Windows to Russia

Author: Pepe Escobar March 30, 201

Asia Times’ roving correspondent Pepe Escobar just returned from a reporting trip to the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the pro-Russian enclave in the Donetsk Oblast province of eastern Ukraine. The area’s been the scene of heavy fighting between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military.

I’ve just been to the struggling Donetsk People’s Republic. Now I’m back in the splendid arrogance and insolence of NATOstan.

Quite a few people – in Donbass, in Moscow, and now in Europe – have asked me what struck me most about this visit.

I could start by paraphrasing Allen Ginsberg in Howl – “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness”.

But these were the Cold War mid-1950s. Now we’re in early 21st century Cold War 2.0 .

Thus what I saw were the ghastly side effects of the worst minds of my – and a subsequent – generation corroded by (war) madness.

I saw refugees on the Russian side of the border, mostly your average middle-class European family whose kids, when they first came to the shelter,  would duck under tables when they heard a plane in the sky.

I saw the Dylan of Donetsk holed up in his lonely room in a veterans’ home turned refugee shelter fighting the blues and the hopelessness by singing songs of love and heroism.

I saw whole families holed up in fully decorated Soviet-era bomb shelters too afraid to go out even by daylight, traumatized by the bombings orchestrated by Kiev’s “anti-terrorist operations”.

I saw a modern, hard-working industrial city at least half-empty and partially destroyed but not bent, able to survive by their guts and guile with a little help from Russian humanitarian convoys.

I saw beautiful girls hangin’ out by Lenin’s statue in a central square lamenting their only shot at fun was family parties in each other’s houses because nightlife was dead and “we’re at war”.

I saw virtually the whole neighborhood of Oktyabrski near the airport bombed out like Grozny and practically deserted except for a few lonely babushkas with nowhere to go and too proud to relinquish their family photos of World War II heroes.

I saw checkpoints like I was back in Baghdad during the Petraeus surge.

I saw the main trauma doctor at the key Donetsk hospital confirm there has been no Red Cross and no international humanitarian help to the people of Donetsk.

Oktyabrski neighborhood, bombed hospital

I saw Stanislava, one of DPR’s finest and an expert sniper, in charge of our security, cry when she laid a flower on the ground of a fierce battle in which her squad was under heavy fire, with twenty seriously wounded and one dead, and she was hit by shrapnel and survived.

I saw orthodox churches fully destroyed by Kiev’s bombing.

I saw the Russian flag still on top of the anti-Maidan building which is now the House of Government of the DPR.

I saw the gleaming Donbass arena, the home of Shaktar Donetsk and a UFO in a war-torn city, deserted and without a single soul in the fan area.

I saw Donetsk’s railway station bombed by Kiev’s goons.

I saw a homeless man screaming “Robert Plant!” and “Jimmy Page!” as I found out he was still in love with Led Zeppelin and kept his vinyl copies.

I saw a row of books which never surrendered behind the cracked windows of bombed out Oktyabrski.

I saw the fresh graves where the DPR buries their resistance heroes.

I saw the top of the hill at Saur-mogila which the DPR resistance lost and then reconquered, with a lone red-white-blue flag now waving in the wind.

Top of the hill at Saur-moglia

I saw the Superman rising from the destruction at Saur-mogila – the fallen statue in a monument to World War II heroes, which seventy years ago was fighting fascism and now has been hit, but not destroyed, by fascists.

I saw the Debaltsevo cauldron in the distance and then I could fully appreciate, geographically, how DPR tactics surrounded and squeezed the demoralized Kiev fighters.

I saw the DPR’s military practicing their drills by the roadside from Donetsk to Lugansk.

I saw the DPR’s Foreign Minister hopeful there would be a political solution instead of war while admitting personally he dreams of a DPR as an independent nation.

I saw two badass Cossack commanders tell me in a horse-breeding farm in holy Cossack land that the real war has not even started.

I did not see the totally destroyed Donetsk airport because the DPR’s military were too concerned about our safety and would not grant us a permit while the airport was being hit – in defiance of Minsk 2; but I saw the destruction and the pile of Ukrainian army bodies on the mobile phone of a Serbian DPR resistance fighter.

I did not see, as Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe international observers also didn’t, the rows and rows of Russian tanks and soldiers that the current Dr. Strangelove in charge of NATO, General Breedhate, sees everyday in his exalted dreams invading Ukraine over and over again.

And I did not see the arrogance, the ignorance, the shamelessness and the lies distorting those manicured faces in Kiev, Washington and Brussels while they insist, over and over again, that the entire population of Donbass, traumatized babushkas and children of all ages included, are nothing but “terra-rists”.

After all, they are Western “civilization”-enabled cowards who would never dare to show their manicured faces to the people of Donbass.

So this is my gift to them.

Just a howl of anger and unbounded contempt.

Pepe Escobar

Too scary and dangerous to go looking at airline crash sites for the truth, too dangerous to stand on the front line of war and show the truth, too lazy to dig up the truth, why? When it is easier to just find a seat at the local coffee house in Washington, DC or anywhere else in the world and do some creative writing with a frappuccino or a cappuccino with a smiley face on it…

That smiley face makes it all good in the world and when you write with a smiley face on your cappuccino, why care about what you write?

The new main stream media journalist is no longer a journalist! I watch from the scrounges that write dirt about Moscow, to the scum that writes about wars from their local Dunkin’ Donuts shop in America. These are mainstream media, and many high paid to write lies about what they know not about…

The big problem is; if they wrote the truth, they would be fired and or worse. So the new journalist is a byproduct of the media censorship that is prevalent all over America…

It works and it is sad to see, I have for weeks now been reading comments, articles, and thoughts on world issues. I am very amazed at the response that people give. The responses are cut and dried, media propaganda. Then I watch and listen to people who talk about how they only read one news source and that is 99% of the time, a main stream media source. They say, “Who has time? I pay for NYT subscription and that gives me all I have to know about what is happening in the world!” or “The Guardian is so truthful!”

We do truly live in a world lacking in morals and integrity. The items that are so important to telling a story the way it really happened. We have lost the facts of telling the truth no matter who it hurts and now we tell the truth according to what we are fed by the powers above. Fear and greed drives the journalist profession and that should never be..

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Ouch, I fell in love with the new patriot made by UAZ in Russia. It is big, beautiful, tough and made for Russian roads, or lack of roads thereof…

The image is one of a dozen new patriots that people have bought who live in our flat areas. This has given me a chance to look them over and see them in action. Believe you me, this is one fine vehicle and the guys around here are snapping them up as fast as they make them. Money well spent, is what I say…

Workmanship is topnotch…

Specifications

• Wheel configuration: 4×4
• Number of seats: 5
• Dimensions, mm: 4647x2080x1900/2000
• Road clearance, mm: 210
• Equipped vehicle weight, kg: 2070
• Full weight, kg: 2670
• Cargo capacity, kg: 800
• Max. speed, km/hour: 150
• Fuel consumption, at 90 km/h; liters per 100 km: 14,0/10,4/13,2(city /out-of-town/ mixed cycles)
• Engine: ZMZ-409.10
• Fuel: Gasoline A-92
• Volume, liters: 2,693
• Maximum capacity, kW (horsepower)/revolutions per min: 94,1(128)/4400
• Maximum torque, N·m(kgf·m)/revolutions per min: 217,6(22,2)/2500
• Transmission: Mechanical, 5-gears
• Gear box: 2-gears(I-1, II-1,94)
• Front brakes: disk-type, ventilated, with two cylinders,with floating caliper
• Rear brakes: drum-type, with one cylinder, with automatic adjustment of the clearance between the lining and the drum
• Tires: 225/75R16, 245/70R16

Just dreaming though! Our Volga, Sammy is just too good of a vehicle to let go of and she is paid for a long time ago. Still need to do some work on her, but she still starts, fist key turn and she loves to travel…

What more could we ask for? Though I can look and dream once in awhile…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Is there any hope of turning the tide of public opinion in the U.S? I ask because the news reports in the West are incredibly disingenuous…

Yesterday I read an article about how awful it was that Russia, the DPR and LPR had not allowed Kiev access to the Ukraine/Russian border, “as promised.” The spurious report was fluffed out with carefully edited sound bites from UNESCO workers acknowledging reporters remarks that they did not have 100% access to the entire border. Not one word was said about the pre-conditions Kiev was supposed to meet before gaining access to the Donbass/Russian border.

This was the most factual Western report on Ukraine I could find yesterday, in that there were a few (very few) elements of truth in it, although those elements of truth were manipulated and carved, to give a false impression…

The American public, fed a fat, juicily laced liars smorgasbord of a steady diet of propaganda, over time, dripping with sauces and trimmings of choice. Has become lethargic to the point of incomprehensibility…

I don’t think Americans can process the reality of what’s happened in Ukraine. The cognitive dissonance would be too great for the masses to comprehend. They simply have no knowledge of what is happening on the other side of the planet and really do not care, as long as they get the nipple to suck…

If we are counting on U.S. citizens to counter Washington’s efforts to go to war against Russia, I think our cause is hopeless. The propaganda machine is working far too well this time. At least within the borders of the U.S. of A…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

By Ron Paul…

Rapid changes are occurring in Yemen. Ever since United States had to leave its military base there, other powers have been lining up to benefit from the chaos. It has been revealed that Saudi Arabia has commenced bombing targets in Yemen. Egypt has announced its support for the Saudi effort. I am quite confident that this support is in compliance with our instructions to our puppet leader now in charge in Egypt. The current president of Yemen, Hadi, a leader who took over after the Arab Spring revolution, has been removed from power. He is said to have escaped to Saudi Arabia, and those who are now in charge in Yemen will most likely kill him if he returns.

Yemen has been instrumental in the US effort to fight al-Qaeda in the region. Unsuccessfully, I might add. The Houthis who have deposed Hadi are said to get their support from Iran and are now likely the strongest political force in the country. But they will not have an easy time of it. Too much is at stake for the United States and Saudi Arabia. We don’t read much about the Saudi Air Force being involved in military conflict, but the seriousness of the situation has prompted them to do exactly that. There are also reports that 150,000 or more troops are massed near the borders of Yemen for a probable invasion. It is assumed that other Arab nations will be involved, along with Egypt. One report said that it appears the country is “sliding toward a civil war.” I would suggest that it’s past sliding toward the civil war, and, rather, is involved deeply in a civil war that is now spreading outside its own borders.

The neoconservatives, I am sure, will blame everything on Iran. And it’s likely Iran may have been involved in giving some type of support to the Shia that now are on the verge of taking over the country. But one must ask, “How does this compare to the support the United States has given to over 100 countries in recent years, with a major portion going to the Middle East?” There’s a big difference between a country becoming involved in a crisis next door and a country getting involved 6000 miles away.

It looks like the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a military dictator who was deposed in the Arab Spring revolution, is now aligned with the Shia Houthis who are supported by Iran. This will not be tolerated by the United States, and we can expect the US to provide indirect military assistance to those who are prepared to invade Yemen and install a US friendly dictator.

Foreign forces’ bombs and occupation will serve to unify the citizens of Yemen despite their other differences. As a matter of fact, it’s been our presence in this country for more than a decade that has been an aggravating factor. The fact that al-Qaeda type rebel forces have done well in the various countries in recent years is because they gain support from the local people with the promise that the foreign invaders will be expelled. This certainly is true when it comes to the type of support that the people give, tacit or otherwise, to the very ruthless ISIS forces. It amazes me how these ragtag rebels can outfight and outfox various countries whose forces are larger and better armed. The so-called rebels find that their promise to expel the invaders is a strong motivating factor to gain support for the military resistance. The catch-22 is that the more we or any other nation try to subdue a foreign country, the stronger the opposition becomes.

This new expansion of the war in Yemen is a bad sign. The situation could easily worsen, involve many countries, and last for a long time to come. The stage for the “Big War” may well be set and we will be hearing a lot more about Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula in the coming months. If this war gets out of hand, I would expect that the benefits of $45 per barrel of oil will soon end. There is no doubt in my mind that the American people – financially and for security reasons – would be better served if we just came home and avoided these nonsensical military interventions that are carried out in behalf of various special interests that control our foreign policy.

The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

The gates by which information flows to us gets more narrow each day. Which means filtered information. How can this be good. Are the media conglomerates the robber barons of the 21st century?

Facebook: With 1.4 billion users, the social media site has become a vital source of traffic for publishers looking to reach an increasingly fragmented audience glued to smartphones. In recent months, Facebook has been quietly holding talks with at least half a dozen media companies about hosting their content inside Facebook rather than making users tap a link to go to an external site.

That simply means; they (Facebook) want to control all media and if you do not have a Facebook account, you cannot see the news and other goodies. Facebook wants to keep it all behind closed doors…

We have allowed our judgement to be clouded by the god we call “Money” and that god has overtaken the one God, to simply surpass him and leave him in the dust…

Money is not necessary and money is not appropriate. We live in a world that has been allowed to make “Money” the god we worship, but it has entailed a toll upon the fabric of our societies…

This is the core of what is wrong with all of us, all over the planet, and the roots must be gathered again to get us back to safety. For time and time again, we repeat our transgressions, never to understand the consequences of our actions…

Greed is the death of the Earth and 90% of all you discern, perceive, and allow proximity to, is encompassed within Greed…

Fear and greed rarely hold hands, but when both fear and greed hold hands, with stupidity, as they do now in the U.S./Western Empire, virtually no mortal being can, nor will resist. The temptations are beyond human abilities to endure, for we have lost our souls, sold to the highest bidder. Deep within the core of life…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

That is RT sarcasm in a video, but it is true and factual. But RT is trying to tell you, that you live in a hell hole, America…

The image is an actual list of what you need to watch for and or you are being watched for. As you can see, “You are a terrorist and that is a fact!”

I find it interesting that I cross borders all the time and even now Russia is trying to make it so that you are able to use your cellphone while inflight. Makes sense to me, for it is all lies and games by the powers to be. Control games, is the name of the game…

So people from the U.S., tell me how free you are and I will look at you and tell you that you are a terrorist, for you might have just got off the jet from a -10 degree zone and stepped improperly dressed into a +80 degree zone. I do it all the time and never am I dressed correctly for the huge change in temperature. Either way I travel it is the same…

Or damn, I am spending cash, or picking my nose, or yawning, and or…

Yes, I am a terrorist and by golly gee wiz, so are you…

Time to wake up and realize that we are the victims and the terrorists are the tool…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

I didn’t know I was a terrorist. I think I need to report myself…

You didn’t know you were a terrorist. I think you need to report yourself…

So the US has effectively put down the foundation for an alternate war in the Middle East by its obstructions in Yemen, just like in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Balkans…

The US elites can cheer at more demise and pulverization, and rivulets of blood, just as their hands are already awash with the blood of millions. On the off chance that there is any equity in this world then we may very well come to see an atrocities trial, for the US sponsors of war and illegal death…

Alas, the American individuals seem to have lost their souls, as they continue backing the underhandedness and criminal acts of the US government…

Fear is what I smell, as the stench of fear wafts across the oceans and tells the world, the truth behind the lies, beheld with in the minds of the cowering peasants…

You came to America to escape that which you have yourself now condoned, with more vigor than you condemned your own past and thus you create a worse condition than thy home…

Sadness is what I feel, no sorrow, for what you created from your own hands. Just infinite sadness as I watch the quicksand take all deeper and deeper until, no more the screams will be heard…

1 Peter 5:8 ESV / 9, Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Having grown up in the U.S. and having killed many for Uncle Sam and having helped enslave lessor people all over the world, many times, for the USA. I will say only one time and one time only…

If you are Russian and living in the U.S., you better watch your back, for between the Rednecks, Leftists, Rightist, Upists and Downists and even the governmental organizations, your days of freedom, liberty, and rights is coming to a close. Not that you ever had any, it is just that, you will be gathered up, sooner than later (Most likely in your lifetime.) I know this, for I have helped do just such gathering when I lived in the U.S. and it will come from nowhere, when it happens. For Russians are now marked and the government has giving up support for Russians within or without the borders of America. You should have been a Mexican…

America is at war with Russia, declared war, both fiscal and as soon as possible, ground war. Lets hope the game is only ground war, but since America will lose a ground war against Russia, nukes will have to come out from hiding and be used…

The inhabitants of the land of the free (the ones who are patriotic and real Americans, ~Sarc~) will tell on you, they will watch you, they will fear you, they will stab you in the back, they will talk about you, they will, Yes they will! They are not friends and that is a non-functioning statement in America. Friends is a misnomer…

Just as the fake smiles are in America, that you meet daily…

Just as terrorists is a word to fear, Russia and entities within, have been declared a terrorist country by the U.S. and therefore, you must anonymously tell, when you see a Russian, for they are a terrorists…

I woke last night and it dawned on me that if you are Russian and if you think that your neighbor loves you? Think again, for you are targeted, and this is the same that has happened in America many times…

America, run by fanatics and you (Russians) are the target, they are working on the public now and if you join them, well that is all good for you. But accepting the lies makes you worthless…

Have a nice day, for I have my set of issues to deal with. For Russia is a reciprocal visa country and from what I am seeing, America is getting ready to shut down all visas for Russians. That means the same happens automatically for Americans in Russia…

This is no longer anything like the Soviet era war games. This is a whole new set of rules and this time it is for the goal. Time is running out. It is all for the world, for the winner rewrites the history and controls all resources. Money is nothing, resources are everything and resources are starting to run out…

Just look at water (H2O) and you see the answer…

Never say you were not warned…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

PS: America is not the country now that you think it is and it never has been and never will be. The old America is gone (and it was bad enough,) God rest her soul! All hail the new America!

Or Die!

Well we did! We declared war on Russia through Ukraine. It is official, in writing and voted on and passed, the Resolution passed 348 for and 48 against. This is exactly what I have been say about America for years now and we have just witnessed a perfect scenario of, you get who you vote for, and you got a war with Russia…

I realize that you will only care when the missiles hit, on the home turf in America, but we don’t have to be pushing the lies like this. We have now covered up the lies, with an official sounding resolution, hope this makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, to accept the fact that we are getting ready to die. Unless we stop the warmongering, Administration of the U.S….

This is an official declaration of war against Russia by the USA. It can only be interpreted one way. That is the fact that the USA wants a war and nothing but a war with Russia. The only truth within this resolution is the fact that the U.S. is desperately trying to cover up its lies and games, by directing all resources against Russia. Don’t take my word for it. Read the PDF file and look it up on the internet and see that it is the actual fact PDF from the government of the USA…

Official PDF File of Resolution – (MAS_087_xml.friday)

I pulled the main words and text from the resolution, to make it easy to read…

F:\MAS\MAS_087.XML

H. RES. ll
114TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION

Calling on the President to provide Ukraine with military assistance to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. THORN-BERRY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. NUNES, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. ROGERS of Ken-
tucky, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

resolution
Calling on the President to provide Ukraine with military assistance to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Whereas the existence of an independent, democratic, and prosperous Ukraine is in the national interest of the United States;

Whereas the Russian Federation under President Vladimir Putin has engaged in relentless political, economic, and military aggression to subvert the independence and violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine;

Whereas this aggression includes the illegal and forcible occupation of Crimea by Russian military and security forces;

Whereas this Russian aggression includes the establishment and control of violent separatist proxies in other areas of Ukraine, including arming them with lethal weapons and other materiel including tanks, artillery, and rockets that have enabled separatist militias to launch and sustain an insurrection that has resulted in over 6,000 dead, 15,000 wounded, and more than a million displaced persons;

Whereas military and security forces of the Russian Federation have been infiltrated into these areas of Ukraine and continue to provide direct combat support to the separatist groups in this conflict;

Whereas failure to stop this aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, especially its unprovoked and armed intervention in a sovereign country, illegal and forcible occupation of its territory, and unilateral efforts to redraw the internationally-recognized borders of Ukraine undermines the foundation of the international order that was established and has been defended at great cost by the United States and its allies in the aftermath of World War II;

Whereas Russian aggression against Ukraine is but the most visible and recent manifestation of a revisionist Kremlin strategy to redraw international borders and impose its will on its neighbors, including NATO allies;

Whereas on September 18, 2014, President Petro Poroshenko addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress at which he thanked the United States for the military assistance it has provided to defend the freedom and territorial integrity of his country and asked for “both non-lethal and lethal” military assistance, stating that “one cannot win a war with blankets”;

Whereas the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey stated on March 3, 2015, that “we should absolutely consider providing lethal aid” to Ukraine;

Whereas Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter stated on February 4, 2015, during his confirmation hearing that he is “very much inclined” toward providing Ukraine with weapons to defend itself;

Whereas Congress provided the President with the authorization and budgetary resources to provide Ukraine with military assistance to enhance its ability to defend its sovereign territory from the unprovoked and continuing aggression of the Russian Federation, including in the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, which was signed into law on December 18, 2014;

Whereas the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 specifically authorizes the provision of anti-armor weapons, crew-served weapons and ammunition, counter-artillery radars, fire control, range finder, and optical and guidance and control equipment, tactical troop-operated surveillance drones, and secure command and communications equipment;

Whereas even as it faces a massive military assault, Ukraine is confronting an economic crisis that requires both long term financial and technical assistance by the United States and the international community, especially the countries of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, as well as fundamental economic and political reforms by the government of Ukraine;

Whereas the United States and its allies should provide assistance to support energy diversification and efficiency initiatives in Ukraine to lessen its vulnerability to coercion by the Russian Federation;

Whereas the United States and its allies should continue to work with Ukrainian officials to develop plans to increase energy production and efficiency in order to increase energy security beyond the short-term;

Whereas the United States, in close cooperation with international donors, has provided Ukraine with macro-economic assistance to boost Ukraine’s economy; and Whereas the United States and its allies need a long-term strategy to expose and challenge Vladimir Putin’s corruption and repression at home and his aggression abroad:

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives strongly urges the President to fully and immediately exercise the  authorities provided by Congress to provide Ukraine with lethal defensive weapon systems to enhance the ability of the people of Ukraine to defend their sovereign territory from the unprovoked and continuing aggression of the Russian Federation.

In Gods name, are we seriously wanting to destroy the world. Seriously people are we going to sit and watch Kardashian ass and allow the US to kill us all. Think I am wrong, then you are the problem and you condone the lies, such as presented in the resolution passed above…

Read the damn thing! Read it with open eyes and ask yourself question. Ask, “Why?” Ask, “Why are we pushing to war with Russia?” Then ask, “Why are we doing this, when Russia is not doing anything that is in the resolution?”

Ask, “What Russian aggression?” (Proof?)
Ask, “Why is Ukraine in the national interest of the US?” (Proof?)
Ask, “What weapons supplied by Russia?” (Proof?)
Ask, “What imposing on neighbors by Russia?” (Proof?)

Ask a thousand more and keep asking…

There should be endless questions asked over this resolution and no one should accept a word of this until proof positive is presented to allow the world to see the aggression by Russia. This is a true example of the instigator, trying to shift the blame to the pacifistic…

Tra la la boom di ay = The force of stupid neocons are and is strong in America…

Post by kKEETON
Windows to Russia…

PS: The U.S. Congress needs a psychiatric check up; It’s safe to say that they are almost 100% sociopaths, psychopaths, child rapists, drunks, deviants, mentally challenged, and Satanic…