Camelotskva: A Roundtable of Russian Knights
A Roundtable of Russian Knights
[Image: by Mr. Fish, with permission of the artist.]
Publication date: 2022-07-29
Update 2022-08-01: More sources added, particularly Scott Horton interviewing Col. Macgregor which briefly covers the blacklisting though focusses more on Ukraine and strategies by both sides.
Biting the Hand that Feeds
There are not "two sides of the coin" between information and propaganda, there is a grey zone. How one perceives "information" is based upon one's world view, and where one believes reliable information can be found. The dry quip that "truth is the first causality of war" is a useful guide, with historical precedent, to information during conflict.
Ukraine's government has taken a leaf out of the USA Department of Homeland Security's 'Disinformation Governance Board' book and issued a list of persona non-grata. Persons listed are accused of spreading "Russian Disinformation". No recommendation as to what action should be taken against these persons is provided. The individuals are merely labeled in a tawdry McCarthyist smear operation. These ad hominem attacks would not deserve comment without the USA/NATO/EU investment in the conflict in Ukraine.
[Image: from the UnHerd article which first described the blacklist.]
The dynamic is absurd: Ukraine is labeling a sitting USA Senator, Rand Paul, as a Russian propagandist. A selection from the list, in the order presented by the Ukraine government, is:
Ray McGovern (ex-CIA analyst)
Clare Daly (Member of the European Parliament, Ireland)
Scott Ritter (former USA Army intelligence officer)
Tulsi Gabbard (former USA congressional representative)
Brian Berletic ("The New Atlas" commentator)
Jacques Baud (Swiss intelligence)
Jeffrey Sachs (USA professor)
Douglas McGregor (ex-USA Army Colonel)
Marine Le Pen (recent French Presidential candidate)
Glenn Greenwald (USA journalist and constitutional lawyer)
Kim Dotcom (New Zealand residing entrepreneur) and
John Mearsheimer (USA Professor)
This branch of the Ukraine government has lost all of its marbles.
Discovering Escape from Disinformation Control
Gonzalo Lira has "pulled off" a most amazing feat. Now published are a sequence of five "Roundtable" interview/discussion videos involving some of the most interesting commentators on varying subjects. The issue of the conflict in Ukraine is a common topic. Discussions range far afield to geopolitics, geoeconomics, trade corridors, arms control, the risk of nuclear war, the imbecility of European and USA foreign and trade policy, and the emergence of the "global south" as a force with which to be reckoned.
One is amazed by the array and class of interlocutors that Mr. Lira has assembled. Some guests use a nom de plume to shield their identity. The guests for the first five episodes are:
Larry Johnson (ex-CIA), Andrei Martyanov (ex-Russian Navy), Alexander Mercouris (commentator, ex-Lawyer, UK)
Maria Dubovikova (Russian journalist), David Kurten (UK politician), George Szamuely (Hungarian historian)
Armchair Warlord (USA ex-Army Artillery officer), HistoryLegend (Historian), The New Atlas (Brian Berletic, commentator, USA)
Alex Christoforou (commentator, Greece), Pepe Escobar (journalist and historian, "Brazilian"), iEarlGrey ("Mike", commentator)
Larry Johnson (again), Ray McGovern (ex-CIA), Ted Postol (Professor, MIT)
This author considers half of this list to be serious analysts with the rest also offering interesting analysis. The term "area specialist" would apply to many of those who may be unfamiliar to this newsletter's readership. Take "Armchair Warlord" as an example. He was an officer of the USA Army's artillery and knows more about this topic than any of the talking heads on USA cable news.
From Doom and Gloom to Debate
In a recent article Patrick Lawrence relates an event in which a neighbour asks him:
what I thought she should read to acquire what she is not getting from these media, an accurate understanding of what goes on in our world.
That corporate or state media are essentially controlled narrative spaces has been known since the 1970's with Herman and Chomsky's book "Manufacturing Consent" laying out a reality reinforced by Carl Bernstein's work uncovering the CIA's influence over USA media.
John Pilger has repeatedly stated that the small spaces for dissenting voices within the media have shrunk to non-existence. A simple example of this is Sy Hersh, who would be visited by his editor, patted on the shoulder and asked "What has my little commie got for me today?" Hersh's astounding work on the causes of, or perhaps orchestration of, the Syrian Dirty War, a five and half thousand word piece, could not find a publisher in his country, the USA. Instead, it was published by the London Review of Books, of all places. (Thanks to the editor who fought for the article's publication.)
Despite the walls already having closed in, independent content producers continue to host nuanced discussions. The sole purpose of this newsletter is to help the readership find these open, often deep discussions. They are, now and then, punctuated with laughter, though more commonly with looks of concern and study.
[Image: a frame from Roundtable #5.]
During the fifth Lira "Roundtable" discussion, it was the facial expressions of the non-speakers which caught my attention. The discussion between McGovern, Postol and Johnson is exemplary. There is serious respect amongst them. McGovern, though not the "interviewer", repeatedly fields questions to Postol who knows a helluva lot more about anti-ballistic missile defence than just about anyone. When Postol skips an important piece of history, Johnson apologetically jumps in to add the missing key detail. In humble response, Postol declares that he commonly reminds people that he knows very little. The background discussion is how little, to vanishing, knowledge is possessed by those defining policy.
[Image: another frame from Roundtable #5.]
These "Roundtable" discussions serve as a perfect example of a thesis this newsletter recently proposed: that the small islands of dissenting voices are being connected into a network, and that there is very little that media controllers can do about this other than smear them. Heavier handed tactics are also used, for example blocking payments via PayPal (Consortium News, MintPress News). The UK has just sanctioned one of its own citizens who has been reporting on the situation in Donbas since 2014. Do they not see that these totalitarian tactics undermine any shred of their own legitimacy?
[Image: again from Rountable #5 after Postol affirms that Russia has at most 5 to 7 minutes warning for nuclear attack. The pain on McGovern’s face is obvious. He helped facilitate the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty which Trump tore up. The sobering reality of the analysis can be seen on both Lira and Johnson’s faces.]
Suggestions for Censorship
The Ukraine government, currently dominantly funded by the USA and in part by the EU, is to be thanked for their list of persons accused of "Russian Propaganda". Many names were unknown to this author, and shall be given closer scrutiny if merit deserves such attention.
To the Ukraine government, may it be suggested that you have omitted a few from your list. Take the list of guests who Lira has included in his "Roundtable" as a possibility for inclusion. They are likely to take being placed on your irrelevant list as a badge of honor. Its a "win win".
Sources
The Phoniest, Most PR-Intensive War Of All Time, Caitlin Johnstone, her newsletter, 2022-07-27
Ukraine Government issues blacklist of ‘Russian propagandists’, Finn McRedmond, UnHerd, 2022-07-25
Спікери, які просувають співзвучні російській пропаганді наративи, no author, cpd.gov.ua, no publication date (but must be before the 'UnHerd' article of 2022-07-25)
The Causes of Things, Patrick Lawrence, ScheerPost, 2022-07-28
THE CIA AND THE MEDIA, Carl Bernstein, his website, 1997-10-27 (originally published by Rolling Stone magazine)
The Red Line and the Rat Line, Seymour Hersh, London Review of Books, 2014-04-20
British pro-Kremlin video blogger added to UK government Russia sanctions list, Peter Beaumont, The Guardian, 2022-07-26
The above article published by The Guardian is an absolute disgrace. Phillips is a “blogger” not a journalist? He has been given no legal redress to this decree, a noted omission. The article itself is just as much a farce as the blacklisting. Oh, and Julian Assange is imprisoned on no offense.
Roundtable: The first five, in reverse chronological order
Roundtable #5: Johnson, McGovern, Postol, Gonzalo Lira and guests, his youtube channel, 2022-07-26
Roundtable #4: Christoforou, Escobar, iEarlGrey, Gonzalo Lira and guests, his youtube channel, 2022-07-24
Roundtable #3: Armchair Warlord, HistoryLegends, The New Atlas, Gonzalo Lira and guests, his youtube channel, 2022-07-21
Roundtable #2: Dubovikova, Kurten, Szamuely, Gonzalo Lira and guests, his youtube channel, 2022-07-19
Roundtable #1: Johnson, Martyanov, Mercouris, Gonzalo Lira and guests, his youtube channel, 2022-07-16
Let's talk about the news (Live), The Duran, their channel on youtube (also Rumble and other places), 2022-07-28
The first topic is that of the British citizen, Graham Phillips, being sanctioned by his own government. The key point is that this undermines the Magna Carta (from 1215). It is an executive decree with no legal basis.
In a following question Mercouris answers why the current push against Kherson is being made? Alexander’s response is that it is an attempt to achieve a success to shore up western support for Ukraine. No. There will be no “success”, it will be a failure, though possibly a slow one. The mission is to disrupt the upcoming referendum, which is a far more serious threat. I mention this to emphasize that while I respect the voices of those whom I add as sources in my publications, I dont always agree with them. Equally, reader, I dont expect you to always agree with me either. Investigate and come to your own conclusions, to quote Ryan Christian.
Ep. 5742 - Douglas Macgregor on NATO’s Doomed Strategy in Ukraine, Scott Horton interviews Col. Douglas Macgregor, Scott Horton Show, 2022-07-28
Download MP3. Macgregor echoes the great Major General Smedley Butler: “War is a racket.”
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