Where is Gonzalo Lira? Fears for YouTuber missing in Ukraine's Kharkov article

[Cosmos]

Looks like Gonzalo's ego is taking hold of him and creating totally unnecessary drama. At least that's how it appears to me after watching both Gonzalo's and Ritter's takes on this. Gonzalo omits parts of the post that Ritter shared during his capture, and his whole point is weird, as Ritter helped to gain attention for his case, likely improving the situation.

Ritter (like anyone else) could be off with some of his conclusions (which he admits), but that's not a reason to attack his persona (there's no evidence of him wanting to go mainstream). Ritter's additional analysis above makes sense, though the 40 billion military aid by US being part of this "game changer" he says (which he gives imo pretty nuanced take) may be mostly going to run Ukraine's corrupted government, NGO's etc and instead only 6 billion of it going to actual military arms and training (according to the Duran guys).

I tend to agree that Gonzalo basically jumped the gun here. I would say if that should be the case, that he is probably a bit too paranoid and seeing enemies/propagandist were there are none. I‘ve also watched the above from Ritter and his explanation makes sense to me.

his whole point is weird, as Ritter helped to gain attention for his case, likely improving the situation.

That’s a good point, if that was Ritters Intention. As far as I know, at the point in time when Ritter posted about Gonzalo there were quite some „serious“ rumors going around that Gonzalo was „in fact“ tortured and killed, so that some serious people started to really entertain „that fact“ as true (including me).

It wouldn’t surprise me if in reality Ritter just wanted to do something good with that post, by „keeping Gonzalo‘s memory up/alive“ and raising awareness of what the Kiev regime is doing to people like him.

If that should be the case, it is quite sad and ironic that Gonzalo would think „evil“ of him now.

I suspect that Gonzalo is a guy whose emotions can sometimes (or often) misguide him when it comes to personal matters. I guess after Gonzalo was back online, one of the first things he noticed was what Ritter has said (maybe fueled by conspiracy people pointing at Ritter, which Gonzalo saw?) and being in the emotional aftermath of the detainment and war, he probably was/is a bit too paranoid. Also, the fact that Ritter seems to have been the last person to talk to Gonzalo before he was detained, probably plays into it.

Having said that, I‘m still open for both possibilities, although I tend toward Gonzalo having jumped the gun here, unjustifiably.

 

[Cosmos]

The question is: if Gonzalo has unjustifiably put Ritter neatly in the „evil“ box now, never to hear, think and speak about him again, is he a person that can reconsider his certainty?

 

[Cosmos]

I‘m currently listening to a live interview with Gonzalo here:

And indeed, Gonzalo says his family is not in Kharkov anymore, but, quote, „on a beach in Europe“. So, I was wrong in assuming that his family is still there... By the sounds of it, they are indeed out of danger, thankfully!

 

[Cosmos]

From the podcast above: Gonzalo is currently writing a book about the western elites and why the western system as it is now produces such strange people as elites/leaders. He will make the book available for free and from his „insider perspective“ (he was supposed to become an „elite“ too) I think he could bring up some fairly good insights. I think it would be interesting to read it with Ponerology in mind (which I think he is partly describing, without knowing/realizing it). By the way, he is originally a historian and philosopher by trade, as far as I understand.

 

[cassandra]

Gonzalo is very good at explaining relatively complex matters simply, eloquently, and frequently entertainingly, so I look forward to his book. Thanks for the heads up, @Cosmos.

It doesn’t surprise me in the least that his family is not in Ukraine at the moment. Surely, no normal family man with the financial resources and means to establish his loved ones abroad would keep them in a war-torn country, while also further endangering them by telling us what what is likely really going down in Ukraine and thus threatening the status quo.

 

[BHelmet]

Cosmos, I know you are a fan of this guy and what I am going to say is in no way a criticism of you. Something about him strikes me as a guy you might run into a bar who is working on his second beer and loves to pontificate expansively to anyone within earshot who will listen. So, I have done some digging and what I have found is not pretty. I am going to start a separate thread in this regard. I will admit he is on his best behavior with his "Ukraine Reporter" persona.

Do note that a few days before Russia rolled across the border, Lira said this in an interview with the Saker:

“No one over the age of 12 or with an IQ over 90 seriously believes the Russians are going to invade any time soon, and keep in mind that KHARKIV is primarily a Russian city full of Russians and most people here have family living across the border and if something were actually happening, we would get the noise of it, the rumblings, the rumors of it.”

Key questions that come up in regards to "the work": If someone seems primarily interested in self-promotion and monetization, does that cast a shadow on his offerings? If someone is potentially a garden variety psychopath, should he be ignored entirely even if he is amusing, insightful and "right" 50% of the time? And lastly, If a guy is a total douche bag in one area, does that negate what he might have to offer in another area?

All in all, he is a fascinating case study. I may land in some hot water, so I have sealed the airlock on my strategic enclosure...

 

[Meg]

Cosmos, I know you are a fan of this guy and what I am going to say is in no way a criticism of you. Something about him strikes me as a guy you might run into a bar who is working on his second beer and loves to pontificate expansively to anyone within earshot who will listen. So, I have done some digging and what I have found is not pretty. I am going to start a separate thread in this regard. I will admit he is on his best behavior with his "Ukraine Reporter" persona.

Do note that a few days before Russia rolled across the border, Lira said this in an interview with the Saker:

“No one over the age of 12 or with an IQ over 90 seriously believes the Russians are going to invade any time soon, and keep in mind that KHARKIV is primarily a Russian city full of Russians and most people here have family living across the border and if something were actually happening, we would get the noise of it, the rumblings, the rumors of it.”

Key questions that come up in regards to "the work": If someone seems primarily interested in self-promotion and monetization, does that cast a shadow on his offerings? If someone is potentially a garden variety psychopath, should he be ignored entirely even if he is amusing, insightful and "right" 50% of the time? And lastly, If a guy is a total douche bag in one area, does that negate what he might have to offer in another area?

All in all, he is a fascinating case study. I may land in some hot water, so I have sealed the airlock on my strategic enclosure...

Thanks for your comments, BHelmet. I've had the same reticence with him. I keep waiting for the 'Go Fund Me' grift for whatever cause. I do hope I'm wrong and he's sincere, but something about him didn't pass the smell test for me too.

 

[Alejo]

Cosmos, I know you are a fan of this guy and what I am going to say is in no way a criticism of you. Something about him strikes me as a guy you might run into a bar who is working on his second beer and loves to pontificate expansively to anyone within earshot who will listen. So, I have done some digging and what I have found is not pretty. I am going to start a separate thread in this regard. I will admit he is on his best behavior with his "Ukraine Reporter" persona.

Do note that a few days before Russia rolled across the border, Lira said this in an interview with the Saker:

“No one over the age of 12 or with an IQ over 90 seriously believes the Russians are going to invade any time soon, and keep in mind that KHARKIV is primarily a Russian city full of Russians and most people here have family living across the border and if something were actually happening, we would get the noise of it, the rumblings, the rumors of it.”

Key questions that come up in regards to "the work": If someone seems primarily interested in self-promotion and monetization, does that cast a shadow on his offerings? If someone is potentially a garden variety psychopath, should he be ignored entirely even if he is amusing, insightful and "right" 50% of the time? And lastly, If a guy is a total douche bag in one area, does that negate what he might have to offer in another area?

All in all, he is a fascinating case study. I may land in some hot water, so I have sealed the airlock on my strategic enclosure...

Well, those are fair and valid questions I think, so I am looking forward to reading what you have put together.

Because I do not think that someone being wrong about something, negates the value they could bring elsewhere, but there are limits and there's a context. JBP for instance, is invaluable in many respects, but in some others he is simply dead wrong, but that's the kind of thing we will find everywhere with everyone, a nuanced human being with good and bad aspects and one ought to be able to differentiate so as to not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Regarding the Russian operation, to be completely fair, and I have been following with a certain degree of seriousness for years now, I did not expect Russia to step in militarily in Ukraine, and neither did several other personalities in, of all places, RT. So, I could not fault him for that. I think very few people knew ahead of time what was to take place, as there was a clear planning to the entire operation.

But I remain open and will read what is put forth, I do have to say that I just took a quick glance at his wikipedia page and they write poorly about him and call him all sorts of woke sinful names. He has provided a lot of good insight into this situation in specific and that can't be taken away, but that doesn't mean we have to like him as a human being.

So, looking forward to reading you!

 

[Ben]

I have to say I find the whole kidnap and reappearance of Gonzalo more suspicious now. I saw a couple of his recent videos and he seems to have simply picked up where he left off. I speculated that he may have been released because of potential bad PR if he was killed or detained further, and that he would be posting in a somewhat neutered form. I'm not convinced the SBU would allow this to happen, or that Gonzalo is where he says he is.

 

[Cosmos]

In case you missed it. Gonzalo has been arrested again by the Ukrainian Nazis:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1654573261139636224

And hasn’t been heard of since:

Maria Zakharova responded as follows:

10 May 2023 20:07

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comment on the abduction of journalist Gonzalo Lira Lopez by Ukraine security services​

May 5, we learned that the Security Service of Ukraine detained Chilean journalist and producer Gonzalo Angel Quintilio Lira Lopez. His lot remains unknown at this point.
The Latin American video blogger had been commenting on the events in Ukraine from the epicenter. He explained in detail the sources of the crisis and covered the atrocities of the Nazis, which was not to their taste once again.

This is not his first disappearance. A little more than a year ago (on April 15, 2022) he stopped contacting other people. It turned out that he was being held by Ukrainian secret services who had seized his notebooks and deprived him of access to his accounts. Then they had to release him because of the broad media coverage of his disappearance.
The Security Service of Ukraine is holding him once again, and we urge the journalist community to defend our colleague and demand his immediate release.

In the year of the 50th anniversary of the fascist state coup in Chile, we need to prevent a very similar repetition of those events in Ukraine. The coup led to the forced disappearance of thousands of Chileans, including journalists. We hope for solidarity from the Chilean authorities that consider themselves Salvador Allende’s spiritual heirs.

 

[BHelmet]

So if Gonzalo being arrested is really a public relations nightmare for Ukraine, why then do we see a nicely choreographed and framed movie shoot complete with a backing track and Lira making the peace sign to a camera the soldiers must have been aware of? Is this supposedly his latest arrest? Same idea; Take 2?

That and everything else I’ve said and demonstrated, if he really has been detained, I wish him no harm.

 

[BHelmet]

Zakharova calling him a South American journalist and producer and saying anything at all about him is definitely strange.

 

[Cosmos]

So if Gonzalo being arrested is really a public relations nightmare for Ukraine, why then do we see a nicely choreographed and framed movie shoot complete with a backing track and Lira making the peace sign to a camera the soldiers must have been aware of? Is this supposedly his latest arrest? Same idea; Take 2?

That and everything else I’ve said and demonstrated, if he really has been detained, I wish him no harm.

Frankly speaking, I can’t quite follow why the „Gonza is faking it“ and now „the Ukrainians are in on it“ is entertained.

Zakharova calling him a South American journalist and producer and saying anything at all about him is definitely strange.

Why would that be strange?

 

[Keit]

The Security Service of Ukraine is holding him once again, and we urge the journalist community to defend our colleague and demand his immediate release.

I noticed this bit above and found it very strange. How come Zakharova calls Lira "our colleague". He isn't a diplomat. And she isn't a journalist. So I searched for the Russian version of the statement. And yep, it's an incorrect translation. Interesting that this bad translation wasn't checked or verified before being posted on the official ministry site.

What she actually says that she urges the journalist community to raise their voices and defend their colleague. Well, technically she says "defend a collegue", but it is implied from the context that it is their colleague. Funny how it morphed to "our" in English. Even Deepl makes a better job.



I wonder if this mistake can also lead to some Western newspapers to use it as a proof that he is a Russian spy. Not that they need any excuses to do that.

 

[BHelmet]

And yep, it's an incorrect translation. Interesting that this bad translation wasn't checked or verified before being posted on the official ministry site.

Ah yes, the devil is always in the details, isn’t it?