2024, and found them wanting as Putin appears to be adamant that Trump remains the only option (see my previous post - ‘Putin and the Moscow Establishment begins making move to restore Trump in 2024.’) Trump, or the Democrat, Tulsi Gabbard, the firm number two favorite of the Russians and the one they will line up behind if Trump does not or just cannot run again; understanding that her electability at the present time is almost zilch, but they will work hard to change that if need be. The Republicans may very well win control of Congress this year, but their long-term future is not bright if Trump remains the only viable choice to lead the party. That is, not without Mother Russia’s help, at least.