The phony phone call was conducted by a Russian prankster duo known as Vovan (Vladimir Kuznetsov) and Lexus (Alexei Stoliarov). They have made a name for themselves calling Western and Ukrainian politicians disguised as other officials to hear what they really think about various issues.
When the prankster referred to the promise that NATO would not expand eastward, made by US Secretary of State James Baker to then-President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev in the early 1990’s, Bush argued that “times change,” and what Baker promised was “years ago.” According to Bush, “the US must be flexible adjusting to the times and that’s why you are finding such strong support for your country now.” Bush agreed when the prankster said that “it doesn’t really matter what Baker promised Gorbachev in the past.”
Tim Veater
ReplyDelete1650, 1786, 1789 were turning points in political ideology and practice. In particular whether authority and power comes 'down' (from God) or 'up' from the people. In Britain revolution turned into a sort of rational (or irrational) compromise in which we kept both God and the King but didn't really believe in either and weren't really able to explain why. In society, hierarchies are unavoidable and ones based on the accident of birth have their very real dangers of entitlement, excess and corruption. But the dangers of elected dictatorships, may be even worse. Placing a family and its travails at the centre of the country as a unifying force, may not be a bad idea as long as its members do not get carried away with the notion they are intrinsically superior - although that must be the psychological effect of so much deference and luxury. Britain and its monarchical system is a strange and anarchic remnant of a previous age but it clearly still retains a sprinkling of irrational magic as demonstrated by millions of happy people in festive mood, celebrating a remarkable and gracious female, who has survived for over seventy years at the top. But neither she or we can forget she was anointed all those years ago both to rule and to serve, and that she has done it rather well. https://veaterecosan.blogspot.com
Re. Assange: It is persecution not prosecution. Bully boy tactics by a criminal state out of pique for being caught out and called out. How many deaths has America been guilty of? How many illegal invasions? How many breaches of its own laws let alone those of another state? Doesn't it have enough of its own prisoners without getting its clawing nails into foreigners? Is rendition now a principle of the American Constitution - ordinary or extraordinary, legal or illegal?
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ReplyDeleteArt, objects and structures are remnants of previous ages. The older they are, the more remarkable their survival. In Britain there is very little extant that pre dates the Norman Conquest of 1066. It was an age built in stone that has greater longevity than wood and mud. The Americas and many other parts of the world also suffered conquest that virtually obliterated earlier civilisations and so far less of what remains has any real age to it. If Ukraine descends into a full east/west nuclear exchange (and hopefully Boris and Biden arn't THAT stupid) the northern hemisphere will be largely reduced to rubble and the survivors, as there always are, will have to start building all over again.
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ReplyDeleteTim Veater
5 months ago
Do people realise the machinations of arrogant and stupid world leaders and interests are drifting us almost inevitably to the exchange of nuclear weapons which would plunge the Western World into a new dark age? Putin has his finger on the nuclear trigger and he may be mad enough to use it if he is attacked by NATO or if he is otherwise backed into a corner. The American leader is a geriatric idiot who has proved his incompetence in Afghanistan and Putin has taken advantage of it. Ukraine has been the target of covert US/Israel attempts to wrench it from Soviet influence. The die was set in 2014 and this is the Russian payback. Any fool could see the likely outcome. Don't tell me the Western multi-billion military/intelligence/industrial complex was ignorant and benign, whilst blinding the world with a fabricated germ panic. If the Simpsons could predict it why could not they? Should we conclude not only they knew but had encouraged this environmental and social disaster? Has it not been the topic of sophisticated war games for decades? What was the outcome of those? Was it indeed a MAD outcome - Mutually Assured Destruction? Sadly the world is in the hands of maniacs and criminals. On the streets they throw a punch or thrust a knife. When in charge of States they can obliterate cities at the touch of a button. We suffer from a attitudinal paradox: being intentionally terrified by non-existent threats - Islamist terrorism/global warming/CO2/Covid - whilst being lulled into complacency over real ones, like nuclear annihilation, that has never gone away since 1945. Be in no doubt, a new Iron Curtain has descended, a new Cold War has been ushered in, the possibility nuclear exchange heightened. And all for what? I hope those that have engineered this 'new world order' are pleased with themselves.