Update on the Missing Citizen War Correspondent Gonzalo Lira: captured by AZOV
Important background information, and sadly, strong indications he is dead
UPDATE
Sadly, not an update on the whereabouts of Mr. Lira.
But there are a few elements that need to be mentioned. (Which again shows why I dislike trying to write quick articles, in order to stay with the ‘breaking news’ and the ‘latest hot take’. There is always much more going on, much more to the story, that isn’t immediately apparent.
First, Mr. Lira had stated that he suspected that some of the neo-Nazi groups were after him, as well as that the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) had tried several times to make him ‘disappear’. His comment that I had posted in the main article shows that, as he lists the names of several other people with criticisms against the Zelensky regime who had ‘disappeared’, as well.
If any of the neo-Nazi groups has gotten their hands on him, I am afraid he has been long dead. They don’t come to take prisoners, but to eliminate enemies, without any thoughts, delay or mercy.
If it was the SBU, chances are he is still alive and in prison, somewhere. Which is where, hopefully, a viral outrage campaign might save him and keep him alive.
More worrisome, this happened: the Daily Beast wrote a hit piece, pure character assassination: “How a Sleazy American Dating Coach Became a Pro-Putin Shill in Ukraine”.
First, he is NOT a dating coach, but gives general advice to young men in his youtube channel ‘Coach Red Pill’.
Second, he is not pro-Putin, either.
The main bulk of the article is focused on his previous writings, creating a paragraphs long red herring. What he wrote before the war, does not have any bearing on his eye-witness accounts and analysis of the events happening during the current war.
The criticisms the article provides, are based on some elements we have already looked at (such as the bioweapon labs and some of the false flag or such disinformation stories).
Still, no proof is offered that he is an actual ‘pro-Putin shill’. The article mentions the speculation that Lira is paid by Moscow, but has to add “The individuals most familiar with Lira and his work who The Daily Beast spoke to believe this is true; they’ve seen no sign that he’s taken Russian money.”
And they point out
“He also describes the conflict using terms like “war” and “invasion,” which blatantly fly in the face of Russian propaganda and media-control laws.”
He also put out video’s that are generally critical not just of Ukraine, or the US, but of Russia: Russia AND the US Miscalculated In This War.
Importantly, Mr. Lira saw that article, and he responded with his own video: The Daily Beast Is Trying To Get Me Killed.
He points out a few interesting things:
The article wrote “but many experts doubt the veracity of this account, and question whether he’s really still in Kharkiv.” Mr. Lira pointed out that the day before this article was published, he had shown an attempted live-stream which also showed his surroundings, namely the Church of the Assumption (actually the Dormition Cathedral) and a destroyed chocolate store, proving where he was. Yet the DailyBeast tried to undermine the credibility of Mr. Lira, anyway.
Image of the Dormition Cathedral, compare with the video images from his live-stream:
And the Chocolate store:
Exactly as shown in that live-stream. Took me half a minute to confirm both the store and the Cathedral are indeed in Kharkov. No idea who those ‘experts’ are that the DailyBeast mentioned, but DailyBeast could have easily verified this, themselves. (But didn’t, or did, but didn’t care).
Next, and much more serious:
The article itself notes:
“Honest belief may help to explain why Lira seems willing to expose himself to danger. Both he, his critics, and expert observers note that he’s received death threats and withstood efforts to track down his home address from people outraged by his insistence on spewing propaganda that serves the interests of the nation invading the country he has lived in as a foreign guest for years.”
They KNOW that he is under death threats. That is a fact, even his critics and other experts acknowledge. Not in dispute. They also know that Mr. Lira had made claims that the Zelensky administration had sent men to his house in Kharkov to ‘disappear’ him.
Yet, they themselves admit that they contacted the Ukrainian government with a request for comments about Mr. Lira:
“The Ukrainian government did not respond to a request for comment”.
If a foreing news operation such as the DailyBeast contacts the Ukrainian government, with a request to comment for a story about a man the DB itself calls a Putin shill, this goes straight to the SBU. Even if Mr. Lira’s previous comments and suspicion about government agents out to get him were false, the DB now has helped paint a major target on his back. “Hey, this guy in your town of Kharkov is famous enough to be noted all the way over here, with very critical stuff about your government. Any comments?”
Mr. Lira mentions how the SBU right when he made that video had arrested a TikToker who had filmed Ukrainian military vehicles near a mall that later got blown up. (See BusinessInsider article: TikToker arrested after posting clip of Ukrainian military vehicles parked near a mall that Russia later blew up)
His crime? He was a ‘spotter’ for the Russians…
The initial news was shocked, of course: how dare the Russians attack shopping malls? Clearly, a civilian target!
The Mirror wrote, in an article headlined: “Horrifying moment Russian bombs obliterate Kyiv shopping mall - eight people dead” and subtitle “Russian forces have bombed Retroville shopping mall in Kyiv's Podilskyi district, killing eight people, with some of the victims' bodies laid in front of the destroyed building”.
In it, they said:
“As the sun rose, pictures revealed that the shopping mall and the surrounding area had been turned into a wasteland of mangled metal and concrete.
One Ukrainian took to social media to share her heartbreak at the destruction of a place where she and her pals shared so many childhood memories.
The mall and the surrounding area has been turned into a wasteland ( Image: Daniel Ceng Shou-Yi/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)
She wrote on Twitter : "We went there to the pool, to the movies, to the stores, we ate at the food courts.
"My girlfriends and I used to go there in the summer to the movies, to celebrate the end of the school year. That place is gone, a Russian rocket flew into it last night."
Not a word about the military presence and use of that mall as an attack base by the Ukrainian military.
Interestingly, another article by Sky News confirms immediately the Russian version, and shows actual drone footage that followed a rocket launcher, after attacking Russian positions, as it hid into that very same shopping mall, which then got taken out by a rocket strike…
They published also the claims of the Russian defense ministry: “Moscow's defence ministry claims it has "presented absolute evidence of the criminal use by (the) Kiev nationalist regime of civilian objects in residential areas of Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine as firing positions of artillery and rocket systems".
Exposing this abuse of civilian infrastructure was the crime of that original TikToker, and Mr. Lira was right to note that this arrest was a bad sign, and that the DailyBeast had in effect waved a huge red flag before the Zelenksy regime to warn them about the writings of Mr. Lira and his significance.
He then said that he’d comment every 12 hrs, as proof he was still alive and free. Which has ceased since last Friday…
If Mr. Lira is harmed, the Daily Beast has blood on their hands. They are responsible, by their appalling journalistic misconduct.
And recognizing that Mr. Lira had an important role as an eye-witness, doesn’t mean he was 100% neutral, or 100% correct all the time, either. But his insight was very valuable, to contrast with other sources. The moment they go after such witnesses and (citizen) journalists, a line is crossed, wherever you stand.
Interestingly, I just saw this on Intel Slava Z, this morning:
(Link for the video here)
This is exactly the same as I decry the Ukrainians doing, and is not right, either. But it shows how in Cognitive Warfare we ALL are combattants, and writing and sharing your own ideas is an act of war, waranting, apparantly, a raid to your office to be picked up and arrested, in the best case, or ‘disappeared’, in the worst case scenario.
The article DailyBeast wrote, is simply part of cognitive warfare: undermine and discredit an independent voice that contradicts their own narrative, in order to protect that narrative.
Their contacting the Ukrainian regime, however, goes a whole step further.
Only two possibilities: Either they are simply stupid, and didn’t think this through, at all, or they did, and are simply evil and malicious. Whatever they’d use as excuse, writing articles and contacting people is NOT a simple exercise without any real world consequence, but it impacts actual people, sometimes positive, sometimes negative. Sometimes deserved, sometimes undeserved.
This cross-over, between simply reporting and actively notifying actors in this war, is inevitable, and part of the plan. Cognitive Warfare is NOT simply a matter of words and ideas, but is a tool to shape reality, to actively engage and influence what people do or don’t do. It goes hand in hand with actual criminal actions, with ‘hot’ warfare, or with police or judicial action, at times separate, at times overlapping, but always at least touching.
Cognitive Warfare is a tool, after all, not an end in itself, and at some point, the goals of those waging such warfare will need to be met, ALSO, and ULTIMATELY, outside the world of words and ideas.
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UPDATE!!!
Mr. Gonzalo Lira seems to have been captured by Azov, as comments by Azov fighters seem to suggest.
And
If this is confirmed, Mr. Lira is dead. Likely tortured to death.
May he rest in peace.
Take also a look at this video, that came out half hr ago:
(And notice the absolutely vile language and glee portrayed by people such as Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, as well as her/his own background story and role with infiltrating groups like Proud Boys, per that video. I haven’t vetted it yet, so this is raw information.)
It only gets worse:
Alexei B has apparently been suspended from Twitter after this latest series of comments, when many called out Twitter for tolerating such vile comments.
Other people tweet the following news:
Unconfirmed, as well, seems, if we can take both sources at face value, that there was a joing SBU-AZOV operation to round up ‘spies’.
Everything points at the same sad reality.
But this might become an international scandal/issue:
This is not a secret, nor tinfoil hat doom thinking, either. The crimes of the Azov units are well known:
