Slogans are for people who need to be told what to think.
If you spare a minute and read this post, do me a favour. Open any media outlet. Did you? Good. Now, look for any criticism of the Ukrainian government or events leading to Russia attacking or perhaps, state of awareness, military strategy, treatment of ethnically Russian minority. Did you find any?
The answer is: of course, not. Currently, we are given a narrative of heroic, brave Ukrainians and big, bad Russians, and you have to understand - this is by design. This is how propaganda works.
And this is why you should be careful creating your stance towards the situation. I know I am.
I am someone who grew up during a war. Hence, do not expect me to justify any war as I am fully aware that 4-6 years of war affects generations for decades afterwards, regardless of "winning".
In reality, no one wins a war but people who profit from it.
Now, we can acknowledge few undisputable facts. Obviously, Russian tanks, planes and troops crossed Ukrainian borders and not vice versa. I do disapprove of it.
Yet, the more I read, research and talk with the "common" people who grew up either within ethnically Ukrainian or ethnically Russian side of the Ukraine, the more I understand how little I know about previous conflicts leading to this war. Moreover, my friends also rarely agree about the current situation.
Hence, as always, the situation is far more complex than big bad Russians and heroic, brave Ukrainians. While I can disapprove of the latest Putin's moves, I also understand that what we are currently watching on our TV screens is just one form of warfare. Highly destructive form, but yet, one form. The actual conflict between Russians and Ukrainians, as we see it today, dates back to the 2000s (if not earlier), and it is impossible to understand what is happening today without understanding the 2014 coup (and who was attacking whom at the time), or perhaps, what was the role of the West in that conflict.
It is hard to see the war happening and not to get emotional about it. However, while I can disapprove of the certain actions, I keep reminding myself that I do not know enough to "pick a side".
And that is okay. Help can be given without picking sides. Otherwise, I would be just another hashtag moralist who makes a terrible serious conflict about myself.
This was a very late recording contrasting two news articles about Omicron - so called "Covid super-strain".
I know I haven't been around lately...work...life...However, the 12-years-old clip popped into my feed and I wanted to share it. The reason? This clip provides the great basic understanding into what are the issues with so-called "evidence" related to anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change and the lack of logic when it comes to the interpretation of such evidence. The sad reality is that even after 12 years from this clip, we are still forced to endure nonsensical conclusions that hurricanes hitting Florida are caused by big bad climate change.
The mainstream media is doubling down on the alarmism, and it is not hard to guess why. However, to be fair, consider my little observation an educated guess, an opinion, rather than the fact. Time will show whether I am right.
(1) 'Climate change affects everyone': Europe battles wildfires in intense heat by Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/spain-portugal-battle-wildfires-heatwaves-scorch-southern-europe-2022-07-17/)
If you spent time in Southern Europe, Mediterranean, during summer season - July and August in particular - you probably know that heat-induced wildfires are nothing new. In fact, they are quite common and remarkably devastating for the affected communities, and I have witnessed several in person. Most of the time, the wildfires occur due to heat igniting grasses, especially in the areas where there are broken glass or broken bottles. The glass serves as an amplifier for the sun rays, especially, in the vicinity of dry grasses, or even dry pine needles, and as ...
