Monthly Archives: April 2022

Indo-Russian Ties Complicate Indian Balancing Act Between America, China

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Andrew Korybko, an American political analyst in Moscow and author of several books on US color revolutions, or hybrid wars, analyzes the delicate balance between the super-powers driving both India and Russia:

An American Official Accidentally Got It Right About Russia and India:

Exactly as Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh said, the potentially disproportionate dependence that Russia might eventually come to have on China could have real implications for India and obviously be unfavorable. It’s with these credible strategic concerns in mind that India is seeking to preemptively thwart that scenario from ever materializing by functioning as an alternative Western pressure valve for Russia so that it doesn’t have to disproportionately depend on China to that end.

The US’ understanding of Russian-Indian relations is outdated as evidenced by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland’s inaccurate assessment of their ties just the other day. This is partly because such figures remain ignorant of the emotional element in their relationship, but one American official just accidentally got it right. Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) for International Economics Daleep Singh was just in New Delhi where he responded to a question from the Hindustan Times regarding US President Joe Biden’s scandalous claim that India’s position in the Quad is “somewhat shaky” with respect to Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.
The relevant part of his answer is as follows:
“China is a strategic threat to a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific. If you set that against the reality that China and Russia have now declared a no limits partnership, and that Russia has said that China is its most important strategic partner, by extension, that has real implications for India. No one should kid themselves – Russia is going to be the junior partner in this relationship with China. And the more leverage that China gains over Russia, the less favourable that is for India. I don’t think anyone would believe that if China once again breached the Line of [Actual] Control, that Russia would come running to India’s defence.”
The rest of the analysis will explain what he got right and why, as well as the part that he still got wrong.
Singh wasn’t correct in his threat assessment of China but that was to be expected since he represents the greatest geopolitical opponent of the People’s Republic after all. Be that as it may, it’s his right to describe whoever he wants however he wants, but his claim about Russia not coming to India’s defense was factually false. Reports from the time of those two Asian Great Powers’ clash along the Galwan River Valley in summer 2020 suggested that Russia made early deliveries of ammunition and weapons to India worth $1 billion during that time. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh (no relation) also traveled to Moscow shortly after to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade and negotiate even more military deals.
It’s what Deputy NSA Singh got right, however, that’s worthwhile focusing on. Like the author explained in the first hyperlinked analysis in the present piece connected to Nuland’s inaccurate assessment of Russian-Indian relations, New Delhi is indeed driven by the fear that Moscow could become Beijing’s junior partner to remain steadfastly loyal to its half-century-long special and privileged strategic partner through its policy of principled neutrality towards the Ukrainian Conflict. Exactly as Singh said, the potentially disproportionate dependence that Russia might eventually come to have on China could have real implications for India and obviously be unfavorable.

Former WSJ Publisher Censors News Websites With Nutrition Labels

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From Politico.com:

Labeling through extensive disclosure is more practical on the internet than in print or through broadcasts, where space is limited. Disclosures online can be detailed enough to give readers all the information they need to decide how trustworthy to consider a source. My analyst colleagues at NewsGuard often write “Nutrition Labels” for news sites in the thousands of words, with numerous citations, to explain why sites like RT and Sputnik News fail basic criteria of journalistic practice and differ fundamentally from government news sources with effective independent charters such as the BBC. Microsoft makes NewsGuard’s detailed ratings and reviews of news websites available to its users, but the other large platforms don’t yet provide this kind of transparency to their users. And labels work: Gallup research found that when given access to apolitical source ratings, a majority of readers became less likely to believe or share news from websites rated untrustworthy and more likely to believe and share news from websites rated trustworthy.”

Yet another example of the pervasive censorship and distortion that plagues the so-called free press.

Lower ratings will automatically be slapped on unpopular political positions, even those voiced by completely marginal internet blogs and websites, the last remaining strong-holds of pure truth-telling. The lower ratings will translate into lower rankings by the search engines and that will lead to a precipitous drop in readership. Wrong-think will not simply be devalued. It will be silenced.

Conspiracy To Assassinate PM Modi Uncovered

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From Zee News:

An email has been sent to kill PM Narendra Modi, according to reports. The sender has reportedly saud that he has 20 kg of RDX and can kill thousands of people. “I’m planning 20 attacks across the country,” the sender says in the mail.  Going by the email, it sems that the person has grievances against PM Modi and says he has “destroyed his life”. In the mail, the sender further mentions that he is ” in touch with people who can do this job and will create major tragedy for this country. I have activated sleeper cells on February 28.”

 

RDX is otherwise known as cyclonite and is a chemical used in explosives, apparently.

Is this an April Fool’s Day prank or for real?

Hate-Russia Is Part Of The Internet Counter-Reformation

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The Internet Reformation [h/t to Anthony Wile of The Daily Bell ] is the notion that the widespread use of the internet was the equivalent of the  widespread use of the printed word, following on Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press.

It was an unveiling of things that had been hidden until then, from the teachings of the Bible to the workings of nature. It was an apocalypse, if you will, of the same magnitude as what is taking place today, with the adoption of the Internet.

Something similar was supposed to have happened with the Internet. The monopoly of the large media houses was supposed to have been shattered and replaced by the voices of citizens. And it was. But this Reformation was barely underway in 2007, when the Internet Counter-Reformation mounted its assault, using dozens of large anonymous or pseudonymous “citizen media” outlets, which, on careful examination, proved to have been astro-turfed.

That is, they led straight back to the mainstream media [MSM] and to the mainstream alternative media, to use an oxymoron.

I have explained who these mainstream alternatives are elsewhere.

They include outlets like Democracy Now, Alternet, Breitbart, Daily Caller and dozens of others.

These are just a few I’ve picked that are widely read on all sides of the political spectrum.  There are scores of other sites that are just as influential that I have not named. They too belong here. As do hundreds of smaller ones, for whom the words below are equally relevant.

The mainstream alternatives constitute what the now-disappeared Zahir Ebrahim

[who seems to have resurfaced through a mirror blog of some kind]

has dubbed the dissentstream, 

a body of dissent, which, on closer examination, reinforces in subtle ways the assumptions and conclusions of the mainstream media, both establishment and alternative.

This body of dissent mixed with disinformation is allowed to exist because of the variety of uses it has for the state:

It acts a  release-valve for citizen frustration and hostility

It provides maximum cognitive diversity in the information environment

Is provides maximum cover for information operations and black operations conducted by the intelligence services

It allows war- gaming of various planned or mulled future scenarios

It traces and surveils social networks of potential and real dissidents

It disciplines bloggers/citizens to self-censor, through high-profile highly visible pundit take-downs and cancellations

It tests the public mood and readiness for various covert and public projects

It employs predictive programming, aka “revelation of the method,” as described by Michael Hoffman

[The notion of predictive programming is regarded as a conspiracy theory by the media-academic-think-tank complex, which is now sending anyone who looks for it on a Google search to the term, predictive coding. Previously, you could find predictive programming on the first page of a Google search for the term.]

It generates and develops memes that mold public consciousness and markets

It taps potential markets and creates new one

It takes without credit, ideas, research, innovations, and leads and uses them to reward and enrich preferred individuals and companies  and to suppress and impoverish other voices

That is not an exhaustive list, by any means.

Bottom line:

The media is not about informing the public. It is about misleading it and milking it.

The media is not about revealing the truth. It is about paralyzing the will and diverting/exhausting attention and resources.

 

 

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