Somethings happened to me this year. Some thing that both distresses and inspires me. Not inspired by the events, but has awoken my spirit and sense of whats right and wrong with the world..on a grand scale..
I'll be upfront and say I have emotional connections to Russia. My wife is Russian, I have friends there and have met many wonderful people there who mean no harm to the world and live with a spirit I have rarely seen. I grew up fearing Russia..well the Soviet Union as was.. all film I saw from them in that era was sepia tainted and depressing. The people looked drab and miserable, severely staring into the cameras of BBC news crews who (we felt) were brave enough to venture there for some reason. Once you go there and break the surface with the population you find they are almost with exception warm, blisteringly dry humoured, generous and welcoming.
Yes the culture (which appears at first to be pretty similar to western norms) has some fundamental differences and western media have made big noise of common held opinions on homosexuality, femininity and to some extent Democracy, but underneath this is an underlying aversion to being told what todo..especially by 'superior sounding' westerners... in essence they won't be lectured to and all you do by trying is entrenching the feelings you are lecturing against.. trust me on this..I'm married to one as I mentioned above! What I'm getting at is the constant media assault on Russia over the past couple of years.. If I didn't know the country well and understand the Russian cultural reference points I too may have fallen for this 'propaganda' (Lets call it what it is..) But as I do know Russia and the Russians I was unswayed by the endless unflattering reports from the once reliable and unbiased BBC. I knew something bigger was going on..
Of course any media offensive needs a focus, and that focus has been the Russian President Vladimir Putin... Ooh your just waiting to tear into me as I defend him and justify him as a great leader of our time... well I'm not going to because he doesn't need it... He doesn't care about what I think..or you most probably.. what he does care about is bringing his country out of it's depressed self it was in during the 90's and early 2000's and he's doing a good job of that. If he wasn't then there would not be such media hatred towards him in western media. We are taught to fear what western media cannot tame, box-off or..dominate... and we certainly cannot dominate him. Now I personally do not agree with a number of his policies. I have a number of Gay friends and I wish Russia was more accepting of them.. though the law that came into force last year is only related to the 'promotion of gay lifestyle to minors' I realise this can lead to others things which I find distasteful. But here's one thing for certain (As I told a gay friend of mine and some of his friends) You will never change this opinion by asking David Cameron to complain, by Gay westerners protesting in Moscow. If change in these attitudes is to come (and I personally hope it will) it will be slow and gradual and from the Russian people. You have to understand that Russia only recently came out (no pun intended) from a restrictive communist system where religious expression was forbidden in most cases. Christians practised in secret and once Perestroika occurred in the early 90's the Russians exercised their right to express their religious views which historically in the majority have been Orthodox Christian. So atm these beliefs hold strong in the mainstream hence the reason for the current attitude to homosexuality. I know this won't sate the anger of the majority in the western world who care deeply about this subject, but I just wanted to give some background..
So back to the bigger picture and the current situation in Ukraine... Firstly lets go back to the early days of perestroika and the Berlin wall falling.. Amongst discussions between the US and Russia was a promise made to Russia that NATO would not seek to expand eastwards.. it's documented..google it.. I would hope no one reading this can say that this has been honoured in any shape or form. This bred distrust of NATO's ambitions and as the Eastern European countries gained their independence if not NATO then certainly the US Government was eager to get in there and build bases, station Missiles and envelope these countries in the protective cloak of NATO promising funding, military support, social programmes etc etc..oh and McDonalds, KFC and many more behind the scenes business deals which meant that these countries were as integrated and yes controlled by Washington as we are here in England. And it's gotten to the point where Russia is encircled by NATO or countries under western influence indeed I'm sure during the Yeltsin years I'm sure there were such ambitions for Russia itself which once stymied by a strong leader like Putin turned the business intentions of the west into burgeoning hostility and adverse propaganda.
Ukraine: Most in the west don't understand the deep divisions that exist between regions in Ukraine. As in many countries (Yugoslavia under Tito for example) these divisions were while not forgotten.. muted under the governments of the day. Parts of Ukraine supported Nazi Germany in WW2 and these memories run deep http://korabox.ru/category/jest/volinskaya-reznya-ili-nemnogo-o-banderovcah (while I'm sure those in power in the west know of this as in many cases in the past this has been washed over in the cause of "Bringing freedom and democracy" American style... Sites such as freedomhouse.org which have strong links to American Neo-Con (new conservatives who work ceaselessly to bring down barriers to US business going in and pillaging in actual fact.. again google it) Indeed Russia warned America and the west that influencing regime change in Ukraine would most likely instigate civil war and true to previous actions involving USA/NATO this has indeed happened sadly.. So when it became obvious what was occurring Russia did indeed instruct it's forces in Crimea to secure certain sites and indeed the Russian Naval base there (for which they paid rent on and had an agreement with Ukraine that upto 25,000 Russian personnel maybe stationed there..so it wasn't an invasion in the true sense). The thing that strengthens Russia's hand even further in this is the backing of the vast majority of the Crimean population. They feared greatly the new Regime in Kiev and were very happy to be able to ask Russia to join them..and yes this was the case.. I have friends there who all verify this.. so for NATO to think that Crimea should be part of this 'new' Ukraine is crazy.. there would have been an even greater conflict costing many many more lives. It's obvious to anyone looking at this with an open mind that really the aim of NATO was to deprive Russia of it's only 'warm water' military port and there was no way this was going to be allowed to happen by Russia.. Do you think America would let pearl harbour go??? So we are now at a virtual Civil War situation because Eastern Ukraine has in the main similar feelings to Crimea in that they greatly fear the Ukrainan Right Sector... The remnants of the Ukrainian army are (backed by American 'Blackwater' Mercenaries ) are now attacking the eastern regions of Donetsk and Dombass to force them to stay with the rest of Ukraine. While there are divisions in the eastern regions again a large majority do not want this to happen and have had a vote on becoming self governing (not joining Russia) which has for some reason been declared illegitimate by the west.. why? because the west knows that eastern Ukraine is the manufacturing heart of the country and would a)make the country without the east alot less valuable to the west and b) if they succeed in retaking the east it would be a blow for Russia as it has many heavy Industry interests there such as Rocket Engine manufacturing (yes those that NASA depends on atm!!..Russian) Indeed the IMF has laid down that Ukraine will only receive its full loan if east Ukraine is taken.... it always comes down to money huh?? In my view the IMF now has blood on it's hands...
The continuing and enlarging American sanctions which always state that they are because of Russian involvement appear to relate to Crimea.. this is a dead end... Crimea is now Russian territory and as the populace wish it stay that way continuing to argue this point is ridiculous!! Believe me I only care for what the population wishes in these regions.. if a region does not wish to be Russian then I would defend there right to be Ukrainian, but as the offensive actions are all coming from the west against the people's will (in the main) in the east I'm calling NATO out as an aggressive/destabilising force in the world..driven by corporations... To back this up I give you Mr Hunter Biden.. son of Joe Biden American vice president who is now on the management board of the largest Ukrainian gas company!!!! Business drives the western actions in Ukraine..not care for human rights etc... and western media in the main (apart from publications like The Guardian and certain articles in the uk huffington post) are not telling us the full truth... i could go on and on about the BBC... but I'll save it for another article as my disappointment with the is so crushing... please keep an open and investigative mind and realise that we are being manipulated and things are often not as we are told...
Please forgive the 'scatty' nature of this article.. my fury at realising the extent of fabrication to the public in the name of justifying actions in other countries has shocked me into action and the need to get this out there has affected good narrative to some extent I'm sure...
I'll be upfront and say I have emotional connections to Russia. My wife is Russian, I have friends there and have met many wonderful people there who mean no harm to the world and live with a spirit I have rarely seen. I grew up fearing Russia..well the Soviet Union as was.. all film I saw from them in that era was sepia tainted and depressing. The people looked drab and miserable, severely staring into the cameras of BBC news crews who (we felt) were brave enough to venture there for some reason. Once you go there and break the surface with the population you find they are almost with exception warm, blisteringly dry humoured, generous and welcoming.
Yes the culture (which appears at first to be pretty similar to western norms) has some fundamental differences and western media have made big noise of common held opinions on homosexuality, femininity and to some extent Democracy, but underneath this is an underlying aversion to being told what todo..especially by 'superior sounding' westerners... in essence they won't be lectured to and all you do by trying is entrenching the feelings you are lecturing against.. trust me on this..I'm married to one as I mentioned above! What I'm getting at is the constant media assault on Russia over the past couple of years.. If I didn't know the country well and understand the Russian cultural reference points I too may have fallen for this 'propaganda' (Lets call it what it is..) But as I do know Russia and the Russians I was unswayed by the endless unflattering reports from the once reliable and unbiased BBC. I knew something bigger was going on..
Of course any media offensive needs a focus, and that focus has been the Russian President Vladimir Putin... Ooh your just waiting to tear into me as I defend him and justify him as a great leader of our time... well I'm not going to because he doesn't need it... He doesn't care about what I think..or you most probably.. what he does care about is bringing his country out of it's depressed self it was in during the 90's and early 2000's and he's doing a good job of that. If he wasn't then there would not be such media hatred towards him in western media. We are taught to fear what western media cannot tame, box-off or..dominate... and we certainly cannot dominate him. Now I personally do not agree with a number of his policies. I have a number of Gay friends and I wish Russia was more accepting of them.. though the law that came into force last year is only related to the 'promotion of gay lifestyle to minors' I realise this can lead to others things which I find distasteful. But here's one thing for certain (As I told a gay friend of mine and some of his friends) You will never change this opinion by asking David Cameron to complain, by Gay westerners protesting in Moscow. If change in these attitudes is to come (and I personally hope it will) it will be slow and gradual and from the Russian people. You have to understand that Russia only recently came out (no pun intended) from a restrictive communist system where religious expression was forbidden in most cases. Christians practised in secret and once Perestroika occurred in the early 90's the Russians exercised their right to express their religious views which historically in the majority have been Orthodox Christian. So atm these beliefs hold strong in the mainstream hence the reason for the current attitude to homosexuality. I know this won't sate the anger of the majority in the western world who care deeply about this subject, but I just wanted to give some background..
So back to the bigger picture and the current situation in Ukraine... Firstly lets go back to the early days of perestroika and the Berlin wall falling.. Amongst discussions between the US and Russia was a promise made to Russia that NATO would not seek to expand eastwards.. it's documented..google it.. I would hope no one reading this can say that this has been honoured in any shape or form. This bred distrust of NATO's ambitions and as the Eastern European countries gained their independence if not NATO then certainly the US Government was eager to get in there and build bases, station Missiles and envelope these countries in the protective cloak of NATO promising funding, military support, social programmes etc etc..oh and McDonalds, KFC and many more behind the scenes business deals which meant that these countries were as integrated and yes controlled by Washington as we are here in England. And it's gotten to the point where Russia is encircled by NATO or countries under western influence indeed I'm sure during the Yeltsin years I'm sure there were such ambitions for Russia itself which once stymied by a strong leader like Putin turned the business intentions of the west into burgeoning hostility and adverse propaganda.
Ukraine: Most in the west don't understand the deep divisions that exist between regions in Ukraine. As in many countries (Yugoslavia under Tito for example) these divisions were while not forgotten.. muted under the governments of the day. Parts of Ukraine supported Nazi Germany in WW2 and these memories run deep http://korabox.ru/category/jest/volinskaya-reznya-ili-nemnogo-o-banderovcah (while I'm sure those in power in the west know of this as in many cases in the past this has been washed over in the cause of "Bringing freedom and democracy" American style... Sites such as freedomhouse.org which have strong links to American Neo-Con (new conservatives who work ceaselessly to bring down barriers to US business going in and pillaging in actual fact.. again google it) Indeed Russia warned America and the west that influencing regime change in Ukraine would most likely instigate civil war and true to previous actions involving USA/NATO this has indeed happened sadly.. So when it became obvious what was occurring Russia did indeed instruct it's forces in Crimea to secure certain sites and indeed the Russian Naval base there (for which they paid rent on and had an agreement with Ukraine that upto 25,000 Russian personnel maybe stationed there..so it wasn't an invasion in the true sense). The thing that strengthens Russia's hand even further in this is the backing of the vast majority of the Crimean population. They feared greatly the new Regime in Kiev and were very happy to be able to ask Russia to join them..and yes this was the case.. I have friends there who all verify this.. so for NATO to think that Crimea should be part of this 'new' Ukraine is crazy.. there would have been an even greater conflict costing many many more lives. It's obvious to anyone looking at this with an open mind that really the aim of NATO was to deprive Russia of it's only 'warm water' military port and there was no way this was going to be allowed to happen by Russia.. Do you think America would let pearl harbour go??? So we are now at a virtual Civil War situation because Eastern Ukraine has in the main similar feelings to Crimea in that they greatly fear the Ukrainan Right Sector... The remnants of the Ukrainian army are (backed by American 'Blackwater' Mercenaries ) are now attacking the eastern regions of Donetsk and Dombass to force them to stay with the rest of Ukraine. While there are divisions in the eastern regions again a large majority do not want this to happen and have had a vote on becoming self governing (not joining Russia) which has for some reason been declared illegitimate by the west.. why? because the west knows that eastern Ukraine is the manufacturing heart of the country and would a)make the country without the east alot less valuable to the west and b) if they succeed in retaking the east it would be a blow for Russia as it has many heavy Industry interests there such as Rocket Engine manufacturing (yes those that NASA depends on atm!!..Russian) Indeed the IMF has laid down that Ukraine will only receive its full loan if east Ukraine is taken.... it always comes down to money huh?? In my view the IMF now has blood on it's hands...
The continuing and enlarging American sanctions which always state that they are because of Russian involvement appear to relate to Crimea.. this is a dead end... Crimea is now Russian territory and as the populace wish it stay that way continuing to argue this point is ridiculous!! Believe me I only care for what the population wishes in these regions.. if a region does not wish to be Russian then I would defend there right to be Ukrainian, but as the offensive actions are all coming from the west against the people's will (in the main) in the east I'm calling NATO out as an aggressive/destabilising force in the world..driven by corporations... To back this up I give you Mr Hunter Biden.. son of Joe Biden American vice president who is now on the management board of the largest Ukrainian gas company!!!! Business drives the western actions in Ukraine..not care for human rights etc... and western media in the main (apart from publications like The Guardian and certain articles in the uk huffington post) are not telling us the full truth... i could go on and on about the BBC... but I'll save it for another article as my disappointment with the is so crushing... please keep an open and investigative mind and realise that we are being manipulated and things are often not as we are told...
Please forgive the 'scatty' nature of this article.. my fury at realising the extent of fabrication to the public in the name of justifying actions in other countries has shocked me into action and the need to get this out there has affected good narrative to some extent I'm sure...
No comments:
Post a Comment