{"id":115532,"date":"2014-05-01T06:55:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T06:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?guid=d4cabed376521f38fe21f4128f2296c3"},"modified":"2014-05-01T06:55:00","modified_gmt":"2014-05-01T06:55:00","slug":"fact-checking-scoundrel-media-lies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/editorials\/fact-checking-scoundrel-media-lies\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact Checking Scoundrel Media Lies"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><b>Fact Checking Scoundrel Media Lies<\/b><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Edward Herman and David Peterson contributed an important chapter to a forthcoming cutting edge book on Ukraine.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It&#8217;s titled &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Flashpoint-Ukraine-Drive-Hegemony-Risks\/dp\/0986073148\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III<\/span><\/a>.&#8221; Watch for it. It&#8217;s coming soon. Amazon lists it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Herman and Peterson explain Western propaganda &#8220;in overdrive,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(D)eeply ingrained Cold War ideology remains in Western capitals and their political and intellectual culture.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;It&#8217;s best understood as a dichotomous or binary system: One side is &#8216;good,&#8217; the other side is &#8216;evil.&#8217; &#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;One side acts on behalf of universal values, the other acts out of narrow self-interests.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;One side helps other countries and peoples to build democratic institutions and good governance, and supports the rights to self-determination, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all countries -the other side as a matter of principle rejects these rights and strives for power and territorial expansion.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Orwell explained his way saying: &#8220;War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Bad guys &#8216;R us. Media scoundrels twist truth their way. Irresponsible Russia bashing persists daily. Big Lies repeat ad nauseam.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">News, information and analysis people most need to know are systematically buried. Malicious daily propaganda substitutes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Herman and Peterson pull no punches saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The misrepresentations of the US media in dealing with the Ukraine crisis have been spectacular, reaching and perhaps surpassing their performance during the 50-year-long Cold War era, with the notion of &#8216;objectivity&#8217; buried beneath a landslide of biased tone and word usage, rewritten or suppressed history, use of selective evidence, and double-standards.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Their detailed, documented analysis provides proof positive. Media scoundrels regurgitate official Big Lies. Truth is a powerful disinfectant. Burying it is prioritized.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It bears repeating what previous articles stressed. So-called New York Times news fit to print isn&#8217;t fit to read. It&#8217;s rubbish.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It&#8217;s ideologically driven. It&#8217;s one-sided. It&#8217;s over-the-top. It&#8217;s hypocritical garbage.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It violates fundamental journalistic principles. Truth-telling matters most. It&#8217;s nowhere in sight. Bad fiction substitutes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On April 29, Times editors <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/04\/30\/opinion\/not-getting-through-to-mr-putin.html?hp&amp;rref=opinion&amp;_r=0\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">headlined<\/span><\/a> &#8220;Not Getting Through to Mr, Putin,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">US and EU imposed sanctions followed &#8220;Russia&#8217;s involvement&#8221; with Eastern Ukrainian anti-Kiev activists. Times editors quoted Washington and Brussels. They lied calling it &#8220;indisputable.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Times editors call sanctions &#8220;justified.&#8221; They accused Putin of &#8220;bluster.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He &#8220;demonstative(ly) disdain(s)&#8221; four-party &#8220;Geneva agreement&#8221; terms &#8220;along with the aggressive behavior of Russian troops massed on Ukraine&#8217;s borders and the continued occupation of administrative and security buildings in southeastern Ukrainian cities by Moscow-directed secessionists,&#8221; they said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(T)argeted penalties are not likely to change Russia&#8217;s behavior.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Times editors urge tougher ones. &#8220;(T)here will be\u2026costs&#8221; otherwise\u2026&#8221;Europe and America (must) join in a unified response.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(A) weak and fragmented response would call into question a longstanding trans-Atlantic commitment to protect international law and democratic values against the kind of aggression Mr. Putin is engaging in.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Sanctions imposed are illegitimate.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: They have no legal standing.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: They violate international law.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Russia alone abides by four-party agreement terms responsibly.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Washington, rogue EU partners and Kiev putschists systematically violated them.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: No Russian hoards threaten Ukraine.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Anti-Kiev activists act on their own volition.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: No evidence shows Russian involvement.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: UN Charter provisions support all people&#8217;s self-determination rights.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: US and rogue EU states deplore international law and democratic values.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Lawless aggression is longstanding US\/EU policy.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Putin champions peace and stability.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He deplores violence in all forms.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He denounces aggression.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He speaks out forthrightly against it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Times editors lied claiming otherwise.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Putin &#8220;poses&#8221; &#8220;danger,&#8221; they said. They urged &#8220;rein(ing) him in.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;His authoritarian behavior at home, his disdain for the Geneva agreement and, most recently, the capture of a European military observer mission in Slavyansk&#8221; demand tough measures against him, they said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Crisis conditions will worsen &#8220;unless the West is prepared to unite behind serious economic sanctions that hurt Russia\u2019s financial, energy and military sectors.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: So-called military observers were exposed as NATO spies.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Putin responsibly challenges Washington&#8217;s hegemonic ambitions.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He&#8217;s humanity&#8217;s best hope to curtail it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He deserves worldwide praise.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He warrants universal support.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He forthrightly observes Geneva terms.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: No evidence suggests otherwise.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Russian democracy shames America&#8217;s sham version.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Putin heads a free and open society.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Obama heads a ruthless homeland police state apparatus.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: US freedom is endangered.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: It&#8217;s being systematically destroyed.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact : Full-blown tyranny is a hair&#8217;s breadth away.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Permanent war is official US policy.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Unchallenged global dominance is sought.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: One country after another is ravaged and destroyed to achieve it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Don&#8217;t expect Times editors to explain.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Big Lies substitute for full and accurate reporting.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Regurgitating official Big Lies is longstanding Times policy.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Propaganda masquerades as real news and analysis.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Readers are systematically deceived.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Slawomir Sierakowski masquerades as a left-of-center political observer. His opinions reveal otherwise.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Times editors gave him featured op-ed space. On April 28, he<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/04\/29\/opinion\/sierakowski-putins-useful-idiots.html\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\"> headlined<\/span><\/a> &#8220;Putin&#8217;s Useful Idiots,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(M)any American and Western European intellectuals do all they can to minimize the dangerous aggression by Vladimir V. Putin.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Sierakowski turned truth on its head. He claimed putschist-run Ukraine represents &#8220;democracy.&#8221; He called Russian truth-telling &#8220;propaganda.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He called neo-Nazi extremist Dmytro Yarosh legitimate because he&#8217;s &#8220;deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Sierakowski ignored his illegitimate appointment. He turned a blind eye to his open boast about &#8220;\u2026fighting Jews and Russians till I die.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He lied claiming Yarosh pledged to &#8220;fight all instances of anti-Semitism, xenophobia and chauvinism.&#8221; He ludicrously claimed &#8220;fascist phantoms in Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He said independent &#8220;Western intellectuals&#8221; claiming otherwise support &#8220;not just with the autocrat in the Kremlin, but the legions of far-right parties across Europe that have come to Russia&#8217;s defense\u2026&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Who says Russia needs propaganda,&#8221; he asked? &#8220;It already has its useful idiots.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">No self-respecting editors would touch Sierakowski&#8217;s trash. Times editors featured it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On April 28, neocon Washington Post editors<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/obamas-half-measures-give-vladimir-putin-little-to-fear\/2014\/04\/28\/b663885c-cee8-11e3-937f-d3026234b51c_story.html\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\"> headlined <\/span><\/a>&#8220;Obama&#8217;s half-measures give Vladimir Putin little to fear,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">His &#8220;assault on Ukraine has been relentless and increasingly reckless: Forces working with Russian personnel in eastern Ukraine are torturing and murdering opponents and holding international observers hostage.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;In contrast, President Obama&#8217;s response has been slow and excruciatingly measured.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;New US sanctions announced Monday fall well short of the steps that senior officials threatened when the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine began three weeks ago.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It bears repeating. No evidence whatever shows Russian Eastern Ukrainian involvement.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">None suggests self-defense activists commit torture or murder. So-called &#8220;hostages&#8221; are NATO spies.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Putin &#8220;made a mockery of the administration&#8217;s diplomacy, blatantly ignoring the agreement accepted by his foreign minister in Geneva 11 days ago,&#8221; said WaPo editors.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">False! Putin acted responsibly. Obama, rogue EU leaders and coup-appointed putschists violated Geneva terms straightaway.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">WaPo editors lied saying &#8220;Russia invaded Ukraine.&#8221; US supported fascist putschist claims were cited as evidence. None whatever exists.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Inventing them out of whole cloth doesn&#8217;t wash. Nor claiming Crimean reunification with Russia represents &#8220;the first forcible change of borders in Europe since World War II.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Nearly 97% of Crimeans voted to do so. They did peacefully, fairly, openly and democratically. International law supports them.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Don&#8217;t expect WaPo editors to explain. Or call US wars on humanity lawless aggression. Or forthrightly denounce them.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On April 29, Wall Street Journal editors <a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702303939404579531581865909844\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">headlined<\/span><\/a> &#8220;From Kharkiv (aka Kharkov, Ukraine&#8217;s second largest city) to Brussels,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Obama&#8217;s &#8220;penalties look robust by comparison to the European Union&#8217;s latest sanctions list.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The 15 persons now facing EU travel bans and asset freezes include no companies; a lot of provincial nobodies; and some obvious malefactors who should have been sanctioned months ago\u2026&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Events in Ukraine are moving fast, and the next time EU officials meet to make their token sanctions list there may be much less of Ukraine to pretend to care about.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Daily Journal Russia bashing twists fundamental truths irresponsibly. Propaganda bad enough to make PR wizards blush substitutes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Other US media scoundrels operate the same way. Official Big Lies are regurgitated. They repeat ad nauseam.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">They read like bad fiction. They mock legitimate journalism. They substitute for the real thing.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">His new book is titled &#8220;Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div><b>Fact Checking Scoundrel Media Lies<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Edward Herman and David Peterson contributed an important chapter to a forthcoming cutting edge book on Ukraine.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It&#8217;s titled &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Flashpoint-Ukraine-Drive-Hegemony-Risks\/dp\/0986073148\"><span>Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III<\/span><\/a>.&#8221; Watch for it. It&#8217;s coming soon. Amazon lists it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Herman and Peterson explain Western propaganda &#8220;in overdrive,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(D)eeply ingrained Cold War ideology remains in Western capitals and their political and intellectual culture.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;It&#8217;s best understood as a dichotomous or binary system: One side is &#8216;good,&#8217; the other side is &#8216;evil.&#8217; &#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;One side acts on behalf of universal values, the other acts out of narrow self-interests.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;One side helps other countries and peoples to build democratic institutions and good governance, and supports the rights to self-determination, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all countries -the other side as a matter of principle rejects these rights and strives for power and territorial expansion.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Orwell explained his way saying: &#8220;War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Bad guys &#8216;R us. Media scoundrels twist truth their way. Irresponsible Russia bashing persists daily. Big Lies repeat ad nauseam.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>News, information and analysis people most need to know are systematically buried. Malicious daily propaganda substitutes.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Herman and Peterson pull no punches saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The misrepresentations of the US media in dealing with the Ukraine crisis have been spectacular, reaching and perhaps surpassing their performance during the 50-year-long Cold War era, with the notion of &#8216;objectivity&#8217; buried beneath a landslide of biased tone and word usage, rewritten or suppressed history, use of selective evidence, and double-standards.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Their detailed, documented analysis provides proof positive. Media scoundrels regurgitate official Big Lies. Truth is a powerful disinfectant. Burying it is prioritized.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It bears repeating what previous articles stressed. So-called New York Times news fit to print isn&#8217;t fit to read. It&#8217;s rubbish.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It&#8217;s ideologically driven. It&#8217;s one-sided. It&#8217;s over-the-top. It&#8217;s hypocritical garbage.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It violates fundamental journalistic principles. Truth-telling matters most. It&#8217;s nowhere in sight. Bad fiction substitutes.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On April 29, Times editors <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/04\/30\/opinion\/not-getting-through-to-mr-putin.html?hp&amp;rref=opinion&amp;_r=0\"><span>headlined<\/span><\/a> &#8220;Not Getting Through to Mr, Putin,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>US and EU imposed sanctions followed &#8220;Russia&#8217;s involvement&#8221; with Eastern Ukrainian anti-Kiev activists. Times editors quoted Washington and Brussels. They lied calling it &#8220;indisputable.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Times editors call sanctions &#8220;justified.&#8221; They accused Putin of &#8220;bluster.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He &#8220;demonstative(ly) disdain(s)&#8221; four-party &#8220;Geneva agreement&#8221; terms &#8220;along with the aggressive behavior of Russian troops massed on Ukraine&#8217;s borders and the continued occupation of administrative and security buildings in southeastern Ukrainian cities by Moscow-directed secessionists,&#8221; they said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(T)argeted penalties are not likely to change Russia&#8217;s behavior.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Times editors urge tougher ones. &#8220;(T)here will be&hellip;costs&#8221; otherwise&hellip;&#8221;Europe and America (must) join in a unified response.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(A) weak and fragmented response would call into question a longstanding trans-Atlantic commitment to protect international law and democratic values against the kind of aggression Mr. Putin is engaging in.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Sanctions imposed are illegitimate.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: They have no legal standing.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: They violate international law.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Russia alone abides by four-party agreement terms responsibly.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Washington, rogue EU partners and Kiev putschists systematically violated them.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: No Russian hoards threaten Ukraine.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Anti-Kiev activists act on their own volition.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: No evidence shows Russian involvement.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: UN Charter provisions support all people&#8217;s self-determination rights.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: US and rogue EU states deplore international law and democratic values.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Lawless aggression is longstanding US\/EU policy.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Putin champions peace and stability.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He deplores violence in all forms.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He denounces aggression.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He speaks out forthrightly against it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Times editors lied claiming otherwise.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Putin &#8220;poses&#8221; &#8220;danger,&#8221; they said. They urged &#8220;rein(ing) him in.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;His authoritarian behavior at home, his disdain for the Geneva agreement and, most recently, the capture of a European military observer mission in Slavyansk&#8221; demand tough measures against him, they said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Crisis conditions will worsen &#8220;unless the West is prepared to unite behind serious economic sanctions that hurt Russia&rsquo;s financial, energy and military sectors.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: So-called military observers were exposed as NATO spies.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Putin responsibly challenges Washington&#8217;s hegemonic ambitions.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He&#8217;s humanity&#8217;s best hope to curtail it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He deserves worldwide praise.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He warrants universal support.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He forthrightly observes Geneva terms.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: No evidence suggests otherwise.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Russian democracy shames America&#8217;s sham version.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Putin heads a free and open society.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Obama heads a ruthless homeland police state apparatus.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: US freedom is endangered.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: It&#8217;s being systematically destroyed.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact : Full-blown tyranny is a hair&#8217;s breadth away.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Permanent war is official US policy.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Unchallenged global dominance is sought.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: One country after another is ravaged and destroyed to achieve it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Don&#8217;t expect Times editors to explain.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Big Lies substitute for full and accurate reporting.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Regurgitating official Big Lies is longstanding Times policy.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Propaganda masquerades as real news and analysis.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Readers are systematically deceived.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Slawomir Sierakowski masquerades as a left-of-center political observer. His opinions reveal otherwise.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Times editors gave him featured op-ed space. On April 28, he<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/04\/29\/opinion\/sierakowski-putins-useful-idiots.html\"><span> headlined<\/span><\/a> &#8220;Putin&#8217;s Useful Idiots,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(M)any American and Western European intellectuals do all they can to minimize the dangerous aggression by Vladimir V. Putin.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Sierakowski turned truth on its head. He claimed putschist-run Ukraine represents &#8220;democracy.&#8221; He called Russian truth-telling &#8220;propaganda.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He called neo-Nazi extremist Dmytro Yarosh legitimate because he&#8217;s &#8220;deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Sierakowski ignored his illegitimate appointment. He turned a blind eye to his open boast about &#8220;&hellip;fighting Jews and Russians till I die.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He lied claiming Yarosh pledged to &#8220;fight all instances of anti-Semitism, xenophobia and chauvinism.&#8221; He ludicrously claimed &#8220;fascist phantoms in Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He said independent &#8220;Western intellectuals&#8221; claiming otherwise support &#8220;not just with the autocrat in the Kremlin, but the legions of far-right parties across Europe that have come to Russia&#8217;s defense&hellip;&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Who says Russia needs propaganda,&#8221; he asked? &#8220;It already has its useful idiots.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>No self-respecting editors would touch Sierakowski&#8217;s trash. Times editors featured it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On April 28, neocon Washington Post editors<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/obamas-half-measures-give-vladimir-putin-little-to-fear\/2014\/04\/28\/b663885c-cee8-11e3-937f-d3026234b51c_story.html\"><span> headlined <\/span><\/a>&#8220;Obama&#8217;s half-measures give Vladimir Putin little to fear,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>His &#8220;assault on Ukraine has been relentless and increasingly reckless: Forces working with Russian personnel in eastern Ukraine are torturing and murdering opponents and holding international observers hostage.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;In contrast, President Obama&#8217;s response has been slow and excruciatingly measured.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;New US sanctions announced Monday fall well short of the steps that senior officials threatened when the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine began three weeks ago.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It bears repeating. No evidence whatever shows Russian Eastern Ukrainian involvement.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>None suggests self-defense activists commit torture or murder. So-called &#8220;hostages&#8221; are NATO spies.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Putin &#8220;made a mockery of the administration&#8217;s diplomacy, blatantly ignoring the agreement accepted by his foreign minister in Geneva 11 days ago,&#8221; said WaPo editors.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>False! Putin acted responsibly. Obama, rogue EU leaders and coup-appointed putschists violated Geneva terms straightaway.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>WaPo editors lied saying &#8220;Russia invaded Ukraine.&#8221; US supported fascist putschist claims were cited as evidence. None whatever exists.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Inventing them out of whole cloth doesn&#8217;t wash. Nor claiming Crimean reunification with Russia represents &#8220;the first forcible change of borders in Europe since World War II.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Nearly 97% of Crimeans voted to do so. They did peacefully, fairly, openly and democratically. International law supports them.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Don&#8217;t expect WaPo editors to explain. Or call US wars on humanity lawless aggression. Or forthrightly denounce them.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On April 29, Wall Street Journal editors <a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702303939404579531581865909844\"><span>headlined<\/span><\/a> &#8220;From Kharkiv (aka Kharkov, Ukraine&#8217;s second largest city) to Brussels,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Obama&#8217;s &#8220;penalties look robust by comparison to the European Union&#8217;s latest sanctions list.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The 15 persons now facing EU travel bans and asset freezes include no companies; a lot of provincial nobodies; and some obvious malefactors who should have been sanctioned months ago&hellip;&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Events in Ukraine are moving fast, and the next time EU officials meet to make their token sanctions list there may be much less of Ukraine to pretend to care about.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Daily Journal Russia bashing twists fundamental truths irresponsibly. Propaganda bad enough to make PR wizards blush substitutes.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Other US media scoundrels operate the same way. Official Big Lies are regurgitated. They repeat ad nauseam.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They read like bad fiction. They mock legitimate journalism. They substitute for the real thing.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>His new book is titled &#8220;Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-115532","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorials"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115532\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}