W.J. Astore
It was bound to happen
Comrades, it has finally happened: I’ve been accused of being pro-Russia.
I was accused because I advocate for diplomacy and a negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine War. Generally, I’m pro-peace and anti-war, but that’s a bad thing to be in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Apparently, the only way to be pro-Ukraine is to advocate for and work toward a complete Ukrainian military victory over Russian forces, meaning that all Russian forces must be expelled from Ukraine, no matter the cost. That also means that Ukraine should get every weapon system they request from the U.S. and NATO, no matter the cost and no matter how many people are killed with these weapons. Putin is evil, Russians are bad, and the only thing “they” understand is maximum violence.
Comrades, I figure I should embrace my pro-Russia identity and really explain it. So here are the top ten reasons “From Russia With Love” is my byword:
- I want Ukraine to win the war and Russia to lose, and I accept that Putin’s invasion a year ago was both illegal and immoral. That makes me pro-Russia.
- While I want Ukraine to win, I don’t believe the best way to “win” is a long war fought on Ukrainian territory at immense cost to all involved. That makes me pro-Russia.
- I believe negotiations are possible between Russia and Ukraine and that an immediate cease fire will save countless Russian and Ukrainian lives. That makes me pro-Russia.
- I don’t believe Western military aid to Ukraine is disinterested or driven by a love of democracy. That makes me pro-Russia.
- I worry that a lengthy war as well as a more intense one could lead to dangerous escalation, perhaps even to nuclear war, a risk illustrated by the “doomsday clock” moving ever closer to midnight. That makes me pro-Russia.
- I worry that a war that ends with Putin being overthrown could lead to a destabilized Russia in which nuclear surety is compromised. That makes me pro-Russia.
- I believe that history began before Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and that NATO expansion to Russia’s borders was unnecessary and unwise. That makes me pro-Russia.
- I note the enormous profits being made by U.S. fossil fuel companies, especially from LNG (natural gas) shipments, partly due to the destruction of Nord Stream 2, as well as the profiteering by arms merchants and a soaring Pentagon budget, and I question U.S. motivations in this war. That makes me pro-Russia.
- I note the mind numbing casualties already produced by this war (roughly 100,000 troops killed or wounded on each side), the millions of refugees, the untold billions in destruction inflicted on Ukraine, and I seek a way to say “no” to more killing, “no” to more war. That makes me pro-Russia.
- I call on all sides to show maturity, to seek another way beyond yet more violence and killing, a way that respects the security interests of all involved, a way that fosters peace and reconciliation. That makes me pro-Russia.
Comrades, there you have it. I think you’ll agree I am pro-Russia, an acolyte of Putin, a willing puppet or useful idiot of Russian imperialism. The clincher is that I haven’t added a tiny Ukrainian flag to my Facebook profile photo or to my Twitter feed, so, really, what more proof do you need?
Bracing Views 
Highly recommend Andrew Bacevich’s latest article on the Russia-Ukraine War:
https://tomdispatch.com/tanks-for-nuttin/
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Definitely second that recommendation.
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Alex Christoforou was making fun of the Estonian PM who announced that she was immediately sending 10 F-16s to Ukraine. Except that Estonia doesn’t have any F-16s, leading her to clarify that if Estonia had F-16s they would send them all to Ukraine. Which led Alex to say he was immediately sending a million dollars to all his listeners. Not that he had a million dollars but if he had it he would send it immediately to his listeners. A lot of the so-called news on Ukraine sounds like a farce. Unfortunately a deadly farce.
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No NATO! No WAR!
I’m pro-Russia.
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You have something in common with Andrew Bacevich in his latest TomDispatch article.
Tanks for Nuttin’
Is Civilization at Stake in Ukraine?
“To defend civilization, defeat Russia.” Writing in the unfailingly bellicose Atlantic, an American academic of my acquaintance recently issued that dramatic call to arms. And lest there be any confusion about the stakes involved, the image accompanying his essay depicted Russian President Vladimir Putin with a Hitler mustache and haircut.
Cast Putin as the latest manifestation of the Führer and the resurrection of Winston Churchill can’t be far behind. And, lo, more than a few observers have already begun depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the latest reincarnation of America’s favorite British prime minister.
These days, it may be Western-supplied missiles downing “kamikaze drones” rather than Spitfires tangling with Messerschmitts over southern England, but the basic scenario remains intact. In the skies above Ukraine and on the battlefields below, the “finest hour” of 1940 is being reenacted. Best of all, we know how this story ends — or at least how it’s supposed to end: with evil vanquished and freedom triumphant. Americans have long found comfort in such simplified narratives. Reducing history to a morality play washes away annoying complexities. Why bother to think when the answers are self-evident? ……….
https://tomdispatch.com/tanks-for-nuttin/
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America’s heavyweight anti-war, pro-peace outfits Veterans For Peace and Code Pink will not participate in the February 19 RAGE AGAINST THE WAR MACHINE ANTI-WAR RALLY in Washington, DC for what can only be termed as ideological reasons [details below].
Scott Ritter has pulled out as well for personal reasons, and offers the speech he was planning to deliver at the rally at https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/the-best-speech-i-never-gave .
It amounts to a Citizens Declaration of War Against War and The War Machine that makes it possible and thus necessary. This could very easily serve as a foundational start point for a national political movement that directly challenges that Machine in Election2024.
And Chris Hedges ~ who will be speaking ~ begins THERE ARE NO PERMANENT ALLIES, ONLY PERMANENT POWER:
On Sunday, February 19, I will be at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington at noon to speak at the anti-war rally, Rage Against the War Machine. There, I will be joined by Jimmy Dore, Dennis Kucinich, Ann Wright, Jill Stein, Max Blumenthal, Cynthia McKinney, Anya Parampil, David Swanson and other left-wing, anti-war activists I have shared platforms with for many years.
I will also be joined by Ron Paul, Scott Horton and right-libertarian, anti-war figures whose political and cultural opinions I often disagree with. The inclusion of the right-wing has seen anti-war groups I respect, such as Veterans for Peace (VFP), refuse to join the rally. VFP issued a statement sent to me on Friday saying that “to endorse this event would have caused a huge disruption in VFP and had little effect on the outcome of the demonstration.” The board of Code Pink asked its co-founder, Medea Benjamin, one of the nation’s most important and effective left-wing and anti-war activists, to cancel her scheduled talk at the rally.
“The left has become largely irrelevant in the U.S. because it is incapable of working with the right,” said Nick Brana, chair of The People’s Party, which organized the rally with libertarians. “It clings to identity politics over jobs, health care, wages and war, and condemns half the country as deplorables.”
WE WILL NOT TOPPLE CORPORATE POWER AND THE WAR MACHINE ALONE. THERE HAS TO BE A LEFT-RIGHT COALITION, WHICH WILL INCLUDE PEOPLE WHOSE OPINIONS ARE NOT ONLY UNPALATABLE BUT EVEN REPUGNANT, OR WE WILL REMAIN MARGINALIZED AND INEFFECTUAL. This is a fact of political life. Alliances are built around particular issues, in this case permanent war, which often fall apart when confronting other concerns… .
After sharing Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin’s and then Ralph Nader’s views on the whole matter, Hedges concludes as follows:
“If you want to prevail on Congress to fulfill its duties under the Constitution and never engage in wars or become co-belligerents without a declaration of war by Congress — the last war that was declared by Congress was World War II, and we’ve engaged in many wars since then and are continuing to do so — you must have a left-right coalition,” Nader said.
Because there is no coalition in Congress, BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ARE WAR PARTIES. THEY SUPPORT A PENTAGON BUDGET THAT GIVES THE GENERALS MORE THAN THEY ASK FOR. THEY HAVE DONE THIS FOR ALMOST EIGHT YEARS, MOST RECENTLY GIVING THE PENTAGON $48 BILLION MORE THAN THE GENERALS AND PRESIDENT BIDEN REQUESTED, INSTEAD OF GIVING THAT MONEY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH TO PREVENT PANDEMICS, DEATH, INJURY AND DISEASE.”
THOSE WHO WILL PAY THE STEEPEST PRICE FOR THIS PARALYSIS ARE THOSE KILLED, WOUNDED AND DISPLACED BY THE WAR MACHINE, INCLUDING THE OVER 900,000 CIVILIANS KILLED DIRECTLY, AND MILLIONS MORE INDIRECTLY, AS A RESULT IN THE POST-9/11 U.S. WARS IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, YEMEN, SYRIA, LIBYA, SOMALIA AND PAKISTAN.
BUT THE LEFT, MESMERIZED BY A SELF-DEFEATING BOUTIQUE ACTIVISM, ALSO PAYS A PRICE. AS THE EMPIRE UNRAVELS, THE WOKE LEFT, DEMANDING MORAL ABSOLUTISM, MARGINALIZES AND DISCREDITS ITSELF AT A MOMENT OF CRISIS. THIS MYOPIA IS A GIFT TO THE OLIGARCHS, MILITARISTS AND CHRISTIAN FASCISTS WE MUST DEFEAT.
Full article at https://scheerpost.com/2023/02/12/chris-hedges-there-are-no-permanent-allies-only-permanent-power/ EMPHASES added.
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‘Is Ukraine defending ‘freedom and Western values’?’
There has been much talk among most European leaders and Western media about the need to arm Ukraine to end the war in its favour because it is “defending Europe” and “fighting for all of us” in the Western world. This has been reiterated by the former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Taylor Wade, as well as by the EU parliament and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who added that “Ukraine is fighting not only for our freedom but for our values and Europe’s security”. Has sending tonnes of weapons and tanks to Ukraine made Europe safer? Is the reason for the EU’s military support for the continuation of the war against what some EU leaders call “Russian President Vladimir Putin’s imperialist and expansionist ideas and aims” to extend Russian territory into the land of European nations? Does Russia have the military capability to attack EU nations beyond Ukraine?
US President Joe Biden broke his silence on the fundamental aims of the war in Ukraine to achieve NATO’s proxy confrontation with Russia. He said the war was “bigger than Ukraine. It’s NATO (its fate). It’s Eastern Europe. It (the war) has serious consequences, very serious. They (Republican congressmen who don’t want to give Ukraine a blank check) have no sense of American foreign policy.” President Biden was truthful when he said that the war in Ukraine was about NATO. Indeed, NATO’s survival is at stake after French President Emmanuel Macron declared a few years ago that NATO was ‘brain dead’ and that ‘Europe needs an army to protect it from America‘……………………………………………………………………….
https://ejmagnier.com/2023/02/14/is-ukraine-defending-freedom-and-western-values/
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Just came across this site and Jackson Hinkle with the alternate view of the MSM, Propagandists inciting for more WAR, behaving like a 5th Horseman of the Apocalypse.
https://rumble.com/v29712g-putins-launches-largest-airstrike-on-ukraine-yet.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=2
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I am truly pro-Russian. It’s my desire that Russia thoroughly defeat Ukraine…and the U.S./NATO. I do not believe that legitimate negotiations are possible because the U.S. never keeps agreements and because the MInsk negotiations were used just to buy time for Ukraine. Too bad for Ukraine, but a more savvy there government would never allowed this war to happen.
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Reblogged this on Calculus of Decay .
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Question to ChatGPT
Both Russia and US/NATO are determined to win the Ukraine war at all costs and are not negotiating to reduce tensions. What is the likely outcome and what steps can be taken to end the war
As an AI language model, I do not have access to current classified information or knowledge of future events. However, it is important to note that a military solution to the conflict in Ukraine is not desirable and could lead to disastrous consequences.
It is in the interest of both Russia and the US/NATO to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine. A peaceful resolution of the conflict could be achieved through negotiations and diplomacy, with the support of the international community.
Some steps that could be taken to end the war in Ukraine include:
In summary, a military solution to the conflict in Ukraine is not desirable, and all parties should work towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict through negotiations, confidence-building measures, international mediation, and economic and political pressure.
What a refreshing change from the focus of current Economic Sanction if this suggestion was implemented: The international community could impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities that are obstructing the peace process.
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Dialogue and negotiations: Russia and the US/NATO could engage in constructive dialogue and negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine. Diplomatic efforts should focus on finding common ground and reaching a mutually acceptable compromise.
Confidence-building measures: Confidence-building measures could help reduce tensions and build trust between the parties. These measures could include the withdrawal of military forces from the conflict zone, the release of prisoners of war, and the implementation of ceasefire agreements.
International mediation: The international community, including the United Nations, could play a role in mediating the conflict in Ukraine. The involvement of neutral third parties in the negotiations could help facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Economic and political pressure: Economic and political pressure could be applied to both sides to encourage them to come to the negotiating table. The international community could impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities that are obstructing the peace process.
In summary, a military solution to the conflict in Ukraine is not desirable, and all parties should work towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict through negotiations, confidence-building measures, international mediation, and economic and political pressure.
What a refreshing change from the focus of current Economic Sanction if this suggestion was implemented: The international community could impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities that are obstructing the peace process.
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Damn! Posting the ChatGPT result and the negative reaction it got from other commentators in The Washington Post and answering them, I have been suspended from commenting until February 25
Your account has been temporarily suspended from commenting
In accordance with The Washington Post’s community guidelines your account has been temporarily suspended. While suspended you will not be able to comment, use reactions or report comments.
Please rejoin the conversation on February 25, 2023 at 4:34 PM
No dissent from their prescribed War Narrative tolerated, the very EVIL they demonize Putin for doing to control the Narrative.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/18/kamala-harris-russia-war-crimes/
So far they haven’t deleted the post and thread in response – yet.
They haven’t suspended me in a long Time. They just deleted my comments they didn’t like, especially the sharp ones.
This is what came after posting posting the ChatGPT
Thinking4: Not exactly a reputable source
Everknew: Except that you posted a false premise, Ukraine and Russia are not at war, Russia unilaterally violated international law and their own pledges to respect Ukraine’s borders. Hence they are lawless rogue state committing crimes against humanity and this poses a danger not only to Ukraine but all of Europe unless defeated or they voluntarily withdraw and agree to reparations.
🤣 😂.
Alt-Ctr: I keep reading ChatGPT has gone off the rails.
You’re right at home.
ME: You’re mixed up. You’re talking about Microsoft’s BING.
HelsinkeSyndrome: He did not mix up. You did not say which Chat GPT you used.
It’s my understanding that ChatGPT is not yet publicly available.
Could you ask ChatGPT this question …
Does God exist?
Mary Helen Wood: He doesn’t need to ask. He already knows that He’s the answer.
Me: Remove “He’s” in your 2nd sentence and only then you’ll be right.
I’m 79 now and it’s just 1 night in my Curriculum Vitae, but in 1976 the Secret Service called me out for questioning from the compressed crowd of Republicans in the Lobby of The Crown Center Hotel, looking up to the Secrect Service restricted Mezzanine having the Podium of The President set up, expecting the President to be standing there any minute.
To my surprise, instead of questioning me in some anteroom, The Secret Service Agent led to to stand right at the President’s Podium and questioned me Face to Face at length in the view of the thousands below.
If that wasn’t surprise enough, eventually the SS Agent asked, “Are you Jesus Christ?”
Having no illusions about that THEN and NOW, in a nanosecond answered , “NO!”
The Secret Service have the record of that incident buried in their archives somewhere, and the 3 TV Networks broadcasting live may have outtakes of the Time?
B Civil: I posed this Question to ChatGPT this morning
Both Russia and US/NATO are determined to win the Ukraine war at all costs and are not negotiating to reduce tensions. What is the likely outcome and what steps can be taken to end the war. This is the answer;
Breathtaking omission of the following fact:
Putin brutally and aggressively invaded the sovereign European nation of Ukraine…again.
‘Garbage in, garbage out’ since the second decade of the 19th century.
HelsinkiSyndrome: Again Ray, please post something negative about Russia, just to show us you can be objective. Since you are about 80 years old and always had Soviet sympathy and disliked US, it can be difficult to learn new attitudes, but please. Once in your life try to be objective.
US/Nato are not in this war, so that is a false question to ask anybody or anything.
HelsinkeSyndrome: US/Nato are not in this war, so that is a false question to ask anybody or anything.
Andy LKennox: Irrelevant. All AI chat bots do is take popular words or phrases currently trending online and string them together. It’s meaningless so why are you giving it credence?
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