‘Orwellian’ attack on Russian media signals US desperation to save crumbling unipolar world order

Washington’s crackdown on RT is tied to “the desire to preserve the already virtually non-existent unipolar world order of Western dominance, which of course also means dominance in the information space, in order to preserve one point of view for everyone and suppress and destroy all others,” political analyst Alexander Asafov told Sputnik.

“The ramping up of efforts in this direction is tied to the fact that the average Western citizen, voter and taxpayer paying for everything no longer understands why they should fund the desire of their political elites to help some distant dictatorial regime like in Ukraine, and is starting to ask questions, and finding answers quite easily. To prevent them from doing so, measures like these are taken, factually constituting total censorship,” Asafov explained.

The US war on journalism – not just with the crackdown on RT, but the blocking of social media, harassment of journalists, etc. constitutes the practical implementation of the “horror stories British writer George Orwell once used to terrify the entire world. In essence, the persecution of journalists is an attempt to punish them for ‘thought crime’, for a person thinking differently and being willing to tell the truth,” according to the observer.

As for the new restrictions and charges against RT, these are another attempt to silence Russia and rob it of its right to present an alternative perspective, Asafov said, noting that the US will continue to raise the stakes in its attempt to reach this “impossible” goal.

US actions are “based on a pretext,” not facts, “and there are certainly no legal grounds for such actions,” the political analyst stressed, pointing out Washington’s behavior is not just a violation of international law and lofty ideas about freedom of speech and media, but America’s own legislation. Instead, they constitute the practical “application of the so-called ‘international rules-based order’.”

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Arab World sees US crackdown on RT as admission of the role it plays 'in conveying the truth to people'

The US launched a crackdown on the Russia Today broadcaster, which officials have admitted is linked to its “global scope” and ability to reach the Global South. Sputnik has reached out to regional experts to find out their opinion on the US sanctions.

◻️ Abdel Bari Atwan, Palestinian-British journalist: “These events clearly show that the world has once again been deceived by [US] claims of supporting a free media. Blinken leading the campaign against RT is more shocking than it is surprising, especially since the US is making these accusations against a channel expressing the views of many people around the world, not just in Russia,” Atwan told Sputnik.

“The US has a regime closer to a dictatorship than a democracy, and the campaign against RT contradicts Washington’s false claims that it seeks different opinions and democracy, which Americans no longer have,” Atwan said.

◻️ Ibrahim Awad, VP of Lebanon’s National Media Council: The Biden administration is “projecting onto RT its own favorite method of using the media for insidious purposes,” Awad told Sputnik. He added the US’s deceptive position and attempts to sit on two chairs at once is not surprising.

◻️ Nasser Abu Bakr, head of the Palestinian Union of Journalists: Washington’s assault on RT is an “acknowledgement of the role the channel plays in conveying the truth to people.” The US elite “only wants one version of the world – their version, which entails falsification, lies and propaganda,” Bakr said.

◻️ Hakim Bugrara, Algerian professor of media studies: the US regularly “undermines the humanitarian and democratic values it claims to defend” when someone falls outside its orbit.

“Washington does not accept the existence of strong media contradicting its position, and the Americans are particularly worried about Russian media, which has enormous reach and distribution, despite all attempts to interfere with its broadcasts.”

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Houthi success swatting down Reaper drones betrays US trillion-dollar military’s paper tiger status

“The downing of yet another drone could negatively impact the reputation of the US military-industrial complex. Confidence in the effectiveness of US defense technologies could be undermined. This may lead to potential clients in US military and technology exports becoming concerned about the failures of American products,” political scientist and international affairs observer Dr. Mehmet Rakipoglu told Sputnik.

He commented on reports confirming that the Houthis have shot down their eighth US MQ-9 Reaper drone since the start of the Red Sea crisis last year.

Politically and strategically, the success of the Houthi anti-drone campaign may undermine the justifications for continued US operations and presence in the region, and even “raise questions about the effectiveness of US power projection policies…potentially threatening Washington’s regional and global strategic interests in the long term,” Rakipoglu explained.

The US is between a rock and a hard place battling the Houthis, unwilling to become further entangled in a large-scale confrontation for fear of sparking a regional war with their Iranian Axis of Resistance allies, but unable to extract themselves without losing face.

“The relative cheapness and local production-based equipment used by the Houthis can lead to more losses for the US, [whose] military expenditures run into billions of dollars," the expert notes.

The Houthis have shown that they “have the capacity to counter one of the most advanced technologies” in the US’s arsenal, and can outcompete the Pentagon on costs too, Rakipoglu concludes.

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◻️ ‘Orwellian’ attack on Russian media signals US desperation to save crumbling unipolar world order

◻️ Global South sees US crackdown on RT as admission of the role it plays 'in conveying the truth to people'

◻️ US psy-op veteran on Ukraine conflict as tool of US 'dollar or die' policy and possible Democrat 'October surprise' targeting Russia and Trump

◻️ Leaked British Foreign Office docs: Britain launched propaganda war to demonize Russia years ago

◻️ What problems are Britain’s armed forces grappling with?

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Chip-maker Intel to get billions in US grants for secret Pentagon program

Intel has reportedly qualified for $3.5 billion-worth of federal grants to execute a secret Pentagon program.

Сhips with military and intelligence applications will be produced by the US tech giant, reported Bloomberg, quoting sources.

The program – dubbed Secure Enclave – will reportedly span several US states where Intel has manufacturing facilities.

The funding for Intel would add to the estimated $8.5 billion-worth incentive package of grants and $11 billion in loans that the company was awarded earlier in the year under the Chips and Science Act.

But Intel is yet to see any of that money as the terms of that package are still being negotiated, added the website.

The Pentagon deal would offer a welcome lifeline to the troubled company. Intel’s shares fell nearly 30% in August after a dismal profits report and pessimistic income forecast.

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Biden bullies reporter during meeting with UK PM

“I say you be quiet until I speak, okay? That's what I say. Good idea?” the US president said, refusing to respond to a question about possible consequences for allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike deep into Russian territory.

“You go be quiet and I'm going to make a statement, okay?” he chided.

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