That cartoon caption may hold more water than appears. Forget Zelensky being Jewish extraction, thats bollocks, what is not bollocks is the presence of unashamedly Nazis, Azov, who boast of modelling themselves on Das Reich. Think very carefully before giving Ukraine open ended unconditional support, you may not know what you are backing long term!!
Caoimhin, you really are like a dog with a bone about the Azov Battalion. Most of them died in the the siege of the Azovstal Steel works or massacred by the Russians afterwards. There is a small far right element in the Ukrainian resistance; it is the Russian invaders and occupiers who represent the modern face of the far right with their determination to wipe out all trace of Ukrainian nationhood and culture. Defenders of the Francoists during the Spanish Civil War kept harping on about the Fifth Regiment; apologists for Assad kept bigging up the Islamist extremist element in the opposition during the Syrian conflict. For democrats whether of the right, centre and left refusing to support Ukraine is not a moral option. And Zelenskyy is Jewish who had family members murdered in the Holocaust.
the Azov thing starts to sound like an excuse rather than a reason the more it is used. It and VAR are Caoimhin's pet hates!!!
Michael Colborne, author of the go to book on it makes the point: Ironically, I think the one person in the world most interested in seeing Azov grow because of the war is Vladimir Putin himself.
I remember reading one of the Azov leaders being interviewed and claiming that Putin was their hero!!
The Bellingcat team, of which he has been a part, have been excellent in mapping the far right through open source journalism. Colborne makes the interesting point that that Azov despite being far right had its critics on the far right because of its opposition to right wing Russia. Perhaps this explains why the far right in the US - among them the evangelical gay-haters and the women's rights-haters line up to back Russia. They see in it some sort of crazy Christian crusade. Much like they did with Trump. Old Donald believing in God as much as I do FFS.
Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process. Lead researcher for the Belfast Project, an oral history of the Troubles.
That cartoon caption may hold more water than appears. Forget Zelensky being Jewish extraction, thats bollocks, what is not bollocks is the presence of unashamedly Nazis, Azov, who boast of modelling themselves on Das Reich. Think very carefully before giving Ukraine open ended unconditional support, you may not know what you are backing long term!!
ReplyDeleteCaoimhin O'Muraile
Caoimhin, you really are like a dog with a bone about the Azov Battalion. Most of them died in the the siege of the Azovstal Steel works or massacred by the Russians afterwards. There is a small far right element in the Ukrainian resistance; it is the Russian invaders and occupiers who represent the modern face of the far right with their determination to wipe out all trace of Ukrainian nationhood and
ReplyDeleteculture. Defenders of the Francoists during the Spanish Civil War kept harping on about the Fifth Regiment; apologists for Assad kept bigging up the Islamist extremist element in the opposition during the Syrian conflict. For democrats whether of the right, centre and left refusing to support Ukraine is not a moral option. And Zelenskyy is Jewish who had family members murdered in the Holocaust.
the Azov thing starts to sound like an excuse rather than a reason the more it is used. It and VAR are Caoimhin's pet hates!!!
DeleteMichael Colborne, author of the go to book on it makes the point: Ironically, I think the one person in the world most interested in seeing Azov grow because of the war is Vladimir Putin himself.
I remember reading one of the Azov leaders being interviewed and claiming that Putin was their hero!!
The Bellingcat team, of which he has been a part, have been excellent in mapping the far right through open source journalism. Colborne makes the interesting point that that Azov despite being far right had its critics on the far right because of its opposition to right wing Russia. Perhaps this explains why the far right in the US - among them the evangelical gay-haters and the women's rights-haters line up to back Russia. They see in it some sort of crazy Christian crusade. Much like they did with Trump. Old Donald believing in God as much as I do FFS.