Ian Kummer

I'm a former US Marine fire support specialist, and also worked for about 10 years as a public affairs specialist in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. For that reason I will mostly opine about the "information operations" aspect of current events. Please see my "about" page for more information. If you would like to reach out, you can email me at ian.michael@readingjunkie.com

Christmas Week War Update (Dec. 27)

by

Here’s the latest Russian language news media summary on my Substack. Putin’s meeting was livestreamed and TASS posted a text summary: You can read the whole thing here. What is this page for? I created this account to share media summaries of Russian language news in a neutral tone. You can believe it or not believe it I … Read more

Lebensborn, the Real Nazis of WWII

by

Today I read a particularly baffling 2023 Atlantic article about Lebensborn, the children produced in the famous nazi project to cultivate the German nation. After the war, Lebensborn endured extreme abuse, frequently institutionalized by force and sterilized out of fear of their evil nazi genes (ironic). While the author Valentine Faure did very briefly allude to the … Read more

The Media War For Kupyansk

by

Ukraine claims to control Kupyansk, but that is likely to be an exaggeration. Most of us paying attention to the news can remember Zelensky’s PR stunt last week, sharing a (allegedly) new photo of himself standing outside Kupyansk, though the authenticity of this visit was called into question. Then yesterday, things escalated with Ukrainian armed … Read more

Is the Bondi Beach Shooting the Next Reichstag Fire?

by

The Bondi Beach attack will probably be the Reichstag Fire to crack down even further on citizens’ speech and gun rights, as well as increase surveillance. I already see media reports in several countries describing the “rising threat” in the most hysterical terms possible, and this will certainly be used to justify draconian authoritarianism. But … Read more