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Zelenskyy Bans Opposition Parties; Nationalizes Media
Is there a chance… a slight chance, but still a chance … that Volodymyr Zelenskyy isn’t quite the great savior of democracy we are being told he is?
In an address to the nation delivered Sunday, he announced a temporary ban on “any activity” by 11 political parties. The ban includes the Opposition Platform – For Life party, which holds 43 seats in Ukraine’s national parliament and is the largest opposition party. Opposition Platform – For Life is a pro-Russia party, but on March 8, party leader Yuriy Boyko demanded that Russia “stop the aggression against Ukraine,” according to Ukrainian outlet LB.
Also.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed a decree that combines all national TV channels into one platform, citing the importance of a “unified information policy” under martial law, his office said in a statement on Sunday.
His defenders will say that his country is under martial law in response to a foreign invasion and such times have justified extreme measures; like unto FDR ordering Japanese-Americans rounded up and put into camps in World War II, Woodrow Wilson jailing and prosecuting anti-war protesters during World War I, or Abraham Lincoln suspending Habeas Corpus during the Civil War.
This would be an awesome time to have reliable news media that had not been co-opted by the ruling party into propagandists for the Official Narrative. Is Zelenskyy a Saint of Democracy? Is Putin really the embodiment of evil? Is it treason, as Mitt “Pierre Delecto” Romney suggests, to be skeptical of the Official Version of Events? I really cannot say.
What I suspect but cannot prove is that Zelenskyy is probably a patriot trying to preserve his country, but also a politician who is not letting a crisis go to waste and a man who evidently knows how to work the media. And while Putin was wrong to invade Ukraine, he is probably not the arch-villain caricature the administration and their media make him out to be. I can’t know about any of that sure, but what I do know is this:
- All of our information about Zelenskyy, Putin, Ukraine, and Russia gets to us via the Administration and National Media.
- Both of those have lied to us repeatedly and shamelessly in order to advance Democrat-friendly narratives.
Biden desperately needs a foreign policy win after his absolutely disastrous showing in Afghanistan. That’s certainly plenty of motivation to shape the Russia-Ukraine narrative as a battle of Pure Democratic Good against Pure Russian Evil.
Published in General
it is The Azov Battalion-ie not a significant number of men- but the Russian propaganda bugaboo. Russian reports of genocide are as believable as their claims that Ukraine was planning to nuke Russia.
”According to media reports, it had around 1,000 fighters before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine”
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/ukraine/azov-bn.htm
for a better view of the so called neo-Nazi influence in Ukraine read:
https://spectator.org/whats-really-happening-in-ukraine/
You’ve been able to reach your own conclusions via independent thinking, but everyone else – or at least the majority – are passive receptacles of propaganda?
“Context of war” seems to be the important part to judging the decision.If he suspended city council elections in Mariupol right now some might view that as additional evidence the administration and media are backing an authoritarian.
So don’t listen to them! Find other information sources. I watch a little CNN and BBC on the war to see what’s being said, but you can learn a lot from alternatives sources. The truth is not impossible to know. What conclusions we draw from the facts is another matter.
One thing I’d like to see happen under Zelensky is privatization of the land. Maybe it’s not just the land that needs privatization. Some observers have made a connection between the lack of privatization and the corruption that has plagued the government, at least up to now, but they haven’t explained what that connection looks like.
Yes, as did Putin to justify his invasion, and now people opposed to aiding the Ukrainians are saying the same thing as Putin about Ukrainians.
I don’t think Zelensky is a “savior of democracy” or an angel. But he is the leader of a country being illegally invaded and whose civilian citizens are being bombed and attacked.
No leader of any country is perfect (not even Reagan.) Some are better, some are worse, and some are MUCH worse. Putin has invaded Ukraine and is making war on civilians. This is not in question.
It has amazed me these last weeks that so many conservatives are glossing over Putin’s actions.
I wish it was that easy to eliminate the parties with Russian ties in the USA.
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/2022-russian-invasion-ukraine/news/kept-human-shields-ukraine-camps-say-stranded-bangladeshis-2976076?amp
I haven’t heard anybody referring to Zelensky as a “Savior of Democracy” except by the people complaining that he is being referred to as a “Savior of Democracy.” I don’t even see how this is a relevant complaint. The guy’s country is getting invaded and killed by a nuclear power and you’re worried about what accolades people are bestowing upon him?
I thought this is what all governments do when their country is on the verge of destruction by an invading army. In fact why did it take him so long?
To me, it’s really simple: Ukraine has a right to continue to exist as an independent country. Russia does not have a right to invade Ukraine and take it for themselves.
If there is a boundary dispute, it belongs in court with lawyers presenting evidence. Russia had a chance in 1991 to make some case that Ukraine belonged to Russia. The Russians didn’t do that, at least not successfully.
Ukraine doesn’t have to be anything at all–good or bad–to still be a victim here.
As the Russians continue to attack Ukraine, they just get more and more wrong by the minute.
It’s an eight year war with plenty of atrocities to go around.
I understand what you’re saying, and I’m sure that’s true.
I’m not sure what the point of this is.
Does this retroactively justify Putin’s invasion? Does this mean Zelenskyy is a horrible dictator like Lukashenko to the north?
Right now, the US has the Biden administration. That means we will keep on screwing up everything. It does not matter what the US position is on Ukraine, we will still have inflation, an open border, and other insanity.
I think it’s relevant to point out to the adoring masses throwing around absurd Churchill comparisons that Zelensky is just another corrupt leader who cares nothing about liberty, freedom, or democracy, and never has.
Maybe at some point that realization will get them to studying the history of this situation and realize what Trump knew and warned us about years ago, that Ukraine is not a friend of America or its values.
The point is that the same group of people who have been gaslighting about virtually everything are now believed by 90% of the public as they are spoon-fed Ukrainian propaganda. Why do you believe them?
Zelensky and Hunter Biden have the same sugar daddy in Ukraine. Zelensky makes a mediocre speech before Congress and has them raving about the speech because it ticks off a laundry list of events in the US having nothing to do with Ukraine. And you have to wonder what Zelensky’s dream looks like. A world without Russians?
It’s kind of bizarre that some conservatives are actually becoming jealous or resentful because a guy trying to save his country at the risk of his own life is getting praise from the liberal media. I’m really glad I don’t watch liberal media and I don’t have to stew about what some pundit said or didn’t say. People, turn off your TV’s! There are so many better options of things you can do.
Except for a few hours everyday when he’s a good guy again, helping us do right by Iran.
Better than doing them wrong. For them and also for you. ??
I respectfully decline your invitation to accept the premise of the Democrats.
Incidentally, if the reference to me regards my previous abode, I don’t think it’s good for Pakistan if Iran gets coddled further by the western Left. That’s not what Pakistan needs.
And I live in Hong Kong now.
It wasn’t a personal attack janaab. And my opinions are my own, they aren’t courtesy the Democrats. I do think it’s a stretch to see much sanctioned Iran as coddled by the West, but ??
Hong Kong sounds wonderful – stay safe and enjoy the Canto cuisine. I’m almost slightly jealous. This probably says something base about me and my priorities.
I hope so. With millions of countrymen.
It is a great story, is it not? And it is always nice to meet a fellow fan. But I think the Wormtongues of this age are in Washington DC at the moment, with their Théoden.
I didn’t think it was. I just don’t see the point of accepting a premise I used sarcastically.
Whoever said it was? I just said something about it being western leftist policy to coddle them.
The food and the hills are indeed great.
and remember, if it isn’t deep fried pork fat it isn’t yum cha!
Then since February 26, 2022 Russia has taken an insurmountable lead in the atrocity race which will be impossible for Ukraine to ever catch.
Just because you haven’t been paying attention does not give you license to insinuate I am making anything up.
‘Champion of democracy’ Zelensky given three standing ovations in Canadian parliament.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the making of a modern Winston Churchill – opinion
All other addresses to Congress by foreign leaders have paled in comparison to Churchill’s, until Zelenskyy’s this week.- NPR
Zelensky Isn’t Churchill; He’s Actually Better – CNN
Ukrainian president hailed as hero for democracy – MSNBC
Zelensky emerges as global hero in Ukraine battle against Russia— The Hill
And of course, David French, the New York Times, and Adam Kinzinger are invoking Zelensky as a way to bash Trump. Which seems tacky under the circumstances. Still, The Hill really lays it on thick and gives away the game: Zelensky and Biden: Defenders of democracy . (All the praise for Zelenskyy, you see, is really supposed to rub off on Biden, improve his polling numbers, and help Democrats hold the House and Senate.)
I am old enough to remember the last two guys who were made into media superheroes… Andrew Cuomo and Anthony Fauci. I also remember how that played out.
And there is a dangerous price to Hero Worship and Personality Cultism (especially when mixed in with domestic political power-play) : The U.S. Is Mindlessly Marching Toward War With Russia
The last time the US went in without an overarching strategy, off-ramps, or an objective end-state, we ended up spending 20 years in Afghanistan, destroying thousands of young lives, wasting trillions of dollars, and succeeded only in returning to Taliban to power with billions in abandoned weaponry.
Now, the same geriatric ruling class… twenty years older, but no wiser… is contemplating doing the same against a country with nukes.
Let’s keep one reality in mind. China is the problem and the US is vulnerable, Russia is a declining problem that is not a threat to us, but the world shouldn’t ignore this aggression. As long as NATO learns from this it’s good, but Russia will destroy Ukraine rather than back off, so some kind of settlement by NATO and Russia should be found as soon as possible. We should just send stuff and money, try to learn and use the situation to stop all the nonsense being used to weaken our Defense apparatus.
But the Dems aren’t shelling red states yet. But yes, if it was happening here, I’d be extremely worried . . . like I am about the treatment of the 1/6ers . . .
I think so. He’s in a good position to know who the inside enemies potentially are . . .
Why would any Conservative want to waste their time paying attention to the opinions of Justin Trudeau, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, The Hill, David French, The New York Times, and Adam Klinzinger? There is so much good and substantial content on the Internet that you don’t need to listen to these sources, and surveys indicate that only a trivial fraction of Americans do. I sometimes get the feeling that the only people who watch these news sources or pundits are either the tiny minority of die-hard fans or opposition junkies looking for something to be outraged about. There is a small group of political junkies on both sides who participate in this game of back-and-forth “Gotcha!” It’s not for me.
Because those opinions are shaping a public narrative pushing the country into war on behalf of a guy who may be no more of a hero than Fauci or Cuomo.
It’s like saying, “Oh, ignore Fauci. Let him yammer on about lockdowns and mask mandates. It only affects people who pay attention to the media.”