Russia's Stiffened Backbone?

by Stephen Lendman

Did Vladimir Putin recently see MGM's 1976 film Network, named one of America's 100 best by the American Film Institute?

Written by Paddy Chayefsky, fictional news anchor Howard Beele expressed outrage about America's deplorable state, yelling:

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."

Has Putin come around to a similar feeling on dismal Russian relations with the US dominated West?

Is he no longer willing to be pushed around any longer by hegemon USA and its European vassal states?

Is he fed up with US-colonized Ukraine's forever war on nonbelligerent, nonthreatening Donbass along Russia's border?

Will he do more to help Russian nationals in Donbass' Donetsk and Lugansk's People's Republic?

Will he back his justifiable anger by actions, short of waging war — except legally in self-defense if Russia is attacked?

Will he push back against US-dominated Western countries with toughness in response hostile anti-Russian actions?

Will he do what he should have done long ago — according to what the UN Charter and other international laws permit?

According to Sergey Lavrov, Russia wants confrontation avoided.

At the same time, it'll push back in similar fashion to provocations against its security and sovereignty.

It's up to US-dominated Western regimes and ones like Ukraine they support and/or control to decide if they want cooperative relations with Russia to avoid what could risk war or do they intend no change in their hostile actions.

Vladimir Putin earlier said that Russia "has all the capabilities in place to ensure a full military and technical response to any kind of provocations that might unfold around us," Lavrov explained.

Notably since the Biden regime usurped power by election rigging, hegemon USA has "become(e) more insolent (and aggressive) towards Minsk (2014 and 2015 conflict resolution) agreements, towards Russia, and (by) attempt(ing) to provoke the West into supporting its militant aspirations."

On dismal Russian relations with US vassal state Germany, Lavrov said that Berlin pretends to want normal relations with Moscow, "but first (it) has to change its behavior, full stop."

"(I)n the coalition agreement of the new German government, there is a provision on deep and diverse Russian-German ties." 

"But there are also different approaches to relations between us." 

"I don't even want to quote them."

They defy reality by falsely claiming that "civil society is shrinking in Russia, and that they're trying to make us stop destabilizing the situation in Ukraine, and so on."

All rubbish! All Big Lies! All intended to prevent normalized relations! 

All based on orders from Berlin's higher power in Washington!

Berlin falsely claims that it's "doing everything perfectly," that Moscow "should change" its ways — an untenable position that prevents normalized relations.

In response to banishment of RT's newly launched German language television channel by European satellite operator Eutelsat on orders from Berlin days after it began operating, Russia slammed the hostile move as illegal.

So did RT, saying it's "inappropriate for the German regulator, MABB, to overreach and ignore the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, under which it is subject, thereby forcing Eutelsat to remove RT DE from the carrier solely due to the unsubstantiated and factually flawed claims of the German regulator."

"We believe this amounts to illegal pressure and are confident this action will be redressed by the courts." 

"We will be seeking all possible remedies against the German regulator, and our audience can continue to access our content."

Slamming what he called part of a coordinated anti-Russian campaign, Lavrov added:

German officials "will likely again point the finger at social media, YouTube, and claim they acted on their own accord based on their own criteria and that the German government has nothing to do with it."

Its ruling authorities are obligated to act against unacceptable actions on their territory.

Russia may respond in similar fashion against German media if the action against RT isn't reversed, said Lavrov. 

Like issues on Russian security and sovereignty, there's "a limit to (its) patience."

Its stiffened backbone is long overdue in dealings with the US-controlled West — provided actions follow rhetorical toughness.