[mpen-dayton4] FW: "TODAY: Re-vote on Fast Track. Share this now?" & "Are these YOUR values? Take the pledge! & "I don't think this is legal" and more

FYI.   Best, Munsup

P.S. "He who dares not offend cannot be honest" - Thomas Paine
P.P.S. Please reply back to me with ‘unsubscribe’ on the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons.

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·         FW: TODAY: Re-vote on Fast Track. Share this now?

·         FW: Demand Fair Elections Now!

·         FW: Most exciting encyclical ever?

·         FW: ALEC, and the writing of laws by legislators and lobbyists in rooms shielded from public view

·         FW: Is the TPP Bad for your Health?

·         FW: Press Release: OCA Recognizes Third Anniversary of the DACA Program

·         FW: Are these YOUR values? Take the pledge!

·         FW: Sign this: These progressive leaders stood up against the TPP

·         FW: Holy shamolies. We may have beaten this trade deal for good (please read)

·         FW: I don't think this is legal

·         FW: U.S. House Admits Nazi Role in Ukraine

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From: Justin K., Stephen, Joan, Bobby, and the rest of the team; MoveOn.org Civic Action
Subject: TODAY: Re-vote on Fast Track. Share this now?

Last Friday, we won a temporary victory against Fast Track—a bill that would give corporations even more power, while hurting jobs, consumers, the environment, and financial regulations.

Now, House Republicans are calling for a do-over vote—and THIS MORNING they are going to try to pass Fast Track once again.¹

We won on Friday because millions of Americans joined together with labor unions, environmental organizations, and consumer groups to send a message—and Democrats listened. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke forcefully against Fast Track, arguing, "Whatever the deal with other countries, we want a better deal for American workers."²

Rep. Pelosi will be key in today's vote—holding together Democrats against enormous pressure from corporate lobbyists and, unfortunately, the White House. So can you urge Rep. Pelosi to stand strong by sharing her very words far and wide?

Can you share this message on Facebook and share it over Twitter—reminding Rep. Pelosi to stay true to her own words?

Today's Fast Track is even worse than it was last Friday, because it's no longer part of a package that includes other measures to help workers hurt by corporate trade deals.

Rep. Pelosi needs to stand by her own words—and lead the Democratic caucus in stopping Fast Track again.

Sources:

 

1.     "Trade Bill's Fate Rests on What's Been Missing in Congress: Trust" The New York Times, June 17, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=304795&id=120714-1195276-We5yfYx&t=2

2.     "Democrats deal Obama huge defeat on trade," Politico, June 12, 2015
http://politi.co/1TgnUmt

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.

 

 

From: Rio Tazewell; Government By the People Campaign Coordinator, People For the American,
Subject: Demand Fair Elections Now!

Last week, Sen. Dick Durbin introduced the Fair Elections Now Act, which would increase the power of small donors, and candidates fueled by grassroots support, in our elections -- scoring a major blow against the outsized influence of big money in politics.

The bill would match grassroots contributions, multiplying them BY SIX, to candidates accepting only donations under $150.

Reform measures like this are critical to mitigating the harm of decisions like Citizens United and restoring power in our democracy to We the People, instead of just the super wealthy and corporate special interests.

Add your name now: Please urge members of Congress
in both the Senate and House to pass this bill>>

 

 

From: Michael Sherrard, Faithful America
Subject: Most exciting encyclical ever?

Pope Francis is issuing a historic challenge to the church and the world to tackle the climate crisis. But here in the United States, most Catholic bishops are still fixated on right-wing political crusades.

The bishops conference just adopted a set of priorities for the next several years that make no mention of advocating for the planet or the poor. And next week they're holding the fourth annual "Fortnight for Freedom," an event designed to attack the Obama administration and push for new "religious freedom" laws.

Let's show the U.S. bishops that it's time for a radical change in their priorities -- and that Christians across America are ready to get serious about saving God's creation.

Tell U.S. Catholic bishops: Time to join Pope Francis
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For more information:
"'Francis Bishops' Question U.S. Church’s Priorities, But Is This Real Change?" New Ways Ministry, June 14, 2015

 

 

From: Andrew Tierman
Subject: ALEC, and the writing of laws by legislators and lobbyists in rooms shielded from public view

ALEC, and the writing of laws by legislators and lobbyists in rooms shielded from public view:
see http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/atlanta-journalist-exposes-alec?utm_campaign=newltr1508&utm_medium=email&utm_source=coffeepartyusa

 

 

From: khalfani718
Subject: Is the TPP Bad for your Health?

FYI: Article published in the New England Journal of Medicine re: the TPP

The link goes to a PDF copy (06/10/2015)
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp1506158

The Trans-Pacific Partnership — Is It Bad for Your Health?

 

From: Wendy
Subject: FW: Press Release: OCA Recognizes Third Anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program

OCA Recognizes Third Anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on 16 June 2015
CONTACT:  Kham Moua | Policy and Communications Manager
202 223 5500 | kmoua@ocanational.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. - OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates celebrates the third anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Three years ago on June 15, 2012, the DACA program was introduced by President Obama as a means to protect undocumented individuals from deportation if they were brought to the United States as children. The law has faced numerous challenges in the courts and most recently the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to stay an injunction on a suit against the President's executive actions. This has effectively cut off the expansion of DACA or the implementation of the President's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program that would have prevented the parents of citizens and legal permanent residents from being deported as well.

"Today, we commemorate the enactment of a bold program set forth by President Obama to provide much needed legal status to undocumented immigrants brought to this country through no choice of their own," said Ken Lee, OCA Chief Executive Officer. "These individuals, who have only known America as home, have been unfairly stuck in limbo by a gridlocked Congress since the DREAM Act was first introduced in 2001. The DACA program affords these vulnerable young people the acceptance that they deserve as human beings by ridding them of the fear of deportation."

"It is disheartening that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has turned a blind eye to the suffering and uncertainty brought about by the injunction," continued Lee. "Make no mistake; those who have challenged these programs are attacking the most vulnerable in our society. It is the people of good conscience who speak out against the rich and powerful interests attacking these families and OCA is proud to be a part of those voices.  We are confident that reason and justice will prevail and we encourage those eligible for expanded DACA or DAPA to continue to prepare their paperwork in advance of a full decision by the Fifth Circuit."

"While we applaud the Obama administration for their continued commitment to the DACA and DAPA programs, they are not a permanent solution," concluded Lee. "The only way for us to fully dispel these repeated attacks on these important programs is to continue to push for comprehensive immigration reform that will set a clear and permanent path to citizenship."

OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national organization of community advocates dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs).

 

 

From: Michael Keegan, People For the American Way

Subject: Are these YOUR values, Munsup? Take the pledge>>

 

 

Real American Values PLEDGE WITH US TO: 1. Continue the fight to get big money out of politics! 2. Help make the Supreme Court, and the federal judiciary on the whole, a priority in the next election and encourage others to do the same! 3. Make the words “Equal Justice Under Law” real for every American! 4. Protect the right to vote! 5. Stand up to hate and bigotry! 6. Fight back against unyielding legal and legislative efforts to turn back the clock on women’s rights!

We have a lot of progress we need to make, and a lot of work to do to protect the progress we have made, as a country, over the last many years.

Generations of Americans have fought and died for the fundamental freedoms that the Right Wing is now ceaselessly trying to take away.

The next election will be decisive for the futures of our democracy and our Supreme Court, and with them, our rights as Americans. Between now and then, there are certain key issue areas that need to be elevated in the public consciousness and put in the national spotlight.

As we work diligently on these issues, People For the American Way is asking our members to enter this compact with us -- to make these issues a priority as part of a Real American Values Pledge.

Which issue most inspires you to sign the pledge?

Getting big money out of politics... sign the pledge>>

Making the Supreme Court, and federal judiciary, a priority... sign the pledge>>

Achieving “Equal Justice Under Law” for all Americans... sign the pledge>>

Protecting the right to vote... sign the pledge>>

Standing up to hate and bigotry... sign the pledge>>

And fighting back against the war on women. sign the pledge>>

And, if you’re dedicated to progress on all of these issues, please affirm your commitment to them by signing the pledge today>>

Simply click to affirm and we’ll register your signature immediately, in one step.

These issues intersect and affect one another. For instance, the corrupting influence of money in politics stymies progress on many of them, as well as on needed economic and environmental reforms. And, as you know, the Supreme Court impacts every possible issue you could care about.

Stay tuned as we’ll continue to highlight these six issues and why they are so vitally important to standing up for Real American Values, and for charting a path forward for our country that respects and lives up to those core values.

Of course, signing the Real American Values Pledge in no way undermines your commitment to other progressive issues or priorities, but it does say that you understand the role that the Pledge’s six issues play in achieving progress across the board … and in working towards the best possible America.

It takes just one click: Sign the pledge now to let us know you’re with us>>

Then, let others know you signed the pledge by sharing it on social media and with friends.

Thank you for your steadfast support and commitment to making the promise of America real for all Americans. Thank you for standing up for Real American Values.

 

 

From: Murshed Zaheed; Deputy Political Director, CREDO Action from Working Assets
Subject: Sign this: These progressive leaders stood up against the TPP

Thank Reps. DeLauro, Ellison and Grijalva for leading against Fast Track for the TPP

Tell Reps. DeLauro, Ellison and Grijalva:

"Thank you for leading the fight against Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Stand strong, and continue to fight back against President Obama's job-killing, secret trade agreements such as the TPP."

Add your name:

Last Friday, Democrats in Congress, and activists like you, dealt what is being called by the press a “staggering blow” to President Obama's job-killing, secret trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

One hundred and forty-three Democrats stood up to the White House, Wall Street lobbyists and the Chamber of Commerce and voted to defeat a package of bills that would have given President Obama Fast Track authority for the TPP.

But this fight is far from over. Republican leaders are scrambling to find a strategy to pass the bills, and we can be sure that pressure from the White House will increase in advance of the next vote.

Representatives Rosa DeLauro, Keith Ellison and Raul Grijalva have played the key leadership role in building a progressive firewall that has stalled advancement of Fast Track for the TPP in the House of Representatives. We need to thank them for their courage and conviction in this fight, which has inspired and galvanized the progressives both inside and outside of Capitol Hill, and blocked the president and Republican leadership – backed up by their corporate lobbyists – from ramming this bill through Congress.

Thank Reps. DeLauro, Ellison and Grijalva for leading the fight
against against Fast Track for the TPP. Click here to sign the petition.

To stop the TPP, we need to stop Fast Track.

It's the job of Congress to fully vet trade deals and ensure they work for everyone, not just giant corporations. And it would be a deeply irresponsible abdication of responsibility for Congress to pass Fast Track when we know the TPP is coming down the pike, especially when we know the consequences of the TPP could be disastrous.

That is why the overwhelming majority of House Democrats voted against the package of bills that would have advanced Fast Track Authority for the TPP. And dozens of House Republicans oppose Fast Track because it takes power away from Congress and gives it to President Obama.

The failure of the White House to win the key vote to advance Fast Track shows that the hundreds of thousands of CREDO members who spoke out against job-killing trade deals are making a big difference despite an all-out effort by Wall Street lobbyists, the Chamber of Commerce, and the White House to ram this through.

Now we need to keep speaking out by thanking Reps. DeLauro, Ellison and Grijalva for leading the fight to stop Fast Track for the TPP.

Thank Reps. DeLauro, Ellison and Grijalva for leading the fight
against Fast Track for the TPP. Click the link below to sign the petition:

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/tpp_progressive_thankyou?t=6&akid=14722.1363962.vRXCkv

Add your name:

 

 

From: Chris Bowers; Executive Campaign Director, Daily Kos
Subject: Holy shamolies. We may have beaten this trade deal for good (please read)

This is so incredible, I almost can’t believe it—We may have just beaten Fast Track trade authority and, with it, one of the biggest anti-labor, anti-environment trade deals of all time.

The Washington Post reports that John Boehner is putting Fast Track on the back burner because he doesn’t have the votes to pass it. But he could call it up for a re-vote before July 30.

Daily Kos has been a big part of the campaign to beat this trade deal. DK Campaign Director Paul Hogarth has been working on this almost full time, running a huge campaign where 245,460 members of the Daily Kos community contacted Congress 464,950 times to help beat a trade deal that many thought was unbeatable. Now we’re this close to beating it.

Can you chip in $5 right now to help Daily Kos keep fighting?

Here’s how we got to this near-victory:

Last Friday, despite months of intense, grassroots opposition from a huge coalition of progressive groups, the House voted to pass Fast Track trade authority with 219 votes. But there’s a twist: Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)—a bill that was procedurally tied to Fast Track and thus had to pass in order for Fast Track to take effect—was voted down by a lopsided 302-126 margin.

After that embarrassing loss, Boehner scheduled a re-vote for today, thinking that President Obama, Wall Street, and big corporations could browbeat House Democrats to flip flop on TAA. Then, late last night, Boehner canceled the re-vote because he still doesn’t have anywhere near the votes to win.

Now, if we can keep the pressure on House Democrats to stand strong, we’ll have won. But pulling that off won’t be free.

It costs Daily Kos real staff and tech resources to get hundreds of thousands of people to contact Congress, and to keep millions of people updated about the ongoing fight.

Please, if you’re able, chip in $5 to Daily Kos to help us complete another improbable victory for the people over the powerful.

 

 

From: Mansur Gidfar; Communications Director, Represent.Us
Subject: I don't think this is legal

Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush’s questionably-legal money grabs are making me wonder:
Are Republicans and Democrats equally corrupt?

Watch the video below – it’s short, funny, and (unfortunately) totally true — and decide for yourself.

Both Clinton and Bush are exploiting loopholes in Citizens United to rake in unlimited campaign cash from Super PACs. They’re simply disregarding what's left of America's fledgling anti-corruption laws.

Share this video widely on Facebook to help us reach thousands of new people.

For six months, Bush has denied that he’s running for president – all so he can blatantly disregard campaign finance laws that govern his coordination with Super PACs.

Meanwhile, Clinton is coordinating directly with her Super PAC, even though she’s already an official candidate. That's supposed to be illegal under Citizens United.

Show your friends how Bush and Clinton are cheating the system, then tell them we’ve got a solution that works. Share this video.

I’m asking you to share this because it really helps. Sharing short, funny videos that tell our story is the best way we know of to build our movement, together. Every time you share, you reach new people. Then they watch, get inspired, and share again. It’s a virtuous cycle, and when we all take part, we can grow big, fast.

 

 

From: khalfani718
Subject: U.S. House Admits Nazi Role in Ukraine

FYI: Nazi = White Supremacy.   - K

U.S. House Admits Nazi Role in Ukraine

Exclusive:The U.S. House of Representatives has admitted an ugly truth that the U.S. mainstream media has tried to hide from the American people – that the post-coup regime in Ukraine has relied heavily on Nazi storm troopers to carry out its bloody war against ethnic Russians, reports Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry

Last February, when ethnic Russian rebels were closing in on the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, the New York Times rhapsodically described the heroes defending the city and indeed Western civilization – the courageous Azov battalion facing down barbarians at the gate. What the Times didn’t tell its readers was that these “heroes” were Nazis, some of them even wearing Swastikas and SS symbols.

The long Times article by Rick Lyman fit with the sorry performance of America’s “paper of record” as it has descended into outright propaganda – hiding the dark side of the post-coup regime in Kiev. But what makes Lyman’s sadly typical story noteworthy today is that the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has just voted unanimously to bar U.S. assistance going to the Azov battalion because of its Nazi ties.

 

The neo-Nazi Wolfsangel symbol on a banner in Ukraine.

When even the hawkish House of Representatives can’t stomach these Nazi storm troopers who have served as Kiev’s tip of the spear against the ethnic Russian population of eastern Ukraine, what does that say about the honesty and integrity of the New York Times when it finds these same Nazis so admirable?

And it wasn’t like the Times didn’t have space to mention the Nazi taint. The article provided much color and detail – quoting an Azov leader prominently – but just couldn’t find room to mention the inconvenient truth about how these Nazis had played a key role in the ongoing civil war on the U.S. side. The Times simply referred to Azov as a “volunteer unit.”

Yet, on June 10, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bipartisan amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act – from Reps. John Conyers Jr., D-Michigan, and Ted Yoho, R-Florida – that would block U.S. training of the Azov battalion and would prevent transfer of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to fighters in Iraq and Ukraine.

“I am grateful that the House of Representatives unanimously passed my amendments last night to ensure that our military does not train members of the repulsive neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, along with my measures to keep the dangerous and easily trafficked MANPADs out of these unstable regions,” said Conyers on Thursday.

He described Ukraine’s Azov Battalion as a 1,000-man volunteer militia of the Ukrainian National Guard that Foreign Policy Magazine has characterized as “openly neo-Nazi” and “fascist.” And Azov is not some obscure force. Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who oversees Ukraine’s armed militias, announced that Azov troops would be among the first units to be trained by the 300 U.S. military advisers who have been dispatched to Ukraine in a training mission codenamed “Fearless Guardian.”

White Supremacy

On Friday, a Bloomberg News article by Leonid Bershidsky noted that “it’s easy to see why” Conyers “would have a problem with the military unit commanded by Ukrainian legislator Andriy Biletsky: Conyers is a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Biletsky is a white supremacist. …

“Biletsky had run Patriot of Ukraine [the precursor of the Azov battalion] since 2005. In a 2010 interview he described the organization as nationalist ‘storm troops’ … The group’s ideology was ‘social nationalism’ — a term Biletsky, a historian, knew would deceive no one.…

“In 2007, Biletsky railed against a government decision to introduce fines for racist remarks: ‘So why the “Negro-love” on a legislative level? They want to break everyone who has risen to defend themselves, their family, their right to be masters of their own land! They want to destroy the Nation’s biological resistance to everything alien and do to us what happened to Old Europe, where the immigrant hordes are a nightmare for the French, Germans and Belgians, where cities are “blackening” fast and crime and the drug trade are invading even the remotest corners.’”

The Bloomberg article continued, “Biletsky landed in prison in 2011, after his organization took part in a series of shootouts and fights. Following Ukraine’s so-called revolution of dignity last year, he was freed as a political prisoner; right-wing organizations, with their paramilitary training, played an important part in the violent phase of the uprising against former President Viktor Yanukovych. The new authorities — which included the ultra-nationalist party Svoboda — wanted to show their gratitude.

“The war in the east gave Biletsky’s storm troopers a chance at a higher status than they could ever have hoped to achieve. They fought fiercely, and last fall, the 400-strong Azov Battalion became part of the National Guard, receiving permission to expand to 2,000 fighters and gaining access to heavy weaponry. So what if some of its members had Nazi symbols tattooed on their bodies and the unit’s banner bore the Wolfsangel, used widely by the Nazis during World War II?

“In an interview with Ukraine’s Focus magazine last September, Avakov, responsible for the National Guard, was protective of his heroes. He said of the Wolfsangel: ‘In many European cities it is part of the city emblem. Yes, most of the guys who assembled in Azov have a particular worldview. But who told you you could judge them? Don’t forget what the Azov Battalion did for the country. Remember the liberation of Mariupol, the fighting at Ilovaysk, the latest attacks near the Sea of Azov. May God allow anyone who criticizes them to do 10 percent of what they’ve done. And anyone who’s  going to tell me that these guys preach Nazi views, wear the swastika and so on, are bare-faced liars and fools.’”

Though the House vote on June 10 may have shined a spotlight into this dark corner of the U.S.-embraced Kiev regime, the reality has been well-known for many months – though played down in most of the Western news media, often dismissed as “Russian propaganda.”

Even the Times has included at least one brief reference to this reality, though buried deep inside an article. On Aug. 10, 2014, a Times’ article mentioned the Nazi taint of the Azov battalion in the last three paragraphs of a lengthy story on another topic.

“The fighting for Donetsk has taken on a lethal pattern: The regular army bombards separatist positions from afar, followed by chaotic, violent assaults by some of the half-dozen or so paramilitary groups surrounding Donetsk who are willing to plunge into urban combat,” the Times reported.

“Officials in Kiev say the militias and the army coordinate their actions, but the militias, which count about 7,000 fighters, are angry and, at times, uncontrollable. One known as Azov, which took over the village of Marinka, flies a neo-Nazi symbol resembling a Swastika as its flag.” [See Consortiumnews.com’s “NYT Discovers Ukraine’s Neo-Nazis at War.”]

A Shiver Down the Spine

The conservative London Telegraph offered more details about the Azov battalion in an article by correspondent Tom Parfitt, who wrote: “Kiev’s use of volunteer paramilitaries to stamp out the Russian-backed Donetsk and Luhansk ‘people’s republics’… should send a shiver down Europe’s spine.

“Recently formed battalions such as Donbas, Dnipro and Azov, with several thousand men under their command, are officially under the control of the interior ministry but their financing is murky, their training inadequate and their ideology often alarming. The Azov men use the neo-Nazi Wolfsangel (Wolf’s Hook) symbol on their banner and members of the battalion are openly white supremacists, or anti-Semites.”

Based on interviews with militia members, the Telegraph reported that some of the fighters doubted the reality of the Holocaust, expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and acknowledged that they are indeed Nazis.

Biletsky, the Azov commander, “is also head of an extremist Ukrainian group called the Social National Assembly,” according to the Telegraph article which quoted a commentary by Biletsky as declaring: “The historic mission of our nation in this critical moment is to lead the White Races of the world in a final crusade for their survival. A crusade against the Semite-led Untermenschen.”

In other words, for the first time since World War II, a government had dispatched Nazi storm troopers to attack a European population – and officials in Kiev knew what they were doing. The Telegraph questioned Ukrainian authorities in Kiev who acknowledged that they were aware of the extremist ideologies of some militias but insisted that the higher priority was having troops who were strongly motivated to fight. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “Ignoring Ukraine’s Neo-Nazi Storm Troopers.”]

But a rebel counteroffensive led by ethnic Russians last August reversed many of Kiev’s gains and drove the Azov and other government forces back to the port city of Mariupol, where Foreign Policy’s reporter Alec Luhn also encountered the Nazis. He wrote:

“Blue and yellow Ukrainian flags fly over Mariupol’s burned-out city administration building and at military checkpoints around the city, but at a sport school near a huge metallurgical plant, another symbol is just as prominent: the wolfsangel (‘wolf trap’) symbol that was widely used in the Third Reich and has been adopted by neo-Nazi groups. …

“Pro-Russian forces have said they are fighting against Ukrainian nationalists and ‘fascists’ in the conflict, and in the case of Azov and other battalions, these claims are essentially true.”

SS Helmets

More evidence continued to emerge about the presence of Nazis in the ranks of Ukrainian government fighters. Germans were shocked to see video of Azov militia soldiers decorating their gear with the Swastika and the “SS rune.” NBC News reported: “Germans were confronted with images of their country’s dark past … when German public broadcaster ZDF showed video of Ukrainian soldiers with Nazi symbols on their helmets in its evening newscast.

 

Nazi symbols on helmets worn by members of Ukraine’s Azov battalion.
(As filmed by a Norwegian film crew and shown on German TV)

“The video was shot … in Ukraine by a camera team from Norwegian broadcaster TV2. ‘We were filming a report about Ukraine’s AZOV battalion in the eastern city of Urzuf, when we came across these soldiers,’ Oysten Bogen, a correspondent for the private television station, told NBC News. “Minutes before the images were taped, Bogen said he had asked a spokesperson whether the battalion had fascist tendencies. ‘The reply was: absolutely not, we are just Ukrainian nationalists,’ Bogen said.”

Despite the newsworthiness of a U.S.-backed government dispatching Nazi storm troopers to attack Ukrainian cities, the major U.S. news outlets have gone to extraordinary lengths to excuse this behavior, with the Washington Post publishing a rationalization that Azov’s use of the Swastika was merely “romantic.”

This curious description of the symbol most associated with the depravity of the Holocaust and the devastation of World War II can be found in the last three paragraphs of a Post lead story published in September 2014. Post correspondent Anthony Faiola portrayed the Azov fighters as “battle-scarred patriots” nobly resisting “Russian aggression” and willing to resort to “guerrilla war” if necessary.

The article found nothing objectionable about Azov’s plans for “sabotage, targeted assassinations and other insurgent tactics” against Russians, although such actions in other contexts are regarded as terrorism. The extremists even extended their threats to the government of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko if he agrees to a peace deal with the ethnic Russian east that is not to the militia’s liking.

“If Kiev reaches a deal with rebels that they don’t support, paramilitary fighters say they could potentially strike pro-Russian targets on their own — or even turn on the government itself,” the article stated.

The Post article – like almost all of its coverage of Ukraine – was laudatory about the Kiev forces fighting ethnic Russians in the east, but the newspaper did have to do some quick thinking to explain a photograph of a Swastika gracing an Azov brigade barracks. So, in the last three paragraphs of the story, Faiola reported: “One platoon leader, who called himself Kirt, conceded that the group’s far right views had attracted about two dozen foreign fighters from around Europe.

“In one room, a recruit had emblazoned a swastika above his bed. But Kirt … dismissed questions of ideology, saying that the volunteers — many of them still teenagers — embrace symbols and espouse extremist notions as part of some kind of ‘romantic’ idea.”

Despite these well-documented facts, the New York Times excised this reality from its article about the Azov battalion’s defense of Mariupol last February. But isn’t the role of Nazis newsworthy? In other contexts, the Times is quick to note and condemn any sign of a Nazi resurgence in Europe. However, in Ukraine, where neo-Nazis, such as Andriy Parubiy served as the coup regime’s first national security chief and Nazi militias are at the center of regime’s military operations, the Times goes silent on the subject.

Rather than fully inform its readers about a crisis that has the potential of becoming a nuclear showdown between the United States and Russia, the Times has chosen to simply be a fount of State Department propaganda, often terming any reference to Kiev’s Nazi storm troopers to be “Russian propaganda.” Now, however, a unanimous U.S. House of Representatives — of all things — has acknowledged the unpleasant truth.

Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com). You also can order Robert Parry’s trilogy on the Bush Family and its connections to various right-wing operatives for only $34. The trilogy includes America’s Stolen Narrative. For details on this offer, click here.

 

End of MPEN e-Newsletter