Ukraine’s Internet Army and Their Army of Drones
9 November 2022
I have been researching the use of drones in modern warfare for some time now. My thoughts presently focus on their use in Ukraine of course, and their effectiveness there. I’ve also turned my focus to the fact that the war in Ukraine is like none other ever fought. Ukraine has a worldwide Internet Army online, using social media, internet marketing, and worldwide networks to support, fund, and promote their free and sovereign country in its fight against Russian aggression. The effectiveness of the Ukrainian government and its Army- all facets of it- lies in their ability to mobilise people in support of their cause, it lies in their unity of purpose as a society, a nation, and a people in their fight against Russia. It is a battle they have been fighting for the last century, and far longer. The people of Ukraine know that now is the time for them to end the fight once and for all, as victors. This is why Ukraine is winning on the battlefield, and will win the war, and a big part of why Russia will lose. This is why the US, Europe, NATO, and the world must support them to the final victory.
If you are interested in helping fund the fight in Ukraine, a very effective way to help is to donate to the Ukrainian Army of Drones. The link takes you to the page that outlines the requirements for direct donation of drones, and where to send them. You will also find a link on that page where you can donate funds to the cause.
Ukraine is winning. Russia is losing. Russian combat losses and war dead as of today:
Russian combat losses and dead in Ukraine as of 09 NOV. 2022.
Anne Applebaum’s “Red Famine”, More History Repeating
3 November 2022
Every day I think about writing another blog- most days I have many ideas for topics. I have personal reasons for writing, and I do so for the people of Ukraine, to bring more attention to their cause, their fight. Many days I am so overwhelmed by the information available that I am at a loss where to begin. But not today.
I am currently reading Anne Applebaum’s Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine. The link takes you to Applebaum’s website where you can purchase the book, read more about the book and the author, and read some of her recent columns in The Atlantic. Here is a synopsis taken from the author’s website:
In 1929 Stalin launched his policy of agricultural collectivization—in effect a second Russian revolution—which forced millions of peasants off their land and onto collective farms. The result was a catastrophic famine, the most lethal in European history. At least five million people died between 1931 and 1933 in the USSR. But instead of sending relief the Soviet state made use of the catastrophe to rid itself of a political problem. In Red Famine, Anne Applebaum argues that more than three million of those dead were Ukrainians who perished not because they were accidental victims of a bad policy but because the state deliberately set out to kill them.
If you want to develop a better understanding of Putin’s actions and goals, and their historical precedents, then read this book. You will quickly understand how history is repeating itself- how Putin essentially has no ideas of his own- he borrows everything from history. He uses the same arguments, the same rhetoric, and the same tactics that Stalin used in his attempt to kill outright, and to starve the Ukrainian people to death, over and over again in fact.
The starting point for any analysis of “modern” Russia’s actions is the revolution of 1917, and the pathological murderer, Lenin. The basis for the entire debacle- this is precisely what it was and still is- was a collectivised, classless society. Lenin’s first actions, and Stalin’s first point of businesses during his entire reign of terror, was to create division into… you guessed it, classes- the opposite of Lenin’s stated doctrine. After all, how can you conquer if your enemy is not divided? And the people were the enemy.
To justify the despotic, sadistic, “ideological” terror they wrought on millions upon millions of people, the state had to create tension, clash, and division. This is what Applebaum describes so clearly. She starts in 1917, with Ukraine attempting to free themselves from the emerging Soviet state. She takes you through the history of the country and its plight, day by day and month by month, with personal accounts from both “sides”, and extensive references. It is not the most pleasant reading, but then the truth is not often a pretty thing.
As soon as I am through with this work, I will be diving into her other books on Russia and Eastern Europe. In the meantime, everyone can support Ukraine. Even the smallest donation will help. See the links to the top right, and do what you can.
I have mentioned Masha Gessen’s book, The Future is History, in a previous post. I highly recommend the book if you want to understand modern Russia, and how the current Russian mafia state grew out of the post-communist USSR. Gessen’s book will give you a clear and disturbing understanding of what went on in the background, and how Russia arrived in the present day.
Digging deeper, the word “hypernormalisation” turns up. From the Wikipedia page outlining the movie of the same name, here is the first paragraph of explanation:
The word hypernormalization was coined by Alexei Yurchak, a professor of anthropology who was born in Leningrad and later went to teach in the United States. He introduced the word in his book Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation (2006), which describes paradoxes of Soviet life during the 1970s and 1980s.[3][4] He says that everyone in the Soviet Union knew the system was failing, but no one could imagine an alternative to the status quo, and politicians and citizens alike were resigned to maintaining the pretense of a functioning society.[5] Over time, this delusion became a self-fulfilling prophecy and the fakeness was accepted by everyone as real, an effect that Yurchak termed hypernormalisation.[6]
The bold italics are my own, to emphasise in less than two sentences where the new Russia comes from. It is a creation, a societal delusion in the 1970’s and 1980’s that was enforced by a feat of advertising and theatre from the 1990’s onward; it is a monumental hoax perpetrated on 150 million people. (And not just on Russia- to be fair we cannot leave out the rest of the world. Having survived Trump’s attempt at creating the same in the U.S.- this time- we are not very far off. The question is, can we survive it again?) As a side note, the documentary Hypernormalisation, begins in New York in 1975, with Donald Trump.
If you have a free two hours, you can watch the BBC documentary on youtube here: Hypernormalisation by Adam Curtis.
For more on one of the minds behind the creation of Putin, and the latest iteration of the Russian delusion, you can read about Vladislav Surkov on wikipedia. To summarise, he (probably) served on the GRU intelligence staff, studied theatre direction, and worked in advertising and public relations for some very influential Russians. He is credited with creating Putin’s image, he is an expert at doublespeak, and seems to have perfected the mobile truth that characterises the Russia of the past 60 years or so.
A prime example, Surkov is one of those who claims “there is no Ukraine,” and backs it up with fiction, lies, conspiracies, and historical revision, feeding it to a gullible, depressed, confused, and beaten Russian populace. And thus we arrive at the present day.
A final note on this post- please do not take any of this as the gospel truth. It is information that is available on the internet. Hypernormalisation, the documentary… borders on the conspiratorial… crosses the line in fact, here and there. Take everything with a grain of salt, and do your own digging. My personal philosophy on information I receive- even that which I see with my own eyes- vacillates between “trust but verify” and “never trust anyone.” Proceed with caution.
At Five AM 