Stephen Lendman

A previous article called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov a world class diplomat. John Kerry is polar opposite. He represents the worst of America's dark side. He's vying for Washington's worst ever Secretary of State top dishonor. He's what Paul Craig Roberts calls a "two-bit punk." He's a war criminal multiple times over. Demagoguery punctuates his comments. It exceeds the worst of Cold War rhetoric. He's been caught red-handed numerous times in bald-faced lies. He disdains rule of law principles. He supports war. He deplores peace. He's indifferent to human suffering. He's a monument to wrong over right. He disgraces his country, position and humanity. He belongs in prison, not high office. On April 24, he bashed Russia irresponsibly. He did so recklessly. He did maliciously. Big Lies infested his rhetoric. He turned truth on its head.

Four parties in Geneva "agreed that all sides would refrain from violence, intimidation, and taking provocative actions," he said:

"We agreed that illegal groups would lay down their arms…We agreed to implement" objectives discussed. "From day one," he added, "the government of Ukraine started making good on its commitments - from day one." "From day one, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk has kept his word. He immediately agreed to help vacate buildings." "He suspended Ukraine's counterterrorism initiative over Easter, choosing de-escalation, despite Ukraine’s legitimate, fundamental right to defend its own territory and its own people."

Fact: Kiev putschists have no legitimacy whatever. They have no legal authority. They represent mob rule. Fact: "From day one," they violated agreed on Geneva terms. They did so straightaway. They deployed military forces and Right Sector thugs to Eastern Ukraine. They attacked nonviolent civilians. They committed cold-blooded murder. Fact: Yatsenyuk lied. He escalated conflict. Kiev buildings remain occupied illegally.

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Alex Lantier

On Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a lying brief for war aimed at justifying the crackdown by the Western-backed Kiev regime on pro-Russian protests in eastern Ukraine and possible military action against Russia. Declaring confrontation with Russia to be all but inevitable, he turned reality on its head, blaming the crisis entirely on Russia and clearing Kiev of all responsibility.

“The simple reality is you can’t resolve a crisis when only one side is willing to do what is necessary to avoid confrontation,” Kerry declared. Citing the April 17 truce talks in Geneva that halted the Kiev regime’s first attempted crackdown, he said: “One week later, it is clear that only one side, one country, is keeping its word. And for anyone who wants to create gray areas out of black, or find in the fine print crude ways to justify crude actions, let’s get real: the Geneva agreement is not open to interpretation.”

He continued: “The world has rightly judged that Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and the Government of Ukraine are working in good faith. And the world, sadly, has rightly judged that Russia has put its faith in distraction, deception, and destabilization.”

Let us, indeed, get real. These arguments have not a shred of credibility, and neither does Mr. Kerry.

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Stephen Lendman

It could happen any time. Kiev putschists said "second stage" operations were launched. Strategy calls for "completely isolat(ing)" Slavyansk. It's a freedom fighting stronghold. Self-defense forces prepared. Coop-appointed presidential administration head Sergey Pashinsky said:

"The aim is to…localize the problem." Operations remain ongoing. Pashinsky lied saying "terrorists have placed their key strong points in kindergartens and hospitals."

He called what doesn't exist "classic terrorism." Freedom fighters denounced him. They called his accusations "ridiculous."

Journalist Graham Phillips said area troops built up. Snipers in forests are positioned. Slavyansk was encircled. Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) first deputy head General Vasily Krutov lied saying:

"We will not go the length of (civilian) casualties to storm the city. We understand that this may lead to many people coming to harm."

Freedom fighters brace for the worst. Fascists give no quarter. Armored vehicles positioned around Slavyansk. Troops with no insignia were spotted. Onslaught could follow any time. So could massacring city residents.

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Wayne Madsen

I Was There. Just Ask The New York Times. (Got A Beard Now...)

A major Central Intelligence Agency conspiracy operation is currently playing out in Eastern Ukraine where, in an age of Photoshop and mail order credentials and military patches, photographs of the same bearded Russian "special forces" commando in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk in Ukraine this year and Georgia in 2008 are being successfully parlayed to the corporate media and by the Ukrainian ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) headquarters in Vienna. The conspiracy operation follows closely on the heels of CIA director John Brennan’s visit to Kiev where he provided intelligence advice to the unelected junta now governing the country…

The idea that an active duty Russian Special Forces soldier would have a long beard is laughable. No one in the Western corporate media has mentioned that long beards for any actual special forces commando is a strict taboo because any long hair can be detrimental in close hand-to-hand combat. Long hair of any type is not permitted for special forces unless a disguise is required for special missions, such as the beards grown by U.S. special forces personnel who entered Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks to make common cause with various anti-Taliban guerrilla forces. The U.S. Special Forces personnel were permitted to wear beards and grow their hair long because to have appeared in the tribal areas without such hair would have made them stand out as foreigners. Generally, however, the potential vulnerabilities inherent with any length of hair that can be pulled by an opponent, including facial hair, is why the Navy SEALS, Green Berets, and the Russian ALFA Group have strict standards barring any long hair among their active duty military personnel except in unusual circumstances like Afghanistan. In 2010, U.S. Special Forces units in Afghanistan were ordered to shave off their beards and conform to military regulation haircuts.

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