Paul Klee Dancing Under the Empire of Fear 1938
Collective madness is palpable today.
People even want Tucker Carlson to be prosecuted under the 1917 Espionage Act for interviewing Putin. They want him dead and locked up.
For an interview… That nobody has seen yet…
This is the kind of publicity that you couldn’t buy if you tried to. Marketing genius.
Putin Stone
Tucker?
Here comes Oliver Stone
Putin to Oliver Stone after the end of the interview: Have you never been beaten in your life?
Stone: Beaten? Oh yes, it has happened.
Putin: Then you won’t get used to it, because for this film, you will endure it.
Stone: Yeah, but it’s worth it pic.twitter.com/ZAqeMs7IGm— Russian Market (@runews) February 8, 2024
Putin short
As someone who has been trying to get everyone on board the Putin/Russia train for years, I am euphoric right now.
Because I know what’s about to happen to the people who watch the interview. Because the same thing happened to me.
The first time I heard Putin speak, he sounded… pic.twitter.com/DumE93rGQd
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) February 6, 2024
Mollie
WATCH: In four minutes of testimony before Congress, @MZHemingway sums up everything wrong with America's elections from mail in ballots, to Zuckerbucks, to censorship, to Big Tech censorship, to Democrats trying to put Trump in jail. pic.twitter.com/lXAJJxFp7n
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 7, 2024
Hageman
https://twitter.com/i/status/1755360573896945757
Trump campaign
The Biden Department of Justice is trying to convict Donald Trump of crimes for allegedly plotting to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington says Trump is bringing this case to the Supreme Court, and the Trump team is not worried. pic.twitter.com/I9OfPk1j4P
— Ivory Hecker (@IvoryHecker) February 7, 2024
Ai Weiwei
NEW – Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei says, "You cannot talk about the truth" nowadays: "I grew up within heavy political censorship in China. Today in the West, you're doing exactly the same."pic.twitter.com/1WGL7PosVC
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 7, 2024
Weisselberg
DEVELOPING IN NEW YORK: If you're wondering why Judge Arthur Engoron, who was set to deliver his ruling last Wednesday, has still not done so, here is why: He has given attorneys in the case until 5 p.m. today to provide him with details about possible perjury by former Trump… pic.twitter.com/ytb5mBJIp5
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) February 7, 2024
“..If the American people are to have any hope of surviving the next decade, then an antidote to the disease of Russophobia must be administered..”
• Tucker Madness is Good for America (Scott Ritter)
The former Fox News talk show host-turned independent media phenomenon, Tucker Carlson, is in Moscow, where he has committed the mortal sin of interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin. The interview is scheduled to air at 6 pm eastern time on Thursday, February 8. Let there be no doubt—Tucker Carlson has pulled off one of the most memorable journalistic accomplishments in modern history, and when the interview does air, it will—literally and figuratively—break the internet.
As someone who has travelled to Russia twice in the past year to engage in “people’s diplomacy” designed to advocate for better US-Russian relations, I applaud Tucker Carlson’s decision to go to Moscow and get this interview. The American people have been infected with a virulent case of Russophobia transmitted to them via a political and economic elite who have built a model of American relevance predicated on the need for an enemy capable of sustaining a military industrial and congressional complex by justifying an expansive budget that leaves America weaker and shareholders wealthier.
Rampant Russophobia threatens American security by creating a false sense of danger around which policies that could lead to a military confrontation with Russia—and nuclear war—are formulated and implemented. If the American people are to have any hope of surviving the next decade, then an antidote to the disease of Russophobia must be administered. This antidote is not difficult to acquire—it consists of fact-based truth grounded in a realistic understanding of the world we live in, inclusive of a sovereign Russia. The real issue is administering this antidote because the traditional vectors for the dissemination of information in America—the so-called mainstream media—have long since been corrupted by the very political and economic elites who are promoting Russophobia to begin with.
Love him or hate Tucker Carlson (I am guilty of having done both; I currently count Tucker as one of the “good guys”), he represents a massive media presence that operates outside the span of control of the informational elite in America, a social media-based presence which, given its association with Elon Musk’s “free speech” platform, X (the former Twitter), cannot be shut down or silenced. Quantifying the “Tucker Carlson factor” is a challenge. Back in August 2023, Tucker interviewed former President Donald Trump; the interview was streamed at the same time as a prime-time Republican Party presidential debate that Trump had boycotted. Fox News, which broadcast the debate, attracted some 12.8 million viewers during the two-hour broadcast. Donald Trump later posted on X that the interview had received 236 million views a day after it was streamed. But that number reflects what X calls “impressions,” not actual views—that number was just shy of 15 million (not as impressive, but still beating out the Fox debate.)
“Arrest those calling for his arrest!”
• Elon Musk Responds To Calls For Tucker Carlson’s Arrest (RT)
Anyone calling for the arrest of US journalist Tucker Carlson over his plan to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin should themselves be detained, billionaire Elon Musk has suggested. Carlson arrived in Moscow last weekend, saying he intended to show Americans an unfiltered Russian position on the Ukraine conflict and the broader tensions between Moscow and the West. The former Fox News host accused the mainstream media of failing to provide the full picture due to political reasons, and said Musk had promised not to suppress the distribution on X (formerly Twitter) of his planned interview with Putin. There has been speculation about the potential risks to Carlson in his homeland due to his trip to Russia. Malaysia-based conservative blogger Ian Miles Cheong has suggested that he “could become the next Julian Assange,” noting that “politicians and establishment media shills” have been calling for Carlson’s arrest.
“Arrest those calling for his arrest!” Musk responded in a post on X. WikiLeaks founder Assange is currently in a British prison, fighting a US extradition request. Washington has indicted him with crimes related to the way whistleblower Chelsea Manning obtained classified materials on the US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of which were damning for the American government. Supporters say Assange, who has not had full freedom since 2012, is being persecuted by the US and its allies for exposing their dirty secrets. He was jailed in 2019 after Ecuador revoked the political asylum that had allowed him to stay at the country’s embassy in London, enabling British law enforcement to arrest him.
Some public figures in the US have accused Carlson of harboring sympathies for Putin, and of intending to spread “Russian propaganda” by interviewing him. Even before the goal of Carlson’s visit to Moscow was confirmed, neoconservative writer Bill Kristol urged the US government to prevent the journalist from returning home, “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” Carlson has insisted that he does not like the Russian leader, but said it is important for the American public to hear Putin’s views on the Ukraine conflict and the tensions between Moscow and Washington, considering what’s at stake. He also accused the American government of trying to prevent him from interviewing Putin, a notion that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed as “ridiculous.”
Tucker has been on the kill list for quite some time. He’s as popular in Ukraine as Putin is right now.
• Tucker Carlson Threatened With Death, Sanctions for Putin Interview (Sp.)
The US journalist has faced threats to his life for undermining Western regime narratives with his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. News spread Wednesday that US journalist Tucker Carlson has been added to a Ukrainian “kill list” as the reporter prepares to release an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The disturbing development was noted by users on social media, who shared screenshots of the entry for Carlson on the Mirotvorets webpage. The controversial site compiles the personal information of journalists and other prominent figures who are deemed to be “enemies of Ukraine.” Users pointed out that Carlson’s entry has existed on the site for some time, but news of Carlson’s interview brought renewed attention to the fact that figures associated with the Kiev regime have apparently been monitoring the journalist for over a year.
Western corporate media often dismisses the significance of the Mirotvorets page, but the site is operated by figures with close connections to Ukrainian lawmakers. Journalists Vladlen Tatarsky and Darya Dugina were killed by Ukrainian terrorists after appearing on the “Peace Maker” section of the website. More recently, the author Gonzalo Lira died in a Ukrainian prison where he was being held after engaging in prominent public criticism of the Kiev regime. The incident garnered minimal comment from the Biden administration, even though Lira was an American citizen. Although the Zelensky regime enjoys American military and financial aid, that doesn’t stop Ukraine from listing US citizens on the “kill list”. Meanwhile, the White House has remained mum about US citizens’ presence on the assassination list.
It also emerged Wednesday that Carlson may be subject to Western sanctions for conducting the interview with President Putin.Reporting in US media, based on interviews with current and former members of the European Parliament, confirmed that Carlson could be legally punished for his act of journalism. Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, now a member of the European Parliament, described Carlson as “a mouthpiece” for Putin and former US President Donald Trump.“As Putin is a war criminal and the EU sanctions all who assist him in that effort, it seems logical that the External Action Service examine his case as well,” said Verhofstadt. Former EU parliament member Luis Garicano agreed with Verhofstadt’s assessment. “He is no longer a newsman, but a propagandist for the most heinous regime on European soil and the one which is most dangerous to our peace and security,” said Garicano.
“..a propagandist for the most heinous regime on European soil..”
It sort of makes sense. These people never talk to anyone who doesn’t share their views. So why would they let a jourmalist do it?
• EU May Sanction Tucker Carlson Over Putin Interview (RT)
American journalist Tucker Carlson could be banned from visiting the European Union after interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin, Newsweek said on Wednesday, quoting one former and two current MEPs. The former Fox News host was spotted in Moscow last weekend and revealed on Tuesday that he would be interviewing Putin. The interview will be posted on X (formerly Twitter), with the platform’s owner Elon Musk guaranteeing it won’t be censored, Carlson said. Former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, now a member of the European Parliament, has already called for Carlson to be banned from the bloc. “As Putin is a war criminal and the EU sanctions all who assist him in that effort, it seems logical that the External Action Service examine his case as well,” Verhofstadt told Newsweek. The EAS is responsible for the bloc’s foreign policy and can recommend sanctions, which need to be approved by the European Council.
Verhofstadt is best known for having served as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, and for championing the idea of the bloc becoming an “empire.” He is not a lone voice in demanding a ban on Carlson, however. The journalist “is no longer a newsman, but a propagandist for the most heinous regime on European soil,” former Spanish MEP Luis Garicano told Newsweek. The London School of Economics alumnus now teaches at two US universities. “Carlson wants to give a platform to someone accused of crimes of genocide – this is wrong,” Estonian MEP Urmas Paet told the outlet, falsely characterizing the International Criminal Court (ICC) claims against the Russian president. Moscow has rejected the case as politically motivated. “So, for such propaganda for a criminal regime, you can end up on the list of sanctions. This concerns primarily a travel ban to EU countries,” added Paet, the former foreign minister of the Baltic state.
Announcing his interview on Tuesday, Carlson said “We’re not here because we love Vladimir Putin. We are here because we love the US and want it to remain prosperous and free.” Americans were ignorant of “history-altering developments” arising from the Ukraine conflict, because English-language media have lied to them, mostly by omission, Carlson said. “That’s wrong. Americans have the right to know all they can about a war they are implicated in.” The US and its EU allies have sent over $200 billion in military and financial aid to Kiev since the conflict escalated in 2022, while arguing they are not directly involved.
“Tucker Carlson is about to bring the truth to the American people. But are they ready for it?”
• Carlson Interview With Putin Could Topple Western Elites, End Ukraine War (Jay)
In the seventies, when the cold war was at its peak, Donald Rumsfeld was convinced that the Atlantic Ocean, off the U.S. coast, was teaming with Russian submarines. The U.S. navy couldn’t detect them because, he was convinced, the Soviets had a new ‘acoustic technology’ which made them effectively invisible. Rumsfeld went ahead and ploughed billions of dollars into developing a new technology which could detect the non-acoustic subs. But that failed and is still costing the U.S. taxpayer today. The truth was in fact, the Soviet subs just weren’t there.The error on the part of Rumsfeld, it could be argued, still paid dividends as scaring the American public into believing a threat is real and imminent – on your doorstep in fact – is very profitable for a government which wishes to achieve two clear objectives: pouring billions into the pockets of defence contractors; and secondly whipping up fear of an imminent war with an enemy, with the sold objective of distracting the public away from a failing economy and abysmal foreign policy.
It’s happening today. If we look at the mainstream news all we see is talk of war with Russia. And yet there isn’t a single shred of intel which these outlets can offer to substantiate this claim. It will remind many of the weeks leading up the Iraq invasion in 2003 when the U.S. and UK faked intel to show that Saddam Hussein had WMDs. Western elites are guiding journalists to write this nonsense as their bigger plan is to stir up a frenzy of war talk so as to prepare the public for much bigger defence spending and, in the case of the UK, even conscription. This is really about covering up one of the biggest cock-ups in contemporary history which western governments have made – sanctions against Russia and the NATO campaign in Ukraine – which have backfired so spectacularly that the Biden administration and a number of EU governments are united in this scaremongering, believing it’s a winner.
Of course the “we’re going to war with Russia” comes from the White House. Where else? Only the U.S. has that sort of power with an increasingly craven, pathetic EU which is now so servile to the Biden administration that it’s beginning to make the UK look less of a poodle to the Americans. The whole scam is American and the Europeans are obliging with it in a big way. The only real threat the plan has of not working is if a few, remote feral corners of the media – or mavericks who were fired by media giants – make a stand and call it out for what it is. Which is why Tucker Carlson’s trip to Moscow where he intends to interview Putin is so important and such a threat to the Biden administration and western elites as a whole. When Carlson interviews the Russian leader and it becomes clear that western media have been lying for so long about the Ukraine war and even this latest ruse of Russia wanting to invade eastern Europe, then the whole scam will collapse.
Clearly the West is worried about the interview. They have already wheeled out enough congressmen on social media to try and brandish Carlson as some sort of traitor who should not be allowed back into the U.S. Western media will probably not report on the interview but this will only make it a bigger hit on social media. The interview is really the only single opportunity for this mad war machine to be halted, for the lies to be exposed and for a more salient approach to East-West relations to begin. It should not be underestimated. But the knifes are out. Watch in particular the embedded western media correspondents who live in Moscow push the blade into Carlson’s back and mock the interview in a bid to discredit the whole thing. Scores of millions of Americans are about to be enlightened on a whole plethora of issues which, until now, their own media have lied to them about. To call this interview a bombshell would be an understatement. Tucker Carlson is about to bring the truth to the American people. But are they ready for it?
“And all Tucker Carlson is doing is now adding more information to that information war, and the United States is losing it.”
• Freakout Over Tucker Carlson Signals Collapse of Western War Propaganda (Miles)
The Western propaganda machine is losing its potency as the United States’ anti-Russian proxy war in Ukraine fails. Western mainstream media isn’t what it used to be. Some 20 years ago, US regime propagandists lied the United States into the Iraq War with ease. Saddam Hussein was “Hilter,” we were told. He wanted to conquer the world. He was making nukes. Americans bought the story unquestioningly. Such has not been the case with the latest war effort. Americans are intensely divided. Congress is unable to pass requisite funding. And the US proxy regime is failing on the battlefield. Increasingly, it seems the propagandists in Washington and Langley are no longer up to the task.
Amidst the collective Western freakout that journalist Tucker Carlson will share his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and provide Western audiences the opportunity to hear the unfiltered message of the US enemy du jour, analyst Steve Poikonen joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program Wednesday to discuss the sad state of affairs. “We’re going to fundamentally destroy the concept of journalism in the press in order to keep you from hearing this conversation,” Poikonen said, summarizing the mindset of Western rulers. “What we’re witnessing is multiple world governments telling people you don’t have the right to hear a conversation between two people that we don’t like right now.”
“I think that you have to look at every single instance of the state abusing its perceived authority or power to interfere with a journalist or their actions as part of the whole war on Julian Assange, WikiLeaks and journalism in general,” Poikonen added. Julian Assange, the renegade founder of the website WikiLeaks, has been held in the HM Belmarsh high-security prison in the United Kingdom for almost five years. The journalist was arrested after Ecuadorian President and suspected CIA asset Lenin Moreno revoked his asylum agreement after he’d spent seven years seeking refuge in the country’s embassy in London. Assange believes the United States seeks to sentence him to life in prison or even submit him to the death penalty.
Host Wilmer Leon noted that US ally Israel is also deliberately targeting and killing journalists in its assault on Gaza while the United States itself operates a “massive biosurveillance structure” more sophisticated than that run by any secret police in history. “The United States government/the West realizes it is losing the narrative, it is losing the public opinion,” said Leon. “When you look at the polls, Americans want us out of Ukraine, Americans don’t want their money to go there, Americans are opposed to the genocidal actions of the Zionist government in Israel. They’re losing the narrative, they’re losing in the court of public opinion.” “And all Tucker Carlson is doing is now adding more information to that information war, and the United States is losing it.”
“..justified by the endlessly recycled premise that if Putin is not defeated in Ukraine, he’s sure to rampage through the rest of Europe, fulfilling his destiny as the latter-day incarnation of Hitler..”
• Of Course Journalists Should Interview Vladimir Putin (Tracey)
While I was in Moscow last December, people who had just been to the ghastly front-lines in Ukraine recounted stories of how members of the same family were often seen fighting against one another from dueling trenches: blood relatives of the same Slavic clan speaking the same language—Russian—hurling explosives in opposite directions over the same desolate no-man’s-land. How anyone could look at this situation and come away with triumphalist notions of war grandeur, rather than a deep sense of avoidable tragedy, seemed like a cruel farce. So that was exactly the sentiment I conveyed to the Russian hosts of the meeting I attended, some of whom did harbor such triumphalist notions (those present included a senior-ranking Kremlin official). “Chatham House” rules were stipulated for the gathering, precluding me from making any public disclosure of the attendees’ identities or what anyone else specifically said.
But I can certainly reveal what I said: that the war in Ukraine was an obvious disaster for all involved. The brutish, World War I-style trench warfare that had become the war’s grisly signature cannot possibly warrant any other conclusion. That was a message I was happy to deliver in Moscow, just as I’d be happy to do in Kyiv, and had previously done in Washington, D.C. I explained to my hosts that when the opportunity to come to Russia arose, I accepted without hesitation, because bilateral relations between the world’s leading nuclear superpowers had perilously deteriorated since the invasion of Ukraine. The grand cosmological treatises articulated by some of the meeting’s participants, about how Russia was waging a godly war of civilizational purification, were both wildly over-aggrandized and beside the point, I argued: A giant, man-made calamity was unfolding in real time, and it could always get exponentially worse given the ever-present risks of escalation.
Obviously Russia, as the invading power, bore a major share of the culpability for this disaster. But sadly for those who crave comforting moral simplicity, the Russia/Ukraine war is not the first in world history with a single cause or a sole culprit. Even getting to Russia in the first place required making a special trek to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., where I received a “humanitarian” visa with strict limitations for the duration of my stay. Though it would be pompous to claim I was embarked on anything like a “humanitarian” mission—I had no plans to deliver medical supplies to the Donbas, for instance—there did strike me to be a kind of humanitarian value in doing whatever small part I could to maintain some semblance of interpersonal exchange between the two countries, which, lest anyone forget, maintain the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. (The last remaining mutual arms control mechanism was ominously suspended in 2023.)
A top Russian official remarked that relations with the United States were at a lower point than any time since the founding of the Soviet Union; even basic diplomatic communications between the two governments had become negligible to non-existent. Yet these obstacles to normal U.S.-Russia engagement only heighten the obligation for any respectable journalist, if presented with the opportunity, to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin without a second thought. It’s worth recalling that Putin was relatively accessible to American media before the Ukraine war broke out. [..] Of course, whatever interview Tucker Carlson might conduct with Putin is subject to reasonable scrutiny. There is a balance to be struck between hyper-moralizing condemnation, gratuitous flattery, and appropriately probing interrogation—though few journalists manage to strike this balance. But it’s tediously, unbearably stupid for anyone to suggest that Carlson, simply by virtue of going to Russia with the intent of interviewing Putin, should therefore be assumed guilty of treason—probably the most overused smear in the present American political lexicon.
Anyone who blurts out that tired charge has probably not had an original thought since at least the Steele Dossier, and is clearly just interested in monomaniacal villainization of the world leader they love to revile—not ascertaining information to improve public understanding of critical world affairs. As we speak, Congress is lurching toward eventual passage of the largest disbursement of U.S. military “aid” since the beginning of the war, justified by the endlessly recycled premise that if Putin is not defeated in Ukraine, he’s sure to rampage through the rest of Europe, fulfilling his destiny as the latter-day incarnation of Hitler. Isn’t it about time someone journalistically scrutinizes that proposition by going directly to the source?
“It is necessary to distract voters in order to justify multibillion [dollar or euro] spending on Banderovite ‘Ukraine’ that everyone has gotten sick of..”
• Medvedev Predicts Apocalypse In Event of Russia-NATO War (TASS)
In the event of a war with NATO, Russia would have to “respond asymmetrically” and use missiles “with special warheads,” Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on his Telegram channel. He noted that, “if, God forbid, such a war happens, it will not follow the scenario of the special military operation” and it “won’t be waged in trenches with the use of artillery, armor, drones and means of radio-electronic warfare.” “NATO is a huge military bloc, the population of the countries of the alliance is almost one billion people and their joint military budget may reach one and a half trillion dollars,” Medvedev explained. “Therefore, due to the incommensurability of our [respective] military potentials, we simply won’t have a choice. The response will be asymmetrical. In order to protect the territorial integrity of our country, ballistic and cruise missiles with special warheads (nuclear arms – TASS) will be used.
This is based on our doctrinal military documents and is well-known to everyone. And this is precisely [equivalent to] the proverbial Apocalypse [or End Times depicted in the Biblical Book of Revelation]. The end of everything,” Medvedev stressed. So far, according to him, “all the big European bosses are cynically lying to their citizens” by reiterating the necessity to be ready “for a war with Russia.” “And while Russia has repeatedly spoken about the absence of any plans for a conflict with NATO and the EU countries, highly dangerous chatter on the subject continues [nevertheless],” Medvedev stated. He asserted that its causes are obvious. “It is necessary to distract voters in order to justify multibillion [dollar or euro] spending on Banderovite ‘Ukraine’ that everyone has gotten sick of.
Since gigantic sums of money are being spent not on resolving social issues in these countries, but on a war in a dying country, which is alien to taxpayers, with its population scattered all over Europe terrorizing local residents. This is why, every day the leaders of these countries are sermonizing that it is necessary to get ready for a war with Russia and continue to help Ukraine, which means producing more tanks, shells, drones and other weapons,” the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council said. He concluded that European leaders “should tell the bitter truth to their voters instead of treating them as brainless idiots.” “They should explain to them what will really happen instead of repeating the deceitful mantra about readiness for a war with Russia,” Medvedev concluded.
“..another significant Ukrainian retreat appears likely in the short term..”
• NATO Prepares to Move East, as Russia Prepares to Move West (Bentley)
The first phase of NATO’s Steadfast Defender military exercise got underway last week with a bit of a fiasco, when the UK’s $4.4 billion flagship aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, was sidelined by propeller shaft problems before it could even make it out of port. The Queen Elizabeth was scheduled to take a leading role in Steadfast Defender, and will now be replaced by the UK’s other (yes, they only have 2) carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, which itself broke down with propeller shaft problems in August 2022, only making it as far as the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, just a few miles from its home port of Portsmouth before having to be towed back to port for repairs that required almost a year before the Prince was again deemed sea-worthy.
If the Queen requires similar repairs to those the Prince underwent, HMS Queen Elizabeth and her arsenal of up to 36 F-35’s and 4 helicopters will be unable to participate in the Steadfast Defender exercise nor in any other seagoing operations until this time next year. This timeline is, as the Brits often say, “Highly likely”. The Queen is, as of now, unable to fulfill her duty in Steadfast Defender, as well as any upcoming Red Sea military operations, so, The Prince will have to take up the duty, barring any recurring problems with the Prince’s own shaft, which if they occurred, would leave the entire UK carrier fleet under repair for the “biggest NATO exercise since the Cold War” and at a time of significant and escalation naval combat operations in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. A rather inauspicious beginning to the NATO exercise and the kingdom that once “ruled the waves”.
While the primarily naval/logistical part of the operation will continue from now until mid-March, the land warfare phase will last from mid-March through the end of using 90,000 NATO from and in the following NATO nations: Finland, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the UK. The movement of 90,000 NATO soldiers into the areas bordering Russia and Ukraine is also a prime opportunity to continue the importation of thousands of foreign mercenaries into the depleted ranks of Ukrainian cannon fodder. There are two separate variants foreign mercenaries in Ukraine these days – on the one hand, you have the Tik Tok Tourists, here only for the photo ops and bargain brothels, the low budget assassins from the narco-cartels in Central and South America, here to make gun, drug, and human trafficking connections, cheap and expendable, ideal candidates for suicide missions, who don’t have to even be buried, much less paid.
On the other hand, you have field grade NATO officers, highly trained weapons technicians and special forces “operators” from the elite units of the NATO militaries. Steadfast Defender is an opportunity to give these expert torturers and killers, these trained terrorists, a free ticket to Ukraine, with all their gear. Meanwhile, the Russian Army continues to advance all across the Donbass Front, particularly in the area of Kupyansk, where Ukrainian media have been spreading rumors in recent days of 40,000 Russian soldiers and 1,100 tanks and IFV’s. There is little to no evidence of such a massive build-up, and competent analysts have floated a theory that these announcements are really a cover excuse for a forthcoming retreat by Ukrainian forces to the western side of the Oskol River, which runs through the middle of Kupyansk. Either way, another significant Ukrainian retreat appears likely in the short term.
“..his country was ready to call on the Houthis to cease fire, if Israel withdraws its troops from the Gaza Strip and lifts restrictions on sending humanitarian aid..”
• Iran Refutes Accusations It Supplies Weapons To Houthis – Envoy To UN (TASS)
The Iranian authorities do not arm Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, told NBC. The envoy added that the Houthis “have their own weapons,” and Iran is not instructing the rebels on how to use them. The diplomat pointed out that his country’s relations with the Middle East armed formations, which Tehran calls the Axis of Resistance, are a defensive pact, and added that the country does not steer them in any direction, but does “some coordination, cooperation, consultation and maybe some financing also.” The Iranian envoy also said that his country was ready to call on the Houthis to cease fire, if Israel withdraws its troops from the Gaza Strip and lifts restrictions on sending humanitarian aid to the residents of the enclave.
The Axis of Resistance is made up of Muslim, mostly Shiite, armed formations. These include Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, Iran’s Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Palestinian Hamas movement, as well as the Zainebiyoun Brigade (consisting of Shia Pakistanis) and the Fatemiyoun Brigade (consisting of Shia Afghanis). With the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalating, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement announced that it would conduct strikes on Israeli territory and block pro-Israeli vessels from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceases its military operation in the Palestinian enclave. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since mid-November of last year.
On the night of January 12, US and UK forces launched strikes using aircraft, ships and submarines against Yemeni rebel movement targets in a number of cities, including Sanaa and Hodeidah. US President Joe Biden said that the strike was carried out in response to unprecedented attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea and was defensive. The targets included missile sites, UAVs and the Houthis’ radar stations. On February 3, American and British forces struck 36 Houthi-affiliated targets. On February 4, US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported conducting yet another series of strikes on Yemen, with the targets of the attacks being five cruise missiles launched by the Houthis.
“For less than 4% of the US national defense budget, the US power grid and critical infrastructure can be shielded from EMP.”
• The United States Has Zero National Security (Paul Craig Roberts)
In his newly published book, Nuclear High-Attitude Electromagnetic Pulse, Steven Starr shows that all it takes is one nuclear explosion to shut down the United States and throw the population back into the Dark Ages. The electric power grid would be destroyed along with the communications system, the cooling systems at nuclear power plants and all electronic devices. The reason is that civilian infrastructure is not protected from ElectroMagneticPulse (EMP). The military has taken steps to shield its weapon and communication systems, but nothing has been done to protect civilian infrastructure. Bills mandating EMP protection have been defeated in Congress. Starr reports that only 4% of the US military budget is required to shield the power grid and civilian infrastructure. Instead, the Washington idiots waste trillions of dollars in pointless wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Serbia, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, and Ukraine. American cities would suffer no effects from blast and fire, such as would be produced by ground level detonation, but the consequences would be just as dire.
“105 miles above Ohio, a single nuclear warhead explodes. Because it is far above the atmosphere, there will be no blast or fire effects felt on Earth, however, this high-altitude nuclear detonation will create a gigantic electromagnetic pulse or EMP. “In one billionth of a second, the initial EMP E1 wave will cause massive voltages and currents to form within power lines, telecommunication lines, cables, wires, antennas, and any other electrically conductive material found beneath the nuclear detonation in a circular area covering hundreds of thousands of square miles. “Within this region, under ideal conditions, the E1 wave will produce 2 million volts and a current of 5,000 to 10,000 amps within medium distribution power lines. Any unshielded modern electronic devices that contain solid-state circuitry, which are plugged into the grid, will be disabled, damaged, or destroyed. This includes the electronic devices required to operate all critical national infrastructure.
“Unshielded electronic devices within ground, air, and sea transportation systems, water and sanitation systems, fuel and food distribution systems, water and sanitation systems, telecommunication systems, and banking systems would all be simultaneously knocked out of service – and all these systems would be disabled until the solid-state electronics required to operate them could be repaired or replaced. “The E1 wave will also instantly destroy millions of glass insulators found on 15 kilovolt-class electric power distribution lines. 78% of all electricity in the US is delivered to end users (residential, agricultural, commercial) through these 15 kV power lines. The loss of a single insulator on a line can knock out power distribution on the entire line. “At the same instant, the massive voltage and current induced by the E1 wave will damage and destroy the relays, sensors, and control panels at 1783 High Voltage Substations, knocking out the entire electric power grid in the eastern half of the United States.
“One to ten seconds after the nuclear detonation, the following EMP E3 wave would induce powerful current flows in power lines including lines that are both above and below ground. E3 would damage or destroy many – if not most – of the Large Power Transformers and Extra High Voltage Circuit Breakers required for the long-distance transmission of about 90% of electrical power in the United States. “The loss of Large Power Transformers and Extra High Voltage Circuit Breakers would mean that entire regions within the United States would be left without electric power for up to a year or longer. This is because Large Power Transformers are not stockpiled and the current wait time for their manufacture is 18 to 24 months; they must be custom designed and manufactured and about 80% are made overseas. They each weigh between 200 and 400 tons and must be shipped by sea and moving them to their final destination is quite difficult even under normal circumstances.
“Because nuclear power plants are not designed to withstand the effects of EMP, the solid-state electronics within their backup electrical and cooling systems would also be damaged and disabled. The failure of their Emergency Power Systems and active Emergency Core Cooling Systems will make it impossible to cool their reactor cores after emergency shutdown; this will quickly lead to reactor core meltdowns at dozens of nuclear power plants. “To summarize, a single nuclear high-altitude electromagnetic pulse can instantly take out most or all of the US power grid while simultaneously destroying the solid-state electronic devices required to operate US critical national infrastructure – including the safety systems at nuclear power plants. Following a nuclear EMP, the people of the US would suddenly find themselves living in the conditions of the Middle Ages for a period possibly as long as a year – most Americans would not be able to survive such circumstances. “For less than 4% of the US national defense budget, the US power grid and critical infrastructure can be shielded from EMP. However, the political will to implement this protection has not yet been found, so Americans remain very much at risk.”
[..]Thanks to the fools who govern us, we have zero national security despite the massive expenditures year after year, decade after decade. People do not realize that the convenience and entertainment provided by their cell phones comes at great cost when measured by risk. Nothing is secure in the digital age, not your identity, your privacy, your bank account, or your independence. The expansion of the digital revolution into money will mean that you can be denied access to your money for any reason including the exercise of free speech. All accumulated knowledge in digital form can be erased by one EMP. Try to imagine the consequences of such a loss. These are new risks never before experienced on Earth.
“..we can establish a fundamental empirical principle: the greater a government’s support for Kiev, the greater its neglect of its own people..”
• EU: The Closer to Kiev, the Further Away From Its People (Dionísio)
On the very day that European leaders were holding a summit and carrying out all kinds of underground negotiations to secure the detour of another 50 billion euros into Kiev’s bottomless pit, the farmers’ struggle was sowing chaos in Brussels. There can be no clearer picture of the ever-widening gap between the needs of the people of Europe and the needs perceived by their supposedly “democratically” elected “rulers”.
The more Europe’s reality demands concentration and decisiveness in the face of worsening internal problems, the more the parties that are beholden to Brussels’ interests throw themselves headlong into the abyss called Ukraine. The trend is so clear that we can confirm the existence of a “Kiev curse”. From the UK to Finland, from Italy to Slovakia and many others in between, there are many examples of cases in which, the greater the public support for the Kiev regime, the greater the degradation of its public image and, the greater the chances of its government falling or being defeated in the elections. For Scholz, not even Baerbock’s greens will save him; for Macron, this time Le Pen’s fear will be overcome by the certainty that he, his neoliberalism and submission to U.S./NATO power are no good either.
What is certain is that, today, in the European Union, we can establish a fundamental empirical principle: the greater a government’s support for Kiev, the greater its neglect of its own people. Ukraine is not only the cancer that threatens to corrode the entire Union, it will also be the slow fire in which it consumes itself. Against this backdrop, in a Brussels city invaded by European farmers, the council approved the 50 billion Euro for a period of 4 years, of which 33 are borrowed and 17 are non-repayable. However, the approval process itself, and the destination of these funds, threatens to continue to tear holes in the so-called “European project”. And it is from the bottom that it is crumbling. In this way, the EU will necessarily succumb, just like the leaders of the empire, the USA, to its own contradictions, which are ever deeper, more antagonistic and irreconcilable.
The 50 billion allocated to Ukraine is taken from the “European Multiannual Framework“, i.e. the EU budget for the European Structural Funds, which are intended for the social, economic and cultural development of the member states themselves. Although Ursula Von Der “Liar” wanted to reprogram 100 billion euros, she had to settle for 64.6 billion. However, the only item that hasn’t changed since the beginning of the process is the Ukrainian one. Which means a lot: Ukraine was, and is, the priority of priorities. In the U.S., the UK and the EU, we find the same common denominator: prioritization of external conflicts increases as attention to internal problems decreases. Pockets are not unlimited and the leaders of the collective West have shown where their main concerns lie. And how is this possible?
“..what will they say to God when he asks them why they did this?”
• A New and True Arab Spring – Part Two (Vasco)
In the Middle East, the U.S. maintains military bases across an entire land mass that connects Turkey in the north, Egypt in the west, Iraq in the east and Oman in the south, totaling 12 countries (including Occupied Palestine). They are already being attacked daily in Iraq and Syria. Iraqi resistance also attacked a base in Jordan, eliminating three American soldiers. The Iraqi (to a greater extent) and Jordanian (to a lesser extent) governments, as well as the Syrian, are therefore under enormous pressure to expel American troops. If Axis of Resistance forces begin attacking American bases in other countries as well (where public opinion is radically anti-American and pro-Palestinian), this could force the governments of those countries to commit to a withdrawal of American troops, as is happening in Iraq. And, just like in Iraq, this would weaken these same governments, which are largely supported by imperialist power.
At the same time that governments that collaborate with imperialism and Zionism are unpopular and suffer great pressure from their people, these same people are also influenced by the heroic examples of the Axis of Resistance. The popularity of the Houthis, which was already great, has only increased since the beginning of the blockade of the Red Sea. The people are armed and in the streets, and after this stage of the war they should focus on taking over the rest of Yemen. They only control 30% of the country, but that is where the majority of the Yemeni population lives. In other countries, the Houthis have also become very popular and groups that claim the Houthis fight tend to have more followers. The internationalism of the Houthis is truly moving, both in actions and in words: “Yemeni blood is not more valuable than Palestinian blood,” said Sanaa Information Minister Dhaif Allah al-Shami, in a statement expressing the noble sentiment revolutionary in opposition to the Arab governments’ betrayals of the Palestinian cause.
Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of Ansurallah, disapproved of the collaboration of Arab and Muslim regimes with the enemy and called for unity for Palestine. In the same sense, the spokesman for the al-Quds Brigades, of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also condemned this collaborationism: “what will they say to God when he asks them why they did this?” Arabs and Muslims consider themselves to be a single, great nation. It is really an artificial division carried out by England and France after the First World War. They are a people who were divided so that colonial powers could reign over them, to weaken them. But the feeling of unity and belonging to a single nation has not been annihilated, on the contrary: it is growing stronger. Arab governments make a serious mistake by not responding to their people’s demands to come to the aid of the Palestinians. The internationalist call of the heroic Houthi revolutionaries, who have become popular idols throughout the region, to sacrifice their own lives to defend Palestine echoes strongly throughout the great Islamic nation. The tendency is for revolutionary movements such as Ansarullah or Hamas to emerge or become popular in all Arab countries.
Zealots are going to zealot. And you can’t really blame them. They’re born as simple-minded creatures.
• Mr Bean Blamed For Slow Electric Car Sales (RT)
The UK-based environmental charity Green Alliance has accused actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson of being a high-profile obstacle to the government’s efforts to phase out fossil fuel vehicles by 2035. Addressing the House of Lords on Tuesday, a group representative claimed that a comment piece written by Atkinson in the Guardian newspaper in June 2023 was “one of the most damaging articles” for the net zero cause and the public’s adoption of EVs. In his op-ed, Atkinson, who described himself as a “car person” and an “early adopter” of EVs, stated that while he had enjoyed owning a hybrid and a fully electric car, even though they were “a bit soulless,” he has increasingly felt “duped” regarding claims that EVs are an “environmental panacea.”
The actor criticized the use of lithium-ion batteries in EVs, citing research suggesting that greenhouse gas emissions during the production of electric cars were 70% higher than when producing gasoline ones. The main culprit, Atkinson pointed out, were the “absurdly heavy” batteries, which are estimated to last only up to 10 years. “It seems a perverse choice of hardware with which to lead the automobile’s fight against the climate crisis,” he wrote. Atkinson suggested the need for electric vehicles as a solution to the climate crisis could be negated by encouraging drivers to stop buying new cars every three years and to keep their vehicles for longer. Another solution, proposed by the actor, was exploring ways to increase the use of cleaner synthetic fuels. “I’m feeling that our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end, and that’s no bad thing,” the actor concluded.
In its letter to the House of Lords environment and climate change committee, the Green Alliance pressure group insisted that Atkinson’s views were misleading and suggested that his concerns regarding EVs had been “roundly debunked.” “Unfortunately, fact checks never reach the same breadth of audience as the original false claim, emphasizing the need to ensure high editorial standards around the net zero transition,” the group said. Other issues hindering the country’s phase-out of combustion-engine vehicles included insufficient charging infrastructure, high prices on new EVs compared to their petrol and diesel alternatives, and a “lack of clear, long-term messaging from government.”
Protests work. The people will not forget that.
• Facing Farm Protests, EU Eases Demands In 2040 Climate Proposal (Pol.eu)
Under intense pressure from farmers, the European Commission has dropped key passages in a proposal for a new 2040 goal for cutting greenhouse gas pollution. “All sectors” would need to contribute to the effort, the EU executive’s plan says. But a mention of a possible 30 percent cut to agricultural pollution between 2015 and 2040, which was in previous drafts seen by POLITICO, had been removed. Also excised were recommendations for citizens to make changes to their behavior, like eating less meat, and a push to end fossil fuel subsidies. Farmers’ protests have broken out in many countries across Europe in recent weeks, with the industry expressing discontent over the EU’s green policies. Some of the largest demonstrations have been in Germany, prompted by a cut to diesel subsidies. Brussels has faced calls from industry groups and some political parties to lay out a 2040 climate pathway that doesn’t ignite further anger.
The EU’s plan is set to be presented on Tuesday and will recommend a 90 percent cut in total EU emissions by 2040 from 1990 levels — a suggestion in line with scientific advice. The updated version of the plan, which is still subject to change, framed agriculture in a more positive light compared to earlier drafts. The role the sector plays in the EU’s “food sovereignty” was also emphasized. This reframing is in line with a demand made by the powerful center-right European People’s Party (EPP) — the political family of top EU executive Ursula von der Leyen and the European Parliament’s largest group. Peter Liese, the EPP group’s environmental spokesperson, told reporters on Monday the EPP’s consideration of the Commission’s 90 percent 2040 target was conditional on more emphasis being placed on “positive opportunities” for farmers and less on “new instruments that rather see the farmers as an enemy of climate policy.”
But however positive the framing, the reality is hard to escape, said one EU official. The agriculture industry, the official argued, could and should contribute to hitting the EU’s climate goals, which include a legal mandate to be climate-neutral by 2050. “Despite all the semantics in the [Commission], there is an unequivocal Impact Assessment making a very compelling (business) case for an ambitious headline target and all sub-targets for sectors,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the negotiations, referencing an analysis that will accompany the EU’s plan.
A new United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture.. Notice the similarities with Tucker Carlson.
• Assange Faces Torture and Suicide in US – UN (RT)
The United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture has called upon authorities in the UK to block Julian Assange’s possible extradition to the United States to face espionage charges. Britain could be violating human rights laws by turning the WikiLeaks founder over to the US, due to his fragile mental state, UN expert Alice Jill Edwards warned on Tuesday. Ahead of Assange’s final appeal against extradition this month, Edwards has warned that Assange’s “precarious mental health status” could mean that transferring him to US custody could endanger his health. “Julian Assange suffers from long-standing and recurrent depressive order,” Edwards said in a statement published on the website of the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday. “He is assessed as being at risk of committing suicide.”
Assange, now 52, came to international prominence in 2010 when he published a series of leaks from US Army intelligence operative Chelsea Manning in what was referred to as the largest disclosure of classified documents in history. He faces up to 175 years in prison if convicted of a string of espionage charges. Edwards added that Assange is also at “risk of being placed in prolonged solitary confinement” and could receive a “potentially disproportionate sentence” in a US courtroom if extradition is approved. She also urged London to ensure “full compliance with the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of refoulement to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
A final decision on Assange’s possible extradition is expected to be made in London’s High Court on February 20 and 21. He faces a total of 18 criminal counts in the United States over his supposed role in leaking classified documents via the WikiLeaks platform, including some that exposed alleged war crimes. Assange has been hailed by his supporters as an anti-establishment hero who is being persecuted for exposing US military wrongdoing, and his prosecution would be an attack on journalism and free speech. “The last four and a half years have taken the most considerable toll on Julian and his family, including our two young sons,” Assange’s wife Stella, whom he married in prison, said last year. “The persecution of this innocent journalist and publisher must end.” Assange has been detained in the UK since 2019 and is currently being held at Belmarsh Prison in London. Prior to his detention, he spent nearly seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in the English capital after being granted political asylum by the South American country.
Pluto
You never know what someone’s been through pic.twitter.com/3MNyygaYZB
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) February 6, 2024
Patrick Moore
Doubling CO2 would greatly increase food production and would have a negligible effect on temperature. There is no cause-effect between CO2 and temp over the long history of the Earth. There was an Ice Age when CO2 was 5,000 ppm. pic.twitter.com/uBag5LM3FN
— Patrick Moore (@EcoSenseNow) February 1, 2024
Oz turbines
Australian government whistleblower completely blows the lid off the Net Zero scam.
"[Wind turbines need] coal fired power in order to turn… So there's absolutely nothing about them that works, apart from reaming [$600,000 – $900,000, per turbine] out of the Australian… pic.twitter.com/p9O8zMZfUo
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) February 7, 2024
Baby elephant
https://twitter.com/i/status/1755241253841592753
Friends for life
https://twitter.com/i/status/1755263902865342596
Best friends
https://twitter.com/i/status/1755223022523592806
DooLittle house
One of the most extraordinary examples of residential architecture anywhere on the planet.
DOOLITTLE HOUSE in Joshua Tree, California took 25yrs to complete and was designed by Ken Kellogg.
— Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) February 7, 2024
Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.
