Civil war in Ukraine

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

One Year After Russia Annexed Crimea, Locals Prefer Moscow To Kiev

The U.S and European Union may want to save Crimeans from themselves. But the Crimeans are happy right where they are.

One year after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in the Black Sea, poll after poll shows that the locals there — be they Ukrainians, ethnic Russians or Tartars are all in agreement: life with Russia is better than life with Ukraine.

Little has changed over the last 12 months. Despite huge efforts on the part of Kiev, Brussels, Washington and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the bulk of humanity living on the Black Sea peninsula believe the referendum to secede from Ukraine was legit. At some point, the West will have to recognize Crimea's right to self rule. Unless we are all to believe that the locals polled by Gallup and GfK were done so with FSB bogey men standing by with guns in their hands.

In June 2014, a Gallup poll with the Broadcasting Board of Governors asked Crimeans if the results in the March 16, 2014 referendum to secede reflected the views of the people. A total of 82.8% of Crimeans said yes. When broken down by ethnicity, 93.6% of ethnic Russians said they believed the vote to secede was legitimate, while 68.4% of Ukrainians felt so. Moreover, when asked if joining Russia will ultimately make life better for them and their family, 73.9% said yes while 5.5% said no.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – MARCH 18: People attend a concert and rally marking the first anniversary of reunion of Crimea with the Russian Federation on March 18, 2015 in Moscow, Russia. Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation on March 18, 2014. (Photo by Dmitry Azarov/Kommersant/Getty Images)

In February 2015, a poll by German polling firm GfK revealed that attitudes have not changed. When asked "Do you endorse Russia's annexation of Crimea?", a total of 82% of the respondents answered "yes, definitely," and another 11% answered "yes, for the most part." Only 2% said they didn't know, and another 2% said no. Three percent did not specify their position.

With two studies out of the way, both Western-based, it seems without question that the vast majority of Crimeans do not feel they were duped into voting for annexation, and that life with Russia will be better for them and their families than life with Ukraine. A year ago this week, 83% of Crimeans went to the polling stations and almost 97% expressed support for reunification with their former Soviet parent. The majority of people living on the peninsula are ethnic Russians.

The U.S. made a big deal about ethnic minorities there known as the Tartars, which account for around 10% of the population. Of the 4% total that said they did not endorse Russia's annexation, the vast majority — 55% — said that they feel that way because they believe it should have been allowed by Kiev in accordance with international law. Another 24% said the referendum vote was "held under pressure", which likely means political or military threats to vote and vote in favor.

The GfK survey also asked if the Ukrainian media have given Crimea a fair assessment. Only 1% said that the Ukrainian media "provides entirely truthful information" and only 4% said it was "more often truthful than deceitful."

For now, the Gallup and GfK polls show a deeply divided Ukraine. The division of political allegiances ultimately threatens Ukraine's territorial integrity. Only 19% in the east and 26.8% in the southeast think Ukraine should join the European Union, while 84.2% in the west believe Ukraine is a natural fit with the E.U.. Nearly 60% in the north agree that E.U. is the place to be, and just under half in the center part of the country want E.U. integration.

NATO integration is even less supported in the southeast and east, and a little over a third in the center and north agreeing that Ukraine should join the Western military powers. In the west, that number rises to 53%.

Those numbers also coincide with Ukraine's trust or distrust with Washington. The pro-integration west, north and center portions of Ukraine all view the U.S. role in the crisis as mostly positive. Well under a third say so in the east and southeast, and almost no one, including the Tartars, believe so in Crimea.

Interestingly enough, despite Russia's perceived involvement in the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine, only 35.7% of people polled there said they viewed Russia's involvement as mostly positive while 71.3% of Crimeans were more in line with Russia's world view, according to the year old poll from Gallup.

This week, the State Department's press secretary Jen Psaki said sanctions on Russia will continue until Crimea is returned to Ukraine. Both the State Department and Treasury Department did not clarify whether that was an actual policy statement, nor whether that included the sectoral sanctions which were applied in a third round of sanctions last July following the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 over east Ukraine.

One Year After Russia Annexed Crimea, Locals Prefer Moscow To Kiev - Forbes

 

[sgarg]

The talk in Russia for the last few weeks have been about nuclear threat. That is pretty unusual. I wonder if it is for domestic audience to keep them on their toes or is there some other meanings as well.

I think you have NOT noticed that we are seeing a direct war between two largest nuclear powers - USA and Russia. All the treaties in the past were designed to avoid this war. Now this war is happening.

Ukraine is ONLY a pretext to American invasion of Russia. This fact is absolutely clear.

 

[sorcerer]

US Psychological Warfare in Ukraine: Targeting Online Independent Media Coverage


If you are a journalist writing about or a person concerned about issues like Free Speech, read or write in alternative media or news, Occupy movement, Ferguson, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, police brutality, US interventionism, fair government, homelessness, keeping the government accountable, representative government, government intrusions like the NSA is doing, or you are liberal, progressive, libertarian, conservative, separation of church and state, religion, "¦

If you have a website, write, read, or like something in social media that strays outside the new lines the war isn't coming, its now here.

What would we do? Disrupt, deny, degrade, deceive, corrupt, usurp or destroy the information. The information, please don't forget, is the ultimate objective of cyber. That will directly impact the decision-making process of the adversary's leader who is the ultimate target."- Joel Harding on Ukraine's cyber strategy.

Welcome to World of Private Sector IO (Information Operations)

IO or IIO (Inform and Influence Operations) defined by the US Army includes the fields of psychological operations and military deception.

In military IIO operations center on the ability to influence foreign audiences, US and global audiences, and adversely affect enemy decision making through an integrated approach. Even current event news is released in this fashion. Each portal is given messages that follow the same themes because it is an across the board mainstream effort that fills the information space entirely when it is working correctly.

The purpose of "Inform and Influence Operations" is not to provide a perspective, opinion, or lay out a policy. It is defined as the ability to make audiences "think and act" in a manner favorable to the mission objectives. This is done through applying perception management techniques which target the audiences emotions, motives, and reasoning.

These techniques are not geared for debate. It is to overwhelm and change the target psyche.

Using these techniques information sources can be manipulated and those that write, speak, or think counter to the objective are relegated as propaganda, ill informed, or irrelevant.

Meet Joel Harding-Ukraine's King Troll

According to his own bio- Joel spent 26 years in the Army; his first nine years were spent as an enlisted soldier, mostly in Special Forces, as a SF qualified communicator and medic, on an A Team. After completing his degree, Joel then received his commission as an Infantry Officer and after four years transitioned to the Military Intelligence Corps. In the mid 1990s Joel was working in the Joint Staff J2 in support of special operations, where he began working in the new field called Information Operations. Eligible Receiver 1997 was his trial by fire, after that he became the Joint Staff J2 liaison for IO to the CIA, DIA, NSA, DISA and other assorted agencies in the Washington DC area, working as the intelligence lead on the Joint Staff IO Response Cell for Solar Sunrise and Moonlight Maze. Joel followed this by a tour at SOCCENT and then INSCOM, working in both IO and intelligence. Joel retired from the Army in 2003, working for various large defense contractors until accepting the position with the Association of Old Crows.

According to TechRepublic -The career of Joel Harding, the director of the group"s(Old Crows) Information Operations Institute, exemplifies the increasing role that computing and the Internet are playing in the military. A 20-year veteran of military intelligence, Mr. Harding shifted in 1996 into one of the earliest commands that studied government-sponsored computer hacker programs. After leaving the military, he took a job as an analyst at SAIC, a large contractor developing computer applications for military and intelligence agencies.

Joel Harding established the Information Operations Institute shortly after joining the Institute at the Association of Old Crows; he then procured the rights to InfowarCon and stood it up in 2009. Joel is an editor of "The IO Journal", the premier publication in the field of IO. Joel formed an IO advisory committee, consisting of the 20 key leaders from Us and UK corporate, government, military and academia IO. Joel wrote the white paper for IO which was used as background paper for US Office of the Secretary of Defense's QDR IO subcommittee.

For ten years the Association of Old Crows has been the Electronic Warfare and Information Operations Association, but there has been no concerted effort to rally the IO Community. This has changed, the IO Institute was approved as a Special Interest Group of the AOC in 2008 and we have already become a major player in the IO Community. This is especially important with the recent formation of the US Cyber Command, with the new definition of Information Operations coming out of the Quadrennial Defense Review, with a new perspective of Electronic Warfare and a myriad of other changes. The IO Institute brings you events, most notably InfowarCon. Our flagship publication is the IO Journal, already assigned reading by at least two military IO educational programs. IO classes are integrated with Electronic Warfare classes to educate, satisfy requirements and enable contractors to be more competitive.

When you look at the beginning of the NSA's intrusive policies you find Joel Harding. Harding helped pioneer the invasive software used by government and business to explore your social networks, influence you, and dig out every personal detail. In Operation Eligible Receiver 1997 he used freeware taken from the internet to invade the DoD computers, utilities, and more. It's because most of it is based in "freeware" that NSA snooping has a legal basis. If you can get the software for free and use it, why can't the government use it on you?

Ukraine-Bringing it into Focus

Looking back at Joel Harding in 2012 seems like a different man. This is the same accomplished professional described above before Maidan. Here's how he describes the Russian, Chinese, and American experience before his involvement in Ukraine.

"¦These experiences, and the fact that I spent nine years in Special Forces and that kind of thing, caused me to think. Then I began to wonder. How much of what we read and what we see is propaganda? Not foreign propaganda, but domestic? How much of that domestic 'information' is propaganda? "¦We are being smothered in one lie after another. All in the name of politics. It seems to me that these politicians are almost complacent with us behaving like suckling pigs, absolute ignorant morons"¦Free, unfettered, uncensored information exposes the lies their governments prefer to feed them, allowing their citizens to know and understand the truth. Authoritarians, like dictators, communists, fascists and many sectarian or religious governments, are said to enhance their authority over their citizens with the use of filters."

So I ask you, do you see more lies and propaganda here than I saw in China or Russia? I would say it depends on your perspective. I see more lies aimed at us from our own politicians than I have ever seen anyplace else in the world"¦ you tell me. Are Americans more susceptible to propaganda?-Harding

Joel Harding has quite a different opinion in 2014 after taking control of Information Operations (IO) in Ukraine.

Part of USIA formed what is now called the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the BBG, who oversee VOA, RFE/RL, RFA, MEBN, Radio Marti and other international broadcasting bureaus – their mission is to broadcast "fair and objective" reporting to what I called 'denied areas', such as Russia – Harding

Ukraine

Febuary 22nd 2014 marks Harding's first involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. "Yesterday I agreed to help present the information of this situation, bringing in representatives from many of the sources cited above. It is time International Broadcasting is examined."- Harding

On February 28th 2014 he was announced director of the NSE Strategy Center. Harding reached out immediately to the IO community to see what information anyone had on current Russian cyberspace operations. On March 1st 2014 Harding announced cyber options for Ukraine.

Pravy Sektor

In early March 2014 US President Barrack Obama issued an executive order stating anyone challenging the legitimacy of the new Ukrainian government was subject to US sanctions including US citizens. The way it is written journalists in the US wondered if they would be put on a terrorist list.

On March 3rd, only a few days into the new job Harding's advice was "Now I have a thought bouncing around inside my head, which actually makes sense. But the repercussions are wild, off the charts, bloody and may destroy a nation. ..If one looks at that graphic, natural gas pipelines run through Ukraine. If one had the talent, one could close valves in any of those pipelines and shut down a major part of Russia's exports and, therefore, a source of money, another kind of power which Putin must truly understand.

Bumping this up one step, blow up those pipelines, although that is going to make one helluva mess.

This would result in a Russian invasion. End of story? No. Imagine trying to defend thousands of miles of pipeline. Ukrainian insurgents would make Russia devote dozens of divisions of soldiers"¦" At the time Victoria Nuland was trying to court Pravy Sektor into legitimacy by offering money and support.

That same day Harding noticed

"Suddenly I have 510 people in Ukraine following this blog. That is a.. let's see, 510 divided by four, multiplied by 100 is a 12,750 percent increase in one day! Gee, I wonder why?"- Harding

On March 16th Dimitri Yarosh answered. Yarosh threatened gaslines across Ukraine. The advice Harding gave threatened one of the only remaining sources of income remaining in Ukraine for the Kiev junta.

From that moment on Harding geared his public writing to Ukraine. He provided military advice, the unified press stories Ukrainian media put out, IO cyber tactics, military manuals, psy-op manuals, and unified the large international press cover the Eastern European emigre populations provided. Behind the scenes beyond creating new government ministries it's easy to fathom the impact he is having.

"For all you Ukrainian intelligence officers about to put the lives of your soldiers at risk, I urge you to take a few hours and study this book, from cover to cover"¦Be professional, be calm, and do your absolute best. No matter what the circumstances. Good luck."- Harding

Throughout the past year Harding and others fleshed out the Ukrainian version of democratic "free speech" based on how he has concluded it should be in the USA. On December 12th 2014 Harding wrote "Ukraine is a bright shining star. They approved a Minister of Information Policy. They received a National Information Strategy and are working on a counter propaganda center. Hopefully they are going to remove the paywall at KyivPost.com." - Kiev Post did just that. They Read Joel Harding?

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic is critical of Kiev's decision to create the new ministry.

Dubbed "the Ministry of Truth" the new Ministry of Information Policy forbids journalists to write anything that is critical of the government policy.

"Wonderful news out of Ukraine. I submitted some papers to this end. I personally believe a few of my words survived. I know others involved in other parts of this effort"¦Minister of Information Policy Yuri Stets has five missions"¦"-Harding

On February 23rd 2015 Harding tweeted the creation of the i-army. The next day it was announced to the world. "This effort is geared to contain what they call Russian propaganda in the west. "In late January, Ukraine's Minister of Information Policy, Yuriy Stets, promised to create an "information-army" to fight Russian propaganda"¦"

War on Western Journalists, News sites, and Americans

On January 11th the peacemaker website went live with a mission to "¦In the future the Peacemaker site will be similar to the site of the Viennese Simon Wiesenthal Center, which since the late 1940s has been focused on tracking and catching Nazi war criminals. In the case of Ukraine, these will be criminals who destroyed the Ukrainian people — the traitors,collaborators, Russian and other mercenaries, and military personnel taking part the undeclared and therefore illegal war by Russia, he concluded"¦"

Under Ukrainian law journalists that disagree with Kiev's policies are collaborators. They are subject to any mechanism Kiev can devise to stop them. In the case of RT Ruptly or the Guardian this means developing a strategy to ruin their reputations. The Interpreter was developed to that end. Kiev has gone so far as to petition the UK government to censure the Guardian for its coverage of events in Ukraine hoping to bully the publication into line. US broadcasters (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) have put RT on the same list as ISIS.

Who is a Propagandist?

Since Harding's definition of propaganda is "any news coming out from your opponent", a propagandist would be tightly defined as the enemy operative that writes the news. In this view any journalist or news outlet; both mainstream and alternative that publishes articles or video going against his agenda is propaganda or worse -active measures.

It is the term "active measures" below that needs to be keyed in on. Almost all of Joel Harding's professional career has been devoted to Information Operations and developing a cyber offense to combat terrorists. A person employed in "active measures" according to its definition is committing political warfare against the USA , is a terrorist, and their writing is just short of a hot war.

The writings of 1976 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Maguire fit the bill describing a terrorist that is working to overthrow the US government because she writes about the injustices done in Gaza, and Syria.

Just by reading the titles it is obvious she is completely biased – anti-American, anti-Israeli, pro-Palestinian and pro-Syria. She is entitled to her opinions but an educated reader will note her consistent bias. Shades of Soviet, now Russian, Active Measures. Ask a well established distinguished person to write not slightly skewed, but highly biased articles bashing America and Israel. I would guess if someone were to investigate Global Research.ca they would find funding leading right to PressTV. I wouldn't even be surprised to find a link to Rossiya Segodnya, RIA Novosti, Voice of Russia or RT. Welcome to Propaganda 101, 21st Century style.- Harding

Private citizen Joel Harding has used both his connections and training as an SF to create a private foreign IO army which today is over 40,000 strong with the sole purpose of destroying publications, journalists, and people that "he deems" as supporting Russian propaganda and people engaged in "Russian active measures."Add into this that Harding wrote the white paper the doctrine of US Army Cyber Defense is based in, he pioneered the field of cyber warfare, developed the means and methods of the NSA and you have one of the most formidable practitioners on the planet. People spread throughout mainstream media that came after him were taught or mentored by him, his colleagues, and belong to the groups and associations he leads.

Long story short, if you write about social justice like Mairead Maguire, you are a targetable terrorist. It has been decided by private citizen Joel Harding. Today Ukraine is his project and if you are writing about it that's what you stepped into.

In truth it doesn't matter what you write about, his minions cover everything corporations and governments have an interest in. Ukraine isn't the test case, America was through the NSA. America failed miserably guarding responsible free speech. Ukraine is the first full scale rollout operation. The people and methods employed will continue long after the Ukraine War is over if they win the information war we are all in.

Take it from someone who was hearing military drones 2 or 3 times a week for months, spent a month in a town "occupied" at times by both Pravy Sektor and the Natz Guardia, whose home shook for months because of the artillery and rockets, and at the end of that occupation found themselves only hours from becoming another "cleansing casualty" before we were rescued. As much as I have written about these things I had to leave many things unsaid.

From my experience YOU, where ever you are would rather face 100 men with the capabilities of Navy Seals, or Delta Force and heavy weapons than just 10 men with ¼ of Mr. Harding's capabilities, intelligence, and connections. In the end 100 extremely trained warriors remain 100 men. Within months Harding has turned very few into a highly focused 40,000 and most of the propagandists he writes need to be dealt with by his army are Americans on American soil. That army is going to work influencing millions to go to war with Russia.

How Far Will Ukraine's King Troll go to destroy You?

And there are many kinds of propaganda; let me focus on what we are mostly seeing being dumped on us by Russia "¦I'll put them in a spreadsheet and send it to anyone wanting to help. Together we'll see if we can send that to enough people to make a case against him, embarrass him and make it impossible for his to show his face without being labeled a bad journalist, a liar, guilty of perjury, and a dirty propagandist"¦Photographs can be photoshopped, so can videos. Eyewitness accounts are suspect. Reporters stories are only as reliable as the news sources and that means they are not reliable. Even if the most reliable person in the world says something, their word can always be branded speculation, biased or that they are a paid troll, be it Russian or otherwise (although I really don't know of any others). Harding Aug 31

Mechanisms of Enforcement

"They probably have been really frightened by the idea of bearing criminal responsibility sooner of later for their actions or for becoming persona non grata in the civilized world," Herashchenko wrote.

It is also noteworthy that foreign intelligence services have become interested in the Peacemaker site — the CIA, FBI, European intelligence and counterintelligence. The reason in simple. The civilized countries, drawing on information on the pro-Russian militants-terrorists, will be able to create their own databases of suspicious persons and individuals that must be neutralized and isolated from society, he said.

Before discounting the underlined as having anything to do with you bear in mind that Harding "worked IO on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon and was one of the plankholders of the Joint Staff IO Response Cell." The Security Service of Ukraine reached an agreement with Google Inc. to jointly fight with the Russian secret services, who are constantly spreading propaganda network in the Kremlin and sow panic among the population. - Harding

If you like Mairead Maguire are employing Russian active measures according to Harding's definition, you are the Russian secret services he is talking about. She doesn't write about Ukraine. You are the people to be isolated from society, "suspicious", that must be neutralized. You are the journalists, activists, or people who read alternative news that must be put on lists with the CIA, FBI, INTERPOL, intel, and counter intel.

Who's Getting Attacked?

Throughout 2014 Harding made it clear that journalists, writers, and scholars that publish articles at GlobalResearch were agents engaged in Russian propaganda and active measures. Like the labeling of Mairead Maguire it doesn't need to be written remotely concerned with Ukraine, Donbass, or Russia, just against his agenda.

Global Research is a constant focus of his IO disrupt and destroy work through his private Cyber army in Ukraine.

GlobalResearch.ca. You are unprofessional for doing this, you do not deserve any association with the proud profession of journalism and you should be shut down. GlobalResearch.ca Remember that name, put it on your "bad" list and spread the word. They are despicable, vile, the opposite of journalists. GlobalResearch.ca- Harding

Some of Ukraine's IO army Targeted Websites

Propaganda. "The word is frequently used to describe any news emerging from one's opponent."- Joel Harding

RT.com, Sputnik.ru, Washingtonsblog.com, GlobalResearch.ca, OpEdNews.com, Anti-War.com, ZeroHedge.com. InfoWars.com, DemocracyNow.com, CounterPunch.com, RonPaulInstitute.org, PaulCraigRoberts.org, GreanvillePost.com"¦.Small Sampling

These are only a few of the websites that have been targeted for attacks as Russian propaganda and active measures. The very recent jump in spam comments is just the beginning of a large unified effort.

People the IO army are Targeting

Topping the list in terms of importance is Congressman Alan Grayson who has been an outspoken opponent of intervention in Syria as well as Ukraine. Perhaps someone should tell him he's being watched. Every Congressmen that is against interventionism or for human rights should look into why a private citizen can grind axes with Americans using a foreign government/ private IO army he is creating. It is in part a branch of the Ukrainian Military and under a ministryof the Ukrainian government that Harding helped create. He is also steering its efforts.

Below are Russian terrorists according to the definition "news emerging from one's opponent."

Peppy Escobar and Steven Lendman are both "active measures" agents for writing about John Kerry, the State Department, RT bashing, and of course Ukraine. Blog talk Radio host Dr. Rick Staggenborg both a veteran an d peace activist is labeled a Russian propagandist. Professor Michel Chossudovsky and every journalist and activist that publishes at GlobalResearch.ca which is a large list including Paul Craig Roberts and Robert Parry are Russian active measures agents in the Ukraine war and every "agendized news event they write on. Tyler Durden, connected writers and journalists are Russian propagandists. Deena Stryker, an editor at OpedNews is noted because of her PressTV interview for saying the US is engaged in a propaganda war.

All conspiracies aside it wouldn't feel right without adding Alex Jones and Michael Rivera. Harding developed what seems to be a fixation about Jones and company a few years back. Its not that he hates Jones' news sites any more than the others, but it is personal. Joel Harding's favorite nephew rates Jones take on international events as more credible than what Harding has to say.

George Eliason - As for those documents, Eliason must have contacted the cyber-militia directly, because they haven't made any public posts online since December. All of this was unusual enough to warrant further investigation into George Eliason's online identity.

Only a short year ago very few people could even point out Ukraine on a map. During this past year an American has given the government and military of Ukraine the power and tools to attack people in the United States, Europe, and where ever you are reading this.

The people listed are only a few of many. If you have a blog, website and write about current events, you are included too.It shows is an across the board monolithic effort to destroy alternative news and free speech, journalists, and activists. If you are writing about Ferguson and police brutality, human rights, or responsible government -How how long does an organized IO army need to destroy your reputation, income, and work when its focus- is YOU. Whats next? Wait and see.

Mr. Harding, will it be assassination or character assassination? Will you hand this over to your UkrNazis or Pravy Sektor? Can you adequately respond to why you a private citizen can make Western journalists "bad guys, terrorists, Russian political warfare combatants and therefore targets in your war?

US Psychological Warfare in Ukraine: Targeting Online Independent Media Coverage | Global Research

 

[sorcerer]

Washington Yanks British Bulldog into Line

In a brazen show of bringing-to-heel in their «special relationship», American political and Pentagon chiefs are openly rebuking the British government to maintain its huge military spend on the NATO alliance – to the possible detriment of already withering public services in austerity-clobbered Britain. The imposition by Washington raises serious questions about the nature of democracy in Britain – the self-proclaimed «Mother of all Parliaments».

Outlandish claims of Russian «aggression» and sinister global ambitions of Vladimir Putin are being invoked to justify what is otherwise an extraordinary US infringement of Britain's democratic rights.

The American intrusion into British affairs is in the run-up to Britain's parliamentary elections in May, when five years of relentless economic austerity under the incumbent Conservative-Liberal coalition are being put to the electoral test. Conservative (Tory) leader and prime minister David Cameron is under pressure from the public to safeguard education and health budgets, with the country's outsized military expenditure being touted as the sector that should take the necessary «haircut».

Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne are military hawks when it comes to foreign policy. They, after all, oversaw the NATO destruction of Libya in 2011, and are generally in line with US covert wars in Syria and Ukraine. But the Tory leaders are fearful that their abysmal record of austerity could be an election loser. They have apparently heeded public concerns and have belatedly hinted that Britain's military budget may well be slashed rather than education or health in order to reduce a soaring national debt. (Whether Cameron actually does sacrifice military spending is a moot question – the hint could well turn out to be a cynical ruse to lure votes, which will then be stealthily abandoned post-election.)

But the point here is that on such a basic matter of democratic interest – whether to spend public money on bombs, books or hospital beds – it seems that the British government is more answerable to Washington than its own people.

US President Barack Obama has, according to the pro-Tory Daily Telegraph, personally warned British premier David Cameron that any cuts in Britain's current military budget – 2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – will «set a bad example for other European allies» and will put «the future of NATO at risk».

Obama reportedly told Cameron «if Britain doesn't spend 2 per cent on defence, then no one in Europe will».

Washington's «intense lobbying» is being aided by senior members within the British military establishment, who are also warning Cameron's government over possible downsizing of Britain's armed forces and weapons procurement.

In order to pep up their objective, Russia is being painted as a global threat to security, along with the Islamic State terror group, and thus providing justification for the continued spending of some $50 billion a year by Britain on its military budget. The denigration of Russia in such a manner without the slightest evidence is a gross breach of diplomatic relations and could constitute an act of aggression against Moscow.

Sir Peter Wall, the former commander of British armed forces, and ex-MI6 boss Sir John Sawers, have both explicitly cited «Russian aggression» as a top priority for why spending on Britain's huge military budget must not be lowered.

Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox claimed that the British public expect «their government» to ensure the «security of Britain as a first commitment». How a rich politician can assert on the views of impoverished workers, unemployed or sick Britons is anyone's guess. Nevertheless, it should be noted how the propaganda claims of the British establishment against Russia over the Ukraine crisis are inculcated into public consciousness as «fact» and therefore the dubious premise must be dealt with as a matter of unquestioned urgency, without permitting even a cursory public debate on the veracity of such tendentious claims.

The latest figure to add his voice to the Anglo-American no-cuts chorus is US General Raymond Odierno. The Chief of Staff member said any decrease in Britain's military spending will «diminish» British armed forces to the role of fighting as brigades inside American formations rather than being deployed as larger divisions «alongside» US counterparts, as they have in the past.

Thus Odierno seems to be using humiliation as a tactic to browbeat Britain into maintaining its military budget – already one of the highest in Europe and second highest in NATO after the US.

The American General reiterated that the US needs Britain as a partner to confront the alleged threat of Russia and Islamic terrorism.

«It is about having a partner that has very close values and the same goals as we do,» said Odierno, with an odious touch of euphemism considering the illegal destruction that these two «partners» have inflicted on Afghanistan, Iraq and several other countries in their fraudulent pursuit of «war on terror».

Joining the Anglo-American chorus are former NATO secretary generals Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Jaap de Hoop Scheffen, who are also exhorting Britain not to pare its military outlay. De Hoop Sheffen said it would have «very serious consequences» while Rasmussen made typically hysterical claims that such a move by Britain would «encourage Russian aggression».

«It would send, not least under current circumstances, a very, very bad signal to Russia, to terrorists, to others,» said Rasmussen, who stepped down as NATO civilian leader last year after months of accusing Moscow of annexing Crimea, destabilising Ukraine and threatening the entire security of Europe. The former Danish premier has thus acted as a reliable American mouthpiece in Europe and his latest intervention on a British electoral issue with fantastical scaremongering shows that he continues to function well as a Washington cypher.

Washington and London have routinely regaled each other with compliments about their «special relationship» in the decades since the Second World War. The unspoken reality of that grandiloquent partnership is the systemic link between the City of London and Wall Street as being central to the maintenance of global finance capitalism – an economic system that has become destructively predatory on the whole planet. The other aspect of the «special relationship» is that Britain has dutifully served as the junior partner in Washington's overseas militarism. London has either given unswerving diplomatic support for what are de facto criminal imperial interventions, or it has provided actual military forces to augment the American, thus affording a legal semblance of «multinationalism» to otherwise outright illegal «unilateralism». Afghanistan and Iraq are the two outstanding examples of the latter relationship in recent times. In short, Britain is nothing more than America's trusty bulldog in its global military enterprises – a demeaning role for Britain that is sanitised and glamourised as a «special relationship».

Britain also functions as setting the military pace for the rest of Europe at the behest of Washington. It does this primarily through the structure of the US-led NATO alliance. As already noted, Britain is one of the highest military spenders within Europe on NATO – despite its mounting national debt and woeful social deterioration. With his usual Tory tin ears to social hardship among his own nation, last September at the alliance's summit in Wales, David Cameron berated other austerity-suffering European members to raise their financial commitments to NATO in line with the US and Britain.

Thus, this is what really concerns the Americans. Reductions in Britain's armed forces, submarines, frigates and warplanes may severely limit the bulldog in its auxiliary attack-role for future American foreign wars. Wars that are increasingly essential in propping up finance capitalism. British absence would expose American militarism for what it is – naked criminal imperialism.

Secondly, as Obama's fret cited above reveals, if the trusty British start to backslide on commitments to NATO then that could very well embolden the majority of the alliance to likewise curb financial support. Out of 28 NATO members only four hit their financial stipend of 2 per cent of GDP. If the reliable British bulldog is going tame then what does that say for the other European poodles? Without NATO and its pretensions of «defending Europe», Washington then loses a vital ideological and military pillar for its global hegemony.

In a sane, democratic world, of course, reckless military largesse should be slashed if not eliminated entirely. The US spends nearly half of its annual budget on the military-industrial complex – over $600 billion. These ludicrous expenditures not only are driving societies into the ground, they are also driving the world into dangerous confrontation and war – and yet absurdly such profligacy is «justified» with unfounded claims of foreign enemies, most recently Russia.

Russia is threatening no-one. The biggest threat to world peace and to the people of the US and other Western countries are their own elite rulers who are beholden to militarism and its wellspring – finance capitalism.

The gross interference by Washington in Britain's forthcoming election on the vital issue of budgetary priorities clearly demonstrates that British «democracy» is but an appendage to an American leash. And the leash is being yanked to pull the snarling bulldog into line.

Finian Cunningham - Washington Yanks British Bulldog into Line - Strategic Culture Foundation - on-line journal > Washington Yanks British Bulldog into Line > Strategic-Culture.org - Strategic Culture Foundation

 

[sgarg]

There are serious problems with Ukraine's economy. Now every contributor to the economy - capital, skilled manpower, scientists and technologists are running away from Ukraine. The population of Ukraine is dropping fast with everybody with ability in line to run away. The economy was propped up by Russia under Yanukovich, and is by USA now. However this prop is like life support to a dying patient. Everybody knows the patient will die when the support is removed. Ukraine has not developed the means to stand up; and is not expected to do so.

Ukraine is shining example of power of propaganda - what 24x7 western propaganda can do to poison a whole country.

 

[bhramos]

Photos of the local people. "Today, local make the photo more're coming out of the column-occupiers, which moved in the direction of Kostiantynivka to the south. There is an intense redeployment columns ukrov to Donetsk."

 

[bhramos]

Reporting from Lifenews. "Ukrainian artillery shelled the railway station in Donetsk. The militia DNR recorded a direct hit on the building around 11 am. Ukrainian security forces in violation of the armistice caused an artillery attack on the railway station in Donetsk. Information about the victims or the victims. To the place hit left emergency workers DNR and OSCE observers who intend to register the fact of shelling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsh9ZpFZjS8

 

[bhramos]

Photos from the military analyst Boris Rozhina. "As it had not come across photos" Givi "before the war. And then in the ribbon spotted a photo of him when he was working as a security guard at the store dated 2010. So right away and not tell in the photo one of the future famous commanders War in the Donbas. But most of those who are now fighting in the Donbass is the same ordinary people, who are in "unusual" circumstances in which they were forced to take up arms and have done so quite successfully, to have broken off teeth on a regular Ukrainian army. "

 

[bhramos]

Posted by "Russian Spring". "In Shirokino militia hunt Tank" Black Panther ". Army militia Maxim DNI with the call sign" Hindu "spoke about the military situation under Mariupol, in the village of Shirokino. In this area the front under Mariupol, a new type of weapons - tank called "Black Panther" is likely foreign production. Ukrainian troops continue shelling permanent settlement Shirokino of tanks, 80-mm and 120-mm mortars, snipers are constantly fire APU. At positions invaders was seen powerful modern tank, enemy fighters called his "Black Panther" is presumably a tank made "‹"‹in South Korea. The shelling stopped only Ukrainian occupants at the time, when he's monitoring mission of the OSCE. The militia retain their positions and provocations do not respond, adhering to the conditions of the agreements Minsk. "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT1A214aW84

 

[bhramos]

"Heroes Novorosii: Mother and son fighting in the militia. Tatiana from Khartsyzk with the call sign "Sister" has left the militia after his son was fighting in the artillery medic unit. Accidentally met with his son in Debaltseve. "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bHIpZxknmU

 

[bhramos]

Video from the occupied Odessa. "Odessans blocked the road and overturned car nationalists who tried to crush them. Residents of Odessa took to the streets to protest against political repression, restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly of the ban. People blocked the street Ilf and Petrov in the city center. March 21 about fifty youth activists "Odessa - against repression", blocked the street Ilf and Petrov. According to activists picket was organized to protest against political repression, oppression of freedom of speech, prohibition of peaceful assembly of citizens, violence and tyranny. During the picket activists tried to ram Vehicles with symbols banned in Russia "Right sector." Outraged people overturned car. SBU has announced that in Odessa began the second phase of the special operation to clean up the city. Under the court plan to send at least 30 people who were accused of terrorism and separatism Earlier security forces arrested more 60 Odessa and now promise to make "full sweep" of the city. "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP580SyXuUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZn3ItL93Ok

 

[bhramos]

Note from voenkora "KP" Dmitry Steshina. "grandfathers fought - grandchildren forgotten. In Uzbekistan demolished another monument to heroes of the Great Patriotic War. The fight with the monuments in Uzbekistan began in the early 2000s. In 2003, in Ferghana, for example, a huge memorial to the victims soldatam- Fergana was completely dismantled.

 

[bhramos]

Photos from the locals. "In Mariupol Ukrainian occupants digging trenches on the shore of a day already. have rooted up the entire coast, spoil the beach and sports grounds. Buhie and armed stagger along the coast, frightening, and sometimes rob local. Nazhrutsya, shoot in the air and shout "wool" and "Colorado" - now to the coast was dangerous to approach. And before there loved walking women with children. "

 

[bhramos]

NEWS. Crimea is ours! 22 March 2015 - Russian State Duma adopted in the second and third readings a law that sets the rules and postponement of conscription in the Crimea - A group of NATO ships came from the Black Sea after the completion of the exercise; - In the Crimea, as in other regions of the Russian Federation, create Red Book soil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ng8MGqyBM

 

[bhramos]

Drunk Poroshenko mocked legless invalid АТО! СМОТРЕТЬ: Пьяный Порошенко поиздевался над безногим инвалидом АТО | Русский Горизонт

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNKesrev5Wc


Strongly drunk Ukrainian President Poroshenko solemnly handed a football invalid "anti-terrorist" operations in the Donbass.

A former soldier of the 95th Brigade APU remaining due Poroshenko no legs, was literally swamped Presents. In addition to the ball he was handed a scarf football team "Dynamo" (Kiev) and watch.

Poroshenko himself literally glowed with happiness. Rather, his face breaks into a drunken smile. Summing up his drunken speech he gave Bandera slogans: the heroes of glory! Soldier, on the rest of his life remain disabled, only said "For Airborne!"

 

[bhramos]

Witnesses tell us that March 20 Kirovograd region from the station "Znamyanka" on Donetsk went composition full of various military equipment, reported that about half of the ACS consisted of "Acacia" witnesses drove by on the train and had to take a photo while sitting next to people not recommended to photograph because they can be a problem.

 

[pmaitra]

The Washington Post Needs a Reality Check

Editorials that pour fuel on the fire and make no effort to explain the historical roots of this conflict leave readers none the wiser.

Danielle Ryan [SOURCE]

Danielle Ryan is a regular contributor to RI. This article originally appeared at Journalitico.

This way, WaPo!

The Washington Post's latest editorial on Ukraine (Helping Ukraine in its time of need), deserves some attention.

In an ideal world, it would — being so totally useless — be disregarded as waffle. But things as they are, that is highly unlikely and so let's give it a look.

It begins, as many before it have, with a statement so ludicrously one-sided you would be forgiven for giving up and going to Instagram a picture of your lunch instead.

RUSSIA HAS not abided by the latest cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.​

But let's persevere.

For some time now, it's been apparent that the Washington Post is living in a mystical world where lethal weapons cause death and destruction only if they're launched from east to west. As such, the anti-government forces in the east can be conveniently blamed for everything.

And when the reality on the ground doesn't always match that neat little narrative, it is either barely referenced, reported as ambiguous or simply written out of history.

Take for example — and let me detour here for a minute — the media blackout on an incident last week which saw an eight-year-old girl mowed down and killed by a Ukrainian army tank, full of reportedly drunk Ukrainian forces in the town of Konstantinovka.

Yes, this particular incident was an accident. No one is suggesting that it wasn't. But that's not the point.

This would have been a major international news incident had anti-government rebel forces killed an eight-year-old Ukrainian girl by rolling over her with a tank — such a horrific death. It would have been presented to the world as proof that the rebel forces are careless, terrorist thugs unmoved by human suffering.

Instead there was silence. Type the word 'Konstantinovka' into Google News now and see what you can find. It's not the kind of story that BuzzFeed, CNN, Newsweek, Time or the BBC etc. felt justified any attention.

But back to the Post's editorial.

Russia, the writers continue, has taken the opportunity offered by the ceasefire to "send more weapons across the border" and "its forces" (Russia's official forces, we can assume?) "continue to shell Ukrainian positions".

No one else is doing any shelling, of course.

Russia may well be sending weapons to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. I don't know. Neither, I'm willing to bet, do the editors of the Washington Post. But pfft, why let a little formality like evidence deter you?

In the same fashion, they continue on, excoriating Vladimir Putin for ordering new military exercises in western Russia; a sign, they say, that he is preparing an offensive to seize some territory. It's unclear where this territory is.

Interestingly, the Post brings this detail about Russian military drills to our attention without any context whatsoever or any explanation for why Russia might feel justified in conducting military drills on its own land.

What context, you ask?

Perhaps it was, after US and UK tanks rolled through eastern Estonia 300 yards from the Russian border three weeks ago, that Putin felt a little perturbed. Not to mention the rapid build-up of NATO troops in numerous other eastern European countries during the past year. Or the hundreds of unreported NATO flights along Russian borders (because it's only a big deal when Russia does it, remember!).

It is ironic, the surprise and dismay that is apparent in our media, when Russia conducts military exercises inside its own borders or in international airspace. Shock! Horror! How dare they!

It's just a suggestion, but the US and its NATO allies might want to reconsider the provocative nature of their own actions before expressing outrage when other powers make moves to resist them or to similarly display their own strength.

Of course then they wouldn't be able to use Russia's completely justified responses for fear-mongering purposes, so that suggestion is probably a no-go.

And, perfectly in step with Washington and Downing Street, the Post prefers to paint Russia as a loose cannon, saber-rattling in an otherwise peaceful and unthreatening world.

There is no great value in a game of 'my tank is bigger than yours' but let's not act surprised that world leaders will always line up for a seat at that table.

The editorial here changes direction, meandering into a discussion about how the IMF's recently agreed-upon package of financial aid for Ukraine gives Russia "an opening".

The Post notes the IMF's recent determination that Ukraine needs at least $40 billion to keep its currency afloat and meet its external debt commitments in the next four years. It also notes that the desperate-to-help-Ukraine West has only pledged $7.5 billion so far, leaving Ukraine to extract $15 billion in debt relief from its foreign bond-holders, the largest of which is Russia.

What a fantastic, game-changing opening. An end to all Russia's woes really, isn't it?

The point the Post is making is that Russia is taking the "hard line" on Ukraine's debt — and how dare they! Because of course, Western countries would never take the hard-line with a debt ridden country hard-pressed to pay it back. That would be terribly unfair, wouldn't it?

This leads us to a real kicker.

This debt dilemma puts Natalie Jaresko, Ukraine's American-born finance minister, in the position of attempting to negotiate debt relief with an enemy (Russia, that is) which seeks "nothing less than the destruction of her government".

Interesting. What were the editors saying when the freedom-loving Ukrainians of yore were demanding nothing less than the destruction of the Yanukovych government? Can someone dig up that editorial?

What's the difference? Could it perhaps be that Yanukovych was not part of a hand-picked pro-US Ukrainian government, and that Mr. Poroshenko and his (literally) foreign ministers are?

In fairness, the Post does then admit that Western leaders, using "lofty rhetoric" about how important it is to help Ukraine, have not followed up with particularly big checks. The $2 billion offered by the United States, they say, is a "paltry sum compared with the bailouts that have been delivered to other allies in crisis."

The editors go on to lament that not only are Western leaders not coughing up the cash to help Ukraine pay its debts to Moscow, but neither will they help "stop its army".

The future of Western values in "much of Europe" (is there another war we don't know about?) depends on whether the West will come to Ukraine's defense. Which parts of Europe is the Post referring to?

Estonia? Latvia? Maybe Lithuania, which recently confused a train full of Russian students for an invasion"¦? Or perhaps Hungary, which has seen its attempts to keep friendly relations with both Russia and the West seriously hampered by an insistence from Brussels and Washington that "unity" is of paramount importance in "dealing" with Moscow.

'Unity' here is a code word for: Don't evening f***ing think about it.

The Poroshenko government, the Post finally pleads, has not asked for a no-strings handout. It is committed to a program of radical and painful reforms, presumably to become more functional and to be fully recreated in the West's image — and we should all do more to help.

I suppose banning Euronews from being broadcast in Ukraine, which Kiev just did, fits nicely in line with these European values of free speech and democracy we hear they are so ardently committed to.

*****

It's against this backdrop that Germany and the United States have pledged to keep sanctions on Russia in place until the Minsk agreements are "upheld" — a self-serving Catch 22.

As pointed out by Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament, tying the easing of sanctions to the full implementation of the Minsk ceasefire leaves Russia in a no-win situation.

Kiev will now have no incentive to implement the Minsk agreements because their priority is to keep sanctions in place — and because they know full well they will not be held accountable for anything.

Let me finish by referring to a book written in 1996 and which caught my attention on Twitter yesterday. The book is Flashpoint: World War III, written by Andrew Murray.

In it, he wrote:

(and remember this is 1996)

The Ukraine itself is clearly pregnant with the possibility of conflict, divided between a Russian-oriented and heavily industrial east, and a nationalistic west"¦

'Ukraine for the Ukrainians' shout the western Ukrainians; 'union with Russia' and 'life was better under the Communists' say the eastern. Russia's conflict with the Ukraine over control of the Crimea, most of whose people wish to be reattached to the Russian Federation, is a further source of friction. The US and Germany have clearly declared for an independent Ukraine, primarily as a means of weakening their Russian rival. Germany is in the lead here, too"¦.the burgeoning Ukrainian fascist movement is closely aligned with German sympathisers.

The splits among the Ukrainian people, reflecting different histories and culture, could provide any number of internal pretexts and possibilities for external intervention.
​

Revisiting his '96 predictions today, Murray writes that four major factors have contributed to bringing this all to pass.

The first he says, is the breakdown, but not yet collapse, of US hegemony. American might is no longer unchallengeable. China is rising. Russia is resisting. The "war on terror" has been a nightmarish failure.

The second factor he notes is the rise of Russian power. Russia, under Putin, he says, has taken a more cohesive approach to world politics, based on a doctrine of Russian nationalism and domestic conservatism. The third has been NATO's dangerous march to the east — a NATO which is "above all an instrument of US global power".

Finally, the fourth factor was greatest economic crisis since the 1930s, which left Russia and China (thus far) mostly unscathed. The attempt to draw Ukraine away from Russia and into full dependence on NATO, he argues, was a gamble driven by a determination to stop an economic competitor (Russia, China) emerging stronger from the economic crisis.

Maybe someone could send a copy of Murray's book to the Washington Post?

I'm serious.


Is there a complete vacuum of independent thought at these newspapers? Week after week, they fire out thoughtless and useless editorials, thrown together in a few hundreds words. Editorials that pour fuel on the fire, make no effort to explain the historical roots of this conflict and leave readers none-the-wiser about anything. You go, Western free press!

Murray wrapped up his recent piece with another prediction:

It may be that it is best to quit while you're ahead in the field of prophecy, but it is all-but-certain that, if NATO and the EU carry on expanding eastwards, above all at a time of economic crisis, a third world war will be a near-certainty.​

Let's hope he's not right this time.

 

[sorcerer]

Thank the Sanctions: West Admits That Russia Copes, Keeps Walking. Fast
West has admitted that the sanctions card has not paid off and investors once again favor Russia; Bloomberg has issued a positive analysis and forecast for Moscow following the announcements of Russia's finance minister.

Following the announcements of Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov that Russia's ruble has found its balance as it no longer reacts to falling oil prices or foreign debt payments, Bloomberg has come up with the same forecast.

The agency admitted that the swings in the ruble's value, which became the world's most volatile currency last year, have narrowed in 2015, "more than any of the other 30 most-traded currencies."

The Bloomberg Russia Local Sovereign Bond Index has measured that investors in Russian government securities denominated in rubles have earned the equivalent of 7 cents on the dollar so far this year.

In contrast, anyone holding similar government debt in emerging markets across-the-board has lost 1.1 percent in 2015, it said.

Russia's corporate bondholders are also in the black; they've had a 7.3 percent total return in 2015.

"And while shareholders in the global emerging market stocks measured by the MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 1.7 percent this year, the 50 Russian stocks in the Micex index are up 11.9 percent — better than the Standard & Poor's 500 or any other North American market."

The agency echoed Siluanov's forecasts for the Russian economy as well.

On Thursday the finance minister told the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs' Congress that the Russian economy has passed its lowest point at the end of 2014 and is now stabilizing.

Bloomberg confirmed that Russian companies represented in the Micex index are more profitable, when measured by Ebitda margins (earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortization) than the rest of the companies included in the global MSCI Emerging Market Index.

A number of Russian companies are outperforming their global peers, it said.

"One possible reason for the growth?" Bloomberg questioned. His answer was simple: sanctions.

"With foreign goods unavailable, Russians had to choose homegrown products and services."
Tweet




Thank the Sanctions: West Admits That Russia Copes, Keeps Walking. Fast / Sputnik India English - News, Opinion, Radio

 

[Razor]

@pmaitra : Speaking of deja vu and all that in that other thread, and then when I look at this thread it reminds me of a conversation akim, you, I and a few others had more than a year before maidan.

OT @Akim: I heard that in Eastern Ukraine, majority of people are ok with the idea of reuniting with Russian Federation. And I also heard that Putin has said (in private) that if the USA dares take Ukraine into NATO, then Russia might annex Eastern Ukraine. True?

http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/...-beaten-up-ukranian-racists-2.html#post526905

Right on track, I guess.

 

[bhramos]

Ukrainian army BRDM vs Saxon AT105

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9MsyHtKwZ4

as you can see weaknesses of Saxon AT105