In August 1941, about four months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt met with Winston Churchill aboard warships in Newfoundland’s Placentia Bay and agreed to the Atlantic Charter, a joint declaration by the world’s leading democratic powers on “common principles” for a postwar world.
Among its key points: “no aggrandizement, territorial or other”; “sovereign rights and self-government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them”; “freedom from fear and want”; freedom of the seas; “access, on equal terms, to the trade and to the raw materials of the world which are needed for their economic prosperity.”
The charter, and the alliance that came of it, is a high point of American statesmanship. On Friday in the Oval Office, the world witnessed the opposite. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s embattled democratic leader, came to Washington prepared to sign away anything he could offer President Trump except his nation’s freedom, security and common sense. For that, he was rewarded with a lecture on manners from the most mendacious vulgarian and ungracious host ever to inhabit the White House.
If Roosevelt had told Churchill to sue for peace on any terms with Adolf Hitler and to fork over Britain’s coal reserves to the United States in exchange for no American security guarantees, it might have approximated what Trump did to Zelensky. Whatever one might say about how Zelensky played his cards poorly — either by failing to behave with the degree of all-fours sycophancy that Trump demands or to maintain his composure in the face of JD Vance’s disingenuous provocations — this was a day of American infamy.
[Emphasis mine A/O]
Where do we go from here?
If there’s one silver lining to this fiasco, it’s that Zelensky did not sign the agreement on Ukrainian minerals that was forced on him this month by Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary who’s the Tom Hagen character in this protection-racket administration. The United States is entitled to some kind of reward for helping Ukraine defend itself — and Ukraine’s destruction of much of Russia’s military might should top the list, followed by the innovation Ukraine demonstrated in pioneering revolutionary forms of low-cost drone warfare, which the Pentagon will be keen to emulate.
Read the rest here.
(Link fixed.)
11 comments:
Link to the rest ain't workin'.
Link fixed. Thanks for the heads up.
And you do not mention one single word about the persecution of the Ukrainian canonical Orthodox Church by the sect created by Constantinople and by the great democrat named Zelensky ( Churches and Cathedrals stolen by force, faithful molested, bishops beaten up -as in Cherkasy).
It is easy to be outspoken when one does not tell the whole truth ( Rabindranath TAGORE)
The "canonical Orthodox Church" is a de-facto ecclesial propaganda agency in service of a fascist dictator who launched a brutal war of aggression against a neighboring country using lies as a false pretext. Many of those lies have been repeated by that "canonical church." No nation is required to tolerate in its midst a subversive entity that is actively aiding and abetting it's mortal enemy during wartime.
Please refrain from lecturing me on the subject of religious persecution in defense of a sociopathic murderer and war criminal who has suppressed all meaningful freedom of expression in Russia, and who routinely jails, tortures, or just plain murders his critics. What exactly is the state of freedom of religion in Russia? Are OCU parishes allowed to operate in the territories conquered and occupied by Russia?
The Russian Orthodox Church has sold its soul and needs to publicly confess and repent.
Dear John,
The faithful of the Ukrainian canonical Church are fighting in the Ukrainian Army against the Russian army, but that does not prevent them from being persecuted by the sect and the Ukrainien government. Mentioning that, does not mean that one supports the Russian invasion or Mr Putin. Not at all. In the past, when one criticized the persecutions by the Communists in the Soviet union, some people pretended that they did not exist, and that it was Western propaganda. It is sad to see that the same method are still used today. When faithful are given Communion through bars in the Lavra, when the bishop of Cherkasy was beaten up in his cathedral, was that Russian propaganda? United Nations, World Council of Churches and lots of other international organisations have mentioned these persecutions. People who want an end to these persecutions are not Putin's propagandists. But of course it is easier for you to blame them as propagandists in order to ignore what happens to your fellow Christians. May God forgive this blindness!
The Russian Orthodox Church and its Ukrainian branch are directly complicit in Russia's war of aggression. Both have actively spread lies and Russian propaganda prior to, and during the war in efforts to justify Putin's crimes. Patriarch Kirill has publicly declared that those who die for Russia while waging war against their fellow Orthodox Christians have their sins forgiven and pass immediately to heaven. That is evil and borderline heresy.
There may be honorable and good Christians who are members of the UOC-MP. But institutionally, it is in submission to, and actively aiding a foreign power waging a barbarous war against the people of Ukraine. The Ukrainian government is well within their rights to suppress entities working for the destruction of their country.
Church canons are not a suicide pact. Russia has forfeited any claim to jurisdiction over a people they are slaughtering on a daily basis.
Dear John,
You may repeat your arguments that Metropolitan Onuphry whose parishioners are fighting (and dying) in the Ukrainian army, are responsible for the Russian invasion and supporting Russia, the weird -and wrong- theory of the Russian World, it is not true. If this were true, how could you explain that only 3 Orthodox Churches support the uncanonical "church" created by Constantinople, and that all the other Orthodox Churches, do not recognize and refuse to concelebrate with this entity, but do concelebrate with Metropolitan Onuphry's canonical Church. Does that mean that the great majority of the Orthodox Churches ( including Mount Athos) are siding with Putin, and the Russian Patriarchate? Not at all! As soon as the war started, the Ukrainian canonical Church separated from Moscow. Metropolitan Onuphry was even thanked by Mr Zelensky for assistance in organizing humanitarian corridor (March 15, 2022). But you prefer, like all supporters of Dumenko, to pretend that they are still members of the Moscow patriarchate. Lots of people- that is my case- have no sympathy either for Putin (since the Kursk incident) or for the Russian Patriarch ( whose declarations are not at all acceptable), but to accuse these people, of supporting Russian invasion because they mention the persecution of the canonical Church: it is terribly wrong and unfair. This persecution is a fact. If it were not, would it be mentioned by lots of international organizations? How can the Ukrainian soldiers members of the canonical Church fighting and being killed in the war against Russia "aid a foreign power waging a barbarous war against the people of Ukraine" as you state it?
It is sad to ignore this persecution and deny it with arguments that are really absurd.
You wrote: The Ukrainian government is well within their rights to suppress entities working for the destruction of their country.
This is an approval of persecutions. Were are back at the time of Soviet godless power when some people justified persecutions of Christians because they were enemies of the people!
The United Nations Press Release (July 2023)
Warning that 116 religious sites in Ukraine have been damaged since the Russian Federation’s invasion of that country began in February 2022, a senior United Nations official urged the warring parties today to respect and uphold fundamental human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and the right to manifest and practice one’s religion freely and safely.
Are they also supporters of Putin and Kyril?
Dear John, it is so sad to ignore fellow Christians suffering. Most Orthodox Churches (Georgia, OCA, Serbia, Rumania, Jerusalem etc. refuse to recognize and concelebrate with Dumenko's group and protest against the persecution of the canonical Church of Ukraine... for you they are propagandists of Russia. We are indeed back to Soviet times.
In Christ
CK
Clearly we are talking past one another here, and this discussion is now going in circles. The UOC-MP's collaboration with the Russian Government before and during the war at various levels is well documented. The fact that there are honorable people who remain in that jurisdiction does not negate this. Yes, large numbers of religious sites have been damaged or destroyed in Ukraine. What you omitted, is that most of that destruction has been perpetrated by the Russians.
The Churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Greece, and Cyprus have varying degrees of acceptance for the OCU. Most jurisdictions will commune Ukrainians, even if in some instances they won't concelebrate with the clergy. The simple truth is that there is no clear consensus on the canonical situation in Ukraine. It is a canonical no-man's land that will require a pan-Orthodox Synod to sort out.
Dear John,
You are right: we are going in circles.
Thus this is my last "Dear John" letter. There will come a time I am sure when things will be clear to you too.
In spite of what you say, there is a very clear canonical consensus about the situation in Ukraine: most Orthodox Churches (except 3 Greek Churches) do not recognize Dumenko's group. You think that a Pan-Orthodox Synod could sort out the situation. You are right, but a majority of members of the would-be Synod have already chosen their sides... they certainly will not recognize the schism ( they have not when it was created, up to this day they have not changed their minds!) and there is a bigger problem: the Patriarch of Constantinople has already refused to have a pan-Orthodox Synod because he thinks he has an unlimited power, like the Pope of Rome. The motto of the Patriarchate of Constantinople used to be Primus inter pares -first among equals. A few years ago it has been changed to Primus sine pluribus- first without equals!
If you read the Orthodox Church of Bishop Kallistos Ware, a hierarch of Constantinople, you will notice that what he said about the fact that the Patriarch of Constanople, was not the head od the Orthodox Church and that he had no jurisdiction over all other bishops.
Now to come to the Day of Infamy -title of your post- I really do not understand why you are so surprised. This is an established American tradition:
The US supported South Vietnam with great intelligence -they even imposed a Catholic ruler in a country that was mainly Buddhist. Then they left the country to their opponents and were responsible for the tragedy of the boat people!
They supported the Shah of Iran and then abandoned him.
They supported Noriega and then arrested him.
They supported Saddam Hussein when he fought against Iran. The day before the invasion of Koweit, the American Ambassador, being informed had no objection.
President Bush encouraged the Shiites at the end of the first Iraqi war and them let them be slaughtered by Saddam Hussein.
The US supported several governments in Afghanistan and then negotiated with the Talibans without the presence of the Afghan government they had installed. Then they left Afghanistan, leaving people that were compromised with them.
So what's new??? This type of behavior is a tradition like the Easter Bunny in the US! There are lots of decent American citizens that are not in agreement with this type of betrayal, but what can they do? They have to abide by the law. What kind of power do they have?
Dear in Christ John, I wish you the best
Can you please provide sources for the complicit acts of the OCU-MP with the Russian invasion? I'll be honest and say of all the Orthodox Christians online and in person that I have spoken about this with, you're the only one who has mentioned any complicit behavior with with Russia's invasion. I've met Orthodox Christians with differing views on Gaza/Israel, Trump and other hot topics, but it seems fairly unanimous with regards to the canonical Orthodox Church and Met. Onuphrey.
Hi John,
A Google search will yield extensive links. But this is a pretty good primer.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/04/20/anatomy-of-treason-how-the-ukrainian-orthodox-church-sold-its-soul-to-the-russian-world/
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