I wasn't sure which thread to post this on, but I am hoping some of our Russian members are reading this one. There is a weekly newsletter called "World Affairs Brief" put out by Joel Skousen. He has said many times that the fall of the Soviet Union was not real, that communism just went underground. In this week's newsletter, he uses these points as his "proof":
1) Former East German dictator Erik Honecker admitted on his death bed that Moscow gave him orders to let the student protests go forward in Leipzig that started it all and to stand down the Stazi. Later he was ordered to allow the Berlin wall to be torn down—to let the protestors think they had “won.” Moscow also gave orders for all the Communist dictators in Eastern Europe to step down. Only Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania refused and had to be killed.
2) Protestors in Red Square in Moscow in support of Boris Yeltsin (the pretended pro-Western reformer) were amazed that the KGB did not appear in force, unlike all former protests where protestors were beaten and arrested. They had been told to stand down. The television station broadcasting Yeltsin’s speech from atop the tank was still under Communist control, but they did not cut off the TV feed or air a pro-government counter-report, as they could have.
3) The attempted KGB coup against Gorbachev at his undefended dacha supposedly failed—as if the vaunted KGB which had overthrown entire governments before was so incompetent!
4) The heads of the KGB, GRU, and Defense Ministry were reported as “fleeing for their lives.” These men supposedly controlled the highest levels of military and police power in the entire Soviet Union. Who were they fleeing from? No one in the Western media bothered to even ask that question. In fact, all these top “leaders” including Gorbachev had been mid-level bureaucrats a couple of years prior to being elevated to their top positions. That means other more powerful people behind the scenes were selecting them and directing their actions.
5) These secret top Communist leaders came out of hiding after the “fall” and became the new Oligarchs, the only ones who had the power to get the Russian State Bank to “loan” them the money to buy up Gazprom, the Oil companies, and media, to become super wealthy. Boris Berezovsky became the head of the new Commonwealth of Independent States—a euphemism for the remnants of the Soviet Union. Putin met with Berezovsky five times at his Spanish villa the year he ascended to the presidency, indicating that Boris Berezovsky was still the real behind-the-scenes leader in Russia (until Putin had him assassinated in London).
Skousen goes on to say that Putin's Russia is no paragon of moral virtue. He says, "Russians may not allow the promotion of the woke agenda publicly, but few in Russia honestly champion the daily virtues Putin if falsely espousing. It has its own high levels of corruption. Russians have the highest rate of marriage infidelity and divorce in the world at around 80-90 percent. Alcoholism is chronic at all levels of society. Drugs, prostitution, gangs, organized crime and even homosexuality exist everywhere in Russia, but especially in large cities. Homosexuality is just more open in the West. The underground Soviet criminal syndicates still control their own drug trade like they did before the fall, even though they used to target only the West with their drug imports—which the CIA took over during the Vietnam war and when Afghanistan fell under US control."
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So dear Russian members, does any of that make any sense to you? Some of the points about the fall make some sense, for example, how the KGB was not stopping the protestors as it normally did. Is your country still being run by Communists? On the morality point, do you see high levels of infidelity and divorce in your circles? And so on.
It's hard to know what is really true. From what I have read, Putin seems to be a decent person. But he could be just acting, and speeches in which he talks about satanism could just be a big plot to make him seem something he is not. This guy, Skousen, is not saying the U.S. is the good guy. He knows we are not. But his premise is, just because Putin talks in such ways does not make him a good guy either, and that Russia (and China) want their own version of power and control that the West is trying to keep.
Any thoughts? Thanks.
I have subscribed to WAB for many years and consider it (and the website in general) to be an excellent resource for current events backstory and US historic shenanigans.
World Affairs Brief He also has some very good books, such as Strategic Relocation and The Secure Home. Skousen seems to be very well connected in terms of government and military matters. Sometimes I even write to him after reading his briefs about points of disagreement, and I always get a thoughtful reply on the subject. Smart people can have differing opinions. I think it is useful to consider many viewpoints. At the very least, I'm pretty sure he does not take his points from Mockingbird Media.
Off topic: At the end of each weekly brief is a small section on preparedness, covering many areas regarding getting prepared for the coming hard times ahead. Sometimes I post these sections on various threads of this forum. Today the section was about camping.
10/7/22
PREPAREDNESS TIP: CAMPING by Andrew Skousen
Camping is an excellent way to test a huge range of self-sufficiency skills. It is a way to take a break from the modern conveniences around us and have fun doing so. Just as visiting a national park is so much more impressive than viewing a postcard, staying a few nights in nice areas can bring a much greater experience than just living at home or staying in a hotel. Camping lets you enjoy the full experience of living near a lake, in lush forests, in majestic mountains, or in a meadow. The depth of enjoyment in the great outdoors grows as you expand your knowledge, skill and abilities of what it takes to be comfortable in the raw resources of nature, and these skills can be a valuable foundation for self-sufficient living when you add in modern technology. There are many ways to camp—from so-called “glamping” in cabins or RVs to just minimalist survival. I recommend engaging in the form that works for you, but take the opportunity to expand your skills at the same time. Here are some ideas.
Car Camping: There are thousands of campgrounds all over the country just waiting for you to pull up and set up camp (some of the popular ones must be reserved in advance, but almost all have sites on a first-come, first-serve basis). For a modest fee you get a parking spot, a tent site and access to clean running water and bathrooms. The amenities vary widely from some KOAs with swimming pools and hot-water showers down to sites with basic pit toilets and a community cold water spigot. Expect to get by with just clean water and bathrooms. After a few times, you will find it easy to throw the basics into the back of the car and head out for a weekend. When you do, try to practice new skills like fishing, fire-building, cooking over coals, cleaning up and maintaining hygiene. Roughing it, helps us all appreciate utilities and conveniences that we take for granted and reminds us what is most valuable and how to focus and prioritize our preparedness efforts.
Backpacking: When you leave behind the convenience of your vehicle to spend an overnight or more on foot you really have to sharpen your skills to eliminate any extra weight. Water weighs a lot so it pays to collect and purify it from streams along the way. Food also adds weight and bulk so anything you can live off the land makes for an easier time and lets you stay out longer. This kind of camping also builds physical fitness and makes you hone your equipment. It also opens up access to untouched parts of natural beauty that are hard to reach otherwise.
Winter Camping: Camping during the summer is pleasant, but you don’t have to give up on camping when it gets cold or wet. This is another opportunity to improve your skills to learn how to keep your tent or other shelter warm and dry against the elements. Learning to shed water away from a tent in the rain or digging a snow cave in the winter are very valuable lessons.
Primitive Skills Camps: In the 1960s a group of professors at BYU in Utah started teaching their students about the lifestyles of primitive cultures by living for a month with only that level of technology. This drew others who were interested and eventually annual gatherings became popular centered around the forgotten skills of the 18th and 19th centuries. Every year avid enthusiasts gather for week-long campouts to employ and share their skills in large camps. The focus of the groups varies but you will typically find people in pioneer dresses and buckskin garb around a big fire pit, living out of teepees and canvas tents (usually with modern tents and camp trailers nearby). They typically share at least one meal together, and attendees pay to attend unless they can offer enough skills to be instructors.
Classes are varied and interesting, with hands-on skills from everything from basic bushwacking to advanced mountain-man skills or pioneer-era vocations. They teach each other blacksmithing skills, how to weave baskets, make ropes, wash with old-fashioned equipment, turn rocks and sticks into arrows with arrowheads, smoke meat, tan hides, make moccasins, and how to knit and sew—to name but a few. There are usually so many classes taught that it is impossible to attend them all.
At night they pull out instruments of all kinds and sing and have group dances near the campfire. This may sound boring compared to fast-paced TV shows and popcorn movie theaters, but the live music from a banjo and fiddle when to put to dance under the direction of a good “caller”—a person who calls out each dance step—is lively, uplifting and wholesome. The dances bring a friendly cohesiveness as you dance in synchrony and have fun together as a large group.
The most popular rendevous of this kind is still the offshoot from the original gathering started by college professors from BYU—the
Rabbitstick Primitive Skills Conference in Rexburg, ID in September. Tickets always sell out very quickly after registration opens in late February. This year they went for $425 per adult, with discounts for youth and kids. You can look for a “Mountain Man Rendevous” in your states, or come to a good one in
Green River UT at the second weekend in July. The earliest camp of the year is
Winter Count in AZ in February. There are many more, most of which occur in or around the Rocky Mountains.
Some camps and groups are hard to find except by word-of-mouth. With their focus on primitive skills, many groups do not have good websites. Every camp and group has a different flavor, including some that are less family-friendly. The pictures of past events can tell you a lot about what to expect. Be prepared for dedicated enthusiasm for a bygone era which can attract strange characters but almost everyone is friendly, helpful and willing to share what they love.
One of the most authentic camps that is especially family-friendly is the “
Little School on the Prairie” as inspired by the series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. All the attendees are encouraged to wear clothes similar to the 1800s era and the instructors and participants focus on teaching from the skills described in the books and helping families live the wholesome life described in the books. Instead of an open registration, the Prairie School organizers ask prospective attendees to tell a little about themselves, with a priority given to families with the same mindset. Held during the school year in the early part of October, it favors homeschooling families, some of which are better behaved. It is like going to Gettysburg only you get to dress up and participate as a family camp.
Most of us can’t afford a cabin in the most beautiful natural scenery around, but we can still enjoy living there, if just for a few nights at a time—if you are willing to camp. Formal campsites abound all over the US and elsewhere and as your skills improve you can camp on public lands far away from crowds for much less—as long as you can live without utilities.
If you haven’t explored the benefits of camping in the great outdoors, take some time to get out and enjoy some of the many, many options. There are many valuable experiences to be gained and the equipment is nearly all valuable for use in bug out bags or to form the backbone of your 72 hour kit, especially backpacking equipment. Avoid the trappings of modern-day “glamping” that brings modern conveniences with use and instead use these opportunities to expand your abilities with practical equipment. Push yourself to do more than just cook hot dogs and smores on a stick, such as learning to boil water and cook over an open fire amid a whole range of other skills that make the most of what is around you. The experience and the memories last a lifetime.
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