by Stephen Lendman

News fit to read isn't The Times long suit. Managed news misinformation substitutes for what readers most need to know.

Truth and full disclosure are verboten. Times editors are on the wrong side of history. They call imperial wars liberating ones.

Perpetual ones are glorified in the name of peace. Society's worst are honored. The best among us are vilified.

Warmakers win peace prizes. Doing the right thing is called wrongdoing. Daily events should scare everyone.

Today is the most perilous time in world history. Peace in our time no longer exists. US waged war on humanity replaced it.

Media scoundrels march in lockstep. Policies they support threaten everyone. They endorse a malevolent system. They support pure evil.

Malicious Russia bashing rages. Putin is public enemy number one. Challenging US imperial lawlessness responsibly isn't tolerated. Media scoundrels pillory him for doing so.

Times columnists, commentators and editors march in lockstep with other Putin bashers. Daily narratives reflect group think maliciousness.

Distortions and twisted logic drown out truth. Big Lies repeat ad nauseam. Readers are systematically betrayed.

Ukraine putschists are embraced. Responsible Russian opposition is denounced. Times editors want Putin punished. On March 11, they headlined "Penalties for Mr. Putin."

They lied claiming he "thr(ew) down the gauntlet: sending Russian forces to seize control of Crimea…" He "concoct(ed) nonexistent 'fascist threats to the Russian population..."

He "refus(ed) to recognize the interim government in Ukraine..." He "call(ed) for a phony referendum in Crimea on Sunday, and a vote in Russia on March 21 whose outcomes are foreordained."

Fact check

No Russian forces invaded Crimea. Claiming otherwise is false. Under Russian/Ukrainian 1997 Friendship Treaty terms, Moscow maintains its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and other Crimean locations.

It does so legally. It's permitted to station up to 25,000 military forces in Crimea. Around 16,000 are based there.

They're not involved in what's ongoing. No evidence whatever suggests it. Times editors lied claiming otherwise.

Kiev putschists threaten Russian nationals. They do so nationwide. Neo-Nazi Right Sector official Dymtro Yarosh is Andriy Parubiy's second in command.

Parubiy heads Ukraine's National Defense and Security Council. He wields power over Ukraine's military, police, courts and intelligence. Yarosh calls Russia Ukraine's "eternal enemy."

He openly boasts about "fighting Jews and Russians till I die."

He calls war between both countries inevitable. Times editors turn a blind eye to reality.

They embrace illegitimate Kiev putschists. Putin responsibly rejects them. Crimea's upcoming referendum is legal. America declared independence from Britain legitimately.

In 2008, Kosovo declared its own. The World Court endorsed it. So did The New York Times. "Independence marks a new beginning," it said.

Hypocrisy defines TimesThink. Crimeans alone may decide their own future. Don't expect Times editors to explain.

Irresponsible Putin bashing takes precedence. Times editors hyped a nonexistent Crimean Russian occupation.

They demand reprisals. They want penalties. "(I)t is time for Europe to join the United States in threatening the sort of costly sanctions that will leave Mr. Putin no doubt that they will not tolerate violations of Ukrainian territorial integrity," they said.

Fact check

Washington and complicit EU partners did so egregiously. Their dirty hands bear full responsibility. They planned regime change. They manipulated Kiev violence.

They support neo-Nazi putschists. They ousted Ukraine's democratically elected government. They replaced it with fascist mob rule.

Sanctions cut both ways. On March 6, the St. Petersburg Times headlined "Russia Preparing Response to US and EU Sanctions," saying:

"The Federation Council is drawing up a bill that would allow the government to confiscate the property of US and European companies in the event of Western sanctions..."

Western company asset freezes may be imposed. On March 10, Press TV headlined "Russia mulling sanctions against West," saying:

"Moscow is preparing a bill that would freeze the assets of European and American companies operating in Russia in response to potential Western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine’s Republic of Crimea."

Russia's upper house Federation Council constitutional law committee chairman Andrey Klishas and other FC legislators "are working on plans to respond in kind to the US sanctions, as well as potential bans by other Western countries."

Times editors mindlessly ignore reality. They support what demands condemnation.

They want Washington and EU partners united against Russia. Perhaps they want open conflict.

They endorse all US wars. They cheerlead ravaging and destroying one country after another. They do so disgracefully.

Advancing America's imperium matters most. So does letting Western corporations carve up targeted countries for profit. Ukraine is low-hanging fruit. It's ripe for picking.

"Mr. Putin must be made to pay for what he has done," say Times editors. They want "serious penalties" imposed.

They support wrong over right. They do it consistently. They do it repeatedly. They're on the wrong side of history.

They support wealth, power and privilege. They march in lockstep with US lawlessness. They shame themselves in the process.

On March 11, The Times headlined "Obama Team Debates How to Punish Russia."

A nonexistent Crimean "invasion" was again hyped. Obama officials are "torn over just how far to go using economic weapons in (their) arsenal," it said.

They believe tough sanctions can "badly damage" Russia's economy. They know imposing them cuts both ways. Moscow can respond in kind.

Cooler heads reject "ruinous options." They fear "a dangerous cycle of retaliation." Corporate America doesn't want to lose business.

What the damn fool in the White House intends remains to be seen. He presides over declining US influence.

Imperial rampaging makes more enemies than friends. Obama exceeds the worst of his predecessors. He's heading America down a slippery slope of decline. He's mindlessly out-of-touch with reality.

His administration is infested with neocon extremists. They're waging war on humanity. Perhaps they'll end up destroying it altogether. Don't expect Times editors, commentators or correspondents to explain.

The Times said Assistant Secretary of State for European and European Affairs Victoria Nuland supports toughness.

She's hardcore neocon. She backed regime change. She supports Kiev putschists. She was involved in manipulating street thug violence.

She lied saying: "We stand with the people of Ukraine..." She was caught red-handed urging regime change on tape. Her conversation with US Ukraine ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt was recorded.

He supports tough sanctions. So do other administration hardliners. Debate continues on whether to act ahead of Sunday's referendum or wait to see how Moscow reacts.

Times editors gave Kiev putschist Oleksander Turchynov feature op-ed space. He's interim Ukrainian president. He serves illegitimately.

He represents neo-Nazi mob rule. He's an enemy of his own people. He's involved in planned plundering Ukraine for profit. He tolerates no opposition.

He headlined "Kiev's Message to Moscow," saying:

"(T)he final demise of the Soviet empire is unfolding." Resurrecting it "failed." He claims Ukraine "matured into an independent state that will determine its own domestic and foreign policy."

Under illegitimate hardliners aligned with Western interests, it's another US imperial trophy. If it can keep it. The jury is very much out. The battle for Ukraine's soul continues. It remains undecided.

Turchynov lied claiming Yanukovych "crossed the line and unleashed gunfire against his own people..." Convincing evidence shows otherwise.

He claimed Russia wants Ukraine weakened. Its strategy involves "prying some regions away from Kiev's control and establishing enclaves in the south and east," he said.

He cites no evidence whatever suggesting it. "Russia needs these frozen conflicts in order to prevent the normal development of the post-Soviet republics and to impede their integration into European and NATO structures," he claimed.

Demagogic hyperbole substituted for clear analysis. Russia supports the right of people everywhere to choose their own future.

Washington seeks unchallenged global dominance. It wants control over all former Soviet republics and Warsaw pact countries.

It wants working people turned into serfs. It wants them exploited for profits. It wants control over global resources.

It wants NATO transformed into a global military. It wants it belligerently transforming independent states into subservient pro-Western ones.

Turchynov regurgitated one lie after another. He did it shamelessly. He claimed lawless putschists rule legitimately.

He said "Russian troops moved outside their bases to occupy the Crimean peninsula. At the same time, (they) have massed along the Ukrainian border."

He called it "brazen...unjustified aggression." Russian forces "blockaded our government buildings," he said. They took over "our communications infrastructure and seized our military bases and weapons depot."

They "provok(ed) Ukraine to respond with force." They want "a pretext for full-scale military invasion..."

Kiev did "everything possible to avoid this trap and keep the peace." It's "prepared to defend (the) country."

"Russia's reckless actions would be unbecoming of Somali pirates."

No responsible editor would touch this rubbish. Times editors embraced it. They did so shamelessly. They did it disgracefully.

They substituted malicious propaganda for responsible analysis.

Why they'll have to explain.

It bears repeating. Turchynov's demagogic hyperventilating doesn't rise to the level of bad fiction.

It represents the worst of irresponsible commentary. It makes yellow journalism look good by comparison.

Times columnist Tom Friedman notoriously twists truths to fit his opinions. Journalism Professor Robert Jensen calls him "scary."

He features "underinflated insights," "twisted metaphors," "second-rate thinking," "third-rate writing," and "hack journalis(m)."

He's "stunningly shallow and narcissistic." He "lack(s) the capacity for critical self-reflection."

He's perfect "for a management-focused, advertising-saturated, dumbed-down, imperial culture that doesn't want to come to terms with the systemic and structural reasons for its decline."

He wins acclaim for writing rubbish. He avoids speaking truth to power. He's not alone.

Times pages are infested with likeminded imperial supporters. Savvy news consumers are best served by avoiding them.

On March 4, Friedman headlined "Why Putin Doesn't Respect US," saying:

He's "caught up in a dangerous fantasy that can't end well for him or his people."

"A wise Putin...would be fighting today to get Russia into the European Union, not keep Ukraine out."

He "prefers to turn Russia into a mafia-run petro-state - all the better to steal from."

This type ranting is pure rubbish. Putin supports peace. He abhors wars. He wants conflicts resolved diplomatically.

He responsibly opposes Washington's imperial rampaging. He calls national sovereignty inviolable.

He's polar oppose US lawlessness. He wisely avoids EU membership. Why jump aboard a sinking ship? Rats jump off, not on.

History won't be kind to Putin, Friedman claims. He yearns for Boris Yeltzin's reincarnation.

He institutionalized "shock therapy." Economic genocide followed. GDP plunged 50%. Life expectancy fell. Democratic freedoms died.

Oligarch predators accumulated enormous wealth. They did so at the expense of millions of harmed Russians.

One scandal followed others. Grand theft became sport. Billions in stolen wealth were hidden in Western banks or offshore tax havens.

Yeltzin let Russia be plundered under his rule. Washington and other Western governments loved him.

Friedman yearns for his new millennium reincarnation. He supports what demands condemnation. He lies for power.

He ludicrously claims Putin "threat(ens) global stability." His policies go all-out supportively.

It's "time we expose his weakness and our real strength," said Friedman. "It requires going after the twin pillars of his regime: oil and gas."

He ludicrously ignores Europe's need for both. He nonsensically claims US natural gas can replace what he supplies.

Maybe he fantasizes about trans-Atlantic pipelines replacing Russian ones. Maybe he needs a reality check.

Readers need legitimate alternative sources for real news, commentaries and analysis. They won't find it on Times pages. Or from likeminded media scoundrels.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com

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