Stephen Cohen "NATO games in Ukraine push world 5 minutes before nuclear midnight" (RT: SophieCo)

Ukraine Ceasefire Takes Hold, but an Expanding but an Expanding NATO on Russia's Borders Threatens Nuclear War. (Democaracy Now!)

Stephen F. Cohen "Current situation in Ukraine and the Anti-Russia Lobby."

Jack Matlock "NATO expansion to Ukraine will be grievous mistake for US." (RT:Sophie Co.)

Ex-Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal "West scared of BRICS as it has no control over it." (RT: Sophie Co.)

Sergei Lavrov " Americans are not ready to admit they cannot run the show." (RT: Sophie Co.)

Ray McGovern "Europe will now think twice before following Washington's orders." (RT: Sophie Co.)

Southeastern Ukraine: Crisis Diary (RT Documentary)

Addendum to "How Did We Get Here?"

By Gene Ogorodov

On May 10, 2014 Dr. Alexander Yakovenko, the Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, emphatically denied the possibility of Russian intervention in Ukraine, in an Op-Ed for RT. I will concede that conventional hot war between the US and Russia is not necessarily an "absolute certainty" as I said earlier. Avoiding war will require a spectacular amount of diplomacy (and more than a few very successful intrigues). The United States wants war with Russia, and it will get a war, even if Ukrainian troops have to retake Crimea and invade the undisputed territory of the Russian Federation. I don't believe that Russia has the tools at its disposal to stressfully avoid war.

How Did We Get Here?

By Gene Ogorodov

Recent events have forced The Boston Pine Flag to focus more on Ukraine than would seem justifiable in comparison to the lack of commentary on the other major events of the few years. The civil unrest and nascent civil war in Ukraine qua war hardly compares with the human suffering produced by the Syrian Civil War. The underhanded machinations and state backed terrorism of the United States directed at Iran coupled with its flagrant mendacity about its actions make the shameless actions towards Ukraine and Russia seem legal and honest. However, one should not compare and contrast these three political stages as different crimes of the Evil Empire. They are part of the same objective--to destroy the resurgent power of the Russian Federation before China is prepared to compete for thalassocracy in the Pacific.

Washington's Ukraine

By Gene Ogorodov

At this moment Pro-Russian Paramilitary Forces have massed in American State of Nevada. This might come as a shock to most Americans including the several hundred armed militia members at the Bundy Ranch to whom I am referring. Most of them would probably be insulted by an insinuation that they are in the pay of a "Communist" country like the Russian Federation, which there is no evidence to support. However, the fact remains that they and the Kremlin share a common interest in a weaker American Government.

In Defense of RT

By Gene Ogorodov

Several days ago Secretary of State John Kerry lashed out against the quality reporting found at RT.  I do not work for RT. (The turkeys wouldn't give me a job; I'm too much of Marxist-Leninist for their tastes.) However, let me set the record strait. 

In researching current events one cannot depend solely upon one news outlet. One needs to read reports from the area in interest. For example, if one wants to know what the people of Crimea think you need read Crimean news. If there is a clear impetus for partisan bias it is necessary to read both sides and try to piece together an objective opinion. I'm a news junkie, and I have done due diligence on the Crisis in the Ukraine, and RT is the only major news source that I have found to represent the opinions of the Ukrainian and Crimean people and accurately represent the facts on the ground. 

President Obama: Brussels Speech.

The most frightening thing about this diatribe is not the mendacity of Pres. Obama, but that he believes that we should believe this rubbish, and cast our lives away upon its platitudes. Just to set the record strait, the real threat to the democratic values and way of life in Europe is not the Russian Federation but the United States. The United States has never in living memory pursued the interests of the people. It is a country designed to be the plaything of the super-rich, and all the cant about human rights, as Edward Snowden and Pvt. Manning have exposed, are worth less than nothing when the cameras are off. In the last twenty years the United States has maintained its tenuous hold on international hegemony through destabilizing region after region of the world.

Likewise NATO has shed its cloak of anti-communism and has supported American power as a criminal organization engaging in countless war crimes and violations of international law. I have already dealt in depth with the reality of American involvement in Ukraine. There is no need to re-address the despicable nature of Washington's hyper-power.

Though there is a irony here that needs to be addressed. It is in the interest of the United States to curtail its foreign obligations and manage problems at home, not becoming entangled in Ukraine. It is in the interest of the Russia that the US stay out of central Europe. It is in the interests of the EU that America observe from a distance rather than dictate what is essentially internal policy to European states. In short everyone who can have an stake in Ukraine has a vested interest in the United States bending on Ukraine. Yet, the US is still going to meddle in Ukraine for years to come, provoking the Russians and in good time the Poles and the Germans. I would like to see the President answer this question--Why?

Some Thoughts on Russia's Annexation of Crimea.

By Gene Ogorodov

The incorporation of the Autonomous Region of Crimea into the Russian Federation is a flagrant violation of the Budapest Memorandum, which ensured the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Since this action by the Kremlin contravenes international law it is a justification for war between US and Russia. The danger to the entire globe of such a course cannot be over stated. I soundly condemn the behavior of the Russian Federation.

A New Cold War? Ukraine Violence Escalates, Leaked Tape Suggests U.S. Was Plotting Coup. (Democracy Now!)

The Unforgiveable Sin.

By Gene Ogorodov

In the past couple of weeks the Western media has committed the unforgivable sin of likening the Russian Federation to the Third Reich. With regards to Russia, political punditry has left the realm of reasonable biased apologetics, and entered the turbulent seas of pure emotive manipulation usually reserved for dictatorial right-wing nut jobs on Fox News. 

This accusation may seem hypocritical since here on The Boston Pine Flag we have frequently labeled Western Governments as Fascist, but we have an excuse--by any reasonable definition they are. Vladimir Putin is not Adolf Hitler and United Russia is certainly not the National Socialist Party. Furthermore, the Russian Federation is much more scrupulous about international treaties than Nazi Germany ever was.

An Open Letter to Democarcy Now!

The following letter was sent to Democracy Now! during the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution.

Dear Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:

The current social unrest in the Ukraine is disadvantageous to both the Europeans and the Russians. Even though Yanukovych won in 2010 on a pro-Russian ticket, since 2011 he had been making clear and orderly steps to implement the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement. Considering that Germany gets most of its oil and natural gas from Russia through Ukraine and Putin has had little fear in the past of stopping the flow when Ukraine has become openly hostile to Russia, both Germany and Russia had a vested interest in maintaining the former status quo. If Germany faces an energy crisis, its economy will go into recession and bring the EU down with it.

Quid Pro Quo in Ukraine

By Gene Ogorodov

After the dramatic failure of US policy in Syria this fall, due, primarily, to the diplomatic work of Pres. Vladimir Putin, it was obvious that America would look for a way to strike back at the Russian Federation. Then, as if on cue, this winter saw Kiev erupt in violent protest against the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, which ended on February 22 with a coup ousting the elected government in favor of a pro-American provisional government.