-rmation war. U.S. media groups are just as engaged in the important Ukrainian oligarchs who’ve used their financial
muckraking, framing, and finger pointing propaganda as holdings to push a political agenda by means of media
acquisition and information dissemination. One such
Russia’s billionaire media barons.34
On July 24, 2014 CNN reported that one of their oligarch is Jewish banker Ihor Kolomoisky, the regional
freelance reporters, Anton Skiba, was captured outside a governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, an area with a
hotel in Donetsk, Ukraine and being held by pro-Russian population of 3.3 million. Kolomoisky is a controlling
shareholder and supervisory board member of PrivatBank
militants.35 In the same article CNN reported that the U.S.
and a major shareholder and board member of Ukrnafta,
State Department had issued a statement saying they had the largest oil and natural gas extracting, processing and
evidence Russia was firing artillery at Ukrainian military
supplying company in Ukraine.43 He’s also held interests in
posts from across the border. When using the term “Russia
fires artillery Ukraine,” in CNN’s website search box, Ukrainian media, having controlled UNIAN news agency
44
several relevant articles are populated in the results list. while also purchasing several TV channels in 2010.
Interestingly, a search on CNN’s website for any stories on According to Forbes, Kolomoisky’s net worth was valued at
45
either Russia or the U.S.’ May 2014 nuclear drills returned $1.7 billion in July 2014. Like Poroshenko, Kolomoisky is
no related results. That’s strange, as CNN was initially outspoken in his opposition to the pro-Russian separatists
launched in 1980 by Ted Turner, the multi-billionaire media in the east.46 The Wall Street Journal reports that
magnate who took time out from building his Turner Kolomoisky has even vowed to take on the separatists by
Broadcasting System empire in 2001 to establish the offering “a $10,000 bounty for any pro-Russian militant
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI).36 Part of NTI’s mission is to captured with a gun.”47
build trust and transparency to help fulfill the goals of the
Within Kolomoisky’s region is Yuzhmash, an old
Non-Proliferation Treaty and to reduce the risk of nuclear, Soviet era nuclear, space research, and machine building
biological, and chemical weapons use and proliferation, facility turned Ukrainian missile & rocket production site.
something CNN failed to do by not reporting on the May The rocket producer’s biggest customer is, you guessed it,
nuke drills.37
Russia, but because of the fighting and recent defense and
Another donor to NTI whose work seems to technology related export bans related to the Ukraine
contradict the initiative’s mission includes Fred Iseman, conflict the company has cut back on employees,
former features editor for Hearst and founder of CI Capital significantly reducing their output.48 But a 2013 Bloomberg
Partners, a private equity company which invests in article reports that Kolomoisky’s PrivatBank was increasgovernment services and defense, military armored ing credit to large businesses by 10 to 15 percent for the
vehicles, logistics, aerospace, manufacturing, businesses year, to include PO Yuzhmash, one of the bank’s largest
services, and other similar ventures.38 Like most of the clients.49 So despite any losses in Yuzhmash rocket sales
other NTI donors, such as Peter G. Peterson, chairman and to Russia in the short term, the company is backed by
co-founder of The Blackstone Group, Iseman is also a Kolomoisky’s credit line and his position as regional
member of the Council of Foreign Relations.39 Another governor, giving Kolomoisky leverage not only over the
interesting fact is that under the umbrella of Peterson’s company’s financial decisions, but also, it would seem, as
Black Stone Group, the world’s largest investor and asset a potential financial benefactor of arms deals to people
manager BlackRock was founded. According to the from both sides of the same war. Perhaps he’s even
BlackRock website, the company manages $4.32 trillion in already brought in some profit from Russia’s firing of
assets.40 Some of those assets include the iShares Global Yuzhmash made rockets during Putin’s May 2014 nuclear
Nuclear Energy ETF, which “seeks to track the investment drill, or perhaps the profit will come later when Russia is
results of an index composed of global equities in the willing to pay even more money for rocket components in
nuclear energy sector.”41 None of the iShare Global order to meet the goals of their military modernization plan.
Nuclear Energy ETF holdings were in Russian or Ukrainian Either way, Kolomoisky is in a position to at least throw in
companies, but Tokyo Electro Power Co. Inc. did make the some pretty decent size bargaining chips that can either
raise the stakes further or help to bring about a political
list.42 Billionaire created foundations such as the Carnegie
deal that could help end the conflict and even get the
Corporation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Google START treaty back on track.
Foundation are also donors to the NTI, a “non-profit”
Yuzhmash produces and sells landing gear,
whose donors seem to profit more from the production of
casting, and dye forging products, defense related rockets,
nuclear related products than they do from the reduction of
and space and launch vehicles, including those for the
them.
Russian R-36M/SS-18 Satan intercontinental ballistic
But we won’t even go into the details of all the missile. The missile can be seen firing off during the May
media baron billionaires’ inner workings in the U.S. There
2014 nuclear drills on an RT YouTube video.50 The Satan is
simply isn’t enough room here to outline the muck and
hypocrisy in its entirety. So let’s go back to Ukraine for a the longest range ICBM in the world and is capable of
minute. Besides Poroshenko, there are a number of other carrying ten Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV)
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