occasional reflections on culture & politics
I wrote this in November 2016 and never put it on my blog back then. Somehow, it is strange how this may still be relevant — after EIGHT (!) years. I have just changed 2-3 references — otherwise, this is as I wrote it 11/02/2016. Here we go again… With just a few months before… Continue reading #247: Politics After Resentment
Intentional or not, Tucker Carlson just did the world a strange favor: He showed how deluded and dangerous Putin really is. Typically, I do not agree with Tucker Carlson’s politics. This is immaterial – different people have different ideas. That’s the beauty of freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and it is what makes… Continue reading #245: Tucker Carlson Reveals Putin’s Fear and Delusion
We cannot afford to wait with supporting Ukraine. Our current hesitancy is not just endangering our friends and allies, but will work against us in the future as well. Aliens attack Earth. They land in the country of Somewhereistan and are starting to establish a stronghold in a part of the country. The country is… Continue reading #244: When Aliens Attack, What Will We Do? Reflections on Western Hesitancy in the Face of Russian Aggression
Government always needs criticism and opposition. But criticism doesn't just mean affect-driven rejection, resentment or even dismissal of democracy and democratic rules and norms. Every criticism must be justified, ideally with a suggestion for how to do things differently and better. This distinguishes critical from uncritical, political from non-political thinking. Simply saying “that’s stupid” or… Continue reading #242: On the Difference between Opposition and an Anti-Democratic Stance
Dmitri Peskov says that the rumors are wrong, Putin is not dead. Fascinating. When you have to deny a rumor like this, there is already a problem. If you feel that you have to respond to such a rumor at all, it means that there is a realistic chance that people are actually believing something… Continue reading #235: Rumors of Putin’s Death
https://youtu.be/t7RFlIlUwqM I. If you see yourself on the political left or a progressive, you should not support Putin. You are against racism? Putin’s Russia promotes Russian chauvinism. Not even Russia First, but Russia Only. As Vladimir Putin himself has said, what is the point of a world without Russia? You are against violence against women?… Continue reading #227: Whatever Your Politics, There is No Reason to Support Putin
Frequently, we can read that Ukraine “demands” something, and some criticize the country and its representatives as not being thankful and diplomatic enough. Some Ukrainian officials have indeed be a bit pushy, a bit forceful in their asks, and their tone has been a bit demanding. But – can you blame them? Ukraine is fighting… Continue reading #223: Should Ukraine Be More Thankful and Less Demanding?
Occasionally, we read news headlines like “Putin offers to negotiate” etc. Is that true? Could it possibly be that he has changed his mind, realized he made a mistake in wanting to either capture or destroy Ukraine? No. Putin may say he wants to “negotiate”, but at the same time, he has always made clear… Continue reading #221: Does Putin Want to Negotiate?
It has become clear by now that Russia cannot win any of the aims of their “Special Military Operation.” They cannot “denazify” Ukraine, simply because Ukraine is not run by Nazis, they cannot “demilitarize” it, because Ukraine is not just supported by its allies but also determined to produce weapons itself. They protect the separatist… Continue reading #220: Russia’s Only Interests Are Terror and Destruction. It Must Be Defeated
Just now, I am listening to Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, named after the iconic moment in time that Leningrad survived German aggression. Germany, in its quest to eradicate what was considered “unworthy life” inside and outside its borders, pushing an aggressive nationalist agenda, determined to gain “living space” for its “ethnically cleansed” “purely German” population, set… Continue reading #208: The Perversion of Everything Russian: From Leningrad to Mariupol
I believe in peace. Nothing violates the dignity and existence of life like war. This is certainly clear, and there is not much controversial in such a statement. And yet, not everyone agrees. There are those who believe that war steels character, that it is a necessary cataclysm to bring about a clarifying and cleansing… Continue reading #205: If You Want Peace: Why We Must Help Ukraine
ПУТИН, ИДИОТ(PUTIN, YOU IDIOT) Путин, идиот,когда сам идёт,когда прочь идёш? тыпреступники надзиратель за преступниками:твои приказы - твои дела:убийца, насильник, поджигатель, мучитель,мелкий воришка и только бандит,убийца Чечни, Сирии, Грузии, Украины,угнетатель русских, белорусов и других народов,реабилитолог Сталина,головорез КГБ,воскреситель темницы народов,воскреситель гулага,воскреситель стукачества,воскреситель фашизма,разрушитель гласности,разрушитель перестройки,разрушитель демократии,разрушитель справедливостиразрушитель мира,уличный хулиган,лжец и детоубийца,тебе не стыдно? ты похититель фьючерсовразвратитель людейкак… Continue reading #204: Poem: Путин, идиот (Putin, You Idiot)
We are living in a world with many dangers, threats and uncertainties. And yet, panic, fear or depression would be the wrong answer. The only thing that really helps anyone is cautious optimism. You may ask, how can you be optimistic? It is a legitimate question. On the surface, I seem to be worried about… Continue reading #202: Fear Not: Why We Need to be Optimistic About the Future
In these depressing times, we seem to always be on the brink of the end of the world, the end of democracy, the end of a livable climate, the end of free speech, sanity, respect, fairness, justice, nuance, context, humanity, whatever – you name it. There is either too much or too little of wokeness… Continue reading #197: We Have Good Reasons for Hope
Let’s just make one thing clear: What is happening in occupied Ukraine, what happened in 2014 in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, cannot be called referenda. They are fake. They are not elections. They are nothing but a performance of voting, but no actual voting is taking place. For an election or referendum or vote to… Continue reading #195: Fake “Referenda” Prove that Putin Doesn’t Want to Negotiate
Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the greatest politicians of all time. Without him, the world today would be less free, more than 500 million people would still live in fear of an evil system that enslaved and terrorized them all over the world. That does not mean, of course, that he succeeded with everything he… Continue reading #191: Remembering Mikhail Gorbachev
As sanctions keep hurting Russia’s economic outlook, we keep hearing that the Russian people are able to endure anything, and that they will tolerate all of this, that it would be pointless to sanction the country and that we should just give in to Putin’s genocidal demands. Yet it is not the West which is… Continue reading #190: On the Ability of Russians to Suffer their Government
The destruction of a Soviet monument in Riga this week was quite the sight to behold: This strange obelisk celebrating, allegedly, the victory by the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany was erected in 1985 to celebrate Soviet imperialism and colonialism and demonstrate the USSR’s hold over Latvia, a country the Soviet Union conquered when it… Continue reading #189: Soviet Monuments Need To Go
Monument to the Burning of Giordano Bruno at the Campo dei Fiori in Rome.“A BRUNO – IL SECOLO DA LUI DIVINATO – QUI DOVE IL ROGO ARSE”(“To Bruno – from the age he divined – here where the fire burned”). To my shame, I must admit that to this day I have never read any… Continue reading #186: Salman Rushdie and the Case for Free Speech
We keep hearing in the news frequently that most Russians support Putin’s war. This is highly misleading, and very probably wrong. There cannot be objective surveys in Russia. All independent journalistic institutions have either been closed or are about to close. Any independent thinking is being actively discouraged, and if discouragement does not work, it… Continue reading #183: What Are Russians Thinking?
Erratic Attempts 