Endless NYT Propaganda War on Russia
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
The Times long ago abandoned journalism the way it’s supposed to be. All the news it claims fit to print isn’t fit to read.
Its daily editions feature state-approved managed news misinformation and disinformation — notably against sovereign independent nations on the US target list for regime change.
Russia notably has been a prime target since its 1917 revolution, ending its czarist dictatorship.
Except during WW II and Boris Yeltsin’s 1990s rule, Times anti-Russia propaganda was and remains relentless, notably throughout the Vladimir Putin era, the nation’s most distinguished ever political leader.
When Yeltsin died in April 2007, the Times shamefully called him “a Soviet-era reformer…the country’s democratic father…and later a towering figure of his time as the first freely elected leader of Russia, presiding over the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the demise of the Communist Party (sic).”
He presided over Russia’s lost decade. Under him, over half the population became impoverished.
His adoption of US shock therapy produced economic genocide. GDP plunged 50%. Life expectancy fell sharply.
Democratic freedoms died. An oligarch class accumulated enormous wealth.
Western interests profited at the expense of millions of exploited Russians.
Yeltsin let corruption and criminality flourish. One scandal followed others. Grand theft became sport. So did money laundering.
Billions in stolen wealth were secreted in Western banks and offshore tax havens.
A critic reviled him, saying throughout much of his tenure, he “slept, drank, was ill, relaxed, didn’t show his face before the people and simply did nothing,” adding:
“Despised by the majority of (Russians, he’ll) go down in history as the first president of Russia, having corrupted (the country) to the breaking point, not by his virtues and or by his defects, but rather by his dullness, primitiveness, and unbridled power lust of a hooligan.”
He was a Western/establishment media favorite, notably by the Times, mindless of the human misery and economic wreckage he caused.
Putin is a preeminent world leader, towering over his inferior Western counterparts, especially in the US, why the Times reviles him.
On Monday, its propaganda machine falsely accused him of waging a long war on US science, claiming he’s promoting disinformation to “encourage the spread of deadly illnesses (sic).”
Not a shred of evidence was presented because none exists. The Times’ disinformation report was slammed in a preceding article.
On Wednesday, the self-styled newspaper of record was at it again — reactivating the Big Lie that won’t die, saying with no corroborating evidence that “Russia may have sown disinformation in a dossier used to investigate a former Trump campaign aide (sic),” adding:
“Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide with numerous links to Russia…was probably a Russian agent (sic).”
Disinformation the Times cited came from former UK intelligence agent Christopher Steele’s dodgy dossier, financed by the DNC and Hillary campaign.
Its spurious accusations were exposed as fake news, notably phony accusations of Russian US election interference that didn’t happened.
Probes by Robert Mueller, House and Senate committees found no credible evidence of an illegal or improper Trump campaign connection to Russia or election interference by the Kremlin — because there was none of either.
According to the Times, Steele’s dodgy dossier “was potentially influenced by a ‘Russian disinformation campaign to denigrate US foreign relations,’ ” citing FBI Big Lies as its source.
Another article on Russia this week claimed “many people who don’t work for the government or in deep-pocketed state enterprises face economic devastation,” adding:
Domestic violence increased because of social distancing and sheltering in place.
Not mentioned in the article is that mass unemployment and other COVID-19 fallout affect Western and other countries adversely.
Putin was slammed for sending COVID-19 aid to the US, calling it “a propaganda coup for the Kremlin — tempered by an intensifying epidemic at home.”
Outbreaks in Russia are a small fraction of US numbers, around 21,000 through Wednesday — compared to nearly 650,000 in the US and over 28,000 deaths.
Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Britain have five-to-eightfold more outbreaks than Russia.
NYC has over 110,000 cases. In the NY, NJ, CT tristate area, around 300,000 cases were reported, almost as many COVID-19 deaths as outbreaks in Russia — through Wednesday.
Putin is dealing with what’s going on responsibly, stressing “we certainly must not relax, as long as outbreaks occur.
A paid holiday is in effect through end of April for Russian workers, likely to be extended if needed.
Essential workers continue on the job — at home if able, otherwise operating as before.
National efforts continue to control outbreaks, aid ordinary Russians at a time of duress, and work to restore more normal conditions.
While dealing with outbreaks at home, Russia supplied Italy, Serbia, and the US with aid to combat the virus.
Yet Pompeo falsely accused Russia, China, and Iran with spreading disinformation about COVID-19.
Gratitude and good will aren’t US attributes, just the opposite.
VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home – Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
My newest book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
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