Illustrative Image
Written by Dr. Binoy Kampmark
The cultural vandals and iconoclasts have been busy of late, removing Russians from the stables at short notice and demanding what might be called a necessary affirmation of disloyalty. It’s all good to talk about world peace and the resolution of disputes, but that will hardly do for the flag bearing choirs who have discovered their object of evil. Do you hate Vladimir Putin? If so, good. Do you love freedom? Well, of course, as everyone does with squeaking enthusiasm, even if they cannot define it.
The main interest is never in the second answer, but the first. Putin must be condemned and banished from your conscience, your mind and history. Ignore the fact that he is the elected leader of a country – he remains a tyrant to be condemned to liberal democratic execration. Best go about punishing people innocent of this fact.
Such a cringeworthy approach has seduced and trapped some able minds over the years. During the Cold War, the division of camps and ideologies demanded unthinking loyalty, not so much to truth but a version of it long lost in political drag and the hypocrisy of appearances. On September 22, 1947, delegates from Communist parties across the European spectrum heard the infantile ravings of the main Soviet delegate Andrei Zhdanov, who suggested with nether clenching tediousness that the world was divided between the “imperialist and democratic camp”. The US, allied with Great Britain and France, made up the former. “The anti-fascist forces comprise the second camp”, rooted in the USSR and its various, anomalously named “new democracies.”
In the United States, divisions were also being marked by the mind ravaging nature of ideological conformism. Executive Order 9835, issued by President Harry Truman, focused on whether “reasonable grounds exist for belief that the person involved is disloyal” with any organisation designated by the Attorney General to be “totalitarian, Fascist, Communist, or subversive”, or advocating or approving the forceful denial of constitutional rights to other persons or seeking “to alter the form of Government of the United States by unconstitutional means.”
The President’s Temporary Commission on Employee Loyalty (TCEL), packed with representatives from six government departments overseen by Special Assistant to the Attorney General A. Devitt Vanech, dealt with assessing federal loyalty standards and developing procedures to expunge or disqualify “any disloyal of subversive person” from federal service.
In this atmosphere, the vulgar and coarse Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy operated, at least for a time, with pugnacious impunity, claiming in his infamous Wheeling, West Virginia speech that 57 communists had found their way into the US State Department. The House Un-American Activities Committee also worked aggressively to advance the spirit of demonisation, ruining careers and blackening reputations. The stupid tend to linger in political accusation.
The Ukraine War is now making Russian citizens, at the behest of various quarters, undertake acts of purification in various foreign theatres. They are being told to engage in crude demonstrations of loyalty (or, in some cases, disloyalty). Admit you hate Putin, and you can attend a tournament to earn your crust.
UK Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston has taken a keen interest in this daft effort, hoping to encourage the organisers of Wimbledon, the All England Law Tennis Club (AELTC) to take a more severe approach to players from “pariah states” as long as they do not include such angelic wonders as Saudi Arabia. Before a select parliamentary committee, Huddleston noted that, “Many countries have agreed that they will not allow representatives from Russia to compete. There are also visa issues as well. When it comes to individuals, that is more complex.”
Complexity and Huddleston do not get along. “We need some potential assurance that they are not supporters of Putin and we are considering what requirements we may need to try to get some assurances along those lines.”
Tennis player Daniil Medvedev and his colleagues are facing the prospect that not engaging in public denouncement of the Kremlin will be insufficient to enable them to compete. They are already not permitted to compete under the Russian flag, and they are being told that a Russian winning Wimbledon would be unpardonable for the glorious British tournament. Their country has already been banned from competing in team events such as the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King tournaments.
Across the sporting world, players from Russia now see their country barred by the International Ski Federation, Formula One, hosting the European Champions League Final, the indefensibly boring European curling championships and the International Biathlon Union.
Such expectations are so extreme as to remind one of Cold War parallels. An occasional voice of reason can be found, even if they come from an individual who has no reason to fear repercussions himself. Australian tennis commentator and former player Todd Woodbridge told Nine’s Sports Sunday that this line of reasoning placed one on “slippery and dangerous ground.” Everyone knew “they have families back in whatever part of Russia they are from, and you do not want to be on the wrong side of that, because your family will pay the price.”
Woodbridge is a reliably unworldly sort, but these are sensible, humane words lost in the feverish hysteria that will cake and cloak discussion in this field for months. From culture to sporting fixtures, the smug, Putin hating establishment, under direction from their various advisors, are being told that denigrating and cancelling the representatives of Barbarian Rus is the way to go. Individuals will be crucified.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com
If you invade countries, don’t be surprised that it has consequences. 🤷🤭
Nice copycat, you make me important, but you missed my content. 🤷
What were the consequences for the US and UK after invading and destroying Iraq?
None, they took far more care about the pretext and didn’t even have any issues to keep up with the lies about the Kuwaiti nurse or the African nuclear program document.
It all still surfaced, but by then facts had been created already and the people were distracted with further news already.
Russia failed to prepare for a war longer than 2-3 days and it’s required propaganda. That is biting them now.
Even Assange publishing collateral murder didn’t stop it. Today the west could send the truth loving Assange to Moscow where he would talk about war and invasion, spending some prison time together with Nawalny. 🤷
nazi moron desperate—more pathetic—how many years since you were paroled from Arkansas prison?
And when ‘the Great Whore’ US, Empire of Lies invaded Grenada in 1982, it’s ????? Motha-fucking cock sucker nazi syphilitic worshiper.
Not if you are the US Empire. Than you can invade and destroy what or whomever you want.
They just have been smarter to do their war crimes than Russia is. How bad is it to fail so hard with a neighbouring country and misjudging the situation.
Well, at least some intelligence generals are removed from their command. But the damage is done.
Tell that to the USA! Victoria Nuland instigated an illegal coup of Ukraine and the USA placed a puppet government in place and have been militarizing Ukraine since then.
The 5 billion from Nuland are just one part. The two US citizens which were made Ukrainians and made ministers is another part of the story.
The very reason why a comedian had enough and got elected by people who had enough too. This successful democratic solution to get rid of bad oligarchs in the government scared Vlad badly and is one of the reasons why we see an invasion from Russia against Ukraine. 🤷🤭
Moronic take troll. Whew, that one gave me a chuckle. Zelensky is in the Pandora Papers you braindead moron troll. I won’t go in to details as I encourage trolls to educate themselves. I’ll give you a hint to start your research – Ihor Kolomoisky. All the best and looking forward to a more educated version of you tomorrow!
So what kind of people don’t like this statment?
Tell it to the US – wars against Iraq, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Iraq AGAIN, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and those are just the big ones, there are US Special Forces illicitly operating in many countries doing all manner of subversion and sabotage, as is case in secret dirty war against Venezuela.
Russia needs to get out of the cold war mentally. During the cold war, communism represented 80% of the world population. The Soviet Union had double the population of Russia today. The Russia nation was powerful. Moscow called the shots in the world. Their empire was literally dominant and the West was in fear by nuclear annihilation. There was not much need for diplomatic efforts by Russia. They were the grumpy old bear who expected honey from every small nation. The West however had to rely on diplomacy. Their empires were collapsing all over the world. They needed to close ranks, show solidarity and prove to the communist world that their socio-economic model was better. They have won. The Soviet Union collapsed, eastern Europe was integrated with the West and it’s going through a period of peaceful renewal and development. But it’s also a generational change. Populations are becoming more peaceful. Less warlike and aggressive. They are more empathetic and don’t support wars anymore. Even in Russia the state had to brutally suppress anti-war protests. The Russian state acknowledges that many people don’t want war. After this Russian nationalistic haze subsides, the disgust for war will surface again. Russians will find themselves in a position to patch relationships with their old Ukrainan friends. Reconciliation will not be easy and there will be allot of hostility. You can’t tell your friend that he is something he’s not and that he doesn’t have the right to exist. You will lose him as a friend
The US wants war with Russia, and has been fighting a hybrid war against Russia for over twenty years. The crooked Ukrainian political class sold their people to the US to be used as an instrument in this US war againsnt Russia. Very unfortunate. Your babbling about the west gets less and less coherent. Russia was rolled completely into “the west” by Larry Summers and the Harvard scammers. Your absurd talking point that “Russia won’t let the Ukraine follow it’s true destiny in the west” is just infantile dreck. The Ukraine was rolled into the west and used as toilet paper. Unfortunately, the US decided that it was time to turn the toilet paper into a poison arrow. And now the Ukraine go boom!
There wasn’t much difference between USSR and the US when it comes to foreign policy. In fact USSR was more humble and reactionary in nature. US never did serious diplomacy they always used cowboy diplomacy. They only understand force. Russia has realized that now and handles accordingly. This war is not about Ukraine or Russia but the US Empire and its decline. They rather ignite the whole world than to let their unipolar word order go. It will happen non the less.
Russia killed itself with this invasion. 🤷
If you invade Donbass, you kill women and children there, don’t be surprised that it has consequences! CNN and BBC did not inform you about this, don’t think that your Americunt western cuckold ignorance absolves you from responsibility. Ukrofascists will be punished for all the women and children they killed in Donbass, Americunt western cuckolds will be destroyed by Russian nuclear bombs.
Indeed those nazi ukrop bastards need an Attila scourge.
In America now you are only free if you think you are free but when you move in the least way to touch the prison bars of hypocrisy.
Putin wouldn’t even spare even Moscow. If Russia loses the war he will blame all the Russian people and see them as traitors.
Yeah yeah, in your virtual world your banderite gangs are already under the Kremlin. Now crawl back to your bomb shelter.
Don’t tell me, Scooby. Putin the terrorist cockroach is the one who’s been living in a bunker in Moscow for a month now.
zelensky has been hiding in another country ffs!
Final days of the crumbling americant empire…
The west is run by neolib and neocon chicken hawks whom are only the cover for the western Neo-trotskyite elite whom are pushing the great reset. The rest is either anarcho capitalist or Marxist capitalist like China and to a degree Russia. Albeit Russia is a very interesting mix. God fearing, Capitalist but there are Marxist aspects and elements. The Neo-trotskyites want to destroy Russia because they were kicked out by Stalin. Most people are not aware but there are multiple factions in communism and socialism. Whom are in a battle for survival and world domination.
immoral decayed impotent amerikant empire —-sliding into the dustbin of history….celebrate!
Where is North Korea in all this? Everybody forgets about North Korea. They could be the final tip of the balance. Imagine North Korea’s bad arse army enter on Russia, Chechnya and China’s side. There are some scores to settle against the Anglo world……………………………LOL. The Cappuccino drinkers would finally wake up.
People who aren’t easily shifted by main stream media can see those who are brainwashed are. The world cares so much for Ukraine but it only temporary love, Ukraine will be forgotten again. Donetsk and Lugansk have been suffering for 8 years, nobody cares, Yemen has also been at war for 8 years, which the US and the UK are heavily involved in, 10 million Yemenis will starve to death, 10 million, this is according to the UN. Majority don’t even know there’s a war going on Yemen or where it is.
There’s so much evidence of the war crimes and double standards of the West, but they have made themselves exempt from any criminal prosecution.
The Western media is also guilty, and if there is a god, I hope there is they will all stand trial one day.
Here’s all the nation’s that have suffered at the hands of Americans, there is evidence of the illegal warmongering of US/NATO. Its not about peace it’s about money.
Korea 1950-53 China 1950-53 Guatemala 1954 Indonesia 1958 Cuba 1959-60 Guatemala 1960 Belgian Congo 1964 Guatemala 1964 Dominican Republic 1965-66 Peru 1965 Laos 1964-73 Vietnam 1961-73 Cambodia 1969-70 Guatemala 1967-69 Lebanon 1982-84 Grenada 1983-84 Libya 1986 El Salvador 1981-92 Nicaragua 1981-90 Iran 1987-88 Libya 1989 Panama 1989-90 Iraq 1991 Kuwait 1991 Somalia 1992-94 Bosnia 1995 Iran 1998 Sudan 1998 Afghanistan 1998 Yugoslavia – Serbia 1999 Afghanistan 2001 Libya 2011 Iraq and Syria 2014 – Somalia 2011 – Iran 2020 –
“Executive Order 9835, issued by President Harry Truman, focused on whether “reasonable grounds exist for belief that the person involved is disloyal” with any organization designated by the Attorney General to be “totalitarian, Fascist, Communist, or subversive”, or advocating or approving the forceful denial of constitutional rights to other persons or seeking “to alter the form of Government of the United States by unconstitutional means.”
So why haven’t the US Democratic Party and their financial backer George Soros been rounded up, for putting the Antifa/BLM political intimidation and thuggery out on streets from 2016-2020? The Deep State was so incensed at losing the Presidency to the upstart Trump, they pulled out all stops, and the Democrats and Soros were let fully off the leash, and have never had to be accountable for their actions since.
Fun fact, it turns out mcarthy was correct. There really were commies in our media and government, Hollywood too. Oops