Showing posts with label #Ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Ukraine. Show all posts

Tuesday, 11 February 2025

VLODIMIR ZELENSKI IS THE GRETA THUNBERG OF GEOPOLITICS

11 February 2025

WHY VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY IS THE GRETA THUNBERG OF GEOPOLITICS

To many observers, Volodymyr Zelensky bears more than a passing resemblance to Greta Thunberg—not in appearance, but in the way both have become global symbols of moral urgency. Supporters see Thunberg as the unfiltered voice of climate activism, just as they view Zelensky as the embodiment of Ukrainian resilience in the face of Russian aggression. Both have exhibited characteristics that some associate with autism spectrum disorders: Greta Thunberg is open about her Asperger’s diagnosis, while a few commentators—rightly or wrongly—have speculated that Zelensky’s focused, intense communication style might stem from a similar place. Whether that speculation has any merit is debated; official statements do not confirm it, and he has never publicly admitted to being on the spectrum.

Critics, however, are far less enthusiastic. Unlike Thunberg, whose adversaries primarily complain about her youth or her uncompromising stance on fossil fuels, Zelensky has been thrust into a geopolitical maelstrom that he himself helped escalate. Some voices insist that, after Joe Biden, Zelensky bears the greatest responsibility for pushing the conflict with Russia instead of seeking compromise—effectively locking Ukraine into a prolonged and devastating war that have sent hundreds of thousands of citizens of Ukraine and the flower of its youth to an early grave. For these detractors, the once-rousing speeches and global fundraising tours are no more than a PR offensive distracting from the suffering on the ground of the Ukrainian people while enriching Zelinski and his coterie of perhaps the most corrupt oligarchy in the world.

Further, some say Zelensky, a former comedian and initially a likable political outsider, has lost international goodwill by aligning closely and so evidently, with American goals to preserve its hegemony., Europe's hatred of Russia dating from the times of Napoleon and Hitler, and NATO interests. His decisions have put Ukraine in the deepest peril, reshaping a conflict that might have been contained under a different leadership approach, one based on neutrality and respect the interests of russian speakers in what was a pluralistic country. Just as not everyone appreciates Thunberg’s impassioned calls to “panic,” the Ukrainian president’s dogged appeals for more money, arms and sanctions have sickened those who believe his strategy prolongs the crisis.

In the end, Zelensky’s role in Ukraine’s struggle echoes Thunberg’s climate activism: both wield a moral narrative that does inspire millions, yet also provokes fierce backlash from those Western minorities who read the independent press. Whether seen as heroic figure or polarising agitator, each has come to personify a cause driven by unwavering conviction, yes, but far from universally admired.


Friday, 31 January 2025

WHY UKRAINE'S MEDIA SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE

31 January 2025

Talk about soft power and how, at a detail level, it functions to progress american interests. 

We learn from Mercurious & others that for a long time, 90% of spending in the media space in Ukraine was coming from direct grants from the US State Department. 

Maybe ukraine is not a small country geographically, but in terms of population & GDP, it's small. Look how easily America buys up all Ukraine-media's column inches and turns them into one big advert for Russophobia.

The media literally speak with one voice, and have done so for a long time, pushing the anti-Russia hate speech; but according to the polls, this is not the voice of the mass of the people of Ukraine.

This op-ed program is a highly cynical black op. Where are American values of democracy and freedom in that? I wonder if the State Department under Rubio will continue this.

I know better than to trust the serpent words of the mass media and of government spokesman, but how about the 90% of the population of ordinary people going about their daily business in Ukraine? And what of the politicians back in Europe who read this dirt thinking it is the authentic voice of the Ukrainian people.? ... Remember, dirt written by the American state department as inspiration for the Ukrainian media, to be read by ordinary Ukrainian people and inevitably, a lead given to craven European media and read closely by politicians.

The whole operation is rotten to the core. How do the families of the million Ukrainians killed on the front lines feel towards those who persuaded their sons to to fight and die for what turns out to be a foreign cause? An operation that has ruined the economy. I'm destroyed the built infrastructure? A country that has now lost its young people and has no demographic future?

And all for a cause, membership of NATO, that we could see from the start, back in 2008, would be a catastrophic failure - and wrote about that from 2021 onwards - and America's greatest foreign policy disaster. A gamble on a strategy to weaken Russia that has no moral justification and no rational basis - they didn't even bother to look at the resources available to them : insufficient. A strategy handed down across generations of genociders.

Instead of blowing on the embers of a declining Empire in this way, what could have worked would have been to set goals and strategies for managing the Empire honestly and openly, configuring agreed security arrangements rather than going to war, making the home economy productive and efficient and debt-free, and help the people to love each other and unite, rather than all this delusional propaganda, DEI and woke divide and rule.

Well, that's my rant for the day. Now I want to tell a little story...

Wednesday, 15 January 2025

THE PERILS OF ESCALATION WITH RUSSIA

15 January 2025


The Perils of Escalation with Russia

https://youtu.be/rq4J8kXvWfA?si=z-IKsxUcRkTWdXAg

The article warns of the risks of continued Western escalation in the Ukraine conflict, highlighting the potential consequences of misinterpreting Russia's threats and capabilities.

1. Escalation Misconceptions:

The West’s pattern of dismissing Russia’s deterrent threats has led to complacency, with many viewing Putin’s nuclear rhetoric as mere bluff.

However, escalation dynamics are unpredictable and non-linear, with deferred pressures potentially leading Russia to act decisively in the future.

2. Conventional and Nuclear Risks:

Russia’s development of advanced weapons like the "Oreshnik" hypersonic missile allows for powerful, calibrated responses without resorting to nuclear weapons.

While nuclear use remains unlikely, tactical deployment is not impossible and poses significant risks.

3. Russia’s Growing Military Strength:

Contrary to expectations, Western support has prolonged the war, allowing Russia to transform its latent power into tangible military capability.

Russia’s efficient production of artillery, access to critical resources, and partnerships with allies like China and Iran have bolstered its war-making capacity.

4. Ukraine’s Weakening Position:

Ukraine faces critical manpower shortages and strained resources, making institutional breakdown or capitulation more likely over time.

Russia’s resolve, driven by perceived NATO threats to its security, remains stronger than Western assumptions of imperial ambition.

5. Western Strategy Flaws:

The West lacks "escalation dominance" over Russia, undermining efforts to coerce Moscow into favorable negotiations.

Current strategies risk backfiring, further eroding Ukraine’s position on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.

6. A Call for Policy Shift:

The article advocates abandoning attempts to negotiate from a position of unattainable strength.

It suggests that accommodation with Russia, though unpalatable, is the most practical and moral path to ending the war.

Prolonging escalation will only worsen Ukraine’s plight and force the West to confront harsher terms later.





Wednesday, 4 December 2024

UKRAINE PODCAST

4 December 2024