Projecting the view that “authoritarian Russia” cannot be trusted to report the truth about the war in Ukraine, Western media presents its coverage as trustworthy because its reports, it asserts, are the result of “free and independent” inquiry.
Well, a new study evaluating media coverage of the war in Ukraine has found it to have been overwhelmingly biased in favour of the Western narrative from the outset, and so to be playing a major role in perpetuating the conflict.
The study found that of almost 4.300 published articles assessed, the vast majority were almost universally biased in favour of Ukraine, were pro-war, and were anti-Russia.
Ukraine was portrayed positively in 64% of all coverage, and President Vladimir Zelensky in 67%. By contrast Russia was portrayed “almost exclusively negatively” 88% of the time, and President Putin portrayed negatively in almost all, 96%, of stories published.
93% of all the reports on the war attributed sole blame for it on President Putin and/or Russia, while The West was named as “jointly responsible” in only 4% of instances, Ukraine even less so at 2%.
The report also found that Russia’s perspectives on the conflict were only considered or mentioned in 10% of news reports, and the views of those opposed to the war “had practically no media presence in the published reporting of the war,” at all.
Overall, the study offers a disturbing view of how the Western media has lined up behind the Western narrative, as to the cause of war, while consideration of alternative views and policies, such as those supporting a diplomatic settlement, have been almost completely absent, or withheld from any reporting or analysis.
Describing the Western media as the most aggressive and effective lobbyists for war, the report contends that similar investigations of the conflict in other Western countries would inevitably reach similar conclusions. “In many cases, the findings could possibly be even more drastic, in terms of the one-sided, pro-war picture presented to average citizens by the press, and the lack of opposing, pro-diplomacy viewpoints”, the report says.
In that context, Western media makes little or no mention of NATO’s incremental creep towards Russia since the fall of communism, or of assurances given at the time, or of the Minsk agreements, One and Two, which were brokered between Ukraine and Russia at the instigation of France and Germany and which, but for Ukraine’s refusal to respect them, Russia’s February invasion would not have taken place.
And the media also failed to publish the peace initiative brokered when Kiev and Moscow reached a negotiated interim settlement in early April, whereby Russia would withdraw to its pre-February 24 position, and Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership in return for security guarantees from a number of countries. However, at the very last minute, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly flew to Kiev and demanded that Zelensky step away from the talks, a shocking fact that has barely been mentioned in English-language news media.
Ignoring Russia’s concerns, a specific narrative which projects Russia as a ‘neo-Soviet autocracy’ is being fostered by the Western media, all designed to project the United States and the American-led West as the ‘free world’ relative to that of an ‘oppressive’ Russia.
While the report found that anything other than a one-sided pro-Western perspective on the war and its causes is singularly lacking in Western media, contrary views are also generally absent from the internet. This report, for instance, was nowhere to be found on Google search and the only copy I could get was obtained directly from the University of Mainz, but that only in German;
I couldn’t read who did the study..What language is it..?? They should have translated the study into Māori and then we all would have been able to read it…the same as our government does here in Aotearowa…
Aotearoa is spelled ( in English at any rate.) A.O.T.E.A.R.O.A. you disrespectful shit.
You’re either too dumb, or far too dumb to understand just how dumb you are, so for that you get my pity rather than more disrespect.
The greatest allies that Maori and non Maori have is in each other. *The tyranny that’s about to come down on us will require close friendships and less from fucking fools like you.
* As our planet heats up even further there will be all eyes and not all friendly on AO/NZ.
CB: “…you disrespectful shit.”
My late mother – a language teacher – used to say: “language is as she is spoke”. There aren’t ineluctable rules regarding pronunciation, grammar, spelling or usage. And nobody is obliged to accord respect to any language, Maori included. You may respect it, but it doesn’t follow that others will.
The Maori language will survive and thrive, if it has native speakers, and if people find it useful. Absent those factors, it’ll likely go extinct in the long run. At present, it’s on life support. As far as can be determined, there are no native speakers left. It’s still spoken, but that’s not enough to save it.
language changes develops and deteriorates especially slang what was ‘hip and down with the kids mannnn’ a few years ago is now sad middle aged geography teacher usage…it’s a function of language to change….some of the changes I find deplorable but some are interesting that’s a function of my age and cultural heritage not immutable rules….
and specifically british english has always had ‘exceptions’ to any given rule.
It blows up Google translate, but this should give you some background. . .
https://second.wiki/wiki/otto-brenner-stiftung
https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews
Russian aren’t allowed to talk about the war anymore on tv, but when they had no restrictions the propagandists were worse
Or, instead of “bias” in fact that would simply be the inconvenient truth, universally acknowledged (except in the tiny minds of agenda apparatchiks).
Which part of “brutal military invasion, terrorism murder & rape of civilians” don’t you understand ?
RobbieWgtn is fine with “brutal military invasion, terrorism murder & rape of civilians” ,,,, as long as it’s his favorite Usa coup Govt doing it to the civilians of Donbass and Luhansk,,, although he calls such civilians ‘Russian separatists’,,, it’s all good to him.
Slava Lockheeda
Slava Raythonia
The most interesting part of Evens’ blog is that a peace deal brokered between Kyiv and Moscow, in April, was scotched by Boris Johnson. Zelensky apparently listened to Johnson. We new about the peace deal but the media has it that Russia refused the deal, but perhaps both sides did.
RobbieWgtn: a thought experiment for you.
Imagine if the current Labour government in NZ were to be overthrown by a violent Nazi faction, operating with the support of the US.
Imagine further that the South Island and Stewart Island, having not liked what they’ve seen – including the burning to death of anti-overthrow protesters in the port town of Napier – both declare independence. Stewart Island opts to return to NSW, of which it was once a colony, and makes good its escape very soon after the putsch in Wellington, before the Nazis can summon up the resources to stop it.
Unfortunately, the SI isn’t so lucky. Its declaration of independence isn’t recognised by the Wellington regime, which spends the next 8 years shelling its cities and towns, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries.
Australia brokers two ceasefires, which the Wellington regime ignores. Meantime, the regime is being armed and its soldiers trained by the US.
Then very early last year, Australian intel learns that a large-scale invasion is planned by the Wellington regime of both the SI and Stewart Island (already NSW territory, remember). The SI has been pleading both for assistance and for recognition by Australia as an independent state. Australia recognises the SI’s independence, then launches a military operation. It’s perfectly legal under the provisions of the UN charter.
That’s analogous to what’s been happening in the Ukraine.
People of my age will remember that in the 1970s, the SI did threaten to declare independence. As I recall, it was over the issue of power supply, ie, who was supplying it and who was taking it as their due.
So: none of this scenario is implausible. It’s happened in the Ukraine, after all. Never say never, I suspect.
A country defending itself, was portrayed positively 64% of the time. Who would have thought?
…….all those well read enough to know it isn’t as simple as that.
1984 rewriting history for the prolls, comes to mind.
The benefit of the western empire controlling the media to make its bad story/position seem fair and reasonable to the gullible masses.
Propaganda money seemingly well spent by the west.
This above comment, is my only comment to get through the censor today.
WHY?????
Why?
Because it is Bradbury’s blog. In a free and democratic world he is entitled to provide his blog’s market with the content that best serves that market (the readers). I have some comments not published and that is Bradbury’s right and privilege. He has to construct a blog that meets his market. There he has to balance content so as to be more market viable than the closed shop that is The Standard.
He is not obliged to publish each and every comment just like a newspaper editor or media channel (radio and TV) does not publish each and every unsolicited contribution from commentators.
In the free and democratic market you are fully entitled to start your own blog (“Keriman Kapers” or “Not the Daily Blog”), operate it in the readers market and gain market share (or go broke trying).
This is what is great about a free market and private broadcasters. I would rather the freedom to self express be in private hands like Bradbury’s, than in de facto (as in paid by the state or the state’s governing party) government control.
We need more independent and privately owned media outlets, not state broadcasters tied by the purse strings (and thus editorial content) to be obedient Pravda like state lapdogs.
Maybe you could write your comments with the back ground thought of what will make Bradbury’s blog better for the readership market he has. That he tolerates this rusty, crusty, right of centre commentator comments is indicative of where free speech in private hands can spread debate.
Agreed, and an ultra-nationalist regime run by kleptocrats and waging a war to rebuild its empire is treated with disrespect and disbelief. Go figure…
Ada, it’s very clear that, along with most people in NZ, you really don’t know what’s been going on in the Donbass, because the msm doesn’t report it. The citizens have for some years been pleading with Russia to come to their aid against the depredations of the Kiev regime.
A young relative here put it succinctly: the citizens (I’d add to that, especially the children) of the Donbass have never done anything to this country. Yet here we have our government giving aid to the regime which has been persecuting them since 2014.
“…an ultra-nationalist regime run by kleptocrats and waging a war to rebuild its empire…”
Nope. We have family connections in both the Ukraine and Russia. We find this characterisation of Russia, along with the failure by Western msm to report accurately what is happening in the Donbass, very distressing.
Sure, sure – its all the msm’s fault.
Lets ignore Putin’s own speeches about the glorious Russian empire and how Ukraine wasn’t really a seperate nation, and let’s overlook the dead journalists and opposition leaders, the closed media outlets, the Wagner Group etc…all false flag operations by the enemies of Russia (sarc).
Ada: “Lets ignore Putin’s own speeches about the glorious Russian empire…”
Why should we ignore them? It was indeed glorious: the Poms and the Yanks were shit-scared of it. It’s still a huge country, with resources said Yanks (and Poms) are busting a boiler to get their hands on. They thought they’d managed it after the fall of the USSR, when that old lush Yeltsin was president. Unfortunately for them, Putin became president. He stood on their hands (so to speak) and stopped them stealing any more Russian assets. They’ve never forgiven him. We watched that wholesale attempt at theft as it was happening, though without fully comprehending the awfulness of what the US/UK were trying to do.
For what it’s worth, Putin is a liberal anti-communist. He certainly doesn’t want the return of the USSR. Those days are gone.
“….how Ukraine wasn’t really a seperate nation….”
And herewith, I rest my case, as to what the msm fails to tell us all. Of course the Ukraine wasn’t a separate nation. In the early years of the 20th century, a late relative was born in an area close to Kharkov, not very far from the modern Russian border. It is now the Ukraine, but was then still part of Russia. It was in 1922 that Lenin shifted the administrative borders, such that Kiev became responsible for that territory, and for the Donbass.
In 1954, Khrushchev gave the Crimea to the Ukraine. The Crimeans weren’t overly pleased about it, and following independence in 1991, made two attempts to decamp. Their third came in 2014, when they escaped successfully, following the US-sponsored putsch in Kiev.
“…let’s overlook the dead journalists and opposition leaders…”
Which ones? Can you name them?
“…the closed media outlets…”
Ok: so it’s ok for other countries to close down media outlets? Like the one closed down by Latvia (Rain TV) because it was insufficiently anti-Russian?
“…the Wagner Group…”
Again…ok. So it’s all right for the US to have a private military contractor (Blackwater, or whatever they’re called now), but not allowed by other countries? Especially Russia.
I’m puzzled that anyone younger than I am still believes the propaganda at best, outright lies at worst, of the msm. When I was young, we had an excuse: no internet, so no access to countervailing views. In the the last 30ish years, we’ve had the rise of the internet. We can read the history of what actually happened worldwide over my lifetime, rather than the just-so stories of the msm. Some of this was available in the universities, of course, but most people didn’t have access to it.
If you would know some of the history of how we got to where we are now, read this book:
“The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government
Book by David Talbot”
It should be in your local library. I read an online copy (from our library) during lockdown. It was an eye-opener for me. As I read it, I kept exclaiming “omg! So THAT’S what happened!” I recommend it to you.
Thank god for you D’Esterre
I’m just astonished at how so many people earnestly believe that the west …”we” …don’t do propaganda, and swallow the most godawful crap.
God bless you, Francesca! It’s so good to see you here, still giving others the commonsense perspective.
“I’m just astonished at how so many people earnestly believe that the west …”we” …don’t do propaganda, and swallow the most godawful crap.”
Exactly. I don’t understand why apparently intelligent people fail to recognise western propaganda for what it is. In my view, those of us who came to adulthood before the rise of the internet can be forgiven for believing this tosh. But really folks: the internet has arrived and most of you have an internet connection. Surely you can read the dissenting views which can be found there?
I must say, I expected bullshit detectors to be going off all over the show. Though I note that there are commenters here who appear not to buy the horseshit which passes for news in the msm.
that’s no way to refer to our saviours and allies in the US ada
Jason: “A country defending itself, was portrayed positively 64% of the time.”
Oh, so NOW the Ukraine is defending itself? It hasn’t cared a jot about the deaths and injuries it’s inflicted on the unfortunate citizens of the Donbass over the past 8 years, has it!
It’s been clear from day one that our mainstream media is biased to hell when it comes the the Ukraine conflict.
We’ve heard how Russia has been running out of munitions since February, their troops have no equipment, no food, low morale, Putin is dying, he pooped his pants, fell down some stairs.
The root causes are never mentioned.
I don’t bother reading any MSM articles anymore on this subject. Instead if I want an update I’ll check out what people like Scott Ritter have to say.
Yes Scott’s a great bloke. Chat room penis flashing to 15 year olds aside.
Sylvian tells outright lies about truth tellers like Aron Mate ,,,
No wonder she supports a police state where they get to be judge, jury and dishers out of violence/punishment ,,,,
Nasty dishonest piece of work …..
Nice summing up of the Russian state right there.
How can one check the veracity of this ‘study’ if you don’t provide any details of who made it and its parameters? Your presentation lacks credibility as a result.
Unless The Russian Authorities and Putin himself are giving the Russian people a true and transparent account of the wanton destruction and senseless killing of civilians in the Ukraine, it’s my opinion the western media can be forgiven for bias in favour of the Ukraine in it’s reporting. Of course what I have read in the media might be a lie and Russia is keeping it’s citizens truthfully informed of the war against civilians and the numbers of it’s own soldiers it’s sacrificed..
There is no excuse for journalism giving biased accounts of anything.
There has always been clearly sign-posted opinion in its role in offering different interpretations of information. The primary role of journalism has always been providing facts and perspectives from all sides so that the public can form its own opinions.
It robs people of their ability to think about and respond when journalists seek to create particular opinions and outcomes. It is a kind of fraud to do so in the pretense of providing unbiased information. It becomes covert propaganda.
Where war is concerned this is especially dangerous.
Most of us know what good journalism is. We just don’t see much of it regardless. Most journalists have an opinion on what they’re writing about. That’s why they write the article to start with. Very few don’t let their own bias sneak into their writing. Even those journalists who write about “ the other side of the story “ must have a bias to tell that version of events.
I’m not suggesting perfection, I’m talking about self-discipline from reporters and effective editorial oversight in the interests of the public need for information and the principles and ethics of journalism itself.
The media reports on wanton attacks on Ukrainian civilians; over 100 missiles launched and 3 people wounded, some by debris from missiles intercepted. How the hell do you fire 100 missiles . do serious damage to infrastructure esp power supply and avoid hurting anyone? The approach of the Russian offensive reveals that they are going to extraordinary lengths to avoid civilian casualties .
D J S
Whatever
new+view: the msm hasn’t given anyone a clear picture of what’s been going on in the Donbass in particular, which has occasioned the current conflict. We have family connections to that area, and clearly a better handle on events there than many commentators on this site.
I reiterate: the citizens (including the children) of the Donbass have never done anything to NZ. Yet here we have our government aiding the regime which has been persecuting them since 2014.
“….the wanton destruction and senseless killing of civilians in the Ukraine…”
This would be what the Ukrainian regime has been doing to the unfortunate citizens of the Donbass. That is what’s triggered Russian intervention.
Again: don’t believe the msm. Do your own reading. Start with Consortium news, a US news website. Highly recommended.
The problem with citizens believing msm nonsense is that if the government is stupid enough to get further involved, people will support it, and risk dragging us all down the rabbit hole of catastrophe.
or they might BOTH be lying fuckwits we won’t get anywhere near the actual facts for 50yrs, if then
Ding, ding, ding.
Catch up malcolm, russia is the bogeyman since the crimean war… lets also not forget, the great game, the russian war scare of the 1890s, the interventions in manchuria, the russian revolution, the fighting over polish borders, the attack on finland, the russian atomic spy network, the cold war support of various rebellions and regimes, the russians have got quite good at hiding their internal issues and intentions and scaring the begusus out the west. Russia in the 21st century is no different, threats and mistrust have never been a good place to begin negotiations. Now Putin whom has been in the the top seat too long has failed to realise hes been progressively pushing his neighbours toward NATO. Even had he won Ukraine in the first months, he would have had to garrison it like crazy. Instead of using soft power to invest in Ukraine and have it as a friend, hes made the place stronger for the west than ever, especially when it comes to rebuilding what is left of it’s infrastructure when the russians are force to face facts that their openly hostile invasion has exposed cracks in the administration and military much like russian war with japan did in 1903-1904 and dial back for fear of revolt.
As far as the Crimean war was concerned Russia, having declared war on the Ottoman empire on the flimsiest of pretexts, was clearly the aggressor – she hoped to gain control of Istanbul, something which had long been a feature of Russian foreign policy. Britain got involved fearing that that control would give the Russian navy access to the Mediterranean. But, really, what had that to do with Britain.
mikesh the conventional wisdom at the time would be russians in the med can attack the suez canal and cut the uk off from india and the far east…well that would have been the public justification but it’s likely the real reason was a potential slice of the sick man of europe ottaman empires holdings in arabia,
According to my old history teacher the carve up of the Ottoman Empire was a suggestion of Tsar of Russia, who called the former “the sick man of Europe” and intimated that he would satisfied if he was only given Istanbul from the carve up.
yes but the british, french, italians were happy to grab their colonial bit’s and bobs….mikesh
Mince on Toast: “…russia is the bogeyman since the crimean war…”
Nope. Propaganda. In virtue of what would imperial behaviour by Russia – such as it was – be more exceptionable than the same behaviour by other imperial powers? This bogeyman thing is an invention by the western powers.
“Even had he won Ukraine in the first months, he would have had to garrison it like crazy. Instead of using soft power to invest in Ukraine and have it as a friend…”
Oh dear….you really have no idea at all of what’s been happening in the Ukraine, do you? Try Consortium news (US): it has a plethora of good articles on the history of that part of the world. Also Global Research and the Saker (US).
Hear, hear!
With no mention of the 8 year war Ukraine has inflicted on Ukraine in the Donbass & Luhansk regions either. No mention of the Nazis, Azov, Kraken, Bandera(OUN) and the precursor’s to this conflict.
As always these days, a loss of perspective, context, accuracy, balance and just plain old integrity is all that is missing in msm journalism.
You do us well Malcom on TDB! Cheers!
Hear hear not Denny. Why is there no mention of the Kremlin’s close association with neo nazi, skin head gangs in their own country on this blog? That’s right, it doesn’t suit the myopic views of the Putin apologists who idiotically think they have superior critical thinking skills. Bloody sad.
“the Kremlin’s close association with neo nazi, skin head gangs in their own country”
I think a link would be needed to justify such a claim.
Campaigning against peace is the same as advocating for violence. Boris should be tried as a war criminal who has no regard for human life.
Ha right said Fred- Boris Johnson being a bio-engineered blimp with a nasty-posh accent from Eton/Harrow, awful schools for braying bio-engineered he-haws like himself, is not an English person, he was born in New York’s Upper East Side. He quite possibly has quite large shareholdings in Blackrock Inc. Vanguard and Johnson& Johnson. Jimmy Saville loves him, obviously. How anyone, press or otherwise, can glorify Thatcher is beyond me. She cultivated that glory-box, look-down-your-nose-custom-posh which interviewers love so much, while totally fucking the country. The legendary helmet hair, made on Saturn and paid for by Brixton, if exhumed would still be intact. They don’t actually die, these people, they just re-distribute their genes.
Another variation of trying to justify Putin’s invasion. Treating Ukraine and Russia equally
Would imply the fault for the war is also equally shared.
Not surprisingly, most people blame the war on the country that actually started it. None of faults of Ukraine could possibly justify the invasion.
Apart from a few apologists, most people don’t have much difficulty in recognising that Russia is the invader.
Do a tad more reading around the subject and maybe you will see justification WAY BEYOND that which NZ supports American invasions, aggression and the inevitable mass murder of innocents by the Amrican way of doing war, UNLIKE this one.
Agreement by USA/NATO NOT to advance beyond 1991 borders IF the Soviets ‘break up’. USA Presidents turning down Russia request on numerous occassions to join NATO, UN and western media condeming Ukraining bombing and killing 10,000’s of innocent ethnic Russians, living in the Ukraine, right wing Stepan Bandera-Nazi supporters in the army and Govt, Bio-weapons on the border (care of the Biden family), Minsk agreements 1 and 2 and Angela Merkel own admission that this was a ploy to con Russia into giving the west more time to train Ukrainians to attack Russia in a proxy-war….etc etc etc
It is you who need to do more reading. Just about everything you asserted is a direct Kremlin talking point.
For instance, the Donbas war had fighting from both sides. The scale of fighting had substantially reduced from 2018 onward.
In any event it doesn’t justify the full scale attack by Russia in which hundreds of thousands have died in less than a year, including tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians.
Most of us have no problem recognizing that Russia has invaded Ukraine. However some of us don’t accept that this automatically makes Russia the “bad guy”. Is there some sort of rule of history which has it that invader = bad guy?.Many on this site seem to to take it for granted that such a rule exists and that therefor there is no more to be said.
Sorry, Wayne, the facts don’t support your assertions here.
There is no excuse for journalism giving biased accounts of anything.
There has always been clearly sign-posted opinion in its role in offering different interpretations of information. The primary role of journalism has always been providing facts and perspectives from all sides so that the public can form its own opinions.
It robs people of their ability to think about and respond when journalists seek to create particular opinions and outcomes. It is a kind of fraud to do so in the pretense of providing unbiased information. It becomes covert propaganda.
Where war is concerned this is especially dangerous.
Im sure a similar study in German from 1939 found media coverage of the war in Poland was heavily biased against the nazis.
Unbelievable. There is seeing 2 sides of an issue, and there is one sided murderous atrocity and those who would enable it.
I sincerely hope this site doesn’t become a posting board for the “smash capitalism’ pro Russian lunatics like this post.
Free speech I guess, and let the insane self identify.
Agreed…..and if you believe this is a Poland-Nazi 1939 equivalent, IMHO you’ve self identified as a convenient idiot.
I’ll stand to be corrected in a few years when (IF) the real story comes out.
But the west is 90+% to blame for this mess, just read some recent history, that was even published in the western media.
was that at the time poland had a treaty with the aforementioned nazis?
small point most historians ‘forget’
( Eye roll please…?)
Can I suggest keeping an eye on Russell Brand’s channels on Rumble and YouTube. He has some very interesting and influential guests who have close and invested interests with regard to the scam that’s the lethal Ukraine – Russia pantomime.
The bottom line being, it’s all about the money. The British and American military industrial complex is a profit making business and business will always be booming, in all respects.
Wars wouldn’t happen if they never made a profit.
Someone famous once said: “Truth is the first casualty in war”
Naturally both sides will try to use propaganda to support their objectives, and in the framing of 4th generation warfare, one dimension of the battle is the battle fought in the public’s mind.
That said, there are some salient facts which don’t exactly make the Russians look like the good guys:
> Putin is the aggressor because he invaded Ukraine.
> The Minsk agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Ukraine in exchange for not joining NATO (which it hasn’t) and giving up its nuclear weapons. I bet Ukraine regrets that now.
> This is not Putin’s first rodeo. In fact, he’s a serial offender having twice previously invaded parts of Ukraine, grabbed a chunk of Georgia, committed genocide to keep Chechnya in the Russian federation, poisoned a previous president of Ukraine, poisoned multiple Russian defectors in the UK, and murdered a number of Russian journalists and opposition politicians.
Well you’re wrong. Minsk 2 did not specify Nato membership.It didnt need to, the semi autonomous regions would have voted against that, they were numerous enough after all to have voted n Yanukovich
Will you admit that Nato invaded Serbia under the pretext of defending its Albanian separatists? Kosovo was created out of this .Nato was the aggressor in your terms.
Ukraine had given up its nuclear weapons by 2001, absolutely nothing to do with the Minsk agreement.
As your ignorance of these matters is so deep, i found reading on is pointless.
You’re right!
It was their previous agreement:
“The Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation was an agreement between Ukraine and Russia, signed in 1997, which fixed the principle of strategic partnership, the recognition of the inviolability of existing borders, and respect for territorial integrity and mutual commitment not to use its territory to harm the security of each other.”
There was more to it than that
‘truth is the first casualty of war and the rest are mostly civilians’
War is waged for power which means money which means the elite decide and send the rest to slaughter.
Andrew, I’m puzzled that you apparently believe the stuff you posted. Want to believe it, even. Where on earth did you get it? It’s factually incorrect in every aspect. Francesca has pointed this out, I’m very pleased to see.
We have family connections in that part of the world. Both sides of the border, in fact. We have a better handle on what’s happening there than you do, as your post makes obvious.
Dirty Politics was the amalgamation of the most corrupt devious Govt in AoNz’s recent history ( the Key Nact govt), and their partnership with our bullshitting misinforming media ….
Well our dirty media has gotten worse when it comes to the crap they dish up about Ukraine….
….The Herald which is probably the worst out of the sick trio of them , Stuff and Tv1,,, ran a recent story which was literally the sub-plot of a Marvel fantasy action movie ,,,, being that the evil Russians were kidnapping children to indoctrinate them and train them up as dastardly papa-Pu’s super soldiers , un-fucking believable….. Their ‘source’ was Ukraine govt officials ,,,, a government which makes John Keys old pack of liars seem like pillars of truth and honesty.
Meanwhile our prime-minister against disinformation, J Ardern/Scary Poppins–she who would not melt in Satan’s furnace, goes along with the whole charade .
It’s like we are living in a Ben Elton novel ,,,, if he wrote horror.
To finish on a lighter note ,,,, here’s Zelensky ‘the modern day Churchill’ ,,,,, I think he’s training for his personal fight with Putin ,,, or something.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKHGp1XPv48
…. and did you know he can play the piano as well ? https://youtu.be/2-UiadUOrfk ,,, who wouldn’t fight and die for this great leader.
What do you expect? Truth is always the first casualty.
We need serious a labour movement press again.
Newspapers, radio, television. Union-owned, member-controlled, daily editions.
People are still believing the same type of absurd lies we were fed during the wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. In the same way that people don’t even seem to know how much higher living standards were in the 1970s.
Spot on Kristoff.
And great article Malcom.
Well, duh. Wait till you start unravelling the covid narrative. (Spoiler: it’s worse. Much worse).
While many of the responses appear to prove the point of the post, still apologies for not making it clearer that the study was conducted by Germany’s University of Mainz. Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy New Year – despite what the media does to warp your perspective.
While bearing in mind the old adage that truth is the first casualty of war its not too hard to work out who the aggressor/defender states are in this conflict.
1:
Q: How did the war start?
A: Russian military forces invaded Ukraine after weeks of buildup and threats towards Ukraine.
2:
Q: What was Russia’s pretext for invading Ukraine?
A: Denazification……. a bit of an awkward reason considering the President of Ukraine is Jewish and is unlikely to have Nazi sympathies.
3:
Q: What did the invasion involve?
A: Russian forces using all conventional arms at their disposal to seize Ukraine land by force.
4:
Q: Is this something new?
A: No. Russia did a similar thing in 2014 when they seized Crimea from Ukraine.
5:
Q: Who are the bad guys in this conflict?
A: Russia and their President – Putin.
6:
Q: Who are the good guys?
A: Ukraine and their armed forces – fighting for their country, families, and livelihoods.
Not too difficult to work out.
Absolutely rubbish…………do some genuine background reading.
Engage brain before mouth-writing
What he wrote is not absolute rubbish although he neglected what appears to be CIA involvement in Ukraine around their last election along with whatever was going on against the Russian supporting population in Ukraine. While I can understand people being reluctant to pick sides at the start of the conflict Putin has done more than enough bad things to deserve the bad guy label now.
Keriman, I’ve done some background reading. What’s the “ absolute rubbish part”.
Jimmie: nope. What you adduce here is wrong. Don’t believe what the msm tells you: these people aren’t good-faith actors.
As Keriman says: do a great deal of reading, but nothing from the usual msm suspects. On the issue of the Ukraine, the US, UK and the EU couldn’t lie straight in bed. Sadly.
As a few other posters have said, this is merely the media doing its job these days. Did you see the recent survey on journo’s in NZ? They see one of their main roles as being the influencing of public opinion. Ukraine/ Russia is just one example of hundreds of such things going on today all either orchestrated by governments or power groups or by well meaning pseudo intellectuals who think they know better and we should all be persuaded to their point of view. Utterly worthless in my view and hence why I try not to read or listen to the MSM or conspiracy theorists.
Good on you Malcolm!
I wonder how many war journalists are as brave as this one, refused to be a ghost writer for the SBU
https://theintercept.com/2022/12/29/matilde-kimer-ukraine/
Almost everybody is biased, try to tell them the real meaning of the world’s best-selling book & you will soon find out that most people are happy believing whatever current beliefs they have & only some form of difficulty will persuade some people to consider other explanations. We have taught for over 150 years that the USA is not always a force for good & that it is only going to get worse when the Christian Nationalists get into power.
Russia does seem to make a habit of invading European countries recently…Poland, Hungary , Czechoslovakia, Crimea and now the rest of Ukraine…Perhaps these countries actually invaded Russia and Russia was only defending themselves against these aggressors , as some people claim . And with Putin being the Samaritan that he is, he’s looking after the wellbeing of all Russian citizens …And to think those ratbag western media types are picking on him…Silly Jolly beggars all of them…
Robs Mob: “Russia does seem to make a habit of invading European countries recently…Poland, Hungary , Czechoslovakia, Crimea and now the rest of Ukraine…”
Eh? Recently? This must have escaped our notice. Links please!
The US have pulled a rope a dope on Russia.
Russia are now in a no win situation and have mortally wounded themselves with demographic and economic injuries which will hasten their demise as a country.
On the other hand, the US will be strategically much stronger and now have a swathe of new countries looking for a new arms dealer.
Honestly, with the loss of a few million (non-American) lives and 50 billion worth of largely obsolete equipment, it’s hard to imagine the American strategists being anything short of thrilled with the outcome of their plans.
Oh fuck Putin and fuck Russia. They are the aggressors, period. Sorry I just don’t see any nuance to it. I hope Russia gets militarily destroyed cause they’ve been pulling this bully boy shit for hundreds of years.
You presumably also see Labour good National bad because you lack basic critical thinking skills.
Unfortunately there are vastly more people with your cognitive ability than mine.
Knarf: your comment here bespeaks western propaganda. It illustrates that you don’t have any idea of what’s been going on there. And of course you wouldn’t, if you’re relying on the western msm.
Note that the UN charter allows polities to come to the aid of other independent polities when assistance has been requested. That’s what’s happened with regard to the Donbass. Following the 2014 Nazi putsch in Kiev, the Donbass citizens held a plebiscite and voted to return to Russia (as did the Crimea). When that didn’t happen, the Donbass declared independence from the Ukraine. Russia recognised the independence of the Donbass early last year, just before it launched its military operation.
So: under the terms of the UN charter, Russia is acting legally. We should expect no less: this is Russia we’re talking about, not the US or the EU, both of which have made an art form out of ignoring international law.
The term independent “polity” is not used in the UN Charter. A recognised nation state can ask for military assistance.
Russian recognition of an “independent polity” means nothing in international law. And the 30 September annexation is specified as not legal (no territory acquired in war etc)
The mainstream press is biased on so many issues. The only reasonable commentary that I have read in the British press has been the recent one from Mary Dejevsky in the Independent. Otherwise you have to read excellent sites like Brave New Europe, MRonline, and The Information Clearing House to get genuine quality of perspective. Of course the nonsense plied about Russia is being equally ramped up about China.
Speaking of autocratic rulers riding roughshod over accepted democratic norms, can anybody direct me to the Hansard record, other than that of a motion condemning Russia for its role being put and unanimously agreed to, where our involvement in this war was actually debated?
If that motion’s mere minutes in the house, passed on the basis of our MP’s understanding of the situation as supplied by one of the belligerents and as parroted in the press, is all it takes to satisfy our democratic protocols, then is seems to me that there’s something terribly wrong with our democracy.
Especially given that our soldiers training Ukrainians to kill Russians now makes us active participants in “the greatest threat to world peace since WW2”.
.
Ada, it’s very clear that, along with most people in NZ, you really don’t know what’s been going on in the Donbass, because the msm doesn’t report it. The citizens have for some years been pleading with Russia to come to their aid against the depredations of the Kiev regime.
A young relative here put it succinctly: the citizens (I’d add to that, especially the children) of the Donbass have never done anything to this country. Yet here we have our government giving aid to the regime which has been persecuting them since 2014.
“…an ultra-nationalist regime run by kleptocrats and waging a war to rebuild its empire…”
Nope. We have family connections in both the Ukraine and Russia. We find this false characterisation of Russia, along with the failure by Western msm to report accurately what is happening in the Donbass, very distressing.
This USA’s war and they love it.
You can’t blame it entirely on the USA. Both Putin and Zelensky have an equal share if blame to burden.
Beware of the ‘ides’ of January or February.
The little twat, ‘Z’elensky needs to step up and get to the negotiating table with Russia. Or else the people will turn on him in the summer and so will his Nazi mates.
Or he will have to do a swap with Juan Guaido who is free now too!
Ukraine has lost, NATO are backing down, the US too because they cant supply weapons, train people fast enough and they’re running out of ammo. Same goes for Germany and France,UK, NATO ect … they’re all dependent on US Arms manufacturers for weapons supplies and ammo.
The US military cant meet their annual recruitment targets and their mercenaries from Al Qaeda, Isis, Sudan, Somalia and the Afghanistan Taliban fighters are in short supply.
So the ukraine are nearly out of cannon fodder, weapons, trained soldiers to operate these weapons and brains!
Whereas Russia will keep on lobbing missiles in from a safe distance to preserve themselves, troops, new recruits trained properly and rotate the current servicemen.
Art of Wars Sun Zhu would say right now is about the time to talk peace(instead of in pieces) before getting annihilated.
Now that Merkel and Hollande have confirmed Poryschenko’s declaration that they did not follow the Monck Agreements intentionally in order to allow Ukraine the time to bomb the Donbas and dig fortifications, it is clear that Ukraine, France, Germany with USA behind them are the aggressors. Russia had legal casus belli. Fortunately for the world, the toxic and misinformed opinion of New Zealand and the West are irrelevant because, lacking resources of value, we will not figure in the coming multipolar world. So feel free to spew hatred towards Russia and all Russians to your heart’s content because the 5 Eyes ship is going down and we are all on it regardless of our views. Our debt laden economy has no future, sorry to say.
New Study exposes the media’s role in the war on truth in Ukraine
By Malcolm Evans -December 31, 2022
I don’t need a study to tell me that the majority of the reporting on the invasion and war in Ukraine is in favour of Ukraine. It is self evident.
That majority of the reporting on the war in Ukraine favours Ukraine is not evidence of a conspiracy, or that the media is lying.
“…93% of all the reports on the war attributed sole blame for it on President Putin and/or Russia, while The West was named as “jointly responsible” in only 4% of instances, Ukraine even less so at 2%.”
That the majority of reports on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia are overwhelmingly in support of Ukraine, Proves that the majority of the reports are overwhelmingly in support of Ukraine. That is all. Nothing else.
You can read into it, what you like, I suppose. But it is not evidence of bias or lying.
A study that showed that the majority of all the reports on the moon landing, were that the moon landing was real. Proves that the majority of the reports on the moon landing, were that the moon landing was real. That is all. Nothing else. It is not evidence of bias or lying by the media.
A study that showed that the majority of all the published reports on climate change, were that climate change was real. Proves that the majority of the reports on climate change, were that climate change was real. That is all. Nothing else. It is not evidence of bias or lying by the media.
A study that showed that the majority of all the reports on the pandemic , were that covid 19 was real. Proves that the majority of the reports on the pandemic, were that the pandemic real. That is all. Nothing else. It is not evidence of bias or lying by the media.
That 9/11 was an inside job got minor coverage in the media is not proof that the media was lying.
I could go on. The Sandy Hook massacre was a Hoax because that story got little support from media.
Maybe the media could give equal air time to 9/11 truthers, to covid deniers, to climate change deniers. That would be Fox News level lying.
The Russian Federation don’t allow any coverage at all of pro-Ukraine reporting. Russia allows zero pro-Ukraine or anti-war reporting on pain of 15 year jail terms.
Popular Russian food blogger faces jail under new censorship law
By
Lee Brown
A popular food blogger has become one of the first charged under Russia’s “fake news” law that threatens up to 15 years in prison for opposing the Kremlin’s stance on its war on Ukraine.
Ukraine-born foodie Nika Belotserkovskaya, 51, confirmed on social media that she had been charged under the draconian new law.
“Am I the first one to go?” she asked on the Instagram page that got her into trouble and still contains numerous anti-war messages….
https://nypost.com/2022/03/17/popular-russian-food-blogger-faces-jail-under-new-censorship-law/
She Posted Anti-War Stickers in A Russian Grocery Store. She Now Faces Up to 10 Years in Prison.
NOVEMBER 1, 2022
by
Patrice Taddonio
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/russia-protesters-arrested-putin-documentary-excerpt-ukraine-war/
Kremlin critic Yashin jailed for 8 years for ‘fake news’ on Russia war
Published
9 December 2022
….Speaking outside the court on Friday, Yashin’s supporters condemned the jail sentence as unfair and a violation of the right to freedom of speech.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63915301
The West allows by Malcolm Evans report quite a lot of pro-Russian reports.
“Ukraine was portrayed positively in 64% of all coverage”. Which leaves 36% percent positive coverage to Russia, compared to zero percent positive coverage allowed for Ukraine in Russia.
Pat+O’Dea: censorship in wartime is par for the course. Doubtless you weren’t alive during WW2. Neither was I, but I was born very soon after its finish, and my late mother told me that censorship was extreme in this country. Of course Russia exercises censorship: that would scarcely be surprising, given the vicious propaganda emanating from the West.
If you would supply links, you’d have more credibility if you didn’t reply on the usual suspects in the US and UK. They are purveyors of propaganda, you know. Although (interestingly and to its credit) the BBC’s coverage of the 2014 US -sponsored putsch in Kiev and the subsequent escape of the Crimea was reasonably even-handed. If I remember rightly, it was also a BBC journalist who reported on the burning to death of the anti-overthow protestors in Odessa, not long after the putsch.
But since then, its coverage has deteriorated: pulled into line by the government, I suspect. The animus towards Russia and Russians in the UK is well-known and has a deep history: I’ve read that it goes back to the Crusades, though the reasons for it are obscure now.. We have ourselves encountered it in our extended family.
If you would understand how we ended up with the international geopolitical situation we now have, I recommend that you read this book:
“The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government
Book by David Talbot”
I read an online copy of it from our local library during one of the lockdowns. It was recommended to me by a young relative, and it’s an eye-opener: I raced through it, and I was astonished and appalled by some of the revelations. But it also confirmed for me some things I’d long been suspicious about. It’s well worth a read.
When you are accusing the Western media of waging a war on truth it doesn’t pay to start with a lie.
It is true that the USSR placed missiles targeting the US on Cuban territory in 1962. .
It is not true that the US placed missiles targeting Russia on Ukraine territory in 2021.
The truth is that even in the midst of Ukraine being invaded and bombed with Russian missiles, the US has refused to supply the Ukrainians with long range missiles, because they could be used to target Russia.
It is true that the USSR placed missiles targeting the US on Cuban territory in 1962. .
It is not true that the US placed missiles targeting Russia on Ukraine territory in 2021.
The truth is that even in the midst of Ukraine being invaded and bombed with Russian missiles, the US has refused to supply the Ukrainians with long range missiles, because they could be used to target Russia.
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20221222-why-the-us-declined-to-send-ukraine-long-range-missiles-tanks
I know it is a cartoon, but the implication made by Malcolm Evans, that the US was placing missiles in Ukraine against Russian opposition is blatantly false. The Cartoon showing the US putting missiles in Ukraine is as fake as the US claim that US invaded Iraq because of the non-existent WMDs.
Not a good start when you are trying to accuse western media of lying.
it’s also true that the missles in cuba were a response to the yanks stationing nukes in turkey..something kruschev quitely allowed kennedy to withdraw after the crisis to spare kennedys blushes.
so pat before you accuse others a bit of ‘plank removal’ might be in order.
We must confront Russian propaganda – even when it comes from those we respect
George Monbiot
Wednesday March 2, 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/02/russian-propaganda-anti-imperialist-left-vladimir-putin
“…Among the worst disseminators of Kremlin propaganda in the UK are people with whom I have, in the past, shared platforms” George Monbiot
I tend to agree. I have long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause, and not just in words, but just as Malcolm Evans has, in deeds as well. I respect the stand Malcolm Evans took in defence of the Palestinians at the cost of losing his job. But in supporting the invasion and slaughter of the Ukrainians by Russia in the very same manner that the Palestinians are bombed and slaughtered by Israel is simply wrong.
“….real people have a right to express their opinions, however mistaken. But, given their utility to the Russian disinformation machine, I believe we have a duty to debunk and contest misleading justifications.” George Monbiot
I have hesitated to put this out there because of my respect for Malcolm Evans. But again I have to agree with George Monbiot. It would be remiss of me to. We have a duty to debunk misleading justifications for the slaughter being conducted by Russia in Ukraine, no matter who it comes from.
The immensity of the slaughter and destruction in Ukraine that Malcolm Evans on one hand ignores, and and on the other justifies, calls us to.
Any comment about the 1091 civilians in the Donbass who lost their lives over the last year?
You mean since Russia invaded in February?
Since you don’t say who killed them or how they died, how about you give us the URL. And I’ll have a look at it.
RE this part of the blog: “……Minsk agreements, One and Two, which were brokered between Ukraine and Russia at the instigation of France and Germany and which, but for Ukraine’s refusal to respect them, Russia’s February invasion would not have taken place” could the author kindly detail how Ukraine refused to respect Minsk 1 and 2? And indicate how that led Russia to invade?
Isn’t that totally implicit in Poroshenko’s boast that he had never intended implementing the Minsk agreement
https://thepressunited.com/updates/minsk-deal-was-used-to-buy-time-ukraines-poroshenko/
And then later , both Merkel and Hollande, even though they were guarantors, admitted the same thing .
How is Russia ever able to trust in any further negotiations with partners like this?
The bigger question, that nobody seems to be talking about is – What happens after the war?
It looks like Russia is going to lose this war and be pushed out of Ukraine. At that point I guess Putin’s position is untenable and he gets ‘retired’ with a bullet in the back of the head.
Then what?
Does Russia suddenly become a democracy and the Duma functions as the seat of power? That seems unlikely because it has never worked before. Most likely it turns into a chaos of competing warlords and oligarchs – a sort of cold, white Congo. Armed with 4,000 nuclear warheads.
Happy 2023!
“….Most likely it turns into a chaos of competing warlords and oligarchs – a sort of cold, white Congo. Armed with 4,000 nuclear warheads. Most likely it turns into a chaos of competing warlords and oligarchs – a sort of cold, white Congo. Armed with 4,000 nuclear warheads. Andrew
That’s pretty much what we have got now.
Anything will be an improvement on that.
The Russian Federation kleptocracy will continue the war in Ukraine indefinitely, until the Russian people themselves end it.
The war will not end with the Russian Federation’s defeat by the Ukrainians, but by the Russian Federation defeat by the Russians. Whatever they choose to replace the current murderous kleptocracy with is up to them – I am optimistic that it will be a vast improvement and even a template for the rest of the world.
If one capitalist country can learn to live within its own borders, maybe all of them could.
The implications of this could go even further, lessons learned on how to live within manmade borders, could be applied on how to live within the natural planetary limits.
Andrew: “It looks like Russia is going to lose this war and be pushed out of Ukraine.”
I’m wondering why you’d think this. I assume that you realise that the Donbass in its entirety has returned to Russia (which is what the citizens voted for after the US-sponsored 2014 putsch in Kiev). This means that the area is now Russian territory. As it used to be, of course. And that’s where the RF soldiers are fighting.
There’s no question that NATO is involved up to its fetlocks in this conflict, the roots of which go back to at least the 2014 putsch, and earlier. The US has been playing a long game, of course: the ultimate aim is to invade Russia and seize its resources. But despite its best efforts, NATO hasn’t yet succeeded in defeating the RF.
“Does Russia suddenly become a democracy…”
Good heavens. Russia has been a democracy since 1991. Though that didn’t stop the CIA interfering in the electoral process, so as to get that old lush Yeltsin re-elected (an old lush, to be sure, but OUR old lush, they doubtless said in justification). He was eventually persuaded to step down. However. It remains a democracy. My extended family members could tell you that.
“….the current murderous kleptocracy….-
It isn’t, you know. But that description is apt for the US. And the UK, come to that. As we’ve seen in the ME. And Africa. And South America.
Monbiot has a long habit of attacking other journalists when they do not regurgitate the company line
Seymour Hersh, John Pilger, even Noam Chomsky.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/11/22/monb-n22.html
Again, looking at how Monbiot had nothing to say about Assange, or ever defended Corbyn, I have to agree with Jonathan Cook ,”let go” from the Guardian for speaking the truth about the plight of the Palestinians
https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2022-10-11/assange-corbyn-monbiot-left/
George Monbiot does not have a long habit of attacking other journalists.
George Monbiot took to task those journalists/slash political commentators who sided with the Assad regime against the people of Syria.
In the link you supplied, George Monbiot ‘even’ attacked Noam Chomsky – (for the crime of supporting the Assad regime). How dare he.
The genocide carried out by the Assad regime against its own people is the most evidentially documented and proven genocide in human history.
https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/12/16/if-dead-could-speak/mass-deaths-and-torture-syrias-detention-facilities
Noam Chomsky denies that the genocide in Syria conducted by the Assad regime has even happened. This is not the first outing for Noam Chomsky as a genocide denier.
At the end of the Vietnam War, Noam Chomsky and some other Western intellectuals were so disgusted, and rightfully so, at the US war in Vietnam that they mistakenly gave their support to the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, even as reports of the genocide being carried out by that regime against its own people were being carried to the world by survivors and refugees. Chomsky dismissed the Cambodian refugees testimony as “propaganda”. In his defence Chomsky had let his hatred of US imperialism cloud his judgement.
I suppose anyone can make a mistake once. But twice!?
And now in Ukraine for a third time?
Monbiot was right to tear a strip off this ivory tower intellectual and the others like him for denying genocide and supporting the Assad regime.
What a pile of ignorant rubbish
Chomsky has never supported the Assad regime , though he has plenty of criticism of the west’s support of HTS and Jabhat al Nusra for eg
You’re so one eyed you think any criticism of US behaviour in Syria is support of Assad, and you swallow each and every bit of western propaganda as if the west never stooped to it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu_5nzvPWao
The above YT clip is titled “The Assad regime is a moral disgrace”…as said by the very Chomsky you try to discredit
Sorry , but I’ll go with Chomsky over an intellectual pipsqueak every time
Chomksy like a lot of apologists for the ‘Monstrous’ Assad regime, who often deny or excuse the genocide carried out by the regime against the Syrian people, always begin by saying I don’t support Assad, But…
You know what they say about everything before, ‘But’….
https://newlinesmag.com/review/chomsky-is-no-friend-of-the-syrian-revolution/
….Just three weeks following my release after 16 years in prison in Syria, I started translating a book into Arabic. The book was “Powers and Prospects: Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order,” by Noam Chomsky. It had taken me some time to realize that the leading linguist and the harsh critic of American imperialism was the same person. I saw this as a remarkable and much-needed example of the social and political responsibility of scientists and intellectuals. His active participation in the civil rights movement and mobilization against the Vietnam War were impressive, along with his prolific written works about both linguistics and politics. In the book I translated, there were two essays on linguistics, one about the intellectual’s responsibility and five on politics…..
…..He told us that the struggle for justice and freedom was still possible, that we had partners in the world and we were not alone,…..
…..But time revealed this to be an illusion,
…Commentators like Chomsky make a point of calling the regime “brutal” and “monstrous” but merely as a preface to what they consider the real problem: the role of the U.S. and its allies in the region. They are mistaken.
The monstrous character of the regime is the central fact of this conflict….
.
….Chomsky never refers to a Syrian, or quotes one, or even mentions a Westerner who supports the Syrian cause. His sources are the likes of Patrick Cockburn, who considers the regime a lesser evil, and possibly the late Robert Fisk, the British journalist who gave voice to sectarian killers like Jamil Hassan, the head of the notorious air force intelligence, and Suheil Hassan, the leader of the equally notorious Tiger Forces, but never to people critical of the chemical regime….
…The situation in Syria with five occupation powers is instructive for anybody genuinely interested in bettering their understanding of the current global situation. We have U.S. forces in part of the country, Russians and Iranians protecting the “recognized government,” Turks in yet another part, all four with their local or imported proxies; and before all that, we have the Israelis, who have occupied the Golan Heights since 1967 and have monopolized Syria’s skies in coordination with the Russians.
Syria is a rare situation of “liquid imperialism,” to paraphrase the late Zygmunt Baumann; yet the fact that there are five powerful states in one small country, or what can be called “imperialism in one country,” does not seem to interest Chomsky….
…Chomsky says that Russia’s intervention in Syria is “wrong” but is “not imperialist,” because “supporting a government is not imperialism.” Russia has many military bases in Syria, has leased the Tartous Port for 49 years and has killed 23,000 Syrian civilians in six years. Putin and his aides have boasted several times of successfully testing over 320 weapons systems in Syria and that 85% of Russian army commanders gained combat experience in Syria. In 2018 and 2019, Russia received weapons orders worth $51.1 billion and $55 billion. Such actions do not figure at all in Chomsky’s analysis; in response to Syrian doctor Taha Bali’s question about Russian imperialism, Chomsky denied that it was an imperialist practice before moving hurriedly to his eternal monologue: “What does the U.S. do? It supports the countries that are developing the jihadi movements,” meaning the Saudi monarchy….
….Chomsky’s reduction of the Syrian struggle to this dominant frame is shared by Eric Zammour, the French right-wing racist candidate for the presidency, who recently recommended rehabilitating relations with the Syrian regime because the choice is either the status quo or the Islamic State and the caliphate. Another adherent is Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, who declared in 2012 that Russia would not accept Sunni rule in Syria. Chomsky has many fixed ideas, and it seems easier to move mountains than to expect him to revise them or admit error.
….Chomsky’s criticism of the U.S. role in Syria seems entirely superfluous. Since the U.S. did exactly what he likes: It never bombed the regime, fought only the jihadists, thought, like him, that it is either Assad or jihadism….
….This privileging of system over context and position accounts for Chomsky referencing Saddam Hussein’s 1988 chemical massacre in Halabja in his DAWN interview while failing to mention anything about the many chemical massacres perpetrated by the regime in Syria, though they are far more recent…..
….he resolved his cognitive dissonance by turning to denial.
“It’s not so obvious why the Assad regime would have carried out a chemical warfare attack at a moment when it’s pretty much winning the war,” he said. Well, it was not so obvious why the Nazis would have carried out gas chamber executions at a moment when they were pretty much winning the war in the East. For at least six months, Hannah Arendt doubted the very existence of gas chambers because they were not militarily necessary. It was not obvious either why the U.S. Army would humiliate, terrorize and torture Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib after successfully toppling Saddam’s regime. It is still not obvious why the Assad regime itself would keep torturing people in its dungeon for years, only to execute them in the end….
…..Chomsky supported Ted Postol, the conspiracy theorist who denies the chemical massacre of Khan Sheikhoun, where 92 people were killed on April 4, 2017.
One is led to conclude that a crime is a crime when it is committed by American imperialism or against those who are not allied with it. By contrast a crime is not much of a crime when the perpetrators are not the Americans or the victims are from only the “Wahhabized” communities. …..
….Chomsky, a self-proclaimed anarchist, justifies the Russian intervention in Syria because it was invited by its “recognized government.”
…..Some readers may find this critique harsh and emotional in its refutation of a supposed ally. It is. And it is precisely because he was supposed to be an ally.
Twenty-five years after translating “Powers and Prospects,” I find its author decisively closing off any prospects of a different future…..
Your man seems to be ignorant of the fact that the US is still occupying large parts of the Syrian oil and wheat fields , either directly themselves or through their proxies, and exporting same.
I suspect his integrity when he totally ignores the findings of the OPCW whistleblowers.The only legit investigation the OPCW conducted according to its own rules on chain of custody was in Douma.Thats when the OPCW inspectors blew the whistle.
The OPCW didn’t go to Khan Sheikoun because they considered it a dangerous locality .Why? because it was full of extremist terrorists.And yet they took contaminated evidence from those same people
You can take all the partisan articles from MSM you like , it won’t add to your credibility
thatcher and the US right were right behind pol pot they they where his main supporters and defenders…look it up purely cos he was anti-vietnam and they’d just had their noses rubbied in shit by the ‘little people in black pajamas’
Here’s some real journalism regarding Ukraine,,,, which is more factual and informative in it’s seven to eight minutes than the hundreds of hours or hundeds of thousands of words of bullshit, dished up by our western news media,,, to keep us ignorant and compliant …. What is NATO? https://youtu.be/WyFSqhI5gPM?t=118
I think if NZ’ders switched off msm. Within a very short time, their IQ would improve ten-fold!
No more reality TV that turns people brains to mush!
Relentless advertisements selling you shit you dont need!
And direct newsfeed from Washington HQ! Oh! And the ukraine is still winning the 8 year War! Yeah Right!
We’re going to find out soon, shortly whether it be the ‘Ides’ of January or February, the debt will have to be paid and Russia, Gen. Armageddon has the plan in place ready to go once the ground is frozen solid.
You wouldn’t know anything about any of this because MSM doesnt know anything about it.
Comments are closed.