Salvador Dali The hand 1930
Dutch farmer
https://twitter.com/i/status/1548471060856639488
Are you truly happy?
Netherlands:
Dutch farmers make it very clear who they think are pulling the strings on the cost of living crisis.
pic.twitter.com/gJ2FUt7g11— Alexandra Lavoie (@ThevoiceAlexa) July 17, 2022
No, that’s not the same prosecutor that Biden fired…. 😉
What are the odds these people have merely suggested to talk to Russia?
• Ukraine’s Zelensky Fires Spy Chief And Top State Prosecutor (SCMP)
President Volodymyr Zelensky abruptly fired the head of Ukraine’s powerful domestic security agency, the SBU, and the state prosecutor general, citing dozens of cases of collaboration with Russia by officials in their agencies. The sackings of SBU chief Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Zelenskiy, and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, who has played a key role in the prosecution of Russian war crimes, were announced on Sunday in executive orders on the president’s website. The firings are easily the biggest political sackings since Russia invaded on February 24, forcing the entire Ukrainian state machine to focus on the war effort.
In a Telegram post, Zelensky said he had fired the top officials because it had come to light that many members of their agencies had collaborated with Russia, a problem he said had touched other agencies as well. He said 651 cases of alleged treason and collaboration had been opened against prosecutorial and law enforcement officials, and that more than 60 officials from Bakanov and Venediktova’s agencies were now working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied territories. The sheer number of treason cases lays bare the huge challenge of Russian infiltration faced by Ukraine as it battles Moscow in what it says is a fight for survival.
“Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state … pose very serious questions to the relevant leaders,” Zelensky said. “Each of these questions will receive a proper answer,” he said. [..] In his nightly speech to the nation, Zelensky noted the recent arrest on suspicion of treason of the SBU’s former head overseeing the region of Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 that Kyiv and the West still view as Ukrainian land. Zelensky said he had fired the top security official at the start of the invasion, a decision he said had now been shown to be justified.
Go talk to Russia.
• Germany Won’t Survive Winter Without Russian Gas – Official (RT)
Germany’s natural gas reserves are not enough to see the country through next winter without purchasing additional Russian gas, the top official in charge of electricity and gas networks has told the media. In an interview with Germany’s Bild am Sonntag, published on Sunday, Klaus Muller warned that while “gas reservoirs are nearly 65% full,” and “it’s better than in the previous weeks” it is still not sufficient to “go through the winter without Russian gas.” The president of Germany’s Federal Network Agency added that much now depends on whether maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline concludes as expected on Thursday. When asked how long it would take before energy prices for consumers in Germany are further raised, in case of a complete stoppage of Russian gas deliveries, Muller said no decision has yet been made.
However, he offered reassurances, noting that “there hasn’t been any significant price surge this week, even though the Nord Stream 1 was shut off.” The official suggested this may be a sign that “markets have already internalized the loss of Russian gas supplies and we’ve reached a gas-price-plateau.” The president of energy regulator insisted that Germans “shouldn’t succumb to panic,” assuring that “private households have the least reason of all to worry,” and will be provided with gas far longer than industry. Moreover, according to the official, “there’s no scenario in which we remain completely without gas.” Muller noted that even if Russia were to cut supplies entirely, other countries like Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium would still be selling the fossil fuels to Germany.
In future, the country’s own liquefied natural gas terminal will also make a difference, the network agency’s president added. Muller said if gas rationing occurs, the agency will weigh up the potential damage to the economy and supply chains from shutting off supplies to any particular business or industrial plant. The official went on to claim that even if there is a shortage, it will likely affect only the parts of Germany which are at the end of the gas network. Muller also dismissed suggestions that Berlin should ban any gas exports to neighboring European countries, stressing the importance of solidarity. “Just like we are now benefiting from the liquefied natural gas ports in Belgium and the Netherlands,” Germany would lend its neighbors a helping hand should they face a severe gas shortage, the official pledged.
“Sadly, many people in the west have forgotten the importance of commodities, industry and energy in terms of geopolitical leverage..”
• Satellite Imagery Shows Global Crop Declines – Except For Russia And China (ZH)
Infrared satellite imagery designed to measure moisture levels and the health of farmlands suggests that staple crops such as wheat are in poor condition and in sharp decline among major exporters including the Ukraine, the US and India. Two countries do have bumper crops so far though; namely Russia and China. It is hard to say which governments and institutions monitor this data, but a few months ago a multitude of political leaders and global banks issued simultaneous warnings of a “global food shortage” and an impending crisis. Such institutions included the IMF, World Bank, the BIS and even the White House. So far, a perfect storm of stagflation, supply chain disruptions and poor weather conditions have combined to disrupt food production around the world.
Price inflation due to central bank stimulus measures has been enough to do incredible damage to the many national economies, but a single bad year for crops on top of this could spell disaster. Russia and China, on the other hand, are enjoying a strategic advantage. As we entered spring of this year, the mainstream media heralded the end of the Russian economy and the swift collapse of their war efforts in Ukraine. Today, Russia is selling more oil and exporting more commodities than ever before, and both Russia and China now have the most healthy staple crops in the world. It’s almost as if the public in the west has been deliberately misled about our economic strength.
Sadly, many people in the west have forgotten the importance of commodities, industry and energy in terms of geopolitical leverage. Without dominance of these three arenas there is no chance for a nation or group of nations to dictate terms to a country that has such advantages. Economic warfare is about independent production and adaptability; these are two things the US and Europe do not have right now. [..] the temptation for the eastern nations to use food as a weapon against NATO countries will be just as high on their list as oil and gas. With food and energy stability in doubt there is also a considerable danger of civil unrest. Third world nations are likely to see the worst of the shortages, but price inflation in necessities is here to stay for first world countries as well. And along with that comes all the associated economic problems, including rising crime, rising unemployment and rising poverty.
Highly valued physician to 3 presidents, and now all of a sudden he’s a quack?
• Ex-White House Doctor Makes Biden Prediction (RT)
US President Joe Biden won’t make it through the rest of his first term as “his mind is too far gone,” White House physician turned Texas congressman Ronny Jackson predicted on Twitter on Thursday. Jackson elaborated that “Biden’s cognitive decline has been on full display for YEARS,” arguing “He SHOULD NOT be our President!” in another tweet calling for the president to resign. Jackson served as the personal physician to former presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and George W. Bush. In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, he revealed that Obama had sent him an email scolding him for casting doubt on Biden’s cognitive abilities.
After acknowledging that Jackson had “always served [Obama] and [his] family well,” and calling him a “fine doctor and service member but also a friend,” the former president tore into the congressman for the “cheap shot” he had supposedly taken at Biden on Twitter. “It was unprofessional and beneath the office that you once held,” Obama allegedly wrote, calling the tweets “disrespectful to me and the many friends you had in our administration.” The former president “expect[ed] better,” he said in the email, urging Jackson to “reflect” and “expect more of yourself in the future.” Jackson stood by his opinion of the current president’s mental status, however, telling Representative Jim Banks in another interview that “all I know is that he’s got age-related cognitive decline, right. He is not mentally fit right now.” The doctor cited “the way he shuffles away, stares off into space” as an indication Biden was no longer all there.
Reminding his critics that he had been the White House physician for three presidents, Jackson warned he was “100% sure that Joe Biden is incapable of doing that job,” pointing out how “physically and mentally … demanding” the presidency is. “He will not make it four years in office,” the doctor predicted. Biden’s alleged cognitive decline is a popular talking point among the president’s detractors, who note his growing confusion even in the face of simple tasks like reading off a teleprompter and exiting a stage after speaking. Prone to gaffes even while serving as vice president under Obama, his ability to remain on-script has suffered noticeably, to the point where his cabinet has repeatedly been forced to walk back inflammatory statements regarding regime change and potential military action in Russia and China.
“Confusion is the name of the game at NATO these days..”
• London Falling: Britain’s Military Decline Exposes NATO’s Collapse (Ritter)
The secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, recently announced the US-led military bloc’s goal of expanding its so-called ‘Response Force’ from its current strength of 40,000 to a force of more than 300,000 troops. “We will enhance our battlegroups in the eastern part of the Alliance up to brigade-levels,” Stoltenberg declared. “We will transform the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000.” The announcement, made at the end of NATO’s annual summit, held in Madrid, Spain, apparently took several defense officials from the NATO membership by surprise, with one such official calling Stoltenberg’s figures “number magic.”
Stoltenberg appeared to be working from a concept that had been developed within NATO headquarters based upon assumptions made by his staffers, as opposed to anything resembling coordinated policy among the defense organizations of the 30 nations that make up the bloc. Confusion is the name of the game at NATO these days, with the alliance still reeling from last year’s Afghan debacle and unable to adequately disguise the impotence shown in the face of Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine. The bloc is but a shadow of its former self, a pathetic collection of under-funded military organizations more suited for the parade ground than the battlefield. No military organization more represents this colossal collapse in credibility and capability than the British Army.
Even before the current Ukraine crisis kicked off, the British military served more as an object of derision than a template of professionalism. Take, by way of example, the visit of UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to Zagreb, Croatia in early February 2022. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic accused the British of trying to incite Ukraine into a war with Russia, as opposed to trying to address Russia’s concerns over the existing European security framework. Wallace flew to Zagreb for consultations, only to be rebuked by Milanovic, who refused to meet with him, noting that he only met with the defense ministers of superpowers, adding that “the UK has left the EU, and this gives it less importance.” But London keeps putting a brave face on a sorry reality.
Take, for example, the offer of written security assurances to Sweden and Finland made by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. These pledges were designed to bolster the resolve of the two Nordic nations as they considered their applications to join NATO. But there was no substance to the British offer, if for no other reason than the British had nothing in the way of viable military capability to offer either the Swedes or the Finns. Even as Johnson proffered the proverbial hand of assistance to his newfound Nordic allies, the UK Ministry of Defense was wrestling with planned force reductions that would see the British Army cut from its current “established strength” of 82,000 to 72,500 by 2025 (the actual strength of the British Army is around 76,500, reflecting ongoing difficulties in recruitment and retention.)
The euro was always just an experiment.
• The Collapsing Euro And Its Implications (Macleod)
At a political level there appear to be terrifying levels of ignorance about the economic consequences of continuing to punish Britain for Brexit (yes, that still rankles) and now ostracising Russia for its belligerence at a time when the EU’s own economy is teetering on the edge of a financial and economic catastrophe. The EU exercises its political agendas despite any economic mayhem created. Russia is a far more serious issue than Brexit ever was. The EU has, to varying degrees, disposed of its fossil fuel capacity to placate environmentalists, exporting their production to nations not so squeamish about fashionable climate change strictures. Consequently, the EU has become highly dependent on Russian natural gas and oil, which in cavalier fashion it has decided to do without to punish Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The economic consequences have been to put Germany’s economy on life support with its industrial limbs beginning to shut down, along with the productive capacity of many other EU states. In the coming months there will be food shortages exacerbated by lack of fertiliser supplies. Then there will be winter without heating fuel and frequent power cuts. And winter with food shortages in a continental climate is no joke. They will spark riots and growing political instability. The financial consequences stem partly from bank exposure to Russian entities, but far more important is the effect of soaring producer and consumer prices on the entire Eurozone financial structure. The euro system has depended on redistributing wealth from Germany and the fiscally conservative northern states to bail out the profligate south using suppressed interest rates. That scheme is now kaput.
The ECB, and the euro system of shareholder national central banks, has metaphorically been caught with their collective trousers down. Having suppressed interest rates into negative territory, they allowed member governments to borrow ultra-cheaply. Now that Eurozone CPI is rising at 8.6% and Germany’s producer prices are up 33.6%, either interest rates must rise smartly or the euro crashes.
Settling with Berenson opened the door.
• Twitter Reverses Ban Of Epidemiologist After Legal Threat (RTN)
Twitter has long since banned users under its “misinformation” policy for making truthful statements – and legal challenges to this appear to be having an impact. When journalist and commentator Alex Berenson settled with Twitter over his wrongful suspension from the platform, it was clear that it could open the way for more lawsuits. Dr. Andrew Bostom threatened to sue Twitter after he got suspended for sharing a link to a peer-reviewed article published in a respected medical journal about a study that found that Covid vaccines lower sperm counts. According to legal news outlet Legal Insurrection, he has retained the lawyer who helped journalist Alex Berenson get his account reinstated. Boston said his account was suspended “for tweeting a link to a scientific article on COVID-19 vaccine lowering sperm counts.”
“Until this morning, I had a very active Twitter account with a large following through which I shared scientific information, as well as my personal views,” he added. “This morning (6/22/22) I awakened to learn that overnight Twitter had summarily and simultaneously locked, and then suspended my account for this ‘offending’ tweet from Father’s Day, 6/19/22.” In the tweet that got him suspended, he shared the link to the article and wrote: “Primary COVID-19 BNT162b mRNA vaccination temporarily impairs semen concentration & total motile count among semen donors, with apparent rebound by ~5mos, but no data on boostering effect. Does boostering yield another decline?, followed by??”
He shared a screenshot of the notice he received from Twitter, which claimed that he had been permanently suspended for violating Twitter’s rules on spreading Covid misinformation.“My suspension is yet another example of Twitter’s arbitrary, Lysenkoist breaches of informed public discourse on covid-19,” Bostom told Legal Insurrection. Commentator Alex Berenson, who sued Twitter for a permanent suspension and got reinstated, has taken an interest in Bostom’s case. He shared the same article Bostom shared and dared Twitter to suspend him. The journalist is yet to get suspended for sharing the article. Bostom has retained the same lawyer that represented Berenson in his case against Twitter. The lawyer, James Lawrence III, sent a letter to Twitter, demanding the reinstatement of Bostom’s account and threatening a lawsuit if the account is not restored.
Hands off Iran.
• War With Iran (Chris Hedges)
The United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia are plotting a war with Iran. The 2015 Iranian nuclear arms accord, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Donald Trump sabotaged, does not look like it will be revived. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is reviewing options to attack if Teheran looks poised to obtain a nuclear weapon and Israel, which opposes U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations, carries out military strikes. During his visit to Israel, Biden assured Prime Minister Yair Lapid that the U.S. is “prepared to use all elements of its national power,” including military force, to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
Saudi Arabia, Israel and the U.S. function as a troika in the Middle East. The Israeli government has built a close alliance with Saudi Arabia, which produced 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks and has been a prolific sponsor of international terrorism, supporting Salafi jihadism, the basis of al-Qaeda, and such groups as the Afghanistan Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Al-Nusra Front. The three countries worked in tandem to back the 2013 military coup in Egypt, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew its first democratically elected government. He has imprisoned tens of thousands of government critics, including journalists and human rights defenders, on politically motivated charges. The Sisi regime collaborates with Israel by keeping its common border with Gaza closed to Palestinians, trapping them in the Gaza strip, one of the most densely populated and impoverished places on earth.
[..] A war with Iran would be a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. It would spread swiftly throughout the region. The Shiites across the Middle East would see an attack on Iran as a religious war against Shiism. The two million Shiites in Saudi Arabia, concentrated in the oil-rich Eastern province; the Shiite majority in Iraq; and the Shiite communities in Bahrain, Pakistan and Turkey would join the fight against the U.S. and Israel. Iran would use its Chinese-supplied anti-ship missiles, rocket and bomb-equipped speedboats and submarines, mines, drones and coastal artillery to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the corridor for 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquified gas supply. Oil production facilities in the Persian Gulf would be sabotaged.
Iranian oil, which makes up 13 percent of the world’s energy supply, would be taken off the market. Oil would jump to over $500 a barrel and perhaps, as the conflict drags on, to over $750 a barrel. Our petroleum-based economy, already reeling under rising prices because of the sanctions on Russia, would grind to a halt. Israel would be hit by Iranian Shahab-3 ballistic missiles. Hezbollah’s store of Iranian-supplied rockets that allegedly can reach any part of Israel, including Israel’s nuclear plant at Dimona, would also be deployed. Strikes by Iran and its allies on Israel, as well as on American military installations in the region, would leave hundreds, maybe thousands, dead.
Not just the Russians..
• Russia Ridicules Biden’s Trans And Non-binary Appointees (JTN)
Russia is ridiculing transgender Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine and non-binary Deputy Assistant Nuclear Energy Secretary Sam Brinton, after a photo of the queer duo at the French ambassador’s home went viral last week. Russian Foreign Affairs communications official Maria Zakharova posted a photo on Telegram of Brinton and Levine in heels and skirts at the party with the caption as translated: “Answer the question honestly for yourself: Are these the values that you are ready to instill in your children? Or do we still fight for our own?” Russia’s United Nations diplomat Dmitry Polyanskiy also reposted a photo of Levine and Brinton with the caption: “Keep going that way, our dear American ex-partners! I don’t think we even need any long-term strategies to counter your malicious role in the world – you are doing the right thing yourselves! And let the whole world see WhoYouAre!”
Brinton, became the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy in the Department of Energy in June, posted the original photo with Levine on Instagram. The account has since been made private, but many screenshots of the photo are circulating online. Brinton has a controversial personal life, as reported by Just the News in February. In his free time, Brinton is a gender-fluid LGBT+ activist, a drag queen and a “pup” fetishist. Levine is the first openly transgender federal official. As Pennsylvania Health Secretary, Levine came under fire for moving her mother out of a nursing home during the COVID-19 pandemic after the state mandated that elder care facilities accept COVID-positive patients.
Wonder what the Russians think of this…
• Nearly 400 Local, State, And Federal Officers Waited Outside Uvalde School (PM)
“Systemic failures” and “egregious errors” are at fault according to a new report released by the Texas House on the May 24 Uvalde massacre, in which a lone gunman entered the Robb Elementary School and murdered 19 children and 2 teachers. Leadership, and the lack of a command structure, were also to blame. There were nearly 400 officers on the scene as the gunman massacred children and teachers for 73 minutes. There were 149 US border patrol agents, 91 state police, 25 Uvalde police, 16 members of the Uvalde sheriff’s office, and 5 members of the school district, in addition to members of law enforcement from surrounding communities.
The report, 44 days in the making, comes after the release of surveillance video from the school on that day, which shows that 73 minutes passed between the time the shooter entered the school and when police took out the gunman. Reports from the press conference indicate that some victims of the shooter could have been saved had officers entered the classroom without waiting over an hour. State Congressman Dustin Burrows said that “the officers who knew or should have know that this was an active shooter situation by their training experience should have done more.” On the day of the massacre, officers on the ground appeared to be unclear as to who was in charge. When officers attempted to go ahead into the room, they were prevented from doing so. School Police Chief Pete Arredondo reportedly said “tell them to f*cking wait.”
Emmanuel II
https://twitter.com/i/status/1548418493967568897
Emmanuel III
https://twitter.com/i/status/1548387293488041986
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