By: Cliff Kincaid
Accuracy in Media
Left-wing “progressives” and the “libertarian” Infowars.com website of Alex Jones are having a nervous breakdown over events in Ukraine. The anti-communist revolution has the potential to reveal who is really committed to the notion of a “Free World” and seek to protect it against a resurgent Russia. There are lessons here for freedom-loving people around the world.
Ukrainian-Americans are elated. “The Ukrainian revolution has won today and it’s very emotional for me,” writes Oleg Atbashian, a writer and graphic artist from the former USSR who was born and raised in Ukraine. Oleg is the founder of the People’s Cube website, which exposes with ridicule the schemes of the communists and their fellow travelers, the progressives.
One of his latest entries is about the growing number of Lenin statues being toppled in Ukraine: “Despite severe weather conditions, the plan to topple Lenin statues in Ukraine has been successfully completed this month, ahead of schedule. The government of the former Soviet republic is happy to report that the quota of toppling monuments to Vladimir Lenin and other communist leaders has been met and in some places exceeded, with toppling of a number of unrelated statues in the process.”
In reality, this humorous entry isn’t far from the truth. A “Good Bye Lenin” website shows the number of Lenin statues being toppled so far. A video shows some being toppled while this photo list has pictures of the statues that have been targeted.
On the left, however, journalist Robert Parry is disappointed with the anti-communist revolution in Ukraine and the overthrow of the “pro-Russian government.” He calls it a “coup” and setback for President Obama’s foreign policy.
“As President,” Parry writes, “Obama has sought a more cooperative relationship with Russia’s Putin and, generally, a less belligerent approach toward adversarial countries. Obama has been supported by an inner circle at the White House with analytical assistance from some elements of the U.S. intelligence community.”
This used to be called “appeasement.” It still seems to be the left’s foreign policy.
Using the kind of language we see coming out of Moscow, whose puppet in Ukraine has been overthrown, Parry refers to the revolutionaries in Ukraine as “neo-fascist storm troopers,” “neo-Nazi militias” and “right-wing armed patrols.”
It appears that Parry is auditioning for a show on RT (Russia Today), the Moscow-funded propaganda network that is available on many U.S. cable and satellite systems, such as Comcast. His colleague, Thom Hartmann, described as the #1 progressive radio talk-show host in the U.S., is already on RT, doing a program called “The Big Picture.” He takes Russian money without apology, but recoils when questioned about it.
The “Big Picture” is that events in Ukraine have exposed the pro-Russian sensibilities of the “progressive” left in the United States. They do not want to see anti-communism succeed under any circumstances. If anti-communism can win in Ukraine, perhaps it can make a comeback in other countries, like Venezuela or even the U.S.!
A press release with the headline, “Ukraine: Coup with Far Right Calling Shots,” comes from the Institute for Public Accuracy, a group supported by Barbra Streisand. It offered up a commentator who has expressed alarm that the new Ukrainian government is threatening to outlaw the Communist Party of Ukraine.
Such widely-watched leftist programs as “Democracy Now!,” hosted by Amy Goodman, have insisted that the country’s “democratically elected president” has been overthrown and question the nature of the revolution in Ukraine. While Viktor Yanukovych did win an election in 2010, by 49 percent to 46 percent, he consolidated his power in an illegal and unconstitutional way, raising serious questions about whether the next presidential election in March 2015 would be free and fair. Then his police opened fire on peaceful protesters.
Part of his plan, which we are seeing unfold in the U.S. under Obama’s FCC, was to stifle dissident voices.
Freedom House pointed out, “The media [in Ukraine] do not provide the population with unbiased information, as business magnates with varying political interests own and influence many outlets, and the state exercises politicized control over a nationwide television network and television stations at the regional level. Some 69 percent of Ukrainians get their news from television, and the medium now features fewer alternative points of view, open discussions, and expert opinions than in previous years.” It added that “Pressure on independent media increased dramatically during 2013.”
The anti-freedom forces on the left have been joined by Alex Jones on the right in denouncing the uprising in Ukraine. One can find any number of stories on the Jones website echoing what the left is saying. In the past, Jones has defended the Russian invasion of Georgia, a former Soviet republic like Ukraine. Lyndon LaRouche, a convicted felon who began his career as a Marxist, was recently on the Alex Jones radio show warning about the “destabilization of Ukraine” by the West, and a “potential thermonuclear war with Russia.”
One is tempted to ignore or dismiss these absurd claims, except for the fact that Jones is taken seriously by many libertarians who have come to believe the U.S. is far more of a danger to the world than Putin’s Russia. Jones is closely associated with former Congressman Ron Paul and his son, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY). In fact, Jones raised money for their political campaigns.
While Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) has been outspoken against Russia’s designs on Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, Senator Rand Paul has been strangely silent. “The Free World Stands with the People of Ukraine” was the headline over the press release from Cruz’s office. “The world cannot afford to be distracted by the Olympic festivities in Sochi as just next door liberty-seeking Ukrainians are brutalized by their own government.”
Meanwhile, Senator Paul was winning applause from the left by testifying in favor of voting rights for convicted felons and continuing his campaign against the NSA.
One charge we usually hear from the crowd associated with Alex Jones, designed to appeal to conservatives, is that George Soros and his Open Society Institute are somehow implicated in the revolution in Ukraine and controlling events behind the scenes. Freedom fighters in Ukraine are described by Alex Jones writer Kurt Nimmo as “Soros activists,” a smear term, and linked somehow to the CIA.
Like much of what we hear from Jones and his ilk, this is disinformation designed to confuse people and benefit Russia. Inevitably, these accounts trace back to a website, Global Research, which warns that the revolution in Ukraine could “threaten Russia.” The Nimmo story is directly sourced to an article by Peter Schwarz, a regular contributor to Global Research who is secretary of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), which considers itself as the leader of the world socialist movement. Schwarz is also a member of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist website.
The fact that a “libertarian” site would link to such a source speaks volumes about the nature of the media today and the special interests manipulating international news coverage.
While it’s true that the Soros-affiliated International Renaissance Foundation is active in Ukraine, it has played a minor role. Nevertheless, it appears that Soros has come down on the right side of this conflict, for his own reasons, and that if the past is any guide he will want to take the country in a “progressive” direction.
But just because Soros has a hand in Ukraine (and dozens of other countries) does not mean that his vision for the country will emerge as predominant. That is up to the people to determine. In Ukraine, the anti-communist nature of the revolution should help make the Soros vision impossible to implement. These people have shown they are smart enough to understand and recognize the bankruptcy of Marxism.
Ukraine may serve as an example of what can be done when Marxists think they can consolidate their power and oppress the people. Perhaps Venezuela and Russia will provide more examples. Can America be far behind?
Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism and can be contacted at [email protected]”>[email protected]. View the complete archives from Cliff Kincaid.
