It might well be asked, once the smoke has cleared and the bluster and bragging rights ("Nobody f*cks with us!") have toned down, what lasting lessons have been learned from any war?
I know I am old when the lessons we never learned from the war I WAS IN, are now replaced by the lessons we never learned from subsequent generations. F*&%
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. That's why even offensive and hateful words are protected speech under the first amendment. UnConstitutional wars, not declared by Congress, are legalized murder of people of sovereign nations who have not attacked USA. They are wars of aggression, offensive and depraved. No foreign entanglements are the founding principle. Americans are now learning Chinese in great numbers. Is it for spying for intended war with China, or is for diplomacy and peaceful debate?
Thank you for this text, it is important for me and other people here in Germany and Europe to know how the American people feel about their own country's wars. Only US citizens can save the world from destruction by taking action against this government which, disguised as the world police, is bringing death and destruction to every peaceful corner of the world.
Unfortunately, how Americans feel about their country's wars isn't a simple matter. While more than a few understand the long, sad history of imperialist interventions and wars around the globe and lament it (with many of us continuing to speak out), I think it safe to say that many more either never looked very deeply into those events or have all but forgotten them. Between that and the overwhelming amount of propaganda that floods "news" and other information sources, I observe that most people don't associate current events with the longer historical pattern. That is, they effectively have lost or never had any historical context that they can apply to, say, the wars that are ongoing today, much less the wars that are being planned for tomorrow (such as, with China, it appears).
Lacking that context and those associations, a majority seem to be willing to look the other way, or even join in the cheerleading for wars against people they've been told for years, or even decades, are our enemies and threats to 'democracy'.
It certainly seems it to me; and that's a scary thought. Can a species so rapidly devolve, cognitively? Have commerce and technology so rapidly caused it?
I think tech has a lot to do with it, in the last two decades. But I saw it when I was an education major almost 45 years ago. The trend at that time---and it has only snowballed since---was to avoid critiquing students' work, to downplay or ignore errors (except in hard sciences), and instead praise for mere participation. I once received a scathing lecture from a prof about marking up a sample student paper for grammar, punctuation, and word usage errors. I was told I simply couldn't do that, and if my mindset was to flag mistakes like that, I should just abandon thoughts of being a teacher. So I did.
I believe the dumbing-down is quite deliberate. DeSantis and his kind are prime examples of the movement to increase ignorance. Remember that TFG said he loves, "the poorly educated." There's a reason for that.
As you both know, the decline of language, the lack of nuance and subtlety and fine distinctions of meaning, echoes and reinforces a decline in thought. This is of course what Orwell wrote about. If you can destroy words, eliminate them, you can control thought and reduce the chances of anyone having an original and compelling idea, especially the idea of well-considered resistance.
Rather an esoteric reference, but your, "decline in thought," phrase reminded me of a section in T.H. White's, "The Once and Future King." In the story, Arthur, king-in-the-making, is shrunken to ant-size. He observes a nest of ants and discovers that there are only two spoken words in that world: "done," and, "not-done." Those words describe every concept necessary for the relentlessly toiling ants to know. "Done," is good; "not-done," is bad. Failure to gather enough food in a day is not-done. A disastrous flood is not-done. Insanity is not-done.
I dunno....if we devolve to exclusive emoji use, will our thoughts only consist of a few dozen variations? 😉
"...echoes and reinforces a decline in thought." Yes... and thanks for reminding me that Orwell did address some of this, anticipating the extremes of the present from the hints already apparent.
Uh oh, now you've got me started! I suppose I'd be considered a grammar Nazi by many for my lamentations about the cavalier murder of language. I suppose that, for better or worse (and in this, I think 'better'), I was shaped to an extent by the nuns who couldn't abide sloppiness in it; but also to an extent, by having studied Latin and then various foreign languages. It seemed to me that for language to function for communication, it requires some consistency and agreements as to the meanings of words, etc. Now, in our mass culture, one that values newness for its own sake and as an almost transcendent quality, almost anything goes in terms of accepted language. Nouns used freely as verbs and vice versa, any word reducible to an arbitrary contraction that then becomes part of the lexicon.
I think far more is lost than gained in this process. The richness and value of words- their etymology, the history, the relationships, the subtle color differences and ultimately, meaning, lost in the bargain.
And we might ask what are the broader effects of that? There are hints. Miscommunication abounds. Critical thinking ability seems to be disappearing, and with it, the ability to distinguish between provable facts, allegations/claims, opinion, etc. All that makes propaganda efforts easier and more successful. And history, as Bill said, goes down the memory hole.
COMMAS!!!! This is a pet peeve with me. Not only the Oxford comma (after the next-to-last item in a series), but commas in general are disappearing. I've been reviewing and correcting manuscripts for an editing service, and I'm depressed at the lack of adequate punctuation, which often alters the meaning of sentences, as you know.
I didn't have nuns to teach me, but I did have a martinet of an English composition teacher, who verbally flogged us mercilessly about grammar, punctuation, and structure.
I agree whole-heartedly with everything you say about words and language, Roger. Not only are we losing richness and nuance, as you point out, we're also losing discipline. That is, by melting language and form, we're getting lazy, and we're essentially creating a collective, "anything goes," mindset. I absolutely believe that language sloppiness bleeds over into other areas.
Producing democracies has always been a ruse anyway. It has never really ever been about that. Most of the time it has been about overthrowing governments that don't kiss our ass, or to steal other countries resources. Also the so called stopping communism is another ruse that's over played.. This country has become about as communistic as some of the other ones we have fought in the past. It's time we worried about our own back yard instead of everyone else's!!!
America has not won a war in 77 years for the simple reason that we don't start wars to win them, but to enrich the MICCIFMATT and to plant the seed for the next war.
And every one of those wars we have started we started with a complete and total LIE: Tonkin Gulf, Kuwaiti Incubator Babies, a bunch of ragheads living in caves in Afghanistan who did 9/11, Saddam's "WMDs", Assad's chemical attack, and most recently, Russia as the imperialist aggressor in Ukraine.
One can only imagine what Lie will be told to get us into war with China. And i'm sure the folks at the White House, Pentagon, NSA/CIA, and State Department already have it in Final Draft, ready for signature.
ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF INVASION OF IRAQ IT MUST BE CLEAR: The U.S. Is The Greatest Threat To World Peace And Collective Humanity by Ajamu Baraka / Global Research 031723
History teaches that the greatest threat to peace today is the United States. No other nation creates dangers as great as those emanating from the U.S. commitment to the doctrine of Full Spectrum Dominance.
As anti-imperialist and Anti-war activists are preparing to mobilize in Washington D.C. on the 20th anniversary of the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and its Western colonial allies, it is imperative that authentic anti-imperialist forces and those earnestly committed to an Anti-war principle recognize two things: the U.S. based transnational ruling class is fully invested in the doctrine of U.S. “Full Spectrum Dominance,” and as a consequence THE U.S. STATE HAS BECOME AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO COLLECTIVE HUMANITY ON OUR PLANET.
The recognition of these two “facts” are the only basis of a politics that can unite Anti-war and anti-imperialists and mitigate the ideological and political confusion that permeates progressive politics in the U.S. that has resulted in progressives and even self-defined radicals supporting pro-imperial policies under the guise of humanitarianism and anti-authoritarianism. The Eurocentric and social-imperialist left has played a nefarious role also providing left ideological and moral cover for those same politics under the guise of opposing “authoritarianism,” usually in the global South, and in Russian or Chinese imperialism.
Some of Y’All may remember President Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech from forty years ago. According to Wiki:
<<<The "Evil Empire" speech was a speech delivered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS on March 8, 1983 at the height of Cold War and Soviet-Afghan War.
<<<In that speech, Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an "evil empire" and as "THE FOCUS OF EVIL IN THE MODERN WORLD".
<<<Reagan explicitly rejected the notion that the United States and the Soviet Union were equally responsible for the Cold War and the ongoing nuclear arms race between the two nations; rather, he asserted that the conflict was a battle between Good [US] and Evil [THEM]>>> [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Empire_speech ; EMPHASIS added.]
Given what the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics did all over the Planet since the end of World War II [and before, in places like Ukraine]; and given what the United States of America has done all over the Planet since the end of World War II, and particularly since the demise and disintegration of the USSR and European Communism ~ and most particularly since 9/11 ~ a very strong argument can be made that The Evil Empire on the Planet today is the good ole USA.
And a stronger argument can be made that what this Planet needs most of all is a similar demise and disintegration of the United States and ITS Totally Evil Empire.
What the United States has perpetrated and perpetuated since the end of first World War II and then 9/11 was, is, and will ever be not merely “wrong,” but EVIL. As in Bullet-Hits-The-Bone EVIL.
How many civilians has the United States killed, maimed, orphaned, widowed, widowered, and/or rendered childless, homeless, hopeless, and helpless in Southeast and Southwest Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and most recently Eastern Europe? And how much money has America’s MICCIFMATT and its Devotees made off all that carnage?
Bremer, previously famous for directing Guiliani's cover up during 9/11, was not "hapless" ,he was an traitor getting a peachy job for his help covering up the actual events of 9/11 in NYC.
Ray, the whole video struck me , from my first viewing, as a CGI creation. Yet I saw some online 'news' report of it, that proclaimed it as proof the Russians were lying. Of course, those already predisposed to Russia-hatred will accept it as such proof. No one will have their minds changed either way. And of course, lost in the 'debate' about what actually happened will be the for-me obvious question of just what the H was the Reaper drone doing flying so close to Sevastopol? (The video showed it carrying missiles, if I'm not mistaken; but even if it wasn't there for attack purposes, this is still further illustration of the growing direct U.S. role in the proxy war against Russia.)
I don't know, Ray. It seems a Russian jet did buzz the drone. Perhaps it sought to disrupt it by what's called "wake turbulence." It also may have damaged the propeller, maybe unintentionally, i.e. it came a bit too close and hit one of the blades of the prop.
And then the U.S. may have decided to crash it on purpose due to the damaged prop.
Ray: @ the 41 Sec. mark on that Vid. you can see clearly a bent, damaged prop on the Reaper Drone...! When I was Active Air Force 73-77 there were no Drones, but I basically saw everything else in the Worlds Inventory of Aviation @ that time. I believe the USAF deliberately Ditched the Reaper after the clipping of same...Dangerous times, and a incendiary development in this Proxy War.
It seems a Russian jet did buzz the drone. Perhaps it sought to disrupt it by what's called "wake turbulence." It also may have damaged the propeller, maybe unintentionally, i.e. it came a bit too close and hit one of the blades of the prop.
And then the U.S. may have decided to crash it on purpose due to the damaged prop.
Bending a prop wouldn't necessarily cause that much damage to a fighter jet. I doubt it was deliberate. I'm guessing the Russian pilot got a bit too close, i.e. misjudged the distance.
I'm not an expert on this, Ray. I don't know if "jet wash" would be powerful enough to warp a propeller. A glancing blow is another possibility. If the video is fake or altered, obviously I wouldn't know that.
Technical details matter a lot less than rising tensions between nuclear powers.
Water vapor from a jet's tail can also form a cloud. It's called a vapor trail or a contrail and you can see them behind jets when you look up in the sky. I'm surprised the officials didn't include a little pop up thing saying "white supremacist LGQTB-denying environmentally dangerous jet fuel causing climate change." Obviously their PR department needs some work. I volunteer myself for it. Ten thousand an hour seems about right in keeping with defense work.
Jet Fuel, or JP4 is a high grade of Kerosene and it does expand into a cloud like state when dumped @ Altitude. The Air also can create these vortices too around a jets wingtips , and @ Altitude it can be as cold as minus 60 below zero. The right combo. of temp. moisture, and pressure.
It might well be asked, once the smoke has cleared and the bluster and bragging rights ("Nobody f*cks with us!") have toned down, what lasting lessons have been learned from any war?
I know I am old when the lessons we never learned from the war I WAS IN, are now replaced by the lessons we never learned from subsequent generations. F*&%
Peace if we want it
Jim W
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. That's why even offensive and hateful words are protected speech under the first amendment. UnConstitutional wars, not declared by Congress, are legalized murder of people of sovereign nations who have not attacked USA. They are wars of aggression, offensive and depraved. No foreign entanglements are the founding principle. Americans are now learning Chinese in great numbers. Is it for spying for intended war with China, or is for diplomacy and peaceful debate?
Thank you for this text, it is important for me and other people here in Germany and Europe to know how the American people feel about their own country's wars. Only US citizens can save the world from destruction by taking action against this government which, disguised as the world police, is bringing death and destruction to every peaceful corner of the world.
Unfortunately, how Americans feel about their country's wars isn't a simple matter. While more than a few understand the long, sad history of imperialist interventions and wars around the globe and lament it (with many of us continuing to speak out), I think it safe to say that many more either never looked very deeply into those events or have all but forgotten them. Between that and the overwhelming amount of propaganda that floods "news" and other information sources, I observe that most people don't associate current events with the longer historical pattern. That is, they effectively have lost or never had any historical context that they can apply to, say, the wars that are ongoing today, much less the wars that are being planned for tomorrow (such as, with China, it appears).
Lacking that context and those associations, a majority seem to be willing to look the other way, or even join in the cheerleading for wars against people they've been told for years, or even decades, are our enemies and threats to 'democracy'.
Down the memory hole! Each day is a new day! Look forward not backward!
Americans create their own reality. We are unconstrained by history! We are exceptional and see further than other peoples.
Killing all those Iraqis was worth it.
Wow. Just had to get it all out. :-)
Crucial point about the lack of context, Roger. The dumbing-down is getting worse every year.
It certainly seems it to me; and that's a scary thought. Can a species so rapidly devolve, cognitively? Have commerce and technology so rapidly caused it?
I think tech has a lot to do with it, in the last two decades. But I saw it when I was an education major almost 45 years ago. The trend at that time---and it has only snowballed since---was to avoid critiquing students' work, to downplay or ignore errors (except in hard sciences), and instead praise for mere participation. I once received a scathing lecture from a prof about marking up a sample student paper for grammar, punctuation, and word usage errors. I was told I simply couldn't do that, and if my mindset was to flag mistakes like that, I should just abandon thoughts of being a teacher. So I did.
I believe the dumbing-down is quite deliberate. DeSantis and his kind are prime examples of the movement to increase ignorance. Remember that TFG said he loves, "the poorly educated." There's a reason for that.
As you both know, the decline of language, the lack of nuance and subtlety and fine distinctions of meaning, echoes and reinforces a decline in thought. This is of course what Orwell wrote about. If you can destroy words, eliminate them, you can control thought and reduce the chances of anyone having an original and compelling idea, especially the idea of well-considered resistance.
Rather an esoteric reference, but your, "decline in thought," phrase reminded me of a section in T.H. White's, "The Once and Future King." In the story, Arthur, king-in-the-making, is shrunken to ant-size. He observes a nest of ants and discovers that there are only two spoken words in that world: "done," and, "not-done." Those words describe every concept necessary for the relentlessly toiling ants to know. "Done," is good; "not-done," is bad. Failure to gather enough food in a day is not-done. A disastrous flood is not-done. Insanity is not-done.
I dunno....if we devolve to exclusive emoji use, will our thoughts only consist of a few dozen variations? 😉
You've certainly distilled the essence here, Bill. And once more, we realize how prescient Orwell was. And Huxley, too.
"...echoes and reinforces a decline in thought." Yes... and thanks for reminding me that Orwell did address some of this, anticipating the extremes of the present from the hints already apparent.
Uh oh, now you've got me started! I suppose I'd be considered a grammar Nazi by many for my lamentations about the cavalier murder of language. I suppose that, for better or worse (and in this, I think 'better'), I was shaped to an extent by the nuns who couldn't abide sloppiness in it; but also to an extent, by having studied Latin and then various foreign languages. It seemed to me that for language to function for communication, it requires some consistency and agreements as to the meanings of words, etc. Now, in our mass culture, one that values newness for its own sake and as an almost transcendent quality, almost anything goes in terms of accepted language. Nouns used freely as verbs and vice versa, any word reducible to an arbitrary contraction that then becomes part of the lexicon.
I think far more is lost than gained in this process. The richness and value of words- their etymology, the history, the relationships, the subtle color differences and ultimately, meaning, lost in the bargain.
And we might ask what are the broader effects of that? There are hints. Miscommunication abounds. Critical thinking ability seems to be disappearing, and with it, the ability to distinguish between provable facts, allegations/claims, opinion, etc. All that makes propaganda efforts easier and more successful. And history, as Bill said, goes down the memory hole.
Doubleplusgood! :-)
COMMAS!!!! This is a pet peeve with me. Not only the Oxford comma (after the next-to-last item in a series), but commas in general are disappearing. I've been reviewing and correcting manuscripts for an editing service, and I'm depressed at the lack of adequate punctuation, which often alters the meaning of sentences, as you know.
I didn't have nuns to teach me, but I did have a martinet of an English composition teacher, who verbally flogged us mercilessly about grammar, punctuation, and structure.
I agree whole-heartedly with everything you say about words and language, Roger. Not only are we losing richness and nuance, as you point out, we're also losing discipline. That is, by melting language and form, we're getting lazy, and we're essentially creating a collective, "anything goes," mindset. I absolutely believe that language sloppiness bleeds over into other areas.
Hmmmm....possibly a topic for a Master's thesis?
If at first you don't succeed fail fail again.
Producing democracies has always been a ruse anyway. It has never really ever been about that. Most of the time it has been about overthrowing governments that don't kiss our ass, or to steal other countries resources. Also the so called stopping communism is another ruse that's over played.. This country has become about as communistic as some of the other ones we have fought in the past. It's time we worried about our own back yard instead of everyone else's!!!
America has not won a war in 77 years for the simple reason that we don't start wars to win them, but to enrich the MICCIFMATT and to plant the seed for the next war.
And every one of those wars we have started we started with a complete and total LIE: Tonkin Gulf, Kuwaiti Incubator Babies, a bunch of ragheads living in caves in Afghanistan who did 9/11, Saddam's "WMDs", Assad's chemical attack, and most recently, Russia as the imperialist aggressor in Ukraine.
One can only imagine what Lie will be told to get us into war with China. And i'm sure the folks at the White House, Pentagon, NSA/CIA, and State Department already have it in Final Draft, ready for signature.
Right on!
ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF INVASION OF IRAQ IT MUST BE CLEAR: The U.S. Is The Greatest Threat To World Peace And Collective Humanity by Ajamu Baraka / Global Research 031723
History teaches that the greatest threat to peace today is the United States. No other nation creates dangers as great as those emanating from the U.S. commitment to the doctrine of Full Spectrum Dominance.
As anti-imperialist and Anti-war activists are preparing to mobilize in Washington D.C. on the 20th anniversary of the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and its Western colonial allies, it is imperative that authentic anti-imperialist forces and those earnestly committed to an Anti-war principle recognize two things: the U.S. based transnational ruling class is fully invested in the doctrine of U.S. “Full Spectrum Dominance,” and as a consequence THE U.S. STATE HAS BECOME AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO COLLECTIVE HUMANITY ON OUR PLANET.
The recognition of these two “facts” are the only basis of a politics that can unite Anti-war and anti-imperialists and mitigate the ideological and political confusion that permeates progressive politics in the U.S. that has resulted in progressives and even self-defined radicals supporting pro-imperial policies under the guise of humanitarianism and anti-authoritarianism. The Eurocentric and social-imperialist left has played a nefarious role also providing left ideological and moral cover for those same politics under the guise of opposing “authoritarianism,” usually in the global South, and in Russian or Chinese imperialism.
Continued at https://www.globalresearch.ca/twentieth-anniversary-invasion-iraq-it-must-be-clear-us-greatest-threat-world-peace-collective-humanity/5812280 ; [EMPHASIS added.]
On Reagan’s “Evil Empire,” 40 Years Later
Some of Y’All may remember President Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech from forty years ago. According to Wiki:
<<<The "Evil Empire" speech was a speech delivered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS on March 8, 1983 at the height of Cold War and Soviet-Afghan War.
<<<In that speech, Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an "evil empire" and as "THE FOCUS OF EVIL IN THE MODERN WORLD".
<<<Reagan explicitly rejected the notion that the United States and the Soviet Union were equally responsible for the Cold War and the ongoing nuclear arms race between the two nations; rather, he asserted that the conflict was a battle between Good [US] and Evil [THEM]>>> [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Empire_speech ; EMPHASIS added.]
Given what the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics did all over the Planet since the end of World War II [and before, in places like Ukraine]; and given what the United States of America has done all over the Planet since the end of World War II, and particularly since the demise and disintegration of the USSR and European Communism ~ and most particularly since 9/11 ~ a very strong argument can be made that The Evil Empire on the Planet today is the good ole USA.
And a stronger argument can be made that what this Planet needs most of all is a similar demise and disintegration of the United States and ITS Totally Evil Empire.
What the United States has perpetrated and perpetuated since the end of first World War II and then 9/11 was, is, and will ever be not merely “wrong,” but EVIL. As in Bullet-Hits-The-Bone EVIL.
How many civilians has the United States killed, maimed, orphaned, widowed, widowered, and/or rendered childless, homeless, hopeless, and helpless in Southeast and Southwest Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and most recently Eastern Europe? And how much money has America’s MICCIFMATT and its Devotees made off all that carnage?
What is needed is for the entire Planet ~ including Americans ~ to be able to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3retodS7OY .
And this would be even better: https://www.google.com/search?q=there%27s+a+party+going+on+right+here&rlz=1C1CHZN_enUS1046US1046&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinw6Ljs-T9AhUdDjQIHbYpBC0Q0pQJegQIBRAC&biw=1600&bih=789&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e615fc6d,vid:8Lu41LulQos .
#######
We are always the "good guys," Jeff. You know that. :-)
The beginning scenes from "2001 A Space Odyssey" shows the roots of this thinking, which has actually changed very little since then.
That's Government work for you-- I know..! It always sounds good on paper until the unforeseeable consequences show up! They will never learn...!
We'll be greeted with parades, flowers, and smiles!
Bremer, previously famous for directing Guiliani's cover up during 9/11, was not "hapless" ,he was an traitor getting a peachy job for his help covering up the actual events of 9/11 in NYC.
Guiliani didn't cover up 9/11. That was done by the White House and the Pentagon, with full and total support of the Media.
He was involved in the cover up along with the others u mentioned.
Ray, the whole video struck me , from my first viewing, as a CGI creation. Yet I saw some online 'news' report of it, that proclaimed it as proof the Russians were lying. Of course, those already predisposed to Russia-hatred will accept it as such proof. No one will have their minds changed either way. And of course, lost in the 'debate' about what actually happened will be the for-me obvious question of just what the H was the Reaper drone doing flying so close to Sevastopol? (The video showed it carrying missiles, if I'm not mistaken; but even if it wasn't there for attack purposes, this is still further illustration of the growing direct U.S. role in the proxy war against Russia.)
I don't know, Ray. It seems a Russian jet did buzz the drone. Perhaps it sought to disrupt it by what's called "wake turbulence." It also may have damaged the propeller, maybe unintentionally, i.e. it came a bit too close and hit one of the blades of the prop.
And then the U.S. may have decided to crash it on purpose due to the damaged prop.
Who knows, really?
Ray: @ the 41 Sec. mark on that Vid. you can see clearly a bent, damaged prop on the Reaper Drone...! When I was Active Air Force 73-77 there were no Drones, but I basically saw everything else in the Worlds Inventory of Aviation @ that time. I believe the USAF deliberately Ditched the Reaper after the clipping of same...Dangerous times, and a incendiary development in this Proxy War.
It seems a Russian jet did buzz the drone. Perhaps it sought to disrupt it by what's called "wake turbulence." It also may have damaged the propeller, maybe unintentionally, i.e. it came a bit too close and hit one of the blades of the prop.
And then the U.S. may have decided to crash it on purpose due to the damaged prop.
Bending a prop wouldn't necessarily cause that much damage to a fighter jet. I doubt it was deliberate. I'm guessing the Russian pilot got a bit too close, i.e. misjudged the distance.
I'm not an expert on this, Ray. I don't know if "jet wash" would be powerful enough to warp a propeller. A glancing blow is another possibility. If the video is fake or altered, obviously I wouldn't know that.
Technical details matter a lot less than rising tensions between nuclear powers.
Water vapor from a jet's tail can also form a cloud. It's called a vapor trail or a contrail and you can see them behind jets when you look up in the sky. I'm surprised the officials didn't include a little pop up thing saying "white supremacist LGQTB-denying environmentally dangerous jet fuel causing climate change." Obviously their PR department needs some work. I volunteer myself for it. Ten thousand an hour seems about right in keeping with defense work.
Jet Fuel, or JP4 is a high grade of Kerosene and it does expand into a cloud like state when dumped @ Altitude. The Air also can create these vortices too around a jets wingtips , and @ Altitude it can be as cold as minus 60 below zero. The right combo. of temp. moisture, and pressure.