Putin to World: I need you to know I am still here, in the worst way
At what point of absolute power does a bee in the bonnet of a dictator metamorphose into bats in his belfry? It happens. These men claw their way to power, strategically and tactically, and then lose their shit and turn irrational. It does not even end well for them.
A shooting war is so 20th C.
Unless Russia wants a bloodbath to terrorize the civilian population. Chaos to provide cover for mass arrests and
assassinations. And to stand atop the rubble. Mission Accomplished. And then what? And who are the Russians and Ukrainians willing to carry this out?
And here at home. We came *this* close to a coup. To a crazy man and his apparatchiks ruling the roost. Republicans are still on that crusade.
And some on the Left are still reflexively
sniping at Democrats / Biden.
But it is heartening to watch all those who are trying to do the serious work of pushing back.
lin, I thought, we, the USA, just finished one (shooting war) up after after we "stood on the rubble" for years in Afghanistan......but......we still have one going ...... in Iraq....where we created so much rubble out of what were formally beautiful, ancient, cities.
So, Putin is not nuts. He is just following the leader.
Mike, when I read your comment I did not want to 'like' it. But with humility and sadness I concur. After reading Heather's letter this morning I read an article in the NYTIMES about what we are doing in and to Afghanistan. (I will post it shortly.)
And Lin, I do agree so much with your comments, especially about the near coup of our former president. Yesterday was such an upsetting day. I felt overwhelmed by 'a disturbance in the force'. And while I hovered on Twitter, and kept the news on in the background, I struggled with this sense of confusion beneath it all that I could not explain....? It was as though there was some mysterious juxtaposition in between the situation in Ukraine and TFG and I struggled to figure out what the connection, other than the obvious, and it's becoming so clear how truly dangerously close we came and how precarious our current situation is! I sound inarticulate now, and I will try to clarify my thoughts today, but I am, frankly, terrified of what is around the corner.
The histories of Russia and Ukraine, of Russia and Europe, of Russia and NATO, of Russia/USSR/Russia ... the long threads these tangled skeins need to be teased out. And even then ... the manifestations of irrationality.
I used to laugh that my father's family was from some area which was one day Poland another Lithuania another Russia - their preAmerican past was never spoken of, I was vague. Now I think of the people in Kyiv, Lviv ... it becomes vivid.
Greg Olear's "Prevail" substack lays out those intertwined histories very clearly in his most recent post. As complex as it is, he manages to make it understandable to folks like me!
Yes, thank you Lin, there was a time when the map and our family history were almost a fantasy of yesterday. In fact that time is now. Even the ship’s manifest when my grandparents escaped Kiev, 1909, together reads Russia, country of origin. And Vilnius, Lithuania for other grandparents. But departure on the Martha Washington, exact same day and time, one Trieste and one Austria. Wars and maps and humans. Is History Fiction or Nonfiction? And then “ What is Past is Prologue.”
Mapping boundaries is an interdisciplinary project. From philosophy to physics to geopolitics to art. You are correct to bring in questions of fiction and non fiction. It is a puzzle over time and space.
The crackling sense of danger was thick with electricity yesterday. My hair felt as if it would stand straight up. I lives in the Middle East for a decade during the 70's. We knew terror and fear. Yesterday felt oddly similar yet more frightening. Forgive my rambling. I'm very worried.
Thank you for sharing your feelings today. I woke up trying to reassure myself that we were not actually, finally, at the point of living the book, “1984”. Rational thought knows that, and yet . . .
Yes, Yes, Thank You, Patricia, “1984” for the past how many years? I keep quoting Orwell’s brilliant and disturbing words, his crystal ball, the human need for power beyond reason. Our grandchildren, our planet. I’m so scared.
I had a phone conversation with one of my ex-students who is in her late 50s this weekend. Granted that she is dealing with a serious medical problem with one of her eyes, but she was also scared about what is in the future. She has children; I do not. We both agreed that all young people are up against it.
Well, to be perhaps more accurate, he is following Stalin. His hero. Our Moron in Chief, Shrubby Bush, to the glee of Mother Russia, stumbled down the same path that the USSR took in Afghanistan (for a similarity, see France and Vietnam) in the Brezhnev era. And, to the glee of Europe and the UK, the US stumbled down similar paths worn down by France and Britain in the 20th century in the Middle East. Promoting fascist dictators who "like" us while getting rid of democratic movements and strongmen who were a little peskier because they were not as willing to line the Bush and Cheney family pockets (to name only two of the legions of white men whose pockets were lined by the Saudis). The US's activities in global politics, with the exception of WW1 and WW2, has always been abysmal. And the US did plenty wrong in the two world wars, as well, including all the dithering about which side to join (FDR did put a stop to that but it took a helluva long time before he could get the rest of the government around the idea of joining the Allies).
I read yesterday that Putin is a little worried about getting literally bogged down in the mud in Ukraine, as it is their spring thaw and (what we called in Western NY) "mudsoon" season. Perhaps what he hoped was that he could lure Europe into Russia in the middle of winter, as occurred in the 1810s and 1940s. . .
OMG! I need to go back to the 'beginning' and start fresh...since her start, I've followed Dr. R religiously. Since COvid began I virtually shut myself in, and started reading (mostly via audiobooks) and I was (still am) insatiable. I don't believe it was a conscious decision, but an evolution, but I felt the need to understand everything. I'm 2 years older now, 70 years old, and I still feel so woefully naive and confused. My sources often were found in these pages, and I remain consumed by history, psychology, sociology, and whatever sources of light available. I don't want to run out of time before I get 'it' enough (surely it's impossible for me to 'get it all') to do something!
'Do something'!? And what would that look like?! I have made phone calls, written post cards, tried to share the wee shreds of wisdom whenever I can from here behind the closed doors... (I often think my obsession with feeding the birds and the critters in our woods is a desperate metaphor for my need to give something that I have to offer, which surely is not much more than seeds and crumbs...)
Fearful of sounding dramatic, I can't imagine what is before us? Cyber wars alone will cripple Ukraine and the rest of the world. The financial doom is pending, and is there anything we can do about it? And, my anger towards TFG and the Republican idiots , Tucker Carlson, Jim Jordan, all of them, is heating up to a boiling point. I am sure that I am not alone.
When I read Putin's statement a few days ago when he listed his targets within Ukraine, (ethnic minorities, LGBQT, and so on) I called out to my husband that the list was the same as the the lists in Florida, Texas, Tennessee and on! Who's going to get us first?! Us or them?! And what the heck are we to do?!
Cynthia O’Connor, your post really spoke to me this morning! “ Do something'!? And what would that look like?! I have made phone calls, written post cards, tried to share the wee shreds of wisdom whenever I can from here behind the closed doors..”. That feeling has been stalking me for a long time also! This moment in time I feel like I’m trying to consume knowledge by drinking out of a fire hose. We are drowning in information for the first time in history since the invention of the printing press. I’m aware of the information warfare tactic being used: Flood the Zone with Shit. So, I too am grateful to HCR for cutting through it all. But what can “we” do actively beyond what we are currently doing? For myself, I sum it up to “Resist”; as in resist hate, resist feeling impotent, resist staying in my silo, resist click-bait, resist myths, resist not caring, resist hoarding…. And most recently to pop in my head: Help Young People. All this crap happened on our watch. I don’t want to leave with out a few young people knowing an older person who worked to make a positive difference for them.
Thank you... I do care, and I am eager to help... I have been discipling myself in so many ways...for most of us, the covid isolation period became a universal call to downsize; not just from 'stuff' but from the cobwebs and the cozy isolation that we perhaps were unaware we were cloaked within. I am trying to clear out the detritus of my life and culling the gems, the books, my photography, and constructing something to leave behind... When you talk about the young... I feel challenged to try and reach them. For years I have fought to save the elephants, and gone around speaking at schools and community centers to raise awareness and compassion for these magnificent creatures and their precarious stature on our planet. It is right alongside the many other species and the planet as a whole, and while we all can't give a lot to everything, if I can be an inspiration to a few who spread the word, I will feel I have succeeded... or at least spread the seeds, hopefully to fertile ground. Covid, put handcuffs on my work..both my photography and my elephants, unfortunately... I am trying to reestablish myself as a force for good in the world, albeit by my one (wo)man show. It does seem so overwhelming... quoting my Mom (whose birthday is today! She would be 108!) "The 'huirrieder' I go the 'behinder' I get"!
Yes indeed ... and the faster and more furious the world moves, the only way I know to keep up with anything, is to s.l.o.w. d.o.w.n and just do what I can - one breath at a time ... trust in the sincerity of your heart and true intent ... everything is passing - the whole planet is going through a massive dimensional shift ... like we are being sucked into the singularity of a gravitational vortex - who knows where it will lead? I don't - and I don't foster any illusion that I can control it ... just take it one breath at a time and do the best I can to live with sincerity and true intent ... what else can we do ...?
YES! Every day, in every way, our little acts of resistance work to keep hope alive. Doing what we can, with what we have, when we can -like your one woman show- is awesome! You have people here cheering you on!
I am not sure if you were speaking to me, but although this is a few years old, this was how I first got really involved with my dear elephants...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM53cCL5pwU
Cynthia, what you have written resonates with me, you put in words EXACTLY how I feel. (Sadly, I had to stop feeding the birds as rats became a problem in our area. I am resigned but at the time I thought "seriously? I can't even enjoy the birds?!") I am absolutely amazed, incredulous really, that tfg's followers seem to embrace Russia and Communism! And Carlson--what part of hell did he get spat out of?
You have a tribe of people here, I wish I knew exactly what the readership numbers were, but regardless--you are not alone.
I feel exactly what you said, and as she said. Postcards, Resistbot, emails, decluttering, reading - have learned more history in the past 2 years (💜 Dr. Heather!) than before. We must persist and try to engage the young people we know.
Cynthia O’Conner, Your comment: “(I often think my obsession with feeding the birds and the critters in our woods is a desperate metaphor for my need to give something that I have to offer, which surely is not much more than seeds and crumbs...)” makes me realize that those seeds and crumbs (of understanding) are much more valuable than all the hot air of ‘Foux News’ talking heads right now. Thank you.
Yes. What to do? At 71 I am with you. Would Ukraine like to have a salty old door gunner to help them. A burst of glory sounds better to me than a pending cremation. Especially for freedom American style.
Cynthia, seeds and crumbs to feed the birds and critters are a fine metaphor for the seeds we plant in whatever small ways we each can, hoping the soil will nourish them and create meadows and forests of millions of people sowing their own seeds to sustain themselves now and into a brighter future. Whatever we do to help each other, our democracy and our planet is at least something, so let's not fear or despair stop us.
I'm not a huge fan of Andrea Bocelli, but he does a particularly fine job in this version:
Sorry, but the Barbara Streisand version was over the top, though I do love her voice. I guess I should have posted the YouTube clip of the song beautifully sung in "Carousel" by Claramae Turner. Well, here it is, Dana:
Linda Mitchell: We and our parents and grandparents have lived through this 20th Century 100 years of war. The burden of those three generations of memories is very heavy this morning.
Also reference to Walter Benjamin's comment on Klee's Angel of History:
This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet.
I think we reach consensus on the provisional truths of science and the contextual truths of history through coming to consensus on interpretations of the empirical evidence. And revisions. Wordy. But helpful to spell these things out.
Each discipline has protocols for interpretation and for distinguishing between valid and invalid interpretations.
You can say a lot of different things about the biblical Garden of Eden but you cannot say there are 'little green men' in Genesis. Although they seem to be in Ukraine.
I thank you Lin and all who share your stories. I feel like I will spend the day crying, maybe from what I know to be true and maybe from what I will never know. Who are we but our stories!?
You and I have agreed that our wars have been stupid and horrific. But what we did in all of our despicable adventures (going back 100s of years) is no excuse for Putin's impunity.
I think he is more interested in being a Stalin or Alexander the Great. His ego is driving this insanity.
Let's hope that Global Warming gives us the bonus of an early thaw and his tanks are mired deeply in the mud. Of course, he may not go further physically right now. His hackers can cripple Ukraine. He can infiltrate the country with more political saboteurs. There are many ways he can entertain himself. And he has already gained Belarus as a bonus (or maybe his original target for now!).
Sadly, Americans look at this stuff like it's a football game - with a start and a finish. We have no patience for the long game of life. Our attention spans are like that of goldfish. We think we can do something "big" to end it all. Nope.
This IS Putins life - the reason he lives. This is just another quarter in an endless series of games for him. This guy is a KGB fox. And he is having the time of his life with nobody to stop him. He is a terrorist and should be treated as such.
But this grand generalization about Americans. "Sadly, Americans look at this stuff like it's a football game - with a start and a finish. We have no patience for the long game of life. Our attention spans are like that of goldfish. We think we can do something "big" to end it all."
No doubt it is true of many across the political spectrum. And of almost the entire GOP as far as I can tell. Fortunately I think many Democrats in Congress and in the Biden administration, at career people at State even the Pentagon, see the long game.
They might have taken a tip from angela Merkel. Her opinion was that Putin would always overstep, and if you give him enough rope he will hang himself. Meanwhile there are Russian colonies in all former Soviet states, and even in Cuba. Russia is buying Venezuelan oil as well to prop up that state. Expect Putin to pull stunts everywhere. The mothers of Moscow and St. Petersburg won’t stand for invasions that lead to guerrilla war, however. We are powerless in Cuba because of our economic boycott of sixty years or so. Whichever party lifts the boycott will lose the Cuban vote in Florida and possibly Florida’s electoral votes and thus the presidency. “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” talk about trapped. Younger Cubans in FL are not as avid as their parents, tho. One of these days those demographics will shift.
I should have been more specific. The current admin is quite wise and experienced. I was referring to Joe and Jane Sixpack as well as the GQP lackies who actually admire Putin.
Is there a difference between interfering with neighboring countries vs doing it to countries across the world? Is the US coup in Ukraine, acknowledged in a leaked phone call from Victoria Nuland of our State Department choosing a leader for Ukraine more forgiveable (because it's us and we understand our foibles) than actions by Putin next door to Ukraine, who is less understandable to our domestic politics oriented media? The assumption we often live into is that US interference is an act of generosity and destruction of entire countries (Iraq, Libya) was simply an unavoidable "oops" moment.
I doubt that anyone on this substack is unaware of the foibles of the US. I am certain we are talking apples vs. oranges, however. Who knows all the innermost vagaries of international intrigue? Nevertheless, Putin is a wannabe Czar whose greatest desire is to humiliate all democracies, the US most of all. No need to preach here, jc.
It is as important to read outside the mainstream press and video as it is to follow domestic political struggles examined and assembled by Dr. Richardson. Yes diplomacy is better than holding a gun to someone's head but we are led to see simply excusable foibles.
The people who actually negotiated reductions among countries holding guns at each others' heads are alarmed at the trashing of arms treaties by OUR recent administrations. If you imagine trusting the vagaries of international intrigue as being OK for us, check out the "adults in the room", the observations of VIPS a tongue in cheek name for Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. The founder who drafts their analyses is Ray McGovern. See raymcgovern.com These are people acutely aware of counterproductive calculations that serve, among others, the industries pressing for more worldwide spending on arms, at the expense of the security of people worldwide.
As participant in observer missions to countries in Central America, I can add there is need for brisk grassroots engagement here in the US over the guns AND diplomacy serving international business and causing Hondurans, Colombians and others to leave their homes on foot.
Some years ago a busload of NC human rights advocates visited with State Department officials on the board of the School of the Americas whose courses included violent measures of every kind against democratic impulses in our neighboring countries. One of the senior officials said, why don't you do as Nobel Laureate and human rights leader Andrei Sakharov does and challenge the Russian government's abuses? We had to remind him that Sakharov sought to restrain the worst actions of his own government, and that is what we came to DC to do.
In an interview today on DemocracyNow.org, the great granddaughter of Premier Nikita Khrushchev (teaching international affairs at The New School) observed that both Russia and the US regard themselves as messianic forces... but war can still be avoided. Nuclear brinksmanship risks us all, beginning with the huge resources taken from human needs and potentially ending with miscalculations and outcomes that survivors would wish they/we had done more to avoid.
I am aware of these issues. I lived in Central America and was an observer in Nicaragua, myself. I was present during the Contra skirmishes, not a well known but a Reagan era foible nonetheless, when much of the brutal tone in Central and South America was set, and as you say, the fallout still pervades. I am aware of the Fascism and climate tragedies affecting Honduras, for example. I just feel you are talking down to us with assumptions of our ignorance of the issues behind the US' current involvements. I simply do not like Putin who I see as far more callous and calculating than our present government, and I salute what is at least an attempt to be diplomatic vs. some of the past episodes of our militant history. I am not an an apologist but I am an old Peacenik who often watches D
I had friends who protested at the School of the Americas and many/most of us by now know about our government’s unforgivable actions in Central America and more. Yes, here at home. That’s a given. A major difference at least since post-McCarthy (and I say mostly) is that I can and do stand on the corner of 16th and J or in front of the WH with a sign or hand out anti war flyers or send postcards. I can disagree. So far I haven’t been arrested. Lots of protesters are arrested, still, but not sent to Siberia. Even if we have a file somewhere we can likely read it. No, absolutely not perfect, but I’m more than grateful that I’m not worried about being transported to Siberia or poisoned for my opposition.
As we listen, I wonderhow it would sound to us if a powerful foreign country was using the same language, manipulating Canadian prime minister candidates and dismissing US interests. As for the term "coup" it most closely matches an overthrow of an elected president partly by "indigenous" uprising but forcefully pressed by US supported snipers and related violence. Others with more particular memory of sequence of events may add to this unless it is deleted first.
OK researched a bit. 2014. It was a candid working conversation which was bugged and released most likely by the Russians. Undiplomatic. Sure. But hardly a coup or installing a puppet. And certainly not comparable to what Putin is up to.
2014. "It is no secret that Ambassador Pyatt and Assistant Secretary Nuland have been working with the government of Ukraine, with the opposition, with business and civil society leaders to support their efforts," Ms Psaki continued. "It shouldn't be a surprise that at any points there have been discussions about recent events and offers and what is happening on the ground. Of course these things are being discussed. It doesn't change the fact that it's up to the people on the ground. It is up to the people of Ukraine to determine what the path forward it."
What is it called when one looks in a mirror yet cannot see themself, and then gets angry when someone else describe it and says, “yer image is perfectly clear to me”
"What is it called when one looks in a mirror yet cannot see themself, "
It's not that they can't recognize themselves — that's prosopagnosia, usually a symptom of brain damage. Rather, people with depersonalization disorder simply don't feel a connection to who they see in the mirror.
Russia started the demise of Afghanistan. It gave up when Afghanistan war lords got the best of Russian soldiers. I recommend reading A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan by Neloffer Pazira, who lived through it. She now resides in Canada. Anyone's understanding of Afghanistan will improve after reading this book. It reads so well, it's hard to put it down.
I cannot recommend enough Fredrik Barth's 'Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans'.
I read it for Anthro 101 around 1968. I read it twice. I could not shake the thought that people woke each morning with one thought 'who am I obliged to kill today.' One of few school texts I've saved, I reread it recently. It is crazy that we thought centralized government would be welcomed. It is crude to speak of warlords. This moderate Islamic society, successfully, socially excluded Saudi extremists until we favored religious extremists against Soviets. As our involvement deepened, the harm of our ignorance increased exponentially. In some areas we were played by goons, worse than the Taliban, to consolidate their stranglehold on local populations.
Yes. Warlords was not a good term. Each region of Afghanistan "ruled" itself in its fight against Russia, and the Afghans knew the territorial boundaries of each region. The regions did not infringe on adjacent regions, and each region fought Russia as it chose.
I am reminded of the numerous nation-building actions spearheaded and funded by the U.S. and the CIA. We do not "annex" those nations. We simply orchestrate them to meet our felt needs or wants. Too often, the "better" leader we put in place turned out to be far worse then their predecessor -- who we had removed.
Putin to World: I need you to know I am still here, in the worst way
At what point of absolute power does a bee in the bonnet of a dictator metamorphose into bats in his belfry? It happens. These men claw their way to power, strategically and tactically, and then lose their shit and turn irrational. It does not even end well for them.
A shooting war is so 20th C.
Unless Russia wants a bloodbath to terrorize the civilian population. Chaos to provide cover for mass arrests and
assassinations. And to stand atop the rubble. Mission Accomplished. And then what? And who are the Russians and Ukrainians willing to carry this out?
And here at home. We came *this* close to a coup. To a crazy man and his apparatchiks ruling the roost. Republicans are still on that crusade.
And some on the Left are still reflexively
sniping at Democrats / Biden.
But it is heartening to watch all those who are trying to do the serious work of pushing back.
"A shooting war is so 20th C"?
lin, I thought, we, the USA, just finished one (shooting war) up after after we "stood on the rubble" for years in Afghanistan......but......we still have one going ...... in Iraq....where we created so much rubble out of what were formally beautiful, ancient, cities.
So, Putin is not nuts. He is just following the leader.
US.
Mike, when I read your comment I did not want to 'like' it. But with humility and sadness I concur. After reading Heather's letter this morning I read an article in the NYTIMES about what we are doing in and to Afghanistan. (I will post it shortly.)
And Lin, I do agree so much with your comments, especially about the near coup of our former president. Yesterday was such an upsetting day. I felt overwhelmed by 'a disturbance in the force'. And while I hovered on Twitter, and kept the news on in the background, I struggled with this sense of confusion beneath it all that I could not explain....? It was as though there was some mysterious juxtaposition in between the situation in Ukraine and TFG and I struggled to figure out what the connection, other than the obvious, and it's becoming so clear how truly dangerously close we came and how precarious our current situation is! I sound inarticulate now, and I will try to clarify my thoughts today, but I am, frankly, terrified of what is around the corner.
". . . terrified of what is around the corner."
We all are. But that is the point of terrorism.
The histories of Russia and Ukraine, of Russia and Europe, of Russia and NATO, of Russia/USSR/Russia ... the long threads these tangled skeins need to be teased out. And even then ... the manifestations of irrationality.
I used to laugh that my father's family was from some area which was one day Poland another Lithuania another Russia - their preAmerican past was never spoken of, I was vague. Now I think of the people in Kyiv, Lviv ... it becomes vivid.
Ha! My grandmother used to say she didn't know whether her heritage was German or Austrian, because they kept changing the borders!
I used to laugh that as my mother's family was from Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all her cooking had either cinnamon or paprika.
This is my family, too!
Yes!
Greg Olear's "Prevail" substack lays out those intertwined histories very clearly in his most recent post. As complex as it is, he manages to make it understandable to folks like me!
Yes, thank you Lin, there was a time when the map and our family history were almost a fantasy of yesterday. In fact that time is now. Even the ship’s manifest when my grandparents escaped Kiev, 1909, together reads Russia, country of origin. And Vilnius, Lithuania for other grandparents. But departure on the Martha Washington, exact same day and time, one Trieste and one Austria. Wars and maps and humans. Is History Fiction or Nonfiction? And then “ What is Past is Prologue.”
Mapping boundaries is an interdisciplinary project. From philosophy to physics to geopolitics to art. You are correct to bring in questions of fiction and non fiction. It is a puzzle over time and space.
https://thewellground.com/products/map-exploring-the-world-by-john-hessler-regular
Thank you, Lin. I feel like I’m in another world, trying to find my way out with a map in hand. The Diaspora of Life? Even today?
Did you ever read "The Tin Drum"?
Eons ago. Why particularly?
Kind of like the people in Kentucky.
But for a much different reason....
This comment made me laugh. I needed that today!
ROFLMAO !
The crackling sense of danger was thick with electricity yesterday. My hair felt as if it would stand straight up. I lives in the Middle East for a decade during the 70's. We knew terror and fear. Yesterday felt oddly similar yet more frightening. Forgive my rambling. I'm very worried.
Please do not feel you need apologize. Your experiences, reactions, and words help us all understand the human element. ThankYou.
You're not rambling, I believe you are incredibly in touch with the Zeitgeist.....
Yes, my family lived through it in WWII. I also am worried.
Thank you for sharing your feelings today. I woke up trying to reassure myself that we were not actually, finally, at the point of living the book, “1984”. Rational thought knows that, and yet . . .
Yes, Yes, Thank You, Patricia, “1984” for the past how many years? I keep quoting Orwell’s brilliant and disturbing words, his crystal ball, the human need for power beyond reason. Our grandchildren, our planet. I’m so scared.
I had a phone conversation with one of my ex-students who is in her late 50s this weekend. Granted that she is dealing with a serious medical problem with one of her eyes, but she was also scared about what is in the future. She has children; I do not. We both agreed that all young people are up against it.
yes, stay close...we will all stick together...
I need to read this book! I have the time now!
And then read Orwell’s “Animal Farm”! They call his books Fiction!!!
Well, to be perhaps more accurate, he is following Stalin. His hero. Our Moron in Chief, Shrubby Bush, to the glee of Mother Russia, stumbled down the same path that the USSR took in Afghanistan (for a similarity, see France and Vietnam) in the Brezhnev era. And, to the glee of Europe and the UK, the US stumbled down similar paths worn down by France and Britain in the 20th century in the Middle East. Promoting fascist dictators who "like" us while getting rid of democratic movements and strongmen who were a little peskier because they were not as willing to line the Bush and Cheney family pockets (to name only two of the legions of white men whose pockets were lined by the Saudis). The US's activities in global politics, with the exception of WW1 and WW2, has always been abysmal. And the US did plenty wrong in the two world wars, as well, including all the dithering about which side to join (FDR did put a stop to that but it took a helluva long time before he could get the rest of the government around the idea of joining the Allies).
I read yesterday that Putin is a little worried about getting literally bogged down in the mud in Ukraine, as it is their spring thaw and (what we called in Western NY) "mudsoon" season. Perhaps what he hoped was that he could lure Europe into Russia in the middle of winter, as occurred in the 1810s and 1940s. . .
OMG! I need to go back to the 'beginning' and start fresh...since her start, I've followed Dr. R religiously. Since COvid began I virtually shut myself in, and started reading (mostly via audiobooks) and I was (still am) insatiable. I don't believe it was a conscious decision, but an evolution, but I felt the need to understand everything. I'm 2 years older now, 70 years old, and I still feel so woefully naive and confused. My sources often were found in these pages, and I remain consumed by history, psychology, sociology, and whatever sources of light available. I don't want to run out of time before I get 'it' enough (surely it's impossible for me to 'get it all') to do something!
'Do something'!? And what would that look like?! I have made phone calls, written post cards, tried to share the wee shreds of wisdom whenever I can from here behind the closed doors... (I often think my obsession with feeding the birds and the critters in our woods is a desperate metaphor for my need to give something that I have to offer, which surely is not much more than seeds and crumbs...)
Fearful of sounding dramatic, I can't imagine what is before us? Cyber wars alone will cripple Ukraine and the rest of the world. The financial doom is pending, and is there anything we can do about it? And, my anger towards TFG and the Republican idiots , Tucker Carlson, Jim Jordan, all of them, is heating up to a boiling point. I am sure that I am not alone.
When I read Putin's statement a few days ago when he listed his targets within Ukraine, (ethnic minorities, LGBQT, and so on) I called out to my husband that the list was the same as the the lists in Florida, Texas, Tennessee and on! Who's going to get us first?! Us or them?! And what the heck are we to do?!
Cynthia O’Connor, your post really spoke to me this morning! “ Do something'!? And what would that look like?! I have made phone calls, written post cards, tried to share the wee shreds of wisdom whenever I can from here behind the closed doors..”. That feeling has been stalking me for a long time also! This moment in time I feel like I’m trying to consume knowledge by drinking out of a fire hose. We are drowning in information for the first time in history since the invention of the printing press. I’m aware of the information warfare tactic being used: Flood the Zone with Shit. So, I too am grateful to HCR for cutting through it all. But what can “we” do actively beyond what we are currently doing? For myself, I sum it up to “Resist”; as in resist hate, resist feeling impotent, resist staying in my silo, resist click-bait, resist myths, resist not caring, resist hoarding…. And most recently to pop in my head: Help Young People. All this crap happened on our watch. I don’t want to leave with out a few young people knowing an older person who worked to make a positive difference for them.
Thank you... I do care, and I am eager to help... I have been discipling myself in so many ways...for most of us, the covid isolation period became a universal call to downsize; not just from 'stuff' but from the cobwebs and the cozy isolation that we perhaps were unaware we were cloaked within. I am trying to clear out the detritus of my life and culling the gems, the books, my photography, and constructing something to leave behind... When you talk about the young... I feel challenged to try and reach them. For years I have fought to save the elephants, and gone around speaking at schools and community centers to raise awareness and compassion for these magnificent creatures and their precarious stature on our planet. It is right alongside the many other species and the planet as a whole, and while we all can't give a lot to everything, if I can be an inspiration to a few who spread the word, I will feel I have succeeded... or at least spread the seeds, hopefully to fertile ground. Covid, put handcuffs on my work..both my photography and my elephants, unfortunately... I am trying to reestablish myself as a force for good in the world, albeit by my one (wo)man show. It does seem so overwhelming... quoting my Mom (whose birthday is today! She would be 108!) "The 'huirrieder' I go the 'behinder' I get"!
"The 'huirrieder' I go the 'behinder' I get"!
Yes indeed ... and the faster and more furious the world moves, the only way I know to keep up with anything, is to s.l.o.w. d.o.w.n and just do what I can - one breath at a time ... trust in the sincerity of your heart and true intent ... everything is passing - the whole planet is going through a massive dimensional shift ... like we are being sucked into the singularity of a gravitational vortex - who knows where it will lead? I don't - and I don't foster any illusion that I can control it ... just take it one breath at a time and do the best I can to live with sincerity and true intent ... what else can we do ...?
YES! Every day, in every way, our little acts of resistance work to keep hope alive. Doing what we can, with what we have, when we can -like your one woman show- is awesome! You have people here cheering you on!
🐘💙🐘
Seems to be a very good attitude. Hope you don't mind sharing some.
I am not sure if you were speaking to me, but although this is a few years old, this was how I first got really involved with my dear elephants...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM53cCL5pwU
And this was really how it all started! : ) https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/find-maintain-your-passion-paul-steinmetz?trk=pulse-det-nav_art
Yes!
Cynthia, what you have written resonates with me, you put in words EXACTLY how I feel. (Sadly, I had to stop feeding the birds as rats became a problem in our area. I am resigned but at the time I thought "seriously? I can't even enjoy the birds?!") I am absolutely amazed, incredulous really, that tfg's followers seem to embrace Russia and Communism! And Carlson--what part of hell did he get spat out of?
You have a tribe of people here, I wish I knew exactly what the readership numbers were, but regardless--you are not alone.
Thank you so much..I always feel safe here at Heather's Cafe... more so every day! xxx
I feel exactly what you said, and as she said. Postcards, Resistbot, emails, decluttering, reading - have learned more history in the past 2 years (💜 Dr. Heather!) than before. We must persist and try to engage the young people we know.
Cynthia O’Conner, Your comment: “(I often think my obsession with feeding the birds and the critters in our woods is a desperate metaphor for my need to give something that I have to offer, which surely is not much more than seeds and crumbs...)” makes me realize that those seeds and crumbs (of understanding) are much more valuable than all the hot air of ‘Foux News’ talking heads right now. Thank you.
Yes. What to do? At 71 I am with you. Would Ukraine like to have a salty old door gunner to help them. A burst of glory sounds better to me than a pending cremation. Especially for freedom American style.
YES! I will carry your bag!
Cynthia, seeds and crumbs to feed the birds and critters are a fine metaphor for the seeds we plant in whatever small ways we each can, hoping the soil will nourish them and create meadows and forests of millions of people sowing their own seeds to sustain themselves now and into a brighter future. Whatever we do to help each other, our democracy and our planet is at least something, so let's not fear or despair stop us.
I'm not a huge fan of Andrea Bocelli, but he does a particularly fine job in this version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP1_JQ1VPnw
I needed this on so many levels today. Bless you, Mim
It IS perfect, isn't it, Eileen?
thank you sooo much!
You're welcome, Cynthia. And thank YOU for your lovely metaphor.
Thanks - for reminding me how much I TRULY DISLIKE Bocelli!!!! That's a beautiful song - now I have to go "clean" my ears! Just 3 seconds worth. ugggg
Sorry, but the Barbara Streisand version was over the top, though I do love her voice. I guess I should have posted the YouTube clip of the song beautifully sung in "Carousel" by Claramae Turner. Well, here it is, Dana:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1izigJX1pxI
John Raitt did the trick...phew
😪
Linda Mitchell: We and our parents and grandparents have lived through this 20th Century 100 years of war. The burden of those three generations of memories is very heavy this morning.
yes it is..... sad
Unfortunately, you are correct, Mike, as U.S. interventions in Latin America were common in the 20th century: https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/united-states-interventions/
Rose, thank you. I will mention to my wife that you think I am correct, because, she often thinks I am not.
:-)
It won't help, but good luck anyway.
HA!😝
😂
That is her job!
It is the way of wives...
As if Mission Accomplished were sane?
Also reference to Walter Benjamin's comment on Klee's Angel of History:
This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet.
Oh lord, yes....
The Truth shall set us free? Does it matter Truth or Fiction?
I don't think the binary is 'truth or fiction'.
I think we reach consensus on the provisional truths of science and the contextual truths of history through coming to consensus on interpretations of the empirical evidence. And revisions. Wordy. But helpful to spell these things out.
Each discipline has protocols for interpretation and for distinguishing between valid and invalid interpretations.
You can say a lot of different things about the biblical Garden of Eden but you cannot say there are 'little green men' in Genesis. Although they seem to be in Ukraine.
I thank you Lin and all who share your stories. I feel like I will spend the day crying, maybe from what I know to be true and maybe from what I will never know. Who are we but our stories!?
You and I have agreed that our wars have been stupid and horrific. But what we did in all of our despicable adventures (going back 100s of years) is no excuse for Putin's impunity.
I think he is more interested in being a Stalin or Alexander the Great. His ego is driving this insanity.
Let's hope that Global Warming gives us the bonus of an early thaw and his tanks are mired deeply in the mud. Of course, he may not go further physically right now. His hackers can cripple Ukraine. He can infiltrate the country with more political saboteurs. There are many ways he can entertain himself. And he has already gained Belarus as a bonus (or maybe his original target for now!).
Sadly, Americans look at this stuff like it's a football game - with a start and a finish. We have no patience for the long game of life. Our attention spans are like that of goldfish. We think we can do something "big" to end it all. Nope.
This IS Putins life - the reason he lives. This is just another quarter in an endless series of games for him. This guy is a KGB fox. And he is having the time of his life with nobody to stop him. He is a terrorist and should be treated as such.
I agree with almost all you write
But this grand generalization about Americans. "Sadly, Americans look at this stuff like it's a football game - with a start and a finish. We have no patience for the long game of life. Our attention spans are like that of goldfish. We think we can do something "big" to end it all."
No doubt it is true of many across the political spectrum. And of almost the entire GOP as far as I can tell. Fortunately I think many Democrats in Congress and in the Biden administration, at career people at State even the Pentagon, see the long game.
They might have taken a tip from angela Merkel. Her opinion was that Putin would always overstep, and if you give him enough rope he will hang himself. Meanwhile there are Russian colonies in all former Soviet states, and even in Cuba. Russia is buying Venezuelan oil as well to prop up that state. Expect Putin to pull stunts everywhere. The mothers of Moscow and St. Petersburg won’t stand for invasions that lead to guerrilla war, however. We are powerless in Cuba because of our economic boycott of sixty years or so. Whichever party lifts the boycott will lose the Cuban vote in Florida and possibly Florida’s electoral votes and thus the presidency. “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” talk about trapped. Younger Cubans in FL are not as avid as their parents, tho. One of these days those demographics will shift.
I should have been more specific. The current admin is quite wise and experienced. I was referring to Joe and Jane Sixpack as well as the GQP lackies who actually admire Putin.
And in all fairness some on the Left - Jo and Jo Birkenstock - of whom I expect better, but ought not.
May the mud be so deep that the tanks sink up to their turrets.
Is there a difference between interfering with neighboring countries vs doing it to countries across the world? Is the US coup in Ukraine, acknowledged in a leaked phone call from Victoria Nuland of our State Department choosing a leader for Ukraine more forgiveable (because it's us and we understand our foibles) than actions by Putin next door to Ukraine, who is less understandable to our domestic politics oriented media? The assumption we often live into is that US interference is an act of generosity and destruction of entire countries (Iraq, Libya) was simply an unavoidable "oops" moment.
I doubt that anyone on this substack is unaware of the foibles of the US. I am certain we are talking apples vs. oranges, however. Who knows all the innermost vagaries of international intrigue? Nevertheless, Putin is a wannabe Czar whose greatest desire is to humiliate all democracies, the US most of all. No need to preach here, jc.
It is as important to read outside the mainstream press and video as it is to follow domestic political struggles examined and assembled by Dr. Richardson. Yes diplomacy is better than holding a gun to someone's head but we are led to see simply excusable foibles.
The people who actually negotiated reductions among countries holding guns at each others' heads are alarmed at the trashing of arms treaties by OUR recent administrations. If you imagine trusting the vagaries of international intrigue as being OK for us, check out the "adults in the room", the observations of VIPS a tongue in cheek name for Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. The founder who drafts their analyses is Ray McGovern. See raymcgovern.com These are people acutely aware of counterproductive calculations that serve, among others, the industries pressing for more worldwide spending on arms, at the expense of the security of people worldwide.
As participant in observer missions to countries in Central America, I can add there is need for brisk grassroots engagement here in the US over the guns AND diplomacy serving international business and causing Hondurans, Colombians and others to leave their homes on foot.
Some years ago a busload of NC human rights advocates visited with State Department officials on the board of the School of the Americas whose courses included violent measures of every kind against democratic impulses in our neighboring countries. One of the senior officials said, why don't you do as Nobel Laureate and human rights leader Andrei Sakharov does and challenge the Russian government's abuses? We had to remind him that Sakharov sought to restrain the worst actions of his own government, and that is what we came to DC to do.
In an interview today on DemocracyNow.org, the great granddaughter of Premier Nikita Khrushchev (teaching international affairs at The New School) observed that both Russia and the US regard themselves as messianic forces... but war can still be avoided. Nuclear brinksmanship risks us all, beginning with the huge resources taken from human needs and potentially ending with miscalculations and outcomes that survivors would wish they/we had done more to avoid.
I am aware of these issues. I lived in Central America and was an observer in Nicaragua, myself. I was present during the Contra skirmishes, not a well known but a Reagan era foible nonetheless, when much of the brutal tone in Central and South America was set, and as you say, the fallout still pervades. I am aware of the Fascism and climate tragedies affecting Honduras, for example. I just feel you are talking down to us with assumptions of our ignorance of the issues behind the US' current involvements. I simply do not like Putin who I see as far more callous and calculating than our present government, and I salute what is at least an attempt to be diplomatic vs. some of the past episodes of our militant history. I am not an an apologist but I am an old Peacenik who often watches D
I had friends who protested at the School of the Americas and many/most of us by now know about our government’s unforgivable actions in Central America and more. Yes, here at home. That’s a given. A major difference at least since post-McCarthy (and I say mostly) is that I can and do stand on the corner of 16th and J or in front of the WH with a sign or hand out anti war flyers or send postcards. I can disagree. So far I haven’t been arrested. Lots of protesters are arrested, still, but not sent to Siberia. Even if we have a file somewhere we can likely read it. No, absolutely not perfect, but I’m more than grateful that I’m not worried about being transported to Siberia or poisoned for my opposition.
Seriously. Please provide citations because ... wow ... what a mash up.
Thanks for asking. It's been a long time since I heard a broadcast of the conversation between Nuland and the US ambassador to Ukraine.
Most comment in our media was over the hands on project director at the State Dept's language: "F*** the EU". Just listened again to the audio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxaa-67yGM
As we listen, I wonderhow it would sound to us if a powerful foreign country was using the same language, manipulating Canadian prime minister candidates and dismissing US interests. As for the term "coup" it most closely matches an overthrow of an elected president partly by "indigenous" uprising but forcefully pressed by US supported snipers and related violence. Others with more particular memory of sequence of events may add to this unless it is deleted first.
OK researched a bit. 2014. It was a candid working conversation which was bugged and released most likely by the Russians. Undiplomatic. Sure. But hardly a coup or installing a puppet. And certainly not comparable to what Putin is up to.
https://www.npr.org/2014/02/08/273181826/a-possible-explanation-for-how-u-s-diplomats-call-was-tapped
2014. "It is no secret that Ambassador Pyatt and Assistant Secretary Nuland have been working with the government of Ukraine, with the opposition, with business and civil society leaders to support their efforts," Ms Psaki continued. "It shouldn't be a surprise that at any points there have been discussions about recent events and offers and what is happening on the ground. Of course these things are being discussed. It doesn't change the fact that it's up to the people on the ground. It is up to the people of Ukraine to determine what the path forward it."
Yup. That Ms. Psaki.
Seriously? You have provided a link to a Russian youtube video.
What is it called when one looks in a mirror yet cannot see themself, and then gets angry when someone else describe it and says, “yer image is perfectly clear to me”
What’s the word for that anger?
"What is it called when one looks in a mirror yet cannot see themself, "
It's not that they can't recognize themselves — that's prosopagnosia, usually a symptom of brain damage. Rather, people with depersonalization disorder simply don't feel a connection to who they see in the mirror.
https://www.bustle.com/wellness/signs-you-might-have-depersonalization-disorder
And is their reaction anger?
😄
Russia started the demise of Afghanistan. It gave up when Afghanistan war lords got the best of Russian soldiers. I recommend reading A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan by Neloffer Pazira, who lived through it. She now resides in Canada. Anyone's understanding of Afghanistan will improve after reading this book. It reads so well, it's hard to put it down.
I cannot recommend enough Fredrik Barth's 'Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans'.
I read it for Anthro 101 around 1968. I read it twice. I could not shake the thought that people woke each morning with one thought 'who am I obliged to kill today.' One of few school texts I've saved, I reread it recently. It is crazy that we thought centralized government would be welcomed. It is crude to speak of warlords. This moderate Islamic society, successfully, socially excluded Saudi extremists until we favored religious extremists against Soviets. As our involvement deepened, the harm of our ignorance increased exponentially. In some areas we were played by goons, worse than the Taliban, to consolidate their stranglehold on local populations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredrik_Barth
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/20/the-secret-history-of-the-us-diplomatic-failure-in-afghanistan
Yes. Warlords was not a good term. Each region of Afghanistan "ruled" itself in its fight against Russia, and the Afghans knew the territorial boundaries of each region. The regions did not infringe on adjacent regions, and each region fought Russia as it chose.
I am reminded of the numerous nation-building actions spearheaded and funded by the U.S. and the CIA. We do not "annex" those nations. We simply orchestrate them to meet our felt needs or wants. Too often, the "better" leader we put in place turned out to be far worse then their predecessor -- who we had removed.
Chile. Allende. Pinochet.
Trailer, Patricio Guzman Nostalgia for the Light
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j6VDlxFYmKg