russia-insider--2020-05-26--The Only Force Which Can Stand Against Western Secularism Is God - a Russian Orthodox Christian View

Since Protestantism denied any sort of collective ‘ Church ’ , it was always concerned with ‘ personal ’ , individual salvation .
Therefore it was precisely out of this curious understanding of salvation , that we are not saved together , that modern Western individualism grew up .
For as time passed and Protestantism degenerated into Secularism in the revolution that began in the 1960s , individualism rapidly turned into self-interest , self-indulgence , self-flattery , ‘ the feel good factor ’ and infantilism .
This is ‘ personal salvation ’ according to the individualistic , atheist gospel of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – the ultimate millennial result of the filioque .
Thus , after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and then the collapse of the rest of the Marxist nightmare , the self-appointed task of Western ideologues assigned themselves a task .
Sure that their ideology of individualism , ‘ the free market ’ , had triumphed , it was simple .
Under the delusional camouflage of their slogan of individualism , ‘ freedom and democracy ’ , in other words , do whatever you want , they would conquer the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tried to mop up the remains of Imperial Russia ( not much left there after 75 years of Western Marxism , they thought ) , finish off primitive Islam and stride forward , confident that China and India would also fall into their laps like so much ripe fruit .
‘ History had ended ’ , so claimed the bullying triumphalists with their ‘ The West is Best over the Rest ’ .
Now they would conquer the world through the crowd-pleasing , truly populist , idea of selfishness , backed up as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ usual Western organised violence .
This hubris was nothing but the old pagan Roman bread and circuses , revamped as materialist consumerism and the Soft Power of Hollywood and modern music .
The masses would , like zombies , swallow all this , and agree to be bombed by NATO and exploited by Western companies from the US and the EU , their heads zombified by Rambo , Michael Jackson , Spiderman , Lady Gaga and any other nonsense that the West could produce .
Only it was not as simple as that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ selfish Western ideologue and will agree to anything , just because they have been offered flattery and a million dollars .
Some people have principles , some people are not selfish , some people have values greater than the dollar , some people know that ‘ freedom and democracy ’ are myths .
Like the early Christians in the Colosseum , some people still believe in greater things than vulgar consumer goods and Hollywood , they believe in collective , not individual , values , values like historical tradition , patriotism and national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spiritual forebears , the early Christians , we do not fear death .
Even under the threat of coronavirus , whether manmade or natural .
That people may believe in more than bread and circuses and do not live by bread alone has been demonstrated in recent years even inside the Western world , with the rise of what the venal elitists of the snobbish media condescendingly call ‘ populism ’ , for example , as in Brexit and Trump .
However , long before this , outside the Western world ( the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we already saw resistance to Western Secularism .
For example , although Russia fell into the hands of a drunken Western puppet in the 1990s and although his Harvard advisors created mass hunger , abortion , alcoholism and suicide , Russia has since raised itself up to sovereignty .
It now has a certain dignity and we see there the long and slow return to national identity and the traditional Russian defence of peoples whom the West has tried to wipe off the map , for example , in Ossetia and Syria .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ too fought back after the anti-Muslim Wars against Iraq in 1991 and 2003 , where the West , despite its mass brainwashing propaganda , disastrously lost the last shreds of any moral authority .
The world saw that the only weapons of mass destruction were those that the Western Powers massacred Iraqis with .
Historically , the West had no success in spreading its ideologies of Catholicism and Protestantism in Russia , India , Japan or China .
Even after the collapse of Communism , when it sent out its evangelical missionaries to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with free English lessons , all they harvested were a few unstable , uprooted and neurotic souls .
Even successes in Latin America , the Philippines and Africa were very limited : Catholicism and Protestantism there are both anti-secular and have very little to do with wishy-washy , happy-clappy , baby-boomer , self-indulgent , infantile Western Catholicism and Protestantism , which today are simply forms of Secularism , with as much spiritual content as dishwater .
The Non-Western world will accept consumer goods and Western Soft Power , its films and music , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nothing on a deep and serious level .
The elite may have its traitors , but the people remain loyal to their own age-old Civilisation and culture beneath the surface .
Some may point to the contemporary ‘ successes ’ of American evangelicals in China , who claim 120 million converts .
This of course is nonsense .
Just as in Japan , South Korea or Thailand , the only ones in China who ‘ convert ’ to Protestantism do so because they want to be rich ‘ like Americans ’ from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why are the Americans rich ?
Because Americans are Evangelicals , ‘ God has blessed them ’ .
By adopting the American religion , they too will be ‘ blessed by God ’ and so be rich .
At least that is the myth that is peddled to the simple , ignoring the tens of millions of dirt poor , homeless , alcoholics and drug addicts in the real America , let alone the Gospel call to ascetic poverty and Christ ’ s statement that Mammon ( i. e. the dollar ) and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is just American imperialism .
Today ’ s Western Secularism is as unexportable as yesterday ’ s Western religion was unexportable .
For instance , I remember a BBC journalist ( and spy ) declaring to me that Orthodoxy in Russia is unimportant because fewer than 5 % of Russians go to Church .
This statistic is true , but he had totally missed the point .
Orthodoxy , i.e .
Christianity , is important in Russia not because of such a statistic but because it is the Civilisational underpinning of Russian culture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Church , all ( except the elite of English-speaking thieves/oligarchs/traitors who consort with Western journalists and spies ) have Orthodox ( i.e .
Christian ) values in some sphere or another .
And those values , of the majority , are not those of elitist LGBT Western Secularism and never will be .
The Gospel of Western self-indulgence only works among the corrupt elite .
The puppets , traitors and crooks , appointed by the West to run Latin America ( Haiti , Cuba , Pinochet , Nicaragua ) , Greece ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marcos ) , the Ukraine , Lithuania , Montenegro , the Phanar etc , are precisely that .
The West has only one technique , corrupt the worst elements in the country and then appoint them as the ruling elite by force and they will allow Western companies to asset-strip the countries involved .
How will this Western perversion be defeated ?
Whether the fight is against pseudo-Christian Western religion or one of the forms of Secularism which evolved from it , be it atheist Communism or consumerist Capitalism , there is only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Western Secularism .
And this is not xenophobia and crude nationalism , evil Stalinism in the case of Russia – even among some who claim to be Orthodox !
; this is not Maoism in the case of China , where the ruling ideology long ago stopped being Chinese Communism and became Chinese Nationalism , upheld by savage Capitalism ; and this is not Islamism in the case of the Muslim world , an Islamism created from the outrage of repeated Western invasions of and interference in Muslim Iran , Afghanistan , Iraq @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the only value that can stand up to Western Secularism ?
It is God , the One Universal Reality and Ideal .
Not the false Western god , the idol made in the imagination and image of Western ideologues .
The real God is not made in our image , we are made in His image .
The Holy Spirit comes from God , not from Western man , nor for that matter from the Islamic god of Mohammed , but from the real God the Father , from Whom alone proceeds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Christ , not in Europe , but in Asia , of which Christ was in His human nature a native .
Just because the American elite has little understanding of history , culture , language and faith , it thinks it can impose its individualistic self-indulgence throughout the world .
Insulated from reality in their bubble , it underestimates other people .
Not all are as selfish as those ideologues .
Most of the world has greater and stronger values than the individualistic self , it has a collective value , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destiny , culture and history , values that go beyond space and time , beyond the here and now , back into history and into the future , a Civilisation that is greater than the self and goes on to eternity .
Not the Western delusion , but God .
Here is the answer .
Thirty years have passed since Western ideologues began to claim that the West had triumphed , that History had ended .
In reality , History is beginning again .
For many around the world the West is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the West is Pest .

Since Protestantism denied any sort of collective ‘Church’, it was always concerned with ‘personal’, individual salvation. Therefore it was precisely out of this curious understanding of salvation, that we are not saved together, that modern Western individualism grew up. For as time passed and Protestantism degenerated into Secularism in the revolution that began in the 1960s, individualism rapidly turned into self-interest, self-indulgence, self-flattery, ‘the feel good factor’ and infantilism. This is ‘personal salvation’ according to the individualistic, atheist gospel of Secularism. Everyone is their own god – the ultimate millennial result of the filioque.
Thus, after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and then the collapse of the rest of the Marxist nightmare, the self-appointed task of Western ideologues assigned themselves a task. Sure that their ideology of individualism, ‘the free market’, had triumphed, it was simple. Under the delusional camouflage of their slogan of individualism, ‘freedom and democracy’, in other words, do whatever you want, they would conquer the rest of the world.
So they tried to mop up the remains of Imperial Russia (not much left there after 75 years of Western Marxism, they thought), finish off primitive Islam and stride forward, confident that China and India would also fall into their laps like so much ripe fruit. ‘History had ended’, so claimed the bullying triumphalists with their ‘The West is Best over the Rest’.
Now they would conquer the world through the crowd-pleasing, truly populist, idea of selfishness, backed up as usual, of course, with the usual Western organised violence. This hubris was nothing but the old pagan Roman bread and circuses, revamped as materialist consumerism and the Soft Power of Hollywood and modern music. The masses would, like zombies, swallow all this, and agree to be bombed by NATO and exploited by Western companies from the US and the EU, their heads zombified by Rambo, Michael Jackson, Spiderman, Lady Gaga and any other nonsense that the West could produce.
Only it was not as simple as that. Actually, not everybody is a selfish Western ideologue and will agree to anything, just because they have been offered flattery and a million dollars. Some people have principles, some people are not selfish, some people have values greater than the dollar, some people know that ‘freedom and democracy’ are myths. Like the early Christians in the Colosseum, some people still believe in greater things than vulgar consumer goods and Hollywood, they believe in collective, not individual, values, values like historical tradition, patriotism and national identity. And, just like our spiritual forebears, the early Christians, we do not fear death. Even under the threat of coronavirus, whether manmade or natural.
That people may believe in more than bread and circuses and do not live by bread alone has been demonstrated in recent years even inside the Western world, with the rise of what the venal elitists of the snobbish media condescendingly call ‘populism’, for example, as in Brexit and Trump. However, long before this, outside the Western world (the West is always spiritually backward), we already saw resistance to Western Secularism.
For example, although Russia fell into the hands of a drunken Western puppet in the 1990s and although his Harvard advisors created mass hunger, abortion, alcoholism and suicide, Russia has since raised itself up to sovereignty. It now has a certain dignity and we see there the long and slow return to national identity and the traditional Russian defence of peoples whom the West has tried to wipe off the map, for example, in Ossetia and Syria. As for the Muslim world, it too fought back after the anti-Muslim Wars against Iraq in 1991 and 2003, where the West, despite its mass brainwashing propaganda, disastrously lost the last shreds of any moral authority. The world saw that the only weapons of mass destruction were those that the Western Powers massacred Iraqis with.
Historically, the West had no success in spreading its ideologies of Catholicism and Protestantism in Russia, India, Japan or China. Even after the collapse of Communism, when it sent out its evangelical missionaries to the former Soviet Union, bribing them with free English lessons, all they harvested were a few unstable, uprooted and neurotic souls.
Even successes in Latin America, the Philippines and Africa were very limited: Catholicism and Protestantism there are both anti-secular and have very little to do with wishy-washy, happy-clappy, baby-boomer, self-indulgent, infantile Western Catholicism and Protestantism, which today are simply forms of Secularism, with as much spiritual content as dishwater. The Non-Western world will accept consumer goods and Western Soft Power, its films and music, for amusement’s sake, but nothing on a deep and serious level. The elite may have its traitors, but the people remain loyal to their own age-old Civilisation and culture beneath the surface.
Some may point to the contemporary ‘successes’ of American evangelicals in China, who claim 120 million converts. This of course is nonsense. Just as in Japan, South Korea or Thailand, the only ones in China who ‘convert’ to Protestantism do so because they want to be rich ‘like Americans’ from the land of consumerism and Hollywood. For why are the Americans rich? Because Americans are Evangelicals, ‘God has blessed them’. By adopting the American religion, they too will be ‘blessed by God’ and so be rich. At least that is the myth that is peddled to the simple, ignoring the tens of millions of dirt poor, homeless, alcoholics and drug addicts in the real America, let alone the Gospel call to ascetic poverty and Christ’s statement that Mammon (i. e. the dollar) and God are irreconcilable opposites. All this is just American imperialism.
Today’s Western Secularism is as unexportable as yesterday’s Western religion was unexportable.
For instance, I remember a BBC journalist (and spy) declaring to me that Orthodoxy in Russia is unimportant because fewer than 5% of Russians go to Church. This statistic is true, but he had totally missed the point. Orthodoxy, i.e. Christianity, is important in Russia not because of such a statistic but because it is the Civilisational underpinning of Russian culture. Regardless of how many people go to Church, all (except the elite of English-speaking thieves/oligarchs/traitors who consort with Western journalists and spies) have Orthodox (i.e. Christian) values in some sphere or another. And those values, of the majority, are not those of elitist LGBT Western Secularism and never will be.
The Gospel of Western self-indulgence only works among the corrupt elite. The puppets, traitors and crooks, appointed by the West to run Latin America (Haiti, Cuba, Pinochet, Nicaragua), Greece (the colonels), the Philippines (Marcos), the Ukraine, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Phanar etc, are precisely that. The West has only one technique, corrupt the worst elements in the country and then appoint them as the ruling elite by force and they will allow Western companies to asset-strip the countries involved.
How will this Western perversion be defeated?
Whether the fight is against pseudo-Christian Western religion or one of the forms of Secularism which evolved from it, be it atheist Communism or consumerist Capitalism, there is only one value which can stand up to Western Secularism. And this is not xenophobia and crude nationalism, evil Stalinism in the case of Russia – even among some who claim to be Orthodox!; this is not Maoism in the case of China, where the ruling ideology long ago stopped being Chinese Communism and became Chinese Nationalism, upheld by savage Capitalism; and this is not Islamism in the case of the Muslim world, an Islamism created from the outrage of repeated Western invasions of and interference in Muslim Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.
What then is the only value that can stand up to Western Secularism?
It is God, the One Universal Reality and Ideal. Not the false Western god, the idol made in the imagination and image of Western ideologues. The real God is not made in our image, we are made in His image. The Holy Spirit comes from God, not from Western man, nor for that matter from the Islamic god of Mohammed, but from the real God the Father, from Whom alone proceeds Holiness and Truth. This was revealed by Christ, not in Europe, but in Asia, of which Christ was in His human nature a native.
Just because the American elite has little understanding of history, culture, language and faith, it thinks it can impose its individualistic self-indulgence throughout the world. Insulated from reality in their bubble, it underestimates other people. Not all are as selfish as those ideologues. Most of the world has greater and stronger values than the individualistic self, it has a collective value, a belief in its own national identity and destiny, culture and history, values that go beyond space and time, beyond the here and now, back into history and into the future, a Civilisation that is greater than the self and goes on to eternity. Not the Western delusion, but God. Here is the answer. Thirty years have passed since Western ideologues began to claim that the West had triumphed, that History had ended. In reality, History is beginning again. For many around the world the West is not Best. In the age of coronavirus the West is Pest.


russia-insider--2020-05-26--Belarus Reaps Benefits of Correct COVID Response While Russia, Like Most of World, Sees Economic Pai

Belarus Reaps Benefits of Correct COVID Response While Russia, Like Most of World, Sees Economic Pain from Over-Reaction

Belarus ’ football team Dinamo Brest was , until recently , a minor squad in an obscure Eastern European nation , whose only claim to fame was winning the local Premier League title last year .
However , with the country ’ s league still playing games while the rest of the world has shut down , interest in the team — and Belarussian football — has spiked globally .
India , Israel and a host of other countries , including Belarus ’ neighbor Russia , have bought rights to air matches .
The enterprising team has even begun selling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fans rewarded with having their pictures pasted on top of a mannequin inside the stadium .
It ’ s a sharp contrast with what ’ s happening in Vladimir Putin ’ s Russia , and Belarus ’ eccentric dictator Alexander Lukashenko has not been shy about highlighting the differences .
While Putin has followed the rest of the world in imposing a lockdown as coronavirus cases have surged there , Lukashenko has scoffed at such restrictions as “ coronapsychosis ” and kept his country open for business despite criticism from the World Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moscow has holed up in his country estate and retreated from public view as the crisis has intensified — prompting Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov to dismiss rumors that Putin was “ waiting out the pandemic in a bunker ” — pugnacious Lukashenko has sought out the spotlight instead .
He has continued playing ice hockey in front of fans , and upstaged Putin by holding a live military parade — with thousands of soldiers and elderly veterans of the war — to commemorate the Soviet Union ’ s victory over Nazi Germany on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its celebrations .
“ In this insane , disoriented world there will be people who condemn us … but we had no choice , ” Lukashenko declared defiantly at the parade , as thousands of spectators without masks thronged the bleachers .
“ Let the parade in Minsk today be the only one in the post-Soviet world.
” And while Putin has taken the sane course and recommended that Russians “ stay home ” to save lives , Lukashenko is relishing his role as a COVID-19 denier and has claimed that drinking vodka @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep the virus at bay .
For now at least , Lukashenko ’ s exhortations that it ’ s better to “ die on your feet than live on your knees ” seems to be reaping dividends .
The Belarussian ruble has strengthened 10 percent against the dollar since March , while the Russian ruble has fallen by more than 20 percent .
Unemployment in Belarus still stands at just 4 percent , while more than 1 million Russians have lost their jobs in the last two months .
Experts predict that Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the coronavirus crisis .
And while the Kremlin has earmarked more than 2 trillion rubles ( $ 27 billion ) to support the Russian economy , economists say that ’ s just a drop in an ocean of economic suffering .
“ Russia has outlined no comprehensive aggregate economic policy response , ” wrote Gunter Deuber , head of economics at Raiffeisen Bank in a recent report .
“ Hence , it can be concluded that Russia ’ s political priorities lie elsewhere.
” Fear and confusion have gripped Russia as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases , with infections rising by more than 10,000 a day .
Three Russian doctors died in falls from hospital windows , reportedly after they expressed serious frustration about their hospitals ’ response to the pandemic .
Meanwhile , panicked Muscovites have been locked in their apartments for more than six weeks in a harsh lockdown that won ’ t be eased until the end of May at the earliest .
As Putin has taken a back seat and delegated responsibility to regional governors , his popularity has hit a historic low of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the independent Levada Center .
Its polls found that more than a third of Russians disapproved of Putin ’ s handling of the corona crisis .
With falling oil prices adding to the Kremlin ’ s woes , this crisis might be the greatest challenge to Putin ’ s rule in his 20 years at Russia ’ s helm .
The vote on the constitutional amendment that would let him rule for another two terms until 2035 has been put on hold indefinitely .
But as Putin frets , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belarus : Lukashenko has not backed down from holding presidential elections in early August , despite criticism from the country ’ s opposition .
A likely victory there would hand the former pig farm director his sixth term as president of Belarus , and extend his iron rule until 2025 .
The idiosyncratic Belarussian dictator , who is fiercely competitive with the Russian leader — and even claims to be a better ice hockey player — can be seen as the Joker to Putin ’ s Batman .
And during these scary corona @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , live-and-let-die attitude seems to be triumphing against Batman ’ s respect for human health and decency .
Though Russia is doing the right thing by imposing strict lockdowns , and for once being forthcoming with its citizens about the dangers of the coronavirus , the Kremlin ’ s still getting booed for its efforts .
Frustrated Russians would rather shoot the messenger , and there are legitimate issues with the country ’ s handling of the crisis .
Russian-built ventilators short-circuited and caught on fire in a hospital in St. Petersburg , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overtime and don ’ t have enough PPE .
Small businesses are suffering .
Many people are afraid to go outside , even for exercise , and domestic violence has been on the rise .
Meanwhile , Belarus has emerged as the Sweden of the post-communist world , and its devil-may-care attitude threatens the legitimacy of Russia ’ s harsher response .
No wonder an enraged Kremlin is keen to strike back .
Russia has closed its borders with Belarus , even though they ’ re part of a union state .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Channel One , recently cast doubt on Belarus ’ low official death count of 112 , running a report from a cemetery near Minsk that had supposedly seen a spike in fresh graves in late April .
It also claimed that Belarus now has one of the highest per capita infection rates in Europe .
Lukashenko dismissed the dispatch as fake news and expelled the Russian journalists responsible for the report .
“ Everyone is figuring out how to bite Belarus because we ’ re not following suit , ” he barked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extends into the summer , and Belarus stays defiant and free , tensions are sure to reach boiling point .
With Russian ’ s frontiers closed indefinitely , and some driving to Minsk ’ s still-functioning international airport to exit the country , Belarus ’ s stance risks setting off a wave of rebellions against lockdowns across the border .
Already Kaliningrad , Yaroslavl and other regions are lifting restrictions early against advice from Moscow .
Expect more trolling and propaganda out of the Kremlin against Lukashenko ’ s corona-denying regime in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ huge surge in deaths destabilizes the country and leads to street protests against Lukashenko ’ s rule , there ’ s precious little that Moscow can do for now .
If the trajectories of the two countries don ’ t change , the Joker could end up having the last laugh .

Belarus’ football team Dinamo Brest was, until recently, a minor squad in an obscure Eastern European nation, whose only claim to fame was winning the local Premier League title last year. However, with the country’s league still playing games while the rest of the world has shut down, interest in the team — and Belarussian football — has spiked globally.
India, Israel and a host of other countries, including Belarus’ neighbor Russia, have bought rights to air matches. The enterprising team has even begun selling virtual tickets online for €25, with fans rewarded with having their pictures pasted on top of a mannequin inside the stadium.
It’s a sharp contrast with what’s happening in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and Belarus’ eccentric dictator Alexander Lukashenko has not been shy about highlighting the differences.
While Putin has followed the rest of the world in imposing a lockdown as coronavirus cases have surged there, Lukashenko has scoffed at such restrictions as “coronapsychosis” and kept his country open for business despite criticism from the World Health Organization.
Calm down, you're over-reacting
And while his nemesis in Moscow has holed up in his country estate and retreated from public view as the crisis has intensified — prompting Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov to dismiss rumors that Putin was “waiting out the pandemic in a bunker” — pugnacious Lukashenko has sought out the spotlight instead.
He has continued playing ice hockey in front of fans, and upstaged Putin by holding a live military parade — with thousands of soldiers and elderly veterans of the war — to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, while neighboring Russia canceled its celebrations.
“In this insane, disoriented world there will be people who condemn us … but we had no choice,” Lukashenko declared defiantly at the parade, as thousands of spectators without masks thronged the bleachers. “Let the parade in Minsk today be the only one in the post-Soviet world.”
And while Putin has taken the sane course and recommended that Russians “stay home” to save lives, Lukashenko is relishing his role as a COVID-19 denier and has claimed that drinking vodka, having saunas and driving tractors will keep the virus at bay.
For now at least, Lukashenko’s exhortations that it’s better to “die on your feet than live on your knees” seems to be reaping dividends.
The Belarussian ruble has strengthened 10 percent against the dollar since March, while the Russian ruble has fallen by more than 20 percent. Unemployment in Belarus still stands at just 4 percent, while more than 1 million Russians have lost their jobs in the last two months.
Thinks the world suffers from 'Coronapsychosis'
Experts predict that Russia might lose almost 10 million jobs because of the coronavirus crisis. And while the Kremlin has earmarked more than 2 trillion rubles ($27 billion) to support the Russian economy, economists say that’s just a drop in an ocean of economic suffering.
“Russia has outlined no comprehensive aggregate economic policy response,” wrote Gunter Deuber, head of economics at Raiffeisen Bank in a recent report. “Hence, it can be concluded that Russia’s political priorities lie elsewhere.”
Fear and confusion have gripped Russia as the country has recorded more than 260,000 coronavirus cases, with infections rising by more than 10,000 a day. Three Russian doctors died in falls from hospital windows, reportedly after they expressed serious frustration about their hospitals’ response to the pandemic. Meanwhile, panicked Muscovites have been locked in their apartments for more than six weeks in a harsh lockdown that won’t be eased until the end of May at the earliest.
As Putin has taken a back seat and delegated responsibility to regional governors, his popularity has hit a historic low of 59 percent in early May, according to the independent Levada Center. Its polls found that more than a third of Russians disapproved of Putin’s handling of the corona crisis.
With falling oil prices adding to the Kremlin’s woes, this crisis might be the greatest challenge to Putin’s rule in his 20 years at Russia’s helm. The vote on the constitutional amendment that would let him rule for another two terms until 2035 has been put on hold indefinitely.
But as Putin frets, it’s business as usual across the border in Belarus: Lukashenko has not backed down from holding presidential elections in early August, despite criticism from the country’s opposition. A likely victory there would hand the former pig farm director his sixth term as president of Belarus, and extend his iron rule until 2025.
The idiosyncratic Belarussian dictator, who is fiercely competitive with the Russian leader — and even claims to be a better ice hockey player — can be seen as the Joker to Putin’s Batman. And during these scary corona wars, the Joker’s nihilistic, live-and-let-die attitude seems to be triumphing against Batman’s respect for human health and decency.
Though Russia is doing the right thing by imposing strict lockdowns, and for once being forthcoming with its citizens about the dangers of the coronavirus, the Kremlin’s still getting booed for its efforts. Frustrated Russians would rather shoot the messenger, and there are legitimate issues with the country’s handling of the crisis.
Russian-built ventilators short-circuited and caught on fire in a hospital in St. Petersburg, killing six patients. Doctors are working overtime and don’t have enough PPE. Small businesses are suffering. Many people are afraid to go outside, even for exercise, and domestic violence has been on the rise.
Meanwhile, Belarus has emerged as the Sweden of the post-communist world, and its devil-may-care attitude threatens the legitimacy of Russia’s harsher response.
No wonder an enraged Kremlin is keen to strike back. Russia has closed its borders with Belarus, even though they’re part of a union state. And the Kremlin’s main television station, Channel One, recently cast doubt on Belarus’ low official death count of 112, running a report from a cemetery near Minsk that had supposedly seen a spike in fresh graves in late April.
It also claimed that Belarus now has one of the highest per capita infection rates in Europe. Lukashenko dismissed the dispatch as fake news and expelled the Russian journalists responsible for the report. “Everyone is figuring out how to bite Belarus because we’re not following suit,” he barked back.
As Moscow’s lockdown extends into the summer, and Belarus stays defiant and free, tensions are sure to reach boiling point. With Russian’s frontiers closed indefinitely, and some driving to Minsk’s still-functioning international airport to exit the country, Belarus’s stance risks setting off a wave of rebellions against lockdowns across the border.
Already Kaliningrad, Yaroslavl and other regions are lifting restrictions early against advice from Moscow. Expect more trolling and propaganda out of the Kremlin against Lukashenko’s corona-denying regime in the coming months.
However, unless a huge surge in deaths destabilizes the country and leads to street protests against Lukashenko’s rule, there’s precious little that Moscow can do for now. If the trajectories of the two countries don’t change, the Joker could end up having the last laugh.


russia-insider--2020-05-27--Bombshell Audio Leak - Powerful Zionist Groups Hold Meeting, Plot Latest Strategy to Deprive America

Bombshell Audio Leak - Powerful Zionist Groups Hold Meeting, Plot Latest Strategy to Deprive Americans of Free Speech (Audio)

Jewish organizations are coordinating a multi-pronged assault on political liberty in 2020 , naming nationalists , the Boycott , Divestment and Sanctions ( BDS ) movement , the American Civil Liberties Union , and young people who play computer games as targets , according to a telecommunicated conference over Zoom obtained by National Justice .
They plan to use a diversity of tactics : ingratiating themselves in social media companies , civil litigation , using artificial intelligence to indoctrinate children , and getting the government to pass laws criminalizing the decision to not do business with the state of Israel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ late March , provides insight into what Jewish groups regularly discuss among themselves .
It was hosted by David Sifry of the Anti-Defamation League ( ADL ) , and included contributions from Amy Spitalnick , representing Integrity First for America ( IFA ) , Rachel Fish of Foundation to Combat Antisemitism ( FCA ) , and Dillion Hosier of Israeli-American Civic Action Network ( ICAN ) .
Here is the audio of the meeting , which went on for 1 hour and 15 minutes The talk was intended to be broadcasted through another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' which specializes in allocating resources provided by wealthy Jews .
Amy Spitalnick is lead counsel in Sines v. Kessler , a federal lawsuit alleging that the entire list of speakers and political organizers who attended the August 2017 Unite the Right rally were engaged in a conspiracy to kill Jews and minorities .
The lawsuit , where the plaintiff 's counsel is wielding millions of dollars , is apparently being funded in part by the ADL .
The real motivation behind the lawsuit -- to make dissident political speech expensive and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ This group will appreciate and understand , we believe this is the only legal effort in the country right now to take on the leaders of the violent white supremacist movement , to bankrupt and dismantle them through these sorts of large judgments ” Spitalnick proudly stated .
According to Spitalnick 's presentation , Matthew Heimbach -- an anti-racist campaigner with Light Upon Light -- was connected to the Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant because Heimbach `` popularized '' something she calls the `` Fashtag , '' which she claims was painted on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she attempts to tie her cases defendant to an act of arson where a hashtag-looking symbol was painted .
There is no evidence any of these three incidents are connected .
What she is likely referring to in the case of Heimbach is a stylized version of the Cross of the Arcangel Michael , which was originally used by the Romanian Iron Guard as an Orthodox Christian symbol .
Spitalnick then brags about hurting the ability of individuals and organizations to engage in Constitutionally protected activity thanks to her lawsuit : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are seeing the tangible impact of this case .
Richard Spencer , who coined the term alt-right , has talked about how this case has been detrimental to his ability to operate .
League of the South , a Neo-Nazi hate group , said they can ’ t open a new headquarters because of the case .
Elliot Kline , another Nazi leader , was thrown in jail and fined thousands of dollars.
” According to Spitalnick , her organization is planning an intense propaganda assault in the run up to the trial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 and will run for three weeks through the presidential election .
IFA is planning to get Jews and people she claims belong to `` interfaith groups '' to bombard the opinion pages of major publications with attacks on the defendants and nationalist beliefs on the anniversary of Unite the Right this August .
Spitalnick assures her donors that the trial will be used to generate publicity that Jews will be able to utilize to push other political interests of their community .
In a separate and more recent discussion , Spitalnick and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` destroying evidence '' -- an excuse for lacking the evidence needed to prove their supposed `` conspiracy . ''
Bloch and Spitalnick claim that private discussions they admit were illegally obtained and released ( `` hacked '' ) were largely composed of painstaking discussions on how to obey Virginia self-defense laws .
The legal clerks that have been writing opinions in this case for one of the presiding judges -- Norman Moon -- are personal friends of the plaintiffs .
While defendants have filed a complaint over this , the court has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corrupt conflict of interest .
The next speaker , Dillion Hosier of ICAN , described a plan to do battle with the ACLU and Jewish Voice for Peace over their resistance to local-level legislation intended to use state power to penalize companies and groups that refuse to do business with the State of Israel .
According to Hosier , “ legislation is an extremely powerful tool .
...
It establishes new social norms.
`` But his organization has had difficulty pushing state lawmakers in some areas due to the Constitutional issues of existing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into 2020 is to frame boycotting Israel as an act of racial discrimination against Jews .
By designing laws on the logic of the Civil Rights Act , he hopes the ACLU and JVP will be defused and hesitate to fight them in court .
American journalist Christopher Caldwell 's Age of Entitlement describes the logic behind this : Civil Rights laws are seen by many judges as above the Constitution , thus arguments against anti-discrimination laws like the right to free speech or freedom of association are more likely to be thrown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ merited .
Hosier also bragged about helping craft specific sanctions against Iran in 33 states .
While California is seen by many Americans as the country 's most liberal state , Hosier praised his organization 's work in helping design some of the most stringent anti-BDS laws in the country right in West Hollywood , demonstrating a stark contrast between the morals of Jewish liberals and Gentile ones .
Hosier also repeated the conspiracy theory that Neo-Nazis were traveling to Brooklyn to give Jews COVID-19 .
ICAN 's plan for 2020-2022 will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bureaucrats , and increase `` ties '' between the United States and Israel .
The last speaker , Rachel Fish of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism , spoke in detail of a plan to use artificial intelligence to study the internet content produced by radical leftists , white nationalists and Muslims in order to mentally `` inoculate '' the public -- particularly Gentile children between ages 13 and 17 -- from ideas critical of Jewish power or the state of Israel .
The way Fish describes the indoctrination of children is detached and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actors that cross Jews are irredeemable and can not be genuinely `` rehabilitated . ''
Her goal instead is to figure out ways to break into online gaming communities teenagers spend a lot of time in to police language , as well as to `` tell stories '' that use relatable irony , romance , etc .
Fish names specific political groups as enemies in this ideas war : Jewish Voice for Peace , Students for Justice in Palestine , and `` white supremacists . ''
She goes on to recommend small steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Jew-hatred '' in broader discourse .
Who Will Stand Up For Free Speech ?
All of this was tied together by ADL operative Dave Sifry , who is leading the Zionist organization 's `` Center for Technology and Society Initiative '' -- the body behind the massive crackdown on internet free speech over social media .
Sifry and the ADL seek to use clear cut unethical activity -- like `` swatting , '' `` doxing '' ( which Jewish groups themselves constantly engage in ) , and revenge porn -- as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech .
According to Sifry , the ADL is at the cutting edge of figuring out ways to shut down speech critical of Jews and their political interests online before it can even be read .
To paraphrase Michael Bloch , the legal definition of a conspiracy is a group of people agreeing on an action .
The idea that powerful Jews are plotting day and night to erode civil liberties the overwhelming majority of Americans take for granted is n't theoretical , but a hard and terrifying fact .

Jewish organizations are coordinating a multi-pronged assault on political liberty in 2020, naming nationalists, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the American Civil Liberties Union, and young people who play computer games as targets, according to a telecommunicated conference over Zoom obtained by National Justice.
They plan to use a diversity of tactics: ingratiating themselves in social media companies, civil litigation, using artificial intelligence to indoctrinate children, and getting the government to pass laws criminalizing the decision to not do business with the state of Israel.
The meeting, which occurred in late March, provides insight into what Jewish groups regularly discuss among themselves. It was hosted by David Sifry of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and included contributions from Amy Spitalnick, representing Integrity First for America (IFA), Rachel Fish of Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCA), and Dillion Hosier of Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN).
Here is the audio of the meeting, which went on for 1 hour and 15 minutes
The talk was intended to be broadcasted through another group called "The Jewish Funders Network," which specializes in allocating resources provided by wealthy Jews.
Charlottesville: Plans for a Show Trial
Amy Spitalnick is lead counsel in Sines v. Kessler, a federal lawsuit alleging that the entire list of speakers and political organizers who attended the August 2017 Unite the Right rally were engaged in a conspiracy to kill Jews and minorities. The lawsuit, where the plaintiff's counsel is wielding millions of dollars, is apparently being funded in part by the ADL.
The real motivation behind the lawsuit -- to make dissident political speech expensive and dangerous -- was admitted very quickly.
“This group will appreciate and understand, we believe this is the only legal effort in the country right now to take on the leaders of the violent white supremacist movement, to bankrupt and dismantle them through these sorts of large judgments” Spitalnick proudly stated.
According to Spitalnick's presentation, Matthew Heimbach -- an anti-racist campaigner with Light Upon Light -- was connected to the Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant because Heimbach "popularized" something she calls the "Fashtag," which she claims was painted on Tarrant's gun. In other videos, she attempts to tie her cases defendant to an act of arson where a hashtag-looking symbol was painted. There is no evidence any of these three incidents are connected.
What she is likely referring to in the case of Heimbach is a stylized version of the Cross of the Arcangel Michael, which was originally used by the Romanian Iron Guard as an Orthodox Christian symbol.
Spitalnick then brags about hurting the ability of individuals and organizations to engage in Constitutionally protected activity thanks to her lawsuit:
“Even before we get to trial we are seeing the tangible impact of this case. Richard Spencer, who coined the term alt-right, has talked about how this case has been detrimental to his ability to operate. League of the South, a Neo-Nazi hate group, said they can’t open a new headquarters because of the case. Elliot Kline, another Nazi leader, was thrown in jail and fined thousands of dollars.”
According to Spitalnick, her organization is planning an intense propaganda assault in the run up to the trial, which is slated for October 26th 2020 and will run for three weeks through the presidential election. IFA is planning to get Jews and people she claims belong to "interfaith groups" to bombard the opinion pages of major publications with attacks on the defendants and nationalist beliefs on the anniversary of Unite the Right this August.
Spitalnick assures her donors that the trial will be used to generate publicity that Jews will be able to utilize to push other political interests of their community.
In a separate and more recent discussion, Spitalnick and co-counsel Michael Bloch complain that defendants are "destroying evidence" -- an excuse for lacking the evidence needed to prove their supposed "conspiracy." Bloch and Spitalnick claim that private discussions they admit were illegally obtained and released ("hacked") were largely composed of painstaking discussions on how to obey Virginia self-defense laws.
The legal clerks that have been writing opinions in this case for one of the presiding judges -- Norman Moon -- are personal friends of the plaintiffs. While defendants have filed a complaint over this, the court has not yet ruled on this shocking and corrupt conflict of interest.
Crushing BDS With Civil Rights Legislation
The next speaker, Dillion Hosier of ICAN, described a plan to do battle with the ACLU and Jewish Voice for Peace over their resistance to local-level legislation intended to use state power to penalize companies and groups that refuse to do business with the State of Israel.
According to Hosier, “legislation is an extremely powerful tool. ...It establishes new social norms. " But his organization has had difficulty pushing state lawmakers in some areas due to the Constitutional issues of existing BDS legislation.
Hosier's plan going into 2020 is to frame boycotting Israel as an act of racial discrimination against Jews. By designing laws on the logic of the Civil Rights Act, he hopes the ACLU and JVP will be defused and hesitate to fight them in court.
American journalist Christopher Caldwell's Age of Entitlement describes the logic behind this: Civil Rights laws are seen by many judges as above the Constitution, thus arguments against anti-discrimination laws like the right to free speech or freedom of association are more likely to be thrown out of court even if they are merited.
Hosier also bragged about helping craft specific sanctions against Iran in 33 states. While California is seen by many Americans as the country's most liberal state, Hosier praised his organization's work in helping design some of the most stringent anti-BDS laws in the country right in West Hollywood, demonstrating a stark contrast between the morals of Jewish liberals and Gentile ones.
Hosier also repeated the conspiracy theory that Neo-Nazis were traveling to Brooklyn to give Jews COVID-19.
ICAN's plan for 2020-2022 will be to deepen relations with law enforcement, bureaucrats, and increase "ties" between the United States and Israel.
Targeting Children
The last speaker, Rachel Fish of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, spoke in detail of a plan to use artificial intelligence to study the internet content produced by radical leftists, white nationalists and Muslims in order to mentally "inoculate" the public -- particularly Gentile children between ages 13 and 17 -- from ideas critical of Jewish power or the state of Israel.
The way Fish describes the indoctrination of children is detached and chilling.
According to Fish, political actors that cross Jews are irredeemable and cannot be genuinely "rehabilitated." Her goal instead is to figure out ways to break into online gaming communities teenagers spend a lot of time in to police language, as well as to "tell stories" that use relatable irony, romance, etc.
Fish names specific political groups as enemies in this ideas war: Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine, and "white supremacists."
She goes on to recommend small steps, like changing the term anti-Semitism to "Jew-hatred" in broader discourse.
Who Will Stand Up For Free Speech?
All of this was tied together by ADL operative Dave Sifry, who is leading the Zionist organization's "Center for Technology and Society Initiative" -- the body behind the massive crackdown on internet free speech over social media.
Sifry and the ADL seek to use clear cut unethical activity -- like "swatting," "doxing" (which Jewish groups themselves constantly engage in), and revenge porn -- as a shoehorn for broader policing of legitimate political speech.
According to Sifry, the ADL is at the cutting edge of figuring out ways to shut down speech critical of Jews and their political interests online before it can even be read.
A Jewish Conspiracy?
To paraphrase Michael Bloch, the legal definition of a conspiracy is a group of people agreeing on an action. The idea that powerful Jews are plotting day and night to erode civil liberties the overwhelming majority of Americans take for granted isn't theoretical, but a hard and terrifying fact.


russia-insider--2020-05-27--In '1984', Orwell Was Describing the Repressive Tactics and Propaganda of the British Empire, Not th

In '1984', Orwell Was Describing the Repressive Tactics and Propaganda of the British Empire, Not the USSR

The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) , happily amplified by the Public Broadcasting System ( PBS ) in the United States which carries its World News , continues to pump out its regular dreck about the alleged economic chaos in Russia and the imagined miserable state of the Russian people .
It is all lies of course .
Patrick Armstrong ‘ s authoritative regular updates including his reports on this website are a necessary corrective to such crude propaganda .
But amid all their countless fiascoes and failures in every other field ( including the highest per capita death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the highest in the world ) the British remain world leaders at managing global Fake News .
As long as the tone remains restrained and dignified , literally any slander will be swallowed by the credulous and every foul scandal and shame can be confidently covered up .
None of this would have surprised the late , great George Orwell .
It is fashionable these days to endlessly trot him out as a zombie ( dead but alleged to be living – so that he can not set the record straight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the other global news outlets outside the control of the New York and London plutocracies .
And it is certainly true , that Orwell , whose hatred and fear of communism was very real , served before his death as an informer to MI-5 , British domestic security .
But it was not the Soviet Union , Stalin ’ s show trials or his experiences with the Trotskyite POUM group in Barcelona and Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War that “ made Orwell Orwell ” as the Anglo-America Conventional Wisdom Narrative has it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the British Empire – compounded during World War II by his work for the BBC which he eventually gave up in disgust .
And it was his BBC experiences that gave Orwell the model for his unforgettable Ministry of Truth in his great classic “ 1984.
” George Orwell had worked in one of the greatest of all world centers of Fake News .
And he knew it .
More profoundly , the great secret of George Orwell ’ s life has been hiding in plain sight for 70 years since he died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the service of the British Empire during his years in Burma , modern Myanmar .
And as a fundamentally decent man , he was so disgusted by what he had done that he spent the rest of his life not just atoning but slowly and willfully committing suicide before his heartbreakingly premature death while still in his 40s .
The first important breakthrough in this fundamental reassessment of Orwell comes from one of the best books on him .
“ Finding George Orwell in Burma ” was published in 2005 and written by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for an outstanding American journalist in Asia whose identity I have long suspected to be an old friend and deeply respected colleague , and whose continued anonymity I respect .
“ Larkin ” took the trouble to travel widely in Burma during its repressive military dictatorship and her superb research reveals crucial truths about Orwell .
According to his own writings and his deeply autobiographical novel “ Burmese Days ” Orwell loathed all his time as a British colonial policeman in Burma , modern Myanmar .
The impression he systematically gives in that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shooting an Elephant ” is of a bitterly lonely , alienated , deeply unhappy man , despised and even loathed by his fellow British colonialists throughout society and a ludicrous failure at his job .
This was not , however , the reality that “ Larkin ” uncovered .
All surviving witnesses agreed that Orwell – Eric Blair as he then still was – remained held in high regard during his years in the colonial police service .
He was a senior and efficient officer .
Indeed it was precisely his knowledge of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general underside of human society during his police colonial service while still in his 20s that gave him the street smarts , experience , and moral authority to see through all the countless lies of right and left , of American capitalists and British imperialists as well as European totalitarians for the rest of his life .
The second revelation to throw light on what Orwell had to do in those years comes from one of the most famous and horrifying scenes in “ 1984.
” Indeed , almost nothing even in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything like it : That is the scene where “ O ’ Brien ” , the secret police officer tortures the “ hero ” ( if he can be called that ) Winston Smith by locking his face to a cage in which a starving rat is ready to pounce and devour him if it is opened .
I remember thinking , when I was first exposed to the power of “ 1984 ” at my outstanding Northern Irish school , “ What kind of mind could invent something as horrific as that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obvious that I like everyone else missed it entirely .
Orwell did not “ invent ” or “ come up ” with the idea as a fictional plot device : It was just a routine interrogation technique used by the British colonial police in Burma , modern Myanmar .
Orwell never “ brilliantly ” invented such a diabolical technique of torture as a literary device .
He did not have to imagine it .
It was routinely employed by himself and his colleagues .
That was how and why the British Empire worked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knew what they were doing .
And what they did was not nice at all .
A final step in my enlightenment about Orwell , whose writings I have revered all my life – and still do – was provided by our alarmingly brilliant elder daughter about a decade ago when she too was given “ 1984 ” to read as part of her school curriculum .
Discussing it with her one day , I made some casual obvious remark that Orwell was in the novel as Winston Smith .
My American-raised teenager @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Dad , ” she said .
“ Orwell isn ’ t Winston , or he ’ s not just Winston .
He ’ s O ’ Brien too .
O ’ Brien actually likes Winston .
He doesn ’ t want to torture him .
He even admires him .
But he does it because it ’ s his duty.
” She was right , of course .
But how could Orwell the great enemy of tyranny , lies and torture so identify with and understand so well the torturer ?
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Emma Larkin ’ s ” great book brings out that Orwell as a senior colonial police officer in the 1920s was a leading figure in a ruthless war waged by the British imperial authorities against drug and human trafficking crime cartels every bit as vicious and ruthless as those in modern Ukraine , Columbia and Mexico today .
It was a “ war on terror ” where anything and everything was permitted to “ get the job done.
” The young Eric Blair was so disgusted by the experience that when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ middle class life style he had always enjoyed and became , not just an idealistic socialist as many in those days did , but a penniless , starving tramp .
He even abandoned his name and very identity .
He suffered a radical personality collapse : He killed Eric Blair .
He became George Orwell .
Orwell ’ s early famous book “ Down and Out in London and Paris ” is a testament to how much he literally tortured and humiliated himself in those first years back from Burma .
And for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ate miserably badly , was skinny and ravaged by tuberculosis and other health problems , smoked heavily and denied himself any decent medical care .
His appearance was always abominable .
His friend , the writer Malcolm Muggeridge speculated that Orwell wanted to remake himself as a caricature of a tramp .
The truth clearly was that Orwell never forgave himself for what he did as a young agent of empire in Burma .
Even his literally suicidal decision to go to the most primitive , cold , wet and poverty-stricken corner of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to finish “ 1984 ” in isolation before he died was consistent with the merciless punishments he had inflicted on himself all his life since leaving Burma .
The conclusion is clear : For all the intensity of George Orwell ’ s experiences in Spain , his passion for truth and integrity , his hatred of the abuse of power did not originate from his experiences in the Spanish Civil War .
They all flowed directly from his own actions as an agent of the British Empire in Burma in the 1920s : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Truth flowed directly from his experience of working in the Belly of the Beast of the BBC in the early 1940s .
George Orwell spent more than 20 years slowly committing suicide because of the terrible crimes he committed as a torturer for the British Empire in Burma .
We can therefore have no doubt what his horror and disgust would be at what the CIA did under President George W. Bush in its “ Global War on Terror.
” Also , Orwell would identify at once and without hesitation the real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Atlanta , Washington and London today , just as he did in the 1930s and 1940s .
Let us therefore reclaim and embrace The Real George Orwell : The cause of fighting to prevent a Third World War depends on it .

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), happily amplified by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in the United States which carries its World News, continues to pump out its regular dreck about the alleged economic chaos in Russia and the imagined miserable state of the Russian people.
It is all lies of course. Patrick Armstrong‘s authoritative regular updates including his reports on this website are a necessary corrective to such crude propaganda.
But amid all their countless fiascoes and failures in every other field (including the highest per capita death rate from COVID-19 in Europe, and one of the highest in the world) the British remain world leaders at managing global Fake News. As long as the tone remains restrained and dignified, literally any slander will be swallowed by the credulous and every foul scandal and shame can be confidently covered up.
None of this would have surprised the late, great George Orwell. It is fashionable these days to endlessly trot him out as a zombie (dead but alleged to be living – so that he cannot set the record straight himself) critic of Russia and all the other global news outlets outside the control of the New York and London plutocracies. And it is certainly true, that Orwell, whose hatred and fear of communism was very real, served before his death as an informer to MI-5, British domestic security.
But it was not the Soviet Union, Stalin’s show trials or his experiences with the Trotskyite POUM group in Barcelona and Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War that “made Orwell Orwell” as the Anglo-America Conventional Wisdom Narrative has it. It was his visceral loathing of the British Empire – compounded during World War II by his work for the BBC which he eventually gave up in disgust.
And it was his BBC experiences that gave Orwell the model for his unforgettable Ministry of Truth in his great classic “1984.”
George Orwell had worked in one of the greatest of all world centers of Fake News. And he knew it.
More profoundly, the great secret of George Orwell’s life has been hiding in plain sight for 70 years since he died. Orwell became a sadistic torturer in the service of the British Empire during his years in Burma, modern Myanmar. And as a fundamentally decent man, he was so disgusted by what he had done that he spent the rest of his life not just atoning but slowly and willfully committing suicide before his heartbreakingly premature death while still in his 40s.
The first important breakthrough in this fundamental reassessment of Orwell comes from one of the best books on him. “Finding George Orwell in Burma” was published in 2005 and written by “Emma Larkin”, a pseudonym for an outstanding American journalist in Asia whose identity I have long suspected to be an old friend and deeply respected colleague, and whose continued anonymity I respect.
“Larkin” took the trouble to travel widely in Burma during its repressive military dictatorship and her superb research reveals crucial truths about Orwell. According to his own writings and his deeply autobiographical novel “Burmese Days” Orwell loathed all his time as a British colonial policeman in Burma, modern Myanmar. The impression he systematically gives in that novel and in his classic essay “Shooting an Elephant” is of a bitterly lonely, alienated, deeply unhappy man, despised and even loathed by his fellow British colonialists throughout society and a ludicrous failure at his job.
This was not, however, the reality that “Larkin” uncovered. All surviving witnesses agreed that Orwell – Eric Blair as he then still was – remained held in high regard during his years in the colonial police service. He was a senior and efficient officer. Indeed it was precisely his knowledge of crime, vice, murder and the general underside of human society during his police colonial service while still in his 20s that gave him the street smarts, experience, and moral authority to see through all the countless lies of right and left, of American capitalists and British imperialists as well as European totalitarians for the rest of his life.
The second revelation to throw light on what Orwell had to do in those years comes from one of the most famous and horrifying scenes in “1984.” Indeed, almost nothing even in the memoirs of Nazi death camp survivors has anything like it: That is the scene where “O’Brien”, the secret police officer tortures the “hero” (if he can be called that) Winston Smith by locking his face to a cage in which a starving rat is ready to pounce and devour him if it is opened.
I remember thinking, when I was first exposed to the power of “1984” at my outstanding Northern Irish school, “What kind of mind could invent something as horrific as that?”) The answer was so obvious that I like everyone else missed it entirely.
Orwell did not “invent” or “come up” with the idea as a fictional plot device: It was just a routine interrogation technique used by the British colonial police in Burma, modern Myanmar. Orwell never “brilliantly” invented such a diabolical technique of torture as a literary device. He did not have to imagine it. It was routinely employed by himself and his colleagues. That was how and why the British Empire worked so well for so long. They knew what they were doing. And what they did was not nice at all.
A final step in my enlightenment about Orwell, whose writings I have revered all my life – and still do – was provided by our alarmingly brilliant elder daughter about a decade ago when she too was given “1984” to read as part of her school curriculum. Discussing it with her one day, I made some casual obvious remark that Orwell was in the novel as Winston Smith.
My American-raised teenager then naturally corrected me. “No, Dad, ” she said. “Orwell isn’t Winston, or he’s not just Winston. He’s O’Brien too. O’Brien actually likes Winston. He doesn’t want to torture him. He even admires him. But he does it because it’s his duty.”
She was right, of course.
But how could Orwell the great enemy of tyranny, lies and torture so identify with and understand so well the torturer? It was because he himself had been one.
“Emma Larkin’s” great book brings out that Orwell as a senior colonial police officer in the 1920s was a leading figure in a ruthless war waged by the British imperial authorities against drug and human trafficking crime cartels every bit as vicious and ruthless as those in modern Ukraine, Columbia and Mexico today. It was a “war on terror” where anything and everything was permitted to “get the job done.”
The young Eric Blair was so disgusted by the experience that when he returned home he abandoned the respectable middle class life style he had always enjoyed and became, not just an idealistic socialist as many in those days did, but a penniless, starving tramp. He even abandoned his name and very identity. He suffered a radical personality collapse: He killed Eric Blair. He became George Orwell.
Orwell’s early famous book “Down and Out in London and Paris” is a testament to how much he literally tortured and humiliated himself in those first years back from Burma. And for the rest of his life.
He ate miserably badly, was skinny and ravaged by tuberculosis and other health problems, smoked heavily and denied himself any decent medical care. His appearance was always abominable. His friend, the writer Malcolm Muggeridge speculated that Orwell wanted to remake himself as a caricature of a tramp.
The truth clearly was that Orwell never forgave himself for what he did as a young agent of empire in Burma. Even his literally suicidal decision to go to the most primitive, cold, wet and poverty-stricken corner of creation in a remote island off Scotland to finish “1984” in isolation before he died was consistent with the merciless punishments he had inflicted on himself all his life since leaving Burma.
The conclusion is clear: For all the intensity of George Orwell’s experiences in Spain, his passion for truth and integrity, his hatred of the abuse of power did not originate from his experiences in the Spanish Civil War. They all flowed directly from his own actions as an agent of the British Empire in Burma in the 1920s: Just as his creation of the Ministry of Truth flowed directly from his experience of working in the Belly of the Beast of the BBC in the early 1940s.
George Orwell spent more than 20 years slowly committing suicide because of the terrible crimes he committed as a torturer for the British Empire in Burma. We can therefore have no doubt what his horror and disgust would be at what the CIA did under President George W. Bush in its “Global War on Terror.” Also, Orwell would identify at once and without hesitation the real fake news flowing out of New York, Atlanta, Washington and London today, just as he did in the 1930s and 1940s.


russia-insider--2020-05-27--Rembrandt At The Hermitage, St. Petersburg's Unrivaled Museum

I saw Rembrandt ’ s today at the Hermitage .
I ’ m stopping in the cafe of the museum before heading out , just to note it ( as I might not be able to write anything more later ) .
It has long been one of my favorite paintings , but a reproduction doesn ’ t do the original justice .
I wish I could have spent an hour with it , but there are so many people milling around it at all times that it ’ s just not possible .
The painting is deeply , deeply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clark ’ s remark that this just might be the greatest painting in history .
The canvas itself is much larger than I imagined .
It must be at least 10 feet tall .
I saw things about the painting that I ’ ve never before noticed in reproductions .
For example , the feet of the prodigal .
His left foot is bare , with the sole having fallen off right there at the end of his pilgrimage ; you can see it lying on the ground .
The right sole is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how far and how hard this man has walked to arrive at his father ’ s house .
The father ’ s hands are fully open , embracing his penitent boy .
The jealous older brother stands off to the right .
His hands are tightly closed .
Moreover , the prodigal and the father are a bit blurry , suggesting a softening of emotions .
The jealous older brother is more crisply defined .
He knows what he believes , and he has closed his hands as tightly as he has closed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s an incredible contrast .
With the difficult history I ’ ve had with my father and my family , I was very nearly weeping at as I contemplated this painting .
How hard it is for us humans to get things right !
The museum has the Prodigal Son Rembrandt in the same room with another of his canvases , a dramatic picture of .
In that one , Abraham ’ s hands are open — the left hand completely covering Isaac ’ s face , eliminating his humanity , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dropped the knife as the angel touched his hand ( the knife hangs in the air ) .
What a dramatic ( and no doubt intentional ) contrast to the canvas across the little room from it — especially when you recall that Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son to illustrate what the Kingdom of God is like .
OK , time to walk back to Zhenya ’ s place .
I ’ m going to take a detour to try to see Prince Yusupov ’ s palace , where Rasputin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m going back upstairs to see the Rembrandts one more time .
UPDATE : I didn ’ t do either , as it turned out .
When I stood up at the cafe , I realized how very tired I am .
I have been in Russia for a week , and what a busy , enthralling , exhausting week it has been !
But my foot is blistered from all the walking , my poor old middle aged back aches , and I find that the cold — which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking a lot out of me .
I was two flights of stairs away from one of the greatest paintings in the world , and I didn ’ t have it in me to walk back up to see it one more time .
When I walked out of the museum onto the palace square , I lost my will to walk to Prince Yusupov ’ s palace .
It didn ’ t look very far on the map , but I could see the dome of St. Isaac ’ s Cathedral in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yusupov palace is twice as far away , and lost my will to live to walk there .
[ About maps : because I don ’ t have a smart phone with me , I have navigated by map — a particularly difficult thing when the local language is represented in an alphabet that you can ’ t read .
I am surprised by how anxious it makes me to be without a smartphone , and not just because I can ’ t check Twitter or my email at will .
When you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you realize how much of the world is built to accommodate them , and how much you yourself have come to depend psychologically on being constantly connected .
I don ’ t like this feeling , but it confirms , at least to me , my intuition that the soft totalitarianism of the future will depend on both exploiting our current dependence on the Internet , and making it even more total .
I don ’ t know if I would have understood this in quite the same way had I not gone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] The Vodolazkins live across the Neva River from the part where the Hermitage is .
On the map , it looks like a short hop over a bridge connecting the Neva from Vasilyevsky Island , and then a second brief walk over a bridge connecting the island to the Petrograd side .
Despite the weather prediction , it was not snowing , but the wind was blowing fiercely over the water , pushing up whitecaps on the Neva .
It was a grim walk for sure .
I stopped on the Vasilyevsky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ riverfront promenade , with the winter palace frosted in blue-green pastel , with sugary white piping , and gave thanks for the gift of this view .
But then I thought : There is no way I could live in Russia .
No way .
No wonder the French and the Germans could not defeat these people .
Early November is defeating me — and they ’ re not even into winter yet !
I thought too of the story Zhenya Vodolazkin told about his ancestor Gyorgy , whose photo hangs on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on staff at the Russian State Museum during the nearly 900 day Nazi siege of Leningrad .
In those days , the staff lived in the museum complex .
The Germans starved the city ’ s inhabitants .
Historians estimate that more people died in the siege of this city than the combined US and British deaths in World War II .
Over 1,000 cases of cannibalism were recorded in this city .
Gyorgy and his comrades boiled the wood from picture frames to try to make a soup they could all stand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ books , to make a consomme of the glue .
Even so , Gyorgy starved to death .
It was so cold in the museum — -20 degrees , said Zhenya — that Gyorgy ’ s daughter sewed a shroud for her father , and kept his cocooned body in the building until it warmed enough to bury him outside .
One family story .
This city has millions of them .
The sacrifices of the Russian people in the Second World War can scarcely be comprehended .
Nor , I must say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bolsheviks who ran the army .
Solzhenitsyn , who was a Red Army officer until they sent him to the gulag , tells many stories about this .
The Red Army was the only army that shot its returned prisoners of war .
They weren ’ t supposed to surrender .
This world is filled with suffering and injustice , but it ’ s hard to think of a people who have endured more of both in the past century than the Russians .
When I was ascending the grand staircase at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now the Hermitage , and thinking about all the royals and aristocrats who glided up and down in an earlier era , all I could think was : All is vanity .

I saw Rembrandt’s “Return Of The Prodigal Son” today at the Hermitage. I’m stopping in the cafe of the museum before heading out, just to note it (as I might not be able to write anything more later).
It has long been one of my favorite paintings, but a reproduction doesn’t do the original justice. I wish I could have spent an hour with it, but there are so many people milling around it at all times that it’s just not possible. The painting is deeply, deeply moving. I understand now Sir Kenneth Clark’s remark that this just might be the greatest painting in history.
The canvas itself is much larger than I imagined. It must be at least 10 feet tall. I saw things about the painting that I’ve never before noticed in reproductions. For example, the feet of the prodigal. His left foot is bare, with the sole having fallen off right there at the end of his pilgrimage; you can see it lying on the ground. The right sole is barely hanging on. It testifies to how far and how hard this man has walked to arrive at his father’s house.
The father’s hands are fully open, embracing his penitent boy. The jealous older brother stands off to the right. His hands are tightly closed. Moreover, the prodigal and the father are a bit blurry, suggesting a softening of emotions. The jealous older brother is more crisply defined. He knows what he believes, and he has closed his hands as tightly as he has closed his mind and his heart. It’s an incredible contrast. With the difficult history I’ve had with my father and my family, I was very nearly weeping at as I contemplated this painting.
How hard it is for us humans to get things right!
The museum has the Prodigal Son Rembrandt in the same room with another of his canvases, a dramatic picture of the angel stopping Abraham from killing Isaac . In that one, Abraham’s hands are open — the left hand completely covering Isaac’s face, eliminating his humanity, and the right hand suddenly open, having dropped the knife as the angel touched his hand (the knife hangs in the air). What a dramatic (and no doubt intentional) contrast to the canvas across the little room from it — especially when you recall that Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son to illustrate what the Kingdom of God is like.
OK, time to walk back to Zhenya’s place. I’m going to take a detour to try to see Prince Yusupov’s palace, where Rasputin met his demise. But first, I’m going back upstairs to see the Rembrandts one more time.
UPDATE: I didn’t do either, as it turned out. When I stood up at the cafe, I realized how very tired I am. I have been in Russia for a week, and what a busy, enthralling, exhausting week it has been! But my foot is blistered from all the walking, my poor old middle aged back aches, and I find that the cold — which is very minor by Russian standards — is taking a lot out of me. I was two flights of stairs away from one of the greatest paintings in the world, and I didn’t have it in me to walk back up to see it one more time.
When I walked out of the museum onto the palace square, I lost my will to walk to Prince Yusupov’s palace. It didn’t look very far on the map, but I could see the dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in the near distance, realized that the Yusupov palace is twice as far away, and lost my will to live to walk there.
[About maps: because I don’t have a smart phone with me, I have navigated by map — a particularly difficult thing when the local language is represented in an alphabet that you can’t read. I am surprised by how anxious it makes me to be without a smartphone, and not just because I can’t check Twitter or my email at will. When you don’t have a smartphone, you realize how much of the world is built to accommodate them, and how much you yourself have come to depend psychologically on being constantly connected. I don’t like this feeling, but it confirms, at least to me, my intuition that the soft totalitarianism of the future will depend on both exploiting our current dependence on the Internet, and making it even more total. I don’t know if I would have understood this in quite the same way had I not gone cold turkey for this past week.]
The Vodolazkins live across the Neva River from the part where the Hermitage is. On the map, it looks like a short hop over a bridge connecting the Neva from Vasilyevsky Island, and then a second brief walk over a bridge connecting the island to the Petrograd side. Despite the weather prediction, it was not snowing, but the wind was blowing fiercely over the water, pushing up whitecaps on the Neva. It was a grim walk for sure. I stopped on the Vasilyevsky Island side to look back at the riverfront promenade, with the winter palace frosted in blue-green pastel, with sugary white piping, and gave thanks for the gift of this view.
But then I thought: There is no way I could live in Russia. No way. No wonder the French and the Germans could not defeat these people. Early November is defeating me — and they’re not even into winter yet!
I thought too of the story Zhenya Vodolazkin told about his ancestor Gyorgy, whose photo hangs on the wall in his apartment. Gyorgy was on staff at the Russian State Museum during the nearly 900 day Nazi siege of Leningrad. In those days, the staff lived in the museum complex. The Germans starved the city’s inhabitants. Historians estimate that more people died in the siege of this city than the combined US and British deaths in World War II. Over 1,000 cases of cannibalism were recorded in this city. Gyorgy and his comrades boiled the wood from picture frames to try to make a soup they could all stand. Then they boiled the binding of books, to make a consomme of the glue. Even so, Gyorgy starved to death. It was so cold in the museum — -20 degrees, said Zhenya — that Gyorgy’s daughter sewed a shroud for her father, and kept his cocooned body in the building until it warmed enough to bury him outside.
One family story. This city has millions of them.
The sacrifices of the Russian people in the Second World War can scarcely be comprehended. Nor, I must say, can the idiotic cruelty of the Bolsheviks who ran the army. Solzhenitsyn, who was a Red Army officer until they sent him to the gulag, tells many stories about this. The Red Army was the only army that shot its returned prisoners of war. They weren’t supposed to surrender.
This world is filled with suffering and injustice, but it’s hard to think of a people who have endured more of both in the past century than the Russians. When I was ascending the grand staircase at the staggeringly beautiful former Romanov palace that is now the Hermitage, and thinking about all the royals and aristocrats who glided up and down in an earlier era, all I could think was: All is vanity.
picture source


russia-insider--2020-05-29--FBI Docs Reveal That Without Direct Israeli ‘Intervention’ Trump Would Have Lost 2016 Election

According to recently released FBI documents , Donald Trump ’ s longtime confidant , Roger Stone , who was convicted last year in Robert Mueller ’ s investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign , was in contact with one or more apparently well-connected Israelis at the height of the 2016 US presidential campaign , one of whom warned Stone that Trump was “ going to be defeated ” unless Israel intervened in the election : The exchange between Stone and this Jerusalem-based contact appears in FBI documents made public on Tuesday .
The documents — FBI affidavits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal investigation into Stone — were released following a court case brought by The Associated Press and other media organizations .
A longtime adviser to Trump , Stone officially worked on the 2016 presidential campaign until August 2015 , when he said he left and Trump said he was fired .
However he continued to communicate with the campaign , according to Mueller ’ s investigation .
The FBI material , which is heavily redacted , includes one explicit reference to Israel and one to Jerusalem , and a series of references to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ minister without portfolio in the cabinet dealing with issues concerning defense and foreign affairs , ” the PM , and the Prime Minister .
In all these references the names and countries of the minister and prime minister are redacted .
Benjamin Netanyahu was Israel ’ s prime minister in 2016 , and the Israeli government included a minister without portfolio , Tzachi Hanegbi , appointed in May with responsibility for defense and foreign affairs .
One reference to the unnamed PM in the material reads as follows : “ On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ NAME REDACTED ] messaged STONE , “ RETURNING TO DC AFTER URGENT CONSULTATIONS WITH PM IN ROME.MUST MEET WITH YOU WED. EVE AND WITH DJ TRUMP THURSDAY IN NYC.
” Netanyahu made a state visit to Italy at the end of June 2016 .
The explicit reference to Israel appears early in the text of a May 2018 affidavit by an FBI agent in support of an application for a search warrant , and relates to communication between Stone and Jerome Corsi , an American author , commentator and conspiracy theorist .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ CORSI told STONE that they needed to meet with [ NAME REDACTED ] to determine “ what if anything Israel plans to do in Oct , ” the affidavit states .
The explicit reference to Jerusalem appears later in the same document , in the context of communication between Stone and his unnamed contact in the Israeli capital .
“ On or about August 12 , 2016 , [ NAME REDACTED ] messaged STONE , “ Roger , hello from Jerusalem .
Any progress ?
He is going to be defeated unless we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The key is in your hands !
Back in the US next week .
How is your Pneumonia ?
Thank you .
STONE replied , “ I am well .
Matters complicated .
Pondering .
R ” The “ he ” is an apparent reference to Trump .
The redacted material features numerous references to an “ October surprise , ” apparently relating to a document dump by Wikileaks ’ Julian Assange , intended to harm Hillary Clinton ’ s presidential campaign and salvage Trump ’ s .
Referring to the Israeli mentions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday , the US website Politico noted : “ The newly revealed messages often raise more questions than answers .
They show Stone in touch with seemingly high-ranking Israeli officials attempting to arrange meetings with Trump during the heat of the 2016 campaign.
” …Mueller ’ s investigation identified significant contact during the 2016 campaign between Trump associates and Russians , but did not allege a criminal conspiracy to tip the outcome of the presidential election .

According to recently released FBI documents, Donald Trump’s longtime confidant, Roger Stone, who was convicted last year in Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, was in contact with one or more apparently well-connected Israelis at the height of the 2016 US presidential campaign, one of whom warned Stone that Trump was “going to be defeated” unless Israel intervened in the election:
The exchange between Stone and this Jerusalem-based contact appears in FBI documents made public on Tuesday. The documents — FBI affidavits submitted to obtain search warrants in the criminal investigation into Stone — were released following a court case brought by The Associated Press and other media organizations.
A longtime adviser to Trump, Stone officially worked on the 2016 presidential campaign until August 2015, when he said he left and Trump said he was fired. However he continued to communicate with the campaign, according to Mueller’s investigation.
The FBI material, which is heavily redacted, includes one explicit reference to Israel and one to Jerusalem, and a series of references to a minister, a cabinet minister, a “minister without portfolio in the cabinet dealing with issues concerning defense and foreign affairs,” the PM, and the Prime Minister. In all these references the names and countries of the minister and prime minister are redacted.
Benjamin Netanyahu was Israel’s prime minister in 2016, and the Israeli government included a minister without portfolio, Tzachi Hanegbi, appointed in May with responsibility for defense and foreign affairs. One reference to the unnamed PM in the material reads as follows: “On or about June 28, 2016, [NAME REDACTED] messaged STONE, “RETURNING TO DC AFTER URGENT CONSULTATIONS WITH PM IN ROME.MUST MEET WITH YOU WED. EVE AND WITH DJ TRUMP THURSDAY IN NYC.” Netanyahu made a state visit to Italy at the end of June 2016.
The explicit reference to Israel appears early in the text of a May 2018 affidavit by an FBI agent in support of an application for a search warrant, and relates to communication between Stone and Jerome Corsi, an American author, commentator and conspiracy theorist. “On August 20, 2016, CORSI told STONE that they needed to meet with [NAME REDACTED] to determine “what if anything Israel plans to do in Oct,” the affidavit states.
The explicit reference to Jerusalem appears later in the same document, in the context of communication between Stone and his unnamed contact in the Israeli capital. “On or about August 12, 2016, [NAME REDACTED] messaged STONE, “Roger, hello from Jerusalem. Any progress? He is going to be defeated unless we intervene. We have critical intell. The key is in your hands! Back in the US next week. How is your Pneumonia? Thank you. STONE replied, “I am well. Matters complicated. Pondering. R” The “he” is an apparent reference to Trump.
The redacted material features numerous references to an “October surprise,” apparently relating to a document dump by Wikileaks’ Julian Assange, intended to harm Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and salvage Trump’s.
Referring to the Israeli mentions in a report on the documents late Tuesday, the US website Politico noted: “The newly revealed messages often raise more questions than answers. They show Stone in touch with seemingly high-ranking Israeli officials attempting to arrange meetings with Trump during the heat of the 2016 campaign.”
…Mueller’s investigation identified significant contact during the 2016 campaign between Trump associates and Russians, but did not allege a criminal conspiracy to tip the outcome of the presidential election.