Ukraine: the Fake News before the Storm
by Tutisicecream
As with Syria the WMSM is complicit in providing fake news stories about Ukraine as cover for more war
The situation in Ukraine is bad and many seasoned observers see serious conflict imminent, one which may draw Russia onto a direct confrontation with NATO and therefore the US. A civil war at the centre of Europe which has been simmering for almost 3 years is about to erupt again dragging in the two opposing blocks, Russia and the largely US funded NATO into a potential confrontation. Meanwhile the WMSM happy to be the harbinger of double speak, does nothing other than fan the flames of geopolitical discontent with disinformation, distraction and lies.
What they like to call “Fake News”, when berating other independent sources of information, but like the boy who cried wolf many people and independent sources see through their subterfuge and refuse to parrot the bought and paid for Washington consensus line. The trouble with the narrative by omission approach adopted by the Guardian and a host of WMSM outlets is that it fails to hide some glaring contradictions, the paramount one being Ukraine is not a NATO member. The other reasons being being Russia has not invaded Ukraine and Poroshenko did not come to power as a result of an attempted Russian intervention there.
In the last few weeks there have been a growing number of increasingly spurious reports linking Trump to Putin and Russia to everything else bad in a flurry of new and regurgitated false narratives of fake news.
Here are just a few examples of faked-up news headline helping the process of myth making along from the Guardian, most of which is available across a wide range of establishment outlets:
“Donald Trump repeats respect for ‘killer’ Putin in Fox Super Bowl interview”
“No case for relaxation of Russia sanctions, Boris Johnson to tell EU”
“Ukraine clashes leave several dead and test Trump’s Russia stance“
It’s been a smorgasbord in the WMSM of crazed news with no foundation in truth or even reality. But that doesn’t matter; the main aim has been to get headlines onto the front pages and across the internet to soften up the populations of the UK Europe and the US for potential war between the US/ NATO and Russia which has been planned for some considerable time, well before the ousting of Ukraine’s democratically elected president Yanukovych. Beware the Putin Trump link, if there ever was one, it is purely a distraction as the real action is already in motion in Ukraine a frozen conflict which is about to erupt again. All of this is an attempt, no doubt, to bounce Trump to the defence of Ukraine in line with the established US false narrative.
Realising that the fake news cover is out of the bag now with Trump accusing the MSM of being the worst purveyors of deception and lies; the deep state, those who were mainly backing Clinton for Presidency hoping for more war, are now calling in their dues with their illegitimate puppet President, Poroshenko. The likes of Victoria Nuland who midwived the Ukrainian coup in February 2014 may now be out the door, as far as US foreign policy is concerned for central and eastern Europe, but her legacy is still alive and kicking thanks to John (mad cap) McCain and of course NATO. It is no coincidence that McCain has recently paid one of his regular visits to Ukraine to press the flesh of those in the Pravi Sector to help keep weak Poroshenko from deviating.
It’s also of no surprise that a number of corrupt Oligarchs, US Ukrainian Diaspora and Poroshenko himself were all rooting for Clinton and even pouring money into her campaign coffers. What is strange though is that the WMSM, so bothered about foreign (in their case Russian) intervention in the US presidential race, over looked this blatant and overt attempt to swing the election outcome. A would be manipulation by a largely fascist government, illegally brought into power by US covert operations and backed by Obama and Clinton. Instead the WMSM along with the Guardian preferred the “Putin hacked the US election” meme, a complete jackanory story, but in a desperate search for credence, they readily lapped it all up as they had got the election outcome so badly wrong…
So let’s look at some of the fake and real analysis, the myths and realities.
Ukraine
MYTH-MAKING:
…Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, said during a meeting with security officials on Tuesday: ‘The shelling is massive. Who would dare to talk about lifting the sanctions in such circumstances?’” Shaun Walker, Ukraine clashes leave several dead and test Trump’s Russia stance
The Guardian’s editorial line on Ukraine is straight out of the mouth of Poroshenko and echoed by Boris Johnson. Are your alarm bells ringing, they should be.
Walker continues:
Russia and the separatists initiated the violence in Avdiivka,” said the US chargé d’affaires to the OSCE, Kate Byrnes. “We call on Russia to stop the violence, honour the ceasefire, withdraw heavy weapons and end attempts to seize new territory beyond the line of contact.”
Spot the myth making here? Kate Byrnes is not a member of the OSCE she is a representative of the US government – in a liaison role, Russia is not a signatory to the Minsk ll ceasefire agreement, Ukraine is and the DPR (Donetsk Peoples Republic). Russia has a monitor role along with Germany and France. Shaun Walker completely misinterprets the Role of Russia here by quoting Byrnesm, may be with intent or just by sloppy journalism? And the statement “Russia and the separatists initiated the violence in Avdiivka,” is simply not true, there has been a build up of Ukrainian military in Avdiivka which has been a creeping offensive.
REALITY CHECK:
Here are some observations by Dmitry Orlov from the beginning of the Ukrainian civil war. He wrote:
Last Thursday (28 August 2014) the Ukrainian government, echoed by NATO spokesmen, declared that the Russian military is now operating within Ukraine’s borders. Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t; what do you know? They said the same thing before, most recently on August 13, and then on August 17, each time with either no evidence or fake evidence. Armed with this list, you too should be able to determine whether or not Russia has invaded Ukraine” Dmitry Orlov,Top Ten Ways You Can Tell if Russia Has Invaded Ukraine
Syria
And just in case you thought the reporting of Ukraine was an isolated case there is Syria which has followed a similar course of criminal misdirection by the WMSM via fake news regarding the war there. Yet the Guardian repeats the established lies:
MYTH MAKING:
Year after year, month after month, the depravity of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been exposed more thoroughly: the systematic use of torture against opponents; the repeated deployment of barrel bombs and chemical weapons; the targeting of hospitals; the airstrike on a UN aid convoy; reports of civilians being killed on the spot as the last rebel strongholds in Aleppo fell. Guardian Editorial, Guardian View on Syrian war crimes; searching for a road to justice
REALITY CHECK:
Saudi Arabia and Qatar want to establish a Sunni state in Syria, without religious freedom. Therefore, Assad must go….”The Media Coverage on Syria is the Biggest Media Lie of our Time’ — Interview with Flemish Priest in Syria
To antanaclasis the Guardian’s view: “The Syrian president is not the answer to Isis; his brutality has been a very large part of the problem” I say that, “The Guardian and WMSM reportage is not the answer to the Ukraine and Syrian problem; its brutality has been a very large part of the problem when the myth is promoted and the reality suppressed.” ‘
Remember Libya, remember Iraq? Remember how the WMSM helped promote the fake news and false narratives for those wars?
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“Molesting squirrels ” LOL
But seriously not only is VVP a good chess player he is also a Marshall Arts black belt. Both makes for a formidable opponent .Rarely have we seen such caliber of leadership in the world on the political front.
I had never paid much attention to Russia until this Ukraine coup. This has really opened my eyes.
Pssst… it is martial arts and not marshall arts. It is also martial law and not marshall law. 🙂
Thank you for the correction. Two of my grandchildren are in martial arts schools so I can attest to the discipline within the martial arts .Cheers
The news site infocenter-odessa.com is a great source for most of the events which are never reported by UA or WMSM . The level of anarchy within the whole of Ukraine is rather shocking, with much of the serious crime involving past or current members of the ATO groups. Grenades and heavy weapons are common on the black market.
Nearing the 3rd anniversary of the CIA Maidan coup d’etat, on Sunday evening, 19 Feb,
the tent camps and field kitchens of a group of Nationalists in Kiev were destroyed by anti-riot militia, who proceeded to disperse the gathering using batons.
Deja Vu all over again, as the same “Nationalists” who drove Yanukovych from power are now beginning a campaign to apply even more pressure against Porochenko, who seems to have no role other than as useful puppet for the extreme Right.
Shaun Waker is a discredited peddler of fake news. This is no surprise, since he works for Chatham House eminence grise Simon Tisdall at the Graun. Indeed, long before Waker was catapulted above his competency (by Harding’s departure), he was pumping out the factless crapola at the Indy. I once got a threatening phone-call from him, saying he would “sort me out” if I didn’t stop posting comments which highlighted the lies in his material.
Few of us can forget Waker’s glory moment – announcing that a battalion of Russian tanks had trundled across the Ukrainian frontier. This was witnessed not only by Shaun, but by his imaginary friend “Roland Oliphant” – the pseudonym under which Waker files identikit stories for other newspapers. Of course, there were no tanks whatsoever. Mysteriously the Dynamic Duo watched the whole incident (“for over half an hour’) without taking a single photo to prove it. Later Shaun published a photo of a different model of tank, being driven down a street in Ekaterinburg (Urals) four years earlier. (The advertising posters in the street provided a handy reference to the actual date the photo had been taken – as well as where).
Not being argumentative. I’d love to see those photos. Love and respect mate.
“Beware the Putin Trump link, if there ever was one…” There are links between Trump and Russia gangsters, as John Henry (The Real News Network) points out. But, for their own purposes (which may or not involve taking Trump out), some will want to make more out of it all than is there. John Henry says that it would be nice, and perfectly possible, Trump’s protestations to the contrary, to see even a single tax return of Trump’s from 2008 for example (http://bit.ly/2lVXATp). The interest deductions would reveal much.
[[ ere are links between Trump and Russia gangsters, ]]
And trolls like yourself will continue to allege they exist – without a single smattering of actual proof.
I carry no torch for President Gump, and I despise the man and his entire team of whackjob haters. But trolling neocon-sponsored trash about him, to discredit Russia, is not only irresponsible and loathsome – it is also dangerous and foolish. Take your spineless Russophobia elsewhere, chum.
Most of our commenters manage to maintain a reasonable amount of politeness and decorum even when they disagree, and this is something we value and encourage. Your views are welcome, but please observe a basic minimum of good manners.
The Flynn soft coup d’état has put the neoCONs back in charge of the USA’s foreign policy, and even Herr Trump is now parroting the line that Russia must give Crimea back to the Ukraine despots.
I wonder why the Crimean War 150+ years ago was fought between Russia and Britain/France, Charge of the Light Brigade, Balaclava Helmets, Florence Nightingale etc., etc., if Crimea belonged to Ukraine?
How Ukraine Annexed Crimea. A Frank Conversation with Nikki Haley
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/02/08/how-ukraine-annexed-crimea-frank-conversation-with-nikki-haley.html
Nikki Haley – that paragon of diplomacy, insight, and intellect.
Churkin will eat her for breakfast.
Churkin RIP. A fine and civilised person who demonstrated it was possible to act for his country while still retaining human decency
The whole western narrative on events in Ukraine is a cooked-up tissue of lies, misinformation and half-truths. The colour revolution in 2014 was funded by the CIA and Soros, spearheaded by the neo-nazis of Right Sector, Svoboda, Patriots of the Ukraine and Lyashko’s Radical Party, and subsequently consolidated by the Oligarchs such as Kolomoisky, Pinchuk and Poroshenko. CIA chief Brennan, and US VP Biden have been frequent visitors, and prior to this the whole coup was organised ‘midwifed’ a term used by Pyatt US ambassador, and Victoria Nuland Assistant Secretary of State for central and east European affairs at the US State Department.
The political reality of the Ukraine is that there are only two political factions of any importance: the neo-nazis and the oligarchs. Bans on opposition parties, abduction, kidnapping, rampant corruption, nepotism, political murders are pretty much routine. (See the UN report on Human Rights Ukraine published in December 2016) Yet this bastion of democracy is coddled by the IMF who provide loans – even though loans are forbidden to countries engaged in war – and allows Ukraine to default on sovereign debts – again, against the IMF constitution. It should also be added that NATO troops are now present in Ukraine, a state which is not a NATO country.
The fact of the matter is, however, that Ukraine is a de facto member of NATO and is being used as a battering ram against Russia. All along Russia’s frontier, from the Baltic to the Black sea NATO is beefing up its presence for armed provocation and the key position is the Don Bass. As has been pointed out the whole reportage in the WMSM is a propaganda offensive to soften up public opinion for a war against Russia, with the liberal media in the vanguard. ”Facts are Sacred.” Sure they are!
Enlightening to know perhaps that the west’s allies against Russia are the Jihadists in the Middle East, and the neo-nazis in Ukraine. Whatever happened to western civilisation?
There’s the law and order crowd, strategically breaking the rules in order to gain advantages.
I’ve found Fort Russ to be the best source of news about developments in Ukraine, where the UAF has been shelling parts of Donbas on a daily basis for weeks, killing several people and destroying many buildings. In addition, two of the Republics’ leading military commanders have been assassinated in recent weeks, probably by Ukrainian special services, though the possibility that the hits were carried out by assassins from a NATO country cannot be ruled out. For anyone who understands German and wants to know what life is really like in Donetsk, I would highly recommend the new film by Mark Bartalmai (a German film-maker who has been living in Donbas for the last two years). The DVD is published by NuoViso. The title is: “Frontstadt Donezk”.
This is a comprehensive review of the documentary “Ukraine on Fire” produced by Oliver Stone. One to watch out for although as the author admits will probably not be on general release.
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/02/13/a-documentary-youll-likely-never-see/
Far from perfect – accented voice over on top of the Russian narrative.
But fills a gap meanwhile
Well, „Media, Independent and Mainstream: Fake News and Fake Narratives“: https://wipokuli.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/media-independent-and-mainstream-fake-news-and-fake-narratives/
&
„US Allegations Against Russia: Hold the Thief! (in addition to the previous post)“: https://wipokuli.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/us-allegations-against-russia-hold-the-thief-in-addition-to-the-previous-post/
Regards
Putin is far too smart to allow Russia to be drawn into a direct conflict with NATO.
Putin is not smart- he was trained by a specialist organisation known as the KGB.
The branch of the KGB in which he worked recruited only the smartest people.
Thanks for your input Borat.
That was uncalled for. You don’t know anything about me or about what I know. Please stay polite.
Not you, the other fellow
Oh, I see. Sorry. 🙂
The psyche test for getting into the KGB required an IQ test that was stringent and rigorous. Putin apparently scored very high. The fact that he rose to be president of the RF does not imply stupidity. And thats probably why he has outlasted a number of US administrations and maintains the highest popularity rating of any European leader since Churchill.
If the US provokes a limited war in Eastern Europe, which I believe is its intent, they better get people who can think as well as shoot and there hasn’t been many of those around the Korean war debacle. And there were few of them about then.
But he wont sit by and wait for a NATO strike.
He will never strike first.
Putin is a chess-player. He marhsalls his forces, and waits for the other idiot to blunder. Then he sweeps up the ensuing mayhem to his own advantage, of course.
He’s poker-faced his way through the arrival of NATO forces in Poland, Ukraine and the Baltics – where they are busily driving around in circles and molesting the squirrels. (Meantime Russia is doing the heavy lifting in Syria, while NATO are shown as shirkers and lightweights, thousands of miles from any military action).
As a result, he can now sit back and watch Stoltenberg, Merkel and Half-Pence trade insults over who should be picking up the bill for NATO’s squirrel-molesting exercises in Lithuania.
Meanwhile, British troops being sent to Estonia have been issued with printed guides on how to get the most out of their new NATO posting. Historical background, handy tips, some phrases in Estonia’s dying and impenetrable medieval language? No – a guide to the strip clubs and brothels available in Tallinn, with a list of the bargain prices for drinks. The usual litany of teenage pregnancies, loutish drunkenness and rape victims which follows the British Squaddy all over the world will now be unleashed on Estonia. The Mayor of Tallinn had, in fact, attempted to get budget airlines to halt the flow of Lad’s Nights and Stag Parties to the Estonian capital. The result has simply been to divert the booze-bingers and rapists onto new air services to Kaunas instead… as if the punters cared which Baltic Boozer they ended up in?? “They’re all the same with a sack over their heads,” as the Royal Marines will tell you.