New in PJ Media:
What on earth has gotten into Lindsey Graham? The Republican establishment was always embarrassed by the loose cannon Donald Trump, but they’re sure giving him a run for the money now. On Thursday evening, Senator Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted: “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.” He followed up with a threat to the same people he was asking to do the world a service: “The only people who can fix this are the Russian people. Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.”
That doubled “live in darkness” gave rise to speculation that Graham may have been tweeting from cocktail hour, but in any case, his wild statements are vivid examples of how high the war fever against Russia is getting these days, and how reckless it really is. Imagine if a member of Russia’s Federal Assembly called on the American people to rise up and kill Old Joe Biden (since it would be harder to identify and locate whoever is really in charge), and threatened that Americans would “be isolated from the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness” if they did not do so. The outcry would be swift and shrill, and the Assembly member would become a living example for the West of the inherent belligerence and aggression of Putin’s regime.
The public call by a member of the legislature for the assassination of a foreign head of state could easily be seen as an act of war. Jackson Proskow, Washington bureau chief for Canada’s Global News, noted Friday that Graham’s statements were already being used in Russia for propaganda purposes: “This spectacularly bad tweet from a sitting U.S. senator has fed directly into Putin’s claims that the west poses a threat to Russia. It’s being used on loop on Russian state TV today.” In the same vein, retired FBI assistant director Frank Figliuzzi stated: “A US Senator calling for Putin’s assassination has handed Putin an ‘I told you so’ moment with his staff, and likely made it harder for Russians to rise up.”
Accordingly, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who, like Trump, is supposed to be much more of a loose cannon than Graham, responded: “While we are all praying for peace & for the people of Ukraine, this is irresponsible, dangerous & unhinged. We need leaders with calm minds & steady wisdom. Not blood thirsty warmongering politicians trying to tweet tough by demanding assassinations. Americans don’t want war.”
There is more. Read the rest here.
John says
I must admit among acquaintances , we privately discussed whether Russian generals could stage a coup d’etat against Putin.
JimJFox says
Sen. Graham is correct. Had Hitler been taken out, would WW2 have been avoided? Very likely, since he was the driving force & supreme orator, able to awaken German fanaticism as no-one else. Putin wants war & those who don’t want it are irrelevant weaklings in his eyes.
Is every democratic Head of State in the West a piss-weak Chamberlain? (Rhetorical question!). As the Roman General Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus said- “Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum” – If you want peace, prepare for war.
Still true today.
JimJFox says
PS – Putin, emboldened by NATO failure to respond will see no reason not to invade all the other Baltic States. All hail USSR Mk 2!
gravenimage says
This is a real danger, Jim. Poland is in danger, too.
Shawn says
Back in 39′,Hitler took Poland.Countries just watched,like now.Hitler lied as to why he invaded Poland just like Putin has done,like now.Hitler assured his invasions were over just like Putin,like now.Can ya see the comparison?? 80 years and a repeat in Europe.Fools just sit and watch with fingers crossed it won’t happen to them.Time to take Putin where he needs to go.
gravenimage says
Actually, it was the Nazi invasion of Poland that led England to declare war.
gravenimage says
Actually, the end of the Roman Republic was not necessarily a good thing, nor was Rome freer under the Empire.
Dave B says
Not only Putin is emboldened by US weakness, I expect big things from China, probably a move on Taiwan during Biden’s reign.
gravenimage says
I’m worried about this as well.
There is also an indication that China asked Putin to hold off until the Winter Olympics held in China were over.
Infidel says
Actually, according to Gordon Chang, the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people is what might have deterred Beijing, since 85% of Taiwanese now identify themselves as only Taiwanese and not Chinese. It won’t be like the conquest of Tibet 70 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHuHJqkMsXc
Doomer says
Checking on the AZOV regiment,a paramilitary group of 4,000, which fights for Zelensky,who is Jewish,
to my surprise it was not just Conservatives that were saying it has Nazi members but even AL-JAZEERA,in a recent article ( March 1st,2022 ).
By an irony, one of its financial backers was JEWISH,( I doubt t he is still with the Azov regiment) the oligarch,extremely rich ILHOR KOLOMOYSKI ,a prominent supporter of Ukraine’s Jewish community and the president of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine.
Another IRONY is that FACEBOOK had BANNED the Azov regiment Facebook page in 2019,considering it an evil group,now it has lifted it.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment
“Profile: Who are Ukraine’s far-right Azov regiment?
The far-right neo-Nazi group has expanded to become part of Ukraine’s armed forces, a street militia and a political party.”
The following is a LOT of info:
1) “Russian President Vladimir Putin referenced the presence of such units within the Ukrainian military as one of the reasons for launching his so-called “special military operation … to de-militarise and de-Nazify Ukraine”.”
2) “On Monday, Ukraine’s national guard tweeted a video showing Azov fighters coating their bullets in pig fat to be used allegedly against Muslim Chechens – allies of Russia – deployed in their country.”
3) “The unit was initially formed as a volunteer group in May 2014 out of the ultra-nationalist Patriot of Ukraine gang, and the neo-Nazi Social National Assembly (SNA) group.
Both groups engaged in xenophobic and neo-Nazi ideals and physically assaulted migrants, the Roma community and people opposing their views.”
4)”The unit was led by Andriy Biletsky, who served as the the leader of both the Patriot of Ukraine (founded in 2005) and the SNA (founded in 2008). The SNA is known to have carried out attacks on minority groups in Ukraine.
In 2010, Biletsky said Ukraine’s national purpose was to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade … against Semite-led Untermenschen [inferior races]”.
Biletsky was elected to parliament in 2014. He left Azov as elected officials cannot be in the military or police force. He remained an MP until 2019.”
5) “These forces were privately funded by oligarchs – the most known being Igor Kolomoisky, an energy magnate billionaire and then-governor of the Dnipropetrovska region.”
6) “In 2015, Andriy Diachenko, the spokesperson for the regiment at the time said that 10 to 20 percent of Azov’s recruits were Nazis.
The unit has denied it adheres to Nazi ideology as a whole, but Nazi symbols such as the swastika and SS regalia are rife on the uniforms and bodies of Azov members.
For example, the uniform carries the neo-Nazi Wolfsangel symbol, which resembles a black swastika on a yellow background. The group said it is merely an amalgam of the letters “N” and “I” which represent “national idea”.”
7) “Individual members have professed to being neo-Nazis, and hardcore far-right ultra-nationalism is pervasive among members.
In January 2018, Azov rolled out its street patrol unit called National Druzhyna to “restore” order in the capital, Kyiv. Instead, the unit carried out pogroms against the Roma community and attacked members of the LGBTQ community.
“Ukraine is the world’s only nation to have a neo-Nazi formation in its armed forces,” a correspondent for the US-based magazine, the Nation, wrote in 2019.”
8) “In June 2015, both Canada and the United States announced that their own forces will not support or train the Azov regiment, citing its neo-Nazi connections.
The following year, however, the US lifted the ban under pressure from the Pentagon.
In October 2019, 40 members of the US Congress led by Representative Max Rose signed a letter unsuccessfully calling for the US State Department to designate Azov as a “foreign terrorist organisation” (FTO). Last April, Representative Elissa Slotkin repeated the request – which included other white supremacist groups – to the Biden administration.”
9) “In 2016, Facebook first designated the Azov regiment a “dangerous organisation”.
Under the company’s Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, Azov was banned from its platforms in 2019. The group was placed under Facebook’s Tier 1 designation, which includes groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and ISIL (ISIS). Users engaging in praise, support or representation of Tier 1 groups are also banned.
However, on February 24, the day Russia launched its invasion, Facebook reversed its ban, saying it would allow praise for Azov.
“For the time being, we are making a narrow exception for praise of the Azov regiment strictly in the context of defending Ukraine, or in their role as part of the Ukraine national guard,” a spokesperson from Facebook’s parent company, Meta, told Business Insider.
“But we are continuing to ban all hate speech, hate symbolism, praise of violence, generic praise, support, or representation of the Azov regiment, and any other content that violates our community standards,” it added.
The reversal of policy will be an immense headache for Facebook moderators, the Intercept, a US-based website, said.
“While Facebook users may now praise any future battlefield action by Azov soldiers against Russia, the new policy notes that ‘any praise of violence’ committed by the group is still forbidden; it’s unclear what sort of nonviolent warfare the company anticipates,” the Intercept wrote.”
Doomer says
There is more,from various sources,it turns out that Zelensky had formerly claimed that the Russian attacks had destroyed the HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL in Kiev.
He had announced it,now it turns out it was fake news,the Babi Yar Mounument is still there,never damaged.
Rufolino says
It wasn’t the monument that was atacked, it was the site.
Doomer says
There is also the documentary by French journalist ANNE LAURE BONNEL.She has investigated the Donbass situation well, and affirms:
1.That since 2014,for 8 years now, the Ukrainian forces have killed 14,000 civilians,civilians who are PRO-Russia.
2. That the one responsible is in particular the AZOV regiment(4,000 soldiers) situated in MARIUPOL, a port near the Donbass. The same regiment accused of being pro-Nazi.Her documentary is in French.
But here is something about her in English,by RT Russia Today,but the video is from a Conservative French news program called C News.
“French journalist criticized for reporting Kiev’s shelling of Eastern Ukraine”
https://youtu.be/OXpBtWDdHSU
I had read of that affirmation in other places,but Anne Laure Bonnel seems to be the most reliable source
gravenimage says
Yes, it has been confirmed that there are actual neo-Nazis in the Azov Battallion. They seem to number a couple of hundred. Concerning, certainy–but the idea that Putin is invading Ukraine because of this is ridiculous. There are also neo-Nazis in Russia.
Infidel says
This is the most overrated senator that I’ve seen on the GOP side. His debacle in the GOP presidential primaries in 2016 ought to have sealed his fate. Instead, he’s conveniently switched from anti- to pro- to anti- to pro- Trump whenever it suits him. Anti- in 2015, when Trump proposed a ban on muslims after the San Bernardino carnage to pro- after Trump got elected to anti- on January 6th to pro- again after polls showed Trump’s hold on the party
I have a somewhat different appeal to South Carolina voters. Please primary this moron, and if you can’t, consider voting for the Dem if he’s anything like Doug Jones, Joe Manchin or Kirsten Sinema. My suggestion: Harlan Hill
Doomer says
There is another thing that is troubling regarding politics in Ukraine, in rallies and protests there one sees,not that much, but it is there,the BLACK and RED FLAG.
There is an article by Leftist CBC( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation),the GOVERNMENT of Canada news organization.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/red-black-flag-ukraine-rallies-1.6370202
“Why is the red and black flag, seen at rallies in support of Ukraine, causing such a stir?”
a. This flag was created in 1942 but why black and red? Before 1942 there NEVER was such a flag in Ukraine.
The red is for love and the black is for sorrow.In Slavic songs and poetry that date as far back as the 12th century those colors mean LOVE and SORROW.
b. It’s the flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, known by the acronym of its name in Ukrainian, UPA.
c. The UPA was guilty of killing 100,000 POLISH civilians,all non-combatants,men,women and children, during WW II in a border region,ethnic cleansing.
The UPA was a paramilitary group affiliated with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a political organization formed in 1929.
The article also says:
“Jake Hyman, a spokesperson with the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group based in New York, said that while the group would later end up opposing the Germans, as well as the Soviets, some UPA/OUN members
took part in Ukrainian auxiliary units that killed Jews or were involved in early pogroms in the 1940s.”
gravenimage says
Again, the implication that Russia is invading Ukraine to protect Jews makes no sense In fact, Ukraine has a Jewish president. I doubt you would find this in Russia, which has an ugly history of antisemitism itself.
tgusa says
Graham wants to declare Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. I guess Graham missed the part where Iran supports Russia and we buy oil from Russia and DC wants to buy oil from death to America Iran. Would that fall in to the accessory to a war criminal category? One could argue that Putin is using the same argument regarding his invasion of the Ukraine that Graham and the Bush regime used to validate the invasion of Iraq. No, I am not comparing Hussein to Zelensky nor Iraq to Ukraine. I am just comparing the reasoning behind invading another country unprovoked, security risk. Bush’s reason was a lie and Putin’s reason is a lie. First and foremost I am and will always be on one side, the USA and her people.
You could say Putin got this idea from Graham and the GOP. Washington DC politicians have no moral authority to declare anything regarding anyone anywhere. There are three types of politicians, those who make mistakes and learn from those mistakes, those who make mistakes but don’t learn from those mistakes and then you have the idiot liars. Ours are mostly the second and third of the three.
I have some good advise for Graham. Hire a food and drink tester immediately.
gravenimage says
Putin *is* a war criminal. He has a lot of company, though–especially in the Muslim world.
maria says
Yes Putin is exactly like Hitler and Stalin and Mr. Graham is quite right concerning his advice to get rid of the war criminal Putin who cooperates with the muslims and the far right like Wagner group and many other nazi group in Russia.
Roland says
Loose lips sink ships.
tgusa says
As Graham calls for assassination we are seeing a lot of Russian citizens outside of Russia being un-personed even though many of them are against the war. I just watched Doctor Zhivago and I couldn’t help noticing the similarities between the Russian bolsheviks in that movie and what is happening in non bolshevik nations right now. I think the entire world has gone crazy, or more precisely, crazier. All of the events unfolding really lowers my perspective on the human race.
Infidel says
Precisely! This cancel culture that is being driven on Russians simply due to their ethnicity: I wonder whether they’d even dare to do it had Russia been a muslim country? In fact, even after 9/11, we didn’t treat muslims this way, even though they deserved it far more than the Russians
I just wonder whether our woke corporations would dare do anything even close to the Chinese, if China were to invade Taiwan?
gravenimage says
Reckless
……………
I am *no* fan of Putin, but calling for his assassination is disturbing–and would not necessarily result in a freer Russia or a safer Ukraine.
Infidel says
Yeah. I wonder whether the CIA – fresh from hiring those depressed trannies – has done any analysis on who Putin’s potential successors/replacements are. I recall during the Cold War, they used to study this pretty well, but that is a lost art by now
What if Vladimir Zhirnovsky were to rise to power after Putin is disposed? Has anyone even thought about that? And if Alexei Navalny were to become the President of Russia, would Moscow be welcomed into NATO?
OLD GUY says
Wait a minute. The muslim world can yell kill Americans kill Trump, Biden or anyone else and everything is normal. But an American politician says that someone should take out the Russian leader Putin who just started a war that could end up as WW-3 and he’s out of line.
I guess if he nuked NY, then it might be ok to think about it.
Maybe if the world tried to get rid of these evil leaders when they pop up we would have a safer world to begin with. Seems like we have put up with these Dictators/Kings/Emperors who have started wars that killed millions, but you can’t touch them, they are above being killed. Maybe if we took enough of them down before they started to kill the rest of us things just might change in this world.
Sometimes you just have to kick the bullies ass.