The beginning of another year is upon us. And what a year we have left behind, at least as unsettling as the year before, which was one of the most divisive and frightening in my life so far. 2022- war, geopolitics on a scale unknown in many years, threats of nuclear confrontation, recession, and pandemic. What has become of mankind? A question I will not answer; instead on to some news.
The latest reports from Russia, digging into them at least, reveal some dissent. Growing dissent? Perhaps. There were Putin Christmas ornaments to hang on your tree, using the noose around his neck. People in Russia- not just in Ukraine, when asked what they want for Putin for the new year- answering “death.” More fires, more firebombs, more people speaking out, leaving the country. Maybe. We only have access to so much information. A note to any young Russian males: according to Ukrainian reports, you only have about a week left to escape after which time borders will be closed and you will be sent to the war, very likely to die. Here is my favorite part of that article:
As Reznikov (the Ukrainian Defense Minister) pointed out, the only reason Russians will be sent to fight this war is “so that you protect criminals, their palaces, their bank accounts, and become criminals yourselves.”
Regarding Russian troops, various reports state the conscripts being sent to Ukraine are responsible for their own body armor, their own uniforms, aid kits, and field equipment. This is a good sign for Ukraine, very bad for Russia and its expendable citizens being sent into the meat grinder. Ukrainian Telegram channels often highlight the “equipment” the Russians soldiers have when captured or killed: helmets marked “child’s toy- does not provide any protection.” Aid kits from World War II! Tourniquets that are nothing more than old belts and rubber straps. Field gear… from a sporting goods store. And finally body armor that would not stop anything above a small caliber round.
In Ukraine, morale is as high as ever. But that is nothing new. They have much to look forward to, with new weapons systems coming their way, including Patriot missiles, new round for existing missile systems, and more training and field equipment pouring in. They are fighting for their existence.
Here is the latest update on the war from the ISW- RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, JANUARY 5, 2023.
Finally, as always, Russian combat losses and deaths as of today, with daily numbers growing due to the effectiveness, fortitude, and intelligence of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Russian combat losses as of 05 January, 2023
Russian Genocide in Ukraine, Again
28 November 2022
Here is a repost directly (without editing) from the Telegram Channel Center for Countering Disinformation.
#CCD_informs: the events taking place in Ukraine today are the Genocide of the Ukrainians!
- On the fourth Saturday of November in Ukraine, the memory of the victims of the famine in Ukraine is held
- The term «genocide» – «killing of the nation» was appeared in 1944, and in 1953 was publicly called «the extermination of the Ukrainian nation a classic example of genocide»
- Communist authorities wanted to subjugate Ukrainians with a repressive policy and the struggle for the revival of their own statehood
- 90 years have passed, and dictator of the russian lands staged a new genocide of Ukrainians
- Today, no one doubts that putin is on a par with Hitler and Stalin.
- «Erasing» cities and killing thousands of civilians, putin «defends Ukraine from the Nazis»
- The memory of the Holodomor motivates Ukrainians to resist another genocide, which was arranged by the enemy
- But it is impossible to overcome a nation that has gone through the Holodomor!
#stoprussia
To learn more about Stalin’s genocide in Ukraine, see the book Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine by Anne Applebaum. You will gain a very clear understanding of what happened from the time of the revolution in Russia until the fall of the USSR regarding the weaponisation of food and the murder of the Ukrainian people, minorities, and Russians as well. You will also understand the tactics that Putin is currently using against Ukraine and the world.
One of the greatest problems with history is that people refuse to pay attention to it. Libraries are full of books which essentially tell us what is going to happen in our society (meaning right now) if we would only read them. History does repeat itself. While it may not be predictable in the sense of modeling, and making definite predictions- see Karl Popper’s Poverty of Historicism, in our day and age we have seen the same events occur over and over, and they will continue to do so. Here I refer to those singular events in history that have affected millions of people at a time, the nationalistic factionalisation of societies with murder, warfare, and destruction as the ultimate outcome, something the modern world cannot escape.
Do we need examples? In the last century alone, in the western world we have “personalities” (I am loath to call them leaders) such as Hitler, Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini… Milošević, and now Putin. Those are just the “big names” that everyone should know and be frightened by when put into the context of August, 2022. How many more can we come up with, how many lesser-known dictators, agitators, regional would-be authoritarians followed the model and their own psychopathic, deviant beliefs to commit mass murder, genocide, crimes against humanity? And then there is the rest of the world- Asia, Latin America, Africa, the middle east… not a very pretty picture of humanity when you think about it.
As my perennial example I always use the the Balkans, the Third Balkan War- the fall of Yugoslavia. The “personality” in this case was Slobodan Milošević. As I see it, the turning point came in 1987 with his speech at Kosovo Polje, the battlefield where the Serbs were defeated in 1389. Here he reached far back in time- a common tactic- to successfully create a nationalistic fervor that would destroy Bosnia, tear apart Kosovo and many parts of the Balkans, and cause the death of hundreds of thousands. The damage he caused has never been, and never will be, completely repaired.
The difference between the outcomes of these past events and what the outcome might be today is glaring- in 1945 the allies took control of war-ravaged Europe and rebuilt it. After the siege of Sarajevo ended money, aid, relief came and now Sarajevo, for example, appears to be a thriving European city. The mafia state of Russia invaded the sovereign country of Ukraine, and the United States, most of Europe, and many countries in the world have stepped up in opposition.
But if we, in the United States follow the same path and allow our country to be destroyed by a pathological, megalomaniacal, criminal psychopath- the path we are currently on- no one is going to come and save us. No one will come to help us rebuild- we will be on our own. We will fall, and since we will not be there to lead the world, the world will follow.
Moving on to a couple of current events. A car bomb in Russia, not surprising. Agents provocateurs at work, false flag operations, deceit? Almost certainly. And immediately the criminal state of Russia has issued a declaration, without a shred of evidence, placing blame on Ukrainian agents, and also implicating Estonia for harboring them. More Russian lies- do not believe a single word that comes from them!
Serbia and Kosovo are next. Talks broke down, of course. Serbia is another… questionable government (see above reference to Third Balkan War.) The governing body of the country does not want peace, reconciliation, prosperity for the people of Europe. Hatred, division, violence, and suffering bring power and money- the goal.
Final thought- read. Read everything, and if you haven’t read them since high school or college, today start with Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here. Revisit Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s The Ox-bow Incident. And of course anything Orwell, Jack London’s Iron Heel, and maybe Lord of the Flies and Clockwork Orange thrown in.
Bosnia, and Its Slippery Slope
10 January 2022
Update- 10 January, 2022:
Aljazeera- Protest rallies held in 14 countries to highlight Bosnia’s slide toward conflict.
Balkan Insight- Banned Bosnian Serb Celebration Recalls Memories of Start of War
The US has imposed new sanctions against Republika Srpska political leader Milorad Dodic, along with a few of his associates. The sanctions seem to be more of a token gesture than anything- the new sanctions will likely have very little impact on their targets. As it stands, they may have done more harm than good- they have given Dodic more fodder for his goals of destabilising the country. But such pressure, if followed up, could have far-reaching effects- it could lead to sanctions by EU member nations. The key to success is to continue putting more pressure on the targets, as well as others associated with them, if any solid outcome is to be achieved. This should be seen as a statement of intent, and not an isolated political move- the already tenuous situation in the Balkans makes action imperative.
One indicator to the path the country is on was highlighted in a recent poll where, in the sample, nearly half of Bosnia’s young people, aged 18-29, have considered leaving the country. Half of those are considering leaving for good. While lack of economic opportunity is reason enough in itself for leaving a country that shows no sign of offering it any time soon, in light of current events, one wonders how much the previous war has on young peoples’ decision making. Of course most of those polled were born at the end, or after the last war, but the memories are recent, and lasting. Denial, and even memorialising genocide and mass murder committed during the war, direct attacks on truth, the revision of history, and promotion of extreme nationalism alongside lack of possibilities for advancement make a future in Bosnia look bleak. Who can blame the young for looking for opportunity elsewhere?
Read more about the sanctions at the Balkan Insight website.
Read more about Bosnia’s exodus at Balkan Insight.
Returning From Sarajevo, Impressions From the City
12 November 2017
My family and I have just returned from another trip to the Balkan countries of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The highlight of the trip was my time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially in the capital of Sarajevo, my first visit there. Truthfully, using the term “highlight” is problematic at least, considering the focus of my visit. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Sarajevo I visited the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide, I rode the tram back and forth down sniper alley, and walked the entire way as well, I visited cemeteries, and towns where the mass killings took place, stood on the hills above Sarajevo where the shells were lobbed on the city, and visited Gallerija 11/07/95, dedicated to those murdered in Srebrenica on that day.
Quote on the wall of the Galerija 11/07/95. It sums up the painful exhibit on the atrocities that took place in Srebrenica quite well.
With that said, Sarajevo is one of the most interesting places I have been in my life, and most of my time in Bosnia and Herzegovina was spent there. A week seemed so very inadequate for developing an understanding of the country now and in the past, the people and cultures, its multiple overlapping and parallel histories, and most important of all, the recent events that are so prominent, were prominently ignored, and are prominently forgotten by most of the world today. It was enough time to be introduced, and to create along list for my next visit.
I have been following events in the Balkans since the late 1980’s, have read extensively about the history of the region, have visited the region before and have family from there. Still, no amount of knowledge can adequately explain the terror that swept the Balkans and the suffering of the people there in the 1990’s, nor answer the questions of why it happened, and most important, why it was allowed to happen. My visit to Sarajevo turned out to be largely about trying to understand just that. I am not sure that I understand it even now. Of course, from a historical perspective, or a psychological perspective, or as a social scientist one can break it down any number of ways, to simple cause and effect, and technically understand what happened. But from a Human perspective, it just doesn’t make sense.
If the history of the country and region escapes you, here is a summary of just some of those recent events:
- 04 May 1980- Josip Tito, ruler of the Federation of Yugoslavia dies leaving a power vacuum
- 1998-1991- collapse and dissolution of Soviet Union, with independence for all former states, (more of less) further adding to unrest in the region
- 1991- breakup of the Federation of Yugoslavia- on 25 June, 1991 Slovenia and Croatia are first to declare independence from the Federation of Yugoslavia, a move immediately countered by the Serbian controlled Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) beginning the violence that will devastate the region for the next ten years
- September 1991- United Nations notes that atrocities are being committed
- 01 March 1992- Bosnia-Hercegovina holds a referendum on independence; fighting begins there within weeks
- April 1992- war overtakes Bosnia-Hercegovina, lasting until November, 1995
- late 1992- UN establishes commission to examine situation
- 25 May, 1993- UN establishes International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
- 11 July 1995- Srebrenica massacre- the UN declared “safe zone” is abandoned by the UN soldiers protecting it, leaving many of the 20,000 residents at the mercy of the Serbian army. Some residents are evacuated with the UN, others escape on foot to Bosnian-controlled areas, but some 8,000 are captured and murdered by Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic and his troops. This is the biggest, but one of many such incidents of inaction- of abandonment and murder repeated around the country and region during the 1990’s.
- 28 August, 1995- the second Markale Market massacre, in which 37 people are killed and 90 wounded, becomes the final straw in the siege of Sarajevo. UN General Sir Rupert Smith- who essentially could no longer tolerate standing by and watching the killing- initiated airstrikes on Bosnian Serb artillery positions around Sarajevo on that very day. This action effectively ended the siege of Sarajevo, which lasted for over 1400 days, and signaled a change in the way the UN, NATO, and the world at large addressed the Homeland War, as it is known in the Balkans.
Two Austro-Hungarian style buildings along the River Miljacka-the law school and post office. Both are beautiful examples of the architecture style and both are repaired and represent the new face of the city today.
The city of Sarajevo is beautiful, full of life, vibrant, engaging, and inviting in so many ways. It is considered to be literally where east meets west- with the Ottoman empire to the east, and Rome and Austria to the west. The mix of cultures and history, the food, coffee, sweets, the churches, mosques, minarets, the art and architecture, and of course the people make Sarajevo a city like no other. Seeing it today, walking the streets, visiting its monuments, sitting at its cafes drinking coffee, one might never guess what it looked like 20 years ago after being under siege for over 1400 days. Seeing images of the city then, and standing in those very places now- something I made it a point to do- was absolutely mind boggling. Revisiting the city through wartime images made the past even more poignant. But still, it was almost unbelievable considering the city as it is today.
Communist-era highrises along “sniper alley”, on Zmaja od Bosne Street, Sarajevo. These buildings were used by snipers during the conflict, ending up without any windows and full of holes from return fire. Many of the repairs, even 20 years later, appear cursory. Holes from small arms, rocket, and tanks rounds are still visible up and down the street and throughout the city.
There are countless resources for learning more about the Balkans, the former Yugoslavia, the Homeland War, and the region today. I cannot say enough about the importance of understanding what happened there- learning about it might just prompt us to pay closer attention the next time that murderous political regimes are preparing their campaigns of genocide and torture.
Clearly the UN faltered in their mission in the former Yugoslavia. Whether or not that would have been different in today’s world, with social media, instant communication, and- I hope- a growing awareness to the world around us, is pure speculation. But from where I sit there are plenty of other possibilities for this to happen again. And to be more to the point, that same has happened again, and is currently happening- just open the newspaper and you will find the same stories of chaos and murder, the same images of destroyed cities and fleeing refugees reported as a normal, daily event. The question is whether we continue to let it happen, and most importantly, what do we do to stop it. In today’s complex world, with all of our knowledge and power, decisions to act are no less difficult to make than they were in the 1990’s. And with global repercussions to those decisions looming around every corner, taking action to liberate the oppressed puts us everyone more at risk every day, making those decision even more difficult.
An image taken in downtown Sarajevo- the large poster was displayed in a prominent enough location and states clearly how many in the city felt- and feel- about the UN’s role there. For all its beauty, tensions are still high in the city and the region for countless reasons.
Finally, here are a few links to specific pages on the ICTY website that explain the tribunal, those who were on trial, and to Wikipedia on the fall of the Soviet Union. The final trial, that of Ratko Mladic, was recently completed. The verdict will be released soon at which time the ICTY will be disbanded.
The arrest of the final hunted war criminal, Ratko Mladic
The announcement of Mladic’s verdict scheduled for 22 November, 2017
Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Wikipedia
At Five AM 