Freedom or Fascism

by Stephen Lendman

Fascist regimes run America and Ukraine. Democracy is pure fantasy. Monied interests control things. People have no say.

Fundamental freedoms don't matter. They're trampled on. They're crushed. Ukraine is Obama's latest imperial trophy. Holding it is another matter entirely.

Democracy was systematically quashed. Washington elevated fascist putschists to power.

They're unelected. They're radicalized ultranationalists. They're overt anti-Semites. They're militant thugs. They have no legitimacy whatever.

They're convenient US stooges. They're puppets. They take orders from Washington.

They masquerade as politicians. They represent mob rule. They make mafia bosses look saintly by comparison.

Growing thousands of Eastern Ukrainians resist. They reject Kiev fascists. They do so for good reason.

Maybe their Western counterparts will join them. Maybe a national convulsion will erupt.

Freedom is too precious to lose. Nothing remains without it. Ordinary people are putting their bodies on the line to save it.

They're doing so courageously. They deserve worldwide support. They represent model resistance for others to emulate.

Kiev putschists have no legitimacy. They're waging war on their own people. They're doing it no-holds-barred.

They're murdering people in cold blood. They're doing it at Washington's urging.

Gangsterism reflects official US policy. Accountability is absent. Permanent war is longstanding. Peace is pure illusion.

Governance is secretive, ruthless and lawless. It's dressed up to look respectable in legal mumbo jumbo.

Monied interests run things. Duopoly power represents it. Checks and balances don't exist.

Nor separation of powers. Nor government of, by and for everyone equitably. Claiming otherwise is fantasy.

Corporate-controlled media manipulate people duplicitously.

Managed news misinformation rubbish substitutes for real news, information and analysis.

"Dollar imperialism, threats, bribes, and wars are" ways America pursues unchallenged global hegemony, says Paul Craig Roberts.

At stake is world peace. It's democracy or fascism. It's rule of law governance or tyranny.

It's freedom or serfdom. It's societies fit or unfit to live in. It's life or death. It's survival or demise.

Ordinary people must decide. Preserving constitutional protections requires fighting for them. Doing so means challenging ruthless authority.

Today's America is militarized. At federal, state and local levels. Police state lawlessness reflects it.

Neocons infest Washington. Bipartisan criminals run things. They're complicit with bankers, war profiteers and other corporate crooks.

Rotten to the core gangsterism reflects US policy. It's a malignancy in America's heartland. It's self-destructive. Its dark side endangers everyone.

Dissent is increasingly challenged. So is free expression. Without it, all other rights may die.

Privilege is defended. Popular needs don't matter. Social justice is suffocating in plain sight. So are precious civil and human rights.

Elections when held don't matter. They're farcical. Half the electorate usually opts out.

It bears repeating. Democracy is pure illusion. It's excluded from ballots. Monied interests are permanently empowered.

Hot, financial and political wars are waged for profit. For unchallenged dominance. For top-down control.

For hardening it extrajudicially. Under Washington rules. Constitutional ones don't matter.

For institutionalizing tyranny. For preventing fundamental freedoms. So-called Democrats are indistinguishable from Republicans.

They're two sides of the same coin. Longstanding bipartisan policy is horrific. It mocks legitimacy.

It's pro-war, anti-peace, anti-democracy, anti-freedom, pro-business, anti-populist, anti-labor, anti-general welfare, and anti-rule of law governance.

It's polar opposite what everyone deserves. It reveals America's dark. Resisting tyranny is a universal right.

Electoral participation won't do it. Corrupted monied interests make policy. Inequality is unprecedented. So is repressive governance.

Change is possible. Disruptive power works. Popular struggles reflect it. Ordinary people can make a difference.

They have power when using it. Collective defiance is required. Sustaining it. For the long haul.

For total commitment. For fundamental rights. For ones too precious to lose.

In February, Washington toppled Ukraine's legitimate government. It elevated fascist putschists to power.

They masquerade as legitimate. Washington extends full support. So do media scoundrels. They defend the indefensible. They back what demands rejection.

Kiev declared war on its own people. Fascist regimes operate this way.

Fighting rages in Slavyansk. Loud blasts reflect it. So does heavy gunfire.

Full-scale military operations continue. In Slavyansk. In Kramatorsk. In northern Donetsk region.

On Sunday, fighting escalated. Ukrainian forces tried dismantling self-defense posts. Casualty numbers aren't known.

RT International stringer Graham Phillips reported military action around Slavyansk's outskirts.

"There had been repeated blasts, and we have reports that the Ukrainian military is on all sides of the city, he said.

"We have heavy fighting to the east of the city. I went there several hours ago, and we had gunfire breaking out by eight o'clock."

"We had reports of the Ukrainian military moving in at that side."

"We got reports that they are moving in from the south, north and also action at the airfield at Kramatorsk."

"There is a conflict between the Ukrainian army and pro-Donetsk forces there."

Phillips reported "loud blasts, explosions…reverberations of gunfire ricocheting around the city."

"The gunfire is a fabric of daily life now in Slavyansk, but this is the heaviest fighting I've heard in Slavyansk since I got here over a month ago," he said.

Ukraine doubled its area forces, he believes.

"(W)hat you see now seems to be the sharpest and strongest action yet on their part to try to retake the city, which has been in the hands of these pro-Donetsk activists since April 12," he added.

Slavyansk People's Mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryov said "(t)he city came under fire (Saturday) afternoon and continued throughout the night."

"Our self-defense force joined the fighting and eliminated up to seven attackers."

Ukraine's military uses heavy weapons. They include tanks, artillery, mortars, and helicopter gunships.

Their forces "tr(ied) to advance further inside the city," said Ponomaryov. "We are not letting them do that but keep them in the outskirts."

Miroslav Rudenko is Donetsk People's Republic co-chairman. He's deputy self-defense force commander.

He reported full-scale hostilities around Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. Fighting began Saturday. It continued Sunday. "Things got pretty tough," he said.

Kiev National Guard extremists killed at least 10 Ukrainian soldiers.

They refused to attack their own people. They tried defecting.

Stella Khorosheva is Ponomaryov's spokeswoman. She confirmed what happened.

Other Ukrainian soldiers are increasingly displeased. They're angry. They reject waging war on their own people.

Self-defense fighters met some near Kramatorsk. Their spokesman said they "don't want war. They don't want to shoot or kill anyone."

"Many come from our region. But they refuse to surrender. They have to obey orders."

They're poorly treated. They're ill-fed. Other Ukrainian soldiers defected. They joined self-defense forces. National Guard troops were sent in. Its commander said:

"As a result of the treachery of a group of regular soldiers who had taken an oath of loyalty to the Donetsk People's Republic, and in order to prevent bloodshed among conscripted soldiers, the command of the Eastern Territorial Operational Unit of the Ukrainian National Guard decided to redeploy personnel with armaments to Military Compound No. 2 of military unit 3037."

Right Sector thugs and foreign mercenaries are involved. They're in black uniforms. Without insignia. They operate separately from Ukraine's military.

They're ruthless killers. They target civilians. They murder in cold blood.

The so-called Kiev Maidan council said "volunteers" operate with National Guard forces. They're "defend(ing) Ukraine."

They "form(ed) various government security units within the shortest period of time and fill(ed) them with patriots who will mount an armed defense of Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence."

"They'll maintain public order in non-combat areas, form a reserve and provide material and technical aid to regular battalions."

They're on the wrong side. They're defending fascism. Doing so wages war on freedom.

Dozens of CIA and FBI operatives in Ukraine direct them. They represent Washington lawlessness.

Hopefully self-defense forces will triumph. They're fully engaged. They're committed to do so.

They won't roll over for fascists. They'll fight what needs to be eliminated. Maybe many more thousands will join them.

Maybe mass rebellion will erupt. Maybe it'll rout Ukraine's cancer. Maybe it'll restore democratic rights.

Maybe Obama bit off more than he can chew. He lost every war he waged. Imagine Ukraine turning out to be his Waterloo.

Imagine defeating his imperial agenda. Imagine worldwide joy. Imagine peace replacing war.

Imagine what's vitally needed to save us. It can't happen a moment too soon.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour