Many, Many People, Sites Have Been Good On Russiagate

Check out this great list of Russiagate Skeptics by Koen Swinkles at Foreign Policy Follies: 138 people, 30 sites/institutions. And don’t forget Norman Soloman!

People

  1. Aaron Mate @aaronjmate
  2. Michael Tracey @mtracey
  3. Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald
  4. The late Robert Parry @consortiumnews
  5. Scott Horton @scotthortonshow
  6. Stephen Cohen
  7. Richard Sakwa
  8. Gareth Porter @garethporter
  9. Julian Assange @julianassange
  10. Mollie Hemingway @mzhemingway
  11. Max Blumenthal @maxblumenthal
  12. Rand Paul @randpaul
  13. Ron Paul @ronpaul
  14. Kyle Kulinski @kylekulinski
  15. Robert Barnes @barnes_law
  16. Yasha Levine @yashalevine
  17. Daniel McAdams @daniellmcadams
  18. Stephen Kinzer @stephenkinzer
  19. Justin Raimondo @justinraimondo
  20. Caitlin Johnstone @caitoz
  21. Peter Hitchens @clarkemicah
  22. Thomas Woods @ThomasEWoods
  23. Patrick Buchanan @patrickbuchanan
  24. Stephen McIntyre @climateaudit
  25. Paul Jay @PaulJay_TRNN
  26. Jeffrey St. Clair @jsccounterpunch
  27. Justin Amash @justinamash
  28. Jimmy Dore @jimmydore
  29. Elizabeth Lea Vos @elizabethleavos
  30. Seymour Hersh @seymourhersh
  31. Noam Chomsky
  32. Matt Taibbi @mtaibbi
  33. John Kiriakou @JohnKiriakou
  34. Lee Camp @LeeCamp
  35. Philip Giraldi @philipgiraldi
  36. Oliver Stone @theoliverstone
  37. Will Porter @wkpancap
  38. Lucy Komisar @LucyKomisar
  39. Alex Krainer @NakedHedgie
  40. Mike Whitney https://russia-insider.com/en/mike_whitney 
  41. Andrew Cockburn @andrewmcockburn
  42. Tom Luongo @tfl1728
  43. Alan R. Macleod @AlanRMacLeod
  44. Joanne Leon @joanneleon
  45. Dan Wright @aroundtheempire
  46. Jim Kavanagh @ThePolemicist_
  47. Gregg Jarrett @GregJarrett
  48. Tim Shorrock @timothys
  49. Bryan MacDonald @27khv
  50. Andrew McCarthy @andrewcmccarthy
  51. Abbie Martin @AbbyMartin
  52. Robbie Martin @fluorescentgrey
  53. Tim Black @realtimblack
  54. Lou Dobbs @LouDobbs
  55. Dana Rohrabacher @DanaRohrabacher
  56. Ray McGovern @raymcgovern
  57. Mary Dejevsky @marydejevsky
  58. ‘Moon of Alabama’ @moonofa
  59. Tucker Carlson @tuckercarlson
  60. Dan Cohen @DanCohen3000
  61. Katrina vandenHeuvel @KatrinaNation
  62. Lee Smith @LeeSmithDC
  63. Craig Murray @craigmurrayorg
  64. Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays
  65. Ali Abunimah @AliAbunimah
  66. Mark Ames @MarkAmesExiled
  67. Margot Cleveland @ProfMJCleveland
  68. Chris Hedges @ChrisLynnHedges
  69. Kim Strassel @KimStrassel
  70. John W. Huber @JohnWHuber
  71. Dan Bongino @dbongino
  72. John Solomon @jsolomonReports
  73. Chuck Ross @ChuckRossDC
  74. ‘The Last Refuge’ @TheLastRefuge2
  75. Devin Nunes @DevinNunes
  76. Byron York @ByronYork
  77. Sean Davis @seanmdav
  78. Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
  79. Rania Khalek @RaniaKhalek
  80. George Szamuely @GeorgeSzamuely
  81. Ben Norton @BenjaminNorton
  82. Jordan Chariton @jordanchariton
  83. Joe Lauria @unjoe
  84. Leonid Bershidsky @Bershidsky
  85. Neil Clark @NeilClark66
  86. Dennis Bernstein https://consortiumnews.com/tag/dennis-j-bernstein/
  87. Kevin Shipp @kevin_shipp
  88. Paul Craig Roberts http://paulcraigroberts.org 
  89. Tara McCormack @Mccormack_tara
  90. Adam Johnson @adamjohnsonnyc
  91. Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec
  92. Jeff Carlson @themarketswork
  93. Walker Bragman @walkerbragman
  94. Mark McCarthy
  95. Sharyl Attkisson @SharylAttkisson
  96. Victor Davis Hanson @VDHanson
  97. The Saker https://thesaker.is/ 
  98. Jason Beale @jabeale
  99. Paul Sperry @paulsperry_
  100. Adam Carter @with_integrity
  101. Mike Cernovich @Cernovich
  102. Sara Carter @SaraCarterDC
  103. Tom Fitton @TomFitton
  104. Katie Halper @kthalps
  105. Luke Rosiak @lukerosiak
  106. Pat Lang https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/russiagate/ …
  107. Kit Klarenberg @KitKlarenberg
  108. Lee Stranahan @stranahan
  109. Eoin Higgins @EoinHiggins_
  110. Brian Becker @BrianBeckerDC
  111. Michael Krieger @libertyblitz
  112. the late William Blum http://williamblum.org 
  113. Jeremy Scahill @jeremyscahill
  114. Peter B. Collins http://peterbcollins.com 
  115. T. A. Frank @tafrank
  116. Shannon @Avery1776
  117. Carroll Quigley @CarrollQuigley1
  118. E. C. Everett @ECEverett1
  119. ‘Based Basterd’ @BasedBasterd
  120. Jenn @JennElizabethJ
  121. Rosie Memos @almostjingo
  122. ‘Ghost of Daniel Parker’ @SeekerOTL
  123. ‘BenKTallmadge’ @BenKTallmadge
  124. Brian Cates @drawandstrike
  125. Cassandra Fairbanks @CassandraRules
  126. An0maly @LegendaryEnergy
  127. Doug Johnson Hatlem @djjohnso
  128. Stef Zamorano @miserablelib
  129. Ron Placone @ronplacone
  130. Margaret Kimberley @freedomrideblog
  131. Glen Ford @glenfordbar
  132. Bruce Dixon @brucedixon
  133. Tracy Beanz @tracybeanz
  134. Teodrose Fikre @TeodroseFikre
  135. Piers Robinson @PiersRobinson1
  136. Pepe Escobar https://www.facebook.com/pepe.escobar.77377
  137. Jack Matlock https://jackmatlock.com/2018/06/musings-russiagate-hysteria/
  138. John J. Mearsheimer
Media Organizations
  1. Scott Horton Show 
  2. Consortium News 
  3. Around the Empire 
  4. The Jimmy Dore Show The Jimmy Dore Show
  5. Spiked 
  6. Citations Needed 
  7. The Real News 
  8. The Liberty Report 
  9. The Nation @TheNation
  10. Part of the Problem @comicdavesmith
  11. Antiwar.com 
  12. The Federalist @FDRLST
  13. Wikileaks @wikileaks
  14. Naked Capitalism Naked Capitalism
  15. Zero Hedge Zero Hedge 
  16. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting @FAIRMediaWatch
  17. Humanist Report @humanistreport
  18. LewRockwell.com 
  19. Counterpunch 
  20. Media Roots 
  21. The Grayzone @GrayzoneProject
  22. Crowdsource the Truth @csthetruth
  23. World Socialist Web Site 
  24. Foreign Policy Focus 
  25. Disobedient Media 
  26. CrossTalk @PLCROSSTALK
  27. Black Agenda Report @blkagendareport
  28. Unauthorized Disclosure 
  29. Mint Press News @mintpressnews
  30. 21st Century Wire @21WIRE

Why Ron Paul is Right about Ukraine


To debunk the distortions of warmongers is not to defend tyranny.


U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Nuland distributes bread to protesters next to U.S. Ambassador Pyatt at Independence square in Kiev

How should libertarians assess the crisis in Ukraine? Some would have us believe that a true commitment to liberty entails (1) glorifying the “Euromaidan revolution” and the government it installed in Kiev, (2) welcoming, excusing, or studiously ignoring US involvement with that revolution and government, and (3) hysterically demonizing Vladimir Putin and his administration for Russia’s involvement in the affair. Since Ron Paul refuses to follow this formula or to remain silent on the issue, these “NATO-tarians,” as Justin Raimondo refers to them, deride him as an anti-freedom, anti-American, shill for the Kremlin.

Dr. Paul takes it all in stride of course, having endured the same kind of smears and dishonest rhetorical tricks his entire career. As he surely knows, the price of being a principled anti-interventionist is eternal patience. Still, it must be frustrating. After all he has done to teach Americans about the evils of empire and the bitter fruits of intervention, there are still legions of self-styled libertarians whose non-interventionism seems to go little further than admitting that the Iraq War was “a mistake,” and who portray opposition to US hostility against foreign governments as outright support for those governments.

“Yes, the Iraq War was clearly a mistake, but we have to confront Putin; we can’t let Iran ‘get nukes;’ we’ve got to save the Yazidis on the mountain; we must crush ISIS, et cetera, et cetera. What are you, a stooge of the Czar/Ayatollah/Caliph?”

Some of these same libertarians supported Ron Paul in 2008 and 2012, and presumably laughed along with the rest of us when the neocons tried to paint him as “pro-Saddam” for opposing the Iraq War and for debunking the lies and distortions that were used to sell it. Yet, today they do not hesitate to tar Dr. Paul as a “confused Pro-Putin libertarian” over his efforts to oppose US/NATO interventions in Ukraine and against Russia. Such tar has been extruded particularly profusely by an eastern-European-heavy faction of Students for Liberty which might be dubbed “Students for Collective Security.”

Continue reading “Why Ron Paul is Right about Ukraine”

The Tragedy of Flight MH17: Who Benefits?

Screen-Shot-2014-07-17-at-4.57.25-PMCui bono? Who benefits? Who stood to gain? That is the first question everyone should ask with any potential crime (although of course it’s not the only one). Yet, that is the question that is being generally ignored regarding the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Instead, the western media leaps to “whodunnit?” only to immediately answer their own question with, “Well obviously either Russia, the separatists, or both.”

The reason for this is obvious. If they were to even consider the “qui bono?” question, they would have to admit that there is virtually no way that either Russia or the Donetsk separatists could possibly have expected to benefit from downing an airline full of internationals. There was no strategic value in it, and they couldn’t have expected it to be blamed in western media on anyone else or to do anything other than galvanize world opinion against them. Therefore, if either did do it (which is highly unlikely, given that the Russians were not directly fighting in the area, and the separatists were most likely not prepared to reach a flight at that altitude, given the limitations of their equipment and experience), it was almost surely by mistake.

This does not eliminate any culpability and liability they might carry, but it does make ridiculous their characterization by some as mustache-twirling super-villains, on the part of the Russians, or crazed international terrorists, on the part of the separatists, out to murder any citizen of the free world who wanders into their grasp. It should also knock the legs out from any attempt to use this tragedy as a justification for the U.S. to increase intervention, for the E.U. to increase sanctions, or for world opinion to deny the separatists’ right to self-determination.

If the Ukrainian government downed the plane (which they were fully equipped to do), it might have been by mistake on their part as well, but not necessarily. That is because they, in contrast, could very well have expected to gain by downing the plane, for precisely the opposite reason: namely, that it was very likely that the western media, already sympathetic with them anyway, would pin the blame on their enemies, as of course they actually did.

The situation is similar to the gas attack that was almost used as casus belli by the U.S. for bombing Syria to overthrow Bashar al-Assad. Especially after Obama declared that the use of chemical weapons would be a “red line”, the international fighters trying to overthrow Assad had everything to benefit by attacking locals with such weapons, since it could easily be pinned on the Syrian government, and Assad had nothing. Ignoring this obvious fact, the political class used the incident to (unsuccessfully, thankfully) try to convince the western public to support airstrikes on Syria. And the most likely interest-analysis assessment of the situation turned out to be the correct one, as subsequent conclusive evidence showed that Syrian government forces could not have been behind the sarin attack, and it very likely may have been Syrian rebels provided with chemical weapons by Turkey.

And yet, Russia and the separatists had even less to gain from an atrocity than the Syrian government, since Assad could have at least conceivably gained extremely short-sighted strategic benefits from gassing his enemies, whereas the former could gain absolutely nothing from killing tourists.

Speaking of cui bono, not even the biggest sell-outs in the establishment media stand to gain from the nuclear holocaust they are risking by whipping up anti-Russian hysteria in the west and tension between two nuclear powers. So they should seriously consider going off-script for once, ask the most basic questions, and be honest about the most obvious truths for a change.