Why I stopped reading Counterpunch - exemplified by Ukraine

It was because of nutbars like Paul Craig Roberts, even nuttier than Justin Raimundo.

About a year ago, I'd finally had enough of the reflexive anti-Americanism of some pieces there, stopped reading, and delinked it from my blog roll. Jeff St. Clair's stupidity about Bosnia and Syria was the last straw, coupled with fellating Hugo Chavez. But, the nuttery of Roberts, whose political ideology is smeared even more across the map than Raimundo's, means that he'll write elsewhere, and in similarly stupid fashion.

Roberts claims that what's really at stake in Ukraine is a US bid for hegemony there.

Which is, of course, a laugher, but not an unusual one for him.

Nor is the telling of outright lies unusual for him. Like this:

"Washington overlooked that the financially viable part of today’s Ukraine consists of historical Russian provinces in the east and south that the Soviet leadership merged into Ukraine in order to dilute the fascist elements in western Ukraine that fought for Adolf Hitler against the Soviet Union.

This is simply not true! Period. After the creation of the Ukrainian SSR, the only adjustment of its borders of any note was incorporation of previously Polish land from 1939; its northeastern borders were not changed after WWII. Period and end of story.

Also, interest in the EU is not the same as interest in Washington. And, the original Orange Revolution was not directed by Washington, either.

The whole article is a tissue of distortions, lies by omission and lies by commission.

And, any organization, or individual, that gives space to stuff like this, unless realizing they've made some sort of mistake, falls on my shit list. 

Reality?  As this piece from the NYT Review of Books shows well, there's one hegemon in recent Ukraine, and his name is Vlad the Impaler. And, on Feb. 26, the news of new Russian military exercises just across the border reinforces that.

And there's a reason for all this: Ukraine could have significant shale gas deposits. And, while their are legitimate environmental concerns over fracking, it does make one wonder if Russian agents provacateur aren't stirring the pot on some anti-fracking protests in Eastern Europe.

I mean, as our history with a country like Venezuela shows, there's enough American imperialism to be mad about without inventing fake American imperialism where it doesn't exist. Or listening to loons when they claim it does.