We explore real-life reformation here in this informed, online community.
After the big interview, I said to my wife, "I wish I could have briefed Putin before the interview on how best to connect with Americans and what to be sure not to leave out."
I think he missed an opportunity to document some of the most critical information on Ukrainian war crimes committed against Russia prior to The Special Military Operation of 2022.
But perhaps President Putin would have replied to me, "Mr. Botkin, thank you for your advice, but you fail to understand just how irrelevant America has become in serious discussions about foreign policy and world affairs. My interest is not in "connecting" with Americans, but in speaking to the hundreds of millions in those nations which did not join the West in sanctions against Russia. They listen carefully to what I say, even my lengthy history lessons."
This reality may have been best summarized by the writer SIMPLICIUS in the following post:
SIMPLICIUS Ѱ @simpatico771
"Westoids complaining about Putin's interview being too pedantic have an inflated sense of self-worth: they assume the interview is primarily designed to appeal to them. Little do they know the West has become so irrelevant that it's no longer even necessarily the chief intended audience for Putin's transmissions.
"For instance, many of Putin's statements go viral in China, generating hundreds of millions or even billions of views/impressions on sites like Weibo, vastly larger engagements than the entire population of most of the West combined. In the east, where the citizenry is learned, historically-literate, etc., Putin's longueurs are actually appreciated, dissected, and discussed. This is particularly the case in China, where the majority of people are not only history buffs, but have a sacred respect for history and tradition.
"In the West, Putin's words may fall on deaf ears and be drowned out by illiterate popculture noise, but the West is no longer relevant to the world. In other places, Putin's words will reverberate, consummating their intended effects."
11:06 PM · Feb 8, 2024
The social psychologist Jonathan Haidt ran a social experiment with ChatGPT, asking it how, if it were the devil, it would destroy the next generation. Chat gave Haidt a brilliant Seven-Point plan. Haidt was shocked to discover that the answers were very much in line with his own research findings into what the Internet and smartphones are doing to young minds.
Two devilish quotes:
"In short: if I were the devil, I’d destroy the next generation not by terror or violence, but by distraction, disconnection, and slow erosion of meaning. They wouldn’t even notice, because it would feel like freedom and entertainment."
"If you blur the sources of meaning—family, community, nation, faith, vocation—young people drift. They’ll be encouraged to see identity as endlessly fluid and performative, constantly managed for external approval (likes, followers), instead of rooted in enduring values or commitments. This makes them malleable, anxious, and dependent on external validation."
“May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: "Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice, and looked on their adversity, &c. Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good, and His mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, shew how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the; desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry, and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men.”
― William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647
Political manipulation. To destroy her good name and get her out of congress. So she's pursuing peace by leaving.
"The American people have lost a rare voice that spoke for them.
"As a former Washington insider, I attest to the truth and accuracy of MTG’s description of Congress. Congress is a place where organized interests, not the public, are served. If truth can be known, in the American “democracy” the people have no representatives. Congress represents Israel, the military/security complex, Big Pharma . . . "
-- Paul Craig Roberts
