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Gazmanov was one of the people mentioned in the Haaretz article I linked upthread:
Russian propagandist, pop singer Oleg Gazmanov, who performs for Russian elites and the military, including a celebratory concert after the annexation Crimea of 2014, has suddenly unearthed his (Marrano-like secret) Jewish roots that have existed beneath the ultra-nationalist Russian façade he’s maintained for the past 30 years. Five days ago, Gazmanov even applied for Israeli citizenship based on Israel’s Law of Return, for which evidence of one Jewish grandparent is required.
(PS - Apparently that article is paywalled. Use archive.ph to get past it.)
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can’t they not for the freaking love of god just stop with this expansionist fantasy? nobody wants to be part of the нехорошо horror show that is russia save for those that have been indoctrinated. geez and even then, had they a clue, the answer 99% of the time would be ‘nope’
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Humans vote with their feet. In my travels around the world I have met numerous people in many countries who wish to emigrate to the USA, to Germany, to Canada or to Australia. I have met a few who want to move to China or Japan. But I am yet to meet a single person who dreams of emigrating to Russia.
– Yuval Noah Harari in “21 Lessons For The 21st Century” (2018)
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This stuff is interesting to read about but I wonder if it hurts or helps the effort to constantly report on their abilities and movements.
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She’s at it again.
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The only question is whether she’s being recompensed for her work or is she a useful idiot.
I mean, the Russians almost certainly have kompromat on her by now, but I really doubt they ever needed to use it.
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I always ponder that too - that maybe there’s too much info released in articles like this. i do assuage that concern somewhat with the notion that some of the shortcomings being exploited are institutional and hard to overcome quickly. however, it seems like TMI and i would rather tactical shortcomings not be pointed out to people whose goal is depopulation/genocide.
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Billy Bragg on FBOOK an hour ago:
Yesterday evening I posted a clip of the Ukranian band Beton performing their rewrite of ‘London Calling’. According to reports, the song ‘Kyiv Calling’ was approved by the Clash, with funds raised going to the Free Ukraine Resistance Movement.
After a few hours of discussing the lyrics of the song and whether Joe Strummer would approve of the rewrite, a number of people drew my attention to a series of photographs on the band’s Facebook page showing members of the band wearing t-shirts based on the Ramones circular logo.
The word ‘Ramones’ at the top of the logo had been replaced with the word ‘Banderas’ and although all of the names within the circle were not visible, the one that was clearly read ‘Stepan’. The photos dated from a year ago.
This is deeply troubling. Stepan Bandera was a far-right Ukranian politician who collaborated with the Nazis during the occupation of Ukraine and whose followers were complicit in the Holocaust. That he did these things in the name of Ukranian independence from the Soviet Union has led some present day far right nationalists to adopt his image in their decade long struggle with Russia.
The knock on effect of this has been to allow Putin to smear all those who want a democratic Ukraine free from Russian influence as neo-nazis. The lionisation of Bandera explains his attempt to legitimize the invasion as a campaign of ‘denazification’, despite the fact that when, during the 2019 Ukrainian elections, all of the major far right Ukrainian parties formed a unified party for the national election, they gained just 2.15% of the vote and failed to secure a single seat in the national parliament. Compare that with the 2009 EU parliament election, where the BNP won 6% of the vote.
I left a message on the band’s Facebook page asking them to explain why they were wearing t-shirts that appeared to support Bandera, but after 24 hours, I’ve had no response, so I’ve deleted my post.
We can argue about the meaning of ‘London Calling’ and what Joe Strummer would or wouldn’t have said about the lyrical changes, but we can be damn sure that he would not have allowed his song to be utilised by a band that expressed their support for fascists.
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They’re about to do Love Of My Life to 350,000 Ukrainians. The amazing thing is no one speaks English but they sing all the words.
And don’t forget to donate.
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You should cross-post that in this thread:
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Will do. 
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Ukraine rejects deadline to surrender Mariupol
Russia’s ministry of defence earlier set a 5am deadline for the embattled city of Mariupol to surrender.
“Lay down your arms,” Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian national defence management centre, said on Sunday in a briefing. “A terrible humanitarian catastrophe has developed. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed safe passage out of Mariupol.”
Mizintsev added that local officials would face a “military tribunal” if they didn’t agree to the surrender terms.
However Ukraine has rejected the proposal with deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk saying that there can be “no question” of surrender.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk was quoted as saying by Ukrainska Pravda:
There can be no talk of any surrenders, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this.
Instead of wasting time on 8 pages of letters, just open a [humanitarian] corridor.”
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I dont see how Ukraine had any option. Russia have shown time and again that they won’t be held to their word.
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Here’s a good explainer on the differences between Russian and Ukrainian languages.
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