The situation in Syria

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi Everyone,

I have a good video to share with you, courtesy of the Ron Paul Liberty Report on YouTube.

It is not necessarily a Christian channel, but seems to be genuinely libertarian, with strong anti-war, anti-corruption, anti-hypocrisy, anti-government/media complex views.

The video I am posting is about half-an-hour long. I watched it a few days ago and don't remember all of it, so will not summarize.

But in short, it details the behaviour of the military-industrial complex based in Washington vis-a-vis the Ukraine war. While the behaviour of Russia is clearly pro-war, and leaves a lot to be desired, so too is the position of the US (as pointed out in this video and elsewhere).

The only difference between the two in this instance is that while Russia is putting its own troops in harm's way, and losing thousands of them, the US has the luxury of 'fighting to the last Ukrainian'.

Link to the video is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpHgrCCAXw4

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi Everyone,

Today I have a few different news releases to share with you, which I have picked because I believe that they offer some semblance of balanced analysis.

By and large, Western (pro-Ukraine) propaganda, as you may have already noticed, is largely based on boasting, shilling and trolling. Pro-Russian propaganda, while still propaganda, nonetheless comes across as more serious and subtle. I will try not to advocate for either extreme in any of the posts I make in this forum, and will continue to try to pick out the odd example of balanced coverage here or there, if it’s possible to find any.

In short, neither side appears to be doing very well on the battlefield, both sides are suffering colossal losses in manpower and equipment, while thousands of civilians have also been killed- most of these apparently by Russian forces, but at least a sizeable minority of these killed by Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian forces appear to be making gains around the (2nd biggest) city of Kharkiv, while Russia appears to be making steady progress in the Donbas region.

A strong pro-war feeling is evident from the governments/media in Russia, the Ukraine, the USA and Britain. There is also strong pro-war feeling across Europe but, in my opinion, this is because the states of western Europe are essentially US puppets.

In short, despite talk from Washington of Ukraine ‘winning’ the war, it’s hard to see how this will end well for anyone, except for warmongering politicians, weapons manufacturers and mainstream media. All of that aside, here are some of the recent news releases which I believe offer you some semblance of balanced coverage.

First, from Reuters, titled, ‘Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at bit of a stalemate- US intel official’ (this is from mainstream media, but despite this is not a bad little summary).

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pu ... 022-05-10/

Next, from Spanish source El Pais, titled, ‘The Ukraine war in maps: Russia’s slow but steady advance in the southeast’ (I don’t know much about El Pais but this little dispatch, with further links provided within, offers you a fairly dry, non-emotional analysis of the fighting on the Donbas front).

https://english.elpais.com/internationa ... heast.html

Lastly, from the Wall Street Journal, titled, ‘Nearly encircled, Ukraine’s last stronghold in Luhansk resists Russian onslaught’ (Of course, Wall Street Journal is mainstream media, but this- rather lengthy- article contains well-documented info, comes across as non-partisan; admitting setbacks and victories for both sides).

It also includes personal anecdotes from various people which highlight the day-to-day suffering of the Ukrainian civilians. These stories appear genuine and raw, unlike a lot of the crocodile-tear stories put out by most of the other western media.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nearly-enc ... 1652182875

Until next time.

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again,

For those who are interested in gaining (as much as it is possible) a balanced perspective on the Ukraine/Russia war, I will continue to try to post what I view as worthwhile content.

Today, I will post you a recent edition of the Michael Savage podcast. In the first half hour or so he talks about the broader topic himself, before you can hear an interview segment of an hour or so (between Savage and retired Colonel Douglas MacGregor).

MacGregor is different from most of the chattering establishment types in Washington, i.e. he essentially dares to go beyond the 'Us good, them bad' mindset. The interview part goes for an hour.

If you can spare 90 minutes, or could have the podcast running in the background while you are doing something else, I encourage you to do so.

Link below:

https://michaelsavage.com/podcast/

P.S. If you have to look down the playlist to find it, it's titled 'WAR or PEACE', and apparently goes for 1 hour 24 mins.

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again to All,

I've been coming across some reasonable coverage of the Ukraine war. It's a bit like gold panning. The vast majority of what you have in the pan is useless, or worse than useless, but if you take enough time to sift through it there's quite a chance that you will come across something valuable here or there.

The source is CBC, a major establishment broadcaster out of Canada. Without knowing much about it, CBC would undoubtedly be a trashy source of 'news and views', essentially nothing more than a globalist/government mouthpiece.

But credit where credit is due; I came across a fresh article on the Ukraine war from CBC which, while more sympathetic to the Ukrainian side than the Russian side, at least made an effort to provide the reader with some balanced insight.

You can already notice this from the title of the article: 'The Russians are determined': Ukrainian soldiers defending Donbas city try to keep up morale under fire.

From the title, you already get a feeling for the grim nature of war, without the 'Us good, them bad- Us kicking butt, them getting their butt kicked' type of trash constantly churned out by propaganda outlets such as CNN, BBC, New York Times, Reuters, etc, etc, etc.

In this article, which I will post below, you at least get a sense that both sides are doing it hard, both are suffering losses. It's a struggle. Both sides have made gains, both sides have sufffered setbacks. Moreover, civilians are caught in the middle and their losses have been high, as is their day-to-day suffering.

The article also outlines tactical elements to the ongoing battles, troop movements, etc. Other elements, such as the deployment of Chechen fighters on the Russian side, and flow of western weapons into the hands of Ukrainian fighters on the other side, are touched on.

I will continue to try to provide you with commentary that does not appear to be blatant propaganda, as hard as it is to find.

Link below:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-l ... -1.6455045

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again,

I have another news report to share with you re: Ukraine/Russia.

Before I post the link, I wish to make a comment about propaganda. It is really intense at the moment with regard to the war. As I don’t live in Russia, I can’t comment a whole lot on pro-Russian propaganda; all the more so since many of the news sources which potentially push a pro-Russian line have been banned in the west following the invasion of Ukraine, meaning that the west has a virtual monopoly on propaganda within the west (just like Russia does within Russia).

I heard a quote this week from a commentator talking about propaganda. He said something like this: ‘Remember, whenever you see an image from the warzone, you are only seeing it because someone with an agenda wants you to see it.’ The same is of course true with things you read, or hear. And it can also be extended to intentional omissions from the news, i.e. the same people who purposefully want you to see/read/hear specific things also want to prevent you from seeing/reading/hearing specific other things.

We have to be firmly aware of this whenever we seek out news on things such as the Corona virus, or this war in the Ukraine.

A bizarre case study of western (pro-Ukraine) propaganda presented itself this week, regarding the city of Mariupol. You have probably heard of this city. It was bitterly fought over, besieged, bombed, etc, until a couple of thousand Ukrainian combatants (and some civilians) were ultimately pushed by the Russians into a sprawling steelworks complex, the last part of the whole city still not under Russian control.

After holding out for weeks, the besieged Ukrainians (along with some foreign mercenaries within their ranks) surrendered, granting Russia control of the steelworks, and the whole city. Those who surrendered have been taken prisoner, and bussed off to Russian-controlled territory. However, western media has largely refused to use the word ‘surrender’. Instead, words like ‘evacuation’ have been used, or vague utterances that the Ukrainians at the steelworks have ‘completed their combat mission’.

In a way, I suppose this is true to a certain extent. But if a whole military unit gets wiped out on the battlefield, would it be accurate to say that they have ‘completed their combat mission’ and just leave it at that?

Just remember this; the same people reporting to you on the Ukraine war, are the same people who have lied non-stop about Covid-19 for the last two years. They are also the same people pushing the transgender stuff, the same people who tell us that abortion is great, and that anyone who doesn’t support same-sex marriage is evil.

They are also the same people who will one day tell us that the anti-Christ is wonderful, must be worshipped by everyone, and that anyone who doesn’t love him is evil.

My point? Same as always- be very, very, very sceptical of mainstream media, politicians, and anyone or anything connected to the political/media establishment in any way. Put the Word of God first, and everything else an extremely distant second.

For a pretty good, rather balanced report on the battle for Mariupol/siege at the steelworks/eventual outcome of the battle, I would like to recommend an article from the Asia Times. It is titled, ‘Fog of war clouds fate of far-right battalion: Multiple questions hang over the end game in Mariupol, which has exposed the weaknesses of both armies.’

Link below:

https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/fog-of-wa ... battalion/

I have more reports about the war to share with you over the coming days. Until then.

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi again to Everyone,

Another article to share with you about Ukraine/Russia today, this time from Christian news source, 'The Trumpet'. I don't necessarily agree with everything written by The Trumpet, but it is a reasonable source that tries to back its coverage with scripture.

The Trumpet believes that Russia will be a major power in the end times (look into Gog/Magog if you feel inclined) and will be strongly aligned with China, and other countries in that part of the world. The Trumpet believes that this power bloc will make up the 200-million man army (spoken of in the book of Revelation) which will come against the anti-Christ Empire based in Europe (not necessarily for 'good' reasons, but for contested power reasons).

In the article I am posting today, The Trumpet reserves its judgement on who is currently winning on the battlefield in Ukraine. However, the article makes a strong case that the western powers could end up under more economic stress than Russia itself, as a direct result of the western sanctions on Russia (a potential case of severe blowback).

'Russia is winning the economic war,' is the title of the article. If you are interested, link below:

https://www.thetrumpet.com/25632-russia ... onomic-war

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again,

I've noticed a slight change in the propaganda narrative in recent days/weeks. I emphasize the word 'slight'. As has already been pointed out numerous times, the Ukrainian government/western establishment media narrative has pushed the message as follows: 'Us good, them bad. Us kicking butt, them getting their butts kicked. Us losing virtually zero combatants, them losing tens of thousands of combatants.'

To be sure, this is still generally how mainstream media is covering the war. And it is not only media- it is the whole globalist apparatus. For example, if you put a word combo like, 'Large Russian casualties Ukraine war' into Google, it will lead you to countless reports talking about large Russian casualties in Ukraine.

However, if you put a word combo like, 'Large Ukrainian casualties Ukraine war' into Google, it will lead you to... you guessed it- countless reports talking about large RUSSIAN casualties in Ukraine.

Recently, however, the odd report has started to seep through that, while the war is undoubtedly a tough and bloody grind for Russian forces, so too is it for UKRAINIAN forces. The Ukrainian government has only recently admitted that it is indeed taking significant losses. Not many western media outlets have decided to admit this on behalf of the Ukraine, but a handful of them have at least mentioned it.

The war is obviously a catastrophe. Russia clearly takes a whole lot of blame, but NATO/the USA also shoulder considerable blame. And Ukraine is caught in the middle of this clash of empires.

No matter where your biases may or may not lay with regard to this war, truth must remain our number one priority. We must strive to find it, and to reject propaganda. To highlight my point, let's just assume that you might favour one side (in this war) over the other. It's a normal human thing to do, after all- to chooose a side.

But, does it do any good at all to pretend that one side is winning easily, has not been suffering any significant losses, and has been absolutley wiping the floor against their enemy... when none of this is really true? When the real evidence points far more clearly to a stalemate (gains and setbacks experienced on both sides), huge casualties on both sides, huge destruction of equipment on both sides, and a massive struggle across the battlefield?

Regardless of the side we may or may not choose in this- or any other struggle- is it morally acceptable to accept lies which may make us feel better about how things are going, but don't even go close to representing the real situation on the ground? As truth seekers, I think we all know the answer.

The president of the Ukraine recently admitted that up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers are dying per day on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and its arms are notoriously primitive and over-the-top with their propaganda. If the leader of the Ukraine says 'Up to 100', there's a very good chance that this really means well over 100 per day.

Russia, too, is suffering huge losses, though not near as big as the ridiculous figures put out by the Ukrainian government (which is currently claiming that about 30,000 Russian soldiers have died in the war).

I obviously have no clue about how many have died in the war so far, but from everything I have read, weighed up, etc, I would estimate that both sides have lost roughly 10,000 combatants each (give or take a few thousand), with several thousand killed civilians as well. Most of these civilians have been killed by Russia, but a sizeable minority have been killed by NATO-backed Ukrainian forces.

I now refer you to a reasonable article from The Guardian (!) which deals in a relatively balanced way with this murky question of casualties and associated 'Fog of war'. It's a recent article which touches on the eventual move by Ukraine/sections of western media to admit that Ukraine is suffering significant military losses.

Link below:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... -zelenskiy

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again to Everyone,

My take on the current situation would be as follows: Following Ukrainian victories around the two biggest cities (Ukraine and Kharkiv), which saw Russian forces pushed back in those areas, Russian forces are currently ascendent in the eastern Donbass region, taking large numbers of towns and small cities.

Horrible stories of civilian suffering continue to come out, most of it caused by Russian forces. What will never be admitted in western establishment media is that a significant minority of civilian deaths and injured, as well as general suffering, has been caused by NATO-backed Ukrainian forces.

In short, my basic summary is as follows: NATO and Russia are both power-mad, and Ukraine is stuck in the middle. Russia does not have the luxury of using large numbers of 3rd-party proxies as its cannon fodder, while NATO indeed has this luxury, and is making the most of it.

I recently read a fascinating article from a news source I hadn’t heard of before, titled, ‘The media fog of war: Propaganda in the Ukraine-Russia conflict’. Most western establishment media pretends that only Russia does propaganda. Indeed, Russian media presumably does the same thing on their own behalf, claiming that only western media does propaganda.

This article does a great job of pointing out, with specific examples and evidence, that the western media is just as heavily into churning out propaganda as anyone else. As pointed out in this article, western media is very pro-Ukraine and anti-Russian, which clearly makes it impossible for them to cover the war in a balanced way, or to even make an attempt at it. Moreover, this hysterical parochialism clearly spreads across social media, and much of society is therefore blissfully separated from the truth and reality of what’s really happening on the ground in the warzone.

Moreover, as pointed out in the article, some people knowingly choose to buy into the propaganda, and essentially believe it for partisan reasons, even though they know it’s not true. In this way, widespread belief in nonsense gains further momentum (we have seen a lot of this during the era of Covid-19, but that’s another topic).

This situation leads inevitably to the ‘Fog of War’, and ‘Truth’ as the ‘First casualty of war’, phrases which we all know. Such propaganda can be useful in wartime for a nation like the Ukraine, but can have other effects- such as inspiring misguided/ill-intentioned people to flock to the warzone as mercenaries, which may bolster the forces of a nation like the Ukraine, but will undoubtedly expand the killing and misery.

Hatred of a nation like Russia, and its citizens, is thus stoked by the government/media/military complex to the point where such xenophobia and discrimination is not only accepted, but actively encouraged by western society. And most people think that their hatred is righteous, because they’re pouring out this hatred for ‘virtuous’ reasons, i.e. their ‘support’ for the Ukraine which has been programmed into them by mainstream/social media.

The psychology of this whole situation, from the economic sanctions right down to the rank-and-file person on the street who has been brainwashed into hating Russia, (while thinking themselves righteous for hating Russia) is covered towards the end of the article.

Please note, I reiterate my view that it is perfectly understandable to be angry at Russia for this invasion, and as Christians we should feel great sympathy for the Ukrainian civilians, Ukrainian military, but yes, Russian military as well (not to mention the loved ones of everyone affected) who have died in this war so far.

It’s perfectly reconcilable to be anti-Russian government but to also feel sorry for all the victims of this war, including Russian soldiers killed or maimed.

I urge all and sundry to be very careful about being whipped up into this anti-Russian hysteria because, to me, this hysteria seems to be based far more on hate than it is love. Don’t be brainwashed by government/media. Make your own mind up, and be guided by the Word of God.

Link to the article is below:

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2022/05/20/t ... -conflict/

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again Friends,

Today I just wish to draw your attention to a news source which, in my opinion, offers you balanced, non-partisan analysis of the situation re: the Ukraine/Russia war.

The source is the 'Asia Times', which I had previously not known anything about (until I recently came across it).

It has a separate page dedicated primarily to the war in the Ukraine, and provides you with regular reports/updates.

The information/disinformation put out by NATO/Ukraine government/western media is generally considered, and weighed up against the information/disinformation from Russia/pro-Russian sources. And the overall coverage from Asia Times seems to be non-emotional/non-hysterical/non-partisan, with dry analysis the major priority.

If you are interested in what's happening in the Ukraine, and are rightly sceptical of what we are hearing from establishment media, I recommend the Asia Times.

Link below:

https://asiatimes.com/ukraine/ukraine-ukraine/

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

This is a post on the extremely murky topic of casualty figures in the Ukraine-Russia war.

Until recently, Ukraine/western media took the approach of not talking about Ukrainian military losses at all, while hyping up 'massive', 'colossal', 'huge' Russian losses. This is obvious propaganda.

For its part, Russia has taken a similar approach in reverse, playing up Ukrainian losses, while downplaying their own.

According to the various stuff I have read (including between the lines), weighed up, etc, my best guess would be that Ukrainian military fatalities during this invasion so far would be roughly in the range of 10,000- 20,000. I am not sure if this would or wouldn't include the dozens, possibly many hundreds of mercenaries who have also died in combat against the Russians.

My best educated guess is that roughly 5,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during the invasion so far, most of them by the Russians but a sizeable minority killed by Ukrainian forces.

When it comes to Russian military losses, it is equally hard to know. Ukrainian government claims of 30,000-plus Russian KIA are absolutely ridiculous, but are still regurgitated without scepticism across segments of mainstream media in the west.

The UK Ministry of Defence, meanwhile, talks of 15,000-plus Russian KIA so far. Moreover, while it hypes up Russian losses, it does not mention Ukrainian losses or attempt to tally them at all, which is an obvious red flag. Moreover, the UK Ministry of Defence, just like the US Marines and Australian Defence Force, et al, is currently celebrating 'Pride Month' by flying the 'Rainbow Flag' on things such as their official buildings and even online profile pictures. But that's another issue.

The 15,000 figure put out by the UK Defence Ministry would also have to be taken with a grain of salt.

More to the point, two seperate (recent) investigations into Russian military deaths during the invasion so far, one of these carried out by the establishment media outlet BBC, suggest a figure of 3,000-plus. Given that it is now at least a week since these investigations were released, and given that the 3,000-plus was probably not a complete figure, I would double the number, slightly round it down, and suggest a Russian death toll so far of 5,000-10,000- about half of the Ukrainian death toll so far.

As stated, I really don't know. I'm only doing some guesswork here. But these numbers would be my best guess at this point. Of course, each death on whatever side, be it civilian or soldier, is a needless tragedy.

If you would like to read a short report which summarises the two studies on Russian military deaths in the war to date, the link is below:

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/ ... ion-a77846

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again,

I have so many articles to post here about Ukraine/Russia at the moment, but not the time to do it. But I will try my best to keep them coming.

Today, I again post a new article from Christian news source, 'The Trumpet', which endeavours to link current affairs with end-times Bible prophecy.

In this latest article, the writer argues that, while the jury is still out on how the ground war in Ukraine will pan out, Russia is already carrying out a very effective (and no doubt very destructive) naval blockade of the Ukraine.

Moreover, The Trumpet wonders whether this blockade will be a forerunner of strategies that could be used by Russia (and presumably China, among others) against western nations in the future (not so much against Europe, but more likely against the USA, Britain, etc).

I am not saying I agree with it all. In the end, I don't know how a lot of this stuff is going to pan out, as I'm not a prophet. However, The Trumpet tries to make a case for its conclusions, and link current geo-political trends to Bible prophecy. It is certainly worth a read.

Here is a link to this article:

https://www.thetrumpet.com/25702-russia ... war-at-sea

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi Friends,

I'll be sure to post something again one day about Syria/the Middle-East. But while the Ukraine/Russia war is such a dominant issue, I'll continue to keep the postings coming as often as possible.

As you would have noticed, the first months of the war were dominated by mainstream media reports of 'Us good/Them bad- Ukraine winning/Russia losing'. There has been a tangible narrative shift over the last few weeks. While western politicians/mainstream media remain biased, dishonest and incapable of telling the truth, it has started to become impossible to cover up the fact that the war is ALSO not going very well for Ukrainian forces.

In short, since Russian forces retreated away from Kiev and Kharkiv (thus concentrating their forces in the eastern Donbass region), they have been able to wage war in a way far more to their liking, to the clear disadvantage of Ukrainian forces.

Within the last month, the Ukrainian government/western media has gone from not admitting to losing any soldiers, to now admitting that up to 200 are being killed a day. Moreover, even this is likely an understatement.

Some segments of mainstream media are still refusing to cover this, while others are indeed starting to admit it, and give coverage to the deadly circumstances facing Ukrainian forces.

To be sure, it is no doubt miserable for everyone involved. I would never deny this. But until now, western media has tried to sell us the idea that it's only been going badly for Russian forces. Now, the truth is seeping it, even in parts of mainstream media.

There was a recent article in The Guardian which deals with this, titled, 'Ukraine's high casualty rate could bring war to tipping point.'

Link below:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... ping-point