thebarricade

Irina Slav is a Bulgarian specialist in the production and trade of energy. In addition to being an author at OilPrice.com, she is also the proprietor of an independent blog, which can be found on Substack: https://irinaslav.substack.com/ Irina sat down with Boyan Stanislavski to discuss the latest anti-Russian rage displayed by so-called "European leaders," which translates (among other things) into some really convoluted politics regarding the purchase of gas and oil from Russia. "It's almost as if Europe is running after having shot itself in both legs," Irina Slav concluded at one point. She discusses and explains the EU's top politicians' wishful thinking about supplying gas from Qatar, the United States, or Azerbaijan rather than the morally corrupt Russian. Follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch, as well as our Substack (https://thebarricade.substack.com/) newsletter and our newly opened Odysee channel. The video will be released on Friday, May 20th, at 6 p.m. CEST. Check out the hosts' channels on Telegram 📨📩📝 Maria ➡️ https://t.me/maria_cernat Boyan ➡️ https://t.me/BoyanStanislavski 📺Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TheBarricade 📺 Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/thebarricade 📻 Spotify: http://bit.ly/Barricade_SF 📻 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/baricada 📃 Facebook: https://facebook.com/EnBaricada/ 📃 Twitter: https://twitter.com/_the_barricade_ 🙏💰 Please, support us via PayPal at https://paypal.me/thebarricade or by becoming a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarricade 🙏💰

"On the Barricades" - s04e41 #UkraineRussiawar #Russia #Ukraine #Poland #Lviv #KresyWschodnie #OntheBarricades This is the second installment of "On the Barricades," which was released this week. Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat sat down with Malgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat to discuss another bizarre propaganda talking point: Poland is considering invading Ukraine from the west, occupying large portions of its territory under the guise of a "peacekeeping mission," and then integrating the areas around Lviv and Tarnopol into the current Polish state. On its face, the claim is absurd. Despite this, many people, including some very intelligent journalists and podcasters, have fallen for Sergey Naryshkin's bogus claim, which he first made two weeks ago. Naryshkin is the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, and it appears to be little more than a propaganda talking point. Why isn't Poland intervening in Ukraine right now? Is it capable of carrying out such an action on its own? How could it possibly handle such a job? This and more will be covered in our conversation with Malgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat at 3 p.m. Central European Summer Time. That is not all. We're also talking about the looming plight of Ukrainian refugees in Poland, as the government has completely privatized (outsourced?) the problem. Nothing has been done to help the millions of people who have arrived in Poland in the last two months; they have been distributed to private citizens' homes and a few hotels. The government promised financial assistance, but no money has been delivered. In the meantime, tensions are rising not only between Poles and Ukrainians, but also within the Ukrainian diaspora.

"On the Barricades" - s04e40 🙏💰 Please, support us via PayPal at https://paypal.me/thebarricade or by becoming a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarricade 🙏💰 This week's episode of "On the Barricades" is divided into two parts, with our special guest being show friend and Eastern-Europe affairs expert Malgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat in both. She is a Polish journalist who was previously the deputy editor of the Polish leftist platform Strajk.eu. She is now an independent journalist and one of the founders of the podcast Cross-Border Talks, which can be found at this link: https://crossbordertalks.wordpress.com/ In this first installment, we discuss the rather unexpected crossover between LGBT advocacy, queer culture, and the issue of the 'Collective West' arming Ukraine's official authorities. We now have a new White House spokesperson, who is said to be a daring queer figure who could be a competent speaker for the American president. However, this is clearly some sort of virtue signaling, which of course has no bearing on reality, particularly political or military reality. It provides a strange veneer of morality and correctness to the well-oiled American killing machine. Ukrainian flags are carried alongside rainbow flags on demonstrations in Eastern Europe, as if this country is a haven for nonheteronormative people. What is causing this? And why isn't the LGBT community protesting this rather obvious use of their symbols and legitimate struggles to support Western imperialism and other similar phenomena? At the end of the discussion, we also address a critical issue raised by Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russian foreign intelligence, that the Polish authorities are considering invading Ukraine from the West and occupying a significant portion of its territory in order to fulfill its allegedly never-ending expansionist dream and reclaim some of the lands that belonged to the Polish state prior to WWII. Is there any truth to this?

"On the Barricades" — Boyan's solo commentary #Russia #Ukraine #Russianambassador #Warsaw #Poland #RedArmy #WW2 🙏💰 Please, support us via PayPal at https://paypal.me/thebarricade or by becoming a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thebarricade 🙏💰 Boyan Stanislavski, one of the hosts of "On the Barricades," recorded another solo commentary. He discusses the recent attack on the Russian ambassador to Poland, which occurred on May 9th, as well as the attack on the school where the children of Russian diplomats are educated and where they have classes. Links to outlets and events mentioned by Boyan in this recording: Transform Europe: https://www.transform-network.net/en/ Kritische Kommunikationswissenschaft Konferenz: https://krikowi.net/

"On the Barricades" - s04e39 This is the second installment of this week's On the Barricades release. This episode is part of our regular monthly series, which we co-produce and co-host with Youri Smouter of 1+1. Maria, Boyan, and Youri discuss recent events in Ukraine as well as the reactions of the left.

"On the Barricades" - s04e38 This our thumbs up and thumbs down session with Your Smouter of 1+1 (https://www.youtube.com/user/Yourismo...) 01:40 Slovenian elections - Youri Smouter (interview with Malgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat about Slovenian elections - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncx_O...) 05:10 Your Smouter on censhorship in the internet and financial worlds; indymedia are being cut off from PayPal, Pateron, and other grassroots funding mechanisms. 06:10 Maria Cernat discusses Romania's intellectual and political bankruptcy in light of the current international situation. 09:10 Maria Cernat on social media censorship and manipulation mechanisms on platforms that promote authoritarian thinking 11:15 Maria Cernat on the perplexing concept of morality, which corporate media, social media, and Western politicians adhere to only when applied to a state, person, or government they like. 13:30 Maria Cernat on the Romanian left's disarray, which went fully pro-war and decided to support NATO and the West, as well as acknowledge and endorse the general propaganda direction that it is now time for the 'good West' to take down the 'bad wolf' in the Kremlin. 20:10 Youri and Boyan discuss the new wave of genuine love for nuclear weapons among Western officials, as well as the possibility of using such weapons in a false flag operation. 23:10 Maria Cernat discusses the subtlety of certain Western propaganda in Ukraine, using two examples: one from a few years ago and a recent interview on Italian television. 27:55 Maria Cernat discusses an excellent article by Ukrainian academic Olena Lyubchenko on the situation in her home country. A truly exceptional piece!

There are very few rational intellectuals offering their critical perspective on the war in Ukraine. Olena Lyubchenko is one of them. She recently published an article on LeftEast.org in which she explains why the war in Ukraine started many years ago. It was primarily a war against women and workers and a result of the militarization of her country. In a very honest and profound manner, she discusses aspects of a Ukrainian woman's life that are less covered by the mainstream media; surrogacy, working menial jobs in the West to support their families and rampant domestic violence. These are only a few of the numerous costs of Ukraine’s militarization over the past years. Maria Cernat, the cohost of “On the Barricades”, offers her comments on Olena Lyubchenko’s article and discusses the idea of introducing reproduction in the for-profit capitalist mode of production.

"On the Barricades" - s04e35 In this episode, Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski discuss the governments of Poland and Bulgaria strange decision to refuse to follow the payment methodology proposed by the Russians in exchange for natural gas delivery. The hosts discuss the political implications of those moves for both countries, as well as the strange reactions of the authorities, who speak of utter incompetence and a lack of ideas for dealing with a serious crisis. Maria and Boyan also discuss the most recent misinformation tactics. This is the second installment of this week's On the Barricades release. The first part is available here: https://youtu.be/_pKtUD1wq5I

"On the Barricades" - s04e36 The Ukrainian army has attacked some targets in Transnistria, a small strip of land between Moldova and Ukraine that rebelled against the Soviet Union's dissolution in the early 1990s and was left to operate as a quasi-independent territory, despite the fact that it was never officially recognized by any state, including Russia. Why did Kiev's authorities choose to carry out these attacks? What did they hope to achieve, and do they have a chance of achieving any of their goals? What has been the reaction in Moldova and Romania, as well as in Russia? This is the third installment of our podcast "On the Barricades," which was released this week. Don't forget to watch the first two episodes, which you can find here: https://youtu.be/_pKtUD1wq5I https://youtu.be/oTv3q-GAz5g

"On the Barricades" - s04e34 Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski discuss the most recent international events in and around East Europe in this episode. Of course, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is at the forefront of their minds. The hosts explored the issue of creating fear, as well as many fake hazards that contribute to swaying public opinion and producing hysteria in society. Surprisingly, it is the so-called security apparatus that is responsible for this by and large. Such is the class logic in capitalist societies and states, and this is how its institutions function. Maria and Boyan also discuss how many activists, particularly on the left, as well as public figures of all stripes who succumb to the mainstream interpretation of international politics, prefer to wallow in their own fantasies and futile hopes rather than confront reality. Maria Cernat's recent talks with Pat Byrne: https://youtu.be/3Cy60m912aM https://youtu.be/VMmtjiBLOTU

"On the Barricades" - s04e33 This is a special episode co-produced by On the Barricades and The Analysis, in which the hosts of both shows sat down to discuss the global situation: the war in Ukraine, its impact on NATO and the West in general, the prospects for an independent European military bloc, and how the US, despite its growing weakness, remains the most important facilitator of global capitalism.

"On the Barricades" - s04e32 This is a special episode co-produced by On the Barricades and The Analysis, in which the hosts of both shows sat down to discuss the global situation: the war in Ukraine, its impact on NATO and the West in general, the prospects for an independent European military bloc, and how the US, despite its growing weakness, remains the most important facilitator of global capitalism.

"On the Barricades" - s04e31 This is the second part of a conversation between Maria Cernat, host of "On the Barricades," and Marxist activist and historian Pat Byrne. The topic is the weaponization of concepts such as democracy and human rights by American foreign policy, as well as how the US government has created a global network of NGOs, other agencies, and centers of projecting power that are wreaking the public opinion and political discourse.

"On the Barricades" - s04e30 On the Barricades tackles the issue of human rights in its current episode with labour activist Pat Byrne being the guest of the host Maria Cernat. Pat Byrne distinguishes between human rights which provide for basic material, economic and social security and what usually is understood as human rights - the type of rights, which are often used as a weapon in international relations by the dominant players against those who try to exist in the world with higher degrees of both independence and illiberalism. Maria Cernat outlines other contradictions with regards to social and economic rights - the West-dominated international institutions, such as the IMF have been undermining the ability of local players of the Third world to act independently on the international scene as the IMF has been imposing privatization of basic resources, including water. The industry of charity and international aid also appears to be dubious as it is often funded by the very same forces that plunder the resources and wealth of the developing world. What comes out of a critical perspective on human rights is that they are a vague concept, which can be weaponized when necessary, but which is neither respected, nor applied in an authentic way even within the territory of those who use it as a tool of international relations.

"On the Barricades" - s04e29 Maria Cernat discusses feminism and war, and how the latter appears to have had an unexpected impact on the former. Many feminist activists appear to have opportunistically joined the warmongering machine rather than protesting it. How is this possible, and why is it occurring?

”On the Barricades” - s04e27 Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat discuss the recent scandal in Romania in today's episode of "On the Barricades." Emilia Șercan, a well-known Romanian journalist, received numerous threats after revealing that the country's prime minister plagiarized his PhD thesis. After complaining to the appropriate institutions about the incidents, she was threatened again, this time by Romanian police. Here's a story about 'democracy,' 'free speech,' and other so-called 'European values,' as they are practiced in our region.

”On the Barricades” - s04e28 Romania is one of the countries that spends a lot of money on its security apparatus, and the costs of the military's lethal toys are rising every year. There is a lot of talk about how the state must be strong, and its military and police must be well-equipped, so that citizens can feel safe in case you-know-who invades, which is unavoidable (according to the mainstream narratives, of course; not in reality). The fact is, however, that this is only cheap propaganda; the army, police, and secret services have no regard for civilians, and wartime strategies, some of which are public record, demonstrate beyond any doubt that what will be protected in the first place are critical infrastructure points, information centers, power plants, and the civilian population hardly makes it into the top ten of the priorities. So, if you believe the narrative that we must now make sacrifices to improve national security, you're delusory. The Romanian army is not there for you, and in the event of war, it is there to serve the powers that be - Maria Cernat explains this in detail and provides numerous examples of how Romanian security institutions now cynically disregard citizens even in times of peace. Some of them are truly hair-raising.

"On the Barricades" - s04e26 As the war continues in Ukraine, more and more people, intellectuals, journalists, and artists are drawn into the pro-war narrative. The slightest deviation from the official line is deemed to be “pro-Putinist Russian propaganda”. There is no place for debate, for analysis. In this edition of the Thumbs Down Thumbs Up” of our show Boyan Stanislavski, Maria Cernat and Youri Smouter discussed the vile and toxic media environment and how detrimental this is in the long run, especially for young democracies such as the Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish. The cartoonish media representation of events is something that will get us closer to the very authoritarian regimes that we want to distance ourselves from. The lack of political imagination and strategic thinking in very complex situations like the one we are experiencing, create the extremely volatile context where incredibly dangerous and irreversible political gestures could be made. We are drowning in a sea of communication made available by the formidable technological tools, yet information is almost nowhere to be found.

"On the Barricades" — s04e21 This is an experimental episode in which we try to introduce spontaneous solo comments, delivered in this case by Boyan Stanislavski, one of the show's co-hosts. Boyan, who lives in Poland, decided to make a short video summarizing Joe Biden's recent visit to the country. Please let us know if you think a format of additional short video commentaries, which would be in addition to our regular weekend releases, is acceptable to you.

"On the Barricades" - s04e25 As the war continues in Ukraine, more and more people, intellectuals, journalists, and artists are drawn into the pro-war narrative. The slightest deviation from the official line is deemed to be “pro-Putinist Russian propaganda”. There is no place for debate, for analysis. In this edition of the Thumbs Down Thumbs Up” of our show Boyan Stanislavski, Maria Cernat and Youri Smouter discussed the vile and toxic media environment and how detrimental this is in the long run, especially for young democracies such as the Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish. The cartoonish media representation of events is something that will get us closer to the very authoritarian regimes that we want to distance ourselves from. The lack of political imagination and strategic thinking in very complex situations like the one we are experiencing, create the extremely volatile context where incredibly dangerous and irreversible political gestures could be made. We are drowning in a sea of communication made available by the formidable technological tools, yet information is almost nowhere to be found.

"On the Barricades" — s04e22 It's a bit odd to see leftist analysts, journalists, and commentators publicly debating whether Joe Biden's strange utterances in Poland last weekend were scripted, off-the-cuff nonsense that this man frequently produces, or some other unintentional occurrence. Why not make some important points based on what he said, whether it was scripted or not? What does it matter? Also, it's surprising to see people getting excited about Biden's admission that regime change in Russia is the American foreign policy blob's wet dream. How could this not have been obvious from the start of the current crisis? (This is from 2014, not just the most recent month.) In the second episode of our experimental sub-series within the "On the Barricades" project, you can again see our editor Boyan Stanislavski.

"On the Barricades" — s04e24 Another contribution from our editor, Boyan Stanislavski, who is currently in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is making some spontaneous observations and comments on Russia's rather obvious weakness in communicating their objectives in Ukraine, as well as the advances of their army and the mistakes they have made. The Russian narrative is rigid and delivered in an irritating manner, which is a huge mistake on the part of Russia's leadership — both political/civilian and military. And the Ukrainian helicopters taking out the fuel depot in Belgorod, which is Russian territory, is yet another example of the Russian approach's hollowness and inefficiency in terms of public communication and, most likely, to some extent, military engagement. But, because we don't know what the endgame is, we can only speculate.

"On the Barricades" - s04e20 #onthebarricades No war can be fought today without powerful narratives based on persuasive discourses. The war in Ukraine is no exception to this rule. In an era when we have the most formidable tools of communication, there is so little information! While analyzing the public discourses, so little attention is paid to the logical structure of the arguments put forward by our elites that one comes to wonder why are they constantly trying to insult our intelligence? Maria Cernat invited Ben Burgis, an academic working for Georgia State University, and author of famous books on logic such as “Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left” and “Cancelling Comedians while the World Burns,” to discuss some of the most important arguments put forward by both the Russian and Western governments to justify their actions and strategies for the war in Ukraine.

"On the Barricades" - s04e19 #onthebarricades No war can be fought today without powerful narratives based on persuasive discourses. The war in Ukraine is no exception to this rule. In an era when we have the most formidable tools of communication, there is so little information! While analyzing the public discourses, so little attention is paid to the logical structure of the arguments put forward by our elites that one comes to wonder why are they constantly trying to insult our intelligence? Maria Cernat invited Ben Burgis, an academic working for Georgia State University, and author of famous books on logic such as “Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left” and “Cancelling Comedians while the World Burns,” to discuss some of the most important arguments put forward by both the Russian and Western governments to justify their actions and strategies for the war in Ukraine.