Media Wars around Crimea: Russia NOT Impressed by Liars’ Empty Threats

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If one were to believe the Western media, one could get the impression that the Third World war already began. Phrases like, “the annexation of Crimea”, “occupation”, and even “theft of another country’s lands” (the expression used by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung) quickly spread all over. However, here’s the problem… it appears that serious people in the West, business representatives specifically, don’t believe their own media. Otherwise, what could explain such a strange thing as the appreciation of the Rouble by 31 kopeks against the Euro… right after the West announced all sorts of sanctions upon Russia?

At one point, Lev Tolstoy, the Russian classic author, said the following about bad writers, “He tries to scare me, but I’m not scared”. The same is true here… one can hardly believe the threats of Western leaders as these threats come from liars. How else can one call those EU ministers who “guaranteed” the political agreement between Ukrainian President Yanukovich and the rebellious Euromaidan oppositionists signed on 21 February? Prior to that, they’d talked about “peaceful protest”, despite the fact that any glance at a TV screen, even in the West, with Molotov cocktails flying at the cops, couldn’t be associated with peace. Let’s recall the Bible… he that once deceives is ever a suspect.

The conclusion one has to draw from all this is, as Stanislavsky used to say, “I don’t believe it!” President Putin’s handling of the Crimea’s reunion with Russia, a risky and unexpected operation, served as such a conclusion. For the first time, the “Russian World” refused to take what the West said at face value, it refused to sacrifice its citizens for the sake of preserving partnership relations with the West, which had significantly lost their value, anyway. The result came out surprisingly well. Many observers were pleasantly surprised by the speech of the US Secretary of State John Kerry, when, for the first time in 15 years, the world heard such words from an American diplomat as “international law”, “multilateral approach”, and even “Russia’s lawful interests”.

It took the first change of post-war borders in Europe not sanctioned by Washington and the EU for the head US diplomat to start talking as a law-abiding citizen. However, it was too late. According to Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Politics, the West missed its chance, as it never fully believed that, unlike itself, Russia could say the truth. “Until the last days, they thought that Russia was bluffing. They wanted to show that they were firm and were ready to impose a number of sanctions. Then, Lavrov and Kerry would meet and find some diplomatic solution. Suddenly, it became clear… apparently, Russia means exactly what it says. The Crimea isn’t negotiable. The rest of the Ukraine is still unclear, but in the Crimea, the question’s solved”.

Now, the West screams about Russia violating commitments in the Budapest Treaties of 1994, which guaranteed the inviolability of the Ukraine’s territory in exchange for its agreement to renounce nuclear arms. That decision was a bailout solution for the entire world… the neo-Nazi Svoboda bloc, which currently controls half of the Ukrainian government, sees the nuclear rearmament of the Ukraine as part of its programme. God only knows what Tyagnibok, the Svoboda Führer, as well as his followers, would be capable of if they had a nuclear club instead of a baseball bat in their hands. Now, the West holds that agreement against Russia. However, as Lukyanov pointed up, quite recently, the West completely refused to remember that agreement. “To go back to the Budapest memorandum… nobody remembered it. A few years ago, the Ukraine planned to join NATO, but Russia reminded it of that agreement… “Why do you need NATO when you have such guarantees?” The answer from the Ukrainians was, “It isn’t serious, whilst NATO is!” Lies give birth to mistrust. For a quarter of a century, beginning with the late Gorbachyov era, Russia tried to build its relations with the West based on trust. In response, it got only lies, lies, and more lies. Finally, we got fed up with that. We began to act the way that the Americans got used to acting over the past 15 years, only with fewer losses, and in accordance with the will of the people (96 percent of Iraqi citizens didn’t invite the Americans to come into their country).

20 March 2014

Dmitri Babich

Voice of Russia World Service

http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_03_20/Russia-not-impressed-by-liars-empty-threats-1813/

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29 March 2014. A Point to Ponder in This Time of Crisis

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Blessed Matrona Dmitrievna Nikonova needs no introduction from me. This is a read n’ heed…

BMD

29 March 2014. The Passing of Metropolitan Philip Saliba… the Coming of Metropolitan Joseph al-Zehlaoui… Is this the End of Angliochianism?

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Here’s a report from the Cabinet:

There wasn’t much English at Metropolitan Philip’s funeral. The Arabs are taking the Church back. I also didn’t see Freddie M-G… hardly any of the white bread Angliochian converts were in evidence. It’s all going to unravel now that Metropolitan Philip is dead. Watch the Bishops all become Metropolitans and watch the converts lose their power.

It’s too soon to make statements, but it’s been clear for some time that Archbishop Joseph al-Zehlaoui was the anointed heir to Saliba (being godson of the previous Antiochian Patriarch, Ignatius Hazim, sure didn’t hurt him). Does this mean that the Toledo crowd will elbow out the konvertsy? You know who I’m talking about, the pro-Russian crowd around the late bishop Michael Shaheen (don’t diss Vladyki Michael’s memory in Toledo… it’s not healthy). When one sees how AOCANA poured cold water all over the so-called “Episcopal Assembly”, it’s a possibility.

Look for changes. Look for blood on the floor. Oh, yes, “Metropolitan” in the Middle East means a ruling bishop, so, if the AOCANA bishops take on that title, they’d be in sync with their Mother Church (“Archbishop” is what they call what we call a “Metropolitan”… go figure, that’s Orthodoxy for ya… if ya want consistency, go to the Westerns).

Pass the jug and the popcorn… the real show hasn’t begun yet…

BMD

“It’s Symbolic that this Historic Event coincided with the Return of the Crimea to Russia”: Orthodox Church of Poland SHITCANS Catholic Calendar

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On 18 March, the website Drevo reported that the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in Poland, after 90 years, returned to the sacred traditional Orthodox Julian calendar. Given the fact that most of the parishes of the Polish Church (96 percent) celebrate Christmas on the traditional calendar, and at the believers’ request, the Holy Synod invalidated its decision of 12 April 1924 introducing the Catholic calendar for fixed feasts, deciding to return to the Julian calendar starting from 15 June 2014 (Week of All Saints). Parishes can use the Catholic calendar only in cases of strict necessary. This is the first case where a canonical Local Orthodox Church officially revoked the Catholic calendar, returning formally to the Julian calendar.  The editors of Holy Fire commented on this event, “In view of this positive precedent, it’d be most reasonable and beneficial for universal Orthodoxy at the upcoming 2016 all-Orthodox Sobor if the Moscow Patriarchate, as the largest Local Church, would call all those Orthodox following the Catholic calendar to return to the Julian calendar, so that we have no division in prayer”.

Commentary from Deacon Vladimir Vasilik (Kandidat of Philological Science, instructor at the Faculty of History St Petersburg State University (SPBGU)):

It’s symbolic that this historic event coincided with the return of the Crimea to Russia. I experienced it, as I was present as this event entered history at the meeting at the Great Kremlin Palace. I can say that this event had great grace behind it. It was the feastday of St Luka Voino-Yasenetsky the Confessor. I’d say that St Luka prays not only for Russia, but also for the entire Orthodox world. His prayers came true… that’s a wonderful event for our Polish brothers in Christ, which is welcome. With this step, the Polish Church showed its spiritual character, despite all the difficulties of being in a heterodox country; it witnessed its loyalty to Orthodoxy and to the sacred Julian calendar. The Polish Church witnessed its deep connection with Russia, with Russian Orthodoxy, especially, as many of its believers consider themselves a part of the Russian world. It helps to restore all-Slavic unity, as Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Serbs all use the traditional calendar. The Church of Bulgaria has the same intention. This is a sign of all-Slavic accord.

Of course, at any future all-Orthodox Sobor, the MP should invite all other churches to go back to the traditional calendar, in order for us to have unity in all things, including unanimity about our feastdays. That liquidation of our unity was a sad legacy of the questionable Patriarch Meletios Metaxakis, who hobnobbed with Renovationists, promoted Masonic projects, engaged in poaching on the canonical territory of the MP, and tore away the Polish and Finnish Churches. He left the Catholic calendar as a legacy; it’s become a cause of disagreement. I hope that we can eliminate this sad legacy eventually.

28 March 2014

Russkaya Narodnaya Liniya

http://ruskline.ru/news_rl/2014/03/28/simvolichno_chto_eto_istoricheskoe_sobytie_sovpalo_s_prisoedineniem_kryma_k_rossii/

Editor:

There’s NOTHING on this on oca.org… one wonders why. I wonder what the loquacious Michał Kalina thinks about this! His ship sinks, and no one mourns it. THIS could torpedo the whole “all-Orthodox Sobor”… and the Centre knows it! It could lead to TWO “all-Orthodox Sobors”… one at the Phanar, one at Novy Ierusalime, after the common meeting dissolves in acrimonious disagreement. The Phanar won’t budge on the Catholic calendar, not with a papist-trained and Western-subservient First Hierarch. The Centre won’t budge on the traditional calendar, not with this event in hand. Yes… there’d be TWO Sobors… there’s a chance of a rupture in communion as well (I’m not wishing for such… I’m reporting what I’m seeing).

What does this portend for the OCA, seeing that it’s an effectual dependent metropolia of the MP? We’ll have to see, but my thought is that the body would split… with some going to the EP to preserve the Catholic calendar, and others cleaving to Moscow and traditional Orthodoxy. It does bid fair to be INTERESTING.

BMD