Poland: Success Story, Eco-King Charles III?, Censorship Industrial Complex Is Worse Than Thought, Charles de Gaulle Speaks Candidly on UK/EU/US, UK Legend John Peel
On the coronation of King Charles III - I was hoping before his accession that he would turn out to be the King we needed, and embody the above-mentioned tradition of English eccentricity in his policies and roles, defending Britain against imposters and invaders; however, it's already becoming clear that he will in fact capitulate to the UK, and its newly enriched population. Not sure I can bear to watch it. Yes, it could and should be a fabulous and wonderful anachronism, an inexplicable contact with the traditional and the transcendent, a celebration of the strangeness and uniqueness of our nation - but he's already said that it will be a 'multi-faith coronation' with a 'diverse ceremony', reaffirming his family's betrayal of our people. It's a stunning and brave new England, and the old is dead and gone.
This is all a bit melodramatic, but it's also true. Culturally, we're not supposed to do sincerity or American earnestness, but I think that's been our downfall. A country that doesn't take itself seriously has collapsed into paroxysms of self-referential twee, as in the late Queen's jubilee.
I am going to struggle to watch any of the coronation because I know, I just know, that it is going to be a cavalcade of cringe; an endless litany of nauseating exultations of 'diversity and tolerance'. This is the new Britain, not the same as the old Britain and the monarchy, in common with all other institutions, has been weaponised against the heritage British people.
Yes, exactly. Only likely worse as the American disease has enjoyed an uninterrupted decade since during which it has metastasised and spread throughout the body.
I prefer to make a terminological distinction between 'the UK' (the modern state) and 'Britain' (the historic nation that once existed in the British Isles). They have a different religion, language, people, and culture. The latter has been abolished.
Quite right, too. In fact, I hope to to get some traction with 'Uckish' as a neologism; an adjective indicating something is cringe, nauseating and obnoxious.
King Charles is the black man's wigger. The perfect figurehead for the abomination that is the Commonwealth...a parody of the old Empire.
The coronation is bound to be a train-wreck. A repeat of 1953 is out of the question. It would look Ruritanian. But a multi-faith coronation is ridiculous.
All that is truly needed is a special church service, the rites of anointment and coronation, pledges of allegiance from the heir (and perhaps the military commanders in dress uniform and the premier hereditary peers) and public acclamation. A simplified, dignified affair to emphasise the continuity of English kingship since the conversion of the king of Kent to Christianity at Canterbury. No need for controversy. No decent person would be offended and only fools would make a fuss if there was no ermine in sight.
Re: internet censorship. Americans (particularly) can’t seem to grasp what it means to live in a place where speech is routinely censored/punished. An astonishing conversation about its necessity and even desirability.
Maybe I am being silly, but I think that the Americans protest too much. Americans can lose jobs/careers, social respectability, easily enough by expressing the wrong opinions. They all understand this perfectly well. Making noises about free speech is simply performative idealism.
King Charlie is one of the most interesting monarchs imo, despite just coming to the throne. He has an interest in Traditionalism( the school ) which is the reason why he has the “we need yeoman farmers again” attitude. It’s also the reason why he has the ecumenical view of religions. All that being said I doubt he will contribute anything considering that the only places where Traditionalism has political leaders with power( Iran and Pakistan) are countries where the people want to get out. Plus the nostalgia that fuels Traditionalism and other similar beliefs fail to account for the fact that people have been fundamentally changed. The past and its people belong to world that has gone and isn’t going to return anytime soon.
Interesting? You have got to be kidding. Charles is a saloon bar boor larping as a traditionalist because he is ill-adapted to anything remotely relevant to the modern world. Being fawned over by morons since childhood has gone to his head.
There is nothing wrong with being a gentleman farmer, but the attraction of the countryside for Charles is feudalism pure and simple. And THAT is Charles' secret obsession. It is the reason he tried to buy one of the Este family properties in Italy from the Italian gov't (he is fixated on dynastic history but is incapable of learning from family experience) but Rome told him to f##k off.
Charles has not got what it takes for feudalism and he hasn't the decency or the sense to follow constitutional convention. Charles, self-infatuated cuckold, put the monarchy at risk by pestering ministers and civil servants with his endless suggestions about his preferences for how Britain should be governed.
Cromwell or even bloody Kim Philby was a better Englishman than this miserable egotist.
Amongst his many faults Charles broke his word to his mother. He promised ER2 he would take the reign-name of George VII. Self-absorbed misfit, he prefers his own name naturally. It is all about him. Always.
Apr 30, 2023·edited Apr 30, 2023Liked by Niccolo Soldo
I don' disagree, but I meant interesting in regards to his interest in Traditionalism which was the movement or school of thought founded by Guenon. He is definitely familiar with Schuenon and Martin Lings. The fact that he's open about his interest in literal esotericism is really something else, especially considering the position he has. But like you said his interest in all of this stuff is based on a wish to go back to a time where he thinks he would have been better off.
My last job was a tech start up run by Poles: two gentlemen that cut their teeth in the Warsaw financial markets. We had such a hard time finding qualified, motivated people in the United States we opened a support office in Koszalin, a small city just east of the German border.
I spent three months there at the end of 2021 teaching the basics of American home and auto insurance. Even in a small place like Koszalin, which reminded me greatly of my own Rust Belt home Cleveland, Ohio, there were an extraordinary amount of hard working, smart, English-speaking Poles.
Your article here rings true, because their performance absolutely crushed anything Americans could manage (even experienced agents!).
Beyond that, they are a lovely people. I was lucky enough to celebrate Christmas there (the first snow they'd had in ages!) and made friends in Gdansk.
Those three months will remain a highlight of my life.
I know the Polish mentality well. Poles want so badly to get approval from the West, especially from Americans.
It's the adoring kid brother syndrome. "My big brother is so cool, I bet he'll get to second base last night, everyone wants to be like my big brother. "
Apr 30, 2023·edited Apr 30, 2023Liked by Niccolo Soldo
Cue Wayne and Garth bowing and scraping before the American "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"
BTW if you speak Polish, it really cheezes them off, sort of like if you were to help the busboy clean the table. An American should not lower himself to their level.
Apr 29, 2023·edited Apr 29, 2023Liked by Niccolo Soldo
That Polish self-assessment is very rosy indeed.
Microsatellites? Sure, it will bring millions back home.
They should be a lot more sober, sure, it’s impossible to expect them to be when it comes to Russia (why is it though), but they go just as hard on Germany.
They’ve only just stepped on the road to prosperity. South Korea didn’t sperg out on the US the first time Daweoo built a microwave oven.
Apr 29, 2023·edited Apr 29, 2023Liked by Niccolo Soldo
Another example of how nations have collective consciousness and it subliminally guides their total behavior is India and Pakistan.
Most Indians, along with the current Modi government see India as a civilizational state with a history and value system going back to at least four millennia. This value system is rooted in principles of Sanatana Dharma (commonly known as Hinduism). Most Hindus "know" that until a few centuries ago India was a land of riches, responsible for almost a quarter of world's economic output, inspite of waves of barbaric Islamic invasions and British over-lordship. Most Hindus recognize a rich history in Science, Mathematics, Philosophy, Astronomy, Medicine, Global trade, etc. Regaining it's past glories is seen as national imperative and have directed successive governments to shape the future keeping in mind this past. Of course, India has a long way to go and man many roadblocks to overcome, but the end goal is firmly in the national consciousness.
OTOH, Pakistan, an ethno-feudal garrison state, was midwifed by the British with two main long term geopolitical goals 1) a s a pawn in the central Asian Great Game against Russia 2) Bulwark/nuisance for the eventual rise of India as a major power. To this day, Pakistan has struggled mightily to define its national identity. The primary "identity" and glue that holds the country is anti-Hindu bigotry that starts from schools textbooks and goes all the way to the Army (their motto calls for Jihad). The populace reveres Central Asian Turks, Arabs, Persian invaders that looted, murdered and raped their own ancestors. Denial of their Hindu, Buddhist roots is permanently ingrained in the national psyche. Today the country is on a verge of economic meltdown and chaos as the supreme court, political leaders and the army are entangled in a political deathmatch. Inflation is north of 40%. Default is becoming more likely by the day. The government is begging the IMF for a paltry $1.5 Billion bailout. Mobs fight on the streets over bags of flour but have time to lynch people over blasphemy. The elite is fleeing to other countries en masse. The country has no idea where it came from and is totally deluded about where it wants to go.
Apr 30, 2023·edited Apr 30, 2023Liked by Niccolo Soldo
If you care to elucidate, what's your take wrt the manifest meh-attitudes of Indians towards olympic sports? I sense there're deep currents running beneath 🤔
Confluence of many reasons, all of them interconnected. The biggest one is that in India, sports start and end with Cricket, which is not an Olympic sport. Popularity is same as that of American Football+Basketball + Baseball combined.
Second there is no big culture of such sports. USA produces some of the best olympic and other kind of athletes, but disappoints at male soccer tournaments. Why is that? It can also afford the best facilities, training, coaching etc. Basically there is no big culture of Male soccer in the US like there is in Brazil or France, for example.
Third, at the end of the day we are talking about a country that is barely one level up form sub-Saharan Africa in terms of per-capita GDP, and other Human development indices. For a vast majority, securing a steady income/employment is the primary goal. Besides cricket, there is barely any money in pursuing olympic sports with a full time commitment.
Additionally, lack of world-class coaching an facilities. This has also been a major issue.
All this being said, positive changes are afoot to fix all these issues. The government is spending a lot to create facilities, hire coaches, remove administrative and political interference in these sport, provide financial support etc. There is also a cultural change where kids are pursuing other sports as well. I am not claiming you will start seeing India competing with US and China in Olympic medal tallies, but over the next few meets, my bet is for a steadying rise in number of medals won.
It's always startling to see how much the American military is in bed with leftist NGOs, especially considering the military had, until very recently, at least the perception of a conservative veneer to it.
"France was much less keen on adopting post-communist orphans in a united Europe."
France was right, the EU's eastern enlargement was a catastrophic mistake, one can only hope that it will eventually be undone. There is more than enough tension already among the old members (and more than enough deluded transatlanticism too), with the likes of Poland there isn't the slightest possibility of ever creating a European bloc capable of defending common interests.
As for saying "Poles have a chip on their shoulder regarding Germany", that's the understatement of the century, it's more like increasingly open hatred which is deliberately being stoked by PiS and its media. There is zero basis for any genuine cooperation with these people, the sooner this is understood in Germany the better.
I remember reading a while back that the Poles were trying to get the Germans to pay them something like $1 trillion in reparations for WWII. Totally insane.
They will continually use the battering ram of WW2 because the Germans have to take it (but will never pay the Poles anyway). It's a rhetorical battering ram.
The trouble is that lots of Poles seem to genuinely believe this is appropriate and realistic politics. Personally I wouldn't even by opposed to something symbolic, like a few hundred million or even a few billion Euros for re-construction of Polish cultural heritage damaged during the German occupation. But those demands for reparations payments until the end of the 21st century are lunacy, no German government ever would agree to something like this.
Saying "it's merely rhetoric" underestimates the potential effect btw. Poles are playing with fire with this "We were never compensated at all" line, it's not a given that Germans "have to take it" in the sense of never bringing up the Oder-Neisse territories and what happened there in 1945-1947.
The best reparation would be for Berlin to fund a fast train connection across Poland linking Germany to Belorussia and Russia itself. Peace, trade, brotherhood. It makes too much sense.
In the piece, the writer/thinktanker expresses frustration with west-east communication, informing us that Poles would prefer north-south instead to take advantage of their Baltic ports.
North-south locks Poland into Scandinavian routes. NATO controls the passage out of the Baltic region. It makes sense only if Poland (or its master) expects to be cut-off permanently from Russia (and potentially China too). A sea-route from the North Atlantic through the Arctic to China is in development.
A fast train across the steppes would be optimal. It is perverse to build expensive infrastructure around impermanent political realities. Assuming that Russia is an eternal enemy is a thoroughly preposterous reading of history. For a large country exposed to invasion from east and west (with a limited to nearly non-existent naval tradition) accepting geopolitical advice from Washington and Westminster is as absurd as it is dangerous. Poland is reckless with the lives of its soldiers and reckless with its future. I understand that the Polish leadership expect to do well, but what about the masses?
On the other hand, if you want to to send a Jacek or Frantiszek into a spitting mad Donald Duck meltdown, simply remind him that, whatever else the Soviets did, the only reason that there are still Polish people alive today in Poland is because of the Red Army.
Poles have a grudging respect for Germany and what it has accomplished, and want to reach their levels of development and affluence while hating them at the same time.
The eastern Germans are essentially Germanised Slavs and Balts. They embody industrial/economic success at the price of language/heritage/identity, hence the attraction blended with dislike over past ill-treatment.
The Russians, however, are the most unsubdued of all the Slavs and the most accomplished in terms of literature, science, politics, war etc. One simply cannot patronise the Russians. But they are too distinct (possibly because of the Byzantine and Asian heritage) for the Poles to readily identify with. Their achievements are perhaps perceived at the subconscious level as a rebuke or a source of envy. Russia's assistance and heroism in WW2 are certainly resented. Gratitude and respect would impose too great a psychic burden, hence the rancour.
Royal genealogy is tricky. When they discovered Richard IIIs body they did not use DNA from anyone who will be mentioned by name by the commentators at the forthcoming coronation. There is no shortage of undeniable Plantagenet DNA with which to verify samples of course so no need to take samples that might be handled carelessly.
Physiognomy, however, never lies. King Charles (like his mother and aunt) is unmistakably Hanoverian and very conscious of it. Queen Victoria's genes were dominant, Albert's recessive. Prince William very clearly resembles his father. Reliable heirs are what it is all about. In the old days courtiers used to discuss all of this by referring to the shade of blue common in the family...'Windsor blue'.
The claims about Mohammad are problematic. A late medieval Muslim princess whose family claimed Sharifian descent was captured in a war and married off to a Portuguese. The Brits dug up this impossibly remote claim when trying to impress Gulf elites in the market for overpriced weapons. Then it got recycled to the scum in Fleet Street to explain why Mid Eastern terrorists would supposedly never target any Windsor (forgetting that genuine descendants of the Prophet have been assassinated often enough). People lap up this shit because it humanises things.
Personally I respect Reptilians. We owe their gene pool for whatever backbone might be found in the global oligarchy.
With respect to the censorship-industrial complex and the Atlantic Council, what really tipped me off about what they were up to early on was when J*red Holt scored a job there (I will censor his name, given his job and the resources now at his disposal)
J*red Holt's entire job prior to that was to tell antifa what people like Gavin McInnes were up to and where they would be on a given day, as a not-so-subtle hint that there should be some left wing militants ready to show up and attack them. He wasn't very secretive about his associations with antifa and scored a nice, cushy mainstream NATO job as a reward, where he now gets to deplatform the people he went after before
I don't think that I have enough material for a book that isn't a compendium of essays, but that stuff is already available here.
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Deneen can be pretty hit or miss, but I thought his piece today in Unherd was excellent.
https://unherd.com/2023/04/js-mill-and-the-despotism-of-progress/
I haven't gotten to that one yet. I know quite a few people who are big fans of his writing.
On the coronation of King Charles III - I was hoping before his accession that he would turn out to be the King we needed, and embody the above-mentioned tradition of English eccentricity in his policies and roles, defending Britain against imposters and invaders; however, it's already becoming clear that he will in fact capitulate to the UK, and its newly enriched population. Not sure I can bear to watch it. Yes, it could and should be a fabulous and wonderful anachronism, an inexplicable contact with the traditional and the transcendent, a celebration of the strangeness and uniqueness of our nation - but he's already said that it will be a 'multi-faith coronation' with a 'diverse ceremony', reaffirming his family's betrayal of our people. It's a stunning and brave new England, and the old is dead and gone.
This is all a bit melodramatic, but it's also true. Culturally, we're not supposed to do sincerity or American earnestness, but I think that's been our downfall. A country that doesn't take itself seriously has collapsed into paroxysms of self-referential twee, as in the late Queen's jubilee.
I am going to struggle to watch any of the coronation because I know, I just know, that it is going to be a cavalcade of cringe; an endless litany of nauseating exultations of 'diversity and tolerance'. This is the new Britain, not the same as the old Britain and the monarchy, in common with all other institutions, has been weaponised against the heritage British people.
London 2012 Olympics Open Ceremony Redux
Yes, exactly. Only likely worse as the American disease has enjoyed an uninterrupted decade since during which it has metastasised and spread throughout the body.
I prefer to make a terminological distinction between 'the UK' (the modern state) and 'Britain' (the historic nation that once existed in the British Isles). They have a different religion, language, people, and culture. The latter has been abolished.
Quite right, too. In fact, I hope to to get some traction with 'Uckish' as a neologism; an adjective indicating something is cringe, nauseating and obnoxious.
Ukania strikes me as apt.
https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii125/articles/perry-anderson-ukania-perpetua
Ukistan
Ukobacter Pylori
I think the only question is which will be more cringe: the coronation or Eurovision?
I take pride in telling everyone that I have never once watched Eurovision. That is a bridge too far.
King Charles is the black man's wigger. The perfect figurehead for the abomination that is the Commonwealth...a parody of the old Empire.
The coronation is bound to be a train-wreck. A repeat of 1953 is out of the question. It would look Ruritanian. But a multi-faith coronation is ridiculous.
All that is truly needed is a special church service, the rites of anointment and coronation, pledges of allegiance from the heir (and perhaps the military commanders in dress uniform and the premier hereditary peers) and public acclamation. A simplified, dignified affair to emphasise the continuity of English kingship since the conversion of the king of Kent to Christianity at Canterbury. No need for controversy. No decent person would be offended and only fools would make a fuss if there was no ermine in sight.
Thank you for covering the Twitter files, the deafening silence across the entire Western media landscape on this is really something new, I think.
That silence is 100% indicative of the state of affairs.
It's only been 10 years since the Snowden revelations were featured front and center everywhere, this shit moves fast
I dunno, the response then was only slightly "whatever" than Twittergate.
The Snowden revelations got a bit more MSM attention, but that was quickly clamped down upon.
Re: internet censorship. Americans (particularly) can’t seem to grasp what it means to live in a place where speech is routinely censored/punished. An astonishing conversation about its necessity and even desirability.
Maybe I am being silly, but I think that the Americans protest too much. Americans can lose jobs/careers, social respectability, easily enough by expressing the wrong opinions. They all understand this perfectly well. Making noises about free speech is simply performative idealism.
King Charlie is one of the most interesting monarchs imo, despite just coming to the throne. He has an interest in Traditionalism( the school ) which is the reason why he has the “we need yeoman farmers again” attitude. It’s also the reason why he has the ecumenical view of religions. All that being said I doubt he will contribute anything considering that the only places where Traditionalism has political leaders with power( Iran and Pakistan) are countries where the people want to get out. Plus the nostalgia that fuels Traditionalism and other similar beliefs fail to account for the fact that people have been fundamentally changed. The past and its people belong to world that has gone and isn’t going to return anytime soon.
Interesting? You have got to be kidding. Charles is a saloon bar boor larping as a traditionalist because he is ill-adapted to anything remotely relevant to the modern world. Being fawned over by morons since childhood has gone to his head.
There is nothing wrong with being a gentleman farmer, but the attraction of the countryside for Charles is feudalism pure and simple. And THAT is Charles' secret obsession. It is the reason he tried to buy one of the Este family properties in Italy from the Italian gov't (he is fixated on dynastic history but is incapable of learning from family experience) but Rome told him to f##k off.
Charles has not got what it takes for feudalism and he hasn't the decency or the sense to follow constitutional convention. Charles, self-infatuated cuckold, put the monarchy at risk by pestering ministers and civil servants with his endless suggestions about his preferences for how Britain should be governed.
Cromwell or even bloody Kim Philby was a better Englishman than this miserable egotist.
Amongst his many faults Charles broke his word to his mother. He promised ER2 he would take the reign-name of George VII. Self-absorbed misfit, he prefers his own name naturally. It is all about him. Always.
I don' disagree, but I meant interesting in regards to his interest in Traditionalism which was the movement or school of thought founded by Guenon. He is definitely familiar with Schuenon and Martin Lings. The fact that he's open about his interest in literal esotericism is really something else, especially considering the position he has. But like you said his interest in all of this stuff is based on a wish to go back to a time where he thinks he would have been better off.
I don't mind Charles having his own preferences, I just do not want to be dragged back into the past with him.
Thank goodness we have Oligarchs and their frontmen like Klaus Schwab to really drag us back to the past.
"God bless the squire and his relations and keep us in our proper stations".
We don't not get the leaders we deserve, only the ones we tolerate.
People are changing back, they haven’t fundamentally changed.
Except for the worst coming out.
That’s part of the journey back.
My last job was a tech start up run by Poles: two gentlemen that cut their teeth in the Warsaw financial markets. We had such a hard time finding qualified, motivated people in the United States we opened a support office in Koszalin, a small city just east of the German border.
I spent three months there at the end of 2021 teaching the basics of American home and auto insurance. Even in a small place like Koszalin, which reminded me greatly of my own Rust Belt home Cleveland, Ohio, there were an extraordinary amount of hard working, smart, English-speaking Poles.
Your article here rings true, because their performance absolutely crushed anything Americans could manage (even experienced agents!).
Beyond that, they are a lovely people. I was lucky enough to celebrate Christmas there (the first snow they'd had in ages!) and made friends in Gdansk.
Those three months will remain a highlight of my life.
I know the Polish mentality well. Poles want so badly to get approval from the West, especially from Americans.
It's the adoring kid brother syndrome. "My big brother is so cool, I bet he'll get to second base last night, everyone wants to be like my big brother. "
I saw this too. Imagine how awkward it was for a regular guy from NE Ohio to be considered "exotic".
lol
Cue Wayne and Garth bowing and scraping before the American "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"
BTW if you speak Polish, it really cheezes them off, sort of like if you were to help the busboy clean the table. An American should not lower himself to their level.
"Hey boss, should I bother learning any Polish?"
"No, that's a waste of time."
That Polish self-assessment is very rosy indeed.
Microsatellites? Sure, it will bring millions back home.
They should be a lot more sober, sure, it’s impossible to expect them to be when it comes to Russia (why is it though), but they go just as hard on Germany.
They’ve only just stepped on the road to prosperity. South Korea didn’t sperg out on the US the first time Daweoo built a microwave oven.
Another example of how nations have collective consciousness and it subliminally guides their total behavior is India and Pakistan.
Most Indians, along with the current Modi government see India as a civilizational state with a history and value system going back to at least four millennia. This value system is rooted in principles of Sanatana Dharma (commonly known as Hinduism). Most Hindus "know" that until a few centuries ago India was a land of riches, responsible for almost a quarter of world's economic output, inspite of waves of barbaric Islamic invasions and British over-lordship. Most Hindus recognize a rich history in Science, Mathematics, Philosophy, Astronomy, Medicine, Global trade, etc. Regaining it's past glories is seen as national imperative and have directed successive governments to shape the future keeping in mind this past. Of course, India has a long way to go and man many roadblocks to overcome, but the end goal is firmly in the national consciousness.
OTOH, Pakistan, an ethno-feudal garrison state, was midwifed by the British with two main long term geopolitical goals 1) a s a pawn in the central Asian Great Game against Russia 2) Bulwark/nuisance for the eventual rise of India as a major power. To this day, Pakistan has struggled mightily to define its national identity. The primary "identity" and glue that holds the country is anti-Hindu bigotry that starts from schools textbooks and goes all the way to the Army (their motto calls for Jihad). The populace reveres Central Asian Turks, Arabs, Persian invaders that looted, murdered and raped their own ancestors. Denial of their Hindu, Buddhist roots is permanently ingrained in the national psyche. Today the country is on a verge of economic meltdown and chaos as the supreme court, political leaders and the army are entangled in a political deathmatch. Inflation is north of 40%. Default is becoming more likely by the day. The government is begging the IMF for a paltry $1.5 Billion bailout. Mobs fight on the streets over bags of flour but have time to lynch people over blasphemy. The elite is fleeing to other countries en masse. The country has no idea where it came from and is totally deluded about where it wants to go.
If you care to elucidate, what's your take wrt the manifest meh-attitudes of Indians towards olympic sports? I sense there're deep currents running beneath 🤔
Confluence of many reasons, all of them interconnected. The biggest one is that in India, sports start and end with Cricket, which is not an Olympic sport. Popularity is same as that of American Football+Basketball + Baseball combined.
Second there is no big culture of such sports. USA produces some of the best olympic and other kind of athletes, but disappoints at male soccer tournaments. Why is that? It can also afford the best facilities, training, coaching etc. Basically there is no big culture of Male soccer in the US like there is in Brazil or France, for example.
Third, at the end of the day we are talking about a country that is barely one level up form sub-Saharan Africa in terms of per-capita GDP, and other Human development indices. For a vast majority, securing a steady income/employment is the primary goal. Besides cricket, there is barely any money in pursuing olympic sports with a full time commitment.
Additionally, lack of world-class coaching an facilities. This has also been a major issue.
All this being said, positive changes are afoot to fix all these issues. The government is spending a lot to create facilities, hire coaches, remove administrative and political interference in these sport, provide financial support etc. There is also a cultural change where kids are pursuing other sports as well. I am not claiming you will start seeing India competing with US and China in Olympic medal tallies, but over the next few meets, my bet is for a steadying rise in number of medals won.
It's always startling to see how much the American military is in bed with leftist NGOs, especially considering the military had, until very recently, at least the perception of a conservative veneer to it.
"France was much less keen on adopting post-communist orphans in a united Europe."
France was right, the EU's eastern enlargement was a catastrophic mistake, one can only hope that it will eventually be undone. There is more than enough tension already among the old members (and more than enough deluded transatlanticism too), with the likes of Poland there isn't the slightest possibility of ever creating a European bloc capable of defending common interests.
As for saying "Poles have a chip on their shoulder regarding Germany", that's the understatement of the century, it's more like increasingly open hatred which is deliberately being stoked by PiS and its media. There is zero basis for any genuine cooperation with these people, the sooner this is understood in Germany the better.
I remember reading a while back that the Poles were trying to get the Germans to pay them something like $1 trillion in reparations for WWII. Totally insane.
They will continually use the battering ram of WW2 because the Germans have to take it (but will never pay the Poles anyway). It's a rhetorical battering ram.
The trouble is that lots of Poles seem to genuinely believe this is appropriate and realistic politics. Personally I wouldn't even by opposed to something symbolic, like a few hundred million or even a few billion Euros for re-construction of Polish cultural heritage damaged during the German occupation. But those demands for reparations payments until the end of the 21st century are lunacy, no German government ever would agree to something like this.
Saying "it's merely rhetoric" underestimates the potential effect btw. Poles are playing with fire with this "We were never compensated at all" line, it's not a given that Germans "have to take it" in the sense of never bringing up the Oder-Neisse territories and what happened there in 1945-1947.
The best reparation would be for Berlin to fund a fast train connection across Poland linking Germany to Belorussia and Russia itself. Peace, trade, brotherhood. It makes too much sense.
In the piece, the writer/thinktanker expresses frustration with west-east communication, informing us that Poles would prefer north-south instead to take advantage of their Baltic ports.
North-south locks Poland into Scandinavian routes. NATO controls the passage out of the Baltic region. It makes sense only if Poland (or its master) expects to be cut-off permanently from Russia (and potentially China too). A sea-route from the North Atlantic through the Arctic to China is in development.
A fast train across the steppes would be optimal. It is perverse to build expensive infrastructure around impermanent political realities. Assuming that Russia is an eternal enemy is a thoroughly preposterous reading of history. For a large country exposed to invasion from east and west (with a limited to nearly non-existent naval tradition) accepting geopolitical advice from Washington and Westminster is as absurd as it is dangerous. Poland is reckless with the lives of its soldiers and reckless with its future. I understand that the Polish leadership expect to do well, but what about the masses?
Maybe Germany could tell them they can have the money when they give back all the land that they got from Germany at the end of the war?
A political candidate (don't know how fringe) recent said white Americans were owed reparations
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ohio-senate-candidate-bernie-moreno-proposes-reparations-white-descendants-civil-war-soldiers
He's engaging in a philosophical exercise that serves the double purpose of being inflammatory and attention-seeking, haha
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2793899.stm
No one will ever reach his level any time soon.
Poles have a weird love-hate thing with Germany.
On the other hand, if you want to to send a Jacek or Frantiszek into a spitting mad Donald Duck meltdown, simply remind him that, whatever else the Soviets did, the only reason that there are still Polish people alive today in Poland is because of the Red Army.
Poles have a grudging respect for Germany and what it has accomplished, and want to reach their levels of development and affluence while hating them at the same time.
The eastern Germans are essentially Germanised Slavs and Balts. They embody industrial/economic success at the price of language/heritage/identity, hence the attraction blended with dislike over past ill-treatment.
The Russians, however, are the most unsubdued of all the Slavs and the most accomplished in terms of literature, science, politics, war etc. One simply cannot patronise the Russians. But they are too distinct (possibly because of the Byzantine and Asian heritage) for the Poles to readily identify with. Their achievements are perhaps perceived at the subconscious level as a rebuke or a source of envy. Russia's assistance and heroism in WW2 are certainly resented. Gratitude and respect would impose too great a psychic burden, hence the rancour.
Wait, Charles is descended from Vlad Dracul and Mohammed? How weird.
Descent from Dracula is tenuous, at best (unless something has changed) - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vlad-the-impaler-how-is-prince-charles-queen-elizabeth-related-to-him/
Descent from the Islamic Prophet is also disputed - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/queen-elizabeth-not-related-prophet-muhammad
Sigh, why are the fun things so often not true, and the horrible things not false?
Don't forget the Reptilians.
More likely than Vlad Dracul or Mohammed.
Royal genealogy is tricky. When they discovered Richard IIIs body they did not use DNA from anyone who will be mentioned by name by the commentators at the forthcoming coronation. There is no shortage of undeniable Plantagenet DNA with which to verify samples of course so no need to take samples that might be handled carelessly.
Physiognomy, however, never lies. King Charles (like his mother and aunt) is unmistakably Hanoverian and very conscious of it. Queen Victoria's genes were dominant, Albert's recessive. Prince William very clearly resembles his father. Reliable heirs are what it is all about. In the old days courtiers used to discuss all of this by referring to the shade of blue common in the family...'Windsor blue'.
The claims about Mohammad are problematic. A late medieval Muslim princess whose family claimed Sharifian descent was captured in a war and married off to a Portuguese. The Brits dug up this impossibly remote claim when trying to impress Gulf elites in the market for overpriced weapons. Then it got recycled to the scum in Fleet Street to explain why Mid Eastern terrorists would supposedly never target any Windsor (forgetting that genuine descendants of the Prophet have been assassinated often enough). People lap up this shit because it humanises things.
Personally I respect Reptilians. We owe their gene pool for whatever backbone might be found in the global oligarchy.
With respect to the censorship-industrial complex and the Atlantic Council, what really tipped me off about what they were up to early on was when J*red Holt scored a job there (I will censor his name, given his job and the resources now at his disposal)
J*red Holt's entire job prior to that was to tell antifa what people like Gavin McInnes were up to and where they would be on a given day, as a not-so-subtle hint that there should be some left wing militants ready to show up and attack them. He wasn't very secretive about his associations with antifa and scored a nice, cushy mainstream NATO job as a reward, where he now gets to deplatform the people he went after before
That place is like a clearinghouse for all sorts of people: from the token hires to the incredibly well-connected and powerful.
The write-ups about the monarchy and British punk brought to mund the lines
God Save the QUEEN
'Cause tourists are MONEY
Rain or shine, there's always a crowd of tourists happily snapping pics away in front of Buckingham Palace.
The John Peel autobiography is a good read IMHO. Lots of surprises, from male rape to meeting JFK.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/664566
After finishing reading the article on Peel, I immediately grabbed that book. Will make for a good beach read this summer.
You need to post a review :-)
You will have to make do with this Peel session for now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgpQd00nREY
John Peel resource centre - lots of show recordings
https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/John_Peel_Wiki