by Charles Sannat

It's a "tweet" from a famous general on a big news channel.

Ces célébrations du 9 Mai 2023 à Moscou  sont historiques, pour la première fois, qu’un seul Char présent pour le défilé militaire, un T34 des années 40....

The general idea is to make fun of the Russian parade where the only float that paraded was indeed an old tank from the 40s.

You'll notice though that even though it's like 40 years old... it walks perfectly and rolls in Red Square.

The purpose of my remarks is not to say nice things about Putin's Russia, but it seems that there were still more people in front of the Kremlin than in front of the Arc de Triomphe where Macron was very much alone!

The purpose of my remarks is to make people think, because to analyze it is necessary to get out of anathemas and provocations or propaganda.

Russian weapons are obviously currently mobilized for the war in Ukraine, and the absence of this armament on parade is certainly not good news [for Ukraine], and there is nothing to joke about because if these hundreds of tanks are used then, there will be thousands of deaths, among the Russians (few) but also many among the Ukrainians (nice).

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Younger generations of Americans no longer remember who fought against whom in World War II, and even middle-aged citizens are ignorant of the recent past, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has claimed.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary said the lack of understanding of history among Americans was not merely “forgetfulness” but a “pernicious line” and warned of the consequences of such ignorance.

“Not knowing the horrors of the past, not knowing who saved the world from the brown plague (fascism), means that soon in America there will be a generation that will be unable to soberly assess its present and its future,” Peskov said.

He noted that Russia, on the other hand, continues to do everything it can to keep the memory of the heroism of the Soviet people alive and make sure younger generations are aware of the true details of the war.

Peskov also noted the presence of the leaders of former Soviet republics at the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow, suggesting that this demonstrated the political and social will of those countries to protect this history.

“We will bring these truths to the people of the world, so that those who want to, can study the real facts [of WWII]” he said.

His comments came after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre attempted on Tuesday to describe Russia as analogous to Adolf Hitler’s Germany, and claimed that the “US and allied forces”were the ones who secured victory in WWII. Jean-Pierre also accused Vladimir Putin of having “promised only more violence” during his address at the May 9 parade in Moscow.

In his speech in Red Square, the Russian president denounced the “disgusting, criminal and deadly”ideology of Western supremacy and the globalists who “pit people against each other, split societies, provoke bloody conflicts and coups, sow hatred, Russophobia and aggressive nationalism, destroy traditional family values that make human a human.”

Putin also claimed that the West had forgotten what “the insane ambitions of the Nazis led to” and who was responsible for defeating “this monstrous, total evil.”

The Soviet Union did the lion’s share of the fighting in Europe, at the cost of 8.7 million soldiers and up to 20 million civilian lives. Victory Day marks the day on which the remnants of the Nazi regime officially signed their unconditional surrender to the USSR and Allied forces at the end of World War II. Although the document was signed in Berlin on May 8, due to different time zones, Russia has historically celebrated the event on May 9.

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BY Diana D’Amico Pawlewicz.

When national student test scores revealed recently that knowledge of U.S. history and civics had reached an all-time low, one Republican lawmaker described the drop as an “outright failure that should concern every parent across the country.”

The test scores showed that 86 percent of America’s eighth graders were not proficient in U.S. history, and 79 percent were not proficient in civics.

While one top U.S. education official described the scores as “alarming,” the official rightly pointed out that the decline actually began nearly a decade ago.

In my view as a historian of education reform and policy, the latest history and civics test scores were a predictable outcome. While it is difficult to establish an exact cause of the decline, here are four factors that I believe contributed to it.

1. Pandemic Fears of Learning Loss

When students gradually began to return to their physical school buildings after they were closed when the Covid-19 pandemic began, researchers, politicians and critics of teachers unions began to worry about learning loss in math and reading.

Historically, when there are worries about test scores in core subjects like reading and math, other subjects become less of a priority. This deemphasis on subjects beyond reading and math has taken place before. Specifically, after the Bush-era policy No Child Left Behind became the law of the land in 2002, teachers reported that the emphasis on testing took away time and resources for social studies. 

They also say it threatened arts education, which has been shown to benefit children’s overall academic, emotional and social well-being.

2. The Politicization of Social Studies

At the same time that many education experts were worried about learning loss in reading and math, conservative politicians were working incessantly to limit what can be taught in social studies.

In one of his first acts as governor, Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin, for example, set up an anonymous tip line for parents to report teachers who taught “divisive concepts,” such as the notion that the U.S. is “fundamentally racist or sexist” or that a person from a particular race or sex bears responsibility for past actions committed by other members of the same race or sex. The tip line has since been quietly shut down.

Across the country, state legislatures led by conservative politicians have adopted bills banning instruction about aspects of U.S. history that could, they believe, make white children feel “discomfort” or “guilt.”

All of this has created an atmosphere of fear for the nation’s teachers, who remain largely unsure of what they can and cannot teach. For some teachers, this political context has led them to self-censor and limit what they teach about American history, potentially depriving students of a richer understanding of the nation’s politics and policy.

3. Education Budget Cuts

Although research has long shown that funding matters for student achievement, many school districts around the country are currently struggling for adequate resources.

The pandemic has amplified existing racial and economic disparities – and recent national test scores in history and civics are an extension of those disparities. 

Not only were the average scores on U.S. history tests lower for Black students than white ones, but the decline from 2018 scores to 2022 was 42 percent greater for Black students. Black students collectively lost 4.5 points, or 1.8 percent of their average scores, from 2018 to 2022, versus 3.5 points, or 1.29 percent, for white students.

And the situation was even starker for low-income kids. Compared with 2018, children who are eligible for free or reduced lunch – a standard measure of poverty – saw their scores drop more than twice as much as they did for their higher-income peers who did not qualify for the program. 

Specifically, they lost five points – going from 250.5 in 2018 to 245.5 in 2022, versus just two points for those who do not qualify for free and reduced lunch, who saw their scores drop from 274 to 272 between 2018 and 2022.

4. Teacher Shortages

Mounting job stress and the blaming of teachers have led many educators to leave schools altogether, generating widespread teacher shortages.

Among teachers who left the profession in 2022, a record high of 64 percent quit, as opposed to being laid off or fired, leaving district and state leaders scrambling to lower requirements for substitutes in an effort to find adequate classroom support. 

Evidence suggests that experienced, professionally trained teachers are critical for students’ academic achievement. With that in mind, low test scores in history and civics begin to make more sense.

Keys to Improvement

What American kids know – or don’t – about the nation’s history and civics is a reflection not of the kids, but of the political and economic circumstances that affect their schools.

The factors that support student learning – funding, qualified teachers and high-quality curricula – are well known. In my view, if history and civics scores are to improve, then what is needed is more funding for public schools, more support for professional teachers and the freeing up of educators from policies shaped by contentious political debates about what they can and can’t teach about U.S. history in America’s classrooms.

Diana D’Amico Pawlewicz is associate professor of education research and director, I-REEED, University of North Dakota.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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https://consortiumnews.com/2023/05/12/us-8th-graders-dont-know-much-about-history/

LEARNING HISTORY IS ESSENTIAL FOR A SOCIETY TO FUNCTION PROPERLY, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE TAINTED BY POLITICAL SLANTS OF THE MOMENT. PRESENTLY, RUSSIA IS BEING ERASED FROM HISTORY TO SUIT THE MONGRELS IN THE PENTAGON. 

BUT, RUSSIA CANNOT LOOSE ITS MILITARY INTERVENTION IN UKRAINE, NOR WILL IT LOOSE. IT'S THEREFORE TIME FOR THE PROPER HISTORIANS TO FORCE THE JOURNALISTS AND THE MEDIA OUTLETS WHO ARE IN BED WITH THE PENTAGON, TO TELL US THE REALITY AND EXPLAIN THAT THE WEST CREATED THIS WAR — WHICH IS CRASHING THE STUPID AGGRESSIVE NARRATIVE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE. 

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

EASY.

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

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by Larry Johnson

I suppose it should not surprise anyone that the failure to understand the challenges Ukraine faces in trying to launch a counter offensive is a consequence of the fact that most Western politicians and media have zero experience serving in a military organization. That lack of experience means there is little understanding of the importance of training and the logistics chain that must be in place to support that training. Once of the biggest problems confronting Ukraine, in my view, is the complete lack of uniformity.

The strength of any army is the principle of uniformity. Here is a Captain Obvious moment — the reason that a military organization sports a uniform is to ensure that troops in the heat of battle can easily identify their fellow fighters. Can you imagine an army that would grant each soldier or sailor or Marine the option to choose their own wardrobe? While you might get some fabulous fashion choices, allowing such diversity would undermine the operational effectiveness of that organization in combat.

The concept of uniform in the military extends beyond what men and women wear. How about training? An effective military organization relies on standard operating procedures in order to ensure that even the least mentally competent member of a unit knows the policies, procedures and tactics he or she must perform under stress. One of the critical objectives in basic training is to teach new recruits how to communicate and how to act on orders. If a military organization incorporates different units with different methods of communicating the odds of confusion on the battlefield increase dramatically.

So look at Ukraine’s problem. Ukrainian soldiers are not being instructed at Ukrainian bases on Ukrainian soil by Ukrainian officers. Nope. Ukrainian troops are being trained in the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, France and Italy. Would you be surprised to learn that each of those countries employ different methods for teaching everything from marksmanship, marching, unit maneuvers and personal hygiene? I am not suggesting that the respective NATO countries are doing a poor job of training the Ukrainian units under their care. However, once those Ukrainian troops return home and are deployed to the front lines it is highly likely that a unit trained in the United Kingdom will operate differently from a unit trained in France. In other words, lack of uniformity. That creates a command and control challenge.

Lack of uniformity also is a problem because of the variety of weapons issued to Ukrainian troops. Anti-tank weapons illustrates the dilemma. The photos below show a British NLAW and a U.S. Javelin missile. Both are designed to kill a tank, but the procedures a soldier must follow to fire a NLAW differs from a Javelin. The Javelin, for example, is equipped with an optic, the NLAW is not. I am not saying that a soldier cannot be trained to use both. Of course they can. But the reality is that these anti-tank weapons are being delivered to Ukrainian troops who have not had the opportunity to go through a training regimen to make them proficient in either or both.

We see the same discord when it comes to the tanks, vehicles and planes that have been or will be supplied to Ukraine. This diversity adds another level of complexity because of the various maintenance requirements for these systems. It means you need an ample supply of spare parts and, most importantly, trained technicians who know how to do the mechanical work maintain or repair the vehicle or aircraft.

We know from the classified documents ostensibly leaked by Jack Teixeira that the Ukrainian brigades slated to spearhead the counter offensive are not being trained and organized in the same fashion. Ukraine is training three Brigades and the U.S. and NATO partners are training (or have trained) nine brigades. And there is no guarantee that a Brigade trained in the U.K. will operate to the same level of competence as a Brigade trained in Germany or France.

It does not matter how brave or committed the Ukrainian troops are who will carry out the attack on Russian positions if the offensive is launched. If it comes, they will start with a deficit because they have been trained in different ways. More troubling is that the 12 brigades have not conducted a joint exercise where they have learned to carry out coordinated operations with the other units. Their task is made even more difficult because the attacking force will not have the close air support from combat jet and rotary wing aircraft. The Ukrainian units also are unlikely to have mobile air defense systems to fend off Russian aerial counter attacks. Ditto for mobile artillery.

The only hope for the Ukrainian troops tasked with this mission is that NATO intelligence has identified a weak point in the Russian defenses that can be exploited by the attacking force. If such a location exists, it is probably in an area with no significant population or urban centers. That means Ukraine will be capturing fields and forests and that will accomplish nothing that changes the tactical or strategic face of the war.

The German Wehrmacht, a much more powerful and well trained force than anything Ukraine can put on the battlefield, learned to their chagrin that lack of logistics and combat air support during the last days of Operation Barbarossa (which was launched in the summer of 1941) deprived them of victory. While the Nazis succeeded in driving to the suburbs of Moscow, they literally ran out of the fuel, supplies and reinforcements needed to maintain the momentum of their offensive. 

Instead of executing a viable military strategy, Ukraine’s military is being asked to perform a political charade to satisfy Western expectations. Whatever success Ukraine achieves in the initial phase of its counter offensive, it lacks the depth in terms of reserves and materiel to sustain an attack. This is not a desperate gamble. This is forced suicide.

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https://sonar21.com/the-importance-of-uniform-as-ukraine-contemplates-an-offensive/

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MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

EASY.

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

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AND FREE JULIAN ASSANGE FOR HISSSAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!