Elections in Russia and Ukraine
Open Parachute
by Ken
1w ago
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy. When do the Ukrainians go to the polls, by the way? I assume this bastion of liberal democracy would have regular free and fair elections. /sarc https://t.co/FIJO5B428A — Armchair Warlord (@ArmchairW) March 15, 2024 Media comments on the Russian Presidential elections have really amused me. Today I watched a “Russian expert” on UK Times Radio assure m ..read more
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Why has journalism, and Tucker Carlson, become so controversial?
Open Parachute
by Ken
1M ago
Why I'm interviewing Vladimir Putin. pic.twitter.com/hqvXUZqvHX — Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 6, 2024 So it appears that the well-known US journalist Tucker Carlson will interview President Putin. On the positive side, this is a good thing – many people are expressing interest in seeing the interview. But on the negative side, this is seen as a terrible thing by many Western governments and many US citizens. Politicians have called for Carlson to be refused entry on his return home to the US and there are many internet memes presently Carlson, often very crudely, as a “Putin p ..read more
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RIP Gonzalo Lira
Open Parachute
by Ken
2M ago
Journalist Alex Rubinstein received this handwritten note from Gonzalo Lira on January 4th. Very sad today to hear of the death of Gonzalo Lira, who was being held in prison in  Ukraine. I wrote about his imprisonment last August (see Free Gonzalo Lira!) Then I expressed a simple compasionate plea that he should be freed, despite my own criticisms of many of Gonzalo’s beliefs and ideas. Judging from many posts on social media today my attitude was very common and today many people are expressing their regrets over Gonzalo’s death. Gonzalo Lira’s   The Roundtable YouTube c ..read more
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How could this happen?
Open Parachute
by Ken
6M ago
Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in Nazi Germany’s SS Galizien during World War II received two standing ovations led by the speaker Anthony Rota who had invited him to the session. Rota described Hunka as a Ukrainian war veteran, from the second world war, who “fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians.” Hunka ..read more
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Free Gonzalo Lira!
Open Parachute
by Ken
8M ago
It’s a heartfelt plea. But I know it might be provocative to some people – both people who support Ukraine and people who oppose Ukraine. But, come on, posts like this are meant to provoke. And I welcome any discussion here on the issues that might concern some people. I think the panel in the above video handled these issues very well, with the depth they warrant at this stage. The charges made against Gonzalo Lira by the opponents of the Kiev regime are circumstantial and those made by supporters of that regime simply do not stand up to proper analysis. For example, the charge that the SBU ..read more
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A neutral Ukraine would have prevent this mess
Open Parachute
by Ken
8M ago
Ukraine was founded as an independent permanently neutral state The was outline in July 16, 1990, in the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine   “The Ukrainian SSR solemnly declares its intention of becoming a permanently neutral state that does not participate in military blocs and adheres to three nuclear free principles: to accept, to produce and to purchase no nuclear weapons ..read more
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Al governments lie – so does the media. Who should you trust?
Open Parachute
by Ken
8M ago
A great interview with Alexander Mercouris whose video channels have a large following. His daily analysis of current geopolitics is invaluable. I fully endorse his approach – one should always treat government and media claims critically and sensibly and always attempt to use multiple sources. It also helps to consult original documents.   ..read more
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The Wagner mutiny in Russia and the internet
Open Parachute
by Ken
9M ago
I found the reaction of various internet personalities to the Wanger attempted mutiny in Russia entertaining. So many people letting their biases show – indulging in confirmation bias when they reacted to the news as it came in. The guys at Defense Politics Asia were also amused. In this video, Defense Politics Asia presented some of the internet memes that amused them. The video is good for a laugh. In my list of YouTube channels reporting on the war in Ukraine, I found that Defense Politics Asia was one of the better sources for daily updates (see How is the war going? and Following th ..read more
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Will we say goodbye to free speech?
Open Parachute
by Ken
10M ago
Interesting speech by Rowan Atkinson where he defends free speech. Timely too, as several countries are now facing the introduction of legislation which will be used to attack freedom of speech. New Zealand/Aotearoa is no exception. And this comes on top of actions of censorship, de-platforming and social pressure being used to intimidate and shut people up ..read more
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Reality bites – especially in a war
Open Parachute
by Ken
1y ago
I heard this lovely statement by Andrei Martyanov recently – “reality is interesting but it bites.” In a recent Youtube programme, Ray McGovern produced a similar statement – “Reality can smack people in the back of the head.” These statements give me hope. I am so used to seeing people relying on a comfortable narrative without acknowledging evidence – reality. In fact, this seems to have become a habit for our mainstream media in recent years. This is why our media has gotten used to promoting misinformation and disinformation (and cynically accusing others of doing it) in place of news and ..read more
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