Retired Navy SEAL commander Jocko Willink and psychology professor Jordan Peterson discuss the works of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag and the nature of evil. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. 

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Vladimir Putin's full Year-End Press conference.
December 20,2018

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​On the foggy cliffs of the Sonoma Coast on Saturday, Gov. Jerry Brown was glad to stand on dirt with a high-powered delegation of Russian officials to commemorate the restoration of a historic cemetery at Fort Ross.

While tensions between the two countries are taut after U.S. officials have accused Russia of interfering in elections and launching a global hacking campaign, the governor of California and the Russian ambassador to the United States joined church leaders, Alaska Natives, Kashia Pomo Indians and preservationists to celebrate a project of mutual interest.

“This site at Fort Ross is a good time to remember that Russia and America, together, won World War II. And we didn’t like the guy who was in charge of Russia then, but we worked with him and we defeated the Nazis,” Brown said to the crowd. “So let’s learn from the horrors of the past to create the beauty of the future.”

The cemetery restoration included a new 14-foot-tall, eight-point Russian cross structure made from redwood trees, new boulders inscribed with a description of the cemetery in multiple languages, interpretive panels, a bench and maintenance of a wooded half-mile trail between the cemetery and Fort Ross, a former Russian settlement. It’s a project that brought together a diverse range of groups with a shared history, and for many who attended the ceremony, a hope for a shared future of peace.

Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov acknowledged the area’s history — the first Russian Orthodox church in the U.S. was built at Fort Ross — and the strained relationship between his country and the United States.

“Preserving the memory of our common past has played an important role in strengthening trust and mutual understanding between Russia and the United States. We hope that this work will be continued, regardless of the current political turbulence,” Antonov said.

Antonov also mentioned he spoke with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis about the initiative to restore the cemetery, and Mattis sent him a letter of support.

“I hope that General Mattis will not be fired tomorrow,” Antonov joked to the chuckling crowd, which included Vassily Nebenzia, Russian representative to the United Nations.

The project to restore the cemetery began in February and recently finished, according to Leslie Hartzell, chief of the cultural resources division at the state parks department.

“There are so many people who share a history to this place and their cultural traditions are still anchored to Fort Ross, and it’s very important to be a place where people can continue to come and celebrate their cultural history and carry on their cultural traditions,” said Hartzell, who facilitated cultural dialogue between the groups and got their input for appropriate improvements in the interpretive area.

About 130 people were buried from 1812 to 1840 at the Ross settlement, which included Russians, the Kashia Pomo, Miwok, Spaniards and Mexicans. The majority buried are women and children, and the different groups intermarried.

Sabrena Rosenberg, Unangax for Unalaska and Fort Ross Conservation Center board member, is from Sonoma County and has Native Alaskan ancestry, including a relative buried in the cemetery.
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“So it’s very sacred land to me and it matters very much,” said Rosenberg, who spoke at the ceremony Saturday about her appreciation for the renovation efforts.

​Brown spoke about learning from the past. The Kashia Pomos lived in the area for more than 12,000 years. He recalled the first governor of California wanted to “exterminate” Native Americans, a dark time in the state’s history.

“In California, we believe in diversity. We believe in hospitality, and we believe in respecting our ancestors and those who got us here and we want to build on that diverse spirit for even a better future. A future of inclusion and diversity and creativity, that’s what it’s all about. And it all starts with standing on this dirt and making it all work for us,” Brown said.

Dino Franklin Jr., tribal chairmen of the Kashia Pomo Band of Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria, said the Russian cross at the cemetery was known to his tribe’s dreamers long before, and they saw it as an important symbol.

“I’m grateful that we, the Kashia people, have dreamed about this symbol and the power it has even before contact. It’s a symbol of hope, peace and love,” Franklin said.

Fr. Alexander Krassovsky of Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church in Santa Rosa took part in the religious blessing of the new cross. As a Russian American raised in the Bay Area, the cemetery has special meaning to him.

“I think that Fort Ross, altogether, is an example of what Mahatma Gandhi once said, that it is possible to live in peace,” Krassovsky said. “We’ve come to this point today where it is very, very possible that we all have a great deal in common, maybe more than some of our politicians like to think.”

You can reach Staff Writer Susan Minichiello at 707-521-5216
or susan.minichiello@pressdemocrat.com.
​On Twitter @susanmini.

Source: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8833090-181/restored-cemetery-at-fort-ross


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Imagine for a moment that there was a freak cyclone that came in to your nearest city, and caused enormous wind and rain damage to property. That would be newsworthy, yes? If it wasn’t reported, despite all the wreckage and disruption, then you would be curious as to why it was not being mentioned, correct?

Now consider what would happen if some A-list celebrity entertainers — let’s pick Jay-Z and Beyoncé as archetypes of the genre — held an impromptu concert on a popular beach. Hundreds of people would be present, all uploading their pictures and videos to Instagram and YouTube. That would be in the news, don’t you think? And its omission from the tabloids and TV talk shows would say something rather interesting, wouldn’t you agree?

What if, for a moment, a high-profile public figure — the First Lady of the US — wore some fashion clothing with a provocative message. After all, everything has a meaning, whether intentional or not. Her choice could be seen as highly significant, I would consider. Should it be in the news? I would expect so! And would an omertà on FLOTUS overcoats strike you as odd? I do hope so!

These kinds of natural, cultural and political events are deemed worthy of column inches and TV schedule time. So wouldn’t you find it just a little bit off-kilter if matters of far, far greater significance were being ignored by the corporate media?

The United States — the world’s only military and economic superpower — has been in a formal state of emergency since 21st December 2017. The stated reasons for the invocation of these formidable executive powers are human rights abuses and corruption. You can check it for yourself — along with the huge asset seizure list on the DOJ website.
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I just want to pick on an aspect of this situation, one that is conspicuous by its complete absence from the mainstream news narrative: there is an absolute blackout. Sealed filings (presumed to be indictments — each potentially naming tens of people) have been piling up in America’s Federal courts since last autumn. The rate of filing is around 50x (and more!) what it was previously: 5000-6000 a month, whereas there are usually just over 1000 each year. So we’re approaching two orders of magnitude increase in throughput.

​Reasonable people might vehemently disagree on how to interpret this data — as being sinister or reassuring — but its veracity is not in dispute (to the best of my knowledge). Any lawyer with a PACER account can go and check the numbers, as it is semi-public information.

So given that: (A) there is a formal state of emergency with powers to match, and (B) convictions for human trafficking and child pornography have already rocketed ten-fold, plus (C) a hundred-fold increase in indictments is filling the judicial pipeline… is it not reasonable to conclude that (D) there is a prospect of mass arrests ahead in 2018, as the corruption clean-up hits full-on?

The silence of the news media on this subject is absolutely deafening.

We culturally treat the “official” corporate media as having a monopoly on truth: it defines what is acceptable to say in polite company, and what is too outrageous. If it’s on the CNN or BBC websites, then Wikipedia thinks that’s good enough as a proxy for factual accuracy and citation legitimacy. It is also respectable to repeat what the TV news says, no matter how mendacious. The opinions of the media class are treated (by themselves) as being those of all people of good conscience. The impression is given that they are also views held by the majority — even when those views are manifestly rejected in plebiscites.

The problem is that the interests of corporate media by necessity represent those of its investors (and spookier stakeholders) — not ordinary citizens, nor even the most valiant journalist. Telling people extremely difficult truths about the nature of the society we live in doesn’t help sell advertising inventory. Our society’s hidden horrors — like slavery, paedophilia, and blackmail — are mostly kept out of sight and out of mind, replaced by fear porn and empty gossip.

It strikes me that we are in an extremely dangerous situation. There is only one possible conclusion that I can come to that explains this blackout, given the facts: the mass media itself is a key target of the corruption purge to come. They are collectively compromised, and have been for decades. It’s a bit hard to write about VoIP or SD-WAN as being defining trends in the communications industry, given what is happening in the socio-political!

Whilst this media industry fall from grace is bad enough, it is not the thing that is most concerning to me. There is also a scary silence of the masses, who so far refuse to pay attention to even a national state of emergency. Their reality is completely defined by the nightly news anchor regurgitating the day’s official talking points. Since the media fails to highlight these important national events, making them figural in the audience member’s mind, they simply disappear into a memory hole and cease to officially exist!

Whirlwinds, lip-sync and fashionista jackets may fill the screen, but they aren’t what is important right now. Every responsible citizen should be insisting on a truly free press, one that offers the public the full story. Yet relatively few people are demanding media accountability for this particular manifest and massive lapse. Ask yourself: Was I aware of this? Is it true? Does it really matter? How do I feel about it? What should I do?
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The media wolves have been guarding the public sheep, whilst telling them they are harmless sheep dogs. Meanwhile, the legislative shepherd — whose dedication to ovine longevity is dubious at best — appears to be overly interested in lamb recipes. We’ve all been fleeced, and there’s a storm approaching. Time to bleat loudly for attention, and hope for rapid rescue by some judicial animal lovers.
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President Trump's warm words for Vladimir Putin and his failure to endorse U.S. intelligence community claims about alleged Russian meddling have been called "treasonous" and the cause of a "national security crisis." There is a crisis, says Prof. Stephen F. Cohen, but one of our own making. Visit https://therealnews.com 

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Vladimir Putin's Holds Direct Line Q&A Session

​"Yes, every country has its own interests, but they should not be advanced via egotistical political methods," Putin said, adding that many of Russia’s partners are beginning to realize this.

"We need to sit at the negotiating table and not just contemplate but actually develop contemporary, up-to-date mechanisms of international and European security," he said.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/russia/201806071065184890-putin-direct-line-hightlights

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