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

Oil Price Cap: The British Are Prepared to Fight to the Last Prussian (Again)

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Tomorrow, the “free world’s” price cap on Russian oil is set to begin. This reminds me of another historical event. On 9 October, 1806, Prussia declared hostilities against France, and so began the War of the Fourth Coalition. Absolutely confident in their martial abilities, Prussian officers gloatingly sharpened their swords on the steps of the French embassy in Berlin. Napoleon crushed the Prussian army in less than a week. On 27 October, he captured Berlin, and then paraded surviving Prussian officers past the embassy they had mocked. There’s an obvious moral lesson here about not being overconfident, but today I want to talk about WHY the Prussians up as cannon fodder against Napoleon.

We Are At War With Eurasia. We Have Always Been At War With Eurasia

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orwell 1984

On October 20, CNN actively and deliberately discouraged people from leaving Kherson, dismissing Russian evacuation efforts as “hysteria.” Of course as everyone who’s paid attention to the news knows by now, Kherson is occupied by Ukrainian militants and embroiled in an intense artillery duel. On November 28, CNN condemned the Russian artillery strikes, claiming “now they’re killing the civilians they once vowed to protect.” Really. Did CNN reporters just intentionally prevent people from leaving an active war zone, hoping those people would later be killed so CNN could make money off their deaths? And this is far from the only media flip-flop lately.

LGBT Laws, Thanksgiving, and Cancel Culture

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Russia Qatar have both made the news recently for being “anti-gay.” Russia for tightening up their ban on LGBT propaganda, and Qatar for not allowing “OneLove” armbands at the World Cup. Yesterday some Russian students asked me what I think about the whole thing. Well, here’s an explanation of my stance on the issue. My argument hinges on two main points: