Thursday, March 06, 2025

WAITING IN THE WINGS

Zaluzhny: Ukraine faces a “positional” warfare - Militarnyi

FORWARD-LOOKING VIEW: Although Zaluzhny has denied political ambitions, he is seen as the only credible rival to Zelenskyy when Ukraine finally holds its delayed presidential election.

Without a government role, Zaluzhny can "maintain his profile and become a rallying figure for the opposition".
And if Zelenskyy replaces Zaluzhny, everyone will assume that a successor is merely "implementing the president's preferred strategy", said Freedman.
So if this year proves even more difficult than the last for Ukraine, "it will be on him".

Ukraine Today.org

Zaluzhny accused the US of destroying the world order

an hour ago

The National

Russia must pay to rebuild Ukraine as price of peace, says Zelenskyy's sacked general

9 minutes ago

Revealed! This Ukrainian leader set to 'crush’ Zelenskyy in election ... | Feb 20, 2025 #Ukraine #Zelenskyy #Trump

Ukraine’s political battlefield is heating up as former top general Valery Zaluzhny emerges as a formidable challenger to President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy.

Internal polling reportedly shows Zaluzhny would defeat Zelenskyy by a landslide, securing 65% of the vote, according to The Economist.

Will Ukraine's leadership reset work?

Zelenskyy hints at ousting of popular military chief, but risks backlash amid dwindling munitions, delayed funding and Russian bombardment

Photo composite of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Valery Zaluzhny

Ongoing tensions between General Valery Zaluzhny, left, and President Zelenskyy have publicly ignited in a row over conscription

(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly)

BY HARRIET MARSDEN, THE WEEK UK

PUBLISHED 9 HOURS AGO

Ukraine is set for a major leadership reshuffle after Volodymyr Zelenskyy hinted he would replace the "extremely popular" head of the armed forces.

"A reset, a new beginning is necessary," the Ukrainian president told Italian national broadcaster Rai TV on Sunday, following reports that he had told the White House he would fire General Valery Zaluzhny, who rejected a request to step down.

The pair are "locked in a dispute over a new military mobilisation drive", a source told Reuters, with Zelenskyy "opposing Zaluzhny's proposal to call up 500,000 fresh troops" to bolster Ukraine's beleaguered forces. Last Thursday, Zaluzhny claimed in an article for CNN that his government had failed to mobilise enough troops, ahead of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion.

If Zaluzny Is Out, Who Could Become Ukraine’s Next Commander-in-Chief?

The popular general may be part of a wider reshuffle as President Zelensky seeks a new start

Visegrad Insight

13 hours ago

If Zaluzny Is Out, Who Could Become Ukraine's Next Commander-in-Chief? ⋆ Visegrad Insight

Speculation surrounding General Zaluzhny’s potential resignation appears to be substantiated, prompting an examination of the prospective successor to lead the Ukrainian army and the military’s response to this development.
Since 29 January, various Ukrainian officials and journalists have raised speculation that General Valerii Zaluzhny, a prominent figure in Ukrainian society, is on the brink of being dismissed as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

President Volodymir Zelenskyy has so far refused to confirm if he had already initiated formal steps to remove the popular general but said on the record he was planning a major reshuffle at the top of the leadership in response to ounting challenges off and on the battlefield

Divergence in the course of action
“There is definitely a need for a reset, a new beginning. When we talk about this, I mean the replacement of several state leaders, not just in one sector, such as the military," Zelenskyy told Italian television.
Whatever the eventual outcome, the potential removal of Zaluzhny, 50, reflects a noticeable divergence in military perspectives between the president and the commander-in-chief, just as Russia seems bent on trying to capitalise on the Ukrainian army’s shortage of soldiers and equipment.
Ukraine failed to execute their announced plans for counter-offensive operations last summer, while delays in Western aid and equipment deliveries have put the country’s war effort on the back foot.

Zamin.uz

Zaluzhny: "The US is disrupting the world order, and Russia is getting closer to Europe"

48 minutes ago

Bankingnews

2 hours ago

Οι ΗΠΑ καταστρέφουν την Παγκόσμια Τάξη – Zaluzhny: Υπαρκτό σενάριο διάλυση ΝΑΤΟ και επίθεση Ρωσίας σε Ευρώπη

Andor Season 2 - Official Teaser Trailer (2025) Diego Luna, Genevieve O'...

Join star Diego Luna and the cast of Andor for a behind-the-scenes look at Season 2 of this Star Wars series.

Season 2 of Andor begins streaming on Disney+ on April 22, 2025.

Rife with political intrigue, danger, tension, and high stakes, the series is a prequel to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which portrayed a heroic band of rebels who steal the plans to the Empire’s weapon of mass destruction: The Death Star, setting the stage for the events of the original 1977 film.

“Andor” sets the clock back five years from the events of “Rogue One” to tell the story of the film’s hero, Cassian Andor, and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.

“Andor” Season 2 stars Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau, Alan Tudyk, with Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker.

The series was created by Tony Gilroy, who also serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna, Luke Hull and John Gilroy.

Tony Gilroy wrote the first three episodes, with Beau Willimon writing episodes 4-6, Dan Gilroy penning episodes 7-9 and Tom Bissell putting pen to paper for episodes 10-12.

The directors for the series are Ariel Kleiman (Eps. 1-6), Janus Metz (Eps. 7-9) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (Eps. 10-12).

Nomophobia Alert

A study by German scientists revealed that limiting smartphone use for 72 hours can significantly change brain activity related to addiction.

This was shown through MRI scans and psychological tests conducted on young adults aged 18 to 30 before and after the phone restriction period. 1 hour ago

Scientists observe that smartphone restriction for three days can alter brain activity

by Sanjukta Mondal , Medical Xpress

A smartphone's glow is often the first and last thing we see as we wake up in the morning and go to sleep at the end of the day. It is increasingly becoming an extension of our body that we struggle to part with. In a recent study in Computers in Human Behavior, scientists observed that staying away from smartphones can even change one's brain chemistry.

MDPI

Exploring the Impact of Smartphone Addiction on Risk Decision-Making Behavior among College Students Based on fNIRS Technology

Even a short period away from your smartphone can lead to noticeable shifts in brain activity, according to new research

NDTV

Giving Up Your Phone For Just 3 Days Can Change Brain, Study Shows

2 days ago

The Economic Times

Reducing phone use to essential tasks for three days can boost brain power: Study

1 hour ago

Moneycontrol

Nomophobia alert: Study confirms how excessive smartphone use affects your brain negatively

3 hours ago

GIGAZINE

Research shows that limiting smartphone use for just three days can change brain activity

2 days ago

Research shows that limiting smartphone ...

Science News

Technology that reads and changes brain activity challenges privacy

REMARKABLE - IT'S BEEN A CRAZY WEEK >> Europe Steps Up Satellite Capabilities Amid Doubts Over Musk's Starlink

Words You Can Use

Democratic protests during President Trump's speech mocked by liberal media figures

(RELATED TO AN UPLOADED POST FROM YESTERDAY ON THIS BLOG)

05 March 2025

TechDirt: “Mike, but what should we do?”

The revolution isn’t coming someday.

It’s happening right now, in millions of individual decisions to align actions with deepest values.

The resistance isn’t elsewhere.

It’s in you, waiting to be lived rather than merely contemplated.

What You Should Do

Say That Again

from the be-yourself,-do-what-your-true-self-demands dept

Tue, Mar 4th 2025 03:34pm - Mike Brock

Okay, people. You keep asking me, “Mike, but what should we do?” I am going to condescend to you now, about what you should do.

The only resistance worth a damn is the one where you stop calculating the odds and start living your truth without reservation. What separates the merely clever from the genuinely courageous isn’t tactical brilliance but moral clarity—the willingness to act as if your conscience matters more than your comfort. The irony, which our enemies will never grasp, is that this apparent recklessness creates the most robust safety net imaginable. While they isolate themselves in gilded bunkers of power, we forge bonds of mutual aid that no authority can sever.

History doesn’t remember those who hedged their bets or preserved their options; it remembers those who, when facing the abyss, decided that some principles cannot be compromised regardless of consequence. This isn’t martyrdom—it’s the highest form of self-interest, recognizing that a life of calculated moral compromise isn’t worth protecting in the first place.

So abandon your clever exit strategies and risk calculations. Your most authentic self is also your most powerful weapon, and in times like these, it’s the only currency guaranteed to hold its value. Even beyond the span of our lifetimes. The only currency that can.

The truth is, the question “what should we do?” often masks a deeper hesitation—a search for the perfect, risk-free action that will somehow satisfy both our conscience and our comfort.

But that’s precisely the trap.

There is no algorithm for moral action in immoral times.

There is no checklist that, once completed, absolves you of the responsibility to keep acting, keep choosing, keep standing for something.

Think of it as venture capital for civilization. Just as the greatest financial returns come from identifying inflection points where maximum risk meets maximum opportunity, the greatest moral impact comes when you invest your full self at precisely the moment when everything seems most precarious. By placing your “social capital” on authentic moral action without hedging for reputation, wealth, or safety, you’re making the highest-leverage bet possible.

Because here’s the thing: if you have social capital, even if you are the most financially poor person in the world, you know you’ll always have a safe place to sleep. So the investment profile is quite good. And you don’t even need to spend your conscience to invest!

This isn’t about grand heroic gestures. It’s about the daily choice to be fully present in your own moral reality. It’s about deciding that, whatever comes, you’ll be able to face yourself in the mirror. It’s about recognizing that in times of systemic failure, the only reliable security comes not from institutions or financial reserves, but from the bonds we forge through authentic moral action and mutual aid.

So what should you do? Stop asking that question as if there’s a single answer that applies to everyone. Start asking instead: What does my most authentic self demand in this moment? What action would make me feel whole rather than diminished? What truth needs speaking that only I can articulate in my unique way?

Then do that thing. Not once, not as a performance, but consistently. Not with an eye toward results, but with a commitment to process. Not because it will necessarily “work,” but because it’s the only thing that will allow you to recognize yourself when this is all over.

The revolution isn’t coming someday. It’s happening right now, in millions of individual decisions to align actions with deepest values. The resistance isn’t elsewhere. It’s in you, waiting to be lived rather than merely contemplated.

That’s what you should do. But you already knew that, if you’re honest with yourself.

P.S. And no matter the circumstances in which I meet my ultimate fate, know that, that I know that it eats them alive inside. And that I died contemptuously amused by their internal torture. That deep down, they are the greatest cowards of all: afraid of the truth.

Mike Brock is a former tech exec who was on the leadership team at Block. Originally published at his Notes From the Circus.

Filed Under: activism, authenticity, donald trump, elon musk, resistance

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