The build-up to war on Russia

[MacCruiskeen]

[Jerky]

I repectfully disagree, as a quick search of news from 2012 through 2015 shows the MSM demonization of Putin well underway before the election campaigns got going:

You're right about the timing, but off about the reasons.

You take it that "the MSM" just up and decided to engage in "demonization of Putin" for... what? Fun? Sport? Was it really just out of the blue like that?

No. To me, it looks much more like the MSM started reporting on the reality that Putin was pretty much giving up on trying to hide his regime's "demonic" nature (to carry on using your descriptor).

J

[Elvis]

Elvis » 18 Jun 2017 12:54 wrote:
I repectfully disagree, as a quick search of news from 2012 through 2015 shows the MSM demonization of Putin well underway before the election campaigns got going:

You're right about the timing, but off about the reasons.

You just guessed at my reasons, so you couldn't know whether or not I was off about them.

More than anything, I'd say it's about oil and other resources, and freedom to "project American power" in Asia and the Mideast. Putin is a major irritant in those arenas.

This is classic re-framing into a straw man, one of your fortés:

You take it that "the MSM" just up and decided to engage in "demonization of Putin" for... what? Fun? Sport? Was it really just out of the blue like that?

[SonicG]

UK and Russia not playing footsies...Whither Britannia?

Minister Just Had An Extraordinary Public Bust-Up
Johnson, making the first visit by a UK foreign secretary to Russia in five years, interrupted his Russian counterpart as they clashed over alleged interference in the EU referendum.
Boris Johnson and Russia’s foreign minister have lashed out at each other over claims of Russian interference in western elections, in an extraordinary joint press conference in Moscow.

Johnson, making the first visit by a UK foreign secretary to Russia in five years, interrupted Sergei Lavrov as he told journalists there was no evidence that Russia had meddled in the EU referendum, and that Johnson had himself told him so.

In a break with convention, Johnson intervened to say: “Not successfully.”

Lavrov, speaking through an interpreter, looked at him before telling reporters: “He’s afraid that if he doesn’t contradict me his reputation is going to be ruined.”

Johnson hit back again: “It’s your reputation I worry about.”

Lavrov then said: “The absence of action can never result in anything.”

Q. Do you trust each other? A. Johnson: It’s a measure of trust that I handed him my coat and hat. Lavrov: I’ve been through the pockets and there’s nothing in them. Johnson: You’ve checked?!

Johnson's visit to Moscow comes after years of deteriorating relations over a range of issues, and as MPs investigate claims that Russia interfered in last year's Brexit referendum.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/emilyashton/bo ... dsGK6bRVQo

It kicked off earlier with

And, welcoming increased trade and cultural links between the UK and Russia, Mr Johnson said: “I'm delighted to say that there are increasing exports of British kettle crisps to Russia and 300 Bentleys have been sold this year in Russia - not, I believe necessarily to employees of the Foreign Ministry but nonetheless a sign of progress.”

Mr Johnson's jibe at the possibility of imported luxury cars being snapped up by Russian state officials prompted a silent laugh from Mr Lavrov.

This week, Mr Johnson described Russia as “closed, nasty, militaristic and anti-democratic” and said it could not be “business as usual”.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 24021.html

[Sounder]

test

This week, Mr Johnson described Russia as “closed, nasty, militaristic and anti-democratic” and said it could not be “business as usual”.

Hmmm, a view pounded on by many here at this board, fancy that.

Jerky mentioned short memories earlier, yes we need many memories to be refreshed. But still it is not difficult to recognize the connections between demonizing leaders of countries, as being 'bad' man, as we were and are continually reminded in regard to Hussein, Qaddafi, Assad and now Putin and the carnage to follow. Life is hard enough, why would regular people want that sort of thing weighing on their conscience?

As the following illustrates, the (imperial manipulators acting falsely in the interests of the) US is always trying to screw Russia. Warmongers put all our lives in danger, especially considering that the US can barely make their F-35 airworthy while Russia and China seem to get a much better bang for their war buck dollar.

Hmmm, I am trying to post a article but perhaps there is a size limit.
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/ ... 1990s.html

Due to a historic data-dump on December 10th, the biggest swindle that occurred in How the US Swindled Russia in the Early 1990s
the 20th Century (or perhaps ever) is now proven as a historical fact; and this swindle was done by the US Government, against the Government and people of Russia, and it continues today and keeps getting worse under every US President. It was secretly started by US President George Herbert Walker Bush on the night of 24 February 1990; and, unless it becomes publicly recognized and repudiated so that it can stop, a nuclear war between the US and all of NATO on one side, versus Russia on the other, is inevitable unless Russia capitulates before then, which would be vastly less likely than such a world-ending nuclear war now is.

This swindle has finally been displayed beyond question, by this, the first-ever complete release of the evidence. It demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt (as you’ll verify yourself from the evidence here), that US President G.H.W. Bush (and his team) lied through their teeth to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (and his team) to end the Cold War on Russia’s side, when the US team were secretly determined never to end it on the US-and-NATO side until Russia itself is conquered. And this swindle continues today, and keeps getting worse and worse for Russians.

Until now, apologists for the US-Government side have been able to get away with various lies about these lies, such as that there weren’t any, and that Gorbachev didn’t really think that the NATO issue was terribly important for Russia’s future national security anyway, and that the only limitation upon NATO’s future expansion that was discussed during the negotiations to end the Cold War concerned NATO not expanding itself eastward (i.e., closer to Russia) within Germany, not going beyond the then-existing dividing-line between West and East Germany — that no restriction against other east-bloc (Soviet-allied) nations ever being admitted into NATO was discussed, at all. The now-standard US excuse that the deal concerned only Germany and not all of Europe is now conclusively disproven by the biggest single data-dump ever released about those negotiations.

What' s going on, why can others post boatloads of 'material', while I can seldom post a whole article?

[SonicG]

This week, Mr Johnson described Russia as “closed, nasty, militaristic and anti-democratic” and said it could not be “business as usual”.

I'd describe a lot of places like that...even my beloved Mexico and Vietnam...to some regard. Maybe it was said in jealousy or they (the UK) feel closer to NATO and therefore have a much greater "stake" in keeping Russia as an official enemy...

[MacCruiskeen]

Title page of this week's US edition of Newspeak:

Putin Is Preparing for World War III—Is Trump?
By Owen Matthews On 12/14/17 at 8:00 AM

http://www.newsweek.com/?region=int

Translation (from the Propagandese): Russia is preparing itself for an impending American attack.

Russia, surrounded by enemies, is readying to fight an epic war for survival. At least that’s what Vladimir Putin wants his countrymen to think.
http://www.newsweek.com/2017/12/22/puti ... 46988.html

Shameless.

[MacCruiskeen]

Top Marine general: 'There's a war coming'

Josh Delk12/22/17 11:16 AM EST
The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Neller, told troops Thursday that "there's a war coming" and urged them to be prepared.

"I hope I'm wrong, but there's a war coming," Neller told Marines stationed in Norway, during a visit there, according to Military.com. "You're in a fight here, an informational fight, a political fight, by your presence," he added.

The commandant pointed to Russia and the Pacific theater as the next major areas of conflict, predicting a "big-ass fight" in the future.

[...]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... war-coming

a "big-ass fight" (sic). What age is he, ten? It's the Voice of America.

[Jerky]

As long as we're posting maps about how Putin views the world (and how far does a base have to be from Russia to NOT be considered "close to Russia", anyway? 3/5ths of the world's land is on that map!), I personally got a chuckle out of this one:



PS - How DARE all those North Atlantic countries cooperate with NATO like that! It's not fair I tells ya!

[MacCruiskeen]

No wonder you "got a chuckle out of it", for it is smug neoliberal warmongering bullshit and about as funny as Operation Northwoods.

[MacCruiskeen]

Guardian, two days ago:

Boris Johnson compares Russian World Cup to Hitler's 1936 Olympics

[JackRiddler]

.

I like both maps. (Why can't we all just get along?! Ha, fat chance.) I think them both relevant to this mess.

The attitudes on the prejudice map are those expressed by what we might shorthand as "Putinism" (which could just as well be Erdoganism, or Modi-ism, although Trumpism is a bit of a variant, they all share the macho extremism, authoritarianism and scapegoating of chosen groups - especially gays and feminists).

However, the location of the bases is way more material to the current specific confrontation with the West, which is known not to care about the nasty prejudices of countries and regimes that are even more homophobic and anti-feminist and racist and scapegoating and even conventionally criminal (in the sense of being run by an oligarchy of financial mobsters) than Russia is currently.

We are where we are because of the breaking of the promise not to expand NATO, the plunder of Russia by Western-guided shock therapy and mafia-run privatization under the heavily CIA-backed Yeltsin, the Bushist withdrawal from the ABM treaty and the war of aggression on Iraq, joint exercises targeting Russia as the future adversary, the paranoia (historically determined but still unhinged) in "New Europe" Poland and Co., the U.S. machinations to flip Ukraine by coup rather than election (which would have happened), and the heavy U.S.-Gulf States intervention to turn anything that might have been a Syrian revolution (which would have lost, but with a lot fewer casualties) into an opening for the worst international jihadi death-festival in history (partly as an escalation in response to the Iranian intervention on Assad's behalf, but nothing makes it right!).

The Russian state and even Putin himself were goaded into increased "Putinism," and now the goading and the Putinist ideology are symbiotic. Putinism (by which I mean this show of political authoritarianism and scapegoating) lives off "the West's" constant theater (and reality) of physical threat. Things could have totally gone in another direction, back when the ball was in the U.S. court to choose.

.

[MacCruiskeen]

Everything is going according to plan.

Among senior ministers and officials, there's quiet satisfaction that the Russia crisis seems to be going according to plan. Maybe even better.
According to one senior government source, "it's gone at least as well as we'd hoped".

He didn't add, "...so far, anyway". But then he hardly needed to. As Britain ponders its new post-Brexit role in the world, we're now witnessing the start of a new and defining phase. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-43431636

"Quiet satisfaction". Sic. The build-up to war on Russia is going like a dream, like an American Dream.

[Elvis]

Jack, that is an excellent summary. I wanted to see it in bullet-point fashion, so will repost it thus:

We are where we are because of:

- the breaking of the promise not to expand NATO,

- the plunder of Russia by Western-guided shock therapy and mafia-run privatization under the heavily CIA-backed Yeltsin,

- the Bushist withdrawal from the ABM treaty and

- the war of aggression on Iraq,

- joint exercises targeting Russia as the future adversary,

- the paranoia (historically determined but still unhinged) in "New Europe" Poland and Co.,

- the U.S. machinations to flip Ukraine by coup rather than election (which would have happened), and

- the heavy U.S.-Gulf States intervention to turn anything that might have been a Syrian revolution (which would have lost, but with a lot fewer casualties) into an opening for the worst international jihadi death-festival in history (partly as an escalation in response to the Iranian intervention on Assad's behalf, but nothing makes it right!).


The Russian state and even Putin himself were goaded into increased "Putinism," and now the goading and the Putinist ideology are symbiotic. Putinism (by which I mean this show of political authoritarianism and scapegoating) lives off "the West's" constant theater (and reality) of physical threat. Things could have totally gone in another direction, back when the ball was in the U.S. court to choose.

Of course, Putin leaves a lot to be desired, etc. etc.

[MacCruiskeen]

MARCH 19, 2018
The Strategy of Tension Towards Russia and the Push to Nuclear War
by COLIN TODHUNTER

The United States has devised on ongoing strategy of tension towards Russia. It has initiated economic sanctions against Moscow, concocted a narrative about ‘Russian aggression’ for public consumption and has by various means attempted to undermine and weaken the energy-dependent Russian economy. It has moreover instigated a coup on Russia’s doorstep in Ukraine and is escalating tensions by placing troops in Europe.

The reality is that the US, not Russia, has around 800 military bases in over 100 countries and military personnel in almost 150 countries. US spending on its military dwarfs what the rest of the world spends together. For example, it outspends China by a ratio of 6:1.

[...}

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/03/19 ... clear-war/

More articles by Colin Todhunter

@AbbyMartin

I missed Trump saying that he hopes he can unite the country without a traumatic event affecting Americans. https://to.pbs.org/2noCz6d



14:58 - 24. March 2018

https://twitter.com/AbbyMartin/status/9 ... 0015478784

"A major event." Like, catastrophic and catalyzing.