Edition No162 | 18-06-2025 - Russia is not just a malignant adversary of the West, an aggressive actor on the world stage, full of animosity and venom. We are not just dealing with a state that has delusions of imperial and even superpower grandeur. We are dealing with a country that collectively acts in a stupid manner, frequently against its own national interests. Russia has been described as a failed state, and there is a compelling case to make that there has been significant and steep decline in the quality of governance from Tsarist times to the USSR to the present. But I’d go further, Russia is in a state in a state of precipitous civilisational decline, as well as imperial collapse, but the challenge is, that as this speeds up, Russia is more prone to project aggression on its neighbours and the world, and more insistent on projecting its pale imitation of civilisation on others. As if somehow inflicting their political and social culture on others can bring it back from the bring of extinction. But as a result, everything the regime touches is either destroyed, or turned into an inauthentic and inorganic zombie version of itself. Nowhere is this clearer than in the Forum of the Future conference that has just been held in Moscow. Economically, Russia is a weakling compared to its geographic and population size. With a combined GDP of approximately $17.18 trillion, the EU far outstrips Russia's $1.78 trillion. The bloc also races ahead of Russia in the high-tech components of its economy. But where it makes up for this weakness and disproportion in relation to its adversaries, is how loud it is prepared to shout, how aggressive it is prepared to be, and how brazenly it is prepared to lie. In that sense, the Russian Forum of the Future was the Olympic Games of vacuous self-promotion, lies and distortions. A world class display of sycophancy, paid-for gobshites masquerading as intellectuals, and inanity masquerading as profundity.----------Links: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/06/09/the-fight-for-souls-and-minds-alex-jones-george-galloway-errol-musk-and-more-attend-far-right-forum-of-the-future-in-moscow-a89383https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/06/08/errol-musk-attends-kremlin-backed-event-in-moscow-praises-putin-and-spreads-russian-propaganda/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/09/western-guests-including-elon-musks-father-to-speak-at-pro-putin-oligarchs-moscow-forum----------Car for Ukraine has once again joined forces with a group of influencers, creators, and news observers during this summer. Sunshine here serves as a metaphor, the trucks are a sunshine for our warriors to bring them to where they need to be and out from the place they don't.https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/summer-sunshine-silicon-curtainThis time, we focus on the 6th Detachment of HUR, 93rd Alcatraz, 3rd Brigade, MLRS systems and more. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/summer-sunshine-silicon-curtain- bring soldiers to the positions- protect them with armor- deploy troops with drones to the positions----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/-----------