Last night's Russia report & understanding the demonization of Moscow

Forty-two folks turned out in Brunswick last night for our report on the Global Network's recent study tour to Russia.  There were even some new faces in attendance which does not always happen.

Mary Beth Sullivan, Rev. Bill Bliss and myself each spoke and then we answered questions from the audience.  We put many photos up on the screen which made it all the more real for people.

When it was my turn I talked about NATO expansion that ramped up during the Clinton administration despite promises that had been made to Russia when they agreed to the consolidation of East & West Germany.  Then US Secretary of State Jim Baker pledged to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand 'one inch' toward Russia.

I also spoke about the regular and growing US-NATO war games along the Russian border.  I mentioned how after each war game in Poland the US military leaves their hardware at a new base that has been established there as a regional operations hub.  These war games are provocative and are pressuring Russia to respond. When Moscow holds its own military exercises inside its own country the western media accuses Russia of attempting to recreate the former Soviet Union - which is total BS.

This recent war game in northern Sweden, Norway and Finland - right along the Russia border is just one example of the pressure the US-NATO are putting on Russia.  Recently the west has been doing more military maneuvers up in the Arctic Region aimed at Russia.  Last night I asked the audience why they think this is happening?

I suggested that because of climate change, and the melting of the Arctic ice, the western oil corporations want to be able to 'drill baby drill' up in that region.  But Russia has the worlds largest border with the Arctic giving Moscow the clear advantage in having access to these once untouchable resources.  

Thus it is becoming quite clear that the US-NATO have the intention to expand their military capability into the Arctic region in order to attempt to wrest control of this once completely frozen zone from Russia.  But in order to have the people living in the west support such a dangerous and very expensive program of military escalation, the public must first be convinced that Russia is a dangerous threat to 'our way of life'.

So along comes Russiagate and the constant demonization of Putin and Russia in the western media.  The RAND Corporation, headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, has released a new plan entitled: “Overextend and Unbalance Russia: Assessing the Impact of Cost-Imposing Options".  This calculated regime change plan lays out a systematic program to overwhelm and break Russia into smaller nations (similar to what was done to Yugoslavia during the Clinton administration) to make it possible for the western oil corporations to take control of the region.  You can see the study here

In the end last night I compared the US and Russian military spending figures, concluding that the numbers don't lie.  When you add up all the various military pots of gold the Pentagon annual budget is over $1 trillion per year.  Compare that to Russia's annual military budget that at most is $66 billion per year - and was cut by Putin the last two years as he said that 18% poverty in their country was unacceptable and needed to be addressed.  (How I wish we had a president who would say the same thing in the US.)

I have made a personal pledge not to allow myself to fall victim to the endless demonization of Russia and Putin.  Ask yourself, what do you really know about Russia besides what you hear on corporate owned media?  The truth is that most people get what little they know from National Public Radio, MSNBC or the New York Times.  Hardly fair sources on most any subject that relates to corporate power.

But don't take my word for any of this.  Go find out for yourself.  Learn to find the truth, but please do actually search for what is going on so that you can decolonize your own mind from the corporate narrative that has been effectively planted in our western brains since birth.

Bruce