Is This Russian Propaganda? Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com
Listen to a reading of this article: ❖ We're risking a very fast, very radioactive World War 3 to defend the "democracy" of a nation whose government bans opposition parties, imprisons political opponents, shuts down opposition media, and takes all its orders from Washington due to a US-backed coup in 2014.
During my visits to Germany I was interested a lot in learning how it was possible for Germans to be what they were during Hitler years. I feel I'm witnessing something similar now in the West overall. It's demented, it's insane. Enjoy your bliss, peeps.
"The powers responsible for destroying Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Yemen are the same powers we're trusting to carefully navigate extremely delicate nuclear brinkmanship escalations without ending the world."
Now if that doesn't scare the daylights out of every reader of this article, nothing will.
It is possible that of all the various forms of explicit propaganda, the cartoon is the most effective. And unlike those of Western leaders who may be caricatured as harmless buffoons, portrayals of Putin and those of a different hemisphere convey the essence of evil itself. Even the notorious, murderous nut case, GW Bush, did portraits of Putin that reeked of evil pettiness: is there anything more ironic than that? Yes, Putin fits the definition of dictator, but the "democratically elected" leaders of the West are lackeys of the greatest dictator this world has ever known, the shadow government, or deep state of which Neoliberalism is the manifestation.
What would happen to Russia without Putin and Lavrov, at this time?
Putin has vowed to deNazify Ukraine: who can blame him? The fact 28 million Russians died in WWII is never part of the equation. Russians don't like to milk this regrettable fact: they have too keen a sense of honour. But can there be any doubt that it is a factor in their decisions?
The situation in Ukraine was intolerable. There is a video tape out there where neoNazis brag about their preeminent part in Maidan, and killings in the Donbass and Odessa: they openly state their qualifications as killers - they enjoy it- it makes their work easy. They estimate they are 8-10 percent of the population, but shoulder more of the load proportionately, and are indignant that this isn't publicly acknowledged. Let's not overlook the affinity American leaders have always had for fascist elements as useful in nefarious objectives.
Many will deny the truth of this claim. But Putin believes it. It is left now to history to see who was right. But the demonization of a superpower, and one BTW, that is not by any stretch of the facts guilty as is the West, is simply stupid; putting Putin outside the pale with no recognition of his legitimate grievances has given him nothing to lose by acting outside the pale, were a choice possible. But the flouting of Minsk has forced his hand, anyway. It seems the West is too clever for its own good.
Once the shooting starts calls for sanity are especially difficult to hear. One is left bereft and bewildered on hearing the news that Kamala Harris of all people is once again travelling to Europe to meet with allies. That such a human cipher is tasked with carrying such a load speaks to the irresponsibility of those in charge and the insanity of accepting one word that comes out of their mouths. The Drake Equation is looking overly optimistic at the moment.
One of the "facts on the ground" that people don't appreciate (because MSM has not informed them) is that Russia's military challenge to the US does not begin and end with its nuclear weapons. Ask yourself why the US has not sailed its carrier groups into the war zone as it has in all other cases it wanted to intimidate with its power. The answer is that Russia's newly deployed maneuverable hypersonic missiles would send any ship directly to the bottom, including carriers, as soon as they tried to attack Russia because the US navy has no defense that can stop them. In addition, Russia's air defenses (including state-of-the-art electronic warfare measures that screw with flight systems) is the best on the planet, so planes drones and missiles targeted at Russia are very likely to be intercepted -- not all perhaps, but many if not most. Also, relative to NATO, stewing in military-industrial complex corruption, the Russian army is far more better organized, equipped, and motivated (Russians are fighting to defend their homeland, while US forces would be asked to fight on the other side of the planet in places they've barely heard of against a country that has never directly threatened US territory). It would take NATO years to build up its forces to match Russia in a ground war, which Russia will make difficult if not impossible by sinking transport ships sending troops and materiel to Europe with missiles and subs. It will also take out US satellites, on which the US military is currently totally dependent. Probably the US could prevail after a long, bloody conventional war, which would see American cities destroyed by long-range and submarine fired conventional missiles that the US homeland also can't defend against. You also have to consider that China cannot afford to let Russia go down because that would leave it facing a victorious West all by itself. This means that if the US sends its Pacific-based air, naval, and other forces against Russia (which it would need to do to have any chance of prevailing), not only will its military and other assets in the Far East be left vulnerable, China will probably attack them, and, at the same time, send sizable portions of its military to aid Russia in the European theatre (as many as are needed). The upshot is that, given a conventional stalemate, anything NATO does militarily against Russia now is all but certain to eventually escalate to nuclear, where the US cannot win through a first strike, meaning that all of us die. This implication is that NATO is helpless to aid Ukraine even through conventional military power. It will try to make life difficult for Russia in Ukraine, but don't hold your breath that the buffoons at CIA can run an insurgency that Russians can't crush at acceptable cost to themselves, while venging themselves on the US in Syria, Iraq, and all the other places the US has bases where there are loads of people who'd love to be armed and trained to kill them. The consequence in the short term I think is this: NATO's impotence will have been exposed again by its utter inability to help Ukraine just as publicly as it was in the Afghanistan theatre, only this time on a far larger scale far nearer to the centers of Western power. A lot of questions will be asked about the supposedly greatest military machine in the galaxy.
HL Mencken was early in his career when Bernays pulled off his first really big gig for US banks by convincing Americans to hate the Kaiser.
Mencken was a literary guy and he was always running up against censors (the Hayes code) for publishing "smut and immorality", but he was absolutely furious about government manipulation re: WWI.
I was reading him in the 90s and had not yet lived through such a time. When he talked about the truth being the first casualty of war, I chalked it up to his affinity for everything German. Since 9/11, my eyes have been open, and it's way worse now.
As to the idea that "whataboutism" is a check mate argument, I see it less as hypocrisy or blame and more about explaining the context, what the rule of the game are.
Think of it ike a contract. If two companies agree to both do X, but then every day for years they both do Y, and it works well and nobody complains, one company can't all of a sudden claim breach.
The general rule is big countries get to force little countries to do what they want them to. Reasonableness is the only question, and there's a lot of latitude.
Aside, maybe Zelensky's strategy of calling NATO a bunch of pussies will turn out to be not so great a motivator, and will lead to the quickest settlement.
Thing is: COVID lies, Ukraine lies, Biden lies... with ALL media & lefty blog-aggregators ALL spewing the exact same blatant horseshit verbatim, is not anything great grandparents wouldn't immediately recognize. It doesn't occur to these creatures that anybody cares. They profit, we suffer, fight, grow ever more chronically PASC with each new variant they bring over; while they'll profit from buying up Rooski: oil, gas, titanium, aluminum, gold, titanium, reactor manufacturers... Biden has to bail-out their fracked LNG, oil, cracked ethane export and bitumen refining pyramid scheme. Probably shove crap Rooski fission reactors into red-lined towns filled with BA.2
Poland were going to provide planes for Ukraine pilots to fly out of Poland in the war (Russia have already neutralised the Ukraine Navy, air force and air defense systems) But interestingly the usually bellicose Gen. Sec. of NATO, Jens Stoltenburg, flew to Poland to stop them.
They 'stand with Ukraine'...but not that much. They are making sure not engage Russia it appears.
But UK citizens have been told by the UK Foreign Secretary that they are welcome to 'have a go'.
What I like best is Caitlin's gentle almost Austenesque use of language. Very feminine, mellifluous, full of manners and respect for convention, subtle inferences. Know what I mean?
A common belief that has always been a feature of this war and of any war for that matter is the belief on the idea of hero, martyr, and saint. All leaders instill this idea to their people so that their part of humanity will be erased and will fight because they are no longer afraid to die. The elite is still using the oldest trick in the world to screw the ordinary people.
How the hell is NATO a threat to Russia? Is NATO talking about crossing the borders and seizing Moscow? Pah-leese. Putin gets all pumped up on steroids and invades Ukraine, and somehow clowns like you try to defend this freak. Here we have one unstable egomaniac who could make the entire human species become extinct in World War III, and somehow this is the fault of the United States? I don't think so. I have read much of your tripe bashing the US propaganda machine, but I'm still trying to find out WHY Putin and Russia chose this moment in history to invade a sovereign country? What exactly is Russia's beef with Ukraine - a beef so threatening Putin feels the need to bomb and kill Ukrainian children in their schools? The only 'reason' I can find for Putin and Russia's current war crimes and illegal invasion of Ukraine are fake yarns about Nazi's in Ukraine. Pah-leese. The sad truth about all this is Putin wants to annex the entire country of Ukraine to steal Ukraine's resources and bolster Russian coffers and make Putin's wealthy oligarchs even more wealthy. The easily identified bad guy in all this IS Vladimir Putin.
We should have listened more carefully when the term "herd immunity" was thrown our way. Maybe the real intention was actually 'herd mentality' or 'horde groupthink (becoming Zombies without even realizing that we have become Zombiefied!).
Another killer read as usual. Caitlin is the voice of sanity and raw human emotion.
During my visits to Germany I was interested a lot in learning how it was possible for Germans to be what they were during Hitler years. I feel I'm witnessing something similar now in the West overall. It's demented, it's insane. Enjoy your bliss, peeps.
"The powers responsible for destroying Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Yemen are the same powers we're trusting to carefully navigate extremely delicate nuclear brinkmanship escalations without ending the world."
Now if that doesn't scare the daylights out of every reader of this article, nothing will.
It is possible that of all the various forms of explicit propaganda, the cartoon is the most effective. And unlike those of Western leaders who may be caricatured as harmless buffoons, portrayals of Putin and those of a different hemisphere convey the essence of evil itself. Even the notorious, murderous nut case, GW Bush, did portraits of Putin that reeked of evil pettiness: is there anything more ironic than that? Yes, Putin fits the definition of dictator, but the "democratically elected" leaders of the West are lackeys of the greatest dictator this world has ever known, the shadow government, or deep state of which Neoliberalism is the manifestation.
What would happen to Russia without Putin and Lavrov, at this time?
Putin has vowed to deNazify Ukraine: who can blame him? The fact 28 million Russians died in WWII is never part of the equation. Russians don't like to milk this regrettable fact: they have too keen a sense of honour. But can there be any doubt that it is a factor in their decisions?
The situation in Ukraine was intolerable. There is a video tape out there where neoNazis brag about their preeminent part in Maidan, and killings in the Donbass and Odessa: they openly state their qualifications as killers - they enjoy it- it makes their work easy. They estimate they are 8-10 percent of the population, but shoulder more of the load proportionately, and are indignant that this isn't publicly acknowledged. Let's not overlook the affinity American leaders have always had for fascist elements as useful in nefarious objectives.
Many will deny the truth of this claim. But Putin believes it. It is left now to history to see who was right. But the demonization of a superpower, and one BTW, that is not by any stretch of the facts guilty as is the West, is simply stupid; putting Putin outside the pale with no recognition of his legitimate grievances has given him nothing to lose by acting outside the pale, were a choice possible. But the flouting of Minsk has forced his hand, anyway. It seems the West is too clever for its own good.
Once the shooting starts calls for sanity are especially difficult to hear. One is left bereft and bewildered on hearing the news that Kamala Harris of all people is once again travelling to Europe to meet with allies. That such a human cipher is tasked with carrying such a load speaks to the irresponsibility of those in charge and the insanity of accepting one word that comes out of their mouths. The Drake Equation is looking overly optimistic at the moment.
One of the "facts on the ground" that people don't appreciate (because MSM has not informed them) is that Russia's military challenge to the US does not begin and end with its nuclear weapons. Ask yourself why the US has not sailed its carrier groups into the war zone as it has in all other cases it wanted to intimidate with its power. The answer is that Russia's newly deployed maneuverable hypersonic missiles would send any ship directly to the bottom, including carriers, as soon as they tried to attack Russia because the US navy has no defense that can stop them. In addition, Russia's air defenses (including state-of-the-art electronic warfare measures that screw with flight systems) is the best on the planet, so planes drones and missiles targeted at Russia are very likely to be intercepted -- not all perhaps, but many if not most. Also, relative to NATO, stewing in military-industrial complex corruption, the Russian army is far more better organized, equipped, and motivated (Russians are fighting to defend their homeland, while US forces would be asked to fight on the other side of the planet in places they've barely heard of against a country that has never directly threatened US territory). It would take NATO years to build up its forces to match Russia in a ground war, which Russia will make difficult if not impossible by sinking transport ships sending troops and materiel to Europe with missiles and subs. It will also take out US satellites, on which the US military is currently totally dependent. Probably the US could prevail after a long, bloody conventional war, which would see American cities destroyed by long-range and submarine fired conventional missiles that the US homeland also can't defend against. You also have to consider that China cannot afford to let Russia go down because that would leave it facing a victorious West all by itself. This means that if the US sends its Pacific-based air, naval, and other forces against Russia (which it would need to do to have any chance of prevailing), not only will its military and other assets in the Far East be left vulnerable, China will probably attack them, and, at the same time, send sizable portions of its military to aid Russia in the European theatre (as many as are needed). The upshot is that, given a conventional stalemate, anything NATO does militarily against Russia now is all but certain to eventually escalate to nuclear, where the US cannot win through a first strike, meaning that all of us die. This implication is that NATO is helpless to aid Ukraine even through conventional military power. It will try to make life difficult for Russia in Ukraine, but don't hold your breath that the buffoons at CIA can run an insurgency that Russians can't crush at acceptable cost to themselves, while venging themselves on the US in Syria, Iraq, and all the other places the US has bases where there are loads of people who'd love to be armed and trained to kill them. The consequence in the short term I think is this: NATO's impotence will have been exposed again by its utter inability to help Ukraine just as publicly as it was in the Afghanistan theatre, only this time on a far larger scale far nearer to the centers of Western power. A lot of questions will be asked about the supposedly greatest military machine in the galaxy.
Keep on fighting Caitlin!!!
HL Mencken was early in his career when Bernays pulled off his first really big gig for US banks by convincing Americans to hate the Kaiser.
Mencken was a literary guy and he was always running up against censors (the Hayes code) for publishing "smut and immorality", but he was absolutely furious about government manipulation re: WWI.
I was reading him in the 90s and had not yet lived through such a time. When he talked about the truth being the first casualty of war, I chalked it up to his affinity for everything German. Since 9/11, my eyes have been open, and it's way worse now.
As to the idea that "whataboutism" is a check mate argument, I see it less as hypocrisy or blame and more about explaining the context, what the rule of the game are.
Think of it ike a contract. If two companies agree to both do X, but then every day for years they both do Y, and it works well and nobody complains, one company can't all of a sudden claim breach.
The general rule is big countries get to force little countries to do what they want them to. Reasonableness is the only question, and there's a lot of latitude.
Aside, maybe Zelensky's strategy of calling NATO a bunch of pussies will turn out to be not so great a motivator, and will lead to the quickest settlement.
Bravo!
Thing is: COVID lies, Ukraine lies, Biden lies... with ALL media & lefty blog-aggregators ALL spewing the exact same blatant horseshit verbatim, is not anything great grandparents wouldn't immediately recognize. It doesn't occur to these creatures that anybody cares. They profit, we suffer, fight, grow ever more chronically PASC with each new variant they bring over; while they'll profit from buying up Rooski: oil, gas, titanium, aluminum, gold, titanium, reactor manufacturers... Biden has to bail-out their fracked LNG, oil, cracked ethane export and bitumen refining pyramid scheme. Probably shove crap Rooski fission reactors into red-lined towns filled with BA.2
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/03/zelensky-and-the-fascists-he-will-hang-on-some-tree-on-khreshchatyk.html#more
https://thegrayzone.com/2022/03/04/nazis-ukrainian-war-russia/
To paraphrase Joan Didion, it's not that they've seen too many Rambo movies, it's that they've written too many Rambo movies.
Poland were going to provide planes for Ukraine pilots to fly out of Poland in the war (Russia have already neutralised the Ukraine Navy, air force and air defense systems) But interestingly the usually bellicose Gen. Sec. of NATO, Jens Stoltenburg, flew to Poland to stop them.
They 'stand with Ukraine'...but not that much. They are making sure not engage Russia it appears.
But UK citizens have been told by the UK Foreign Secretary that they are welcome to 'have a go'.
What I like best is Caitlin's gentle almost Austenesque use of language. Very feminine, mellifluous, full of manners and respect for convention, subtle inferences. Know what I mean?
A common belief that has always been a feature of this war and of any war for that matter is the belief on the idea of hero, martyr, and saint. All leaders instill this idea to their people so that their part of humanity will be erased and will fight because they are no longer afraid to die. The elite is still using the oldest trick in the world to screw the ordinary people.
How the hell is NATO a threat to Russia? Is NATO talking about crossing the borders and seizing Moscow? Pah-leese. Putin gets all pumped up on steroids and invades Ukraine, and somehow clowns like you try to defend this freak. Here we have one unstable egomaniac who could make the entire human species become extinct in World War III, and somehow this is the fault of the United States? I don't think so. I have read much of your tripe bashing the US propaganda machine, but I'm still trying to find out WHY Putin and Russia chose this moment in history to invade a sovereign country? What exactly is Russia's beef with Ukraine - a beef so threatening Putin feels the need to bomb and kill Ukrainian children in their schools? The only 'reason' I can find for Putin and Russia's current war crimes and illegal invasion of Ukraine are fake yarns about Nazi's in Ukraine. Pah-leese. The sad truth about all this is Putin wants to annex the entire country of Ukraine to steal Ukraine's resources and bolster Russian coffers and make Putin's wealthy oligarchs even more wealthy. The easily identified bad guy in all this IS Vladimir Putin.
Brilliant!
We should have listened more carefully when the term "herd immunity" was thrown our way. Maybe the real intention was actually 'herd mentality' or 'horde groupthink (becoming Zombies without even realizing that we have become Zombiefied!).