Who ARE These People?

Has the world gone crazy?  Congress certainly has.  I have no words.  They are all certifiable.  

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/12/22/volodymyr-zelensky-us-congress-address-applause-vpx.cnn

 

Comments

  1. I must confess being a (non-violent) revolutionary at this point, rather than a dissident. Trump, though I may still vote for him in 2024, is almost irrelevant. The whole edifice is rotten to the core. I do not discount that you could reconstruct an acceptable system under the present constitution given a dominant party system like, for example, they have in Singapore; however, I’m not married to the present constitution, only tolerant of it.

    International politics and the geopolitical situation are much more encouraging at this point. MAGA has proven itself weaker than the Uniparty through the 2020 and 2022 elections. It’s strong in the South and some other places, but it is not strong enough to ensure election integrity in enough of the country to avert Liberal fascist/totalitarian control. Basically, the Uniparty is in charge, the game is rigged and it is Soviet Amerika. Of course, all things must pass, so that is likely not the last word. However, for the time being and foreseeable future it is. Recognizing it is essential to eventually overcoming it.

    The Republican Party is probably finished. I abandoned it when it abandoned Trump. Currently, I’m registered as “other”. A house divided against itself cannot stand. The Liberal Uniparty will consolidate its rule in the West and watch its power shrink internationally. Eventually, a challenge will come from a hard right candidate (not Trump, more likely an Orban/Le Pen/Putin figure) but Soviet Amerika is not ready for that yet. We haven’t suffered enough. Liberalism, though, is instilling a truly ponderous and fierce hatred in much of the populace due to the feminist/green/LGBT aspects and its despotic attitude toward election fraud.

    I feel like the Spirit has been yelling in my ear for about the last six years or so to flee Sodom and Gomorrah while there is still time. I ask myself what could change, even a hypothetical glorious triumph of MAGA, which would make this a decent country? I just don’t see that in my lifetime there is a path to a serious turnaround, a restoration of Christian patriarchy.

    • George Michalopulos says

      Misha, I agree with you in the main. The system is rigged. There’s no question about that.

      As for the Constitution, it exists but it’s basically a fig leaf at this point. As in, what’s the difference between a man walking down the street who’s completely naked and one who has a fig leaf? Not much. That’s where we’re at with the Constitution.

      The good news is that no sociopolitical system which is based on as many delusions as we are currently laboring under can –or will–survive for much longer. That doesn’t mean that it can’t do a lot of damage on its way down.

    • I recommend considering to move to Russia as thousands of people from the west have been doing during the last few years. We’re slowly forming immigrant communities here and having some sympathy from the government with easier paths for work visa or immigration. Tourist VISAs to Russia are not very expensive and there’s no difficulty entering as a tourist, it’s about a thousand US dollars for a one way ticket. They may or may not question you for an an hour at the airport. Making it your home if you’re Orthodox and have a little savings to find a new job and new life is not that difficult. If you need a job the Church or monastery nearest will put on the path to work or find you cheap lodging until you’re established. In Moscow, the largest and most beautiful city in Europe, plenty of people speak english and learning the language is not impossible. I can vouch that life here in Russia is absolutely wonderful. It has one giant tribe, one nation united together in what matters most. Strong economy, family values, Church keeps government excess at bay. A little bit of alcoholism and problems with divorce exist here but the warm hospitality and trust society has for each other makes up for those problems. The idea of one world government and doing a technocratic biometric controlled society is never viable here. Russia is not China (they’re allies of convenience for political reasons only), some leaders in Russia want such sickness but the vast majority do not, therefore I would not see that as anything mroe that a passing problem in the process of being fought back. Patriarch Kyrill recently spoke out against the biometric ID systems here, just as he did the Vac passport idea last year. Both ideas will die because Church and Secular society are both dead set against them. This nation survived 75 years of communism, not for nothing but to learn valuable lessons. The same problems are not about to be repeated. Even the athiests in Russia more often hold Christian influenced values most than the ones in west, sounds crazy until you see it yourself. Here they gradually moves itself away from these destructive ideologies and those who sympathize with them more and more leave the country. Russia, China, Africa, Asia, South America. This is the future. Europe and North America are dead for this decade. May God have mercy on EU and US/Canada, but judge them accordingly. You’ll never see another rainbow again here, but you will see a flag of holy martyrs and representing the Holy Orthodox Church here. 🙂 Slava russiya!

      • I’m actually planning on buying a ticket to Russia sometime soon for sometime in Fall of 2023.

        Just in case the sh** hits the fan here in America (hasn’t it already?), I’ll have the ticket just in case. I’ll already be in Europe next September anyways, so why not.

        My main concern about living in Russia is employment. I have a job that’s applicable to anywhere in the world (I work for an engineering firm that deals with the power grid in the U.S), but not sure if working remote is feasible anymore.

        • Gail Sheppard says

          Plus, you have to speak Russian to move there.

          When you go, you should speak to Father Joseph and George may know of some other people you might want to speak to.

      • “Russia, China, Africa, Asia, South America. This is the future. Europe and North America are dead…”

        You’re absolutely correct… the “Western Liberalism” that many Western academics and pseudo-intellectuals delusionally thought would rule the world forever is officially dead. Our idiotic western leaders most likely know this fact but are terrified of acknowledging it to the public.

        I, for one, won’t be leaving my country…. As a retired Army O-6 there’s simply too much I’ve lived and suffered for America to abandon her…. My mother’s family has been here forever, my dad’s family came from Eastern Europe about 100 years ago. God sent us here, and I don’t think He wants us to run when things get tough. Someone needs to raise our children and to be examples of sanity here. Someone needs to teach them how to learn to love God. No plans to leave.

        There are millions of us scrappy, steadfast Americans who are ready to reclaim our country from the morons who currently control it. Count me among those who will be leading the American rebuild from the ashes. We’re all poised and waiting….

        • Christopher says

          https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/cia-directing-sabotage-attacks-inside-russia-report <– loyal americans blood is on the hands of every russian killed here. It is surprisingly easy to realize the same goals within the USA. Think of all the electrical grids in the USA that have been sabotaged in 2022, more than any other year in recorded history.

          • George Michalopulos says

            Christopher, over the past year, I’ve noticed that several American sub-stations have been sabotaged. It’s making me wonder…

          • To be fair, though, Christopher, anyone with half a brain, whether he’s an American Orthodox Christian, an American Muslim, an American SBNR or “None,” whatever, knows that this garbage that passes as an American governing philosophy and structure won’t last long….

            There must remain some of us here to rebuild when the current structure collapses. Many think American society will rebuild around the handful of American monasteries that we have here, not unlike Irish culture grew up around the Christian communities established by St Patrick back centuries ago. I think that is a strong possibility.

            All I’m saying is that there is virtue in remaining a steadfast and strong American patriotic man who remains here…. fairly silent for now but waiting for the time that God calls us to be leaders. If all of the good men bolt, it’ll be like the “brain drain” from Africa…. One of the reasons that so many African countries are mired in dysfunction is because so many of their bright, capable men who could be leaders there leave for education and then life in Europe or America.

            There is virtue in strong, bright, capable, Christian (preferably Orthodox Christian) American men staying here to be the next generation of leaders in what will most certainly be a multipolar world…. God knows that the USA needs it.

            The secular/atheist era where our country works to bully the rest of the world into submission for American profits is essentially over.

      • George Michalopulos says

        Christopher, if I may ask: I’ve been watching all types of social media (videos especially) coming from Russians in Russia. They all say to a man that the SMO has united the Russians as never before. At least since the time of the Great Patriotic War.

        Is this your assessment as well?

        • Christopher says

          Yes, it is true, it has galvanized them as never before and continues to do so more and more every day. The one thing everyone agrees on is they have a right to survive, to exist, to not be subjugated by far- off foreign powers. The amount of people who believe their government is at fault for what’s happening in Ukraine is awfully low, I would just say it is less than 20%. By the end of 2023 I believe it could be more like 10% or less. The Russians who are the most unhappy try to move to a different country (sometimes they dont succeed and move back however!). The view of Ukrainian conflict amongst Russians is not unlike the reaction that the USA in 1941 for the Pearl Harbor (despite the US leaders knowing/allowing/provoking that event into occurring). It is exactly like a variation on the Great Patriotic War. I think this conflict also enriches the faith and goes hand in hand with more of the population moving away from materialism and more toward a relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Most of the information dear brother Jim Jatras has about the situation is correct. He is a prayerful wise man I am quite pleased that we all have as many mutual friends as we do. Deo gratias!

      • Thank you, Christopher! Good to know.

        I speak passable Russian so the language is not a problem for me. However, as I understand it, you can get around easily in Moscow and Petersburg with English. Being Russian Orthodox, I’m sure, will help too, for the reasons you state. ‘

        I need to go in with passive income flowing. That’s my current project, creating that through several avenues. The moment the stream is sufficiently wide and deep, I’ll be on a plane. I’ve been doing a bit of research on residency status and hopefully that won’t be an insuperable issue. I’d like to come and go but have Russia be my home base.

        • Christopher says

          Yes the biggest cities are survivable with English the smaller cities and rural regions not so much. It all depends where you go. Each person will have a different preference in the different opportunities and culture that varies with local region.

          My opinion is to avoid a holding a remote work job in a Western country for too long of a time. As time passes, in about two or three years the inflation will be worse as well as the ability to bank wire transfer currency out of the west will also grow more difficult. I certainly would transition to a non-western or local russian job after one or two years, but for a temporary time period it’s perfectly fine and most definitely helpful to do remote work while living here. I only mean to say to not become hooked on it. Consider the year 2025 the deadline from current informaton. The laws for the EU say they must be using Central Bank Digital Currencies by that year. The USA will take longer to become as oppressive but they will still probably seize bank accounts and assetts more and more often by 2025/2026, so its not necessarily as safe as time passes . Everything is subject to change, it’s not to live in too much fear of it but to acknowledge it’s intended to happen and have a method to avoid such unpleasant consequences where applicable.

          Now in order to do remote work here you may need to have a bank account in Georgia, Serbia, Turkey or some neighboring Russian friendly country so you could wire the US dollars from the west to a Russia friendly country and than wire them into Russian bank, such as Tinkoff, which has no sanctions and gives foreigners accounts. There are people of various nationalities who actually do this. It’s not at all unknown in this part of the world.

          Another method is the cryptocurrency exchange, however this all hinges on what ability you have to buy crypto currency. Some EU countries, as well as UK appear to be cracking down on crypto and trying to make it close to illegal. The US and rest of the world will be slower to outlaw it though, so for the next year that method may be acceptable as well. There’s various people and business doing dollar ruble conversions through cypto at exact currency exchange rates. Maybe ask me privately and I will explain further, too complex to speak about.

          One way or the other for years and decades to come there will be more and more convenient methods to move money in and out of Russia. If you convert dollars to rupees or yuan/riminbi it is also easy to exchange them for rubles either in an Asian country or in Russia itself. There’s too many possibilities to think about there, but it’s not something the average US person thinks about much.

          It is possible to buy a work VISA here with a certain english language teaching agency and keep paying/working with the company until you have citizenship (7 years or so). However the teaching english does not have to be your main income…or take much of your time, leaving you time for other work? The work visa applies specifically to the moscow area and would at require you to register as living there

          With the right strategy and amount of money it is for all practical purposes possible to buy your way into residency. You must know where to ask , who to speak to. If you appear to be a responsible person with decent background and respect toward the Church you’ll be viewed as an asset to the country and the government will have a good attitude in assisting you in the slow path to citizenship which begins with residency. If you treat the Russians well and make an effort to adapt to the local culture and language with respect than they will return warm hospitality back to you.

    • The west is toast. The Russian prophecy that what started in Soviet Russia will end in America has come to fruition. There is absolutely no political solution in the United States asAmerica’s problems is now mathematical, that is huge trillion dollar deficits while the reserve currency is entering it twilight. Orthodoxy in Europe will crumble soon, as the disease of New calendarism has now entered the terminal stage and is a symbol for European controlled Christianity, as the people of the Balkans take their moral direction from the west and the EU who control their state churches. Will Antioch take the courageous steps and return to the patristic calendar utilized by the other ancient churches in their region (JP and Copts) or will they too be swallowed up with the rest of chalcedonian (western)Christianity?

      • Christopher says

        Yes, I hold hope for Antioch to return to traditional calendar, it is the symbol of true Orthodoxy and necessary for unity in faith. Changing the calendar symbolizes changing the Church teachings, which is not possible. I believe even the Roman Catholics will return to using the Julian calendar again at a future point. (Perhaps an unusual viewpoint).

        If the entire Church wishes to have a different calendar they must all agree together, but not to do it as dissident local churches. I don’t have anything against the Gregorian or Julian, but to mix them both together is horrible and leaves out a chunk of the church year and feasts after pascha when they do that.

      • In time, they may. The calendar issue will increasingly be a litmus between traditionalism and modernism/liberalism. The Antiochans have an advantage, of sorts, in that their local church is based in the Muslim world but without the close ties to Foggy Bottom and the CIA that the Fanar has. This cultural conservatism regarding LGBTC3PO and feminism would be hard to shake. Thus, in the long run they have an internal force tugging toward traditionalism despite the current modernist adaptations they have made.

        • Solidarity Priest says

          The Serbian church is old style, yet I have seen some pretty awful innovations in the divine services in some of the parishes. Not so much in Bishop Longin’s diocese. The Romanian church is new style, yet I served in one church where you would swear they were Greek old calendar. So I would not generalize too much. If I had my druthers, my OCA church would be old style too. My position is that of Papa Nicholas Planas, my favorite modern Greek saint. His chanter asked him what he thought of the calendar change. Papa Nicholas replied, ” from conviction the old, from obligation the new.”

          • One of the distinctive hallmarks of New calendarism in the Greek culture was the abolition of headscarves in church. To this very day new calendar women who may wear one run the risk of getting their headscarf rippedoff their heads and labeled as Ottomon throwback (I spoke with a new calendar women where this violence happened to her in her CoG church. New Calendarism always represented a reorientation towards secular western European values.
            St Nicholas Planas another saint who followed the Royal Path only served old calendar communities As Archbishop Averky wrote he was made a saint because the Phanar was never told he only celebrated in the old style. By obligation on the new he meant they have no choice (there were no old calendar bishops at the time only laity who refused to change over due to government edict). He went against his bishop never having served in the new (this info being suppressed of course)

            • I want to make one correction to my above post. I could not find where Archbishop Averky write the EP was never told of Fr. Nicholas Planas old calendar activities. (I still stand by that the Ecumenical patriarch wwas unaware of this crucial fact when the saints name was submitted for canonization (St Nicholas even blessed the first separated old calendarist community and served it in 1926). It could not have been Archbishop Averky as he died before the official glorification. My broader point is new calendar suppress alot of these saints to make you think they never approved if old calendarism, for example soon Brother Jose Munoz will be glorified a martyr-saint some day soon , how many will know that while in Greece he only communed at old calendarist parishes?

            • George Michalopulos says

              Thanks for the updated info, Kosta.

            • Wow, I had never heard that about the Greek Church and headscarves. I was brought up in the OCA and have no memory of anyone wearing headscarves in the 70’s except for a very few elderly women; And we didn’t switch to the new calendar until 1982. So the new calendarism didn’t seem to effect the wearing of headscarves at all. To be honest I’ve seen way more women, mostly new converts, wearing headscarves in the past 15 years within the OCA than previously. But, no one in any of the parishes we have belonged to ever reacted “violently” towards either side.

            • There is only one rule for Christians as to what they should wear, outlined in the NT, and it is that women should cover their heads while praying. The NT couldn’t be clearer. This was taught to me when I was a catechumen in the OCA and my spiritual father also taught the same. It is true that when you study Scripture, it is the only clothing-related guidance given to Christians in the NT. I know this is seen as a women’s rights, women’s free choice thing in today’s OCA, and that is very sad to me. I cover my head in church because of the two reasons outlined in Scripture–because of the angels who are with us during prayer and to also display in corporate worship that my husband is the head of my family and I honor him in his role. This really is non-negotiable as it is straight from Scripture.

              • George Michalopulos says

                Well said, Christine.

                What I like about headscarves (but won’t insist on them) is that it shows in real time that there is an ontological difference between men and women. And that’s nothing to be ashamed. We don’t need to buy into the emancipationist rhetoric that came out of the French Revolution.

        • George Michalopulos says

          This reminds me: St Mark Eugenicus was able to withstand the Council of Ferrara-Florence precisely because his diocese was part of the Ottoman Empire and his suzerain had his back.

          • It goes even further back: In the 8th century, St. John of Damascus was shielded from being harmed by the Iconoclasts because he was under the rule of the Umayyad Caliph—not an iconoclast Byzantine Emperor!

      • The autocephalous Polish Church adopted the New Calendar in 1924 but returned to the Julian Calendar in 2014—which shows that a switch in this direction can be done.

        However, apparently the majority of parishes had never actually made the change to the New Calendar…so the change-back in 2014 was less traumatic than it likely would be for other churches such as Antioch. (I’m a member of the Antiochian Archdiocese in North America.)

  2. The world hasn’t gone crazy. It is YOUR radical ideas and perspectives that make this world crazy!

    • George Michalopulos says

      Linda, leaving aside the fact that American parents are lining up around the block to mutilate their children’s bodies, that we have an EP who has neo-papalist delusions and a President who sings “True Colors” while signing a marriage = depravity act, what exactly is it about “our” ideas that are making this world crazy?

      Forgive the snarkiness but I am intrigued and would like to engage in an honest debate with those who have think everything is going swimmingly.

    • Is peace radical?

      • Michael Bauman says

        Illumined:

        Peace is the most radical of al possibilities (real peace not accommodation). Peace requires the conversion to living the Orthodox faith and allowing Jesus Christ each of our hearts; repenting of our own sin filled heart every day them using the blessing of true and complete forgiveness, allowing everybody the same Grace of forgiving everybody everything.

        Lord Jesus Christ, Son Of God, have mercy on me a sinner that I may actually forgive others as You forgive me.
        Doing that everyday in each and every way. Being able on the the Cross echoing Jesus: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do! ”

        That is peace and it is radical.

    • Michael Bauman says

      Linda, how would the world look and what roads to take to eliminate the craziness?

      Before you answer just consider that the teachings of Jesus Christ and how we are shown their practice is deeply crazy by the standards of the world and even my own heart most of the time.

      • The world was already crazy before the war in Ukraine. Especially in America, Western powers, and China, via Covid mass government tyranny, mass media dis-information, censorship, and government paid denied freedom of speech, which brought us election fraud.

        Yes peace is radical, but there was peace in Ukraine…
        …that is until Russia invaded Ukraine…
        …that is before western powers laid the trap before Russia, pushing NATO to their border.
        Yes, peace is radical, but war is very complicated, more so who is at fault, and even more so when bombs drop, and lives are lost.

        Now we pick sides…

        …both sides in their safe ivory towers had options before the war, but now peace is lost, and soon all risk the pain of war. Because peace is radical?
        Only great pain to those of us who have never know starving, death of our children, or bombs dropped on our homes will truly seek peace.
        If peace is not declared soon in Ukraine, I fear we may never know peace again, as hatred and desperation will overcome us all. To which only our Lord, The Prince of Peace will suffice.

        For a Child will be born to us…

        …Pray for peace, judgment will follow.

  3. Nope, you’re the ones crazy and delusional regarding to what is happening in Ukraine. 90% of Ukrainians – Orthodox of any branch, Catholic, Protestants or any other faith, are against Russia invading and destroying their country. The majority of people on the front fighting Russian invaders are Eastern, Russian speaking, Orthodox Ukrainians, not “Ukronazis” in coalition with the “Globalists” Practically all of them are Christians, overwhelmingly Orthodox fighting a Russian force packed with criminals and rapers from their worst prisons band with minorities from Islamic and Buddhist areas of Russia. You are pathetic, you are as pathetic as American lefties, you are just the right wing version of it. Keep up with your fantasies of holy wars, tsars and mother russia.

    • Rapists, not “rapers”.

    • George Michalopulos says

      You really believe that?

    • So, nuclear war it is then?

    • Christopher McAvoy says

      What Mike says is a weird exagerration, tiny grains of truth but theres a good chunk of normal russian young men in Ukraine in the russian military force, their not all criminals, mercenaries and minorities. He has his own partisanship to influence him, people gotta stop the hate.

    • Zebulon Gosapher says

      Putin’s army is one third turkick muslims. The reason Yeltsin let the ‘stans go was they were muslimating the union. Now Putin will dissovle Russia for the same reason. Unless you want to bring in the wondrous Koryo Saram pastors from Siberia to convert them. After all, most new churches in Siberia are Evangelical. So much for your urine-scented ‘old style’

      • George Michalopulos says

        Zebulon, I’m glad to hear about the Siberians being converted to Evangelicalism. Perhaps they can ditch all the “non-essential” stuff like sacraments and start building megachurches. After all, it’s done wonders for Christianity in America.

      • When I was a Protestant missionary in Russia, I had a N. Irish Baptist roommate who was getting his Master’s in missiology from Queen’s in Belfast. He said that if you add up all the reported conversion figures from “crusades” in Siberia in the 90’s alone, they show 3/4 of the total population of Siberia being converted to Western Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism during that decade. He didn’t trust those numbers…and neither do I.

  4. Not ‘certifiable’; rather, bought and paid for.

  5. I have a one word answer, DEPRAVITY.

  6. Austin Martin says

    Look at that knowing smile on Schumer’s face. Jewish solidarity runs deep. Few people on the planet look as lizard-like as Schumer. Zelensky says, “All of this for our great people,” but of course his great people are not the Ukrainians he is torturing. His great people are the same people as Chuck Schumer and Ben Shapiro.

    Even if we accept the narrative that Russia is evil for invading a sovereign country, what exactly has Zelensky done? All he does is lose. He has accomplished nothing. He can’t even be bothered to wear a proper shirt and jacket.

    But really, this war should have ended in a weekend. That he is still holding out gives the Atlantic Alliance (for lack of a better term) hope that the democracy system can survive. If Russia can’t beat Ukraine, maybe they can’t beat America either.

    The cruelty that Zelensky has shown to Ukrainians over the last year matches the cruelty our government shows to its own citizens and especially the January 6 patriots. Congress sees their reflection in Zelensky.

    John 15: 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own.

    Indeed, Zelensky is one of their own. If that tranny military officer or George Floyd’s daughter came into congress, they would likewise applaud.

    At minute marker 1:35 there seems to be an Orthodox bishop standing next to a Catholic bishop. Perhaps not. Regardless, Zelensky is also one of “our” own. The OCA loves Zelensky. After the war started, I visited a very historic OCA parish, and they had a giant sign out front, “We stand with the people of Ukraine!” And the priest had some dozen petitions for the end of the war.

    • Solidarity Priest says

      My OCA parish does not stand with Ukraine. We DO stand with Metropolitan Onufry and the Canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I mention Metropolitan Onufry and Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia at the great entrance. My bishop supports the Canonical Ukrainian Church. Metropolitan Tikhon assured me that the OCA won’t recognize Dumenko’s sect.

      • George Michalopulos says

        Well said, Fr.

        While I believe that there are divisions within the OCA regarding this present conflict, Metropolitan Tikhon (our Primate) has put the OCA squarely on the side of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

      • Austin Martin says

        I think the OCA administration is slowly realizing that they can’t please the world and remain Orthodox. Their slow moves towards the red pill are encouraging. There’s also a younger generation of bishops who want the OCA to still be there in fifty years.

        • George Michalopulos says

          They are indeed.

        • Yes, thank God the cancerous disease of “needing to be liked by the secular post-protestants who run American culture” is indeed fading away in the OCA.

          It corrupted too many Orthodox Americans from the ’70s-’90s, when this phenomenon was at its heyday.

          If only the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America would rid itself of this cancer. One can dream, I suppose.

      • Deacon John says

        I’ve always thought of Metropolitan Onufry as a true man of God

    • I would have pay to see you “patriots” wandering around the halls of Congress smoking weed and screaming. The future of the conservative, Christian, patriotic right, no doubt about it. And beware of the jooos.

      • George Michalopulos says

        I gotta question: were those Bostonians who dressed up as Indians and threw British tea into Boston Harbor also “crazy”? Can we at least agree that they were hotheads?

        • Austin Martin says

          Well, George, they were unitarians and freemasons, so I would say yes.

          • George Michalopulos says

            Not all. But we were taught that they were patriots, we’re we not?

            What I’m trying to do is call out the liberals today, who have no concept of history or irony.

      • No, Mike, I believe you would have seen us watching in sorrow and praying. We know this battle can only be won by repentance, prayer, and holiness.

      • Solidarity Priest says

        No weed here, my man. Tried it when I was a dumb teenager. I gave up pipes and cigars before I entered seminary, over fifty years ago. More recently, I cut out booze and all alcohol, save one small glass of wine at the Holy Supper on Christmas Eve.
        Yes, I’m a monarchist because I am Orthodox. I pray daily for the Hetman, Pavlo Skoropadsky. I display no picture of Putin nor the patriarch. I do have an icon of the Royal Martyrs. The Tsar was God’s Annointed; that’s good enough for me. If someone has an issue with that, I can’t help it.
        As for politics, my loyalty is to Christ and His Church. I will say here exactly what I told my people; I am not beholden to President Biden, President Putin, nor President Zelensky. None of these three men is an anointed tsar, but even if they were, they would not be infallible. I really owe nobody an apology for my beliefs. I owe God and people an apology for my sins. We all need to repent.

        • Putin is not annointed but for us Orthodox, God is working with/through him and Patriarch Kiril, so we can not put him together with devil mended Biden and Zelensky that is not right. This is what is called hypocrisy.

          • Solidarity Priest says

            Please don’t put words in my mouth. I never said Putin was exactly like the other two. Maybe he will be a saint someday, but right now he’s flesh and blood like the rest of us. Even the Tsars made mistakes. Maybe English isn’t your first language, but let us not make accusations. I stand by my words.

    • “If Russia can’t beat Ukraine, maybe
      they can’t beat America either.”

      If Ukraine + NATO + EU + UK + USA can’t beat Russia,
      maybe they can’t beat Russia + China + India + Saudi either.

      • George Michalopulos says

        Touche!

      • Exactly.

        At this moment, Russia is the first of these to take on the West, so far single handedly. The rest have simply stayed out of it while facilitating trade. But the alliance between Russia and China is a done deal. It has even soured the Dems on China, with whom they were deeply compromised.

        The Sino-Russian Bloc is the new sheriff here on planet Earth. Everyone will eventually get the memo. It just has to play itself out.

        • Gail Sheppard says

          I would say that Russia and China (and a number of other countries) are in the process of squeezing out the West. It’s interesting, because this is the first time that I know of where foreign countries are helping the Brazilian, European, United States, et. al, people overthrow their evil governments.

          Remember when we were wondering, “why would China need to build naval bases around the world?” This is why. But we’re part of this, too, which is why before Trump left, he federalized 1000,000 of the National Guard who are being seen all over the world like in Afghanistan, Iraq, Djibouti, Europe, the Pacific, Guantanamo and many other countries. They doing their part, too.

          As the people in Congress stupidly clap for Zelensky who says our money “is an investment in democracy,” while silencing the news, roughing up priests and monks, and preventing Ukrainians from leaving, the real work is being done around the world.

          The war in Ukraine is going to continue as long as it remains a distraction. I’m not entirely sure Zelensky’s not a plant, because he’s doing a fabulous job keeping it all going. Our government leaders are SO stupid they’re falling for it.

          https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-military-leaders-warn-china-could-militarize-ports-it-owns-latin-america

          https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2347443/guardsmen-serve-throughout-nation-world/

          https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10600813/Poignant-moments-Ukrainian-soldiers-kiss-girlfriends-farewell-heading-frontline.html

          • The brutal fact of the matter is that Putin understands that the only way to “make the world safe” for Russia and Russians is to lead it. He has enlisted China in this project which only aspires to regional dominance in East Asia yet is an economic powerhouse. China and India seem to agree that Russia will make an acceptable “first among equals” for their bloc. This stands to reason since Russia is taking all the initial risk and has the largest nuclear arsenal.

            China does not have an expansionist spirit like Russia. Russia didn’t gobble up one sixth of the planet by minding its own business. It may be unsettling for tender ears, but Russian leaders are often measured by their territorial gains.

            The West has a point on that count.

            However, that does not change the fact that Russia bent over backwards to try to work within the Western system to no avail. They were effectively rejected and consigned to containment and rollback. Whether this was done out of Western imperial ambitions or fear of the power of Russian energy resources and expansionist history is of no matter. The moment has passed and the game is afoot.

            Putin will not live forever. He is a moderate by contemporary Russian standards. It is unlikely his successor will be as “nice”.

            • George Michalopulos says

              Misha, if I may, Russia has always had the same problem that Rome did in its day in that it had no natural defensible borders. Unlike Ancient Athens, England, Spain and even France, Russia’s (and Rome’s) defensive doctrine was “get big or get crushed.”

              In other words, expansion to the West was desirable (if not inevitable), especially given the fact that it was constantly attacked from the West. (As for Russia’s eastward expansion, we’re talking hundreds of thousands of square miles of empty tundra.)

              • George, what I hope to get across is that illusions that Russia is somehow not going to act in its national interests but rather out of altruistic devotion to the idea of multipolarity are misplaced. Once we take a side we tend to angelify the motives of its leadership.

                This reality does not trouble me in the least. However, cheerleaders for Russia should realize that “truth, justice and the American way” are seen as naive preoccupations by most of the world, Russia included. History is a story of empires, not multipolar cooperatives.

            • ” Russia didn’t gobble up one sixth of the planet by minding its own business. It may be unsettling for tender ears, but Russian leaders are often measured by their territorial gains.”

              Not really. These huge territories were sparsely populated and next to the core population. Not so different from Canada’s north and west.

              Anyway, compare the maps of Russia and USA around year 1800 and today.

              • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Territorial_Expansion_of_Russia.svg

                Speaks for itself. From Kievan Rus’ to today: You’ve come a long way, baby.

                Peter and Catherine are both known as “great” in large part because of their territorial gains.

                Stalin was asked by the US ambassador who was meeting the Soviet delegation at Berlin train station whether he was happy to be there, negotiating the split of Germany between allies. This was before the Potsdam Conference.

                Stalin responded, “Tsar Alexander made it all the way to Paris”.

                Bear in mind, I’m not being critical, just descriptive. And, frankly, it would not offend me if Russia gobbled up the rest of Europe, though I don’t see why they would want to rule it directly. My only point is really that a great power will tend to expand and Russia has been and will be no exception.

                I am sometimes amused by Americans talking about a fair world multipolar order and parroting the rhetoric of Russian diplomats. Putin and Lavrov, for any number of reasons, can’t come out and plainly say, “Look, we tried to work with the West but they want servants, not partners. So, in order to make the world safe for Russia and Russians we have had to partner with the Chinese, et al. and have divided up the world into spheres of influence and economic control.”

                It’s fine by me. Just don’t believe anyone’s fairy tales about peace, love and understanding. Not even Russia’s. That’s not the way the world works and you will become disillusioned if you’re in the habit of thinking that way.

                • George Michalopulos says

                  Points taken. If memory serves, Ivan IV the Terrible was Russia’s first great conqueror, conquering Kazan and incorporating into Muscovy.

                  • Zebulon Gosapher says

                    Yes, and according to Schmemann’s Historical Road, this Tatarized Russia by taking in the conquered Magog nobles as Russian nobles, who taught Russia to behave in ‘terrible’ (dread) Magog ways.

          • George Michalopulos says

            Lemme put it this way: if Zelensky isn’t a plant, he’s doing an awfully good job playing into Russia’s plans.

            • Russia’s plans were for peace in March/April,
              with a neutral Ukraine including the Donbass.
              As BoJo put the kibosh on that, the plans changed;
              and continue to change as NATO etc gets more wild…

          • I like your blog and I’m not directly disagreeing but I just want to emphasize this is complex situation and this is sure to be a decade of much sorrow and blood spilled, truly one we will pray to God for mercy and endurance. All the BRICS countries have their good and bad elites that still have to be contended with. I’m only encouraging you to recognize that many people in Brazil and Russia put up with difficult crony politicians …maybe the best thing in many BRICS and some non-EU Non North American countries is that the government and the military are slightly less corrupt ot just leave people alone more (libertarian element, but also wild west), but they may not necessarily help you either. It’s got it’s own problems. Law and order and high technlogy in the west gives into authoritarianism but the lawlessness and less high technologies in some other countries gives way is not always the ideal type of freedom either. There’s no perfect system. Even in many of BRICS countries will eventualy overthrow their governments. Russia will never go western but that doesnt mean it wont have a new form of government, eventually it’s own people will likely bring it to pass in a decade. At the end of the day all that matters is the authority of the Church and whether enough people in each nation will turn theirself over to Christ and the Holy Mother Orthodox Church. This make or breaks all nations, this is the number one thing Russia has going for it that trumps every problem.

      • Austin Martin says

        I mean, we just lost a war to goat farmers in sandals. So no, we will very much not defeat Russia. But Washington seems to think that we will.

      • + Iran (lest we forget)

        • George Michalopulos says

          Not just that, but the State Dept has done the unthinkable: made allies of Saudi Arabia and Iran. That’s a special kind of stupid if you ask me.

  7. Remember who was for whom in this war. What I mean is, make lists.

    That will be a rather accurate litmus test as to who is trustworthy and who is partially or completely deluded. Many of them are clueless fools but life is unforgiving that way. Trust not clueless fools any more than the truly malevolent.

    • George Michalopulos says

      Misha, it just occurred to me: is it possible that it is Russia which is drawing in NATO into the fight? Rather than think that Russia is conservative in its SMO, i.e. reticent about having it widen into a greater conflict, we should think of such timidity as a trap. Especially given the blood lust that has been roused among the Russian people, provoking the West would accomplish four things:

      1. It would allow Russia to fully mobilize for war, thereby removing all obstacles towards finally conquering all of the Ukraine,

      2. It would scare NATO in that they would either have to put up or shut up, being that they’re in a depleted state vis-a-vis armaments, if they don’t put up, then Kiev will see that there is no way going forward.

      3. If NATO does indeed go forward, it would immediately widen the fissures which are already straining the EU, and

      4. It would give the Chinese the green light to go ahead and take over Taiwan.

      This would open up a second front that the US could not sustain.

      • The only way NATO directly engages in hostilities with Russia is if Russia attacks a NATO country first. That’s not going to happen.

        If it did happen, it’s hold onto your butts time because I can’t stress enough to you just how badly what’s left of Russia’s military would get its clock cleaned. In which case we have to start worrying about desperate nuclear escalation and things getting out of control.

        A couple important notes:

        The US has not been drawing down from inventory it believes would be necessary to fight a theoretical war with Russia as it was before it invaded Ukraine (and subsequently lost an immense amount of its modern firepower).

        Parallel to that, we haven’t even given the Ukrainians our best stuff. Ukraine has now tapped Engels twice using jerry-rigged 1970s Soviet drones. How would Russia fare with against big TLAM and JASSM-ER strike packages? An actual SEAD/DEAD campaign with targets in Russia fair game? That all ends very badly for Russia and puts us on the brink. There’s a reason the US has been doing very careful escalation management through the whole conflict. Hence Ukraine not yet getting any longer range precision strike, although if Russia buys SRBMs from Iran, hopefully Ukraine gets something like KTSSM at the very least.

        Lessons are being learned from the conflict. The latest NDAA, paraphrased, said make missile production go brrrrrrr.

        • George Michalopulos says

          Nate, I have a question for you: do you know how missiles the US-led coalition in the first Gulf War were fired by our side?

          • Why, yes! But I must stress that war was over 30 years ago, and things have changed and evolved significantly since then. Plus the geography of the conflict is different. Some of the basics (the actual ALCM and SLCM launch platforms) are the same, even if what they are firing are newer missiles or later block versions of what was used in Gulf War I.

            • “But I must stress that war was over 30 years ago, and things have changed and evolved significantly since then.”

              They did? Could you elaborate?

              • The tl;dr, things are much smarter and more dynamic. GW1 debuted a lot of precision weapons, but there was still a lot of dumb ordinance and pre-digital battlefield campaign planning.

                In the missile realm, some things I would particularly highlight would be the Block IV and Block V variants of the venerable Tomahawk are significantly more capable than what was used way back in GW1. More precision, more range, more loiter, multiple target selection and dynamic retargeting, etc. The AGM-158 (JASSM) cruise missile and variants didn’t exist back then. While the -ER variant doesn’t have the legs of a Tomahawk, it’s stealthier and can be launched by everything from a F-16 to a B-2. B-2 wasn’t even used in GW1, F-22 and F-35 didn’t exist. Lots of satellites and other assorted capabilities didn’t exist like they do today.

                All this stuff has significantly more brains than 30 years ago, and the supporting recon platforms are more advanced with more sophisticated datalinks to all pieces involved. Plus decades of advancement in electronic warfare.

                This is all moot because it isn’t going to happen, but Russia has been having a hard time against significantly less capable systems. Even the AGM-88s are only operating at a pretty rudimentary level due to integration limitations.

                If Russia were going to play escalation games, I’d wager it would be more along the lines of shooting down NATO ISR assets flying in the Black Sea, versus say, firing missiles at Poland or Germany. But that is still going to start a war and I’m not expecting the Kremlin to be that reckless. Of course, they were dumb enough to invade with overambitious goals using an insufficient force structure in a poor state of readiness, so I could be wrong. Hope not!

            • George Michalopulos says

              Actually, by the evasiveness of your answer, I don’t believe that you do. You see, in the first Gulf War, less than 10,000 missiles were fired during the entire conflict.

              Russia fires 7,000 missiles per day against Ukrainian/NATO targets.

              Now, I’m not a rocket scientist but it doesn’t look like Russia is running out of men, materiel or missiles. NATO/EU countries on the other hand are well on their way of depleting their stocks. Hence my real fear that Russia is drawing NATO into a wider war.

              • What, pray tell are you counting as a ‘missile’? Are you conflating unguided rocket artillery with long range precision strike weapons? Please elaborate with the actual system designations, both the ones from the Gulf War and in the current conflict. When you typed out that comparison did it occur to you to think that it didn’t sound right?

      • George,

        Russia has been fighting NATO since early April. It had already defeated Ukrainian forces as they were then constituted. Essentially, NATO is providing the armaments and Ukraine is providing the cannon fodder. Much of the rest of the assistance is going either to prop up the Ukrainian economy or line the pockets of Democratic politicians at home through the greatest money laundering operation in history.

        So, in essence, what you suggested is precisely what is happening. Russia is inviting NATO, led by the US, to exhaust itself as Russia sits in the Donbas and Novorossia servicing targets. It’s almost like a video game at this point.

        Russia has figured out a couple of things: The first is that if you want the West to do something, insist on the opposite. They keep saying that sending more weapons into the Ukraine will only prolong the conflict and ostensibly warn the West off from this. This is really egging it on. As you suggest, the Russians want them to go full tilt boogie in order to prove the Russian point: the West is, as a practical matter, powerless against the RF, let alone the new bloc it is putting together.

        The other thing Russia has figured out is that the West is scared sh*tless to go toe to toe with the Russian army for fear of having their butts handed to them. They simply can’t afford to lose, know they would, and thus know they would have to go nuclear to prevail and then everybody dies. I.e., they can’t possibly win.

        Bear in mind, it has been the West that has refused to get NATO directly involved in the conflict. Article 5 is an obligation to consider intervention if a NATO country is attacked. It does NOT mean that that is the only reason NATO can be involved and history shows it has involved itself in many regions. There is nothing whatsoever preventing NATO from intervening except the fear of the inevitable consequences, which the Pentagon at least is aware of. Russia would clean their clock in a land war that close to the RF. Early in the war they demonstrated that they had no qualms about killing Western mercs in Western Ukraine when they destroyed a few hundred and their munitions with hypersonic missiles.

        NATO/US is afraid of Russia. That’s why they are providing token weapons and letting the Ukrainians get chewed up in the meat grinder instead of Americans or Germans or French. All their lying and posturing cannot obscure the facts on the ground. Now, at some point, the US may hang out a force of Poles, who are champing at the bit, to dry. But they won’t support them when they get blasted to high heaven.

        • George Michalopulos says

          As always, a perceptive analysis.

          My take at this point is that NATO will “allow” Poland to come to the Ukraine’s “aid” and they might actually get in an actual shooting war with Russia. This would not necessitate invoking Article V as Russia would not be aggressing against Poland but merely fighting Polish combatants in the Ukraine.

          In any event, by drawing the Poles in, regardless of the outcome of said shooting war, the Poles will be firmly ensconced in the West of the Ukraine, which is what they want. Kind of like when the Israelis went into Lebanon, all the way to Beirut and then drew back to the south, where they remained for 18 years. Once in, it’s nigh-impossible to get a well-armed military force out.

          And then there’s the fact that Pres Orban of Hungary recently war a scarf at a football game that had a map of “Greater Hungary” on it. That would include the southwest part of the Ukraine.

          • Yes, Putin in one of his recent addresses left open the door for Poland to come in at the right time and reclaim “Galicia”. And the Poles seem to be preparing for this scenario of administering Western Ukraine. It’s all about how and when they enter and what they do when they get there. If they go in looking to fight the Russians, it won’t go well. If they simply invade territory controlled by the Banderites then they may only have to subdue Ukronazis.

            If they want the territory, I don’t envy the can of worms they’re going to open. But they’re itching to fight someone and so they will probably cross in at some point.

  8. Sorry, Austin Martin , the OCA does not love Zelensky. Certain parishes, perhaps, but where I come from, we do not love Zelensky! Trust me!

    • I hope this is true I’ve never trusted the OCA. They themselves are mostly former Uniates many of Ruthenian stock who joined at a time the Metropolia was non canonical and probably brought in without baptism nor chrismation. They suck up to the Phanar every chance they get. They changed to the new calendar to be more western and anti ROCOR, both their older clergy and laity have an inferiority complex towards ROCOR so much so they brought in crazies like Lazar Puhalo to spite ROCOR. The OCA acts like the slightly more conservative half retard cousin to the GOARCH.

      • Kosta, those descendants of former Uniates (or Ruthenians) that you speak of are several generations removed from when they returned to Orthodoxy at the turn of the century—over 100 years ago! Yes, there was a ‘cold war’ between the Metropolia/OCA and ROCOR, but that’s long over. So, it’s time to move on. In other words, there’s nothing to see here. So, pray to St. Alexis (Toth) of Wilkes Barre, a former Uniate himself (and defender of Orthodoxy), that there is peace in Ukraine!

      • Austin Martin says

        Literally everything you wrote is false.

        • Kosta is partially right. When I left the OCA, you had basically two factions. The old guard, the ” Hunkie” faction, if you will, many of them Masons. They often stuck to the old calendar, but often because it was what they had inherited from Grandma and Grandpa. They didn’t necessarily welcome converts because, in the Masonic mindset, “there’s only one man upstairs.” Not to say they were all Masons or all bad people, that’s just how they believed. Much like their Protestant neighbors.
          Then there were the St. Vladimir liberal types. The ones with all the lofty talk about how we have to evangelize America, but by making Orthodoxy more American. Christmas was a “slave” to the Julian calendar, people had to be browbeat to commune at every liturgy, even without emphasis on proper preparation. I couldn’t see myself with either faction; plus the Autocephaly obtained from a MP then very much controlled by the Soviets was problematic.
          Fast forward to today, we actually have clergy who are traditional in every good sense of the word. Not to say I go along with everything. I don’t read the silent prayers out loud, another innovation. I know some say this was done in the early church. But the innovators tend to cherry pick, in the early church, people might be cut off from communing for years for certain offenses. One hotshot parish council president told me I must read the consecration of the Holy Gifts out loud so that the people could “affirm” it by bellowing out the triple amen. If he thought he subdued me, I quit the following Sunday. The same parish ended up with a much more liberal priest, but even he couldn’t take the foolishness. Within a year or so, he told them where to go and left. Now they are stuck with Reader services and visiting priests, even though they have more people than the parish I currently serve and could easily pay a priest twice what I get. I told my dean and bishop that I would sooner serve here for free than go back there for anything.
          I guess it boils down to this; there are good and bad situations in all Orthodox jurisdictions across the board. When I left the OCA my then spiritual father, a tough old no-nonsense ” Hunky” said, ” there ain no halo on your head, there ain’t no halo on my head.” He was certainly right. Anyways, I’m happy ROCOR and the OCA are serving together. I only wish we would tell the EP to butt out of this Ukrainian deal or take a hike.

      • Johann Sebastian says

        I have to laugh at this, although I can see where elements of it are true. Maybe you need to acquaint yourself with some of the literature coming out of Metropolia circles during the 1950s—staunchly Orthodox and not word-mincing when it comes to characterizing the Unia or the Catholics. Or “Ukrainism” as it is called in a number of pamphlets from the time.

        I come from a Lemko family that was very much involved in the Metropolia during its early days. No love was lost for the Unia or Catholics. Call us Lemkos, call us Slovaks, call us Little Russians—but to call us Ukrainian was an insult of the highest order. We might all have been Lemkos, but “Ukrainian” was another word for Catholic, and “Russian” meant Orthodox.

        • Solidarity Priest says

          I did read that literature; it was still at St. Tikhon’s back in the day. Furthermore, my wife was Lemko, and they never called themselves Ukrainian. The very same Lemkos made up the Ukrainian Catholic parish on the other side of town. They did consider “Ukrainian” a religion, i.e., Uniate.
          They were a hard-working, stubborn people, salt of the earth. Nevertheless, I had an issue with the inroads Masonry made among them. Also, there was what I call the reverse Uniate mentality among them. The original Uniates began to latinise their Eastern Rites to become more Catholic. Those who returned to Orthodoxy over here felt that they had to russify everything, only high-back vestments and four-part harmony. Plus, they demanded priests be shaven and wear the papist collar. Not that the externals make one Orthodox, mind you. Today, you could go to a Uniate parish and meet a priest with a long beard and cassock, possibly with a wife and kids.
          I recall a Serbian picnic not long ago, just about every priest or deacon had either facial hair, a cassock, or both. I inadvertently insulted the ACROD priest by asking him which Greek Catholic parish he was from. He was shaven and wearing a sports clerical shirt; I didn’t even see the collar until he turned his head. Embarrassed, I said, ‘ I guess I shouldn’t judge by appearances.” He replied,”No, you shouldn’t.” I could tell many more such anecdotes, but no need to take up blog space. In a word, I’m Orthodox Christian first and foremost, but I’m a Hunky at heart.

  9. It is going to be difficult for Americans to get over the idea that America/the West is the center of the world and the criterion by which the world is judged. But with hegemonic power changing hands, that transformation is already happening and sooner or later the stark reality of the unfolding situation will sink in. And there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

  10. Deacon John says

    I hope that there will be peace between Russia and Ukraine soon

  11. Anonymous II says

    Austin Martin,

    You’re right. And it makes me sick to my stomach.These Moloch worshipers have no shame. In a better world, they would be forbidden to hold any positions of power, and placed back behind the Pale. When the dam burst, look what happened to Russia and Eastern Europe. We’re simply reaping the fruits.

  12. Hey Mr. Monomakhos, you have plenty of readers here blaming Jews for basically everything…and yet the Ukrainians are the Nazis?

    • George Michalopulos says

      Mike, I’d rather the Jewish thing be toned down vis-a-vis the present conflict as I think it’s way more complicated than that.

      That said, what would you call young men who tattoo Not-Z/neo-pagan/racist regalia on their skin?

      Boy Scouts?

      • George Michalopulos says

        Seriously, I think what I’m seeing right now is the nihilism of the American Left eat itself up. They’re tying themselves into knots: one the one hand all the Unite the Right guys who showed up at Charlottesville are beyond evil but the Azov Battalions are as pure as the wind-driven snow.

        I’m actually enjoying the spectacle of seeing the Left intellectually devour itself.

        If things keep going this way, we’ll see “reassessments of the Third Reich” before too long. Because you know, they were “socialists.” wink-wink.

        • Yes, George. You see where they are in terms of intellect and policy and you can’t shake the feeling that they’re at the end of their rope.

        • Hitler was a National Socialist,
          which sounds like he wanted Socialism In One Country.

          Trotsky was an International Socialist.
          He wanted Socialism In Every Country.

          Stalin wanted Socialism In One Country,
          which makes him sound like he was a National Socialist.

          • Solidarity Priest says

            Brendan, you are correct. Stalin allied with Hitler to start WWII. That’s why I don’t share the Stalin adoration that some Russians have to this day. I refuse to condemn General Vlasov for allying with the Nazis to free Russia from the communist yoke. If Vlasov was wrong, Stalin was a hundred times worse. I realize that Hitler never wanted a free Russia, he and Stalin were equal partners in evil.
            Like George, I admire Generalissimo Franco. He used Hitler and got away with it. And he was Galician, a fellow Celt!

            • Stalin did not start war, that is nonsense, where do you reed those things? Stalin only did what was done before when England and France already gave Austria and Checks. Stalin was forced to sign pact with Hitler. He wanted alliance with the West and for quite a time persuaded West to attack Hitler ensemble but West in reality wanted Hitler to attack Russia. In addition, Stalin gained time and space with pushing boarder to Poland. Finally, when signing pact Stalin was aware that soon or later Hitler will attack.

              • Solidarity Priest says

                Excuse me, it’s known to the world. Solzhenitsyn knew it. That is your real Russian, read him. Don’t listen to me. I don’t care what you say. Stalin was responsable for millions of deaths, more than Hitler. If George wants to let you come here and post your half-truths, that is his business. I’m done talking to you.

  13. Christopher McAvoy says

    They are people whose hope for obtaining eternal salvation is at great risk. There is another place.

  14. Berletic has a program on why Russia is doing the SMO as it has and is.

    One thing to understand is that the Dems are cynical enough to take full advantage of Russia’s strategy. They know as well as anyone that Russia is winning and will prevail in the end. But in dragging it out by grinding and going slow to minimize their casualties and maximize attrition, Russia takes up time. So the Western strategy is to poo poo Russia’s war effort and pump tons of cash into the conflict. This serves several purposes. It feeds the MIC which is reaping a bonanza off of the conflict. It also lines the pockets of Democratic politicians with kickbacks from the money laundered through any number of avenues like FTX. Some of it, of course, is going toward propping up the Ukrainian govt through salaries, but that is inevitable, simply the cost of doing business.

    These are criminals in charge in DC. There’s always a back end.

  15. The reason Elder Philitheos is not a saint is because he disliked the new calendar and recognized the sacraments of old calendarists. The new calendar church suppress certain of his writings such as when he defended his spiritual son the late Met. of Oropos and Fili for going over to the old calendar. If he were alive today he would certainly condemn the new calendar as your quote verifies above “they have not become franks”. They sure are becoming Frank’s! Elder Philitheos Zervakos followed the Royal Path as described by Fr. Seraphim Rose. He made clear that if the new calendarist condemn the old calendarist then they must condemn themselves for falling on anathemas. Today the new calendar is a sign not of Eastern Orthodoxy but of watered down secularized European Orthodoxy

  16. Lest we forget the other lies…

    Australian Senator Takes Hard Stand Against COVID Jabs
    https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2022/12/29/australian-senator-against-covid-jabs.aspx?ui=86ea657f0b6d0e537d7640d04bdf8a573e6b19591b8e542f4ddc28b173adc1dd&sd=20160514&cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1HL&cid=20221229&cid=DM1315988&bid=1681154630

    Story at-a-glance

    In an early-December 2022 Parliamentary speech, Gerard Rennick, senator for Queensland, Australia, reviewed some of the lies told by members of Parliament and the Department of Health about the COVID jabs
    By September 2022 Australia had logged more than 10 million COVID-19 cases, even though 20 million of Australia’s total population of 26 million had received their COVID jabs
    In 2021, Australia had 8,706 extra deaths above norm, even though New South Wales remained in lockdown for three months, so, in theory, the death toll should have been lower, not higher
    Australia has logged 140,000 COVID jab injuries — more than all the injuries reported from vaccines since 1971 — yet the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) refuses to look at or acknowledge the safety signal. Chief health officers also admit not reading key science documents that detail COVID jab hazards
    Waning effectiveness is the justification for repeated boosters, but artificially inflated antibodies caused by repeated boosters signal to your body that you’re chronically infected, and the resulting immune response may end up accelerating the development of autoimmune conditions such as Parkinson’s, Kawasaki disease and multiple sclerosis

    https://rumble.com/v1ytqx6-australian-senator-gerard-rennicks-amazing-vax-rant-leaves-opposition-parti.html

    [Vido – 10:18]

    The Canadian Independent video1 above features an early-December 2022 Parliamentary speech by Gerard Rennick, senator for Queensland, Australia, and a member of the Liberal National Party.

    As noted by Rennick, Australia had logged more than 10 million COVID-19 cases by September 2022, at which point the Australian Health Department stopped counting — a decision made out of embarrassment, Rennick suggests, seeing how more than half the country caught COVID despite the fact that 20 million out of Australia’s total population of 26 million2 got their COVID jabs.

    Rennick goes on to highlight the rising excess death rate. In 2021, Australia had 8,706 extra deaths above norm, even though New South Wales remained in lockdown for three whole months. “In theory, the deaths should have been lower, like they were in 2020,” Rennick says.

    When Will COVID Jab Injuries Be Addressed?

    Then there are the jab injuries, which according to Rennick now number around 140,000, “more than all the injuries reported from vaccines since 1971.” Yet despite this shocking discrepancy, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) — just as the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. — refuses to look at or even acknowledge the signal.

    “[That’s] the whole point of having a database where doctors report these injuries, where they tick the box ‘Suspected [vaccine injury]’ — and as the doctors say, they don’t fill these forms out because they have spare time … no, they’re ticking these boxes because they believe the vaccine caused the injury they’re reporting — and yet the TGA wants to pretend that there’s nothing to see here.” Rennick says.

    “And why wouldn’t they? Because professor [John] Skerritt [director of the TGA] is head of an organization that is funded by Big Pharma. If you want to talk about a conflict of interest, that’s it …

    For the past 15 months, I’ve been contacted by people who have had their lives destroyed by the vaccine, a vaccine the government said was safe and effective. And if that isn’t bad enough … you people in this chamber here today, didn’t read the documents …

    You took control over other people’s bodies because it suited your control and command narrative. You showed no humanity. There are people out there that are not only injured, they have lost their jobs and they cannot get medical support. Husbands and wives … had to quit their jobs to stay home and look after [them] … [They’re] in an incredible amount of pain …

    The fact that the Green Party can sit in that corner over there and mock and laugh at the vaccine injured — These people aren’t anti-vaxxers. They believed what the government told them, as I did when I first got here. But I tell you what, it’s nothing but a cesspit of lies in this place.”

    Chief Health Officer Hasn’t Read Key Science Reports

    Rennick reviews how he asked professor Brendan Murphy, who was the chief health officer at the time, whether he’d actually read the nonclinical trial report for the Pfizer shot. As it turns out, he had not. And because he hadn’t, what he told the public was complete make-believe.

    “These guys have NO IDEA what they are talking about,” Rennick says. “[Murphy] had been saying … that the spike protein wasn’t in the blood. Well, had he read the report he would have known that they never tested [for] the spike protein.

    He would have also known that when they did the animal trials, the report said there was no difference in lung inflammation between the placebo group and the vaccinated group after nine days. There was not one [wit] of evidence that showed the vaccine was effective.

    But did anyone in this chamber … actually read that report? I bet you not. But you all went out there and said it was safe and effective, when you didn’t have a clue what you were talking about.

    Shame on you, because the law in this country, in the Australian Immunization Register, says you cannot be coerced into taking a vaccine, No. 1, and No. 2 is that you need to be properly informed about what is in the vaccine …

    [T]hat spike protein in the vaccine isn’t even the same as in the virus. No, no, no, they’ve actually changed one of the nucleotides and they’ve got a synthetic gene in the vaccine … which is designed to make it last longer.”

    Rennick points out that when it was discovered that the spike protein load doubled in the ovaries between Day 1 and Day 2 after the jab, they simply stopped the trial and continued to say that the spike protein stayed at the site of injection, which was a blatant lie.

    Uninformed Politicians Are Misinformation Superspreaders

    Rennick continues:

    “If you want to talk about misinformation, go check out page 44 of the Pfizer nonclinical trial report. It was released on the TGA FOI disclosure log 239-6 … You should also read the top paragraph on Page 8 that says the study suggests the spike protein can either be inserted into the membrane or secreted from the cell.

    What does that tell you? … It tells you that rather than actually killing the actual pathogen, which is what a normal vaccine would have done, this particular vaccine goes inside your cell, takes over the reproduction of the ribosome, which is what produces the protein, and then starts producing more of the toxic substance.

    That is not the name of the game. You would want to actually kill the virus. You do not want to reproduce it. And of course, Murphy, the chief health officer, claims that there is nothing to worry about. He never read the document.

    And then we got professor [Paul] Kelly [deputy chief medical officer for the Australian Department of Health] … he came out and made the bold statement that it stops transmission. Well, he was LYING, because the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] came out December 20 and said there was NO evidence that the vaccine stopped transmission.”

    The Shots Actually Have Negative Effectiveness

    We now have data showing that not only do the shots not prevent infection or transmission, but they have negative effectiveness. Their effectiveness rapidly wanes,3,4 and after 90 days, both Moderna’s and Pfizer’s shots make you MORE susceptible to COVID.

    As shown in the graphic5 below, Danish data reveal Omicron cases among the jabbed rose dramatically after three months for both injections, giving Pfizer a negative effectiveness of 76.5% at 90 days’ post-jab and Moderna a 39.3% negative effectiveness.

    https://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/public/2022/December/pfizer-moderna-negative-effectiveness.jpg

    Repeated Boosters Come With Additional Cost

    Waning effectiveness is the justification for repeated boosters, but artificially inflated antibodies caused by repeated boosters signal to your body that you’re chronically infected, which is never a good thing.

    As noted by COVID analyst Marc Girardot,6 the resulting immune response may end up accelerating the development of autoimmune conditions such as Parkinson’s, Kawasaki disease and multiple sclerosis.

    Our bodies mount an intense response to infection, which includes a high fever to damage the pathogens, T-cell elevations, and increased antibody production to rid your body of “viral debris.” This is supposed to be a temporary response; after the threat is neutralized, your body tamps down its immune response.

    This is by design, as a perpetual fever and high levels of antibodies keep your body in a dangerous state. Just as chronic stress (keeping your body in an extended state of “fight or flight mode”) increases disease risks, so, too, do permanently elevated levels of antibodies. Girardot details three reasons why:7

    “1. Too long a fever would end up breaking down all healthy cells, and so the remedy would be worse than the illness.

    2. Perpetual specialized T-cells are also dangerous as they can start off-target attacks of healthy cells (as often occurs with immune checkpoint blockade treatments against cancer) …

    3. Finally, very high levels of antibodies with nowhere to go are also extremely dangerous. They can passively bind to receptors of healthy cells, and kickstart a cascade of autoimmune diseases …”

    Florida Petitions Grand Jury Investigation, and More

    If political representatives truly cared about the people they supposedly serve, there would be scores of them speaking out and taking a stand against the COVID shots the way Rennick is doing in Australia. At present, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Minn., stands out as a lone warrior and advocate for the COVID jab-injured in the U.S.

    That said, in mid-December 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for a grand jury investigation of crimes and wrongdoing committed in relation to the COVID-19 jabs,8 so there’s hope for justice yet. According to the governor’s press release:9

    “The pharmaceutical industry and the FDA have refused to release patient-level data for independent researchers. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 vaccines … continue to be marketed as safe and effective, even though the vaccines do not prevent transmission and adverse events have been minimized and disregarded …

    At today’s roundtable the Governor and health experts discussed data covering serious adverse events. These risks include coagulation disorders, acute cardiac injuries, Bell’s palsy, encephalitis, appendicitis and shingles …

    In response, Governor DeSantis has filed a petition to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate crimes and wrongs in Florida related to the COVID-19 vaccines …”

    DeSantis is also implementing autopsy surveillance of post-jab sudden deaths, and has established an independent Public Health Integrity Committee to assess federal health guidance “to ensure that Florida’s public health policies are tailored for Florida’s communities and priorities.”10 As noted by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo:11

    “Health care professionals should always communicate the risks of a medical intervention to their patients in a manner that is clinically appropriate and meets standards of ethical practice.

    President Biden and Big Pharma have completely prevented that from happening — it is wrong. With these new actions, we will shed light on the forces that have obscured truthful communication about the COVID-19 vaccines.”

    Sources and References

    1 Eurochicago.com December 9, 2022
    2 Worldometer Australia Population
    3 MMWR February 18, 2022; 71(7): 255-263
    4 BMJ October 2022; 379
    5 Twitter Chris Martenson December 15, 2022
    6, 7 Marc Girardot, COVID Myth Buster News January 30, 2021
    8, 9, 10, 11 FLgov.org December 13, 2022

  17. Three straws in the wind…

    Vanguard quits net zero climate effort, citing need for independence
    https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/vanguard-quits-net-zero-climate-alliance-2022-12-07/


    Florida pulls $2 bln from BlackRock in largest anti-ESG divestment

    https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/florida-pulls-2-bln-blackrock-largest-anti-esg-divestment-2022-12-01/


    North Carolina treasurer wants BlackRock CEO to go, but keeps assets at firm

    https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/north-carolina-treasurer-calls-blackrock-ceo-fink-resign-2022-12-09/

    Looks like the tide may be on the turn…

  18. COVID-19 Vaccine Induced Axillary Lymphadenopathy |
    Abnormal Mammograms Driving Clinical Concerns
    and More Testing | Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH™

    https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/covid-19-vaccine-induced-axillary?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1119676&post_id=93462490&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email

    ‘ There has never been a vaccine that has caused more problems for practicing doctors than the genetic COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen, AstraZeneca). Once injected into the arm, the lipid nanoparticles laced with mRNA or adenoviral DNA are freely flowing in the bloodstream within an hour. We know from the CDC V-safe data that 7-8% are so sick at this phase they seek emergency care and some are hospitalized. The lymphatic system begins to drain the vaccine product into lymph nodes where mRNA becomes trapped and local Spike protein production causes lymph node swelling and more inflammation. This “reactogenicity” becomes progressively worse with each additional, ill-advised injection. Raj et al reported that women who took the COVID-19 vaccine had a 10-fold increased rate of abnormal lymph nodes identified on breast cancer screening exams. ‘

  19. Pope Francis Announces Passing Of Final Catholic Pope
    https://babylonbee.com/news/pope-francis-announces-passing-of-final-catholic-pope

    VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has announced the passing of Pope Benedict, the last and final Catholic Pope.

    ‘ “Pope Benedict will be remembered fondly by those who actually believe that Catholic stuff,” said Pope Francis. “I’m not sure exactly who those people are, but I’m deeply sorry for your loss.”

    Born Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI was known across the world for saying out loud what Catholics believe. “Ratzinger combined humble leadership, remarkable intellect, and being Catholic,” said retired Bishop Joseph Kurtz. “He had a deep commitment to the magisterial teachings of the Catholic Church, which basically means he was Catholic. It’s a really good quality in a Pope.”

    While the Catholic Church had a long streak going of Catholic Popes, that lineage officially came to a close with Pope Benedict’s passing. “It was a good run,” remarked Father George Pine. “Ratzinger was a good one to go out on. He was a terrific theologian, yet able to communicate in accessible ways. Also, you always knew where he stood on the issues – because he was Catholic.”

    At publishing time, the Vatican was reportedly looking for some nearby Catholics to come perform the appropriate Mass for Pope Benedict’s passing. ‘

    A day to remember…?