Catherina

Catherina's Journal

April 26, 2014

FALSE. And Ukraine Ministry of Defense has RETRACTED that statement.

Expect a retraction or correction from Western news sites in about a week on page 9c, small print.

Pentagon officials quoted by US media Friday claimed that “Russian fighter jets flew into Ukrainian airspace a handful of times over the last 24 hours,” calling it “a continued provocation.” The officials were not named.

“The unfounded claims of Pentagon officials on the alleged ‘breaching of airspace of Ukraine by Russian fighter jets’ appears to have been based on rumors and speculation,” a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman told Itar-Tass on Saturday.

“Those media allegations are populist in nature, they contain no information on the time and place of the incident, as well as no data on altitude, speed and the direction of aircraft, as well as no other objective parameters,” the spokesman said.

The US sources must have “dreamed it all up,” or “a little bird told them that,” the spokesman added.

The Defense Ministry spokesman called on Pentagon officials to stop “spreading unverified ‘facts’ through the media,” saying that “it does not at all help de-escalate the situation in Ukraine.”

...

http://rt.com/news/155084-russia-planes-ukraine-airspace/

Ukrainian links out there too. Doubters and RT-haters can go look for them themselves.

April 26, 2014

Pushilin says they can be traded only for Pavel Gubarev and 10 other separatists held in Ki

Ponomarjow: OSCE-Mission? No, that's not so, they are military personnel, they are spies...

The observers did not wear uniforms "and they told us lies, said they came for sightseeing"

They pretended to be the OSCE monitoring convoy (even had OSCE label on the bus), that's a big issue here. They also found recording devices.

(Very short English captions start at 1:21 but you have to turn them on)

April 26, 2014

"Russia will take all possible steps to free captive OSCE monitors in Ukraine"

Russia had welcomed the plan for OSCE observers

doubtless based on them being the real McCoy - not bluff ones.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014788712#post10

Yes indeed, back then, before the wild accusations from the West, though this was a little off as you can tell from the lack of immediate and loud belligerence. Finding proof that at least 1 of them was there for months is unsettling.

The good news is this

Sky News Newsdesk @SkyNewsBreak

Reuters: Russian news agency says Russia will take all possible steps to free captive OSCE monitors in #Ukraine

Kiev and the West got those observers in with a new mechanism that had never been used before. I don't think Russia has any confidence in the OSCE anymore. Nor does anyone

The decision to send observers to Ukraine was made by Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, the United States, Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Estonia. They were later joined by Austria, Iceland and Italy.

Under the Vienna Document on confidence-building measures and security, each country can send no more than two experts. No mandate of the OSCE Permanent Council is need for forming a group of observers.

The visit is taking place under Chapter III of the Vienna Document 2011, which allows for voluntary hosting of visits to dispel concerns about unusual military activities. Ukraine has requested all OSCE participating States to send military representatives from March 5 to March 12, 2014, starting in Odessa. This is the first time this mechanism has been activated, the OSCE said.

The Vienna Document 2011 is one of the main confidence-building measures developed by the OSCE. Under this document, all participating States are required to share information on their military forces, equipment and defense planning. The Document also provides for inspections and evaluation visits that can be conducted on the territory of any participating State that has armed forces.

http://en.itar-tass.com/world/722463

April 26, 2014

and.. German FM Steinmeier asking Sergey Lavrov to help

On Friday, Kiev authorities launched the “second stage” of the so-called “anti-terrorist operation” in the city of Slavyansk, which has been one of the strongholds of anti-government activists in the Donetsk region. In the previous stage of the operation Thursday, five activists were reported killed in checkpoints raids, including a 22-year-old man. Slavyansk activists claim the victims were unarmed and stood guard at the checkpoints only to check the IDs of the drivers and to prevent the troops and Right Sector radicals from covertly entering the city.

Inside Slavyansk, stopping vehicles and checking of IDs by armed self-defense activists has recently become frequent amid a tense atmosphere and reports of forces loyal to Kiev infiltrating the defiant city. Protest leader Ponomaryov on Friday claimed that groups of Right Sector members armed with sniper rifles and night vision equipment have been trying to get into Slavyansk under the guise of the city’s blockade by the Ukrainian troops.

http://rt.com/news/154948-eastern-ukraine-osce-detained/

All very true too about those snipers. Pictures of the new Pravy Sektor "National Guard" in their sniper locations are all over twitter.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said four Germans were in the group - three members of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, and an interpreter.

Von der Leyen said contact had been made with the families of the four Germans, and that it was "important we now use all diplomatic channels so the team is released immediately and unharmed."

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov by phone on Friday, according to the news agency DPA. Steinmeier reportedly called for Moscow to help secure the release of the OSCE observers.

The main separatist leader and de facto mayor in Slovyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, has alleged that one of those detained was a military "spy" for the government in Kyiv.

http://www.dw.de/osce-observers-seized-by-separatists-in-ukraines-east-kyiv-says/a-17592723

Oh the irony of having to ask Moscow for their "help" and so shortly after the White House release the G7 More-Sanctions-Coming letter!

By the way, here's that Dmitri Yarosh recruiting for that "National Guard". Kiev's newly-formed Donbas Anti-Terrorist Battalion (not to be confused with "Activists of the self-defense forces of Donbas" in your post) is only one of his units.

Appeal Of The Right Sector Leader Dmytro Yarosh To The People Of Ukraine, April 12, 2014

In these moments, in the east of Ukraine, in particular in the cities of Donetsk and Sloviansk, a repeat of the Crimean scenario is transpiring.

Criminal groups encouraged by Moscow have been seizing governmental security and law-enforcement buildings, take police hostage, force security and law-enforcement officials to resign.

This anti-Ukrainian insurgency is supported by some local government officials and because of total inactivity of central authorities (in Kyiv), especially the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS).

The Kremlin is expecting to occupy eastern regions of Ukraine without minimal resistance from the authorities in Kyiv.

Due to the unfolding situation, I order full mobilization for all structures of the Right Sector and prepare for decisive actions in defense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

I call on all Ukrainian security and law-enforcement agencies to not only stop averting our activities, but also help the Right Sector restore lawful order on the Ukrainian land.

There is a great danger that the current authorities (in Kyiv) will continue the policy of collaboration.

Due to this, I appeal to all citizens of Ukraine to be ready to put pressure on the current government through protests, assemblies, etc.

In the war time, governments should not be criticized. That is right. But it is also important to remember that in the war time, traitors are executed.

All of the Ukrainian society now must show the greatest unanimity.

Panic, pacifism, hysteria about avoiding provocations, and the need to finding peaceful solution to the situation plays only into the hands of our enemies.

Say Yes to national unity, say Yes to readiness of the decisive resistance to the invaders.

Say No to pacifism and capitulation.

Citizens, organize self-defense units, connect with the Right Sector representatives in the regions and join our forces. Together we will suppress anti-Ukrainian insurgency and renew territorial integrity of our motherland.

Glory to Ukraine!

April 26, 2014

Those aren't mediators. They're NATO military officers on a scouting mission for Kiev and NATO

OSCE ?@OSCE 13h

1/4 Comms with military observers in Donetsk region lost.Team not OSCE monitors but sent by States under Vienna Doc on military transparency

https://twitter.com/OSCE/status/459747578297716736

OSCEVerified account ?@OSCE

2/4 All members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and OSCE/ODIHR election observers are safe and accounted for

https://twitter.com/OSCE/statuses/459747682819772416

OSCE ?@OSCE 13h

3/4 Military verification team - led by Germans – and composed of 8 members – 4 Germans, 1 Czech, 1 Danish, 1 Polish, 1 Swedish

https://twitter.com/OSCE/status/459747756631134208

OSCE ?@OSCE 13h

4/4 Military verification team sent following invitation from Ukraine under terms of Vienna Document 2011

https://twitter.com/OSCE/status/459748009329582080

This bus was also carrying 5 Ukrainian soldiers, in addition to the "military observers" from Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland and Sweden. It was a mission led by Germany – but was expressly not operating under the terms of the OSCE mission to Ukraine. They are not part of the OSCE mission and are not "working for the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)" as the article's author stated. They're in Ukraine, as a special team, at the invitation of the interim Coup-installed government in Kiev.

And at least one them, ole Johny Boy Christensen was rolling the streets of Ukraine since November 19 even though the Vienna 2011 cover didn't kick in until late March. They'll be released soon, minus their flash drives and other electronic equipment, in exchange for some people Kiev abducted but we never read about in the Western press. Kiev already received the names on the exchange list. Well, they'll be released unless Kiev decides it's more advantageous to milk all the propaganda they can out of this.

But"Mediators" LOL!

There's a lot more about this but what the hell. DU's no longer the place to rock the propaganda machine. The source of the article in the OP is Thomas Groves, a US reporter currently working for Reuters. The quote below applies:

"Indeed, in my four-plus decades in journalism, I have never seen a more thoroughly biased and misleading performance by the major U.S. news media. Even during the days of Ronald Reagan – when much of the government’s modern propaganda structure was created – there was more independence in major news outlets. There were media stampedes off the reality cliff during George H.W. Bush’s Persian Gulf War and George W. Bush’s Iraq War, both of which were marked by demonstrably false claims that were readily swallowed by the big U.S. news outlets.

But there is something utterly Orwellian in the current coverage of the Ukraine crisis, including accusing others of “propaganda” when their accounts – though surely not perfect – are much more honest and more accurate than what the U.S. press corps has been producing.

There’s also the added risk that this latest failure by the U.S. press corps is occurring on the border of Russia, a nuclear-armed state that – along with the United States – could exterminate all life on the planet. The biased U.S. news coverage is now feeding into political demands to send U.S. military aid to Ukraine’s coup regime.

The casualness of this propaganda – as it spreads across the U.S. media spectrum from Fox News to MSNBC, from the Washington Post to the New York Times – is not just wretched journalism but it is reckless malfeasance jeopardizing the lives of many Ukrainians and the future of the planet."

Robert Parry, Ukraine, Through the US Looking Glass, April 16, 2014

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/16-6

April 23, 2014

(Propaganda Watch) NYT Retracts Russian-Photo Scoop - by Robert Parry

NYT Retracts Russian-Photo Scoop
April 23, 2014

Exclusive: After starting a propaganda stampede – with a lead story about photos of Russian troops purportedly in Ukraine – the New York Times admits the pictures really don’t prove much, and one photo was labeled as snapped in Russia when it was really taken in Ukraine, writes Robert Parry.

By Robert Parry

Two days after the New York Times led its editions with a one-sided article about photos supposedly proving that Russian special forces were behind the popular uprisings in eastern Ukraine, the Times published what you might call a modified, limited retraction.

Buried deep inside the Wednesday editions (page 9 in my paper), the article by Michael R. Gordon and Andrew E. Kramer – two of the three authors from the earlier story – has this curious beginning: “A collection of photographs that Ukraine says shows the presence of Russian forces in the eastern part of the country, and which the United States cited as evidence of Russian involvement, has come under scrutiny.”

...

And, one of the photos featured by the Times in its Monday lead article, purportedly showing some of the armed men in Russia, was actually shot in the Ukrainian town of Slovyansk, according to Maxim Dondyuk, the freelance photographer who took the picture and posted it on his Instagram account.

Here is the tortured way the Times treated that embarrassing lapse in its journalistic standards: “A packet of American briefing materials that was prepared for the Geneva meeting asserts that the photograph was taken in Russia. The same men are also shown in photographs taken in Ukraine.

“Their appearance in both photographs was presented as evidence of Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine. The packet was later provided by American officials to The New York Times, which included that description of the group photograph in an article and caption that was published on Monday. … The dispute over the group photograph cast a cloud over one particularly vivid and highly publicized piece of evidence.”

April 23, 2014

Just wait a few years. Then everyone will pretend they were against it or were misunderstood

Meanwhile in other news today, the Right Sektor in Lviv, neonazi HQs of Ukraine, told the OSCE they're forming a political party

The Lviv team met with the Head of the Right Sector in the city. He declared that all activities of the Right Sector were aimed at supporting the efforts to enhance the defense of the country (including. registering volunteers, providing them with basic physical training without weapons) and that they were co-ordinated with the National Security Council of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He also asserted that the Right Sector had dissolved its militant wing. It was transforming into a political party and did not consider itself to be a part of the "armed groups" mentioned in the Geneva Statement.

4/21/2014

http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/117912

This part is really cute "He also asserted that the Right Sector had dissolved its militant wing." because just a few days ago the same people told the OSCE that they sent 100 Right Sektor paramilitaries into Donetsk.

The Lviv Team was told by Right Sector activists that they had begun recruiting for their paramilitary structure on 14 April. They said that approximately 100 paramilitaries had already been deployed to Donetsk region and were being trained in the eastern part of the country. One of the paramilitaries seen in Lviv was wearing a new military uniform, including a flak jacket, but carried no weapons.

4/15/2014

http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/117787

April 23, 2014

Parry's been a consistent voice of sanity for 40 years

I was happy to see this latest article too.

Meanwhile the same people who've been wrong about everything, are screaming for more war blood at the top of their lungs.

Do they every apologize to Iraq? Afghanistan? Libya? Syria? Vietnam? Guatemala?

No, they just move from country to country, massacring people without ever an apology.

April 23, 2014

Pravy Sektor tells OSCE they're forming a political party

April 23, 2014

Robert Parry: "Prepping for a Ukrainian Massacre"

Prepping for a Ukrainian Massacre
April 22, 2014

Exclusive: As the rhetoric rages out of control, worsening violence in Ukraine grows more likely. Official Washington is readying the American people to view the slaughter of eastern Ukrainians as justified because they are “terrorists” and linked to the hated Russians, Robert Parry reports.

By Robert Parry

Between the anti-Russian propaganda pouring forth from the Obama administration and the deeply biased coverage from the U.S. news media, the American people are being prepared to accept and perhaps even cheer a massacre of eastern Ukrainians who have risen up against the coup regime in Kiev.

The protesters who have seized government buildings in ten towns in eastern Ukraine are being casually dubbed “terrorists” by both the Kiev regime and some American journalists. Meanwhile, it’s become conventional wisdom in Official Washington to assume that the protesters are led by Russian special forces because of some dubious photographs of armed men, accepted as “proof” with few questions asked by the mainstream U.S. news media.

While the U.S. news media is treating these blurry photos as the slam-dunk evidence of direct Russian control of the eastern Ukrainian protests – despite denials by the Russian government and the protesters – the BBC was among the few news agencies that provided a more objective assessment, noting that the photos are open to a variety of interpretations.

(body snipped, read at link)

Yet, rather than assess these events objectively, the U.S. government and the mainstream U.S. news media have slid into a neo-Cold War madness, which may be sated only by the blood of the eastern Ukrainian “terrorists.” That, however, could force Putin’s hand again and take this unnecessary crisis to a whole new level.

http://consortiumnews.com/2014/04/22/prepping-for-a-ukrainian-massacre/

Quote of the year:

"Indeed, in my four-plus decades in journalism, I have never seen a more thoroughly biased and misleading performance by the major U.S. news media. Even during the days of Ronald Reagan – when much of the government’s modern propaganda structure was created – there was more independence in major news outlets. There were media stampedes off the reality cliff during George H.W. Bush’s Persian Gulf War and George W. Bush’s Iraq War, both of which were marked by demonstrably false claims that were readily swallowed by the big U.S. news outlets.

But there is something utterly Orwellian in the current coverage of the Ukraine crisis, including accusing others of “propaganda” when their accounts – though surely not perfect – are much more honest and more accurate than what the U.S. press corps has been producing.

There’s also the added risk that this latest failure by the U.S. press corps is occurring on the border of Russia, a nuclear-armed state that – along with the United States – could exterminate all life on the planet. The biased U.S. news coverage is now feeding into political demands to send U.S. military aid to Ukraine’s coup regime.

The casualness of this propaganda – as it spreads across the U.S. media spectrum from Fox News to MSNBC, from the Washington Post to the New York Times – is not just wretched journalism but it is reckless malfeasance jeopardizing the lives of many Ukrainians and the future of the planet."

Robert Parry, Ukraine, Through the US Looking Glass, April 16, 2014

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/16-6

Profile Information

Name: Catherina
Gender: Female
Member since: Mon Mar 3, 2008, 03:08 PM
Number of posts: 35,568

About Catherina

There are times that one wishes one was smarter than one is so that when one looks out at the world and sees the problems one wishes one knew the answers and I don\'t know the answers. I think sometimes one wishes one was dumber than one is so one doesn\'t have to look out into the world and see the pain that\'s out there and the horrible situations that are out there, and not know what to do - Bernie Sanders http://www.democraticunderground.com/128040277

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