Yesterday a Ukrainian cruise missile, sent to hit a tasty target for the Ukrainians, the Kerch Bridge linking mainland Russia with Crimea, was shot down. Concurrently Kiev admitted to the previous attack on the bridge in October last year which was successful. Widely termed a terrorist attack it seems this announcement of Ukrainian responsibility appears designed to elicit some admiration from the attendees tomorrow. However, it is much more likely to elicit a condemnation of Ukraine as a terrorist state by Russia.
In any event Kiev continues to struggle to come up with anything resembling a striking success in its offensive. Though you might believe otherwise if you read western newspapers and watch western news bulletins. Each of these has been rather creative in their approach to the facts and supremely economical with the truth. Their recipe is to take the tiniest morsel of a few metres gain in ground by the Ukrainian military and bulk it up with a mass of hyperbole. This seems to go down well with many westerners who are anxious to see Kiev succeed.
The tactics above by western press and media have been very successful so far with a PR campaign that is well-funded and which has endured for the duration of the conflict. George Orwell would be very appreciative concerning the depth, breadth and success of the conditioning that both political and media elites have achieved. So perhaps no real successes are required regarding the current offensive, western news media can provide all the ingredients necessary to impress NATO elites tomorrow.
The conflict in the Donbass region began in the spring of 2014 when Kiev sent its army and militia sidekicks to stir up trouble for the civilian population there who had decided they would rather not be ruled by an illegal coup regime with modern day Nazis holding important positions within it. Their preference was for the democratically-elected president and government that had been overthrown and acted to resist their enslavement within a political system incorporating henchmen that despised them. This reality was not communicated to western publics however. A different tale was conjured up which made the victims the bad guys and made the bad guys into virtual saints.
The trend above to fabricate a reality and communicate it widely became known as fake news though this term was applied to those who insisted on telling the truth by communicating reality rather than a constantly rehashed fantasy. Once again George Orwell would likely have smiled ruefully in appreciation.
Time and time again the “saintly” criminals of the kiev regime sent a tasty morsel of “news” to their faithful stenographers within western mainstream media and of course it was faithfully transferred to western publics. With all mainstream news outlets having sworn allegiance to their western state leaderships from 9/11 onwards a perfect pressure cooker of lies could be kept constantly on the boil.
Atrocity porn followed atrocity porn, war crimes, crimes against humanity, claims of unending inhumanity by the Russians poured out in a constant stream. Who could blame hapless western citizens when they were deluged with this material hourly that they began to implicitly believe it. Their brains were not only being washed, they were being boiled, their grey matter decomposed, rendered bland and converted to a rather tasteless soup. They are of course busy people. Survival in the western world requires fortitude and alertness to danger with stresses and demands being ubiquitous on a daily basis. Work, relationships, leisure and entertainment take most of the attention available. Only a very few have the inclination, or time to spare from their busy lives, to double check what they are being told by their favourite news media options.
So, tomorrow we can expect a feast of fake news regarding Ukraine’s wonderful successes on the battlefield. Stories of brave derring-do by saintly Ukrainian soldiers. Tales of an admirable Kiev regime that pluckily fights back against the evil Russian hordes, veritable Davids against a horrendous Goliath. Will it do the trick? It will have to as the reality of the meal being served up resembles a pretty stinky gruel that NATO noses would certainly eschew.
Will they swallow what’s offered? It must strongly be suspected that they will accept it wholeheartedly and even give it a five star rating. Little Zelensky will once again be transformed semantically into a giant among men, a valiant defender of all decent western values such as democracy and freedom (this despite him jailing those opposed to his policies and shutting down all media not agreeing with them). Ukrainian flags will fly proudly, not a trace of blood upon them. The rhetoric will be strident. Support for Ukraine will be unqualified. Unity will be displayed by all. The choreography of lies will be honed to perfection.
And the meal afterwards? What of it?
Will it be delicious? Will Ukrainians lick their lips in anticipation of yet another course? And then another and another…?
The above may well occur. But what of reality, that awkward customer who can spoil any party where so many cooks have worked so hard? Though you know the saying about too many cooks and the broth, don’t you?
Reality, grungy, horrible reality is all set to intrude and as is becoming the custom these days will be delivered by road. It may well be tasteless fare for the designer suited NATO attendees. They may turn up their noses, even spit in disgust, lips writhing and hot-blooded eyes popping in rage… however, their facade of fake war success will not prevail, it will not stand for more than a day.
What is that other saying that’s somewhat apposite in this culinary themed context?
Revenge (like reality) is a dish best served cold?
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