Marvin Koner New York 1955
Ontario Ohio
People in Ontario, Canada are posting videos online stating that they believe that the contamination seen in East Palestine, Ohio have spread to Canada. pic.twitter.com/AZ5bB4Qguu
— Marie Oakes (@TheMarieOakes) February 19, 2023
Cobalt
African child slave labor used to mine cobalt for electric vehicles. pic.twitter.com/DB2wESLxxj
— Wittgenstein (@backtolife_2023) February 18, 2023
How accurate is the comparison?
• US Will Abandon ‘Unwinnable’ War In Ukraine Like They Left Vietnam (Siracusa)
Louis J. HaIIe, a former career officer in the State Department and an historian, contended: “If we will only brush the dust of polemical rhetoric out of our eyes, we shall see that we are not fighting in Indo-China for imperialistic reasons, that we are not fighting there, because we want to increase our territorial possessions or build an empire. Why, then? “We are,” he asserted, “fighting there because in a moment of national aberration, we acted on a false conception of what the situation was.” Alongside the theses of the “great mistake” and “national aberration” was also added the equally significant theme of the unsuitability of exporting democratic institutions and practices to certain foreign soils. Chester L. Cooper, a well-known Asianist and Director of the International Division of the Institute for Defense Analysis, presented this argument in unequivocal language. “In the past,” wrote Cooper directly to the point, “we should have been more prudent and have insisted upon some minimum standards of stability, appeal, and effectiveness before committing major resources to South Vietnam’s aid – no matter how assiduous the Prime Minister, no matter how attractive the people.”
With the battle plainly lost, President Gerald Ford dramatically shifted his ground. At Tulane University in New Orleans, after the fall of Saigon, Ford told a largely friendly audience, “I ask tonight that we stop refighting the battles and recriminations of the past. To emphasise the point, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was elsewhere repeating the same message. Before the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Kissinger asked the American people to put the Vietnam War behind them: “The Vietnam debate has now run its course. The time has come for restraint and compassion. The Administration has made its case. Let all now abide by the verdict of the Congress – without recriminations or vindictiveness.”
When pressed however at a news conference in late April as to what lessons could be drawn from the war, the Secretary attempted to reserve the question for a later occasion, except to say: “I do not think that we can resolve the problem of having entered the conflict too lightly by leaving it too lightly, either.” Moments later, when asked whether or not the war had so stunned the nation that it might never again come to the economic and military aid of a friend such as Israel, Kissinger conceded: “One lesson we must learn from this experience is that we must be very careful in the commitments we make, but that we should scrupulously honour those commitments that we make.” Further, he hoped “that no lessons should be drawn from the enemies of our friends from the experiences in Vietnam.” No lessons drawn, indeed. The US withdrawal from the unwinnable conflict in Ukraine will play out in much the same way.
“In March, Borrell is going to have a meeting where he will attempt to get every European Union country to hand over all of the ammunition they have to Ukraine. New procurement will take too long.”
• Ukraine War ‘Over’ Unless EU Boosts Military Support – Borrell (G.)
The war with Ukraine will be over unless the EU finds a way in weeks to speed up the provision of ammunition to Ukraine, Josep Borrell, the EU foreign affairs chief, warned on the final day of the Munich security conference. He said a special meeting of EU defence ministers slated for 8-9 March will provide a chance for countries to offer ammunition from their existing stocks, adding it is taking up to 10 months for European armies to order and receive a single bullet. “We are in urgent war mode,” he said. “This shortage of ammunition has to be solved quickly; it is a matter of weeks.” He said if it was not the war would be over.
Borrell will also table plans at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday to use the existing €3.6bn (£3.2bn) European peace facility for the EU to procure ammunition jointly on the model of the procurement of vaccines during the Covid crisis, an idea first proposed by the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas. Borrell said the Estonian idea would work in the medium term, but he believes the urgency of the shortages is such that it requires EU countries to draw on existing stocks. “We have to use what member states have,” he said.
“Much more has to be done and much quicker. There is still a lot to be done. We have to increase and accelerate our military support. It currently takes almost 10 months for the European army to buy a bullet for the calibre of 155mm, almost one year, and almost three years to buy an air-to-air missile. This is not in accordance with the war situation in which we live.” Kallas, speaking at the same event, said Russia was in a wartime mode, producing ammunition across three shifts, adding there needed to be a similar war footing in Europe. She claimed defence industry executives had told her they had no orders from the EU. Borrell said the absence of ammunition was because “we forgot about classical wars – we were only engaged with expeditionary forces and technological Blitzkrieg.”
https://twitter.com/i/status/1627245385033912320
The masters of war. I love that they pay for the weapons with the European Peace Facility. Eat your heart out George Orwell.
• EU Is In ‘Urgent War Mode’ – Borrell (RT)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called for more and faster weapons and ammunition shipments to Ukraine. His words come amid Western promises of new armament deliveries for Kiev and growing shortages in Europe’s own stock. “We are in urgent war mode,” Borrell said on Sunday, during the last day of the Munich Security Conference. He added that the conflict would be over if the shortage of ammunition was not resolved in “a matter of weeks.” The diplomat bemoaned the depletion of European stockpiles, claiming that the Union “forgot about classical wars… only engaged in expeditionary forces and technological Blitzkrieg.”
He announced that the EU defense ministers will hold a special meeting on March 8-9 to attempt to resolve this issue. Borrell said that he will also present the idea of using the 3.6 billion euros of the European Peace Facility to jointly buy ammunition for Kiev, using the EU’s experience in joint procurements of Covid-19 vaccines. Borrell himself was wary of the ammunition shortages back in September, saying supplies were “depleted.” This assessment was echoed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who warned that the Alliance’s countries were running out of rounds they could donate to Kiev’s war effort.
Multiple EU countries and the US have pledged to send modern, Western-made tanks to Ukraine; however, the process will take months with no clear timetable. The UK and France are also mulling sending fighter jets to Kiev, with London already training pilots. However, French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this month that sending warplanes was not something that could be done “in the coming weeks.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that the weapons shipments to Kiev would not stop Russia from achieving the goals of the military operation, but would instead just “prolong the suffering” for Ukraine.
Borrell
With each passing day, these people are descending into madness. Channeling the karma of WWI.
EU head prefect Josep Borrell: ‘We need to focus all European industry on arming Ukraine – because Russia must not be allowed to win.’
pic.twitter.com/NafLXR2gKD— Patrick Henningsen (@21WIRE) February 19, 2023
“..understand why we are moving forward so slowly. We are now trying to spare personnel and strike the enemy manpower as accurately as possible..”
• Seizure of Backmut A Matter Of Time, No Hurry – DPR (TASS)
The seizure of Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut by Ukraine) is a matter of time but Russian troops should not hurry to capture the town, Yan Gagin, military-political expert and adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), told TASS on Monday. “As for the prospects of liberating Artyomovsk, I believe that we should not hurry. When I am asked about why it takes so long, I simply invite such people to the frontline: come and see what it looks like to be here to understand why we are moving forward so slowly. We are now trying to spare personnel and strike the enemy manpower as accurately as possible. By and large, the seizure of Artyomovsk is a matter of time but I would not hurry and would keep grinding down the enemy. This is practicable and this has already been tested,” he said.
Contrary to the Kiev’s regime’s hype about Artyomovsk as “a fortress city and a place where they will be able to show the courage and steadfastness of their soldiers,” it has become “a point of disposing of Ukrainian servicemen,” Gagin stressed. “They have lost thousands and thousands of fighters there. On some days, they lose a hundred of personnel a day, which is a heavy toll on this section of the frontline. The bodies [of those killed] are not collected and they just lie on the battlefield,” he added. Artyomovsk is located on the Kiev-controlled territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic and is a major supply hub for the Ukrainian military in Donbass. Russian troops have already seized some communities in Artyomovsk suburbs, including Kleshcheyevka, Podgorodnoye and Paraskoviyevka.
Not while there are still Ukrainians alive.
• Kremlin Does Not Consider The West Being Open To Peace Initiatives (TASS)
The West is not yet showing any readiness for peaceful initiatives on the situation in Ukraine, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya 1 TV channel. “So far there is no readiness or openness towards peaceful initiatives on the part of the collective West,” he said. The idea of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on talks between Russian and US leaders Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden is unlikely to gain support in the West, Peskov added. “It is hardly possible to expect any type of reciprocity or response to such an endeavor from any member of the collective West,” he said.
Earlier, Lukashenko invited Biden to Minsk, saying he was willing to arrange his meeting with Putin. Peskov stressed that Biden “will not have any stops during his upcoming European trip, except in Poland.” On February 20-22, Joe Biden is expected to visit Poland, where he will meet with his counterpart Andrzej Duda and the leaders of the “Bucharest Nine” countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Estonia).
“..Ukraine is shooting down next to nothing anymore..”
• SITREP: Update 2/18 – Major War Confirmed Imminent (STT)
[..] in the upcoming escalations, Russia will likely be employing their airforce (the totality of airpower, including new drones) in increasingly active ways to demolish a depleted Ukrainian army. One of the reasons it’s certain they’ll be doing this is because contrary to UA sources, the Ukrainian air defense network is close to nonexistent at this point. One thing one must learn is that the MORE ridiculous the claims from UA, usually the MORE they’re overcompensating for the exact opposite. So the recent claims of 80-150% shootdowns of Russian missiles are in fact the opposite. A deep analysis has shown that Ukraine is shooting down next to nothing anymore. They have almost no AD left whatsoever, other than manpads. Most aren’t aware of just how few western systems they received. Their legacy S-300’s are down to almost nothing, and they only got a couple units of NASAMs and Iris-T, which are mostly all stationed in Kiev to protect the capital city.
People don’t realize just how many missile units one needs to adequately protect even a single city. For instance, just around Moscow alone, Russia has 12 battalions of S-400’s. A single battalion has 8 launchers with 32 missiles. 12 x 8 = 96 launchers of 384 missiles. And this is JUST the S-400 alone. There are NUMEROUS other layered/integrated SHORAD systems like Pantsirs, etc., stationed there as well (here and here). So, total, there is likely hundreds of AD systems just for Moscow alone, representing thousands of total missile calculations (and same for St. Petersburg). Kiev on the other hand appears to have 2-4 NATO launchers total, with a few extra manpads sprinkled in, as well as short range mobile systems, like the recently spotted British Starstreak on the Alvis Stormer around Kiev.
In short, Ukraine’s AD network is in DIRE condition. And I believe this is the reason that Russian airforce is beginning to step up and operate with more impunity. And once even MORE fixed-wing/rotary pieces join the fray, it will create the compounding effects I spoke of last time, and should completely overpower the remaining AD and wreak havoc on the AFU. And this goes with the mentioned ‘rumors’ that the next phase will feature a much more offensively active RuAF. And by the way, there is far more evidence of why the Ukrainian AD is heavily degraded to the point of nonexistence, but I feel it’s beyond the scope of this simple Sitrep and don’t want to get into every single point—but just know that this part is not mere speculation, it’s based on heavy, accurate longstanding analysis with much corroborative facts which include the direct statements of several RuAF pilots in interviews posted to the Russian MoD channel, where they directly state this.
“..we are maintaining our economic relations with Russia; and indeed we are advising the whole Western world to do the same, because without relations there will be neither a ceasefire nor peace negotiations.”
• Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “State of the Nation” Address (Saker)
How do we overcome the danger of war? We want to simply put an end to it, but we do not have the power to do so – we are not in that league. Therefore, if we want to protect Hungary, if we want a peaceful life for ourselves, we have only one choice: we must stay out of the Russo-Ukrainian war. So far this has not been easy, and it will not be easy in the future, because we are part of the Western world, we are members of NATO and the European Union, and everyone there is on the side of war – or at least acts as if they are. Can Hungary afford to remain on the side of peace in such circumstances, in a way that is directly opposed to that of our allies? Of course we can, because Hungary is an independent, free and sovereign state, and we recognise no one but God above us.
But is it right – morally right – for us to stay out of the war? I am convinced that it is the right thing – and indeed the only right thing. Russia has attacked Ukraine, so we must let Ukrainian refugees into our country, and we have done well in supporting them with the largest humanitarian aid operation in our country’s history. This is the imperative of basic humanity, and we are complying with it. But we also see that the war in Ukraine is not a war between the armies of good and evil, but a war between the troops of two Slavic countries: a war limited in time and – for the time being – in space. It is their war, not ours. Hungary recognises Ukraine’s right to self defence, to fight against external aggression; but it would not be right from any point of view – including any moral point of view – to put the interests of Ukraine before those of Hungary.
The Left in Hungary is also on the side of war: it would supply arms, take on the financial burden of war and sever relations with Russia. We are not doing this. We are not supplying arms. We are also being careful with money, because in the end the money due to us will be given by Brussels to Ukraine. For us, humanitarian support for Ukraine does not mean severing our ties with Russia, because that would run counter to our national interests, which we have the right to define for ourselves. Therefore we shall not agree to gas, oil or nuclear sanctions that would ruin Hungary. From the national consultation we know that there is national unity on this. This is why we are maintaining our economic relations with Russia; and indeed we are advising the whole Western world to do the same, because without relations there will be neither a ceasefire nor peace negotiations.
This is why we do not agree with priests and church leaders being placed on sanctions lists; it is bad enough that this could happen to artists and athletes. And it is also important not to narrow our vision, and not to be provincial. Let us look beyond Brussels. Every country outside Europe is aware of the limited significance of the war in Ukraine and the primacy of its own national interest. Let us not isolate ourselves from the level-headed part of the world. The Hungarian viewpoint is an exception only in Europe – across the world it is the norm.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1627384709763289090
“..A year has passed, and the end of the war is not getting closer, it is getting further away..”
• If Brussels Wants To Go To War, It Should Fight Inflation – Orban (RT)
Western sanctions on Russia over Ukraine have failed to end to the conflict, but have instead wreaked havoc on Europe’s economy and driven up inflation, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. Posting on his Facebook page on Sunday, Orban offered a scathing criticism of EU sanctions, claiming Europe is struggling to tackle inflation due to the restrictions Brussels has introduced in the energy sector. “The name of the disease is… inflation, and the virus is called the Brussels sanctions,” he said. Orban branded the sanctions “the weapons of Brussels’ war policy,” adding that while the EU was using this tool to target Russia, it has harmed Europe instead. “It was not so long ago that Brussels promised that these sanctions would bring an end to the war. A year has passed, and the end of the war is not getting closer, it is getting further away,” the prime minister insisted.
Orban went on to say that while the EU authorities promised that the sanctions would not be extended to the energy sector, in the end they were, sending natural gas prices up to record levels.The premier also pointed out that gas partly dictates the cost of electricity. “The increase in gas prices is therefore immediately accompanied by an increase in the price of electricity, even if the electricity was not produced with gas turbines, but with solar energy, wind, hydropower, coal power plants or nuclear energy,” he noted. “If Brussels wants to go to war, it should fight inflation. It doesn’t,” Orban claimed, adding that the Hungarian authorities are doing their best to protect families and companies from the economic fallout.
Hungary, a country heavily dependent on Russian energy, has repeatedly spoken against the sanctions the EU has imposed on Moscow since it started its military operation against Ukraine in February 2022. Budapest has argued that the restrictions have failed to meaningfully weaken Russia, while damaging the European economy. In late January, Orban also signaled that Hungary would veto any EU sanctions targeting Russia’s nuclear energy sector. Budapest has also resisted the bloc’s plans to completely ban oil and gas imports from Russia, receiving several exemptions on procuring fossil fuels from the country.
Nuland is part of a broad group of the most ardent ‘hawks’ in American politics. We are very familiar with this point of view..”
• Nuland’s Words Show US Role As Primary Source Of Global Conflict – Peskov (TASS)
Statements by US Under Secretary of State for political affairs Victoria Nuland once again emphasize Washington’s role as the main source of international tensions, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya 1 TV channel. “Nuland is part of a broad group of the most ardent ‘hawks’ in American politics. We are very familiar with this point of view. It highlights the extent of our differences once more. It probably also stresses the role of the United States as the primary source of present international conflicts,” he said. Nuland previously stated that the US supported Ukraine’s strikes on military positions in Crimea, referring to them as “legitimate targets.”.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1627259308088913921
“We consider such insinuations as an attempt, unprecedented in terms of its cynicism, to demonize Russia in the course of a hybrid war, unleashed against us..”
• US Turns A Blind Eye To The Atrocities Of The Zelensky Regime – Envoy (TASS)
The United States administration is attempting to excuse its own activities in escalating the crisis in Ukraine with allegations of crimes against humanity attributed to Russia, according to Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov. “We consider such insinuations as an attempt, unprecedented in terms of its cynicism, to demonize Russia in the course of a hybrid war, unleashed against us. There is no doubt that the purpose of such attacks is to justify Washington’s own actions to fuel the Ukrainian crisis. First of all, it concerns the rampant militarization of the Kiev regime,” the ambassador said. He noted, “At one point the Americans said, that they would supply the republic with only defensive weapons, but now ship heavy armored vehicles, artillery, multiple launch rocket systems with long-range munitions.
The U.S. provides intelligence to Kiev Nazis, trains militants. By the will of the White House an egregious act is being committed – just like 80 years ago – tanks with crosses are attacking our country. How can we trust the West and try to come to any type of agreement after all these statements and actions? Basically, they told us one thing, but acted in the opposite direction.” At the same time, the diplomat stressed that the US “simply turns a blind eye to the atrocities of the Zelensky regime”. “Washington prefers not to notice the horrific scenes of the shootings of unarmed captured Russian soldiers.
It forgot about the bloodcurdling burning of people at the Trade Union Building in Odessa in 2014. The United States completely ignores the attacks that have been going on for many years on settlements in Donbass – kindergartens, schools, hospitals and residential buildings. Although it should be clear to any sober-minded person that no threats come from there,” he said. “Washington’s two-facedness is outrageous. Why is the State Department silent about the atrocities of Ukrainian cutthroats? What are the American human rights organizations thinking? Why is no one calling for the punishment of fascist thugs?” Antonov stressed.
Kirby now gets lost in his own words at times.
• Kirby Says He Doesn’t Know When The US Will Stop Sending Money To Ukraine (TP)
When will the US stop flooding Ukraine with arms and money? According to Biden National Security spokesman John Kirby, spokesman, he “doesn’t know”. That comment came during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” FNC host Shannon Bream brought up the matter by asking him when the aid packages would end, saying: “Despite the question that’s being asked increasingly on Capitol Hill, and there’s gonna be another fight over another round of aid, we’re about $200 billion into this so far. There are questions about where the US commitment ends to this. I mean, we had a couple of lawmakers just return and say they, Congressman Garamendi was one of them, who said, ‘I think this is a year from now, I’m going to be still going on this exact same war.’”
Kirby, in response, said “We don’t know. Again, we would like to see it in now. And certainly we want to see it on ends and on terms that are satisfactory to the Ukrainian people and to President Solinsky, so that they remain a whole free sovereign, independent state. And independence is an ideal that all Americans can get behind and understand. We’d like it to end soon as soon as possible. My goodness, nobody wants to be sitting here a year from now talking about the second anniversary of war. But as the President has said, Shannon, we’re going to support Ukraine for as long as it takes and he means that as long as it takes” Kirby’s non-committal response on aid and its sell-by date comes alongside his recent claim that the Russians would soon launch another offensive. Here’s what he said just a few weeks ago:
“We do expect that when the weather improves, the Russians will try to make additional offensive moves anywhere along that front,” he said, noting that the US is trying to help the Ukrainians prepare for that. We’re working in lock step with the Ukrainians almost every day. And we communicate constantly with Ukraine about their needs for the fight.” So the war is heating up and the United States and NATO are more deeply involved in the conflict than ever, with no end in sight. Unmentioned by Kirby was whether risking World War II with the continued provision of aid to an enemy on Russia’s borders was worth it.
Biden Spokesman John Kirby “doesn’t know” when we’re going to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/QurKZoyziT
— Clayton Keirns (@CKeirns) February 19, 2023
https://twitter.com/i/status/1627399068027613186
“Washington even puts pressure on us. We do not accept this..”
• US Must Change Stance On Ukraine – China’s Foreign Ministry (TASS)
The Chinese authorities do not accept US criticism of Sino-Russian relations and demand that Washington make a responsible approach to the problem of Ukraine and reconsider its stance, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday. “We have never considered as appropriate the United States’ critical statements regarding Sino-Russian relations. Washington even puts pressure on us. We do not accept this,” Wang stressed at a news briefing, commenting on US statements about Beijing’s military assistance to Moscow. “We insist that the United States should give due thought to its actions and take real steps towards reconciliation and advancing peace talks [on the Ukraine issue].”
What are the consequences for blood donations and transfusions? Better look at that ASAP.
• Vaccinated Blood is Contaminated with COVID Vaccine mRNA (Chudov)
A new study was just published by Castruita et al. The scientists, while studying “something else” related to hepatitis, decided to test blood samples of their patients who got vaccinated for COVID-19 with mRNA vaccines for the presence of vaccine mRNA. Their approach was comprehensive: They looked at vaccinated and unvaccinated persons to have a control group. They distinguished between vaccine mRNA and viral RNA of Sars-Cov-2. They were careful to avoid contaminants showing up as positive reads for vaccine mRNA. They distinguished, in their analyses, between Moderna and Pfizer mRNA genetic codes. These two vaccines encode the same spike proteins but contain different nucleotides (this is called codon optimization). I am proud of Castruita et al. for being meticulous with their analyses. I wish all “COVID research” was done with such in-depth safeguards against mistakes.
This is what they found: “We surprisingly found fragments of COVID-19 vaccine mRNA up to 28 days postvaccination in blood from chronic HCV patients vaccinated with mRNA vaccines from both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. .. of the 108 patient samples, 10 samples (9.3%) had partial or up to full sequences of the vaccine mRNA sequence (Fig. 1), identified from one to 28 days postvaccination. There was ~100% identity between the detected mRNA nucleotide sequences found in plasma and the specific mRNA vaccine given. The 10 samples had a median of 5.5 million raw read pairs available (see Table S1). Breadth and depth of coverage of the vaccine mRNA sequences ranged from completeness and >20 000, respectively, to short fragments with a depth of coverage of 100 (Fig. 1). None of the negative or the HCV-positive controls had SARS-CoV-2 matching reads. They identified blood samples containing vaccine mRNA as late as 28 days after administering vaccine doses.
— James Hirsen (@thejimjams) February 20, 2023
“..As a new artist, Biden is fetching prices that exceed the prices of some Picassos..”
• Hunter Biden’s Art Dealer Defies the House Over Business Records (Turley)
It appears that Hunter Biden’s art dealer believes that his art should be left entirely to the eye of the beholder — and not Congress. Georges Bergès reportedly refused last week to provide the House Oversight Committee with the identities of the buyers of Biden’s high-priced art work. While counsel William Pittard insists that the list of purchasers must remain secret, it is hard to see the viable legal basis to refuse the demand of the House Oversight Committee, if made subject to a congressional subpoena. The Biden sales have long been a subject of intense debate over whether it is another form of influence peddling or money laundering. Even President Barack Obama’s ethics head has raised objections.
Former Obama-era ethics official Walter Shaub called the art sale a “terrible idea” and noted that “it just is implausible that this art from an unknown artist would be selling at this price if it didn’t have the Biden name attached to it.” As a new artist, Biden is fetching prices that exceed the prices of some Picassos. The quality of the work will be left to others to debate, but the Oversight Committee has a legitimate interest in looking into whether the art is being used to funnel money to the family of President Joe Biden. In January, House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY) requested that Bergès testify before Congress. Comer has long alleged that Chinese buyers are behind the sales, though there is no public proof to support that allegation. He has stated that “arrangement with Hunter Biden raises serious ethical concerns and calls into question whether the Biden family is again selling access and influence.”
Pittard wrote that “[i]n light of these considerations, providing the documents and information requested in your letter seemingly would defeat the efforts of Mr. Biden and the White House to avoid the ‘serious ethical concerns’ that you raise.” He added that “Mr. Berges hopes that you and Mr. Biden can resolve that tension.” The question is what happens if they cannot “resolve that tension.” The Oversight Committee is investigating a host of avenues through which foreign interests were allegedly able to funnel millions into the Biden family coffers. It is hard to see how a court would find that these business records could not be subpoenaed by a congressional committee if they decide to move forward.
Berges could refuse to testify without a subpoena, but he must appear if so served. He could then invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to refuse to testify. What is interesting is that this is only the latest lawyer to defy Congress on a Hunter Biden inquiry. We previously discussed how Hunter Biden’s personal counsel Abbe Lowell refused a demand for evidence sought by the House. These moves appear to be channeling the same strategy of Steve Bannon who was ultimately charged with contempt and convicted. At the time, I said that Bannon was asking for a contempt charge and Biden appears to be replicating this same ill-considered strategy.
Calcata Vecchia
https://twitter.com/i/status/1627227082341203968
Elephants nap
A herd of elephants taking a quick nap. pic.twitter.com/9Gvqv0TsyJ
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) February 19, 2023
“This famous shot by photographer Ken Wiele shows a brave blue jay trying to attack, or maybe only photobomb, an imperious bald eagle “
Feather stars
https://twitter.com/i/status/1627315399942447105
Plants that were grown from seeds buried in permafrost for nearly 32,000 years after being discovered on the banks of the Kolyma River in Siberia in 2015
Turtles rest for ~11 hours per day, using just half the amount of oxygen that they use during foraging
https://twitter.com/i/status/1627330964488683521
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