Russian pundits say Prigozhin is stating the obvious, while Western "alt media" insists he's just stressed and needs a rest. There's a lesson here, somewhere.
May 6, 2023·edited May 6, 2023Liked by Edward Slavsquat
Unless this is a rhetorical question, the easy answer is: the Western "alt-media" (ie. a certain section of right-wing and left-wing commentators, generally outside the formal media structure) are not particularly interested in Russia as-is, just the idea of Russia as a symbolic actor in their own internal psychodrama related to their disgust with their own society (generally, in case of right-wingers, Russia representing a big manly country in contrast to their own "soyified" nations and in case of left-wingers, Russia represents a potential anti-imperialist ally in their struggle against their own country's imperialism - of course, in some cases, both apply simultaneously).
He thinks he's educated. He thinks he's aware of things.
He's not. He may be not intelligent.
Or he may be intelligent, but stuck in his own bullshit.
"And then there is the psychological effect of the Big Lie which is axiomatic in gaslighting. The paradox here is that the bigger the lie, the harder it is for the mind to bridge the gulf between perceived reality and the lie that authority figures are painting as truth. I believe that the prospect of being deceived evinces a primitive emotional response on a par with staring death in the face. We are hard-wired to fear deception because we have evolved to interpret it as an existential threat. That’s why deception can elicit the same emotional response as the miscalculation of a serious physical threat. Lies told to us don’t always bear the same cost as a misjudged red light, but the primitive part of the brain can’t make this distinction and we rely on cerebral mediation for a more appropriate but delayed response. And in the long run, the lie is often just as dangerous as the physical threat. Many government whoppers – ‘safe and effective’ – do cost lives.
To avoid the death-like experience of being deceived, a mental defence is erected to deny that the lie is happening."
"The evolutionary psychologist William von Hippel found that humans use large parts of thinking power to navigate social world rather than perform independent analysis and decision making. For most people it is the mechanism that, in case of doubt, will prevent one from thinking what is right if, in return, it endangers one’s social status. This phenomenon occurs more strongly the higher a person’s social status. Another factor is that the more educated and more theoretically intelligent a person is, the more their brain is adept at selling them the biggest nonsense as a reasonable idea, as long as it elevates their social status. The upper educated class tends to be more inclined than ordinary people to chase some intellectual boondoggle. "
I just read this entire thing and I still have no idea wtf any of you are talking! The pipelines through Ukraine prove ALL of this is just a BS war! It's for the peasantry! It's nothing but a way to create fractures through the mindless goy! The pipelines are everything! Everything else is nothing but character driven acting!!! If Russia and Ukraine have no problem signing contracts and protecting pipelines during this entire conflict, then surely that proves they can work together, and all the hot headed posturing is nothing but a ruse
Jo-joing tactic we see being acted by mass media and USA, Ukraine and Russia is done deliberately on all sides! To prolong the war as much as possible. To launder money and to have as many casualties as possible. Drugs, weapons and human-trafficking as well. Billions are made on this destruction of life and property. Such a devilish situation!
If Russia is having no issues selling oil to Ukraine via proxy, why not sell them weapons as well? Do you think higher ups care for Slavs that are getting massacred? Do you think they got the vaccine themselves?
Military higher ups must all be honorable people right?
Probably you haven't heard of Ted Gunderson and Kay Griggs.
What they say about US and Israeli military goes for Russian military as well.
And maybe Prygozhin is poised to take over in the official military, hence his act.
"I just don’t understand why there’s almost zero overlap between what Western “alt media” says, and what Russian “alt media” says. They are two separate worlds."
This may by why you exist Man, trying to bridge a gap, humbly trying to bring the cornerstone to build an arch... Vainly?... it doesn't matter, since it is essential that it be done.
Time will tell... Meanwhile, keep on the good work.
I don't get how Duran came to be so respected and cited among alt-media. They're so obviously grifters, particularly Mercouris, formerly a barrister, now disgraced and disbarred. I mean, he even looks and talks like Delboy from "Only Fools and Horses", if anyone remembers. With Christoforou rambling off like an idiot and Mercouris flapping his hands and weaseling his way through subjects, I can't take them seriously even when they get things right. And that's increasingly rare. And in this episode they so brazenly and openly tried to twist the facts and spin them their way, it was embarrassing to watch.
The icing on the cake was when Mercouris, who never fails to remind us that he himself is "no military person", said, with a straight face, that Prigozhin is "a civilian who has no understanding of how military works (!)". Comedy gold! This show needs a laughing track so no one confuses them with serious analysis.
Look at the feelings of the Czech volunteer who returned from Ukraine very surprised... This meat grinder and tool to drive countries into bankruptcy must end. But they will prolong it with deliberate incompetence until they introduce CBDC globally. We must unite. We have all been lied to. They lied to us again. https://youtu.be/fceS3veihnE
Yes, Mercouris is a smug self satisfied insular narrow minded fool. It is being all the former that makes him the latter.
I find you can learn interesting tiny things from him here and there about politics and politicians, he has some knowledge of the area, the arena, the participants or something.
But this conflict: he knows nothing.
The (almost absent) thrust to bring it to a quick conclusion: he does nothing, has no interest.
The English-speaking pro-Russian State alt media pundits are so high on clout and their own mental masturbation they get for considering themselves "expert geopolitical analysts" that they neglect to consider anything that can cast a shadow of doubt onto the ultimate omnipotent savior role they assign to Russia/Putin/Lavrov/RAF. They act exactly like mainstream media in most substantive ways; except rather than giving the US a savior role it's the BRICS they cheerlead for.
"Wagner will be forced to withdraw from Bakhmut on May 10"
My suspicion is Wagner are aware of the coming Ukrainian counter-offense on May 15th, and don't wish to be anywhere near the frontlines when the cannon fodder start to pour in.
Whether or not the ammunition concerns are real or not is anyone's guess, but I can't help but feel he has a pertinent sense of timing as to when to leave.
He is right that there is a shortage of shells (almost everywhere) AND he is also overwhelmed as a civilian in a war zone who cares about his fighters losing their lives in a way he deems unnecessary.
How dare you belittle Alexander Mercouris? He's trying very hard to become an expert in international law after being disbarred in England.
Personally I really enjoy his weird cadences/yelling intonations and mouth breathing exertions. It's like landing a Gunard on deck and listening to it cough while it slaps around.
If Prigozhin is telling the truth, young Russian men pay in blood. If he is lying, young Ukrainians pay in blood. Either way it’s a tragedy, yet most commentary has an inhuman detachedness. Props to Mr Waggaman for never losing sight of what is really important.
I think this goes for either side: the more one claims to know, the less he knows! At various times during the SMO, I felt "in the know" - just to totally feel the opposite a few days on.
Why is that?
If the things Prigozhin says are even slightly close to the truth, then Russia is in way over it´s head. If it´s a 5d response to the 5d leak on Ukraine´s unpreparedness, then it´s everyone´s guess what the hell is going on. All I know is that wars are never fought for the reason stated. Is this one different?
It´s probably time to fasten our seatbelts because there´s a rough ride ahead for all of us.
Excellent, Edward. The fact is, this is an existential, real war of survival for Russia. The hegemon has made this perfectly clear for decades. Its goal has always been to balkanize and rape and pillage all of Russia's resources and assets, including the elimination of President Putin. All this other talk is pure bullshit.
Unless this is a rhetorical question, the easy answer is: the Western "alt-media" (ie. a certain section of right-wing and left-wing commentators, generally outside the formal media structure) are not particularly interested in Russia as-is, just the idea of Russia as a symbolic actor in their own internal psychodrama related to their disgust with their own society (generally, in case of right-wingers, Russia representing a big manly country in contrast to their own "soyified" nations and in case of left-wingers, Russia represents a potential anti-imperialist ally in their struggle against their own country's imperialism - of course, in some cases, both apply simultaneously).
The Duran is just another fan boy of politics.
He thinks he's educated. He thinks he's aware of things.
He's not. He may be not intelligent.
Or he may be intelligent, but stuck in his own bullshit.
"And then there is the psychological effect of the Big Lie which is axiomatic in gaslighting. The paradox here is that the bigger the lie, the harder it is for the mind to bridge the gulf between perceived reality and the lie that authority figures are painting as truth. I believe that the prospect of being deceived evinces a primitive emotional response on a par with staring death in the face. We are hard-wired to fear deception because we have evolved to interpret it as an existential threat. That’s why deception can elicit the same emotional response as the miscalculation of a serious physical threat. Lies told to us don’t always bear the same cost as a misjudged red light, but the primitive part of the brain can’t make this distinction and we rely on cerebral mediation for a more appropriate but delayed response. And in the long run, the lie is often just as dangerous as the physical threat. Many government whoppers – ‘safe and effective’ – do cost lives.
To avoid the death-like experience of being deceived, a mental defence is erected to deny that the lie is happening."
(From https://leftlockdownsceptics.com/alleged-cia-involvement-in-jfk-assassination-goes-mainstream-so-now-what/ )
------
"The evolutionary psychologist William von Hippel found that humans use large parts of thinking power to navigate social world rather than perform independent analysis and decision making. For most people it is the mechanism that, in case of doubt, will prevent one from thinking what is right if, in return, it endangers one’s social status. This phenomenon occurs more strongly the higher a person’s social status. Another factor is that the more educated and more theoretically intelligent a person is, the more their brain is adept at selling them the biggest nonsense as a reasonable idea, as long as it elevates their social status. The upper educated class tends to be more inclined than ordinary people to chase some intellectual boondoggle. "
-Sasha Latypova
I just read this entire thing and I still have no idea wtf any of you are talking! The pipelines through Ukraine prove ALL of this is just a BS war! It's for the peasantry! It's nothing but a way to create fractures through the mindless goy! The pipelines are everything! Everything else is nothing but character driven acting!!! If Russia and Ukraine have no problem signing contracts and protecting pipelines during this entire conflict, then surely that proves they can work together, and all the hot headed posturing is nothing but a ruse
Jo-joing tactic we see being acted by mass media and USA, Ukraine and Russia is done deliberately on all sides! To prolong the war as much as possible. To launder money and to have as many casualties as possible. Drugs, weapons and human-trafficking as well. Billions are made on this destruction of life and property. Such a devilish situation!
If Russia is having no issues selling oil to Ukraine via proxy, why not sell them weapons as well? Do you think higher ups care for Slavs that are getting massacred? Do you think they got the vaccine themselves?
Military higher ups must all be honorable people right?
Probably you haven't heard of Ted Gunderson and Kay Griggs.
What they say about US and Israeli military goes for Russian military as well.
And maybe Prygozhin is poised to take over in the official military, hence his act.
Salut Riley!
"I just don’t understand why there’s almost zero overlap between what Western “alt media” says, and what Russian “alt media” says. They are two separate worlds."
This may by why you exist Man, trying to bridge a gap, humbly trying to bring the cornerstone to build an arch... Vainly?... it doesn't matter, since it is essential that it be done.
Time will tell... Meanwhile, keep on the good work.
Merci
I don't get how Duran came to be so respected and cited among alt-media. They're so obviously grifters, particularly Mercouris, formerly a barrister, now disgraced and disbarred. I mean, he even looks and talks like Delboy from "Only Fools and Horses", if anyone remembers. With Christoforou rambling off like an idiot and Mercouris flapping his hands and weaseling his way through subjects, I can't take them seriously even when they get things right. And that's increasingly rare. And in this episode they so brazenly and openly tried to twist the facts and spin them their way, it was embarrassing to watch.
The icing on the cake was when Mercouris, who never fails to remind us that he himself is "no military person", said, with a straight face, that Prigozhin is "a civilian who has no understanding of how military works (!)". Comedy gold! This show needs a laughing track so no one confuses them with serious analysis.
Look at the feelings of the Czech volunteer who returned from Ukraine very surprised... This meat grinder and tool to drive countries into bankruptcy must end. But they will prolong it with deliberate incompetence until they introduce CBDC globally. We must unite. We have all been lied to. They lied to us again. https://youtu.be/fceS3veihnE
Yes, Mercouris is a smug self satisfied insular narrow minded fool. It is being all the former that makes him the latter.
I find you can learn interesting tiny things from him here and there about politics and politicians, he has some knowledge of the area, the arena, the participants or something.
But this conflict: he knows nothing.
The (almost absent) thrust to bring it to a quick conclusion: he does nothing, has no interest.
He is a red herring. Best ignored.
The English-speaking pro-Russian State alt media pundits are so high on clout and their own mental masturbation they get for considering themselves "expert geopolitical analysts" that they neglect to consider anything that can cast a shadow of doubt onto the ultimate omnipotent savior role they assign to Russia/Putin/Lavrov/RAF. They act exactly like mainstream media in most substantive ways; except rather than giving the US a savior role it's the BRICS they cheerlead for.
"Wagner will be forced to withdraw from Bakhmut on May 10"
My suspicion is Wagner are aware of the coming Ukrainian counter-offense on May 15th, and don't wish to be anywhere near the frontlines when the cannon fodder start to pour in.
Whether or not the ammunition concerns are real or not is anyone's guess, but I can't help but feel he has a pertinent sense of timing as to when to leave.
Why can’t both be right?
He is right that there is a shortage of shells (almost everywhere) AND he is also overwhelmed as a civilian in a war zone who cares about his fighters losing their lives in a way he deems unnecessary.
How dare you belittle Alexander Mercouris? He's trying very hard to become an expert in international law after being disbarred in England.
Personally I really enjoy his weird cadences/yelling intonations and mouth breathing exertions. It's like landing a Gunard on deck and listening to it cough while it slaps around.
Copium is a hell of a drug.
Most western "alt-media" would belong in the science fiction department of any respectable bookstore.
If Prigozhin is telling the truth, young Russian men pay in blood. If he is lying, young Ukrainians pay in blood. Either way it’s a tragedy, yet most commentary has an inhuman detachedness. Props to Mr Waggaman for never losing sight of what is really important.
I think this goes for either side: the more one claims to know, the less he knows! At various times during the SMO, I felt "in the know" - just to totally feel the opposite a few days on.
Why is that?
If the things Prigozhin says are even slightly close to the truth, then Russia is in way over it´s head. If it´s a 5d response to the 5d leak on Ukraine´s unpreparedness, then it´s everyone´s guess what the hell is going on. All I know is that wars are never fought for the reason stated. Is this one different?
It´s probably time to fasten our seatbelts because there´s a rough ride ahead for all of us.
Excellent, Edward. The fact is, this is an existential, real war of survival for Russia. The hegemon has made this perfectly clear for decades. Its goal has always been to balkanize and rape and pillage all of Russia's resources and assets, including the elimination of President Putin. All this other talk is pure bullshit.