EP: the Residence of Hypocrites

Here's what they say (and do):

Scottish MEP's standing ovation in European Parliament

28 June 2016 Last updated at 12:14 BST

A Scottish MEP has received a standing ovation in the European Parliament.
SNP MEP Alyn Smith had asked members to back Scotland's position in the EU.
The response was a standing ovation by many in the chamber.

What do we see here? In plain words we do see a standing ovation, a storm of applause to a separatist claim.

In favour of the supernational state-like structure which the EU is, Mr. Smith stands for a separation of a UK part from the United Kingdom, and the idea is warmly welcomed by the vast majority of the EP members.

Well, I can understand the intention of the EU to have at least a part of the UK as a member, somehow softening the Brexit shock.

I just would like to get a clear answer: does that mean there is a good and acceptable separatism that's worth a standing ovation?

How comes that Scotland coming to (or, for the matter, staying in) the EU is good and deserves a standing ovation of the EP members, and the Crimea and Donbass region coming to Russia is bad and deserves anti-Russian sanctions and Russophobic rhetorics in favour of an openly Banderite (=Nazi) regime of Kiev?

Such a hypocrisy surely can lead to some short-term benefit and profit. But strategically it cannot; and the problem of refugees is just one fair compensation Western Europe is getting for its political approach of the last 25 years, and quite a logical fruit thereof.

Looks like the big West desided to go to hell by all means.

The only problem is our Earth is too small, and if a part of it goes to hell, no other part survives.

Save Breedlove

The Independent has offered quite a piece of reading: "Nato commander calls for return to service of U-2 spy plane to help conduct surveillance on a resurgent Russia".

Well, I am not going to discuss the evident fact of Russia being resurgent; I'm rather into another evident fact: this is an insufferable event for some of the big guys around there, and Philip Breedlove is not an exception.

The very idea of bringing back U-2 for surveillance over Russia sounds as kind of a mental diagnosis to a formerly brave US fighter pilot and presently NATO supreme allied commander, who is to step down this spring.

56 year ago, on May 1, 1960 a U-2 did a great service in breaking US-USSR relations; Gary Powers did not commit suicide... Surely, for the US military those were good old times and bright hopes; a great war seemed to be round the corner. Luckily, then, in the sixties, big guys succeeded to overcome all crises and kept the strategic peace till now (I am not talking about local wars; those bloodsheds did not threaten the very existence of life on Earth).

Now, in 2016, the Breedlove's idea is not only desperately outdated; it puts under question the very ability of the high-ranked military to perceive reality adequately.

Should Rhodes Stay?

The BBC informs, Oriel College at Oxford University for some reasons decided to keep the statue of Cecil Rhodes on its building.

Reuters image from the BBC publication.

This decision is strongly opposed by "Rodes Must Fall" campaigners. THis campaign succeeded in South Africa, where a Rhodes statue was removed. The idea was adopted in Oxford by activists students insisting that Rhodes' views were incompatible with the modern 'inclusive culture'.

I have no doubt his views are incompatible. How could we expect it other way, talking about a British imperialistic (and as such, surely white) politician of 19th century?

The matter is that history was just the way it was. One can remove a statue, but no one can change history. History is to be studied, its lessons are to help us here, today, avoid mistakes of the past, and find better ways to future that is supposed to be better than the present and way better than the past.

A Good Question

... Vladimir Pution asked at the UN General Assembly:

As for me, I am sure they do; equally sure am I they will never admit it.

Image source

The Icon of Grief

I have waited for some days, to have my feelings somehow settled a bit.

It was yesterday that my country had an official mourning for victims of the (still) unclear Metrojet A321 crash over the Sinai Peninsula that took away 224 lives in a terrible minute or so on October 31.

But for all those who lost their friends and relatives, grief, sorrow and mourning will last; sometimes for ever.

This photo of 10 months old Darina Gromova was uploaded to Vkontakte 15 days before the crash, when the young and happy family of Gromovs headed to Egypt from Saint-Petersburg, to spend an unforgettable two weeks vacation. The baby was wondering at those huge white metal birds. Mom Tatiana called her "the chief passenger"; so she was on their flight back, the youngest one aboard.

We do not see her face; we needn't. The image leaves enough space for us to think, and mourn those gone. We are waiting for the moment the baby looks back, in the camera, but at the same time we are afraid of this moment: we're afraid to see the face of someone we know and love. But she will never look back...

In just two days the image became the icon of grief and sorrow. She could be any nation and race; people are the same human beings, and share the same emotions.

I am sure for many people around this image will remain the image of the year... Or life. Just because it's story makes it a true symbol of the pure human sorrow. And sorrow, empathy, compassion are the things that make human beings humane.

Rest in peace, you little angel. Your life was short as a spark's flight; but it looks like it has made the world a little bit brighter.

I hope.

The Best Way to Know What Russia Does in Syria

...is to get to the sources, and one of the most reliable ones is the Russian Ministry of Defence, which provides much information first hand.

The only minor problem is that their English is sometimes worse than mine (though, as I wrote well before, my English is not perfect at all — as it is not my native language). Anyhow, together we can do it closer to perfection than ever before.

Today, their piece of news goes a bit beyond the regular warfare chronicles, and this 'beyond' is the most interesting part of it.

Russian Ministry of Defence comments on publications appeared in a number of anglophone media quoting some “medics” of the “Syrian American Medical Society” concerning Syrian civilians who were killed by air strikes of the Russian aircraft carried out against a “hospital” in Sarmin settlement on October 20.

Russian Ministry of Defence is carefully monitoring and analyzing such stovepiping.

First, it is necessary to tell about the Syrian American Medical Society. This organization, which is registered in the American State of Illinois, has as much to do with both medicine and medics as ISIS has to do with the international Scout Movement.

Since its foundation in 2012, the organization was mainly used for publishing so-called “evidence” of using chemical weapons against the Syrian opposition. When it became evident all those "evidences" wee lies, the “agency” laid low quietly.

Apology of Tony Blair

Having watched Blair's inteview to Fareed Zakaria, I didn't believe my eyes (well, rather ears) first. Tony Blair did publically admit and say apologies they had been misinformed by their intelligence about Iraq, and they had had bad plans about Iraq's future after Saddam was thrown away.

(As soon as the CNN uploads the full video, I'll replace this short extract.)

Some of his words as written by the Daily Mail:

... I apologise for the fact that the intelligence I received was wrong.

Because even though he had used chemical weapons extensively against his own people against others, the programme in the form we thought it was did not exist in the way that we thought. So I can apologise for that.

I can also apologise, by the way, for some of the mistakes in planning and certainly our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you had removed the regime.

Of course you can't say that those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015.

As far as I see it, the British ex-PM says, simply speaking, "I was a stupid bloody moron, and all the shit of today is firmly based upon those bricks I with my boss from the White House shitted out in 2003."

60+ Years of the Middle East History in 7.5 Minutes

The German humorists of "Die Anstalt" TV show remind us how did the USA improved order in the Middle East since 1953. The video was aired about 1 year ago, but it is sooo nice that it well deserves to be shared as wide as possible. And I cannot say the high hat player has somehow changed his own rules of the game he tries to play, so it is not outdated at all.

The one above is original German with English titles. This one has decent Russian titles.

Isn't it funny? Yes, and sadly so.

It looks like the USA are unable to learn on their own mistakes. But being the world-leading superpower they do not prefer to pay for their mistakes themselves, leaving the rest of the world to cope with the burden of having the USA atop and pay their bills. But this cannot last forever.

You can never extingush a fire with gas or matches.

You can never set up peace feeding terrorists, whatever moderate is their colour, with weapons.

By the way, how many refugees from the Middle East and Northern Africa have the USA (and for the matter, Canada and Australia) accepted?

Oh, really? Why so moderate?

Russian Contribution in Syria

The other day Josh Earnest, press secretary of the White House said at his press briefing:

... We would welcome Russia’s constructive contribution to the broader international coalition that’s been formed to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. Russia has declined to make that constructive contribution thus far.

The very same day the Sputnik brought some news from Moscow about Syria:

"Over the past day, Su-24, Su-24M and Su-25SM aircraft completed 88 sorties on 86 terrorist infrastructure positions in the Raqqa, Hama, Idlib, Latakia, and Aleppo regions," [Russian Defense] ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
The targets included IS command posts, weapon storage facilities, and sites where the group manufactured explosives, he said.
Intercepted talks between Islamic State militants in Syria indicate that parts of the group are ready to leave the combat zone in Syria due to acute weapon shortages, Konashenkov went on to say.

There are about 30 Russian aircrafts deployed in Syria; 88 sorties a day mean our pilots do quite a job.

And... You know what? It seems it is in vain that the White House is waiting for Russia's constructive contribution in Syria.

Because instead of constructive Russia makes quite a destructive contribution.

Pinpoint airstrike of a Su-34 bomber on an ISIS command centre near Aleppo.

Exactly what the IS deserves and the world needs.

May I Not Die?

It is not my text; it is my translation of a text I found somewhere in the Russian part of Internet. I decided to translate it, because in my opinion it delivers a message. A message generated by a Russian man born in the USSR, just like me. Sometimes using strong language — just like me...

"Aunt Lena, may I not die?" There's no tiny little single hair on the head of the boy lying on the bed. His skin is greenish. He looks like Fantomas from the old French comedy, though there's nothing to laugh about. No-thing.

An aged, in her sixties, nurse shakes with all her body. It is impossible to get accustomed to such things. A human being is unable to get accustomed to such things. That's why this being is called human.

"What d'ya say, dear! You aren't going to die, sure..." Tears water her eyes.

"Aunt Lena, you know, my Mom's birthday is on Saturday. I've made a gift, here it is... made it myself... but how can I give it to her if I die? May I not die till Saturday? May I?

Oncology. The room for those who have already crossed the thin line between life and death. These children are all already dead, even though they might still look alive and even talking... Just a few days are left to each of them. Perhaps, weeks or sometimes months. The doomed children — if you say you have seen something more terrible, I gonna hit you.

He does not need anything. Nothing can save him. He just wants to live up to his Mom's birthday and give her his lurid gift made from cheap cardboard and coloured paper. The most precious gift of all his — and her — life. Lord, I do not believe in Thou, but please do help this mother to go through it. Do not let her go crazy, please...

And we — we've got iPhones. Which one is there in the row, the fifth or already the sixth one? We've got toilets of gold. We've got an MP3-player built in in the fridge just for fun. Scientists do not fly into space anymore, yet tourists do. All the science waits in a queue to joyfully meet the needs of walking stomachs and bottomless vaginas. Beauty institutes, academies for pads and tampons, labs for wrinkles fighting creams. The fucking 21st century is there, and we have not enough power to win cancer, AIDS, and a whole bunch of other deadly diseases. And it is not that we are unable — we do not want.

An issue of the Science and Life* from 1959... A set of dreams of our ancestors about future. I'll burn it. Because... hey, mankind, just fuck you instead of a time machine, eternal youth, medicines against all diseases and a photon spaceship in the 21st century. Here's an iPhone for you. And a massager for fat asses. And premium condoms. And drugs allowing to eat without gaining weight. Fress and be healthy. Put all these pads in you know where. Drink Activia. Smear your snout with all these creams. And I gonna…

... Well, the boy did it to survive Saturday. He died a week later.

__________
* The Science and Life — once one of the most popular magazines in the USSR; established in 1890 in Imperial Russia, was published till 1900, then restored in 1934 in the USSR, and is still published.

General Hodges Says He Does Think

The other day I had a rare pleasure of reading a truly crazy text. It was an interview of General-Lieutenant Ben Hodges published recently in the German Bild under the title, which contained one of those so called Hodges' thoughts and wasa gem in its own kind, namely "Putin came to Syria to draw attention from Ukraine".

Just some extremely hot spots for you to enjoy:

BILD: Syrien, ISIS, Flüchtlinge, Putins verdeckter Krieg in der Ukraine – welche Krise sorgt Sie am meisten, Herr General?
Ben Hodges: Nach meiner Einschätzung sind diese Krisen miteinander verbunden. Egal ob es um die Terrormiliz ISIS geht oder darum, wie Russland die Sicherheitsarchitektur der Welt verändert.

General considers all cryses interconnected, either it is about ISIL militia or changing the architecture of the world's security that Russia did.

I wonder, does anyone else in this world really believe in the bullshit that it was Russia that changed the "architecture of the world security"?

Does Obama Follow Sun Zi?

Almost exactly a year ago, on September 24, Barack Obama said in his speech at the 69th UN General Assembly, in particular:

As we gather here, an outbreak of Ebola overwhelms public health systems in West Africa and threatens to move rapidly across borders. Russian aggression in Europe recalls the days when large nations trampled small ones in pursuit of territorial ambition. The brutality of terrorists in Syria and Iraq forces us to look into the heart of darkness.

Each of these problems demands urgent attention.

So, from this viewpoint, the three top threats to the world are: Ebola, Russia, terrorists (evidently, ISIL).

At the same time no one can say these problems received proper medication during the last year. We don't hear about the US' victory over Ebola; after a year of anti-ISIL airstrikes media announced just new and new acts of brutality, terror and vandalism of the ISIL, which doesn't seem to be somehow bothered by the coalition's warfare. Those 'sanctions' supposed to stop so called 'Russian aggression did weaken our national currency to the point of considerable strengthening of our domestic economy, which is not bad at all now, though, surely, could be better.

So, what we have in the world now?

Magically, the second biggest US' trouble is somehow winning over the first and the third ones.

... For We Are Russians

We are often told the Russian civilization is in fact a part of the European, Western one. That is, we at all not Asians and shouldn’t look at the East.

In this thesis only one part of the statement is correct: we aren’t Asians.

But from the fact we aren’t Asians doesn’t follow at all that we are Europeans — for we are Russians.

I explain it as one-two-three.

A certain sovereign, Ivan the Great, known also under the number IV and name “the Terrible”*, wrote to the Queen of England approximately so: you, the silly woman, put interests of trade above the state interests, and you are a servant of your merchants.

Je ne suis pas Charlie

A world-wide known (since January 7, 2015) French caricature magazine Charlie Hebdo has just become a reason for another huge storm. They published a set of images mocking the poor Syrian child, Aylan Kurdi.

Here are the images on the cover and somewhere inside of the recent issue, as they were republished by Morocco World News.

It looks like the sentence "Je ne suis pas Charlie" — which means "I am not Charlie" in French — is one of the most popular in Facebook today.

However, I am 100 per cent sure within the last 8 months the magazine has not changed at all. Neither did people of the species homo sapiens, I am equally sure about that. In fact, I would rather put under question the very definition "sapiens", though it's a topic of another discussion.

I just wonder, how many of those who say today they are not Charlie, 8 months ago claimed they were.

Civilizational Difference

Evidently, there are different civilizations coexisting on our earth.

Representatives of one remind:

It wouldn't be an easy job to invent something more offensive even — for me, and for many of my compatriots.

But, as for the Western world — who cares...

54 Years of Space Age

It was on April 12, 1961, that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics opened the age of manned space exploration. Just 3,5 years after it launched the first Sputnik.

Thousands people remember the day alike:

We were sitting in classroom, when school administrator run in and cried: "Switch on the radio! Man in space!"

The day became a spontaneous day off, day of celebration of the great, but already expected achievment.

 

Gagarin in Vostok's cabin
during preflight checks before takeoff.

Not that I am going to say that the Time lied; but it was surely not fully correct. And the matter is not the space suit invented by the magazine cover's artist.

Just like the USSR was more than Russia (which was the biggest and, say, the first among the equal, but nevertheless one of fifteen Soviet republics), so Gagarin was more than Russia's. He was surely Russian; bu first of all he was Soviet. He was a young, exemplary Soviet man. Surely, a Communist party member.

What is the most important and impressive about this day, is that the invincible power of Soviet rocket science put Yuri into space less than 16 years after the USSR survived he most devastating and exhausting war in history.

This is one of those true miracles the Soviet history showed to the world.

I feel a great pity for all those who were afraid of its successes. That is, victims of traditional Russophobic propaganda war that is still carried on.

Russian Beauty is the Queen of Ice!

Liza Tuktamysheva

My sincere congratulations go to Elizaveta Tuktamysheva who won gold at the Figure Skating World Championship in Shanghai!

Her great effort was supported by still younger Elena Radionova, who became third after the free skating.

If my memory does not fail me, no Russian girl has taken the world's gold since 2005; so, glory to beautiful Liza now!

BTW, just FYI: Liza Tuktamysheva is a Russian Udmurt (or Votyak) from Glazovo, now living in St. Petersburg. Lena Radionova was born in Moscow to Russian parents, coming from Donetsk (this fact in no case makes the Ukrainians).

No doubt, one of the organic features of Mother Russia that make her invincible is her multi-ethnical composition: one our great Russian nation includes more than 180 'nationalities' (with Russian being just one, albeit the first one, in the list).

Transnational Disease of Ignorance

When you catch those people on spot, they make their eyes wide open saying that doesn't matter.

It does, though.


We support our (US) troops! Here's a good old Soviet T-34-85 in decent condition for them! Someone stole the frontal machine gun, but look at brand-new wheels: the tank is surely from the post-WW2 production series, that is real high quality.

 

Collapse of the USSR: Loss Or Profit?

That's a great question, what did the world gain of the disintegration of the USSR, and what did it lost.

In no case the answer is that simple as "communism was an absolue evil".

I will definitely come back to this question from time to time; anyhow, I spent in the USSR 21 years of my life, so I have something to say and I do remember lots of things. I've been to some other countries of the world — Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, the USA. As for Ukraine and Latvia, I visited them both as republics of the Soviet Union and independent states post mortem of the USSR.

But to start I'd like to share a good article I've just come across, written by Emile Scheppers: "1917 Russian Revolution: What the world has lost".

Not that it answers all questions, but it takes some major points right.

... I can state with sad confidence that the collapse of Soviet and Eastern European socialism was a disaster for humanity.

Ideologically, it opened the door for a prolific growth of aggressive and selfish individualism. Numerous political and ideological leaders in the "West" used the demise of socialism to "prove" that human beings are incorrigible. The idea of social solidarity was, and continues to be, ridiculed. Discredited reactionary ideas of people like Ayn Rand took on a new life. "Look out for number one" replaced "look out for your comrades and neighbors." The goal became, not to create a better community for all, but to get more stuff.

I'll talk about these theses later. What I'd like to say now, it's never late to start thinking different and go out of those tight frames of anti-Soviet propaganda the world was constantly fed since the very October Revolution.

Shock & Condemnation

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
addresses journalists at UN Headquarters.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Ban Ki-moon made his statement.

Yesterday he expressed shock and condemnation at brutal killing...

Not of the people of Donbass in Novorossiya (thousands killed, even more wounded, hundreds thousands displaced), or in any other hot and suffering spot of the world.

Oh, no bullshit, please.

That's the Hollywood-esque death of one single Boris Nemtsov that shocked him. A brutal killing, my ass!

Boris is (well, was) not higher than grade C+ person, by an unspoken Western standard, where Americans are grade A people, and white Europeans belong to grade B (also worth mentioning and protecting, remember that JesuisCharlie story?). Donbass people are considered, evidently, grade D. Just like aborigines of deep rainforests and black Africa. To be only remembered when things have really gone bad and mad, like in Ruanda.

How many of those Untermenschen are to be killed for Ban Ki-moon to be shocked and condemn killers? A hundred thousand? A million?

Undoubtedly, that's hypocrisy, which leads the world to a dark and bloody end.

And my condemnation goes to hypocrites.