The rewriting of history and the attempt to equate German Nazism and Soviet Communism with each other as the joint cause of the war began before the war had even ended. The Soviets published a response to US/British accusations of joint plotting with Germany to divide Poland between them (and thence start WW2) in 1948 with the tract "Falsificators of History" reproduced here: https://stolzuntermenschen.substack.com/p/falsificators-of-history-part-1
The Germans had not even surrendered in 1945 and the US and UK were plotting to form a joint Allied army composed of US, British, German and Polish units and launch a surprise attack on the USSR. This was kept secret until the 1990s. https://stolzuntermenschen.substack.com/p/falsificators-of-history-part-4
Thanks very much. That information is needed to determine where within the USG the traitors to the peace are to be found. The main impediment to that change in policy direction appears to have been FDR, and his former Veep now 1945's Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace. Again, thanks much for your contributions!
Let's look at reality. How many people still read books? How many people who read books read sophisticated literature? How many children and teenagers read books instead of staring at smartphones? The brainwashing starts in kindergarten and continues throughout their education. Later on, people are burnt out and exhausted by everyday life and their efforts to finance their lives. We should therefore not be surprised that people can be manipulated.
But something is new in the present.
Until 1945, Europeans had been used to war and militarism for thousands of years. It was part of normality.
Now, 80 years later, peace is the norm. War is something abstract, previously distant and rejected by most people. For many years I have not met a single person who wants war and even wants to fight as a soldier in a war. A big dilemma for the warmongers in the West.
Not even the brainwashed people are prepared to do so. There is a minority. But these people don't have the slightest idea of the reality of war. I read with interest the statements of Western mercenaries, some of whom have already been in wars. They say that no NATO soldier is ever prepared for a war against Russia.
My only hope remains that the USA will implode and open its fist that is holding Europe down. Only then would a radical change in Europe become possible. But there is not much time left.
In Russia, they are mistaken in thinking that Europeans should simply rebel against their regimes, and if they don't, then they themselves would be to blame and complicit. There can be no rebellion. Any approach would be destroyed in its infancy. Also thanks to the new technologies. The other issue, as already mentioned, is the lifelong brainwashing of people.
I just ordered some more books, and I even read them. I have many electronic books too that I don't read as much because I can't annotate them easily.
Your notes on Europe mirror the polls, but IMO your POV about Russia's POV of Europeans isn't quite correct at least from the leadership level. But resistance is there--look at Georgia now compared to 2008.
Modern warfare is horrific for the line soldier as I wrote at the SMO's outset. But nowadays the horror is mostly inflicted on the Ukies as they reel backwards while mounting what resistance they can. NATO's military and political misleadership is responsible for the Ukie plight, yet their delusions of supremacy are still dominant because of the many lies they've told to themselves over the last several generations.
Of course, this is just my subjective impression. I don't have any conversations with high-ranking people in Russia. I've had a lot of contact with Russians since the end of the 1960s, when I was a small child. This was because my father was an officer in the GDR. I really enjoyed these encounters. They were warm, friendly and very pleasant people. As a teenager, I had a sergeant as a friend. He was the driver for the commander of an armored division.
Decades later, I had no more contact with Russians and the subject. Apart from my love of Russian literature. As a result, I completely lost my Russian language skills. Today I regret that very much.
In 1989, I picked up stacks of perestroika brochures from the Soviet Cultural Center. I was amazed at what Russian intellectuals, scientists, economists and philisophers were discussing there. If only Gorbachev hadn't been such a damned and naive dreamer and had read that instead of handing over the "keys to the Soviet Union" to the Americans.
In 2014, I chatted with a young student in Donetsk. She was studying German Studies at the time. At one point, our conversation was interrupted by artillery fire from the Nazis. The following day was the last time we spoke. The day before, her aunt had died on a bus at the bus station. I sometimes talked to Russians in VK and later in Telegram.
In 2014, I thought that the Russians must hate us Germans. But I only encountered disbelief and confusion about what "we" Germans were doing. No hatred and no rejection.
But for the last two years, all I have experienced from the Russians is rejection, even hatred. As soon as they know I'm German, I'm met with contempt. These are ordinary people. But also intellectuals.
I read accusations in the Russian media and in Telegram comments that we Germans are not rebelling against our regime and that we are therefore also perpetrators.
This means a strong emotionalization of people in Russia.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. There's a big chasm between stated values and laws and with actual behavior that can easily confuse people unable to see the Big Picture. Unfortunately, stereotyping promotes Otherness as does conflation of citizens with leaders. Coming together takes work. We have a similar problem here at the national level where the tools of divide and rule have done their damage to the polity and too many are blind to their actual enemies.
She's one-of-a kind and sisterless, although Michael Hudson's wife seems quite similar. And Charles Beard had historian Mary Beard as co-author and wife, a very rare combination.
And FDR had Eleanor. My ex-partner of 14 years (we’re still amicable) actively supported each other’s career endeavors (musician/ abstract painter). Count your blessings,live long and prosper! P. S. I acted on your suggestion and purchased Hudson’s Super Imperialism and Temples of Enterprise. Very “high calorie “ reading (must be chewed slowly but quite tasty nonetheless!) Many thanks for your efforts and creating the Gym as a more civil alternative to MoA’s bar. Great to see commenters that patronize both!
Yes, it's a bit more civil here, although it wasn't my intent for the Gym to replace or supplant MoA; rather, it was to have a wider platform for my writings than VK.
Understood. B has created a priceless forum for unfettered dialogue and debate even in the face of oppressive censorship in his home country that is a testament to his dedication and tireless efforts. An inspiration for us all!
As is typical for me, I tend to be interested in alternative explanations - and that often makes me an outlier in many opinions.
Here is mine on Soviet Russia. Under Stalin it was a dangerous and murderous tyranny. Rezun (aka Suvorov - and many others) have posited that he planned an attack on the German concentration in Poland (mainly) in mid-July 1941. Well I have read I think everything there is to read about this and also done the granular research. My conclusion is that Stalin planned the attack but [for once} may have been fooled by the head honcho in Berlin. Anyway, in the looking glass world that was the Soviet Union at the time they may have thought they could win, but as we know - the rest is history. The Red Army was caught by the Axis assault as it was redeploying west in the middle of mobilisation. Whether or not this was a pre-emptive move by the Soviets or not, they came perilously close to defeat with this plan. But it suited the Soviets and now suits the Russians to decry the real evidence that exists that they were not as snowy white as they now claim.
Which is not to say the German attack was pre-emptive - though in some ways they saw it that way after the events of June 1940 when the Soviets clumsily handled the Baltic invasions and also that of Besserabia - using threats and overwheming force - and taking the Red Army too close to Ploesti. No - the German attack may have had its immediate source in those events but at root it was a genocidal war of conquest, designed to seize Russian resources and kill the slavic and particularly jewish popoulations - the latter associated with the Bolsheviks in Nazi ideology. And the original idea and proposal for the war originated with OKH in July 1940, despite many Nazi Generals [later NATO officers] claiming otherwsie.
So history is a curious thing, it keeps changing. And the author is right to warn us about the rewriting of WW2 and a white-washing of the Nazis. However facts sometimes aren't, and what you think might be true simply isn't and wasn't. Human nature is the only constant and that means multiple motives and interests, power games and the spinning of narratives. Politics is seldom good vs evil. And we lie.
So for the record whilst I think the USSR was generally a bad thing and I am glad it ceased to be - I do not at all hold modern Russia in the same light. As Putin said, they have been through their "madness" and have no wish to revisit that place. To the contrary however , I think the "West" is now in its own collective insanity, and that I genuinely believe Project Ukraine was an attempt to do a "Barbarossa Lite" by NATO - mainly without the genocide but who knows with those Azov scum.
Anyway, I could go on. But trying to paint Stalin's USSR in a good light is like trying to claim that Hitler was also well meaning. At the end of the day Stalin's USSR [with much critical aid from the West] paid the price in blood and treasure to defeat Nazi Germany and without that sacrifice D-Day and the rest could not have occurred, and the world would be a much darker place indeed. It is horrifying to me that we in the West are supporting Nazi ideology because it is arrayed against "the Putin" and that is worse. Well that is what we are supposed to believe.
I guess the history of our times will takes a long time to settle, and maybe never will. We all have partial access to information and our lens of comprehension is ours alone and partial at best.
It also must be recalled that Hitler's invasion was delayed by the ineptness of his allies in the Balkans. Personally, I don't need to revisit the war part of WW2 history but need to dig further into the politics of war as Kolko called his book on the subject.
Thanks again Karl, especially for the down loads. This issue of mis or dis information, particularly in the sphere of education and the supposedly non-fiction category of 'history books', will be an issue that lingers over a very time and will I imagine be extremely divisive within the decaying collective wasteland. How does one deal with voluntary ignorance within the so-called educated elite?
IMO, such "voluntary ignorance" is connected to their worldview and the hubristic notion that they're immune to facts and their history. We ought to "deal with" it by removing them from power and forcefully reforming their institutions. Read what happened to Scott Ritter's daughter within this posting to learn how bad it's become, https://sonar21.com/more-on-the-multiple-shots-scenario-and-scott-ritter-and-i-were-interviewed-by-ania/
Thanks for the link. Worth a view for more than that particular example of institutionalised ideology in action. I do enjoy it when Scott kicks off on a stream of informed consciousness.
Victory at Sea is streaming on Tubi! I have been watching the series lately. The opening credit score is amazing with the rolling sea!
The men who raised me were all US WW II veterans. I chose Air Force and made almost 47 years in the MIC one form or other. Started out thinking I was serving!
Our family had the soundtrack album which was two-LPs long and I played it a lot. I was disabused of any romantic notions of war by digging into military history at a young age and was very able to empathize with the Red Badge of Courage's anti-hero who broke and ran.
There is an old Spanish folk song that goes like this: "Through the sea runs the hare, through the mountains the sardine." Whenever I watch a Hollywood movie about World War II (or any other) this song comes to mind. I've read and seen too much to believe "Coca-Cola advertising."
I will translate the article into Spanish and post it on my blog. Thank you Karl.
Dear Karl - I hope you will not be offended if I post two links to someone who does the same work you do, but in China
These are links to the the first documents to emerge from the recent Third Plenum and their 'Decisions' - documents of an importance as those you have published with regard to the May 7 Executive order and the Joint Declaration May 17, even if the final or definitive document is not yet published
And by which one can see that the two countries are linked by common spirit, common dedication to the lives and the health of the people, and similar approaches to governance, the very contrary of what the infidel west proclaims as a merely temporary and transactional 'dependence'
A longish response to you has been quashed by the less than satisfactory substack process for even responding to a thread in which I’ve already participated.
A truncated response: thanks for the useful links.
The history of Russia and China is related to its ancient and long border and the common Mongol influence. But that is not all. At some cultural layer, the disparate societies share some fundamental values. As an example, in a Euro Lit course I took in college, we focused on just 4 modern novels, of which the Brothers Karamazov was one. It was singular: the only one which showed a belief in, and concern, for humanity (the others explored humanity only as the intellectual or social elites).
This humanity is common to the Chinese novel (a longer tradition) I believe. I’ve read bits of Monkey, but the classic “Water Margin” was first translated into English as “All Men are Brothers”.
Sorry to hear of your issues with substack that quashed what appears to have been an excellent comment that even truncated was quite worthy. IMO, a thesis can be formulated from your comment for a long comparative essay examining the issue you reveal. The quest for superiority versus balance and harmony in European versus Asiatic societies, respectively, that sits at the foundation for Hudson's work demands to be more fully explored and exposed. I see "All Men are Brothers" was made into a TV series in China; Wiki lists 86 episodes. "Water Margin" was also made into a TV program in 1997-8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Men_Are_Brothers_(TV_series)
Thanks for the links — the “living” respect for classics and their revitalization into new forms (eg animation and live action versions of Monkey) for younger generations in China — I suspect that must be happening in Russia too. Having had two years of Russian in high school, I forcibly recall the Lermontov classic poem “парус“, which I committed to memory at 17, so as to not forget. I could argue that the literary classics of Russia in the modern period are at least the equal to those of the West — just as Russian opera is more multi-layered than the typical “A loves B who loves C” trope of the standard repertoire. I don’t think it’s just happenstance but is related to differences in thinking and values (ie “culture”).
Russia and China have committed for some time to cross-cultural exchanges — the naturally curious Chinese present a market of enormous demand for the classic Russian ballets and operas. Maybe it’s happening and I’m unaware.
Compare to the Western musical world where operas by lauded contemporary composers (Thomas Adès) include open simulations of fellatio, or, even worse, the great operatic classics are turned into grotesque reveries of “euro trash” producers. Just another, less obvious, arena for the inversion of Western culture. I’ve told friends who lament that there are no young people at classical music concerts, don’t be worried, China (and Japan and Korea) will keep the name of Beethoven alive even if he’s no longer remembered in Germany or the West.
Yes, lots of cultural interaction between Russia and China, and also between Russia and all friendly nations as it's a longstanding form of soft power and best method to negate Otherness. I've long noted the attempts by rock musicians to write rock operas with The Who's "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia" being perhaps the most well-known. It's also little known that many rock stars are also steeped in the classics and seek to incorporate orchestral sound into their music. Metallica's two concerts with the San Fransico Symphony Orchestra are one example, and I very much enjoyed The Electric Light Orchestra and saw several of their live shows back in the day. Moody Blues is another. And most Jazz artists have a classical background.
Cultivating arts and culture instead of conflicts and war would serve Humanity far better. Denigrating the slogan Make Love Not War is Anti-Human IMO and showed us long ago where Western Elite's mind-set dwelt. It was Aristotle who said something like this: The greedy can't stop because they're addicted--which is associated with the term Pleonexia.
No offense at all. I don't have time to cover much more than I do, and I do want/need to include China's activities and have focused upon them in the past. A gymnasium is supposed to be a learning institution, which is where the comment section comes into play.
Thanks again Karl - I saw the article by the Swiss and have been reading that Donbass newspaper with glee, at last a local source
More and more people are becoming aware of the very long propaganda campaigns - it is extraordinary
The Don newspaper reports on this tractor innovation-https://dan-news.ru/exclusive/rossijskaja-kompanija-razrabatyvaet-traktory-bespilotniki-kotorye-vskore-smogut/
In general given the reports about all the front line innovations, Drones essentially, by the RF soldiers, of all ranks, and with civilian collaboration, often workshopped nearby, the Donbass may yet profit in some ways from this war, and the consequent upgrades in engineering skills due to the practice of a people's war
Thanks for this disturbing information, Karl.
My mind immediately went to Hollywood and if and how they're spinning this. So much propaganda comes out of Hollywood it seems.
Yes, the header photo suggests that.
The rewriting of history and the attempt to equate German Nazism and Soviet Communism with each other as the joint cause of the war began before the war had even ended. The Soviets published a response to US/British accusations of joint plotting with Germany to divide Poland between them (and thence start WW2) in 1948 with the tract "Falsificators of History" reproduced here: https://stolzuntermenschen.substack.com/p/falsificators-of-history-part-1
The Germans had not even surrendered in 1945 and the US and UK were plotting to form a joint Allied army composed of US, British, German and Polish units and launch a surprise attack on the USSR. This was kept secret until the 1990s. https://stolzuntermenschen.substack.com/p/falsificators-of-history-part-4
Thanks very much. That information is needed to determine where within the USG the traitors to the peace are to be found. The main impediment to that change in policy direction appears to have been FDR, and his former Veep now 1945's Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace. Again, thanks much for your contributions!
It definitely occurred as part of the transition from Roosevelt to Truman.
Some wise man had said:
"Master thoughts and you will master people".
I can no longer remember the author.
Let's look at reality. How many people still read books? How many people who read books read sophisticated literature? How many children and teenagers read books instead of staring at smartphones? The brainwashing starts in kindergarten and continues throughout their education. Later on, people are burnt out and exhausted by everyday life and their efforts to finance their lives. We should therefore not be surprised that people can be manipulated.
But something is new in the present.
Until 1945, Europeans had been used to war and militarism for thousands of years. It was part of normality.
Now, 80 years later, peace is the norm. War is something abstract, previously distant and rejected by most people. For many years I have not met a single person who wants war and even wants to fight as a soldier in a war. A big dilemma for the warmongers in the West.
Not even the brainwashed people are prepared to do so. There is a minority. But these people don't have the slightest idea of the reality of war. I read with interest the statements of Western mercenaries, some of whom have already been in wars. They say that no NATO soldier is ever prepared for a war against Russia.
My only hope remains that the USA will implode and open its fist that is holding Europe down. Only then would a radical change in Europe become possible. But there is not much time left.
In Russia, they are mistaken in thinking that Europeans should simply rebel against their regimes, and if they don't, then they themselves would be to blame and complicit. There can be no rebellion. Any approach would be destroyed in its infancy. Also thanks to the new technologies. The other issue, as already mentioned, is the lifelong brainwashing of people.
I just ordered some more books, and I even read them. I have many electronic books too that I don't read as much because I can't annotate them easily.
Your notes on Europe mirror the polls, but IMO your POV about Russia's POV of Europeans isn't quite correct at least from the leadership level. But resistance is there--look at Georgia now compared to 2008.
Modern warfare is horrific for the line soldier as I wrote at the SMO's outset. But nowadays the horror is mostly inflicted on the Ukies as they reel backwards while mounting what resistance they can. NATO's military and political misleadership is responsible for the Ukie plight, yet their delusions of supremacy are still dominant because of the many lies they've told to themselves over the last several generations.
Of course, this is just my subjective impression. I don't have any conversations with high-ranking people in Russia. I've had a lot of contact with Russians since the end of the 1960s, when I was a small child. This was because my father was an officer in the GDR. I really enjoyed these encounters. They were warm, friendly and very pleasant people. As a teenager, I had a sergeant as a friend. He was the driver for the commander of an armored division.
Decades later, I had no more contact with Russians and the subject. Apart from my love of Russian literature. As a result, I completely lost my Russian language skills. Today I regret that very much.
In 1989, I picked up stacks of perestroika brochures from the Soviet Cultural Center. I was amazed at what Russian intellectuals, scientists, economists and philisophers were discussing there. If only Gorbachev hadn't been such a damned and naive dreamer and had read that instead of handing over the "keys to the Soviet Union" to the Americans.
In 2014, I chatted with a young student in Donetsk. She was studying German Studies at the time. At one point, our conversation was interrupted by artillery fire from the Nazis. The following day was the last time we spoke. The day before, her aunt had died on a bus at the bus station. I sometimes talked to Russians in VK and later in Telegram.
In 2014, I thought that the Russians must hate us Germans. But I only encountered disbelief and confusion about what "we" Germans were doing. No hatred and no rejection.
But for the last two years, all I have experienced from the Russians is rejection, even hatred. As soon as they know I'm German, I'm met with contempt. These are ordinary people. But also intellectuals.
I read accusations in the Russian media and in Telegram comments that we Germans are not rebelling against our regime and that we are therefore also perpetrators.
This means a strong emotionalization of people in Russia.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. There's a big chasm between stated values and laws and with actual behavior that can easily confuse people unable to see the Big Picture. Unfortunately, stereotyping promotes Otherness as does conflation of citizens with leaders. Coming together takes work. We have a similar problem here at the national level where the tools of divide and rule have done their damage to the polity and too many are blind to their actual enemies.
thanks karl and larrys link at the end was worth reading...
yes - revise history to make it a different reality.. propaganda by any other name...
Karl, my sincere thanks to you for your daily offerings. Your curations are excellent. I examine every one. How do you find the time?!
My wife supports my work so I have time.
If your wife has a like-minded sister, please introduce me! :)
She's one-of-a kind and sisterless, although Michael Hudson's wife seems quite similar. And Charles Beard had historian Mary Beard as co-author and wife, a very rare combination.
And FDR had Eleanor. My ex-partner of 14 years (we’re still amicable) actively supported each other’s career endeavors (musician/ abstract painter). Count your blessings,live long and prosper! P. S. I acted on your suggestion and purchased Hudson’s Super Imperialism and Temples of Enterprise. Very “high calorie “ reading (must be chewed slowly but quite tasty nonetheless!) Many thanks for your efforts and creating the Gym as a more civil alternative to MoA’s bar. Great to see commenters that patronize both!
Yes, it's a bit more civil here, although it wasn't my intent for the Gym to replace or supplant MoA; rather, it was to have a wider platform for my writings than VK.
Understood. B has created a priceless forum for unfettered dialogue and debate even in the face of oppressive censorship in his home country that is a testament to his dedication and tireless efforts. An inspiration for us all!
The search for the truth is important indeed.
As is typical for me, I tend to be interested in alternative explanations - and that often makes me an outlier in many opinions.
Here is mine on Soviet Russia. Under Stalin it was a dangerous and murderous tyranny. Rezun (aka Suvorov - and many others) have posited that he planned an attack on the German concentration in Poland (mainly) in mid-July 1941. Well I have read I think everything there is to read about this and also done the granular research. My conclusion is that Stalin planned the attack but [for once} may have been fooled by the head honcho in Berlin. Anyway, in the looking glass world that was the Soviet Union at the time they may have thought they could win, but as we know - the rest is history. The Red Army was caught by the Axis assault as it was redeploying west in the middle of mobilisation. Whether or not this was a pre-emptive move by the Soviets or not, they came perilously close to defeat with this plan. But it suited the Soviets and now suits the Russians to decry the real evidence that exists that they were not as snowy white as they now claim.
Which is not to say the German attack was pre-emptive - though in some ways they saw it that way after the events of June 1940 when the Soviets clumsily handled the Baltic invasions and also that of Besserabia - using threats and overwheming force - and taking the Red Army too close to Ploesti. No - the German attack may have had its immediate source in those events but at root it was a genocidal war of conquest, designed to seize Russian resources and kill the slavic and particularly jewish popoulations - the latter associated with the Bolsheviks in Nazi ideology. And the original idea and proposal for the war originated with OKH in July 1940, despite many Nazi Generals [later NATO officers] claiming otherwsie.
So history is a curious thing, it keeps changing. And the author is right to warn us about the rewriting of WW2 and a white-washing of the Nazis. However facts sometimes aren't, and what you think might be true simply isn't and wasn't. Human nature is the only constant and that means multiple motives and interests, power games and the spinning of narratives. Politics is seldom good vs evil. And we lie.
So for the record whilst I think the USSR was generally a bad thing and I am glad it ceased to be - I do not at all hold modern Russia in the same light. As Putin said, they have been through their "madness" and have no wish to revisit that place. To the contrary however , I think the "West" is now in its own collective insanity, and that I genuinely believe Project Ukraine was an attempt to do a "Barbarossa Lite" by NATO - mainly without the genocide but who knows with those Azov scum.
Anyway, I could go on. But trying to paint Stalin's USSR in a good light is like trying to claim that Hitler was also well meaning. At the end of the day Stalin's USSR [with much critical aid from the West] paid the price in blood and treasure to defeat Nazi Germany and without that sacrifice D-Day and the rest could not have occurred, and the world would be a much darker place indeed. It is horrifying to me that we in the West are supporting Nazi ideology because it is arrayed against "the Putin" and that is worse. Well that is what we are supposed to believe.
I guess the history of our times will takes a long time to settle, and maybe never will. We all have partial access to information and our lens of comprehension is ours alone and partial at best.
It also must be recalled that Hitler's invasion was delayed by the ineptness of his allies in the Balkans. Personally, I don't need to revisit the war part of WW2 history but need to dig further into the politics of war as Kolko called his book on the subject.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984
Thanks again Karl, especially for the down loads. This issue of mis or dis information, particularly in the sphere of education and the supposedly non-fiction category of 'history books', will be an issue that lingers over a very time and will I imagine be extremely divisive within the decaying collective wasteland. How does one deal with voluntary ignorance within the so-called educated elite?
IMO, such "voluntary ignorance" is connected to their worldview and the hubristic notion that they're immune to facts and their history. We ought to "deal with" it by removing them from power and forcefully reforming their institutions. Read what happened to Scott Ritter's daughter within this posting to learn how bad it's become, https://sonar21.com/more-on-the-multiple-shots-scenario-and-scott-ritter-and-i-were-interviewed-by-ania/
Thanks for the link. Worth a view for more than that particular example of institutionalised ideology in action. I do enjoy it when Scott kicks off on a stream of informed consciousness.
Karl, Thank You!
Victory at Sea is streaming on Tubi! I have been watching the series lately. The opening credit score is amazing with the rolling sea!
The men who raised me were all US WW II veterans. I chose Air Force and made almost 47 years in the MIC one form or other. Started out thinking I was serving!
Our family had the soundtrack album which was two-LPs long and I played it a lot. I was disabused of any romantic notions of war by digging into military history at a young age and was very able to empathize with the Red Badge of Courage's anti-hero who broke and ran.
There is an old Spanish folk song that goes like this: "Through the sea runs the hare, through the mountains the sardine." Whenever I watch a Hollywood movie about World War II (or any other) this song comes to mind. I've read and seen too much to believe "Coca-Cola advertising."
I will translate the article into Spanish and post it on my blog. Thank you Karl.
Dear Karl - I hope you will not be offended if I post two links to someone who does the same work you do, but in China
These are links to the the first documents to emerge from the recent Third Plenum and their 'Decisions' - documents of an importance as those you have published with regard to the May 7 Executive order and the Joint Declaration May 17, even if the final or definitive document is not yet published
And by which one can see that the two countries are linked by common spirit, common dedication to the lives and the health of the people, and similar approaches to governance, the very contrary of what the infidel west proclaims as a merely temporary and transactional 'dependence'
The Communiqué of the Third Plenum in English -https://www.fredgao.com/p/translation-of-the-third-plenums
The Official Press Conference in English-very useful explanations of content and procedure -https://www.fredgao.com/p/transcripts-and-key-points-of-official
“…the two countries are linked…”.
Which two countries?
the two countries referred to : Karl works, very nearly exclusively, in Russian affairs, and I mnetioned someone who works.....etc... in China
A longish response to you has been quashed by the less than satisfactory substack process for even responding to a thread in which I’ve already participated.
A truncated response: thanks for the useful links.
The history of Russia and China is related to its ancient and long border and the common Mongol influence. But that is not all. At some cultural layer, the disparate societies share some fundamental values. As an example, in a Euro Lit course I took in college, we focused on just 4 modern novels, of which the Brothers Karamazov was one. It was singular: the only one which showed a belief in, and concern, for humanity (the others explored humanity only as the intellectual or social elites).
This humanity is common to the Chinese novel (a longer tradition) I believe. I’ve read bits of Monkey, but the classic “Water Margin” was first translated into English as “All Men are Brothers”.
I
Sorry to hear of your issues with substack that quashed what appears to have been an excellent comment that even truncated was quite worthy. IMO, a thesis can be formulated from your comment for a long comparative essay examining the issue you reveal. The quest for superiority versus balance and harmony in European versus Asiatic societies, respectively, that sits at the foundation for Hudson's work demands to be more fully explored and exposed. I see "All Men are Brothers" was made into a TV series in China; Wiki lists 86 episodes. "Water Margin" was also made into a TV program in 1997-8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Men_Are_Brothers_(TV_series)
Thanks for the links — the “living” respect for classics and their revitalization into new forms (eg animation and live action versions of Monkey) for younger generations in China — I suspect that must be happening in Russia too. Having had two years of Russian in high school, I forcibly recall the Lermontov classic poem “парус“, which I committed to memory at 17, so as to not forget. I could argue that the literary classics of Russia in the modern period are at least the equal to those of the West — just as Russian opera is more multi-layered than the typical “A loves B who loves C” trope of the standard repertoire. I don’t think it’s just happenstance but is related to differences in thinking and values (ie “culture”).
Russia and China have committed for some time to cross-cultural exchanges — the naturally curious Chinese present a market of enormous demand for the classic Russian ballets and operas. Maybe it’s happening and I’m unaware.
Compare to the Western musical world where operas by lauded contemporary composers (Thomas Adès) include open simulations of fellatio, or, even worse, the great operatic classics are turned into grotesque reveries of “euro trash” producers. Just another, less obvious, arena for the inversion of Western culture. I’ve told friends who lament that there are no young people at classical music concerts, don’t be worried, China (and Japan and Korea) will keep the name of Beethoven alive even if he’s no longer remembered in Germany or the West.
Yes, lots of cultural interaction between Russia and China, and also between Russia and all friendly nations as it's a longstanding form of soft power and best method to negate Otherness. I've long noted the attempts by rock musicians to write rock operas with The Who's "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia" being perhaps the most well-known. It's also little known that many rock stars are also steeped in the classics and seek to incorporate orchestral sound into their music. Metallica's two concerts with the San Fransico Symphony Orchestra are one example, and I very much enjoyed The Electric Light Orchestra and saw several of their live shows back in the day. Moody Blues is another. And most Jazz artists have a classical background.
Cultivating arts and culture instead of conflicts and war would serve Humanity far better. Denigrating the slogan Make Love Not War is Anti-Human IMO and showed us long ago where Western Elite's mind-set dwelt. It was Aristotle who said something like this: The greedy can't stop because they're addicted--which is associated with the term Pleonexia.
No offense at all. I don't have time to cover much more than I do, and I do want/need to include China's activities and have focused upon them in the past. A gymnasium is supposed to be a learning institution, which is where the comment section comes into play.
Thanks again Karl - I saw the article by the Swiss and have been reading that Donbass newspaper with glee, at last a local source
More and more people are becoming aware of the very long propaganda campaigns - it is extraordinary
The Don newspaper reports on this tractor innovation-https://dan-news.ru/exclusive/rossijskaja-kompanija-razrabatyvaet-traktory-bespilotniki-kotorye-vskore-smogut/
In general given the reports about all the front line innovations, Drones essentially, by the RF soldiers, of all ranks, and with civilian collaboration, often workshopped nearby, the Donbass may yet profit in some ways from this war, and the consequent upgrades in engineering skills due to the practice of a people's war
And I forgot to mention the Buryatia story - !!
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984