#conferences in Ukraine

[tchaikovskaya]

Not to #victimblame (but also yes to do that lol) but why are presidents, present past and/or potentially future, having events in outdoor spaces in 2024 in the first place…?

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

By Yaimi Ravelo

With the participation of 82 delegates from 26 countries, the anti-imperialist meeting echoes the international rejection of the genocide perpetrated by the Zionist army of “Israel” on the Palestinian people; and the unanimous demand for the return of the Cuban territory usurped by the United States with the installation of the Naval Base in Guantanamo; first Military Base of that country in the world, as well as the repudiation of the wars organized by NATO under the direction and auspices of the US.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Bill Bramhall

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 16, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

FEB 17, 2024

At the Munich Security Conference, where leaders from more than 70 countries gather annually in Germany to discuss international security policy, Vice President Kamala Harris today responded to Trump’s recent attacks on America’s global leadership with a full-throated defense of global engagement.

People around the world have reason to wonder if the United States is committed to global leadership, she acknowledged. Americans, she said, must also ask themselves “[w]hether it is in America’s interest to continue to engage with the world or to turn inward. Whether it is in our interest to defend longstanding rules and norms that have provided for unprecedented peace and prosperity or to allow them to be trampled. Whether it is in America’s interest to fight for democracy or to accept the rise of dictators. And whether it is in America’s interest to continue to work in lockstep with our allies and partners or go it alone.”

Harris spoke at least in part to people at home, saying that upholding international rules and democratic values “makes America strong, and it keeps Americans safe.” Isolating ourselves and embracing dictators while we “abandon commitments to our allies in favor of unilateral action” is “dangerous, destabilizing, and indeed short-sighted,” she said. “That view would weaken America and would undermine global stability and undermine global prosperity.”

The Biden administration’s approach to global engagement is not “based on the virtues of charity,” Harris said, but rather is based on the nation’s strategic interest. “Our leadership keeps our homeland safe, supports American jobs, secures supply chains, and opens new markets for American goods. And I firmly believe,” she added, “our commitment to build and sustain alliances has helped America become the most powerful and prosperous country in the world—alliances that have prevented wars, defended freedom, and maintained stability from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. To put all of that at risk would be foolish.”

Turning to the defense of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion, she said: “we have joined forces with our friends and allies to stand up for freedom and democracy…. The world has come together, with leadership from the United States, to defend the basic principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity and to stop an imperialist authoritarian from subjugating a free and democratic people.” 

The European Union has recently committed $54 billion to support Ukraine in addition to “the more than $100 billion our European allies and partners have already dedicated,” she said, noting that that support makes it clear that Europe will stand with Ukraine. 

“I will make clear President Joe Biden and I stand with Ukraine,” Harris said. “In partnership with supportive, bipartisan majorities in both houses of the United States Congress, we will work to secure critical weapons and resources that Ukraine so badly needs. And let me be clear: The failure to do so would be a gift to Vladimir Putin.”

“If we fail to impose severe consequences on Russia” for its invasion of Ukraine, she warned, “other authoritarians across the globe would be emboldened, because you see, they will be watching…and drawing lessons. “In these unsettled times, it is clear,” she said. “America cannot retreat. America must stand strong for democracy. We must stand in defense of international rules and norms, and we must stand with our allies.”

“[T]he American people will meet this moment,” Vice President Harris said, “and America will continue to lead.”

News that arrived just before Harris began to speak underscored her argument: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in a Russian prison a day after being recorded on video in court, seemingly healthy. Navalny’s crusade against Putin’s corruption had led Putin to try repeatedly to murder him, then finally in 2021 to imprison him on trumped-up charges. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, took the stage after Harris and vowed that Vladimir Putin and his allies “will be brought to justice, and this day will come soon.”

Russian elections will be held next month, and while Putin is assumed to be the certain victor, his recent disqualification of Boris Nadezhdin, who was running on a platform that opposed the Ukraine war, suggests he is concerned about opposition. Eliminating Navalny at this moment sends a warning to other Russians that, as Anne Applebaum noted in a piece today in The Atlantic, courage in opposing Putin is pointless. 

In the U.S., Navalny’s apparent murder creates a political problem for Republicans. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) yesterday recessed the House for two weeks without taking up the national security supplemental bill that would support Ukraine in its fight against Russia, just as its supplies are running out. 

On Saturday, former president Trump told an audience he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that are not devoting 2% of their gross domestic product to building up their militaries. Meanwhile, former Fox News Channel personality Tucker Carlson has been in Moscow, interviewing Putin and favorably comparing Russia to the United States.

On Monday, in Dubai, Egyptian journalist Emad El Din Adeeb asked Carlson why, when interviewing Putin, he “did not talk about Navalny, about assassinations, about restrictions on opposition in the coming elections.” Carlson replied by equating Russia and the U.S., saying: “Every leader kills people…. Some kill more than others. Leadership requires killing people.”          

The death of Navalny at just this moment appears to tie the Republicans to Putin’s murderous regime, and party leaders scrambled today to distance themselves from Putin. House speaker Mike Johnson, who has resisted passing aid to Ukraine and insisted the House would not be “rushed” into passing such a measure, released a statement saying that “as international leaders are meeting in Munich, we must be clear that Putin will be met with united opposition…. [T]he United States, and our partners, must be using every means available to cut off Putin’s ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states.” 

Republicans trying to carve out distance between themselves and Trump’s MAGA Republicans used the occasion to call out MAGAs, saying, as former vice president Mike Pence did, “There is no room in the Republican Party for apologists for Putin.” Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who has pushed hard for Ukraine aid, wrote: “Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator. History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy. Nor will history be kind to America’s leaders who stay silent because they fear backlash from online pundits.”

Navalny attacked the Putin regime by calling attention to its extraordinary corruption, and somewhat fittingly, the corruption of former president Donald Trump, who won the White House with Putin’s help, was also on the docket today. 

In Manhattan, in the case concerning Trump and the Trump Organization’s manipulation of financial statements in order to get better loan terms and to pay fewer taxes, Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and the Trump Organization to disgorge about $355 million in ill-gotten gains as well as more than $98 million in interest on that money from the time Trump obtained it through fraud. The total came to just under $454 million. Engoron also barred Trump from running a business or applying for a loan in New York for three years. The judge ordered Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric to pay more than $4 million each and barred them from serving as officers or directors of any New York corporation or legal entity for two years.  

“[D]efendants submitted blatantly false financial data to…accountants,” Engoron wrote, “resulting in fraudulent financial statements. When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants’ fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality, and defendants failed to accept responsibility….” Engoron detailed the reluctance of the Trumps, including Ivanka, to tell the truth on the witness stand, and concluded: “Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological.” 

New York attorney general Letitia James, who brought the lawsuit, commented: “Donald Trump is finally facing accountability for his lying, cheating, and staggering fraud. Because no matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law.”

In his 2022 documentary about Alexei Navalny, director Daniel Roher asked Navalny what message he would leave for the Russian people if he were killed. “Listen,” Navalny answered. “I’ve got something very obvious to tell you. You’re not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong. We need to utilize this power to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes. We don’t realize how strong we actually are.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[bopinion]

2024 / 07

Aperçu of the Week:

"Time isn't the main thing. It#s the only thing."

(Miles Davis, American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer - and among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of music)

Bad News of the Week:

Sometimes things get rough in the political business. Sometimes you get pelted with eggs, as the unification chancellor Helmut Kohl once did in the East. Or with a bag of paint, as happened to Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. Or even end up in a wheelchair like Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble, who was stabbed. However, all these incidents - as tragic as they are - are isolated cases. In which an individual perpetrator, often with a psychological problem that was not diagnosed in time, commits an individual act. It is certainly not possible to speak of a systemic problem. This seems to be changing in Germany.

The increasing aggression against the Greens is becoming more and more frightening. The platform of this party has always had a tendency to polarize. After all, they want to achieve fundamental change. And unlike The Left, which also wants this, they are regularly involved in governments. And stand out more in the context of the otherwise dominant "Keep it up..." - keyword "prohibition party". Of course you can be against it, comment on it on social media, take it to the streets and demonstrate. But please do so in a civilized manner, as it has to be in a democratic society.

Unfortunately, this discourse has not been civilized in recent weeks. It started when the Green Minister for Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck, was prevented from leaving a car ferry by angry farmers. There was a scuffle with the police, and the public prosecutor's office is now investigating on charges of coercion. And now a Green Party rally - on the traditional "Political Ash Wednesday" - had to be canceled at the last minute. Again because of angry farmers blocking roads. This time, several police officers were injured, cars were demolished and fires were lit. Even Interior Minister Nancy Faeser from the rival Social Democrats considers this to be unacceptable, calling it a "brutalization and poisoning of the discourse". She is quite simply right.

Good News of the Week:

Once a year, the Munich Security Conference MSC, the world's most important security policy meeting, takes place in Munich. It is characterized not only by the official conference programme, but also by the various meetings that take place behind the scenes. One pleasing example: Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at war for years. Under the mediation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, both heads of government have now met in Munich. And then actually announced that they wanted to resolve their conflicts peacefully.

The primary topic was, of course, the Gaza war with a tendency towards a full-size Middle East conflict. The tone towards Israel is becoming harsher. At the MSC, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called for a Palestinian state to end the "vicious circle". And is even receiving support from China: this is the only way to achieve peaceful coexistence in the region, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was also present. It is fitting that French President Emmanuel Macron announced after a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Paris a few days ago that he does not want to close his mind to the recognition of a Palestinian state: "We owe this to the Palestinians, whose expectations have been trampled on for too long."

Naturally, the Ukraine war was also in focus. President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for further support at the security conference. There is a lack of long-range weapons. Kremlin leader Putin must not succeed in turning the next few years into a catastrophe. And the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who has just died in a Siberian prison camp in an as yet unexplained manner, is a victim of Vladimir Putin, just like Ukraine, says Selensky. Shortly beforehand, he had signed a security agreement with Germany, which provides the most military aid to Ukraine after the USA.

Other remarkable things also happened in Munich. For example, US Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirmed that the USA is firmly rooted in NATO. Out of responsibility, but also out of self-interest. Donald Trump's current statements on the subject obviously make this statement seem necessary. "Take him at his word, take him seriously. He means what he says," said former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was also present in Munich.

And finally, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned: "What happens today in Ukraine could happen tomorrow in Taiwan." China's Foreign Minister Wang nonchalantly replied that "Taiwan (remains) part of Chinese territory and the Taiwan issue (is) an internal Chinese matter." Overall, I find it gratifying that even in these times, people are still talking. You get the impression that diplomacy and negotiations are not yet at an end.

Personal happy moment of the week and other categories...

I'm sorry: this week (which piece was published quite late anyway) left me no time to deal with "lighter topics". Next week!

Post Scriptum

It has become apparent: Donald Jessica Trump has been convicted of fraud in court in New York City. The fine amounts to a total of 463.9 million dollars. Many assume that he does not have this in cash. And therefore has to take out a loan or borrow against real estate. Curiously, this fits in with the proceedings - because they were about how Trump manipulated property values in order to obtain cheaper loans. This will now work neither for this personal loan, which he now needs, nor for future deals. That undoubtedly hurts him.

Another decision by Judge Arthur Engoron will hurt him even more. He not only stripped Trump of the management of his own company, but also banned him from doing business in the state of New York for three years, Donald Jr. and Eric for two years and the top managers Weisselberg and McConney for life. In short: the entire top management of the Trump Organization no longer has any say. Engoron transferred their supervision to retired judge Barbara Jones, who thus effectively became Trump's superior.

In Europe, we can only shake our heads at how a legally convicted fraudster and sexual offender can stay in the political business. In Germany, for example, several top politicians have already had to give up their careers because of incorrect citations in their doctoral theses. "He's been a fraud his whole life," commented author Tony Schwartz, who ghostwrote Trump's manifesto "The Art of the Deal". "Today it's just become official." Now it just needs to have a deterrent effect on his voter base. Dreaming will probably still be allowed...

[tomorrowusa]

I'm not exactly a sunny optimist. But when there's a viral mindless piling on of negative evaluations, it's time for a reality check.

Ukraine pulled out of the town of Avdiivka because it values the lives of its troops exponentially more than Russia values its troops. Avdiivka is now little more than a pile of rubble which has little strategic value. Undoubtedly Ukraine left a few surprises for the Russians there. ;)

A couple of writers for the journal Foreign Policy spent time talking with participants at the Munich Security Conference (MSC). SitRep is a weekly digest of news and analysis at Foreign Policy. Here are some excerpts.

SitRep had what we thought was a fairly innocuous question for NATO’s top military official Saturday morning. Two years in, are you pessimistic about Ukraine’s chances in fending off Russia’s full-scale invasion? “I’m not!” shouted Dutch Adm. Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, pounding his fist on the table and sending the silverware in front of him clattering in the 15th-century vault-turned-restaurant in the Bayerischer Hof Hotel’s basement. “Pessimists lose wars. Is it difficult for Ukraine? Yes. If you would have asked in 1942 in Europe, ‘How is the war going?’ I don’t think there were a lot of people that were overly optimistic. We still won.”

Americans in particular have short attention spans. A reminder that wars can last longer that one NFL season. US involvement in World War II lasted 3 years 9 months from Pearl Harbor to Japan's formal surrender.

Even accounting for the fact that these types of conferences are saturated with navel-gazing governmental self-congratulations tours, we think the naysayers of the naysayers have a point. Russia is far from starting to win. First, the narrative seeming to take root in some speeches and headlines that Ukraine is on the cusp of losing the war is way off base. The battlefield situation is serious but not to the point where Ukraine is at risk of a full-scale collapse or even facing major setbacks on the front lines, according to the assessments of more than a dozen European defense officials and experts we spoke to. Russia has taken the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka but at an enormous cost in lives and ammunition for a city that has no real strategic significance. [ ... ] Indeed, the scale of Russian losses in the war is truly staggering. Two years in, the Kremlin is still scrambling to transform the country to a wartime economy, and those losses will be hard to recoup. Russia has suffered some 315,000 casualties—accounting for 87 percent of its prewar troop levels, according to a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment—as well as lost 2,200 of its 3,500 prewar tanks and 4,400 of its 13,600 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.

Those Russian losses figures are somewhat conservative. More on that in a moment.

Even as Ukraine faces a new wave of ammunition shortages spurred by the political stalemate in Congress over U.S. funding for Ukraine, its lines are holding and European defense officials credit Kyiv with rationing its ammunition smartly and efficiently. [ ... ] Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was one official who didn’t downplay the significance of Russia’s capture of Avdiivka. “When a citizen of Europe reads in the news that Ukraine retreated from Avdiivka, you should realize one simple fact—Russia has gotten closer to your home.” [ ... ] Russian President Vladimir Putin shouldn’t be popping any champagne bottles just yet. “Let’s remember we are 724 days into Russia’s three-day war,” Bauer said.

Russia is currently trying to frighten us with talk of nuclear missiles in space. They have done this before. They drew red lines that Biden then stepped over and there's no response to the Western moves. One thing Russia is proven to be good at is bullshit.

The second anniversary of Russia's full scale invasion is later this week. It is estimated that Russia has suffered US$49.75 billion in losses in this war. Keep in mind that despite its geographic size, Russia has an economy about one-half the size of California's which has less than a third of Russia's population.

Ukraine currently puts Russian fatalities over the 400,000 mark.

402,430 is a number greater than the populations of the capitals of 39 of the 50 US states. Only in a dictatorship where dissidents are murdered would such massive losses in a futile war be allowed.

[head-post]

Thailand sends deputy FM to Swiss peace conference on Ukraine

Thailand will participate in a conference in Switzerland on resolving the armed conflict in Ukraine, deputy Foreign Minister Russ Jalichandra will represent the country, Thai PBS reports.

Thailand was invited to the event because of its expressed support for all initiatives aimed at a speedy and peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.

The summit to resolve the Ukrainian conflict without Russia will be held June 15-16 in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock. Delegations from more than 160 countries have been invited to the meeting, but less than half of the participants have confirmed their participation.

Many countries have refused to take part in the Swiss summit, arguing that without Russia’s participation any negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict are meaningless.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced his refusal, while Beijing rejected the invitation too. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stressed that both the Russian and Ukrainian sides should recognise the peace conference. In addition, China believes that all participants in the meeting should be represented on an equal basis and all peace projects should be discussed fairly.

Earlier, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will not take part in the conference on Ukraine in Switzerland. Representatives of Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan declined to attend the conference.

Read more HERE

[immaculatasknight]

A voice in the cold war wilderness

[abloodredsettingsun]

Our airport services did not want to let his companion on board the plane, supposedly for no reason at all. Sober, with documents. In this situation, Usyk refused to board and was detained. What a shame! I know A. Usyk well, personally, always top elegant and respectful of the law!

--

An this is by the oldest and biggest polish boxing promotional group.

Handcuffed by several people in uniform like a terrorist for seemingly no reason at all.

Thankfully, Ze and diplomats intervened fast and nothing else happened but, I have SO MANY questions...

[footballmanageraddict]

EuroTrip | Part 8 | Exciting European Run

#EuroTrip Part 8: Exciting European Run. Trebor Mahtal's fairytale start to life as a #FootballManager continues as he leads @DynamoKyiv into a Ukrainian title race and on an exciting Europa Conference League run. #DynamoKyiv ##ECL Read here:

Life in Ukraine had picked up just as life in Greece had ended, with Trebor Mahtal winning football matches at an impressive rate. He’d just led hustlers Dynamo Kyiv side six points at the top of the Ukrainian Premier League after a narrow victory against rivals Shakhtar Donetsk and had the majority of a European campaign to look forward to.  Seeking Euro Qualification Dynamo’s Europa…

[demiurgeua]

Посол України у Великій Британії виступив з промовою на RUSI Land Warfare Conference 2024 у Лондоні

22 липня 2024 року “виступив на RUSI Land Warfare Conference 2024 у Лондоні. Під час заходу обговорювалися критичні питання безпеки, зокрема виклики, пов’язані з російською агресією, та необхідність бути готовими протистояти їм надалі. Війна – це наука. Наука зі своїми законами, які необхідно знати й вивчати. Історія військової справи та її нові правила зараз пишуться на території…

[thisisabernieblog]

The summer of fail.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Darrin Bell, Los Angeles Times

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 18, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

Republican leaders are recognizing that the sight of Republican lawmakers heckling the president of the United States didn’t do their party any favors. It not only called attention to their behavior, it prompted many news outlets to fact-check President Biden’s claim that Republicans had called for cuts to Social Security and Medicare or even called to get rid of them. Those outlets noted that while Republicans have repeatedly said they have no intention of cutting those programs, what Biden said was true: Republican leaders have repeatedly suggested such cuts, or even the elimination of those programs, in speeches, news interviews, and written proposals. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) told Alexander Bolton of The Hill that Republicans should stick to “reasonable and enduring policy” proposals. “I think we’re missing an opportunity to differentiate,” he said. “Focus on policy. If you get that done, it will age well.” But therein lies the Republican Party’s problem. What ARE its reasonable and enduring policies? One of the reasons Biden keeps pressuring the party to release its budget is that it’s not at all clear what the party stands for. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refused to issue any plans before the 2022 midterm election, and in 2020, for the first time in its history, the party refused to write a party platform. The Republican National Committee simply resolved that if its party platform committee had met, it “would have undoubtedly unanimously agreed to reassert the Party's strong support for President Donald Trump and his Administration.” So, it resolved that “the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President's America-first agenda.” Cutting Social Security is a centerpiece of the ideology the party adopted in the 1980s: that the government in place since 1933 was stunting the economy and should be privatized as much as possible. In place of using the federal government to regulate business, provide a basic social safety net, protect civil rights, and promote infrastructure, Reagan Republicans promised that cutting taxes and regulation would free up capital, which investors would then plow into new businesses, creating new jobs and moving everybody upward. Americans could have low taxes and services both, they promised, for “supply-side economics” would create such economic growth that lower tax rates would still produce high enough revenues to keep the debt low and maintain services. But constructing an economy that favored the “supply side” rather than the “demand side”—those ordinary Americans who would spend more money in their daily lives—did not, in fact, produce great economic growth or produce tax revenues high enough to keep paying expenses. In January 1981, President Ronald Reagan called the federal deficit, then almost $74 billion, “out of control.” Within two years, he had increased it to $208 billion. The debt, too, nearly tripled during Reagan’s term, from $930 billion to $2.6 trillion. The Republican solution was to cut taxes and slash the government even further. As early as his 1978 congressional race, George W. Bush called for fixing Social Security’s finances by permitting people to invest their payroll tax themselves. In his second term as president in 2005, he called for it again. When Republican senator Rick Scott of Florida proposed an 11-point (which he later changed to a 12 points) “Plan to Rescue America” last year, vowing to “sunset” all laws automatically after five years, the idea reflected that Republican vision. It permitted the cutting of Social Security without attaching those cuts to any one person or party. But American voters like Social Security and Medicare and, just as they refused Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security, recoiled from Scott’s plan. Yesterday, under pressure from voters and from other Republicans who recognized the political damage being done, Scott wrote an op-ed saying his plan was “obviously not intended to include entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security—programs that hard-working people have paid into their entire lives—or the funds dedicated to our national security.” (The online version of the plan remains unchanged as of Saturday morning.) Scott attacked Biden for suggesting otherwise, but he also attacked Mitch McConnell, who also condemned Scott’s plan, accusing them of engaging in “shallow gotcha politics, which is what Washington does.” He also accused “Washington politicians” for “lying to you every chance they get.” Scott’s venom illustrated the growing rift in the Republican Party. Since the 1990s, Republicans have had an ideological problem: voters don’t actually like their economic vision, which has cut services and neglected infrastructure even as it has dramatically moved wealth upward. So to keep voters behind them, Republicans hammered on social and cultural issues, portraying those who liked the active government as godless socialists who were catering to minorities and women. “There is a religious war going on in this country,” Republican Pat Buchanan told the Republican National Convention in 1992. “It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as was the Cold War itself, for this war is for the soul of America.” A generation later, that culture war has joined with the economic vision of the older party to create a new ideology. More than half of Republicans now reject the idea of a democracy based in the rule of law and instead support Christian nationalism, insisting that the United States is a Christian nation and that our society and our laws should be based in evangelical Christian values. Forty percent of the strongest adherents of Christian nationalism think “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country,” while 22% of sympathizers agree with that position. Scott released his 11-point plan because, he said, “Americans deserve to know what we will do when given the chance,” and his plan reflected the new Republicans. Sunsetting laws and tax cuts were only part of the plan. He promised to cut government jobs by 25% over the next five years, “sell off all non-essential government assets, buildings and land, and use the proceeds to pay down our national debt,” get rid of all federal programs that local governments can take over, cut taxes, “grow America’s economy,” and “stop Socialism.” But it also reflected the turn toward Christian nationalism, centering Christianity and “Judeo-Christian values” by investing in religious schools, adoption agencies, and social services and calling for an end to abortion, gender-affirming care, and diversity training. It explicitly puts religion above the law, saying “Americans will not be required to go against their core values and beliefs in order to conform to culture or government.” The document warned that “[a]n infestation of old, corrupt Washington insiders and immature radical socialists is tearing America apart. Their bizarre policies are intentionally destroying our values, our culture, and the beliefs that hold us together as a nation.” “Is this the beginning of the end of America?” it asks. “Only if we allow it to be.” That new worldview overlaps with the extremist wing that is trying to take over the Republican Party. It was at the heart of the far-right challenge to House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). It informs Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s abandonment of small-government Republicanism in favor of using the power of the state government to enforce a “Christian” vision, including on businesses. It was also behind Scott’s challenge to McConnell for the position of Senate majority leader. McConnell kept his position and then removed Scott and another extremist who backed Scott, Mike Lee (R-UT), from the Senate Commerce Committee. Scott, anyway, is apparently not backing down. The struggle between those two factions is showing up at the Munich Security Conference on global security this week. In the U.S. the extremists have called for cutting our support for the Ukrainians as they try to fight off Russia’s 2022 invasion. Their hatred of the liberal democracy that demands equality for all people has put those extremists on the side of authoritarians like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, both of whom have made attacking LGBTQ people a key feature of their championing of their “traditional values,” a cause the extremists like. But the United States has traditionally backed democracies against autocracies. Today in Munich, Vice President Kamala Harris talked of the war crimes and atrocities the Russians have committed in Ukraine and said: “We have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: These are crimes against humanity.” Mitch McConnell, who does not usually travel to foreign meetings, went to Munich this year along with more than 50 other lawmakers, the largest delegation the U.S. has ever sent, designed to demonstrate U.S. commitment to global affairs. At a private breakfast on Friday, McConnell promised that the Republicans would not abandon Ukraine. One person there told Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer of Foreign Policy, “To me, the subtext was clear: We’re not the crazies like the small handful of House Republicans you see in the headlines so often.”

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[from comments]

Hope Lindsay

It amazes me how some folks drum up their own morality while toting their ill-gotten gains to the bank. Looking at you, Rick Scott, TFG, the flying monkeys of the House of Representatives, et al. As an acquaintance once said, "When someone tells me they are a Christian businessman, I hold onto my wallet and run." From Rupert Murdoch to Putin to the Christian Nationalists, when will they see that, despite calling us socialists and worse, they delude themselves most of all.

[thesearchforbluejello]

I am honestly just rendered very much speechless by this week's SNW. Like... I am not sure I have come this close to the exact vibe of M*A*S*H as having this fucking unbelievable gutpunch of an episode between the LD crossover and a musical episode???????????? I don't even know how to unpack this episode honestly. I didn't see it coming at all even given the title. I don't know how to place it between silliness and fun when I know people who are living the reality of what this episode explores, but I think it is something that current audiences sorely need to see.

[whatisonthemoon]

Ukraine & Mr. Moon (2019)

A WIOTM post from December 25, 2019 by "Don Diligent"

The Azoz Battalion of the Ukraine is a prominent organization within the Nazi/Fascist agenda of the 21st century. The fact that their emblem incorporates 2 significant Nazi symbols should speak volumes.

A key fascist Ukrainian, Lev Dobriansky, took a special interest in Sun Myung Moon from early on. He directed a large number of his “Captive Nation” followers to the Washington Monument in 1976 to listen to Mr. Moon speak. Dobriansky has also attended ICUS conferences, spoke at UTS, and was a VIP guest at a speech of Hak Ja Han in the early 1990s. And last but not least, Dobriansky was the head of the US affiliate to the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) in the 1970s mentoring the likes of Neil Salonen.

Today, the “Family Fed of Ukraine” is one of the most well organized and well structured groups working within the Moon Organization. Young recruits are trained in much the same way early recruits in the US were trained. So much so that young Mothers are asked by their Korean leader to leave their children to join fundraising teams sent to the US!

I would like to put out an appeal for anyone reading this, to find out more about what is happening in the Ukraine. What connections does the “Ukrainian UC” have currently, with the Fascist elements of that country?

‘til the next,

Don Diligent

Related links

NEW POST - from the ‘Victims of Communism’ substack - ‘The Uniification Church’

Podcast episode - Things Observed providing a brief overview of the World Anti-Communist League

Exploitative Moonies in Ukraine

U.S. & Nato Mastermind and Enginner Armed Conflict Between Russophobe Ukrainian Regime and Russia