Peacewashing The War In Ukraine

It's hard to argue with the view that NATO is a lot better at winning narrative competitions than it is at winning wars. From "How Nato seduced the European Left" by Lily Lynch on Unherd:

Previously, in the Nordic countries, Atlanticists have had to sell war and militarism to largely pacifist publics. This was achieved in part by presenting Nato not as a rapacious, pro-war military alliance, but as an enlightened, "progressive" peace alliance.

Fast forward to last week when a self-styled "peace summit" in Vienna produced the absurd statement shared above, eliciting the following statement from participant Magyar Békekör:

From the final text of the declaration issued by the International Peace Bureau, which emerged from obscurity, even the passage in the original draft, which mentioned NATO’s “co-responsibility”, was omitted.

In their closing statement, the organizers of the conference demand an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Civilian diplomatic intervention is envisaged at their countries’ embassies, including the Russian one, while condemning Russia.

The group organizing the peace conference did not demand the opinion of the participants in approving the final declaration, nor did they initiate an open discussion about it. At the end of the “peace summit” it was read aloud, as if meeting with everyone’s agreement. [emphasis mine]

Manufacturing consent for an ongoing war of choice by the U.S./NATO in Ukraine is not peace work, despite window dressing provided by the presence of luminaries of the Democratic Party-aligned "peace" movement in the U.S. like Joseph Gerson and Medea Benjamin.

Lynch, like many, sees the NATO war on the former Yugoslavia as a turning point.

Kosovo changed everything. In 1999 — the 50th anniversary of Nato’s founding — the alliance began what academic Merje Kuus has called a “discursive metamorphosis”. From the mere defensive alliance it was during the Cold War, it was becoming an active military compact concerned with spreading and defending values such as human rights, democracy, peace, and freedom well beyond the borders of its member states. The 78-day Nato bombing of what remained of Yugoslavia, ostensibly to halt war crimes committed by Serbian security forces in Kosovo, would forever transform the German Greens.

I remember a principal from a military family urging me to read a tome on "Responsibility to Protect" when he was my supervisor and I was teaching about genocides, around 2005. I thought the notion absurd at the time and quite possibly dangerous. 

Events in the decades since have shown my fear was not misplaced.

As some have argued persuasively, NATO's purpose is not to win wars but to generate profits for uber wealthy military-industrial titans that own and operate the U.S. government.

So what looks like failure to the general public e.g.

Documented equipment losses from Ukraine's spring offensive

looks like success to them e.g.

Peek into the stock portfolios of Congress or the Supreme Court and you'll see a built in incentive to keep pushing wars and never mind about winning, or even ending, them.

It gets worse. Lynch on new strategies to prey on younger people:

In February, Nato held its first ever gaming event. A young employee of the alliance joined popular Twitch streamer ZeRoyalViking to play Among Us and casually chat about the danger disinformation poses to democracy.* With them was a mountaineer influencer and environmental activist named Caroline Gleich. As their astronaut avatars navigated a cartoon spaceship, they spoke about Nato in glowing terms. By the event’s end, the stream had turned into a recruitment effort: the alliance employee talked about the perks of his job and encouraged viewers to check the Nato website for employment opportunities in fields such as graphic design and video editing.

I've written before about the hollowing out of major "peace" organizations here in the U.S., and about the role of major "environmental" organizations in maintaining consent for the Pentagon's climate crimes. 

This is the result of designating wars as Republican or Democratic Party projects: liberals hate the former while cheerleading for the latter. 

I'm part of a small group opposed to all of the U.S./NATO's many wars -- no matter what letter happens to be after the name of the person currently in the White House.

--

*My note: The "dangers of disinformation" is a signature trope of the DNC-social media-corporate media-narrative- management complex, which others have covered in depth here and here.

Protester: I Came Here So I Wouldn't Feel So Alone

Yesterday in Belfast, Maine around 40 peacebuilders came together at a big intersection on Route 1. Our statewide coalition has now brought anti war, pro peace messaging monthly to seven different locations over the course of the costly NATO war against Russia in Ukraine: four times at various locations in Portland, twice in Westbrook, twice in Topsham, Bath, and now Belfast.

I admit that I went grumbling as I wanted a day at home, but I smiled all the way back after standing with several friends I hadn't seen in a while. And, as with each of these monthly events, I met new friends, most on the younger side; one had just arrived from Florida and came looking for kindred spirits. I felt fortunate, indeed, to be part of the beautiful "conscience of the community" (and it didn't start to rain until we were almost home).

Our circle round in conclusion produced a few common themes: the role of the military-industrial profiteers in stoking endless wars, and the suffering of people in war zones and war economies where basic needs go unmet. Bring our war dollars home!

One person said that they and their partner are creating a new family and they worry about their child's future with the threat of nuclear war hanging overhead.

One person was brought to tears telling of the persistent refusal of their church's congregation to follow its own professed beliefs and criticize war making. Frustrated Christians have been a consistent presence at our protests, with individuals from various denominations expressing some version of, "I came here so that I wouldn't feel so alone in my opposition to this war."

One person noted that Flora, Earth Goddess, had joined us, inspired by Bread and Puppet. Her presence warmed the hearts of many who have stood for peace with her over the years.

One person brought the portable megaphone that allows us to include everyone's voice in our closing circle. Much appreciated!

One person responded to the prompt, Tell us why you're here, with "Where else would I be?"

Amen to that! 

Growing coalition

These groups are now co-sponsors of our series of protests: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Maine Natural Guard, Peaceworks of Greater Brunswick, Communist Party of Maine, Party of Socialism & Liberation Maine, Maine Green Independent Party, Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST), People’s Party of Maine, and Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine.

Our demands

• Peace in Ukraine - No weapons, no money for the Ukraine War

• Abolish NATO – End U.S. militarism & sanctions!

• Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!

• No war with China!

• Protect Earth's environment from the deadly insult of war!

• End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!

• Fight racism & bigotry not war!

• U.S. hands off Haiti!

• End AFRICOM!

Protest schedule for summer

Saturday June 24 at 1:30pm

Lewiston (Veterans Memorial Park, stand by the bridge)

link to Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/803066811174128

Saturday July 22 at 1:30pm

Augusta (Civic Center intersection on Route 27 at I-95)

Saturday August 19 at 1:30pm

Ellsworth (Route 1 intersection with Main St.)

Saturday September (exact date TBD)

Skowhegan (Margaret Chase Smith bridge at confluence of Routes 2 & 201)

No To Nuclear War With China And Russia Say Mainers

 

Westbrook, Maine March 18, 2023 Photo credit: Mary Beth Sullivan

Report back from yesterday's March 18 peace action in Westbrook, Maine:

We had 50 folks come from all over Maine today to our protest in conjunction with the national event at the White House in Washington.

We met at a very busy intersection in Westbrook (near Portland). It was attended by people from six political parties in the state. (Maine Green Independent Party, Communist Party of Maine, Libertarian Party, Portland Republican Party, People's Party of Maine, and Party for Socialism & Liberation of Maine.)

Cynthia Howard with the banner she created with the help of the Artists' Rapid Response Team (ARRT!) of the Maine Union of Visual Artists. Photo credit: Mark Roman

 

We had a steady and huge amount of honks, waves and peace signs from the cars passing by. Everyone was really pumped by the experience. We all agreed that the 'worm is turning' and that the public (all across the political landscape) is not happy about the Biden administration and Congress funneling $113 billion to the proxy war in Ukraine that is aimed at Russia (and soon China as well).

We had a good mix of all ages at the event - something that has been a long time coming in Maine as the peace movement here has been aging.

We had a final closing circle and invited people to share why they had come. It was very moving to hear those present applaud for the speakers from various political parties. I made sure to make the point that there are good people in all the parties and political organizations and we must resist the 'divide and conquer' efforts by the corporate oligarchs that run our country.

Today was a great example of what is indeed possible if we try with good faith and a cooperative spirit to work together. We can come together in solidarity. We don't have to agree with each other on every single issue. But today was a resounding call that we must oppose this suicidal US-NATO permanent war path.

More to come. Stay tuned.

Keep paddling.

Bruce Gagnon

PS Try as we might we did not get every single person into a photo. We are sorry for that.

 

As far as press coverage, I had an op-ed published in the Maine Beacon a day prior to the protest while Bruce gave an interview to a camera crew from a local news station on site in Westbrook. Sadly, it would appear that an editor at the station must have killed the story -- at least there's nothing on the WMTW website. We'll keep looking.

And we'll keep organizing. A protest on tax day, Saturday April 15 in Topsham at 1:30pm is in formation sponsored by the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and the Maine Natural Guard. Co-sponsors are welcome! Email us or leave a comment.

All Out For March 18! Sharing Our Demands

All out for March 18!

The demonstration will make connections between the human and financial toll of U.S. militarism at home and abroad. Key demands include:

1. Peace in Ukraine - No weapons, no money for the Ukraine War
2. Abolish NATO – End U.S. militarism & sanctions!
3. Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!
4. No war with China!
5. End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!
6. Fight racism & bigotry at home!
7. U.S. hands off  Haiti!
8. End AFRICOM! 
9. End Sanctions on Syria!

From the United National Antiwar Coalition's flyer for March 18 actions:

The US/NATO proxy war in Ukraine puts the US in an escalating conflict with Russia, a major nuclear power. Now, a coalition of progressive organizations have come together to organize this demonstration. We join with groups around the world that are beginning to build big protests against this war. We join in demanding “no more weapons and no more money for the Ukraine war.” 

We are also seeing increasing US aggression against China, another major nuclear power. As Syria recovers from the devastating earthquake, the US has refused to drop the sanctions against Syria and the right-wing government on Israel is increasing its attacks against the Palestinian people, Iran, Syria and has recently bombed the airport at Aleppo, which is used to bring aid to the Syrian earthquake victims. 

The US is clearly the main cause of war around the world with bases that surround Russia and China and foreign bases that number 20 times those of all other countries in the world combined. The ever-increasing military budget drains money that could be used for human needs instead of war. Therefore, we must build a strong antiwar movement here in the US, the main imperialist power in the world. 

We need a government to support human needs before the war machine. We need those countless $billions for health and education—not death and destruction. After the March 18 protest, we ask you to join with UNAC to build strong local and regional action during the week of April 15 – 22. 

If you can't make it to Washington DC on March 18, there are a number of actions taking place around the country in solidarity.  You can find them here. 

In Maine or northern New England on March 18? 

Protesters against U.S. involvement in Ukraine will gather near Portland in Westbrook, Maine from 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 at the intersection of Stroudwater Street and William Clark Drive. (For GPS try Westbrook Market - 28 Stroudwater Street.)

The Maine event is co-sponsored by: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Maine Natural Guard, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, Communist Party of Maine, Maine Green Independent Party, Party for Socialism & Liberation Maine, and Maine Veterans for Peace.

Link to Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/121631534005596

Link to info on the national event in Wash DC: https://www.unacpeace.org/home.html

For more info call: 844-8187

White People Are Running Scared As Their Long Reign Crumbles

Anti-racist blogger Shay Stewart-Bouley of Black Girl in Maine shared news of white backlash against Black History Month in the U.S. generally and targeting her specifically. She posted the above photo to social media platforms with her commentary and the predictable backlash from terrified, angry white people ensued. 

Her analysis of the "It's OK to be White" message is worth a read.

Coincidentally, my weekend kicked off with my 6 year old grandson sharing that he had watched Portland City Councilor Victoria Pelletier read a nasty letter she received and decided to publicize on social media.

(Note: I greatly appreciate my grandchildren's parents for their active anti-racist educational efforts in our mostly white family.)

My grandson remembered Councilor Pelletier from the community television show we do together as he and his mom had been in the studio audience last year. As a young constituent of Portland's 2nd District, he was concerned that people were "being mean" to Councilor Pelletier. 

Yup, me too, and kudos to Pelletier for lifting the rock and showing us the ugly racism that she and other people of color face constantly when elected to public office.

All this on the weekend of the Chinese weather balloon theatrics.

White people locally, nationally, and internationally are expressing their perception of being backed into a corner where their power over others and control of common resources is eroding rapidly. 

NATO, a white supremacist military alliance, has bombed, occupied, and pillaged populations around the globe. Now that Ukraine is being used in a proxy war to weaken China's strongest ally, Russia, the violence is targeting whites -- as it did in air strikes on Yugoslavia in the 1990's.

But NATO and its U.S. masters are watching their economic power slip away. 

This is what working class white people are experiencing domestically as well.

Arguments about fairness and equity fall on deaf ears. The fact that Black households in the U.S. have a mere 11% of the household wealth of white households doesn't matter to these terrified white folks. They can't afford enough food or heat and are panicking. Their healthcare options are pathetic, and access to luxuries like regular dental care are almost non-existent.

Media owned by billionaires have people in the U.S. trained to blame each other rather than the root of their common problems: corporate government that allows, even facilitates, profit from misery. 

Example of a false dichotomy narrative common in the U.S.

Big Pharma and weapons manufacturers spring to mind but there are many more.

The U.S. doing business as NATO is panicking, too. The Ukraine war sanctions on Russia harmed Europe's economy, not Russia's, and hastened the abandonment of the U.S. dollar as a currency for international trade. Billions of dollars and weapons later, Ukraine's military cannot prevail, and it has already lost in the humanitarian sense with neo-Nazis steering the ship of state.

Enter the weather balloon and cue the China-bashing hysteria in the press.

Most likely the PR aspect of hyping this appearance of a hot air balloon (there have been many in the past, but did you ever hear about them?) was to create a pretext for U.S. Secretary of State Blinken to cancel his announced visit to Beijing to meet with President Xi. This small step toward peaceful relations with China had to be stopped by those who want war and are very rapidly arming up in the Pacific region.

White supremacy has had its day. 

Delaying tactics are in some cases hastening its demise. Decisions made from fear are often not logical or ultimately beneficial to those making them.

It's logical to be fearful of losing the major privilege accorded those who appear white. Although they play the victim, white privilege is very much something they benefit from all the time. Enslaving labor plus other plunder of colonized populations and their resources has created an artificial standard of living for white people that could never have endured on a level playing field.

So, as loss of status plus economic disaster overtakes this group, they lash out in myriad ways to stave off the inevitable. 

From the micro level where leaders of color are insulted and threatened to the macro level where NATO moves nuclear weapons into place all over the globe and ramps up anti-China rhetoric, white people are running scared.

Hardy Band Says No To NATO's War On Russia

 A hardy band of boomers stood out in snowy Portland, Maine, USA on Sunday at a vigil for peace that recognized the U.S./NATO war against Ukraine is really a war on Russia. 

 

 

Publicity for the event made it clear that would be our focus, and requested no flags. If only 10 people in the "peace community" of Maine could stand with us on this basis, so be it.

 

As Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaches, I'm reminded of this wisdom he shared before the U.S. government assassinated him:

Cowardice asks the question: is it safe? Expediency asks: is it politic? Vanity asks: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: is it right? There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, politic nor popular - but simply because it is right.

This where the few of us not confused by government propaganda find ourselves these days. I wrote about it here as a guest post for my friend Pat Taub's blog:

Fear Of Not Conforming

by Lisa Savage 

 

As a blogger I enjoy hearing from readers even when they disagree with me. It’s an indication of reader engagement if someone takes the time to offer a critique.

So, I was glad to hear from an old friend in response to a recent blog post of mine. “Tale of Two Broken Accords: Oslo And Minsk,”  written during the recent COP27 climate conference. It was my reflection on how international agreements are often achieved with great effort and announced with great fanfare only to be cast aside.

My friend wrote:

“Lisa: Am I misunderstanding something, or have you become an apologist for Vladimir Putin?”

I have old friends from many walks of life but relatively few who stand beside me in objecting to U.S. wars. This friend, however, was part of the original In Spite of Life Players putting on satirical political plays each 4th of July here in Athens, Maine. These plays routinely lampooned propaganda and U.S. imperial ambitions.

The author appearing as “Senator Susan Snow” in a past 4th of July play

 

I wrote back:

“If you’d been reading my blog you’d know that I reject the “Putin bad” analysis of the RAND-inspired war on Russia by NATO, with the endgame taking out China’s powerful ally. If that were to be accomplished (i.e., regime change and break up of Russia), Taiwan is sure to become the next Ukraine.

At least in Taiwan the U.S. will not have to arm and otherwise support neo-Nazis. Maybe old Japanese Empire collaborators instead?  It’s disappointing that you seem to be ill-informed about what’s going on. May I ask what sources of information you rely on to understand global politics? It’s a sincere question.”

This is a person with a huge collection of books about history and politics and I was reminded about that. But books necessarily lag behind other media in interpreting current events, and I was more interested in what news outlets they were relying on to form opinions.

The New York Times, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, Harpers, The Atlantic, and television news were on their list, all of which my friend described as “Mainstream/Lamestream Media.”

But then came the real kicker.

“I’d like to think that I would have the intellectual humility/integrity to reconsider my positions if I found myself espousing the views of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Mike Flynn, and Kevin McCarthy.”

My friend was afraid of being associated with right wing influencers and was warning me of the danger of sounding like I agreed with them!

I’ve never watched any of those shows and I said so. Instead, I offered a list of some of the sources I consider trustworthy on geopolitics in our day: Consortium News, Responsible Statecraft, The Cradle, and some individual journalists like Eva K. Bartlett, John Pilger, and Alan Macleod.

Will my friend expand their reading following our dialogue? I like to think so but who knows. (Something I’ve found interesting about liberals’ strong disagreement with me over Ukraine is that, when I was running for the U.S. Senate in 2020, they loved my foreign policy analysis in debates.)

The author, Maine’s Green Party candidate for the US Senate, during the 2020 debates 

There is strong pressure to conform to the group one identifies with – in this case, critics of the media outlets who promoted the rise of 45. So-called legacy media relentlessly associated 45 with Russian President Putin for years, and the transition from hating 45 to hating Putin was a short trip for many. It has blinded them to the facts on the ground in Ukraine.

How did the rebels of the boomer generation become so conformist? Maybe a joke will help:

Two passengers are flying to New York. The American turns to the Russian and asks, “Why are you coming to America?”

“To study U.S. propaganda.”

“What propaganda?”

“Exactly.”

##

Pat shared a comment she received on my guest post:

This was not worth offering a window into her thinking nor a contribution to any debate that defends one country attacking another with out provocation and murdering thousands. Her comments are drivel. This action by Putin is not up for debate. I and many of my friends have been donating to Ukraine so they may survive. I can't believe a thinking person has another point of view.

My response:

If you can't believe a thinking person has another point of view from yours, maybe you aren't as much of a thinking person as you think you are.

We've all be wrong lots of times; the question is, are we willing to examine our beliefs and sometimes change them in light of new evidence?

Now that we know for certain that the CIA, FBI, and other taxpayer-funded agencies spend much of their staff time managing narratives on social media platforms from behind the scenes, where can we get useful new evidence?

From new-to-us, more reliable sources than corporate sources that parrot U.S. press releases. 

Pro-tip: if your news source uses the word "unprovoked" about Russia intervening after years of Ukraine killing thousands of Russian-speakers in the Donbas border region, you're definitely reading U.S. government propaganda. (Ditto China's alleged "threat" to world peace -- but that's a post for another day.)

 If you see someone with a sign like this, maybe ask them what they're currently reading.

Tears For Suffering In Ukraine

Source: "Anna Netrebko, Russian Soprano with Putin Ties, Is Out at the Met Opera" Town & Country   Photo by Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images

TTY IMAGES

I've been criticized recently due to the perception that I am insufficiently moved by the suffering of people in Ukraine. By this my critics actually mean "the suffering of people in Ukraine since February when Russia invaded." They do not mean the suffering of people in Ukraine during the 8 year long civil war that has seen 14,000 deaths (a combined total that includes thousands of civilians plus soldiers on both sides). 

Those consuming corporate media in the U.S. tend to know very little about what led up to (insert several perjorative terms here) Putin launching military operations and are unable to determine whether those are actually war crimes or would be considered legitimate pre-emptive actions by the United Nations.  In the face of impending attacks that the Ukranian government and its militias were  preparing to launch against Russian ethnic populations in the Donbass region, and the published plans for regime change in Russia using exactly those tactics, the UN might not come down on the side of U.S. liberals.

These people look with approval at events like the Metropolitan Opera in New York cancelling a Russian diva and replacing her with a Ukranian soprano. I, on the other hand, laugh out loud at the absurdity. A singer pressured to essentially sign a disloyalty oath will not be allowed to perform.

Yes, by all means let's cancel the performing artists of every nationality if their nation wages war against others. (That huge whooshing sound was the careers of innumerable U.S. singers and other artists being flushed down the toilet.)

Since opposing wars waged by my own nation using my taxdollars, I've often considered whether or how much to share gruesome pictures of people suffering.

On the one hand seeing the corpses of little children burned up in their beds by U.S. drone strikes might galvanize my fellow Americans into knowing, caring, and taking action.

On the other hand, there is my aversion to so-called "war porn" or the vicarious pleasure to be had by viewing the suffering of others. Susan Sontag's book Regarding The Pain Of Others made a great impression on me. If you're a long time reader of my blog, you could probably pinpoint right around when I read that book by the declining frequency of my sharing photos or videos of people suffering in wars or as refugees.

The fog of war makes it very difficult to determine which reports of atrocities and war crimes are false flags, or doctored evidence, and which are authentic.

This is true for all sides in all conflicts, but the 21st century seems to have accelerated the process of manufacturing consent by media manipulations. Game changers like digital video that is so easily created and shared are having their effect and it's difficult to know whether they're bringing more truth or more fiction.

For example, this reporting seems authentic to me although of course I can't know for sure: "Exclusive: Ukrainian Refugees in Moldova Spare No Words on Zelensky Gov't." It was shared by a source I trust, the United National Antiwar Coalition. Conversely, am I inclined to trust war reporting that is a) cookie cutter and b) shared by corporate news outlets that have repeatedly lied us into wars with fabricated claims of war crimes and other atrocities? Not so much.

I am opposed to all wars, and I focus on holding my own nation accountable. 

The U.S. and its posse NATO are largely responsible for the current phase of the war in Ukraine (and the vast majority of wars raging on the planet right now). 

Map showing refugee movement from Ukraine. Credit: United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees’ Operational Data Portal

No doubt there is suffering in Ukraine and among Ukrainian refugees. 

My solution: disband NATO, cut the Pentagon budget by 90%, and close the 800 military bases the U.S. operates in other countries.

Not only would this reduce suffering in Ukraine, it would reduce the threat of climate collapse as the Pentagon is the biggest institutional emitter of greenhouse gasses on the planet. By a mile. 

And, it would significantly reduce the threat of nuclear war. Sabre rattling of nukes on both sides is alarming and makes me wonder if these folks read the same articles as I do, the ones that remind us that contemporary nuclear weapons are far more destructive than those dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

What The Corporate Press Fails To Tell Us About Ukraine

Reposting my friend Bruce Gagnon's excellent update which contains some images and information that you will not see in the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, CNN, and the rest of the corporate press. These media outlets lied us into war in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan. Hot on the heels of four years of fabricating the Russiagate story, would they lie us into war with Russia? You bet they would.

Updating Ukraine-Russia-US-UK war planning

February 5 protests across the U.S. a success     Here is a brief update on the lastest information:   Increasingly more and more people and peace groups in the U.S. are speaking out to try to stop Washington from pushing Ukraine-Russia (and maybe all of us) into WW III. On February 5 protests like the one just above (in Mid-coast Maine) were held in more than 75 communities across the nation.   The photo at the very top of the email reveals (never reported in the corporate media) that 150,000 Ukrainian troops (trained, armed and directed by US-UK-NATO) are at the 'line of contact' near the Russian-ethnic region (inside Ukraine) called the Donbass (red on the map). Ukraine is repeatedly shelling the Donbass region trying to draw Russia into a full-blown war.   The photos below are Ukrainian protests in front of the US Embassy in the capital city of Kiev. They reveal that there are many inside Ukraine that do not see the US-UK-NATO military operations since the 2014 U.S. orchestrated coup d'état as a positive.   Ukraine's President Zelensky has just blocked and banned the 6th anti-Zelensky TV channel in the last 12 months. So much for democracy from the Nazi-backed regime in Kiev.   Inside Russia there are growing fears that the US-UK-NATO will implement a tried-and-true 'false flag' event that could then be blamed on Moscow. Don't forget that the US has used false flags in the past (like the Gulf of Tonkin to ramp up Vietnam war).   Russia continues to say that it has no intention of invading Ukraine. But if Donbass or Crimea are hit by the Ukrainian army then there would likely be a response.   In recent days the U.S. forced the Slovakian government to allow the Pentagon to set up a base inside that country despite major protests. So clearly the U.S. is using this current Ukraine situation to expand its military operations inside Eastern Europe - the exact opposite of what Russia has demanded. It's a spit in Russia's face.   An international call has gone out for peace activists to use the slogan 'Disband NATO' as much as possible. Washington (and allies) promised then President Gorbachev, at the time of the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, that the alliance would not expand 'one inch' toward Russia. Clinton broke the promise with his 'NATO Enhancement' and today NATO in on the Russian borders. How is Moscow to react?

Protests outside the U.S. embassy in Kiev   The banners in Kiev speak for themselves.   Ukrainian activists demand the U.S. return home   You'd never know that there we anti-American protests at the U.S. embassy in Kiev by listening to western corporate-run media. All we get is the opposite. We daily hear that Ukraine is united and ready to defend themselves against the Russian bear.   At the same time we hear that NATO is united - rarely a word about Croatia, Hungary, France, Germany and other NATO members urging peace and rejecting getting involved in any war.