Aug 232023
 
 August 23, 2023  Posted by at 8:54 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,


Jessie Willcox Smith From The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald 1920

 

Trump to Miss Debate as There’s ‘Less to Lose by Not Showing Up’ (Sp.)
A Letter To Our Betters (Lundrum)
Biden’s Personal Interest in Firing Ukraine Prosecutor Targeting Burisma (Sp.)
McCarthy Threatens Impeachment Inquiry, Again (Manley)
The EU Doesn’t Know How To Not Be A Vassal Of The US Anymore (Blankenship)
West ‘Perplexed’ By Ukraine’s Strategy – NYT (RT)
Ukrainian Draft Dodgers Aggravating Troop Shortages – BBC (RT)
F-16’s For Ukraine Can’t Carry Storm Shadows (Sp.)
Putin: Russia Among World’s Top Five Economies, Overtakes Germany (Sp.)
De-Dollarization Is Irreversible – Putin (RT)
Fukushima Water Discharge ‘Irresponsible’ – China (RT)

 

 

 

 

Brink of War
https://twitter.com/i/status/1694143915602182430

 

 

Macgregor

 

 

 

 

Myocarditis
https://twitter.com/i/status/1693744128314458248

 

 

Biological warfare
https://twitter.com/i/status/1693957169786294424

 

 

Escobar BRICS

 

 

 

 

If Trump is not there, nobody watches. If he IS there, nobody pays attention to the others. They can’t win.

No-one will watch a debate with Nikki Haley and Chris Christie. At the same time, Trump is on Tucker. A few hours later, he’s in Georgia.

Trump to Miss Debate as There’s ‘Less to Lose by Not Showing Up’ (Sp.)

Former US President Donald Trump had already planned to miss the first Republican primary debate since he is unquestionably the leading GOP candidate, but his impending arrest in Georgia the following day adds a new layer of volatility to the already-fragile state of US politics, a prominent commentator told Sputnik. The first Republican presidential primary debate for the 2024 US election race is set to air on Wednesday evening on Fox networks. Eight candidates are expected to attend the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, event, but missing will be the clear pack leader, former US President Donald Trump. The candidates expected to appear are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis; North Dakota Governor Dough Burgum; former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley; former US Vice President Mike Pence; former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie; former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson; US Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina; and New York-based entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Just hours after the debate, Trump is set to surrender himself to authorities in Fulton County, Georgia, in connection with federal charges that he illegally sought to overturn his loss in the Peach State in the 2020 election. Ajamu Baraka, international human rights activist, organizer, political analyst, and the national organizer for the Black Alliance for Peace, told Radio Sputnik on Tuesday that Trump’s absence could potentially be read as good or bad by his supporters, but that it was certainly bad for the legitimacy of the US political system for Trump to be facing such transparently political charges designed to stop his participation in politics. “There could be a backlash from either supporters of Trump if they believe this represents a certain kind of arrogance or it could be the opposite, that people believe that what the Republican candidates should do is to rally around the presumptive nominee of their party,” Baraka said.

“For Trump and his campaign, it’s understandable that he would not want to subject himself to the possibility of having to deal with some aggressive responses or comments coming from some of his opponents,” he noted. “There’s really a lot to lose in doing that and so they may have calculated that there’s less to lose by not even showing up.” Baraka said it was clearly “the predominant thinking within the Republican Party” that the nomination was Trump’s to refuse at this point, leaving little room for the other candidates to make a separate name for themselves at the Wednesday night debate. Indeed, the Iowa Poll, widely seen as the most reliable early poll for the primary race, found that Trump has by far the most solid support of any candidate: 68% said they won’t vote for anyone else.“What the Democrats seem not to understand is – the perception is that these prosecutions are politicized,” he explained.

“This is an attempt on the part of Democrats and Democratically-connected institutions and structures to undermine the ability of Donald Trump to run again. “I think that narrative is extending beyond the hardcore Trump supporters. People are raising questions around what appears to be a sort of piling-on, and indictments that have such a political character to them. We know they’re being framed as just some objective legal issues. And we know that the judge in Georgia, for example, claimed that she’s going to try this case without the politics. But very few people are in fact buying that. And it’s really a very dangerous situation because that perception is really helping to continue to undermine the legitimacy of US institutions.” “It’s a very dangerous strategy, but one in which Democrats believe that, in some kind of way, they’re going to create a condition or situation where someone, one of the Republican candidates, will then break from the pack,” he said. “That seems to be the thinking of many of the Democratic Party strategists.”

Baraka said that the Democratic officials in Georgia had displayed a “political inclination to make” Trump’s prosecution “into a spectacle” by treating him as if he is a flight risk and imposing limitations on his speech. “The main thing is: they want to degrade” Trump, he said. “They want those pictures, for example,” of Trump surrendering to authorities. “They have this belief that this is going to somehow undermine Trump. I think it’s going to have the opposite effect,” Baraka asserted. He accused them of having a kind of one-sided moral “blindness” that would inevitably lead to “political errors” on par with the second attempt to impeach Trump following the January 6, 2021, insurrection by his supporters at the US Capitol. “It’s all part of the process of the degeneration of politics in the US. It is incredibly dangerous because of the deepening economic crisis that we are facing. When you have the delegitimization of all of the US institutions then there’s no telling what may happen in terms of the politics here in this country. It’s very, very dangerous.”

Trump racism

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“President Trump’s only crime was to humiliate the lot of you, at every level and in both parties.”

A Letter To Our Betters (Lundrum)

To those who rule over us, though not by our own choice; To those who could not care less about this nation we call our home, but instead only care for their own power, glory, and enrichment; To those who consider themselves better than us, and view us with nothing but the utmost contempt: We know exactly who you are. Now, more than ever before, We The People have had the wool pulled from our eyes, due in large part to your own arrogance. You have ended up as our ruling class, through manipulation rather than merit, through deception rather than democracy, and through favoritism rather than free elections. And we know all this through the efforts of one man: The man that you are now attempting to sentence to hundreds of years in one of your gulags, all for the crime of exposing your treachery at the highest levels.

Most simply, Donald J. Trump committed a sin that, in your eyes, is far more egregious than such trivial crimes as bribery, sexual impropriety, abuse of power, or even outright treason. President Trump’s only crime was to humiliate the lot of you, at every level and in both parties. The damage to your ego is a far greater offense than any actual criminal wrongdoing committed by many career politicians of days gone by.That is why you now hunt the man with all the relentlessness of Ahab pursuing his White Whale. And that is why we are now more resolved than ever before to stop you. Quite simply, the fight to save Donald Trump is the fight to save America: His struggle now is unlike any smear, intimidation, and character assassination campaign faced by any other political figure in American history. And it is only so because you have made it so. The more viscerally you react to him, and the more deranged your attacks against him, the more determined his supporters become to stand by him through it all.

But this all goes far beyond President Trump. You dictate to us from your halls of marble, built ages ago by far greater men than you will ever be, and in so doing desecrate the memory of those who came before us. If our Founding Fathers could see the state of their nation today, they would either believe that the Revolution had failed; or, perhaps, they would even regret the Revolution altogether if this was the ultimate end result. You have actively led a widespread and systematic effort to erase our nation’s history, from the legacy of those very Founders to the statues and other monuments meant to stand through all of time as a tribute to their greatness. Whether by mobs of roaming thugs or by official decree, you have sought to tear down the very memory of those who built the nation that you now run.

You speak down to us from your houses of glass, eternally – and perhaps deliberately – oblivious to the two-tiered society you have created for your own benefit and at our expense. You claim to fight for “democracy,” and yet actively obstruct the will of we, the 63 million, from the moment our chosen leader laid his hand on the Bible. Your bureaucrats determined that an archaic “interagency consensus” should override the desires of the American people and their elected commander-in-chief. When he called out the corruption of one of your leading political puppets, and suggested that such corruption should be investigated, you responded by putting him through a nakedly political impeachment trial. You made a crime out of noticing a crime, even after the former Vice President quite literally confessed to committing the corrupt act to which President Trump was referring.

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Where does this leave Obama?

Biden’s Personal Interest in Firing Ukraine Prosecutor Targeting Burisma (Sp.)

New memos indicate that then-Vice President Joe Biden did not act in concert with the US government when he threatened to withhold $1 billion in Ukraine aid unless the Poroshenko government fired the prosecutor general who targeted Hunter Biden’s Ukrainian employer at that time. Joe Biden and Democrats have repeatedly stressed that his insistence on firing Ukrainian then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokhin back in December 2015 was consistent with the US policy of stamping out corruption in Ukraine. At the time, then-Vice President Joe Biden even went so far as to threaten then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Washington would deprive Ukraine of a much-needed $1 billion loan guarantee in case the latter did not fire Shokhin. The conversation reportedly occurred in December 2015.

Biden openly bragged about the incident to the Council on Foreign Relations gathering in January 2018: “I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion.’ I’m going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, son of a bitch, he got fired. And they put in place someone who was solid at the time.” However, memos by Treasury and Justice Department officials obtained by Just the News, an independent US media outlet founded by award-winning investigative journalist John Solomon, indicate that the US government held Shokhin in high regard at the time and concluded that Ukraine had made progress in fighting endemic corruption, thus deserving the loan guarantee.

“Ukraine has made sufficient progress on its reform agenda to justify a third guarantee,” read an October 1, 2015, memo by the Interagency Policy Committee (IPC), a Barack Obama task force. Moreover, Senior State Department officials sent Shokhin a personal note saying they were “impressed” with his office’s work and invited him and his staff to Washington for a January 2016 strategy session prior to his sacking. Remarkably, an audio tape from March 2016 which appeared to record Biden and Poroshenko’s conversation showed that the Ukrainian president pointed out that there was no evidence that Shokhin and his office were anyhow mired in corruption: “Despite the fact that we didn’t have any corruption charges, we don’t have any information about him doing something wrong, I especially asked him … No, it was the day before yesterday. I especially asked him to resign,” Poroshenko allegedly told Biden in a tape released in 2020 by then-parliamentarian Andrii Derkach.

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McCarthy is the GOP. Trump is not.

McCarthy Threatens Impeachment Inquiry, Again (Manley)

House Republicans have been calling for impeachment proceedings against US President Joe Biden for months over allegations of financial misconduct during the Obama years. While initial calls were dulled, new reports suggest the initiative may be picked up once Congress comes back in session. US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) threatened, yet again, on Tuesday to launch an impeachment inquiry in September if the Biden administration fails to turn over documents said to be tied to an alleged bribery scheme involving the Biden family. It’s not clear, however, which documents McCarthy is seeking, nor from whom. Additionally, reports have suggested the so-called ‘missing’ files were not exactly requested by lawmakers. “The thing that holds up whether we do impeachment inquiry, provide us the documents we’re asking,” McCarthy said in an interview with Larry Kudlow. “The whole determination here is how the Bidens handled this.”

“If they provide us the documents, there wouldn’t be a need for impeachment inquiry. But if they withhold the documents and fight like they have now to not provide to the American public what they deserve to know, we will move forward with impeachment inquiry when we come back into session,” he added. The House speaker did clarify that they were looking for bank statements, as well as credit card statements. “The bank statements, the credit card statements and others. Show us where the money went, show us were you taking money from outside sources? And that would clear most of this up, but they seem to fight it every step of the way,” he added. Republicans have for months been making calls for an impeachment inquiry against US President Joe Biden over a pay-to-play scheme that is alleged to have taken place when the commander-in-chief served as vice president under the Obama White House. It’s alleged Hunter Biden used his father’s role as a means to get kickbacks at the time.

When asked about the impeachment inquiry into the president, McCarthy reportedly raised several allegations about Biden’s involvement in his son’s business dealings. In addition, he also criticized the decision to appoint a special counsel to oversee the ongoing probe into Hunter Biden. Attorney for the District of Delaware, David Weiss, was earlier appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the Hunter Biden case, a move that has prompted GOP attacks against Weiss as a result. McCarthy is presently claiming that the US House could also push forward an impeachment inquiry into Biden should Weiss refuse to hand over certain information to Congress. It’s worth noting that prior to the appointment announcement, reports indicated that Weiss had initially been blocked from the post.

“If they use this special counsel to say that they can’t provide us the information, then it just shows more politics. And it will not stop us. Then we would move to impeachment inquiry and we would be able to still get the documents that we need as we move forward,” McCarthy explained. McCarthy first floated the idea of an impeachment inquiry against Biden in July, explaining then that the motive was rooted over allegations that the US president was a willing participant in financial misconduct. However, the early summer initiative only came after the House speaker initially opted to shut down earlier impeachment calls that were being encouraged by the hard-right Republicans of the House Freedom caucus.

CNN DOJ Biden

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“In 2008, the EU’s economy was somewhat larger than America’s: $16.2tn versus $14.7tn. By 2022, the US economy had grown to $25tn, whereas the EU and the UK together had only reached $19.8tn.”

The EU Doesn’t Know How To Not Be A Vassal Of The US Anymore (Blankenship)

In terms of hard numbers, Jeremy Shapiro and Jana Puglierin of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank have stated: “In 2008, the EU’s economy was somewhat larger than America’s: $16.2tn versus $14.7tn. By 2022, the US economy had grown to $25tn, whereas the EU and the UK together had only reached $19.8tn. America’s economy is now nearly one-third bigger. It is more than 50 per cent larger than the EU without the UK.” The article goes on to describe a European Union that is dragging far behind the US and China in terms of quality universities, a less-than-pristine start-up environment, and lacking key benefits from its transatlantic peer – namely cheap energy. The Ukraine conflict has impacted the latter to the point that EU companies are paying three or four times what their American competitors are, with Washington being energy-independent and enjoying great domestic supplies. Meanwhile, energy from Russia is waning, European factories are closing in droves, and industry leaders are worried about the region’s future competitiveness.

The ECFR issued its own report on the matter in April, which is far blunter in describing the situation as a kind of “vassalization.” The summary of that report notes that the Ukraine war has exposed the EU’s key dependencies on the US, that over the course of a decade, the bloc has fallen behind the US in virtually every key metric, that it is deadlocked in disagreement and is looking to Washington for leadership. The ECFR noted two causes for this situation. Firstly, despite the widely understood decline of the US compared to the rise of China, the transatlantic relationship has been unbalanced in Washington’s favor over the last 15 years since the 2008 financial crisis. The Biden administration is keen to exploit this and assert itself in the face of a disjointed Europe. Secondly, no one in the EU knows what greater strategic autonomy could look like – let alone agree on it if they did. There exists no process to decide the EU’s future in an autonomous way given the current status quo, which means US leadership is necessary.

This paints quite an interesting picture. Many commentators, including myself, have long documented the decline of the US and attributed it to a number of factors: less of an attractive environment for foreign direct investment (FDI), financial instability, corruption, and internal political turmoil. This is, of course, relativized to China, which has seen immense economic growth since the founding of the People’s Republic and particularly over the past four decades. But under the smoke screen of a fumbling America and a growing China, the EU has likewise fallen in stature. As for the two causes noted by the ECFR, they seem to be intertwined. Many of the key issues that have faced the EU, from migration to the banking crisis to Covid-19, have stemmed directly from the non-federal nature of the EU.

And the current political crises are a result of Euroskepticism, i.e. a backlash against what is perceived as an overreach from Brussels by some political organizations within the bloc. The EU is a complicated and sometimes cumbersome bureaucracy that is cherished by some, reviled by others, and, under these assumptions, is an impediment to strategic autonomy. The ECFR essentially argues for the EU and Western European capitals to lean into the transatlantic partnership, but on terms favorable to themselves. This includes creating an independent security architecture within and complimentary to NATO, creating an economic NATO of sorts and even pursuing a European nuclear weapons program. At least the former two are acceptable, as abandoning the US outright would be politically foolish for the EU at this juncture. It certainly needs to develop a transatlantic free-trade agreement that puts an end to American trade protectionism.

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“even the most experienced units have been reconstituted a number of times after taking heavy casualties.”

West ‘Perplexed’ By Ukraine’s Strategy – NYT (RT)

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is struggling because some of Kiev’s best troops are “in the wrong places,” the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing senior US and UK officials speaking on condition of anonymity. The offensive’s main objective is to reach the Sea of Azov, cutting off Crimea from the Russian mainland, but Ukraine currently has more troops on the eastern front – facing Artyomovsk, also known as Bakhmut – than in the “far more strategically significant” south, according to the Times. “American planners have advised Ukraine to concentrate on the front driving toward Melitopol… and on punching through Russian minefields and other defenses, even if the Ukrainians lose more soldiers and equipment in the process,” the newspaper said.

The Russian Defense Ministry has estimated Ukraine had lost 45,000 dead and over 5,000 vehicles in the past two months of fighting, without going past the Russian screening line. “Only with a change of tactics and a dramatic move can the tempo of the counteroffensive change,” a US official told the newspaper, though others argued that even that may be too little, too late. Kiev’s insistence on keeping a large force in the east is particularly “perplexing” to American and British officials, as Western doctrine calls for commitment to a clear main effort. They argue that a smaller force could serve to pin down the Russian defenders, and while Ukraine theoretically has enough troops to retake Artyomovsk, doing so would “lead to large numbers of losses for little strategic gain.”

General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, his British counterpart Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe Christopher Cavoli all urged Ukraine’s top general Valery Zaluzhny to focus on the southern front in the August 10 call, the Times said. Zaluzhny supposedly agreed. Just five days later, however, President Vladimir Zelensky was touring the “Soledar sector” near Artyomovsk, visiting the neo-Nazi ‘Azov’ unit and speaking about the importance of that front. According to the Times, Ukraine has started to redeploy some units to the south, but “even the most experienced units have been reconstituted a number of times after taking heavy casualties.”

Kiev is currently “tapping into its last strategic reserves,” and unnamed Western analysts worry that Ukrainian forces “may run out of steam” by mid-September, even before a change in weather turns the ground into impassable mud. The Times itself noted that US criticism comes from the perspective of officers “who have never experienced a war of this scale and intensity,” and that the US war doctrine “has never been tested in an environment like Ukraine’s, where Russian electronic warfare jams communications and GPS,” and there is no air superiority. Ukraine launched its much-hyped offensive in early June, but has so far failed to gain any significant ground, losing many Western-supplied tanks and armored vehicles in the process.

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“The groups exist throughout Ukraine and some have as many as 100,000 members..”

Ukrainian Draft Dodgers Aggravating Troop Shortages – BBC (RT)

Ukraine is struggling to reinforce its troop numbers due to “constant” heavy casualties suffered in the conflict with Russia and the population’s unwillingness to replace those no longer able to serve, the BBC reported on Tuesday. “The country constantly needs to replace the tens of thousands who’ve been killed or injured,” the British state broadcaster said, adding that many Ukrainian troops are exhausted following 18 months of hostilities with Moscow. According to the broadcaster, Ukrainians have formed mass chat groups on social media to share ways of dodging conscription, including providing tip-offs on Telegram of draft patrol officers’ routes. The groups exist throughout Ukraine and some have as many as 100,000 members, the BBC added.

Thousands have already fled Ukraine in an attempt to avoid the draft, while others are planning to do so, the BBC claimed. It said that those fleeing often bribe officials, including recruitment officers, to ensure safe passage abroad. Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky dismissed every single regional military official responsible for conscription following a series of corruption scandals. The Ukrainian authorities had previously opened 112 criminal cases against territorial draft center officials, Zelensky revealed at the time. Ukrainian defense officials have described the alleged offenses committed by those responsible for the draft campaign as “shameful and unacceptable.” Fired personnel will be replaced by combat veterans unfit for active duty, Zelensky said in early August, claiming that they had “no cynicism” and could be trusted.

According to the BBC, officers involved in the recruitment campaign stand accused of employing increasingly heavy-handed tactics. People have allegedly been summoned to recruitment centers for registration, often only to be seized on the spot and deprived of the chance to return home, the broadcaster claimed. Draft officials are also accused of using “harsh or intimidating tactics,” the British broadcaster said, while fresh recruits can reportedly find themselves on the front lines “with just a month of training.” The report comes as Kiev struggles with the much-hyped counteroffensive against Russian forces launched in early June. According to Moscow, Ukrainian troops have failed to make any significant progress, often only reaching the first line of Russian defenses.

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They find that out now?

F-16’s For Ukraine Can’t Carry Storm Shadows (Sp.)

According to reports in US media, the plan to supply Ukraine with US-made F-16 Falcon fighter jets has hit a snag, since the aircraft are not presently compatible with the British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles previously given to Ukraine to enhance its long-range aerial strike capability. That has raised a new question among politicos: should the US send compatible cruise missiles to Kiev alongside the F-16, such as the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) with its 575-mile range? Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, told Sputnik on Tuesday that the situation exposes the unplanned and haphazard way in which NATO is scrambling to send Kiev any weapons they can find, but especially older ones.

“It seems to me that both the British and aviation armaments [industries] will find a technical opportunity to place their missiles on the F-16,” he said. “I think the issue here is quite technically solvable. It seems to me that, in general, we need to wait for the delivery of aircraft.” “We are again dealing with promises to assist in the supply of weapons, promises to establish training for pilots. But we don’t see specific products,” he said. “This story is very similar to the story of American tanks, which started in November of last year, when the Americans first promised their Abrams tanks and simultaneously dragged European partners into these promises, then they themselves stalled the supply of tanks, citing a lack of a structural base, a lack of a repair base, a shortage of all this in Poland or on the territory of Ukraine,” Mikhailov noted.

“And at this time, the German Leopard tanks were already burning and the image of the German defense industry was burning and a lot of other troubles that Europe received which, as it were, followed the lead of the Americans with their eternal divorce.” “Now it’s a very similar story. The Americans would very much like European planes to fly to Ukraine. Moreover, the same Germans have third-generation Tornado aircraft, Europeans have Typhoons, Mirages, Rafales, and Gripens. And in principle, there is plenty to choose from, especially if the Europeans are more loyal. But the Europeans are no longer fooled by these American promises. Because after the story with the Abrams, when even the Challenger tanks arrived in Ukraine and several Leopards were sent to Ukraine and even participated in the hostilities, the Abrams did not appear in Ukraine.”

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PPP.

Putin: Russia Among World’s Top Five Economies, Overtakes Germany (Sp.)

Despite pessimistic forecasts, Russia is among the five largest economies in the world and has overtaken the Federal Republic of Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Council on Strategic Development and National Projects. According to the World Bank, the Russian Federation “has moved ahead of the Federal Republic of Germany in terms of purchasing power parity, in terms of the size of the economy,” Putin added. The president highlighted that this is one of the most important indicators. The president stressed that the growth rates are steady, including in industry, while the current budget situation is stable and risk-free. “The current budgetary situation is generally stable and does not carry risks for macroeconomic stability. In the second quarter, the federal budget deficit decreased almost eight times compared to the first quarter and totaled 264 billion rubles. In July, the budget balance was 458 billion rubles better than a year ago,” Putin clarified.

For July-September the budget will be reported with a surplus, and by the end of the year the excess of expenditures over revenues will amount to the planned 2% of GDP, Putin noted. According to the president, in a year and a half, the ruble’s share of payments for Russian exports has more than tripled, from 12% to 42%, and “if we count it together with the currencies of friendly countries, this share reaches 70%”. Domestic manufacturers are quickly filling the niches of foreign companies that have left, and Russia will continue to do the same, the president emphasized. On August 4, Sputnik calculated using data from the World Bank that Russia’s GDP by purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2022 for the first time ever exceeded $5 trillion, allowing the country to remain the world’s fifth-largest economy.

Earllier Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that the Russian economy had adapted to Western sanctions and was growing steadily, adding that, despite all attempts to cut it off from global production chains, logistics routes and financial systems, interest for the country’s economy was increasing. In early August, an American newspaper reported that the West’s strategy of imposing sanctions on Russian businessmen and their families proved to be ineffective. Russia’s ability to withstand the sanctions will be a subject for analysis in the future, according to the report.

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More PPP.

De-Dollarization Is Irreversible – Putin (RT)

The US dollar is losing its global role in an “objective and irreversible” process, the Russian president told participants at the BRICS Summit in South Africa on Tuesday. Vladimir Putin spoke by via videolink, after choosing not to attend the event in person.De-dollarization is “gaining momentum” he said, adding that members of the group of major emerging economies are seeking to reduce their reliance on the greenback in mutual transactions. The Russian leader said the five nations – Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa – are becoming the new world economic leaders, and that their cumulative share of global GDP has reached 26%. He noted that if measured by purchasing power parity, BRICS has already surpassed the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations – accounting for 31% of the global economy, compared to 30% for the G7.

Over the past 10 years, mutual investment between the BRICS member states has increased by six times. Their total investments in the world economy have doubled, while cumulative exports account for 20% of the global total, Putin said. Moscow is focusing on re-orienting its transport and logistics routes towards “reliable foreign partners,” including BRICS members, to ensure an uninterrupted supply of energy and food to the international market. Russia’s primary goals include developing the Northern Sea Route and the ‘North-South’ transport corridor, Putin stated. The first, passing through the Arctic Ocean, along Russia’s northern coastline, will ensure faster goods deliveries between Europe and the Far East. The second will connect Russia’s northern and Baltic ports to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, facilitating cargo movement between Eurasian and African nations.

“We are consistently increasing fuel, food and fertilizer supplies to the states of the Global South,” and actively contributing to global food and energy security, the Russian leader said. He blamed the current international food crisis on the West’s unilateral sanctions, describing them as “unlawful.” “Illegitimate sanctions… seriously weigh on the international economic situation,” and the “unlawful freezing of sovereign states’ assets” constitutes a violation of free trade and economic cooperation rules. The resource deficit and growing inequality worldwide are a “direct result” of such policies, the Russian president argued. He highlighted skyrocketing grain and food prices as the latest manifestation of this process, primarily affecting the most vulnerable nations.

Moscow is represented at the Johannesburg summit, which runs from August 22 to 24, by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Putin opted not to attend the event after a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue a warrant for his arrest in March. The court based the order on Ukraine’s allegation that the Russian evacuation of children from the conflict zone amid hostilities between the two nations amounted to “unlawful population transfers.”South Africa is a signatory of the Rome Statute of the ICC, and the US and its allies had pressured it to detain Putin should he travel to the country. Moscow has repeatedly denied the ICC’s allegations and stressed that it does not recognize the court’s authority, declaring the warrant legally null and void. Although South African President Cyril Ramaphosa repeatedly stated that he would not carry out the order, claiming it would amount to a “declaration of war,” Moscow ultimately decided to send Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the BRICS summit to represent Russia.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1694133636101001423

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“IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi recently claimed the wastewater was safe enough for drinking and swimming. He did not respond to Beijing’s request to drink it himself, however.”

“..if the [..] water is truly safe, Japan wouldn’t have to dump it into the sea—and certainly shouldn’t if it’s not..”

Fukushima Water Discharge ‘Irresponsible’ – China (RT)

The Japanese government’s plan to discharge water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean is “extremely selfish and irresponsible,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday. “The ocean sustains humanity. It is not a sewer for Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water,” Wang told reporters at the daily press briefing, calling the Japanese plan “unjustified, unreasonable and unnecessary.” “Japan is putting its selfish interests above the long-term wellbeing of the entire humanity,” the spokesman added. “China is gravely concerned and strongly opposed to this.” Beijing intends to take all the necessary steps to “protect the marine environment, ensure food safety and safeguard people’s life and health,” Wang added, without adding specifics.

Earlier on Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the dumping of waste water into the Pacific Ocean would begin on August 24, “weather conditions permitting.” For the past two years, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has sought approval to start dumping the water from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The plant produces 100 cubic meters of radioactive water every day, to keep its reactors from melting down, and TEPCO is running out of storage on site. The company intends to release a total of one million metric tons of water, starting with around 7,800 cubic meters over 17 days.

Tokyo insists that the wastewater has been treated and poses no danger to humanity or marine life, but Japan’s neighbors disagree. The ocean dump proposal has been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which said its impact on the environment would be “negligible.” According to the UN nuclear watchdog, the wastewater contains about 190 becquerels of tritium per liter, well below the 10,000 becquerel limit set by the World Health Organization. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi recently claimed the wastewater was safe enough for drinking and swimming. He did not respond to Beijing’s request to drink it himself, however.

“China and other stakeholders have pointed out on multiple occasions that if the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water is truly safe, Japan wouldn’t have to dump it into the sea—and certainly shouldn’t if it’s not,” Wang told reporters on Tuesday. While Beijing did not specify measures it intends to undertake in response, China’s special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao have already said they would “immediately activate” import controls on Japanese seafood, covering live, frozen, refrigerated, and dried fish, as well as sea salt and seaweed.

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Mantis
https://twitter.com/i/status/1693928738835100023

 

 

Baby hippo

 

 

Monitor
https://twitter.com/i/status/1693897176311529493

 

 

Inca tern
https://twitter.com/i/status/1693973402183258421

 

 

 

 

Blue

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle August 23 2023

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 60 total)
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  • #141801

    Jessie Willcox Smith From The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald 1920   • Trump to Miss Debate as There’s ‘Less to Lose by Not Showing U
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle August 23 2023]

    #141803
    Red
    Participant
    #141804
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Jessie Willcox Smith From The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald 1920

    Even the shadow of the hand of the princes strikes fear into the goblins…
    I think there is a message there…duh?????????

    #141805
    aspnaz
    Participant

    CNN makes a shocking pivot, says they’re ‘perplexed’ by the corruption coming out of the Department of ‘Justice’ as they continue to cover up for the Biden Crime Family.

    Is this the CNN that for years covered up for the Biden Crime Family? Shocking.

    Who’s the dick oligarch who owns CNN? He really should decide whether he is for or against crime; years for crime now against? Did he just get diagnosed with cancer, three weeks to live, trying to book a room in heaven by telling the truth? Nah, don’t believe it, the chimp that owns CNN is covering up something worse; chimps like to throw shit.

    #141806
    EoinW
    Participant

    No Trump gives Ramaswamy an opportunity to stand out. Sure no one will be watching, however all he says will make it online…where the only news is.

    I didn’t know lamb’s blood came in the colour blue.

    #141807
    Dr. D
    Participant

    What I see now in old paintings and photos? “How is that child healthy and not overweight, toothless, drooling, and deformed”?

    “Ex-Head Of JPMorgan’s Precious Metals Desk Sentenced To Prison For Manipulation

    Since he does that FOR Morgan, whose client is the U.S. Government, what was he jailed for, dipping on the side? You’ll have to do better to prove they’re not still market rigging, this isn’t proof.

    “In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for ‘Murder,’ but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL!”

    He keeps saying that, and it has some double meaning but I don’t know what it is. That they were all live, illegally listening in (we know this from Vindman) and then impeached him over it. If he’d made a mistake then, they would have had something to go on nd the White Hats knew it (and probably coached him). He wants to remind them he knew they were listening and did it anyway, The Plan was a Fail. Since these Plans take months since they’re drooling morons and think slow, he’s rubbing it in.

    “Andy Ngo Awarded $300,000 In Antifa Attack Lawsuit

    They’ll just beat him up over it again. We already know it’s an Attack-Asians-at-Will zone.

    “Chicago Official Suggests “Purge” Style Ordinance For Gun Violence Prevention

    So…all the people who aren’t following the law in your gun-free zone, ARE going to follow the law when you ask this time?

    I finally realize their fantasy isn’t “Criminals always follow the law” their fantasy is “Everybody obeys me.” I.e. “I Am God.”

    On Oliver: “Who Turns Downs Millions? People Who Believe We Are Heading For “F**k It” Phase”

    I was thinking this too. When? When YOU make it so money doesn’t buy anything, it’s worthless. When money doesn’t buy peace, or peace of mind. That’s Socialism. Money is now worthless, and only Party Favors have value, social status, who owes who and who has blackmail. The Currency is now popularity at the Mean Girls Table. If there are no (fair) courts, essentially there is no Property, and therefore no Capitalism. Why own “Money” when what you really need – like Justice and safety – can’t be bought? Again, YOU made this. Everybody was chasing the dollar and you had them all on a leash, obeying you and bringing you all their stuff with no effort. But that wasn’t ENOUGH. You wanted MOAR. So you made even MONEY worthless, not just to get into your Private Yacht and Country Club, but for any useful thing at all.

    …So, they learned. They stopped chasing the dollar. You won. Congratulations. Now no one comes into work to fix your Mercedes, and Nashville can’t buy this guy off and shut him up.

    You win. #Winning!!!

    This is from an economics article that 5% rates will whack the Rentier class and drop income disparity. Yes, but there’s no structural change. (yet) Also the Fed raises rates and 100% of the time there’s a recession, and 100% of the time they say “Soft Landing” ‘it’s different this time” because there’s a 2-year lag. And we’re at 17 months now?

    A Median house is $400k (!!!) and rates have just doubled. So the monthly was $1,000 and is now $2,000. Or more likely was $2,000 and is now $4,000 But nothin’ bad will happen. “Subprime is contained.” Canada is worse (as always recently). They had a good idea in keeping the PAYMENT the same, just changing the DURATION. Great idea right? Can’t lose the house in their nose-bleed Anglo prices. Uh, well, the mortgage TERM doubled then and is already for 80 YEARS. Yeah, the Lord just took the land, you freeholder: now you’re a serf and sharecropper. A renter out on his ear.

    “After 15 years post-GFC, the societal ‘Fs’ that can be collectively expected are: Fight; Flight; Freeze (which we see in the 10%’s current thinking); Follow (a charismatic leader); and, finally, “F**k It.” Look at the success of the US country song ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’; and the musician who sang it just turned down $8m from a record company. Who turns downs millions? People heading for the final of the five ‘Fs’, that’s who.”

    That may be in financials, or he’s reaching too hard, but everybody one layer out from me has said F* it. Again, no workers, no parts, no repairs as the most obvious. Everybody’s home but nobody’s working.

    He points out – and again, is reaching too hard? — that Russia says F* It too. They CAN’T negotiate the end of the war, in the F* It phase, they just do what they have to or die. It’s only principles. Morals. Will. They are your new currency.

    And I think you historically see that in the 4th Turning, where the next generation grows up in a Principle-based world. One of sacrifice and order. We’re seeing the front edge entering now.

    “Authenticity Is the Real Coin of the Realm
    This is a generation more aware of how screwed they are than mine was.” — Luongo

    Yes. That’s even true in buying paperweights on Etsy. You want a “real” thing. With meaning.

    He finishes with:

    “Lies are expensive.  The Truth sells itself.  
    Your days are numbered.  The cycle has turned.  
    We don’t want your money.  We want our lives back that you stole from us one small toll at a time.”

    “Madness! American Satirist C.J.Hopkins Sentenced In German Speech Case

    Well, I guess I’ve made my point! If that isn’t anti-fascist, nothing is. Next week: burning his books in the town square.

    “We know they’re being framed as just some objective legal issues. And we know that the judge in Georgia, for example, claimed that she’s going to try this case without the politics. But very few people are in fact buying that.”

    Could that be because the prosecutor, like all the others has said they need to jail Trump and ran their election on that platform? And the Judges in some of the cases and jurisdictions too? Hey look: if you want to railroad somebody to keep the gravy boat going, you do it with LEGITIMACY. That’s your currency. So you pick a judge who HASN’T said all those things publicly, but says them privately, or for donations, like the African safari USSC Roberts got. So it’s not like the people “Don’t get it” or are seeing things. The judge and prosecutors LITERALLY SAY they’re out to get him, long before anything about this case was known. Then the media just says, “No they didn’t” and we’re supposed to believe them.

    OKAY! This won’t work, morons, but It’s your world: I just live in it.

    ““President Trump’s only crime was to humiliate the lot of you, at every level and in both parties.”

    Yes, but when YOU erased the value of money, and the only thing that matters is Social Standing, this really IS a problem. …A problem he didn’t make: YOU did. In a world of Social Standing, Humiliation is a public Bankruptcy.

    And to clarify, you’re supposed to have material value AND social value, both. Too much of one or the other causes problems.

    GOP uniting behind Trump. Maybe, but that would just be another Uniparty, another cult of personality, and we don’t need that either. I say no. Do it if you want to and feel it’s strategic and right.

    “McCarthy Threatens Impeachment Inquiry, Again (Manley)

    McCarthy means impeaching Trump, right? Or Clarence Thomas?

    • The EU Doesn’t Know How To Not Be A Vassal Of The US Anymore (Blankenship)

    Kind of. All Western nations are run by the same Derp State. A Mafia, if you will. If you mean all Western nations are lock-step and can’t figure out how to remove and arrest on RICO as all policemen are also on the take, then yes. But they’re a vassal to whom?

    Let’s add this from yesterday: “Imagine stealing all the money in the world and still being $31 Trillion in debt”. So the U.S. decided to be the master so they could be poor? Collapsing? Dead? Depleted? Broke? And so on? No free healthcare, ¼ of the vacation of Europe? Er: I don’t think so. It’s something else.

    “The offensive’s main objective is to reach the Sea of Azov, cutting off Crimea from the Russian mainland,”

    Well that was YOUR main objective. America’s NeoCons, not Ukraine’s. Clearly by their actions. And I agree they should have done this, but I’m not there and suspect if they gave up the north to do it, Russia would simply walk into Kiev. But we have zero right to say anything when we insured zero air support at all. It’s as impossible to win as to not give them shoes.

    The Ukraine recruitment head makes $30k a year and just bought a Spanish beach house for $5M in cash. But the Ukraine isn’t corrupt or nothin’ the NY Times says…a day after reporting for 8 years they were the MOST corrupt. Both! Neither! #Logos!

    “the Americans first promised their Abrams tanks and simultaneously dragged European partners into these promises, then they themselves stalled the supply of tanks, citing a lack of a structural base, a lack of a repair base, a shortage”

    Yeah, sounds like we suckered you in, doesn’t it? If so, why? And if you know we did, why’d you get sucked again on the F16s, none of which from us?

    So for Oliver and praying I’ll add a series of weird cool things from the past: Peter, that is Simon “Peter” or “Petros” that is, his nickname “Rocky”, was a fisherman and a fisher of men, along with his brother Andrew. Now they were on the Sea of Galilee, but unlike the depiction weren’t two homeless guys tossing a net when Josh showed up.

    Peter was a major commercial fishing operation from his parents, and owned several boats of like 60+ men. Roman Galleys, essentially. He had so many boats, and built them so he was also a shipyard, that he had a number of smaller boats as well, not just “tenders” as they call them, and had one built for Jesus when he was there. Who stayed in a rich beach house offered by a wealthy donor in the area. So: Major local businessman, major employer, boss and day-laborer, not above fishing or carpentry – and one of the hardest, boat building – and therefore owned a major house, had major sums of gold or what-not floating around, if you know this level of small business, employing, say 10-100 men. Older guy, one. Long married. Not really spiritual at all, but direct and practical, two. What was he giving up? All this, and at an older age. And did he just walk away when called? Nope: they had all been hanging around a while together, years perhaps, laying low, until Jesus made a public call to follow. They knew it was coming and had been thinking whether they should.

    Does that kind of fill in what sort of person he was, with a nickname like “Petros”, “Rocky”?

    #141808
    aspnaz
    Participant

    Joe Biden and Democrats have repeatedly stressed that his insistence on firing Ukrainian then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokhin back in December 2015 was consistent with the US policy of stamping out corruption in Ukraine.

    Yeah, but does Pedo-Joe have a witness that has any sort of reputation for doing something good, anything will do, just something we can put in the minutes to make them sound good, say like not being a pedo? Do we have a witness who is not a pedo? No. Okay, then maybe someone who has not had showers with their children? No. Then maybe someone who has put forward a bill not written by a corporation, a bill that would help people? Do we have someone? No. Okay, so Pedo-Joe has no credible witnesses, they are all in this together and probably should all be tried togethe – or just move onto the hangin, I am bored with the political talk-is-action bullshit, I want blood on my screen.

    #141809
    aspnaz
    Participant

    Dr. D said

    What I see now in old paintings and photos? “How is that child healthy and not overweight, toothless, drooling, and deformed”?

    The rather plump lady you praised yesterday is a symptom of you losing your judgement surrounded by land-whales. Anyone with a buttock less than the width of a car is seen by you at hot! Here in China she would be plump and lacking any muscle tone – and why is she not in the kitchen? But we have better food and better weight control over here – control by doing stuff – although with that comes with bad symptoms in other areas.

    I am no dating expert, but maybe you should meet some women who do not block out the sun? Maybe those who seriously do yoga or conventional sport, some of the yoga bunnies will bore you with spirituality, others may not, professional sports people are always interesting, either way maybe that will re-calibrate your senses and get you back on track chasing the hotties, the ones smaller than an elephant seal.

    As for today’s mix, what a bunch of weirdos.

    #141810
    Oroboros
    Participant

    • West ‘Perplexed’ By Ukraine’s Strategy

    No they’re not, another Big Lie out of the Goebbels playbook.

    The NYT Media Whore is leading the pack to spin the Big Loss in Ukronaziland as “well we gave them all we had and trained them in the bestest NATO=NAZI tactics so if Nazilensky face plants, it’s on he and Them for the failure….”

    The Collective West Pressitutes are racking up the balls on the pool table for a new break to China.

    Death to the media whores

    #141811
    Oroboros
    Participant

    French Bull Dogs tête-à-tête

    Macron on the Left, the French public and Reality on the Right

    Where are the adults in the room?

    Yah, I thought that too….

    .

    #141812
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Mid-level thug tries pick up line on Duh’merican

    .

    #141813
    zerosum
    Participant


    NATO Armchair Generals blame President Vladimir Zelensky for failures

    https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/west-perplexed-by-ukraine-s-strategy-nyt/
    US and UK officials reportedly believe the offensive is going poorly because Kiev

    General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, his British counterpart Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe Christopher Cavoli all urged Ukraine’s top general Valery Zaluzhny to focus on the southern front in the August 10 call, the Times said. Zaluzhny supposedly agreed.

    Just five days later, however, President Vladimir Zelensky was touring the “Soledar sector” near Artyomovsk, visiting the neo-Nazi ‘Azov’ unit and speaking about the importance of that front.
    ———–

    • Ukrainian Draft Dodgers Aggravating Troop Shortages – BBC (RT)

    https://www.rt.com/russia/581664-ukraine-dodge-draft-personnel-shortage/

    “The country constantly needs to replace the tens of thousands who’ve been killed or injured,” the British state broadcaster said
    Thousands have already fled Ukraine in an attempt to avoid the draft, while others are planning to do so, the BBC claimed. It said that those fleeing often bribe officials, including recruitment officers, to ensure safe passage abroad.
    ———–

    #141814
    zerosum
    Participant

    There are a lot of reasons for the housing crisis. (but not my fault.)
    Canadians are struggling/having difficulties (not my fault.. Liberals not to blame)
    We are working to make things better (we are giving money to big companies )
    We working on reducing $15B of gov. expenses but not reducing Defense expenses (Ukraine)
    – Trudeau

    #141815
    John Day
    Participant

    Trying again after logging out and in and adding the spam-numbers…

    India soft-landed on the moon this morning (afternoon their time)

    I could feel the upswelling of pride, shared pride in this vast accomplishment as I watched this video live.

    Yeah, Russia’s lander crashed, probably due to non-space-rated ICs b=getting strafed by cosmic rays. Cosmig rays shoot holes in anything. You have to engineer little delecate things that will still work when holes are shot through them.
    Vacuum tubes are good that way, and germanium transistors, but you get something like 1/10,000th of the circuit density, and so much power consumption that you can’t do the things you need to do. Redundant-redundancy with little things is what is possible.
    A lead or water shield 2 ft thick only begins to help. Cosmic rays are a bitch.

    Go India!
    🙂

    #141816
    The Markster
    Participant

    OMG the blue Maui houses directed energy weapon cloaking thing, not something that can be unseen, almost too impossibly evil to be true. Which means I give it an 85% chance of being true. Lots of military in Hawaii, all those new toys to play with needing a test run, civilians and history and human decency not a consideration. And here we are.

    🤡🇺🇲☠️☠️☠️🇺🇲🤡

    #141817
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Ritual Humiliation of Duh’merica

    How much can it take?

    A Whole Lot by the looks of it.

    HAhahahahahaahahaa!

    Biden Tells Maui Fire Victims He Sympathizes Because One Time He Walked On The Beach Without Sandals And The Sand Was Really Hot

    “…if you’ve ever been to that beach you know how hot that sand gets in the sun, let me tell ya.

    I walked all the way across the beach without sandals on and my feet felt like they were burning hotter than one of Hunter’s little girlfriends in a church on Sunday if you know what I mean! Pause for laughter.

    Gotta grope a Hawaiian kid too!

    .

    Ritual Humiliation of Duh’merica

    Hahahahahaha

    What a bunch of Maroons

    .

    #141818
    aspnaz
    Participant

    FWIW: When I get the spam window, I click on my browser’s back link button and try again, then repeat if that does not work. Usually just reposting does the trick. Ignore the spam screen, it is garbage, it never works, it asks you to add two numbers then gives you just one number. What sort of cretin wrote this garbage.

    #141819
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @citizenx & @Red

    (Picking up from where things left off at the tail end of yesterday)

    Or another way of saying that would be, “It’s not wisdom for anyone until they wise up to it.”

    #141820
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Well done on that moon landing, India. Anyone who underrates Indian engineers and manufacturers has never worked with either one. That’s why the “West” has been been very careful to hamstring India at every opportunity, because if they weren’t being artificially suppressed at every turn they COULD kick everyone else’s collective butts (but, being Hindu, they would probably choose not to).

    #141821
    John Day
    Participant

    Oprah’s blue roof is photo-shopped, not really that color. The umbrellas and blue barrels and blue car appear real. The blue barrels could have been filled with water?
    https://www.tiktok.com/discover/umbrellas-didnt-burn-in-maui-fires

    “The Simpsons left the blue building standing”: Maui blue umbrella conspiracy erupts as laser video goes viral

    #141822
    Noirette
    Participant

    These ‘internet’ influencers, Internet *Stars*, young, sexy, are struck by cancer (cause never mentioned) :

    – ask for contributions to themselves

    – promote contributions to ‘charities’ that promote cancer screening, treatment

    – applaud the great / best treatment they receive from Big Med-Big Pharma …

    thereby:

    – endorsing all the structures, practises in place

    – **normalising young healthy ppl being hit turbo cancers**

    Of course, it is their living, they probably would not have enough money to pay even their rent if they quit. They are F-grade ‘reality show’ real-lie (sic) actors.

    Vigilant news. Aug. 2023. https://tinyurl.com/y5rh6e9z

    … concludes:

    These 21 social media stars have over 75 million subscribers and followers between them and reach 100s of millions of people. If even just a few of them spoke up, they could blow up the COVID-19 vaccine propaganda and narrative.

    #141823
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    “Modern” political thinking is predicated upon an absolute (and quite insane) axiomatic belief that domination is the purpose of life because life is a battle between the weak and strong. Therefore in modern political think, all valid strategies must be fashioned so as to achieve that goal. In other words, the struggle is solely and only about strength and weakness, and therefore weakness MUST be avoided at all costs, and no holds barred. Hilariously, “weakness” is defined as any act that does not demonstrate (and serve) so-called “strength”, and strength is defined as the proactive domination of everything that is “weaker” than them.

    Now if you think that is rather ….. circular, shall we say? ….. in it’s reasoning, then you would be right. It’s as circular as a spin-dizzy, and if allowed to run to it’s natural conclusion it could ONLY result in a self-destroying monster that devours itself from the bottom up until ….. at the very end …..there would theoretically be just ONE guy in charge of NOBODY. (that’s silly, of course, but on paper that IS the theoretical end-state of the belief that the only valid goal of life is the acquisition and exercise of power over others. That strategy leads to death. Every time. No exceptions.

    I’m sorry if that statement offends anyone (not really) but the offense does not belong to me. It’s nothing that I did. It’s just what the universe does.

    To say this a different way, invariable adherence to the belief that might actually does make right, is invariably fatal in all cases.

    Or even shorter, “Might does not make right. Might makes dead.”

    #141824
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Corollary to “Smitty’s Law” as expressed in comment #141823:

    So if MIGHT does not make right, then what DOES make right?

    Answer: RIGHT makes right

    #141825
    WES
    Participant

    Uniparty Republicans impeaching Joe Biden?
    Not a snowballs chance in hell would the Republicans ever impeach Joe !
    Republicans chose Joe over Trump in 2020!
    The swamp never impeaches anyone for committing real crimes.
    The swamp only impeached those who don’t commit crimes!
    Because not committing crimes makes the swamp look bad!

    #141826

    Blue ranks first as the world’s favorite color.

    Project Bluebird (early 50s- later called Project Artichoke) had to do with interrogation techniques.
    Can you get accurate info from their guys?
    Can you prevent giving accurate info from our guys?
    Can you create assassins with no memory?

    My sister shunned Girl Scouts and went with the cooler “Camp Fire Girls”. Young Camp Fire Girls were called “Bluebirds”. (50s and early 60s)

    Why did Musk cancel the bluebird and replace it with X?

    Project Bluebeam would employ aerial holographic images of appropriate figures to sway the masses with religious propaganda.

    Democrats are “blue”.

    #141827

    FWIW: When I get the spam window, I click on my browser’s back link button and try again, then repeat if that does not work. Usually just reposting does the trick. Ignore the spam screen, it is garbage, it never works, it asks you to add two numbers then gives you just one number. What sort of cretin wrote this garbage.

    “What is the spam window?” I cant reproduce your experiences, that makes it hard.

    #141828
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    There is some argument (rather half-hearted) that Machiavelli didn’t personally espouse the dirty evil psychopathic behaviors of the powerful that he advised in his popular book, The Prince, and that the outrageously corrupt recommendations therein were meant to serve as some sort of moral warning. Not that it matters very much, but if you trace the arc of the man’s life it’s pretty obvious that sucking up to the powerful was how Machiavelli made his living, and he meant every damn word that he wrote, exactly how he wrote it. Think Henry Kissinger on meth.

    The enlightened know that Machiavelli was full of shit. They know as a certain and well understood fact that to subscribe to Machiavellian thinking means certain death. However, the enlightened ALSO know that there are SOME leaders (perhaps MANY leaders, in today’s world) who do indeed believe the suicidal shite he prescribed as proper rules for street smart rulers. Those depraved leaders must be dealt with, and to do so requires that their beliefs and mind set be understood. That requires subjecting one’s mind to the mind of Niccolo Machiavelli.

    I’ll say this for the bastard, though. He was resolute and ballsy to the end. On his death bed he is quoted as having said, “I desire to go to Hell and not to Heaven. In the former I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings and princes, while in the latter are only beggars, monks and apostles.”

    I doubt those were his actual last words. Too carefully composed and quotable. But I think they got his general sentiment about right.

    Those who are angry with God (as Machiavelli clearly was) are not taking responsibility for their own role in the currently horrible state of affairs. Let them go do so now, and only speak again about whose fault they think it is, after completing the task of taking responsibility for their personal participation in it. I wonder. I wonder why it is that when something really bad happens that our FIRST impulse is to blame somebody else?

    Ya know what? I think that’s very good question, and I bet that the answer to it is going to have something to do with me (and any other guilty parties that you know of) being wrong about something important yet again.

    #141829
    thomasjkenney
    Participant

    @John Day re: “Yeah, Russia’s lander crashed, probably due to non-space-rated ICs b=getting strafed by cosmic rays.”

    Um…you’re talking about the only country on this planet that runs a successful space taxi service. I hardly think radiation would have escaped their calculations.

    #141830
    zerosum
    Participant

    Wagner boss, Prigoszhin, listed as a passenger in a plane crash.

    #141831
    chooch
    Participant

    #141832
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Freed from the impediment of Prigozhin’s frequent self-serving “negotiations” with Russia’s higher military chain of command the Wagner Troops can now be more smoothly integrated into Russia’s fine-tuned tactical support of Grand Strategy. Despite the successes of the Wagner organization, Prigozhin himself was always an irritant and sometimes an obstacle. Now it seems that he is neither.

    #141833
    chooch
    Participant

    DBS,

    Remember, Putin recently (end of July) hosted an African leaders summit in Russia. Prigozhin also attended that conference. A few days ago he posted this.

    So it seems he had been .working on securing contracts between Russia and Central Africa.

    It seems odd, plenty of opportunities to cap Prigozhin prior to today. Prigozhin’s previous rants were directed at Shoigu, not Putin.

    About a week ago there was a convesation with Lukashenka

    This is the translated part regarding Prigozhin. Not sure what to make of as I don’t get the impression that Russian oligarchs are big fans of Lukasheko, they refer to him as the Potato Moose (note: he also had interest in Central Africa)

    “The main conclusion to be drawn from Alexander Lukashenko’s video is that the West will be happy to negotiate on Ukraine so that Prigozhin and his associates cannot come to power. Not even like that. If we analyze Lukashenka’s speech, it turns out that future negotiations and stopping the offensive became possible precisely thanks to the rebellion of the Wagner PMC. Western partners have realized that if Russia is now driven into a dead end, then radical elements can come to power who can take control of nuclear weapons, with whom it will be impossible to agree on any acceptable conditions. And so the West is now ready to give victory to Putin, only not to see the guys from PMC Wagner instead.

    Prigozhin’s march made the West realize that there are forces in Russia worse than Putin. And you don’t agree with them. This is extremely disadvantageous for the West, and they are ready to make any soft concessions to prevent this from happening. So it is possible that both Crimea and Donbass will remain just behind Russia in the negotiations.

    The importance of rebellion for winning the war is obvious. And there will be no persecution of Prigozhin – he is the main horror story for the West.”

    #141834
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    The spectacular meltdown continues:

    https://nsidc.org/greenland-today/

    #141835
    Veracious Poet
    Participant

    In my case, the trip to Atlanta is not for ‘Murder,’ but for making a PERFECT PHONE CALL!

    From 2002-2008 HBO broadcast a fictionalized documentary created by a Baltimore crime reporter & murder policeman, called The Wire, which pulled back namby-pamby veil on the real reality concerning the ongoing implosion of *BLUE* cities following decades of Democratic corruption, dull-headed egomaniacal business/union interests, social viruses of all sorts & capped off by Bureaucrat-Nazification inganged in playing patsy with insane, career criminality from top-to-bottom…

    While the series should have been a wake-up call for the near future collapse, that The People are sinking into *now*, in the end it just became another form of Gladiator, bread & circuses, cheap entertainment 🙄

    Oh, it also inserted LGBTQ+++ into the mainstream, due to The Wire’s popularity ~ King Obama praised the show & loved Omar, the ultra-violent homo sociopath that preyed upon his criminal CULT-sure.

    The UniParty’s modus operandi post 2016 would have been too unbelievable, too nonsensical, to be scripted into Entertainment just a decade earlier, does anyone still think/believe there’s *truly* any non-spiritual solution(s) to The People’s “same weird shade of blue” dilemma today?!?

    Trump is the 21st Century version of Marie Antoinette, but when does Napoleon show up?

    Have fun with all the The West vs. BRICS+ entertainment, personally I’m no longer interested in defining the battle lines of trademarked brands Collective EG0ic Madness, the ramparts have been demolished & humanity is at the brink…

    Best of luck & God speed,

    Gary

    #141836
    jb-hb
    Participant

    The spectacular meltdown continues

    And that’s why all the elites died in Martha’s Vineyard 15 years ago after their predictions about rising sea levels came true and they kept insisting on living in sea level mansions against any and all objections and at great expense. Oh.

    #141837
    Celticbiker
    Participant

    Jewblue is their color, their flag, with the satanic star, are you alive and awake or asleep at the wheel?

    #141838
    John Day
    Participant

    Thanks VP Gary. I have not watched TV since Y2k, so that clarifies some things.

    #141839
    John Day
    Participant

    India Lands On The Moon https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/india-lands-on-the-moon

    India successfully soft-landed a robotic vehicle, Chandrayaan-3, on the moon this morning. Touchdown is at 44:50 on the video log.
    Narendra Modi waits for it from the BRICS summit in South Africa,then talks too long before blessing everybody who helped. Then the pride and joy are released.
    I watched the elation of the proud Indian space program workers as they celebrated together in this previously-“live” video. Credit was broadly shared.

    Sasha Latypova explains how we are a lot like Large-Language-Model A.I. in our cognitive responses to spoken words, unless we are actually paying attention.
    On Mind Control, Part 2: Word-to-Vector​ , Learning about ourselves from AI models
    https://sashalatypova.substack.com/p/on-mind-control-part-2-word-to-vector

    ​ Peter McCullough MD points out that the wording on the Kaiser survey was pro-vaccine and pro-mainstream-narrative, but about 1/3 of respondents KNOW.
    ​ Kaiser Family Foundation Finds Many Believe COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Responsible for Sudden Deaths
    ​ As you can see it is roughly a third of Americans are awake and understand the COVID-19 vaccines have failed, cause great harm, and pose a giant safety risk to Americans. It is also interesting to note a quarter of respondents have been awakened to the link between childhood hyper vaccination and autism spectrum disorder. I wonder what the actual sentiment is on vaccines if Kaiser had asked the questions in a more unbiased manner and did not load up their survey with charged words such as “false” and “misinformation”.
    https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/kaiser-family-foundation-finds-many

    ​ Chris Hedges: The Crucifixion of Julian Assange
    ​ This is a sermon ​g​iven on Sunday Aug. 20 in Oslo, Norway at Kulturkirken Jakob (St. James Church of Culture). Actor and film director Liv Ullmann read the scripture passages.

    Chris Hedges: The Crucifixion of Julian Assange

    #141840
    John Day
    Participant

    ​ This is the same P.R. push that got my Family Practice Board Certification of 33 years revoked for “advising patients against COVID-19 vaccination” this spring.
    ​ Dr. Richard Baron, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine, is a client of Weber Shandwick — a PR firm that brands its team as “misinformation and disinformation” experts — investigative journalist Paul D. Thacker reported on Wednesday.
    ​ The head of a national medical organization who publicly called for doctors to lose their licenses unless they supported government narratives on COVID-19 treatments and vaccines concealed his relationship with a public relations firm whose client list also included Pfizer, Moderna and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
    ​ Dr. Richard Baron, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is a client of Weber Shandwick, investigative journalist Paul D. Thacker reported on Wednesday.
    ​ In late ​[actually early] 2021, Baron publicly pushed for doctors who spread “misinformation” about COVID-19 and the vaccines to lose their license and certification. Baron said then that “putting out flagrant misinformation is unethical and dangerous during a pandemic.”
    ​ Weber, the world’s second-largest PR firm, has branded its team as “misinformation and disinformation” experts and says it provides clients with services to help manage any perceived threats posed by spreaders of such information.
    ​ The firm has organized conference panels on “medical misinformation” in which Baron participated.
    ​ Last year, Baron partnered with Weber Shandwick to propose a South by Southwest (SXSW) panel titled “When Doctors Prescribe Misinformation.” The proposal was subsequently accepted and the panel took place at SXSW in Austin, Texas, on March 13.​

    Medical Board Chief Who Wanted Doctors Delicensed for ‘Misinformation’ in Bed With PR Firm Tied to CDC, Pfizer, Moderna

    ​ Wagner Decries ‘Murder’ Of Prigozhin Amid Reports Anti-Air Missile Struck Plane
    ​ The bodies of Prigozhin and his second-in-command Dmitry Utkin, have reportedly been identified, according to statements which have been quick to come out of Russian media. Russian news agency TASS has also made it official: “Evgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin were on board the crashed Embraer plane, the Federal Air Transport Agency reported.”​ …
    ​..Russian authorities have said eight bodies have been recovered thus far. FT has summarized the following details of emerging Wagner statements:
    ​ A post by Grey Zone, a Wagner-connected social media channel, claimed Russian anti-aircraft defences had shot down the plane. It said that residents heard “two bursts of characteristic air defense fire” before the crash. “This is confirmed by inversion traces in the sky in one of the videos,” it added. Mash, a news outlet on social media app Telegram, said locals had heard two loud bangs before the crash.
    ​ The same report cited a Western official to say it was an anti-aircraft missile that struck the private jet:
    A western official said they had been told the plane had been brought down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile system but could not confirm whether Prigozhin was on board, adding: “Putin doesn’t take prisoners.” …
    ​..Speculation continues as to precisely what brought the plane down (whether missile or a bomb detonation)…​
    [There is another report that a case of expensive wine was loaded on Prigozhin’s plane after it ​had been searched and sniffed for explosives, just prior to takeoff.]
    ​..Former Putin advisor Sergei Markov: “The murder of Prigozhin is the main achievement of Ukraine and all enemies of Russia will rejoice” — Al Jazeera https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/prigozhins-dead-after-his-business-jet-10-people-board-has-crashed

    Ukrainska Pravda adds these tidbits (not mentioning that it is the eve of Ukrainian Independence Day.):
    ​ The Russian state TV channel Russia 24 reported on the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, saying he had died “as a result of the actions of Russian traitors”.
    The Russian media saw symbolism in the fact that the plane crash occurred on August 23, exactly two months after the Wagner PMC mutiny. Prigozhin announced his “march of justice” on the evening of 23 June.
    https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/08/23/7416832/

    ​ Same exact day, might Surovkin be tasked to run Wagner now? … Russia Fires General Who Ran Ukraine War, In Wake Of Wagner Mutiny Events
    ​ After significant internet rumors emerged Tuesday, Russian state news agency RIA confirmed Wednesday that Gen. Sergei Surovikin has been fired as head of the country’s air force. He has been “missing” – or believed under house arrest, since the Wagner mutiny events of June 23-24. He had for months prior overseen Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine…
    ​..Alexei Venediktov, former head of the Ekho Moskvy, a prominent independent radio station that was shut down by authorities within days of the Ukraine invasion was the first to report that Surovikin had been dismissed on Tuesday, but said the general was being “retained by the defense ministry.”​ [Not “detained”]
    ​ The man known as ‘General Armageddon’ is believed to have come under Kremlin scrutiny as Putin cracked down on the military chain of command over handling of the short-lived rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. That’s when he was effectively ‘disappeared’ from public view.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-fires-general-who-ran-ukraine-war-wake-wagner-mutiny-events

    #141841
    John Day
    Participant

    Rand Paul On Return Of COVID Measures: “These People Have No Shame”
    ​ “I promise you, we are not going to lay down and take it again”
    ​ “That university that’s wanting to mask up and do all this testing — zero cases,” Paul urged, adding “But even worse than that, even when COVID was really more potent in 2020, the death rate for young, healthy people turned out to be close to zero.”
    ​ “We don’t know for sure because the CDC won’t release it, but we do know that Germany released all of their data, and not one young, healthy person died. So, it’s a crime to mandate masks. It’s a crime to mandate vaccines, which do have some risks for young, healthy people,” Paul further noted.

    Rand Paul On Return Of COVID Measures: “These People Have No Shame”

    “The Simpsons left the blue building standing”: Maui blue umbrella conspiracy erupts as laser video goes viral​ …
    ​..“The Maui, Lahaina, Hawaii Fires Were A Planned Attack!!”
    ​ They also attached a TikTok video which included a yellow, red, blue, green, and white cloth being ruined by a laser. One can note that the blue cloth remained intact. The TikToker said:
    ​ “Laser weapons can be programmed for different wavelengths. There was something blue they didn’t want to burn.”
    The TikTok video also showed how a blue car and a blue umbrella remained undamaged while their surroundings were burned down.
    ​ The Twitter user claimed that the Direct Energy Weapons theory was used in an episode of The Simpsons where a blue building remained untouched. However, it is important to note that the episode was not set in Hawaii.

    “The Simpsons left the blue building standing”: Maui blue umbrella conspiracy erupts as laser video goes viral

    ​The TikTok video: umbrellas didnt burn in maui fires
    https://www.tiktok.com/discover/umbrellas-didnt-burn-in-maui-fires

    Matt Taibbi on Germany’s hard core form of censorship: Madness: American Satirist C.J. Hopkins Sentenced in German Speech Case
    ​ As previously detailed in Racket, the American playwright has been sent a “punishment order” and a choice: 60 days or 3,600 Euros for two tweets and a book cover​. https://www.racket.news/p/madness-american-satirist-cj-hopkins

    ​ Fourteen major American cities are part of a globalist climate organization known as the ‘C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group,’ which has an ‘ambitious target’ by the year 2030 of ‘0 kg [of] meat consumption,’ ‘0 kg [of] dairy consumption,’ ‘3 new clothing items per person per year,’ ‘0 private vehicles’ owned, and ‘1 short-haul return flight (less than 1500 km) every 3 years per person.’ …
    ​ The organization is headed and largely funded by Democrat billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Nearly 100 cities across the world make up the organization, and its American members include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.​..
    ​..Major funders and partners of the organization include George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, the Clinton Foundation, and The World Bank.
    Michael Bloomberg, the president of the group, is himself transported via gas-guzzling private jets and limousines, to his many mansions around the world.
    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/08/14_us_cities_initiate_new_globalist_climate_plan_in_partnership_with_soros_and_the_clintons.html

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