27 August 2017. Here is the REAL God of the Evangelicals (and the Orthodox Konvertsy Who Ape Them)

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There are two ways of looking at contemporary Christianity. One is the Evangelical POV… a love of warmongering, support of the death penalty, applauding the oligarchs and the abusive “Free Market” they employ, and a drooling support for Libertarianism and its “Might makes Right” anarchism (which they call “Pro-Life… I kid you not!). The other is REAL Orthodoxy… opposition to aggressive war, opposition to the death penalty, advocating a fair deal for workers and an economic system that doesn’t enslave them, and a robust support for communitarianism.

You may follow the Evangelicals (and their rabid Orthodox running dogs such as Dreher, Whiteford, Trenham, and Potapov) or you may follow the REAL Orthodox (led by HH, of course). I choose the latter and I’m not alone. As Comrade Zyuganov said, “Christ was the first communist”, and he was right. We have a fight ahead of us. I’ll confide that I’m not alone in preferring the Left Option…

BMD

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Donald Trump’s America is Starting to Look Like Boris Yeltsin’s Russia

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While many attempt to debate who or what is in charge of the USA, the truth is that no single individual or even a single entity is in charge of the USA anymore. This was true under Barack Obama, but Obama’s middle-management style of governing helped to hide this fact. Donald Trump is a single-minded, straight-talking, and deeply-opinionated man… by contrast, he’s thrown a great deal of light onto the reality of just who governs the USA. The truth is that in 2017, the textbook balance of power between the President, Congress, and the judiciary no longer applies.

The reality is more of a combination of business oligarchs, foreign money, foreign lobbying groups tied to Israeli geopolitical interests in some cases and Gulf gold in others. Then, there’s the deep state including the intelligence agencies, the military-industrial complex, and its financial partners. Then, there are random corrupt and criminal mafioso interests in the Beltway and a renegade mainstream media that ought to be classed as a super-rich NGO. While this might sound unfamiliar to the “Schoolhouse Rock” generation where everything in America was functional, the story will be very familiar to those who can remember the horrors of Russia between 1991 and 1999.

During the dark Yeltsin years, Russia had no real leadership. Instead, it had competing factions of local, national, and supranational oligarchs and economic pirates, a governing class made up of both ageing traitors and young ambitious greedy individuals. Often, organised crime held more sway amongst the alleged governing classes than ordinary people did and foreign influence (including and especially from the USA) helped to sway the political process away from anything that could be remotely called democratic. It’s little wonder that at this time, Russia’s economic strength, military strength, international prestige, and living standards all plummeted.

While America isn’t yet in economic doldrums that one can compare to 1990s Russia, other similarities are already present. Nikki Haley, America’s Ambassador to the UN, increasingly looks like Boris Berezovsky, if he decided to dress up as a cocktail waitress. Like Berezovsky, Haley is conducting a kind of unilateral foreign policy interdependent of the official dictates of the State Department, which in theory she is answerable to. While she threatens what amounts to military attacks on Russian and Iranian interests, no one can find the actual Secretary of State. She’s clearly aiming to position herself as some new leader, perhaps a new President of the US. Will her hubris get the better of her as it did with Berezovsky? Only time will tell.

Within the White House, domestic policies seem to be a tug-of-war between Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner. This reminds one a great deal of the war of policy war and ideological power struggle between Gaidar and Yavlinsky. All the while, Paul Ryan is becoming something like Chubais, trying to cling onto his neocon Republican values in spite of a public that has clearly rejected them. Ryan may become a major thorn in the side of the Trump agenda, just as the public hatred of Chubais ended up tarring what little dignity left in the Yeltsin Presidency. With some statements coming out of the USA seemingly prepared for war against Syria and others, including from Defence Secretary Mattis saying the opposite, it’s clear that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.

Making things worse, while Russia in the 1990s did have a stalwart opposition movement led on the left by  Zyuganov and on the right by Zhirinovsky, it’s difficult to see if Tulsi Gabbard and Rand Paul will be able to weather the storm and remain prominent leaders of the real US opposition as Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky did. Indeed, Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky are among the only major political figures of the 1990s who are both still successful politicians. The internal chaos in the USA, matched by increasing social divisions, falling living standards, and an out-of-control media is a lot like the situation in 1990s Russia. The next time people hold a mirror up to Trump, they shouldn’t see Putin. In time, they might see Yeltsin, a man who came to power on a sea of vodka-soaked promises, all of which were broken and broken “big league”. Trump can still save his administration if he holds fast to his principles and is willing to fight for them with both strength and tact. While Yeltsin never meant well, I personally feel that Trump does mean well. However, if the oligarchic swamp of Washington DC consumes him, Trump may end up having a similarly failed legacy as Russia’s giant failure, Yeltsin.

28 June 2017

Adam Garrie

The Duran

http://theduran.com/donald-trumps-america-is-starting-to-look-like-boris-yeltsins-russia/

G A Zyuganov: The Bright Resurrection is a Celebration of Unity in Hope; It Calls Attention to Eternal Ideals and the Meaning of Life

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Dear brothers and sisters, comrades and friends!

Easter Sunday is a day of triumph of life over corruption; it’s a festival of hope, unity, and spirituality. In our hearts, we have faith in the triumph of the forces of good over evil and light over darkness. We have love for our families, friends, co-workers, and neighbours, and we have hope for a better future for them. On this beloved national holiday, we again think of Russia in the context of the future for every family, of the world’s history, and of Holy Tradition.

A century ago, we preached equality and justice in Russia, striving for the highest ideals, creating a like-minded fraternity dedicated to sacrificial service to high ideals. It bore fruit, which allowed our country to become a world superpower, it allowed working people to live in a more just society, ruled by the equality, conscience, honour, and dignity of those whose sweat and blood created all the Earth’s wealth. However, there were those like Pilate and Judas and those who retreated when the rooster crew. We had our own “Holy Week” and frigid February; we had Pharisees, hypocrites, and frauds. No matter how hard crafty and nimble scribes pervert and defame what happened a century ago in Russia, history itself suggests that the Great October Socialist Revolution was the people’s choice; it soared through the thorns to the stars. It carried out the greatest transformation of society in the world, crushing injustice and exploitation, bringing in a society of equality and dignity. The Great October Revolution gave the world an example of what happens when the people make history. It was a triumph, an all-Russian celebration, a worldwide aspiration and regeneration of mankind. Today, some complain that the Leninist “struggle of the oppressed class to create heaven on earth” didn’t succeed. However, in the words of Nikolai Berdyaev, the state we eventually created not only existed “to create a paradise on earth but to keep society from becoming a living hell”.

Seven decades of the life of the new society proved the correctness of the choice made in October 1917. Our revived state created a high science, advanced industry, humane art, and gave equal access to everyone to health and education. It enabled every citizen to develop their talents and vocation, wherever they lived, uniting all the peoples into a single family, honouring tradition, venerating elders, respecting motherhood, and caring for children. The working-class became the bulwark of society, and honest and inspired labour became its pride and honour. As St John Chrysostom once said:

Hard work isn’t punishment or torture; it’s a salutary correction against injuries from sin.

Soon, we’ll celebrate the anniversary of the Great Victory of our people over the forces of evil in the world. We’ll return to the streets and squares with portraits of our unforgettable fathers and grandfathers, who, trampling down death by death, put their lives on the altar of victory, enabling our future. They live forever, forever young, next to us, and we, along with the heroes of Aleksandr Tvardovsky, let us remember them all as if in prayer:

Remember us, in retreat,

Fighting, by hour and by year,

Fallen, the Missing,

With whom we saw at least once,

Earlier Mourners, we meet again,

Those who we gave a drink of water,

Pray for us.

In that memorable epoch, the Workers and Peasants Red Army was the mightiest force from the taiga to the British seas. Thanks to Russian spirit and Soviet patriotism, our country not only survived, it won over an unprecedented attack of the forces of evil, from fascism, bringing liberation to the peoples of Europe, and by their example and support helped to break the chains of colonialism and the ruthless exploitation of the peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The fact that the UN had 50 member-states at its establishment and now there are almost 200 is evidence that the victory won in 1945 strengthened the authority of the Soviet state and contributed to the liberation of peoples and the establishment of independent sovereign states.

Then, there came temptation, betrayal, the “thirty pieces of silver”, unbridled aggression against our historical memory, wild Russophobia, and anti-Sovietism. Home-grown Maidans sprang up amidst unbridled dancing on the remains of the Union. Cold-blooded shifters came to power, “putrefied men”, as early Christians called those sorts, people who talked, but did nothing, and “base rulers… who did bad things in the name of good… who deceived people, to bind them to evil”. They used sly substitution, permissiveness became “freedom”, disorder became “legality”, and mob rule became “democracy”. Honour and conscience became anachronisms; patriotism became a dirty word. Democracy morphed to into plutocracy; their ideal of life was profit and enrichment at any cost, they worshipped the “golden calf”, “in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not” (Second Epistle of Apostle St Paul to the Corinthians 4.4), drying up all-too-many hearts and souls.

Nevertheless, there comes a sobering-up. Moreover, the battle continues for the eternal ideals of goodness and justice. The voices of those who aren’t willing to put up with unbridled injustice, unrighteousness, and a law only for the élite grow louder. More and more people realise that the way out of the crisis is to return our country to the path of building a just and equitable society and carry out constructive policies in favour of the working majority. We believe that the triune life-giving formula for the revival of power proposed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill… Holy Rus, Great Russian statehood, and Soviet justice… is correct! That’s what can unite and gather us in the name of unity, in the hope of a happy future.

We consider it extremely important to convey the ideas of friendship, fraternity, and high culture in the unique Soviet experience to the broadest number of people, especially our youth, to revive the “red gene”, to combine the best traditions of Russian statehood and Soviet patriotism. We’re confident that, as in October 1917, a resurrection of hope and deeds in the name of the people will come, in the name of honour and justice, for peace, true democracy, and a harmonious world order, with the dignity of our citizens coming with the revival. This is the essence of our time. We believe in it. Moreover, our cause is just and fair. Therefore, the victory will be for all of us. The poet Aleksei Khomyakov outlined our global vocation:

Your light gave it Destiny:

A store for world heritage

High sacrifice and pure affairs;

Preserving for us Holy Brotherhood,

A life-giving vessel of Love

And the flaming treasure of Faith

And the truth, in the even-handed court.

Holy brotherhood and pure affairs, ardent faith and truth, justice and equality, solidarity and humanity… these great values and high goals traditionally lie at the basis of both the Christian faith and the Communist ideal. In the name of them, we must combine all our efforts and thoughts. Yes, decent elements that believe in the timeless ideals of justice, equality, and dignity must fulfil our hopes for a just world order, brotherhood and peace for all peoples, and true democracy! Greetings on this Easter Sunday to the clergy and believers of the Russian Orthodox Church and all Orthodox Christians! I wish you peace, joy, and new achievements on the path of the revival of our Motherland.

15 April 2017

G A Zyuganov

Head of the KPRF faction in the RF Gosduma

Chairman of the TsK KPRF

KPRF.ru

KPRF official website

https://kprf.ru/party-live/cknews/164285.html

Nativity Greetings from Comrade Zyuganov: Christmas… A Holiday of Hope and Expectation

On the bright evening of the Nativity of Christ,

From the depths of my soul,

I want to wish you happiness and health,

And to greet each day with a smile.

Happiness, Love, and Health to you…

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These illustrations were part of the original post. You may believe this or you can take credence in the lies that issue forth from the usual cast of rightwing suspects… it’s your call… choose wisely

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People hunger for social justice, the nations crave equality, and our Earth wants our solidarity and unity in the causes of conserving nature and of  achieving peace in the world

Dear comrades and friends, dear compatriots!

For the past week, we’ve lived in the New Year; now, it’s time for the first state and folk holiday in our new year… the Nativity of Christ. The light and sincere joy of Christmas illuminates the whole coming year. This is an encouraging and life-affirming holiday. Christmas is a time of hope and expectation. After all, the events that occurred more than 2,000 years ago in the Bethlehem manger brought in a new era of civilisation. Christmas is a holiday of unity for mankind, families, generations, and peoples, indeed, unity with all living things, a unity that we have to cherish and keep for the future.

Such is the nature of the Russian people that they think not only about peace and prosperity for their families, but also for the other people in the world. We rejoice in the fact that Christmas flashed a light of hope in the world to an ancient land, for Syria is truly the cradle of Christian civilisation. The light of the guiding star led the sages and magi; it foreshadowed the birth of a new world. The apostles and saints preached there; Apostle St Paul showed by his preaching and deeds that labour and the merciful Word are the foundations of right living. We are proud of the fact that Russian strength and diplomacy freed this ancient land from diabolical encroachment. However, that’s Russia’s historical destiny… to come unto our suffering brethren, those who need help and support. The main features of our soul are compassion and sacrifice, even though many of those that we saved and bestowed benefits upon didn’t always faithfully preserve the memory of it.

In 2017 we’ll celebrate the centenary of an event that marked a new era in the struggle for social justice and labour, the world-renowned Great October Socialist Revolution. Since ancient times, people craved justice and the peoples craved friendship and equality. After all, the fields, rivers, mountains, and natural resources, the vast expanses of land and sea, belonged to a narrow circle of people, those who through cunning and treachery appropriated the common domain. It shouldn’t be so that some nations put themselves above the others and deal unjustly with those who are weaker. As F M Dostoevsky put it:

The highest and the most characteristic feature of our nation is a sense of justice and a desire for it.

A century ago, people gathered under the banner of hope, wanting happiness, well-being, and equality of all peoples of the earth as their highest values. A new era in the history of mankind changed the face of the world. The struggle of the working people of the world for their rights, inspired by the victory of October, bore fruit in many countries.  The colonial world collapsed and people won their freedom and independence; working people in the West and the East, receiving support from the USSR, won many social gains. Under the banner of the Great October, our country won over the world forces of evil… fascism. It achieved unprecedented breakthroughs in science, technology, and space exploration; it built a society based on humanity, where the people were friends, comrades, and brothers. However, victory is never final. We must seek it again and again. Betrayal, treachery, cowardice, greed, blind credulity, hypocrisy, and cowardice are ever-present. As Apostle St Paul said, “By both word and deed”, we must struggle for lofty ideals constantly, every day and every hour.

People of goodwill and pure thought yearn for peace throughout the world. The socialist state, for which we struggle, has the duty to ensure the fundamental rights enshrined for the first time in October 1917 for all peoples. Working people have a right to creative work that brings joy and inspiration. Parents have a right to universal and free education for their children. Everyone everywhere has a right to affordable health care… no one should have to rely on “philanthropists” to provide life and health for both the young and those beat down by the hard path of life.

Yes, a quarter of a century ago, our country guaranteed these rights, and the older generation remembers it. They could tell younger people about Soviet childhood, youth, and formation, about the achievements that brought forth the revolution that took place a century ago, when our people embarked on building a great future. We firmly believe in the ideals of peace and labour, liberty and justice, and equality and fraternity. These ideals are eternal, and therefore indestructible. We believe that mankind will rise, and the polyphony of a genuine ode to joy will sound over the entire planet.

On this festive day, I wish good health and optimism to everyone, fulfilment of your good wishes and aspirations, harmony and well-being to every family, and a happy childhood and joyful youth to our young people. I work for and have confidence in the future of all people, peace and prosperity for all peoples in the world, dedicated to the eternal ideals of goodness and justice.

To the holiday! To the Nativity of Christ!

6 January 2017

G A Zyuganov

Head of the KPRF faction in the RF Gosduma

Chairman of the TsK KPRF

KPRF.ru

KPRF official website

https://kprf.ru/rusk/161364.html