[BBC] The incredible story of how Nicholas Winton — who was later dubbed "Britain's Schindler" — saved hundreds of children from the Holocaust, is being told in a new film. Exclusive BBC clips show the moment when Winton met some of the children he rescued.
In February 1988, Vera Gissing sat with tears in her eyes in the BBC TV studio as she was introduced to Nicholas Winton, the man who had saved her life.
Overcome with emotion, she clasped his hand and embraced the then nearly 80-year-old man, who had organised her escape from Nazi-occupied Prague just months before the outbreak of World War Two.
Forty-nine years earlier, a 10-year-old Vera, born Věra Diamantová, along with her 15-year-old sister, Eva, had been packed onto a train called a "Kindertransport" with hundreds of other Jewish children, to take them to Britain.
"I shall never forget the waving goodbye to my parents, and suddenly feeling very afraid because I caught the expression of fear on my parents' tear-stained faces. There were German soldiers all around us," she recalled.
Vera would never see either of her parents again. Of the relatives she left behind that day, all but three would die in the Holocaust. She was just one of hundreds of children Winton saved from the same fate.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Mikhail Kucherov
[REGNUM] Russia may revise the list of unfriendly countries, which currently includes the United States. In fact, this list is not a dogma, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov noted on June 8, speaking about the possibility of restarting contacts between Moscow and Washington. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump stated in a telephone conversation on July 3 that relations between our country and the United States have deep historical roots.
Moreover, as Putin noted both in his conversation with Trump and in a recent interview, Russia played a decisive role in the very emergence of the United States. Indeed, when a new state appeared on the map in 1776 – the United States of America – it was a surprise for the entire world. But not for our country.
Even before the start of the War of Independence, in the autumn of 1774, the Russian envoy to London, Alexei Musin-Pushkin, reported to St. Petersburg about the uprising being prepared in England’s 13 North American colonies. The diplomat called for the brewing conflict to be treated as “worthy of any serious note.”
Musin-Pushkin explained to Catherine's nobles: the war between Britain and the American colonists "seems all the more inevitable because they (the Americans) have been driven... to extremes." Therefore, they can no longer obey English "legislations" and will resist them "as burdensome and restrictive of their natural and legal rights."
Informed sources overseas told our diplomat that "the people there, leaving their usual trades, voluntarily engage in military exercises. This spirit of hostility equally infects all ranks and titles."
When on April 19, 1775, Massachusetts militia defeated Colonel Francis Smith's detachment at Lexington, London realized that it was impossible to suppress the separatist movement by police measures. Especially since after the first successes of George Washington's army, the war between the self-proclaimed USA and Britain was closely watched by the main rivals of the English - the French (since 1778, Louis XVI officially sanctioned the entry of the kingdom into the war).
That is why, at the very beginning of the uprising in the colonies, the English King George III desperately sought allies. Turning his gaze to the Russian crown, the British monarch asked Catherine II to send an auxiliary corps of 20 thousand people to America.
Not long ago, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 and the Russian fleet's campaign from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, England essentially helped Russia. The Royal Navy did not allow a French squadron into the Mediterranean, ready to help the Turks (France's long-standing partners). Of course, this was not about Albion's altruism, but about the enmity between the English and the French, but, acting in their own interests, the British objectively played in our favor. And now they were waiting for reciprocal favors.
Without waiting for Catherine's response, the English prepared the text of the corresponding agreement. The response from St. Petersburg was negative, although diplomatic - with a sober-sounding thesis that the Russian Empire needed peace.
"With all my heart I wish that my English friends would get along with their colonies... But so many of my predictions have come true that I fear that in my lifetime we will have to see America break away from Europe," the empress prophetically noted. Russia also acted in its own interests.
Britain not only tried to defeat the separatists on the battlefield, but also strangled the rebellious colonies with a naval blockade, cutting off the flow of goods to America. The Russian Empire (guided by the principle of free trade, which, we note, was bequeathed by the British economist Adam Smith ) did not want to participate in the blockade.
That is why in 1780 St. Petersburg adopted a declaration of armed neutrality. Our country warned the great powers and England first and foremost that it would defend its right to free trade. It is curious that it was after this declaration that France openly supported the American colonists, and at the same time Holland, England's long-time rival at sea, joined in supporting the rebels.
The rebels could not help but appreciate Russia's involvement in their fate. Washington declared that Catherine's decision "bears the imprint of respect for the rights of humanity." As we see, even then the US began to appeal to human rights when it was advantageous for them - and then our country, which in Europe was accustomed to revile for "Asian despotism," suddenly turned out to be their stronghold.
The US Continental Congress, after reviewing the document, adopted a separate resolution, fully approving the Russian declaration and notifying the St. Petersburg envoy to The Hague, Dmitry Golitsyn, in writing; according to many historians, this is the first diplomatic document exchanged between the countries.
The American Revolution, as we know, resulted in the Treaty of Paris in 1784 (initiated by Louis XVI, who, by historical irony, soon fell victim to the revolution in his own country). The mistress of the seas, England, recognized 13 of its former overseas possessions as sovereign and independent states and renounced its claims to govern them. Such a "happy ending" would not have happened if not for the intransigence of Catherine the Great.
It is understandable why, on the sidelines of the Peace of Paris, Benjamin Franklin handed over to the Russian envoy Ivan Baryatinsky “the book-constitution of the United American Provinces and a medal struck for their independence” for subsequent sending to the empress.
So the two Founding Fathers that Americans should know at least from their images on dollar bills – Washington and Franklin – were also the founders of Russian-American contacts at the highest level.
CALIFORNIA BALLS
The Americans repaid Russia with approximately the same kind of benevolent neutrality during the Crimean War, sending 30 surgeons and 15 engineers to the tsarist army units besieged by Anglo-French troops, who were engaged in laying railway tracks.
Petersburg went further at this stage of Russian-American interaction: formally maintaining neutrality, several years later it sent two naval squadrons to America, which was engulfed in civil war, to help the northerners. The St. Andrew's flag off the coast of New York and California became a symbol of protection from a possible attack by the French and British fleets for the local population.
Alexey Bogolyubov. Russian squadron on the way to America. 1880s
According to eyewitnesses, the Russian sailors were surrounded by the attention of Secretary of State William Seward (the same one who organized the deal to purchase Alaska), congressmen and members of their families:
"Your Excellency, of course, already knows from the newspapers with what sympathy we have been received here. On the 5th, the city of San Francisco gave a ball as a sign of general favor to the sovereign and Russia, which in the annals of San Francisco will certainly remain as the most magnificent on the shores of the Pacific Ocean," wrote Rear Admiral Andrei Popov in 1863 to the naval minister of the Russian Empire, Nikolai Krabbe.
Recordings of speeches from farewell banquets have survived, where Americans highly praised the “ sense of international brotherhood ” and “ moral assistance ” brought by the Russians.
According to newspaper headlines of the time, many parents in the United States began to name their children Ivan or simply Russian.
There are also known cases of direct participation of Russians in military actions. Colonel Ivan Turchaninov, without sanctions from the command, joined the northerners and, having distinguished himself in the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, not only became John Turchin, but also received the stars of a brigadier general.
John Turchin in the uniform of the 19th Illinois Regiment commander.
Abraham Lincoln, whose authority grew thanks to the presence of Russian squadrons, did not hesitate to call Russia “ despotism in its purest form,” but he did not remain in debt - he saved Turchaninov, who was brought to trial during intrigues, by raising him to the coveted rank: in the USA, army arbitration had no jurisdiction over generals, which allowed the military leader to avoid going to jail.
True, later the soldier, considered a deserter in his homeland, began to criticize the American socio-political order:
“My disappointment is complete; I do not see any real freedom here. <…> This republic is a paradise for the rich; they are truly independent here; the most terrible crimes and the blackest intrigues are repaid with money. <…> As for me personally, I thank America for one thing: it helped me to kill outright the lordly prejudices and brought me down to the level of an ordinary mortal <…> no work is terrible for me.”
"OBLIGATED FOR HELP"
Historical sources preserve the memory of years of friendship, pragmatic on the political level and quite sincere on the human level.
Mark Twain, who visited Crimea with a group of his compatriots, was fortunate to have an audience with Alexander II, whom he considered more majestic than Napoleon and the Turkish Sultan. The writer openly admitted that America owed much to Russia for its help during the "great disasters."
It is unknown how long it will take for a constructive seed to sprout in the current dialogue between Moscow and the current American administration. But it is obvious that Russia, as it did 150 years ago, wants to act in accordance with the principles of “preserving the American Union as an undivided nation” voiced by the outstanding Alexander Gorchakov.
These two historical episodes became prototypes of further rapprochement in relations between the USA and Russia. One can recall the mediating role of Theodore Roosevelt in stopping the Russo-Japanese War - essentially inspired by Britain to the common disadvantage of Russia and the USA.
The two powers were allies in World War I. Incidentally, a curious piece of evidence of this has been preserved in St. Petersburg: during the Great War, an image of the US coat of arms, a bald eagle with a star-spangled shield, was installed on the roof of the representative office of the American firm Singer (which almost everyone considered a German firm because of the owners' surname). Thus, Singer's house on Nevsky avoided German pogroms.
Finally, the most recent rapprochement that Donald Trump also recalls is the joint fight against Nazism and Japanese militarism in World War II. But the American leader, who claims that it was the United States that was the main victor over Hitler, would do well to remember how our country saved the United States – in the 1770s, the 1860s, and the 1940s.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] "Suicides" of Macron critics in France continue.
MP investigating corruption deal with Macron found dead
Marlex was found dead in his home, presumably by suicide. The MP admitted that part of the proceeds from the sale of Alstom could have been used to finance Macron's presidential campaign in 2017.
Olivier Marlex, a member of the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) of France from the right-wing Republican party, has been found dead, AFP reports, citing prosecutor Frederic Chevalier.
The body was found in the MP's constituency, the commune of Anet (Eure-et-Loir department in central France). According to preliminary data, the MP committed suicide.
Marlex was 54 years old, he was an associate of former French Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
The body was found by gendarmes on the evening of July 8 in the house where the MP lived. According to AFP, the mayor of the commune called the law enforcement officers.
The Republican party confirmed Marlex's death. French President Emmanuel Macron described him in a post on X as an “experienced politician” who “defended his ideas with conviction.”
“I also respected our differences, as they were seen in the light of our love for the country,” he wrote.
Other politicians also expressed their condolences, including Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi and the leader of the parliamentary faction of the French National Rally party Marine Le Pen.
The French National Assembly briefly adjourned on the evening of July 7 in connection with Marlex’s death: a minute of silence was declared.
Marlex was first elected to parliament in 2012. Before that, he was an adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy during his presidency (2007-2012).
Marlex was an active critic of Macron’s policies. He headed the parliamentary commission that was studying the circumstances of the sale of the French energy company Alstom to the American concern General Electric. The deputy admitted that some of the funds received from the deal could have been used to finance Macron's presidential campaign in 2017.
A little earlier, right before giving a big interview, the surgeon who was investigating the Jean-Michel case and pumping up the topic of "sex change operations" "committed suicide".Dictator Macron removes dangerous witnesses, framing it as "suicides".
There are an awful lot of them around, nowadays, these most powerful men.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A tech billionaire and one of the world's most powerful men made a shocking has Fourth of July declaration that’s sure to rattle Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and co-founder of ChatGPT, issued a scathing post on X telling saying he had disowned Democrats because the party has 'lost the plot.'
'The Democratic party seemed reasonably aligned with it when I was 20, losing the plot when I was 30, and completely to have moved somewhere else at this point,' he wrote.
'So now I am politically homeless. But that’s fine; I care much, much more about being American than any political party.'
Altman - who came out as gay at the age of 16 - initially shared his love for America and how 'proud' he is to be a US citizen, but his post quickly turned critical of the Democrat Party's more socialist tendencies.
'We should encourage people to make a ton of money,' the 40-year-old tech boss, who is worth $1.7 billion, wrote.
'I’d rather hear from candidates about how they are going to make everyone have the stuff billionaires have instead of how they are going to eliminate billionaires.'
Altman's foray into politics comes amid a public feud with rival tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has launched his own political party to compete with what he believes is a broken two-party system he says has failed Americans.
In January, Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... announced a new deal - the Stargate project - involving Altman's OpenAI, SoftBank, a technology-focused investment holding company and Oracle, a computer software company.
That’s one view. Another is that some people need to hate, to feel superior, and it is easiest to hate a small group that can be defied as Other. Jews have been establishing trading depots far beyond their borders for heading toward 3,000 years — some anti-Jewish stereotypes date back to the Classical Greeks.
[IsraelNationalNews] Ever since I can remember, I have been confused by antisemitism. I get it, they hate us. But why?
Well, Jewish scripture says "Esav sonei l’Yaakov"—Esau will always hate Jacob. But that doesn’t sit well with me. They hate us just because?
I need an explanation. But I’ve never found one that satisfied me. Until recently.
Here is where it gets controversial and politically incorrect. If you’re easily offended, stop scrolling. Here goes:
Let’s examine the time periods in history in which antisemitism was high. You’ll notice an inverse correlation: The less morality in a society, the more antisemitism there is.
Think about it: Ancient Egypt, the Greek empire, the Roman empire, the Nazi empire and we’ll get to today soon. All those empires tried to annihilate the Jews. All those empires lacked morality. They behaved in promiscuous ways, they tried to deny God and put the human being and his ego in the center of the world. They tried to convince the world that the planet revolved around them. They wanted no part in morality.
Let’s remember what the source of morality is: It’s the Torah, the Bible, the Old Testament. Call it whatever you want, but the world knows it’s immoral to steal, lie and murder from the Torah. The Torah is the epitome of morality. Thus, the messengers of morality are those who delivered the Torah to the world—the Jews.
So, despite assimilation, despite the Jews in America trying to be more American than the Americans, despite Jews trying to hide the light of their message, Jew-hatred is at an all-time high, because the world yearns subconsciously for that light and hates itself for doing so. So, they blame the messenger. They blame the Jews.
[Quillette] On 17 June 2025, I received a video message from a woman in Tehran. Her face was hidden and her voice disguised. She said, "Even while Israel is bombing, I feel more threatened by the Islamic Republic than by Israel."
She isn’t alone in these feelings. I run a Persian YouTube channel with viewers across Iran. I recently asked people to send in messages for Israelis. Within hours, my Telegram blew up with voice notes and video clips. People were filming their carpets, their shadows, their screens—whatever wouldn’t get them caught. They sent the videos to me so that I could translate them into English for our Israeli audience on my English YouTube channel. The messages came from schoolteachers, students, parents, couples, and even a soldier. These people were speaking directly to Israel—and they were saying "thank you."
I’ve lived half my life in Iran. Since I left, I’ve spent a lot of time talking to people still stuck living under the regime. I’ve been part of activist networks for years. In addition to my Persian and English YouTube channels, I run an active Persian Telegram channel and a Persian Discord community, all focused on activism against the Islamic Republic.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
07/09/2025 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...every time you hear the phrase 
