This is a fantastic investigative report -- kudos to you, Lee, and to RealClear Investigations! This puts the NYT, WaPo, and other so-called journalistic companies to shame.
The devil is in the details you reported. It puts the lie to the White House/State Dept./Congressional propaganda about Ukraine.
Here's the Orwellian world we live in: Biden and Congressional Democrats are campaigning on a "save democracy" platform, tagging Trump as "a threat to democracy." Look at the names of these groups you reported on -- "National Endowment for Democracy," "Open Information Partnership" and so on. Sheesh. And all the evidence you documented shows the real threat to democracy are these so-called democrats.
Jeffrey Sachs has impeccable credentials and a lifetime of service promoting open societies. John Mearsheimer is a distinguished political scientist whose "crime" was in writing a book titled "Th Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" in 2007, exposing AIPAC and other foreign agents masquerading as American organizations. And true journalists like Greenwald, Taibbi, and you, among others, are the ones committed to an open society.
We know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Keep up the great work.
An open society is committed to the free flow of information and views, and to a "marketplace of ideas" -- and not to a monopoly of ideas as many in both parties want.
No, nothing suspicious, just cryptic as I said. It baffled me a bit. Also, I don't view an "open society" as an "ideology" -- to me, an ideology reeks of pre-packaged thinking, while an open society is just that -- a society open to all viewpoints and a robust exchange of ideas and information.
Hmmm. Your comment seems a bit cryptic. Do you mean to assert that Ukraine ought to be a sovereign nation, or do you mean that Palestine should be a sovereign nation? Do you mean that Israel should allow free borders so Palestinians should be able to work in Israel, or do you mean that the U.S. should allow immigrants to freely come across our borders? Please clarify.
None of this U.S. and U.S. backed censorship will ever be rolled back. Once it is out of the bottle the opening keeps getting larger. The mainstream news media has betrayed the American people. Except for independent journalists who still perform their function as a check on government abuse, we no longer have any institutions that protect citizens. All of them are corrupt. Social platforms that allow views counter to the government line such as substack or Rumble will not be able to hold out forever against the power of the state. Goodbye democracy.
The demonization of Putin and Russia has been very successful in England. My youngest daughter lives there and is convinced if Ukraine doesn’t push Russia back and join NATO, Russia will be emboldened to invade Europe and even use nuclear weapons. And she’s a well educated young woman but the BBC reports any criticism of Zelensky as Russian disinformation. I sent her articles about the attacks on the Russian Orthodox churches and monasteries thinking she would be more open to hearing Greenwald, Mate and Sachs but she’s firmly convinced they’ve been duped and the reports were exaggerated Russian propaganda. The success of this campaign is chilling.
Does anyone know the circumstances surrounding the American journalist, Gonzalo Lira? My search turns up that he died in a Ukrainian prison. There's just been radio silence on this issue.
No, but great question. Oddly, Americans were more interested in Alexi Navalny. A con-man whose willingness to be used by MI6 and CIA backfired. Still, most Americans mourn his death than what happened to Lira that caused his death in a Ukrainian prison, if Americans even know anything about Gonzalo Lira.
Even Ukrainian intelligence chief confirmed that Navalny, CIA-trained to become Russia’s Zelensky, died of natural cause while being negotiated for a prisoner exchange.
Beyond maddening--downright criminal--that it no longer seems to matter which party is in power when it comes to making peace over war in Ukraine or the Middle East, for that matter.
It is outrageous that the president of a foreign country which we are sending billions of dollars to would have the nerve to accuse sitting congressmen of being under the influence of Russia.
Thank you, Lee. Many suspected something of this nature going on behind the scenes. It’s taken your excellent shoe leather reporting to bring it to the fore.
This shortsighted reliance on censorship only hollows out support. This is true both for Ukrainian and Brazilian governments, as it is for the US deep state. It didn't work for the Soviets either, but with deep thinkers, like Nina Jankowicz, what do you expect?
Masterful reporting, Lee. Thank you. Your dedication to journalism is greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much. Another great article, thoughtful analysis backed by supporting facts.
This is a fantastic investigative report -- kudos to you, Lee, and to RealClear Investigations! This puts the NYT, WaPo, and other so-called journalistic companies to shame.
The devil is in the details you reported. It puts the lie to the White House/State Dept./Congressional propaganda about Ukraine.
Here's the Orwellian world we live in: Biden and Congressional Democrats are campaigning on a "save democracy" platform, tagging Trump as "a threat to democracy." Look at the names of these groups you reported on -- "National Endowment for Democracy," "Open Information Partnership" and so on. Sheesh. And all the evidence you documented shows the real threat to democracy are these so-called democrats.
Jeffrey Sachs has impeccable credentials and a lifetime of service promoting open societies. John Mearsheimer is a distinguished political scientist whose "crime" was in writing a book titled "Th Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" in 2007, exposing AIPAC and other foreign agents masquerading as American organizations. And true journalists like Greenwald, Taibbi, and you, among others, are the ones committed to an open society.
We know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Keep up the great work.
What do you mean by open society?
An open society is committed to the free flow of information and views, and to a "marketplace of ideas" -- and not to a monopoly of ideas as many in both parties want.
I really was just trying to clarify the points of an open society ideology. Is there something suspicious about my question?
No, nothing suspicious, just cryptic as I said. It baffled me a bit. Also, I don't view an "open society" as an "ideology" -- to me, an ideology reeks of pre-packaged thinking, while an open society is just that -- a society open to all viewpoints and a robust exchange of ideas and information.
Does it also commit to the free flow of people across borders? Or allow for sovereign nations?
Hmmm. Your comment seems a bit cryptic. Do you mean to assert that Ukraine ought to be a sovereign nation, or do you mean that Palestine should be a sovereign nation? Do you mean that Israel should allow free borders so Palestinians should be able to work in Israel, or do you mean that the U.S. should allow immigrants to freely come across our borders? Please clarify.
None of this U.S. and U.S. backed censorship will ever be rolled back. Once it is out of the bottle the opening keeps getting larger. The mainstream news media has betrayed the American people. Except for independent journalists who still perform their function as a check on government abuse, we no longer have any institutions that protect citizens. All of them are corrupt. Social platforms that allow views counter to the government line such as substack or Rumble will not be able to hold out forever against the power of the state. Goodbye democracy.
The demonization of Putin and Russia has been very successful in England. My youngest daughter lives there and is convinced if Ukraine doesn’t push Russia back and join NATO, Russia will be emboldened to invade Europe and even use nuclear weapons. And she’s a well educated young woman but the BBC reports any criticism of Zelensky as Russian disinformation. I sent her articles about the attacks on the Russian Orthodox churches and monasteries thinking she would be more open to hearing Greenwald, Mate and Sachs but she’s firmly convinced they’ve been duped and the reports were exaggerated Russian propaganda. The success of this campaign is chilling.
I was wondering where you were. Nice to see your substack today👏💕
Does anyone know the circumstances surrounding the American journalist, Gonzalo Lira? My search turns up that he died in a Ukrainian prison. There's just been radio silence on this issue.
I think Glenn Greenwald interviewed Gonzalo Lira’s father a few weeks ago. That is the last I heard on it.
No, but great question. Oddly, Americans were more interested in Alexi Navalny. A con-man whose willingness to be used by MI6 and CIA backfired. Still, most Americans mourn his death than what happened to Lira that caused his death in a Ukrainian prison, if Americans even know anything about Gonzalo Lira.
Even Ukrainian intelligence chief confirmed that Navalny, CIA-trained to become Russia’s Zelensky, died of natural cause while being negotiated for a prisoner exchange.
Beyond maddening--downright criminal--that it no longer seems to matter which party is in power when it comes to making peace over war in Ukraine or the Middle East, for that matter.
Thanks for your excellent article, helps to buoy me up in these very difficult times.
It is outrageous that the president of a foreign country which we are sending billions of dollars to would have the nerve to accuse sitting congressmen of being under the influence of Russia.
Thank you, Lee.
I'm going to have to read this a second time...lots of moving parts. Fascinating
Looks like the US is the spreader of disinformation - at least as much as everyone else.
Masterful reporting.
Looks like “Mary Poppins” will be useful somewhere … all of this is sickening. The stench of it!
Lee Fang, thank you. This is a heavy piece to read. We so appreciate your efforts!
Thank you, Lee. Many suspected something of this nature going on behind the scenes. It’s taken your excellent shoe leather reporting to bring it to the fore.
This shortsighted reliance on censorship only hollows out support. This is true both for Ukrainian and Brazilian governments, as it is for the US deep state. It didn't work for the Soviets either, but with deep thinkers, like Nina Jankowicz, what do you expect?