Yes, you NEVER hear about the Budapest Agreement on national news. It's always the "Ukrainian War." It's like the agreement never happened, or it was so long ago, Russia can disregard it. Infuriating.
More I think about it: say the "Mainstream" Press blasted the Agreement into new recognition: "Look what Russia agreed to!" In the circumstances as described by Thom, wouldn't it be just a slight tweak of the facts to say that Russia was coerced into the Agreement for fear of Ukraine aiming all those nukes at Russia? In the law, duress is a defense against enforcement of a contract.
It is hard not to read this and think that Putin's true motivation for ruthless bloodshed is fear that Western democratic values and tolerance for diversity of beliefs, ethnicities, races, and lifestyles has been more attractive to citizens of countries like his run by dictators. We see this same sentiment among American MAGA GOP fascists.
I keep reminding myself that most of Putin's life history is not only being a part of the KGB, but rising to the top in the KGB. Mass psychology and propaganda manipulation and the conscienceless use of lies must be a major aspect of that inculturation. I doubt very much that his "true motivation" has anything to do with "...tolerance....etc." But who better than a professional KGB manipulator understands the magic power of these memes over ignorant, religious, economically stressed populations? I expect he's just feeding scapegoats to the susceptible. The only "Western democratic value" that bothers him is Russia being an underdog.
I'm not sure what the point would be. In the circumstances as described by Thom, it's just a slight tweak of the facts to say that Russia was coerced into the Agreement for fear of Ukraine aiming all those nukes at Russia.
"And same-sex marriage, Putin announces, is blasphemy. It contradicts scripture. After all, who would Jesus bomb?" Putin has also hijacked the Russian Orthodox Church and turned it into his muse. Jesus would never bomb anyone. Some of the disciples were gay; John, in John's Gospel calls himself 'the one who Jesus loved.' I don't think Jesus was gay but, you don't know. I think John had a crush on Jesus, for sure. Paul was most likely gay (confirmed by several scholars). Paul, John the Baptist, Jesus were all perpetual Nazirites as well; they didn't eat or drink anything of the vine. Jesus supposedly 'ate and drank with sinners' but he never drank alcoholic wine. Jesus was consecrated to God with the vow of the Nazirite as the first born son. I say this because most Russians have drinking problems; it's a nation of alcoholism. Along with alcoholism often comes child molestation, abuse. Every woman I work with in recovery has been abused; every one. Getting back to the Queer thing; alcoholism also generates homophobia, especially in men. Queer is queer and that's as far as I go; live and let live. So Putin and all his 'global' cronies (here, too) have issues, major issues. You don't think that Putin was raised in an alcoholic home and abused? That's what creates a man like him. Putin also has markings of fetal alcohol syndrome; that thousand-yard stare and sociopathology.
Good post, except Putin did not hijack Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian orthodox church was, during the Bolshevik era, an arm of the government and it's priests and Metrolpolitan (Russian Pope) were members of the KGB. Stupid believer went to confession and it ended up in a dossier, and the idiot in a gulag.
Nothing has changed since Putin, except renaming the KGB to FSB .The head of the Russian church, Metropolitan Kiril is the head of the KGB, branch known as the Russian Orthodox Church.
I wonder how many "average Joes" really "got" the full dramatic significance of that photo of Biden in the cathedral with the two (Ukrainian!) Orthodox priests in the foreground? The Ukrainian Church is demonized as heretic in the Russian media, I think Putin has used the word "Satanic:" a significant justification for the invasion, in Russia. I recently innocently got on the "wrong" side of the issue at a family birthday party which had multiple American Orthodox Church members. I got quite a (condescending, not aggressive, thank goodness!) lecture which it turned out was straight out of Putin's (metaphorical) mouth thanks to the guy's Russian-speaking wife, who listens to Russian news! But he himself had visited Russia (several times) and was particularly poetical about the packed churches and women in headscarves; i.e. this Church schism is important to them!
Thanks. Your comment about babushkas (women in head scarves) brings up one of the reasons for the support of Russia by the right is in the nationalistic, patriarchal, homophobic, misogyny of the Russian orthodox church. That's why Tucker Carlson, et al are in love with Putin and Orban, and oh yes there is the racism.
In case one asks how can Russia be racist, they have such a small population of Africans
I largely agree with your analysis, and see Putin as an ultranationalist, really a successor to the czars. For centuries Russians considered Ukrainians (and Byelorussians) as very much part of their land and culture, and the idea of losing this large and rich area to the West is simply beyond anything that he can accept. There was after all a 1654 treaty between the czar and the head of the Ukrainian Cossacks which kind of gave Russian control to their land—at least that’s the way Moscow read it. And remember too that during the empire the Russian Orthodox Church had the position that Moscow was “The Third Rome,” the natural successor to the civilization of the Roman Empire as transmitted through its Greek successor the Byzantine Empire. I suspect in a sense the Russian Communists had a similar mindset, seeing their beliefs as a system that would enlighten and lead the world away from the evils of Capitalism. Putin is certainly no Communist, and it’s unfortunate that some Americans imagine him to be, but he is no friend of the non-Slavic people.
But as usual in this part of the world, where borders and people have long shifted and merged into each other’s groups, the situation is particularly complicated. For a big example (there are others with the Donbas area) the Crimea, has been part of Russia since Catherine the Great stole it from the Turks in 1783. And since Stalin deported its Tartar population the land has been largely inhabited by Russians. And it has an important naval base at Sevastopol which Moscow kept by lease after Ukrainian independence. Also the German battle to take it in 1941-2 was a particularly brutal affair with the heroic Soviet defense something that Russians takes great pride in. Yet in 1954 Khrushchev just gave the peninsula to Ukraine, apparent to cement support there for his own power bid. Putin’s popularity went sky high after he occupied it, following which the Kyiv government cut off the fresh water supply to its people and crops. Returning the peninsula and the canals feeding it, back to Ukraine seems like something Moscow simply could never do.
What I suspect will ultimately happen is that the war will end in a stalemate, with Russia keeping some of the lands it has occupied, including the Crimea. It will be like Cyprus or Kashmir, a frozen conflict leaving terrible feelings on both sides. I completely agree that Putin has to be stopped, though the conflict might drag on until he’s removed from the scene. After all, the Korean War pointlessly continued until Stalin died. It’s a terrible situation when a dictator uses nationalism and (at least to some extent) religion to feed his ego and whip up a population that does not know how to question what they are told. And it is an awful example for those who would imitate him.
" It’s a terrible situation when a dictator uses nationalism and (at least to some extent) religion to feed his ego and whip up a population that does not know how to question what they are told. And it is an awful example for those who would imitate him."
Trump,Orban?
Thanks for the history lesson. It puts things in perspective, but it does not justify Putin's behavior or Russia's attitude towards its neighbors.
Russia is a country that should not exist, It's a federation of "Republics" that exist only because of Stalin and is left over from the Russian Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire
Russia gets its name from the Rus who did not settle in Russia but settled in Kyiv, Ukraine.
If looking for historical precedent and justification, Russia belongs to Ukraine, not the other way around.
All of history is the history of violence, invasion, murder, rape, theft, genocide. Russia and Ukraine are a flagrant example, Rus, Bulgars, Huns, Turks, Mongols, Cossacks Teutons.
Europe, the Americas the same. There is no cure, not in religion,not in ideology, not in trade, not in economics.
What is war, but one of one rich and powerful person, marshaling the resources under his suzerainty to steal the resources of a competitor. And the resources they can't command, they buy or rent aka mercenaries like the left flank of William at Hastings and Putin's Wagner group or Eric' Princes empire, what ever it is named today.
And wars between economic royalists are not bloodless either, they are just as ruinous in the lives they shatter, and the blood spilled is in terms of drops, not gallons, thus ignored.
It all started when the first biped wanted something, a woman, a club, territory, that was claimed by another. And not just bipeds either. four legged animals fight, often to the death, for breeding rights, and even those are not a prerequisite. Chimps egged on by testosterone will go on raids to kill and eat chimps of another tribe.
In a world of geometrically expanding populations and concomitant depletion of natural, resources, there is nothing but geometrically increase human suffering in the future. Wars, internal conflicts, increasing migration,culture clashes.
Most nations were created from founded and maintained on a common identity, culture. A culture based on language, religion, race some or all of which is referred to as ethnicity.
European nations were founded thus, but that is changing. Africa and the mid east, the same.
China the same, except for the likes of the UIghurs which is causing the central government a headache as it seeks to homogenize the nation.
The U.S.A. differs as it is organized around an idea, although it has not been faithful to that idea and is constantly under threat of being torn apart as factions push and pull for primacy.
Russia is neither, it's language classified as East Slavic, is a derivative, and though the linqua franca for commerce and administrative purposes, it is not the common language in all 24 Republicas as is English in all 50 states,. It is not a country bound together by an idea, race, religion, but created and maintained solely out of force.
And the hold of the central authority on the satrapy's called Republics is tenuous, if other "Republics" other than Chehnya had tried to breakway at the same time,Russia would have collapsed.
Chechnya was, all considered, a civil war, and despite the country being smaller than Ukraine, with less resoruces, weapons and manpower it lasted almost 1 year and 9 months., And only ended when Putin found a Quisling, a ruthless and mruderous one, to install as head of government.
I am sure that this is Putin's solution, to in install another Russian satrap as head of government in Ukraine, they already had one, Victor Yankovych,and Putin wants him back
Wow, you covered a lot, William. I certainly am not trying to justify Putin, but knowing what (I think) is his viewpoint is helpful. Unfortunately his model is the terrible fighting of the Second World War when entire armies were ground up against the Germans. (And never mind that Stalin utterly mishandled the situation leading up to it. He starved the Ukrainians, terrified everyone, shot his generals and then refused to believe that Hitler would invade.) So I think he sees himself as fighting it all over again. Or he may well remember Peter the Great, who stayed in a war for 21 years until beating Sweden.
The issue with Russia falling to pieces is that what comes out of this could be much worse. First, China will pick up every piece it can, either by extending its boundaries back to the pre-1860 treaty or simply economically controlling as much of Central Asia as it can. That will increase its issues with India and perhaps Iran and Turkey as well. Further west, the situation could become chaotic, with endless fighting between the small states of the Caucasus, while locations such as Tartarstan have too little in economic bases to do well (consider Moldova as an example). A vast "low pressure zone" like this is ripe for serious problems; after all, in 1919 after the Revolution there were 20 armies in Russia (including US, Japanese and European one), and that took years to unscramble. Throw in people vying for control of the nuclear arsenal and this becomes a very scary situation.
"in 1919 after the Revolution there were 20 armies in Russia (including US, Japanese and European one), and that took years to unscramble. Throw in people vying for control of the nuclear arsenal and this becomes a very scary situation."
We will have to leave such speculation to the future, won't we. As the man said, wrestling the alligator, "I came her to drain the swamp.
A couple of controversial points of order. The U.S. employment of troops to Russia in 1919,only aided the Bolsheviks as they were told that 1 in 5 Russians were Bolsheviks and they treated the population that way.
China does not want the Stans, there hands are full with the Uighers, and the last thing that they want are more Muslims in their country. The problem with Islam, is that more than Christians, they are fanatic faithful, and in their world, they can only be ruled by Muslims,,never a secular, especially an atheist government. A big part of the problem in Europe, especially France is that the government is completely secular and even anti religious. America differs because of it's unique construction (so far) will be different when the Dominionists take full control though
Now as regards Hitler vs Stalin. According to Viktor Suvrovov, Icebreaker: The man who started WWII, in 1919 after the Revolution there were 20 armies in Russia (including US, Japanese and European one), and that took years to unscramble. Throw in people vying for control of the nuclear arsenal and this becomes a very scary situation. it was actually Stalin who had plans on crushing Hitler. He thought Hitler was weak and was building up his forces to attack Germany. Germany via it's excellent intelligence knew that and beat Stalin to the punch
Hans Rudel an unrepentant NAZI in his book Stuka Pilot, which I wrote a book report on in Officer Training School, stated that as he flew missions into Russia at the start of Barbarossa, he bombed airfields full of medium bombers. Stalin evidently was gearing up for an invasion.
The reason that Stalin was caught on his back foot was because he could not believe the reports, because his own intelligence had not reported, and because he did not believe the Heer and Luftwaffe were capable . Except for the tanks and some trucks the German army was horse drawn.
The fuel for horses is hay, transportation of hay bales requires more vehicles than petroleum.
The land between Poland and Russia is essentially a flat plain. Because of this Ukraine has been the bread basket of Russia, Africa and the mid east.
There is a stretch of plain, the Suwalki Gap that is the most vulnerable real estate in Europe..it is the border between Poland and Lithuanian and separates Russian Kaliningrad from Belarus.
Putin can take it without attacking Poland,only Lithuania, which was once part of the Russian and Soviet Empire.
Can that happen without confronting NATO and invoking article 5. I doubt it, but if the west backs down, for any reason, Putin will be emboldened to strike and thus the horror everyone wishes to avoid.
While everyone is musing over Moldova and Transnistra, they aren't looking at the Suwalki Gap, which is more important strategically as it is Russia's only ice free port on the Baltic.
At age 17 I stood a hulking 5'1" and 103 lbs, nine months late I was 5'8" and 118 lbs.
I grew up in a government project,went to public schools which had populations in the thousands (this was 1940's to 50's.I was never bullied after the first attempt, simply because they could not beat me. I never gave up, I never surrendered and I kept coming back until I scared the shite out of them, I wore them down.then I learned how to street fight and was a scrappy terror, much like Ukraine.
The odds were against me from the outset, but by an indomitable will, I survived and flourished.
I look at Ukraine and I see the same, and refuse to be intimidated by threat of nukes
I totally agree. I consider myself well read, almost encyclopedic in my knowledge, but Thom has added to my storehouse, immeasurably. I am so grateful that I stumbled upon him on Free Speech TV.
Since the dimension of Time is a reality for us, we need to consider past, present and future. We all need to deal with our pasts, the memories of our experiences. For now, it's as you say -- we should honor and respect ALL people. For the future, any seeking the kingdom of Christ will "put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24). Any true seekers will be completely absorbed with what they're becoming, rather than with what they've been.
As a youngster in school, it was easier to answer questions about my name, by saying that it was Russian, because kids didn’t know where or what “Ukraine” was. When my grandmother found out that I had been saying that, she became furious! “You are NOT Russian!! You are Ukrainian!! Never say that again!!” Then she would storm off muttering obscenities in Ukrainian. I soon learned my lesson through my lessons.
Thanks for sharing that! I recently had family interaction that brought out the fact that a dearly loved uncle was "half Russian and half Ukrainian," reflecting the distinction going back to American immigrants well before turn of 19th-20th C.
I have no idea what the future will look like, but one factor that's been around since forever is that the people are always lied to and deceived, and I think that applies to both autocrats and democrats. Our current history has been greatly shaped by the lies and deception of the Roman Catholic church, whose theologians always do what's in the best interests of the Vatican. Protestants broke free of that captivity, only to create their own system of bondage to a new set of rules and way of life. What would our world be like if we were free of all religions and governments? There might still be a few scattered conflicts, but most of the conflicts today are founded in religious duty or government/economic interests. It's time for the individual to rise above these, to create our own realities, free of these two great influences.
Okay. You covered lies and deceit by the autocrats with their religious duty and government/economic interests, but you did not mention anything about those who believe in democracy and looking beyond such base activities doing the same thing. I am one of those. I do not need to create my own reality. I live a reality that is far beyond mind and knowledge, and so I AM free of those two "great" influences. That way of being is available to all of us. It starts with not recognizing authority.
It is not only countries that are lining up on either side
But within ideological preferences there is a division.
The extreme right is Pro Putin, Pro misogynisti, homophobic Russia
The extreme left wing is Pro Russian, because they are still steeped in the Marxist fantasy of bad, unredeeming capitalism, and a nostalgia for Stalinist Russia that they would surrender to the worst murdering, psychopath on the planet today –Putin
I am appalled and concerned that the extreme right and extreme left have line up on the side of Putin.
Especially the left, who are not all concerned about Putin’s murder and imprisonment of journalists and opposition, of squelching of speech, of his latent theocracy, of his misogyny and homophobia. The man is Trump’s role model. And it invaded a basically unarmed neighbor under false pretenses, raped, plundered, tortured it’s citizens and is employing a private mercenary force of convicted murderers and rapists.
The right, yeh, they are theocratic, authoritarian, sexual conflicted psychopathic sociopaths, That is a given, but the left.?
There is a common thread twixt the two and it isn’t ideology, It is emotional commitment to an weltanshauung. A world view that constitutes their very identity. A belief system, how they perceive the world in relation to themselves.
There are precepts held inviolate and sacred, we know what they are on the right, but are reluctant to acknowledge or discuss them on the left.
Putin’s invasion of Russia has brought them out of the closet so to speak.
Thanks for the Wiki cite to "Tankie!" Funny thing is, I was in Paris in 1968, and even in Notre Dame, unforgettable packed in full pomp and overwhelming organ on Liberation from Hitler Day, which was super-intense because of - the tanks, in Prague. The French were very agitated in solidarity with those so near behind the Iron Curtain. Yet this colloquialism had never gotten on my radar. Other funny thing is, I was an early Green Party activist, in the course of which I knew quite a few radicals, eccentrics, esoterics, serious intellectuals (Petaluma Progressives hosted talks by published Marxist Doug Dowd) AND never encountered a "tankie." My anecdotal would be, is this actually a thing?
America has its own version of a Tankie. I think a TANKIE is a Brit thing. The culture of Britain is quite different than that of France. Brits have suffered, though they are inured to the fact,under a rigid class system since the Norman Conquest. As a consequence there arose a Dicksonian ,England. resulting in a Labour Party, and labor strikes, the excesses of capitalism, which resulted in two phenomenon, right wing populism in the form of fascism and left wing populism int he form of Marxism. And there is a form of Marxism that is religious in their opposition to capitalism, which they blame for colonialism. (Colonialism arose millennia before capitalism, Cologne, Germany means Colony, and gets its name from it's Roman founding.
Here in America the Tankies are old line Marxists, they have a nostalgic view of Russia, a religious like belief in Marx. Not realizing that Marx was actually a proto libertarian. The Bolsheviks co opted Marx, made him their own, and were extremists.
I've known and socialized with quite a few in Santa Cruz, CA back in the 80's and 90's.
There still around advocating for Russia, stuck in their nostalgia and religious belief that the only evil in the world is capitalism and the class struggle. They willfully ignore the power of the oligarchs, the institutional corruption, the bribery, the official theft, the persecution and murder of journalists and opposition, the patriarchalism and misogyny of Putin and Russia.
As regards the Greens. Not sure what to think, but surface opinion is that they are re-branded Marxists.
When I was attending a community college in 1970, I attended a rally in the auditorium put on by the campus communist. His guest speaker proclaimed that they will defeat capitalism by strategic use of environmentalism. (True story) Then I read the book The Greening of America, and we know what has resulted from moving our production facilities off shore, worse world wide pollution, and creation of the Rust Belt which is in large part why Trump became President,as the rust belt/swing states are the electoral votes that put him in office.
France has a completely different culture. The revolution of 1789 is embedded deep in their psyche. And is the reason why the government wets its pants whenever there is a mass protest or strike. Also France has memory of the "white" Russians that fled the "red" Russians of the Bolshevik Revolution. And France, though it too has class differences, has not suffered under class exploitation like England., not since 1789.
I don't know if you can find The Great Soviet Encyclopedia in a library anymore, I had access to it, via Pacific Lutheran University. Most revealing. I discovered that Karl Marx was an advocate of Free Trade. I discovered that Adam Smith was a minion of internationalists and was rewarded for his excellent propaganda in the form of Wealth of Nations. I discovered that the Great Soviet Encylopaedia hailed Adam Smith as one of their own and the intellectual father of Marx
Marx labor theory of value is straight out of Adam Smith, a stick in the forest is only a stick, until someone picks it up and fashions it into a cane, thus adding value. And that is true, But value is subjective. I watch American Pickers for amusement and snickers. I watch Frank and Mike pay thousands for junk that I would pay to haul off. I see no value in a rusty old sign with bullet holes.
But others do.
The Bolsheviks went to the extreme of Marxism, in which Marx declared that gold was the standard of value,of declaring a 100% gold standard, where a ruble was defined as .987421 grams of fine gold, thus limiting the amount of rubles in circulation, thus creating a perpetual depression and inhibiting the rise of a middle class of shop keepers, innovators and producers.
If caught smuggling a ruble out of Russia that was a capital offense, because rubles could be presented to their NordBank in Paris and redeemed for gold, which retracted the money supply.
My take about most of the criticism from the left is that people are generally concerned about risks of nuclear war and provocations, but in his exhaustive analysis, professor Timothy Snyder claims that the interest we have in security and avoiding nuclear war is actually better served by supporting Ukraine and helping it in its war against Russia.
There are those wimps on the left who wet their pants when Putin says Nukes, and there are the die hard sentimentalist Marxists who think of Russia as it was under Stalin, a supposedly anti colonial, anti capitalist state.
These a..holes are trying to disarm us by attempting to ridicule the very relevant and pertinent comparison between them and 1938 Europe. We could have stopped Hitler then, but didn't because of the fear of war, a war that came at much greater cost in lives and destruction than it would have if they had taken on Hitler then. But then, Europe was so fatigued from WWI, that it couldn't have beat it self, as evidenced by Dunkirk.
Biden should give Ukraine everything it needs Fight them now so we don't have to later, when it becomes a matter of an existential threat.
Tucker, MTG and the rest see Russia as a white Christian nationalist savior, only Russia isn't necessarily any of those. The white is a minority, the nationalist only exists because of the long reach of Moscow and corruption in the "Stans" and it's Christianity is a myth, most of the Republics are Muslim majority or even pagan.
I think we know by now that what Tucker sells is not reliably what Tucker sees. It's all the Emerald City projected for the manipulation of an audience the MAGA "influencers" themselves see as boobs. Like Sinema, they figure to hitchhike on their masters' gravy train. They don't give a hoot about white, or Christian, or nationalist, or any goddamn savior.
Who would have ever thought that we would have to look behind a Bible to find out where Putin was hiding? Could there be a more godless man on the face of the Earth? This is a revelation in more ways than one!
So happy you gave us the translation to read, Thom. All this tracks with anything one reads by Masha Gesson, who along with thousands of other LGBTQ Russians have to live in exile. Actually no one is safe there who speaks against Putin. And the ones that truly love him, love that too; older Russians were pining for the "old days". Well now they have it! They are not welcome in many other places as it once was.
Wouldn't you like to look into Putin's closets or a chance to see what his relationship is with the big, tall, strong men in his bodyguard contingent?
Defying Putin will make him want to hurt you---capitulating and being weak will make him want to hurt you. He is a sadistic, paranoid little bastard. A poisoner. Not exactly Stalin, at least not yet.
Oh, my. Just as long as we don't conflate closeted with sadistic and paranoid! But who didn't think he was a little nervous about his masculine identity way back when the bare torso on horseback photo blanketed media around the world! But the old "Napoleon Complex" meme about a short guy didn't necessarily imply gay. My guess is more of identifying self with country: internalized jingoism? So the greatness of Russia is the greatness of him. (I can't resist going off a bit on symbolism of missing parts of Russia subconsciously feeling like parts of Putin missing. Paging Joseph Campbell Re: seeking that last bit of Osiris....)
RE: ”Given the stakes, Russian President Vladimir Putin has come up with a new message to entice American Republicans and European neofascists to turn Ukraine over to him.”
Putin IS the most despicable authoritarian of the 21st century. There are many close second place authoritarians here and around the world. However, Putin wins for his direct killing of Ukrainians and sending Russian children to their death. He wins for ordering the destruction of the infrastructure of the largest European country. He is the top authoritarian on Earth!
But regardless of his ‘rationale’ for starting what has become world-wide devastating mayhem, whether based on history, religion or homophobia, the death and destruction of Ukraine and its people continues.
What is being done by anyone to get beyond Putin’s rationale for death and destruction and, instead, end it? What is happening now is only increasing the death and destruction! Something has to change.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently marked the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion by commending the Ukrainian people, saying, "You are fighting for freedom, for democracy, and for your place in the European Union." Note that she did not acknowledge the death and destruction of Ukraine while they fight to regain what was taken from them!
She added that the EU is with Ukraine "for as long as it takes.” (Bold added.) Others have repeated those same words. But no one is acknowledging the increasing vast losses of the Ukrainians.
How much of Ukraine will be destroyed before “it” is achieved?
How many more Ukrainians will be killed or injured before “it” is achieved?
How many more Ukrainian children will be kidnapped and repatriated before “it” is achieved?
How many more mass graves will happen before “it” is achieved?
How many unquestioned billions will “it” take before “it” is achieved?
How much more inflation and austerity must the rest of the world suffer before “it” is achieved?
How many more of the world’s peoples will go hungry or die from starvation before “it” is achieved?
How much more social austerity must USofA suffer before “it” is achieved?
I say again, what is being done to end the death and destruction and is anyone listening? I ask because what has been done so far only perpetuated the death and destruction of Ukraine.
Waiting for Putin to give up - what he is determined to finish - just perpetuates more death and destruction by Putin. Incrementally giving Ukraine better and more WMDs, is required, but only perpetuates Putin’s death and destruction. Economic sanctions haven’t slowed Putin’s death and destruction. Hoping for a coup in Russia to remove Putin also perpetuates Putin’s death and destruction. Successfully assassinating Putin is not any more likely to succeed than the attempts to assassinate Hitler were.
Where are we going? What do we really need? Who’s gaining wealth and power as the death and destruction of Ukraine is perpetuated?
We shouldn’t be so distracted by Putin’s changing rationale for WAR. We should be focused on quickly ending the death and destruction of Ukraine, restoring it to an independent state and eliminating the growth in wealth and power of the those who benefit significantly from WAR.
————
Thom,
Who’s going to ”force Putin to stop bombing Ukraine?” It hasn’t happened yet!
Stopping WAR has never been “straightforward” or “simple.” If it was, you and Palast would not be writing about it a year after this one started.
What more do you suggest for expediting the end of Putin’s death and destruction of Ukraine while regaining Ukraine’s independence and starting its reconstruction? How does the world “force Putin to stop” when there are powerful people profiting from this WAR?
How do we return democracy to Ukraine and stop those who perpetually want to destroy democracy and use WAR to fund this more devastating destruction of democracy?
As a Veteran and member of Veterans for Peace, I would add:
"We are all opposed to the war in Ukraine and are calling for diplomacy, no more weapons for endless war. We are calling for redistribution of monies from defense, pentagon, and war spending to services for the people: climate, health, social services, education, jobs, housing, resisting racism and repression in our home communities."
Thom, you knocked it out of the ballpark again. The white Christian supremacist don't want equal rights for all other races in religions. They also don't even like free thinkers? Jesus was more of a communist than a fascist, he's supposedly never spoke favorably of greedy men. Also, look at all the successful GOP men that have raised gay children? Did the left cause that? The reason the incels cannot get a woman is because they need to take a shower and quit being such narcissists. I see this as a way the autocrats can cut the world's population in half or more, so they can keep selling oil. It would have been a lot more humane about 60 years ago to just give out free birth control to the entire planet and locked up all the religious leaders who opposed free contraception for all. Paul R Ehrlich would make a great guest, I know you know he wrote the population bomb, but for those who don't he, is still teaching at Stanford last I heard. Good day.
Another excellent article from Thom. But I have to comment on the “tankie” thing. I respect Thom very much, but I also respect Noam Chomsky. Is Chomsky one of the tankies Thom refers to?
Chomsky and others have pointed out that a deal was struck in February 1990 between then US secretary of state James A. Baker and Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev would allow German reunification. In return NATO would not expand eastward. Gorbachev kept his end of the deal. We have not kept our end. Recently, before Putin invaded Ukraine, Biden was publicly advocating for Ukraine to join NATO.
Chomsky can hold two ideas at once:
1. The west DID provoke Putin by violating the 1990 agreement.
2. This provocation does not justify the invasion.
Would Putin have invaded if NATO had not expanded? Perhaps. But violating the agreement didn’t help the situation, and it gave Putin an excuse to violate the Budapest Memorandum.
Yes, agreed, the tankie thing is unfortunate. Who are the "comparable" tankies? Seems to me that all recent developments even before the war seemed to show that democrats generally (a) want to work closely in tandem with Liz Cheney on the military budget, (b) often promote CIA-veteran war and surveillance hawks as candidates, (c) favor a big, bloated "defense" budget, and (d) will attack their own if they don't subscribe to the foregoing. The analysis could and should be broader. Eg, the importance of international oil and gas pipeline politics is overlooked or understated in mainstream media, and has driven a lot of our increased "defense" spending.
Those who followed these developments recall that Ukraine would have been excluded by Russia's latest pipeline to Germany, a pipeline that was openly deemed absolutely unacceptable to American business interests (regardless of how Germany might have felt or decided!) - just before the invasion by Russia took place. And how that little pipeline just happened to blow up one day, due to reasons and forces that no American media seems to have any interest in, other than Seymour Hersh.
To start with, I like to think I keep up pretty well, but I don't "get" the "tankie" reference. Would appreciate it if (anybody?) could explicate. Second, I think a lot of your (accurate) observations about Democratic (the party) politics are under the category of bully-victim pandering, i.e. they think they will lose all electoral potency if they dare to cross the military-industrial complex and their knee-jerk constituency. Third, I think I saw a PBS report (pretty "mainstream") that concluded it was the U.S. that took out the Nord Stream.
Thank you so much Thom for putting together all of this history and analysis.
For a long time, I was skeptical of this viewpoint - having been very influenced by Chomsky and various things Chomsky said over the years about how we should not be provoking nuclear war with Russia.
But recently i focused more on the work of Timothy Snyder who put together an enormously valuable range of materials about Ukraine, history, and how much there is to understand about this conflict that we just don't generally know about in the United States. I think much of it is similar to what you have covered here, and really deserves to be understood.
"Yale courses" online recently made available the entire Ukraine course that Professor Snyder taught this past fall and it's an amazing resource to have ... it's free and you can sit and watch him go through this entire historical analysis, which again I think is very consistent with the details and conclusions you are covering here.
So thanks once again for heroic, serious, probing, scholarly journalism.
Not to pick on professor wolff, because i value him greatly and have attended his live lectures, but even professor wolff is prone to referring to Ukraine as "the Ukraine", which professor Snyder points kind of implies that it's a region and not really a country.
Brave New Europe is, in my estimation, a very sophisticated agitprop publication, published with guidance from Russia.
Their leif motif is not to defend Russia, but make a lot of noise about the blemishes of the west and Ukraine. That is a very effective form of propaganda, changing the subject ns redirecting the question from the perp to the accused.
You see that in court, where the prosecution or the plaintiff's attorney in cases which involve police misconduct or murder, tries to absolve the cop by hauling the victim over the coals.
All considered if Richard Wolff is not a Tankie, he walks and talks like one
I read 4 of Thom Hartman's articles today. Very enlightening, especially about Jared and selling to MBX Saudis for 2 billion. I am flabbergasted about the Republican agenda, and their support of police and militia. Go Thom Go!
Russia needs to pay a larger price for this war that Putin started. The UN should take action. Also, the application to NATO that Ukraine completed at the beginning of the war should be accepted immediately. Putin will never stop, so democratic nations must stop him or treaties, agreements or laws mean nothing.
Yes, you NEVER hear about the Budapest Agreement on national news. It's always the "Ukrainian War." It's like the agreement never happened, or it was so long ago, Russia can disregard it. Infuriating.
More I think about it: say the "Mainstream" Press blasted the Agreement into new recognition: "Look what Russia agreed to!" In the circumstances as described by Thom, wouldn't it be just a slight tweak of the facts to say that Russia was coerced into the Agreement for fear of Ukraine aiming all those nukes at Russia? In the law, duress is a defense against enforcement of a contract.
I guess you could frame it that way, unless the agreement is widely reported, we'll never know.
It is hard not to read this and think that Putin's true motivation for ruthless bloodshed is fear that Western democratic values and tolerance for diversity of beliefs, ethnicities, races, and lifestyles has been more attractive to citizens of countries like his run by dictators. We see this same sentiment among American MAGA GOP fascists.
I keep reminding myself that most of Putin's life history is not only being a part of the KGB, but rising to the top in the KGB. Mass psychology and propaganda manipulation and the conscienceless use of lies must be a major aspect of that inculturation. I doubt very much that his "true motivation" has anything to do with "...tolerance....etc." But who better than a professional KGB manipulator understands the magic power of these memes over ignorant, religious, economically stressed populations? I expect he's just feeding scapegoats to the susceptible. The only "Western democratic value" that bothers him is Russia being an underdog.
Amazing what we never hear from our news feeds ..the Budapest Agreement, and precursors of our current right-wing base, replaying the Civil War.
I'm not sure what the point would be. In the circumstances as described by Thom, it's just a slight tweak of the facts to say that Russia was coerced into the Agreement for fear of Ukraine aiming all those nukes at Russia.
"And same-sex marriage, Putin announces, is blasphemy. It contradicts scripture. After all, who would Jesus bomb?" Putin has also hijacked the Russian Orthodox Church and turned it into his muse. Jesus would never bomb anyone. Some of the disciples were gay; John, in John's Gospel calls himself 'the one who Jesus loved.' I don't think Jesus was gay but, you don't know. I think John had a crush on Jesus, for sure. Paul was most likely gay (confirmed by several scholars). Paul, John the Baptist, Jesus were all perpetual Nazirites as well; they didn't eat or drink anything of the vine. Jesus supposedly 'ate and drank with sinners' but he never drank alcoholic wine. Jesus was consecrated to God with the vow of the Nazirite as the first born son. I say this because most Russians have drinking problems; it's a nation of alcoholism. Along with alcoholism often comes child molestation, abuse. Every woman I work with in recovery has been abused; every one. Getting back to the Queer thing; alcoholism also generates homophobia, especially in men. Queer is queer and that's as far as I go; live and let live. So Putin and all his 'global' cronies (here, too) have issues, major issues. You don't think that Putin was raised in an alcoholic home and abused? That's what creates a man like him. Putin also has markings of fetal alcohol syndrome; that thousand-yard stare and sociopathology.
Good post, except Putin did not hijack Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian orthodox church was, during the Bolshevik era, an arm of the government and it's priests and Metrolpolitan (Russian Pope) were members of the KGB. Stupid believer went to confession and it ended up in a dossier, and the idiot in a gulag.
Nothing has changed since Putin, except renaming the KGB to FSB .The head of the Russian church, Metropolitan Kiril is the head of the KGB, branch known as the Russian Orthodox Church.
I wonder how many "average Joes" really "got" the full dramatic significance of that photo of Biden in the cathedral with the two (Ukrainian!) Orthodox priests in the foreground? The Ukrainian Church is demonized as heretic in the Russian media, I think Putin has used the word "Satanic:" a significant justification for the invasion, in Russia. I recently innocently got on the "wrong" side of the issue at a family birthday party which had multiple American Orthodox Church members. I got quite a (condescending, not aggressive, thank goodness!) lecture which it turned out was straight out of Putin's (metaphorical) mouth thanks to the guy's Russian-speaking wife, who listens to Russian news! But he himself had visited Russia (several times) and was particularly poetical about the packed churches and women in headscarves; i.e. this Church schism is important to them!
Thanks. Your comment about babushkas (women in head scarves) brings up one of the reasons for the support of Russia by the right is in the nationalistic, patriarchal, homophobic, misogyny of the Russian orthodox church. That's why Tucker Carlson, et al are in love with Putin and Orban, and oh yes there is the racism.
In case one asks how can Russia be racist, they have such a small population of Africans
Consider this, paradoxically some of the most racist states have the smallest percentage and numbers of blacks, like Vermont, which paradoxically has re elected Bernie Sanders https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-racist-states
The most racist places in America according to Google https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/28/the-most-racist-places-in-america-according-to-google/
I largely agree with your analysis, and see Putin as an ultranationalist, really a successor to the czars. For centuries Russians considered Ukrainians (and Byelorussians) as very much part of their land and culture, and the idea of losing this large and rich area to the West is simply beyond anything that he can accept. There was after all a 1654 treaty between the czar and the head of the Ukrainian Cossacks which kind of gave Russian control to their land—at least that’s the way Moscow read it. And remember too that during the empire the Russian Orthodox Church had the position that Moscow was “The Third Rome,” the natural successor to the civilization of the Roman Empire as transmitted through its Greek successor the Byzantine Empire. I suspect in a sense the Russian Communists had a similar mindset, seeing their beliefs as a system that would enlighten and lead the world away from the evils of Capitalism. Putin is certainly no Communist, and it’s unfortunate that some Americans imagine him to be, but he is no friend of the non-Slavic people.
But as usual in this part of the world, where borders and people have long shifted and merged into each other’s groups, the situation is particularly complicated. For a big example (there are others with the Donbas area) the Crimea, has been part of Russia since Catherine the Great stole it from the Turks in 1783. And since Stalin deported its Tartar population the land has been largely inhabited by Russians. And it has an important naval base at Sevastopol which Moscow kept by lease after Ukrainian independence. Also the German battle to take it in 1941-2 was a particularly brutal affair with the heroic Soviet defense something that Russians takes great pride in. Yet in 1954 Khrushchev just gave the peninsula to Ukraine, apparent to cement support there for his own power bid. Putin’s popularity went sky high after he occupied it, following which the Kyiv government cut off the fresh water supply to its people and crops. Returning the peninsula and the canals feeding it, back to Ukraine seems like something Moscow simply could never do.
What I suspect will ultimately happen is that the war will end in a stalemate, with Russia keeping some of the lands it has occupied, including the Crimea. It will be like Cyprus or Kashmir, a frozen conflict leaving terrible feelings on both sides. I completely agree that Putin has to be stopped, though the conflict might drag on until he’s removed from the scene. After all, the Korean War pointlessly continued until Stalin died. It’s a terrible situation when a dictator uses nationalism and (at least to some extent) religion to feed his ego and whip up a population that does not know how to question what they are told. And it is an awful example for those who would imitate him.
" It’s a terrible situation when a dictator uses nationalism and (at least to some extent) religion to feed his ego and whip up a population that does not know how to question what they are told. And it is an awful example for those who would imitate him."
Trump,Orban?
Thanks for the history lesson. It puts things in perspective, but it does not justify Putin's behavior or Russia's attitude towards its neighbors.
Russia is a country that should not exist, It's a federation of "Republics" that exist only because of Stalin and is left over from the Russian Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire
Adygea.
Altai.
Bashkortostan.
Buryatia.
Dagestan.
Ingushetia.
Kabardino-Balkaria.
Kalmykia.
More items...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republics_of_Russia
Russia gets its name from the Rus who did not settle in Russia but settled in Kyiv, Ukraine.
If looking for historical precedent and justification, Russia belongs to Ukraine, not the other way around.
All of history is the history of violence, invasion, murder, rape, theft, genocide. Russia and Ukraine are a flagrant example, Rus, Bulgars, Huns, Turks, Mongols, Cossacks Teutons.
Europe, the Americas the same. There is no cure, not in religion,not in ideology, not in trade, not in economics.
What is war, but one of one rich and powerful person, marshaling the resources under his suzerainty to steal the resources of a competitor. And the resources they can't command, they buy or rent aka mercenaries like the left flank of William at Hastings and Putin's Wagner group or Eric' Princes empire, what ever it is named today.
And wars between economic royalists are not bloodless either, they are just as ruinous in the lives they shatter, and the blood spilled is in terms of drops, not gallons, thus ignored.
It all started when the first biped wanted something, a woman, a club, territory, that was claimed by another. And not just bipeds either. four legged animals fight, often to the death, for breeding rights, and even those are not a prerequisite. Chimps egged on by testosterone will go on raids to kill and eat chimps of another tribe.
In a world of geometrically expanding populations and concomitant depletion of natural, resources, there is nothing but geometrically increase human suffering in the future. Wars, internal conflicts, increasing migration,culture clashes.
Most nations were created from founded and maintained on a common identity, culture. A culture based on language, religion, race some or all of which is referred to as ethnicity.
European nations were founded thus, but that is changing. Africa and the mid east, the same.
China the same, except for the likes of the UIghurs which is causing the central government a headache as it seeks to homogenize the nation.
The U.S.A. differs as it is organized around an idea, although it has not been faithful to that idea and is constantly under threat of being torn apart as factions push and pull for primacy.
Russia is neither, it's language classified as East Slavic, is a derivative, and though the linqua franca for commerce and administrative purposes, it is not the common language in all 24 Republicas as is English in all 50 states,. It is not a country bound together by an idea, race, religion, but created and maintained solely out of force.
And the hold of the central authority on the satrapy's called Republics is tenuous, if other "Republics" other than Chehnya had tried to breakway at the same time,Russia would have collapsed.
Chechnya was, all considered, a civil war, and despite the country being smaller than Ukraine, with less resoruces, weapons and manpower it lasted almost 1 year and 9 months., And only ended when Putin found a Quisling, a ruthless and mruderous one, to install as head of government.
I am sure that this is Putin's solution, to in install another Russian satrap as head of government in Ukraine, they already had one, Victor Yankovych,and Putin wants him back
Wow, you covered a lot, William. I certainly am not trying to justify Putin, but knowing what (I think) is his viewpoint is helpful. Unfortunately his model is the terrible fighting of the Second World War when entire armies were ground up against the Germans. (And never mind that Stalin utterly mishandled the situation leading up to it. He starved the Ukrainians, terrified everyone, shot his generals and then refused to believe that Hitler would invade.) So I think he sees himself as fighting it all over again. Or he may well remember Peter the Great, who stayed in a war for 21 years until beating Sweden.
The issue with Russia falling to pieces is that what comes out of this could be much worse. First, China will pick up every piece it can, either by extending its boundaries back to the pre-1860 treaty or simply economically controlling as much of Central Asia as it can. That will increase its issues with India and perhaps Iran and Turkey as well. Further west, the situation could become chaotic, with endless fighting between the small states of the Caucasus, while locations such as Tartarstan have too little in economic bases to do well (consider Moldova as an example). A vast "low pressure zone" like this is ripe for serious problems; after all, in 1919 after the Revolution there were 20 armies in Russia (including US, Japanese and European one), and that took years to unscramble. Throw in people vying for control of the nuclear arsenal and this becomes a very scary situation.
"in 1919 after the Revolution there were 20 armies in Russia (including US, Japanese and European one), and that took years to unscramble. Throw in people vying for control of the nuclear arsenal and this becomes a very scary situation."
We will have to leave such speculation to the future, won't we. As the man said, wrestling the alligator, "I came her to drain the swamp.
A couple of controversial points of order. The U.S. employment of troops to Russia in 1919,only aided the Bolsheviks as they were told that 1 in 5 Russians were Bolsheviks and they treated the population that way.
China does not want the Stans, there hands are full with the Uighers, and the last thing that they want are more Muslims in their country. The problem with Islam, is that more than Christians, they are fanatic faithful, and in their world, they can only be ruled by Muslims,,never a secular, especially an atheist government. A big part of the problem in Europe, especially France is that the government is completely secular and even anti religious. America differs because of it's unique construction (so far) will be different when the Dominionists take full control though
Now as regards Hitler vs Stalin. According to Viktor Suvrovov, Icebreaker: The man who started WWII, in 1919 after the Revolution there were 20 armies in Russia (including US, Japanese and European one), and that took years to unscramble. Throw in people vying for control of the nuclear arsenal and this becomes a very scary situation. it was actually Stalin who had plans on crushing Hitler. He thought Hitler was weak and was building up his forces to attack Germany. Germany via it's excellent intelligence knew that and beat Stalin to the punch
Hans Rudel an unrepentant NAZI in his book Stuka Pilot, which I wrote a book report on in Officer Training School, stated that as he flew missions into Russia at the start of Barbarossa, he bombed airfields full of medium bombers. Stalin evidently was gearing up for an invasion.
The reason that Stalin was caught on his back foot was because he could not believe the reports, because his own intelligence had not reported, and because he did not believe the Heer and Luftwaffe were capable . Except for the tanks and some trucks the German army was horse drawn.
The fuel for horses is hay, transportation of hay bales requires more vehicles than petroleum.
The land between Poland and Russia is essentially a flat plain. Because of this Ukraine has been the bread basket of Russia, Africa and the mid east.
There is a stretch of plain, the Suwalki Gap that is the most vulnerable real estate in Europe..it is the border between Poland and Lithuanian and separates Russian Kaliningrad from Belarus.
Putin can take it without attacking Poland,only Lithuania, which was once part of the Russian and Soviet Empire.
Can that happen without confronting NATO and invoking article 5. I doubt it, but if the west backs down, for any reason, Putin will be emboldened to strike and thus the horror everyone wishes to avoid.
While everyone is musing over Moldova and Transnistra, they aren't looking at the Suwalki Gap, which is more important strategically as it is Russia's only ice free port on the Baltic.
At age 17 I stood a hulking 5'1" and 103 lbs, nine months late I was 5'8" and 118 lbs.
I grew up in a government project,went to public schools which had populations in the thousands (this was 1940's to 50's.I was never bullied after the first attempt, simply because they could not beat me. I never gave up, I never surrendered and I kept coming back until I scared the shite out of them, I wore them down.then I learned how to street fight and was a scrappy terror, much like Ukraine.
The odds were against me from the outset, but by an indomitable will, I survived and flourished.
I look at Ukraine and I see the same, and refuse to be intimidated by threat of nukes
Who needs a college course, when you can readallaboudit in one day at hartmannreport.com?
I totally agree. I consider myself well read, almost encyclopedic in my knowledge, but Thom has added to my storehouse, immeasurably. I am so grateful that I stumbled upon him on Free Speech TV.
Christofaschists need to re-read Mathew 19:12 . Christs gospel tells his followers to honor and respect the eunichs of the world .
Since the dimension of Time is a reality for us, we need to consider past, present and future. We all need to deal with our pasts, the memories of our experiences. For now, it's as you say -- we should honor and respect ALL people. For the future, any seeking the kingdom of Christ will "put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24). Any true seekers will be completely absorbed with what they're becoming, rather than with what they've been.
As a youngster in school, it was easier to answer questions about my name, by saying that it was Russian, because kids didn’t know where or what “Ukraine” was. When my grandmother found out that I had been saying that, she became furious! “You are NOT Russian!! You are Ukrainian!! Never say that again!!” Then she would storm off muttering obscenities in Ukrainian. I soon learned my lesson through my lessons.
Thanks for sharing that! I recently had family interaction that brought out the fact that a dearly loved uncle was "half Russian and half Ukrainian," reflecting the distinction going back to American immigrants well before turn of 19th-20th C.
I have no idea what the future will look like, but one factor that's been around since forever is that the people are always lied to and deceived, and I think that applies to both autocrats and democrats. Our current history has been greatly shaped by the lies and deception of the Roman Catholic church, whose theologians always do what's in the best interests of the Vatican. Protestants broke free of that captivity, only to create their own system of bondage to a new set of rules and way of life. What would our world be like if we were free of all religions and governments? There might still be a few scattered conflicts, but most of the conflicts today are founded in religious duty or government/economic interests. It's time for the individual to rise above these, to create our own realities, free of these two great influences.
Okay. You covered lies and deceit by the autocrats with their religious duty and government/economic interests, but you did not mention anything about those who believe in democracy and looking beyond such base activities doing the same thing. I am one of those. I do not need to create my own reality. I live a reality that is far beyond mind and knowledge, and so I AM free of those two "great" influences. That way of being is available to all of us. It starts with not recognizing authority.
It is not only countries that are lining up on either side
But within ideological preferences there is a division.
The extreme right is Pro Putin, Pro misogynisti, homophobic Russia
The extreme left wing is Pro Russian, because they are still steeped in the Marxist fantasy of bad, unredeeming capitalism, and a nostalgia for Stalinist Russia that they would surrender to the worst murdering, psychopath on the planet today –Putin
I am appalled and concerned that the extreme right and extreme left have line up on the side of Putin.
Especially the left, who are not all concerned about Putin’s murder and imprisonment of journalists and opposition, of squelching of speech, of his latent theocracy, of his misogyny and homophobia. The man is Trump’s role model. And it invaded a basically unarmed neighbor under false pretenses, raped, plundered, tortured it’s citizens and is employing a private mercenary force of convicted murderers and rapists.
The right, yeh, they are theocratic, authoritarian, sexual conflicted psychopathic sociopaths, That is a given, but the left.?
There is a common thread twixt the two and it isn’t ideology, It is emotional commitment to an weltanshauung. A world view that constitutes their very identity. A belief system, how they perceive the world in relation to themselves.
There are precepts held inviolate and sacred, we know what they are on the right, but are reluctant to acknowledge or discuss them on the left.
Putin’s invasion of Russia has brought them out of the closet so to speak.
Without launching into a diatribe, this Wikipedia article best describes them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie
Thanks for the Wiki cite to "Tankie!" Funny thing is, I was in Paris in 1968, and even in Notre Dame, unforgettable packed in full pomp and overwhelming organ on Liberation from Hitler Day, which was super-intense because of - the tanks, in Prague. The French were very agitated in solidarity with those so near behind the Iron Curtain. Yet this colloquialism had never gotten on my radar. Other funny thing is, I was an early Green Party activist, in the course of which I knew quite a few radicals, eccentrics, esoterics, serious intellectuals (Petaluma Progressives hosted talks by published Marxist Doug Dowd) AND never encountered a "tankie." My anecdotal would be, is this actually a thing?
America has its own version of a Tankie. I think a TANKIE is a Brit thing. The culture of Britain is quite different than that of France. Brits have suffered, though they are inured to the fact,under a rigid class system since the Norman Conquest. As a consequence there arose a Dicksonian ,England. resulting in a Labour Party, and labor strikes, the excesses of capitalism, which resulted in two phenomenon, right wing populism in the form of fascism and left wing populism int he form of Marxism. And there is a form of Marxism that is religious in their opposition to capitalism, which they blame for colonialism. (Colonialism arose millennia before capitalism, Cologne, Germany means Colony, and gets its name from it's Roman founding.
Here in America the Tankies are old line Marxists, they have a nostalgic view of Russia, a religious like belief in Marx. Not realizing that Marx was actually a proto libertarian. The Bolsheviks co opted Marx, made him their own, and were extremists.
I've known and socialized with quite a few in Santa Cruz, CA back in the 80's and 90's.
There still around advocating for Russia, stuck in their nostalgia and religious belief that the only evil in the world is capitalism and the class struggle. They willfully ignore the power of the oligarchs, the institutional corruption, the bribery, the official theft, the persecution and murder of journalists and opposition, the patriarchalism and misogyny of Putin and Russia.
Check this out: Chomsky basically advocating surrender and abandonment, of course they don't come out and say they are Pro Russian, too smart for that, but they come at the issue from the oblique. https://www.google.com/search?q=noam+chmsky+on+ukraine&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS751US751&oq=noam+chmsky+on+ukraine&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13i512.6784j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:fa44da8f,vid:EGZyj-_T6hQ
As regards the Greens. Not sure what to think, but surface opinion is that they are re-branded Marxists.
When I was attending a community college in 1970, I attended a rally in the auditorium put on by the campus communist. His guest speaker proclaimed that they will defeat capitalism by strategic use of environmentalism. (True story) Then I read the book The Greening of America, and we know what has resulted from moving our production facilities off shore, worse world wide pollution, and creation of the Rust Belt which is in large part why Trump became President,as the rust belt/swing states are the electoral votes that put him in office.
France has a completely different culture. The revolution of 1789 is embedded deep in their psyche. And is the reason why the government wets its pants whenever there is a mass protest or strike. Also France has memory of the "white" Russians that fled the "red" Russians of the Bolshevik Revolution. And France, though it too has class differences, has not suffered under class exploitation like England., not since 1789.
I don't know if you can find The Great Soviet Encyclopedia in a library anymore, I had access to it, via Pacific Lutheran University. Most revealing. I discovered that Karl Marx was an advocate of Free Trade. I discovered that Adam Smith was a minion of internationalists and was rewarded for his excellent propaganda in the form of Wealth of Nations. I discovered that the Great Soviet Encylopaedia hailed Adam Smith as one of their own and the intellectual father of Marx
Marx labor theory of value is straight out of Adam Smith, a stick in the forest is only a stick, until someone picks it up and fashions it into a cane, thus adding value. And that is true, But value is subjective. I watch American Pickers for amusement and snickers. I watch Frank and Mike pay thousands for junk that I would pay to haul off. I see no value in a rusty old sign with bullet holes.
But others do.
The Bolsheviks went to the extreme of Marxism, in which Marx declared that gold was the standard of value,of declaring a 100% gold standard, where a ruble was defined as .987421 grams of fine gold, thus limiting the amount of rubles in circulation, thus creating a perpetual depression and inhibiting the rise of a middle class of shop keepers, innovators and producers.
If caught smuggling a ruble out of Russia that was a capital offense, because rubles could be presented to their NordBank in Paris and redeemed for gold, which retracted the money supply.
My take about most of the criticism from the left is that people are generally concerned about risks of nuclear war and provocations, but in his exhaustive analysis, professor Timothy Snyder claims that the interest we have in security and avoiding nuclear war is actually better served by supporting Ukraine and helping it in its war against Russia.
There are those wimps on the left who wet their pants when Putin says Nukes, and there are the die hard sentimentalist Marxists who think of Russia as it was under Stalin, a supposedly anti colonial, anti capitalist state.
These a..holes are trying to disarm us by attempting to ridicule the very relevant and pertinent comparison between them and 1938 Europe. We could have stopped Hitler then, but didn't because of the fear of war, a war that came at much greater cost in lives and destruction than it would have if they had taken on Hitler then. But then, Europe was so fatigued from WWI, that it couldn't have beat it self, as evidenced by Dunkirk.
Biden should give Ukraine everything it needs Fight them now so we don't have to later, when it becomes a matter of an existential threat.
Tucker, MTG and the rest see Russia as a white Christian nationalist savior, only Russia isn't necessarily any of those. The white is a minority, the nationalist only exists because of the long reach of Moscow and corruption in the "Stans" and it's Christianity is a myth, most of the Republics are Muslim majority or even pagan.
I think we know by now that what Tucker sells is not reliably what Tucker sees. It's all the Emerald City projected for the manipulation of an audience the MAGA "influencers" themselves see as boobs. Like Sinema, they figure to hitchhike on their masters' gravy train. They don't give a hoot about white, or Christian, or nationalist, or any goddamn savior.
Who would have ever thought that we would have to look behind a Bible to find out where Putin was hiding? Could there be a more godless man on the face of the Earth? This is a revelation in more ways than one!
So happy you gave us the translation to read, Thom. All this tracks with anything one reads by Masha Gesson, who along with thousands of other LGBTQ Russians have to live in exile. Actually no one is safe there who speaks against Putin. And the ones that truly love him, love that too; older Russians were pining for the "old days". Well now they have it! They are not welcome in many other places as it once was.
Wouldn't you like to look into Putin's closets or a chance to see what his relationship is with the big, tall, strong men in his bodyguard contingent?
Defying Putin will make him want to hurt you---capitulating and being weak will make him want to hurt you. He is a sadistic, paranoid little bastard. A poisoner. Not exactly Stalin, at least not yet.
Oh, my. Just as long as we don't conflate closeted with sadistic and paranoid! But who didn't think he was a little nervous about his masculine identity way back when the bare torso on horseback photo blanketed media around the world! But the old "Napoleon Complex" meme about a short guy didn't necessarily imply gay. My guess is more of identifying self with country: internalized jingoism? So the greatness of Russia is the greatness of him. (I can't resist going off a bit on symbolism of missing parts of Russia subconsciously feeling like parts of Putin missing. Paging Joseph Campbell Re: seeking that last bit of Osiris....)
Legendary homophobe, maybe. Conflating those things never crossed MY mind.
Combine fear and envy and you have a recipe for persecution.
Curiously, Campbell wrote "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" and Masha wrote "The Man Without a Face".
No Doubt About It!
RE: ”Given the stakes, Russian President Vladimir Putin has come up with a new message to entice American Republicans and European neofascists to turn Ukraine over to him.”
Putin IS the most despicable authoritarian of the 21st century. There are many close second place authoritarians here and around the world. However, Putin wins for his direct killing of Ukrainians and sending Russian children to their death. He wins for ordering the destruction of the infrastructure of the largest European country. He is the top authoritarian on Earth!
But regardless of his ‘rationale’ for starting what has become world-wide devastating mayhem, whether based on history, religion or homophobia, the death and destruction of Ukraine and its people continues.
What is being done by anyone to get beyond Putin’s rationale for death and destruction and, instead, end it? What is happening now is only increasing the death and destruction! Something has to change.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently marked the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion by commending the Ukrainian people, saying, "You are fighting for freedom, for democracy, and for your place in the European Union." Note that she did not acknowledge the death and destruction of Ukraine while they fight to regain what was taken from them!
She added that the EU is with Ukraine "for as long as it takes.” (Bold added.) Others have repeated those same words. But no one is acknowledging the increasing vast losses of the Ukrainians.
How much of Ukraine will be destroyed before “it” is achieved?
How many more Ukrainians will be killed or injured before “it” is achieved?
How many more Ukrainian children will be kidnapped and repatriated before “it” is achieved?
How many more mass graves will happen before “it” is achieved?
How many unquestioned billions will “it” take before “it” is achieved?
How much more inflation and austerity must the rest of the world suffer before “it” is achieved?
How many more of the world’s peoples will go hungry or die from starvation before “it” is achieved?
How much more social austerity must USofA suffer before “it” is achieved?
I say again, what is being done to end the death and destruction and is anyone listening? I ask because what has been done so far only perpetuated the death and destruction of Ukraine.
Waiting for Putin to give up - what he is determined to finish - just perpetuates more death and destruction by Putin. Incrementally giving Ukraine better and more WMDs, is required, but only perpetuates Putin’s death and destruction. Economic sanctions haven’t slowed Putin’s death and destruction. Hoping for a coup in Russia to remove Putin also perpetuates Putin’s death and destruction. Successfully assassinating Putin is not any more likely to succeed than the attempts to assassinate Hitler were.
Where are we going? What do we really need? Who’s gaining wealth and power as the death and destruction of Ukraine is perpetuated?
We shouldn’t be so distracted by Putin’s changing rationale for WAR. We should be focused on quickly ending the death and destruction of Ukraine, restoring it to an independent state and eliminating the growth in wealth and power of the those who benefit significantly from WAR.
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Thom,
Who’s going to ”force Putin to stop bombing Ukraine?” It hasn’t happened yet!
Stopping WAR has never been “straightforward” or “simple.” If it was, you and Palast would not be writing about it a year after this one started.
What more do you suggest for expediting the end of Putin’s death and destruction of Ukraine while regaining Ukraine’s independence and starting its reconstruction? How does the world “force Putin to stop” when there are powerful people profiting from this WAR?
How do we return democracy to Ukraine and stop those who perpetually want to destroy democracy and use WAR to fund this more devastating destruction of democracy?
"What is being done by anyone to get beyond Putin’s rationale for death and destruction and, instead, end it?"
Amen, brother.
I am abashed.
This should be the last word of the day.
Thank you.
As a Veteran and member of Veterans for Peace, I would add:
"We are all opposed to the war in Ukraine and are calling for diplomacy, no more weapons for endless war. We are calling for redistribution of monies from defense, pentagon, and war spending to services for the people: climate, health, social services, education, jobs, housing, resisting racism and repression in our home communities."
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2023/02/15/vfp-excomm-rage-against-war
Thom, you knocked it out of the ballpark again. The white Christian supremacist don't want equal rights for all other races in religions. They also don't even like free thinkers? Jesus was more of a communist than a fascist, he's supposedly never spoke favorably of greedy men. Also, look at all the successful GOP men that have raised gay children? Did the left cause that? The reason the incels cannot get a woman is because they need to take a shower and quit being such narcissists. I see this as a way the autocrats can cut the world's population in half or more, so they can keep selling oil. It would have been a lot more humane about 60 years ago to just give out free birth control to the entire planet and locked up all the religious leaders who opposed free contraception for all. Paul R Ehrlich would make a great guest, I know you know he wrote the population bomb, but for those who don't he, is still teaching at Stanford last I heard. Good day.
Another excellent article from Thom. But I have to comment on the “tankie” thing. I respect Thom very much, but I also respect Noam Chomsky. Is Chomsky one of the tankies Thom refers to?
Chomsky and others have pointed out that a deal was struck in February 1990 between then US secretary of state James A. Baker and Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev would allow German reunification. In return NATO would not expand eastward. Gorbachev kept his end of the deal. We have not kept our end. Recently, before Putin invaded Ukraine, Biden was publicly advocating for Ukraine to join NATO.
Chomsky can hold two ideas at once:
1. The west DID provoke Putin by violating the 1990 agreement.
2. This provocation does not justify the invasion.
Would Putin have invaded if NATO had not expanded? Perhaps. But violating the agreement didn’t help the situation, and it gave Putin an excuse to violate the Budapest Memorandum.
Yes, agreed, the tankie thing is unfortunate. Who are the "comparable" tankies? Seems to me that all recent developments even before the war seemed to show that democrats generally (a) want to work closely in tandem with Liz Cheney on the military budget, (b) often promote CIA-veteran war and surveillance hawks as candidates, (c) favor a big, bloated "defense" budget, and (d) will attack their own if they don't subscribe to the foregoing. The analysis could and should be broader. Eg, the importance of international oil and gas pipeline politics is overlooked or understated in mainstream media, and has driven a lot of our increased "defense" spending.
Those who followed these developments recall that Ukraine would have been excluded by Russia's latest pipeline to Germany, a pipeline that was openly deemed absolutely unacceptable to American business interests (regardless of how Germany might have felt or decided!) - just before the invasion by Russia took place. And how that little pipeline just happened to blow up one day, due to reasons and forces that no American media seems to have any interest in, other than Seymour Hersh.
To start with, I like to think I keep up pretty well, but I don't "get" the "tankie" reference. Would appreciate it if (anybody?) could explicate. Second, I think a lot of your (accurate) observations about Democratic (the party) politics are under the category of bully-victim pandering, i.e. they think they will lose all electoral potency if they dare to cross the military-industrial complex and their knee-jerk constituency. Third, I think I saw a PBS report (pretty "mainstream") that concluded it was the U.S. that took out the Nord Stream.
Thank you so much Thom for putting together all of this history and analysis.
For a long time, I was skeptical of this viewpoint - having been very influenced by Chomsky and various things Chomsky said over the years about how we should not be provoking nuclear war with Russia.
But recently i focused more on the work of Timothy Snyder who put together an enormously valuable range of materials about Ukraine, history, and how much there is to understand about this conflict that we just don't generally know about in the United States. I think much of it is similar to what you have covered here, and really deserves to be understood.
"Yale courses" online recently made available the entire Ukraine course that Professor Snyder taught this past fall and it's an amazing resource to have ... it's free and you can sit and watch him go through this entire historical analysis, which again I think is very consistent with the details and conclusions you are covering here.
So thanks once again for heroic, serious, probing, scholarly journalism.
Not to pick on professor wolff, because i value him greatly and have attended his live lectures, but even professor wolff is prone to referring to Ukraine as "the Ukraine", which professor Snyder points kind of implies that it's a region and not really a country.
Richard Wolff is an old line Marxist, he suffers from myopia, as so ,many., right and left do, his myopia is the class struggle, as if that were the end all. Here is his latest https://braveneweurope.com/richard-d-wolff-the-social-changes-we-need-the-class-obstacle-we-face
Brave New Europe is, in my estimation, a very sophisticated agitprop publication, published with guidance from Russia.
Their leif motif is not to defend Russia, but make a lot of noise about the blemishes of the west and Ukraine. That is a very effective form of propaganda, changing the subject ns redirecting the question from the perp to the accused.
You see that in court, where the prosecution or the plaintiff's attorney in cases which involve police misconduct or murder, tries to absolve the cop by hauling the victim over the coals.
All considered if Richard Wolff is not a Tankie, he walks and talks like one
I read 4 of Thom Hartman's articles today. Very enlightening, especially about Jared and selling to MBX Saudis for 2 billion. I am flabbergasted about the Republican agenda, and their support of police and militia. Go Thom Go!
Russia needs to pay a larger price for this war that Putin started. The UN should take action. Also, the application to NATO that Ukraine completed at the beginning of the war should be accepted immediately. Putin will never stop, so democratic nations must stop him or treaties, agreements or laws mean nothing.