Award-Winning Journalist John Hourihan Shares Insights On Putin’s Russia

The following is written by award-winning journalist John Hourihan:

Putin will not stop at Ukraine. He has said he wants the Russian lands back, and that is further back than the meager Soviet Union. In 2007 Russia laid down the gauntlet when Putin said he would accept no more expansion of NATO. In 2008 NATO invited Georgia and Ukraine to join. Only months later, Putin invaded Georgia and Ukraine stopped seeking NATO membership. In 2014 Putin annexed Crimea. Ukraine is only his latest conquest.

The Russia he wishes to re-establish is the Russia of the 1700s. He seems to believe he is Peter the Great. He wants the Russian Empire back. And, by the way, that included Alaska and parts of California. He wants to end the world where, by international law, independent countries cannot be taken by force. This fight is more than democracy vs autocracy. It is to replace “the rule of law” with “might is right.” This is already WWIII.

Fiona Hill, our most respected expert on Russia, says this about how it is currently being fought, “But this is also a full-spectrum information war, and what happens in a Russian “all-of-society” war, you soften up the enemy. You get the Tucker Carlsons and Donald Trumps doing your job for you. The fact that Putin managed to persuade Trump that Ukraine belongs to Russia, and that Trump would be willing to give up Ukraine without any kind of fight, that’s a major success for Putin’s information war. I mean he has got swathes of the Republican Party — and not just them, some on the left, as well as on the right — masses of the U.S. public saying, “Good on you, Vladimir Putin,” or blaming NATO, or blaming the U.S. for this outcome. This is exactly what a Russian information war and psychological operation is geared towards. He’s been carefully seeding this terrain as well. We’ve been at war, for a very long time. I’ve been saying this for years.”

If you have to bet, bet that Putin will not stop. Our only questions now are, “Where does China stand? And will those in our country who back Putin wake up in time for us to win?”

This should not be a shooting war. That would only destroy the world. Russia should be isolated by the rest of the world until it implodes economically and rids itself of Putin.

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

Recognize Psychological And Emotional Manipulation Before Physical Abuse

We are told to be more understanding, have empathy for what other people are going through and help each other in this world. When does our care and concern for others overwhelm our need to take care of ourselves? How many of us feed off the responses others give us? What are the signs to watch out for in order that we do not allow ourselves to become victims of psychological, mental or physical abuse?

The Maren Sanchez Home Foundation has been established by Donna Cimmarelli, Maren’s mother. Maren was murdered on the day of her prom. A high school boy asked her to go to the prom. When she declined, he murdered her. Maren was not so different from so many of us, who try to do the right thing, and help others. Were their signs to watch out for that might have saved her life?

Hindsight is such a wonderful thing, which unfortunately does not turn into foresight when we could use it most. Relationships are not always easy. There are always differences of opinions in ways of thinking, speaking and acting. What could help us to recognize that something is off in our relationships?

Our intuition, that inner voice that alerts us to trouble is often the first sign that something is wrong. Any time that someone else infringes on our own selves, our self-esteem, manipulates our time, thoughts or actions through fear,obligation and guilt (aka FOG), ought to be the first red flag alerting us to an imbalance in the relationship.

No one else owns the right to our feelings, our thoughts, our words, nor our actions. This is something we learn all through life. It is not just something children and young adults learn. Adults sometimes take all their lives to figure out that they are not only in a dysfunctional relationship, but that in fact they are in a psychologically and emotionally abusive relationship.

If left unguarded and unattended, these relationships often turn into physical abuse.

In personal relationships, each person is of equal value. Relationships based on neediness are built on sand, not meant to withstand the sands of time. Yes, there are times when we need each other, with a give and take flow. But if one person is always the giver and the other the taker, there is no balance in the relationship. Resentment and a crippling sense of self begins to set in.

This is not the other guy’s fault. That is a faulty concept in which we are giving our own personal power away. It is also our own fault when we allow the other person to usurp our own personal power. Our personal power, like our very own free will, is God-given. Our personal power, our thoughts, our words nor our actions belong to the other person. We can also ask for God to help, of course.

We need to pay attention to our feelings. They are the best indication of whether or not we are on the right track in our relationship growth. Feelings are not right or wrong; they just are what they are. Our feelings indicate whether or not we need to change our situation in some positive, life-affirming way.

What are the signs we need to watch out for?

• The other person always criticizing you.
• The other person always telling you what to do.
• Having to answer to the other person.
• Having to keep to the time schedule of the other person.
• Always having to ask for permission to think, say or do anything.
• Having the other person always manipulating you.

We all have the God-given right to life. We all have the right to live our lives the best way we see fit. We do not need to live our lives under someone’s thumb.

We do not need to live our lives in debilitating fear, obligation and guilt of someone else injuring themselves in some way.

There are suicide prevention hotlines. There are abuse hotlines. There are mental health providers.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255

National Domestic Abuse Hotline: 800-799-7233

Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN): 800-656-4673

National Sexual Violence Resource Center: http://www.nsvrc.org

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 800-422-4453  http://www.childhelphotline.org

US Department of Health and Human Services: 800-994-9662 http://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/get-help

You and I, unless we are specially trained with degrees in these mental health fields, are not trained to deal with these real life and death matters. Yes, we care about the people in our lives. We serve no one when we shut ourselves down along with the manipulating and/or mentally sick person. That is not helping.

In Donna’s case, this mother who has been through something no mother should ever have to go through, has come up with a positive solution to a tragic, life-altering event in her life. She now runs The Maren Sanchez Home Foundation, public speaking at schools, clubs, civic groups, on how to recognize the warning signs that could save lives. Donna is an amazing person with a goal to empower young girls and women to find and speak their voice in a world that often wants to shut them down.

If you would like further information on this very important subject, I suggest contacting The Maren Sanchez Home Foundation at: https://marensanchezhomefoundation.org/

You may also access The Maren Sanchez Home Foundation on Facebook.

God Bless