Jan 052025
 


Salvador Dali They were there 1931

 

Top Ukrainian Journalist Predicts Spring Peace Deal (RT)
Russia, US May Strike New Arms Control Deal (Sp.)
Biden & Make-Believe Democracy (Cook)
Trump Administration Must Begin Restoring American Values on Day One (Spivak)
Biden Awards Hillary Clinton, George Soros Presidential Medal of Freedom (Sp.)
Uncle Sam and Banderite Bandits Destroy Europe (SCF)
Countdown to the European Collapse (SCF)
Last Ditch Media Sanctions From The West Against Russia (Jay)
‘Don’t Feed The Troll’ – Scholz On Musk (RT)
UK Responds To Musk’s Criticism Over Child Rape Scandal (RT)
Musk Calls For King Charles To Dissolve Parliament Over Grooming Gangs (HT)
Elon Musk Makes 23 Posts Urging King Charles To Overthrow UK Government (HT)
US MIC Wants Ukrainian Bloodbath to Continue Even With 18-Year-Olds (Sp.)
US Supplied ‘A Lot of Weapons’ To Ukraine Ahead of Conflict – Blinken (RT)
Starmer May Ask Trump to Continue Military Support to Ukraine (Sp.)
Trump Hires Hawkish Mideast Envoy Because GOP’s Neocon Wing Wanted It (Sp.)
Taiwan Reunification ‘Closer Than Ever’ – Chinese Ambassador (RT)

 

 

 

 

Ritter
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875710682903019977
Bernays
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875724638992601139

 

 

 

 

“..Trump’s pick for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, who predicted last month that the conflict would be “resolved in the next few months” with Trump in office. “Keith Kellogg is a very serious person..”

Top Ukrainian Journalist Predicts Spring Peace Deal (RT)

Russia and Ukraine could sign a peace deal this spring, Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon has predicted. In an interview published on his YouTube channel last week, Gordon said the “hot phase” of the conflict ended in 2024. “The peace treaty will be signed somewhere around spring 2025, followed immediately by elections [in Ukraine],” Gordon stated. He said his prediction was based on intuition and information from sources close to the government in Kiev. “I’ll reiterate: The hot phase of the war ends this year [2024],” Gordon added. He also cited US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, who predicted last month that the conflict would be “resolved in the next few months” with Trump in office. “Keith Kellogg is a very serious person. If such a person says that the war will end before the end of the year… people say such things when they have 100% verified information,” Gordon claimed.

Trump has pledged throughout his campaign to end the conflict within 24 hours of returning to the White House. While he has not provided specific details, reported plans include freezing the conflict, delaying Ukraine’s NATO membership by 20 years, and creating a demilitarized zone monitored by European peacekeepers. According to Gordon, Trump’s approach could allow Russia to keep former Ukrainian territories that voted to join it and lift “the most painful” sanctions imposed on Moscow since 2022. At the same time, he claimed the potential deal would likely see NATO troops deployed along the line of contact and granting Ukraine access to frozen Russian assets for reconstruction. Kiev has been reluctant to negotiate with Russia, and earlier this week, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky called Trump’s promise to end the conflict in one day “unrealistic.”

Zelensky has insisted Ukraine needs firm security guarantees, including NATO membership, as the foundation for long-term peace. Moscow has said it is open to talks but insists that any settlement must begin with Ukraine ceasing military operations and acknowledging the “territorial reality” that it will never regain control of its former regions that chose to join Russia. It has also insisted that all the goals of its military operation, including Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, must be part of any peace deal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier stated that Trump’s reported plans to send NATO peacekeepers to Ukraine and postpone Ukraine’s membership in the military bloc instead of providing guarantees that it will never join NATO were “unacceptable” for Moscow.

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Too expensive, no results.

Russia, US May Strike New Arms Control Deal (Sp.)

Russia and the United States are likely to reach an agreement on a new arms control deal after the expiration of the New START Treaty and avoid the risk of nuclear weapons use during Donald Trump’s presidency, experts told Sputnik. During his election campaign, US President-elect Donald Trump said the US was close to reaching a denuclearization agreement with Russia and China during his first presidential term. Last week, US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said that the Trump administration would have “significant leverage” in potential arms control talks with Russia due to the Biden administration’s initiatives to modernize the nuclear arsenal. The official added that the New START treaty, which places limits on the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and is due to expire in February 2026, creates a crucial opportunity for negotiations.

The New START Treaty signed in 2010 and extended until February 5, 2026, serves as a cornerstone of strategic stability between the US and Russia and primarily focuses on limiting the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery systems. In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in the New START Treaty, stating that Russia would not allow the US and NATO to inspect its nuclear facilities as Washington was not abiding by the terms of the treaty and was trying to undermine Russia’s national security. Richard Bensel, a professor of government at Cornell University, expressed confidence that Russia and the US will be able to conclude a new arms control agreement. “I believe that the United States and Russia will agree to a new nuclear arms treaty but the negotiations will be quite complicated and, for that reason, we should not expect an agreement soon after the [New START Treaty] expiration,” Bensel told Sputnik.

At the same time, Bensel stressed that the new treaty will probably not be a high priority for the Trump administration because of the prevailing importance of the domestic agenda in the US. “He will have a year to do this but he may even want more time to put some distance between the treaty he will accept and the preliminary negotiations of the Biden administration,” the expert added.Similarly, Roderick Kiewiet, a professor of political science at the California Institute of Technology, assumed that both Moscow and Washington would be interested in reaching a new treaty after the New START Treaty expiration due to the high cost to both countries of maintaining their existing nuclear arsenals. “Trump has said little to nothing about it, but I believe he will want a new arms control treaty. Putin, too, I would think … New generations of these weapons are on the drawing board, but these would be even more expensive to bring on line. So I think there is a ton of money involved that both sides would prefer not to spend,” Kiewiet said.

Both experts ruled out the possibility of China joining a new arms control treaty, as well as any other country that possesses nuclear weapons. According to the latest Pentagon annual report to Congress, China possesses more than 600 operational nuclear warheads as of mid-2024 and will increase their number to over 1,000 by 2030. Earlier in the month, Russian Strategic Missile Forces Commander Col. Gen. Sergei Karakaev did not rule out the possibility that Russia could increase the number of warheads on deployed carriers in response to similar US actions, saying, however, that Russia intends to maintain the number of its nuclear warheads at the level of the New START Treaty limits. On November 19, Russia updated its nuclear doctrine. According to the updates, aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state with the involvement of a nuclear state would be considered a joint attack.

One of the reasons for updating the doctrine was the West’s decision to allow Kiev to use US-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles and the UK’s Storm Shadow long-range missiles for strikes deep into Russian territory. Speaking about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons, Bensel ruled it out. “Perhaps I am too optimistic but I do not believe that Russia will use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine War,” Bensel said. The expert stressed that it was “almost inconceivable” that the Ukraine conflict could result in the use of nuclear weapons. The same opinion was echoed by Kiewiet, who expressed confidence in the continuation of efforts by Moscow and Washington to overcome existing tensions.

“The thing about these weapons, which has been true since 1945, is that the thought of actually using them is, well, unthinkable. I am confident the US and Russia will continue to manage tensions,” Kiewiet said. The expert called Russian ballistic missile Oreshnik a plus for the Russian military effort at the moment in Ukraine, but doubted that it would have much direct impact on US-Russian relations. In early December, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the US did not consider the possibility of supplying nuclear weapons to Ukraine and only focused on providing conventional weapons to Kiev.

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“Is the U.S. a democracy, or is the democracy just a facade behind which a wealth elite maintains its power? Biden has given us the answer. Were you listening?”

Biden & Make-Believe Democracy (Cook)

Only in the world of political make-believe we inhabit in the West would The Wall Street Journal’s account of Biden’s years-long cognitive decline, and its concealment by his officials, count as a scoop. And only in a world in which the billionaire-owned media alone constructs and polices what counts as reality would the WSJ be able to run this story without also being expected to consider what it signifies about America’s professed democracy. The emperor, we are now told, was naked all along. How did it take more than four years for the fearless, tenacious billionaire-owned media to notice? The WSJ reports that even back in 2021 Biden had what his officials described as “bad days” when his mind worked so poorly he had to be kept away from senior Congresspeople and his own cabinet colleagues. So insulated was he that he rarely met even with key figures directing White House policy, such as the secretaries of State, Defence and the Treasury.

He was able to hold only two or three cabinet meetings a year during his four-year term — a total of nine, compared to 19 by Barack Obama and 25 by Donald Trump. His aides barely strayed from his side because they needed to whisper instructions for him to carry out the simplest of public tasks, such as where to enter and exit a room. Concern only went mainstream when he performed catastrophically in an unscripted TV debate against Donald Trump in June, eventually having to pull out of his re-election bid and let his vice-president, Kamala Harris, take over. Shortly afterwards, it emerged that he had been receiving regular visits to the White House from a leading neurologist and Parkinson’s expert. Many observers — myself included — pointed out Biden’s mental infirmity from the get-go. Matt Orfalea has been compiling video clips of the president’s stunning gaffes and verbal confusions for years.

None of us were geniuses. We didn’t need access to the 50 White House insiders interviewed by the WSJ. It was blindingly obvious. You had to be lying, or hypnotised, to deny what was so visible. And yet every time we pointed out Biden’s clear cognitive impairment, we were accused of promoting conspiracy theories, engaging in elder abuse, or supporting Trump. The emperor, so we were told, was fully clothed. The truth about Biden hasn’t suddenly leaked out from his officials. Senior politicians on both sides of the aisle knew. White House correspondents knew. Editors knew. And they all lied to protect the system of power to which they belong, the system that keeps them gainfully employed, the system that maintains their status. No one was going to rock the boat.

The WSJ hasn’t suddenly found out things it didn’t know before. The reason it is coming clean now – as are White House staffers – is that President Biden is almost out the door. The truth is no longer a serious threat to the Washington power system. There will be more revelations about Biden’s incapacity – maybe contained in a future book by Bob Woodward – after his presidency has become a distant memory. When it is safe for the full story to be told. When the lies are no longer important. But more significant than the media deceptions are the fact that much of the public fell for them, not once but over and over again: day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Why? Because far too many of us are in the grip of the West’s propaganda system. We believe that the billionaire-owned media is to be trusted, that it serves the public good, not private wealth.

If a large chunk of the public can be persuaded that a man who is incapable of finding the door through which he’s supposed to leave is “sharp as a tack”, then why would they not also believe that the United States is promoting democracy as it has laid waste to the Middle East over the past two decades to control the region’s oil? Or that Washington is seeking peace for the world and Ukraine by arming it with ever-more offensive weapons against a nuclear-armed Russia so that the U.S. can place ballistic missiles on Moscow’s doorstep? Or that the U.S. wants a ceasefire in Gaza even as it supplies the munitions, intelligence and diplomatic cover for Israel to carry out a genocide there?

The problem is that, subjected to a lifetime of elite propaganda, many are readier to believe that very propaganda than the evidence of their own own eyes. They are truly hypnotised. Even now, many are listening to the “revelations” of Biden’s long decline and, just like the WSJ, not wondering how the U.S. has been functioning for the past four years with a president barely able to read a teleprompter, one whose mind is so vacant he can wander off in the middle of a conversation. Does the U.S. run by itself? Does it need a president? Or is the president nothing more than a figurehead for a permanent bureaucracy that expects to wield power from the shadows, unobserved by voters and unaccountable to them? Is the U.S. a democracy, or is the democracy just a facade behind which a wealth elite maintains its power? Biden has given us the answer. Were you listening?

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“Democrats incessantly claimed that Trump would be a dictator. Instead, Biden became the most authoritarian president of the last 80 years.”

Trump Administration Must Begin Restoring American Values on Day One (Spivak)

As the Biden-Harris administration slips away, Donald Trump must fulfill his promises to dispose of the woke detritus. His administration will have to bypass antidemocratic booby traps, including recently adopted rules that take time to reverse, last-minute appointments of progressive federal judges, and a hostile, left-leaning Deep State protected by Joe Biden’s revocation of Schedule F termination rights. Democrats incessantly claimed that Trump would be a dictator. Instead, Biden became the most authoritarian president of the last 80 years. Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution requires the President to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” and in his oath of office, he swears to do so.

Instead, Biden and his administration issued executive orders and rules he knew to be unconstitutional, unlawful and unpopular, including a radical left agenda of censorship, racism through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and fanatic transgenderism. The Trump administration should promptly seek to settle lawsuits centered on the outgoing administration’s hard left policies by conceding the government’s position is wrong. It will be difficult for future administrations to violate the settlements without approval of the other parties. At the least, the administration should dismiss, with prejudice, the cases in which it is the plaintiff.

The Trump administration also should seek legislative solutions that give standing to states and private individuals to secure government compliance, and to act as “private attorneys general” to enforce these laws if a future administration fails to do so. Though it will be tough to obtain the 60 votes required for passage in the Senate, there may be opportunities to peel off a few Democrats, or to use reconciliation, which requires only a majority. Regrettably, eliminating the filibuster to facilitate passage would ultimately backfire.

Trump’s team is well positioned for this mission. Harmeet K. Dhillon, Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, is a tough litigator who believes in the Constitution and individual rights. Linda McMahon, another of the strong, intelligent women around Trump, will be instrumental as secretary of the Department of Education, which mandated and funds much of the woke jihad. Trump fairly describes Brendan Carr, his pick to chair the Federal Communications Commission, as “a warrior for Free Speech.”

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They missed Charlie Manson.

Biden Awards Hillary Clinton, George Soros Presidential Medal of Freedom (Sp.)

With just over two weeks left to go in his administration, President Biden has been taking a series of last minute measures to try to ‘Trump-proof’ his legacy and put a spoke in his successor’s wheels. But some of his actions seem designed solely to trigger his opponents. Joe Biden has apparently decided to give one final giant middle finger to detractors on his way out the door, awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, hedge fund shark-turned ‘philanthropist’ George Soros and a slew of celebrities and activists. The White House said the award, given “to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” is being handed out this year to 19 individuals that “have made America a better place.”

Online, people were less than enthused about Clinton and Soros’ nominations.“Biden is giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hillary Clinton and George Soros…seriously two of the worst people on earth. This could be a Babylon Bee article with how unbelievable it is,” internet personality Natalie Danelishen vented. “Unreal,” Elon Musk replied. “It would be almost like awarding the war president par excellence named Obama with a Nobel Peace Prize…Oh…that really happened!” another person quipped. “This shell of an administration is writing the book on how to inflict maximum damage on the country and the American people. Just remember they HATE 60% of us and they have no shame in showing us how much and giving us the finger,” someone wrote. “Epstein wasn’t available,” another user joked. “The special guest of the event will be Lucifer,” another suggested.

“Awarded for their attempt in destroying America?” one person asked. “Does the medal come with…The Biden Pardon? Asking for a friend,” someone wrote.“At least he’s remained consistent, corrupt all the way until the very end,” another suggested.Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Soros are two of the most reviled figures of contemporary US politics among conservatives, the non-liberal left and anti-war and anti-interventionism advocates of all stripes. Clinton, the former first lady and wife of alleged child sex offender Bill Clinton, served as a senator from New York from 2001-2009, actively supporting the Bush administration’s ‘War on Terror’, including the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. As Barack Obama’s secretary of state from 2009-2013, Mrs. Clinton cheerled the NATO operation to topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, which turned the North African country into a failed state with open air slave markets, backed the US-led dirty war against Syria, and supported the funneling of billions of dollars in State Department funding into Ukrainian ‘civil society’ initiatives that ultimately helped trigger the Ukrainian crisis in 2014.

[..] Besides Clinton and Soros, Biden’s Medal of Freedom recipients include Bono, Michael J Fox, Denzel Washington, Bill Nye, Magic Johnson, Jane Goodall, liberal philanthropists and activists Jose Andres, Tim Gill and David Rubenstein, soccer star Lionel Messi, American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr., and Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Robert F Kennedy Jr’s late father, former attorney general Robert F Kennedy, Ashton Carter, deceased former Obama-era Pentagon chief, late former Michigan governor George Romney and late civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer were also honored.

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“The grim fate of Germany heralds the economic misery that the whole EU is sliding headlong into. The history of Europe’s economic demise is as obvious as it is blatant.”

Uncle Sam and Banderite Bandits Destroy Europe (SCF)

The upshot is that all major Russian natural gas supply lines to Europe have now been terminated. The only one remaining is Turk Stream which runs under the Black Sea to Turkey. But it mainly supplies Balkan countries that are not in the EU. In the space of two years, Russia has gone from being the major supplier of EU gas imports (over 40 percent) to being a minor source. The big winner of the phenomenal market disruption is the United States, whose exports of liquefied natural gas to the EU have tripled. Another winner is Norway, which is not an EU member. Other sources of gas for Europe are Azerbaijan and Algeria.

However, the unprecedented extra costs to Europe for this enormous rearrangement in its energy trade are encumbering the EU economies, industries and households with crippling burdens. New pipelines have to be built, as well as new terminals to receive the shipped gas. U.S. exports cost 30 to 40 percent more than the Russian product. The slump in the German economy from higher energy costs is directly caused by the cutting off of abundant and affordable Russian gas. And it is going to get even worse. The grim fate of Germany heralds the economic misery that the whole EU is sliding headlong into. The history of Europe’s economic demise is as obvious as it is blatant.

Of course, it is all about the United States using and abusing its Western “allies” for its own interests. For Western imperialists, there is no such thing as allies, only interests. And the Americans are exacting that maxim to the hilt. For decades, the U.S. has vehemently opposed the energy trade between the EU and Russia. Back in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan’s administration tried its best to block the development of the Brotherhood Pipeline with threats of economic sanctions. The Americans openly said they didn’t want to see Europe and the Soviet Union developing cooperative relations.

At least in earlier times, the European governments appeared to have more independence and backbone. Germany, France, Italy and others rebuffed Washington’s demands to shut down the gas projects. The long-running strategic aim of the U.S. to displace Russia as an energy supplier to Europe has now been realized. It’s a sign of the desperate times and lawlessness that American military operatives attack European infrastructure. The blowing up of the Nord Stream pipelines and the proxy war in Ukraine have secured the strategic aim of the U.S. and its NATO proxy – keeping the Germans (Europeans) down, the Americans in, and the Russians out. So much for the free-market capitalism and rules-based order that American and European elites preach. The practice is brute economic competition and dominance down the barrel of a gun.

Millions of lives have been destroyed in this “great game” of American imperialist chicanery, and the proxy war in Ukraine is risking the escalation to a nuclear Third World War. The Banderite regime – an echo of the Nazi past – has enabled the United States to enslave Europe to Washington’s imperialist desires. Tragically, a coterie of elitist European political leaders are so obsessed with Russophobia and servility to their American overlord that they are crowing with delight at cutting off Russia. Russia will not suffer. Its vast energy resources are finding alternative lucrative global markets. The victims are the European citizens who are being plunged into wretched economic hardship due to the machinations of American capital, its Banderite tools, and Euro fools.

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“The final goal is a ruined Europe, not only unwilling but also incapable of establishing any future strategic ties with Moscow..”

Countdown to the European Collapse (SCF)

Finally, energy cooperation between Russia and Europe is (almost) completely over. After nearly three years of sanctions and sabotage, the bilateral Moscow-EU energy partnership suffered its greatest historical blow. Kiev fulfilled its promise not to extend its contract with Gazprom, which was allowing the arrival of Russian gas to Europe, then creating an extremely uncomfortable energy insecurity situation for its own “partners” in the European Union. On the morning of the first day of 2025, the Russian Federation stopped supplying gas to European buyers via Ukraine. Even amidst the conflict, the Russian Gazprom and Ukrainian Naftogaz had kept in operation an energy transit agreement signed in 2020, which expired on the last day of 2024. Previously, Kiev had already announced it was unwilling to renew the contract with Gazprom, although some European countries repeatedly asked Ukraine to do so.

Despite the sanctions imposed on Russia since 2022, some European countries continued benefiting from the import of Russian gas, particularly Slovakia and Hungary – nations that refused to participate in the Western-sponsored anti-Russian boycott – as well as Austria, a country historically neutral in Europe’s geopolitical and military disputes. Other nations, even adhering to the sanctions, continued hypocritically receiving Russian gas, such as Italy, Poland, Romania, and Moldova. There were also cases of gas resale, with receiving nations re-exporting the commodity to countries seeking to bypass the sanctions.

With the end of the Ukrainian route, all these states lost any guarantee of a safe energy source – precisely during winter, the time of year when gas consumption in Europe is at its highest. Obviously, there are currently energy reserves that may be enough to cope with the challenges of the current season, but the situation will progressively become more critical over time. European nations will have to find new sources of gas or expand the use of the only two remaining routes for Russian gas (via Turkey and the Black Sea). Recent indicators show a substantial rise in gas prices among Asian exporters. Ankara is also expected to take the opportunity to gain more profits from its pipeline.

There is currently hope among Europeans for a cheap gas supply through the long-awaited Qatari-Turkish pipeline project via Syria. With the fall of Bashar al Assad’s legitimate government, energy giants from Turkey and the Gulf have revived the proposal, although they are waiting for domestic pacification in Syria by the Al-Qaeda junta to begin the construction. Some optimistic analysts in Europe believe this would be the antidote to Europe’s dependency on Russian gas – or Asian and American, as in the current circumstances.

The main problem with this hope is believing in the goodwill of the Western hawks to “pacify Syria.” Without Assad, Damascus became a “failed state,” with territory divided between different factions in constant hostilities. It is unlikely this will change – simply because, despite the tactical operators of the Syrian crisis (Turkey and Qatar) wanting pacification, the strategic mentors (Israel and the USA) are not interested. Tel Aviv prefers a polarized and war-torn Syria, unable to do anything to prevent territorial progress in the Golan and beyond. Washington, which is subservient to Israeli interests through the international Zionist lobby, is interested in the same – along with, of course, fostering Kurdish terrorists to worsen the internal Syrian situation even further.

In other words, Western analysts still do not understand that the decision-makers of the unipolar axis simply do not want to solve Europe’s problems. It is not in the US’ interest that its “partners” in Europe regain cheap energy and a strong industrial base. For Washington, the collapse of Europe is not a tragedy but a strategic goal, whose roots lie in the science of geopolitics itself. According to the fundamentals of Western geopolitics, Russian-European integration would be disastrous for the US-UK Atlantic axis. Therefore, in the face of Russia’s imminent military victory and Moscow’s rehabilitation as a Eurasian geopolitical power, the Americans and the British have adopted a “scorched earth” strategy in Europe.

Sanctions, the terrorist attack on Nord Stream, and the closure of the Ukrainian route to Europe are events that are part of the same strategic context: in all these cases, Anglo-American strategists want to provoke an energy collapse in Europe to enable deindustrialization and the subsequent economic and social crisis. The final goal is a ruined Europe, not only unwilling but also incapable of establishing any future strategic ties with Moscow. With the fall of the Ukrainian gas route, it can be said that the US won an important battle in its economic war against Europe. The total collapse is merely a matter of time.

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“The West is under no illusions privately that it is losing the war in Ukraine and is wondering how it can tell a fairy tale story to its own voters so as to deflect blame with the sole purpose of staying in power..”

Last Ditch Media Sanctions From The West Against Russia (Jay)

Many analysts will be wondering what Trump will do about Russian sanctions when gets into the Oval office, although there is some optimism that he will try and reverse them. He is cautious not to get into a debate about this subject, which leads me to suspect that this will be one the bombshells he will drop on the Biden administration which left him the small gift of signing off over a billion dollars of military aid to Ukraine. What almost no Americans understand though, which is largely the fault of mainstream media, is that these military spending sprees are really all about feeding a dual-purpose racket which really has nothing to do with the actual war in Ukraine, which everyone now admits Russia is winning.

On one hand, it is of course pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the 5 main arms manufacturers in the U.S. in a move which could arguably be called illegal state aid; on the other hand the kit which is sent to Ukraine from the U.S. – and the UK – is mainly being sold on a number of black markets, with only about 30 percent or thereabouts actually reaching Ukrainian troops. My own investigation has proved that the Zelensky cabal are selling off the heavy equipment like armoured personal carriers (APCs) and lorry loads of American made assault rifles to dealers in the international arms bizarre of Libya – where Middle Eastern terrorists, or their affiliates in the Sahel buy it at bargain prices. And Trump certainly understands the racket and will want to stop it. Dropping the mother of all bombshells on the Biden legacy by scrapping the sanctions and blocking any more aid would be an effective way to do that.

But it’s the sanctions on Russia media which he should also give priority to, given that, with the state of western media being such a shambles, we had to rely on RT for example, in the UK and U.S., to ask the difficult questions and hold our administrations to account. The recent news at the end of December that the EU is cracking down even further on Russia media and individuals who are active within it – journalists and others – is another parting shot which smacks of desperation. The West is under no illusions privately that it is losing the war in Ukraine and is wondering how it can tell a fairy tale story to its own voters so as to deflect blame with the sole purpose of staying in power. This is really what media sanctions are all about.

Shutting down any narrative that could possibly hold you to account and expose the tawdry reality of the mess the West has made in Ukraine based on the military industrial complex gaining too much power and eating up elites in its path. The Biden administration will be remembered for this. A new dawn in just how much power these arms manufacturers have and what lengths they can go to, to get the big contracts. This will all come out in the Trump administration with documentaries about Biden and his son’s laptop and how Ukraine was a holiday camp for them to go to with empty suitcases and return with a few million dollars. Like a cash machine which keeps churning out cash due to a computer glitch. The lure of Ukraine and corrupt western elites is nothing new. But during Trump’s first term citizens of the West are going to see the dark side to the events which led up to Russia’s invasion. And it stinks.

Part of that racket, going back even to 2013 or 2014 was to try and shut down Russian media. In reality, it was simply RT which elites noticed was gaining popularity in many European countries from people who had lost all faith in their own media which had fallen into the grubby hands of the powerful elites and their dirty games long ago. It used to be the case that in Brussels, the hold that the powerful institutions had on journalists was so strong in such an abusive relationship that what we saw each day on TV and in the newspapers was pure EU propaganda on a scale that even the Soviet Union could not muster. There used to be however the contrast between Brussels and member states where the media were more robust and anti-establishment. But no more.

Now the political journalists along with the defence correspondent in the UK for example are practically government propaganda agents who probably think they were journalists once. Their work is to keep the lies about Ukraine, as one example, flowing so that the public are distracted and can’t focus on what is under their nose. Sometimes the plain truth is so close to the person looking for it, that it can’t be seen. Distance is required. When RT operated in the UK, there was this certain environment which questioned more and provided an alternative viewpoint which was needed in any functioning democracy. Trump’s priority should be to finish the sanctions and adopt a more grown-up approach to resolving Ukraine as the Russians want a longer-term solution rather than quick fix buggerydoo. Ending the sanctions on Russian media would be a good message to western elites that have fed from the trough for so long with the lies which have been created that their time is up. Trump’s back.

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“Our democracy cannot afford such external influences,” Habeck said.”

‘Don’t Feed The Troll’ – Scholz On Musk (RT)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has responded to criticism from SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who recently signaled his support for Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. In an interview with Stern magazine published on Saturday, Scholz advised keeping calm when dealing with such remarks and urged against succumbing to provocations. “There are many people on social media who want to attract attention with strong slogans,” Scholz said. “The rule is: Don’t feed the troll.” Musk referred to Scholz as an “incompetent fool” in December in a post on X, his social media platform. The billionaire criticized Berlin’s migration policy after it emerged that the man who had mowed through a crowded Christmas market in Germany, killing five and injuring dozens, was an Arab immigrant with a residence permit.

Musk also praised the AfD and expressed support for its anti-immigration stance and said it’s the only party capable of “saving Germany.” He later elaborated in an op-ed for Welt am Sonntag that the right-wing party’s immigration policies are aimed at preserving the nation’s culture and security rather than promoting xenophobia. Musk’s backing of the AfD is “far more concerning” than personal insults, the chancellor told the German magazine, noting that the party advocates closer ties with Russia and a weakening of transatlantic relationships. German officials, including Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, have condemned Musk’s comments, and warned the billionaire against interfering in German politics. “Our democracy cannot afford such external influences,” Habeck said.

Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have been picked by US President-elect Donald Trump to lead his proposed ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ initiative (DOGE). Some members of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s inner circle have said that Musk could not maintain active support for AfD and Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party while remaining a member of the new US administration, The Sunday Times reported on Thursday. Such actions would effectively amount to declaring war on the main US allies in Europe, the newspaper’s sources said. The tech entrepreneur earlier also shared a post agreeing with the statement that Reform is “the only way to save” Britain.

Germany gears up for early parliamentary elections on February 23, following the collapse of Scholz’s coalition government due to disagreements on Ukraine aid, economic reforms, and climate policy, leading to a vote of no confidence and parliamentary dissolution in December. Scholz has since been leading a minority government. The AfD has seen a rise in popularity, with recent polls indicating support of around 17%. However, Germany’s major political parties, including Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), have ruled out any coalition with the group.

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Farage is coming. He doesn’t even have to campaign.

UK Responds To Musk’s Criticism Over Child Rape Scandal (RT)

The UK will not refuse Elon Musk’s assistance in tackling systemic failures in addressing child sexual exploitation, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said. Britain has been rocked by the exposure of, and failure to properly investigate, a grooming scandal in which hundreds of groups of Asian men, mostly Pakistanis, raped and tortured thousands of underage British girls – in towns across the north of England. Musk, who is known for his stance against illegal immigration, has been particularly vocal about the scandal, calling it a case of “state-sponsored evil.” He went on to claim that Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who led the Crown Prosecutorial Service from 2008 to 2013, “was complicit in the RAPE OF BRITAIN,” and must not only resign, but also face charges for failing to deliver justice.

In an interview with ITV News on Friday, Streeting suggested that “some of the criticisms Elon Musk has made… are misjudged and certainly misinformed.” However, he said the UK’s Labor government is “willing to work with Elon Musk who I think has got a big role to play with his social media platform, to help us tackle this issue.” Streeting added that “political correctness was able to get in the way of going after the perpetrators of these serious crimes,” vowing that the government will do its utmost to prevent further incidents.

The grooming gang scandal, a euphemism for widespread child sexual exploitation, primarily came to light through cases in Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford. Investigations revealed systemic abuse spanning decades, with reports estimating that over 1,400 children were exploited in Rotherham alone from 1997 to 2013. In one of the most egregious cases, the police arrested a father who attempted to rescue his daughter from a house where she was being raped. As the revelations were pouring in, some British media outlets blasted law enforcement for their “cowardice” and for attempting to downplay the scandal in order to not be accused of racism and prevent the rise of the far-right in the UK.

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Been going on for decades. Worse than Epstein. What role did Charles play?

Musk Calls For King Charles To Dissolve Parliament Over Grooming Gangs (HT)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has continued his social media criticism of UK PM Keir Starmer for the government’s handling of a ‘child grooming’ scandal in the country Elon Musk has continued his criticism of the Government, calling on the King to step in and dissolve Parliament. The world’s richest man, who purchased the social media site Twitter and renamed it X in 2022, has shared and reacted to tweets critical of the Government and the Prime Minister after Labour rejected a call for an inquiry into child grooming. In his latest attacks on Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Musk shared a post asking whether Charles “should dissolve parliament and order a General Election… for the sake and security” of Britain. Mr Musk retweeted the X thread with a one-word comment: “Yes.”

The 53-year-old Starlink boss continued to wade into the debate overnight, hours after he posted that safeguarding minister Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison” after she denied requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham on Thursday. He also suggested the Prime Minister had failed to bring “rape gangs” to justice when he was director of public prosecutions. Mr Musk reposted an article in The Daily Telegraph by shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick in which he says the “grooming gangs” should be renamed “torture rape gangs”. He wrote that Mr Musk’s comments had shamed “the establishment by taking more interest in bringing these rape gangs to justice in one evening than most of the British establishment has for decades”.

Mr Musk continued his criticism in a post alongside footage of The Times’ chief investigative reporter Andrew Norfolk as he detailed the scope of the case and police mishandling, calling it “State-sponsored evil.” Mr Norfolk exposed the Rotherham child sexual exploitation ring in the UK press in 2011. In another comment on the same post, Mr Musk branded the scandal and the child rapists involved as “utterly shameful”. The Tesla owner also called a post asking why people were angrier at his comments than they were about “mass rape” of children as the “perfect question”. Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said a full national inquiry into organised grooming gangs is “long overdue”. Ms Phillips said she recognised the “strength of feeling” for a Home Office-led inquiry into Oldham, but she told the local council the Government will not “intervene”.

“I believe it is for Oldham Council alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the Government to intervene,” she said. In response, Mr Musk, a key member of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle, said: “She deserves to be in prison.” He also appeared to place blame at the Prime Minister’s door. Mr Musk said: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013.” In a series of posts on his social media site, Mr Musk described the Prime Minister as “two-tier Keir”, claiming there was “no justice for severe, violent crimes but prison for social media posts”.

Mr Musk also expressed his support for activist Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – who was jailed for 18 months for contempt of court in October. Senior Tories also sought to put pressure on the Government over grooming gangs. Mrs Badenoch said: “The time is long overdue for a full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal. Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots. 2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice.” Shadow home secretary Chris Philp and shadow safeguarding minister Alicia Kearns pressed for a statutory inquiry in Oldham. They said that only a public inquiry “can adequately encompass the national nature of these crimes and issues” and consider whether reports were ignored by the police, CPS and local council “or even covered up”.

In 2022, the then-Conservative government also refused a request for a public inquiry into events in Oldham. An Oldham Council spokesman said: “Survivors sit at the heart of our work to end child sexual exploitation. Whatever happens in terms of future inquiries, we have promised them that their wishes will be paramount, and we will not renege on that pledge.” Responding to Mrs Badenoch’s post, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Talk is cheap. The Conservatives had 14 years in government to launch an inquiry. The establishment has failed the victims of grooming gangs on every level.” Mr Musk, who is rumoured to be considering a major donation to Mr Farage’s party, responded: “Exactly. Time for Reform.” The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, which published its final report in 2022, described the sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”.

Led by Professor Alexis Jay, the inquiry looked into abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014, including in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol. In November last year, Professor Jay said she felt “frustrated” that none of the probe’s 20 recommendations had been implemented more than two years after its conclusion. A Labour spokesman said the Government is “working at pace to implement the recommendations” in Professor Jay’s report. The spokesman added: “We have supported both the national overarching inquiry into child abuse which reported in 2022, and local independent inquiries and reviews including in Telford, Rotherham and Greater Manchester.”

“This Government is working urgently to strengthen the law so that these crimes are properly reported and investigated. In Oldham the crimes committed by grooming gangs were horrific. Young girls were abused in the most cruel and sadistic way.” “Victims and the community need to know that all steps are taken to deliver justice and protect children properly in the future. We will welcome and support an independent investigation commissioned by Oldham Council which puts victims’ voices at its heart, following the examples of Telford and Rotherham.” “We also continue to support wider work commissioned by mayor Andy Burnham into child protection issues across Greater Manchester, following the review into historic safeguarding issues in Oldham which was published in 2022.”

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“..had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s going on in this country, he might have recognized that there have already been inquiries..”

Elon Musk Makes 23 Posts Urging King Charles To Overthrow UK Government (HT)

Elon Musk has become a political lightning rod in the United Kingdom after he advocated for King Charles III to shutdown Parliament and call for a new election. The Tesla boss endorsed a social media post criticizing the government’s handling of criminal gang investigations in Manchester. “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008 -2013,” Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) on New Year’s Day. “Who is the boss of Jess Phillips right now? Keir Stamer. The real reason she’s refusing to investigate the rape gangs is that it would obviously lead to the blaming of Keir Stamer [head of the CPS at the time],” he wrote in a follow-up post.

“The King must step in. We can’t have Keir heading the country, while he was the one heading the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] while all this was happening,” he added in the thread. Responding to his comments, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said they were “misjudged and certainly misinformed.” Labour Minister Andrew Gwynne echoed the sentiment during an interview with LBC radio, “Elon Musk is an American citizen and perhaps ought to focus on issues on the other side of the Atlantic.” “The grooming issue is a very serious issue. We’ve already had inquiries into Telford, into Rotherham, we’ve had a local inquiry commissioned by Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, into the situation here in Greater Manchester, which includes Oldham,” Gwynne explained.

“There comes a point where we don’t need more inquiries, and had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s going on in this country, he might have recognized that there have already been inquiries. What we need is justice for the victims, and we need to make sure that the criminal justice system follows up and makes sure that these atrocious things are never able to happen again.”

The debate intensified when Musk suggested that Minister Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison” for her stance on launching a new public inquiry into grooming in Oldham. Phillips had argued that a local council-led inquiry, similar to those in Rotherham and Telford, would be more effective, per BBC report. Adding fuel to the fire, Musk shared an article by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick from The Daily Telegraph discussing the investigations. Jenrick commented that Musk’s remarks had “shamed the establishment by taking more interest in bringing these rape gangs to justice in one evening than most of the British establishment has for decades.”

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The people will rise to defend their kids.

US MIC Wants Ukrainian Bloodbath to Continue Even With 18-Year-Olds (Sp.)

Washington is pressuring Zelensky to lower the draft age from 25 to 18. Meanwhile, Western media is reporting that Ukrainian recruits have begun deserting forces training in European NATO countries hundreds at a time. Retired Russian Army colonel and renowned military observer Viktor Litovkin explains how these events are connected. “The war in Ukraine is profitable to the United States economically, politically and so on. That’s why they’re interested in this war continuing,” Litovkin told Sputnik, commenting the Biden administration’s steady pressure on Kiev to reduce the draft age to 18. Besides the cash the US military-industrial complex can expect from new contracts from its Eastern European NATO allies from the “recycling” their Warsaw Pact-era Soviet equipment, and the replenishment of Pentagon warehouses after sending old stocks off to Kiev, hawks in Washington are able to pursue their long-term obsession with “weakening Russia,” Litovkin explained.

The gruesome “business” in Ukraine is so profitable that Litovkin doesn’t expect it to stop once Donald Trump is in charge. After all, he recalled, it was Trump who first sent lethal weapons to the country in 2019. “I’m more than certain that Trump will not rush to stop this ‘business’. He will likely simply dump part of it onto Europe, while continuing the rest because it’s profitable for the US. Trump has always been on the side of the US military-industrial complex,” Litovkin said. As for plans to draft 18-year-olds, how else “how can this conflict continue, if a million Ukrainian servicemen have already been knocked out, killed, wounded, maimed and so on,” with other draft-age men fleeing to Europe, Russia, etc., the observer asked.

“There are about 30,000 mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. All the complex military equipment is controlled by mercenaries, US, Polish and German specialists, from HIMARS to Patriots and others…But someone has to man the front lines, someone has to man the trenches” if the reserve of 25-year-olds and up – the current draft age, is exhausted, the retired soldier said. Unfortunately, Litovkin doesn’t expect Ukraine’s population to rise up and overthrow the government sending its sons to their deaths. “Power in Ukraine is in the hands of the Banderites, who keep the people who are left in fear…Maybe individuals and groups can declare a protest, but they will be immediately thrown in jail and the men sent to the front,” he said.

Ukrainian and US business media reported this week that Ukraine’s brand new, elite NATO-trained 155th Mechanized Brigade “disintegrated” before reaching the frontlines, with over 1,700 of its 5,800 members said to have fled during training in France and Poland, before deployment in the ongoing bloody battles in the Donbass. The mass desertion signals a critical lack of “fighting spirit,” Litovkin believes. “Victory in every war is determined by the fighting spirit of those masses who shed blood on the battlefield,” Litovkin explained, suggesting the incident shows that “coercion,” not fighting spirit, are the main remaining motivator in the Ukrainian Army, hence the regular mass desertions, mass surrenders, etc.

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They knew what would happen. And then provoked it.

US Supplied ‘A Lot of Weapons’ To Ukraine Ahead of Conflict – Blinken (RT)

Washington supplied “a lot of weapons” to Ukraine in the months before the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev began in February 2022, outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted. The top diplomat made the remarks while speaking on the New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast, aired on Saturday. The US saw the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “coming” and wanted to get Kiev “prepared” for it, according to Blinken. “Starting in September and then again in December, we quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves – things like Stingers, Javelins that they could use,” he said.

The weaponry has proven “instrumental” in “preventing Russia from taking Kiev,” as well as “rolling over the country, erasing it from the map,” Blinken asserted. The intentions ascribed to Moscow by the top US diplomat, however, sharply contrast with the goals of the military operation repeatedly articulated by Russia’s leadership. The original aims included demilitarization and denazification of the country, as well as Kiev accepting a neutral status and abandoning its aspirations to join NATO. Over time, the list was somewhat expanded in the wake of the incorporation of the four formerly Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, into Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly said any potential negotiations with Kiev would require it to accept the “realities on the ground,” as well as to withdraw troops from the new Russian territories. Blinken’s remarks received a poor reception in Moscow. Senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik suggested the revelations somewhat undermined the usual narrative about the supposedly “unprovoked Russian aggression.” “Pumping [Ukraine] with weapons for an attack on Donbass and Russia, isn’t that a pretext for the special military operation?” Miroshnik said in a Telegram post.

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Tell him to talk to Musk.

Starmer May Ask Trump to Continue Military Support to Ukraine (Sp.)

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer may travel to Washington within weeks after US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20 to urge him to provide military assistance to Ukraine, the media reported, citing sources. Downing Street hopes Starmer will fly to Washington in late January or early February and try to convince Trump to continue backing Kiev even despite Trump’s promise to strike a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the media said. According to the publication, on the Chinese issue, the prime minister will support the United States on national security issues, but does not approve of tariffs as a way to improve global trade. Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the settlement, directly involving NATO countries in the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia.

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“..I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens..”

Trump Hires Hawkish Mideast Envoy Because GOP’s Neocon Wing Wanted It (Sp.)

The President-elect’s second term cabinet picks have been a mixed bag, with America First doves like Tulsi Gabbard (his pick for director of national intelligence) overshadowed by neocon hawks like Marco Rubio (secretary of state), Mike Waltz (national security advisor) and Elise Stefanik (UN ambassador). Donald Trump has tapped another neoconservative for his cabinet, selecting Morgan Ortagus, his previous administration’s ex-State Department spokeswoman, to serve as deputy envoy of his Middle East peace team. The president-elect made the announcement in an oddly resentful manner on his social media platform Friday. “Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens,” Trump wrote.

“She will hopefully be an asset to Steve [billionaire Steven Witkoff, Trump’s pick for special Middle East envoy, ed.], a great leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region. I expect great results, and soon!” Trump added. Ortagus, who served as State Department spokeswoman under Mike Pompeo in the second half of Trump’s first administration, is also a former Treasury Department intelligence analyst, public affairs officer for USAID – the US government’s soft power foreign aid tool, a former banker, Fox News contributor, and officer in the US Navy Reserve. Before throwing her hat into the ring with Trump, Ortagus worked for Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Her foreign policy positions are cross-the-board hawkish. Ortagus has cheered an escalation of tensions with China at every turn, praised the 2020 murder of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, accused Russia of destabilizing the Middle East, and said the problem with the conflict in Ukraine isn’t NATO’s fueling of a proxy war, but the Biden administration not being “serious about defeating Russia.” Ortagus reportedly has close relationships with Trump’s secretary of state pick Marco Rubio, forever war hawk Senator Lindsey Graham, and Trump special missions envoy Richard Grenell. During Trump’s first term, she also worked closely with Jared Kushner, architect of the ‘Deal of the Century’ Palestinian-Israeli peace deal which Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said belongs in the “garbage can of history.”

Graham praised Ortagus’s new appointment, saying she was “literally the best pick he could have made,” and that “nobody has closer ties to Israel and understands the mischief of Iran.” Ortagus said she was “honored” over her appointment and that “to be given the opportunity to once again represent my country and the Trump administration in a crucial diplomatic role is dream come true [sic].” The Witkoff-Ortagus team is expected to be tasked with ending the Gaza war and reducing Mideast tensions more broadly as Israel escalates its war against Yemen’s Houthis, and mulls aggression targeting Iran’s nuclear sites.

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‘One China’.

Taiwan Reunification ‘Closer Than Ever’ – Chinese Ambassador (RT)

China is making significant strides toward achieving its long-held goal of reunification with its self-governed region of Taiwan, according to Zhang Hanhui, Beijing’s ambassador to Russia. It follows a recent statement made by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who described reunification as inevitable. In an opinion piece for RIA Novosti published on Friday, Zhang denounced Washington’s involvement in the affairs of the island, which Beijing insists is its sovereign territory. “Reunification is a historical trend and the right path, albeit one that involves hardships. ‘Taiwan independence’ is… a path doomed to failure. The Chinese nation has always adhered to the common belief that territory cannot be divided… the nation cannot be fragmented,” Zhang wrote. “China is closer than ever in its history to achieving the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” he added.

Beijing is “full of confidence and possesses the strength to achieve… the complete reunification of the country,” the ambassador said. Self-rule was established in Taiwan by nationalist forces after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Only a handful of nations currently recognize the island’s sovereignty, with most of the world, including Russia, complying with Beijing’s request that it be seen as part of the People’s Republic. While the US officially adheres to the One-China policy, recognizing Taiwan as part of China, it simultaneously engages in military cooperation with the government in Taipei, provoking indignation from Beijing. Last month, US President Joe Biden authorized $571 million in arms and supplies for the self-governing island.

Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claims and insists upon its sovereignty. Under President Tsai Ing-wen, the island has consistently opposed China’s “One Country, Two Systems” framework. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs frequently condemns Beijing’s actions as provocative and detrimental to regional peace. China held large-scale military drills around the island in October. The government in Taipei has claimed that Beijing will never “renounce the use of force” against it. Despite this, Zhang reiterated Beijing’s preference for peaceful reunification, a sentiment previously expressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Zhang accused the United States of using Taipei as a tool to contain China, blaming Washington for escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait. He also acknowledged Russia’s consistent support for Beijing’s ‘One China’ policy, calling it a testament to the close strategic partnership between the two countries.

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3
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875364457993650265

 

 

Humming
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875213551633318400

 

 

Pura raza
https://twitter.com/i/status/1875570384591810899

 

 

Je t’aime

 

 

Irwin

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Jan 312024
 
 January 31, 2024  Posted by at 9:40 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , ,  60 Responses »


Tamara de Lempicka The refugees 1937

 

Biden Wants Taylor Swift To Sing For Him – NYT (RT)
Is There A Taylor Swift Psyop? (ZH)
The Next Big Thing (Jim Kunstler)
US Foreign Arms Sales Rocket to Record Highs (Sp.)
Stoltenberg: Weapons for Ukraine Are ‘the Way to Peace’ (Sp.)
West Asks Countries To Secretly Send Russian Weapons To Ukraine – Lavrov (RT)
Russia Warns US Against Returning Tactical Nuclear Weapons to UK (Sp.)
The Palestinians Won in The Hague: So Did the Rest of Us (Patrick Lawrence)
ICJ Ruling Is What It Is: Symbolic. But What Happens Next Is Critical (Jay)
West Starts to Understand That Ukraine Project ‘Failing’ – Lavrov (Sp.)
Lavrov Blasts ‘Absurd’ Claims That Russia Will Attack NATO (RT)
Zelensky Ready To Further Fuel Ukraine Conflict (Sp.)
Ukraine To Teach Troops To Speak Ukrainian (RT)
US Facing ‘Death Spiral’ Of Swelling Debt – Nassim Taleb (RT)
Imran Khan Sentenced To Ten Years In Prison (RT)
Imran Khan Sentenced To 14-year New Jail Term (RT)

 

 

 

 

Illegals
https://twitter.com/i/status/1752498124877336987

 

 

Poll
https://twitter.com/i/status/1752450941633335551

 

 

A Delaware judge just retroactively voided Elon’s $55B Tesla pay package from 2018 where shareholders voted in favor for it, all milestones were hit, and Tesla stock is up 800% since then.


Elon Musk:”Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware.”

 

 

Cybertruck

 

 

Tucker Russell Brand


https://twitter.com/i/status/1752487123528093806

 

 

 

 

Joe Biden, George Soros and Taylor Swift. What a plotline.

“Joe Biden is in [a] hole with young people, he knows it. And if he thinks Taylor can get him out of that hole, he’s gonna go for it.”

Biden Wants Taylor Swift To Sing For Him – NYT (RT)

US President Joe Biden is pursuing an endorsement from global pop superstar Taylor Swift ahead of November’s election, the New York Times has claimed. The Democratic leader’s campaign is reportedly seeking to counter flagging polls that show him trailing likely Republican candidate, Donald Trump. Trump’s strong performances in early Republican primaries and caucuses have suggested that a rematch of the 2020 election is the most likely scenario at the US ballot box later this year. As such, Biden’s staff plan to rehash tactics that proved successful in the caustic battle with Trump four years ago, the New York Times said on Monday. Principally, this is said to involve painting the former president as a threat to American democracy, along with a heavy focus on abortion rights as part of a broader appeal to voters against alleged conservative efforts to restrict personal freedoms.

One influential voice the Democrats again intend to harness is that of Swift, arguably the most famous popstar on the planet. Perhaps more specifically, her 280 million Instagram followers are of significant interest, the report claims. Swift publicly backed Biden and his vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris in 2020, saying that she would “proudly vote” for the Democratic ticket because “under their leadership, I believe America has a chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs.” Last year, a single social media post from Swift led to the registration of 35,000 new voters in the US, the NYT report said, and Democrats are keen to secure her backing to expand this enthusiasm to a national scale. It is also predicted that fund-raising appeals from the singer could boost Biden’s campaign to the tune of millions of dollars.

“Taylor Swift stands tall and unique,” California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, said last year. “What she was able to accomplish just in getting young people activated to consider that they have a voice and that they should have a voice in the next election, I think, is extremely powerful.” Perhaps courting Swift’s backing, the White House last week condemned salacious fake AI images of the singer that have been circulating on social media in recent days. Fox News anchor Jeanine Pirro, a vocal backer of Trump, on Monday warned Swift not to “get involved in politics.” “We don’t want to see you there,” Pirro said on the news network’s ‘The Five’ show. “Joe Biden is in [a] hole with young people, he knows it. And if he thinks Taylor can get him out of that hole, he’s gonna go for it.” Trump, though, is also no stranger to leaning on popular culture for support. He has previously boasted of backing from the likes of Kanye West and Kid Rock. The latest polling data shows Trump holding an advantage of between 1 and 5 percentage points over Biden in a head-to-head race.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1752521142831562803

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“..has been pitched by legacy media as finally finding the “perfect match”: Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce. The relationship doesn’t pass the sniff test..”

Is There A Taylor Swift Psyop? (ZH)

Welcome to the matrix. The current news cycle gives the impression that Taylor Swift is everywhere. According to Bloomberg data, corporate media headlines featuring “Taylor Swift” began ramping up in the first half of 2023 and hit new record highs later in the year. The singer, who has made an entire career whining about having chosen the wrong men, has been pitched by legacy media as finally finding the “perfect match”: Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce. The relationship doesn’t pass the sniff test, given Taylor’s terrible choices with men. Let’s begin with Michael Benz, a former Trump admin State Department official whose work has been cited in congressional hearings, posted on X a video from 2019 featuring the Pentagon’s psychological operations research that pitched the idea of turning Taylor into an asset to combat “disinformation.”

Back to Taylor’s relationship with Kelce. Consider this:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1752042447088017527

And there’s this.

We’re not alone. Fox News’ Jesse Watters also asked: “Why is Taylor Swift Everywhere?” Perhaps it’s not by chance that the story count in corporate media for Taylor has exponentially exploded, averaging above 1,000 per day since late September. Taylor’s surge comes as legacy corporate media is terrified about the rise of alternative media. Wall Street Journal Chief Emma Tucker warned WEF elites at Davos this month: “We no longer own the news.” [..] While it remains to be seen if Taylor has become a NATO asset. Certainty Democrats appear to be salivating all over her ahead of the presidential election to turn ‘Swifites’ into blue voters.

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“Joe Biden” will seize an excuse to declare a national emergency and subject the US to some manner of martial law..”

The Next Big Thing (Jim Kunstler)

I’m sure you can see exactly where all this is going. By all this, I refer to the cortège of disasters orchestrated by “Joe Biden” and associates — with help from a power-crazed globalist cabal — hauling our country at a gallop now to the graveyard of empires. Is there any question that they are out to wreck Western Civ? And speeding up the action because too many actual citizens are rising to oppose their degenerate wickedness? Most particularly, the people who have not surrendered their reason to the Woke-Marxist mind-fuck that calls itself “progressivism” have had enough of the purposeful inflow of something like ten-thousand fake asylum-seekers a day across the border, mostly men, a lot of them from China, and many more of them mutts from faraway lands where Jihad is the order of the day — meaning the crusade to exterminate the people of Western Civ. We’re supposed to be okay with that.

This deliberate, treasonous policy was rightfully declared an “invasion” last week by the Governor of Texas, requiring the human wave to be met with real force, not the welcome wagon that the federal border patrol has been turned into. The result so far is a real-live Mexican stand-off between the regime in Washington and the state of Texas, joined by twenty-five other sympathetic US states willing to send men and matériel to seal the border. None of this is reported in Monday morning’s New York Times, by the way, though you can read Is Dying Your Hair Bad for Your Health there. Nor will you read about the caravan of American truckers striking out from all points around the country to “peacefully protest and pray” at the border while Texas attempts to settle its hash with “Joe Biden.” Nor will you read about the uprising of European farmers blocking highways to protest ruinous EU rules on food imports, diesel fuel prices, carbon emissions inanity, and, of course, the officially-enabled tide of Africans and jihadists flooding into EU member states.

“Joe Biden’s” response so far is to say he’ll attend to the border situation only if Congress green-lights another massive aid package for Ukraine, a dishonest proffer from any angle. Ukraine is a lost cause that should never have been a cause of ours in the first place. Yet securing the US border is a principal duty of the executive branch, not some optional fringe benefit to be used as leverage for other projects. Congress has already got impeachment articles ready for Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, who has lied repeatedly under oath about the border being “secure.” But it’s obviously not enough. The failure is entirely “Joe Biden’s” and warrants his impeachment on its face, aside from all the evidence of bribery and racketeering among him and his family.

The best move would be to impeach both the president and his proclaimed “border czar” Veep Kamala Harris — which would put Speaker Mike Johnson in the oval office. But the impeachment process is too slow and awkward for that. So, now I will tell you where all this is actually going: “Joe Biden” will seize an excuse to declare a national emergency and subject the US to some manner of martial law. The excuse could be an outbreak of violence in the quarrel between the states and the feds over the border. Or it could be a widening of the war in the Middle East, a direct confrontation with Iran that would draw in Russia and Turkey and kickoff World War Three, a war we would have an excellent shot at losing, considering our DEI-ravaged, over-vaxxed army, our obsolete naval carrier groups that can be sunk by hypersonic missiles, and our depleted reserves of armaments already fobbed off by Ukraine and, lately, given to Israel in the Gaza campaign to destroy Hamas.

If such a war didn’t set off a world-ending exchange of nukes, it would at least collapse the economies of Europe and America and, with that, many governments, including possibly ours. And what role might all those recently-arrived illegal aliens play in such a fiasco? Any way you cut it, we’d be in for chaos and hardship. Or, if we somehow avert major war, “Joe Biden” can try the national emergency ploy when the much-heralded (by the WHO) “Disease X” trots onstage. (And we must ask whether that will just be a delayed side-effect of the mRNA vaccine deaths?) Ultimately, the purpose of any national emergency at this moment in history, whatever prompts it, will be to suspend the 2024 elections. The Democratic Party has gone so completely off-the-rails psychologically that it will do anything to avert losing control of the government.

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What it’s all about. The bottom line.

US Foreign Arms Sales Rocket to Record Highs (Sp.)

Capitalizing on armed conflicts across the world is not uncommon for Washington, something that is confirmed by the fact that the US’ foreign military sales (FMS) reached $80.9 billion in fiscal year 2023, soaring almost 56% from the previous year to set a new record. Apart from FMS, America’s so-called direct commercial sales (DCS) likewise increased last year to $157.5 billion from $153.6 billion in fiscal 2022, the State Department said in a statement. A record total of FMS and DCS in FY2023 stands at about $238 billion. The total $80.9 billion figure for FMS last year includes $62.25 billion in arms sales funded by US allied and partner nations, as well as $3.97 billion through the Title 22 Foreign Military Financing program, according to data released. An additional $14.68 billion was funded through other Department of State and Department of Defense programs, including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

Poland made some of the biggest purchases, buying Apache helicopters for $12 billion and also paying $10 billion for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). Germany spent $8.5 billion on Chinook helicopters while Bulgaria paid $1.5 billion for Stryker armoured vehicles and Norway bought $1 billion worth of multi-mission helicopters. The Czech Republic bought $5.6 billion in F-35 jets and munitions. Outside of Europe, the State Department data indicated that South Korea paid $5 billion for F-35 fighter jets and Australia spent $6.3 billion on C130J-30 Super Hercules planes. Also, Japan reached a $1 billion deal for an E-2D Hawkeye surveillance plane. Examples of last year’s major DCS Congressional Notifications include a hefty agreement with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to supply National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) worth $1.2 billion.

Other agreements worth approximately the above-mentioned sum pertain to Italy, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, and Norway, per the State Department. It’s safe to assume that commercializing wars has become a trend in US policy. In the same vein, in a 2022 extensive report by the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft think tank, the authors urged the Biden administration “to address a number of key issues if US policy on arms sales is to be made consistent with long-term US interests.”

“The key policy consideration is how to restrict sales to those that will help allies defend themselves without provoking arms races or increasing the prospects for conflict,” the report pointed out, referring to the AUKUS submarine deal, which “will benefit US contractors but risks fueling arms competition and increasing tensions with China.” On the “rapid” US military assistance to Ukraine, the report underscored that “the United States has failed to offer an accompanying diplomatic strategy aimed at ending the war before it evolves into a long, grinding conflict or escalates into a direct US-Russian confrontation.” Moscow has repeatedly warned the US and its allies that sending arms to Kiev would only prolong the Ukraine conflict. The authors warned that foreign arms sales can also pose risks to US security “by fueling conflicts, provoking American adversaries, stoking arms races, and drawing the US into unnecessary or counterproductive wars.”

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Works for the industry.

Stoltenberg: Weapons for Ukraine Are ‘the Way to Peace’ (Sp.)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press briefing that supporting Ukraine goes beyond charity, serving as an investment into global security. “Supporting Ukraine is not a charity, it is an investment in our own security,” Stoltenberg said during a press briefing on Monday. Stoltenberg also suggested that arms for Ukraine are “the way to peace.” In October, the White House requested from Congress supplemental funding of for more than $100 billion, including more than $60 billion for Ukraine, but Republican lawmakers have refused to approve the request without including substantive measures to strengthen US border security and address record levels of illegal immigration into the United States.

Western countries have been providing military aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s special military operation in February 2022 in the amount of hundreds of billions of dollars. The aid evolved from artillery munitions and training in 2022 to heavier weapons, including tanks, advanced air-defense systems, cluster munitions and missiles later that year and in 2023. The Kremlin has consistently warned against the West’s continued arms deliveries to Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Western military supplies do not bode well for Ukraine and only prolong the conflict. In addition, vehicles carrying supplied weapons are a legitimate target for the Russian Army.

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“In accordance with this certificate, the recipient of the weapon does not have the right to resell it or redirect it anywhere without the consent of the supplier country..”

West Asks Countries To Secretly Send Russian Weapons To Ukraine – Lavrov (RT)

Moscow has become aware of several cases of Western powers asking certain countries to secretly donate Russian-made weaponry to Kiev for use in the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. The Russian diplomat’s comments come as Kiev ramps up its demands for more military aid, citing acute shortages in hardware and ammunition. The US and its allies have also been seeking to approve further financial and military support for Ukraine. Speaking at a roundtable meeting with the heads of foreign diplomatic missions in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov stated that Russia has been in contact with “certain countries” that the West has been trying to convince to hand over Russia-supplied weapons to Ukraine, without informing Moscow of such transfers.

The minister noted that there have been “several cases of this kind” recorded by Moscow over the past year and a half, and stressed that Russia will continue to demand that all international obligations regarding weapons transfers be observed. Lavrov pointed out that when a foreign country legally acquires Russian arms, the shipments come with a certain package of documents, including an end-user certificate. “In accordance with this certificate, the recipient of the weapon does not have the right to resell it or redirect it anywhere without the consent of the supplier country,” the minister explained.

At the same time, Russia’s top diplomat noted that the West has been pretending not to notice that its own weapons, which it has supplied to Ukraine, have already spread to war zones across the world, where they are frequently being used by extremists and terrorists. “The weapons that the West supplies to the Ukrainian regime have been found not only in conflict zones in the Middle East, but in illegal shipments that have been recorded in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Gaza,” Lavrov said. Last week, speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s claims that Kiev has been reselling Western weapons on the black market, and expressed disbelief that Ukraine’s backers were unaware of this. Russia has repeatedly condemned Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine, insisting that such shipments only serve to prolong the fighting and lead to more bloodshed without affecting the eventual outcome.

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“..the United States is expected to station B61-12 gravity bombs, which are three times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, at the Lakenheath base for the first time in 15 years..”

Russia Warns US Against Returning Tactical Nuclear Weapons to UK (Sp.)

Russia strongly warns the US against returning its tactical nuclear weapons to the territory of the UK, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.”Regarding the hypothetical return of US tactical nuclear weapons to the UK territory, I would like to strongly warn against this destabilizing step,” Ryabkov told reporters. The move would not strengthen the security of either the UK or the US, but would increase the level of escalation and threat in Europe, the diplomat said. “We assume that despite the rather sad experience, from the point of view of ensuring European security, the experience of recent years in London and Washington, hotheads are not drawing any lessons from this, so this scenario is quite possible,” he added.

The Telegraph reported on January 26 that the United States is expected to station B61-12 gravity bombs, which are three times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, at the Lakenheath base for the first time in 15 years after Washington decided to remove its nuclear arsenal from the United Kingdom in 2008. A Pentagon spokesperson, commenting on the development, said in a statement to Sputnik that it is a US policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence or absence of nuclear weapons at a specific location amid reports that Washington plans to station its nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom.

“It is U.S. policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence or absence of nuclear weapons at any general or specific location,” the statement said. The statement noted that the United States “routinely upgrades its military facilities in allied nations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that the Kremlin would view the deployment of US nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom as an escalatory action.

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“.. it ordered Israel should facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, it actually said, “You have to cease fire because there is no [other] way of doing that.”

The Palestinians Won in The Hague: So Did the Rest of Us (Patrick Lawrence)

Half a dozen years ago I sat in the lobby lounge at the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan talking at length with Richard Falk, the scholar, lawyer, U.N. rapporteur, and advocate of Palestinian rights. Inevitably, the conversation turned for a time to international law, a topic on which Falk has long been a recognized authority. Here is a little of what he said as we took our afternoon tea: When international law is on the side of the geopolitical actors, then they are very serious about its relevance. When the American embassy was seized in Tehran after the Iranian Revolution, they talked about the flouting of international law as if that was the most sacred body of law that ever existed. International law is used very instrumentally. If you’re protecting private investment in Venezuela or Chile, then it’s barbaric not to uphold it. But if it’s blocking the pursuit of some kind of interventionist project, then it’s flaky or irrelevant to talk about it …

I thought about that exchange over the weekend, as I considered the International Court of Justice’s ruling last Friday that the apartheid state of Israel may be guilty of genocide against Gaza’s Palestinian population, as South Africa charges, and that the case Pretoria brought last month must proceed. Later Friday, the estimable Phyllis Bennis quoted Falk in a piece she wrote for In These Times. Falk called the decision the court’s “greatest moment,” and went on to explain, “It strengthens the claims of international law to be respected by all sovereign states—not just some.” Consistency of thought: It does not get more admirable than this. There are many, many ways to look upon the ICJ’s ruling, many things worth saying. The very first of these is that the significance of the ICJ’s interim finding lies beyond dispute.

Will the barbarities of a nation self-evidently suffering a collective psychosis now stop? No. What Dick Falk said six years ago still holds: Israel has already made clear it will ignore The Hague’s judgment. But what “the Jewish state” does this week or next is not for the moment our question. What are the enduring consequences of this ruling for the global order? How shall we situate the court’s judgment? Where does its importance lie? These are our questions. And Falk was right last Friday, too: The ICJ has begun the work—the long work—of restoring international law as a foundational feature of a world order worthy of the term. Having made this point, I must immediately note the abject deflections we find in the reports of our corporate media—which, nearly to a one, urge their readers, listeners, and viewers to dismiss the ICJ’s interim finding as, borrowing from Falk, more or less flaky and irrelevant.

In the second paragraph of its main story Friday, The New York Times, fairly bursting to get the point across, wrote, “The court did not rule on whether Israel was committing genocide, and it did not call on Israel to stop its campaign to crush Hamas…” Three untruths here, straight off the top. One, the South Africans did not ask The Hague to issue a ruling on genocide one way or the other. In the cause of expedience, to stop the savagery as quickly as possible, it asked for what it got—a swift interim judgment so the court could order Israel to stop the violence and that the larger case on genocide could proceed. Two, a mountain has been made of the fact that the ICJ did not, in so many words, call upon Israel to cease fire in Gaza. This is preposterously misleading.

Peruse the six stipulations that comprise the ruling, the first of which reads, “Israel shall take all measures within its power to prevent all acts within the scope of Genocide Convention, Article 2.” Here I defer to Raz Segal, an Israeli historian who professes at Stockton University in New Jersey. This is from a segment of Democracy Now!, distributed last Friday: We’re already seeing headlines in The New York Times today which frame this as, “The court did not issue an order for a ceasefire”—which, in effect, it actually did, because if it ordered that Israel should cease from genocidal acts, and it ordered Israel should facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, it actually said, “You have to cease fire because there is no [other] way of doing that.”

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“It’s the starter’s pistol of a global clampdown, which will impact humble Israelis as their economy tumbles and life gets tougher..”

ICJ Ruling Is What It Is: Symbolic. But What Happens Next Is Critical (Jay)

All eyes now will be on Joe Biden to see what card he will play next after he has cut UNRWA aid – a despicable move which will haunt him until his dying days For many, the ruling of the ICJ in the Hague was surreal as it swiftly delivered a judgement against Israel for its genocide in Gaza. Yet even though the interpretation from around the world was that the conclusion of the court was unequivocal, the only real way of judging the validity of both the court and its judgement is with its impact. One has to wonder why the court, for example, didn’t use the word “genocide” and also why it stopped short of calling for an all-out ceasefire. For those naïve enough to believe that the court is entirely independent, the decision by the U.S. to veto any decision made by the United Nations Security Council should set minds at rest. We know that the Americans will do nothing at all, but there might be plans, however, for other countries to use the ruling as a basis for a host of actions against Israel, beyond merely legal ones.

The Americans were quick to point out on the day of the ruling that the court did not rule that Israel carried out a genocide. And so, by definition, it didn’t. This mentality, which is popular among gangsters, is really all that matters and is what those seeking justice will have to grapple with now.But the ruling did throw a spotlight on just how desperate both the Americans and Israelis are becoming as the stunt they pulled on the same day of the ruling, to distract media attention away from the court case and its significance, is telling.UNRWA is the UN agency, which takes care of the Palestinians, not only in Israel but in other countries like Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. For the Biden administration to entirely pull its funding of this agency, the last lifeline for thousands of Palestinians who rely on it even for food aid, is desperate, pathetic and despicable.

For those wondering what this stunt was intended to do, all they had to do is watch BBC news and see how this once fine international broadcaster has become a propaganda channel for U.S. hegemony. Eight minutes were given to why the Biden administration took the decision and only a couple of minutes given to the court decision itself.The Americans and Israel are still fighting a media war, which, for them, must feel like flogging a dead horse, despite most analysts acknowledging that all of the West’s media giants are completely supportive of israel. Israel clearly prepared the dossier and tortured its Palestinian prisoners to fabricate a story about UNRWA workers being complicit with the October 7th attacks in a confession signed in blood. Shamefully, this “evidence” which wouldn’t stand up in any court in the U.S. or UK, was all it took for Biden to go ahead with the plan, which leading commentators like George Galloway in the UK have already called an act of genocide in itself.

The UNRWA stunt is absolutely disgusting as it is craven and an all-time new low point for Biden. It paints Biden as a U.S. president who is happy to play his role in murdering thousands of civilians all in the name of fighting the media and controlling the debate. Some commentators will no doubt note the irony that the Gaza campaign started with claims by Israel of Hamas beheading babies and Israeli women being raped – the latter claim just retracted by the New York Times in recent days – and is now noted for Israel’s baptism of fake news as it struggles now even to get the upper hand in Gaza amidst reports of Hamas fighters returning to northern Gaza.

The ruling however will send shockwaves around the world for Israel to deal with. Certainly most of the countries, which make up the UN General Assembly, which has a good working relationship with the court, will not keep quiet about a U.S. veto in the Security Council. The boycott of goods may well be cranked up to official sanctions on Israel’s goods, visas and even the entity’s participation of international events. But for Netanyahu, this is not a badge of honour. He knows that the ruling will only compound his all-time low ratings in his own country. It’s the starter’s pistol of a global clampdown, which will impact humble Israelis as their economy tumbles and life gets tougher. Biden of course, could use the ruling to leverage Bibi to call a ceasefire. That is of course if you believe the reports that sleepy Joe really wants one, or is just bluffing once again, using his own journalists to help him with this deception.

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Oh, they know.. Admitting it is something else.

West Starts to Understand That Ukraine Project ‘Failing’ – Lavrov (Sp.)

The West is beginning to understand that the “Ukraine project” is failing but can not stop assisting Kiev because of its economic benefit and fear of losing “prestige,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday. “The figures that are hidden in Ukraine, they speak a lot about how important it is for the West to prevent the ‘failure’ of their ‘Ukraine project’. Moreover, they already understand that the failure has already begun. But nevertheless they cannot stop. And not only for reasons of prestige … And also from the point of view of economic benefits,” Lavrov said during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Moscow. Addressing the UN Security Council meeting on January 22, 2023, Lavrov emphasized that there are no interests – and there never were – in the conflict with Russia in favor of the Ukrainian people.

There are only “the interests of the Anglo-Saxons, their henchmen and the criminal, rotten Kiev elite, which is tied to the West by mutual responsibility and which is afraid of being swept away the day after the end of the war.” The Russian top diplomat pointed out that Moscow has never given up on a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict. “We never gave up on the peaceful resolution, we are always ready to negotiate — negotiate not about how to keep the leadership of the Kiev regime in place but about overcoming the inheritance of a decade-long destructive looting of the country and violence against the people, removing the reasons for the tragic Ukrainian situation,” Lavrov said. However, the key factor hindering a resolution of the conflict in Ukraine is the continued support of the West, he added.

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Without those claims, what is left?

Lavrov Blasts ‘Absurd’ Claims That Russia Will Attack NATO (RT)

Speculation in the West that Russia could attack the Baltic and Nordic states once the Ukraine conflict ends is pure fiction, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking to the heads of diplomatic missions on Tuesday, Lavrov said the US had gathered a group of 54 countries to provide military, technical and intelligence aid to Ukraine to help it fight Russia. “All this is being done to prevent Russia from claiming victory,” he added. He said Western countries were claiming that “if Russia wins and asserts its interests in this war, the Baltics, Sweden, and Finland will be next.” Three Baltic nations became NATO members in the early 2000s, more than a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Both Helsinki and Stockholm applied to join the bloc after the start of the Ukraine conflict, although only Finland’s application has been ratified so far.

Lavrov noted that this view was shared by Joe Biden, referring to remarks by the US president in early December, when he said that “if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there” and could proceed to attack a NATO country. Moscow said at the time that such comments were “unacceptable for a responsible nuclear state.” The Russian foreign minister said that “the absurdity of such statements is clear to anyone who understands the slightest bit of history and the goals of the special military operation in Ukraine, which we announced openly and without hiding.” Russian officials have repeatedly said that Moscow is seeking the “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine, as well as an arrangement guaranteeing that the country would not join NATO, and would instead recommit to neutrality.

Lavrov further noted that the military campaign against Kiev is aimed at eliminating “historical injustice.” According to the minister, Moscow is fighting attempts to rewrite history, as well as efforts to turn territories where Russians and other peoples of Russia have lived for centuries “into a springboard for US-led NATO to be used to threaten the [country’s] security.” Last month, Putin said Moscow had no interest whatsoever in launching an offensive against the bloc. He added that the president of the United States – which he called the “master” of NATO – surely knows that “Russia has no interest… geopolitically, economically or militarily… in waging war against [the bloc].”

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When you lose, escalate.

Zelensky Ready To Further Fuel Ukraine Conflict (Sp.)

Doubts about the West’s willingness to further prop up the Kiev regime may drive Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stir up the Ukraine conflict even further by ordering riskier attacks against Russia, Time magazine reported. Zelensky is already taking “bigger risks” in order to turn the conflict around and bolster his political standing at home, according to the publication. Every one of these actions is ripe with the potential for Russian retaliation, which may in turn deepen the hostilities and directly drag in NATO, Time magazine notes, adding that neither Moscow nor Brussels wants such a development. Armed conflicts “take on a life of their own, particularly with one of the key players -in this case, Zelensky- becoming a wild/ card to watch, the magazine concluded.

This follows Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters that Zelensky is currently in a tight spot because no one is providing him with money and Ukraine is up against a crisis at the moment. “Zelensky is in a tough position. He has stopped receiving money, there are not enough shells for him abroad, he is also facing a tense situation inside the country, and many people are dissatisfied. In order to cloak his positions, he resorts to disguising them with utterly ludicrous decrees. It is unlikely that this can help the Kiev regime in any way, [so] the difficulties will only mount. This is despite the fact that there certainly are still more or less bright minds who understand what needs to be done to get out of this situation,” Peskov said, commenting on Zelensky’s decree entitled “On the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians.”

Time’s report comes after The American Conservative pointed out that Zelensky has issued frenzied orders to attack civilians in order to fuel the conflict and secure further assistance from the West. On January 21, 27 people were killed and 25 more wounded when Ukrainian troops shelled the Kirovsky district of the city of Donetsk, according to head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin. The shelling was preceded by the Ukrainian military’s strike on the Russian city of Belgorod on December 30, which killed 25 civilians and wounded 109 others. Moscow excoriated the murderous attack, slamming it as an act of terrorism. Also in December, President Vladimir Putin stressed in an interview with Russian media that Moscow has “no reason and no interest – neither geopolitical, nor economic, political, and military – to fight with NATO countries.” Russia and NATO members do not have any territorial claims against one another, Putin noted, adding that Moscow is unwilling to spoil relations with the alliance.

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“..Many soldiers reportedly continue to speak Russian on the front lines..”

Ukraine To Teach Troops To Speak Ukrainian (RT)

Special courses will be created for Kiev’s troops so that they can improve their command of the Ukrainian language, government official Taras Kremen has said.Kremen, who is Ukraine’s language ombudsman, made the announcement as he met with servicemen at a Territorial Defense Forces training center on Monday, his office said in a statement.Violations of the country’s language law, which among other things obliges the military to use Ukrainian, have been recorded in a large number of units, including in the capital Kiev, according to the commissioner.Ukraine historically has a large Russian-speaking population, especially in its eastern regions. Many soldiers reportedly continue to speak Russian on the front lines. In a 2001 census, more than 14.2 million Ukrainian citizens (almost 30% of the population) called Russian their native language.

During the meeting with servicemen, it was “agreed to open language courses for military personnel who want to improve their knowledge and properly prepare for the exam to determine the level of proficiency in the state language,” Kremen said. “I will be happy to assist in the creation of such a network [of courses] in other military units as well,” the commissioner added. Signed by then President Pyotr Poroshenko in 2019, the language law established Ukrainian as the sole state language and made it obligatory for use in all areas of social life. It was a continuation of Kiev’s policy of forcing out the Russian language, pursued by the authorities after the violent Western-backed coup in 2014.Since 2021, passing a Ukrainian language exam has been mandatory to become a government employee or to obtain Ukrainian citizenship.

“Nobody there [in the conflict zone] speaks Ukrainian,” a sniper from Kiev’s forces told the TSN media outlet in October. Despite concealing his identity, the serviceman enjoyed a certain celebrity status in Ukraine due to his regular interviews and podcast appearances.He claimed that Russian was common in all sections of the front line that he had been posted to. In his own unit, “two people speak the harshest Surzhik [a mix of Russian and Ukrainian] and, probably, two or three others [use] Ukrainian language. All the rest are Russian-speaking,” the sniper insisted. Moscow has repeatedly denounced Kiev’s clampdown on Russian culture and language, insisting that the “forced Ukrainization” violates international law and infringes upon the rights of native Russian speakers, who make up around a quarter of the population.

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“..It now amounts to about $102,000 for an average American family of three..”

US Facing ‘Death Spiral’ Of Swelling Debt – Nassim Taleb (RT)

The burgeoning US debt pile is akin to a “death spiral” that only a “miracle” could extract the country from, economist and ‘Black Swan’ author Nassim Taleb said at a business event on Monday, as quoted by Bloomberg. Taleb defined the expanding US debt load as a “white swan,” meaning a risk event that is highly predictable and more probable than a “black swan” event, a metaphor describing an occurrence that comes as a complete surprise. “So long as you have Congress keep extending the debt limit and doing deals because they’re afraid of the consequences of doing the right thing, that’s the political structure of the political system, eventually you’re going to have a debt spiral,” Taleb said. “And a debt spiral is like a death spiral.” Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the absolute level of US public debt looks like “a scary number.”

US government federal debt topped $34 trillion for the first time in history at the end of December. It now amounts to about $102,000 for an average American family of three. In 2023 alone, it grew by more than $4 trillion.According to Taleb, a former trader who is best known for publishing several bestselling books on economics, white swans include both the US deficit and the American economy that has grown more vulnerable to shocks than in previous years. He called such vulnerability a feature of globalization, as problems in one region can ricochet around the world.When asked how the US “debt spiral” could play out, Taleb said, “we need something to come in from the outside, or maybe some kind of miracle,” adding that this makes him “kind of gloomy about the entire political system in the Western world.”

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“..a classified cable that was sent to Islamabad by the Pakistani ambassador to Washington in 2022, which allegedly suggested that the US wanted Khan ousted over his neutrality in the Ukraine conflict.”

Imran Khan Sentenced To Ten Years In Prison (RT)

A Pakistani court has sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to ten years behind bars. He has been charged with leaking state secrets, according to the spokesman for the politician’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI). On Tuesday, Zulfiqar Bukhari said, as quoted by AP, that the verdict was announced at a prison in the northern city of Rawalpindi, not far from the capital, Islamabad. The same sentence was also imposed on former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The charges relate to the so-called cipher, a classified cable sent to Islamabad by the Pakistani ambassador to Washington in 2022, shortly after the start of the Ukraine conflict. The document allegedly suggested that the US wanted to remove Khan over his neutrality regarding the hostilities.

The ex-Pakistani PM called the cipher case on Tuesday “false,” adding that it “is being completed in violation of constitutional requirements and legal regulations.” “This is not a trial but a fixed match outcome of which was predetermined,” he added. Echoing those comments, his party PTI noted that “there can be no more ridiculous case than the cipher.” “What can be more ridiculous than that Pakistan has imprisoned its prime minister and foreign minister for exposing the foreign conspiracy!” Khan, a former professional cricket player who became prime minister in 2018, was ousted in 2022 in a non-confidence vote. The opposition accused him of poor governance, as well as of mismanaging the economy and foreign policy. At the time, he claimed that he had been toppled as a result of a US conspiracy.

The controversy around the politician did not end there, however, with Khan becoming a target of dozens of cases, sparking mass street protests organized by his supporters, which resulted in dozens of casualties. In August 2023, the politician was sentenced to a three-year jail sentence on charges related to what prosecutors argued was an attempt to conceal receiving state gifts while Khan was serving as PM. The country’s judiciary, however, later suspended the sentence, granting him bail. Khan still remained incarcerated on other charges.

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And one day later, there’s more…

Imran Khan Sentenced To 14-year New Jail Term (RT)

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife have been sentenced to 14 years in prison in a corruption case. This comes after another court ruling in which Khan was given ten years for leaking state secrets. The politician and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced by a Pakistani accountability court on Wednesday in the city of Rawalpindi, not far from the capital, Islamabad. Both were charged with the illegal sale of state gifts while Khan was prime minister from 2018 to 2022. In addition to the sentence, the two have been barred from running for public office for ten years and fined $2.7 million.

This comes after Khan was sentenced to ten years on Tuesday for leaking state secrets. The charges are related to a cipher, a classified cable that was sent to Islamabad by the Pakistani ambassador to Washington in 2022, which allegedly suggested that the US wanted Khan ousted over his neutrality in the Ukraine conflict. Commenting on the verdict, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) denounced what it called the “complete destruction of every existing law in Pakistan in two days.” “Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi have faced yet another kangaroo trial in which no right to defense was given to both. Like cipher, this case has no basis to stand in any higher court.”

Both sentences come ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for February 8. The PTI said the “atrocities against [Khan] will be avenged by the power of the vote.” Khan, a former cricketer-turned-politician, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, with the opposition accusing him of mismanaging the economy and foreign policy. Khan claims that he was overthrown as a result of a US conspiracy. Since then, the former leader has fought dozens of legal battles. Islamabad’s attempts to prosecute him sparked massive public unrest with numerous casualties.

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In the earliest days of space exploration, most calculations for early space missions were done by “human computers,” and most of these computers were women. These calculations helped the U.S. launch its first satellite, Explorer 1, 65 years ago #Today.

 

 

Stonehenge

 

 

Paris
https://twitter.com/i/status/1752419193520115948

 

 

Big baby
https://twitter.com/i/status/1752304443435917681

 

 

Hummingbird

 

 

Baby elephant
https://twitter.com/i/status/1752315809270206564

 

 

Finch
https://twitter.com/i/status/1752427413722611823

 

 

 

 

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