MARGARET KIMBERLEY—The creation of an all purpose villain is meant to cover up Democratic Party electoral failures, end the Trump presidency, and of course make the case for the American exceptionalism and interventions. Regime change, proxy wars, and imperial conquest are all very much a part of the anti-Putin hysteria. But the Russophobes are playing a very dangerous game. The story of the poisoned man does not take place in a vacuum. While the public are distracted by a tall tale of Putin killing any Russian who ever died outside of that country the very dangerous Syrian war continues. Lies about the Russian government should be taken very seriously. They are war propaganda and they are meant to get public support for military action against Russia and its allies.
PROPAGANDA
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GARY LEUPP—Yemen was governed by a Shiite imamate for a thousand years. It was Shiite before Iran became so. Its Zaydist form of Shiism differs from the Twelvers form prevalent in Iran, although it resembles the Shiism practiced by maybe 15% of Saudis (suffering discrimination in the kingdom). The war is not about Iran’s alleged influence but about Shiism, and Saudi determination to push back what they consider Shiite gains throughout the region since the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
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CJ HOPKINS—”You might naturally assume that these Good Americans would give us the benefit of the doubt this time, i.e., those of us who are challenging the narrative the corporate media has been ramming down our throats since Hillary Clinton lost the election. But, no … nothing of the sort. No, this time, we’re not “terrorist sympathizers.” We’re “Putin sympathizers,” “Russian operatives,” or at the very least we’re “useful idiots” who are helping Russia destroy democracy by “sowing discord,” “disunity,” “division,” and other forms of dissent throughout the West…”
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Propaganda! Pardon Me, Is Mine Really Bigger Than Yours?
28 minutes readANDRE VLTCHEK—If you protest, if you dare say that kicking out and gagging alternative media sources stinks of the lowest grade of censorship, and of imposing some sort of monopoly on propaganda, you’d be shouted at: “What do you know about propaganda? You really want to see some hard-core propaganda, look at those colorful military parades and political speeches coming out from Pyongyang!” Naturally, these are taken out of context and presented (or framed) in a certain way, and only after that are they always readily available on the BBC and other, should we say ‘reputable’ and ‘objective’, European and North American television channels.
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Denying the Obvious: Leftists and Crimestop
19 minutes readED CURTIN—That this is the approach of the mainstream corporate media (MSM) should not be surprising, for they are mouthpieces for official government lies. But when the same position is taken by so many liberal and progressive intellectuals and publications who are otherwise severely critical of the MSM for their propaganda in the service of empire, it gives pause.