The horrors of the Great Patriotic War are still vividly remembered throughout the Russian people and that in itself is one of Russia's primary motivators to never ever allow foreign "boots on the ground" occupation on its soil again!
The film was made in 1985 and directed by Elem Klimov.
In my opinion, it is considered one of the most shocking films of the world so far ! I saw it almost forty years ago, but I still remember one shocking part of the film !
The ultimate war movie. Saw it two times and it blew my mind. Never watched a war movie ever since. Except Tarkovkys „Ivan‘s Childhood“.
The scene after the return to the empty village. The sound of the flies. The mountain of corps behind the house.
My god.
I read some article years ago about the production phase of the film. They made test screenings in Eastern-Germany to check how it will be persived. People were in shock. One man stood up while screening and screamed that it was exactly like on the screen, tears in his eyes.
Really interesting also the almost comical despiction of evil. After everything one knows about Direwangler Brigade, which was the model for the Germans, it probably was the only way to deal with the horror.
As far as i know it was the only film the director ever made.
Its defnetly in the top 10 of best movies ever made.
I was quite disappointed in it. I couldn't stand the way the kid kept on staring into the camera as if to say, "Isn't this terrible?" We could see from the film that what was being depicted was terrible.
Thank you for sharing. Deeply appreciated. Really fascinating and interesting information. I'm honestly not a peacetaker but a peacemaker.
Having based this on the demands of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who laid down his own life instead of punishing the enemies of his people. Who also stated His kingdom is NO part of this world if it
were of this world, he went on to proclaim that his servants would have been fighting, that he might not be delivered over to the Jews. "But my kingdom is not from the world.'
As a Christian, disciple & follower of Jesus I continue to believe that prayer and selfless obedience to God's way of peace and love have a greater influence on the final outcome of events than do bullets and bombs. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7
Jesus never approved of killing in any context. This belief was rooted in Jesus’ command to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:39-44) as it is frequently alluded to or quoted. It was both Jesus’ teaching and his example of the cross that provided the foundation for this nonviolent ethic of enemy-love.
The nonviolent response of Christians to persecution and defamation was seen as a fulfillment of prophecy and a major identity marker of following Jesus. (“We came in accordance with the commands of Jesus to beat the spiritual swords that fight and insult us into ploughshares, and to transform the spears that formerly fought against us in pruning-hooks.” Origen, Against Celsus 5.33).
The nonviolent response of Christians to persecution and defamation was often given as evidence of the value of Christianity to the Roman empire. It was argued that Christianity was making Rome more just and virtuous. This means that the enemy-love ethic had become a widespread way of living for Christians. If not, the arguments would fall flat in the face of opposing evidence.
Military and war imagery within the Old and New Testaments were reused and reimagined by the apostles to draw a distinction between the true Church and the Empire. The early Christian community really did wage war, even on behalf of the emperor, but
but with weapons NOT of this world, yet mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds,
it was done in accordance to Scripture, like Ephesians 6:11-17. Armed with the power of the spirit, word of God, prayer, and their nonviolent enemy-love, the saints fought against the spiritual forces of evil that were the source of violence and warfare. The imagery was retained, but it was clear that the Militi Christi was made of martyrs and those who prayed fervently for peace.
The early Church of disciple Christians took on following Jesus' non-violent ethic of enemy-love seriously. Many of these writers suffered persecution for their beliefs, some even demonstrated it in martyrdom. We cannot so easily dismiss them or their understandings infused and led by God's spirit simply because they don’t live in the modern world.
We don’t follow Jesus because its practical, we follow Jesus because He is the Lord and King, and as Christians, He is our Lord and King. Also, Rome made that same argument about how impractical Christianity and their nonviolent ethic was, and Tertullian responded, “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church” (Apology 50.13).
Non-violence worked. In the first three centuries, the Kingdom of God did not require Christians to serve in physical combat, but in spiritual warfare. They were conscripted to love and serve their Lord, Jesus Christ, and reflect his non-violent ethic of enemy-love to the world. Our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God is the natural outworking of the gospel of peace.
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths . . .
. . . and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”
ISAIAH 2:3-4; MICAH 4:3
“And that it did so come to pass, we can convince you. For from Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking: but by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the word of God; and we who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ.”
JUSTIN MARTYR 1 APOLOGY 39
Jesus told us to: Love Your Enemies;
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers,what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Matt 5:43-48
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:20
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:17-20
When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Goodness is fighting evil and not hiding behind comforting possibly flawed man-made words as an excuse to do nothing. We were given "free will" to stand with honour and integrity and to do whatever it takes to preserve that which is good, true and right which is inherent in most of us. Haven't we given enough to Bill Gates and his band of Satanists like Soros and Rothschild and I see no burning coals on their heads. They're taking it all. I'd rather go down fighting with Jesus at my side asking not what he can do for me but what I can do for him. Our perceptions are different my dear sir but I do respect where you're coming from. Maybe you're the Yin and I'm the yang which leads to harmony at the singular level. Peace.
I am doing something! The will of my father and to work and to do His good pleasure and I am a warrior and a soldier warring in the spirit weilding my double edged sword 🗡️ in a very heavy battlefield that you cannot even begin to possibly understand.
By all means fight with violence in the political arena (it’s understandable and justified from a certain point of view which I share in my weakest moments) but leave Christ out of it. You’re sinning against the third commandment.
What is the extent of those truly aligned to God in the Ekklesia or church-power or authority? I answer that this power extends itself full as far as the body of true believers, but no further.
For what has the Church to do with those that are not of the Church? What have we to do (said Paul) with them that are without? For church-power, or rather God's kingdom power which is spiritual, is no more suitable to the world than worldly power, which is fleshly, is suitable to the Church.
The power of the Church, which is Christ's power, only reaches so far as Christ's kingdom; that is, the people that are born of God and his Spirit. The authority of Almighty Creator God reaches as far as Christ's and the Spirit's effectual influence and operation, but no further; that is to all that are willing, but to none that are unwilling.
As nothing has more troubled the Church that to govern it and give it laws, after the manner of the world, by secular force and power; so nothing has more troubled the world than to govern it and give it laws after the manner of the Church, by the aforesaid compulsion, & did so in the past through killing or indeed laws. Please see the history of the martyred and imprisoned for making a stand against especially the institutionalised catholic and King & queen led Protestant churches. The Christian man John Bunyan who wrote 'The Pilgrims Progress' arguably the greatest literary work in the history of the world next to the Bible. Was a nonconformist uncompromising Christian and servant to the Lord and because of what he did landed him in prison.
In 1660 Cromwell's Protectorate came to an end and the monarchy was restored. In the belief that national unity could only be achieved by religious uniformity, the state attempted to restrain the developing Independent congregations by forbidding preaching.
Bunyan was arrested in the hamlet of Samsell just after he had begun a meeting. He was held at nearby Harlington Manor overnight; appearing before the local justices the next morning, he was sentenced to three months in prison. Since Bunyan refused to give an assurance not to preach, he remained in the County jail for 12 years from 1661 to 1672. Here is the actual Judges adress to Mr. Bunyan and his replies:
The following account is taken directly from a transcript of the trial on October 3, 1660, that led to his imprisonment at Bedford:
Judge Wingate: “Mr. Bunyan, you stand before this Court accused of persistent and willful transgression of the Conventicle Act, which prohibits all British subjects from absenting themselves from worship in the Church of England, and from conducting worship services apart from our Church. You come, presumably, with no legal training, and yet without counsel. I must warn you, sir, of the gravity of the charge, the harshness of the penalty, in the event of your conviction, and the foolhardiness of acting as your own counsel in so serious a matter. I hold in my hand the depositions of the witnesses against you. In each case, they have testified that, to their knowledge, you have have never, in your adult life, attended services in the Church of this parish. Each further testifies that he has observed you, on numerous occasions, conducting religious exercises in and near Bedford.”
John Bunyan: “The depositions speak the truth. I have never attended services in the Church of England, nor do I intend ever to do so. Secondly, it is no secret that I preach the Word of God whenever, wherever, and to whomever He pleases to grant me opportunity to do so. I have no choice but to acknowledge my awareness of the law which I am accused of transgressing. Likewise, I have no choice but to confess my guilt in my transgression of it. As true as these things are, I must affirm that I neither regret breaking the law, nor repent of having broken it. Further, I must warn you that I have no intention in the future of conforming to it.”
Judge Wingate: “It is obvious, sir, that you are a victim of deranged thinking. If my ears deceive me not, I must infer from your words that you believe the State to have no interest in the religious life of its subjects.”
John Bunyan: “The State, M lord, may have an interest in anything in which it wishes to have an interest. But the State has no right whatever to interfere in the religious life of its citizens.”
The court agreed on his release only on the terms that that he swear solemnly not to preach to discontinue the convening of religious meetings.
John Bunyan continues on bravely: “I cannot do what you ask of me, M’lord. I cannot place my signature upon any document in which I promise henceforth not to preach. My calling to preach the Gospel is from God, and He alone can make me discontinue what He has appointed me to do. As I have had no word from Him to that effect, I must continue to preach, and I shall continue to preach.”
...
"I must refuse your terms. I must repeat that it is God who constrains me to preach, and no man or company of men may grant or deny me leave to preach. These licenses of which you speak, M’lord, are symbols not of a right, but of a privilege. Implied therein is the principle that a mere man can extend or withhold them according to his whim. I speak not of privileges, but of rights. Privileges (licenses) granted by men may be denied by men. Rights are granted by God, and can be legitimately denied by no man. I must therefore, refuse to comply.”
Wherefore as the government of the world is not to spread over the Church, so so neither is the government of the Church to be spread over the world. But as the world and the Church are distinct things in themselves, so they are to be contented with their distinct governments.
What is the outward instrument of this power? I answer, the Word only, which is the only sceptre and sword of Christ's kingdom, to govern his people and subdue his enemies. And so the true Church does all in itself only by the Gospel and through sharing it & in the making of disciples.
I always liked this quote by Mark Twain " If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it."
The true church of called out ones is to preserve itself distinct from the world, and is neither to mingle itself with the world, nor to suffer the world to mingle itself with it.
For if the church and the world be mingled together in one society, the same common laws will no more agree to them who are of such different natures, principles, and ends, than the same common laws will agree to light and darkness, life and death, sin and righteousness, flesh and Spirit.
Wherefore, it is not the way of peace to mingle the church and the world, but to separate them,
and to keep them distinct; that those that are of one nature and spirit may be of one communion among themselves. And this way of peace God Himself teaches us by Paul (2 Cor 6:17), saying, Come out from among them, my people, and be you separate.
For to separate the church from the world, in its communion of Saints, is the only way to preserve peace, in both; seeing the church will best agree with itself, and the world with itself.
The church being thus distinct from the world is to be contented with its own power for its own affairs, and is not to introduce or entertain any power in it that is not of it.
Wherefore the true church, being such a kingdom as is not of this world, stands in need of no worldly power, and being a spiritual and heavenly kingdom, is only to have and exercise a spiritual and heavenly power, seeing this power alone, and by itself, is able to accomplish the whole good pleasure of God in and amongst His servants and to work all the works in it that God has and wants to do.
It is not to bring or force men into the church against their wills.
They are though far more than just words there are a remnant who are living these truths out not in our own strength or might or power but through the enabling power and spirit of God from above. Steghorn21
I never said fight with violence in the political arena. I'm talking about standing up in everything that you do in life in general with honour, integrity and nobility even when against the odds. We inherently know the difference between right and wrong. Do you think that God would have poorly scripted the 10 commandments which could have more reasonably been broken down into 3 main commandments? lol. What about all the other things missed from those man-made so-called commandments? Again, I say we already know right from wrong. That's your guide. Do you think the bible was written by God? You and I could have written the bible saying it was all inspired by God and a thousand years from now everyone would believe it. There is right, good, and truth on one side and wrong, evil, and lying on the other side. Simple. Keep Jesus, the light, at your side. Amen.
True peace will only ever be achieved when people can decide to do evil but refuse to do so because they love God and people far more than fighting another man's or rather governments war.
As a servant and friend of God I know my God & how powerful and mighty he truthfully actually is and nothing is impossible for him! I am not afraid of man, of people of government what's the worst they can do to me? Or of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, I am far more afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Death is only a transition and gets me to be with my father in Heaven seeing him face to face.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19-21
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:17-20
Jesus told us to: Love Your Enemies;
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matt 5:43-48
When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7
"Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.“
Then you must know how the Roman empire finally corrupted and subverted the early Christian community, trading their recognition as state religion for the followers joining the empire's military service, once there, the Christians
engaged in using sharp weapons instead of soft words. And the Pope got some nice real estate in Rome too, further down the road.
Many of the true early believers didn't join the Roman army and we're martyred for not doing so. There is so much historically I could delve into yet I will provide you with an YouTube link of an audio that delves deep into the archives of evidence and writings and manuscripts of what the early Christians actually believed about war :
As a Christian, I agree: this is our mission. But below is from CitizenGo, a Christian, UK-based advocacy group showing what we are fighting. And frankly, it's hard to love these enemies.
"It’s hard to believe, but there is a proposal in the UN to be voted on in a few days (April 5th) that aims to include misgendering, publicly expressing simple biology, or even quoting scripture as UN Crimes Against Humanity.
Yes, that’s the same list that convicts human trafficking, organ trafficking, and slave labor!
The draft treaty has been cooked up slyly by radical globalists and Soros-backed NGOs to declare it illegal to oppose LGBT radicalism, sexual mutilation of children, and abortion.
Consider the consequences for a moment: if it is approved next Friday, the treaty opens the door to unprecedented criminalization of our views on gender, sexuality, life, and family.
Here are some of the crimes they want to now equate with our Christian convictions, according to the 1998 Rome Statute: murder, enslavement, torture, rape, sexual slavery, human trafficking, the crime of apartheid, and other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering.
As such, the treaty change would seek to add "gender-based persecution" and "forced pregnancy" into the UN crimes against humanity.
Even though abortion has never been accepted as an international human right, if this redefinition is included in a legally binding treaty, any restriction on abortion could be treated as "forced pregnancy." This could lead to it being considered a crime against humanity.
In other words, a pro-life view that everyone has a right to life would constitute now a Crime Against Humanity!
If the proposed changes are adopted, they will institutionalize a subjective and fluid concept of gender and pregnancy, and potentially criminalize anyone advocating something different."
Great points raised Asgard2208 much to intercede and pray against petitioning our father in heaven that his will be done and in being proactive, one way Jesus encouraged us as his followers to do so is by sharing the good news about him bringing the true changing power of Jesus Christ into one life at a time. We are walking talking living epistles and testimonies of what that the living transforming power of Jesus has done in us, knowing when to speak and when to be silent, winning some over without a word, being wise cunning as serpents yet gentle as doves, filled with the boldness courage and power of God's Holy spirit first to our family and friends and then out to everyone we are privileged to meet encounter and that God puts on our path so that we can shake our villages towns & cities to the core, speaking Gods truths in love proclaiming loudly the truths of the gospel and his coming kingdom even in the face of severest harshest penalties, persecutions and any legislation that tries to prevent us from doing so for we must obey God as ruler rather than men!
This explains why, with a few magnificent exceptions, Christians just rolled over during the Covid pandemic. No-one is relying on Christians to get us out of this.
Blah blah blah. Tell us your beliefs about the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Should the Palestinians resist with arms? Or just die, “prayerfully?” And please keep your answer short. No one needs your endless Bible quotes.
One implication for the combination of robots, gov drones, satellite ISR, and digital surveillance: the State now so vastly overpowers civilian resistance that the ability of citizens to constrain state power through arms is basically over. Even 30 years ago civilians with automatic weapons could force governments to negotiate on core political and civil rights. Now, unless you have satellites, servers, drones, and AI processing, State overmatch of citizens is unparalleled.
"They" already have AI programs watching all the CCTV cameras, scanning every passing license plate and sampling all the cell phone, text and email communication for key words & phrases + analyzing human connections via meta data. Robot/AI that can carry a weapon & pull a trigger are trivial once you can get them to recognize where to point the gun without direct human involvement, this is well under way now.
The chain of events being forged right in front of our faces needs to be broken RIGHT NOW, while humans are still required to assemble their replacements & work in resource extraction and robot component factories.
I think this is actually opposite to real lesson that could be taken out of Ukraine war. If anything last 2 years has taught us that all the fancy technology and precision weapons can not replace good old feet on the ground.
Have you ever seen a graphic novel called "The Spiders"? Because we are about to see AI swarms of small, cheap crawlers that CAN demine large areas, sniff for chemical explosives and locate IEDs.
The rollout of humanoid robots to replace human workers (presently under way at Amazon distribution and Mercedes vehicle factories) coupled with autonomous AI and AI swarm software tell us where "The West" rulers are heading- Oligarchs are going to break free from their vulnerability to telegraph wire nooses in the hands of uppity meat sack servants. The guerilla swims in the seas of humanity, so dry up that sea.
I remember some years ago, I think it was in Wyoming, an oil service company was using an unguarded automated work-over rig. Someone threw a chain into the gears.
Way back in 2004, in preparation for Putin's visit to the United States (these were the days of the G8), I was mistakenly invited to attend a big "heads up" meeting with a whole melange of security chiefs that took place in a literal high-tech underground bunker. I say "mistakenly" invited because it was actually my boss who took me along, and he was the legitimate invitee, but he, for whatever reason, thought I should come along, probably because he expected that he'd have to deliver a detailed briefing, and I was better at "talking fancy" than he was.
So there we were, multiple checkpoints, armed soldiers outside, going deep into this bunker which had all kinds of gee-whiz monitors showing stuff, almost like in a movie. And there were military guys there, police guys there, homeland security guys, etc. I got to admit, it was kind of thrilling even though I was like shit, I can't believe they let a fool like me attend this big pow-wow.
Well, all that changed once the big summit or meeting or whatever it was called began. It was nonsense after nonsense, with warnings about terrorists attacking malls, hospitals, bridges, trains, schools, sewage systems, and basically hiding under everyone's bed, and there were a million billion of them out there, all armed to the teeth with chemical weapons and dirty bombs. And all this was based on "intel" and "chatter" and super duper serious high security classified sources etc, etc.
All I could do was laugh my ass off. It was a thousand times more insane than even the wildest blogger would ever post. And two weeks later, I quit that job and moved to Europe.
America and the collective West are "led" by the dumbest morons in history. How they've managed to accomplish anything successfully is beyond my ability to comprehend, other than to note that it's all done by stealing a million dollars' worth of resources from the poor working people of the entire globe to achieve a task worth $1. The rest is just razzle-dazzle bullshit and a smokescreen to cover the fact that the Great and Powerful Oz really is just a pathetic old man standing behind a curtain.
Is Russia incredibly dumb and corrupt at times? Sure, of course. But they're not spaced out lunatics. And that's the real difference.
To personalise and to pathologise the US ruling class is to fall into their trap - this is what they do to the RF and to Putin - it is a waste of time and a distraction from the task in hand
It is impossible to understand anlayse and gain appropriate responses by such pyschotalk
Talk a leaf out of Jacques Baud's books - figure out the structural and systemic strengths and above all weak points and failures on the western capitalist countries, and plan with reason
Guy Debord quoted Sun Tse in Commentaires sur la Société du spectacle,1988, this is what you are now living in the North
« Quelque critiques que puissent être la situation et les circonstances où vous vous
trouvez, ne désespérez de rien ; c’est dans les occasions où tout est à craindre, qu’il ne
faut rien craindre ; c’est lorsqu’on est environné de tous les dangers, qu’il n’en faut
redouter aucun ; c’est lorsqu’on est sans aucune ressource, qu’il faut compter sur toutes ;
c’est lorsqu’on est surpris, qu’il faut surprendre l’ennemi lui-même. »
I agree that the fake game of cult of personality is basically just turning the whole scenario into a cheap Hollywood production. It is a useless distraction, often used to motivate the masses in some sort of manufactured consent.
This is indeed the gameplan of the western ruling class - they sell "all is personality, sentiment, us against them, all is good and evil, nothing is systematic organised and structural"
This is designed to keep the poor passive submissive and fed with cheap tricks
By the way it is foolish to call this class stupid or otherwise ignorant - their aims and their goals they have met and succeeded in
There is no opposition to their policies, which benefit them, but destroy the people, their own, the Uk people as well
In a desperate situation they fear nothing; when there is no way out they stand firm. Deep in a hostile land they are bound together, and there, where there is no alternative, they will engage the enemy in hand to hand combat.
Or J. J. M. Amiot?
Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard.
I think most people just cannot comprehend how absolutely stupid the foreign policy think-tank crowd is in the U.S. . In fact, it is impossible to comprehend unless you have met some of these imbeciles and spoken with them personally.
I am reminded of how Sen. Tom Cotton grilled the CEO of Tiktok, a Singaporean, about his ties to the Chinese Communist Party. This is the level of thinker deciding foreign policy.
Cotton is elected. and not some "wonk" who spent years studying "U.S. diplomatic history" (taught by some meathead former CIA agent) at Georgetown. Many of the elected people (but not all) are even dumber than the think-tank/ policy wonk crowd. Now keep in mind that it is these wonks that recommend colonels for promotion to generals and the these politicians who vote and approve it. Once you realize this, you understand why the upper ranks of the U.S. military today are filled with complete brickheads like Miley, Petraeus, or Austin.
They come out of the universities: the Ivies, especially the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, or Kagan's cronies at Yale, and Georgetown. They are all trained by the same cadre of people who are mostly former State Department and CIA people or academics on the National Security Council or Council of Foreign relations. All of these instructors were part of the decision-making apparatus of the past, and their courses are mostly designed to teach everyone how brilliant all these stupid past decisions were. Any students who disagree with them are shown the door of the classroom (and sometimes harassed by the CIA/FBI... I saw this firsthand). So it is a bunch of completely unimaginative people who simple regurgitate the stupidity of the previous generation of unimaginative people.
Could it possibly be the Ivy League institutions that churn them out? Seems to be the common denominator with all of these people in the west but especially USSA
I just don't think anyone in the U.S. understands the extent of the rot in the U.S. universities. Recently, John Q. Public has noticed that white men are not particularly welcome there unless they happen to be some sort of sexual pervert, but the racism, angry lesbians, and so forth are just part of the problem. For three generations, these universities have trained everyone in the West, from corporate CEOs to policy wonks to the heirs of fortunes from overseas. After the GI Bill, the U.S. universities, which were once finishing schools for actual intellectuals, became a free-for-all of every type of person who wanted to avoid working for a living. Radical politics took precedence, and Foucault-inspired feminism replaced Marxism as the guiding light of the loonies. Three generations of leaders of every type of Western institution have been indoctrinated with the lunacy., and that is why the West is collapsing. You can, quite literally, lay it all at the feet of a thousand so-called "intellectuals" at a few American universities.
Sounds those guys ramped up various threats to get money, staff and resources from the bigger honchos also attending this meeting. That's what it all is in the end, more money, more staff, more resources. Of course it sounds insane and moronic for someone new or who doesn't think in those kind of ways. What they also do often, misrepresent data and make reports who are biased to no end to get the result they want, more of everything.
I think the West is now so far away from any kind of common sense, because all those people want is more tax money, and to get that everything is valid, transgender, feminism, climate change, furry love, funding Ukrainian Nazis, funding Islamofascists. Even funding and making PR for topics who are 180 degrees pitted against each other, like supporting outright Nazis and making some Trans whacko General. They simply don't care and the hundreds of thousands of people and companies who suck on these teats want to continue because their money and power depends on it.
We are in deed the Soviet Union 4.0. Unelected Political Commissars, unelected Committees, unelected Bureaucrats/Technocrats, people in Think Tanks and NGOs we all never heard of are calling the shots. The Politicians at the top are just piles of doodoo swimming on top of the sewage sea, millions of people underneath like an sewage Iceberg are the reality of that.
I am astonished our Nations haven't collapsed already to be honest. At some point our Nations will, maybe it will go on like that for another 10 or 20 years or we will or some countries in the West will collapse in a couple of months/years, who knows. Like Hemingway said, gradually, then suddenly.
What scares me is that Sam Ursu is correct and “leadership” in the West really are “spaced out lunatics”. Witness Blinken’s comment in July 2023 that nuclear war would be no worse than climate change followed by Biden in September of the same year who said (according to Bloomberg) that “….the sole threat to humanity’s existence is climate change, and that not even nuclear conflict poses a similar danger.”
If climate change was at all real it would preclude the new and stupid wars the west is prosecuting. Judging by the views/prejudices of almost all my contemporaries, the psy-ops our society is being force fed is mostly successful. Two recent examples: Netflix's new
anti-Chinese screed is the "Three Body Problem" which opens during the Cultural Revolution and shows an "intellectual" getting the stuffing beat out of him. I left about 10 minutes into this drek, I saw where this was going and exited. Last night on 60 Minutes one of the pieces showed the Russians supposedly implementing new tech to injure us poor Americans. I didn't last long, left the program realizing that this was more propaganda. The only obvious truth on the TV yesterday, by my metric, was that NC State outlasted Duke to make it to the Final Four in the sports world. If this shit-show doesn't go nuclear, I'll be in awe. Bigly sad.
Threat to humanity from climate change and that it is mostly because of human activities is just another bullshit from Western propaganda. Climate always was changing even before the existence of humanity and was changing a lot. I think that this shit is promoted by US propaganda and supposed to lower the Russia's influence on other countries especialy on Europe because Russia is probably largest energy resources supplier and have a lot of influence or control over global oil, gas, nuclear fuel/energy markets. For example the promotion of the green agenda in Germany led to the closure of all nuclear power plants, which deprived Rosatom, which controls almost half of the global nuclear energy market, of all leverage over Germany.
1 April 2024 The French Defeat, The Sahel Victory, The Rise of Great Power Russia
Recent events in Niger have both consolidated the new régime there, clarified the solidarity and the gains of the Sahel Alliance (L’Alliance des États du Sahel) and shed further light on the involvement of the RF
All this has come to a head when Europe and NATO, specifically of course France, have been overcome with hesitation and confusion as to the future of the ‘war’ with Russia
Many have pointed to the humiliation of expulsion from the AES countries that have given recent venom to Macron’s anti Russianisms
In turn this process, which may be dated to 2021, although the origins go back generations, has brought about the humiliation of the French ruling class, and a re shuffle of power one in parallel with the US, notably in West Africa, one which has extensions throughout Africa
Until very recently it was thoiught the US was an easy winner, but the Niger leaders have recently inflicted the same humiliation as on the French, and ‘denounced’ or broken the US base agreement, 16/3/2024
The AES has faced down the US/French regional puppets, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and broken with ECOWAS, cancelled treaties with the EU, notably on security and immigrations, threatens the pillar of French power in Africa, the franc cfa, and the $13B Gas EU pipeline the EU is deperate for
The RF was initially discreet, operated via Lavrov diplomacy and Wagner force, now partially replaced by direct force and agreements, with a New Africa Corps, including donations of free grain, the result of shuttle diplomacy by Yunus-bek Yevkurov, Russia's deputy defence minister
RF has signed agreements with Niger, subsequent to their agreements with BF and Mali, although details remaine obscure these are security and economic : both the French and the US fear an Uranium agreement
Niger has signed an extensive Health and Security agreement with Iran, who has signed agreements with BF and Mali
The US/French lack considered means to counter/reverse all this : The US is already retreating to French bases in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, prior to expulsion from Niger, seeking to shore up failed state Nigeria, and to review it’s Africa policies in general
It is said that recently the US stymied a China plan to build a seaport in Gabon
The Niger said that it was the insolence and the contempt of the high level US delegation, including AfriCom chief Michael Langley, and Asst Secretary of State Mary McPhee to Niger March 12-15 which was the final straw, they did not get to meet the new Head of State
Following the disaster of the late lamented Vicky Nuland’s visit last August – her spirit lives on, her Mission not Accomplished
Links to read up on these intricate events, hitherto the most obvious and significant manifestation of the new world order, not to forget the role of Ansar Allah in the Red Sea
Stop Press
Senegal elects a new ‘opposition’ President, who will continue the African countries’ move away from the French, the franc cfa, and towards Russia and China and multipolarity, how long will those last few French bases last….
Escalation is not very much fun for the French, or L’escalade c’est une salope!
« Just like the juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger's new masters have announced the "strengthening of defense cooperation" with Moscow. Although a protocol agreement has been signed, its content remains top secret according to a government adviser. Yevkurov also met with the defense minister, General Salifou Mody, who is seen as the junta's number two.
At the same time, Niger has broken ties with one of its most important Western partners. In a note sent to the European Union delegation in Niamey on Monday, it denounced the two agreements governing European support for Niger's defense and security forces. Eucap Sahel, the 130-strong civilian mission set up in 2012 to support the country's border security forces, and EUMPM, the military mission installed there in 2022 to help Nigerien soldiers fight terrorism, have been asked to pack up » »
At the end of November, the Nigerien authorities put an end to one of the main pillars of European cooperation in Africa by repealing a law that penalized the illegal trafficking of migrants. "It was the EU itself that suspended its security cooperation with us after the coup. As they no longer want us, neither do we want them" the official quoted above said, "our alliances with the West have prevailed since colonization and have not brought us good fortune. We need to get rid of them and move closer to other countries."
has not communicated on Yevkurov's latest stay, the government of Colonel Assimi Goïta in Mali detailed its outlines on December 2. In Bamako, "important decisions were taken," the president's office noted on its Facebook page, referring to "the dispatch [...] in the next two weeks [...] of Russian experts in various sectors [energy, transport, telecommunications, mining]." The president's office also stressed Moscow's "satisfaction with the creation of the AES, which it sees as an ideal framework for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Sahel states." At the end of a meeting of their three heads of diplomacy in Bamako between November 30 and December 1, the three countries expressed that their ambition for the Alliance of Sahel States was "to eventually achieve a federation."
« In a rare visit on Sunday, a Russian delegation led by Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defence Lounous-Bek Evkourov met with Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, and Minister of State for National Defense Salifou Mody. The two sides held more meetings on Monday to discuss military and defense issues.
“At the centre of the discussions is the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense,” Niger’s defense ministry said in a statement. »
« High-level Russian defense officials including Yunus-bek Yevkurov, Russia's deputy defense minister, have visited the country and met with the junta leader”
Iran-Niger agreements : Iran Niger Economic and Healthco operation agreement January 24
"L'arrivée de la délégation américaine n'a pas respecté les usages diplomatiques", a expliqué samedi Amadou Abdramane, assurant que le gouvernement américain avait informé Niamey de "façon unilatérale" de sa date d'arrivée et de la composition de sa délégation.
« Lors de son allocution télévisée, le colonel Amadou Abdramane a assené une série de critiques acerbes contre Washington, fustigeant la présence militaire "illégale" des États-Unis, fruit d’un accord "imposé" au pays, la "condescendance" de la cheffe de la délégation, la secrétaire d'État adjointe aux Affaires africaines Molly Phee, ainsi que la volonté américaine "de dénier au peuple nigérien souverain le droit de choisir ses partenaires".
Since seizing power in July 2023, the Niger junta, like the military rulers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, have kicked out French and other European forces, and turned to Russia for support. “Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships capable of truly helping them fight against terrorism,” Abdramane said. “Also, the government of Niger forcefully denounces the condescending attitude accompanied by the threat of retaliation from the head of the American delegation towards the Nigerien government and people.”
Abdramane stopped short of saying US forces should leave. But he alleged their status and presence was illegal and violated constitutional and democratic rules because, he claimed, it was unilaterally imposed in 2012. He said Niger was not aware of the number of US civilian and military personnel on its soil or the amount of equipment deployed and, according to the agreement, the US military had no obligation to respond to any request for help against militants. “In light of all the above, the government of Niger, revokes with immediate effect the agreement concerning the status of United States military personnel and civilian employees of the American department of defence on the territory of the Republic of Niger,” Abdramane said.
The African states were not bound into the western financial/MIC/Propaganda system
They were very simply exploited stolen from and maintained in a state of poverty, their any middle classes reduced to knowing collaborators, the NATO war on Libya collapsed any possible stability
The call of Russia, of the Soviets, has echoed down from the 1960's - to revive this, to instrumentalise this appeal, was very much easier in the Sahel, than in West Asia
A fascinating read, on the theme of French retreat, is Bernard Fall's book, 'Hell in a Very Small Place'. (link). It documents how the Viet Minh defeated the French in the 1954 battle at Dien Bien Phu. A long read but well worth it. The Americans, learning nothing from the French defeat, basically said, "hold my beer".
Thank you for this recommendation, unfortunately I am off planet as far as Amazon etc are concerned....
But you can notice a similar blindness in current Africa, uprisings and coups have thrown out the French, so the US take it into mind to replace the French....
As per Niger most obviously, Gabon less so
Without a second thought that the same fate awaits them
The US never learns - it is remarkable and even in the real sense of the word wonderful
Every interview of Jaques Baud is insightful. He has given quite a few recently with Daniel Davis (Deep Dive) and others, providing some pretty unknown/uncommon facts about this conflict since 2014.
Robotic wars and ever scary developments in AI...I'm not sure if this world would be suitable for humans for long.
Delicious: "Facts weren’t the issue: The assembled dignitaries, a representative sampling of the foreign policy establishment’s intellectual and executive leadership, simply couldn’t imagine a world in which America no longer gave the orders."
Yes, i heard that show with JB the day it aired, what a fabulous piece of work, one of the best, because the A2's just let him talk, and he went on at length ...
For those of us paying attention it affirms all those things the Duran, Garland Nixon, you mr Simplicius, several others have been saying, that mostly got ignored because genocide Joe said Russia has already , well, invaded America and made it a much better place, may it be so, tis so hard to learn Russian, will be much easier when everyone around me is speaking it.....ha ha ha
Just a side-note to ‘Operational Art’ — giver the root of the word art it makes perfect sense 😎: “The word “art” is derived from the Latin ars, which originally meant “skill” or “craft.” These meanings are still primary in other English words derived from ars, such as “artifact” (a thing made by human skill) and “artisan” (a person skilled at making things).” Once again, a great read. Thank you, Simplicius.
Hi, I can't really be bothered dredging up the sleazery, Frendo. It's online if you hunt for it. I can't even remember the particular victim's name-like you, I looked in the past...
Guys like Mercouris and Ritter and so on have grudges, clearly, and I'm not naive that their motives are driven by wanting to "get back" at the societies and systems they feel betrayed them. That said, their analysis is not to be discounted just because of that. Mercouris though strikes me often as very naive, especially when he goes on about the UNSC and the ICJ and so on. He thinks laws and orders are a power onto themselves, and forgets that unless you have men with guns - and tanks and planes and missiles and aircraft carriers - behind them to enforce it, its essentially worthless.
Ukraine plan B: As a casual, amateur observer of the geopolitical, there is a consistent quirk I notice among most of the US commentators. They have it all screwed on sideways because acceptance of the ´new´ realities are hard to take. One example is they are quoting that 35% is being spent on the war by Russia. Oh really, 35% of what? None of them will say. It makes me laugh. That is the government spending number, not GDP, which is only around 4.1% when I looked it up yesterday. The GDP number for the US is 3.2% and not much different. Now bring into view the debt situation of each country and the picture unfolds dramatically. For Russia I just pulled it up at 15.4% vs the US for 110% plus. The people from the US/Occidentals are spaced out blind and ignorant; even a bunch of the ones I like.
I went through the process myself of just dumping everything I had been taught and starting from scratch. It was intellectually and emotionally intense, to discover I had been shoved full of bullshit for my entire life. Mr. Goldman and others from Asia Times I discarded a couple of years ago because they were living in a dream world, to put it succinctly. I am now seeing that that crew has come a long way around to reality. About freaking time!
Another same indicator is Donald Trump. His constant blather of US superiority and what he was going to do with it during his term as president, bordered on nauseating. During 2020 I told friends and family that it don't matter who won the election because Russia, China, Iran et al were ready and waiting to get the party started. The summit in Alaska was the bell. Now, I observe Trump being more and more cautious about what he says, at least what reaches my attention, regarding what is happening outside the US. This is quietly marking a seachange, especially coupled with opinions coming out of AT recently.
So, I do see glacial movement in the right direction. I hope to God that these folks in charge over yonder in the West, get a real grip on reality, before they blow this thing skyhigh.
I was similar to you also blinded by looking at GDP numbers, and currency exchange rates. If you are freed of that narrow look at things, you can see that China and Russia have a no nonsense look at economic reality. Just look up steel production in the US, Germany, France, Russia and China. Nobody can tell me how great the West is, if you look at those numbers. Its very clear that a big industrious nation needs steel production.
If you have routes, streets, pipelines, a lot of commodities, a big diversified industrial base, what can really happen to you? Not much I think. And if you are China and Russia, Nr. 1 and 3 by landmass in the world, and at least Top 5 in natural resources and have not a lot of debt, diversified agricultural and other commodities, reality is, the West needs them far more than they need the West. I think both leader circles in Russia and China were very careful how to proceed while our Elites are lost in an endless circlejerk of how great they are.
The boys of Duran and Simplicius really opened my mind to geopolitics, I am just an amateur bystander, but I think its very interesting, we live in interesting times in deed.
GDP in the early days only measured durable goods manufactured and sold. Now, it measures credit card late fees and my daily trip to Chick-fil-A. Been a totally useless metric for 30 or 40 years
There are all kinds of stats you can use to cultivate a micro or macro economic picture. I used just used GDP in this instance to illustrate the hypocrisy and it serves its´ purpose.
Use GDP PPP. Awhile back Simplicius provided a detailed analysis of the Russian economy v others using GDP v PPP to show the merits of having low debt and a trade surplus in providing a bulwark against the crazy rules-based order of massive fiat and massive debt which result in GDP growth that is just plain fake.
I think Russia has evolved during the course of the SMO and adjusted its strategy according to military, economic, demographic, and geopolitical exigencies. In fact the SMO became essentially a war with Ukraine as the spearhead of NATO.
But, some caution should probably be maintained in the tendency to selectively embellish or even romanticize historical events and trajectories. Such abstractions and reifications as the “Russian way of war” or similar though more subtle descriptions may be more reflective of unrecognized yet biased interpretations as much as logical investigations.
Military history and analysis can be quite prone to compromised objectivity due to unacknowledged or unrecognized underlying political identifications, values, preferences, and ideologies that could cause even good historians toward selective viewpoints and rigid deductive visions.
Let’s consider an example so we prevent falling into the trap of idealizing “Russian way of war” as if it reflects some enduring or fixed “essence” rather than respecting Russia’s “flexibility” or dynamic ability to learn from mistakes and adjust or change accordingly. Does anyone forget those bizarre scenes of the long but thin and exposed Russian tank columns stretching to Kiev in the early days of the SMO? Is it not likely that today many of the leading Russian military or political planners look back at the images of those perplexing days with astonishment and grave regret, and regard them as devoid of a viable long term strategy, never to be repeated again? Was that not the Russian way of war? And how many mistakes and blunders were made by the Soviet Union’s military and political leaders during the first year or two of the German invasion of Russia before they evolved and created a Red Army that was vastly different in strategic depth, capability, competence, and execution by the last year of WWII?
So you basically you will be standing around holding a quality nothing burger brilliant
Well when you put it that way….!
Let the show begin. lol
https://youtu.be/zjIiApN6cfg?si=UtXveA3HTQyguCig
Come and see . A must watch movie about a boy who joins partisans while nazis and banderites ravage the country.
Watched it, and I can't put it into words..
It is surely one of the most extraordinary (and extraordinarily harrowing) films ever made...
The horrors of the Great Patriotic War are still vividly remembered throughout the Russian people and that in itself is one of Russia's primary motivators to never ever allow foreign "boots on the ground" occupation on its soil again!
The Island
Another one to watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz-vegualMg
Now THAT was a great film! We in the West just don't get Russia.
Another is Stalingrad I&II (1989).
And the series Liberation.
The film was made in 1985 and directed by Elem Klimov.
In my opinion, it is considered one of the most shocking films of the world so far ! I saw it almost forty years ago, but I still remember one shocking part of the film !
Did it show bandera and his family put in a concentration camp like actually happened ?
The ultimate war movie. Saw it two times and it blew my mind. Never watched a war movie ever since. Except Tarkovkys „Ivan‘s Childhood“.
The scene after the return to the empty village. The sound of the flies. The mountain of corps behind the house.
My god.
I read some article years ago about the production phase of the film. They made test screenings in Eastern-Germany to check how it will be persived. People were in shock. One man stood up while screening and screamed that it was exactly like on the screen, tears in his eyes.
Really interesting also the almost comical despiction of evil. After everything one knows about Direwangler Brigade, which was the model for the Germans, it probably was the only way to deal with the horror.
As far as i know it was the only film the director ever made.
Its defnetly in the top 10 of best movies ever made.
I was quite disappointed in it. I couldn't stand the way the kid kept on staring into the camera as if to say, "Isn't this terrible?" We could see from the film that what was being depicted was terrible.
A proper film about war.
I first listened to Col Baud on Danny Davis, same topic. Was a riveting 59 min and highly recommend
https://youtu.be/1RgKLkvlWxw?si=mEludY1X6iPPPSri
Thanks for the link. Excellent recommendation!
Thank you for sharing. Deeply appreciated. Really fascinating and interesting information. I'm honestly not a peacetaker but a peacemaker.
Having based this on the demands of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who laid down his own life instead of punishing the enemies of his people. Who also stated His kingdom is NO part of this world if it
were of this world, he went on to proclaim that his servants would have been fighting, that he might not be delivered over to the Jews. "But my kingdom is not from the world.'
As a Christian, disciple & follower of Jesus I continue to believe that prayer and selfless obedience to God's way of peace and love have a greater influence on the final outcome of events than do bullets and bombs. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7
Jesus never approved of killing in any context. This belief was rooted in Jesus’ command to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:39-44) as it is frequently alluded to or quoted. It was both Jesus’ teaching and his example of the cross that provided the foundation for this nonviolent ethic of enemy-love.
The nonviolent response of Christians to persecution and defamation was seen as a fulfillment of prophecy and a major identity marker of following Jesus. (“We came in accordance with the commands of Jesus to beat the spiritual swords that fight and insult us into ploughshares, and to transform the spears that formerly fought against us in pruning-hooks.” Origen, Against Celsus 5.33).
The nonviolent response of Christians to persecution and defamation was often given as evidence of the value of Christianity to the Roman empire. It was argued that Christianity was making Rome more just and virtuous. This means that the enemy-love ethic had become a widespread way of living for Christians. If not, the arguments would fall flat in the face of opposing evidence.
Military and war imagery within the Old and New Testaments were reused and reimagined by the apostles to draw a distinction between the true Church and the Empire. The early Christian community really did wage war, even on behalf of the emperor, but
but with weapons NOT of this world, yet mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds,
it was done in accordance to Scripture, like Ephesians 6:11-17. Armed with the power of the spirit, word of God, prayer, and their nonviolent enemy-love, the saints fought against the spiritual forces of evil that were the source of violence and warfare. The imagery was retained, but it was clear that the Militi Christi was made of martyrs and those who prayed fervently for peace.
The early Church of disciple Christians took on following Jesus' non-violent ethic of enemy-love seriously. Many of these writers suffered persecution for their beliefs, some even demonstrated it in martyrdom. We cannot so easily dismiss them or their understandings infused and led by God's spirit simply because they don’t live in the modern world.
We don’t follow Jesus because its practical, we follow Jesus because He is the Lord and King, and as Christians, He is our Lord and King. Also, Rome made that same argument about how impractical Christianity and their nonviolent ethic was, and Tertullian responded, “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church” (Apology 50.13).
Non-violence worked. In the first three centuries, the Kingdom of God did not require Christians to serve in physical combat, but in spiritual warfare. They were conscripted to love and serve their Lord, Jesus Christ, and reflect his non-violent ethic of enemy-love to the world. Our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God is the natural outworking of the gospel of peace.
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths . . .
. . . and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”
ISAIAH 2:3-4; MICAH 4:3
“And that it did so come to pass, we can convince you. For from Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking: but by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the word of God; and we who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ.”
JUSTIN MARTYR 1 APOLOGY 39
Jesus told us to: Love Your Enemies;
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers,what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Matt 5:43-48
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:20
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:17-20
When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Proverbs 16:7
Goodness is fighting evil and not hiding behind comforting possibly flawed man-made words as an excuse to do nothing. We were given "free will" to stand with honour and integrity and to do whatever it takes to preserve that which is good, true and right which is inherent in most of us. Haven't we given enough to Bill Gates and his band of Satanists like Soros and Rothschild and I see no burning coals on their heads. They're taking it all. I'd rather go down fighting with Jesus at my side asking not what he can do for me but what I can do for him. Our perceptions are different my dear sir but I do respect where you're coming from. Maybe you're the Yin and I'm the yang which leads to harmony at the singular level. Peace.
I am doing something! The will of my father and to work and to do His good pleasure and I am a warrior and a soldier warring in the spirit weilding my double edged sword 🗡️ in a very heavy battlefield that you cannot even begin to possibly understand.
(This in answer to Denis)
By all means fight with violence in the political arena (it’s understandable and justified from a certain point of view which I share in my weakest moments) but leave Christ out of it. You’re sinning against the third commandment.
I agree with you and cover towards the ending paragraphs of my article here: https://open.substack.com/pub/hephzibah807/p/the-end-time-drama-is-a-story-of?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3ltefe
What is the extent of those truly aligned to God in the Ekklesia or church-power or authority? I answer that this power extends itself full as far as the body of true believers, but no further.
For what has the Church to do with those that are not of the Church? What have we to do (said Paul) with them that are without? For church-power, or rather God's kingdom power which is spiritual, is no more suitable to the world than worldly power, which is fleshly, is suitable to the Church.
The power of the Church, which is Christ's power, only reaches so far as Christ's kingdom; that is, the people that are born of God and his Spirit. The authority of Almighty Creator God reaches as far as Christ's and the Spirit's effectual influence and operation, but no further; that is to all that are willing, but to none that are unwilling.
As nothing has more troubled the Church that to govern it and give it laws, after the manner of the world, by secular force and power; so nothing has more troubled the world than to govern it and give it laws after the manner of the Church, by the aforesaid compulsion, & did so in the past through killing or indeed laws. Please see the history of the martyred and imprisoned for making a stand against especially the institutionalised catholic and King & queen led Protestant churches. The Christian man John Bunyan who wrote 'The Pilgrims Progress' arguably the greatest literary work in the history of the world next to the Bible. Was a nonconformist uncompromising Christian and servant to the Lord and because of what he did landed him in prison.
In 1660 Cromwell's Protectorate came to an end and the monarchy was restored. In the belief that national unity could only be achieved by religious uniformity, the state attempted to restrain the developing Independent congregations by forbidding preaching.
Bunyan was arrested in the hamlet of Samsell just after he had begun a meeting. He was held at nearby Harlington Manor overnight; appearing before the local justices the next morning, he was sentenced to three months in prison. Since Bunyan refused to give an assurance not to preach, he remained in the County jail for 12 years from 1661 to 1672. Here is the actual Judges adress to Mr. Bunyan and his replies:
The following account is taken directly from a transcript of the trial on October 3, 1660, that led to his imprisonment at Bedford:
Judge Wingate: “Mr. Bunyan, you stand before this Court accused of persistent and willful transgression of the Conventicle Act, which prohibits all British subjects from absenting themselves from worship in the Church of England, and from conducting worship services apart from our Church. You come, presumably, with no legal training, and yet without counsel. I must warn you, sir, of the gravity of the charge, the harshness of the penalty, in the event of your conviction, and the foolhardiness of acting as your own counsel in so serious a matter. I hold in my hand the depositions of the witnesses against you. In each case, they have testified that, to their knowledge, you have have never, in your adult life, attended services in the Church of this parish. Each further testifies that he has observed you, on numerous occasions, conducting religious exercises in and near Bedford.”
John Bunyan: “The depositions speak the truth. I have never attended services in the Church of England, nor do I intend ever to do so. Secondly, it is no secret that I preach the Word of God whenever, wherever, and to whomever He pleases to grant me opportunity to do so. I have no choice but to acknowledge my awareness of the law which I am accused of transgressing. Likewise, I have no choice but to confess my guilt in my transgression of it. As true as these things are, I must affirm that I neither regret breaking the law, nor repent of having broken it. Further, I must warn you that I have no intention in the future of conforming to it.”
Judge Wingate: “It is obvious, sir, that you are a victim of deranged thinking. If my ears deceive me not, I must infer from your words that you believe the State to have no interest in the religious life of its subjects.”
John Bunyan: “The State, M lord, may have an interest in anything in which it wishes to have an interest. But the State has no right whatever to interfere in the religious life of its citizens.”
The court agreed on his release only on the terms that that he swear solemnly not to preach to discontinue the convening of religious meetings.
John Bunyan continues on bravely: “I cannot do what you ask of me, M’lord. I cannot place my signature upon any document in which I promise henceforth not to preach. My calling to preach the Gospel is from God, and He alone can make me discontinue what He has appointed me to do. As I have had no word from Him to that effect, I must continue to preach, and I shall continue to preach.”
...
"I must refuse your terms. I must repeat that it is God who constrains me to preach, and no man or company of men may grant or deny me leave to preach. These licenses of which you speak, M’lord, are symbols not of a right, but of a privilege. Implied therein is the principle that a mere man can extend or withhold them according to his whim. I speak not of privileges, but of rights. Privileges (licenses) granted by men may be denied by men. Rights are granted by God, and can be legitimately denied by no man. I must therefore, refuse to comply.”
Wherefore as the government of the world is not to spread over the Church, so so neither is the government of the Church to be spread over the world. But as the world and the Church are distinct things in themselves, so they are to be contented with their distinct governments.
What is the outward instrument of this power? I answer, the Word only, which is the only sceptre and sword of Christ's kingdom, to govern his people and subdue his enemies. And so the true Church does all in itself only by the Gospel and through sharing it & in the making of disciples.
I always liked this quote by Mark Twain " If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it."
The true church of called out ones is to preserve itself distinct from the world, and is neither to mingle itself with the world, nor to suffer the world to mingle itself with it.
For if the church and the world be mingled together in one society, the same common laws will no more agree to them who are of such different natures, principles, and ends, than the same common laws will agree to light and darkness, life and death, sin and righteousness, flesh and Spirit.
Wherefore, it is not the way of peace to mingle the church and the world, but to separate them,
and to keep them distinct; that those that are of one nature and spirit may be of one communion among themselves. And this way of peace God Himself teaches us by Paul (2 Cor 6:17), saying, Come out from among them, my people, and be you separate.
For to separate the church from the world, in its communion of Saints, is the only way to preserve peace, in both; seeing the church will best agree with itself, and the world with itself.
The church being thus distinct from the world is to be contented with its own power for its own affairs, and is not to introduce or entertain any power in it that is not of it.
Wherefore the true church, being such a kingdom as is not of this world, stands in need of no worldly power, and being a spiritual and heavenly kingdom, is only to have and exercise a spiritual and heavenly power, seeing this power alone, and by itself, is able to accomplish the whole good pleasure of God in and amongst His servants and to work all the works in it that God has and wants to do.
It is not to bring or force men into the church against their wills.
Nice words.
They are though far more than just words there are a remnant who are living these truths out not in our own strength or might or power but through the enabling power and spirit of God from above. Steghorn21
I never said fight with violence in the political arena. I'm talking about standing up in everything that you do in life in general with honour, integrity and nobility even when against the odds. We inherently know the difference between right and wrong. Do you think that God would have poorly scripted the 10 commandments which could have more reasonably been broken down into 3 main commandments? lol. What about all the other things missed from those man-made so-called commandments? Again, I say we already know right from wrong. That's your guide. Do you think the bible was written by God? You and I could have written the bible saying it was all inspired by God and a thousand years from now everyone would believe it. There is right, good, and truth on one side and wrong, evil, and lying on the other side. Simple. Keep Jesus, the light, at your side. Amen.
@Denis
"Fighting for Jesus is like fucking for virginity."
-George Carlin
"I would not harm thee for the world, friend, but thou art standing where I'm about to shoot."
-Old joke about Quaker pioneers
@Hephzibah
At some point, Caesar's representatives are going to ask you for something. Better carefully consider what may be rendered and how.
To live is Christ to die is gain!
Doesn't answer the question. Sometimes evil people just have to be killed.
@Steghorn21
I will defer to Tolkien/Gandalf's statement about those deserving death/life.
True peace will only ever be achieved when people can decide to do evil but refuse to do so because they love God and people far more than fighting another man's or rather governments war.
As a servant and friend of God I know my God & how powerful and mighty he truthfully actually is and nothing is impossible for him! I am not afraid of man, of people of government what's the worst they can do to me? Or of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, I am far more afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Death is only a transition and gets me to be with my father in Heaven seeing him face to face.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19-21
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:17-20
Jesus told us to: Love Your Enemies;
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matt 5:43-48
When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7
@Hephzibah
Don't be in such a hurry.
I'm not the one in control God is. 🙂
I did not say fighting for Jesus. I said fighting (symbolically) with Jesus at your side. But I do like the comedic quotes. Thanks.
And so it is with the teaching of the Buddha:
"Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.“
Simile of the Saw.
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.021x.than.html#:~:text=%22Monks%2C%20even%20if%20bandits%20were,will%20say%20no%20evil%20words.
We should have tried that against Hitler. I'm sure it would have worked.
@Hephzibah
Then you must know how the Roman empire finally corrupted and subverted the early Christian community, trading their recognition as state religion for the followers joining the empire's military service, once there, the Christians
engaged in using sharp weapons instead of soft words. And the Pope got some nice real estate in Rome too, further down the road.
Yes and guess what I don't align myself with government approved man made churches. And I cover that all myself in this article here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/hephzibah807/p/the-end-time-drama-is-a-story-of?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3ltefe
Many of the true early believers didn't join the Roman army and we're martyred for not doing so. There is so much historically I could delve into yet I will provide you with an YouTube link of an audio that delves deep into the archives of evidence and writings and manuscripts of what the early Christians actually believed about war :
https://youtu.be/lZo6U-ijfgc?si=vmGGP8OMS3_f0-ZU
As a Christian, I agree: this is our mission. But below is from CitizenGo, a Christian, UK-based advocacy group showing what we are fighting. And frankly, it's hard to love these enemies.
"It’s hard to believe, but there is a proposal in the UN to be voted on in a few days (April 5th) that aims to include misgendering, publicly expressing simple biology, or even quoting scripture as UN Crimes Against Humanity.
Yes, that’s the same list that convicts human trafficking, organ trafficking, and slave labor!
The draft treaty has been cooked up slyly by radical globalists and Soros-backed NGOs to declare it illegal to oppose LGBT radicalism, sexual mutilation of children, and abortion.
Consider the consequences for a moment: if it is approved next Friday, the treaty opens the door to unprecedented criminalization of our views on gender, sexuality, life, and family.
Here are some of the crimes they want to now equate with our Christian convictions, according to the 1998 Rome Statute: murder, enslavement, torture, rape, sexual slavery, human trafficking, the crime of apartheid, and other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering.
As such, the treaty change would seek to add "gender-based persecution" and "forced pregnancy" into the UN crimes against humanity.
Even though abortion has never been accepted as an international human right, if this redefinition is included in a legally binding treaty, any restriction on abortion could be treated as "forced pregnancy." This could lead to it being considered a crime against humanity.
In other words, a pro-life view that everyone has a right to life would constitute now a Crime Against Humanity!
If the proposed changes are adopted, they will institutionalize a subjective and fluid concept of gender and pregnancy, and potentially criminalize anyone advocating something different."
Great points raised Asgard2208 much to intercede and pray against petitioning our father in heaven that his will be done and in being proactive, one way Jesus encouraged us as his followers to do so is by sharing the good news about him bringing the true changing power of Jesus Christ into one life at a time. We are walking talking living epistles and testimonies of what that the living transforming power of Jesus has done in us, knowing when to speak and when to be silent, winning some over without a word, being wise cunning as serpents yet gentle as doves, filled with the boldness courage and power of God's Holy spirit first to our family and friends and then out to everyone we are privileged to meet encounter and that God puts on our path so that we can shake our villages towns & cities to the core, speaking Gods truths in love proclaiming loudly the truths of the gospel and his coming kingdom even in the face of severest harshest penalties, persecutions and any legislation that tries to prevent us from doing so for we must obey God as ruler rather than men!
This explains why, with a few magnificent exceptions, Christians just rolled over during the Covid pandemic. No-one is relying on Christians to get us out of this.
Blah blah blah. Tell us your beliefs about the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Should the Palestinians resist with arms? Or just die, “prayerfully?” And please keep your answer short. No one needs your endless Bible quotes.
One implication for the combination of robots, gov drones, satellite ISR, and digital surveillance: the State now so vastly overpowers civilian resistance that the ability of citizens to constrain state power through arms is basically over. Even 30 years ago civilians with automatic weapons could force governments to negotiate on core political and civil rights. Now, unless you have satellites, servers, drones, and AI processing, State overmatch of citizens is unparalleled.
until there are armed robots guarding the Capitol, I think the people have a chance
@Sam Ursu
"They" already have AI programs watching all the CCTV cameras, scanning every passing license plate and sampling all the cell phone, text and email communication for key words & phrases + analyzing human connections via meta data. Robot/AI that can carry a weapon & pull a trigger are trivial once you can get them to recognize where to point the gun without direct human involvement, this is well under way now.
The chain of events being forged right in front of our faces needs to be broken RIGHT NOW, while humans are still required to assemble their replacements & work in resource extraction and robot component factories.
I'll second this concern for what's now on the horizon.
They are certainly going to try and there is plenty of predictive programming out there that shows us how
I think this is actually opposite to real lesson that could be taken out of Ukraine war. If anything last 2 years has taught us that all the fancy technology and precision weapons can not replace good old feet on the ground.
Agree
What is happening in Palestine proves you somewhat wrong.
Yemen as well
Yes.
Sahel as well
AI or not a robot still can't tank an IED
@I don't like sand
Have you ever seen a graphic novel called "The Spiders"? Because we are about to see AI swarms of small, cheap crawlers that CAN demine large areas, sniff for chemical explosives and locate IEDs.
https://www.electricsheepcomix.com/spiders/3.5/01_hospital.html
It is and always will be a game of counter measures
@Oregonian
The rollout of humanoid robots to replace human workers (presently under way at Amazon distribution and Mercedes vehicle factories) coupled with autonomous AI and AI swarm software tell us where "The West" rulers are heading- Oligarchs are going to break free from their vulnerability to telegraph wire nooses in the hands of uppity meat sack servants. The guerilla swims in the seas of humanity, so dry up that sea.
Assumetrics.
I remember some years ago, I think it was in Wyoming, an oil service company was using an unguarded automated work-over rig. Someone threw a chain into the gears.
The MonkeyWrench Gang
People never had a chance, not without some schism in the military happening first.
Way back in 2004, in preparation for Putin's visit to the United States (these were the days of the G8), I was mistakenly invited to attend a big "heads up" meeting with a whole melange of security chiefs that took place in a literal high-tech underground bunker. I say "mistakenly" invited because it was actually my boss who took me along, and he was the legitimate invitee, but he, for whatever reason, thought I should come along, probably because he expected that he'd have to deliver a detailed briefing, and I was better at "talking fancy" than he was.
So there we were, multiple checkpoints, armed soldiers outside, going deep into this bunker which had all kinds of gee-whiz monitors showing stuff, almost like in a movie. And there were military guys there, police guys there, homeland security guys, etc. I got to admit, it was kind of thrilling even though I was like shit, I can't believe they let a fool like me attend this big pow-wow.
Well, all that changed once the big summit or meeting or whatever it was called began. It was nonsense after nonsense, with warnings about terrorists attacking malls, hospitals, bridges, trains, schools, sewage systems, and basically hiding under everyone's bed, and there were a million billion of them out there, all armed to the teeth with chemical weapons and dirty bombs. And all this was based on "intel" and "chatter" and super duper serious high security classified sources etc, etc.
All I could do was laugh my ass off. It was a thousand times more insane than even the wildest blogger would ever post. And two weeks later, I quit that job and moved to Europe.
America and the collective West are "led" by the dumbest morons in history. How they've managed to accomplish anything successfully is beyond my ability to comprehend, other than to note that it's all done by stealing a million dollars' worth of resources from the poor working people of the entire globe to achieve a task worth $1. The rest is just razzle-dazzle bullshit and a smokescreen to cover the fact that the Great and Powerful Oz really is just a pathetic old man standing behind a curtain.
Is Russia incredibly dumb and corrupt at times? Sure, of course. But they're not spaced out lunatics. And that's the real difference.
To personalise and to pathologise the US ruling class is to fall into their trap - this is what they do to the RF and to Putin - it is a waste of time and a distraction from the task in hand
It is impossible to understand anlayse and gain appropriate responses by such pyschotalk
Talk a leaf out of Jacques Baud's books - figure out the structural and systemic strengths and above all weak points and failures on the western capitalist countries, and plan with reason
Guy Debord quoted Sun Tse in Commentaires sur la Société du spectacle,1988, this is what you are now living in the North
« Quelque critiques que puissent être la situation et les circonstances où vous vous
trouvez, ne désespérez de rien ; c’est dans les occasions où tout est à craindre, qu’il ne
faut rien craindre ; c’est lorsqu’on est environné de tous les dangers, qu’il n’en faut
redouter aucun ; c’est lorsqu’on est sans aucune ressource, qu’il faut compter sur toutes ;
c’est lorsqu’on est surpris, qu’il faut surprendre l’ennemi lui-même. »
Sun Tse (L’Art de la guerre)
I agree that the fake game of cult of personality is basically just turning the whole scenario into a cheap Hollywood production. It is a useless distraction, often used to motivate the masses in some sort of manufactured consent.
This is indeed the gameplan of the western ruling class - they sell "all is personality, sentiment, us against them, all is good and evil, nothing is systematic organised and structural"
This is designed to keep the poor passive submissive and fed with cheap tricks
By the way it is foolish to call this class stupid or otherwise ignorant - their aims and their goals they have met and succeeded in
There is no opposition to their policies, which benefit them, but destroy the people, their own, the Uk people as well
@Gerrard White
Which translation do YOU favor-
Samuel Griffith?
In a desperate situation they fear nothing; when there is no way out they stand firm. Deep in a hostile land they are bound together, and there, where there is no alternative, they will engage the enemy in hand to hand combat.
Or J. J. M. Amiot?
Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard.
both translations appear to suppress the last phrase, the most surprisng of all
"c'’est lorsqu’on est surpris, qu’il faut surprendre l’ennemi lui-même. "
"taken off guard, this is the best moment to surprise the enemy
@Gerrard White
Thank you, my long ago 3 semesters of highschool French are quite degraded.
Translation results
However critical the situation and circumstances in which you find yourself may be,
find, do not despair of anything; it is on occasions when everything is to be feared that he
(knows( there is nothing to fear; it is when one is surrounded by all the dangers that one does not need
fear none; it is when one is without any resources that one must count on all of them;
it is when we are surprised that we must surprise the enemy himself.
I think most people just cannot comprehend how absolutely stupid the foreign policy think-tank crowd is in the U.S. . In fact, it is impossible to comprehend unless you have met some of these imbeciles and spoken with them personally.
I am reminded of how Sen. Tom Cotton grilled the CEO of Tiktok, a Singaporean, about his ties to the Chinese Communist Party. This is the level of thinker deciding foreign policy.
Cotton is elected. and not some "wonk" who spent years studying "U.S. diplomatic history" (taught by some meathead former CIA agent) at Georgetown. Many of the elected people (but not all) are even dumber than the think-tank/ policy wonk crowd. Now keep in mind that it is these wonks that recommend colonels for promotion to generals and the these politicians who vote and approve it. Once you realize this, you understand why the upper ranks of the U.S. military today are filled with complete brickheads like Miley, Petraeus, or Austin.
Yes that made me want to puke. Do these leaders even know there is a country called Singapore?
It would appear that they are steeped in multiple generations of believing their own bullshit, which like everything else has consequences
They come out of the universities: the Ivies, especially the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, or Kagan's cronies at Yale, and Georgetown. They are all trained by the same cadre of people who are mostly former State Department and CIA people or academics on the National Security Council or Council of Foreign relations. All of these instructors were part of the decision-making apparatus of the past, and their courses are mostly designed to teach everyone how brilliant all these stupid past decisions were. Any students who disagree with them are shown the door of the classroom (and sometimes harassed by the CIA/FBI... I saw this firsthand). So it is a bunch of completely unimaginative people who simple regurgitate the stupidity of the previous generation of unimaginative people.
Or as my brother often tells me, "They are carefully trained."
Great condensation of what I wanted to say, but I needed 4 paragraphs for that :-)
Could it possibly be the Ivy League institutions that churn them out? Seems to be the common denominator with all of these people in the west but especially USSA
Yes.
I just don't think anyone in the U.S. understands the extent of the rot in the U.S. universities. Recently, John Q. Public has noticed that white men are not particularly welcome there unless they happen to be some sort of sexual pervert, but the racism, angry lesbians, and so forth are just part of the problem. For three generations, these universities have trained everyone in the West, from corporate CEOs to policy wonks to the heirs of fortunes from overseas. After the GI Bill, the U.S. universities, which were once finishing schools for actual intellectuals, became a free-for-all of every type of person who wanted to avoid working for a living. Radical politics took precedence, and Foucault-inspired feminism replaced Marxism as the guiding light of the loonies. Three generations of leaders of every type of Western institution have been indoctrinated with the lunacy., and that is why the West is collapsing. You can, quite literally, lay it all at the feet of a thousand so-called "intellectuals" at a few American universities.
Sounds those guys ramped up various threats to get money, staff and resources from the bigger honchos also attending this meeting. That's what it all is in the end, more money, more staff, more resources. Of course it sounds insane and moronic for someone new or who doesn't think in those kind of ways. What they also do often, misrepresent data and make reports who are biased to no end to get the result they want, more of everything.
I think the West is now so far away from any kind of common sense, because all those people want is more tax money, and to get that everything is valid, transgender, feminism, climate change, furry love, funding Ukrainian Nazis, funding Islamofascists. Even funding and making PR for topics who are 180 degrees pitted against each other, like supporting outright Nazis and making some Trans whacko General. They simply don't care and the hundreds of thousands of people and companies who suck on these teats want to continue because their money and power depends on it.
We are in deed the Soviet Union 4.0. Unelected Political Commissars, unelected Committees, unelected Bureaucrats/Technocrats, people in Think Tanks and NGOs we all never heard of are calling the shots. The Politicians at the top are just piles of doodoo swimming on top of the sewage sea, millions of people underneath like an sewage Iceberg are the reality of that.
I am astonished our Nations haven't collapsed already to be honest. At some point our Nations will, maybe it will go on like that for another 10 or 20 years or we will or some countries in the West will collapse in a couple of months/years, who knows. Like Hemingway said, gradually, then suddenly.
What scares me is that Sam Ursu is correct and “leadership” in the West really are “spaced out lunatics”. Witness Blinken’s comment in July 2023 that nuclear war would be no worse than climate change followed by Biden in September of the same year who said (according to Bloomberg) that “….the sole threat to humanity’s existence is climate change, and that not even nuclear conflict poses a similar danger.”
If climate change was at all real it would preclude the new and stupid wars the west is prosecuting. Judging by the views/prejudices of almost all my contemporaries, the psy-ops our society is being force fed is mostly successful. Two recent examples: Netflix's new
anti-Chinese screed is the "Three Body Problem" which opens during the Cultural Revolution and shows an "intellectual" getting the stuffing beat out of him. I left about 10 minutes into this drek, I saw where this was going and exited. Last night on 60 Minutes one of the pieces showed the Russians supposedly implementing new tech to injure us poor Americans. I didn't last long, left the program realizing that this was more propaganda. The only obvious truth on the TV yesterday, by my metric, was that NC State outlasted Duke to make it to the Final Four in the sports world. If this shit-show doesn't go nuclear, I'll be in awe. Bigly sad.
Threat to humanity from climate change and that it is mostly because of human activities is just another bullshit from Western propaganda. Climate always was changing even before the existence of humanity and was changing a lot. I think that this shit is promoted by US propaganda and supposed to lower the Russia's influence on other countries especialy on Europe because Russia is probably largest energy resources supplier and have a lot of influence or control over global oil, gas, nuclear fuel/energy markets. For example the promotion of the green agenda in Germany led to the closure of all nuclear power plants, which deprived Rosatom, which controls almost half of the global nuclear energy market, of all leverage over Germany.
Garbage in, garbage out - but weapons grade!
Excellent.
1 April 2024 The French Defeat, The Sahel Victory, The Rise of Great Power Russia
Recent events in Niger have both consolidated the new régime there, clarified the solidarity and the gains of the Sahel Alliance (L’Alliance des États du Sahel) and shed further light on the involvement of the RF
All this has come to a head when Europe and NATO, specifically of course France, have been overcome with hesitation and confusion as to the future of the ‘war’ with Russia
Many have pointed to the humiliation of expulsion from the AES countries that have given recent venom to Macron’s anti Russianisms
In turn this process, which may be dated to 2021, although the origins go back generations, has brought about the humiliation of the French ruling class, and a re shuffle of power one in parallel with the US, notably in West Africa, one which has extensions throughout Africa
Until very recently it was thoiught the US was an easy winner, but the Niger leaders have recently inflicted the same humiliation as on the French, and ‘denounced’ or broken the US base agreement, 16/3/2024
The AES has faced down the US/French regional puppets, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and broken with ECOWAS, cancelled treaties with the EU, notably on security and immigrations, threatens the pillar of French power in Africa, the franc cfa, and the $13B Gas EU pipeline the EU is deperate for
The RF was initially discreet, operated via Lavrov diplomacy and Wagner force, now partially replaced by direct force and agreements, with a New Africa Corps, including donations of free grain, the result of shuttle diplomacy by Yunus-bek Yevkurov, Russia's deputy defence minister
RF has signed agreements with Niger, subsequent to their agreements with BF and Mali, although details remaine obscure these are security and economic : both the French and the US fear an Uranium agreement
Niger has signed an extensive Health and Security agreement with Iran, who has signed agreements with BF and Mali
The US/French lack considered means to counter/reverse all this : The US is already retreating to French bases in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, prior to expulsion from Niger, seeking to shore up failed state Nigeria, and to review it’s Africa policies in general
It is said that recently the US stymied a China plan to build a seaport in Gabon
The Niger said that it was the insolence and the contempt of the high level US delegation, including AfriCom chief Michael Langley, and Asst Secretary of State Mary McPhee to Niger March 12-15 which was the final straw, they did not get to meet the new Head of State
Following the disaster of the late lamented Vicky Nuland’s visit last August – her spirit lives on, her Mission not Accomplished
Links to read up on these intricate events, hitherto the most obvious and significant manifestation of the new world order, not to forget the role of Ansar Allah in the Red Sea
Stop Press
Senegal elects a new ‘opposition’ President, who will continue the African countries’ move away from the French, the franc cfa, and towards Russia and China and multipolarity, how long will those last few French bases last….
Escalation is not very much fun for the French, or L’escalade c’est une salope!
Annexe – Links and Quotes
https://www.rt.com/africa/594278-sahel-alliance-economic-bloc-sanctions/
https://www.rt.com/africa/594362-niger-scraps-us-military-agreement/
https://www.lepoint.fr/afrique/apres-la-france-le-niger-rompt-sa-cooperation-militaire-avec-les-etats-unis-18-03-2024-2555280_3826.php#11
https://infobrics.org/
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3710272/us-working-diplomatically-with-niger-on-new-path-of-cooperation/
https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3710176/deputy-pentagon-press-secretary-sabrina-singh-holds-an-off-camera-on-the-record/
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russia-says-it-shipped-200000-tonnes-free-grain-six-african-countries-2024-02-20/
Russia Niger
https://archive.ph/jxykM Le Monde Africa Corps
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2023/12/06/niger-chooses-russia-over-europe_6318064_124.html
Russia Niger Memorandum of Understanding
« Just like the juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger's new masters have announced the "strengthening of defense cooperation" with Moscow. Although a protocol agreement has been signed, its content remains top secret according to a government adviser. Yevkurov also met with the defense minister, General Salifou Mody, who is seen as the junta's number two.
At the same time, Niger has broken ties with one of its most important Western partners. In a note sent to the European Union delegation in Niamey on Monday, it denounced the two agreements governing European support for Niger's defense and security forces. Eucap Sahel, the 130-strong civilian mission set up in 2012 to support the country's border security forces, and EUMPM, the military mission installed there in 2022 to help Nigerien soldiers fight terrorism, have been asked to pack up » »
At the end of November, the Nigerien authorities put an end to one of the main pillars of European cooperation in Africa by repealing a law that penalized the illegal trafficking of migrants. "It was the EU itself that suspended its security cooperation with us after the coup. As they no longer want us, neither do we want them" the official quoted above said, "our alliances with the West have prevailed since colonization and have not brought us good fortune. We need to get rid of them and move closer to other countries."
has not communicated on Yevkurov's latest stay, the government of Colonel Assimi Goïta in Mali detailed its outlines on December 2. In Bamako, "important decisions were taken," the president's office noted on its Facebook page, referring to "the dispatch [...] in the next two weeks [...] of Russian experts in various sectors [energy, transport, telecommunications, mining]." The president's office also stressed Moscow's "satisfaction with the creation of the AES, which it sees as an ideal framework for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Sahel states." At the end of a meeting of their three heads of diplomacy in Bamako between November 30 and December 1, the three countries expressed that their ambition for the Alliance of Sahel States was "to eventually achieve a federation."
https://theconversation.com/niger-and-russia-are-forming-military-ties-3-ways-this-could-upset-old-allies-221696
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20231204-niger-s-junta-ends-key-security-agreements-with-eu-turns-to-russia-for-defence-deal
Ends security and migration agreements wth the EU
« In a rare visit on Sunday, a Russian delegation led by Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defence Lounous-Bek Evkourov met with Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, and Minister of State for National Defense Salifou Mody. The two sides held more meetings on Monday to discuss military and defense issues.
“At the centre of the discussions is the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense,” Niger’s defense ministry said in a statement. »
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-warned-niger-about-ties-russia-iran-before-junta-revoked-accord-pentagon-2024-03-18/
« High-level Russian defense officials including Yunus-bek Yevkurov, Russia's deputy defense minister, have visited the country and met with the junta leader”
Iran-Niger agreements : Iran Niger Economic and Healthco operation agreement January 24
https://english.news.cn/20240125/bc9d473e71564d92a69c685c6db10e1a/c.html
https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/03/15/au-niger-la-junte-sourde-aux-pressions-americaines_6222262_3212.html
https://archive.ph/x82Do La Croix
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240312-turkey-iran-morocco-joust-for-greater-role-in-sahel
https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/03/15/au-niger-la-junte-sourde-aux-pressions-americaines_6222262_3212.html
US delegation visit March 12-15
"L'arrivée de la délégation américaine n'a pas respecté les usages diplomatiques", a expliqué samedi Amadou Abdramane, assurant que le gouvernement américain avait informé Niamey de "façon unilatérale" de sa date d'arrivée et de la composition de sa délégation.
https://www.france24.com/fr/afrique/20240318-niger-apr%C3%A8s-le-d%C3%A9part-de-la-france-l-%C3%A9chec-de-la-m%C3%A9thode-douce-am%C3%A9ricaine
« Lors de son allocution télévisée, le colonel Amadou Abdramane a assené une série de critiques acerbes contre Washington, fustigeant la présence militaire "illégale" des États-Unis, fruit d’un accord "imposé" au pays, la "condescendance" de la cheffe de la délégation, la secrétaire d'État adjointe aux Affaires africaines Molly Phee, ainsi que la volonté américaine "de dénier au peuple nigérien souverain le droit de choisir ses partenaires".
https://loveworldsat.org/the-niger-junta-rejects-the-agreement-permitting-the-establishment-of-us-military-bases-on-its-territory/
https://loveworldsat.org/the-niger-junta-rejects-the-agreement-permitting-the-establishment-of-us-military-bases-on-its-territory/
Since seizing power in July 2023, the Niger junta, like the military rulers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, have kicked out French and other European forces, and turned to Russia for support. “Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships capable of truly helping them fight against terrorism,” Abdramane said. “Also, the government of Niger forcefully denounces the condescending attitude accompanied by the threat of retaliation from the head of the American delegation towards the Nigerien government and people.”
Abdramane stopped short of saying US forces should leave. But he alleged their status and presence was illegal and violated constitutional and democratic rules because, he claimed, it was unilaterally imposed in 2012. He said Niger was not aware of the number of US civilian and military personnel on its soil or the amount of equipment deployed and, according to the agreement, the US military had no obligation to respond to any request for help against militants. “In light of all the above, the government of Niger, revokes with immediate effect the agreement concerning the status of United States military personnel and civilian employees of the American department of defence on the territory of the Republic of Niger,” Abdramane said.
I wish Middle Eastern rulers developed a spine like these new African leaders.
The African states were not bound into the western financial/MIC/Propaganda system
They were very simply exploited stolen from and maintained in a state of poverty, their any middle classes reduced to knowing collaborators, the NATO war on Libya collapsed any possible stability
The call of Russia, of the Soviets, has echoed down from the 1960's - to revive this, to instrumentalise this appeal, was very much easier in the Sahel, than in West Asia
But this will come as well
A fascinating read, on the theme of French retreat, is Bernard Fall's book, 'Hell in a Very Small Place'. (link). It documents how the Viet Minh defeated the French in the 1954 battle at Dien Bien Phu. A long read but well worth it. The Americans, learning nothing from the French defeat, basically said, "hold my beer".
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31702646072&dest=usa&ref_=ps_ggl_17730880232&cm_mmc=ggl-_-US_Shopp_Trade_10to20-_-product_id=COM9780306802317USED-_-keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwtqmwBhBVEiwAL-WAYe3hu1J_t4KIWayYO7PfaRJWUfFaSL9l037AB74m0uAgPZAGOj91qBoCTTcQAvD_BwE
Thank you for this recommendation, unfortunately I am off planet as far as Amazon etc are concerned....
But you can notice a similar blindness in current Africa, uprisings and coups have thrown out the French, so the US take it into mind to replace the French....
As per Niger most obviously, Gabon less so
Without a second thought that the same fate awaits them
The US never learns - it is remarkable and even in the real sense of the word wonderful
Iraq wants the US out but the US will not do it? How many more countries going to come forward and chuck these nutcases out?
Every interview of Jaques Baud is insightful. He has given quite a few recently with Daniel Davis (Deep Dive) and others, providing some pretty unknown/uncommon facts about this conflict since 2014.
Robotic wars and ever scary developments in AI...I'm not sure if this world would be suitable for humans for long.
Until the last couple of weeks I thought I was one of the few Americans that listened to JM. And it was always on French channels.
Delicious: "Facts weren’t the issue: The assembled dignitaries, a representative sampling of the foreign policy establishment’s intellectual and executive leadership, simply couldn’t imagine a world in which America no longer gave the orders."
Made me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-ixntLruNs
Here’s hoping that they are all forced to eat a bowl of chili containing some familial artifacts
Yes, i heard that show with JB the day it aired, what a fabulous piece of work, one of the best, because the A2's just let him talk, and he went on at length ...
For those of us paying attention it affirms all those things the Duran, Garland Nixon, you mr Simplicius, several others have been saying, that mostly got ignored because genocide Joe said Russia has already , well, invaded America and made it a much better place, may it be so, tis so hard to learn Russian, will be much easier when everyone around me is speaking it.....ha ha ha
Exactly, my #1 pet peeve is hosts constantly overtalking and interrupting the guest...
Just a side-note to ‘Operational Art’ — giver the root of the word art it makes perfect sense 😎: “The word “art” is derived from the Latin ars, which originally meant “skill” or “craft.” These meanings are still primary in other English words derived from ars, such as “artifact” (a thing made by human skill) and “artisan” (a person skilled at making things).” Once again, a great read. Thank you, Simplicius.
Oh Boy , Deizen is going to go off! He's so jealous of Mercouris.
🤣
He shouldn't be; that shyster got disbarred for a very good reason(s).
Whats that?
Lying, extortion, theft misrepresentation, stuff like that.
Respectfully, could you elaborate? I have googled the guy in the past and know he has been disbarred and whatnot
Hi, I can't really be bothered dredging up the sleazery, Frendo. It's online if you hunt for it. I can't even remember the particular victim's name-like you, I looked in the past...
Guys like Mercouris and Ritter and so on have grudges, clearly, and I'm not naive that their motives are driven by wanting to "get back" at the societies and systems they feel betrayed them. That said, their analysis is not to be discounted just because of that. Mercouris though strikes me often as very naive, especially when he goes on about the UNSC and the ICJ and so on. He thinks laws and orders are a power onto themselves, and forgets that unless you have men with guns - and tanks and planes and missiles and aircraft carriers - behind them to enforce it, its essentially worthless.
I still listen to the Duran almost every day.
Ukraine plan B: As a casual, amateur observer of the geopolitical, there is a consistent quirk I notice among most of the US commentators. They have it all screwed on sideways because acceptance of the ´new´ realities are hard to take. One example is they are quoting that 35% is being spent on the war by Russia. Oh really, 35% of what? None of them will say. It makes me laugh. That is the government spending number, not GDP, which is only around 4.1% when I looked it up yesterday. The GDP number for the US is 3.2% and not much different. Now bring into view the debt situation of each country and the picture unfolds dramatically. For Russia I just pulled it up at 15.4% vs the US for 110% plus. The people from the US/Occidentals are spaced out blind and ignorant; even a bunch of the ones I like.
I went through the process myself of just dumping everything I had been taught and starting from scratch. It was intellectually and emotionally intense, to discover I had been shoved full of bullshit for my entire life. Mr. Goldman and others from Asia Times I discarded a couple of years ago because they were living in a dream world, to put it succinctly. I am now seeing that that crew has come a long way around to reality. About freaking time!
Another same indicator is Donald Trump. His constant blather of US superiority and what he was going to do with it during his term as president, bordered on nauseating. During 2020 I told friends and family that it don't matter who won the election because Russia, China, Iran et al were ready and waiting to get the party started. The summit in Alaska was the bell. Now, I observe Trump being more and more cautious about what he says, at least what reaches my attention, regarding what is happening outside the US. This is quietly marking a seachange, especially coupled with opinions coming out of AT recently.
So, I do see glacial movement in the right direction. I hope to God that these folks in charge over yonder in the West, get a real grip on reality, before they blow this thing skyhigh.
I thank you for all of your efforts. God Bless.
I was similar to you also blinded by looking at GDP numbers, and currency exchange rates. If you are freed of that narrow look at things, you can see that China and Russia have a no nonsense look at economic reality. Just look up steel production in the US, Germany, France, Russia and China. Nobody can tell me how great the West is, if you look at those numbers. Its very clear that a big industrious nation needs steel production.
If you have routes, streets, pipelines, a lot of commodities, a big diversified industrial base, what can really happen to you? Not much I think. And if you are China and Russia, Nr. 1 and 3 by landmass in the world, and at least Top 5 in natural resources and have not a lot of debt, diversified agricultural and other commodities, reality is, the West needs them far more than they need the West. I think both leader circles in Russia and China were very careful how to proceed while our Elites are lost in an endless circlejerk of how great they are.
The boys of Duran and Simplicius really opened my mind to geopolitics, I am just an amateur bystander, but I think its very interesting, we live in interesting times in deed.
GDP in the early days only measured durable goods manufactured and sold. Now, it measures credit card late fees and my daily trip to Chick-fil-A. Been a totally useless metric for 30 or 40 years
There are all kinds of stats you can use to cultivate a micro or macro economic picture. I used just used GDP in this instance to illustrate the hypocrisy and it serves its´ purpose.
Without a doubt. Here it all the time from economists trying to sell a point, not a fact.
Understandable, we learned about GNP in elementary school. Don't quite remember when GDP became all the rage.
Use GDP PPP. Awhile back Simplicius provided a detailed analysis of the Russian economy v others using GDP v PPP to show the merits of having low debt and a trade surplus in providing a bulwark against the crazy rules-based order of massive fiat and massive debt which result in GDP growth that is just plain fake.
Has that awkward little Coke-head become an expert on international law yet?
Which one?
Mercouris: that's his fantasy.
I haven't watched The Duran since 2017.
Mercouris looks dreadful.
Doesn't he? What put you off, may I ask? I stopped completely only 6 months ago.
I think Russia has evolved during the course of the SMO and adjusted its strategy according to military, economic, demographic, and geopolitical exigencies. In fact the SMO became essentially a war with Ukraine as the spearhead of NATO.
But, some caution should probably be maintained in the tendency to selectively embellish or even romanticize historical events and trajectories. Such abstractions and reifications as the “Russian way of war” or similar though more subtle descriptions may be more reflective of unrecognized yet biased interpretations as much as logical investigations.
Military history and analysis can be quite prone to compromised objectivity due to unacknowledged or unrecognized underlying political identifications, values, preferences, and ideologies that could cause even good historians toward selective viewpoints and rigid deductive visions.
Let’s consider an example so we prevent falling into the trap of idealizing “Russian way of war” as if it reflects some enduring or fixed “essence” rather than respecting Russia’s “flexibility” or dynamic ability to learn from mistakes and adjust or change accordingly. Does anyone forget those bizarre scenes of the long but thin and exposed Russian tank columns stretching to Kiev in the early days of the SMO? Is it not likely that today many of the leading Russian military or political planners look back at the images of those perplexing days with astonishment and grave regret, and regard them as devoid of a viable long term strategy, never to be repeated again? Was that not the Russian way of war? And how many mistakes and blunders were made by the Soviet Union’s military and political leaders during the first year or two of the German invasion of Russia before they evolved and created a Red Army that was vastly different in strategic depth, capability, competence, and execution by the last year of WWII?