Hi. I’m Dead Alice. Welcome to my Blog or whatever this is or turns out to be. I don’t know yet.

This may or may not be about who or what killed me or how I came to be Dead Alice.

All will be revealed or not. Best not to wonder how I’m writing this if I’m so dead. Maybe I’m writing, get all dead and stuff and now you’re reading it. Or maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll live forever. Maybe I’m unreliable. Or maybe Alice was who I was and it’s over. Or a part of me that’s over. People kill me. You people.

Maybe I’m projecting. Dead Alice or no Dead Alice, it’s a portrait, if you will. My portrait. I’d keep it locked in an attic.

Unless it’s a stream. That stuff goes everywhere.

Some of you people probably read something into Alice. Alice in Wonderland. Am I right? Well, I have to confess I don’t know anything about Alice in Wonderland. I’m not much of a reader. I know something, something, rabbit hole and a song.

Jefferson Airplane White Rabbit.

I like it. It builds. I like digging and stuff that builds. Stuff builds when you ask the next question. Theodore Sturgeon was all about the virtues of asking the next question.

It’s a fundamental part of who we can be but mostly don’t be. Do be do be do. Exchanging glances.

When we’re kids we ask why a few times or more than a few times because it’s just in our nature and it isn’t long before there’s no answer and we’re told “just because.” Whys are hard to answer.

There’s a line in a movie that goes a little like this:

“Who, what, where, when, how are valid questions. But I learned as a cub stringer, never under any circumstance, if it is remotely in your power to resist the impulse, never ask a man “why”. It tightens a fella up.”

That feels like some sort of introduction. Dead Alice. That’ll do for now. I’ll be back to tighten fellas up.

Podcasts. People have recommended them to me. I’ve listened and felt cheated. So, let’s have a heated debate. Wait. This is a blog. So, it’s just me. I don’t have to listen to your opinion. I get to add some more noise to a noisy, platformed-world overpopulated with opinion-shouting. I’m aware of the irony. But I will be asking the next question rather than just spouting or shouting. Scouting?

You remember Theodore Sturgeon?

Who is actually into podcasts?

I don’t know. Cool folk. People with certified, record-breaking boredom thresholds.

Sustained. Spotify paid Joe Rogan $100 million for podcast rights. They must have some hope of getting it back.

We live in a Tik-Tok world where people have to make points in like under a second or something.

Podcasters spend more time pausing in podcasts than the time it takes to watch today’s feed of top ten Tik-Toks.

This Tweet has nearly 10 million views.

Podcasts saying literally nothing for 20 minutes. pic.twitter.com/nmfka1Gjsp

— Jonathan Ogden (@jogdenUK) January 5, 2021

That reassures me a little. I was worried I was alone and suffering from another major malfunction to get with the times.

Who has the time? How do they not notice the time it takes to make a point? I’ve heard podcasts that have enough material- if I’m being exceptionally generous- for 4 to 5 minutes but ran for 45 minutes.

Are people listening to podcasts while engaged in some other activity- like painting a gable end or a great wall?

Literally any podcast host asking their guest a question pic.twitter.com/So4WUqFSXj

— Kim Quindlen (@kimquindlen) November 17, 2021

Are they committed to length? Do podcasters need to be constantly releasing material? Whether they have the material or not?

Do they basically press “record” and then think about what they’re going to say?

Time to wrap it up if it please the court or I shall be hoist be my own petard. Does everything have to be one thing or the other? To each their own but we seem to be lost in either barely making sense at high-speed

Or lost at a crawl in a salad meander.

Can we find some middle-ground?

Update on the middle-ground question, above.

In the interests of fidelity to the process I checked out a blog involving two people I don’t know too much about. One was Keith Olbermann who posted this as a recent tweet:

Now it's evidence Trump was willing to use the NSA as cover to steal the election.

At what point, @TheJusticeDept, do you indict the worst domestic terrorist in US history? Or are you just going to hand over this country to an authoritarian dictator? https://t.co/wRPKq2XGPC

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) February 3, 2022

And the other was Ros Atkins whose tweets are generally along these lines:

If you’re just getting going, here’s 4 mins on where we’ve got to with Sue Gray’s report on the No.10 lockdown parties. We have an interim version, with the full thing promised once the police finish their investigation. Produced by Michael Cox. https://t.co/YmSMAv96M4 pic.twitter.com/0HvbFe7cZc

— Ros Atkins (@BBCRosAtkins) February 1, 2022

Their podcasts series entitled Texting Keith Olbermann

This is great. Not only a fun and interesting listen, but a bit of a meditation on what friendship is and how technology affects how we engage with other people. I have a few friendships that are very similar! And some of the little insights into news media are fascinating too. https://t.co/WBdiBP18wO

— Magnus Wintersen (@MWintersen) February 1, 2022

Are generally 15 or so minutes duration, feature no killing time with stretched material and by including extra voices such as Atkins’ partner Sara are actually absorbing.

9/11 I had no idea what it was really, but everyone I played it to wanted to hear more. And over the next few months, I recorded more and more. I also persuaded the BBC to help me intertwine the two conversations into a podcast. In early 2019, it happened.

— Ros Atkins (@BBCRosAtkins) January 30, 2022

11/11 Here's the series. It was carefully crafted by the brilliant @DaniS1006 and @elishasessions. All three of us are so chuffed @BBCSounds has decided to bring it back. And I'd love to know what you make of it. https://t.co/7aKdfOaIxe

— Ros Atkins (@BBCRosAtkins) January 30, 2022

It’s clear everyone involved knew how to get to the point.

6/11 It was strange - and also a lot of fun. And it became such a part of my life that people noticed. 'Is that Keith again?' my kids would say - and, as you can hear in this clip, they'd ask - why is he your friend if you've never met him?https://t.co/hdWXRKbkMU

— Ros Atkins (@BBCRosAtkins) January 30, 2022

BBC Sounds have a new Jon Ronson podcast posted since late last year and it’s free to listen to.

"The number one audio show of 2021"

Listen to the full boxset of @JonRonson's Things Fell Apart podcast on BBC Sounds 🎧 https://t.co/3sO6AswJ8P pic.twitter.com/X9zv7blBdx

— BBC Sounds (@BBCSounds) January 21, 2022

I haven’t checked it out yet but- notwithstanding episode lengths of 31 minutes testing my attention span- I am looking forward to it. This book can also be found in real life bookstores…

THE greatest book about society's love affair of fast, mob like public shaming is just $1.99 @jonronson
We must learn to:
1. pause
2. ask for the best evidence for accusations
3. explore evidence that raises doubts
4. ? disproportionate punishmenthttps://t.co/r3jfbKv1pU

— Todd Kashdan (@toddkashdan) February 11, 2022

Ronson and the podcast’s subject matter are thought-provoking.

The excellent @jennykleeman meets the legendary @jonronson. Two of @picadorbooks' finest. https://t.co/RLlOZa3StD

— Andrea Henry (@MsAndreaCEHenry) February 11, 2022

Longer clip here. Picture quality not the best- not sure if it’s Jon who may need to invest in a webcam that can handle a few more pixels at some point…

Jon Ronson thinks 70% of people are fed up with the culture wars

Watch his full interview with @jennykleeman #TimesRadiohttps://t.co/HLxE9A5LuV

— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) February 7, 2022

Not sure if this features in the podcast but if we think of colonisation and genocide through the ages

Operating manual for genocides: A long perpetual history of atrocities that the West committed against colored peoples around the world. A thread - pic.twitter.com/zOSu9L5eX4

— Scott Hu🇨🇺🇵🇸🇮🇶🇮🇷🇦🇫🇻🇪🇰🇿🇸🇾🇵🇰 (@slipknothooh) February 6, 2022

Purges, pogroms,

Examples of Stalin’s murderous outbreaks include the Great Purge, which targeted political dissernters, and the Ukrainian Famine, a forcibly induced mass starvation that committed entire Ukrainian populations to a slow death. 2/2

— Nwa (@Mrs_Maladaptive) February 13, 2022

Mao’s atrocities came in two waves: “The Great Lead Forward” & the “Great Proletarian Cultural Rev.” The “Leap” agricultural development plan, starved[..] more than 30 million farmers to death; the “Cultural Revolution” purged “anti-government elements”& sent them to prison camps

— Nwa (@Mrs_Maladaptive) February 13, 2022

British Jews protesting against pogroms in 1921. pic.twitter.com/8E1PsA9kia

— A. D. Gordon 🐐 (@ADavidGordon) February 11, 2022

Book burnings,

According to Nashville Scene, "pastor and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Greg Locke” held the 2022 book burning after a Tennessee school board voted to ban “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust. pic.twitter.com/nppN3Gdbua

— snopes.com (@snopes) February 7, 2022

McCarthyism

Senator Joseph McCarthy delivered the "Enemies from Within" speech #TDIH in 1950 claiming to possess a list of 205 communists in the State Department, gaining national prominence in promoting "McCarthyism" with the address to the Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia. #history pic.twitter.com/o53HmuqbRK

— David Klein (@DavidKleinKS) February 9, 2022

And events like these, it seems likely that the only thing new about Cancel Culture is the name:

Disco Demolition Night was 40 years ago today.

The WLUP publicity stunt — blowing up a bunch of disco records during a baseball doubleheader, while the crowd chanted “Disco Sucks” — was a disgrace of aggrieved-whiteboy anger. https://t.co/A06j80ghaT pic.twitter.com/fsuybXSgkd

— Stereogum (@stereogum) July 12, 2019

Not sure where this fits in…

He has no organ pic.twitter.com/rfdjfl5LNu

— Warning: Trouble Ahead - Wreckage Behind (@M_J_Qil) July 7, 2018

At the level we’re at so far, we don’t know too much about Cancel Culture but that wouldn’t stop most of us diving into ill-informed judgement and go to war with it.

This, as always, is where asking the next question comes in.

But, asking the next question can be hard work, so let’s load some opinions into the blunderbuss and fire it off.

We had arrived at Trump appearing to cancel Elton John or organs but who knows.

He has no organ pic.twitter.com/rfdjfl5LNu

— Warning: Trouble Ahead - Wreckage Behind (@M_J_Qil) July 7, 2018

Trump has a role in this question because he has a record of complaining about Cancel Culture. At first glance it appears that those most likely to rail against Cancel Culture are mainline cancellers.

Jon Ronson’s brilliant So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed should teach us to be more tolerant. This may lead to finding ourselves apparently aligned with someone who:

Absolutely. https://t.co/GTnIS1AJHK

— Underdog (@Jan3999) February 13, 2022

Or are we? At the risk of oversimplifying:

Trump loses election. Trump attempts to cancel election/democracy with the Big Lie. Trump promotes insurrection to stay in power along dictator cancels the will of the people lines. Trump’s insurrection to seize power along Nazi lines fails. And so, Trump complains he has been beaten by Nazis (democracy)/totalitarianism (democracy)/Cancel Culture (democracy).

Calling things what they’re not can cause confusion. If we point at a signpost and call it a Fiat Punto most people will learn not to trust our information.

Not everyone though. And so, Trumps removal from some platforms for repeated violations of private companies’ rules gets described as totalitarianism and the start of the new holocaust by those who’ve generally been holocaust deniers with a history of cancelling/erasing entire peoples.

Said this yesterday.

If she was fired for legitimate political views, I’d agree it’s a bad look. But no. She was fired for comparing Donald Trump being impeached for literally inciting a riot to the Jews during the Holocaust.

Fuck her. pic.twitter.com/VPFwOkZajP

— A Demon Quiche (@GuruOfMattitude) February 12, 2021

I’ve got my quibbles here and there, but basically agree with this. https://t.co/oSnaVSdzQ8

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) February 12, 2021

second, her tweet that was the 'straw that broke the camel's back' was a tweet comparing the suffering of Jewish children being sent to gas chambers (!!!!) to ... wait for it... being a conservative these days (are they being fucking sent to gas chambers???) .

— A.J. Delgado (@AJDelgado13) February 12, 2021

https://twitter.com/eji_org/status/1486338136317825024 

Cancel Culture is a relatively new and yet jaded term with little meaning or what may be termed semantic bleaching. Is it worth retiring or is there something worth learning from what appears to be a right mess?

In our last blog we shied away from the hard work of the Sturgeon approach of asking the next question.

Ready now.

Wait. Banana Nut Muffin?

Watch video.

What have we learned so far?

First, unfiltered thoughts were Cancel Culture has always existed. Country A sails to Country B and pretty soon Country B has to pray to the gods of Country A. The sun never sets on the English empire was a boast, apparently.

Hitler tried a sequel but the world had moved on from seeing colonisation as huzzah-like given how “winners” write history books.

Luckily…

Watch Clip.

If we take the definition of Cancel Culture as simply being call-out culture and a form of boycotting, it’s reasonable to assume our first, unfiltered thoughts should have been, as is generally the case, kept to ourselves.

In the modern era, Call-Out Culture is taken to have begun in 2014 with a #CancelColbert campaign in response to an alleged racist segment. The campaign didn’t cancel Colbert and led to its proposer “receiving multiple rape and death threats… being “stalked and hunted” for months afterwards [and their story being featured] The Internet Ruined My Life.”

This takes us back to Ronson’s book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed and a podcast that detailed the suicide of August Ames and reminds us that empathy is a valued component in understanding.

What do we need to understand?

We need to understand this paragraph:

”A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” criticized the Harper’s letter as a plea to end cancel culture by successful professionals with large platforms who wanted to exclude others who have been “cancelled for generations.” The writers ultimately stated that the Harper’s letter was intended to further silence already marginalized people. “It reads as a caustic reaction to a diversifying industry — one that’s starting to challenge diversifying norms that have protected bigotry.”

We need to understand how marginalised groups have the odds stacked against them just as those who fought for gay rights were dismissed by oppressors.

People having a go at Dove .... following the lead of a Tory MP who voted against feeding children .... sounds about right

— Justin Seaman (@MyPawIsStuck) August 2, 2021

We need to understand that smaller people can get bullied out of existence but they are harder to find than the celebrity figures who complain about being cancelled. Searching…

Sorry. Just spent the last while reading an article entitled “The strange journey of ‘cancel,’ from a Black-culture punchline to a White-grievance watchword” It’s brilliant and not just because it begins and ends with Nile Rodgers. And, there’s a twist.

We need to understand that Trump called for a boycott of Glenfiddich products in 2012 after the brand named a farmer as Top Scot of the year. The farmer had refused to sell land to make way for Trump’s golf course. It may have been coincidental that Trump used the word “cancel” in relation to HBO in 2013 given the subscription-based nature of its business. This information comes from a Daniel Dale article entitled:

“A list of people and things Donald Trump tried to get canceled before he railed against ‘cancel culture’”

Once we understand that much, we may be close enough to realise that, as a general rule, those who complain about Cancel Culture are used to having legitimate opposition cancelled by virtue of privileged positions and hording all the megaphones.

Led By Donkeys is a helpful image.

“The road from Moscow to Kyiv passes through Belgravia.” Strap in and let @OliverBullough take you on a tour of Putin’s London

pic.twitter.com/0nC1LJgWOe

— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) March 6, 2022

We can see the idiocy.

Isn't it the 19 letters of the alphabet Orange Buffoon could identify readily out of 26 on his floor tiles? pic.twitter.com/QjxOKGUHKM

— AtHomeHelpfulRN🇺🇦 (@HomeHelpfulRN) March 8, 2022

But who’s leading the useful Idiots?

pic.twitter.com/XdKeOT1Rja

— Cold War Steve (@coldwarsteve) March 7, 2022

Maybe it’s time to think of LBD as our being Led By Destabilising Kremlin Systems. On the one, more obvious, hand you’ve got Trump via Putin,

Here’s why:
Bringing back this 6 minute Clinton campaign video detailing Trump & GOP Russian ties.#WeWereWarnedpic.twitter.com/XdaOrxfG1N

— just thinking (@isawthesethings) March 8, 2022

Brexit via Putin,

Spot the country that implemented Putin Brexit Plan.
Seriously £3.5 Million bought the Conservative Party, and has cost GB £440 million a week in lost trade with the EU. £129 Billion in total. Why is Johnson and his bunch of self serving traitors still in power? pic.twitter.com/AasWBz4P6q

— James Graham (@JamesGr49498338) March 8, 2022

Covid-denial via Putin,

There is an interesting link, like #fossilfuels and climate science denial shared between Putin's Russia and Anglosphere #KochNetwork think tanks who also promote covid science denial; corporate donors have investments in Russia, Brexit & Trump.https://t.co/NoLJQpyajt

— Andrew Smith (@EdTrainSociety) March 3, 2022

Anti-vaxxers via Putin,

Brexit, antivax, covid-denial, etc; how many fell into The Putin Web? And who's still in it?
Social media turn on Putin, the past master | Carole Cadwalladr https://t.co/V1MWVaHT0D

— David Bethell (@djbethell) March 6, 2022

Freedoms via Putin.

Go home fuckers! Grown ass adults throwing tantrums while Indigenous, Ukrainian, Palestinian, Yemens, Africans & LGBTQIA are fighting for their freedoms & equality. #FreeDumbConvoy go to Russia & see Putin, and take Trump. Justin Trudeau is in Europe with the rest of NATO leaders https://t.co/QQi14rfNYP

— Aileen (@aileen_tobias06) March 7, 2022

While including Redneck anti-woke via Putin you may also control woke whataboutism via Putin.

If a progressive leftie posted this image on your timeline, read this article by @daithaigilbert on how you unwittingly consumed the Kremlin’s propagandahttps://t.co/CmYE32XUV8 pic.twitter.com/cQ7CGkHJKI

— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) March 7, 2022

There may be allies.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, China allowed Kremlin’s propaganda machine to help shape public perception of the war. Combined with Beijing’s censorship of pro-Ukraine content, they wove a web of disinformation that's difficult for most Chinese to escape. https://t.co/oasze3TNhk

— Li Yuan (@LiYuan6) March 4, 2022

Stay alert.

This 2-year-old article is pertinent today || Big Lies and Rotten Herrings: 17 Kremlin Disinformation Techniques You Need to Know Now – Byline Times https://t.co/UtD9OWNFK1

— Fueled By Coffee 🇺🇦 (@CitiMutts) March 8, 2022

And up to date.

The #Kremlin's disinformation war involves tried & true tactics.

A current push? To cement false claims about biological weapons labs.

After being amplified by disinformation networks, the claims are now being made by:

- State media
- Official accounts

Good thread 👇 https://t.co/HgOSjrwYAA

— John Scott-Railton (@jsrailton) March 8, 2022

This is more a slice of research than anything concrete. Maybe it’ll mean or add up to something at some point. Maybe not. The reasoning was as follows. Putin can’t win and his endgame is unclear. By unclear I mean

Is it to hurt as many Ukrainians as possible as revenge for losing or provoke something major through extreme acts of terror? What for? As a puppet-master of propaganda and disinformation, why not simply leave Ukraine and announce back home:

Ya. We won. It’s been liberated. Trust me.

Obviously, that won’t get peer-reviewed unless the peers are

But, with the internet shut off and all information even more controlled Putin can move closer to North Korea levels.

Great to see @mcfaul on Colbert, schooling us late night owls. He says Putin has no end game in Ukraine, and will lose in the end. And turning Russia into a North Korea isolated pariah state will begin to haunt the elites, who will eventually turn against Putin’s war—his 5th btw. https://t.co/SOBlmPkfbU

— 🇺🇦Paula Chertok🗽🇺🇦 (@PaulaChertok) March 10, 2022

Was that an endgame or an inevitable loser’s outcome? You wonder about being the first to think of a new iron curtain and search:

Translation: there's a new Iron Curtain coming. https://t.co/a09jiEEK3L

— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) March 3, 2022

You’re not the first. So, then you wonder about who wants to align themselves to all this? Not sure why I thought of Venezuela but running with that and leaving aside the question of Maduro the tyrant v. freely elected this timeline may be worth viewing. There are no answers at the end so feel free to bail now.

General background:

Fact check: Socialist policies alone did not destroy Venezuela's economy in last decade https://t.co/pN6yOwO70k via @usatoday

— Lynn (@Boo2Lynn) May 10, 2021

February 20th

What's the Russian beef with #Ukraine? Why the threat of war by #Russia now? And what’s the solution? (Attack in a place he doesn’t expect!) https://t.co/dSbkCd0Euj

— Greg Palast (@Greg_Palast) February 20, 2022

February 25th

How Venezuela can bring Putin to his knees #Ukraine #UkraineRussia #UkraineInvasion #UkraineWar #UkraineUnderAttack https://t.co/eaLH39afAr

— Greg Palast (@Greg_Palast) February 25, 2022

February 28th

The Russians were marching, literally, under Nick's window. Once in the city, slaughtered and fled. In frustration, the city was heavily shelled, killing civilians. Nick has sent horrific photos of the wounded. https://t.co/v1nO1E80Ae

— Greg Palast (@Greg_Palast) February 28, 2022

March 1st

Despite the horror show that we're witnessing in #Ukraine, the bombing of civilian areas, especially in #Kharkiv, the Russians are unable to take any cities. They were not prepared for this type of warfare.pic.twitter.com/MdowCmKcOE

— Greg Palast (@Greg_Palast) March 1, 2022

March 4th

Venezuela is offering to kick Putin in the oil barrels, just as we suggested. Why is Biden continuing Trump’s mad embargo of Venezuelan oil while Europe remains enchained by Russian oil? #UkraineRussianWar https://t.co/ox9j3N5kUu

— Greg Palast (@Greg_Palast) March 4, 2022

Trump only lost the 2020 election by 44,000 votes. If #Zelensky had buckled under Trump’s threats, the outcome would’ve been different. Trump withheld military aid and now Ukrainians are dying in burnt buildings. #UkraineRussiaWar #UkraineInvasion pic.twitter.com/faATbCzpWx

— Greg Palast (@Greg_Palast) March 4, 2022

March 7th

.@Greg_Palast wrote an excellent piece on this weeks ago. It is worth a read in light of these revelations by the @nytimes. Palast argues that "Venezuela can bring Putin to his knees." https://t.co/wr8oxIdUqB

— Jim Keady (@JWKeady) March 7, 2022

Maduro is not only a staunch ally of Putin, but he has also voiced his full support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on multiple occasions. By potentially pivoting to Maduro for oil, the U.S. is throwing both Venezuelans and Ukrainians under the bus.
(Video subtitles in English) pic.twitter.com/f3g2VvCCur

— The State of Venezuela Podcast (@thestateofvzla) March 7, 2022

Just your reminder, when gas was dirt-cheap during the 2020 pandemic lockdown, trump embargoed oil from Venezuela and Iran to raise oil prices and give his Big Oil donors a handout. pic.twitter.com/8nmGY3GYke

— Birds are Dinosaurs🍁 (@Em_sart) March 7, 2022

March 8th

6 million people fled Venezuela in one of the greatest humanitarian crises in modern history. Now, a reversal is starting to take shape, and tens of thousands are coming home https://t.co/QIuOwQo5Lf

— Bloomberg (@business) March 8, 2022

March 9th

“American officials said that the prisoner release was not part of a deal with Venezuela to restart oil sales to the United States, which were banned under the Trump administration.” https://t.co/pBMwfsuDMY

— Jared Anderson (@JAndersonEnergy) March 9, 2022

I thought @Greg_Palast was cuckoo when he said the Biden admin should turn to Maduro to defang Putin. After all, Democrats just ordained some wannabe named Guiado as VZ’s leader, as if such a thing were possible! But Greg has proven to be prescient. Again. 🧠 https://t.co/CCoL6nQhv4

— Scott Thill (@morphizm) March 9, 2022

March 10th

Pressure Builds on Biden to Repay Venezuela's Goodwill Moves https://t.co/jZu5FWuVcY

— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) March 10, 2022

Not sure if I have this over-simplification right but here goes.

Putin’s boys- including some less obvious ones- stole the lunch money of a nation.

Patriarch Kirill is one of the wealthiest men in all Russia.
Yes this leader of the Orthodox Church is extremely wealthy owning luxury cars, yacht and property as well as companies and he is worth around $6-7billion! With money in banks abroad.
He is another of Putin's mob pic.twitter.com/YKxzI8YXP3

— The Oculus Files - Oligarch Hunter (@oculusfiles) March 6, 2022

Propaganda-fed Russian citizens believe the stealing only happened in the 90s and that Putin put a stop to it.

This essay dives into Putin’s inner circle — the real Russian elite. Although the west focuses on oligarchs, a far smaller group has its grip on power in Moscow.

Who are "the siloviki" — and what motivates them?https://t.co/xCThAhX4Ey

— Elizabeth Pears (@BizPears) March 11, 2022

Putin’s boys hid the lunch money in England, helped/orchestrated the Brexit Deliverance

And English lords and ministers became friends with benefits to all the lunch money.

Meet Butler Britain, at the service of oligarchs, kleptocrats and gangsters.

'Essential reading' - @CatherineBelton
'Brilliant' - @marinahyde@oliverbullough's #ButlertotheWorld is out today 💰🇬🇧 https://t.co/xINlYXa2xk pic.twitter.com/P2S2KLek8M

— Profile Books (@ProfileBooks) March 10, 2022

Now that it’s more obvious Putin is to Ukraine what Hitler was to Poland in 1939, the lords and ministers want shot of Putin’s boys and for the nation to have collective amnesia.

It appears as though the Telegraph had been paid £500,000 a year to push Kremlin-produced stories.

Looks like ‘Conservative friends of Russia’ and the Johnson-Lebedev partnership were only part of the broad Tory infiltration by Putin’s team. pic.twitter.com/4aM0grWcic

— Mike Galsworthy 🇺🇦 (@mikegalsworthy) March 12, 2022

Investigative journalists need help overcoming the forces they encounter that are too powerful and their cover-ups so complete and completely enabled at the highest level.

The links and the trail can be discovered but what was bought?

🚨NEW 🚨Welcome to Eaton Square - the oligarchs' favourite address in the money laundering capital of the world

Watch @OliverBullough explain how Russian money & the #LondonLaundromat threaten our security, our democracy and our power to intervene in global affairs 🇷🇺🇬🇧👇👇 pic.twitter.com/18Kr1TJC9L

— The Citizens (@allthecitizens) February 7, 2022

They need a non-buried full Russia report.

"Russia’s attack on our democracy has been covered up. It’s what the parliamentary intelligence and security committee’s Russia report revealed beyond all doubt. And all available evidence suggests this cover-up leads back to Johnson."https://t.co/x0y06aHH9k

— Keith Burge (@carryonkeith) March 13, 2022

Obviously, this was a bit on the pejorative side on top of the over-simplification but hey.

Also, we could substitute Brexit for Trump’s election and dig over there too.

This popped up on my timeline today. In 2019, I fought an ultimately unsuccessful battle against the Trump administration, which was hell-bent on lifting sanctions on Oleg Deripaska, one of Putin’s chummier oligarchs.

Interesting to consider today. https://t.co/h5bEoLysN6

— Jim Himes 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@jahimes) March 12, 2022

One thing at a time though.

While the U.S. and the E.U. have come down hard on Russian oligarchs, Britain has not, says @JonathanPieNews, a fictional newscaster. “Because the dreadful, terrifying truth is stronger sanctions against Putin are in danger of hurting us more than him.” https://t.co/8JBC3lueAv pic.twitter.com/QKwTP4r1f5

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) March 11, 2022

They’re still at it.

@christiancalgie is from an outfit (Guido) that has undermined liberal democracy: backing Brexit (a Putin goal), backing Trump and other anti-Nato politicians. Waiting for your organisation's apology to @RhonddaBryant for dismissing attempts to tackle Russian money in London

— etonmess (@etonmessuk) March 11, 2022

Vanilla Ice and the subject of Ice Ice Baby cropped up in a conversation lately. I wanted to fact check a few things and found facts were few and far between. Sometimes you see two sides of a story and pick one. Sometimes you pick a third.

Watch “When Suge Knight Left Vanilla Ice ‘Very Scared’”

If I were to print the verifiable facts here, I’m not sure they’d make a full sentence.

Seeing as the story changes about who wrote what, who dangled whom from balconies and how much the story keeps changing to this day-

Watch “Vanilla Ice Vs Suge Knight (New Story) Rare”

I went back to this 2001 documentary. Once ‘Suge’ (pronounced like the first half of sugar) Knight dealt with Vanilla Ice, Suge was ready for a deeper involvement in the music business that would lead to the foundation of Death Row Records.

Watch “Welcome to Death Row 2001 Documentary HD”

Trouble is, this is about an hour and forty-five minutes long. I watched it all. And that’s left no time to say much more at this point.

I can say this much. Ice’s contention that significant points (royalties) from Ice Ice Baby that went to writer Mario ‘Chocolate’ Johnson with a follow-on to ‘manager’ Suge at a reported 25% may have contributed to the rise of Death Row Records but it’s far more likely that the real money that was required came from Michael ‘Harry-O’ Harris whose phone calls from prison in the documentary put the bolt upright in riveting.

Harry-O received a presidential pardon from the last president. Not sure why. That’s another day’s work.

Watch “Snoop Dogg takes over Death Row Records brand as owner and Michael ‘Harry-O’ Harris, is back”