Jan 132024
 
 January 13, 2024  Posted by at 10:00 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , ,  49 Responses »


Salvador Dalí Living still life 1956

 

Poison Spiders at the Center of the Web (Kunstler)
Signs Of A New World Order Are Becoming Increasingly Obvious (Bordachev)
Fanigate Goes Full Jerry Springer (ZH)
Erdogan Accuses US, UK Of Trying To Turn Red Sea Into ‘Sea Of Blood’ (TASS)
Biden Admin Deployed Air Force Team To Israel To Assist With Targets (IC)
UK Pledges Largest Military Aid Package To Ukraine Yet (RT)
British Troops In Ukraine Would Be ‘Declaration Of War’ – Medvedev (RT)
Zelensky Plays ‘Pensioners Will Die’ Card In Bid To Unlock US Aid (RT)
Ukrainians Dying Trying To Escape The Country – The Times (RT)
Russian Books A ‘Huge Threat’ To Ukraine – Official (RT)
Bill to Seize Russian Assets Bound to Deepen De-Dollarization (Sp.)
Polish President Revolts Against New Government (RT)
Migrant Crisis Motive Revealed (Martin Armstrong)
Hunter Cracks, Will Sit For Closed-Door Deposition After All (ZH)
WEF Declares “Disinformation” to be the World’s Greatest Threat (Turley)
No, Democracy is Not on The Ballot in 2024 (Turley)

 

 

“Gonzalo Lira, Sr. says his son has died at 55 in a Ukrainian prison, where he was being held for the crime of criticizing the Zelensky and Biden governments. Gonzalo Lira was an American citizen, but the Biden administration clearly supported his imprisonment and torture. Several weeks ago we spoke to his father, who predicted his son would be killed.”
— Tucker Carlson

 

 

 

Senior living
https://twitter.com/i/status/1745671535036436852

Elon
https://twitter.com/i/status/1745612800884359413

 

 

Alina Habba

 

 

Ben Carson

 

 

Trump WWIII
https://twitter.com/i/status/1745761557387030975

 

 

Final battle

 

 


We aim to please

 

 


The Year of the Dragon promises action.

 

 

 

 

“Mary McCord is the best friend you never knew you didn’t have.”

Poison Spiders at the Center of the Web (Kunstler)

Okay, I’ll tell you the actual reason that Ray Epps got the VIP powder puff treatment: It was to give half of America a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. . . the old double-barreled middle finger. . . a thunderous fuck you, with the subtext: we can do anything we want to you and you can’t do anything about it. . . and we can rub your faces in it, too, ho ho. . . and then empty a bed pan over your head in case you’re not feeling sufficiently impotent and humiliated. And the purpose of all that is their hope to foment some act of genuine violent resistance against the blob to justify further lawless persecution of the blob’s enemies. They’re really hoping to set off a civil war to justify martial law in order to ensure a free and fair election.

The judge in the Ray Epps case is. . . wait for it. . . the fabulous judicial utility infielder, James Boasberg, now Chief Judge of the DC Federal District Court, a big cheese. Yes, the same rascal who sat on the FISA Court during the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” shenanigans, when they fed all manner of fake documents to that court to enable the FBI to conduct warrantless surveillance on Donald Trump’s campaign, and then afterwards on his presidency. It was Judge Boasberg who let FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith off the hook with probation when he was charged with doctoring an email to conceal the fact that FBI target Carter Page had been an active CIA informer in Russia over the years, not just some schlub swanning around the fringe of the Trump Campaign. Getting a FISA warrant on Carter Page was tremendously advantageous to the FBI, because it enabled them to use the “three-hop rule,” meaning they could also surveil anyone else in the Trump retinue who Mr. Page had communicated with by phone or email.

The disposition of Ray Epps’s case also means there will be no further official inquiries into his behavior that fateful day 1/6/21. The principle of double jeopardy means he can’t be tried for the same thing twice. There will be no further inquiries into what he did that day and on J-6 itself when he appeared at the barricades on the Capitol grounds, apparently goading protesters to bust through them. It’s a dead letter. Chalk up a “W” for the blob. But now, chalk up an “L” for the blob: Fani Willis., the Fulton County (GA) District Attorney, has been caught funneling more than half a million dollars to her love bunny, attorney Nathan Wade, after appointing him “special counsel” in the gigantic RICO case against Donald Trump and eighteen other defendants. Poor optics, as they say, and maybe a good deal more than that — such as prosecutorial misconduct. The fact that the lovestruck pair took Caribbean cruises together with that money may only be a minor part of the story. More will come out when Fani Willis answers the summons she has been served to give a deposition at the request of Joycelyn Wade’s lawyers in the Wades’ ongoing divorce proceeding.

More to the point, both Fani Willis and Nathan Wade (in her service) spent time consulting with lawyers at the White House before they filed charges against Mr. Trump. Mr. Wade was there on May 23 and November 19, 2022, talking to Joe Biden’s White House counsel for sixteen hours. Ms. Willis is shown by White House visitor logs to have been present for five hours a few months later, on February 18, 2023, a week after recommending charges to a Fulton County grand jury. The log states that she spent those five hours with veep Kamala Harris. I doubt that is who she came to visit. My guess is that Ms. Willis spent those hours being coached by Deputy US Attorney General Lisa Monaco, possibly joined by Mary McCord, a former head of the DOJ’s National Security division during the “Crossfire Hurricane” years, then “outside counsel” to the first House impeachment committee, then counsel to the House J-6 committee.

It was Ms. McCord, in Trump Impeachment # 1, who arranged for then DOJ Inspector General Michael Atkinson to change the whistleblower rules, allowing for hearsay evidence, which gave a green light to NSA mole Eric Ciaramella to report on the infamous Ukraine phone call that he had not personally witnessed (but was fed a story on by Col. Alexander Vindman.) Nice work there. In other words, these two gals, Lisa Monaco and Mary McCord, are the poison spiders in the DOJ web of veteran seditionists.

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“>.They did not aim to destroy the US-led world order, and have not yet come up with such an ambitious program..”

Signs Of A New World Order Are Becoming Increasingly Obvious (Bordachev)

The BRICS group emerged at a time when the dominance of the US and its closest European allies in world affairs was almost complete, when they could act as the main distributors of global benefits and, most importantly, when this situation was to some extent acceptable to other states. This is another phenomenon of the international order to which we are now saying goodbye, and of the way in which it is happening. Never before has the injustice shown to the interests of the majority of the world’s countries been so effectively offset by the benefits that have accrued to virtually everyone from globalization. One might even say that the state of affairs known to us as the liberal world order was, in its nature and content, a transitional phase between the absolute tyranny of the European empires of the 19th century and the new international order that is only now emerging.

And it is coming to pass precisely as a response to the inevitable process of the emergence of a multitude of sovereign states. The countries that formed BRICS in 2006 originally set out to increase their influence in world affairs and to shape global development in their own interests. They did not aim to destroy the US-led world order, and have not yet come up with such an ambitious program. The main feature of this association – the sovereign equality of its participants – initially distinguished it from the existing formal and informal coalitions of the West, which are centered on the unquestioned power of the US over the main actions of its allies in the sphere of foreign policy and security. Due to its composition, the BRICS group won’t be able to establish such a type of relations among its participants.

However, as the crisis of the liberal world order deepened, the influence and role of the BRICS group in world affairs gradually increased. First of all, the political significance of the group grew – precisely as a way of signaling an alternative to the Western approach to solving the problems of global development and the broader international agenda. At the same time, the countries of the group still do not formulate strategies that could be seen as a direct challenge to the West or that reflect a vision of an ‘ideal’ world order comparable in clarity to that of the West. This is an inevitable consequence of the lack of hegemony of a single power in the group, which does not prevent the emergence of common interests, but deprives it of the possibility of setting goals and objectives, the fulfillment of which requires the submission of all to the same leadership.

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“Wade’s wife has alleged in divorce documents that he failed to disclose over $700,000 in earnings from the county, and has continued to draw from her bank account..”

Fanigate Goes Full Jerry Springer (ZH)

Update (1523ET): House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has launched an investigation into Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor in the Trump-Georgia case who has been accused of making more than $650,000 off the case – during which he and Willis took lavish vacations together. “According to a recent court filing, you have been paid more than $650,000—at the rate of $250 per hour—to serve as an ‘Attorney Consultant’ and later a ‘Special Assistant District Attorney’ in the unprecedented investigation and prosecution of the former President and other former federal officials,” wrote Jordan in a Friday letter reported by Just the News.

“This filing also alleges that while receiving a substantial amount of money from Fulton County, you spent extravagantly on lavish vacations with your boss, Ms. Willis.” “The Committee has information that the FCDAO [Fulton County District Attorney’s Office] received approximately $14.6 million in grant funds from the Department of Justice between 2020 and 2023 and, given the enormous legal fees you have billed to the FCDAO, there are open questions about whether federal funds were used by the FCDAO to finance your prosecution,” the letter continues. Wade has until January 26th to reply with documents related to the case.

[..] Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis – who has charged Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants with trying to change the outcome of the 2020 US election in Georgia – has become the main attraction in a major prong of the left’s 2024 election lawfare operation. On Tuesday we noted that Willis had hired Nathan Wade (without proper approval), a private attorney in the midst of a divorce who “has little to no experience trying felony cases, much less complex RICO actions,” according to the 127-page filing. Wade ended up pocketing nearly $700,000 from Fulton county taxpayers – with which he allegedly took Willis on lavish vacations.

Now, Wade’s wife has alleged in divorce documents that he failed to disclose over $700,000 in earnings from the county, and has continued to draw from her bank account, leaving it “routinely overdrawn” despite “the clear inequity in financial circumstances,” the Daily Caller reports. Wade filed to divorce his stay-at-home wife of 20 years on November 2nd, 2021, the day after Fani hired him as a Special Prosecutor in the Trump case. He had his divorce sealed on February 10th, 2022, according to the 127-page filing by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman.

Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sent a criminal referral Wednesday to Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr asking for an investigation into Willis and expressing “serious concerns” about the allegations. Greene suggested Willis could have violated a number of Georgia statutes, including violations of public oath, bribery, improper influence of a government official and more. The Monday motion did not cite hard evidence that Willis and Wade were romantically involved but referenced “sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney” who confirmed their ongoing relationship. -Daily Caller. Oh, and let’s not forget – Wade billed taxpayers $2,000 to talk to the Biden White House about prosecuting Biden’s political opponent.

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“..the US and UK have so far delivered 73 strikes on Yemen..”

Erdogan Accuses US, UK Of Trying To Turn Red Sea Into ‘Sea Of Blood’ (TASS)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the United States and Great Britain for a disproportionate use of force in their attacks on the Ansar Allah (Houthi) rebel movement in Yemen and for trying to turn the Red Sea into “a sea of blood.” “They used force disproportionately and they are trying to turn the Red Sea into a sea of blood. Israel is doing the same in Palestine,” the Turkish leader told reporters. “We are currently getting news through numerous channels. And through various channels we learn that the Houthis are mounting a successful response,” he added.

Sa’ada

Last night, the armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom delivered air strikes on positions held by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) rebel movement in several Yemeni cities, using aircraft, warships and submarines. US President Joe Biden said the military action was ordered in response to “unprecedented Houthi attacks” on shipping in the Red Sea and that the strikes, targeting Houthi munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems, were delivered in self-defense. The Yemeni capital Sanaa, as well as four provinces — Hodeidah, Taiz, Hajjah and Saada — were hit as the US and UK have so far delivered 73 strikes on Yemen, killing five Houthi fighters and leaving six others injured, the Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saria, said.

After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. According to estimates by the US Defense Department’s Central Command (CENTCOM), the Yemeni rebel group has attacked more than 20 vessels and civilian ships in the Red Sea since mid-November.

Martyanov
https://twitter.com/i/status/1745777677548871714

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“U.S. Gen. Pat Ryder insisted that the special operations forces deployed to Israel to advise on hostage rescue were “not participating in [Israel Defense Forces] target development.”

Biden Admin Deployed Air Force Team To Israel To Assist With Targets (IC)

Targeting Intelligence — The information used to conduct airstrikes and fire long-range artillery weapons — has played a central role in Israel’s siege of Gaza. A document obtained through the Freedom of Information Act suggests that the U.S. Air Force sent officers specializing in this exact form of intelligence to Israel in late November. Since the start of Israel’s bombardment in retaliation for Hamas’s strike on October 7, Israel has dropped more than 29,000 bombs on the tiny Gaza Strip, according to a U.S. intelligence report last month. And for the first time in U.S. history, the Biden administration has been flying surveillance drone missions over Gaza since at least early November, ostensibly for hostage recovery by special forces.

At the time the drones were revealed, U.S. Gen. Pat Ryder insisted that the special operations forces deployed to Israel to advise on hostage rescue were “not participating in [Israel Defense Forces] target development.” “I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise the Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts,” said President Joe Biden three days after the Hamas attack. But several weeks later, on November 21, the U.S. Air Force issued deployment guidelines for officers, including intelligence engagement officers, headed to Israel. Experts say that a team of targeting officers like this would be used to provide satellite intelligence to the Israelis for the purpose of offensive targeting.

“They’re probably targeting people, targeting officers,” Lawrence Cline, who served as an intelligence engagement officer in Iraq before retirement, told The Intercept. Targeting intelligence refers to the identification and characterization of enemy activities including missile and artillery launches, location of leadership and command and control centers, and key facilities. “What I can see is we’ve got a lot of global assets in terms of satellites and the like and the Israelis have a lot in terms of more localized radar coverage.” The deployment guidelines were issued by the Pentagon’s Air Force component command for the Middle East, Air Forces Central, on November 21. The document provides deployment instructions to air personnel sent to the country, including an “Air Defense Liaison Team” as well as “airmen assigned as the Intelligence Engagement Officer (IEO).”

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Taking over from the US. On the very day Ukraine murders an American citizen.

UK Pledges Largest Military Aid Package To Ukraine Yet (RT)

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed during a visit to Kiev on Friday that his government is to supply Ukraine with £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in military assistance over the next financial year. It is to be the UK’s most significant annual aid commitment since the start of Russia’s offensive in February 2022. The aid package, which will begin in the next financial year in April, was confirmed in a statement by Downing Street earlier on Friday and comes amid rising concerns in Kiev about dwindling support from its backers in Washington and Brussels. Political in-fighting on either side of the Atlantic has threatened to legislatively curtail the torrent of Western financial assistance that has aided Ukraine in the conflict as dissent grows among some European and American lawmakers over failed efforts on the battlefield.

“I am here today with one message,” Sunak said in an address from the Ukrainian capital. “The UK will not falter. We will stand with Ukraine in their darkest hours and in the better times to come.” He added in a post to social media after arriving in Kiev: “To all Ukrainians, Britain is with you – for as long as it takes.” Downing Street said that the aid package is the first step in what it called a “totemic” security agreement with Ukraine, which it said will develop into an “unshakeable hundred-year partnership” between both countries. The bilateral accord detailed by Sunak’s government – the UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation – includes a range of measures on UK security guarantees for Ukraine. The agreement also formalizes Britain’s “swift and sustained” defensive assistance for Ukraine “in the event that it is ever attacked by Russia again.”

“We recognize that their security is our security,” Sunak said. The aid package confirmed by London on Friday is about £200 million ($254 million) larger than those that came over the previous two years and will supply Ukraine with long-range missiles, air defense, and artillery ammunition. About £200 million of the military aid will be spent on drones – the largest such contribution of state-of-the-art military drone hardware since the onset of hostilities nearly two years ago. It also includes £18 million ($23 million) in humanitarian aid, as well as assistance to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and funding for online English language training. The UK’s updated aid provision to Kiev will likely return the focus to legislators in Europe and the United States, where Congress has declined to advance a $50 billion (£39 billion) security package. The White House said on Thursday that its support for Ukraine has “ground to a halt” as a result.

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“.. the UK has been and will continue to provide for Ukraine’s security, including intelligence sharing, cyber security, medical and military training, and defense industrial cooperation..”

British Troops In Ukraine Would Be ‘Declaration Of War’ – Medvedev (RT)

Moscow would consider the open deployment of British troops to Ukraine as a “declaration of war,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned. He was responding to a visit to Kiev on Friday by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is set to sign a security agreement with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Sunak’s arrival in the Ukrainian capital is meant to “set out a major new package of support and reaffirm the close UK-Ukraine partnership,” his office said in a statement. The security document is a follow-up to agreements reached by G7 and NATO members last year, it noted. The statement did not mention any plans for a British military deployment in Ukraine.

“[The deal] formalizes a range of support the UK has been and will continue to provide for Ukraine’s security, including intelligence sharing, cyber security, medical and military training, and defense industrial cooperation,” Downing Street said. Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, issued his warning in a social media post. The British government has pledged £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in military aid to Ukraine over the next two years, including in the form of thousands of military drones, which London said will be the largest of their kind ever received by Kiev. Most of the UAVs will be made in the UK, the announcement added.

The UK has been a key supporter of Kiev’s war effort against Russia. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly played a significant role in derailing a nascent truce that Kiev and Moscow had negotiated in the early months of the hostilities in 2022, although he has denied ordering the Ukrainian government to keep fighting. Moscow has on several occasions accused the UK of helping Ukraine organize attacks against Russia, particularly in the Black Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry has claimed that British military personnel already have a presence in Ukraine.

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“..When DeSantis is older “and we have won this war, I will personally send financial aid to him as a gesture of gratitude for the US helping our pensioners..”

Zelensky Plays ‘Pensioners Will Die’ Card In Bid To Unlock US Aid (RT)

Ukrainian pensioners will die without social benefits financed by Western aid, President Vladimir Zelensky told journalists in Latvia on Thursday. The leader lashed out at US politicians who oppose continued assistance to Kiev, taking particular aim at Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis. Zelensky addressed his government’s budget shortages, which he expects Western backers to cover, when asked how interruptions in aid deliveries could affect Ukraine. Kiev is obliged to pay pensions to around 11 million people, the president noted. “I am not exerting moral pressure here. But we simply must pay them. It’s impossible not to do that, because the elderly people will die [without government assistance],” Zelensky warned.

He claimed that the Ukrainian government covers much of its expenses with its own money, but that it also relies on Western funding. Money spent on pensions means less funding for weapons to fight Russia, Zelensky explained, suggesting that this means sacrificing the lives of troops in favor of the elderly. He was also asked about opposition to continued Ukraine aid among Republican politicians in the US. At a debate on Wednesday, Florida governor DeSantis, who is seeking the GOP nomination in this year’s presidential election, clashed with rival Nikki Haley on the issue of assistance to Kiev. While Haley, a former US ambassador to the UN, backs continued aid, DeSantis criticized the administration of President Joe Biden for providing “tens of billions of dollars” to pay pensions and “salaries for Ukrainian government bureaucrats.”

Zelensky claimed that DeSantis, who like the Ukrainian president is aged 45, is “still a young man” and does not fully understand the importance of paying pensions in a nation locked in a conflict. When DeSantis is older “and we have won this war, I will personally send financial aid to him as a gesture of gratitude for the US helping our pensioners,” Zelensky vowed. Republicans in the US Congress have blocked a White House request to appropriate over $60 billion in additional aid for Ukraine, demanding concessions on immigration policy and a clear plan on how Kiev could beat Russia.

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“..tens, hundreds of thousands of people” may have evaded military enlistment.”

Ukrainians Dying Trying To Escape The Country – The Times (RT)

More than 20 Ukrainians have died while trying to escape the country since the start of the conflict with Russia, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a Ukrainian border guard. The deaths were registered by a single guard unit, responsible for a 320km stretch of the border with Romania and Hungary. The unit is based in the western Ukrainian city of Mukachevo, which has become a popular destination for people trying to flee, given its proximity to four neighboring states – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Since the outbreak of the hostilities in February 2022, the Mukachevo border guard unit has found 19 bodies in the River Tisza – of people believed to have drowned during botched attempts to cross into Romania. A further five were found frozen to death in the woods.

More Ukrainians are expected to flee the country given the government’s plan to mobilize an additional 500,000 to bolster its military ranks, the newspaper noted. A new mobilization bill was introduced in parliament late last year, seeking to lower the draft age from 27 to 25, and drop exemptions for some categories of disabled people, along with other measures. So far, parliament has failed to pass it into law, with the legislation shelved by MPs for amendments. Over the past year alone, nearly 11,000 military-eligible men have been caught at the border while trying to leave, Ukrainian border guard spokesman Andrey Demchenko said in late December. The total number caught on the frontier since the start of the conflict has surpassed 17,000.

The number of men prosecuted for evading the draft, however, remains relatively low. Ukraine has more than 9,000 active criminal proceedings against such individuals, with some 2,600 having made it to court, Interior Minister Igor Klimenko revealed last week. Deputy Defense Minister Natalya Kalmykova stated in October 2023 that “tens, hundreds of thousands of people” may have evaded military enlistment.

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“..Moscow claims that such laws violate the rights of Russian-speaking people, who make up around half of Ukraine’s population..”

Russian Books A ‘Huge Threat’ To Ukraine – Official (RT)

The illegal import of Russian literature poses a threat to Ukraine, the country’s language ombudsman claimed a post on his official Facebook page on Friday. While stressing the importance of promoting the Ukrainian language, Taras Kremen expressed regret at the lack of state-owned publishers and printers, which means the government has no control over book production. Kremen also argued that the “smuggling of Russian-language imports, including banned literature, is a huge threat to the national interest of Ukraine.” He stressed that although the market is not large, the government should do everything within its power to prevent it from growing. “The sooner we block this, the stronger our standing will be both domestically and internationally,” the ombudsman said.

He criticized Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture for “not having the opportunity or the time” to approve a state program to support the national language, which would include book printing – calling it an important source of revenue. In recent years, Kiev has adopted a number of laws making the use of the Ukrainian language obligatory in almost all spheres of public life, including in government, medicine, science, education and the media. Failure to comply with the laws can result in fines. Following the launch of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine in 2022, Kiev doubled down on its de-Russification campaign, with top officials calling for the complete removal of the Russian language nationwide, “as an element of hostile propaganda and brainwashing of the population.”

Lawmakers have since imposed complete bans on Russian-language works of art, performances, films, songs, and books, and have also outlawed the study of Russian in schools and universities. Kiev has banned the sale and distribution of all Russian-language books inside the country, along with the import of any literature printed in Russia and Belarus, with the exception of those that were written by former Russian and Belarusian citizens before 1991, subject to special government approval. Moscow claims that such laws violate the rights of Russian-speaking people, who make up around half of Ukraine’s population.

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“..the West seems to be escalating its financial warfare. “This suggests a deeper motive than just pressuring Russia..”

Bill to Seize Russian Assets Bound to Deepen De-Dollarization (Sp.)

The White House has indicated its “in principle” support for a bill that would potentially allow the US government to seize around $300 billion in frozen Russian assets and redirect them to Ukraine. While this measure seeks to penalize Russia, it brings up significant concerns surrounding the integrity and reliability of the US financial system. Critics are cautioning that these actions have the potential to erode global trust in the greenback. Consequently, international partners may reconsider their reliance on the dollar, driven by fears of possible future US sanctions.The declaration made by the Biden administration, expressing its support for legislation that permits the seizure of Russian assets, has triggered widespread tremors across the global financial sphere. While the motive behind this is to support Ukraine during the ongoing conflict, this move is teeming with serious risks.

Tom Luongo, financial and geopolitical analyst, sheds light on the potential ramifications of this decision. According to Luongo, the act of seizing Russian foreign exchange reserves already cast a shadow of doubt over the principles guiding global trade. “It was a clear statement by the West, signifying a deliberate rift between East and West, not a mere reaction,” Luongo explains. The analyst emphasizes that this isn’t just a US issue but a broader Western phenomenon. “The European Union, particularly, is at the forefront of this approach,” he adds. Luongo also points out that, nearly two years after the initial sanctions, which Russia has largely withstood, the West seems to be escalating its financial warfare. “This suggests a deeper motive than just pressuring Russia,” he observes.

Luongo, in his discussion of the precedent set by this situation, raises concerns about the message it sends to the world: if you defy the West, your assets might be in danger. As a result, there has been a movement away from Western banking systems, known as ‘de-dollarization.’ Furthermore, Luongo highlights the substantial decrease in the euro’s role in global trade in recent years. “The Biden administration’s actions are counterproductive to US interests,” Luongo asserts, suggesting that these moves align more with the interests of globalist entities, which he refers to as ‘Davos.’ As for why this issue has surfaced now, Luongo believes it aligns with broader strategic goals, including distancing the US from both Russia and Europe. He sees the bill as a potential catalyst for a shift in global financial dynamics, ultimately undermining the US banking system and changing the landscape of global trade.

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“..he has reportedly decided to use “total obstruction” against Tusk’s government, vowing not to approve a single bill proposed by the ruling coalition..”

Polish President Revolts Against New Government (RT)

Polish President Andrzej Duda is reportedly planning to launch an all-out offensive against the country’s new pro-EU government led by recently elected Prime Minister Donald Tusk, following the arrest of two former Law and Justice MPs. According to the Polish news outlet Onet, Duda intends to send formal letters regarding Tusk’s alleged violation of the law and constitution to the heads of all EU countries, US President Joe Biden, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the United Nations, and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission for Democracy through Law. While Duda has so far excluded pursuing the “nuclear option” of shortening the term of parliament and calling for early elections, he has reportedly decided to use “total obstruction” against Tusk’s government, vowing not to approve a single bill proposed by the ruling coalition, Onet reported citing anonymous sources.

Duda’s accusations stem from the recent arrest of former Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and his deputy, Maciej Wonsik, both of whom were detained at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday despite having received a pardon back in 2015. Tusk’s new government has insisted that Duda did not have the right to grant amnesty to the two Law and Justice (PiS) MPs, who were being tried for abuse of power, and reopened the case against them. In December, that case was concluded when a court sentenced both men to two years behind bars. An order for their arrest was issued on Monday, triggering a standoff at the Presidential Palace, after which the two were arrested. Both have since announced they have begun a hunger strike in protest at their arrest.

Duda and other PiS members have strongly condemned the arrest of the two former officials, with party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski describing them as the country’s “first political prisoners since 1989.” The PiS has demanded the immediate release of the lawmakers, stating that their detention is a constitutional violation. Meanwhile, Kaminski himself has described his arrest as “political revenge” for his work in fighting corruption and has announced a hunger strike.

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“..Soon, they will be provided with the right to vote, and certainly, they will vote for the people who are enabling their new lives..”

Migrant Crisis Motive Revealed (Martin Armstrong)

Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke is running for re-election this year in New York’s 9th District to FINISH THE JOB of utterly destroying New York. To achieve her goal of ruining a once great city, Clarke is demanding MORE illegal migrants. Clarke actually admitted that the Democrats need more migrants to overrun their cities and states for “redistricting purposes.” “I’m from Brooklyn, New York. We have a diaspora that can absorb a significant number of these migrants,” said Clarke, who has served on the House Committee on Homeland Security. “When I hear colleagues talk about, you know, the doors of the inn being closed — ah, no room at the inn — I’m saying I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes.” Now, redrawing districts is a common tactic used by the right and left. However, dismantling the Constitution to allow non-citizens to enter the country and vote is not.

Did Clarke actually admit that the invasion of America under Joe Biden was a deliberate ploy for votes? Republican New York City councilwoman explained the situation in further detail. “Congressional seats are allocated by population. Higher population states get more congressional seats, and therefore more political power in Washington. “Blue states have been LOSING seats as people flee progressive policies,” continued Paladino. “We’re set to possibly lose THREE seats by 2030 in NY. These allocations are determined by census-calculated raw population, including illegals. See how it works?” Clarke is from Brooklyn, where children were just expelled from school to make room for illegal migrants. Clarke was responsible for passing the Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) legislation that provided 2.5 million illegal migrants, or dreamers, temporary residence in America and an easy path to citizenship.

The ploy to infiltrate America with illegal migrants began years ago. At first, they said those wishing to come here were simply “dreamers” looking for a better life, similar to most of our ancestors. However, they were not following the typical protocol to enter the country. Then left politicians told migrants that they were WELCOME in their cities and could declare sanctuary there. Naturally, countless people fled their socialistic hell holes for America, where the government then decided they were not going to issue work permits but force them to become dependent on government aid. Soon, they will be provided with the right to vote, and certainly, they will vote for the people who are enabling their new lives.

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“If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition..”

Hunter Cracks, Will Sit For Closed-Door Deposition After All (ZH)

Hunter Biden has reversed course, and will sit for a closed-door deposition with House GOP lawmakers. In a Friday letter to the House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, defense attorney Abbe Lowell said that Hunter would comply with a new subpoena to sit for a deposition, the Daily Caller reports. “Consequently, the November 8 and 9, 2023, deposition subpoenas to Mr. Biden and the contempt resolutions approved by your committees on January 10, 2024, based on those subpoenas were and are legally invalid. You have not explained why you are not interested in transparency and having the American people witness the full and complete testimony of Mr. Biden at a public hearing,” reads the letter.

“If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorized impeachment inquiry, Mr. Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition. We will accept such a subpoena on Mr. Biden’s behalf.” On Friday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced that the chamber will a floor vote to hold Hunter in contempt for dodging subpoenas to appear for a closed-door deposition on Dec. 13. Lowell previously offered to have Hunter testify publicly, suggesting that a closed-door session would result in biased leaks against his client (and of course, would limit the questions lawmakers can ask in regards to national security).

Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance Wednesday at the House Oversight Committee’s markup hearing on a resolution and accompanying report to hold him in contempt. He sat in the crowd with Lowell and his financier, Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris, for a few minutes before dashing out when Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene began her line of questioning. After he stormed the hearing, Hunter Biden flew back to Los Angeles, California, where he pleaded not guilty Thursday to nine federal tax related charges at an arraignment. He faces up to 17 years in prison for the tax charges. -Daily Caller

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“..we are now facing alarming drops in testing scores and alarming rises in medical illness among the young..”

WEF Declares “Disinformation” to be the World’s Greatest Threat (Turley)

The World Economic Forum has surveyed the world’s experts and issued its 2024 “Global Risks Report.” The international elite of experts have declared that the number one threat to humanity is not terrorism or pandemic or even climate change (which is second), but “misinformation and disinformation.” Of course, that means that the only hope for humanity is censorship and speech controls. The report shows just how engrained this anti-free speech movement has become among the world elite from media to business to politics. The absurd finding is consistent with the warning of other international figures and groups. We previously discussed how WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has supported censorship to combat what he calls the “infodemic.”

So “1,490 experts across academia, business, government, the international community and civil society” looked at all of the world’s military, economic, and environmental threats and concluded that the greatest threat to humanity is too much free speech. A “global risk” is defined as “the possibility of the occurrence of an event or condition which, if it occurs, would negatively impact a significant proportion of global GDP, population or natural resources.” We have seen how during the Covid crisis “experts” supported censorship and blacklisting when their views were challenged by colleagues and the public. Earlier positions treated as gospel in the press have been discredited. For example, a recent scientific review by 12 researchers from leading universities found little support for the claims that masks reduced Covid exposures.

The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) initially rejected the use of a mask mandate. However, the issue became a political weapon as politicians and the press claimed that questioning masks was anti-science and even unhinged. In April 2020, the CDC reversed its position and called for the masking of the entire population, including children as young as 2 years old. The mask mandate and other pandemic measures like the closing of schools are now cited as fueling emotional and developmental problems in children. The closing of schools and businesses was also challenged by some critics as unnecessary. Many of those critics were also censored. It now appears that they may have been right. Many countries did not close schools and did not experience increases in Covid. However, we are now facing alarming drops in testing scores and alarming rises in medical illness among the young. Masks became a major social and political dividing line in politics and the media. Maskless people were chased from stores and denounced in Congress. Then-CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said during a Senate hearing that “face masks are the most important powerful health tool we have.”

For years, scientists faced censorship for even raising the lab theory as a possible explanation for the virus. Their reputations and careers were shredded by a media flash mob. The Washington Post declared this a “debunked” coronavirus “conspiracy theory.” The New York Times’ Science and Health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli was calling any mention of the lab theory “racist.” When a Chinese researcher told Fox News that this was man-made, the network was attacked and the left-leaning PolitiFact slammed her with a “pants on fire rating.” The extensive censorship and blacklisting that has occurred over the last four years protected such experts from scrutiny and criticism. Many of those same experts are now listing what they deem disinformation to be the world’s greatest threat. The question is whether the public can be, again, spooked into surrendering this core human right by world elite.

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“..Democratic leaders in Florida, North Carolina and other states are refusing to allow other candidates to run against Biden in the primary..”

No, Democracy is Not on The Ballot in 2024 (Turley)

“It may well be the last real vote you ever get to cast.” Those words from former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., capture the mantra of this election season from politicians and pundits. It is narrative that preys on the fear of Americans that our constitutional system is on the verge of collapse. Yet, it is untrue and ironically shows the lack of faith in our democratic systems that many of these figures ascribe to others. If one briefly surfs cable news, you would think that this election is the only thing that stands between democracy and tyranny. On MSNBC, hosts like Joe Scarborough have repeatedly told viewers that former President Donald Trump will “throw away” democracy if elected. President Joe Biden himself has taken up this claim. In his speech Friday near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Biden insisted that “democracy itself is on the ballot” and said that this election would determine if democracy can survive in the United States.

This campaign tactic holds obvious advantages for a candidate who has the lowest polling numbers of the past seven presidents at the same point in their first term in office. Biden and others are calling for citizens to vote not for Biden, but for democracy itself. The pitch would be more compelling if Democratic activists were not trying to remove Trump from 2024 ballots and Democratic leaders in Florida, North Carolina and other states are refusing to allow other candidates to run against Biden in the primary. In those states, the primary ballots themselves might not be very democratic. Trump helps to fuel such dire predictions with his reckless rhetoric. After the Supreme Court accepted review of his disqualification from the ballot in Colorado, he said at an Iowa rally, “I just hope we get fair treatment. Because if we don’t, our country’s in big, big trouble. Does everybody understand what I’m saying?”

The answer is that it depends on whom you ask. For Democrats, the comment seemed to threaten more violence like the kind we witnessed during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, especially given Trump’s pledge to pardon rioters. For Republicans, it was a frank acknowledgement of the deepening anger and divisions in the country. Those divisions are manifest in a new Gallup poll showing that only 28% of U.S. adults are satisfied with the way democracy is working in the country. It’s down from 61% in 1984. Only 17% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats are satisfied with our current state of democracy.

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Yeadon

 

 


A waterspout, a type of tornado that occurs over water. Taken near Tampa Bay, Florida. -Joey Mole

 

 

Mommy baby
https://twitter.com/i/status/1745848346860834961

 

 


The San Francisco Garter Snake has been on the endangered list since 1967, and has been labeled the most beautiful snake in the U.S. Researchers estimate only 1-2 thousand remain

 

 

 

 

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