Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire

 Russia is Descending into Authoritarianism--again

In less than one more month, we are going to commemorate the first anniversary of the Russian war aggression against Ukraine, and much has happened since then. As we currently observe a stalemate in terms of conquests and losses of territory in Eastern Ukraine, even though the Wagner Group claims to have vanquished villages around Bakhmut[1], Ukraine was able to regain territory that was occupied by Russia before the initiation of the war[2]. In the meantime, Putin solemnly signed declarations manifesting the annexation of the occupied territories of Луганск & Донецьк[3]. Even before this annexation, there were valid claims stating that those so-called 'separatists' were actually Russian invaders who conquered the land with the plan to incorporate the two territories into the Russian Federation. Recently, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) underscored those claims by mentioning that those territories had been in the hands of the Russian government since 2014, when the first 'separatists' invaded them[4]. Under normal circumstances, separatists have been citizens of the country they want to separate from, anything different therefrom would constitute a régime change wherein infiltrators function as proxy agitators.

Wort zum Sonntag – 2019, KW 41

Wort zum Sonntag, den 13. Oktober 2019

In Halle in Sachsen-Anhalt ereignete sich in Anschlag, und fast schon möchte man froh sein, dass es noch so sehr die ganze Nation im Atem hält. Das bedeutet, dass sie noch nicht, wie in den USA, zur Tagesordnung gehören, sondern eine Seltenheit darstellen. Problematisch, wenn nicht sogar erschütternd, war hingegen der Kontext der Tat: Ein Mann wollte am Jom Kippur, den höchsten jüdischen Feiertag, in eine Synagoge eindringen, scheiterte daran aber. Daraufhin eröffnete er vor dem jüdischen Gebetshaus das Feuer, tötete insgesamt zwei Menschen, verletzte zwei weitere. Wie üblich nach solchen Fällen war der Furor in den Medien gewaltig, ein jeder haschte nach den neuesten Informationen, verfolgte gebannt Live-Ticker. Doch auch auf einer Metaebene gab es viel zu kritisieren.

Of Journalism and Propaganda

Was Andy Ngo asking for it?

Portland, OR, has become a summertime melting pot for Antifa activists and self-proclaimed Proud Boys–each year, it seems, both groups gather together in this town to clash like warriors on a field to show how they were ready to fight for their ideals, respectively a strong Old Glory maintaining freedom and traditional values, and a diverse society where everyone was free to live as he or she wished to do so. But this time, something was different--a journalist, the «Quilette» editor Andy Ngo, ended up in the Antifa's gauntlet, being thrown with milkshakes and punchhes. This day ended in the emergency room for him, sadly. Some people on the internet applauded unto this vicious action, called it rightful, regarding his employment with the Conservative outlet, others were shocked by the behaviour on Antifa's behalf, obviously threatening press freedom with physical violence. And there's good reason to be shocked, despite a left-winged majority contradicting this normally self-explaining point of view.