Over the last eight-plus years on Hive, I have written about many topics and created a lot of different kinds of content, from my articles and poetry, to fiction stories and Hive development posts. One of the things I really enjoyed was series of posts, where there might not be a set topic, but it is a more casual and conversational, like a long-running series I had many years ago written on my phone whilst walking the dog. They tend to be reflective pieces, but also hopefully thought-provoking and engaging content that people can interact with and perhaps spin their own content off from. So over the next few weeks, I am going to start a couple weekly series pieces, with this being the first.
Series Pilot:
We Talk Friday
(WTF)
We Talk Friday Ep. 1: Strange bedfellows
While these are going to generally be pretty light conversations on current events, I also want them to be exploratory and interesting, so they at times might be controversial topics, so why not start with the war in Ukraine with Russia. This is obviously a potential trigger topic, but it isn't going to be a deep dive into the conflict, but rather some reflections and some queries.
This week has been an interesting one for geopolitics, as Trump came out and boldly declared that Ukraine should never have started the war with Russia. I am not sure where Trump was three years ago, but Russia invaded Ukraine. But I wonder, does anyone in the US actually believe what he is saying? Are the Trump loyalty cheering him on as he publicly rewrites history? Are his supporters really backing him as he sits on the lap of Putin?
Given history, isn't this position just incredibly strange for the US?
I don't know much about politics or history, nor can I say I have a huge amount of experience with the Russian government. But I do have some Russian friends who live in Finland, and when I visited St Petersburg ten years ago with my wife, we felt safe in a city that was clean with people who were helpful and open wherever we went. But, as I said to my daughter today, there can be a big difference between the people of a country, and the government of the same country. In general, most people want a decent life with access to possibility to improve their wellbeing and that of their family. And also in general, governments want increasing amounts of power and control over people.
For those in the US, how do you feel these Trump statements are being taken in the US?
This is not some kind of trap, but it is more to see what kind of temperature you are seeing in the US right now, and what you sense people are feeling. On the European side of things, these statements have been pretty much uniformly condemned as both inaccurate and incendiary. But it is hard to gauge what happens in the US from this side of the Atlantic. Maybe Russia have a better view, since they are only 53 miles away from the US coast on their East side. Most people don't think about that though.
I often get the impression that Americans in general don't know much of what is happening in the rest of the world, even though they can have an opinion on what is happening. Is this the case? I am not saying that people don't care about what is happening, but I feel like a lot of the media that comes from the US is heavily skewed in many ways, but consumption of media from outside the US is probably low. For instance in Finland, the average person who reads the news is getting it from multiple international sources, as well as the local views, but it is like everything is tailored in the US, for the US market specifically. This narrows the perspective.
The current political environment where people are making powerplays well above the paygrade of the 99.5%, is generating increasing volatility and uncertainty in the world and making it less safe for the rest of us. Just more actions for power and control over the people, from the people who make the rules.
Thoughts?
Perhaps this isn't a very light WTF start after all!
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Seeing Trump lie on TV all the time in USA and hear him call Zelensky a dictator, while cozying up to a 25-year ruler of Russia where elections are a complete sham is just business as usual for Trump. What do you expect from 50%+ of the population in USA that elected a convicted criminal? They are going to stick with Trump even if he really does shoot someone in broad daylight on a busy street. I am sure it will be portrayed that he did that while performing his presidential duties and our Supreme Court already gave him an immunity for that.
And yes he is rewriting history, in three days it will be exactly 3 years since Russia invaded Ukraine with a 100 thousand plus army and started a full scale war that is going on for three years now, but Trump says it is Ukraine started the war and our 50% of the population do believe him...
Does the average American really believe it though, or are they just going along with it because they have backed Trump prior? I think a lot of his power comes from people doubling-down on past decisions. It is like getting someone to break a small law, which makes it easier to break the next larger law and so on.
What I agree with though is that the EU should step up.
I don't know if they really believe it, but they sure are sticking to him and the Republican party line that fall in line for him every time a decision is being made like confirming a corrupt FBI director, or confirming Tulsi Gabbard as a director of national intelligence who is a big friend of Putin and Bashar Assad of Syria
It has all become so farcical, that I believe it might be a good thing. Hopefully "normal" people (are there any left?) realise how terrible the government structures are and look to be part of alternatives.
𝑆𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝'𝑠 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝟻𝟶% 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑟. 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑓 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑦. 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑑, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠. 𝑃𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑏𝑒𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒. 𝑀𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑠, 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒.
I do think this particular narrative is a break between Trump and traditional American conservatives. Of course there will be MAGA supporters that believe everything he says, but I think moderate/centrist conservatives are getting extremely worried about Trump siding with Russia. I don't know if they'll do anything about it, but they are starting to speak out a bit more than usual.
I saw a video today which was super interesting... it basically explained that there is a pattern:
I don't know history well enough to verify the accuracy of it, but it seems plausible. I'd say in many countries around the world are in stage 3, with Russia/Ukraine and Gaza being in stage 4.
It is a start at least, right?
I have mentioned the same pattern, probably not as eloquently, in the past. centralisation of power always fails, but it seems we are too stupid to do anything else. I think our stupidity might be down to the length of cycle for this to happen. It takes generations, so there are lot of opportunities for some to make gains, without having to deal with seeing the consequences. It is like pollution - it is the problem of future generations, until that time comes knocking.
Yeah, the road to authoritarianism isn't military action or a big event... it's literally thousands of decisions and policy adjustments that slowly and quietly chip away at wage gap protections.
Missed this bit.
They might be a catalyst for the rest to enter stage 4, if we don't decide to skip to stage 5 instead.
Oh boy, what a topic to begin with! Aunt Antonida would be proud of you, going all-in right away... In order to keep it short - this is from my experience among US-Expats:
US media is divided into extremes, even those who actually want to find a truth instead of a narrative have difficulties doing so. Most don't even try, but stay cozy on their side of the extreme, thinking that their view is the "rational middle ground". They're caught in their algorithms.
It's not that different in Germany. The US and their current administration are vilified, without any desire to even try to understand. It's easier to stay superficial.
I hope Trump is playing his beloved game of "deal making". I hope.
I think the world is moving this way in general. The algorithms for ad revenue drive for this kind of situation, because tension gets engagement, and rage gets publicity.
I agree. The average European (who is generally pretty well read) is becoming less of a thinker, and more of a repeater. Many of my friends think they are unaffected by the algorithms, but definitely are. I am too I guess, but perhaps in a different way, due to the width of my sources, and the diversity of my social groups. The algorithm tells me, there isn't much hope for the mid-term future.
Sort of like an AMA but on a specific topic. Seems like a good idea to me. I really wish there was a truly unbiased way to get the news. I think some of the first hand accounts from people on Twitter before it got all stupid were really telling of the actual events happening.
I feel like this is an area where AI could have an impact. Yes, it could be negative impact. However, combining AI with information that has been sourced from multiple points, blockchain, reliability scores and a host of other data points to provide a confidence score - it might mean we could have a better view of information, and cut out a lot of the "fourth-hand accounts".
That would be kind of cool. I would imagine there is already some efforts towards this. I have seen some cool tools that leverage chatbots with your own provided sources.
Nope) 50 miles is very little from extreme border to extreme border. It's closer from St. Petersburg to Finland. Both in terms of speed of thought and distance between mentalities. That's why, you know, Russia believes Putin as much as America believes Trump.... The only difference is that Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians like me now believe it with a bitter smile outside their homeland. I'm in Poland now and I'm not thinking of going back. And America will live through it all, watching this sendup on TV.
God bless America.
Good topic, by the way, to start the series! 🙌
!ALIVE
I am guessing that you still have family back in Belarus, so how does that impact on your thinking?
My wife and I had a great time over the five days there, with so many different people helping us when we needed it, to find the right station, the right place, or the right dance venue. People were incredibly friendly.
It is pretty sad how the majority of people suffer at the actions of the minority.
Trump has taken on this new administration with different advice than his previous administration, he has come in hard and tough and perhaps that was what his voters were looking for, as Biden's management did not help much either. I don't know anything about politics and in fact I don't like to watch the news, but since the pandemic I distrust the official media, it seems to me that everything is manipulation and I don't trust any of them anymore. From my ignorance, it seems to me that Trump is looking for alliances, in order to protect himself in the future or towards new conquests that we will know at the right time.
I think the best news is the stuff that comes locally from people who were actually there, and is relevant to our daily lives. Yes, a lot of this global news impacts us, but there is little we can do about it most of the time, so we shouldn't spend our lives consuming it. Instead, we can do it from time to time, and spend the rest of our energy acting locally.
That's right, it's the best. In that sense the social network X works, at the level of comments, because they are people commenting from their experience, and although we can not trust 100% because there are paid disinformation campaigns, it is an approach to reality, and of course this type of platforms where there is still freedom of thought and debate.
Unfortunately, we live in a post-truth era where I see that political conflicts are not just disagreements about policies, but have become a struggle to shape public consciousness.
Maybe we can never see the truth at all, but we keep fighting about what we believe to be true. What is for sure, is that we are being "shaped" for the profit of the few.
I find it interesting that America and russia seem to be discussing terms of peace behind Ukraine back. I also heard on the news that trump agreed with putin's demand that Ukraine must change president... It is sad that Ukraine gets so little power to decide things that concern Ukraine.
Considering Lithuania's proximity to Ukraine, Belarus, and the history - are people concerned there?
yes. I still hope that war will not reach us. But for instance my mother's friend one time said that we are already at war. She also said that we should prepare to be evacuated from our home should the war start. But I have no intention of leaving home and running away. I hope that if I will day I will die here.
The perceived disconnect between the US public and global events may be due to the influence of biased media and the predominant domestic focus. However, generalising about the knowledge or interest of all Americans is not entirely fair. Controversial statements, such as Trump's on Ukraine, often polarise, but they also invite crucial debate. Emotional distance from distant conflicts does not imply indifference, but a limitation of information. Promoting diverse sources could enrich global understanding and reduce misunderstandings.
Here in Canada, too, there are comments about Trump's impact on trade relations, but the positive side of the discourse needs to be seen. I agree that we have to put our house in order, many will not like it, because they are taken out of their comfort zone, but they will eventually adapt.
I don't think they generate that much debate that wasn't already debated, other than the position of the US in geopolitics, which has now aligned itself with its former enemy, which is headed by a dictator.
It is not an alliance, it is a strategy, colloquially called ‘sweetening’ and then the lunge.
Unfortunately, on these war, Russia is always the bad guy. However, in my own opinion, none of the Ukrainian nor Russian started the war.
It is the NATO alliance who push Ukraine go into war with Russia. NATO arming Ukrainian military with sophisticated weapon.
All these armaments NATO dumps in Russia doorstep is a real threat for Russia and it's people. The action provokes Russia and putting itself into a defense position to defend against foreign powers.
Talking about depending territory, the best defense is not creating or development or deployment of passive defense weapon but to completely eradicate the threats. It is a search and destroy operation.
Now, President Trump put all the blame to Ukraine instead of NATO and the US itself.
There is an objective fact that current war was started by Russian on February 24, 2022 with an invasion force of over 100,000 men. Putin started the war by declaring a "Special Military Operation"
NATO alliance didn't push Ukraine into war with Russia. NATO and US thought that Ukraine will fall in less than two weeks, when democratically elected president of Ukraine was asking NATO for help Germans responded by providing a couple hundred helmets... would you call that arming Ukraine with sophisticated weapons?
The only weapons provided from West to Ukraine were the anti-tank weapons provided by President Trump in his first term :)
Eventually NATO and US started arming Ukraine with real weapons, but most of those came too late and at a very slow rate. If weapons were provided in time this war would already be over.
I would recommend you to learn a little bit more about the history of this conflict by at least watching a decent documentary about this war made by Shawn Penn called Superpower:
Thank you for the enlightenment, however this is the reason why we barely know the truth around the us.
The eye opener video is not available to view in my country. By the way, thank you for sharing the truth.
Interesting.
Wow! Maybe you can find it somewhere else online, but it is a pretty good documentary considering it wasn't even made by locals in Ukraine but by an American movie star... Here is what it looks like for me:
:D
Remember the idea of the "free internet" with information available for all? All f the services have been localised, which is done for profit, but ends up siloing locations.
It annoys me on services like Spotify, where I pay for Premium, I don't get easy access to a lot of the US side of things. I can't choose a location preference, like in Australia for more my kind of stuff (not that I am a fan of Australian music generally). Same on Netflix, and other streaming services. A lot gets hidden, or unavailable completely. For instance on Netflix, most Finnish programming is not available in Australia at all, which means I can't share some of the views with my brother.
I haven't watched this yet. Perhaps I should give it a go.
Its seems trump is not focus and his jumping from one statenent to another i just hope his statement good or bad aint mere facts but action speaks louder than voice