Some Saw and Heard the Truth — Then Lied About it: report back after media delegation to the Donbass

by Eva K Bartlett, April 5, 2022

*Following is a lengthy overview of my recent re-visit to the Donbass, on a two day media delegation, with a brief critique of some of the media’s slanted reporting. It is also a follow up from my 2019 visit to hard hit areas of the Donetsk People’s Republic. It is now 8 years of Ukraine’s war on the people of the Donetsk & Lugansk Republics.

Some Saw and Heard the Truth — Then Lied About it: report back after media delegation to the Donbass

The Washington Post Finally Admits The Role of the ‘Far Right’ Azov Battalion in Ukraine

After months of denying the influence of Neo Nazis in Ukraine’s military, the Washington Post has finally conceded the point – long blasted as “conspiracy theory” or “Kremlin disinformation” – about the nation’s Azov battalion.

The Washington Post Finally Admits The Role of the ‘Far Right’ Azov Battalion in Ukraine

WaPo Article: Right-wing Azov Battalion emerges as a controversial defender of Ukraine

Western media goes white nationalist, calls Ukraine more ‘civilized’ than Iraq, whitewashes US wars

Media outlets are calling Ukraine “civilized,” emphasizing that its people are white European Christians, while ignoring or whitewashing the US military occupations of Syria and Iraq, Western-backed Saudi bombing of Yemen, and constant Israeli attacks on Syrians and Palestinians.

Western media goes white nationalist, calls Ukraine more ‘civilized’ than Iraq, whitewashes US wars

The Dangerous Myth of “Left Woke Fascism”

The Dangerous Myth of “Left Woke Fascism,” by Kenn Orphan

Without a doubt, the politics of identity have long been used in order to maintain hegemony and neoliberal policies. It is a cynical, but effective, way to distract from issues of class and capitalist exploitation. And it has been used to silence people who may offer a differing point of view by unfairly casting them as racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. But the nonsense of “woke fascism” has been created by far-right ideologues and peddled by grifters like Bari Weiss, Bret Easton Ellis, Jordan Peterson and Glenn Greenwald who rake in tons of money off this ahistorical, erroneous and dangerous rubbish.

“Wokeness” is a new term, but it is derived from the mid 20th century. “Stay woke” was a phrase Black American workers used to encourage attention to civil and labor rights issues. It was later revived by activists in this century. As is the case of all progressive movements under capitalism, the term was co-opted by corporations as well as the police/surveillance/military sector to whitewash real systemic inequities with feel good, empty slogans or lifestyle choices which simply amounted to more profit for their particular brand.

Is America Whitewashing Afghan Refugees in Albania

Is America Whitewashing Afghan Refugees in Albania

Afghans arriving in Albania will be brought by the Americans for specific reasons. The loosely applied term ‘interpreter’ could be a convenient cover for ‘infiltrator’ or ‘torturer’. Afghans used to spy on the Afghan government or torture their fellow countrymen will have secrets and skills which the Americans may not want to reveal or lose. (Similarly, there may be Afghans who never make it to Albania or America for similar reasons.) Once in Albania, these refugees will be first de-pressured and de-briefed (as were MEK members) and screened for their potential use or benefit. Some will be taken to America, others remain in Albania, and there will be a cohort who, because they are not of any use or benefit, will, as were extraneous, uncooperative MEK members, be ushered into the EU. MEK members who left the group became an unwanted burden. When possible, they were ‘eased’ over the border with Greece so that they become the EU’s problem.