A layman’s view of reality

35 Comments

1. Absolutely! Scares the shit out of me where the world might be heading? In Oz, we need to desperately stop the right wing BS. For example, the US right wing Atlas Network is active, with its affiliates, like the IDU, Advance, IPA, CIS, etc. Voters urgently need to see through their fake wars etc, and fake outrage.

2. I used to think that morality and virtue are, at least somewhat, relative. No more. The emergence of genuine Evil here and abroad has lifted the scales.
   We are in a conflict for the soul of humanity (words my atheist self never thought would come from me) and the Blitzkrieg tactics of the cults aligned against the good and decent are working. May you live in interesting times…

3. David Byrne said it well in Miss America.

   I love America, her secrets safe with me
   And I know her wicked ways, the parts you never see.
   Oh supergirl, you’ll be my supermodel
   Although you have a reputation
   Can I afford to move above my stationI’m not the only heart you.ve conquered.

   And I love America, but boy can she be cruel
   And I know how high she is without her platform shoes
   Oh, supergirl, you’ll be my supermodel
   Although at times it might seem awkward
   Don’t run away, oh, don’t you recognise me?
   I’m not the only heart you’ve conquered.

   And I kissed America when she was fleecing me
   She knows I understand that she needs to be free
   And I miss Americaand sometimes she does too
   And sometimes I think of her when she’s fucking you.

   I love America Yo siempre he confiado en ti
   I love America
   ?Por que me tratas asi?
   Oh, supergirl, you’ll be my supermodel
   Although your pants are round your ankles

   And when you’re down, I’ll be your Dirty Harry
   It will just like in the movies
   Oh supergirl, you’ll be my supermodel
   Although at times it might seem awkward
   Don’t look away, I’ll be your teenage fan club
   I’m not the only heart you’ve conquered.

4. “A communist Russian dictator”??? Tsar Putin may be a devious, murderous tyrant but Russian Communism died in 1991…

5. we should be very very afraid of giving Dutton ANY hint that he has support, he will use Trump’s playbook to destroy us and we’ll go down harder than the US. Stop him NOW while we still can.
   we can’t do anything for the US, except let those who would like to come here become citizens immediately

6. I agree with nearly all of the authors conclusions except for one. Russia did not start the war with Ukraine. Even the Pope has 4 times blamed the US and the west.
   You might like to read the following that confirms that it was Zelenski a US puppet that started it. https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/10/ukraine-zelensky-minsk-peace-russia/
   Understand that the US is going is going to provoke a war with China, and the US knows Russia will back China and the Ukraine provoked war is to weaken Russia militarily.

   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/30/russia-ukraine-war-kiev-conflict

7. There should be many paranoid Anglosphere (ultra)conservatives in or retired from politics, media, security services etc.

   One glaring example was the UK ‘Conservatives for Russia’ due to the attraction of Putin’s white Christian nationalist policies including church, state, military, oligarchy, autocracy and anti-centrist positions on women, minorities, non right wing parties, media etc.

   Two examples have been both Howard and Abbott offshore, the latter via Danube Institute in Hungary of PM ‘mini Putin’ Orbán and thr former too with ARC Alliance for Responsible Leadership.

   ARC, like the ‘intellectual dark web’ or ‘manosphere’ has Jordan Peterson on its advisory board with Howard and Abbott, but he has been cited in Canada with former Fox presenter Tucker Carlson, as a Russian asset.

   The Danube Inst. is a fulcrum representing US fossil fuel and white Christian nationalist influence versus the west.

   Supported by a foundation (allegations of Russian funds), related to the Hungarian MCC (promotes opposition to the EU), partnered with the Atlas-Koch Heritage Foundation which is anti-Ukraine, has Opus Dei influence and with anti-immigrant Tanton Network, joint Project2025.

   According to SPLC Tanton got to Abbott’s boss O’Sullivan in the naughties via mutual chum Brit born Peter Brimelow, who popped to the surprise of Fox News normies, reporting directly to Murdoch; Tanton’s mob is behind MAGA and their Stephen Miller, Dep CoS of Trump, is also a protagonist for Putin’s Russia.

   SPLC 30 Nov 2008 ‘Courting Conservatives. Peter Brimelow was a respectable, albeit hard-line, conservative commentator. Then he met nativist John Tanton’

   https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/courting-conservatives/

8. Max Gross and Thomas Brookes, thanks for those corrections.

9. “Anthony Albanese says he is confident that the US would defend Australia if it were to come under attack…” The Donald might but there would be a big bill for their services, “Cash please, or how about a hefty chunk, à la Ukraine, of your oil and mineral wealth. Better yet become another state of the great US.”

   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/24/albanese-confident-us-would-come-to-australias-defence-in-event-of-attack

10. In the interests of peace in Ukraine and a settlement with Putin, President Trump said on Monday (24 February 2025) that Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal to end the three-year-old war.

    “Yeah, he will accept that. I’ve asked him that question,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office while hosting French President Emmanuel Macron.

    “Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war. He doesn’t mind,” Trump added.

    “But I’ve specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it.”

    If Trump doesn’t later deny what he has said and if Putin agrees that this is his position, then we have an opportunity for peace in Ukraine with a European peacekeeping force on the ground and the probability of Ukraine joining the European Community [but not NATO].

    Sounds positive to me !

11. I’ve dealt with the “coup” claims elsewhere, suffice to say that the facts don’t support the claim.
    However, it is important to reflect on the actual words Merkel used.
    It wasn’t sabotage, it was that Merkel knew Putin could not be trusted

    *”It is a matter of great sorrow that it didn’t succeed, but I don’t blame myself now for trying,” Merkel said.

    She defended the 2015 peace agreement that she and then-French President Francois Hollande brokered in Minsk, Belarus, aimed at easing fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists.

    Merkel conceded that it didn’t fulfill all of Ukraine’s interests and that few people stand by it now, with some saying it was badly negotiated.

    “But at the time it brought calm and, for example, it gave Ukraine a great deal of time — seven years namely — to develop into what it is today,” she said. If there had been no intervention at the time, she added, “Putin could have wrought gigantic damage in Ukraine.”*

12. A Comentator,

    The US State Department’s Victoria Nuland, Blinken, Sullivan and the others responsible for engineering the coup in Ukraine, made no effort to deny it nor conceal it. They even boasted about it. And of course Victoria Nuland’s infamous phone call in which we hear her deciding who was going to serve in the Ukrainian government has gone all round the world. They were so very proud of their murderous coup. Coups are what the US brazenly does. They don’t do diplomacy they do regime change, and all the facts do support the claim that they were behind the Ukraine Coup as well as the subsequent action to provoke Russia into a military reaction so that Russia could be accused of ‘unprovoked’ aggression and blamed for the war that the US, with the collaboration of its NATO gang of psychophants, planned, incited, nurtured, sustained and escalated at every opportunity until Biden was removed from office.

    Project Ukraine was supposed to extend Russia, that is to say to weaken Russia through economic sanctions and military action. They even commissioned a report by the Rand Corporation called ‘Extending Russia’ that lays out all the various methods that were employed to isolate Russia on the world stage, by provoking a war to deplete Russia’s military capacity and the use sanctions to destroy its economy with the ultimate aim of bringing about regime change in Moscow through the suffering of the ordinary Russian people which was always to be blamed on Putin. It backfired disastrously, as political commentators like Noam Chomsky and John Pilger always said it would.

    AC, you can kid yourself that the US wasn’t behind the coup, but you can’t rely on any genuine facts to support your denial of reality. This isn’t Putin’s narrative of the war. It is the US State Departments narrative as expressed in their ‘Extending Russia’ Report. They just forgot to report that it was never going to succeed.

13. B. Sullivan,

    Evidence to back up your opinions might be advisable otherwise you’ll come across as a bit of a conspiracy nutter.

14. “I’ve dealt with the “coup” claims elsewhere, suffice to say that the facts don’t support the claim.”
    Don’t you just love the way AC breezes in, exuding confidence and claiming veracity, with not a shred of evidence in support.
    AC has not dealt with the coup claims elsewhere.
    But he did dodge the coup claims elsewhere.

    He was made aware of an important decision from a Kiev court that contradicted his position, so he walked away. Made no further comment. Until now. Because now he lives in an alternative universe where that court decision never happened.

    AC has stated in regard to the coup, “Yanukovych lost control of the apparatus of government when the police and military declined to comply with his directions to shoot civilians.”
    That is false.
    That’s how he “dealt with the coup claims elsewhere”.

    An established and public verdict on the false-flag operation commonly called ‘Euromaidan’ was rendered by a Kyiv court (Sviatoshyn District Court) on 18 Oct 2023, following an extensive investigation.
    The verdict acknowledged that non-government and non-law-enforcement activists firing from the far-right-controlled Hotel Ukraina and other Maidan-controlled locations were responsible for the deliberate and targeted killings of both protesters and police, and had also shot at a BBC News crew with the apparent intent of killing them.
    Today you would never find acknowledgement of that verdict unless you knew how to keyword-search for specific terms, because virtually no news media reported it.

    The court decision can be found here. https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/114304164

    As for the failed Minsk agreements, Merkel’s justifications for her role are not particularly relevant. Zelensky was president of Ukraine. He was the one with his hands on the wheel. And he was elected on a peace platform.
    There’s no point in speculating as to whether his commitment to peace was genuine, but apparently there was suspicion from the right-wing extremists that he would do a peace deal. Because In May 2019, on the Ukrainian media Obozrevatel, Dmytro Yarosh, former head of the Right Sector, openly threatened Zelensky with death, if he came to an agreement.
    Yarosh — “Zelensky in his inaugural speech said that he was ready to lose ratings, popularity, position. No, he’ll lose his life. It will hang on some tree on Khreshchatyk – if it betrays Ukraine and those people who died on the Revolution and the War. It is very important that he understands this.”
    Yarosh is still active in Ukraine politics.
    Instead of being jailed for treason.
    He got the war he wanted.
    https://incident.obozrevatel.com/crime/dmitrij-yarosh-esli-zelenskij-predast-ukrainu-poteryaet-ne-dolzhnost-a-zhizn.htm#goog_rewarded

    But this shows us that Ukraine is not a plucky beacon of democracy as portrayed in the news media.
    We have donated millions to a corrupt regime while homeless Australians are sleeping in the streets and being turfed out of caravan parks.

15. GL, you are correct.
    When expressing opinions on serious matters it’s best to provide evidence in support.

    In fairness to Sully, he did refer to the significance of the Rand report, but a link to it would have been handy and given it credibility.
    Those interested need only do a search for “Rand report 2019”
    It’s not technical, an easy short read, and worth the effort.

16. https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-google&source=android-browser&q=Yanukovych+directed+military+and+police+to+shoot+civilians

    Take your choice about which reports you want to debate.
    +++++++
    None of the Putin apologists can ever explain the 328 to zero vote of the Ukraine Rada to remove Yanukovych
    ++++++++
    Those arguing about the so called “coup” should note my previous comments.
    The US wasn’t a disinterested bystander, but their claims ignore all the evidence of the mass public uprising, the duplicitous actions of Yanukovych and the desire of Ukrainians to seek a prosperous and democratic nations. West facing rather than east.
    Try reading beyond Kremlin propaganda

17. So, AC does not want to talk about the Kiev court decision.
    He clings like a drowning man to a straw, to a later event in the parliament, “the 328 to zero vote of the Ukraine Rada to remove Yanukovych”
    That vote was unconstitutional, as AC knows. There is no end to his misrepresentation.

    The 1996 and the 2004 constitutions are uniform when it comes to the reasons for removing a president, with Article 111 stating the parliament has the right to initiate a procedure of impeachment. He was not impeached.
    Constitutional guidelines call for a review of the case by Ukraine’s Constitutional Court and a three-fourths majority vote by the Verkhovna Rada — i.e., 338 lawmakers. The vote was 328. And that’s after Yanukovych and supporters fled the violence. The vote failed.
    The coup was unconstitutional.
    Why was the constitution not followed?
    Because the coup leaders did not have enough votes in parliament to follow the constitution.
    Everything AC presents as fact has to be checked thoroughly.

    Just to show the dodgy nature of AC’s sources that he linked to, the final one (p.1) about the arrest of policemen for destroying evidence came from the Kiev Independent. It was stated “The bloodiest day of the EuroMaidan was Feb. 20, 2014, when Berkut officers killed 48 people and injured 90 more.”
    The statement is false. It contradicts the court decision.
    The court decision was not even mentioned until the conclusion of the article, where it was implied by omission that police officers were responsible for the killings.
    So, no mention by the Kiev Independent of the full range of the court decision that ran to a million words.

    In regard to the reliability of AC’s other “sources”, a more general comment from Jacques Baud throws light on the usefulness of those sources.
    Baud states in his book Operation Z p.28, “In 2014, I am at NATO and I observe the Ukrainian crisis, so to speak, from the inside. From the outset, it is clear that the situation is being fanned by Westerners. Videos show that the putschists would be supported by armed men speaking English with an American accent. The German magazine Der
    Spiegel evokes the presence of mercenaries from the firm Academi (formerly Blackwater, of sinister memory in Iraq and Afghanistan) . The Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) apparently informs the German government. I inform my diplomatic contacts at the OSCE… but it will soon be forgotten.”
    “It will soon be forgotten.”
    Forgotten, because it did not fit the Western narrative.

    But it was not forgotten in the minds of those who were shot by snipers and were able to testify in court as to the position of their attackers.

    Eventually, the truth seeps out.

18. A two thirds majority of the Ukraine Rada is required for impeachment.
    I haven’t referred to impeachment.
    Yanukovych abandoned his office, when he could not longer rely on the suppression of mass public protests (by police, military and his security)
    As he abandoned his office, he was incapable of carrying out the responsibilities and functions of President.
    The Ukraine parliament formally took control, called for a new election, about 2 months out.
    The Putin apologists never dealt with-
    ° The fact that the Ukraine protests were hugely supported, probably the biggest in contemporary Europe
    ° Each public reaction can be traced to the duplicity and hubris of Yanukovych
    ° The public knew all about Russian domination and interference, they didn’t wish to return to being subjected to it
    ° Even Russia recognised the legitimacy of the government that succeeded Yanukovych in May 2014

19. For one brief moment AC was forced to provide evidence for his claims.
    That went right against the grain.
    Now, he reverts back to his normal nebulous nonsense for which he gives no evidence.
    None of his comment can be believed until credible evidence is given.

    Careful readers will also note that AC refuses to accept a Kiev court investigation that took years to complete. And tries to divert from his falsification of history with irrelevant ramblings about the size of the protests, Yanukovych’s hubris, and public perceptions of which he knows nothing.

    It’s time for him to put up or shut up.

    In regard to the need for AC to provide evidence for his latest claims, I note also that AC has not defended the credibility of his previous chosen support sources. Because they have no credibility. His sources are from 2014, they published unsubstantiated material at the time, (check them out, you’ll see what I mean) and that material has been overturned by the Kiev court decision. Yanukovych did not order police to fire on protesters, but you will not see AC admit that.
    AC is treating readers with disrespect.

20. 1/. I think any informed individual could list a dozen contentious (political and non political) decisions made by courts when the judicial officers are appointed by politicians.
    This happened in Ukraine too.
    2/. When, through their own choices, actions and decisions an office holder places themselves in circumstances where they are unable to carry out the duties, functions and responsibilities of their office , if they abandon it, they have effectively resigned. This is regardless of whether they have formally offered a resignation.
    Actions amount to resignation and/or abandonment, not just words.
    This applies to Yanukovych, and the Ukraine Rada took the steps necessary to resolve this.
    They didn’t impeach Yanukovych, and I haven’t suggested they did.

21. AC was challenged to provide evidence for his claims.
    He provided nothing.
    He has dismissed as irrelevant a lengthy court process with “I think…”
    Not nearly good enough.
    One has to have an extensive record of reliability and credibility to get away with conjecture that flimsy.

    “They didn’t impeach Yanukovych, and I haven’t suggested they did.”
    Which avoids the question — why did they not impeach?
    Impeachment is covered in the constitution for “state treason or other crime”
    The claim of “abandonment of post” could have been made to fit “or other crime”. That provision was obviously included to cover all possible eventualities. So why was impeachment not carried out? Because so many parliamentarians had fled the violence that there was insufficient numbers to comply with constitutional requirements.
    So they concocted a “removal” resolution to circumvent the constitution.
    This was the very definition of a coup.
    With violence, threats of violence, and killings thrown in as well so that everyone was in no doubt as to what was going on.

    But there’s no point in talking to those in denial, so let’s move on.
    Readers will recall Jacques Baud’s comment that his and and the BND’s informing their respective authorities about armed Americans at the Maidan protests would soon be forgotten. I concluded from this that it would be forgotten because it did not fit the Western narrative.

    Here’s a cautionary tale about how “fitting” the Western narrative works in practice. In the MSM facts are not only distorted, they can cease to exist. And Jacques Baud has inadvertently provided a great example of how “ceasing to exist” happens.

    Alexander Hug was Deputy Chief Monitor of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
    Baud stated “In 2018, he (Hug) would confess to Foreign Policy magazine that the OSCE had made no observations confirming the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine.”
    There was no link provided by Baud, so I did a search then checked the article to ensure that I had the correct wording, or that Baud had not over-stated Hug’s position. I found that Hug’s statement had been deleted from the article. Deleted rather untidily, I must say.
    https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/25/counting-the-dead-in-europes-forgotten-war-ukraine-conflict-donbass-osce/

    This should give an indication of the lengths we have to go to, just to get a fuzzy image of reality. No source, no matter how trusted, is flawless.

    And we can see from this that 4 years after the coup, respected entities such as Foreign Policy were still forced to conform to the Western narrative.

    What was the narrative?
    In general terms, nothing was to be published that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Kiev regime, or that presented Russia in a positive light.
    So on issues of global significance, if we carelessly accept everything the MSM dishes out as being factual, then we are being indoctrinated to accept the priorities and world-view of those who are using us.

22. The humiliation of Zelensky at the White House a few hours ago holds some lessons for Australian politicians.
    There is no such thing as an equal partnership with the US.
    If you enter into a military alliance with the US, you act on their orders.
    This applies no matter who sits in the Oval Office.

    Zelensky’s future looks shaky.
    Albo, Dutton, and any Oz politicians in the future who aspire to a leadership position should take note.

23. VP Vance to Ukraine President Zelensky : Welcome to the White House also known as the Cuckoo’s Nest. President Trump awaits in the Oval Office also known as the padded room.
    You don’t pick your nose do you ? Only we had a kid here who left boogers on the President’s desk and he got mad.
    No I don’t and I don’t want to go among mad people,” Zelensky replied.
    “Oh, you can’t help that,” said VP Vance: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad and Donald is certifiably mad.”
    “How do you know I’m mad?” said Zelensky.
    “You must be,” said VP Vance, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”

    Apologies to Lewis Carroll

24. I was awake and hearing the Trump/Zelensky blathererbash live, which would sicken a vomit eating grub. Trump is beyond awful, a shame and disgrace, uncivilised and so inadequate by every measure. Terry M. is on track to perceive that insanity and unfitness remain to curse the USA, us, and many to become victims or vanquished. Misfit Musk just oozes (bumbooms)…and nightmares of Adolf and Josef have barely faded…

25. Phil, you’re quite right, it was certainly a brutal exercise of power.
    But we must not forget that the principles behind that exercise of power are a consistent element of US political culture.

    This was so blatant that all allies of the US should be trying to figure out ways to protect themselves from their protector.

26. Horry clap! The hold over The Donald by Putin is incredible.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia-hacking-cyber-security

27. All Donald really now wants is for Zelensky to crawl back to him on hands and knees and beg forgiveness as he kisses the Orange Messiah’s shoes.

    https://thehill.com/policy/international/5170418-zelensky-no-apology-trump-russia-ukraine-spat/

28. Trump and Steve are in the same side regarding Russia and Ukraine
    Steve if you’re intent on criticising me for not loading my comments with links, you should check that yours work in a way to support your contention
    You cited the Ukrainian district court. Did you check where this ranks in the judicial hierarchy? Probably not. And I’ve outlined the legitimate reasons the Ukraine Rada acted.
    Yanukovych abandoned his office, he chose to place himself in a position where he could not meet his responsibilities and duties
    Abandonment of a post equals resignation
    Trump has proven to be an absolute disgrace, he has single handedly undermined Australian confidence in the US alliance. My view is that Republicans will turn on him before the mix term elections. But that might be wishful thinking.

29. AC just cannot help himself.
    He inhabits a universe where a court decision is meaningless.

    A Kyiv court (Sviatoshyn District Court) found after a lengthy investigation that Yanukovich did not order police to fire on protesters. The court found also, that the firing came from buildings occupied by ultra-nationalists.
    Those who were shot and survived gave evidence to the court as to where the attacks came from, but that testimony is irrelevant to AC, because he knows more than those who were present at the time.
    If the court decision was as insignificant as AC would have us believe, then there was no need for the decision to be covered up by the news media. It was covered up because it was significant.

    AC has stated that Yanukovych gave the order. The court decision shows AC’s claim to be false.
    The court decision stands.
    AC’s position on this is deplorable.

    As for AC clinging to the claim that “Yanukovych abandoned his office”, he in fact fled for his own safety.
    That is the very definition of a coup.
    Speaking of which, the coup was assisted by American neocons, including Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland, who told Ukrainian business leaders that the United States had invested $5 billion in their “European aspirations.”
    In the weeks before the coup, according to an intercepted phone call, the existence of which has not been denied by the US, Nuland discussed with U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt who should lead the future regime. Nuland said her choice was Arseniy Yatsenyuk. “Yats is the guy,” she told Pyatt as he pondered how to “midwife this thing.”
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957
    And who became Prime Minister after the coup?
    You guessed it.
    Yep. It was a coup alright.

30. There are 72 district courts in Ukraine. Steve seems to think the (politically appointed) local magistrate is infallible.
    I’m sure you are aware of the range of reports from Ukrainian security personnel that state Yanukovych issued the (illegal) orders to shoot.
    I’ve said repeatedly that Yanukovych lost control of the apparatus of government, read the reports about his panic and the manner in which he abandoned his office.
    Are you able to differentiate between a “coup” and a mass public protest/uprising?
    The entire debacle was due to the poor judgement and hubris of Yanukovych.
    But take lots of confidence from the fact that you’re on Trump’s team on this issue!

31. The court investigated all claims and all evidence related to the killings.

    The court found that Yanukovich did not order police to shoot.

    The court decision stands despite AC’s delusional claim to know more than those who were shot and survived, and more than investigators and justice ministry officials.

    The court decision was so significant that it had to be covered up by the Western news media.

    It’s interesting that AC has attempted here, with not a shred of evidence, to de-legitimise a Kiev court on the basis of political appointment.
    Well yes, that, we can assume, is how judges in Ukraine are appointed.
    Just as here in Australia. Does AC think we vote judges into position? Perhaps AC thinks these are hereditary roles.
    It’s hard to know how he gets into these less-than-flattering situations. But we do know that it really is desperation time in AC’s alternative universe.

    And as the decision was handed down in 2023, 11 years after the coup, we can be fairly certain that no Yanukovich loyalists were involved.

    So no, Yanukovich did not order police to shoot.
    And yep, it was a coup alright.

32. AC, you do seem to have some very reliable sources?
    They probably rule that an investigation by the Israel government into the “invasion” by Hamas was a complete surprise. An intelligence failure, oh dear.
    And Russia blew up NS1&2.
    But the beautiful thing about this site is that they allow all comers

33. Steve, you always like to head off on a tangent.
    Did you notice I said – Yanukovych lost control of the apparatus of government when the police and military declined to comply with his illegal directions to shoot civilians(1)
    He panicked and abandoned his office. Abandoning, deliberately neglecting, choosing not to carry out duties is the same as resignation.
    And can you post a definition of “coup” that includes mass public protests with widespread popular uprising, abandonment of office and formal removal by a vote of the national legislature
    (1) In a remarkable display of (typical) inconsistency, I note-
    °you have been engaged in a debate about the charging of Putin by the world’s most senior criminal court (apparently you don’t find the evidence acceptable),
    °meanwhile (here) you’re arguing in favour of a junior court in Ukraine (just one of the 72 district courts), without even seeing the evidence!
    You’re always entertaining in your self important inconsistency, but at least you and Trump are on the same side!

34. AC keeps these discussions going so long that he loses track.
    He continues to allege that Yanukovych ordered the shootings.

    Please note the following, all of which has been presented before.
    A nearly one-million-word verdict from Ukraine’s Maidan massacre trial has recently confirmed that many Maidan activists were shot not by members of Ukraine’s Berkut special police force or other law enforcement personnel but by snipers in the far-right-controlled Hotel Ukraina and other Maidan-controlled locations a decade ago today. The verdict, handed down on October 18, 2023, states specifically that this hotel was controlled by Maidan activists and that an armed, far-right-linked Maidan group was in the hotel and fired from it. It also confirms that there was no Russian involvement in the massacre and that no massacre orders were issued by then President Viktor Yanukovych or his ministers.

    “no massacre orders were issued by then President Viktor Yanukovych or his ministers.”

    It’s not hard to understand such a simple statement. But AC cannot understand.

    AC pushes the line that Yanukovych panicked and abandoned his office.
    Well, he would, wouldn’t he.
    He fled for his safety.
    That’s what happens in coups.

    AC has tried to establish an inconsistency in my position on the Kiev court and the charges against Putin for alleged child abduction. There cannot be an inconsistency as the two are unrelated.

    One involves an investigation followed by due legal process and a verdict.

    The other case has not gone to trial, has not been investigated, and is based on allegations that are not supported by a report funded by the US State Department.
    The only thing the two have in common is the word “court”.

    And yep, when a government is overthrown immediately after a massacre committed by right-wing nationalists, and right-wing nationalists are given senior positions in the new regime, it’s a coup alright.

35. “AC keeps these discussions going so long…”
    Says Steve with his fingers permanently hovering over the keyboard