Thread: Today's @Guardian/@ObserverUK editorial reads like a giant neocon temper tantrum. Right off the bat, we are warned how Putin is "destroying the whole post-Cold War order", presumably the one which formerly allowed the US and NATO to rampage across the globe with impunity We are also told that it was "ill-advised" to deny St. Zel a firm date for entry into NATO. Yes, we missed a golden opportunity to accelerate the start of WWIII. Bummer.

Forgive me but the steady and frighteningly exponential rise of US anti-diplomacy impels me to promote once more the biography of my step-grandfather Llewellyn S. Thompson.

1/4 Ambassador Thompson could be fairly described as the anti-McFaul. Eschewing self-promotion, his tenacity and self-effacing commitment to diplomacy saw him negotiate Cold War treaties such as the Treaty of Trieste and the landmark Austria State Treaty.

2/4

Archie Clouseau replaces Hercule Poirot in this thrilling Guardian NS2 whodunnit: "MSM Clowns in the Pipeline".

Let's get started! Chapter 1: "Plausibility"

Archie sits in his office, staring blankly at Sy Hersh's piece on NS2. The phone rings. It's the boss. "MI6 says we're on!" Archie punches the air. "Let's rock and roll!" The mighty MSM connoisseur of extreme plausibility swing into action!

As Ukraine collapses and a settlement becomes inevitable, expect to hear much more about frustrated Russian ambitions.

The key to any peace deal is for NATO to be able to spin it as a defeat for Russia. eg.

"Russia failed to conquer all of Ukraine"

"Russia failed to destroy NATO unity"

"Russia failed to blackmail the EU by cutting off energy supplies"

blah, blah, blah

The Russian setback in Kharkov has produced some truly deranged euphoria. Michael McFaul has proclaimed the end of something called "Putinism". Ben Hodges goes further and declares that this is the end of the Russian Federation. A few observations: What the hell is "Putinism"? Is it taught in schools and universities? (real ones, I mean - not McFaul's NED Obedience Training School hosted by Stanford).

There are lies, there is propaganda and then there is the output of Julian Borger of the God awful @Guardian.

He takes advantage of Gorbachev's death to attempt to portray Putin as an enemy of arms control. Really? Who tore up ABM treaty? Or INF? Or Blue Skies? Borger says Putin destroyed Gorbachev's legacy turning a blind eye to what transpired in between Gorbachev and Putin: a decade of unbridled oligarchy and a poverty free-for-all under Yeltsin

Putting an end to a status quo that impoverished Russia warrants no mention.

I want to comment on an article that appeared in the Guardian several days ago (see below). It was a Q&A designed to whitewash Ukraine of all responsibility for the war but one claim in particular drew my attention namely..../1

theguardian.com/world/2022/mar… ...that assurances given by Western leaders to Gorbachev of no NATO expansion eastwards is "hotly contested" with skepticism provided in the form of a paper by Mark Kramer, senior fellow of Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies /2

ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/journals/twq/v…

Thread:

I have watched in utter despair over the past 2 decades and more as one wise voice after another counselling caution has been shunned by the neocon NATO triumphalists and their media fanboys who have never hidden their desire to bring Russia permanently to its knees.../1 ....a task as feasible as changing the earth's orbit as anyone with any appreciation of the Russian mindset or Russian history will know.

No one can believe that with all the warnings given, the US/NATO simply did not understand what it was doing by expanding relentlessly.../2

The dream summit:

Mighty McFailure is the keynote speaker at the upcoming “Summit for Democracy” extravaganza.

Bill Browder explains how Magnitsky died for our freedom

Christopher Steele addresses the importance of defending democracy with reliable intelligence gathering. 1/ Rob Reiner outlines Hollywood’s latest initiatives to keep us all safe from Putin.

Luke Harding updates us on the ongoing Manafort-Assange conspiracy and what it means for democracy.

Garry Kasparov delivers a hundred new chess analogies to explain how Putin’s brain works. 2/