The Reading Junkie

Wind of Change

December 8, 2022December 7, 2022 by Ian Kummer

The song “Wind of Change” by the German rock band the Scorpions was perfectly timed when it was released in 1990: the communist system was crumbling, and people in Europe felt that there was at last a chance for lasting peace and cooperation after the Cold War had ended. Klaus Meine, the famous voice of the Scorpions, was inspired by the band’s visit to Russia in the previous year to write what has since become one of the most successful songs in the history of popular music, with over 14 million copies sold.

Poison or Treatment? Dose and Doctor Matter

December 6, 2022 by Maria Kondorskaya

In a way, the West denied people in the Global South and in the former USSR the right to protest. I mean, whenever people in those countries are unhappy about a specific(!) problem and start protesting against this specific thing, there are western NGOs ready to help them balkanize and fail the motherland. See also … Read more

NATO is Using COIN in Ukraine (I Told You So)

December 5, 2022 by Ian Kummer

Sometimes I’m wrong, but sometimes I’m right too. For the past eight months I’ve argued that thoroughly prepared for a war, but the wrong kind of war. This week, the Military Chronical Telegram channel started a rumor that was then picked up by other outlets. Let’s see what it was:

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

December 5, 2022December 4, 2022 by Ian Kummer

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

December 3, 2022 by Ian Kummer

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.