Ukraine is a pawn for militarists intent on degrading Russia and ultimately China in a self-defeating quest to ensure U.S. global hegemony. The end of this war, like most proxy wars, will be ugly.
1. This war was entirely intentional on the part of the United States.
2. Ukraine and its people have been encouraged by the United States and its satraps to take a maximalist position. That this will cause more pain for Ukrainian people is of no concern, much like how we have encouraged the ambitions of Kurdish leaders and then sold them out when convenient, what, six or seven times now?
3. Russia, China and Iran are not natural allies. They have been driven together by American aggression.
4. The rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, sponsored by Russia and China, is a devastating blow to American efforts to stir up strife and also destroys the American claim that Global Gorilla Bully Cop is necessary to keep the peace.
"“Russian-Iranian Deal For Su-35s Finalized, State Media Reports”
This is a pretty big deal and has to be seen in context of the Iran-Saudi agreements that were brokered by China. Some sort of important guarantees were swapped by the two countries and the Saudis felt enough trust that they gave the go-ahead for the Russians to sell Iran 4th generation fighters. In other words, the Saudis are no longer worried about Iran attacking their oil facilities and have agreed that Iran update their defenses to eliminate the threats from the US and Israel. By now, I think that the Saudis suspect the US of wanting to start a war in their region to suit their interests involving them and Iran. If in the next few years both the Saudis and the Iranians received S-400 anti-missiles systems, I would not be surprised to see both countries tie together their system for strategic depth."
A good post in points 1,2,and 4, Mr. Finster but #3 I'm really struggling with. What, prithee tell is a "natural ally"? Because I don't believe that such a beast exists. Alliances come about with countries with shared interests or with countries that have a shared external horror. All three of those countries have a shared external horror known as the United States. Most alliances tend to be temporary. How long will this one last? Who knows. It will, I suspect, all depend on how long it takes for the US to step on its foreskin or become fiscally prostrate.
Fair enough but I'm left far from sated. Your definition implies that allies come in pairs and here we're talking about 3 here. Furthermore, using your definition, I would have assumed that Russia and the EU would have been natural allies. Russia has the oil, gas, and coal that the EU lacks in sufficient quantities and the EU has technology that Russia would prefer to buy than develop on their own. But... ah... it didn't work out that way. The US never gets what it wants through cooperation. It prefers to deploy other C words ... coercion and chicanery.
Actually, Russia and the EU member states would make natural allies. George Friedman of Stratfor has described US policas making sure thst the EU members never figure this out.
The Ukraine is a historically new construction. Until the late 19th century, the Ukraine was merely a region, and 100% of its inhabitants, the Ukrainians, or Rusyns (Ruthenians) as they were called in areas under Austria at that time, considered that their language, or whatever regional dialect they spoke, was Russian (“Russka mova”), and they had zero political awareness or identity separate from Russia (with the exception of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, who were Cossacks, not as presently described, “Ukrainian Cossacks”, LOL.)
The concept of a “Ukrainian language” and the associated identity was constructed in areas under Austrian rule (parts of Galicia and Volhynia), with Austrian support and state financing, immediately after the local iteration of the 1848 revolutions, as a way to quell pro-Russian irredentism among landowners and the Russian Orthodox church in the region. From here on, the Galician literary dialect was also set as the “one and only” Ukrainian language, similar to how the dialect of Florence became “standard Italian.”
Due to Russia’s backwardness, the Russian Empire was unable to standardize its linguistic landscape in the same manner as the Germans and French had largely done by prior to World War 1, or World War 2 at the latest. That process requires compulsory schooling and mass literacy, which Russia did not have until Soviet days. Hence, by the time of the Russian Revolution, the Galician Ukrainist movement had been able to gain some marginal but elite following throughout all territories that spoke Ukrainian dialects rather than “Great Russian.”
This was subsequently channeled, with the Russian collapse of 1917-1918, into the formation of the Ukrainian breakaway state. After this was put down by the Bolsheviks (first and foremost, Ukrainian urban Bolsheviks from Kharkov and what’s today called Donetsk), it again came to life under German rule with the Galician-based Banderist movement.
Most Ukrainians did not vote for independence from the USSR in 1991, but the republic was abandoned by Yeltsin, and thus, had independence thrust upon it. There was a general lack of enthusiasm for the state, a lack of understanding as to its purpose, especially as by this time, almost all Ukrainian citizens spoke Russian as their language of work, at least, and among well over half of the population, of the home as well. In short, there was a near-total ideological vacuum.
The only people who had an ideology… were, well, guess who.
Today, excepting the far northwest, with its dominant Greek Catholic church, the Ukraine is still so similar to Russia (culturally there is ZERO difference)…..
…..that the ONLY way any Ukrainian leadership can aim to make its state distinct, to justify its own rule, is to invent a completely fictitious, phony history of some coherent, historical “Ukraine” that never existed (their school history textbooks are a RIOT)…..
…..and to adopt a “supremacist”, Russian-exclusionist approach and ideology. Like, “We’re not Russian goddamn it, we were never Russian, we will cut the Russian out of us, perhaps slowly, perhaps quickly if we can, but we’ll get rid of it, because the Ukraine isn’t big enough for minorities or two nationalities, so, someone needs to get steamrolled.”
In short, fascism.
The Ukrainian state (under German protection) of 1918, and then again with the Banderist movement (again under German protection, or benign neglect at least) during WW2 and then in exile… were explicitly fascistic. The former, even before the term existed.
I wrote last summer or so, that any independent Ukrainian entity will ALWAYS arrive at fascism as its governing ideology. It just took much longer this time (since 1991), in part because of the dominance of Russian cultural and professional media (and the difficulty in re-Ukrainizing in the absence of a sufficient written base and professional need) and the enormous cross-border family bonds left over from Soviet days.
But, it happened.
Obviously, Uncle Sam has taken advantage of this to establish his 51st state on the territory of the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Obviously, the majority of Ukrainian officials, educators, etc., are just there to get paid. Like people everywhere, they go along and are not driving the ideology.
Thanx, that was indeed helpful. My knowledge is much more historical, going back to before Crimea was a part of the Russian empire and the Crimean Tatars bedeviled Ivan the Terrible. Indeed, that was one of the first things that Peter the Great did was to bring those Tatars to heel. The thing that never ceases to piss me off is the total lack of understanding in the US of what empires are. People seem to think they are aggregates of nation states. They are not. They are blobs that are dived up at the whim and convenience of the central government. Three empires died in WWI. Russia largely came out the best. The Ottoman the worst.
The reason that the US wants a 51st state in whatever's left of the Ukraine is to further its goal of global hegemony and the concomitant dismemberment of the Russian state. I don't think we can succeed at that.
Yes. Prof Sachs is an interesting fellow. I've had my hands full these last few days so, while I watched, I haven't responded. Marshall Auerbach who was one of the original three members of The Scrum posited that the Ukraine could be NATOs Waterloo. The real question is how much power does the US still wield? Looking at Mr. Lawrence's piece that went up yesterday on Consortium News, I gather it's much weaker than I thought.
1. If yesterday's reports are to be believed (and the devil always is in the details), Saudi Arabia is ready to give up its war on Yemen. Lockheed Martin will have a sad, as the Saudis are happy to pay sticker price.
2. The Saudis today changed their mind about offering further support to Credit Suisse, thus making the stock market have a sad. Personally, if I were MBS, I would not want to keep billions in cash and securities in lawless jurisdictions with such little respect for property rights as as the United States and EU, as they will seize your assets without recourse or process of law if you piss Washington off.
Better to send that money to a Nigerian prince or something.
Yes. I assume that this is all a consequence of SA and Iran's rapprochement thanx to the Chinese. In reality, of course, both Iran and SA had to have come to the conclusion that they needed the rapprochement before the Chinese could negotiate the means. The regime in Washington should be terrified. If they think their usual strong arm tactics will help, they are sadly mistaken.
So far most regular citizens of USA (like myself) can’t fathom “not supporting...” poor Ukraine. To suggest any ulterior motive , risks, etc as so eloquently pointed out here -hits a block wall with everyone I know
They’ve done their job well to garner unwavering support for this proxy war
I admit the first few weeks I was onboard... but knowing how USA loves war for their own rewards I quickly was educated by the likes of Mr Hedges and obvious truths-if you open your eyes
How do we get Americans to RECOGNIZE what’s really going on?
Thank you Chris for continually pounding home the reality of these bloody wars 🙏🙏
Belinda how can the American people not see what's going on, since the 21st century has seen nothing but war, except for that short pause when Trump was in office, yet continue to lend support for this proxy war in Ukraine? Maybe if this country didn't discourage a global perspective we wouldn't be so indifferent, or support it's many wars. I never thought for one moment the Russians were the bad guys here and this agenda was in the works for quite sometime and the coup in Ukraine during Obama's presidency was very informative on that account.
What war were we involved in during his presidency. I'm not saying he's perfect by any means, and I just hate those sanctions he imposed and breaking the Iran deal and killing Soleimani, etc. Well, since you claim their was no pause and a new war, name it.
I hope your kidding, I mean using Wikipedia as a source of reliable information, especially on this topic. No way. Trump didn't start the war in Syria, and it began under Obama, and it's a dirty war that continues to this day. Well, go tell Chomsky who hated Trump, but said he was the only Statesman who could have prevented this war and the only statesman who can stop it. I did say no new wars. No way was he perfect, but consider the death toll of Muslims under Bush/Cheney, and Obama and the number of countries destroyed and all planed before we even went into Afghanistan. Suspicious? After a short meeting that was filmed, and after all left but Trump he said to reporters how stupid our wars were, how many millions of people they killed, and how much better that money be spent elsewhere. Give me a good source before I believe you.
It amazes me how celebrities renown for knowing the issues, like Sean Penn and Bono, have looked like under-informed fools when it comes to Ukraine. Shows how effective the media has been in manufacturing consent.
I just saw yesterday that Iran and Saudiarabia is normalizing their relations, thanks to a Chinese peace inititiative. So not everything in this world is bleak.
With a little luck the USA will soon be torn apart by internal disorder and/or economical crisis, in a way that will spell the end of American hegemony. I feel sorry for ordinary Americans, who only want to live a good life, but having been on the receiving end of American imperialism, I find the destruction of American society and the suffering of the American people a price worth paying if it means the end of American exceptionalism.
As a citizen of Denmark, being "on the receiving end of American imperialism" really just means to be subjected to American cultural imperialism. It is not like Danes are dying all over the place because of American acts of war (except of course those of our soldiers who are brainwashed to take part in military operations conducted by various "alliances of the willing").
What American cultural imperialism has done to my country is rather subtle, and it can maybe best be described as a "will to be ignorant" that has taken root in the general population. When it comes to questions of war and peace, my country, which was arguably one of the most peaceful and peaceloving countries in the world before 2001, has now become a warriorstate, where people, who have no idea of the realities of war, have taken over the media in an effort to press the politicians into joining even more wars.
And our politicians have become brainwashed too: Negotiations are underway that will allow American troops on Danish soil, propably after the same model as in Norway, where Norwegian politicians have granted USA the right to keep nuclear weapons on Norwegian soil.
So to me the dilemma isn't really a dilemma: If I get the choice between the destruction of American society and the risk of Denmark being nuked by a paranoid Russia, who fears what nuclear wepons stationed in Denmark can do to the existence of Russia as a nation, the choice is simple: Fuck the USA.
Yankee go home. I really shouldn't be rooting for a Russian victory in Ukraine, but if it means the end of American hegemony, I am all in for it. After all, the collapse of the USA is in my best interest as a human being.
"What American cultural imperialism has done to my country is rather subtle, and it can maybe best be described as a "will to be ignorant" that has taken root in the general population." Very fitting. Today I read several Twitter posts by German speaking folk that stated, in effect: "I do not care who blew up the North Stream Pipelines. Putin BAD, NATO GOOD". Yes, the U.S. is an Empire of Lies, but you have to stand in awe of the effectiveness of US propaganda.
I have encountered many Germans who espouse precisely this attitude. It's like saying "we want to be a puppet government, we don't want sovereignty!"
Unfortunately, a lot of European people and politicians prefer a master-slave relationship, because the slave never has to take responsibility for any decisions.
Your politicians and media editors have been, as also worldwide -- have been corrupted by bribes, threats and “donations”. Country population wishes are irrelevant -- as in the US where bipartisan fascist “elite” defends its world hegemony while we have hundreds of thousand homeless, same number annually die from drugs and already 3% of total US population has illegally entered US in the last few years.
Our vote will not change any of this -- but coming economic, human and military catastrophe WILL and soon.
Stand with Russia and China -- they fight for all of us
Niels: Same things going on in Australia as in Denmark - and a nation (Australia) largely asleep to the dangers of the US - because - well, TV shows, Hollywood movies - a similar language - The Oscars... despite ensnaring Australians into their wars from The Korean War onwards... Jim
Root for the destruction of the corrupted government and the evil military industrial complex ... throw in the New World Order billionaires and we have the triumvirate of evil
The majority of citizens are simply pawns .. the others brainwashed
This is the level of psychopath we are dealing with.
North is a self-proclaimed born-again Christian with more blood on his hands than Pontius Pilot.
Back then, Ronald Reagan the stooge of both the CIA and FBI and the Supreme Leader of the US (he was an informant for the FBI) put forth arguments Weimar Joe Biden is putting forth today regarding Ukraine:
"Reagan claims that military and economic aid to the Contras is necessary "so we'll never have to send our own American boys." He even told congressmen they had a choice between supporting him and supporting communism. But the choice is not so simple.
Reagan calls the Contras "freedom fighters" and has compared them to the Founding Fathers. He claims supporting their war against the Sandinista government is the only hope for democracy in Nicaragua. "
In that case, daily the Nicaraguan people felt the US incursions into their country while Americans were being told that if not stopped in Nicaragua, these wind-up Soviet Union sponsored Nicaraguans would invade us through MX!.
"Reagan claimed that the Sandinista government was a satellite of the Soviet Union, that Nicaragua was instigating revolution in neighboring Central American nations, and that the Contras were merely to be used as a “shield” against any possible Sandinista encroachments in the region. He was able to convince Congress to provide $100 million of aid, some of it designated as “humanitarian” assistance to the hungry and sick Contras and their supporters."
All lies with tremendous ramifications for the people of Nicaragua.
And the same gaggle of criminals responsible for the massacre of Nicaraguans are in power again today: Elliot Abrams, the neo Cons, Bill Barr (Barr arranged for the pardon of those high-ranking officials illegally involved in the Contra proxy war and went on to serve Trump), the Kagan family and of course Weimar Joe Biden who also supported the proxy war in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Orwell noted in his manual for the elites:
"The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. Even when weapons of war are not actually destroyed, their manufacture is still a convenient way of expending labour power without producing anything that can be consumed.
War accomplishes the necessary destruction, but accomplishes it in a psychologically acceptable way. In principle it would be quite simple to waste the surplus labour of the world by building temples and pyramids, by digging holes and filling them up again, or even by producing vast quantities of goods and then setting fire to them.
But this would provide only the economic and not the emotional basis for a hierarchical society."
George Orwell in his book "1984"
Appealing to emotions using sophistic rationality is as old if not older than the Greeks.
This time the US will not escape their folly so easily.
With full control over the corporate media, the war machine has no trouble keeping the public onboard with wars of aggression. In fact, much of the current belligerence of the Biden administration may be in part due to the unpopularity of Joe Biden, who is using the age-old scheme of improving his public status by way of war. In the US, it is an almost universal principle that a failing president can drum up almost instant support and improved poll numbers by starting another war. While this phenomenon is clearly the fault of the war-mongering press, some blame has to be placed on a public that seems to favor war. No matter how many times the public finds out they were lied to about the last war, they cheer on the next one as though the previous lies had never happened.
"No matter how many times the public finds out they were lied to about the last war, they cheer on the next one as though the previous lies had never happened." Having lived in the Empire of Lies for several decades, my take is that the average U.S. citizen by design has no idea about foreign politics and thus is like cattle arriving at the slaughterhouse, except the cattle probably know a bit more of what is about to happen to them. The sentences you strung meaningfully together in your great comment are completely out of scope of the average U.S. citizen. The U.S. is NOT a democracy the same way a truckload of cattle arriving at the slaughterhouse is not. Unless the cattle stop paying taxes that pay for this nightmare will anything change.
While I agree that the media supports our wars, I believe if Clinton had won in 2016 the war in Ukraine would have gotten underway during her reign. Obama supported a coup in 2014 using the most violent gang around, neo nazis, who committed many acts of violence, and got Viktor Yanukovych to leave town. We wanted to be in Russia's backyard and hard to believe Obama didn't know this could precipitate a war. I see it as Obama's war, and Biden's, and it's purpose is to try and drive Russia into the ground. I think the 4 years of Russia-gate was just a bridge to get us to where we are now. People may back Ukraine, but I don't see this as a perk for Biden, and his polling numbers show it. People might be lending their support for Ukraine, but I can't believe they're not thinking this war could become a nuclear one which of course will impact all lives everywhere, or the lives that are left.
Apart from the horrible and pointless death and destruction, what shocks me most is the almost total control the US government seems to have over news media in the "free world." Apparently, it is very easy to manufacture consent these days.
It's more than a little depressing...same is true in Canada, for the most part. As Chris said in a book he wrote years ago......'war is a force that gives us meaning'. Most of us don't realize the depth of our pro war, pro argumentative, pro-fisticuffs natures.
We've been conditioned to need enemies, and react with positive relief when given the permission to hate someone or something.
A great piece, as usual, Chris. However, I must take exception to the notion that Russia is being weakened by the war in Ukraine. To be sure, Russia is experiencing losses of soldiers and machines, but those losses are relatively light, and from Russia's point of view, "acceptable." At the same time, Russia has a seemingly limitless supply of weapons, and it is fighting the war while being only partially mobilized. In other words, it has plenty more to bring to the fore in the event of a wider war with the United States and NATO.
More importantly, Russia is developing increasingly friendly relations with China, India, Iran, Turkey (a NATO member) and much of the global South. These relationships will bear fruit both economically and militarily. Europe and the United States are no longer vital to Russia's power and prosperity. At the same time, Europe grows weaker as it flails about seeking energy to fuel its industries and heat its homes. NATO, including the US, has exhausted its stocks of surplus weapons and lacks the industrial capacity to rebuild them in a timely fashion. In a sense, the U.S. will be strengthened relative to a prostrate Europe, but weakened relative to a defiant Russia and China. Looking at the big picture, that is a downward move in terms of geopolitical strength and influence. Will America's ruling elite recognize and understand this shift in power relationships? I would not bet on it.
"Betrayal is the closing act in nearly all proxy wars." Keep this thought in mind as Russia's war in Ukraine grinds on and the situation becomes more desperate. Think as well of what $113 billion invested in our country might have produced. Railroad safety, perhaps? Drinkable water in Jackson, Mississippi? Climate mitigation in Miami? Affordable housing? Medical care? A tax break for working people?
"Only seven of the 27 entities that make up the Department of Defense received a clean bill of financial health (2022), representing 39% of the department’s $7 trillion in assets ."
In other words, 61% of $7 trillion is $4.27 trillion that could not be successfully audited. The $100 billion given so far by the US to Ukraine is then a) consistent with overall Pentagon practice; and b) pales in comparison to overall Pentagon malfeasance. What the Pentagon cannot account for in a single year is 42 times greater than the total amount given to Ukraine. And if the same proportion holds true for Ukraine, the 61% they cannot account for is $61 billion which is 1/72 of the total Pentagon blackhole (incidentally - is it really only "incidental" - the Navy auditors who at the time were researching the Pentagon budget were destroyed in the wing of the Pentagon which was directly hit by a US Scud (or other type) of missile on 9/11).
Ceterum autem censeo Civitates Foederatae Americae esse delendam.
Thanks for the Latin. [Watch out! Editorial] Latin is part of who we are, and Aeneas' story is our story. I don't say this around my college-educated friends. I don't want to make them feel bad.
As ever, Chris Hedges, a well-structured analysis with all the supporting evidence any of us from our 50s onwards will be familiar with. And now that US with a Forced Posture Agreement in place from a compliant Australian government (A. Albanese, R Marles and P Wong as the central triumvirate) will do its best to make its little southern hemisphere military base "deputy sheriff" a proxy war space when it launches its attacks on China. Then we here in Australia will understand what it is like to be Ukrainians, Iraqis, Syrians, Palestinians, Yemenis, Nicaraguans et al. There are growing calls for the FPA to be repudiated - even as I write the Australian PM has flown from some cricket diplomacy in India with PM Modi to the US to sign deals for unneeded nuclear submarines taking hundreds of billions of dollars from our education and health and welfare budgets to service US shareholders of WMD companies. The Australian PM A Albanese is already bought by the US - and has given up on his promises to extract Julian Assange from US vengeance. It's all depressing, of course! Thanks, CH.
What a great time to be a Democrat! You can belong to the party that supports the Ukraine conflict, use Zelensky-love va Putin-hate narratives to destroy political opposition... and then you can also criticize America for its hegemony and propensity to destroy other countries in proxy wars without sufficient justification.
Where is that cake that I can both have and eat too?
The D elite has decided "let them eat cake." Developed and approved by America Inc, its flavor is artificial vanilla, completely coated by mounds of disgustingly sweet white frosting, containing nothing nutritious whatsoever. Even if you decide you're not gonna swallow that crap, you get to pay an exorbitant price for it--over and over.
“imperialistic” Russia as much as does Russia fear another fascist attack from the West? The fear of the other leads to offensive moves of conflict. And maybe leads to another world war.
It is a dangerous game with much hubris played by the US.
Countries are cajoled into the mindset of the US, by old IOU’s, propaganda, false flag events, threaten sanctions, and fear of others.
So far the major winner of the proxy war with Russia are the military arms suppliers and energy corporations, benefiting by providing natural gas at exorbitant prices to Europe, instead of Russia.
One of the dangers for the US and maybe the end of the US Empire may be the fall of the dollar and petro-dollar as the world reserve currency. Certainly countries hit with economic sanctions by the US realize how vulnerable they are and will look for a solution, maybe the Chinese yuan?? Did the threat of Middle East countries looking to ditch the US petro-dollar lead to their devastation by US hegemony and wars?? I have often wondered why the US attacked Iraq.
It’s interesting that it is the language of the left is deployed to justify the war. The leftists are frothing mad at Russia and lovers of freedom! Left is right.
It’s fascinating that the language of the progressive left has been co-opted and deployed to justify the war. Example: Russia is mean to gays. Freedom is exported as a project of the left.
1. This war was entirely intentional on the part of the United States.
2. Ukraine and its people have been encouraged by the United States and its satraps to take a maximalist position. That this will cause more pain for Ukrainian people is of no concern, much like how we have encouraged the ambitions of Kurdish leaders and then sold them out when convenient, what, six or seven times now?
3. Russia, China and Iran are not natural allies. They have been driven together by American aggression.
4. The rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, sponsored by Russia and China, is a devastating blow to American efforts to stir up strife and also destroys the American claim that Global Gorilla Bully Cop is necessary to keep the peace.
& apparently quite a
Blow to Nutnyahoo too
Absolutely.
Found on internet:
Links 3/12/2023 | naked capitalism
"“Russian-Iranian Deal For Su-35s Finalized, State Media Reports”
This is a pretty big deal and has to be seen in context of the Iran-Saudi agreements that were brokered by China. Some sort of important guarantees were swapped by the two countries and the Saudis felt enough trust that they gave the go-ahead for the Russians to sell Iran 4th generation fighters. In other words, the Saudis are no longer worried about Iran attacking their oil facilities and have agreed that Iran update their defenses to eliminate the threats from the US and Israel. By now, I think that the Saudis suspect the US of wanting to start a war in their region to suit their interests involving them and Iran. If in the next few years both the Saudis and the Iranians received S-400 anti-missiles systems, I would not be surprised to see both countries tie together their system for strategic depth."
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/03/links-3-12-2023.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CRussian%2DIranian%20Deal,for%20strategic%20depth.
his Indictments
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stay Hing-
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A good post in points 1,2,and 4, Mr. Finster but #3 I'm really struggling with. What, prithee tell is a "natural ally"? Because I don't believe that such a beast exists. Alliances come about with countries with shared interests or with countries that have a shared external horror. All three of those countries have a shared external horror known as the United States. Most alliances tend to be temporary. How long will this one last? Who knows. It will, I suspect, all depend on how long it takes for the US to step on its foreskin or become fiscally prostrate.
"Natural allies" are parties where each has what the other wants, and can best get via cooperation.
Fair enough but I'm left far from sated. Your definition implies that allies come in pairs and here we're talking about 3 here. Furthermore, using your definition, I would have assumed that Russia and the EU would have been natural allies. Russia has the oil, gas, and coal that the EU lacks in sufficient quantities and the EU has technology that Russia would prefer to buy than develop on their own. But... ah... it didn't work out that way. The US never gets what it wants through cooperation. It prefers to deploy other C words ... coercion and chicanery.
Definitely Russia and Germany are natural economic allies -- that is why US/UK attacked a NATO country, Germany.
Ultimately that will lead to NATO and EU end.
In summary -- Europe will soon conclude -- Fuck fascist US.
I HOPE SO - HIGH TIME for Europe to stand on their own feet ( get rid of EU and NATO ... this would be my wish list for X-Mas!!)
Actually, Russia and the EU member states would make natural allies. George Friedman of Stratfor has described US policas making sure thst the EU members never figure this out.
Perhaps this will increase a bit your understanding -- about a new 51st US state ;-))
Jacob Dreizin – March 16 -- https://thedreizinreport.com/2023/03/15/silicon-valley-bank-and-donetsk/
As for the Nazism, they can’t avoid it.
A Short History of Ukraine State
The Ukraine is a historically new construction. Until the late 19th century, the Ukraine was merely a region, and 100% of its inhabitants, the Ukrainians, or Rusyns (Ruthenians) as they were called in areas under Austria at that time, considered that their language, or whatever regional dialect they spoke, was Russian (“Russka mova”), and they had zero political awareness or identity separate from Russia (with the exception of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, who were Cossacks, not as presently described, “Ukrainian Cossacks”, LOL.)
The concept of a “Ukrainian language” and the associated identity was constructed in areas under Austrian rule (parts of Galicia and Volhynia), with Austrian support and state financing, immediately after the local iteration of the 1848 revolutions, as a way to quell pro-Russian irredentism among landowners and the Russian Orthodox church in the region. From here on, the Galician literary dialect was also set as the “one and only” Ukrainian language, similar to how the dialect of Florence became “standard Italian.”
Due to Russia’s backwardness, the Russian Empire was unable to standardize its linguistic landscape in the same manner as the Germans and French had largely done by prior to World War 1, or World War 2 at the latest. That process requires compulsory schooling and mass literacy, which Russia did not have until Soviet days. Hence, by the time of the Russian Revolution, the Galician Ukrainist movement had been able to gain some marginal but elite following throughout all territories that spoke Ukrainian dialects rather than “Great Russian.”
This was subsequently channeled, with the Russian collapse of 1917-1918, into the formation of the Ukrainian breakaway state. After this was put down by the Bolsheviks (first and foremost, Ukrainian urban Bolsheviks from Kharkov and what’s today called Donetsk), it again came to life under German rule with the Galician-based Banderist movement.
Most Ukrainians did not vote for independence from the USSR in 1991, but the republic was abandoned by Yeltsin, and thus, had independence thrust upon it. There was a general lack of enthusiasm for the state, a lack of understanding as to its purpose, especially as by this time, almost all Ukrainian citizens spoke Russian as their language of work, at least, and among well over half of the population, of the home as well. In short, there was a near-total ideological vacuum.
The only people who had an ideology… were, well, guess who.
Today, excepting the far northwest, with its dominant Greek Catholic church, the Ukraine is still so similar to Russia (culturally there is ZERO difference)…..
…..that the ONLY way any Ukrainian leadership can aim to make its state distinct, to justify its own rule, is to invent a completely fictitious, phony history of some coherent, historical “Ukraine” that never existed (their school history textbooks are a RIOT)…..
…..and to adopt a “supremacist”, Russian-exclusionist approach and ideology. Like, “We’re not Russian goddamn it, we were never Russian, we will cut the Russian out of us, perhaps slowly, perhaps quickly if we can, but we’ll get rid of it, because the Ukraine isn’t big enough for minorities or two nationalities, so, someone needs to get steamrolled.”
In short, fascism.
The Ukrainian state (under German protection) of 1918, and then again with the Banderist movement (again under German protection, or benign neglect at least) during WW2 and then in exile… were explicitly fascistic. The former, even before the term existed.
I wrote last summer or so, that any independent Ukrainian entity will ALWAYS arrive at fascism as its governing ideology. It just took much longer this time (since 1991), in part because of the dominance of Russian cultural and professional media (and the difficulty in re-Ukrainizing in the absence of a sufficient written base and professional need) and the enormous cross-border family bonds left over from Soviet days.
But, it happened.
Obviously, Uncle Sam has taken advantage of this to establish his 51st state on the territory of the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Obviously, the majority of Ukrainian officials, educators, etc., are just there to get paid. Like people everywhere, they go along and are not driving the ideology.
Thanx, that was indeed helpful. My knowledge is much more historical, going back to before Crimea was a part of the Russian empire and the Crimean Tatars bedeviled Ivan the Terrible. Indeed, that was one of the first things that Peter the Great did was to bring those Tatars to heel. The thing that never ceases to piss me off is the total lack of understanding in the US of what empires are. People seem to think they are aggregates of nation states. They are not. They are blobs that are dived up at the whim and convenience of the central government. Three empires died in WWI. Russia largely came out the best. The Ottoman the worst.
The reason that the US wants a 51st state in whatever's left of the Ukraine is to further its goal of global hegemony and the concomitant dismemberment of the Russian state. I don't think we can succeed at that.
Thank you, Jeffrey. Here is a beautiful and recent short overview by Prof. Sachs:
• NATO show is over -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6De_nPqZxXI
Yes. Prof Sachs is an interesting fellow. I've had my hands full these last few days so, while I watched, I haven't responded. Marshall Auerbach who was one of the original three members of The Scrum posited that the Ukraine could be NATOs Waterloo. The real question is how much power does the US still wield? Looking at Mr. Lawrence's piece that went up yesterday on Consortium News, I gather it's much weaker than I thought.
Is that you Prof. Mearsheimer?
No.
1. If yesterday's reports are to be believed (and the devil always is in the details), Saudi Arabia is ready to give up its war on Yemen. Lockheed Martin will have a sad, as the Saudis are happy to pay sticker price.
2. The Saudis today changed their mind about offering further support to Credit Suisse, thus making the stock market have a sad. Personally, if I were MBS, I would not want to keep billions in cash and securities in lawless jurisdictions with such little respect for property rights as as the United States and EU, as they will seize your assets without recourse or process of law if you piss Washington off.
Better to send that money to a Nigerian prince or something.
Yes. I assume that this is all a consequence of SA and Iran's rapprochement thanx to the Chinese. In reality, of course, both Iran and SA had to have come to the conclusion that they needed the rapprochement before the Chinese could negotiate the means. The regime in Washington should be terrified. If they think their usual strong arm tactics will help, they are sadly mistaken.
So far most regular citizens of USA (like myself) can’t fathom “not supporting...” poor Ukraine. To suggest any ulterior motive , risks, etc as so eloquently pointed out here -hits a block wall with everyone I know
They’ve done their job well to garner unwavering support for this proxy war
I admit the first few weeks I was onboard... but knowing how USA loves war for their own rewards I quickly was educated by the likes of Mr Hedges and obvious truths-if you open your eyes
How do we get Americans to RECOGNIZE what’s really going on?
Thank you Chris for continually pounding home the reality of these bloody wars 🙏🙏
Belinda how can the American people not see what's going on, since the 21st century has seen nothing but war, except for that short pause when Trump was in office, yet continue to lend support for this proxy war in Ukraine? Maybe if this country didn't discourage a global perspective we wouldn't be so indifferent, or support it's many wars. I never thought for one moment the Russians were the bad guys here and this agenda was in the works for quite sometime and the coup in Ukraine during Obama's presidency was very informative on that account.
there was no Trump "pause"
I see you met Fran, may God have mercy on your soul 🙏
What war were we involved in during his presidency. I'm not saying he's perfect by any means, and I just hate those sanctions he imposed and breaking the Iran deal and killing Soleimani, etc. Well, since you claim their was no pause and a new war, name it.
To start, war in Syria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-led_intervention_in_the_Syrian_civil_war#Reactions
Trump continued to waged war on Somalia and Afghanistan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_interventions_by_the_United_States
The US and NATO were also arming and training Ukrainian military during the Trump administration.
I hope your kidding, I mean using Wikipedia as a source of reliable information, especially on this topic. No way. Trump didn't start the war in Syria, and it began under Obama, and it's a dirty war that continues to this day. Well, go tell Chomsky who hated Trump, but said he was the only Statesman who could have prevented this war and the only statesman who can stop it. I did say no new wars. No way was he perfect, but consider the death toll of Muslims under Bush/Cheney, and Obama and the number of countries destroyed and all planed before we even went into Afghanistan. Suspicious? After a short meeting that was filmed, and after all left but Trump he said to reporters how stupid our wars were, how many millions of people they killed, and how much better that money be spent elsewhere. Give me a good source before I believe you.
Stop attacking sources.
Do you deny US waged war on Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia?
Do you deny that these wars occurred during Trump's administration?
Do you deny that the US and NATO armed and trained Ukraine military between 2014 US backed coup and Russian invasion?
These are all well established facts.
I never said Trump started war - you falsely claimed that there was a "pause" during Trump.
Trump was a con man - he was just as bad as Biden. He talked a lot of crap. He armed Ukraine too.
I suspect that you will trust this source:
https://thegrayzone.com/author/aaron-mate/
It amazes me how celebrities renown for knowing the issues, like Sean Penn and Bono, have looked like under-informed fools when it comes to Ukraine. Shows how effective the media has been in manufacturing consent.
I just saw yesterday that Iran and Saudiarabia is normalizing their relations, thanks to a Chinese peace inititiative. So not everything in this world is bleak.
With a little luck the USA will soon be torn apart by internal disorder and/or economical crisis, in a way that will spell the end of American hegemony. I feel sorry for ordinary Americans, who only want to live a good life, but having been on the receiving end of American imperialism, I find the destruction of American society and the suffering of the American people a price worth paying if it means the end of American exceptionalism.
As a citizen of Denmark, being "on the receiving end of American imperialism" really just means to be subjected to American cultural imperialism. It is not like Danes are dying all over the place because of American acts of war (except of course those of our soldiers who are brainwashed to take part in military operations conducted by various "alliances of the willing").
What American cultural imperialism has done to my country is rather subtle, and it can maybe best be described as a "will to be ignorant" that has taken root in the general population. When it comes to questions of war and peace, my country, which was arguably one of the most peaceful and peaceloving countries in the world before 2001, has now become a warriorstate, where people, who have no idea of the realities of war, have taken over the media in an effort to press the politicians into joining even more wars.
And our politicians have become brainwashed too: Negotiations are underway that will allow American troops on Danish soil, propably after the same model as in Norway, where Norwegian politicians have granted USA the right to keep nuclear weapons on Norwegian soil.
So to me the dilemma isn't really a dilemma: If I get the choice between the destruction of American society and the risk of Denmark being nuked by a paranoid Russia, who fears what nuclear wepons stationed in Denmark can do to the existence of Russia as a nation, the choice is simple: Fuck the USA.
Yankee go home. I really shouldn't be rooting for a Russian victory in Ukraine, but if it means the end of American hegemony, I am all in for it. After all, the collapse of the USA is in my best interest as a human being.
"What American cultural imperialism has done to my country is rather subtle, and it can maybe best be described as a "will to be ignorant" that has taken root in the general population." Very fitting. Today I read several Twitter posts by German speaking folk that stated, in effect: "I do not care who blew up the North Stream Pipelines. Putin BAD, NATO GOOD". Yes, the U.S. is an Empire of Lies, but you have to stand in awe of the effectiveness of US propaganda.
well
we're
number
fucking One
N Korea's a Captive Audience
as are We but we're Free to Vacate
if only it weren't for all those PRODUCTS.
I have encountered many Germans who espouse precisely this attitude. It's like saying "we want to be a puppet government, we don't want sovereignty!"
Unfortunately, a lot of European people and politicians prefer a master-slave relationship, because the slave never has to take responsibility for any decisions.
Your politicians and media editors have been, as also worldwide -- have been corrupted by bribes, threats and “donations”. Country population wishes are irrelevant -- as in the US where bipartisan fascist “elite” defends its world hegemony while we have hundreds of thousand homeless, same number annually die from drugs and already 3% of total US population has illegally entered US in the last few years.
Our vote will not change any of this -- but coming economic, human and military catastrophe WILL and soon.
Stand with Russia and China -- they fight for all of us
Niels: Same things going on in Australia as in Denmark - and a nation (Australia) largely asleep to the dangers of the US - because - well, TV shows, Hollywood movies - a similar language - The Oscars... despite ensnaring Australians into their wars from The Korean War onwards... Jim
Don’t root for destruction of American society
Root for the destruction of the corrupted government and the evil military industrial complex ... throw in the New World Order billionaires and we have the triumvirate of evil
The majority of citizens are simply pawns .. the others brainwashed
But I am ready for the fall of this evil hegemony
The proxy war is also at the same time a war against the American psyche.
I too lived in Nicaragua all of 1985 as a journalist of sorts and saw the destruction and devastation of the country where 30,000 died.
We lived under constant fear of attack by either US or proxies in both Honduras and Costa Rica.
The horror has not been lost in memory.
Ollie North recently stated that:
"The Ukraine war will be won with American bullets and Ukrainian bodies."
In an interview by Fox News. Oliver North was asked why 110 billion dollars that the U.S. Congress appropriated for the war in Ukraine.
North says he sees the it as "money well spent".
Further he states: "The Ukrainian people ... are using their blood and our bullets".
Furthermore: "most of that 110 Billion ... is spent here in the United States...an investment"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tsg0MTZv2A
This is the level of psychopath we are dealing with.
North is a self-proclaimed born-again Christian with more blood on his hands than Pontius Pilot.
Back then, Ronald Reagan the stooge of both the CIA and FBI and the Supreme Leader of the US (he was an informant for the FBI) put forth arguments Weimar Joe Biden is putting forth today regarding Ukraine:
"Reagan claims that military and economic aid to the Contras is necessary "so we'll never have to send our own American boys." He even told congressmen they had a choice between supporting him and supporting communism. But the choice is not so simple.
Reagan calls the Contras "freedom fighters" and has compared them to the Founding Fathers. He claims supporting their war against the Sandinista government is the only hope for democracy in Nicaragua. "
In that case, daily the Nicaraguan people felt the US incursions into their country while Americans were being told that if not stopped in Nicaragua, these wind-up Soviet Union sponsored Nicaraguans would invade us through MX!.
"Reagan claimed that the Sandinista government was a satellite of the Soviet Union, that Nicaragua was instigating revolution in neighboring Central American nations, and that the Contras were merely to be used as a “shield” against any possible Sandinista encroachments in the region. He was able to convince Congress to provide $100 million of aid, some of it designated as “humanitarian” assistance to the hungry and sick Contras and their supporters."
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-aid-to-contras-signed-into-law
All lies with tremendous ramifications for the people of Nicaragua.
And the same gaggle of criminals responsible for the massacre of Nicaraguans are in power again today: Elliot Abrams, the neo Cons, Bill Barr (Barr arranged for the pardon of those high-ranking officials illegally involved in the Contra proxy war and went on to serve Trump), the Kagan family and of course Weimar Joe Biden who also supported the proxy war in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Orwell noted in his manual for the elites:
"The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. Even when weapons of war are not actually destroyed, their manufacture is still a convenient way of expending labour power without producing anything that can be consumed.
War accomplishes the necessary destruction, but accomplishes it in a psychologically acceptable way. In principle it would be quite simple to waste the surplus labour of the world by building temples and pyramids, by digging holes and filling them up again, or even by producing vast quantities of goods and then setting fire to them.
But this would provide only the economic and not the emotional basis for a hierarchical society."
George Orwell in his book "1984"
Appealing to emotions using sophistic rationality is as old if not older than the Greeks.
This time the US will not escape their folly so easily.
With full control over the corporate media, the war machine has no trouble keeping the public onboard with wars of aggression. In fact, much of the current belligerence of the Biden administration may be in part due to the unpopularity of Joe Biden, who is using the age-old scheme of improving his public status by way of war. In the US, it is an almost universal principle that a failing president can drum up almost instant support and improved poll numbers by starting another war. While this phenomenon is clearly the fault of the war-mongering press, some blame has to be placed on a public that seems to favor war. No matter how many times the public finds out they were lied to about the last war, they cheer on the next one as though the previous lies had never happened.
"No matter how many times the public finds out they were lied to about the last war, they cheer on the next one as though the previous lies had never happened." Having lived in the Empire of Lies for several decades, my take is that the average U.S. citizen by design has no idea about foreign politics and thus is like cattle arriving at the slaughterhouse, except the cattle probably know a bit more of what is about to happen to them. The sentences you strung meaningfully together in your great comment are completely out of scope of the average U.S. citizen. The U.S. is NOT a democracy the same way a truckload of cattle arriving at the slaughterhouse is not. Unless the cattle stop paying taxes that pay for this nightmare will anything change.
Yes. And its unbelievably depressing....how easily we fall to war propaganda, foaming at the mouth with erstatz patriotism and jingoistic bilge.
While I agree that the media supports our wars, I believe if Clinton had won in 2016 the war in Ukraine would have gotten underway during her reign. Obama supported a coup in 2014 using the most violent gang around, neo nazis, who committed many acts of violence, and got Viktor Yanukovych to leave town. We wanted to be in Russia's backyard and hard to believe Obama didn't know this could precipitate a war. I see it as Obama's war, and Biden's, and it's purpose is to try and drive Russia into the ground. I think the 4 years of Russia-gate was just a bridge to get us to where we are now. People may back Ukraine, but I don't see this as a perk for Biden, and his polling numbers show it. People might be lending their support for Ukraine, but I can't believe they're not thinking this war could become a nuclear one which of course will impact all lives everywhere, or the lives that are left.
Apart from the horrible and pointless death and destruction, what shocks me most is the almost total control the US government seems to have over news media in the "free world." Apparently, it is very easy to manufacture consent these days.
It's more than a little depressing...same is true in Canada, for the most part. As Chris said in a book he wrote years ago......'war is a force that gives us meaning'. Most of us don't realize the depth of our pro war, pro argumentative, pro-fisticuffs natures.
We've been conditioned to need enemies, and react with positive relief when given the permission to hate someone or something.
It is financial control.
A great piece, as usual, Chris. However, I must take exception to the notion that Russia is being weakened by the war in Ukraine. To be sure, Russia is experiencing losses of soldiers and machines, but those losses are relatively light, and from Russia's point of view, "acceptable." At the same time, Russia has a seemingly limitless supply of weapons, and it is fighting the war while being only partially mobilized. In other words, it has plenty more to bring to the fore in the event of a wider war with the United States and NATO.
More importantly, Russia is developing increasingly friendly relations with China, India, Iran, Turkey (a NATO member) and much of the global South. These relationships will bear fruit both economically and militarily. Europe and the United States are no longer vital to Russia's power and prosperity. At the same time, Europe grows weaker as it flails about seeking energy to fuel its industries and heat its homes. NATO, including the US, has exhausted its stocks of surplus weapons and lacks the industrial capacity to rebuild them in a timely fashion. In a sense, the U.S. will be strengthened relative to a prostrate Europe, but weakened relative to a defiant Russia and China. Looking at the big picture, that is a downward move in terms of geopolitical strength and influence. Will America's ruling elite recognize and understand this shift in power relationships? I would not bet on it.
Thank you, Chris
"Betrayal is the closing act in nearly all proxy wars." Keep this thought in mind as Russia's war in Ukraine grinds on and the situation becomes more desperate. Think as well of what $113 billion invested in our country might have produced. Railroad safety, perhaps? Drinkable water in Jackson, Mississippi? Climate mitigation in Miami? Affordable housing? Medical care? A tax break for working people?
Notice that we never hear "but we can't afford it" when it comes time for another war or another bailout for the billionaires at the casino.
But healthcare, infrastructure, education, such things are extravagances that we cannot seem to afford.
"Only seven of the 27 entities that make up the Department of Defense received a clean bill of financial health (2022), representing 39% of the department’s $7 trillion in assets ."
https://blog.ucsusa.org/jknox/defense-spending-reaches-record-high-as-pentagon-fails-its-audit-for-fifth-time/
In other words, 61% of $7 trillion is $4.27 trillion that could not be successfully audited. The $100 billion given so far by the US to Ukraine is then a) consistent with overall Pentagon practice; and b) pales in comparison to overall Pentagon malfeasance. What the Pentagon cannot account for in a single year is 42 times greater than the total amount given to Ukraine. And if the same proportion holds true for Ukraine, the 61% they cannot account for is $61 billion which is 1/72 of the total Pentagon blackhole (incidentally - is it really only "incidental" - the Navy auditors who at the time were researching the Pentagon budget were destroyed in the wing of the Pentagon which was directly hit by a US Scud (or other type) of missile on 9/11).
Ceterum autem censeo Civitates Foederatae Americae esse delendam.
Thanks for the Latin. [Watch out! Editorial] Latin is part of who we are, and Aeneas' story is our story. I don't say this around my college-educated friends. I don't want to make them feel bad.
Hugh: Really, Aeneas. He was Greek, not Roman. Perhaps you have never heard Cato the Elder, Roman senator around 250 BC. You could always Google it.
Greek? I thought he was a Trojan and fled the burning city.
But his story is Roman and the language of the story we have is Latin.
As ever, Chris Hedges, a well-structured analysis with all the supporting evidence any of us from our 50s onwards will be familiar with. And now that US with a Forced Posture Agreement in place from a compliant Australian government (A. Albanese, R Marles and P Wong as the central triumvirate) will do its best to make its little southern hemisphere military base "deputy sheriff" a proxy war space when it launches its attacks on China. Then we here in Australia will understand what it is like to be Ukrainians, Iraqis, Syrians, Palestinians, Yemenis, Nicaraguans et al. There are growing calls for the FPA to be repudiated - even as I write the Australian PM has flown from some cricket diplomacy in India with PM Modi to the US to sign deals for unneeded nuclear submarines taking hundreds of billions of dollars from our education and health and welfare budgets to service US shareholders of WMD companies. The Australian PM A Albanese is already bought by the US - and has given up on his promises to extract Julian Assange from US vengeance. It's all depressing, of course! Thanks, CH.
Great first hand observations of US tyranny. The well inormed history of proxy wars was a hit in the gut
What a great time to be a Democrat! You can belong to the party that supports the Ukraine conflict, use Zelensky-love va Putin-hate narratives to destroy political opposition... and then you can also criticize America for its hegemony and propensity to destroy other countries in proxy wars without sufficient justification.
Where is that cake that I can both have and eat too?
Your cake is rapidly vanishing ;-))
The D elite has decided "let them eat cake." Developed and approved by America Inc, its flavor is artificial vanilla, completely coated by mounds of disgustingly sweet white frosting, containing nothing nutritious whatsoever. Even if you decide you're not gonna swallow that crap, you get to pay an exorbitant price for it--over and over.
Does Europe and others like Japan fear
“imperialistic” Russia as much as does Russia fear another fascist attack from the West? The fear of the other leads to offensive moves of conflict. And maybe leads to another world war.
It is a dangerous game with much hubris played by the US.
Countries are cajoled into the mindset of the US, by old IOU’s, propaganda, false flag events, threaten sanctions, and fear of others.
So far the major winner of the proxy war with Russia are the military arms suppliers and energy corporations, benefiting by providing natural gas at exorbitant prices to Europe, instead of Russia.
One of the dangers for the US and maybe the end of the US Empire may be the fall of the dollar and petro-dollar as the world reserve currency. Certainly countries hit with economic sanctions by the US realize how vulnerable they are and will look for a solution, maybe the Chinese yuan?? Did the threat of Middle East countries looking to ditch the US petro-dollar lead to their devastation by US hegemony and wars?? I have often wondered why the US attacked Iraq.
It’s interesting that it is the language of the left is deployed to justify the war. The leftists are frothing mad at Russia and lovers of freedom! Left is right.
There is no left in America. You mean liberalism.
It’s fascinating that the language of the progressive left has been co-opted and deployed to justify the war. Example: Russia is mean to gays. Freedom is exported as a project of the left.