No update today, apologies. I intended to make one today but then numerous events and happenstances occurred. Tomorrow will be a return to your daily scheduled programming.
Links and Stuff
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Add to the above list if you can, thank you.
Resources For Understanding The War Beyond The Bulletins
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map, who is an independent youtuber with a mostly neutral viewpoint.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have good analysis (though also a couple bad takes here and there)
Understanding War and the Saker: neo-conservative sources but their reporting of the war (so far) seems to line up with reality better than most liberal sources.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict and, unlike most western analysts, has some degree of understanding on how war works. He is a reactionary, however.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent journalist reporting in the Ukrainian warzones.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Yesterday's discussion post.
The Swedish SS(Security Service) is now smearing Anti-NATO sentiment as being driven by foreign powers despite countrywide public protests.
Wasn’t Sweden overwhelmingly anti-NATO before February? Of course it must be dastardly foreign influence, not just their citizens holding fast to their original beliefs
It used to be close to 50/50 for/against before this year
Do we reckon that after Sweden and Finland get into NATO (assuming Turkey is placated by the blood sacrifice they're going to offer them) that the members of the organization will slowly realize - again, I guess, after that initial wave when Trump was in office - that they're being exploited by America, and that NATO offers zero real benefits to those countries? Like, thinking over the course of the next decade or so, not this year or whatever.
Or will America firmly grasp its imperial outpost and never let it stray far again, until the Western imperial alliance disintegrates under the weight of economic and ecological collapse?
I'm not sure if the post-Soviet disillusionment of NATO members would have actually led to anything if it had been allowed to continue without being somewhat invigorated by Russia invading Ukraine. I'm not saying that if it would have led to countries dropping out then Russia is idiotic within its own internal logic for invading Ukraine, because it's a hell of a thing to bet on in a world with increasingly frequent major economic crises that flip the world around. But just that if Ukraine hypothetically didn't have the Donbass or Nazi problem and Russia and Ukraine got along even if they weren't particularly friendly, would the trend have continued or is it just people mumbling about something that would take a substantial fracture in the current political situation in Europe to actually deliver any results for, such as a wave of far-left or far-right governments?
I've seen journalists repeatedly look at the situation and go "Haha, Russia are such idiots, to be honest NATO was looking real dejected and without purpose but now Russia has brought us all together again!" but I'm not sure if that's a materially substantive analysis given that we're going to be governed by neoliberals for at least a couple decades more barring any revolutionary situations, for the left or right, and I don't see neoliberal governments bribed by the US actually ever pulling the trigger on it. Mumble and make noise about it to maybe get America to give them concessions, but actually say "That's it, we're leaving NATO, we're activating Article 13 now!"? I really can't imagine it.
The "populist" right are going to realise it and do resistance to US imperialism as part of their anti-establishment act. At least they're going to do it as long as they're not in power.
The established "left" in NATO countries is too liberal and domesticated to see it as anything other than free and good democratic countries helping each other out.
The second one.
Parody is dead.
Technically they're called the "Security Police" in Swedish(Säkerhetspolisen/Säpo), but wikipedia has it translated as Security Service and by god I will not turn down an opportunity like that.
Of course they are. This thing is important to the Swedish elite so freeze peach doesn't apply here and it is the role of government agencies to smear those who date oppose the official line. Freeze peach is for wacky culture war stuff, like saying an ethnic minority has a skull shape/culture/etc. that disposes them to criminality.