Russian Orthodoxy

response to a comment on Peter Frost at Unz Review

http://www.unz.com/pfrost/the-last-push-back-against-liberalism/

"What Putin really needs to do is to Prussianize and Protestantize the Russian Orthodox Church and culture in general.”

I’m pretty confident that this will not happen, by Putin or anyone else. Whether or not this assertion is true, I lack the intellectual chops to debate, but the Orthodox take their religion seriously to an extent that westerners can’t really understand. They are very prickly about it and talk of things that happened a thousand years ago like it was yesterday.

I first went to the Saker blog to try to understand what the hell (almost literally) was going on in Ukraine, but stayed, fascinated by a window on a really complicated social and historical environment forged by hundreds of years of tribal warfare and hatreds, but I was most surprised by his really strong views on, and support for his Church. Americans can’t really grasp this, I think. Many of us that even consider ourselves religious don’t approach this level of seriousness and generally view other, or even non- religions quite tolerantly. We are wide and shallow with respect to beliefs, comparatively (and to our advantage, until recently, in my opinion).

Their faith is most likely why there even is still a Russia in existence and why it will probably continue after America becomes Brazil. We would do well to follow their example in some respects, and if our story ever gets even as fractionally horrendous, I hope we can

Two Quick and Easy Ukraine Solutions

Congratulations to Svoboda and friends for capturing the flag in Kviv! One hopes they can keep and expand their gains; my personal hope is for all international phoney boundaries to be redrawn and redivided to reflect actual ethno-national boundaries, as might be established after long and violent struggles, in a state of peace by exhaustion. I think this process will occur, at some variation of pace and violence, and Ukraine provides almost perfect lab-example. We need to provide a fast, but relatively non-violent solution to the question of legitimacy, or more to the point, legitimize the actual undisputed top-dog.

Boxing is much older and more proven than Ukrainian democracy, and a much less ugly and corrupt history. Indeed, boxing is practically uncorruptable compared to any other means of choosing leaders. Ladies and Germs, I propose a new (probably ancient if I know my Greeks) meme: Pugilocracy! I could only find one non-circular reference on google, an inactive blog, carabiner. But that was in another context, and I'm proposing not just that leaders be chosen by fair, unarmed combat, but that these guys fight each other in lieu of war, saving large fortunes in waste and opportunity costs, and the advertising revenue would be immense, probably making the whole enterprise self-financing.

1. Klitschko fights giant Russian MP, Nikolay Valuev* 

 This fight is actually a long standing proposal, pre-dating the current crisis.  I don't even care who gets what, (ideally Klitschko wins, he gets western Ukraine, loses, gets all Ukraine. Joking...) because they could sell the fight on world-wide television and make enough to buy Ukraine outright. The betting pool would  probably revive the European economy. America's too, if it were marketed right.

2. Run a boxing tournament open to all Ukrainians. Much local excitement. Klitschko wins anyway, Ukraine goes back to being West Virginia, and east-west problem remains. I guess I should have titled this A Kwic'nEasy Ukraine Solution. What's needed is a Ukrainian Don King, in the unlikely event there aren't dozens of them.

*I don't care for rap, and I've never watched three minutes of boxing at one time before, but this is a pretty kick-ass video, and now that guy is a member of Parliament. Democracy sometimes works

Zaparogian Siech

                                                          "Why am I stalking you?"

This was driving me nuts - I was searching for "Zaparogian Seitch" or Siech, an island stronghold between the Russian and Tatar banks of the Dnieper [evidently Zaparovian and Zaparogian are equivalent], and dumb old google wanted to know if I meant "switch". As if!

(That would be funny if Siech were indexed tomorrow). That's what I get for reading more historical fiction than history.

Also, I forgot to send the "Putin Drools" pic to balance the Limonev Rules.

Sorry if I offended any Progressive девочки (ptitsy in Nadsat, Oh, my brothers), with my crypto-facist remarks.

 I'm really a quiet, nice guy as you can tell by my track suit, gold chains and kepka keblatka.                                            "Не хотите ли семечек?"