{"id":109767,"date":"2014-03-19T07:55:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-19T07:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?guid=be5228008b226383f3b4da09bd10c5c7"},"modified":"2014-03-19T07:55:00","modified_gmt":"2014-03-19T07:55:00","slug":"pre-and-post-crimean-independence-treaty-propaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/editorials\/pre-and-post-crimean-independence-treaty-propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre and Post-Crimean Independence Treaty Propaganda"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><b>Pre and Post-Crimean Independence Treaty Propaganda<\/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;\">A separate article called March 18 historic. Putin and Russian parliamentarians declared support for Crimea joining the Russian Federation.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">So do 92% of Russian citizens. Crimeans are going home. They&#8217;re legally entitled to do so. It&#8217;s their fundamental right. Not according to Washington. Media scoundrels march in lockstep.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/03\/18\/world\/europe\/us-imposes-new-sanctions-on-russian-officials.html?emc=edit_th_20140318&amp;nl=todaysheadlines&amp;nlid=51912259&amp;_r=0\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">New York Times<\/span><\/a> headlined &#8220;Putin Recognizes Crimea Secession, Defying the West.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He &#8220;signed a decree on Monday formally recognizing Crimea as a &#8216;sovereign and independent state\u2026&#8217; &#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Doing so &#8220;la(id) the groundwork for annexation and defying the United States and Europe just hours after they imposed their first financial sanctions against Moscow since the crisis in Ukraine began.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Throughout Ukraine&#8217;s crisis, Times editors, commentators and correspondents systematically bashed Putin. They&#8217;ve done so relentlessly. They&#8217;ve done it irresponsibly.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">They continue unconscionably. He remains &#8220;undaunted,&#8221; said The Times. Putin provoked &#8220;a clash of wills.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He &#8220;created the most profound rift in East-West relations since the end of the Cold War.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He intends &#8220;redraw(ing) borders established by the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Every time the United States and Europe have tried to draw a line in recent weeks, Mr. Putin has vaulted past it.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact check<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Washington and rogue EU partners bear full responsibility for Ukrainian\/Crimean crisis conditions.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Putin forthrightly went all-out for resolving things responsibly.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Obama, David Cameron, Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel, and Kiev fascist putschists ignited a potential clash of civilizations. They recklessly risk WW III doing so.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Crimeans are legally entitled to declare self-determination. Joining Russia is their legitimate right.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Moscow legally embraced them. Don&#8217;t expect Times editors, commentators or correspondents to explain.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Neocon<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/mr-putins-tactics-in-ukraine-demand-tougher-sanctions\/2014\/03\/17\/c2f53074-adf6-11e3-9627-c65021d6d572_story.html\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\"> Washington Post<\/span><\/a> editors headlined &#8220;Western sanctions deliver only a slap on the wrist to Mr. Putin.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">They want much tougher measures imposed. They lied claiming &#8220;Russian forces extended their invasion from Crimea to an adjacent area of Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Their assertion doesn&#8217;t rise to the level of bad fiction. It doesn&#8217;t wash. It doesn&#8217;t pass the smell test. It doesn&#8217;t stop WaPo editors from repeating one Big Lie after another.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Russia committed &#8220;aggression,&#8221; they hyperventilated. Unless stopped, &#8220;the result will likely be more,&#8221; they claimed.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;\u2026Putin&#8217;s brazenness continues to escalate.&#8221; US officials lied. Not according to WaPo editors.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">They repeated the Big Lie about &#8220;ballots for (Crimea&#8217;s referendum) arriv(ing) pre-marked and that the supposedly overwhelming vote for separating from Ukraine was grossly manipulated.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">What rubbish! You can&#8217;t make this stuff up. Monitors observing Sunday&#8217;s referendum pronounced it scrupulously open, free and fair.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Not a single irregularity was reported. Sunday&#8217;s vote was a model democratic exercise. It shamed America&#8217;s sham process.<\/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 explain. They&#8217;re preoccupied concocting new Big Lies.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It&#8217;s standard scoundrel media practice. Truth is systematically buried. Lies, damn lies and misinformation substitute.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">WaPo editors urge hardball tactics on Russia. They want &#8220;real pain&#8221; inflicted. Perhaps they want WW III.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Charles Krauthammer is one of many neocon WaPo columnists. He&#8217;s a lunatic fringe hard-right contributor. He&#8217;s militantly pro-war. He deplores peace.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On March 13, he<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/charles-krauthammer-how-to-stop-putin\/2014\/03\/13\/9252a64a-aadb-11e3-af5f-4c56b834c4bf_story.html\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\"> headlined <\/span><\/a>&#8220;How to stop &#8211; or slow &#8211; Putin.&#8221; He bashed Obama, saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;His fruitless &#8216;accommodationism&#8217; has invited the kind of aggressiveness demonstrated by Iran in Syria, China in the East China Sea and Russia in Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;What is to be done now,&#8221; he asked? &#8220;Reassure NATO. Deter further Russian incursion into Ukraine. Reverse the annexation of Crimea,&#8221; he urged.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Disregard rule of law principles, he suggested. Advance NATO to Russia&#8217;s borders, he signaled. Confront Russia belligerently if necessary, he implied.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He wants decisive action. He wants Russia &#8220;severely squeez(ed)&#8221;. He wants it weakened and isolated.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He wants &#8220;an emergency increase in defense spending.&#8221; Minimally $100 billion annually. He barely stopped short of urging war.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Other US lunatic fringe members perhaps want it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc; text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052702304747404579445171323503270.html\">Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/span> editors headlined &#8220;Obama&#8217;s Unserious Sanctions,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He &#8220;included a mere seven Russians and four Ukrainians.&#8221; Putin and most &#8220;notable(s) around him aren&#8217;t included.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Journal editors bashed Obama&#8217;s &#8220;gradualism.&#8221; Sanctions imposed &#8220;are more likely to reconfirm the Russian strongman&#8217;s view that (he) has no stomach for a confrontation.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;And sure enough, within hours of the White House action, Mr. Putin signed a decree recognizing Crimea&#8217;s independence from Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Next comes &#8220;formal annexation of the peninsula..&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The sanctions Mr. Obama announced are worse than useless because their main impact will be to make America look weak.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(W)atch out, Moldova,&#8221; Journal editors added. Perhaps they heard the news.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc; text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/rustavi2.com\/news\/news_text.php?id_news=50928&amp;pg=1&amp;im=main&amp;ct=0&amp;wth=0\">Rustavi 2 Broadcasting Company<\/a><\/span> headlined &#8220;Moldova&#8217;s two regions aiming to join Russia,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Following Crimean developments, &#8220;Moldova&#8217;s self-proclaimed region of Transistria has also expressed its intention to join the Russian Federation.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The region has already applied to Russia to accept it in its borders. Transistria broke away from Moldova in 1990 and its residents voted in favour of joining Russia in a referendum held in 2006.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; min-height: 22px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Another region of Moldova, Gagauzia, has also announced its determination to split from the country\u2026&#8221; It&#8217;s &#8220;administration has already announced the formation of its army.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Gagauzia is an autonomous region of Moldova, which conducted referendum last February supporting separation from Moldova.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; min-height: 22px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Moldovan government has assessed the referendum as illegal and illegitimate and even adopted a law, which prohibits conduct of such plebiscite on the territory of the country.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Previous articles discussed Mitt Romney&#8217;s hard-right agenda. He was 2012 Republican presidential aspirant. He was indistinguishable from other party primary opponents.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">They comprised a rogue&#8217;s gallery of scoundrels. They looked more like a police lineup than legitimate candidates.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Romney made millions of dollars the old-fashioned way. His vulture capital tactics stole it. It profiteered unscrupulously. It did so with leveraged buyouts and asset-stripping companies.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It willfully bankrupted them. It left thousands of employees high and dry on their own.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Journal editors gave Romney feature op-ed space. He <a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702304747404579445170801186310\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">headlined<\/span><\/a> &#8220;The Price of Failed Leadership,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;From Crimea to North Korea, from Syria to Egypt, and from Iraq to Afghanistan, America apparently has no good options.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;If possession is nine-tenths of the law, Russia owns Crimea and all we can do is sanction and disinvite &#8211; and wring our hands.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He lied claiming Iran heads toward developing nuclear weapons. Assad must go, says Obama, but efforts to remove him aren&#8217;t implemented, he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Obama doesn&#8217;t act decisively, he claimed. He wants tough action following tough talk.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He lied claiming Putin invaded Crimea. He repeated the Big Lie regurgitated daily. Media scoundrels do so in lockstep.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Obama&#8217;s &#8220;failure&#8221; is &#8220;painfully evident,&#8221; he said. He &#8220;fail(ed) to act when action was possible, and needed.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He barely stopped short of urging war on Russia. Lunatic fringe current and former politicians think this way.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Former Congressman Ron Paul is geopolitically opposite Washington neocons. Crimeans are legally titled to join Russia, he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He called sanctioning Russian and Crimean officials &#8220;an act of war.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Aiding Kiev putschists mirrors supporting anti-Syrian terrorists, he added. They&#8217;re &#8220;based on a moral principle of theft.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He was unequivocal citing &#8220;clear evidence that US-sponsored NGO&#8217;s&#8221; got billions of dollars to &#8220;agitat(e)\u2026Our hands are not clean,&#8221; he stressed.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Meddling in Crimean internal affairs is unjustifiable, he added. It&#8217;s their choice whether to stay with Ukraine or join Russia.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;I think everyone should have the right to express themselves&#8221; freely, he stressed. It&#8217;s none of Washington&#8217;s business what they do.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">America was established this way, he explained. &#8220;It was the right of self-determination, and voting, and asking and even fighting for it, and seceding.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Sovereign people should make their own &#8220;decisions,&#8221; said Paul. Other nations have no right to interfere.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Washington claims a divine right to do it. Empire building defines its agenda. Doing so risks global war.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Unchallenged dominance alone matters. Hegemons ignore potential consequences. Bipartisan Washington neocons think this way. Potential clash of civilizations disaster may follow.<\/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 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>Pre and Post-Crimean Independence Treaty Propaganda<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>A separate article called March 18 historic. Putin and Russian parliamentarians declared support for Crimea joining the Russian Federation.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>So do 92% of Russian citizens. Crimeans are going home. They&#8217;re legally entitled to do so. It&#8217;s their fundamental right. Not according to Washington. Media scoundrels march in lockstep.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/03\/18\/world\/europe\/us-imposes-new-sanctions-on-russian-officials.html?emc=edit_th_20140318&amp;nl=todaysheadlines&amp;nlid=51912259&amp;_r=0\"><span>New York Times<\/span><\/a> headlined &#8220;Putin Recognizes Crimea Secession, Defying the West.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He &#8220;signed a decree on Monday formally recognizing Crimea as a &#8216;sovereign and independent state&hellip;&#8217; &#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Doing so &#8220;la(id) the groundwork for annexation and defying the United States and Europe just hours after they imposed their first financial sanctions against Moscow since the crisis in Ukraine began.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Throughout Ukraine&#8217;s crisis, Times editors, commentators and correspondents systematically bashed Putin. They&#8217;ve done so relentlessly. They&#8217;ve done it irresponsibly.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They continue unconscionably. He remains &#8220;undaunted,&#8221; said The Times. Putin provoked &#8220;a clash of wills.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He &#8220;created the most profound rift in East-West relations since the end of the Cold War.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He intends &#8220;redraw(ing) borders established by the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Every time the United States and Europe have tried to draw a line in recent weeks, Mr. Putin has vaulted past it.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact check<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Washington and rogue EU partners bear full responsibility for Ukrainian\/Crimean crisis conditions.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Putin forthrightly went all-out for resolving things responsibly.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Obama, David Cameron, Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel, and Kiev fascist putschists ignited a potential clash of civilizations. They recklessly risk WW III doing so.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Crimeans are legally entitled to declare self-determination. Joining Russia is their legitimate right.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Moscow legally embraced them. Don&#8217;t expect Times editors, commentators or correspondents to explain.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Neocon<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/mr-putins-tactics-in-ukraine-demand-tougher-sanctions\/2014\/03\/17\/c2f53074-adf6-11e3-9627-c65021d6d572_story.html\"><span> Washington Post<\/span><\/a> editors headlined &#8220;Western sanctions deliver only a slap on the wrist to Mr. Putin.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They want much tougher measures imposed. They lied claiming &#8220;Russian forces extended their invasion from Crimea to an adjacent area of Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Their assertion doesn&#8217;t rise to the level of bad fiction. It doesn&#8217;t wash. It doesn&#8217;t pass the smell test. It doesn&#8217;t stop WaPo editors from repeating one Big Lie after another.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Russia committed &#8220;aggression,&#8221; they hyperventilated. Unless stopped, &#8220;the result will likely be more,&#8221; they claimed.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;&hellip;Putin&#8217;s brazenness continues to escalate.&#8221; US officials lied. Not according to WaPo editors.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They repeated the Big Lie about &#8220;ballots for (Crimea&#8217;s referendum) arriv(ing) pre-marked and that the supposedly overwhelming vote for separating from Ukraine was grossly manipulated.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>What rubbish! You can&#8217;t make this stuff up. Monitors observing Sunday&#8217;s referendum pronounced it scrupulously open, free and fair.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Not a single irregularity was reported. Sunday&#8217;s vote was a model democratic exercise. It shamed America&#8217;s sham process.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Don&#8217;t expect WaPo editors explain. They&#8217;re preoccupied concocting new Big Lies.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It&#8217;s standard scoundrel media practice. Truth is systematically buried. Lies, damn lies and misinformation substitute.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>WaPo editors urge hardball tactics on Russia. They want &#8220;real pain&#8221; inflicted. Perhaps they want WW III.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Charles Krauthammer is one of many neocon WaPo columnists. He&#8217;s a lunatic fringe hard-right contributor. He&#8217;s militantly pro-war. He deplores peace.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On March 13, he<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/charles-krauthammer-how-to-stop-putin\/2014\/03\/13\/9252a64a-aadb-11e3-af5f-4c56b834c4bf_story.html\"><span> headlined <\/span><\/a>&#8220;How to stop &#8211; or slow &#8211; Putin.&#8221; He bashed Obama, saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;His fruitless &#8216;accommodationism&#8217; has invited the kind of aggressiveness demonstrated by Iran in Syria, China in the East China Sea and Russia in Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;What is to be done now,&#8221; he asked? &#8220;Reassure NATO. Deter further Russian incursion into Ukraine. Reverse the annexation of Crimea,&#8221; he urged.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Disregard rule of law principles, he suggested. Advance NATO to Russia&#8217;s borders, he signaled. Confront Russia belligerently if necessary, he implied.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He wants decisive action. He wants Russia &#8220;severely squeez(ed)&#8221;. He wants it weakened and isolated.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He wants &#8220;an emergency increase in defense spending.&#8221; Minimally $100 billion annually. He barely stopped short of urging war.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Other US lunatic fringe members perhaps want it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span><a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052702304747404579445171323503270.html\">Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/span> editors headlined &#8220;Obama&#8217;s Unserious Sanctions,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He &#8220;included a mere seven Russians and four Ukrainians.&#8221; Putin and most &#8220;notable(s) around him aren&#8217;t included.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Journal editors bashed Obama&#8217;s &#8220;gradualism.&#8221; Sanctions imposed &#8220;are more likely to reconfirm the Russian strongman&#8217;s view that (he) has no stomach for a confrontation.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;And sure enough, within hours of the White House action, Mr. Putin signed a decree recognizing Crimea&#8217;s independence from Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Next comes &#8220;formal annexation of the peninsula..&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The sanctions Mr. Obama announced are worse than useless because their main impact will be to make America look weak.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(W)atch out, Moldova,&#8221; Journal editors added. Perhaps they heard the news.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span><a href=\"http:\/\/rustavi2.com\/news\/news_text.php?id_news=50928&amp;pg=1&amp;im=main&amp;ct=0&amp;wth=0\">Rustavi 2 Broadcasting Company<\/a><\/span> headlined &#8220;Moldova&#8217;s two regions aiming to join Russia,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Following Crimean developments, &#8220;Moldova&#8217;s self-proclaimed region of Transistria has also expressed its intention to join the Russian Federation.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The region has already applied to Russia to accept it in its borders. Transistria broke away from Moldova in 1990 and its residents voted in favour of joining Russia in a referendum held in 2006.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Another region of Moldova, Gagauzia, has also announced its determination to split from the country&hellip;&#8221; It&#8217;s &#8220;administration has already announced the formation of its army.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Gagauzia is an autonomous region of Moldova, which conducted referendum last February supporting separation from Moldova.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Moldovan government has assessed the referendum as illegal and illegitimate and even adopted a law, which prohibits conduct of such plebiscite on the territory of the country.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Previous articles discussed Mitt Romney&#8217;s hard-right agenda. He was 2012 Republican presidential aspirant. He was indistinguishable from other party primary opponents.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They comprised a rogue&#8217;s gallery of scoundrels. They looked more like a police lineup than legitimate candidates.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Romney made millions of dollars the old-fashioned way. His vulture capital tactics stole it. It profiteered unscrupulously. It did so with leveraged buyouts and asset-stripping companies.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It willfully bankrupted them. It left thousands of employees high and dry on their own.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Journal editors gave Romney feature op-ed space. He <a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702304747404579445170801186310\"><span>headlined<\/span><\/a> &#8220;The Price of Failed Leadership,&#8221; saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;From Crimea to North Korea, from Syria to Egypt, and from Iraq to Afghanistan, America apparently has no good options.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;If possession is nine-tenths of the law, Russia owns Crimea and all we can do is sanction and disinvite &#8211; and wring our hands.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He lied claiming Iran heads toward developing nuclear weapons. Assad must go, says Obama, but efforts to remove him aren&#8217;t implemented, he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Obama doesn&#8217;t act decisively, he claimed. He wants tough action following tough talk.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He lied claiming Putin invaded Crimea. He repeated the Big Lie regurgitated daily. Media scoundrels do so in lockstep.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Obama&#8217;s &#8220;failure&#8221; is &#8220;painfully evident,&#8221; he said. He &#8220;fail(ed) to act when action was possible, and needed.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He barely stopped short of urging war on Russia. Lunatic fringe current and former politicians think this way.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Former Congressman Ron Paul is geopolitically opposite Washington neocons. Crimeans are legally titled to join Russia, he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He called sanctioning Russian and Crimean officials &#8220;an act of war.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Aiding Kiev putschists mirrors supporting anti-Syrian terrorists, he added. They&#8217;re &#8220;based on a moral principle of theft.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He was unequivocal citing &#8220;clear evidence that US-sponsored NGO&#8217;s&#8221; got billions of dollars to &#8220;agitat(e)&hellip;Our hands are not clean,&#8221; he stressed.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Meddling in Crimean internal affairs is unjustifiable, he added. It&#8217;s their choice whether to stay with Ukraine or join Russia.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;I think everyone should have the right to express themselves&#8221; freely, he stressed. It&#8217;s none of Washington&#8217;s business what they do.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>America was established this way, he explained. &#8220;It was the right of self-determination, and voting, and asking and even fighting for it, and seceding.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Sovereign people should make their own &#8220;decisions,&#8221; said Paul. Other nations have no right to interfere.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Washington claims a divine right to do it. Empire building defines its agenda. Doing so risks global war.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Unchallenged dominance alone matters. Hegemons ignore potential consequences. Bipartisan Washington neocons think this way. Potential clash of civilizations disaster may follow.<\/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 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-109767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorials"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109767\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}