Pandora's Clown

'Servant of the People' isn't funny when you follow the money, and the corruption

Having been in limbo for the last six weeks, I have concluded that I need a change. This is my last political post; I am distressed by the subject, and other writers do a better job with it than I ever could. I do want to go out with bang though. So, let’s talk about how the war in Ukraine has unleashed not just actual weapons, but the equally dangerous weapons of propaganda, inciting hysteria, and just plain hate mongering. Oh, how we love to do that in time of war.

The latest cover from the Economist (whom I shall not be renewing) is typical, and coming from one of the oldest and most respected journals in the English language, a sign of how quickly the media forget all their promises about honesty, integrity and objectivity. And sink right back into the morass of misinformation, pushing agendas, hysteria, and downright lies. This way of ‘reporting’ on war is ancient and effective: Ceasar did it and so did the media during both world wars. In other words, we’ve had ample time to learn how to do this differently. Just toning down the level of hysteria would help. Of course, we have done anything but. The Ukraine war is a perfect example of how easy it is to ratchet up tensions, inflame righteous anger, and play the hero. Might be because in this advanced modern age, we have more channels of communication with which to befuddle each other.

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, let’s unpack this image. This man must surely, in a quiet hour, wonder how he got to be a media darling and indeed, a ‘hero’ in the West. His expression is everything we want from a serious guy fighting for the right cause; he even sports a moustache. And the expression—wait, I have seen that before somewhere. Oh, right, on Netflix in that fluffy political satire Servant of the People, which isn’t a satire so much as a weird, badly acted, political fairy tale. Zelensky always wears that look. Serious but not too bright. Just a beleaguered straight man, both on screen and in ‘real life’. But while Zelensky is masquerading as a politician, he is a dubious figure making clowns of everyone who buys his charade.

Who is Mr Z, really? We are told repeatedly that he is leading a righteous fight against the evil oligarchs, that he is indeed a ‘servant of the people of Ukraine ‘ and that we, the West must aid him in fighting Putin or be forever damned. His cause is our cause. And you have to hand it to Mr Zelensky, his performances in front of various national and international bodies are brilliant pieces of polished propaganda. They always cater to the audience, paint Ukraine as a victim while asking for very dangerous things, like a no fly zone over Ukraine. If the West did that, we would no doubt be fully engaged in a war with Russia and usher in the end of the world as we know it. But he feels morally strong enough to ask it, though so far, nobody has actually done that. Fingers crossed. But President Biden’s speech in Poland on March 26th, with that now famous line about Putin: For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power…does not bode well. Attempts at regime change have always lead to terrible outcomes, but here is Biden talking as if it were a sane, moral thing to contemplate. It’s unclear whether he was just being normally demented, or politically demented. Either way, it’s frightening. We really are as close as we’ve ever been to nuclear armageddon. I don’t have to point out that there are no winning scenarios should that happen.

So, let’s laugh at him while we still can, shall we? Here is a lovely and timely image, just as partisan as the cover of the Economist but with the added virtue of wit. Apparently not everyone is ‘buying the narrative’.

So what shall we make of this serious clown? When in doubt, I follow the money. Only a bit of digging into the Pandora Papers yields information about Mr Z’s international money operations. They paint quite a different picture. He might be posing as the anti-oligarch guy, but he is actually one of them and is emerging as their preferred mouthpiece. Through a series of shell companies and friends who are now in high government positions in Ukraine, Mr Z and his wife own million dollar flats in London and have interests in a number of offshore shell companies located in tax havens beloved of oligarchs everywhere.

Here is a convenient link to the story about how that happened, who the players are and continue to be. It’s a Russian site, but they helpfully translate articles. It’s possible that this is also propaganda, but the Pandora Papers at least are the real deal. That much we know:

https://new-economy.gr/2022/03/13/zelensky-pandora/

Of course, in the Pandora of myth, after releasing all the bad stuff on mankind, she managed to keep only Hope in the magic box. I have a complicated relationship to that emotion, and suspect that others do as well. We seem to living through a particularly bad patch just now. On bad days, the future of humankind looks very dim indeed and Hope is just hanging on desperately. I sincerely hope that I am wrong in thinking that it has already been decided by corrupt players like Zelensky et al—unless the masses wake up. I am not fond of conspiracy theories but here is one of those articles that I always wish weren’t true, but simply the insane ravings of fringe lunatics. You decide for yourself.

https://www.transcend.org/tms/2022/04/the-war-in-ukraine-understanding-and-resisting-the-global-elites-deeper-agenda/

Honestly, I’m too old for all of this. From now on, I will concentrate on reviewing favourite books and their authors, combined with musings on art and culture. Hating politics and politicians is bad for my health, so I am not going to slavishly follow the bad news as I have been doing. I am going to focus on the things that I love, instead. It might save my health.

However, if you are addicted to politics, I do recommend following these writers on Substack: Chris Hedges, CJ Hopkins, Steve Kirsch, Bari Weiss, Uncensored, The Naked Emperor, Matt Taibbi and last but not least, the brilliant Canadian comic, Geoff Olsen, who might not be a servant of the People but is a servant of wit and truth.

I’m signing off with one final thought: if I were a believer, I would say, pray for us, we are in dire straits, we need help. I might as well say it anyway. It can’t hurt, can it?