Invasion Day +26 So reassuring has been the response to the blog so far with over 300 visits in the first week, Hoggy feels the need to post several separate entries today. To all in the basements of Ukraine and to those now living amongst the rubble of their homes, we say this: your heroic struggle, your sacrifice and your courage has inspired the unification of the caring world and has exposed those who care little for freedom. You and the loved ones you have lost will never be forgotten. We salute you. It is the tulips that will win this war not the terrorists.
Russians panic buy across Russia as sanctions start to bite, the press exposes the Russian Imperial Movement of white right wing supremacists that underpins Putin's vision of the 'pure Russian nation', the Ukrainians continue their move towards guerrilla style urban warfare, the most difficult type of warfare to win against. Did Stalingrad teach Putin nothing? War, dreadful war, continues, and will continue whether Putin manages to conquer the piles of rubble he has created or not. And there is no certainty at all that he will manage even that. But many will die because of it every one a hero, every life a loss to the humanity of the world. To the man who pulled the trigger in the tank that destroyed the old people's home, and to the tank commander, and to the unit commander, and to Putin, you are as guilty as each other of murder. You knew exactly what you were doing and who was in that building. In what passes for your souls you have killed your own mothers and fathers. The medals Putin will give you for this will forever display your guilt to the world and be testimony to the shame you have brought. To your country, your mothers and your fathers and yourselves. Make sure you wear them. With shame. We are watching.
The First Panel: 'The Tulips Will Win This War.' Today Hoggy felt the world was being given another glimpse into the apocalypse, that moment when the wars of the world will finally coalesce and 'The Endgame' arrives. The bell rings ever faster but it rings still yet. As a warning. We can step back. We must step back. One man's madness must not destroy us all. The world must rid itself of Putin but must not rid itself of Russia; Russia is part of our humanity too and must be allowed to rise again from its own ashes. Putin's greatest folly is this: that from just twenty six days ago when Russia could peacefully and effectively have ruled a complacent world he then, in one catastrophic moment of madness threw it all away to end up ruling what? Piles of shattered rubble that have united the free world. Reports now suggest the Russian military has lost over 25,000 men with over 10,000 killed. And huge amounts of ordnance. There are 10,000 grieving families in Russia. And many grieving families in Ukraine. After all this loss, can we still love? One of today's writer poses this question. However each reader answers this, and the questions that follow in the other parts of this triptych, one thing is for sure. We must never, ever, forget our own personal humanity. It is the tulips that will win this war.
The Second Panel: 'Why Putin Cannot Win.' There are many reasons from international condemnation to a lack of resource but the main one is because the world, at last, will not let him. Like they have let him in the past. He may conquer the rubble, he may kill many people but he cannot kill hearts and minds that remain free, however much he imprisons and however much he slaughters. There is a saying: 'You can kill some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot kill all of the people all of the time. And that is what it would take for him to win. Putin cannot kill all of the people all of the time. However hard he tries. And he has tried hard, in Grozny, Damascus and Aleppo and...and... It is the complacency and appeasement of the free world that has allowed for Mariupol, and Kherson and Kharkiv... and...and... It is the tulips that will win this war..
The Third Panel: 'Can We Forgive?' Can we forgive? One of today's writers asks just that. It's a very challenging question but freedom of speech demands that it be heard. The 'f' word has another meaning here. Many people have learnt through all the bitter destruction of the world to 'forgive'. It is hard right now to even think of it but we have forgiven in the past and we will need to forgive in the future. But not to forget. We forgave but we also forgot. And look what has happened. The first moment we fail to stand up to a thug he is emboldened to continue his thuggery until someone does stop him. History tells us this. How can the spirit that lays tulips as the bombs fall ever be defeated. It is the tulips that will win this war.
Today's Letters:
From Inka Bomartzi, Romania
Dear Hoggy,
The Tulips and the View From Romania
I am from Romania and I would like to share this with you. There are many refugees here and Romania is trying to welcome them all but we do not have the resources we need. Please send more help.
Romania has welcomed many hearing impaired Ukrainians, about one thousand, who came to the country from the Siret border crossing and some of the deaf community in Romania are also helping them. It is tricky because Ukrainian and Romanian sign language is based on different alphabets. It is very inspiring to see their courage in facing their challenges as they too came with nothing.
We can also see and hear movements of Byelorussian troops near the Romanian border. We are very worried that Romania will be next to be attacked, then Lithuania and Latvia and Estonia. Here is a screen shot showing the movements but we do not know if these are true or just Russia trying to scare us.
You asked yesterday for photos of the tulip installation in Kyiv and we are working on it. This one is from Euronews and I hope you can show it. It is the best we have for today. Such hope and such courage isn't it?
In the meantime may I bring your attention to the incredibly brave war photography on this site: 'Vadim Ghirda?' The images are graphic and can be shocking but they are also important to show the brutality and the destruction of what is going on in as impactive a way as possible? http://www.facebook.com/vadim.ghirda. Here is one photo in Kyiv showing an unexploded shell from a war photographer Kostiantyn Liberov/ Libkos. I think it will be shown a lot because of what it says?
Thank you for all you are doing to try and bring hope, it is very impressive.
Wishes,
Inka Bomartzi
Romania
March 21st 2022
Dear Inka,
Thank you so much and for the support you are giving to refugees, you are doing vital work and we acknowledge you. Yes, the photographer, like all war photographers and all the courageous journalists they are to be praised and thanked for their insights and their courage: they are often amongst the most vulnerable and they go there, often by choice, to expose the evils that exist in the world. Without them...
I will not add to their already considerable risk but I thank them on behalf of all the free thinking people of the world.
And thank you again Inka, we wish all Romanians everywhere peace and safety. We will stand together against evil.
Hoggy
From Steve Cherne in the USA:
Dear Hoggy,
The Power of Love and the Arts
I would like to pick upon the thread of the arts in this blog if I may?
Jimi Hendrix, the great philosopher said, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power then we will have peace.” I know he wasn’t really known as a great philosopher but as one of the most brilliant guitarists in the world. That doesn’t make his words any less powerful or any less true.
What is it that we, as world citizens, have in common? What is it that unites us? Isn’t it our humanity? In every people of the world, in every culture we have a commonality. We connect through music, art and literature. The arts bring us together, showing our joys, our fears, our sorrows, our sufferings. In other words, the arts reflect what it is to be human.
What the world is feeling now cannot be and should not be hidden away. What we are now witnessing must not pass without comment. Our love for peace and truth must be trumpeted as loudly as the thunder of war. We need to speak out and write out. Our words must call for justice, must stand on the principle of truth. For, how the history of humanity is recorded in story and narrative shapes how people think and act.
For us, the writers who chronicle injustice, what we see, what we feel, and how we interpret and record humanities events, tasks us with a daunting responsibility for accuracy and fairness. When we see the power of evil manifesting itself, we must call on the power of love to defeat it. Empires end. All lovers of power die and they take no power with them when they go. Every worldly possession buried in ancient tombs remains in them, untouched and unused. Only the power of love is lasting. Write with the love that connects us all. That is our truth; that is what brings us peace; that is what cries out for justice. Countries have borders; people do not. Tomorrow we could be Ukraine and that is why we must write today.
Our humanity, our commonality, our future demands it.
Steve Cherne
Wisconsin
USA
March 2022
Dear Steve,
You write so powerfully and yes, it is the power of love that will overcome. And it is love that we must write.
It is another reason war cannot win and why Putin cannot win. He has no love. Like all psychopaths he is devoid of anything approaching love. He has no understanding of it. This is why he will lose this war.
May your words resonate around the corridors of power and in the basements of Ukraine and in the Kremlin itself. I cannot better them.
In respect and awe and with love to you all in America.
Hoggy
From E. C. Shrewsbury UK (Name and address supplied)
Dear Hoggy,
'Can We Forgive?'
Please don’t lynch me before you hear what I have to say!
St Paul knew what he was talking about. To bless someone is to put the Spirit of God, who is Love, into a person’s heart.
Those of us who have belief often make the mistake when we are praying of listing all the negatives about the person for whom we are praying. Make her kinder, stop him brutalising dogs, make him stop killing civilians, and so on………
God, whatever you perceive God to be, does not need us to make recommendations; God is on the ball and always knows exactly what needs doing. We therefore need only to pour God's blessings into the person for whom we are praying and we do that by praying “God bless…”.
Think now of all the blessings that you can request for Putin. How about ‘That he has a happy home life’, ‘That he loves his children’, ‘That he will find relief from his health problems’ and so on……. Or simply 'God bless Putin', several times a day, whenever you think of him. It’s VERY difficult, I know.
But give it a go and do it with all your heart – for all our sakes and especially for the Ukrainians.
.
E.C. Shrewsbury.
Dear E.C.
Yes, about the most challenging letter perhaps so far. But many suffering in this war will have strong beliefs and many will be from the Orthodox Church. Freedom of expression demands we hear your plea, however challenging it may sound.
What you are suggesting is the power of love to forgive. Another 'f' word. And whether those, any of us in truth, can forgive Putin is hard to embrace. But if the Christian message surely means anything, then a blessing upon him must of itself, be sound? If the blessings worked and Putin put away his guns and his bombs and his missiles and all his evil then Christ will indeed have risen again. Right now he certainly needs to.
'Hoggy' is not aligned to any faith, nor any creed, but only to truth, justice and yes, to love. As you will say in the Christian belief; 'Faith, Hope and Love, these three, but the greatest of these is love'. Let love conquer the world. But quickly. Whatever your faith or creed.
Your faith does however, provide another beacon of hope. And we publish this letter in the desperate hope for you to be right and Putin can be blessed so that peace will come, and war will be no more. Let hope live on like justice and truth and love, that they may rebuild the city and their labour will not be in vain.
With very best wishes,
Hoggy
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