There’s an old joke told about the Lone Ranger and Tonto. When they were surrounded by a bunch of Comanches, the Lone Ranger said “Tonto! We’re surrounded!” To which Tonto responded, “What you mean ‘we’ Paleface?” (Another punchline in which Tonto makes an appearance is “Tonto Goldberg.” I’ll spare you the joke.)
So what’s the deal? Every time we hear the words “the International Community,” especially when spoken by some foreign minister from a Western country, we’re supposed to be cowed into subservience, blinded by the light of such overpowering moral rectitude. Why? Because they speak on behalf of “democratic” countries where the “rule of law” carries the day.
Well, that’s the official story anyway.
We might as well skip for the nonce the whole legitimacy of the Western world and its ostensible moral superiority. Let’s face it, that’s also a joke at this point. In America, we had a government, media, and a massive pharmaceutical industry working hand-in-hand to lie to us in brazen, unashamed fashion for two solid years about a “pandemic” that was about as deadly as the annual flu. FYI, when government, big business, and the media work together, that’s the definition of fascism in case you didn’t know.
Before COVID, we were force-fed ridiculous and obvious lies about the president of the United States being a Russian agent. And then we watched an entire election rigged in monumental fashion.
Now, we are being led to believe we need to sacrifice our blood and treasure to defend the sovereign borders of another nation (but not ours!) which is: (1) not our ally, (2) not a democracy, and (3) a viper’s nest of corruption. We’re talking sex trafficking (including children), money laundering, and a staging ground for all sorts of shady business dealings. And as for Zelensky, the putative president of that benighted country, the word on the street is that he’s a coked-up comedian.
We are also supposed to believe all the war footage we’re seeing is real and not retreads from conflicts which took place years ago. Or video games. We’re also supposed to believe that Zelensky (or some reporterette) is not standing in front of a green screen. We’re also supposed to believe that little old Ukrainian grannies are singlehandedly fighting off Russian tank battalions armed only with brooms.
But wait! There’s more: we’re also being told that we should listen to our feelings and not worry our pretty little heads about facts. Like it’s OK that some brainless celebutante on TV or Instagram demands that we enact a no-fly zone over Ukraine, even though that will mean WWIII. Because feelings matter.
Count me out. If nothing else, the wall-to-wall propaganda, coupled with the totalitarian suppression of alternative sources of media should make anyone with an IQ higher than a potted plant suspicious.
Leaving all that aside, let’s explore what we mean when we say “international community” and play the role of Tonto: “What you mean ‘we’ Paleface?”
I’ll make it easy for you. All you got to do is look at the graphic in the upper left-hand corner. Notice anything missing? I’ll make it easy for you: about 90 percent of the world’s landmass. and about 85 percent of the world’s population. That’s what’s missing.
So let’s stop acting all high and mighty about our “higher” moral values. Nobody believes that crap anymore. Not after the Gulf War, the bombing of Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Yemen (to name a few). Even the average man-in-the-street American who adds his comments after reading a story written by some columnist isn’t buying the “muh poor Ukraine” nonsense. Whenever the average MAGA conservative watches Sean Hannity froth at the mouth, demanding that we go to war RIGHT NOW, he turns off FOX. If it weren’t for Tucker Carlson, nobody would be watching FOX anymore. (Gail and I “cut the cable” last month and we don’t miss it for a second. Yes, you can live without My 600lb Life, believe it or not.)
What’s worrisome is that our elites don’t see it. They don’t understand that the rest of us don’t believe them anymore. They also think that they can bully a country like India to do our will, not realizing the deep and fraternal ties that the Russians and Indians have for each other. As for the Chinese, the idiots at the State Department think that they can cow China into submission. China. The world’s biggest economy. The one nation that holds more of our national debt than all other countries put together.
And so what do our Best and Brightest do? They double and triple down on their threats against China. All they’ve achieved is pushing China and Russia more tightly into each others’ embrace. The Chinese are notoriously unsentimental: they know that if the West succeeds in forcing the Russians to surrender that they’re next.
As for the rest of the world, they are looking very carefully at how we are behaving towards China and Russia. Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan and dozens of other countries are aghast with horror wondering about Uncle Sam’s sanity. If we can act this way with Russia, the world’s largest nuclear power, stealing their foreign reserves, what chance does Nigeria or Singapore have? Do we honestly believe that the smaller countries that make up the EU are not wondering what’s going on? Sure, Poland is all ready to go into Ukraine or Kaliningrad with both guns blazing but not Hungary. I realize that there’s unhinged Russia-hatred in the UK and America, but how white-hot will be that hatred when the price of gasoline doubles in, say, three months?
I could go on and on. And there is no doubt that this issue will be revisited in the future.
So why are we so isolated? Why is there such a minimal number of the world’s nations on board with our moralism? Is it because we’re hypocritical? Is it because our enforcement of international norms is so capricious? Or is it because the rest of the world sees America not through the prism of Band of Brothers but Heather Has Two Mommies?
<—Yet another reason other countries find it hard to agree with us about how “evil” Putin is.
I’d say it’s all of the above. And more.
Consider the fact that the collective West, in their deranged hatred of all things Russian, has unilaterally destroyed the classically liberal “rules based” international financial system. We have not only confiscated Russian’s foreign reserves but have sanctioned their citizens for no other reason than being Russian. Do we not think that this kind of capriciousness is not going to have repercussions with smaller countries such as Turkey, Nigeria, Argentina and the rest of the Global South? Just as Americans and Canadians learned about the “sanctity” of their bank accounts and insurance policies during the Freedom Convoy, every other human being on this planet has woken up to the fact that the EU/NATO can abscond with their countries’ wealth without so much as a kiss.
And then there’s the fact that Russia itself is being “cancelled.” Russian art exhibits, concerts, ballets and even literary works are being banned all over the “liberal” West. If we can unreservedly hate an entire nation in such a bigoted fashion —a nation which is part of Western Civilization itself–what options do non-Western nations have? This is the behavior of deranged maniacs, not sober-minded leaders.
Oh, I almost forgot. Germany has banned the letter “Z” and Latvia voted to ban the letter “V”. I’m not sure why as neither of these letters exist in the Cyrillic alphabet. How crazy is that?
I’m sure that here are dozens of other reasons why the Global South, the Far East, the Middle East and the Subcontinent have not gotten on board the Muh Democracy train. Many of them see the Russians as the military wing of the coming Eurasian global system. Some say that Russia needs China to bail them out financially. Given the fact that the ruble has rebounded rather nicely, I’m not so sure about that. One thing that seems more likely is that China needs Russia’s nuclear umbrella. And so I would imagine does the rest of the non-Western world.
In any event, for those of us who are Orthodox, perhaps we should listen less to the Fordhamite wing of our Church and more to bishops who know what it’s like to suffer under the jackboot of American exceptionalism. Perhaps they should listen to the words of Patriarch Porphirij of Serbia on the matter of Western moralism (told from the perspective of the destruction visited upon his country by the “good guys.” Let us consider as well these words from an archbishop in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem: https://russian-faith.com/news-people-trends-persecution/immoral-inhumane-western-regimes-double-standards-ukraine-palestine
Are we not tired of the tendentious phariseeism of the the Fordhamites at this point? We should be. After all, unlike us, normal people in other parts of the world find it very hard to “strain on gnats while swallowing camels.” (Matt 23:24) This is not to say that they actually swallow, you know, camels.
___________________________________________________________
Please watch the following homily from a Catholic priest. It’s probably the most enlightening twenty minutes you’ll ever spend:
Thanks for the video of the Catholic priest. It would interesting to know if he’s with some traditionalist or sede group, a priest talking like this in a normal novus ordo parish would be truly mind-blowing…
He is a member of the FSSP which is a traditional society of priests still in communion with Rome.
But not necessarily in communion with Pachamama?
There are a large number of TradCats who are coming to Orthodoxy because of this very cognitive dissonance
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Yes, George, “paleface” indeed.
There is certainly a racial/ethnic component to the madness we are beholding. This is the decline of the Great White Western Empire that was to rule the world (“for a thousand years”, if you want to go there). “H*tler had the right idea, wrong political ideology” – so they would say if forced to be candid.
The New World Order is simply the Fourth Reich. Logic has a mind of its own. Power tends to concentrate itself. Neoliberals are akin to heretical N*zis who simply demur on the question of race, but only for internal political purposes. The Master Race? How about American Exceptionalism? Lebensraum? Ever hear of Manifest Destiny, perpetual NATO expansion? Mengele? How about Fauci and biolabs in the Ukraine researching biowarfare particularly genetically targeting Slavs.
What does power as conceived by those fateful Austrians/Germans and by our own elite have in common? It is being accumulated by non-Christian, global imperialists. Morality does not restrain them nor do national sovereignties. They are, literally, mad men attempting to take over the world. This is why I’m a Christian Nationalist.
I’m not concerned about regional hegemons. The world has always had them. I would be only mildly concerned by an Orthodox world hegemon. But that would presume large scale voluntary conversions of entire nations which would take centuries. We have a lot of evangelism to do before that even becomes a possibility. And our way is conciliarity. A world government would likely be headed by a primus inter pares of Orthodox nations whose power would be limited.
But I doubt we’ll get there if the Apocalypse of St. John is to be believed. At least, not on this side of the Second Coming.
A world hegemon that plays the Whore of Babylon would be the worst of all possible worlds, on par with world communism. And that is what the Great White Western Empire aspires to become. So this is a war for the survival of all faiths (but especially Holy Orthodoxy) against Globalist Neoliberalism, the new “National Socialism”. The Hindus know it. The Muslims know it. And now the Orthodox Slavs know it. And the Chinese pseudo-communist Confucian nationalists are being rudely awakened to that reality even as we speak.
A noble vision
Thank you, Brendan.
George and Gail, congratulations on cutting the cord. Ten years ago I experimented with a year away from cable and radio. I wanted to see how it would affect conversation with coworkers. At the same time, I began reading Orthodoxy in earnest.
In the first year, the gap became awkward. I couldn’t respond to lunchtime conversation about sitcoms and movies: “You remember that scene where…” And coworkers couldn’t respond to things I learned through Orthodox saints. We began speaking different languages.
Along the way I learned that the great scholars and saints of East and West were not necessarily specially gifted with greater intelligence; they had fewer distractions and followed their deep thirst for learning with single-minded intensity. It was sobering to realize how much further along I could have been, much earlier in my life, had I learned to follow the trail of learning and not have wasted precious time watching TV.
Today, nine years later, and determined to remain passive media-free for the rest of my life, I have learned a painful lesson: reading well and deeply is a certain path to loneliness. I have to be careful what I say publicly because very few are willing to even consider a non-media-derived perspective. That our Protestantism has weaknesses and that Orthodoxy has a stronger foundation is a mind-blowing impossibility; I must — obviously — be under some kind of crazy spell. That President Putin and Mr. Lavrov articulate Christian, wise, long-suffering patience and impressive restraint in their mission to protect the Church, families, and state sovereignty both in the RF and in Ukraine — am I suffering a psychotic break from reality needing medication?! That America is controlled by a network of criminals who have sold their souls to Satan for 30 miserable pieces of silver — he’s not patriotic!! No, No, and No . . . I can now see through the lies much better than before, and I am becoming Orthodox.
Congratulations on cutting the cable. Your lives will be changed. Please share your reflections in a few years’ time. It should be interesting.
I can so relate to “seeing lies” like never before. It’s almost overwhelming. – You’re in good company here.
Same. When I started paying attention to things more clearly rather than as a “normie” I realized how much we are lied to on a daily basis.
Same here, to some extent, re: “seeing lies”. However I still sometimes am unsure when something is a lie vs. lazy regurgitation of the lies that inundate media pundits, “journalists”, laypersons, friends and family members, etc.
Case in point – here is an article written by someone on the Fox staff that compares Zelenskyy to Reagan. You can skip the link, the article can be summarized by the final two sentences:
“In many ways, Zelenskyy is now following in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps, surviving attempts on his life while battling an ideology that threatens to destroy the lives and freedoms of all Ukrainians. It’s the role of a lifetime – some would even say a “Divine Plan” and one that has been decades in the making.”
Lies or incompetent/lazy journalism – who knows.
For those so inclined –> https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/ronald-reagan-volodymyr-zelenskyy-michael-mcgonigle
Russell, this is a great post. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thank you Russell for your great comments. I loved this line in particular: “I have to be careful what I say publicly because very few are willing to even consider a non-media-derived perspective.” This is the spot on truth. So sad.
I cancelled cable back in the mid 2000’s. Had to watch the last season of the Sopranos at a friend’s house. After that, I was done. If I’m out where there’s a tv, I may pay attention for a few minutes, but other than clips I come across on the internet, I am tv free and have been for over 15 years.
TV gives you a false sense of community with people with whom you do not want to associate if you think it through. You are subjected to all manner of nonsense, cutsie stupidity, foolishness and downright evil. TV helps establish the norms of the political establishment as valid and dominant.
For example, I remember a number of the TV series from my youth: All in the Family, Maude, MASH, etc. They all assumed progressivism as the moral compass. We were brainwashed from the crib.
It is hard to watch all the videos of Ukrainian men lying in the street after being executed by retreating Russian troops as they left the area around Kyiv…
It’s easier if you realize that it’s all bs and propaganda and that the Russians left several days before the pictures were taken of mostly persons displayed face down and choreographed so that tanks and apc’s could wind through them:
https://youtu.be/O0qcv4bYPlo
https://www.moonofalabama.org/
https://twitter.com/MoonofA/status/1510635534321860611
https://mobile.twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/1510648066403143683/photo/1
Many have been predicting some false flag from the Ukrainians since the discovery of the biolabs. There is an effort afoot by the Biden Regime to stir public support for NATO intervention. That is all this is. The Russians have no interest in doing anything of which they are being accused.
Russia really undercuts their own lies when they turn around and use straight up genocidal language in state media:
https://ria.ru/20220403/ukraina-1781469605.html
Gives a lot of indirect support to the pre-war intelligence on extensive kill lists of prominent Ukrainian political and social figures.
Oh, there are kill lists to be sure, and prominent Ukrainian and social figures are indeed at the top. This is not only going on in Ukraine. There is a lot of housecleaning going on around the globe.
493 new billionaires were added to the list of billionaires, fueled by a soaring stock market and the modern economic situation.
List of 40 billionaires who got rich off of COVID:
https://greatgameindia.com/list-of-40-billionaires-who-got-rich-from-covid/
The writer was not a government official or speaking on behalf of the government and his article was removed by the publisher, just giving his own questionable idea of what “should” happen.
Cite the offensive passage. It’s a long article. I read several paragraphs and it seems like standard speculation on denazification and re-education of some percentage of the masses taken in by Banderism. I didn’t see anything particularly severe but I got bored about half way through. It’s mostly just opinions about how not to distinguish between Azov and regular Ukrainian forces, which in the author’s mind have been fairly nazified, and how to re-educate some slice of the public taken in by the lies.
The site http://RIA.RU doesn’t work at all. Maybe it’s because I’m in the US and the US might be antidemocratically blocking Russian websites. If so, it hurts Americans’ ability to be informed.
I saw a copy on the archive website and highlights made from it by a critic hostile to the article, and fortunately none of that called for mass ethnic killing of Ukrainians or genocide.
Russia has been increasingly cutting off their internet from the outside world, not the other way around. For now it’s a lot easier to work around than China.
This is one of the English translations, there are a few I’ve seen:
https://gist.github.com/NamesMark/61750679f7e4459b85b709e14c48853c
Some commentary on why the term genocide increasingly applies:
https://twitter.com/eugene_finkel/status/1510951119991812098
Thanks for the links, Nate.
I think you and I agree that our country (USA) should not be blocking Russian information. For Americans to be informed decisionmakers on issues, we need the full range of information to be accessible.
Radio Free Europe reports:
“YouTube Blocks Russian State-Funded Media Channels Globally,”
March 11, 2022
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-youtube-blocking-internationally/31748880.html
“YouTube on March 11 broadened its blocking of Russian state-linked media channels to apply internationally after initially barring them only in Europe following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.”
RT America Shuts Down Amid Russian State-Media Bans
By Rebecca Alter, MAR. 6, 2022
https://www.vulture.com/2022/03/youtube-tiktok-meta-block-russia-owned-rt.html
It’ll be a true tragedy when the truth comes out about who “genocided” the people in Bucha.
But then again, you probably believed that Assad gassed his own people.
Bucha is just the tip of the iceberg. No, not every allegation of Russian atrocity is going to turn out to be true. But the majority? Most probably. And you will no doubt take all the forthcoming photo evidence, satellite evidence, forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts and proclaim it all fake because you have already chosen not to believe it.
For instance, the correspondent account in this thread:
https://twitter.com/JamesAALongman/status/1511425069372817410
It would be interesting to see if you are willing to publicly state that Mykola is a liar. A simple yes or no will suffice. Dare you admit the account might be true?
Nate, take a look at your vaunted satellite image. Notice the date?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pePfCOrysY
It was yesterday. That was five days after the Russians evacuated from Bucha. And three days after the Good Nazis took control.
Btw, I’m gonna start calling them Good Nazis from now on.
Then again, I better be careful. At the rate CNN/FOX/MSNBC are going, the American Left will rehabilitate Herr Hitler.
George, dates is detail.
Nate don’t do detail…
Multiple providers captured bodies in imagery dated from mid-March on, prior to the Russian withdrawal . It wasn’t just Maxar, but Planet Labs. And that’s just the commercial imagery:
https://twitter.com/defencehq/status/1511424027394457611
At commercial 50cm resolution you don’t even need the NRO to declassify anything. So just move on to the next lie that it’s all faked already.
I don’t think anyone said there weren’t any bodies. They just weren’t all (if any) dead.
Is this a video of one of the Bucha victims still alive?:
https://twitter.com/ijquel/status/1511458113609555970
He’s moving. It must have been terrible to be in that one position for so long.
If the mainstream media and social influencers are pushing something with rabid ferocity, it is probably a lie. That is the best heuristic for navigating the world in 2022.
Here is today’s UK Column News.
The first three minutes or so has video of
Ukrainian soldiers lifting Ukrainian citizens
who might not be sufficiently hostile to Russia.
https://rumble.com/vzyoli-uk-column-news-6th-april-2022.html
The video is not nice…
The link didn’t work for me. They must have taken it down. 🙁
Try this:
https://www.ukcolumn.org/ukcolumn-news/uk-column-news-6th-april-2022
I’ve noticed they all have these spiffy new uniforms, some too small, some too big. But the one thing these Nazis all have in common is they are vicious, vicious people. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they have put a chip in them to make them this way. It’s like they have rabies or something.
People have speculated from the emergence of the Bucha narrative about what’s wrong with it. The underlying reality is that Russia has no motivation whatsoever to do this nor does it have any record in this conflict of doing such things. That is why it smells to high heaven. This narrative emerges conveniently now that pressure is on for NATO involvement.
There’s no reason to believe it could not be an amalgamation of photos and video, some of real bodies, some of actors, etc. Due to the fact that the Russians withdrew on the 30th and the videos came out several days later, the most likely explanation is that this was all done by the Ukronz’s. Probably they executed some number of collaborators when they reoccupied these territories. But the body placements and clues from the photos themselves indicates that the pool of coverage has been polluted with fake staged images. They are starting to do similar things in other parts of the country and Russia itself has warned of other false flag operations in a number of cities of which they have caught wind.
Bear in mind, if the standard is cui bono, the only group that benefits from these “atrocities” is the Ukrofascists. They get a propaganda campaign and they alone had the motivation to massacre civilian collaborators.
The rest of it is smoke, mirrors, sh*t and games.
The Russians wanted a UN Security Council meeting on the subject and a proper neutral investigation which surely would have worked against the Ukies. Britain blocked this. They do not want anyone coming near the truth. They have a tale to tell.
Looking through it further, I do see that it calls for the liquidation of the
“Banderist elite”, which I assume is the upper echelons of the neo-NZ movement. All I can say to that is, “Amen”. I don’t see any general animus against the Ukrainian people even though some with other axes to grind may want to find one.
Scott Ritter was on The Duran today and speculated that what probably happened in Bucha was that since Russian forces had received cooperation from Ukrainians there, trading dry goods for fresh, etc., that when the Russians withdrew the NZ’s executed collaborators and then alleged it was Russians killing people as they retreated. That would explain the bodies having been moved, the bound hands, etc.:
https://twitter.com/Levi_godman/status/1510698735554244612
Autopsies done within days of the killing might very well tell the real tale, but the Ukies have no interest in allowing or facilitating that. Unless that were to happen, quickly, it should all be dismissed as Ukie disinformation. Time of death could be determined to the day and hour and would exclude Russian perpetrators.
Ritter was very impressive.
Also, the Russians demanded an emergency session of the UN Security Council to investigate this alleged war crime.
For some reason, the British are against this.
Kinda makes you go, “hmmm….”
Looks like they manufactured their false flag in Bucha. I watched a video by an American who is in Ukraine. Although he states that he cannot speak to what happened in Bucha, he said that the Russian troops he has interacted with have behaved decently and compassionately. They are under strict orders to not commit crimes against civilians.
It’s hard to watch all the normies actually swallowing this BS.
I think people should be very cautious of anything from Archbishop Theodosis……remember how all in he was on the George Floyd/Systemic racism nonsense? He’s a marxist……https://www.adc.org/his-excellency-archbishop-theososios-atallah-hannas-statement-in-solidarity-with-the-anti-racism-movement-in-america/
He has a very colorful past.
I recall the “Marxism” charge being an exaggerated falsehood, which is not to mean that his positions on topics are necessarily good either.
It reminds me of how during the McCarthy period, a Republican Senator claimed that about half of America (referring to the Democratic Party) was “Communist”, which was really meant as a slander and was not actually correct.
McCarthy was right. The slanders were in the leftist’s accounts of McCarthy’s statements. The FDR and Truman administrations were full of Communists who were receiving direction from The Kremlin. Chambers was right; Hiss was on the payroll of Stalin, etc. Diana West wrote an excellent book about much of this; her conclusion that the real winner of WWII and the Cold War was Stalin is, unfortunately, accurate.
Although Sen McCarthy was not the most elegant of men, true patriots owe him an immense debt of gratitude. He was 100% correct that the Fed govt was riddled with Soviet spies.
McCarthyism was an anti-Democratic hysteria screwed onto what should be a Republic. It’s a bit like the anti-Russia hysteria foisted onto US political discourse and politics today. People went to prison under McCarthyism who didn’t commit real crimes but rather the “crime” of having the “wrong” belief. How many people today have been sentenced on anti-Russia based charges that are either made up or exaggerated? Do you believe that Putin made Trump win the election? I don’t. The same thing was true in the 1950’s and it set a very bad precedent for democracy. The hysteria was that there was a mass secret CPUSA network when in fact Hoover knew quite well that the CPUSA in the 1950’s was quite small. The lure and temptation to someone on the Right of trying to promote McCarthyism is deceptive, and indirectly and ultimately self destructive for Democracy, including your rights, by its eroding of real Democracy and replacement with repression with Democratic feathers.
Regards.
Hysteria is hysteria,
whoever suffers from it.
Here is an extract from a book review
about an investigation into a similar subject:
” Some people, rather like McCarthy with Communists in the 1950s, are inclined to see Freemasons behind every desk and department. Others, reacting against this excess, dismiss the whole idea as nuttery, as a “conspiracy theory” that has no basis in reality.
Both extremes suffer from the defect of being impatient, unhistorical, and unphilosophical. A patient examination of the evidence will indicate that, indeed, some infiltration did occur; as Roberto de Mattei says, history is full of real conspiracies that historians can and do find out about through their research. A truly historical attitude investigates all the evidence rather than prematurely foreclosing the possibilities on account of assumptions, prejudice, or discomfort. A philosophical spirit is courageous about looking into all causes, great and small, certain, probable, and possible. … ” [Emphasis in the original]
https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2022/04/announcing-fr-charles-murrs-new-book-of.html
Rushes to judgement may be repented at leisure…
Hal, when I speak of “McCarthyism” in connection with Sen McCarthy, I do so with the implicit understanding that his job was to investigate whether there were Communists and/or Soviet agents in the bowels of the Federal government.
There were. He successfully identified several Soviet spies in the State Dept and these were turned over to the Dept of Justice for adjudication.
The fact that there was a resultant hysteria in which some liberals and leftists who were civilians and were persecuted is ancillary to the fact. Unfortunate no doubt. Still, even here, as we know about the Rosenberg spy ring, even civilians were saboteurs working for the USSR.
This is closer to the truth.
But it’s ancient history. There are plenty of fresh and active liberal lies to refute.
“The heinous murder of George Floyd reminds us that…”
not all bishops always know what they are talking about.
I watched nearly the entire Chauvin trial. It seems clear from the evidence presented that Floyd died from a fentanyl overdose. I wish I didn’t understand why the jury found Chauvin guilty; but, I do. As for Bishops, didn’t St John Chrysostom say that the path to hell was paved with Bishop’s skulls?
The Road to Hell is Paved with the Skulls of Bishops
Published by Admin on Thursday, 13 September 2018
By Thom
‘ So saith today’s saint, the incomparable Saint John Chrysostom (c. 347–407). He was, of course, himself a bishop.
It seems that this pithy quote is a popularization of the full (attributed) quote, where the saint is talking about the relatively few in number who will be saved and the bad shepherds who are responsible:
” The road to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops are the lamp posts that light the path.” … ‘
The quote has also been attributed to (among others) St Athanasius.
It is possible that he coined the original aphorism
and St John later elaborated on it.
However, it may possibly be a development of James 3:1
My brethren, be not many masters [ie: teachers], knowing
that we shall receive the greater condemnation. [KJV]
Sorry… Here is the link:
https://zelanti.org/the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-the-skulls-of-bishops/
It’s a sad fact of life that many non-Europeans, while being pretty red-pilled on the Zionist question and other hot geopolitical topics, simply fall for the whole ‘institutional racism’ etc. rhetoric due to their bad experiences of Western colonialism.
“I believed, so I spake; but I was greatly humbled
I said in my confusion, All men are liars.” Ps. 115
The torrent of bad news is indeed overwhelming. It’s only made worse when friends and family aren’t keeping up with events. Or when they are steeped in the propaganda. They sometimes look at you askance, even if you present evidence for the corruption and speak of the need to do something about it.
Denial is a potent tranquilizer.
Protestant Christians close to the heart often fail to see the narrowness of their confession, not realizing the rich authenticity of the ancient Faith. They have little idea how important the Orthodoxy factor is in the current Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
The $64,000 question is whether these issues are crucial enough to raise them in conversation and, by doing so, risk losing the respect and affection of those close to us when we need them the most.
Well, Orban won in Hungary, Vucic in Serbia, and Imran Khan (Pakistan) avoided a no confidence vote and dissolved parliament for new elections in 90 days. Here’s a video by Coach Red Pill on the Bucha Hoax pseudo massacre in the Ukraine. I assume the legacy media will run with it for a while before it’s “officially” debunked after it’s done its initial damage.
All in all, I’ll take the political victories. There’s a cartoon in Russia with two Soviet soldiers in front of the Reichstag in Germany just as the big swastika with the eagle on top is dynamited. One is offering a cigarette to the other who says, “You know, they say we’re losing the propaganda war.”
Can you give a link to the cartoon, please?
I went through a couple of pages but couldn’t find it. It was described to me rather than shown. If I find it I will include it in a comment.
Thanks
Misha, I pray that you are right and the Bucha hoax will soon be exposed. I fear that, as in Bosnia, Syria, Iraq, etc. it will be the reason Biden sends American troops into the fray.
Doubt it. The war on the ground is done. Complete. Russia has won. Western military leaders are not all stupid and know this fact very well. Sending some American or French or German boys (or girls, or trans folks?) as a “gesture” wouldn’t be supported by the people and would be useless. Barring a WW3 style ground war, Russia has this one won.
But the Western propanganda war continues full-steam-ahead. Remember that in the minds of Western secular progressive leaders, what matters not is reality, but rather theater and perception – “the story that one tells.”
It’s sort of a fascinating contrast to watch between Russia’s approach to this war and the West’s approach. And I’m not trying to glamorize war — it is awful, I’ve been in war and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But Russia’s goal is to win on the ground and secure their military objectives. End of story. They care little what happens on Twitter or on the news or online. Contrast that with the secular West’s objectives which are to win the Twitter/CNN/propaganda fight, to “tell the better story,” since they believe that’s what matters.
It’s like a fight between those in the trenches vs those behind their laptops. Who wins? It’s almost like oil fighting water. The underlying sociocultural frameworks and foundational beliefs are so unbelievably different. Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations in real time.
And it is a fight. If I let someone believe something that probably isn’t true, that person may influence others.
Usually, people believe what supports their own narrative and it’s tough to break through their shell of denial. “Russia has to be the bad guy because Russia is bad.” That’s the way they think. If we don’t get more people to see the truth there will be more of the same insanity.
I don’t know about you, but I am not in a happy place.
People have got to change their minds and look at things more objectively and the only way they will do that is to POUND IT INTO THEM in many cases! Eventually, they get tired of promoting their positions because they can’t substantiate them.
Say what you will (you know I love you), but this laptop is all I have to convince people, and perhaps it’s arrogance on my part, but I think I’ve convinced a few. 😉
In Britland the ‘thinking’ is more like:
“Russia has to be the bad guy because [the BBC says] Russia is bad.”
It’s the same ‘thought processes’ on CO2 and anti-Vaxxers…
Of course!
And what did they win?
RUSSIANS ARE PEACE-LOVING BUT EVER READY TO DEFEND THEIR HOMELAND, SAYS PATRIARCH KIRILL
His homily:
I’m very glad that I had the opportunity today to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in this beautiful church, in the presence of our servicemen. Today our fatherland is going through a difficult time. Today, again, the name “military man” is associated not only with being in a peaceful state, but also with being on the battlefield. Fortunately, our fatherland doesn’t face the battlefield so often, but the arrival of young people in the Armed Forces who aspire to become officers, who strive to devote their lives to the defense of the fatherland, doesn’t dry up. And if in peacetime this can be explained by some privileges or material considerations, then in wartime service in the Armed Forces is a real feat, and we are experiencing exactly such a time now. The service requires readiness from everyone who has taken the oath to defend the motherland without sparing his life; and therefore, today our special prayer is for the Armed Forces, for our soldiers, with whom the hope for security, freedom, and true independence of our country is associated.
Today, the word “independence” is often applied to almost all countries of the world. But this is wrong, because most of the countries of the world are now under the colossal influence of one force, which today, unfortunately, opposes the power of our people. And since this is so, since there is a big force there, we must be very strong. When I say “we,” I mean, first of all, the Armed Forces—but not only. All our people should wake up today and understand that a special time has come, on which may depend the historical fate of our people.
That’s why I celebrated the Divine Liturgy here today, in this church—to meet first of all with representatives of our Armed Forces, to address them, and through them to our entire army, navy, and all defenders of the fatherland, so that they would realize the historical importance of the moment they’re experiencing. I want to say again and again: We’re a peace-loving country and a very peace-loving, long-suffering people who have suffered from wars in a way that few European nations have. We have no desire for war or to do something that could harm others. But we’ve been brought up by our entire history to love our fatherland and be ready to defend it as only Russians can defend their country.
When I say these words, I’m not giving any empty compliments at all. I’m starting from the history of our people, from the history of our Armed Forces. After all, we broke the backbone of fascism, which, undoubtedly, would have defeated the world if not for Russia, if not for the feat of our people. May the Lord help us today, so that we, being peaceful, peace-loving and modest people, would also be ready—always and under any circumstances—to protect our home.
Of course, when I say all this, I don’t cease to feel anxiety for all the people who live in the places where military clashes are taking place today. After all, all these are people and peoples of Holy Rus’, they’re all are our brothers and sisters. But, as in the Middle Ages, wanting to weaken Russia, different forces pushed brothers against each other, plunging them into internecine warfare, so it happens today. Therefore, we have to do everything we can to stop the bloodshed and to avoid the danger of internecine warfare with all its consequences. But at the same time, we must be faithful—when I say “we,” I mean, first of all, military personnel—to our oath and readiness to “lay down our lives for our friend,” as the word of God testifies.
…All of you, my dear ones—Your Eminences, fathers, brothers, sisters, servicemen, military leaders, our youth—I once again cordially greet and congratulate you on this Sunday and wish all of us to preserve the strength of spirit, the ability to pray for the fatherland and for ourselves, the ability to always maintain inner strength that can be translated into different situations, including multiplying the power of our Armed Forces. May the Lord preserve our land, our fatherland for many blessed years!
+ Amen. +
I went through a couple of pages but couldn’t find it. It was described to me rather than shown. If I find it I will include it in a comment.
Many people choose to believe the lie and lie themselves because it’s more comfortable.
The truth stings. The truth is painful. This was proven to us by a man who was crucified for telling us the truth to take away the sins of the world and many today still turn their faces away.
The truth and reality for many will be like a crystal bullet at the final moment when the nous and the psyche go – oops!
Macron’s fate may depend on the resolution of the Mariupol steel factory situation. Reports suggest that it is French special forces types trapped there with the NZ’s whom they were training. It has even been suggested that the NZ’s are holding them hostage stating that they cannot be evac’d without taking them along. – from Duran, news topic 475.
Too precious for words. I’d send another nice little barrage of hypersonic missiles to deal with the whole nest of vipers. Of course, it may be better for the Russians to have prisoners, or at least identifiable corpses, so as to embarrass the French.
Shock Election Poll: Le Pen Leads Macron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgHLQSb35Js
[Video – 02:48]
“I am opposed to self-defense. … And I don’t want a country where…
we consider that it’s up to the citizens to defend themselves.”
Couple of things that the boys at The Duran went into that are underappreciated and perhaps cloud the issue for some. One is the commitment of the neo-fascists (Nuland, Sullivan, etc.) who do not fear escalation for some reason. They are true ideologues and thus very dangerous if they get their way inasmuch as Russia will not be conquered and, though it does not seek escalation, also does not fear it.
The other is that all this wishful thinking about the Russians taking out Putin is utter rubbish – for two reasons:
First, Putin’s popularity has only increased as a result of the war and sanctions. It’s in the mid-80’s and rising. Moreover, the political class to whom he has some measure of accountablity, the siloviki, are fully behind him.
Secondly, even if he were deposed, the sentiment in Russia is such that a harder man would take his place who would take pains to put the fear of God into the West without reservation as to the consequences. That is the tenor of Russian public opinion at the moment. Putin is considered a moderate and people have been irate at the sanctions and hatred coming from the West and feel that Putin could be using a heavier hand to shock the West to its senses.
So the policy of regime change won’t work and the idiots pursuing it would not want it to work if they realized the consequences. It just demonstrates that far from being some deeply thought out plan by the West, this is a master class in stupidity and ignorance.
Misha, who would that harder man be?
I know only a little about Russian politics, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone of Putin’s caliber waiting stage right. Zhirinovsky just died and Medvedev is too weak. Lavrov? Shoigu?
I remember a guy named SAM who used to comment on this blog. He had an excellent blog of his own, as I recall. He was an expert on Antioch.
When he saw me complaining about Metropolitan Philip he said to me, “but you don’t know who they would select to replace him, and then you would morn his loss.” Or something to that effect. Until that moment, it never occurred to me that the rest of the metropolitans from which they might choose could be even worse in terms of old-world style.
When the time came to recommend 3 bishops to replace Metropolitan Philip, I remembered the constitution of the patriarchate and of the U.S. are different. If the patriarchate didn’t like our choices, they could substitute one of their own candidates.
SAM’s words echoed in my head when it came time to make a recommendation. I recommended Metropolitan Joseph because I felt he was the only candidate to which they would not say no. I saw in Joseph a man who could straddle both sides, as he had been required to do most of his life. But he was not his predecessor. He has a monastic mindset and though he was obedient to Metropolitan Philip, he was not like Metropolitan Philip.
On balance, I think I was right about him. As our shepherd, I do wish he would open the doors to talk to us more. It seems like all our bishops think that only the “theologians” and “experts” have the insight to make the right recommendations. But this is not always true. There are many who love the Church who would make themselves available to shed some light on a problem. If he had allowed it, I think he would have walked away with a better understanding of the issue.
“Come reason together,” as Scripture tells us. We each have God-given gifts and something of value to contribute. Every single thing we said about the COVID/Vaccine matter proved to be true. And had they listened, they wouldn’t have pointed frightened people toward taking the vaccines.
Anyway, it’s usually someone waiting in the wings, that you don’t know, who turns out to be the nightmare.
Sounds like “Samn!” who runs the Notes on Arab Orthodoxy blog. He has published a couple of very interesting books and occasionally turns up on various comment sections with highly valuable and informative posts. It’d be great if he would return to Monomakhos.
Yes! That’s him! I think so, too.
I’ve just read the latest blogpost on Arab Orthodoxy. It is a lucid explanation as of Feb. 1 2022 of global Orthodox politics as it has been cleft between East and West. Of course now that the war is on, the rift is even more pronounced.
The article was written by Carol Saba, apparently in Arabic and posted by “Samn!”, who perhaps is the translator, but maybe it was the author herself who translated it. I was left impressed by the flowing English rendering of the text, which is one lengthy paragraph of a few compound-complex sentences. It reminds one of a Victorian style of writing. Having done a bit of translating myself, I know how cumbersome such work can be. Well executed! Here it is:
http://araborthodoxy.blogspot.com
Arab Orthodoxy used to be a different sort of site. It was more like ours with feature stories. It was very, very good. I had no idea SAMN was a woman!
Samn! is a guy. I think he lives in Belgium now.
I thought someone said something about a “Carol.”
The poster may not be the author,
though it would be a natural assumption…
Shoigu, Gerasimov, Sechin, Patrushev, there are others. I don’t want to speculate about who has the balls, but they all have shown “hardness” over their careers. Gerasimov, for example, was a commander in the Second Chechen War. Sechin may be the hardest by reputation. He now heads Rosneft but formerly was Deputy Prime Minister. Some in the West might discount Shoigu, who is Tuvan on his father’s side (hence the name), but his mother was Ukrainian.
Well, there are good candidates among the siloviki, but my concern is that they are all a little older. The ideal replacement for someone like Putin would be another relatively young guy who can take the helm for a couple of decades, just as Putin did.
This is true, but we are discussing a coup, not succession. Putin’s successor will be whoever he wants it to be, probably younger but just as ‘vigorous”. As a practical matter, only the siloviki control enough of the upper echelons of security and military to enable a coup to succeed, if it could. But that is highly unlikely because they agree with Putin, are well compensated and have only been hardened in their determination to prosecute this war to conclusion by unfolding events. The worst visceral sentiments of the siloviki about the West have only been confirmed by the nature of the sanctions and the hateful Russophobia now espoused here.
“we are discussing a coup, not succession.”
Ah, I overlooked that part. I think that either way – the unlikely coup or succession – will lead to a harder candidate.
THIS JUST IN FROM ONE OF MY CONTACTS ON THE GROUND IN ODESSA:
“Just received news from Odessa. There are Ukrainian troops changing their uniforms into Russian [ones]. There is a huge provocation being prepared [to make it look like Russian soldiers are indiscriminately killing innocent Ukrainians].”
Taken right from the Hitler playbook! In 1939, the Nazis dressed up Germans in Polish uniforms and proceeded to stage incidents. Josef Goebbels lives on on Odessa!
A list of the countries who have not agreed to the US/EU sanctions on Russia:
India is but one example of the shift in power. Out of 195 countries, only 30 have honored the US sanctions on Russia. That means about 165 countries in the world have refused to join the sanctions. Those countries represent by far the majority of the world’s population. Most of Africa, Latin America (including Mexico and Brazil), East Asia (excepting Japan, South Korea, both occupied by U.S. troops and hence not sovereign, Singapore and the renegade Chinese Province of Taiwan) have refused. (India and China alone represent 35% of humanity.)
I expect the Solomon Islands do not agree either. 🙂