This solo accoustic version is far better than the gaudy string orchestra version (here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSBrbmny9GQ). Indeed, as Joey Ryan says, it's Kenneth Pattengale's masterpiece.
In the first piece the author traces origin and developement of the distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism in Soviet propaganda, primarily in the mid 1960s to the late 1980s. Here she concentrates on the USSR and the relevance of this propaganda in domestic societal control
In the second piece she describes in a tour d'horizon how anti-Zionism between the late 1950s to 1990 provided the USSR with a very effective tool against the West by uniting various anti-Western sentiments and movements. Combining allegations of imperialism, genocide, apartheid, Nazism, it unites Western communists (and the Left in general), African, South-American, and Asian liberation struggles, Arab nationalism, as well as Jihadists.
In both pieces Tabarovsky describes genalogies, e.g., how in 1982 Abbas wrote a Ph.D thesis equating Zionism and Nazism at the prestigious Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow.
Immensely helpful, not just with regard to the origin of late 20th century Western anti-Semitism on the Left (e.g., George Galloway, Ken Livingstone, Jeremy Corbyn) but even more with regard to the anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism in Arab (e.g., Gamal Abdel Nasser, Mahmoud Abbas) and Latin American nations (e.g., Lula Da Silva, Gustavo Petro).
«What’s so interesting about this half-century-old Soviet propaganda is how precisely it mirrors the language emanating from the anti-Israel left since Oct. 7. Today’s left, too, speaks of Israel as a racist, imperialist, and colonialist state; equates it with Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa; disparages Jews for having turned into oppressors; and proclaims Palestinians’ inalienable right to resist their colonial oppression by any means necessary.»
You may stop viewing "the" "world" as a "systemic 'thing'" but thereby not cease to view it as a drama of antagonistic beings, on a stage, interacting, persuing archetypical themes and stories, involving beings seen and unseen... It is perhaps the desire to view "the" "world" as one systemic thing that is the more unhealthy view, esp. when it comes as materialistic holism à la Wiener, Weaver, Mead, Bateson, Prigogine, Lovelock, Meadows, Luhmann, and their followers.
Overview of names to come and names to go—possibly, given Putin's suspiciousness of powerful rivals, his desire to balance people and influences, and the need to bring in a younger generation into office.
«It is hardly surprising that a significant portion of this new generation coming to power consists of the children of current top officials and Putin’s closest friends—or even his own relatives. In this sense, Russia increasingly resembles a feudal state, in which power is inherited at all levels. The children of the bureaucratic aristocracy are all, in one way or another, striving for government careers and positions of influence.
[...]
The ongoing generational shift will, of course, change the face of Russia. The new officials, who were very young when the Soviet Union collapsed, differ from the previous generation in that they lack Soviet psychology and a Soviet background.
On one hand, many members of this next generation of Russian leaders tend to idealize the Soviet Union and dream of restoring imperial power. On the other hand, they are full-fledged capitalists, and most of them clearly do not want another Cold War or international isolation for Russia.
They are the children of a cynical generation, convinced that business can—and should—be done with everyone: China, Iran, Europe, the United States, and even Ukraine.
In many ways, Putin’s personnel policy resembles the dynamics in the final years of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s rule. Castro also tried to cultivate a new generation of Komsomol-style loyalists—and, in some ways, succeeded. The politicians he nurtured, young enough to be his grandchildren, turned out to be even more orthodox and staunchly conservative than the generation of officials who were old enough to be his sons.
But when the decisive moment came, Castro still chose to hand power to his own brother, Raúl.
Putin has no brother, and he trusts no one. That’s why he is focused on grooming a new, younger, and thoroughly indoctrinated generation—one that he is confident will carry on his legacy.»
Yes, the database errors are annoying, thumbnails not loading, etc. Normal conversations with replies to and fro are pretty impossible right now. Admin said the server company had issues and he wanted to look into it. But yes, "teetering to collapse" sounds like the right description. Please keep me posted should you find another GS instance.
Embed this noticesimsa03 (simsa03@gnusocial.jp)'s status on Wednesday, 02-Jul-2025 06:46:09 JST
simsa03When people tell me that one should not degrade and objectify people. True. But you cannot objectify and degrade people who haven't objectified and degraded themselves in the first place. By equating combatants and civilians, e.g., like the Russians do, like Hamas, like Iran does. They already degraded themselves and made themselves a tool of their perverted sense of metaphysical grandeur and spiritual meaning. I cannot objectify and degrade such people as much as they already did to themselves. In fact, they are proud of being capable of that. So, no. I cannot objectify or degrade someone who hasn't already objectified and degraded himself first. Still, and that is equally true, there is the duty of not objectifying others, of not degrading them. But this connection between both acts, that usually slips people's attention. From here stems all the pain: What the enemy succeeded in turning you into.