By Mikhail Khazin
Source: м.хазин, “о когнитивном диссонансе в позиции евросоюза”
Translated from Russian by Robin
The problems with the European Union’s basic ideology of course involve Germany’s position more specifically. To see it with the utmost clarity, we must recall the standard mantra of the proponents of Western liberalism, whether they are from the European Union, from the United States or homegrown: the West’s main goal in relation to Russia is to explain that adopting basic liberal values inevitably leads to a flourishing economy and happiness all round. If we make any attempt to poke our noses into the real results, they explain that we ourselves are doing everything wrong; specifically, we have created corruption on a massive scale.
I will leave aside the fact that the Western consultants who drilled their liberal values into us were themselves a source of corruption. It’s no secret that many of them lined their pockets during the privatization process, as individuals or corporations. It’s no secret that such privatizations were an entirely criminal process that not only created a huge pool of corrupt officials, but also completely precluded the normal development of small and medium-sized businesses. When the privatization process was coming to an end, the liberal corruptionists morphed into corporate raiders, destroying any businesses that developed outside their control.
All you have to do is look at the wording of bankruptcy laws, court rulings and so on. This situation is the outcome of privatization, and as long as it is not condemned we will be quite naive to expect the country to experience constructive growth. People who have stolen millions if not billions will never allow a normal business environment because they cannot function in normal competitive conditions; most owe their existence to theft from the state’s coffers or to government support.
But let’s get back to the main topic. The people who now govern our country, our entire elite, which was formed from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, espouse the liberal ideology. They are sincerely willing to defend the “sacred right to private property” and take their orders from Washington. They just do not want to take risks or to share power in our country.
Washington often tolerates such situations. Latin American dictators and the Saudi monarchy cannot be called bastions of democracy and freedom. And the U.S. favorite Israel is no angel. But with Russia something went wrong. What happened here is complex and can be discussed at length. It is possible that a quarter century’s worth of efforts to inculcate the people with liberal values failed, and Washington decided that at the start of the global crisis the liberalization policy had to be stepped up. But the Russian elite resisted, fearing genuine popular unrest. Even so, the United States forged ahead.
Of course, this situation did not suit the European Union; it was to the liking of neither Brussels nor Berlin, which were doing a great deal of business with Moscow and were firmly convinced that sooner or later they would reap the rewards. And the Ukraine featured in their plans. But the general idea that the center of power for Eastern Europe should not be in Moscow but in Washington was not questioned. And herein lie the problems.
Moscow has repeatedly asked the same question: if your goal is to instill certain values in us, and if we are ready to accept them, why are you splitting the Ukraine off from Russia? Well, with Eastern Europe it worked, with help from Gorbachev. But those were fearful times – what if suddenly true patriots came to power in the Russian Federation or somewhere else? But, now, what’s the problem? Even in the United States, there are politicians who understand this: американский консерватор n1: «какая сша разница, чей флаг будет развеваться над донецком и луганском.
But today such a question does not count for the United States, which has a purely imperial policy and does not take part in such discussions – [Jennifer] Psaki being a fine example. They have to lie about facts, so they lie; they have to respond with silence to a direct question, so they keep silent. And nothing can be done about it, because no one can punish the United States – so far. In my opinion, however, such a position will backfire on them fairly soon. And the situation is raising questions in Berlin and Brussels.
They are set on turning Ukraine into their own (more precisely, American) sphere of influence. I’m not even going to discuss why; the fact is self-evident. They cannot allow themselves to ignore various unpleasant questions and facts, so they have to engage in discussion. The same question constantly arises, in different versions and interpretations: “Why don’t you want Ukraine to move closer to the EU along with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan?” As soon as this issue comes up, the German/EU representatives panic.
Well, they can’t really tell the truth: in supporting “freedom” and “democracy,” we acknowledge that the United States may violate these values whenever and wherever it wants. And the United States wants to tear the Ukraine away from Russia (because [Zbigniev] Brzezinski said so, and that’s as good a reason as any), and we must help it, even though we understand that this threatens the much-mooted values. We accept that U.S. policy is based solely on its imperial interests, and that it spits on “freedom” and “democracy” (I will not discuss [Victoria] Nuland’s infamous conversations, the interference in vote counting during the election in Ukraine and so on because they have already been cited many times). We acknowledge that we will never speak out against the U.S. position and we will not let anyone even think about doing so. As long as it suits us, of course.
As a result, Berlin/Brussels is in an extremely weak position. They impose servitude on the Ukraine with an agreement that is utterly destroying its economy, they support the coup d’état, they allow a pro-American group in the Ukraine to crudely and cynically rig the election. And after all that, their talk of “freedom” and “democracy” appears highly questionable, not only to Moscow but also to other cities and countries. What can they do in such a situation?
Keep talking about “freedom” and “democracy”? To people who can see how they are dragging Ukraine into “freedom,” organizing death squads, shelling residential neighborhoods with large-caliber weapons and categorically forbidding their fellow citizens from holding alternative points of view (if you are so inclined, you can read about how the Right Sector battalions behave in the Donbass and the territories they occupy)? I won’t say anything at all about the economy.
Tell the truth? But then there is a danger that the power of the anti-elite opposition, which (except in Hungary and Greece) is just starting to make its presence felt in the EU, will increase dramatically. Should the current elite lose control over budgets and currencies, they may lose power forever. And that prospect is extremely unappealing to them.
Come up with some kind of outlandish story? For example, if neo-Nazis come to power in Germany, they will get along swimmingly with Ukraine’s Right Sector. But they too will not necessarily put up with the current, pro-American elite, which will not be needed.
In general, Merkel & Co. have serious problems. If the economy were still strong, it would be possible, as always, to paper over the cracks and absurdities of the official version with infusions of money. But what can be done in today’s situation? There is no good answer. Merkel continues her efforts to stop what is clearly a war and to persuade the U.S. to calm down, even if only for a while. But it’s all in vain because the United States has in fact lost the war, and its imperial arrogance will not allow it to stop, especially with an election at hand. Talk of “freedom” and “democracy” is becoming more irritating, even within the EU. Nor can Merkel pressure the United States for money. I won’t even talk about Brussels.
In general, there is only one thing we can say: if the ideological basis of the European Union, a complex government entity, is built on such a sinister contradiction, as it plainly is, then its days are numbered. And nothing can be done about that.
From jim stone’s site today 5th.
http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/
he’s migrating over says his .is domain will be up very soon.
news not seen anywhere else.
also he’s got a good screed on nutty & just how many bigwigs snubbed his speech so they can feign non-complicity for what jim says nutty will do b4 17th election there.
CONFIRMED: Iran enters Iraq
With invitation from the Iraqi puppet government, Iran sent 60 armored vehicles of various types into Iraq to “help fight “ISIS”. Since we all know ISIS is fake, and Iran does too, this was an interesting move possibly done in preparation for an imminent war.
Iran has always known ISIS is fake, and has played a political card here which probably reads something like: “Let’s take advantage of the ISIS political game America is playing. Let’s use their own psy op to provide a reason to get situated in Iraq, they cannot say no to us “fighting ISIS” without blowing their cover!”
Anonymous
Don’t know what you mean by “ISIS is fake”; it and its close relative al qaeda are real military proxies of the AngloZionists & the Saudis & Qatar. Iran has been helping Syria and Iraq in their battle against these mercenaries regardless of the brand name US currently gives them.
Russia has helped w military equipment, sometimes w naval standoffs (as when US threatened to bomb Syria). Russia (navy) and China (airforce) and Egypt (airforce) are now getting involved w defending Libya from ISIS.
From the EU’s roots as a German-French-Low Countries free trade alliance.I thought what they envisioned was what the EU should have become,a giant Hanseatic League.A free trade pan-European organization strictly concerned with improving the trade and economies of European states.But they morphed (somehow) into a dream world of a European Empire.Taking sovereignty from the member states and slowly creating an unwieldy massive dictatorship.Whose power mostly resides in Germany,France,Britain,and Brussels.
“Uncle Bob 1 March 05, 2015
From the EU’s roots as a German-French-Low Countries free trade alliance.I thought what they envisioned was what the EU should have become,a giant Hanseatic League.A free trade pan-European organization strictly concerned with improving the trade and economies of European states.But they morphed (somehow) into a dream world of a European Empire.Taking sovereignty from the member states and slowly creating an unwieldy massive dictatorship.Whose power mostly resides in Germany,France,Britain,and Brussels.”
“Free trade alliance,” “democracy” and “human rights” comprise the cheap talk that gets the party started. After that, get out of the way and hurry up and die if you’re not in favor of complete corporate dominance with no legal redress and world-wide militarism against all (anti-corporatist) “terrorists.”
The EU has turned into the financial wing of NATO. Far from being an ‘independent voice’ in world affairs, it has simply completed the process of subjugating Eurostan to Washington and Wall Street.
The EEC was never a free-trade alliance. In 1954 France rejected the European Defence Community. US and UK wanted to re-arm Germany to deploy German manpower and had to buy France off so the Coal and Steel Community and Treaty of Rome gave France some control over Germany in return for letting Germany enter NATO. The same year 1957 the D-Mark became convertible.
The EEC was the means to give France influence over a West German State. The Euro was the means to give France control of the Bundesbank once Germany reunited. The war with Russia is the US attempt to stop German technology and Russian resources marrying in the way they did before 1914 with German industrialisation in Russia
Someone posted the link earlier..
Financial collapse leads to war
http://cluborlov.blogspot.dk/2015/03/financial-collapse-leads-to-war.html
The toxic backfire has hit Emerging Market nations squarely. The rising USD exchange rate has inflicted enormous sudden hardship on many developing nations. While the moron at the USDept Treasury post Jacob Lew pounds his proud chest on the supposed strength of the USDollar being good for the nation, the opposite is true both for the United States and foreign nations. The high USD valuation stands as a guillotine for the nation. The USEconomy loses attractiveness for its stock market shares, for its property (both residential and commercial), and for its business output for export destinations. Is Lew that stupid? No, just corrupt intellectually. The pain extends to emerging market nations, whose debt burden has suddenly risen by 20% or more. Another advantage, Jacob the Buffoon? Since 2009, the world has taken advantage of the ultra-low rates to rack up cheap debt. It was a trap, and the trap has closed. Expect some rather big stories very soon on defaulted debt. Expect some big bank failures, not just from Greek Govt debt, or other Southern European government debt to follow, but from Emerging Market debt default. They are reeling.
The USGovt cannot finance its annual deficits. So like any Third World nation, it prints money to cover the debt. The USD must be defended by war. But the actions prompt redoubled efforts to escape the USD clutches. So like any Two-Bit Fascist nation, it wages war on all parties choosing to eschew the currency with public disdain. Refer to both avoidance for trade purposes and diversification for bank reserve purposes. Few US citizens (none solicited by the Jackass so far) have shown the slightest awareness that when the USTreasurys are no longer desired in foreign banking systems, that what follows is their rejection as payment for US imports. They tend to make zero connection between the foreign bank reserves system, using the global reserve currency, and the payment system for trade settlement. In fact, almost no US citizens contacted comprehend what it means for the USD to be used as global reserve. They think only in terms of a home base currency, which happens to appear in foreign shops often. When foreign suppliers refuse the USTBonds, then comes the requirement for the USGovt to launch a new currency which will be accepted in trade payment, but only after some devaluations most assuredly to come in a painful sequence. Only then will the shock hit home, to be sure with propaganda and blame laid with Russia, China, and Arabs. My guess is that the majority of US sheeple will swallow the propaganda whole, like legions of dimwits. A small portion will lay blame at the bankers and politicians, correctly so.
BACKFIRE OF FOREIGN POLICY
The failed policies inflicted upon enemy states have grown in a long list. None are successful, all dismal failures, each implemented with hostility, bravado, and unveiled arrogance. No analysis seems to take place on a failed policy, when the next failed policy is put into place. The nation is a true exception, replete with corruption, war proclivity, and amateurish policy. Whenever the Jackass observes sanctions or a war, the immediate reaction is to search for the next significant loss in strategic position on the geopolitical stage. As preface, in the wake of the Lehman killjob to save Goldman Sachs in September 2008, the US bank leaders, even corporate leaders, were given the cold shoulder at best and formally shunned at worst. The news handed down by the Voice was that US leaders in both government and corporate posts were not given return phone calls by European counterpart leaders. The concept in my mind was born of isolation, which would grow in huge horrible horrendous ways in a rapidly growing pace. With each stumble, with each new recognized bond fraud, with each new imposed failed sanctions, with each new waged war, with each new broken treaty, the United States would be further isolated in the community of nations. It can be safely stated that anything the Washington crew touches turns to shit, and any ally approached turns to the East, all in time. Given the recent track record of failures, it is hard to dismiss claims that the US national leadership is attempting to scuttle the nation in order to cause a systemic failure. A certain lust for totalitarian rule wafts through the Beltway, and has been for a few years. The Rubin Doctrine has run out of time, as no more time can be bought. All systems are breaking in the open. The road has narrowed. The can has turned nuclear. The kicked can has crumbled.
http://www.silverdoctors.com/jim-willie-the-greatest-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound-in-2000-years/#more-51340
If one looks at this from both the understanding that Europe and the USA are under the control of the same oligarchy and that individual countries mean little to them (except untouchable Israel, of course), and with also the realisation that in their war against Russia, Ukraine is a tool to be used like Afghanistan was 30 years ago, then the strange behaviour of the EU quislingship is not so odd after all. The EU quislings are doing the same thing the American quislings do, carrying out the oligarchs’ orders without regard to their impact on their own countries. They, and the zio-media, still have to sell the manure to the people, to varying degrees, so one finds all sorts of rhetorical gymnastics in the public “explanations” for what they are doing that don’t make much sense if one takes this marketing at face value.
More (much more) on Cognitive Dissonance….
There is a long and comprehensive article at
http://oursolaris.blogspot.co.nz/
Using specific news items from “The Independent” UK
it details just how the mainstream media is used to:
* subliminally inculcate specific agendas,
* cleverly deny any alternative storylines,
* constantly reinforces a specific worldview, to the exclusion of all alternatives
If you have an interest in protecting your mind from the
predations of “The NeoCon Matrix” its worth consideration
Maybe even the minds of your friends as well :-)
This is the book with a long story from the insider in the german press:
Udo Ulfkotte – Gekaufte Journalisten
I think it’s not available in english yet.
The main point is journalists got so close to the elite that they think they are the elite. The consider themselves privileged with knowing the truth. The means how to deliver the message are not important, they do as they are told and they consider it okay because there is no other way.
http://www.kopp-verlag.de/Gekaufte-Journalisten.htm?websale8=kopp-verlag&pi=939100
Dear saker,
The answer to most of your questions might alread have been given yesterday by Pepe Escobar: Get ready for BRICS plus Germany. I.e. the EU will persist in some way or the other, but Germany (along with France and Italy) will turn their economy towards BRICS (in fact they already started to do so).
If you want to know what will happen to the Anglo-Saxons, ask what happened to the romans. Oh, ähm, who finished the Roman Empire? Oh my god, the goth (germanic tribe) came down the Dnjepr from Kaliningrad (Königsberg), stopped at a peninsula nowadays named Crimea, later reached Constantinopel and then turned towards the capital.
In short: what happens in Little Russia and New Russia today, is again kind of an endgame, at least a major turning point. And the empire will decline (again). That’s the determination of all empires. The only reason why Russia, Persia or China still exist – they never tried to be a world empire. Think of (ancient) Egypt or the Spanish Empire – gone with the wind, like the Roman Empire. And next is the Empire of Chaos.
Nevertheless, i’m insistent that her name is simply F*cking Victoria – everybody (on earth) will know her by the name she proclaimed herself – and she’s used to get what she wants: f*cking 500mn men and women. Well, i’m not really sure about the 500mn, if they really want to?
Yes, the US trainers in Ukraine is a violation of the Minsk agreement. So what else is new? One important point has been overlooked: Maybe sending US trainers should be encouraged. After all it is a guaranteed predictor of total failure by the army being trained. Witness the collapse of the fully US “trained” Iraqi army against ISIS; The total failure of the Afghan army not to shoot the occupiers instead of the “enemy”; other examples?
The trainers are good. The mission is impossible.
What would make the average Iraqi want to die for Maliki? Similarly in Ukraine.
The dissonance is fast turning into sympathetic resonance. It will only grow stronger and more unpalatable. However, this should only be viewed as the inevitable result of trying to be both a democracy and an empire. In theory, the two are mutually exclusive. In practice, the biggest proponent of empire is the self-proclaimed biggest proponent of “democracy”.
For the EU, the switch from customs union to empire came in full force 2002 with the introduction of the euro. It’s worth noting that even Germany (and by Germany I mean your everyday Germans, not the elite) got the shaft with the introduction of the euro. If a loaf of bread cost 5 Deutschmarks on Dec.31 2001, it should have been 2.5 euro the next day. But on Jan. 1, that same loaf still cost 5, but rather 5 euros. Purchasing power of everyday Germans was halved overnight. It was widespread and people were pissed. Not pissed enough to start questioning the EU due to their infatuation the “European project” and decades of subservience to the US, bit still worth noting.
My question is whether the turn to empire was indigenous by the EU’s elites, or if it was “hijacked” by the US to shape it into something more like itself. The march toward a stronger and stronger central government was a boon to US elites, did Europe’s elite want to play to? Destroying 28 national governments in the name of the overarching EU certainly streamlines corruption and cronyism.
Cash cow in the short-term, but in the long run, there be troubles abrewin’ on the horizon for Berlin. As it has been noted, the EU is up the proverbial creek sans paddle. The national economies have been pillaged by Brussels and industry sacrificed on the alter of “competitive advantage.” The only economies still on their feet are that of Germany and France. Which leads us to the current dilemma of Paris and Berlin: now that there’s nothing left to raid, who are they to trade with while still being Kings of the EU hill? The Siamese surgery stitching together 28 countries should, on the face of things, make it hard for Germany and France to go it alone. But my guess is that they will anyway (knowing they have no other option) by means of US-style do-as-we-say-not-as-we-do shenanigans. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately for everyone else, this will only hasten the inevitable breakup of the EU.
.
The exact same thing happened in the UK when they went decimal in the early 70’s a pint of beer which cost 3/- (shillings) in the old money now cost 30 new pence (6/-) – result.
I’ve found some cognitive dissonance to be healthy. I get in trouble when I am tricked into a straight-jacket by some cognitive simpleton with power.
There is something very sick in the Western mentality when Russia is involved
The fact is that the US and UK have now found a brand new way to expand power and territory. It goes like this: First find a discontented group in a target country; if it is not already discontented start a propaganda campaign to make it discontented. Provide it with the arms and training needed to launch a rebellion against the government. When that government moves to counter the rebellion tell the world the rebels are being cruelly persecuted and under R2P it is your responsibility to help them gain independence. Then provide whatever military aid is needed to force that government to back down (bombing essential infrastructure is very useful here). When it does back down then, hey presto, you have gained a new client state, and maybe bases from which you can plan your next move, as in the former Yugoslaiva.
Alernatively, as in Ukraine, you join with a weak, incompetent government trying to suppress a justified uprising. That way, if you succeed, you can also gain a client state and maybe some bases too. Either way it is an easy way to convince yourself and others that you are a saviour for the world’s oppressed. It is also an ugly scenario for eventual world domination.
Kharkiv today facebook “Dear foreign friends,
most of you can’t make donations in support of another country’s army,
but you can still help:
we need to buy a pickup truck for the hospital in Shchastya (a town in Luhansk region that is under constant terrorist fire). Medics from this hospital evacuate wounded civilians and soldiers from the most critical spots on the battlefield.
Their only vehicle was demolished in a recent artillery strike.
Please help.
Payments in EUR and USD can be made to:”
DIRECT FLIGHT FROM KHARKIV TO TEL AVIV WILL BE LAUNCHED SOON
Direct regular flight from Kharkiv to Tel Aviv will be launched on May 17, 2015. Flights on the route will be operated by the Ukrainian International Airlines on Boeing 737.
DURING THE LATEST YEAR KHARKIVITES PRAY FOR UKRAINE DAILY
Since March 2, 2014 till today, Christians from different denominations come to Freedom Square every morning at 07:00 and bended knees praying to God for Ukraine.
FIGHTERS OF SPECIAL POLICE BATTALION “SKHIDNY KORPUS” (EASTERN CORPS) RETURNED TO KHARKIV
Fifty soldiers were in Mariupol, where they guarded public order, neutralized terrorists and combated criminals.
Small recall: the fighters were sent to Mariupol on 30 January, but they stayed there for 26 days instead of 45.
administration of Kharkiv refused to declare Russia terrorist state so
The head of the Radical party, Oleg Lyashko asked the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to consider the dissolution of the city and regional councils of Kharkov for not recognizing Russia as an “aggressor”.
“Today an extraordinary event took place in Kharkov. Kharkov regional council refused to include in the agenda the recognition of Russia as an aggressor. Let me remind you, that earlier the Kharkov city council refused to recognize Russia as an aggressor. I think this is an extremely dangerous event. Kharkov region is a border region. [!!!] When the city and regional councils refuse to recognize Russia as an aggressor, then tomorrow they can hold a referendum on the accession of the Kharkov region to Russia,” – said Lyashko.
The politician promised to register a draft law on the dissolution of the regional and city councils of Kharkov, as well as new elections. However, he did not stop there.
“Kharkov regional and city councils should be dissolved for contributing to terrorism, conducting anti-state activities. As a minimum – dissolution, and the maximum – Kharkov mayor Kernes and the head of the Kharkov regional Council should be shot,” – suggested deputy Lyashko.
Fortruss.
Signs of the times?
Note Latvia’s Defence Minister getting uptight these days, despite Presidency of Eu being held by Latvia………March 6. /TASS/. A possible decision to disconnect Russia from international financial message system SWIFT can be compared to an “atomic weapon,” Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said on Friday.
I have just realised—-a Boeing 737 from kharkiv to tel aviv…..
I hope that is not a flight route over east ukraine and syria to be a false flag, the third Boeing………just feeling nervous
Big oil is still bullish on Russia:
Summary
XOM’s acquisitions in Russia continued to soar in 2014 despite geopolitical concerns.
XOM now has more than 4 times the exploration rights in Russia as they have in the US.
A rising failure rate in the West means XOM’s Russia exposure will be hugely important in the years to come.
Russia Is Exxon Mobil’s Future, And The Future Is Bright – Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) | Seeking Alpha
But it is not really hard to understand. The oligarchs who control the West want to break up Russia, depopulate those states, and then steal the resources. This is a losing deal for a high percentage of Russian elites. Saying that they are liberal is irrelevant.
There are many elites in Europe who want to develop a good relationship with the Eurasian Union, but, even there, they may want Germany/EU to dominate Eastern Europe, which puts Russia in a position of such weakness that it looks like a declaration of war.
When it all boils down it is the Constitution that holds a nation to account. There is a most interesting interview with Russia’s London Ambassador at:
http://www.rusemb.org.uk/foreignpolicy/3033
Apologies. The above post was incorrect. It was Foreign office spokesman Alexander Lukashevich who made the comments