War crimes tribunals coming soon

In yesterday’s weblog I forgot to mention that Iran and Argentina have also applied to join the BRICS group.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-applies-join-brics-group-emerging-countries-2022-06-27/

DUBAI/LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - Iran, which holds the world's second largest gas reserves, has applied to join the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that Beijing and Moscow cast as a powerful emerging market alternative to the West…

The term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001 to describe the startling rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The BRIC powers had their first summit in 2009 in Russia. South Africa joined in 2010.

Iranian membership in BRICS "would result in added values for both sides", Tehran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Russia said Argentina had also applied to join.

BRIICSAUTASE sounds a bit like an enzyme and is getting a bit out of hand, so I suspect that they will have to come up with a better name soon.

Meanwhile, Europe and America continue to push AOC’s “New Green Deal,” in a foolish attempt to eliminate oil and gas usage. Let’s see if they can come up with an alternative before they completely destroy their economies. AOC makes Biden look like a scholar.

War Crimes Tribunals

With Ukraine’s constant shelling of civilians in Donetsk City, along with many other atrocities, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Uzbekistan is discussing an International War Crimes Tribunal to hold them accountable.

https://bioclandestine.substack.com/p/russian-mil-discuss-us-crimes-against

The US government itself is implicated in hundreds of cases over recent years, with its policy of overthrowing foreign governments (“regime change”), so the US State Department is fighting back with its own propaganda.

https://www.state.gov/the-kremlins-illegitimate-tribunals-in-mariupol/

By planning to hold so-called “tribunals” in Russia-controlled Mariupol against Ukraine’s brave defenders, the Kremlin is attempting to deflect responsibility for President Putin’s war of aggression and distract from overwhelming evidence of the atrocities Russian forces have committed in Ukraine.

The planned show trials are illegitimate and a mockery of justice, and we strongly condemn them. All members of Ukraine’s armed forces, including domestic and foreign volunteers incorporated into the armed forces, are entitled to prisoner of war status if they are captured and must be afforded the treatment and protections commensurate with that status, according to the Geneva Conventions.

We call on Moscow to comply with its obligations under international law. The United States will continue to firmly stand with the Ukrainian people as they defend their freedom.

This reads like an op-ed in the New York Times. It all depends on your point of view, of course. In 2014 the US-led coup in Kiev led to the new government’s attempt to ban the Russian language and even their culture in eastern Ukraine. The Russian-speaking population saw that their own government was fighting them, so they broke away and declared their independence. The Ukrainian army laid siege to these breakaway republics for 8 years before Russia finally intervened to help them secure their independence.

As with all independence movements, there are two sides to the conflict. The American Revolution in 1776, for instance, claimed the right to independence on account of the oppression of King George III. Later, in the Civil War (1861-1865), the southern states claimed the right to independence as well, based on their own grievances.

In both cases, the ruling government disagreed with the independence movement.

Who is to say is on the right side of the issue? Are the Ukrainians defending themselves against Russia? Or are the people of Luhansk and Donetsk defending themselves against Ukraine?

The West is backing Ukraine; the East is backing the breakaway republics. Is this “Putin’s war of aggression?” Or is this Ukraine’s oppression? Opinions are generally shaped by whatever news sources you listen to. Western media believes everything that Kiev puts out, even if wildly inaccurate. I have found that Russian sources are far more constrained and significantly more reliable, though they too indulge in wartime propaganda.

The victors in any war are the ones who write the history books and conduct the war crimes tribunals at the end of the war. In this case, Russia has been steadily taking back more and more territory of Luhansk and Donetsk which the Ukrainians have occupied for 8 years in their siege of those regions. By starting to set up tribunals, the Russians show that they believe they are winning the war.

Perhaps the biggest issue involves the entrenched Ukrainian troops just outside of Donetsk City. It is the most fortified spot in the world right now. From there the Ukrainians have been shelling nearby Donetsk City with petal mines—which are outlawed in the international community. Even the regular shelling of the city, which has targeted and killed many civilians, are considered to be war crimes. So the Russians do have a strong case in setting up a war crimes tribunal.

Yet in any war it is likely that “war crimes” are committed on both sides. Only a complete investigation can hope to uncover all war crimes and to separate truth from propaganda, but that is unlikely to happen.

Everyone, of course, is expected to be patriotic and believe whatever their government tells them. Personally, I would not trust any government that claims the right to lie to the people.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ndaa-legalizes-propaganda-2012-5?op=1

The government had already done this from the beginning, but this actually legalized it. So if they claim the right to lie, I claim the right not to believe those lies.