RFK Jr. on Fox News: “I’m gaining about one point [in polls] a month, and I’ve got nine months. All I need is 34% to win the election, and I’m already at 24% average in the battleground states.

My favorability ratings are now better than either President Trump or President… pic.twitter.com/2AozVELsBd

— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) January 25, 2024

Vivek

Vivek gets it. He explains the difference between the new breed of Republicans taking over the party and the old establishment. pic.twitter.com/PZreW00rZY

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 24, 2024

Trump MbS
https://twitter.com/i/status/1750703007052841381

“..Texas, and the nation, are just open to the wolves at the door who seek to destroy the border and America..”

• What Happens In Texas Will Decide The Fate Of The Nation (Libby Emmons)

Texas has been doing the work the Biden administration refused to do: securing the US-Mexico border against invasion. They erected fencing only for Biden’s border minions to tear it down. They put buoy barriers in the river to stop people from crossing, but these, too, Biden’s border guards took down at his order. They even took the case to the Supreme Court to ask them to tell Texas to back off and let the illegal immigrants flood in. In a completely absurd ruling, the Supreme Court sided with Biden and said that federal officials may cut the wire barrier put up by Texas to protect their state and, in turn, the entire nation from invasion. It was a 5-4 ruling overturning a lower court ruling that Biden could, indeed, cut the razor wire. Conservative justices, including Amy Coney Barrett, ruled against the state in allowing the appeals court ruling to stand.

Texas is appealing, arguments will be heard February 7, there will be more lawfare between Texas and Biden, and for sure, the case is not closed. It’s possible that the Supreme Court is attempting to put power back in the hands of the legislatures, and not the courts or federal agencies, as they did with the Dobbs ruling, EPA v West Virginia, or as oral arguments indicated they may rule in the challenge to Chevron deference. But until then, Texas, and the nation, are just open to the wolves at the door who seek to destroy the border and America. Literally what the hell. After the Supreme Court vacated the injunction, saying only “The application to vacate injunction presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is granted,” Texas said no. By then, Texas National Guard had taken up a strong position at a major border crossing. They were keeping Biden’s border agents out and erecting more razor wire, which the White House said was “getting in the way,” which of course, for Texas, was the point.

Article IV, Section IV of the Constitution points out, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.” “Shall protect against invasion.” Those are the wise words used. Yet for Joe Biden and his handlers, the words mean nothing. The Supreme Court has deferred to a pending decision by a lower court. All entities but Texas abandoned their sacred duty to uphold the laws of the US. The US border is open and available for trespass.

UPDATE: UPDATE: President Biden gives Governor Greg Abbott @GregAbbott_TX until tomorrow to allow federal agents to cut swaths of razor wire installed at the southern border by the state or face the consequences.

NOTE: Biden can federalize the Texas National Guard leaving Abbott… pic.twitter.com/VD6MhrwoQ8

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 25, 2024

BREAKING REPORT: ⚠️ Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick issues FIERCE WARNING to The Biden
Administration..

“The biggest mistake the Biden administration could make would be CONFRONTING LAW ENFORCEMENT, or our Military, or our National Guard at our Border.”

WILL JOE BIDEN… https://t.co/pxAjgTbtvv pic.twitter.com/YDzmKc8sLu

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) January 26, 2024

That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary..”

• 25 Republican Governors Back Texas In Standoff With Biden (RT)

A large group of Republican governors has issued a joint statement voicing “solidarity” with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and his stepped-up border protections, accusing the White House of leaving the country “completely vulnerable” amid an influx of illegal migrants. Published on Thursday, the open letter was signed by 25 GOP governors across the country, with Vermont Governor Phil Scott the sole Republican to leave his signature off the message. The state leaders were highly critical of President Joe Biden, who they said had “attacked and sued Texas for stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country.”

“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border,” the letter continued. “We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.” Abbott has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with Biden’s Justice Department over Texas’ efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the US. The tensions were exacerbated by a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week which authorized federal Border Patrol agents to remove razor wire installed along the US-Mexico border by the Texas authorities. Abbott responded to the ruling by saying that Biden had “refused to enforce [immigration] laws and has even violated them.”

The Texas governor has likened the record-breaking migration numbers in recent years to an “invasion,” and invoked constitutional authorities for a state to defend itself against foreign incursions. “That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border,” Abbott previously argued. The standoff with federal agencies came to a head earlier this month when Texas used state National Guard troops to block federal Border Patrol agents from accessing a 2.5-mile stretch along the border with Mexico. Following that incident, the case was brought before the Supreme Court, which ultimately decided in favor of the federal government.

Last month, Border Patrol reported 300,000 encounters with illegal immigrants, representing an all-time high. While House Republicans have similarly accused Biden of facilitating an “invasion,” the Democratic majority has countered that blocking entry to asylum seekers would be “cruel” and “inhumane.” As part of a border crackdown dubbed ‘Operation Lone Star’, Abbott has sought to build barriers along the border and detained around 500,000 illegal immigrants. Texas has also bused over 97,000 migrants that the federal authorities had allowed into the country to Democrat-run jurisdictions of New York City, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.

Texas
https://twitter.com/i/status/1750562978401792472

“..wherever it appears, it brings disorder everywhere..”

• China’s Defense Ministry: NATO is a ‘Walking War Machine’ Sowing Chaos (Sp.)

NATO is a walking war machine that brings chaos wherever it appears, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said at a briefing on Thursday. “We have drawn attention to inappropriate statements by the NATO Secretary General regarding China. As a regional military organization, NATO has launched and participated in wars since the very days of its inception,” Wu Qian said. He observed that over the past few years, the alliance has been steadily shifting its focus towards the Asia-Pacific region, employing the nonexistent “China threat” as a means to provoke bloc confrontation and endangering regional security “It should be said that NATO is a walking ‘war machine,’ and wherever it appears, it brings disorder everywhere,” he pointed out.

Wu Qian has called on NATO to cease their fabrication of lies and cease engaging in dangerous actions that disrupt the Asia-Pacific region, and to treat China, along with the Chinese armed forces and its development in an unbiased and rational manner. During the World Economic Forum in Davos, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that the US-led military bloc remains “regional” in nature and will continue to be so. Stoltenberg also engaged in classic blame game, stating that the Western bloc allegedly does not regard China as an adversary and does not wish to expand into Asia. “This is not about NATO moving into Asia, but instead about the fact that China is coming close to us,” he claimed.

South China Sea

Great explainer on the South China sea by legendary Singaporean diplomat and scholar @mahbubani_k pic.twitter.com/C3pzPywwqx

One fact is particularly interesting, which I think no-one in the West is aware of and which Mahbubani got directly from the mouth of J. Stapleton Roy,…

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) January 25, 2024

“And the fool responsible for this policy is running for reelection as president with the media’s and America’s elites’ support.”

• The Western World: RIP (Paul Craig Roberts)

I have come to the depressing conclusion that the white ethnicities that constituted the nations of Western Civilization have degenerated into such insouciance and stupidity that they have no possibility of survival. They sit mindlessly in front of TV absorbing their brainwashing and indoctrination. They can’t pay their rent, mortgage or car payments, but they pay endlessly for care of immigrant-invaders who are overwhelming their communities with material needs. In the US, North Carolina, once a Southern state, now an immigrant staging ground, has given over its high schools to serve as immigrant-invader “resettlement areas.” To Hell with the North Carolina taxpayers. Immigrant-invaders’ rights preempt those of North Carolina taxpayers, whose majority white population, according to the narrative, consists of white supremacist racists exploiters. North Carolina has also, at taxpayers’ expense, built a campus for a “head’s start” program for children of immigrant invaders. The program takes over a former school property for NC American citizens.

Wherever you look, you see the US welcoming at citizens taxpayer expense endless burdens from immigrant-invaders permitted to walk unheeded across the border into the Tower of Babel that the US has become. According to leaks, RINO Republican Senators are preparing an immigration bill that would force America to accept 1.8 million immigrant-invaders each year. Amazing to watch white people destroy their own country. No one in America can do anything about it. Instead of stopping the invasion and over-running of the country, the US government commits endless American resources to defending the aggressively expansive borders of Israel and Ukraine, while Washington dismantles the barrier put in place to defend America’s borders. And the fool responsible for this policy is running for reelection as president with the media’s and America’s elites’ support.

In what remains of European ethnic countries, the director of the EU’s “border protection agency, Frontex,” Hans Leitjens, said that “nothing can stop immigrants.” What he means is that the EU will not stop immigrant-invaders from bringing the Camp of the Saints to all of Europe and perhaps to Russia as well, considering the weakness demonstrated by a government that could be ruling the world. The dumbshit Hans Leitjens, obviously a proponent of Western annihilation, says that opposition to being overrun by immigrant-invaders constitutes “xenophobia and prejudice.” There you have it. If white ethnicities attempt to prevent their overthrow by invaders, they are xenophobic and racist. How did so many white ethnicities get converted to a point of view that doesn’t serve them? This is what white people have learned to expect from “their” governments. Don’t you think it is strange that the world’s white ethnicities are prepared to commit lives and endless resources to protect the borders of Israel and Ukraine, but nothing to protect their own borders? How can people this totally stupid continue to exist?

“..the garden isn’t growing “because its philosophy is not industrialization. Its philosophy is to make monopoly rents, meaning rents that you make in your sleep without producing value..”

• Five Variables Defining Our Future (Pepe Escobar)

Losers Don’t Dictate Terms

1.The stalemate: That’s the new, obsessive US narrative on Ukraine – on steroids. Confronted with the upcoming, cosmic NATO humiliation in the battlefield, the White House and the State Dept. had to – literally – improvise. Moscow though is unfazed. The Kremlin has set the terms a long time ago: total surrender, and no Ukraine as part of NATO. To “negotiate”, from the Russia point of view, is to accept these terms.And if the deciding powers in Washington opt for turbo-charging the weaponization of Kiev, or to unleash “the most heinous provocations in order to change the course of events”, as asserted this week by the head of the SVR, Sergey Naryshkin, fine. The road ahead will be bloody. In case the usual suspects sideline popular Zaluzhny and install Budanov as the head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the AFU will be under total control of the CIA – and not NATO generals, as it’s still the case.

This might prevent a military coup against the sweaty sweatshirt puppet in Kiev. Yet things will get much uglier. Ukraine will go Total Guerrilla, with only two objectives: to attack Russian civilians and civilian infrastructure. Moscow, of course, is fully aware of the dangers. Meanwhile, chatterbox overdrive in several latitudes suggest that NATO may even be getting ready for a partition of Ukraine. Whatever form that might take, losers do not dictate conditions: Russia does. As for EU politicos, predictably, they are in total panic, believing that after mopping up Ukraine, Russia will become even more of a “threat” to Europe. Nonsense. Not only Moscow couldn’t give a damn to what Europe “thinks”; the last thing Russia wants or needs is to annex Baltic or Eastern European hysteria. Moreover, even Jens Stoltenberg admitted “NATO sees no threat from Russia toward any of its territories.”

2.BRICS: Since the start of 2024, this is The Big Picture: the Russian presidency of BRICS+ – which translates as a particle accelerator towards multipolarity. The Russia-China strategic partnership will be increasing actual production, in several fields, while Europe plunges into depression, unleashed by the Perfect Storm of sanctions blowback against Russia and German de-industrialization. And it’s far from over, as Washington is also ordering Brussels to sanction China across the spectrum. As Prof. Michael Hudson frames it, we are right in the middle of “the whole split of the world and the turning towards China, Russia, Iran, BRICS”, united in “an attempt to reverse, undo, and roll back the whole colonial expansion that’s occurred over the last five centuries.” Or, as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defined at the UN Security Council this process of BRICS leaving Western bullies behind, the changing world order is like “a playground scuffle – which the West is losing.”

3.The Lone Emperor: The “stalemate” – actually losing a war – is directly linked to its compensation: the Empire squeezing and shrinking a vassalized Europe. But even as you exercise nearly total control over all these relatively wealthy vassals, you lose the Global South, for good: if not all their leaders, certainly the overwhelming majority of public opinion. The icing in the toxic cake is to support a genocide followed by the whole planet in real time. Bye bye, soft power.

4.De-dollarization: All across the Global South, they did the math: if the Empire and its EU vassals can just steal over $300 billion in Russian foreign reserves – from a top nuclear/military power – they can do it to anyone, and they will. The key reason Saudi Arabia, now a BRICS 10 member, is being so meek on the genocide in Gaza is because their hefty US dollar reserves are hostage to the Hegemon. And yet the caravan moving away from the US dollar will only keep growing in 2024: that will depend on crucial crossover deliberations inside the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) and BRICS 10.

5.Garden and jungle: What Putin and Xi have essentially been telling the Global South – including the energy-rich Arab world – is quite simple. If you want improved trade and economic growth, who’re you gonna link to? So we’re back to the “garden and jungle” syndrome – first coined by imperial Britain orientalist Rudyard Kipling. Both the British concept of “white man’s burden” and the American concept of “Manifest Destiny” derive from the “garden and jungle” metaphor. NATOstan, and hardly all of it, is supposed to be the garden. The Global South is the jungle. Michael Hudson again: as it stands, the jungle is growing, but the garden isn’t growing “because its philosophy is not industrialization. Its philosophy is to make monopoly rents, meaning rents that you make in your sleep without producing value. You just have a privilege of a right to collect money on a monopoly technology that you have.” The difference now, compared to all those decades ago of an imperial free lunch, is “an immense shift of technological advance”, away from North America and the US, to China, Russia and selected nodes across Asia.

“..more than eight further countries reportedly joined the coalition, but demanded anonymity, given the potential political fallout from associating with Washington and Tel Aviv.”

• How Gaza Is Impacting The Great Power Standoff (Sweidan)

In response to Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned armed forces’ Red Sea blockade of Israeli-linked vessels, the US Department of Defense announced the formation of “Operation Guardian of Prosperity … to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation” in those waters, initially consisting of a coalition of ten countries, most of them insignificant partners. The coalition proved shaky from the get-go, with only the US and Britain actively involved in military strikes on Yemen. The reluctance of key European countries France, Spain, and Italy to join the naval alliance indicated a growing skepticism among the US’s traditional partners — both western and West Asian — about Washington’s commitment and capability to defend its allies in any impactful way. Interestingly, more than eight further countries reportedly joined the coalition, but demanded anonymity, given the potential political fallout from associating with Washington and Tel Aviv.

Crucially, the Pentagon’s stated purpose of securing navigation in the Red Sea does not align with the actual threat presented, revealing ulterior motives behind US actions. The Yemenis have repeatedly confirmed that they only intend to inhibit the passage of Israeli-owned or destined vessels — and that all other ships are free to pass. In short, the US/UK-led coalition is acting as a naval arm for Israeli military forces, seeking specifically to ensure unimpeded access for ships heading to Israeli ports via the Bab al-Mandab Strait. That’s not a position many other states will get behind if they want to maintain freedom of transport for their own shipping vessels. Ultimately, the American show of force in these waterways seeks to consolidate US naval dominance, which war-torn Yemen, West Asia’s poorest country, has contested. As outlined in the National Security Strategy for 2022:

“The US “will not allow foreign or regional powers to jeopardize freedom of navigation through the Middle East’s (West Asia) waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al Mandab, nor tolerate efforts by any country to dominate another — or the region — through military buildups, incursions, or threats.” According to media reports following massive US airstrikes against Iraqi targets on 23 January, Iraqi resistance factions will now also follow Yemen’s suit by implementing a blockade of Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea. Current events are spiraling out of Washington’s control as onlookers increasingly question the utility and competence of US naval leadership in the world’s important waterways. Equally, there is recognition that other formidable forces and states have emerged, challenging US control over key global straits. In the words of British politician and writer Walter Raleigh, “Who rules the seas rules the world.” Under Sanaa’s watch, the US no longer can claim rule over the Red Sea or even its adjacent waterways.

“So the key to solving the problem is in Washington before it is in Tel Aviv..”

• Netanyahu Cannot Survive 10 Minutes Without US Support – Iran FM (Cradle)

During an interview with ABC News on 23 January, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian asserted that the key to ending Israel’s genocide campaign in Gaza and averting a wider regional conflict lies in the hands of US authorities. “If the US today stops its backing — logistical and weapons, political and media support — of the genocidal war launched by Israel, then I can assure you that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will not survive for 10 minutes,” Iran’s top diplomat told ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz during. “So the key to solving the problem is in Washington before it is in Tel Aviv,” he said from New York on the sidelines of the UN Security Council meeting on West Asia. “The scope of the war has become wider. This means that the danger of having a wider war in the region has gone up,” Amir-Abdollahian added, blaming the US and Israel for escalating tensions across the region.

“Nobody is going to benefit from any war. We believe that the solution is never war,” the Iranian official stressed. When pressed by Raddatz about Iranian support for Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement, Amir-Abdollahian rejected the accusations, calling them “a TV show.” He later confirmed Iran’s full support for Hamas, saying the group is “a Palestinian liberation group that is standing against occupation.” “Of course, we never approved the killing of women and children, civilians anywhere in the world. We never support it,” he added when asked about the civilian casualties during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October. During his visit to New York, Amir-Abdollahian met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss several topics, including ways to send humanitarian aid to the north and south of Gaza.

He also held talks with his French and Malaysian counterparts. “Today was an opportunity to talk and consult with some foreign ministers. The meeting and discussion with the foreign ministers of France and Malaysia both included positive, forward-looking, and constructive discussions, especially in bilateral areas”, Amir-Abdollahian noted. The Iranian foreign minister held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov as well, as the two reportedly agreed on the need for a swift ceasefire in Gaza and conditions for providing humanitarian assistance to civilians. “General concern was expressed about the tense situation in the Red Sea, which has sharply degraded,” a statement released by the Kremlin said.

“..Israel has overriding interest in protecting its ‘rights’ to the territorial waters of Gaza, where there are rich gas fields offshore. Israel claims sole ownership of those territorial waters.”

• Gaza War’s Financial Reason Mainstream Media Won’t Cover – Ray McGovern (Sp.)

Israel sees “a real economic interest” in Gaza, and that explains why no matter the extent of global outrage, Tel Aviv’s military campaign in the beleaguered enclave rages on, Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, told Sputnik. “The Israelis see a real economic interest in dominating Gaza. And that’s why, of course, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has made it very clear: no, they have no intention of leaving Gaza. It’s going to be part of Israel unless they are faced down by people who think it important to defend the Palestinians, and will act to end that genocide that’s going on right now, and that our government, the United States, is not only enabling, but providing arms for and other political support,” McGovern said.

In late December, the Biden administration bypassed Congress and approved more weapons and munitions for Israel. The package was pushed through via an emergency determination and covered a sale worth $147.5 million, all the while amid Washington’s rhetorical calls for an end to civilian deaths. “On the economic side, which is all-important, of course, Israel has overriding interest in protecting its ‘rights’ to the territorial waters of Gaza, where there are rich gas fields offshore. Israel claims sole ownership of those territorial waters. And, there’s this design for an East Med pipeline which would permit Israel to export to Italy and elsewhere in the European Union the natural gas it has seized by military force from the Palestinians in Gaza. And that’s something that you really don’t see in the in the mainstream press here, do you?” the pundit queried.

“So genocide is genocide, and unless that stopped, Israel will not only profit from ‘additional security’ for a while, but will also profit from having a better ‘claim’ or a semi- or a quasi-legal claim to the waters off Gaza, which, as people know, are very rich in gas deposits,” McGovern stressed. [..] Looking ahead, McGovern suggested that “a lot will depend on the outcome of the genocide in Gaza, whether that’s allowed to continue or whether we [the United States] will finally say […] ‘No more arms until you stop the murder in Gaza.'”

Cue US.

• Iran ‘A Legitimate Target’ – Israel (RT)

Iran is now a “legitimate target” for Israeli attacks, Economy Minister Nir Barkat has told The Telegraph, raising fears of an armed conflict with Tehran. He also claimed that the war in Gaza is not being fought with enough aggression by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “Iran is a legitimate target for Israel,” said Barkat. “They will not get away with it. The head of the snake is Tehran. “My recommendation is to adopt the strategy that President Kennedy used in the Cuban Missile Crisis. What he basically said then was, ‘A missile from Cuba will be answered with a missile to Moscow,’” the minister added, referring to the 1962 standoff between the US and the USSR.

Barkat’s rhetoric echoed a recent statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who blamed Iran for standing behind the militant groups in Gaza. He claimed that Israel was already carrying out direct attacks on Iran. “Iran is the head of the octopus and you see its tentacles all around from the Houthis to Hezbollah to Hamas,” said the prime minister. Israel claims that Iran was involved in plotting the October 7 attacks, when around 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage in the surprise Hamas raid near Gaza. Israel retaliated by launching an aerial bombardment and ground operation against the Palestinian enclave, which has resulted in the deaths of around 25,000 people, according to local health officials. Iran has denied having any role in the Hamas assault on Israel, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani saying such accusations were “based on political reasons.”

“..the Biden administration “won’t say this and it won’t be published by the media.”

• Col. Macgregor Says at Least 400 Americans Died in Ukraine (Sp.)

Former Pentagon Adviser Col. Douglas Macgregor said Wednesday that at least 400 Americans have died in Ukraine and accused authorities of the United States of concealing this information. “Our friend [US Senator] Lindsey Graham said we should be so grateful no Americans have died in Ukraine. This is a Lie. We know that at least 400 Americans have died whether they are contractors or in uniform,” Macgregor said on X without saying where the number came from. Macgregor added that the Biden administration “won’t say this and it won’t be published by the media.” The former Pentagon official also believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “will end up in one of his mansions in Cyprus or Italy or possibly end up in Florida” when the Ukraine conflict is over, adding that “this whole thing is a scam and the Ukrainians have been exploited by the United States.”

“We no longer have ammunition. We are allowed to fire only three shells a day..”

• ‘Suicide Mission’: Ukrainian Troops Reveal Dire Situation on Battlefield (Sp.)

Futile attempts to attack positions of Russia’s military have been likened to suicide missions by a Ukrainian soldier in an interview with Le Figaro. With Russia’s military continuing its probing offensive in the Kupyansk area in the Kharkov region, Ukraine’s troops have less and less ammunition to withstand the onslaught. It is like suicide, a senior sergeant of Ukraine’s Armed Forces by the name of Mikhail told a journalist from the French outlet. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, which have sustained tremendous casualties and hardware losses since the failed summer counteroffensive, have “nothing to fight back with,” according to the publication, and are forced to hide and run away as “Russian shells hit positions under 500 meters away from them.” “We no longer have ammunition. We are allowed to fire only three shells a day,” the Ukrainian soldier told a French journalist.

He claimed that while “rationed,” the shells might suffice to hold positions, but any attempts at attacking the Russian military are out of the question. The Ukrainian Armed Forces simply do not have the resources, he said.“If we want to go on the offensive in the spring, we will require more people, ammunition, F-16 fighters and SCALP cruise missiles. Going into an attack without air support is suicide,” the serviceman was quoted as saying. Another interviewed Ukrainian soldier, Senior Sergeant Sergey, added:“We’re running low on ammunition, but we’re holding out for now. We have at our disposal only 40% of the number of shells that we need. If the Russians launch a serious offensive here, we won’t last long.”The Ukrainian soldiers showed no enthusiasm about the prospective outcome of the battlefront clashes.“If we are asked to attack, we will attack. But it would be suicide. We don’t have enough people or ammunition,” the French outlet quotes the Ukrainian troops as saying, adding that they are “suffering colossal losses in manpower.”

Last year, in mid-December, the same expression, “suicide mission,” was used by Ukrainian Marines when describing an attempt to cross the Dnepr River, as quoted by The New York Times. Recently, Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, said that the Pentagon is aware of the Ukrainian military’s concerns that they “do not have the stocks and the stores of ammunition that they require.” Referencing the stalemate in Congress regarding further aid for Kiev, Wallander added: “Without funding, we would not be able to match the pace that we have provided Ukraine with since the start of this conflict.”

Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder also acknowledged that the US Defense Department had put on “pause” sending additional weapons to Ukraine from its inventories “given the implications for our own military readiness.” “This of course prevents us from meeting the most urgent battlefield needs, to include things like artillery rounds,” Ryder said on January 23. In the wake of the botched Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Russian Armed Forces have been routinely knocking out Kiev’s NATO-grade weaponry, shredding the myth of the superiority of Western equipment to its Russian-made counterparts. Amid waning interest in aiding the corrupt regime of Volodymyr Zelensky, its Western allies have been disposing of outdated and ill-conditioned weapons by sending them to the Ukrainian military. Thus, after dozens of much-lauded Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MBT) were decimated by Russia, due to its limitations, the West began dispatching “upgraded” Soviet-era T-72s to Kiev.

“..Immediately afterwards, statements about the involvement of Kiev’s forces began to disappear from the Ukrainian internet..”

• Why Did Ukraine Shoot Down An Aircraft Carrying Its Own Soldiers? (Poletaev)

On Wednesday, an Il-76 transport plane was downed in Russian airspace. It was reportedly carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs scheduled for a prisoner swap, escorted by three Russian military guards, as well as six crew members. All on board were killed. It seems the aircraft was destroyed by missiles launched from a US-supplied Patriot system. The incident prompts a critical question: What were the Ukrainian soldiers doing so far from their homeland that air transportation was necessary? The answer is simple: The POWs were initially held in the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, but then came a Ukrainian HIMARS attack on a prisoner camp in Olenovka near Volnovakha on July 29, 2022, killing 53 people. This seems to have been the reason for the transfer, aiming to distance the POWs from high-tech precision weapons systems provided to Kiev by NATO. Today, we can say with absolute certainty that this did not help. Ukraine has once again shown the world just how dangerous it can be for its own citizens.

What happened? Around noon on Wednesday, Moscow time (9am GMT), footage spread online depicting the crash on snow-covered fields. A distinctive church seen on video meant the location was soon identified as being near the village of Yablonovo, Korochansky District, in Belgorod Region. Almost immediately, Ukrainian Telegram channels, both anonymous and verified (such as Unian and Ukrainskaya Pravda), were inundated with posts citing sources close to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). These posts claimed that a) the plane was purportedly carrying missiles for Russia’s S-300 systems intended for use in attacks on Kharkov, and b) the downing was attributed to the Kiev’s actions. A short time later, the Russian Defense Ministry officially announced that 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers who were being transported to Belgorod for a prisoner exchange were on board the plane, along with six crew members and three guards.

Immediately afterwards, statements about the involvement of Kiev’s forces began to disappear from the Ukrainian internet, as well as any mention of the alleged cargo (missiles for the S-300 system). At 3pm Moscow time, the Russian Defense Ministry made an official announcement, stating that two Ukrainian missiles had been launched from the Liptsy suburb of Kharkov. The point of impact was approximately 100km away, a range well within the coverage of the AFU’s Patriot missiles of all modifications, including PAC-2 GEM-T and PAC-3 MSE. Concurrently, lists featuring the names of Ukrainian servicemen surfaced, which can be verified through the meticulous maintenance of Ukrainian POW databases by dedicated enthusiasts.

“Countries that are permeated with Russophobic tendencies are dragging more and more military facilities, military equipment belonging to the alliance into their territory. This is, of course, a danger..”

• West’s Anti-Russian Policy Now ‘At Its Peak’ – Peskov (TASS)

The West is going all out against Russia, as evidenced by the current holding of the largest-ever NATO exercise, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. “The strategy of deterring our country, of putting pressure on it, has not gone anywhere. Sometimes it escalates, sometimes it subsides. Now it is probably at its peak. Such exercises are the best proof of this,” he said on Channel One. Peskov pointed out that the West holds a very clear anti-Russian position, which is determined by NATO, while the alliance’s rhetoric “is determined across the ocean, in Washington.” The Kremlin spokesman was asked about the West’s policy in the context of today’s visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Kaliningrad Region.

Commenting on the situation in the region, Peskov noted that “Kaliningrad is an integral part of Russia,” and it is important for the authorities to keep the entire region’s life support system in a workable condition. “There are certainly dangers present, merely in strategic terms. You see what militaristic moods prevail now in Europe, in the neighboring Baltics and so on. Countries that are permeated with Russophobic tendencies are dragging more and more military facilities, military equipment belonging to the alliance into their territory. This is, of course, a danger; it requires additional measures to ensure that the security of our country is reliably ensured,” the presidential spokesman emphasized.

Todd

Emmanuel TODD Debunking Zelensky’s Propaganda That After Ukraine Putin Will Invade Europe ‼️

Emmanuel TODD: “We must stop the lies about PUTIN”

I mean, to say that Russia is going to invade the world, you have to be, I don't know, disturbed.

The Russian military theory has… pic.twitter.com/MBDVKlKMG2

— Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) January 24, 2024

“..by talking about a possible armed conflict with Russia European politicians are diverting the attention of residents of their countries from economic issues..”

• EU Not Prepared For Potential Armed Conflict With Russia – Politico (TASS)

The European Union does not have the necessary defense potential to independently confront Russia without support from the United States in case of a potential armed conflict, the European version of the Politico newspaper wrote. “Europe is not only unprepared for [potential] war, it’s not preparing for war,” Banjamin Tallis from the German think tank DGAP said as quoted by the newspaper. Former US ambassador to Poland Daniel Fried shares this opinion. “The Europeans don’t have the capacity to defend,” Fried told Politico. The newspaper explains that since the end of the Cold War, the number of armed forces in EU countries has decreased by 2.5 times, from 3.4 million troops in 1989 to 1.3 million in 2022. Moreover, a number of countries have switched from the format of compulsory military service to military service under contract.

As a result, for example, the Belgian military is so short of ammunition and funding that soldiers will “have to throw stones” shortly after the start of any conflict, Politico points out, citing retired Belgian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Marc Thys. Without support from the United States, Europe is unable to resist Russia in the event of a potential armed conflict, the publication concludes. Statements by former US President Donald Trump about his intention to reduce the level of support from Washington towards European NATO allies raise alarm among officials of the community countries. Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that by talking about a possible armed conflict with Russia European politicians are diverting the attention of residents of their countries from economic issues. He noted that Europeans have always been inclined to search for an external enemy.

When Eric Holder defies Congress: no problem.
When Peter Navarro defies Congress: jail.
When Hunter Biden defies Congress: no problem.
When Steve Bannon defies Congress: jail.

• Trump Advisor Navarro Sentenced To Four Months For Ignoring J6 Subpoena (ZH)

Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months in jail on Friday for ignoring a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. The DOJ had sought six months in jail and a $200,000 fine. As we noted last week, Navarro was arrested at a DC airport in June of 2022 on two misdemeanor contempt of Congress charges for doing exactly what Obama AG Eric Holder did (with zero consequences), and more recently, Hunter Biden – ignore a Congressional subpoena when he told the Jan. 6 committee to pound sand. “The Defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over the rule of law,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi in a 20-page sentencing memo submitted last Thursday night, Politico reported at the time.

Navarro was held in contempt in April of 2022 after he refused to provide documents and testimony to the Jan. 6 committee. A grand jury agreed with prosecutors that Navarro knew Trump hadn’t asserted executive privilege to bar him from testifying, and that even if Trump had – it wouldn’t have barred Navarro from testifying about certain non-covered subjects demanded by the Committee. “At no time did the Defendant provide the Committee with any evidence supporting his assertion that the former President had invoked executive privilege over the information the Committee’s subpoena sought from the Defendant, or otherwise challenge the Committee’s authority or composition,” wrote Aloi. “The Court was left with only the Defendant’s fan fiction version of what the Defendant wished or hoped the former President might have wanted but left unsaid.”

After all his lies, how is he still in Congress? I genuinely don’t see how that works.

• Adam Schiff A “Liar” Who Was “Censured” – Garvey (ZH)

While the 2024 presidential race dominates headlines, there are plenty of noteworthy happenings going on in Congressional contests. Case in point, former baseball great Steve Garvey (R-CA) just called Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) a liar over allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to rig the 2016 election. “I think you’ve been censured for lying,” the former athlete said to Schiff during a Monday night debate in Los Angeles. “And this is exactly what I’m talking about: career politicians who are trying to determine who we are by race or by color or by gender,” he continued. “They never listen. They have pre-arranged words to say.”

Schiff, who presided over Trump’s first impeachment, snarked back that he “was censured for standing up to a corrupt president” and “would do it all over again.” “That president has been indicted with … 91 felony counts — that president that you won’t refuse to support,” Schiff continued. “Yeah, he’s a danger. And I will stand up to him and [former House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy, and [Ohio GOP Rep.] Jim Jordan, and any of those MAGA enablers in Congress.” “You lied to 300 million people,” Garvey shot back, adding “You can’t take that back.”

Adam Schiff gets called out during the CA Senate debate by Republican Steve Garvey for lying about Russian collusion:

Garvey: "I believe you were censured for lying."

Schiff: "I was censured for standing up to a corrupt president"

Garvey: "Sir, you lied to 300 million people… pic.twitter.com/tqv4YD2kZZ

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 23, 2024

As the NY Post notes: The California Democrat, who at the time of his allegations served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, read portions of the now-debunked Steele dossier into the congressional record and said there was “ample evidence of collusion in plain sight.” “You honor me with your enmity. You flatter me with this falsehood,” Schiff following the floor vote. “Today I wear this partisan vote as a badge of honor, knowing that I have lived my oath.” Three independent federal investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz and special counsel John Durham later found no such evidence existed.

RCMP=Royal Canadian Mounted Police, aka Mounties.

• RCMP Offering Police $75,000 Benefit To Change Genders (CS)

Officers received a message from the RCMP’s Health Care Benefits team: “I am pleased to inform you that gender affirming care benefit provisions have been added to regular Member health benefits.” “Gender affirming care” is of course the term that refers to medical sex changes. It’s also used when describing giving puberty blockers to children who (perhaps temporarily) think they are in the wrong body, despite growing evidence that giving them such is harmful to their long-term health. The memo states that the substantial new benefit towards transgender-related medical intervention is part “of our ongoing commitment to creating a more modern, inclusive and representative workforce.”

“The benefit will be applicable for certain gender affirming procedures not covered by provincial/territorial health care plans to help individuals with their gender affirmation journey,” the memo states. The criteria for eligibility are specific: officers must be 18 or older, under doctor’s care for gender affirmation, have exhausted provincial coverage, and have undergone all medically necessary procedures as determined by a physician or nurse practitioner. Pre-approval is required via a gender affirmation request form. Effective retroactively to October 12, 2023, the policy aligns the RCMP with civilian members and Public Service employees who have been receiving similar benefits since July 2023.

DDR

Dynamic Digital Radiography (DDR) allows you to observe movement like never before. This novel low-dose X-ray imaging technique enables visualization of anatomy in motion.pic.twitter.com/X2LZ4LC6d5

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) January 25, 2024

Pepsi

Pepsi in new CNN video: “These (Tesla Semi) trucks can run up to 500 miles on a single charge in a single day, so between two drivers one truck and 24 hours, we were able to run 1,076 on a single electric truck.” pic.twitter.com/xziFTF6RZS

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 25, 2024

Elon predictions

Here's a video of @elonmusk's predictions from Tesla's Q4 2023 earnings. pic.twitter.com/3GtwMIZleE

— Farzad (@farzyness) January 25, 2024

Cheetah

Cheetah introduces a photographer to her little ones pic.twitter.com/Xfg94FC2zC

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) January 25, 2024

Night Monkeys
https://twitter.com/i/status/1750537795196612668

It took Jason Stieva 15 months to make a 8 feet high, 7.5 feet long, and about 2.5 feet wide Ghost ship.

During the exceptionally cold winter of 1795, a French Hussar regiment captured the Dutch fleet on the frozen Zuiderzee, a bay to the northwest of the Netherlands. That was the only time in history when men on horseback captured a fleet of ships. Painting: Léon Morel-Fatio

Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

This topic has 66 replies, 18 voices, and was last updated 3 months, 1 week ago by Noirette.

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January 26, 2024 at 9:36 pm #151234

Oroboros
Participant

January 26, 2024 at 9:39 pm #151235

tboc
Participant

visit MoA for news of ICJ

January 26, 2024 at 10:00 pm #151236

John Day
Participant

Please Pause Genocide https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/please-pause-genocide

It is difficult to encapsulate the news today, though the overview is that the human economic world is going through a reduction in availability of the resources upon which our life-support system depends (peak-oil, etc.). That reduction-in-availability is reflected as increased costs, shortages and economic dysfunction in this economy based upon perpetual growth. Massive-“borrowing” has “pulled future prosperity forward” to the present, at least on the books. Investments will quit-paying-out at some approaching point. Faith in the financial economy will soon disappear, as the world faces the fact that it is all current-trade-flows, without the reserves-of-wealth that we had imagined to “own”.
This is known in the halls of power. There is currently a power struggle over those flows of valuable resources and products, affecting pipelines, railroads, and shipping routes. The producing countries don’t want to pay so much rent to the centers of financial empire, and are growing bolder as the imperial armies prove ineffectual again and again.
Russia becomes the military-champion and China the economic-champion for the producing countries (BRICS+) who want to trade without a 50% skim by the western-financial-system. Current wars reflect that, and also reflect the reluctance to nuke things you need and will be unable to replace in the leaner-future.

Israel’s Reputation Takes A Hit In World Court Genocide Case [The starvation of the Israeli economy will increase and political change will be inescapable.]
Israel has suffered its first major setback in the International Court of Justice (ICJ, or also “World Court”) genocide case brought against it by South Africa, and thus has also suffered a possible hit to its reputation on the global stage.
The Hague-based court has ordered Israel to take all measures capable to prevent acts of Genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire. The interim ruling will of course remain merely symbolic as the World Court has no power or mechanism whereby it can enforce the verdict. It asserts that South Africa’s case has legal merit and can proceed…
..Current president of the ICJ Judge Joan Donahue said however that the “catastrophic situation” in Gaza could get much worse by the time the final verdict in the case gets delivered while explaining why the provisional directive is necessary.
Thus this ruling points to the likelihood that things won’t go Israel’s way in the end…
..The Friday directive comes ahead what’s expected to be a future, final ruling – and it comes as international pressure grows on Israel to reach a ceasefire – which the Netanyahu government is reportedly seeking in offering its 2-month pause plan in hopes of gaining the release of all captives…
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israels-reputation-takes-hit-world-court-genocide-case

Pepe Escobar, Forever Wars. And No Plan B [much edited]
..If we combine all these variants – stalemate; BRICS; the Lone Emperor; de-dollarization; garden and jungle – in search of the most probable scenario ahead, it’s easy to see that the only “way out” for a cornered Empire is, what else, the default modus operandi: Forever Wars.
And that brings us to the current American aircraft carrier in West Asia (aka “Israel”), totally out of control yet always supported by the Hegemon, aiming for a multi-front war against the whole Axis of Resistance: Palestine, Hezbollah, Syria, Iraqi militias, Ansarullah in Yemen, and Iran.
In a sense we’re back to the immediate post-9/11, when what the neocons really wanted was not Afghanistan, but the invasion of Iraq: not only to control the oil (which in the end they didn’t) but, in Michael Hudson’s analysis, “to essentially create America’s foreign legion in the form of ISIS and al-Qaeda in Iraq.” Now, “America has two armies that it’s using to fight in the Near East, the ISIS/al-Qaeda foreign legion (Arabic-speaking foreign legion) and the Israelis.”…
..What Putin, Xi and Raisi have been explaining to the Global South, explicitly or in quite subtle ways, is that we are right in the crux of a civilizational war.
Michael Hudson has done a lot to bring down such an epic struggle to practical terms. Are we heading towards what I described as techno-feudalism – which is the AI format of rent-seeking turbo-neoliberalism? Or are we heading to something similar to the origins of industrial capitalism?
Michael Hudson characterizes an auspicious horizon as “raising living standards instead of imposing IMF financial austerity on the dollar block”: devising a system that Big Finance, Big Bank, Big Pharma and what Ray McGovern memorably coined as the MICIMATT (military-industrial-congressional-intelligence-media-academia-think tank complex) cannot control.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240125/pepe-escobar-five-variables-defining-our-future-1116381887.html

How Gaza is impacting the Great Power standoff
While China-led multipolarity has accelerated the decline of the American era, the war in Gaza may end it altogether.
What is unfolding today in West Asia — the Gaza war and its regional expansion — cannot be viewed separately from the international transformations that have grown in momentum over the past few years. Today, the transition to multipolarity is the underlying factor shaping the decisions and policies of most countries, particularly those of the great powers…
..Crucially, the Pentagon’s stated purpose of securing navigation in the Red Sea does not align with the actual threat presented, revealing ulterior motives behind US actions. The Yemenis have repeatedly confirmed that they only intend to inhibit the passage of Israeli-owned or destined vessels — and that all other ships are free to pass.
In short, the US/UK-led coalition is acting as a naval arm for Israeli military forces, seeking specifically to ensure unimpeded access for ships heading to Israeli ports via the Bab al-Mandab Strait. That’s not a position many other states will get behind if they want to maintain freedom of transport for their own shipping vessels.
Ultimately, the American show of force in these waterways seeks to consolidate US naval dominance, which war-torn Yemen, West Asia’s poorest country, has contested…
..The most staggering poll result of all,… has to be the one in December… in which 51 percent of young Americans believe a final solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is for Israel to end and be given to Hamas and the Palestinians.
..While Israel remains a direct US interest in West Asia, Washington’s commitment to Tel Aviv’s security has already become a growing burden and increasingly difficult to justify. As the region’s Axis of Resistance expands its battle with Israel on new, multiple frontlines, the US will need to reallocate ever-expanding resources and focus on matching its international rivals in further-flung geographies.
Ukraine was a test run compared to this Gaza war and the immense, direct toll it is taking on US alliances, domestic politics, and the American image globally.
https://thecradle.co/articles/how-gaza-is-impacting-the-great-power-standoff

John Helmer , RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY TIES RED SEA BLOCKADE TO GAZA BLOCKADE, BACKS HOUTHIS IN MOSCOW MEETING
Bogdanov’s communiqué said “special attention was paid to the development of tragic events in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, as well as the aggravation of the situation in the Red Sea in this regard. In this context, the missile and bomb attacks on Yemen undertaken by the United States and Great Britain, which are capable of destabilizing the situation on a regional scale, were strongly condemned.”
This is the plainest signal to date of Russian backing for the southern front of the Arab war against Israel, and the link which the Houthis have made between the Israeli blockade of Gaza, the genocide of the Palestinians, and the Red Sea blockade which the Houthis have imposed on vessels owned or directed by Israeli shipowners, US naval fleet, and American-flagged and other vessels carrying military and civil cargoes to Israel or reload ammunition for future attacks on Yemen.
At the same time across Moscow, unusually large delegations of officials of the Russian Security Council, led by Nikolai Patrushev, and Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, special presidential representative and Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, have been meeting to discuss a detailed agenda which Patrushev’s communiqué calls a “wide range of Russian-Iranian security cooperation” and “the practical implementation of the agreements reached at the highest level.”
In an open statement for reporters, Ahmadian told Patrushev: “”America’s grandeur has shattered, and today, it cannot even rally its traditional allies. A country that considers itself a superpower is engaged in war against resistance groups and the people of the region.”
The display of Russian support for the Axis of Resistance against Israel and the US is unprecedented.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY TIES RED SEA BLOCKADE TO GAZA BLOCKADE, BACKS HOUTHIS IN MOSCOW MEETING

January 26, 2024 at 10:03 pm #151237

John Day
Participant

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) was aware of the flight of the Ilyushin-76 transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, but did not block the work of air defense on its route, the head of the (Russian) State Duma’s Defense Committee Andrey Kartapolov told the media while commenting on the plane’s crash in the Belgorod Region.
“The Ukrainian side had been officially notified. Fifteen minutes before the plane entered the zone, they were given full information, which they received and confirmed its receipt by the Main Intelligence Directorate,” Kartapolov said. He stressed that after that “there should have followed the command ‘Air, stop’ for a certain sector. It was not issued. Instead, a command to open fire was given and the airplane with our crew and their soldiers was shot down,” Kartapolov added.
https://tass.com/politics/1737189

Gilbert Doctorow interview and transcript on Ukrainian shoot-down or Russian plane carrying Ukrainian POWs for prisoner-exchange.
I think this plane crash is extremely important because of what it says about the government in in Kiev, who is running it, and for what purpose. This devastating event has parallels with the MH-17. It has parallels with the bombing of a Russian detention center which kept Ukrainian prisoners of war and where again dozens if not a 100 or more of the prisoners of war were killed as a result of the Kiev government action…
..The original intent was to pursue what they have done otherwise on the field of battle. The Ukrainian forces have shot in the back their own soldiers, whom they thought might be going over to the enemy. What we have here… We forget that Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union for 70 years and the morals of Mr. Stalin were applied in Ukraine and seemed to have remained there despite the fall of the Soviet Union. By that I mean in World War II it was the practice of the Soviet Army to consider prisoners of war as deserters. They may have been injured, they may have been carried off the field to hospitals, but once they were interned in Germany or in Germany’s allies, they were considered as traitors. When they came home they faced severe conditions, if not execution. This is the very type of approach to human rights that Kiev is applying to its own citizens: A very Stalinist method and that is at sharp variance with the bunny rabbit quality of Kiev that Western news media have projected from the start of the conflict…
..The supposition is in any case that very powerful ground to air missiles were used and that such weapons are approved only of the highest levels of the Ukrainian military. Therefore it is improbable this was a communications accident…

More from Indian broadcaster WION on the crash of the Russian jet carrying Ukrainian POWs

Pentagon Refused to Send A-10 Warthogs to Ukraine Amid Fears They’d ‘Fall to the Ground in Flames’
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American close air support aircraft developed during the Cold War to target Soviet tank forces in a World War III scenario that never arrived. Instead, it became a key tool in the US arsenal over the past 25 years.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240125/pentagon-refused-to-send-a-10-warthogs-to-ukraine-amid-fears-theyd-fall-to-the-ground-in-flames-1116385834.html

Governments may change before 2025., No gas transit via Ukraine after 2024, PM says
The Ukrainian Prime Minister’s statement followed the video address of Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico after bilateral talks
https://tass.com/economy/1737343

This will energy-starve European allies after cutting them off from cheap, reliable Russian supplies, and will also be “bad-fer-bidness” in Texas. Whose interests are served?
Biden Set To Announce New LNG Export Ban After White House Met With Gen-Z Climate Warrior
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/biden-set-announce-lng-export-ban-appease-climate-warriors-ahead-election

January 26, 2024 at 10:04 pm #151238

John Day
Participant

Gov. Abbott Tells Tucker He’s Not Backing Down, Expects Red States To Circle Wagons, & Trump Elected In November
Abbott told Carlson that he’s “prepared” in the event that Biden tries to take over the Texas National Guard.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/country-has-been-invaded-ex-fbi-brass-pen-sobering-letter-over-new-and-imminent-danger

Would Texas join BRICS+? After how long? Texas has a gold depository. Soft Secession, Insurrection, or the Real Return of Federalism in Texas? Tom Luongo
Governor Greg Abbot’s letter to the Biden Administration declaring them in violation of the Constitution for stopping Texas from securing the border is a major escalation. The States have become ‘uncomfortable’ and are beginning to bare their canines...
..That’s where Greg Abbot found himself with the Biden Administration’s open border policy whose obvious purpose was to invite the world to tilt the 2024 election in the Democrats’ favor… and by Democrats’ I mean Davos, whose agenda Biden et.al. are clearly advancing...
..Abbot’s Attorney General Ken Paxton backed him up and, as of [yesterday], 25 other States have openly expressed support for Texas’ stand against the lawlessness of “Biden’s” executive order...
..“Biden” is giving Texas an ultimatum to comply. The Democrats are demanding Biden call up the Texas National Guard. The entire thing has a wholly manufactured feel to it, but it is also something that had to happen. The States had to stand up to this.
And as I’ve talked about at length, the goal here is splitting the US up because a divided US, falling apart politically at this point in history, is exactly what our enemies want. The eventual goal is undermining the validity of the US debt markets and Washington D.C.’s ability to pay its bills.
There is no Great Reset with a fully functional United States. This is why Abbot’s move is so very important...
..The question I have now is what’s the over/under on “Biden” declaring Texas in a state of insurrection against the Union in order to deny it, as a State, its vote this fall? If Texas refuses to ‘turn blue’ then the next move would be to maneuver its governor into full opposition to DC. The question I have here is who is in control of the escalation framework here? Texas or the FedGov?

Soft Secession, Insurrection, or the Real Return of Federalism in Texas?

Cultural Replacement: Why The Immigration Crisis Is Being Deliberately Engineered
Elements of our own government are deliberately encouraging the acceleration of illegal immigration across the southern border and they are actively sabotaging any attempts to stop the madness. There are two questions we need to ask: Why are they doing this? And, what can be done to stop them?’…
..We’ve all heard of the Cloward-Piven Strategy by now, and it’s not all that difficult to understand – Create social destabilization by using migrants as a weapon. But there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Cloward-Piven is almost too simplistic an explanation; it doesn’t really define the bigger picture. There are a few ways that this strategy could open the door to authoritarianism in the US. Let’s examine these scenarios to better comprehend why.
..In 1968 the US Department of Defense at the request of the government drafted a civil disturbance plan called ‘Operation Garden Plot’ which outlined what was essentially a martial law response to large scale social breakdown. One of the main factors listed in the plan as a trigger for martial law was the uncontrolled mass migration of minorities into the US, as well as riots by minorities in light of economic uncertainty.
Garden Plot has provisions designed to install a long lasting domestic military presence in the US if deemed necessary, and was even tied to programs like REX 84 which planned out the installation of “FEMA camps” or detention facilities meant to hold large numbers refugees during a mass migration crisis. These programs were accidentally exposed during the Iran/Contra hearings of 1987 and were kept secret from a majority of representatives in Congress.
In other words, political elites designed a set of operations to swiftly impose martial law if a migrant disaster occurred. But were these measures meant to solve the crisis? Or were they meant to use the crisis as an excuse to put boots on the ground in the US and permanently end whatever constitutional protections we have left? That is to say, it may very well be the plan of the establishment to keep the borders open until illegals overwhelm the system and the public is willing to accept martial law. [It is suggested by some that inducting migrants into the US military to act against American citizens would manage the “problem” that 70% of American soldiers would balk at this illegal action.]

Cultural Replacement: Why The Immigration Crisis Is Being Deliberately Engineered

January 26, 2024 at 10:05 pm #151239

John Day
Participant

“Israel’s use of Starvation as a Weapon of War”: Continues to Attack Starving Palestinians Awaiting Aid Trucks…
“My five children have been starving for more than a month, and we do not have any flour,” stated 46-year-old M.F., who requested anonymity due to safety concerns.
“We eat a small amount of rice each day, so when I learned that flour aid was available, I walked for 13 kilometres before the Israeli army opened their machine gunfire. We were hit by shells fired, resulting in several casualties. I managed to survive, without receiving any flour.”

“Israel’s use of Starvation as a Weapon of War”: Continues to Attack Starving Palestinians Awaiting Aid Trucks…

Netanyahu cannot survive 10 minutes without US support: Amir-Abdollahian
The Iranian foreign minister blamed the US and Israel for inflaming tensions across West Asia and stressed that the solution to the crisis ‘is never war’
“If the US today stops its backing — logistical and weapons, political and media support — of the genocidal war launched by Israel, then I can assure you that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will not survive for 10 minutes,” Iran’s top diplomat told ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz during.
“So the key to solving the problem is in Washington before it is in Tel Aviv,” he said from New York on the sidelines of the UN Security Council meeting on West Asia.
https://thecradle.co/articles/netanyahu-cannot-survive-10-minutes-without-us-support-amir-abdollahian

ASTANA, January 25. /TASS/. Russia, Turkey and Iran consider Israeli attacks on Syria to be in violation of international law and the republic’s territorial integrity, reads a joint statement issued by the three countries following the 21st round of talks on Syria.
https://tass.com/politics/1737213

This is why Russian aircraft now patrol over the Golan Heights, Syrian territory, militarily occupied by Israel since 1967.
ASTANA, January 25. /TASS/. Israel has stopped compliance with a deal to notify Russia in advance whenever it wants to strike Syria, Russian presidential envoy for Syrian settlement Alexander Lavrentyev told TASS.
“It does notify, but after the strikes. I am saying this absolutely seriously because we previously had an agreement with them about sending a notice some time before the strike,” he said, when asked whether Israel notified Russia about the latest strikes on Syria.
https://tass.com/politics/1737387

Hamas Says ‘Faults Happened’ in 7 October Attacks in First Account Since Start of War on Gaza.
Regarding the events of 7 October, the report said that Hamas targeted Israeli military sites and sought to “arrest the enemy’s soldiers” in efforts to pressure Israeli authorities to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
“Avoiding harm to civilians, especially children, women and elderly people is a religious and moral commitment by all the Al-Qassam Brigades’ fighters,” it said, referring to the military wing of Hamas.
“We reiterate that the Palestinian resistance was fully disciplined and committed to the Islamic values during the operation and that the Palestinian fighters only targeted the occupation soldiers and those who carried weapons against our people.”
The report added that Hamas fighters were keen to avoid civilian harm “despite the fact the resistance does not possess precise weapons”.
Among those killed during the attacks were over 30 children and more than 100 elderly, according to official Israeli statistics, as well as 60 foreign workers.
“If there was any case of targeting civilians, it happened accidentally and in the course of the confrontation with the occupation forces.”
“Maybe some faults happened during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’s implementation due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas with Gaza.”…
..Israeli civilians were killed by an Israeli military helicopter on 7 October, citing reports from Israeli media outlets Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth.
“The two reports said the Hamas fighters reached the area of the festival without any prior knowledge of the festival, where the Israeli helicopter opened fire on both the Hamas fighters and the participants in the festival,” it said.
It cited the “Hannibal Directive”, an Israeli rule of engagement that reportedly stipulates that Israelis being taken hostage should be avoided at any cost, even if it it results in the deaths of its own people…
..“Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine,” it said.
“Yet, it is the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity.”
It added that Palestinians stood against injustice against civilians, including “what the Jews were exposed to by Nazi Germany”.
“Here, we remind that the Jewish problem in essence was a European problem, while the Arab and Islamic environment was – across history – a safe haven to the Jewish people and to other peoples of other beliefs and ethnicities,” it said.
“We reject the exploitation of the Jewish suffering in Europe to justify the oppression against our people in Palestine.”

Hamas Says ‘Faults Happened’ in 7 October Attacks in First Account Since Start of War on Gaza. “Hamas Claims Israel Killed Its Own Civilians”

January 26, 2024 at 10:06 pm #151240

John Day
Participant

William Makis MD , mRNA Injury Stories – Children who lost both parents…
2 yo UK boy Bronson Battersby died curled up next to his dad who had a heart attack; 14 yo Canada boy lost both parents suddenly on Christmas 2023

mRNA Injury Stories – Children who lost both parents…

I watched this brief video about the innate and spontaneous nature of human cooperation. “When the Student is ready, the Teacher will Appear.” (Spot the “teacher”?)
Celia Farber , Over 66 Million People Have Watched This Video
https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/over-66-million-people-have-watched

January 26, 2024 at 10:19 pm #151241

Oroboros
Participant

“Climate Change Truthiness Horizon”

January 26, 2024 at 10:24 pm #151242

Oroboros
Participant

It’s getting harder to keep up with the Universal Hypocrisy enveloping the Late Great Planet Earth

January 26, 2024 at 10:39 pm #151243

Oroboros
Participant

The Russian plane carrying POWs was shot down by Ukronaziland in revenge for snuffing all those French, UK and Duh’merican mercenaries in that hotel.

The Russians killed a ton of war-man-whores in that hotel as a message to Nazilensky et al that the gloves are from now on off on any foreign ‘mercenaries’ [foreign military ‘advisors’] present in Ukronaziland.

The Empire of Lies is like a spoiled enraged brat.

Shooting down that POW plane which both sides had planned for weeks to exchange is like shooting someone with a white flag who was under a universally recognized truce.

Means Russia can do the same now.

January 26, 2024 at 10:42 pm #151244

Veracious Poet
Participant

This is known in the halls of power.

There is currently a power struggle over those flows of valuable resources and products, affecting pipelines, railroads, and shipping routes.

The producing countries don’t want to pay so much rent to the centers of financial empire, and are growing bolder as the imperial armies prove ineffectual again and again.

PERSPECTIVE:

@oroboros

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January 26, 2024 at 11:00 pm #151245

Oroboros
Participant

Meanwhile Gov Abbott is not backing down about the border.

Tucker speaks with him at 2:30 pm today

In an interview from India, Gov. Greg Abbott says ten other states have sent national guard to the Texas border, and others will follow. Abbott says he is “prepared” for a conflict with federal authorities. pic.twitter.com/F58MLoOsAZ

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 26, 2024

The letter, written on Jan. 17, before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott invoked the invasion clause of the US Constitution, suggests that a terrorist attack is likely imminent.

“The threat we call out today is new and unfamiliar. In its modern history the U.S. has never suffered an invasion of the homeland, and, yet, one is unfolding now,” the letter reads.

“Military age men from across the globe, many from countries or regions not friendly to the United States, are landing in waves on our soil by the thousands – not by splashing ashore from a ship or parachuting from a plane bur rather by foot across a border that has been accurately advertised around the world as largely unprotected with ready access granted.”

Meanwhile, TX Attorney General Ken Paxton posted a meme on X which reads “COME AND TAKE IT.”

That’s the ATG of Texas saying that

and

Senator Ron Johnson
@SenRonJohnson

This sobering letter from former FBI, Homeland Security, and other law enforcement officials describes the chilling reality of why @POTUS’s open border is a clear and present danger to America.

January 26, 2024 at 11:15 pm #151246

Oroboros
Participant

British Oil Tanker Carrying Russian Naphta On Fire In The Red Sea After Houthi Missile Strike
The British fuel tanker operated on behalf of trading giant Trafigura, was on fire after it was struck by a missile as it transited the Red Sea…

“The tanker, headed toward Singapore, was carrying naphtha, which is used to produce gasoline and plastics. Ironically, the naphtha was of Russian origin, Trafigura said.

“The vessel is carrying Russian-origin naphtha purchased below price cap in line with G7 sanctions,” a spokesperson said, however some have voiced questions about how a venerated Swiss merchant procured the Russian commodity.

So the lying scumbag maggot heads in UKtardistan managed to buy Russian fossil fuels below the sanction price cap to sell to Singapore breaking their own rules of sanctions on Russian fossil fuel.

It’s always about the money not any ‘principles’.

The Empire of Lies Gangster Nation also bought tons and tons of uranium from Russia this past year also violating it’s own hypocritical sanctions cap on Russian produce.

Marlin Luanda tanker is owned by UK-based Oceonix Service

No Smoking

Too late, it’s already smoking

January 26, 2024 at 11:49 pm #151247

Oroboros
Participant

Maryland Library Event Rolls Back Scheme Charging White People More

Brilliant idea

Charge ‘whity’ more as a vendor at a public library event than ‘blacky’, you know, for ‘inclusiveness’

From the zerohedge comment section:

“The public libraries in the U.S. are almost completely lock, stock and barrel leftie cesspools – even in red states/counties.

Terrible selection of materials, unless you want pro-queer, pro-Marxist, pro-FBI, pro-CIA, etc….your tax dollars at work.”

That’s sooo true about public libraries being woketard cesspools

Typical Woketard librarian in the Empire of Lies

January 26, 2024 at 11:53 pm #151248

Oroboros
Participant

January 26, 2024 at 11:56 pm #151249

Oroboros
Participant

January 27, 2024 at 12:05 am #151250

aspnaz
Participant

The reluctance of key European countries France, Spain, and Italy to join the naval alliance indicated a growing skepticism among the US’s traditional partners — both western and West Asian — about Washington’s commitment and capability to defend its allies in any impactful way.

And their Muslim immigrants would get pissed off and take to the streets. Maybe they really do fear some of their people … just not the white people.

January 27, 2024 at 12:08 am #151251

Oroboros
Participant

The Turd in Chief

January 27, 2024 at 12:16 am #151252

Figmund Sreud
Participant

@ Dr. Day – Please Pause Genocide
———————————————-

Yes, most appropriate headline vis-a-vis the Hague-based court order to Israel. Blasphemy!

Me, when I read the final court’s decision, all I could think of is a headline along the lines alike, ‘when raping (crime) withdraw momentarily when ejeculating!

F.S.

January 27, 2024 at 12:55 am #151253

zerosum
Participant

Trudeau fell off the high wire and missed the safety net. He sent Joly.

The people want peace and cease fire

https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2024/01/statement-by-minister-joly-on-the-international-court-of-justices-decision-on-south-africas-request-for-provisional-measures-in-its-case-against-is.html
Statement by Minister Joly on the International Court of Justice’s decision on South Africa’s request for provisional measures in its case against Israel

Statement
January 26, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs today issued the following statement:

“Today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its response to South Africa’s request for provisional measures in their case against Israel.

“Canada supports the ICJ’s critical role in the peaceful settlement of disputes and its work in upholding the international rules-based order.

“Our support for the ICJ does not mean that we accept the premise of the case brought by South Africa. It is for the ICJ to make a final decision on the case, which it has not done today. We continue to follow the case very closely.

“Canada will continue to support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, in accordance with international law. Nothing can justify Hamas’ brutal attacks on October 7, including the appalling loss of life, and the heinous acts of violence perpetrated in those attacks, including sexual violence.

“Canada remains deeply concerned about the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the ongoing and serious impacts on Palestinian civilians. Canada continues to support urgent international efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire. This cannot be one-sided. Hamas must release all hostages, stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and lay down its arms.

“Parties to any conflict must protect civilians and respect international law. They are obligated to allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded access of essential humanitarian relief for civilians. Humanitarian access must urgently be increased and sustained in Gaza.”

January 27, 2024 at 1:44 am #151254

WES
Participant

Test – Failled Test!

January 27, 2024 at 2:00 am #151255

Dr D Rich
Participant

In the name of precedence, jurisprudence, objectivity, balance, justice, equality, non-affirmative action and the embryo of justice, fairness, they presented us the following conundrum, puzzler, double bind and naked contradiction in the Jean Carroll case

The Partners at Letitia James and Judge Engoron ACCEPTED the valuation of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago at ~ $25 million, that’s 6 zeros as a Finder of Facts “fact’.

The Partners Carroll(E.Jean), Crowley, Kaplan(Roberta) and Kaplan as in no relation to Roberta Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the exalted 2.3 percenters not bound together in any particular genocide of the 21 century VALUED MAR-A-LAGO AT $1.5 BILLION as in 8 zeros after the 1.5 for the purpose of calculating the e.jean caroll award although her legal team requested a palstry sum of ~$23 million.

So, by law school, judge, magistrate, attorney, lawyer Maths(maffs really dontcha think?) the following holds true:

83,000,000 ÷ 1,500,000,000 = 0.05333 Kaplans

Is equivalent to

83,000,000 ÷ 25,000,000 = 3.32 Engorons

So, if Engoron’s valuation held true in Kaplan’s court (Sam Bankman(not)Fried yet’s Judge) then e.jean Carroll’s award today would have been by precedence, jurisprudence and justice:

$25,000,000 × 0.053333 = $1,333,332.50

Another triumphant of The Two point Three Percent that reaffirms the laws of laws, ratios, fractions, proportions and physics hold true in any circumstance, time, place, venue, galaxy or universe

January 27, 2024 at 2:19 am #151256

Figmund Sreud
Participant

Linh Dinh, originally of “Postcards from the End of [the] America[n Empire]” fame: … his latest:

Conversation with Dzuy in DC Homestay:

Of Vietnam, Dzuy claimed it’s one of the poorest countries on earth, “It’s ranked 176 out of 200!”

“That’s obviously not true! Just in this region, we’re doing better than Laos and Cambodia, and the Philippines, too, I think. If not, we’re close.”

“We’re not doing better than Laos.”

“I just spent six months over there! They’re poorer.”

“Then why do Vietnamese go there to work?”

“So what?! Chinese are in Africa. That doesn’t mean China is poorer than Africa.”

Dzuy also dismissed my observation that most of Sub-Saharan Africa is poorer than Vietnam. Hell, even China’s rise is illusory.

“They steal technology, make junk no one wants to buy and erect buildings that crumble!”

“In Laos, China just finished a rail system that’s superior to anything in the USA.”

“Impossible!”

“In Indonesia, Chinese built trains are twice as fast those in the USA.”

Dzuy shot me a look of disgust tinted with anger, “Nonsense!”

“So China has made no progress?”

“It’s an illusion. It will disappear. People who go there are shocked by how poor they are. China is like this puffed up pastry. There’s nothing inside!”

“They have enough money to flood over here as tourists.”

“So what? Even some Vietnamese go places.”

“So who’s doing well?”

“America!”

“What about Russia?”

The word alone made Dzuy glower, “Russia is so backward, uses 1980’s technology and can’t even beat Ukraine!”

“So they’re losing that war?”

“Of course!”

To Dzuy, Russia is just a thinly disguised Soviet Union,headed by a KGB goon, Putin. Together with China, it will collapse soon enough. The future is in the West.

“Russia is so far behind! They’re Vikings! Pirates!”

I didn’t bother to correct him. As for Americans living in tents and under bridges, they’re just drug addicts or lazy.

“The US is humane and tries to help everyone, but some people just can’t be helped.”

“Did the USA help Afghanistan, or did it make money then run?”

To this, Dzuy could only mumble, “That situation was complicated. Afghanistan was part of the Silk Road…”

“Didn’t the USA abandon South Vietnam?”

“No, that was our fault.”

“Didn’t it kill Ngo Dinh Diem? They propped him up, then killed him.”

“What are you basing that on?”

“It’s a fact. During the war against the French, Diem lived in New Jersey. As for the coup, our generals wouldn’t have dared to stage it without American approval. They did pay for everything.”

Kissinger himself said, “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”

… continues at:

“Russia is So Backward, Uses 1980’s Technology and Can’t Even Beat Ukraine!”
https://linhdinh.substack.com/p/russia-is-so-backward-uses-1980s?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

January 27, 2024 at 3:31 am #151257

WES
Participant

Yeah, Thialand, Cambodia, Vietnam are so backwards, that I have just been texting my brother while he is eating his breakfast at a sidewalk cafe! I even can see a picture of the menu and then the served dish he is eating! Not sure we can do this here in North America!

January 27, 2024 at 6:54 am #151282

V. Arnold
Participant

Wes
Yeah, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam are so backwards…

Typical ignorance coming from USA on S.E. Asia and the rest of not America…
Healthcare alone leaves the west in the dust……..

January 27, 2024 at 7:29 am #151283

Veracious Poet
Participant

January 27, 2024 at 4:21 pm #151306

Noirette
Participant

aspnaz quoted: “The reluctance of key European countries France, Spain, and Italy to join the naval alliance indicated a growing skepticism among the US’s traditional partners — both western and West Asian — about Washington’s commitment and capability to defend its allies in any impactful way.”

more:

“In response to Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned armed forces’ Red Sea blockade of Israeli-linked vessels, the US Department of Defense announced the formation of “Operation Guardian of Prosperity … to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation” in those waters, initially consisting of a coalition of ten countries, most of them insignificant partners.”

from: https://thecradle.co/articles-id/20286

Re. France, Macron first joined / supported / adhered to (.. not clear, verbal declaratives..) this naval alliance, and then 2-3 days later back-tracked. (Can be documented from MSM articles in F.)

Allegedly, it was Army Generals who refused to act, on ‘ethical’ grounds – as against the ethics of Defense Forces. I have no proof of this, it was of course covered up. Macron has always been the Jupiter who just forges ahead, or back, or moves sideways, etc. Yet that Prez. initiatives, decisions, declarations / etc. be scotched in this way, i.e. for the public to be able to see it, is unprecedented (last 20 years.) *Imho*
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